california

Buzz Out Loud 818: The Zipless Squirt

It's an "in the wild" sort of show today: love on the bus, Zune-style; a Tesla in the wild; an anecdotal Netbook in the wild; and wild assumptions and paranoia about Internet tracking ensue as Rafe Needleman returns to BOL. Also, the birdman flies over the Channel. Awesome. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 818

Jack Thompson Disbarred http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/25/1822207 http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10051241-52.html

AT& T, Verizon to refrain from tracking users online http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/25/AR2008092504135.html… Read more

Calif. bans text-and-drive. Crazy people sad?

Common sense has prevailed in the Golden State. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday signed a law banning texting or reading text messages while driving. The law takes effect on January 1.

We say common sense because, well, texting while driving is about as sane as shooting wolves from airplanes is sporting. Nonetheless, it seems that Schwarzenegger, who successfully pretended to be firing and reloading a shotgun while driving a big motorcycle in the second Terminator film (and I'm pretty sure that was him in those shots, not the stuntman who jumped into the Los Angeles River basin), shares an enthusiasm … Read more

EA Mobile, Eidos Interactive sign agreement

Despite a failed deal with Take-Two Interactive, and a Spore DRM backlash, Eidos Interactive signed an agreement on Monday with Electronic Arts announcing exclusivity to multiregional distribution and licensing rights to selected titles from the their catalog for EA Mobile.

Now, Eidos will provide licenses to EA across all existing mobile channels and mobile devices for four key titles: Tomb Raider Underworld, Just Cause 2, California Games X, and Minesweeper, with a future option on the mobile versions of the majority of Eidos videogames for three years.

According to a news release, Javier Ferreira (VP of European Publishing for EA … Read more

The Invisible Man: A scientific breakthrough

Today, your eyes might not deceive you. But soon, they very well might.

Some extremely clever people at Cal (the one at Berkeley) have created a material that can control the direction in which visible light travels.

Apparently, this mystery material, some details of which might be revealed in Science and Nature magazines this week (People and OK weren't interested), deflects light around an object as perceived by an insouciant eye.

"In the case of invisibility cloaks or shields, the material would need to curve light waves completely around the object like a river flowing around a rock," the leader of the Cal researchers, Xiang Zhang, told London's Times newspaper.

In essence, you are looking at, say, the Empire State Building or a John Malkovich-piloted Boeing 747 full of nasty missiles. If these objects are coated with the material, your eyes will see light from behind them, hence creating the illusion that the object in question simply isn't there. I know that there are terrible consequences that may leap to mind in these examples.

For the more technically-minded amongst you, I can tell you that the material the scientists created had to have elements engineered to within 0.00000066 of a meter. This appears to be in a realm that might make wafers suddenly feel ridiculously overweight.… Read more

San Jose: Hub for a green-tech gold rush?

q&a SAN JOSE, Calif.--Could the self-proclaimed "capital of Silicon Valley" become the world's center for clean-tech innovation?

Mayor Chuck Reed unveiled a 15-year plan in October to "green" San Jose. Of the city-greening road maps from mayors around the nation, his is among the most ambitious. Reed wants the city's 974,000 souls to get all electricity from renewable sources by 2022 (affording five more years than former Vice President Al Gore's similar yet scoffed-at challenge for the nation). And Reed aims to add 25,000 green jobs, keep all … Read more

Calif. AG urged to probe Yahoo-Google ad deal

A California assemblyman has urged the state's attorney general to investigate privacy implications of Yahoo's search-advertising deal with Google.

"I am writing to urge you to direct your office to take quick and decisive action by launching a formal investigation into the proposed business transaction between Google and Yahoo's search-advertising business," Joel Anderson, a Republican assemblyman from San Diego, said in the letter to California Attorney General Jerry Brown.

Attorneys general from Florida, Arkansas, and Connecticut are reviewing the Yahoo-Google ad deal. The Justice Department also is scrutinizing the partnership.

Specifically, Anderson said he's … Read more

The 404 148: Where MTI is livid and covered in toilet paper

Mark is finally back from his 10 year sabbatical, so we have him on as a guest on today's show to talk about the much deserved practical joke we pulled on him (see post below). He also gives a shout out to Papa Licea and tells us a few stories about his trip. The rest of us get into a rather heated discussion about RoboCop and Batman, give a public service announcement on child abuse, reminisce about a time not so long ago when we worked for pennies, and daydream out loud about all the sinister things we could … Read more

The 404 132: Where CBS is brought to you by The 404

Today's show is all about answering the questions that nobody is asking. These questions include: Is "doing the robot" considered cheating? If California legalizes marijuana, will we need to find a new co-host? Is the vibrating iPhone keypad a curse or a blessing in disguise? When will Amy Winehouse evolve into a Homo sapiens? How can we stop the Ninja Turtles from stealing our precious metals? Do the Netflix executives listen to The 404? Is there a problem that can't be solved with Viagra? All this and much much more, now brought to you by CBS … Read more

Hands-free law drives big marketing opportunities

A good number of Californians think the state's new hands-free cell phone law will bode well for public safety, if a random sampling of consumers by CNET News.com is any indication. But gadget retailers have their own reason to cheer--they're reaping the cash benefits.

While they won't quote their sales figures directly, retailers such as RadioShack, Plantronics, and Headsets.com say they've seen a jump in sales of Bluetooth and other hands-free devices in the past month. The law goes into effect Tuesday, with a similar law taking hold in Washington state the same day. … Read more