Well, folks, it’s true.  An era has ended.  One of the greatest early guardians of Internet content just got wiped off the face of the web about ten hours ago.

I’m talking about Geocities, folks, the place where everybody who was anybody who knew HTML went for free web hosting.  They too could make a web page about their cat or their dog (Foofie, even–if you saw the White and Nerdy video that makes a lot of sense) or anything like that.

Back in the early days of the Internet, long before blogging and SEO and any modem speed much faster than 14.4 kbps (yeah, K.  As in Kilobyte.), Geocities was the place to go to get a chunk of the world wide web for yourself.  And Yahoo realized this, inevitably buying it for a whopping $3.5 billion bucks.

Of course, these days, Geocities wasn’t as widely used as the blogs and social media of today, so that spelled the end for Geocities.

So long, old friend.  We’ll miss this simple relic of a bygone era, back when the Internet seemed new and potential seemed limitless.

ReadSimilar Posts:

Yahoo Japan Plans To Deliver Personalized Marketing Via Digital BillBoards;

If you love surfing the websites of foreign countries but find it too much of a hassle to learn to speak their language first, then you’ll love what Google’s about to do for you.  They’ve issued free software that allows website operators to automatically translate online pages into any of 51 languages.

It’s called the “translator gadget”, and it will automatically shift the language on the page to match the default browser’s language.  Let’s say that I’m a guy from somewhere near Iran, and my browser’s set to Farsi.  I surf on over to Craigslist to look for a job writing for a fashion magazine, and they’ve got the gadget installed, and boom!  Suddenly Craigslist is coming to me live in Farsi.

Granted, the system isn’t foolproof.  As everyone who’s surfed Engrish.com knows, translation isn’t always an exact science, especially for software.  But still, those occasional errors should at least be entertaining!

ReadSimilar Posts:

HP’s Power To Change Helps Your Computer Save Some Power;

Hero HTC Phone–Stuff Gadget Of The Year;

Entourage Systems eDGe Is Two Gadgets In One;

Well, if you’ve been worried about using your various Net-capable gadgets because of the lack of net neutrality law, then worry no longer.  Seems that the FCC is about to adopt net neutrality as a set of general principles soon.

Net neutrality, in case you don’t know, is a standard that requires all internet service providers to treat all information equally in terms of download speed.  For instance, Comcast recently decided to force BitTorrent users to accept vastly slowed download speeds as they gave precedence to other users.  Technically, that’s not illegal, but the FCC did scold Comcast, and now with net neutrality, such actions as Comcast took will be illegal in the future.

So download away, folks–your ISP can’t stop you any more.

ReadSimilar Posts:

iPhone Owners Are More Satisfied Than Palm Pre Owners, AT&T Named As Their Biggest Concern;

iBand Case Uses Ski Suit Technology To Protect The iPhone (video);

iPhone MMS Update Now Available;

If there’s one thing I love–positively LOVE!–about gadgets, it’s their great potential to make my life better, easier, and more entertaining.  And now that I’ve found a possible way to shatter a cable bill by the judicious use of Netflix, DSL and a Roku video device, I’m more inclined to express my love of gadgetry.

Here’s the rundown: a DSL subscription can run about twenty three bucks a month, depending on where you live and what plans are available.  A subscription to Netflix that includes unlimited downloads starts at a measly nine bucks.  The Roku?  Another ninety nine.

So for a hundred bucks to open and thirty two bucks a month, I can essentially get access to a wide-open commercial free library of movies and television shows.  Why would I get cable when this is a possibility?

And now, thanks to this coalition of gadgets, you can overthrow the cable company.  Sounds like a plan to me.

ReadSimilar Posts:

Thinking About NetFlix For Blu Ray? Be Ready To Pay More;

Roku Launches HD-XR Netflix Player, Adds USB Port & 802.1nn;

The Ink Has Dried: Netflix Exclusive To Xbox 360;

Europe has a pretty big problem with its gadget vendors these days–roughly half of them, according to a report from the European Union, are under investigation for something.

The worst part is just what that “something” entails, according to reports:  concealing delivery charges, misleading customers about products, and failing to honor the customer’s right to return products within a week as mandated throughout the European Union.

Three hundred and sixty nine websites throughout twenty eight countries are currently under investigation by EU officials, and punishments for wrongdoing vary wildly according to the charges filed.

I don’t know about you folks, but to me, this is horrible news.  When you can’t trust the web stores in any basic level you’re leaving a serious potential for economic devastation.  If no one trusted Amazon any more, or eBay, we’d lose a HUGE portion of revenue.  And with three hundred sixty-nine European websites under investigation, this doesn’t bode well for an economic recovery.

ReadSimilar Posts:

The EcoATM–Scrap Your Junk, Get Paid;

HP’s Power To Change Helps Your Computer Save Some Power;

Okay, anyone out there who’s worked in retail any time in the last fifty years, let me assure you that precious little has changed.

And the crew out at DSGi, a gadget retailer, has pretty much conclusively proven that by setting up a Facebook group and actually–GASP!–being candid on it.

Comments ranged from calling customers “stupid”, to describing in vivid detail unpleasant conversations they’d had with customers to even wondering if a cattle prod on excessively difficult customers might not be out of line.

Naturally, DSGi took the news of the fact that their clerks in general hated their jobs and the people who came into their jobs with shock and horror, proving they either are all as naive as four year olds or lying through their teeth.

It’s not surprising store clerks would be disgruntled with their customers.  Store clerks are wildly underpaid drudges who get virtually no respect at all and yet continue to take abuse.  But there’s something to be said for much more anonymous tale-telling, like drinks with your co-workers, rather than something that can be traced back to you.  Especially in an environment where jobs are difficult to come by.   Companies are keeping tighter watches than ever before, whether you agree with them or not, and it eventually pays to keep your negative opinion to yourself these days.

ReadSimilar Posts:

None Found

For some reason Microsoft Poland seems to think that black people aren’t accepted in marketing campaigns.  So much so in fact, that they’ve Photoshopped the black dude’s head from their US site with a white guy’s.  And apparently they fell short on budget, because the intern that PS’d this thing forgot about the hand.

[via Engadget]

Read – Microsoft US
Read – Microsoft PolandSimilar Posts:

None Found

Whatever!  I’m just gonna concede and do a post on Firefox 3.5 because after all, the browser wars are really starting to heat up.  Safari 4 officially rolled out a few weeks ago and soon Google’s Chrome will be making landmark speed claims for some poor IT guy to test out and determine which truly offers the better surfing experience.

To be honest, and you know, that’s my whole shtick, I use both.  I blog in Firefox (wordpress likes it) and I surf in Safari.  Generally speaking I find that Safari is less taxing on my computer’s overall performance, but when it comes to doing any web publishing, trouble shooting, whatever, Firefox wins every time.

So what’s the new FF have to over?  It uses less of your computer’s memory, better memory management, faster page load (2x that of FF 3.0 and 10x that of FF 2.0 – tested on Windows XP) and improved color profile support.

Hit the ‘read’ link to grab Firefox 3.5 now!

Read
Similar Posts:

WWDC 09: Apple Officially Releases Safari 4;

Looks like Apple is officially ready to take Safari 4 out of beta and will begin offering the full non-beta version starting today.  As before, they’re promising blazing fast speeds, cover flow (I’m not a fan), Phishing and Malware protection and some sort of feature that prevent the browser from crashing when a plug-in fails.  To revert to bottom tabs check the fix here.  Hit the ‘read’ link for all the info.

ReadSimilar Posts:

Fifth Gen iPod Nano (with Camera) Torn Apart;

Firefox 3.5 Now Available For Download;

Apple Issues Firmware Update To Fix Macbook Pro Hard Drive Issues;

My iTunes library got stale about 3 months ago and as a result I’ve become a Pandora convert.  Just punch in a band or song and the ‘music genome’ project will play music of a similar taste.  The only downside is that you need a computer or a handheld device hooked up to a pair of speakers to use it.  Enter the Livio Radio.  Just connect it to the Internet (Ethernet or WiFi) and you’ve got access to an endless array of music that includes not only Pandora, but thousands of Internet radio stations.  They’ve even included the ‘thumbs up’ and ‘thumbs down’ buttons for rating the music played.  Yours for $149.99.

[Thanks, Adam]

ReadSimilar Posts:

Logitech Bows Squeezebox Touch and Radio;

Sonos’ S5 Wireless Speaker System Is Built For The iPhone (video);

I’m gonna keep this post short because there is really nothing to talk about. On April 23rd Plantronics will launch what they’re calling their ‘most technologically advanced headset to date’.   That’s 14 days, 8 hours and 45 minutes as of this posting.

[Plantronics]Similar Posts:

Plantronics Voygaer PRO Bluetooth Headset Officially Launches;

Gadget Leak: Plantronics Voyager Pro Bluetooth Headset Purchased Two Days Early;

Samsung’s WEP870 Bluetooth Headset Includes A Modular Stereo Laynard Headset;

Now this has “Risky Business” written all over it.  Letting you use your keyboard, Jam Legend promises “more songs by more artists with more friends.”  The best thing about this program is the simple fact that it is free.  All of it.  Jam Legend is in Beta form right now, and is like a Guitar Hero/Rock Band type of music/guitar game mixed with a social networking site.  Awesome idea considering the unmatched popularity of these two things. Makes me think about that part in Family Guy where the two motorists crash into each other, the one with chocolate in his hand and the other with peanut butter. Using your keyboard as a fretboard, the pic shown here shows how simple this is.

A look at the site suggests total social networking with high scores, profiles, and even the chance for independent musicians to get their songs coded for the game.  I can see this catching on with people turning their old keyboards into axes of pure shred and posting videos of themselves going AWOL.  How many people have already been busted at work playing this?

[JamLegend via CoolestGadgets]Similar Posts:

None Found

Rumors from unnamed sources suggest Google is considering a buyout of the popular Twitter service. Other reports suggest they’re only collaborating on a real-time search engine. Whatever the case may be, a joint ‘twoogle’ project is sure to be something very interesting.

[PcWorld]Similar Posts:

Will Google Add Barcodes To Their Search Results?;

Twitter To Hire VIP Celebrity Concierge’s At 140 Characters An Hour;

Gadget Rumor: Google Maps With Turn-By-Turn Navigation Might Be Heading To Android Devices;

In the past year, Twitter’s user base has had an unprecedented leap from 475,000 users to over 7 million! Those are some crazy figures which makes the 1,374 percent increase sound even crazier.  According to the blogs blurbs of the day, all these new Twitter heads are really clogging up the birdhouse and producing more “Fail Whale” sightings.  The “OG” Twitterers think all the new users are a drain on the system and are trite and exploitive by nature, and they are making the “coolness’ of Twitter less exclusive.  Far weirder has been the recent development of this “Fail Whale” subculture that has been gaining steam in the recent weeks.  People are becoming obsessed with the logo, (see above tattoo) and embracing the symbol of failure through parties and specialty cocktails.  What I don’t understand is that I Tweet most everyday and have never seen this fabled whale?

[CNN]Similar Posts:

Twitter To Hire VIP Celebrity Concierge’s At 140 Characters An Hour;

Google To Buy Twitter? Hello Twoogle?;

While Twitter has quickly become the one of the best ways to live vicariously through your favorite s**tbag celebrity, now even you can become part of the rage with a job working for Twitter as a VIP concierge.  The JobScore posting is on hold at the moment and there isn’t much of a job description, but it takes place in San Francisco.  I guess you would sort of be a remote customer service operator that tailored to celebrities and made sure that they were using twitter at maximum efficiency.  How could that go wrong?  Is this a joke?  Check out or top 10 celebrity twitter feeds! Follow GadgetReview!

[TechCrunch via JobScore]Similar Posts:

Google To Buy Twitter? Hello Twoogle?;

Twitter’s Growth Too Much For Early Adopters;

While the Twitter machine is plowing full steam ahead and getting a ton of press, not many people know that the start up company is actually three years old.  People didn’t hear about Twitter until July 2006 but today is the official birthday.  Everybody from celebrities to politicians to soccer moms are on Twitter, and it has definitely gone viral.  Check out the old logo pic below.  Not bad looking but the R looks like an A.  Also check out our Top 10 Celebrity Twitter Feeds! Follow GadgetReview!!

[TechCrunch]Similar Posts:

Twitter To Hire VIP Celebrity Concierge’s At 140 Characters An Hour;

Twitter’s Growth Too Much For Early Adopters;

Twitter, FaceBook Update For The Xbox 360 Should Arrive In The UK And US on November 17th (Update);

Yet another free storage service has launched, however this one, called Echodio, integrates directly into your iTunes and lets you stream uploaded music.  They’re currently in beta and offering 1GB of storage for free.  To use the service you simply sign up, install a plugin on your computer and then drag and drop the songs you want to upload to a designated playlist.  Right now you can only access your music by launching Boxee, but they hard at work to develop a ‘rich web player’ and an iPhone app.  The service is free, but once out of beta they plan on charging on a per gigabyte basis.

Unfortunately, I really don’t see this taking off since Dropbox offers a comparable service with 5GB of storage for free and you can upload any file you desire.  Sure, it doesn’t integrate directly into iTunes, but uploaded music can be accessed and streamed via any old web browser.  Give me 40GB of storage and an ad supported model and then were talking.

[Echodio via Techcrunch]Similar Posts:

Apple & Standford Join Forces To Offer App Development Courses;

AT&T Releases Their Own App: myWireless Mobile;

Palm Pre To Sync w/ iTunes Out Of The Box;

I’m closing out the week with some newly added features that hopefully some of you will find useful.  If you have any thoughts please feel free to sound off in the comments section.

• We now have separate feeds.  That means you can get a news only, deals only, or reviews only feed.
• Threaded comments are now working, which means you can respond to someone
• Subscribe to comments by email. This means you’ll get an email when someone responds or adds a new comment to the post.

As mentioned feedback is welcome.  If you’d like to see any other features added please just ‘holla’.Similar Posts:

None Found

Living vicariously through celebrities has always been an American infatuation.  Even my mom has Perez Hilton bookmarked.  Now the microcosm that is Twitter lets you get even closer to celebrities without having to dumpster dive for Keith Richards’ blood transfusion leftovers.  Here’s the top 10 Twitter celebrity feeds:

Click to follow:

1. Britney Spears

2. Snoop Dog

3. Dalai Lama – Unverified

4. John Hodgman The PC Guy

5. Claire McCaskill

6. Lance Armstrong

7. Shaquille O’Neal

8. Arnold Schwarzenegger

9. David Lynch

10. Ashton Kutcher & Demi Moore

Follow GadgetReview!

[Time]Similar Posts:

None Found

Finally, a social network with some sort of gadgetry involved.  Ridelink is a relatively straightforward concept: social networking that let’s you meet people who don’t wanna die or receive bodily harm due to drinking and driving.  Perhaps I’m over simplifying.

You see, you join the site, add friends – you know all the normal social networking stuff – but the real magic to the service is in the included watch like device that detects alcohol consumption.  This enables you to select friends who aren’t drunk and are willing to drive you places or pick you up in the event that you drink beyond your means of vehicle operation.  Getting a ride from a friend is as simple as blowing into the provided watch, which in turn notifies your social network that you need a lift if you’re unsafe to drive your own vehicle.  Okay, so it doesn’t sound super practical – you could just call a cab – but I’m floored by the ingenuity.  Hit the video below for a complete walk through of the service.

They’re currently performing tests in Brescia, Italy.  To sign up, go here

[Core77]Similar Posts:

None Found