Android made easy with the LG Optimus

The LG Optimus, or GT540 for the techheads out there, has been designed with ease-of-use in mind. It may not be the smartest of smartphones, and only runs on Android 1.6, but it offers a large enough feature list to satisfy an entry-level user.
With an automatically-synched  Google account, the phone allows easy access to YouTube, Gmail, Gtalk, Google Maps and a whole host of other branded goodies. And it's compatible with tens of thousands of Android apps currently available on the Market.
Social networking integration is another big selling point for the Optimus, and LG's proprietary client aims to make using Facebook, Twitter and Bebo a doddle. It also provides a real-time update service on the home screen.
The entry-level phone also simplifies file loading, being able to accept and play DivX and XviD video files through a drag-and-drop interface, rather than having to re-encode them to a new format. There is also an on-board video editor, so text and music can be added to recordings.
Coming to stores on the May 1, the price of the LG Optimus hasn't been confirmed, but we're pretty sure that it will depend on contract and service provider.
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Warning! Massive Number of Godaddy Wordpress Blogs Hacked

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Senators see privacy problem in Facebook expansion

Four U.S. senators want Facebook to make it easier for its more than 400 million users to protect their privacy as the website develops new outlets to share personal information.
The call for simpler privacy controls came in a letter that the senators plan to send Tuesday to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The Associated Press obtained a draft of the letter signed by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo; Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska; and Sen. Al Franken, D.-Minn.
It marks the second time in the past three days that Schumer has expressed his misgivings about a series of changes that Facebook announced last week. The new features are designed to unlock more of the data that the online hangout has accumulated about people during its six-year history.
Schumer sent a letter Sunday to the Federal Trade Commission calling for regulators to draw up clearer privacy guidelines for Facebook and other Internet social networks to follow.
The political pressure threatens to deter Facebook's efforts to put its stamp on more websites, a goal that could yield more moneymaking opportunities for the privately held company.
Facebook's expansion "raises new concerns for users who want to maintain control over their information," the senators wrote in their preliminary draft.
In a statement late Monday, Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said the company wants to meet with Schumer to explain its commitment to privacy.
"We've developed powerful tools to give our users control over what information they want to share, when they want to share it and with whom," Noyes said.
Among other things, Facebook is plugging into other websites so people can communicate their interests with their online entourages. Facebook also tweaked its own website to create more pages where people's biographical information could be exposed to a wider audience.
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China wants telecom companies to inform on clients

China is poised to strengthen a law to require telecommunications and Internet companies to inform on customers who discuss state secrets, potentially forcing businesses to collaborate with the country's vast security apparatus that stifles political dissent.
The move, reported Tuesday by state media, comes as China continues tightening controls on communications services. It also follows a spat over censorship that prompted search giant Google Inc. last month to move its Chinese site to Hong Kong, which provides broader protection of civil liberties than mainland China.

A draft of amendments to the Law on Guarding State Secrets submitted to China's top legislature for review will make more explicit the requirement that telecoms operators and Internet service providers help police and state security departments in investigations about leaks of state secrets, the state-run China Daily newspaper said.
"Information transmissions should be immediately stopped if they are found to contain state secrets," the official Xinhua News Agency cited the amendment as saying. Xinhua said that according to the amendment, once a state secret leak has been discovered, records should be kept and the finding reported to authorities.
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New Core i7 MacBook Pros reach 100 °C

Apple finally put out new MacBook Pros earlier this month, but the launch with Intel’s latest processors hasn’t come without a few problems. PC Authority’s hands on testing with the new 17” MacBook Pro found that the internal Core i7 topped out at around 100 degrees Celsius.
The computer review company found that when performing various benchmarks with the laptop, the processor generated so much heat that they had to stand the MacBook Pro on its side in order to complete their testing. (as pictured above) Testing in both Mac OS X and Windows cranked up the heat output to over 100 degrees.
The 2.66 GHz Core i7 620M inside the laptop reached 84 degrees in the Dwarf Fortress graphics benchmark and 100 degrees in the Cinebench 3D rendering benchmark. For comparison, they tested a Fujitsu Lifebook SH760 that used the same processor and found that it only reached a maximum of 80 degrees and kept cool to the touch thanks to its thicker plastic casing which allowed for greater airflow and a larger copper heat sink.
Engadget’s own testing found that the new MacBook Pros were actually cooler than previous models in real world usage, so new owners should not worry too much. They do recommend that Apple should consider sacrificing its low noise output when the CPU gets worked though, as it can get toasty at times.
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Top court to rule on California video game law

The Supreme Court said on Monday it would decide whether a California law banning the sale and rental of violent video games to minors violated constitutional free-speech rights, the first time it will consider a video game case.

The justices agreed to hear an appeal by the state after a U.S. appeals court based in California struck down the law, which also imposes strict video game labeling requirements, as unconstitutional.

The high court is expected to hear arguments in the case and then issue a ruling during its upcoming term, which begins in October. It will be one of the most important cases so far for the upcoming term.

The law had been challenged by video game publishers, distributors and sellers, including by the Entertainment Software Association. Its members include Disney Interactive Studios, Electronic Arts, Microsoft Corp and Sony Computer Entertainment America.

In appealing to the Supreme Court, the state argued that the free-speech guarantees of the First Amendment do not bar a state from prohibiting the sale of violent video games to minors under 18. The law, which was adopted in 2005, has never taken effect because of the legal challenge.

The law prohibits the sale of an interactive video game to anyone under 18 if the game was so violent it was "patently offensive", according to prevailing community standards and lacked serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

Michael Gallagher, president and chief executive of the Entertainment Software Association, which represents U.S. computer and video game publishers, said the group looks forward to presenting its arguments and defending the industry's works.

"Courts throughout the country have ruled consistently that content-based regulation of computer and video games is unconstitutional. Research shows that the public agrees; video games should be provided the same protections as books, movies and music," he said.

The Supreme Court agreed to decide the California case after last week's ruling that struck down a U.S. law that bans videos depicting animal cruelty for violating constitutional free-speech rights.
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The HTC Incredible Really Is Verizon's Nexus One

It's curious that after announcing the Nexus One would be coming to Verizon, Google's now directing people to the HTC Incredible instead. Then again, Verizon never said they'd carry the Nexus One. UPDATE: Google confirms no N1 on Verizon:

We won't be selling a Nexus One with Verizon, and this is a reflection of the amazing innovation happening across the open Android ecosystem. Verizon Wireless customers who want an Android phone with the power of the Nexus One can get the Droid Incredible by HTC.

Well, that's that. It's still interesting, though, that Google's pushing a phone running a custom interface, when, historically anyway, they've left people behind on the latest Android updates. Guess we'll see if that changes.
Source: http://asurl.net/k0O

Goodbye Google Advertising Professionals Program, Hello Google AdWords Certification

Google’s longstanding Google Advertising Professionals program is going away, to be replaced with a new Google Adwords Certification program, Google has announced. The change means those certified through GAP will have six months to recertify under the new program. The change may also allow more companies to gain certification, as the overall required spend level has been lowered. More below.
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