Cranky Geeks

The show streamed live at 11AM Pacific, Thursday March 16, 2006 John C. Dvorak is back from CeBIT and rarin' to launch the new show. Today's Guests: Sebastian Rupley - West Coast Editor, PC Magazine Peter Galli - Senior Editor, eWeek David Spark - The Host of "The Communications Insider" The Topics: CeBIT... Dvorak dissects the massive trade show hosted in Germany Origami: More powerful than a PDA, smaller than a laptop Who's gonna buy it? RFID Chip Infection: Nothing new here, or yet another thing to worry about? Web 2.0... is Web 3.0 here already? The Space Elevator

Sony's headless goat party, Court favors Microsoft in patent ruling, Digg rioting, and more... Guests: Sebastian Rupley, Co-Crank, PCMagCast.com Tom Merritt, Executive Editor, CNET Jen Trolio, Associate Editor, ReadyMade The Topics: DIgg Users Revolt A Web page that contained a key to remove the digital-rights-management used in HD DVDs has started to circulate widely on the Internet -- and, at Digg.com, caused an open revolt after moderators initially removed postings containing the code. Why the riot? Sony Apologizes for Dead Goat Party Sony has issued an apology for using a decapitated goat as a prop and a food service receptacle at its "God of War II" video game launch party in Athens, a publicity stunt that has outraged animal rights activists. Sony was hosting about 20 journalists, pursuing good press. Chile Outraged After Google Earth Moves a Village to Argentina The Chilean government wants Google to fix its Earth geographical search program that places a village named for Chilean independence hero Bernardo O'Higgins in Argentina.The satellite image shows Villa O'Higgins, a small hamlet, on the Argentine side of the border. BBC, iTV Think Free On-Demand Video Launch Could Revolutionize TV Britain's publicly-funded broadcasting organization, the BBC, is going to launch a range of Web-based on-demand TV and audio services. Can the new offerings shake up the way people watch television? Its iPlayer will let people watch Internet streamed shows on TVs. Rabbit Ears Get a New Lease on Life Many consumers are spending thousands of dollars on LCD or plasma TVs and hooking them up to $50 antennas that would have looked up-to-date 40 years ago. Why are they going retro? The answer is that over-the-air local HD broadcasts look great--no satellite or cable required.

Apple's 3G iPhone: Half the Price, But is it Really Cheaper? Is Apple Seeking World Domination? The State of High-Tech Design Should We Meter The Web?

Does Google Benefit From the Microsoft/Yahoo Fallout? Steve Ballmer to Retire Within 10 Years No Bottom in Sight for Newspapers Firefox 3: How is It?

Bill Gates' Exit Interview New Spy Bill Passes the House Executive Exodus Leaves Yahoo Facing Problems Psystar and its Mysterious Mac Clones Enterprise 2.0 Conference Recap

1. Rhapsody Takes On iTunes 2. Tech Giants Unite Against Patent Trolls 3. French Court Nails eBay For Counterfeit Goods 4. Chrysler to Turn Cars Into Hotspots 5. So Long to Windows XP--Sort Of

1. Journos and Bloggers: Who's Accountable? 2. Bloggers Increasingly Influencing Politics 3. CEOs Are Blogging More and More 4. Automated News 5. What's Missing From Tech Journalism

1. Glitches Mar 3G iPhone Debut 2. Is Iran Showing Pictures of Photoshopped Missiles? 3. World's Oldest Blogger Dies at 108 4. Microsoft, Google Back Broad Privacy Legislation 5. Thumb Drives: Too Risky to Use?

1 .What Not to Like About the 3G iPhone 2. Yahoo, Carl Icahn Settle Before Proxy Fight 3. How Fast Will TV Prices Drop? 4. John McCain: Net Illiterate

1. Cuil: Can it Compete with Google? 2. Apple Scrambles to Solve iPhone, MobileMe Woes 3. Man Shoots Lawnmower 4. Gazelle Offers Cash for Your Gadgets 5. Broadband Metering: Back in the Spotlight

Amazon's Large-Screen Kindle, Is Apple Buying Twitter?, When Will Windows 7 Hit?, BlackBerry Outsells iPhone, and more...

Intel's Huge Fine, Microsoft Complains to EU, Cell Call Quality a Disgrace, Did Sun Violate Bribery Laws?, and more...

Craigslist CEO Files Suit, Napster's Unlimited Music Plan, Another Google Outage, Is E-Mail Outdated?, and more...

E3 On Tap, Is Microsoft Price-Fixing?, AT&T's Android Effort, An Apple Tablet?, and more...

Outed Blogger Suing Google, iPhone Legally Unlocked, Facebook's Hiring Spree, WiMax Unchained, and more... Guests: Sebastian Rupley, Co-Crank, Editorial Director, PCMagCast.com Rafe Needleman, Editor, CNet's Webware Tom Merritt, Executive Editor, CNET The Topics: Outed Blogger Suing Google Last week, a judge ordered Google to reveal the name of a blogger who may have defamed Vogue model Liskula Cohen. Now Rosemary Port, whose "Skanks in NYC" blog suggested Cohen was a "skank" and a "ho" among other potentially negative descriptions, intends to sue Google for $15 million for outing her. Should Google have complied here? How the Microsoft/Yahoo Deal Benefits Google eWeek has a report claiming that Microsoft's and Yahoo's 10-year search deal could benefit Google. "Not only is Google well-positioned to weather this collaborative attack, but the deal could help Google innovate even faster, add to its market share and perhaps even fly lower under the antitrust radar," claims the report. It also notes that Google can poach many of Yahoo's best search employees Blogger Legally Unlocks iPhone An iPhone blogger has revealed a way of legally unlocking the device after paying off his mobile contract. TheAppleBlog.com's Olly Farshi claimed he legitimately unlocked his 2-year-old iPhone 3G by taking advantage of a European loophole. He paid off a 2-year contract with his carrier, Sonera. The Finland-based firm then forwarded the request to Apple and the next time Farshi synched with iTunes he was prompted to install an official carrier update. The unlock is permanent. Who Owns Transit Data? Commuters are wondering whether their local transit agencies are willing to share that data with others to put it into new and helpful formats, wrote Rafe Needleman on Webware. Some metro areas make scheduling and other data available to developers for mash-ups, but not all. Shouldn't this be freely available, for everyone's convenience and to usher in useful

Final Episode to feature co-crank Sebastian Rupley Facebook Faces More Privacy Issues, Ubuntu Due In Light Versions, Is Apple Building Its Own Flash?, and more... What's new in Episode 218 Today's Guests: Sebastian Rupley, Co-Crank Chris DiBona, Open Source Program Manager, Google Dan Goodin, Reporter, The Register The Topics: Is Apple Building Its Own Flash? As Steve Jobs goes out of his way to badmouth Adobe Flash and keep it off both the iPhone and the iPad, Apple is developing its own Flash alternative, according to tweets from a developer who saw the technology. AppleInsider writes that the technology is called Gianduia, after an Italian hazelnut chocolate. University Snubs Gmail Over Privacy Concerns Academics at U.C. Davis have canned a Gmail pilot project over privacy fears regarding Google's ill-conceived launch of the Buzz social network. The university backed out of plans to shift its email system for its 30,000 faculty and staff members over to Gmail. Can You Really Trust Facebook? According to security writer Joan Goodchild, there are five hidden dangers in using Facebook, including sharing of private information with third parties, ads that can contain malware, and spammers creating fake profiles. Is Facebook not to be trusted? Will the iPad Take Down the Kindle? How well does the iPad stack up against the Kindle for reading books? After doing some reading on the iPad, Michael Miller says it is very competitive with the Kindle, and he likes Apple's iBooks application. He notes, though, that Amazon's eBook store is better than Apple's. The Porn Domain Debate Returns In 2005, ICANN accepted a proposal for the creation of .xxx, a top-level domain aimed at voluntary registration for adult sites. Two years later, the organization reversed the decision. Now ICANN is inviting renewed public debate on the issue. Topic links: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/08/apple_develops_flash_alternative/ http://www.ther

After four long and fun years, CrankyGeeks comes to a close today. Join us with some of the crankiest guests we've had on through the years as we look back. Today's Guests: David Spark, Host, The Spark Minute Chris DiBona, Open Source Program Manager, Google Cade Metz, U.S. Editor, The Register The Topics: Farewell, Cranks!