The impeding death of a DVR can create anxiety for an owner who hasn't watched all the shows it holds. (Clipart.com © 2009)

By Omar L. Gallaga

About a week ago, I began to notice that my digital video recorder was acting strange. There were long, unintentional pauses on recorded shows as I watched them and even some of the live programs I watched were starting to stutter.

"Uh oh," I thought, "here we go." I'd been through this before. I once lost a DVR to a hard drive failure. Hours and hours of unwatched TV shows went with the box. Concerts, episodes of Scrubs, important documentaries I never got the chance to watch because I spent my time on junk like Cheaters instead. Those shows were gone and they weren't coming back. I could chase them down on DVD, but that never really happens. The whole point of a DVR is to have those shows at the ready, all on one spacious magnetic platter.

I'm not a collector. I don't want to curate My Name is Earl seasons.

Once the hard drive starts to go, it's usually too late to do an emergency transfer to VHS or recordable DVDs because the stuttery, pixelated files are often unwatchable. And few DVRs make it easy to transfer the files themselves off to another format. (Yes, we know you can do that, TiVo. Don't look so smug over there with those bouncy antenna.)

It turns out, after a call to my satellite provider, that my issue might have more to do with a misaligned dish bogging down my signal and service than a hard drive problem. That's good because I don't know if I can go though that kind of loss again. Sure, it's nice in a way to let go of hours of TV that will remain forever unwatched, but I've got seven unseen episodes of Nurse Jackie that I'm not ready to say goodbye to just yet.

Edited to add, Saturday August 1st: The receiver had to be replaced today. I lost 24 TV shows and movies with an average of three episodes each. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some mourning to do.

Are you a fan of vintage technology? (A Hermida / Flickr)

by Ryan Kellett

We chose this user-submitted photo from our All Tech Flickr Pool to wrap up the week. This Apple II was among the first commercially successful personal computers, debuting in 1977. For many early adopters, the Apple II was their first computer, often with accompanying floppy drives (the big kind). Today, proud owners of Apple II computers put them on display to remember the days of yore.

But for young people like me, the vintage Apple II is nothing more than old. Ten years older than I am, in fact, even if I do vaguely remember playing Oregon Trail on the Apple II in first grade.

Be sure to submit your own photos to be considered for our periodic posts of user photos right here on the All Tech blog.

(Omar L. Gallaga / NPR © 2009)

By Omar L. Gallaga

Names are important. Just ask the inventors of the Snuggie and the Denny's Moon Over My Hammy. (Side note to Denny's: I have a great idea for an Internet-related breakfast combo involving extra sausage links. Call me.)

That's why something about this whole 10-year Microsoft/Yahoo! search deal hasn't been sitting well with me. Apart from it being completely anticlimactic after so much speculation, I'm appalled that no one has come up with a better name than the one that first sprang up. "Microhoo" is still an actual (made-up) word being used by people, on purpose.

While it's true that companies may simply continue using their respective monikers (including Microsoft's new one, Bing, which has proven more popular than anyone could have expected), I couldn't just sit here and let this "Microhoo" mess continue. As an interested third party, I had to act. I made a list (above).

(Full list after the jump.)

Continue reading "Introducing Yabingsoft Live!" >

(david.nathan.com / via Flickr © 2009)

By Mark Stencel

Microsoft and Yahoo's long trip down the aisle has been worthy of Jane Austen, beginning with months of awkward flirting and unrequited passes. But after more than a year of courting, the two families were pleased to formally announce the companies' pending marriage Wednesday morning. All are invited.

Microsoft comes to the deal with a much-needed dowry for struggling Yahoo. But the pair's future will depend just as much on what investors and regulators think of this arrangement as it will on the technology and marketing smarts this union would combine.

Continue reading "Could It Rain On The Microsoft-Yahoo Marriage?" >

by Ryan Kellett

I'm not much for the tech-news gossip sites, but two distinct yet intertwined stories about Apple have surfaced this week. First, the Financial Times reports on the upcoming release of a "portable, tablet-sized computer" from Apple to be released before Christmas. The report seems to confirm an Apple-tablet rumor that has been making the rounds for years. Second, Apple and major record labels plan to add interactive sleeve notes and artwork to music downloads as a way to encourage higher margin digital album sales. The FT quotes an executive familiar with the plans,

It's all about re-creating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music.

But, as CNET reporter Greg Sandoval points out, it's not as if music labels are abandoning other digital music distribution outlets. Labels will continue to provide content to Amazon and other outlets, even as Apple claims credit for reintroducing album art to the music-sales mix.

Still it's the hardware that is generating the most Internet buzz. The rumored device is already being billed as a game-changer by people like Jason Schwarz at Seeking Alpha:

I see this device taking its place at the high end of the iPod family; it will be a larger version of the iPod Touch. This product won't fall quietly into place however. The iTouch Tablet launch is primed to be the most significant in the history of Apple.

That's big praise for a product that has not been released or even announced by Apple. Still others like PC World's Michael Scalisi tries to temper his analysis while trying to sidestep the wrath of Apple fans:

I'm no Apple hater, and I welcome an Apple device to the (don't call it a) netbook market, but I've got to think this device would be a flop. This concept is such a train wreck from start to finish that I don't know where to begin.

by Laura Sydell

I like the idea of getting access to literature online but I haven't been enamored with the idea of spending 300 or more bucks to buy an Amazon Kindle. The latest debacle over the recall of 1984 made me feel more likely to resist the call of the Amazon universe (audio story).

Today, I made a visit to an alternative world for eBooks. For my book group I'm reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's short stories. I was thinking how great it would be to be able to do a bit of reading while on the go. The best place for that would be my Blackberry since I always have it with me.

Recently, I learned about a website called Shortcovers. I found a wide selection of eBooks there for purchase. What is really great is that I don't need to have a particular device to read these books. My copy is stored online and I can access it from any Internet connected device-- my laptop, my desktop, my Blackberry, my iPod touch. Another upside to Shortcovers is that if you step on a plane and no longer have access to the Internet you can download the book onto your device.

Continue reading "The Anti-Kindle eBook Option" >

Many mom bloggers are juggling their home life and the challenges of online success. (Illustration by Don Tate II / Austin American-Statesman © 2009)

By Omar L. Gallaga

In this week's All Tech Considered segment, we take you to the annual, just-concluded BlogHer '09 conference in Chicago, where many mom bloggers gathered to discuss the momblogosphere and to connect with other online writers. One hot topic was the recent talk by the Federal Trade Commission on whether blogs that review products should offer a disclaimer stating whether they are posting paid reviews or are receiving free products in exchange for positive posts.

I wrote about the state of mom bloggers last month for the Austin American-Statesman. In that story, I wrote about the shift toward more profitable niches or writing and the growing influence mom blogs have in the online world. You can find that story here.

(More links and information after the jump.)

Continue reading "Mom Bloggers Are Spreading Influence, But Facing New Problems" >

By Wright Bryan

Having already cited one NYT article tonight, I'll also point out another one of interest to NPR fans: "NPR Moves to Rewire Its Approach to the Web."

Give it a read and tell us what you think about NPR.org's new direction.

An iCub robot near Lyon, France in July 2009. These robots are about the size of three-year-old children, with highly dexterous hands and fully articulated heads and eyes. (Fred Dufour / AFP/Getty Images © 2009)

By Wright Bryan

I can't remember when it started, but "the coming robot apocalypse" has been a worry of mine for some time now. I expect that it is an unfounded fear. But every now and then a piece shows up like this The New York Times story headlined "Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man". From the article:

The idea of an "intelligence explosion" in which smart machines would design even more intelligent machines was proposed by the mathematician I. J. Good in 1965. Later, in lectures and science fiction novels, the computer scientist Vernor Vinge popularized the notion of a moment when humans will create smarter-than-human machines, causing such rapid change that the "human era will be ended." He called this shift the Singularity.

One can only hope that the future will look more like The Jetsons and less like The Matrix or The Terminator.

chappell.bill/Flickr

 

by Ryan Kellett

Bill Chappell took this photo while passing through Narita airport in Japan last year. Bill is a producer working night and day for the release of the new NPR.org this weekend. You'd be surprised how many wikis, charts, white-board diagrams he deals with regularly. So he was, no doubt, ready when confronted at the airport by this bilingual diagram on how to operate the toilet's high-tech cleansing functions.

Be sure to add your own photos to our All Tech Flickr group. We post the good ones ;) from time to time on the blog.

Today's Google.com logo honors the brave superheroes who have worn tights so that the rest of us don't have to. Google.com

 

By Omar L. Gallaga

Just when you think megalithic uber-company Google Inc. has gotten big enough to shed its baggy T-shirt and Doritos geek roots, the company shows that it still has love for All Things Nerd.

Today's Google.com logo (above) is a salute to Comic-Con, the four day San Diego convention that celebrates anime, big superhero movies, comic books, video games and people who dress up as characters from all of the above. (It's called "Cosplay" in case you're wondering.)

Comic-Con continues to grow every year and has become a must-attend launching pad for big-budget Hollywood fantasy films.

Sadly, oft-neglected superhero Aquaman is missing from the lineup in the Google logo. As a Twitter friend of mine said this morning, "Did they tell him to go talk to some fish again?"

Edited to add: Backstory on the logo, which is by artist Jim Lee.

By Wright Bryan

Windows 7, Microsoft's replacement for the Vista operating system, will be available on October 22. The Wall Street Journal's Walter S. Mossberg says that moving from Windows XP, an aging OS that millions of people still use, to Windows 7 is not nearly as easy as upgrading from Vista.

In fact, the process will be so painful that, for many XP users, the easiest solution may be to buy a new PC preloaded with Windows 7, if they can afford such a purchase in these dire economic times. In fact, that's the option Microsoft (MSFT) recommends for XP users. (Conveniently, this option also helps Microsoft's partners that make PCs.)

You can read Mossberg's full article here.

aka Kath/Flickr

 

by Sara Sarasohn

This week I ran right into the great divide between what is technically possible - and what people will actually do.

I'm planning a big, complicated event for about 40 people for a volunteer group I belong to. A lot of the work can be done online: RSVPs, distributing volunteer jobs, filling up a schedule of activities. In past years, it's been done with e-mail after e-mail to a big distribution list. I call it the e-mail circus.

Continue reading "Taming The E-mail Circus With Cloud Computing ... Maybe Next Time" >

by Alison Bryce

I'm having relationship problems and I'm blaming them on the iPhone.

My boyfriend has an iPhone and I have a cheap, red Samsung flip-phone. His iPhone allows him to organize and plan things anywhere, anytime. My phone only allows me to call and text (clumsily.) It creates a power struggle between us.

Continue reading "Love The iPhone A Little Too Much" >

by Ryan Kellett

Thanks to everyone who left a voicemail in response to my Google Voice post last week. Whether just starting out or using the service since the Grand Central days, the majority of callers had good things to say about it. The callers were, admittedly, a self-selecting group; only one caller didn't have a Google Voice account.

Still, I was surprised that you did not bring up more of the service's shortcomings. The lack of number portability stands out as the main barrier for mainstream adoption. TechCrunch points out that Google is working on ways to let you port your cellphone number over to Google Voice. And although Blackberry and Android mobile platforms now have Google Voice applications, the popular iPhone is missing an application.

Here are some selected responses:

• Call Screening: Just like on your old tape-based home phone machine, you can screen your calls on Google Voice. Ryan Rollins particularly liked this feature.

More caller responses after the jump...

Continue reading "We Heard You: Your Calls on Google Voice" >

By Omar L. Gallaga

Sometimes, it's very easy to decide what gets on the air for All Tech Considered segments, other times it takes a bit of convincing. In the case of one of my little obsessions, Keyboard Cat, I may have pushed a little harder than usual to help introduce a deceased cat to the masses.

Above is the video that launched a thousand Internet knockoffs. Keyboard Cat was back in the news last week when Warner Music Group pulled audio from a brilliant Hall & Oates video featuring the feline on YouTube. You can see the full video (including audio) here, via Funny Or Die.

Not enough Keyboard Cat? Here's a T-shirt you might like.

(More from this week's segment after the jump)

Continue reading "Keyboard Cat, Apple-Adjacent Microsoft Stores And More" >

by Sara Sarasohn

Over on our sister pop culture blog, Monkey See, Linda Holmes has a very incisive look at the reality show Big Brother. It's a TV show about people who have to live in a house together. There's also a 24-hour webcam you can watch, and Linda writes nicely about the interplay between the TV show and the internet. Check it out.

AnonymousCollective/Flickr

 

By Andy Carvin

"Remember to use passwords without any similarity between them.... Remember to change them regularly.... Never store confidential information on the computer...." These helpful suggestions on computer security may sound like the types of basic tips you'd receive from a company's IT department, but they're written by Hacker Croll, the alias of the person claiming responsibility for cracking into Twitter's corporate documents. His suggestions are included in a fascinating article by TechCrunch's Nik Cubrilovic that offers a step-by-step description of how Croll cracked their networks. And the techniques he used are so simple and seemingly obvious, it's enough to give anyone whose used a pet's name for a password some serious heartburn.

Continue reading "How One Hacker Made Mince Meat of Twitter's Security Measures" >

By Wright Bryan

Hiroko Tabuchi at the New York Times offers up a story that asks: Why aren't Japanese handset makers market leaders globally?

It is a puzzle. As the article points out, Japan has been out in front of the crowd on a range of technologies.

Yet Japan's lack of global clout is all the more surprising because its cellphones set the pace in almost every industry innovation: e-mail capabilities in 1999, camera phones in 2000, third-generation networks in 2001, full music downloads in 2002, electronic payments in 2004 and digital TV in 2005.

Japan has 100 million users of advanced third-generation smartphones, twice the number used in the United States, a much larger market. Many Japanese rely on their phones, not a PC, for Internet access.

The Japanese have concluded that their technological innovation has resulted in an unexpected isolation from other markets. They call it the "Galapagos syndrome."

But the article seems to conclude that the root of their problem going forward is an obsession with hardware in a world where it looks like software will be the differentiator.

By Omar L. Gallaga

Introduce a new media product embraced by many, be prepared to jog through a minefield of rights management issues.

That's what Amazon is learning now that a publisher has decided to pull e-books from the Kindle e-reader by George Orwell. Customers who'd bought some versions of Animal Farm and 1984 discovered their money refunded and the books zapped from their devices, something Amazon can do remotely via the device's Internet connection.

As David Pogue and others have noted, there's something a bit Orwellian about a company being able to delete something from afar that you might be in the middle of reading.

It brings up the issue of whether you really own the content you buy for your Kindle given that Amazon has the ability to take it from you at any time.

What do you think? Did the publisher and Amazon have the right to take back the e-books after they'd already been purchased?

David Ross holds up his iPhone warranty, delivered via snail mail instead of e-mail. Laura Sydell/NPR

 

By Laura Sydell

My friend David Ross decided to extend the warranty on his iPhone. He went to the Web site and filled out the online forms. A few days later he couldn't believe what he got in the mail. It was like a nesting box. He opened one cardboard box only to find another one. Inside that was his paper warranty. Ross was perplexed as to why Apple would send him all this paper. He wondered, "Haven't they heard of e-mail attachments?"

To make matters worse, they charged Ross $10 for the delivery. He called up Apple to complain and they agreed to reimburse him the $10.

I called Apple to find out why they send out all this paper and why they charged 10 bucks. I was told that the delivery should have been free. Indeed, I went to check out what would happen if I purchased a new warranty on their site and it did say free delivery.

But, free delivery of what? And why? It seems that Apple follows the same procedure with the warranties for all of its products.

An Apple spokesperson seemed as perplexed about these questions as I was. When she inquired further at Apple, they told her that buyers have the option of getting the warranty electronically. However, I went and tried this and I couldn't find any obvious way of preventing Apple from mailing me all that unnecessary paper.

The company has been trying to create a greener image. But their user warranty certainly hasn't achieved green-apple status.

by Ryan Kellett

We picked out three All Tech user-submitted photos to wrap-up the week on a whimsical note. A bunch of folks submitted this past week. These are just a few of the pics mixing tech and culture that peaked our interest. Be sure to submit your own photos to our Flickr group if you want your work to be considered for use in a future post.

Do pets ever come between you and your computer?
dougwoods via Flickr

 

First up, above, a cat's heat-radar is known to be finely tuned to seek out a laptop's heat. This kitten named Midge wastes no time in getting frisky. Flickr user dougwoods writes, "Here he is sitting on my laptop keyboard, as if to say ' stop working and come play with me' "

More photos after the jump...

Continue reading "Kittens, Texting And Calculators? Oh My!" >

by Ryan Kellett

Billed as the phone number to rule all phone numbers, Google Voice promises to be the holy grail of audio-communication integration. Change jobs? Move houses? Switch cellphone carriers? Keep a single number for life. Better yet, Google Voice will connect your calls everywhere you are -- at home, on the road, at work. Add voicemail transcription, call recording, personalized greetings, SMS support, and the service might as well be irresistible.

Only one small issue: you need a new number. And worse, you're going to have convince people to call you at your new number not your old number. That's a big hurdle.

And so, we want to know: are you ready to commit to the last number you'll ever need? Could you get your friends and family to accept the switch and use your one and only number?

Please submit your responses through voicemail by clicking on the interactive graphic below. We'll feature the best responses in a forthcoming post. So, if you call in, please leave your full name and hometown. By calling, you give us the right to publish your voicemail in this forum.

By Wright Bryan

In response to a tweet I sent out the other day, a handful of our 500 followers offered ideas on what All Tech Considered should cover.

@unteer, who describes himself as a "Peace Corps Volunteer working with computers" in Mombassa, Kenya, asks that we "cover the battle of the smartphones" and "the politics of The Cloud."

I think you'll see more about smartphones in the coming months. I've just purchased my own iPhone 3G S and can't say enough good things about it. I'll write about it soon. I'm also about to review the Nokia N86. And the Blackberry Tour is en route to our offices, so look for something on that device, too.

That said, we're new at this and are feeling our way forward on the gadget front and are not sure how deeply we'll delve into testing devices.

The politics of the "The Cloud" are certainly of interest to everyone with the Google Chrome OS announcement, and the following announcement of online MS-Office products. We'll definitely keep an eye on that space, as they say.

@adamgtwork says he wants to "to hear about next gen infrastructure development - Energy, transport, communication."

Continue reading "News Coverage Suggestions From Our Tweeps: Add Yours" >

The late boxing great Arturo Gatti appears in the recently released Fight Night Round 4 video game. EA Sports

 

By Omar L. Gallaga

The big news about the boxers in the recently released boxing video game Fight Night Round 4 was that Mike Tyson, long banished from digital pugilism, was in the game.

But reality intruded when Arturo Gatti was killed recently in Brazil. Gamers who were already playing the new game either as Gatti or against him in matches suddenly were feeling the queasy state you get when reality intrudes on simulation.

Outpourings of admiration spilled out onto video game message boards for the game.

If you browse through the messages, you'll see heartfelt appreciation for Gatti as a sportsman, not the usual sniping and trash-talking common on video game message boards.

Now game fans are hoping Electronic Arts will make boxer Mickey Ward available as a downloadable character so that they can relive the famous Gatti/Ward trilogy, which went from 2002 to 2003.

"Scan It!" display at a Giant store in Arlington, VA. Ryan Kellett/NPR

 

By Ryan Kellett

It's inevitable that you choose the slowest line at the supermarket. But what if you didn't have to stand in line at all? Using a handheld scanner, I've been scanning and bagging as I shop at the supermarket for a few weeks now out at the Giant Foods out in Arlington, VA.

The way it works is you enter the store and pick up a handheld scanning device, a bar code reader with a screen. To be clear, this isn't self-checkout, that comes later. As you make your way around the aisles of the store, you scan items as you place them in your bags (hint: bring your own cloth bags).

The small screen on the scanner shows you how much is in your cart and displays location-aware coupons. For instance, if you've just bought cream cheese, the system knows you're in the dairy section and might offer you an electronic coupon for yogurt.

When you're done, you go to the self-checkout registers, scan a final barcode to complete your transaction, pay, and be on your merry way.

Here's my list of pros and cons of the scan-as-you-go-style shopping:

Continue reading "Scan As You Go, A Supermarket Tale" >

Google's Chrome OS should be open for business next year. flygraphix via Flickr

 

By Wright Bryan

I know it's last week's news, but I do have a thought about the significance of Google's Chrome OS announcement.

Many people have hailed it as a direct, earth-shaking challenge to Microsoft by a company with the muscle to make it stick. Some have said that it's a bad idea since we already have Ubuntu and Mac OS. Others point to Google's track record beyond its main search and advertising products as signs that the company can't overcome market inertia or follow through successfully on other initiatives.

All of these points of view have merit. But I think the real significance of Google's move can be seen in a market where Microsoft's dominance has been waning: browsers.

Continue reading "Google Chrome's Real Importance: It's All About Choice" >

 

As the incredibly scientific chart that I just created clearly demonstrates, I spend my time online in a variety of different places, especially when I'm at home.

What I've found happening lately, though, is that the time I'd normally spend on my home laptop or desktop is shrinking while the amount of time I'm spending getting online via my phone (or "cyan," if you will) is growing. Sometimes it's just easier to look up something on my phone or shoot a quick message than to crack open the laptop or boot up the PC upstairs.

How does the time you spend at your computer versus your phone or other device break down?

MeFind via Flickr

 

by Ryan Kellett

Today's All Tech photo is an artful camera trick demonstrating seven ways to hold a laptop while "doing work." Companies spend thousands purchasing ergonomic chairs, desks, and keyboards for office workers to avoid stress related injuries related to workers using computers. But when you go home, all ergonomic bets are off. We've all tried to get cozy with our portable friends, and it's harder than you think.

And what about netbooks? Are they easier to hold than traditional laptops? What's your favorite computing position?

Submit a photo of yourself in the most interesting computing body position to our All Tech Considered Flickr photo pool.

By Omar L. Gallaga

If the only story you read about Tuesday's bombshell Google announcement that it is releasing an operating system next year was this very odd New York Times piece, you might already be convinced that Google will win an OS war in which it hasn't even begun to compete.

Lost among the breathless predictions of a shift in the PC market in the article is that Google's "Chrome" operating system -- which will expand its browser to be brains of smaller netbook computers -- won't compete against Microsoft and Apple on high-end PCs or workstations (so much for that IBM/Sun comparison) and that the Chrome OS won't be out until the second half of next year. That's an eternity in computer industry time; the landscape could change significantly in the time it takes for Chrome OS to get here.

I have a feeling the demand for netbooks -- smaller, underpowered laptops designed primarily for Web surfing -- might wane by this time next year, especially if Apple or some other innovator releases a better product that fills the middle space between full-powered laptops and increasingly powerful smartphones. A keyboard-less tablet with 3G Internet built-in? A super-compact laptop without all the performance of a larger PC? Maybe something like that.

Another thing that may work against Google's favor is that based on what we've seen with its Android phone platform, the Big G is not infallible when it comes to getting hardware partners to jump on board. It's been eight months since the first Android-based phone was released and we're only now starting to see others hit the market. I imagine Chrome OS will be similarly slow to take off and be embraced.

For an even more level-headed analysis of what might happen, check out Peter Glaskowsky's more sober take on Google strategy, posted on CNet.com. He raises some great points; this is a new, tough battle for Google and one that's not automatically theirs to win.

The bottom line is that Chrome OS is a long way off and may be late to the party, especially if netbooks fall out of vogue by the time it arrives. Stay tuned.

Further reading: NPR's story on the Google OS announcement.

Screenshot from Twitter user, understandblue, who writes a #moonfruit haiku.

 

by Ryan Kellett

Twitter can be awesome place to find links, read news, and keep tabs on distant friends. But for new users, one of the more disorienting things is when friends start tweeting about "#moonfruit" and "#squarespace." What are these strange words/sayings and why do your good friends (not companies, celebrities, or spammers) insist on confusing you with a jumble of words proceeded by a pound sign (a hashtag)?

In short, your friends are entering giveaway contests. Normally you enter a giveaway or raffle by providing your information in an entry form. Running a giveaway on Twitter adds social media to the mix. To enter, you must broadcast your contest entry to your friends, thereby encouraging friends to enter too. For instance, to participate in the Moonfruit giveaway for a free MacBook Pro, you must include the tag "#moonfruit" in your Twitter post. The barriers to entry are particularly low, even lower than spending your time writing down your address and phone number on paper. The companies bank on a viral effect to catapult their brand on to Twitter's "trending topics," a leader board of buzz on Twitter.

Continue reading "Got #moonfruit Spam?" >

Do you text on the job? Tell us where you text from.
Moriza via Flickr

 

by Ryan Kellett and Brandon Neil

Today's All Tech photo highlights texting on the job. A few weeks ago, Daniel Jacobson's post on how he does not use text messaging inspired a flurry of angry comments directed at cell phone companies. But the truth is that many of us do use texting whether we like it or not. And often times we text on the job.

What are your workplace policies on texting? Is there a special location you text from? Can you text from your desk or are you relegated to a "texting area" just as there is a "smoking area"?

My nascent Farm Town ranch is big on potatoes, short on farm animals and cash. Screenshot from Farm Town on Facebook.

 

By Omar L. Gallaga

My portion of this week's All Tech Considered was a mix of bits on some interesting things happening around the Web. Here's some of what we covered:

• Facebook farming (as pictured above) with games like Farm Town and Farmville is indeed a hit. I was surprised to find that even the farming and ranching online publication Agweek has taken note.
• One Web site does a big browser comparison. Meanwhile, Opera releases Unite in its latest browser version 10, which turns the browser itself into a kind of Web server to share documents or even conduct live chats without extra software.
• 13-year-old Scott Campbell tries out the Sony Walkman upon the occasion of its 30th anniversary on July 1. Hilarity ensues!
• As we mentioned in a previous post, here's the glorious Web Site Story! And here's a little background on the video, which was written and directed by College Humor's Sam Reich.

By Omar L. Gallaga

This has been making the rounds in tech-geek (and, no doubt, theatre-geek) e-mail inboxes this week.

In case you haven't seen it, it's a very well-done musical tribute to some of our favorite Web sites from CollegeHumor.com. Enjoy!

"The Cloud of Paul Mauriat": What does your media map look like?
myuibe via Flickr

 

by Ryan Kellett

After we announced our Flickr Photo Group, we've seen a variety of photos appear on our All Tech sidebar. From a Michael Jackson iPhone tribute to a Hello Kitty vlogger, we've appreciated your entries. Keep 'em coming!

Today, we feature a photo of a hand-drawn, tech-culture map titled "Cloud of Paul Mauriat." Hopefully, this gets you thinking in an existential sense of your technology-culture presence. What defines your online and offline identity? And how are you personally connected to gadgets, services, and brands?

By Eyder Peralta

I got my new iPhone with voice command, yesterday and immediately noted a problem: The iPhone only speaks one language. I said, "Call Mayra [MAI-ra] Peralta." And it shot back, "Calling Flavia Oliveira." It didn't like the short R's; and didn't like the "ay" pronounced like "ai."

So much for a constantly connected, world-at-a-touch device creating more understanding in a unified globe, huh? Now, when it comes to the iPhone at least, my mom's name is MEE-rah peh-RAL-ta.

UPDATE: I e-mailed Natalie Harrison, who handle's public relations for the iPhone, and she pointed me to the full list of supported languages. Spanish -- along with French, Italian and many more -- is supported, but, understandably, you can only use one language at a time. (Spanglish isn't supported.)

I tried the Spanish setting on my phone and it picked up my mom's name beautifully. It also recognized Wright Bryan, the name of my fellow All Tech blogger. But the iPhone's pronunciation of his name when it said it back to me was completely undiscernable.