It feels like just yesterday we charted the streaming music landscape, but it’s already changed in a big way — Google is muscling in on the likes of Rhapsody, Pandora and particularly Amazon with its Google Music Beta. Being able to take 20,000 of your personal tunes, stream them over the web and cache them locally on your device isn’t functionality to sneeze at, so it’s time we updated our charts. After the break, see how the big streaming services stack up.

Continue reading Google Music Beta versus the titans of the streaming music space: a chart

Google Music Beta versus the titans of the streaming music space: a chart originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 May 2011 15:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Windows/Mac/Android/iPhone/Blackberry/Web: Trillian, the cross-platform, message-syncing IM client has made its service even better by releasing all their clients with Pro features for free with advertisements. More

If you follow an exacting script and keep careful records, you can apparently sue sloppy telemarketers (or their clients) for $500 each, and get free merchandise in the bargain. America’s telemarketing laws seem tough on marketers, but they’re structured in such a way as to make the process as difficult as possible for people who don’t want to get phonespam. But if you are careful, you can get $500 every time a telemarketer calls you twice after being told to add you to its do-not-call list. They get to call you once without incurring this penalty, but apparently, you get to keep anything you order on the second call for free without paying for it, since “future calls will be a violation of an act of the U.S. Congress, any contract directly resulting from an illegal act is not enforceable. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) offers no ‘grace period.'”

I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t know if the author of the article is. It’s presented in Comic Sans, so caveat emptor and all that.

May I have your company’s name, address and telephone number? If you are calling on behalf of a client, may I have the name, address and telephone number of your company, as well as the name, address and telephone number of the company that you are calling on behalf of?

Put me on your “Do Not Call List”. You are hereby ordered to share my “Do Not Call Request” with your affiliates, associates, and related entities. If you are a third-party service bureau (telemarketing company), put me on your company’s “Do Not Call List” as well as your client’s “Do Not Call List”.

Send me a copy of your “Do Not Call Policy”. If you are a third party telemarketing service bureau, send me your company’s “Do Not Call Policy” as well as your client’s “Do Not Call Policy”.

If you call me again, I will use your product or service and not pay for it. My denial of payment will be based on the fact that your future calls are a violation of an act of Congress, and any contract that is entered into as a direct result of an illegal act is unenforceable.

Do you understand what I have just told you?

Will you comply with my requests?

Telemarketing Script

(via Consumerist)

Read the original post:
HOWTO sue telemarketers and keep the stuff they send you without paying for it

Now that OCZ has shifted its corporate focus away from the DRAM market, the company has begun deepening its lineup of solid state drives with two new additions: the Agility 3 and Solid 3. The pair of 2.5-inch SSDs, announced today, run on the SATA III 6Gbps interface (unlike their SATA II predecessors) and come strapped with a SandForce SF-2200 processor that allows for some pretty speedy performance. The Agility 3 boasts a maximum read rate of 525MBps, a write speed of 500MBps and can crank it up to 60,000 IOPS. The Solid 3 ain’t no slouch, either, with a 500MBps read rate, 450MBps writing capabilities and a max IOPS of 20,000. Granted, they won’t deliver quite the same punch as the Vertex 3 Pro, but they also won’t cost you quite as much. On the high end of the price spectrum is the 240GB Agility 3, at $480, with the 60GB and 120GB versions priced at $135 and $240, respectively. The Solid 3, meanwhile, is available in both 60GB ($130) and 120GB ($230). Not exactly chump change, but still cheaper than OCZ’s heavier hitters. Hit the source links for more details.

OCZ unveils Agility 3 and Solid 3 SSDs for thrifty speedsters originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 May 2011 11:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Stop watching movies and TV shows according to Hollywood’s schedule! With video-on-demand, you can watch TV whenever you want, wherever you want, and you don’t even have to remember to program a box to record it. Here’s MaximumPC’s take on the major online VOD services available today. More

Researchers have figured out a way to make diamond aerogel. The aerogel is only 40 times as dense as air. Someday, it make coat the windows, the TV, and the inside of a person’s body. More

Microsoft will buy Skype for $8.5bn in cash, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Skype will become a new business division within Microsoft, and Skype Chief Executive Tony Bates will assume the title of president of the Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Mr. Ballmer.

Buying Skype–a service that links users via Internet-based telephony and video–gives Microsoft a recognized brand name on the Internet at a time when it is struggling to get more traction in the consumer market.

Microsoft to acquire Skype

View post:
Microsoft to buy Skype for $8.5bn

The next time you’re low on toilet cleaner, just drop two Alka Seltzer tablets in the bowl and come back a few minutes later with the toilet brush to finish the job. More

What’s shaping up to be an epic week in tech news may be about to become even more exciting for T-Mobile fans. Internal employee docs are giving out some serious vibes that the company is ready to push out three important features to many of its phones as early as tomorrow. The first one to put a smile on your face is unlimited WiFi calling, which should be available as a free add-on to the Even More, Even More Plus, and 4G Do More plans. We’re glad to see the service come back as a freebie, much better than the $9.99 per month asking price when it was hotspot@home. As if that isn’t good enough by itself, the other services getting prepped for tomorrow’s lineup include Name ID — a caller ID service that shows the name, number, city, and state of anyone not listed in your contacts — and Voicemail-to-Text, a new enhancement to the existing Visual Voicemail service that transcribes the full message into text form on select devices. Keep in mind that while these docs certainly do look official, it’s all mere speculation until we hear actual word from T-Mobile about these new programs. With that said, we’ve got screenshots above and below, so feel free to glean as many details as possible from them.

Continue reading T-Mobile leak divulges return of unlimited WiFi calls, may add Name ID and Voicemail-to-Text

T-Mobile leak divulges return of unlimited WiFi calls, may add Name ID and Voicemail-to-Text originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 May 2011 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Graphene, is there anything it can’t do? Researchers are already trying to put it in processors, fuel cells, and batteries — now your internet connection might get ten-times faster thanks to the silicon successor. Researchers at UC Berkeley have created tiny, one-atom-thick modulators that could switch the data-carrying light on and off in a fiber-optic connection much faster than current technology. In addition to running at a higher frequency (the team believes it will scale up to 500GHz — modern modulators run at about 1GHz) the smaller, 25-micron size means thinner cables could be used, reducing capacitance and further boosting speeds. Labs have already crossed the 100 terabit threshold and graphene could push that even higher, yet we’re still stuck staring at a buffering screen every time we try to Netflix Degrassi.

Continue reading Graphene-powered web could download 3-D movies in seconds, give MPAA nightmares

Graphene-powered web could download 3-D movies in seconds, give MPAA nightmares originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 May 2011 05:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink