Buzztown Archive

The Wall Street Journal devastates Hewlett Packard in one incredibly accurate editorial that compiles all the mistakes of the past year or so. And well … it hurts. In that oh so true way. Speaking of hard truths, Eric Schmidt says Google + is an identity service and not a social network, and if you don’t want to use your real name, don’t use G+. Respect. Less respect for the poss...

On today’s show, we discover the universe’s biggest diamond floating out there in space. Plus, the FCC is investigating why cell phone networks went down during this week’s East Coast earthquake, especially with Hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast even as we speak. Our BOL PSA to you: text, don’t call. And also, be safe. Plus, Pandora makes some money and the mos...

On today’s show, Josh Lowensohn joins us to talk about Steve Jobs’ departure from Apple, the coming Tim Cook era, and the new org chart. And don’t worry, there’s other news, too: Google pays $500 million for assisting pill popping in the U.S., GameStop’s dirty tricks, CmdrTaco pulls a Steve Jobs, and the best song tribute to Steve Jobs you’ll ever hear (listen a...

On today’s show, cute-animal-song wunderkind Parry Gripp joins us to talk about his new Baby Monkey iPhone game, and he’s represented by the cutest bunny ever. Seriously. We can barely focus. Seriously. Also, Facebook’s major sweeping privacy changes mean you can finally erase your ex from your profile, which is actually kind of awesome. And how 2001: A Space Odyssey apparently c...

On today’s show, an earthquake appears to be headed right for us, and all we can talk about is HP and WebOS some more! Plus, Lenovo’s baffling decision to drop the ThinkPad Tablet into the marketplace at $500, when fire-sale frenzy is at its peak. Um. Oops. And would Apple risk fragmenting the iPhone in order to get into emerging markets? We’ll see. Oh, and quick hicks! Buzz Out...

HP has a winner on its hands, now that it’s killed off that particular winner. The Internetorati clamor to buy discounted TouchPads, while HP’s stock plummets 20 percent to a six-year low. So, Apotheker, who’s right? You or the geeks? Also, Facebook finds out once again that censorship is hard, and the real reason aliens want to kill us: we’ll ruin the entire galaxy if we g...

IBM has created what they’re benignly calling cognitive semiconductors, which are computers that can actually learn, think, and creatively process information. So, that sounds like a good idea, right? I mean, seriously, great work, IBM, but when one of your big backers is DARPA, you can’t fool us. We know Skynet is upon us. Also, don’t get caught with your patents down! Buzz Out...

Barack, Do you really want everyone to know where you are? In the Googorola aftermath, Microsoft was reportedly one of the companies in negotiations with Motorola. And the best way to kill an iPad 3 rumor is to squash it with another rumor that you made up. Plus, Wilson Tang of the 404 joins us in the studio. Buzz Out Loud episodes are released in their original audio form. Some metadata supplemen...

Google buys Motorola Mobility! Once we figure out that it’s not actually a joke, we grabbed News.com senior writer Maggie Reardon to help break it all down for us. Upshot: patents, patents, and more patents, and a war with its hardware partners. And also, a sea change in the entire industry. So, no big deal. Also, Anonymous rides to war with San Francisco’s subway system over free spee...

HTC spends $300 million to acquire some Beats Electronics awesomeness, but we have to admit: we’re befuddled. Also, Apple is now officially the world’s most valuable company, and we’re happy, because they’re slightly less evil than ExxonMobil. And in the worst idea we’ve heard in a while, the British Prime Minister floats the idea of turning off social networks to ste...

Amazon and Vudu both launch full-featured Web apps for Apple’s iPad to avoid the Apple tax and, in Amazon’s case, so that they can actually have a link to their store in their mobile experience. Is Apple accidentally driving people toward a device-agnostic tech future? I hope so! Also, Nokia is out of North America, we’re planning our visit to the Star Trek resort, and more Broni...

On today’s show, RIM’s BlackBerry blog is hacked after it cooperates with police over BlackBerry Messenger’s role in coordinating the ongoing London riots. Also, lightning strikes an Amazon Web server and half the Internet goes down (or was it solar flares?). Plus, coolest use of a zip line ever, as China retains its status as Honey Badger of the world. Buzz Out Loud episodes are...

The sun is throwing out magnetic storms that could disrupt your GPS, your cell phone signals, and maybe even cause soda machines to kill you in extremely violent 1980s movie style. Just … Google it. In other news, the World Wide Web turned 20 this weekend, the kids of today are learning to be hackers at DefCon, and if you buy virtual gold instead of earning it, the terrorists win. No, really...

Google and Microsoft continue their highly public patent-related catfight, which is either raising awareness of the issue of overbroad software patents or just turning into an embarrassing public battle that’s making us all uncomfortable. Also, facial recognition is a trap, and security researchers are rushing to unveil the real Shady Rat. Plus: Computer Love! Buzz Out Loud episodes are rele...

On today’s show, Google is upset that its competitors are using a giant portfolio of patents to attack Android. Never mind that Google could have joined in the purchase of said portfolio or, more importantly, that it’s got the clout and cash to lead a fight against software patents in the first place. Good try, though! Also, our government prepares for the next war on terror–cybe...

On today’s show, security researchers report that Anonymous and LulzSec are, if anything, just distracting us with their antics while the true threat is a years-long cyberwarfare campaign that’s stolen everything from private intellectual property to high-level government secrets. So, that’ll probably lead to some reasoned and logical cyber-security discussions, no? No. Also, is...

It’s 8-02-11 (in U.S. style date parlance, we know), and therefore it’s WiFi Day … we don’t know what that means, but Molly’s planning to get some ice cream out of it! Plus, Android malware that can record your phone calls and free WiFi in London, thanks to Virgin Media. Plus, the New Yorker is a winner on the iPad and the MacBook Air is a winner with our show hosts....

On today’s show, the sad news that even those of you who are grandfathered in to AT&T’s unlimited plans will be subject to throttling. sorry. Also, Adobe tries to future-proof itself with a new HTML5 Web animation tool, the darknet is not your mom’s social network, and RIM doesn’t make pizzas. Buzz Out Loud episodes are released in their original audio form. Some metada...

Google wants to control both ends of Internet delivery, Google + traffic may be dropping already, and British police may or may not have arrested a LulzSec leader, depending on whether you believe LulzSec tricked British police or not. Also, Spotify is sued for patent infringement, we dish out Computer Love advice, and the craziest singing medley you ever did see. Buzz Out Loud episodes are releas...

Fox decides to implement an 8-day window and subscription authentication on its content across the Web … which we know consumers love. No really, we love that. Meanwhile, patent wars continue to ruin smartphone innovation — hopefully not so much that it prevents us from getting the transparent gadgets that some genius Stanford researchers. Also, Mango is coming! Buzz Out Loud episodes...

On today’s show, Brian Tong offends nearly the entire Internet, so consider that fair warning. HTC is willing to negotiate with Apple, Google is willing to make it easier to get your account back if you’re suspended for not using your real name on Google+, and Netflix is willing to lose a bunch of money this quarter in hopes of surviving beyond it. Buzz Out Loud episodes are released i...

In response to shareholder demands for RIM to explain its seemingly disastrous co-CEO structure, RIM decided to add another COO, too. No, seriously. They’ll have two COOs and two CEOs (and also lay off 2,000 probably perfectly innocent people who thought there should only be one CEO). Wow. Also, be warned: we talk about politics, because we hope the Internet can save America. Buzz Out Loud e...

Today, we are coming to you live from high atop the CBS booth at Comic Con 2011 in San Diego, California. Brian Tong discusses the massive event that Comic Con has become and talks with some of the fans who love to show off their swag. Buzz Out Loud episodes are released in their original audio form. Some metadata supplementation and/or correction has been done for SEO, clarification, or as a prod...

The NYC takeover of BOL continues, as the hardware heads from the Digital City talk about Day One problems with Apple’s new Lion OSX update, the death of Google Labs, and who’s getting hacked next. Buzz Out Loud episodes are released in their original audio form. Some metadata supplementation and/or correction has been done for SEO, clarification, or as a product of data migration. Ple...

The 404 crew has taken over BOL today while The BOL crew is out at Comic Con 2011. New Mac Book Airs and Mac Minis are out and in the wild, Anonymous gets frisked, and we discuss Digital Oxytocin which is like heroin for computers. All this and more on Buzz Out Loud. Buzz Out Loud episodes are released in their original audio form. Some metadata supplementation and/or correction has been done for...