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Current news items regarding technology, tech companies, the Internet, the government, etc.

16 Apps We Can’t Wait To See On The Kindle 3

Now, don’t take this like I don’t think the Kindle is a slick and slightly sick piece of technology… because I do. But still, there’s room for improvement. Seeing that Dali himself would seem as creative as arithmetic in comparison to me (if I do say so myself), I figured I’d sit down and create a list of Kindle apps that would undoubtedly rock… if they existed. Observe:

1. Star Trek App

star trek pad

Picture this: you pull out your Kindle, flick it on and you’re greeted by a readout that looks just like a Star Trek style maintenance log. This app would let you go where no man has gone before… or at least not that many. Throwing up Spock’s “Vulcan salute” as you read is optional.

Extra features – Download Jake Sisko’s novel!
Source

Gmail's Priority Inbox

Will Gmail’s Priority Inbox Work?

Google has a new Gmail feature to help those of us suffering from e-mail overload – Priority Inbox.

The idea is relatively simple. The Priority Inbox component watches your e-mail, what you read and reply to, what you delete and other signals and tries to ‘learn’ what you consider important. It then separates your Inbox into 3 sections: Important (at the top naturally), the Starred items, and Everything Else.

Requisite cute video:

So will it work?

Do We Treat Computers Like People? Research Says Yes

The Man Who Lied to his LaptopAs it turns out, we have much deeper ‘relationships’ with our computers and other gadgets (think cars) than we think we do. Stanford professor, Clifford Nass, has done the research and even written a book (The Man Who Lied to His Laptop: What Machines Teach Us About Human Relationships) on the subject.

We treat computers and other devices like people: we empathize with them, argue with them, and form bonds with them. We even lie to them to protect their feelings.

From an article he wrote in the WSJ:

After being tutored by a computer, half of the participants were asked about the computer’s performance by the computer itself and the other half were asked by an identical computer across the room. Remarkably, the participants gave significantly more positive responses to the computer that asked about itself than they did to the computer across the room. These weren’t overly sensitive people: They were graduate students in computer science and electrical engineering, all of whom insisted that they would never be polite to a computer.

Make Phone Calls from Gmail

Guess where you can now make a phone call from? Gmail. Yes, Gmail. If you’ve been using video chat already, then you are already set up for making calls. If not, you’ll have to take a minute or two to install a plugin.

Gmail Phonecalls

Until the end of the year, calls to the US and Canada are free, and calls to other countries start at $0.02 per minute. Naturally, we have to mention Skype as they’re a direct competitor, and Google’s rates are surprisingly low and beat Skype’s.

Google Ups the Search Ante With Live As-You-Type Search Results

Google is testing out ‘live as-you-type search results’. At least that’s what I’m calling it. Google calls it ‘streaming’. So far, this is not available to everyone, nor is it clear that it will be. Although with such a bells-and-whistles type feature, it’s hard not to see it becoming standard.

Take a look at the video captured by blogger Rob Ousbey. Better yet, check out the HD version.

via GoogleSystem blog

The Social Web gets its own set of movie trailers

We all really relate to movies, don’t we? We jump to see movie-versions of books and compelling news stories. Well how about a movie version of the origins of Facebook? Well, that’s actually coming to a movie theater near you this Fall. It’s called “The Social Network“. The trailer is after the jump.

But not to be left out, some other aspiring, comedic filmmakers have put out their own versions of ‘trailers’ for movies about YouTube and now Twitter!

Are Google and Verizon still getting together to speed Google’s traffic to Verizon customers?

After last week’s New York Times story about Google and Verizon getting into bed to (presumably) discuss flaunting the net neutrality convention, Google was quick to respond that they were doing no such thing. Verizon and Google then quickly followed that up with a press conference today to further repudiate the claim and have also published a joint policy proposal backing an ‘open Internet’. This proposal even includes enforceable prohibition of traffic favoritism.

Now, what they’re saying quietly is that wireless and wired will get separate treatment. In a related op-ed piece, Robert Cringely thinks that while Google and Verizon may be publicly backing net neutrality, they may still be getting together to help each other out, possibly with data centers in shipping containers plopped right down next to Verizon data centers and major Internet access points. Sounds crazy, but isn’t.

Who to believe? Time will tell. Us little end-consumer folks can only hope it works out well for us.

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