Good afternoon, everyone! I got a chance to see 'Star Trek' and wow -- I'm not sure I've ever seen a movie cast so perfectly! Spock and Scottie were the highlights for me, but I could watch James T. Kirk everyday!

Microsoft had its own way of celebrating the newest edition to what is becoming the 'Star Trek' multi-verse! OMG -- I love it when companies do stuff like this! Talk about employee retention!

OK, on to the news...

-Apple has officially backed down from yet another bad decision in its app store -- you can download the now-approved Nine Inch Nails app anytime you'd like.

-AT&T has bought a ton of land owned by Verizon to extend its service area.

-Microsoft confirmed that it's newest operation system, Windows 7, will be available this year. In time for the holiday shopping season, no doubt!

-The Space Shuttle Atlantis is a go for launch today to help repair the Hubble Space Telescope! Now, this news makes me totally psyched -- those images are so beautiful and important to the forwarding of science... I have no joke, this is what I truly think :)

-Having been an archaeologists in a former life (c'mon, how many people can say that?!), I love this story from our parents at USAToday.com on how archaeologists can help us feel better about our lives based on how crappy life was thousands of years ago. Schadenfreude!

-Good news if you live on the planet Earth -- this year's solar-storm forecast is the mildest in 90 years :) Why do we care about solar storms? Because the blasts of radiation let off by the sun during these storms travels wicked fast through space and, when it smashes into the Earth (happens all the time, don't freak), it causes power outages and serious interference.

-The boys over at the Game Hunters blog have me salivating over Bioshock 2 -- the follow-up to what is possibly my favorite video game, like, ever! Long live Rapture, but let's get that Big Sister, Bubbles!

OK, so send me your reviews on 'Star Trek' and I'll share them with the group! :) Until Wednesday, live long and prosper!!

Labels: Apple, ATT, Bioshock 2, Hubble, Nine Inch Nails, Space Shuttle Atlantis, Star Trek, Verizon, Windows 7 beta

Morning, faithful readers. If I could make you all a pair of alapaca mittens for frigid days like today's up in Boston, I totally would. As a replacement, wrap your hands around a scalding cup of black coffee and sip away your shivers...

I'm not believing it, but venture capitalists have reportedly valued Twitter -- the 140-character miniblog -- at $250 M. That's a lot of money. I've never tried it, so I won't give you my opinion. If you have, please inform me: Do you think that's fair or ridiculous?

Still looking to get your tech fingers on Microsoft's new OS that it debuted at CES? According to the company's blog, the Windows 7 beta will be available for download until Feb. 10.

Best Buy will expand it's electronic recycling program nationwide on Feb. 15. For $10, you can bring in a small gadget and turn it in, but be aware of this hitch: Anything with a screen, Best Buy will charge you $10 to recycle. Of course, you get a $10 Best Buy giftcard at the same time, so the cost -- as long as you frequently shop at Best Buy -- is a wash. Well, I should say (being a former employee and well aware of that store's insane mark-ups), it's a wash for the consumer. But, they are trying.

So, June 12 is likely the new date for the digital TV conversion. Sigh. Unless someone decides that isn't enough time, in which case it'll keep getting pushed out and the hillbillies of the world who are resisting what I used to be able to call 'the inevitable changeover' keep getting extra chances.

... Let's take a break from our headlines to talk about this a little. As I've already posted on this ad nauseum, why waste more words when previous ones will do? Here is a re-broadcast of one of my previous post on the matter. I hope this helps clear up any confusion and the debacle...

My dear grandma has had the same TV for at least the past 25 years -- as long ago as I can remember -- and it is so blurry that it hurts my eyes to look at it. She tapes her soaps everyday on a VCR, and scoffs at the idea of a new TV and a Tivo. She rarely uses her cell phone, which she has only for emergencies, and doesn't know how to change the ringtone (which I used to my great amusement a few years back by uploading 'SexyBack' by JT onto it).

She, I suppose, is the target audience for the federal govt's $1.5B campaign letting folks know their TVs won't work as of Feb. 2009 unless they upgrade to a new TV (gasp) or buy a fancy new converter box for good ol' bunny ears due to the switch from analog to digital TV signals.

Leave it to the gov't to waste billions of dollars overcomplicating a simple idea. I mean, perhaps it's that I don't fully understand the technical concept that, much like the switch from black-and-white to color programming nearly 50 years ago, older TVs that use an antenna to pull down and translate TV signals will no longer function when that over-air method of transmitting the signals is turned off and replaced by a wired digital signal that more efficiently transmits the same information using 1s and 0s to streamline the industry and improve picture clarity and viewer experience.

No... no, I think I understand the concept fine. It's the idea that $1.5 B needs to be spent to inform the public of the switch. Now, granted, some of that money is going into a discount program in the form of gov't issued coupons to help these analog folks buy a special converter to plug into the ol' TV boxes so they can still tune into Nick at Nite.

But that still seems like a lot of money, doesn't it, to simply tell people, 'Hey, before you get your bunny ears in a twist, better upgrade the TV, k?' So, in the interest of saving the gov't a bit of money, let's all do the feds a favor and inform everyone we know with analog TVs older than dust of the Feb. 2009 switch -- it's your duty as a geek to help out the technologically impaired.

I'll take the first step and ring up my grams... 'I'm bringing sexy back... you other boys don't know how to act... '

Labels: Best Buy recycling, Digital TV conversion, Microsoft, Twitter, Windows 7 beta

First stop inside was Microsoft… still very few details on Windows 7 beta being released today. A rep at the booth happily told us it’s free to download. When I asked about down the road- you know, minor issues like the payment I’m sure Microsoft will want for their new flagship operating system- I was told … it’s a free beta test.

Got it, thanks. But what about when the beta expires?

Another attendee asked about downgrading back to Vista or XP- not possible we were told. There was a vague reference acknowledging that, yes, in fact, obviously you would have to pay at some point down the line- but in the meantime- did they mention free beta? Well after scouring for details, I finally came across a great piece from our college Ed Baig @ USA Today featuring his interview with Steve Ballmer after his keynote Wednesday night.

Finally some details! Oh, wait, it seems there’s a gap! The beta will expire in 6 months, and you can’t buy the real version until end of 2009 at the earliest. What? Who thought of this? So if you install now, you have to revert back in 6 months? I’m no longer excited. Darn!

I also have to admit I am shocked (SHOCKED!) at how little press this beta release is getting. Am I the only one thinking it’s mighty odd that Microsoft is releasing a free beta of a major operating system? Free. Try it out. I know they want to talk about anything but the negative press on Vista (Ed Baig offers Microsoft’s claim that nearly 90% of Vista customers are satisfied. HA! On what scale? I’d like to see those surveys.) Anyway, just thought it was striking how little was being made of this. Especially when Microsoft 7 wasn’t really expected until later in the year.

[Amber's note: I like Vista...]

In a further demo of Windows 7 at the Microsoft booth, though, I did see one particular feature that stood out. When you plug in a device, for example a digital camera, it automatically opens a window with a picture of your specific device, as well as battery life, memory card space left, the owner’s manual, and more. That seemed awfully smart- especially when the only complaint about my trusty Canon PowerShot camera is how it goes from full battery to 5 shots left with no in between. This would be great to have.

Download it now… www.microsoft.com/windows7 -- Let us know what you think! Good luck!

--Peter Szabo

Labels: Windows 7 beta