Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

New domains are always exciting, and if you can remember the most recent major one (.me) you will remember the vast amounts of money are usually spent as people bid for the best of the selection.  However .tel will not involve vast amounts of money or even much media coverage, because it is something different and a new way of looking at domain names.

These domains will not be about websites, but more of a way of sharing the information of the domain owner, and will not involve any building, hosting or managing.  They are effectively domains that tell you all about the domain owner, such as their business, their address and their phone number: a bit like an online contact card.  Keep reading after the break.

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Sections: Web

The idea of Reality TV with music has been around since American Idol where people auditioned to be put into the knock out competition where eventually the top prize was a juicy record contract and a nice cash prize.  This idea has now moved into the Internet domain (no pun intended) with YouTube, who is now taking auditions for their own Symphony Orchestra.

The idea of an organization having it’s own orchestra is nothing new (it all started with the BBC in 1930) but this is a good example of how the world is becoming more globalized and encouraging anyone to have a go.  The idea is that people will film themselves playing parts of the specially selected Symphony (which I will talk about later) to show their talent, as well as one to show their overall personality.

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Sections: Audio, Web, Websites

If you go onto YouTube today you may notice something different and although you may be a regular visitor, you could still not notice for half an hour like me.  If you don’t want me to spoil it for you (assuming you didn’t read the title of this post) run off to http://www.youtube.com and see if you can spot anything different, but for those who don’t like a challenge, who are lazy, or never go on YouTube here it is…

YouTube has finally gone widescreen. 

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Sections: Video, Web, Web 2.0, Websites, Online Music/Video, Google

Social networking isn’t all poking people and sending gifts.  This is demonstrated perfectly in the case of an unnamed 14 year old boy from Canada who used Facebook to start a group with evil ends involving redheads.

Inspired by a South Park episode the boy (who we will call “John” to make things easier) set up a Facebook group whose aim was to encourage people to kick a ginger.  This group was set up purely as a joke, almost as a tribute to South Park.  However, it would appear that you can’t say anything these days without someone taking you seriously.  The group grew to around 5,000 people, and a date was set to initiate this ginger-kicking-fest: the 20th of November.

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Sections: Web, Websites

It seems fairly common recently for parents to yell at their teenagers for spending possibly too much time on the Internet or computers in general.  I know I’ve heard it enough, directed both at myself when I was in high school and to others.  Some parents like to complain that teenagers aren’t spending their time well on the Internet when they could be reading or playing in traffic.  I’ve never believed the arguments against the Internet for teenagers, and now there’s actually a study that proves it for me.  Read about the study after the break.

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Sections: Web

Another day, another new product or feature from Google.  Well, at least it seems that way sometimes.  Usually, there isn’t much added to the search function of Google, the updates tend to be to Gmail, Maps, or new products.  This time its different, Google has actually found a way to change, and possibly improve searching the web using its search engine.  Its called Searchwiki, and it isn’t as intimidating as it might sound.

In a nutshell, Searchwiki allows you to customize your searching if you search for things often.  It allows you to move results up to the top of the list where it might not appear normally.  You can also remove sites you don’t think fit the category or you just don’t like.  There is one thing to know, however: these results are only for you.  Google will remember them for you, but the results won’t go to the top for everyone else.  So even if you add Gadgetell to the top of your list when you search for “gadget” it unfortunately won’t happen to everyone else.  Continued after the break.

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Sections: Web, Google

My, my Google.  That was quick.  I’ll just bet you’re a ton of fun on a date.  Launched just this past July, Google’s “Lively” program (in hindsight, one can’t help but chuckle at the name they chose), is already being killed off.  I can hear the trumpets in the background as I type.

I guess all those risque room names and sex rooms weren’t even enough to keep you afloat, though they did cause quite a stir.  But, even that wasn’t enough to keep the public’s interest focused on this dying program.  Poor Google.  I guess you aren’t the King of All things Internet after all…at least not when your “idea” is one you pretty much just copied.  Continued. . .

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Sections: Computers, Gaming, Web, Web 2.0, Web Apps, Websites, Google

This story has all the makings of a tragic soap: a vulnerable love sick teenager, a sick vengeful adult and death.  Unfortunately this story is not confined to the pages of a book, but is a reality that took place in October 2006 and resulted in Megan Meier, aged 13 at the time, taking her own life.  But why did she do it?  What had happened before?  Who caused it?  And what does this have to do with technology?

It all started when Megan fell out with the daughter of her neighbor Ms Drew in St Louis, prompting Ms Drew to take it upon herself to spite Megan.  She did this by creating a fictitious 16 year old boy, Josh Evans, who lived in the local area which she did by creating a fake MySpace account.  This was then used to contact the unassuming Megan, and create a friendship, although the implication is that Megan believed it to be more serious than that.  Contined . . .

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Sections: Web, Websites

Everybody loves a survey (especially me) as it is a great way not only to identify the underlying social changes within the growing world, but also a good chance to laugh at the astonishing number of people who can’t identify where Australia is on a map.  This is no exception, as a survey released by YouGov in conjunction with their sponsors AMD showed that 77% of Europeans asked are addicted to the Internet.  Continued after the break.

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Sections: Web

I am a Fred fan.  Or I guess I was a Fred fan.  Fred was an alternative rock station on XM that played some deep tracks that exposed where bands like U2, REM, Cure and others got their sounds influenced from.  XM radio has euthanized Fred and other themed genre stations, in efforts to merge their networks.  I am not the only one sad.

The replacement for Fred is First Wave, a Sirius station, which in my opinion and the opinion of these groupies, blows chow.  Bad.  Shallow.  Bad.

Can I make a fiscal justification to keep both stations going along?  No.  Can I say that satellite radio has finally lost the race with Internet radio?  Yes.  My cohorts and I are leaving as we can’t stand your far too repetitious music designed for those behind the wheel for 30 minutes.

It isn’t all tears for satellite radio owners though, according to craveonline, 

“Each sides’ premium channels and talent remains mostly intact, with stations like Howard Stern, the Grateful Dead Channel and Eminem’s Shade 45 all now available to XM users, while Sirius listeners now get Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour, Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure and B.B. King’s blues station.“

Those of us that got attached to these themed genre stations will miss them and the talent at XM studios in DC.

Farewell Fred.  Thanks for the tip, Jeff.

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