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Photo of the Day: What’s all the eggcitement about?

Today’s shot of the day is a little something funny. Don’t be afraid to break a few eggs to get a good shot! Be creative, do something different!

Will the PS4 be based on the same processor as the PS3?

Rumors have begun to spread among the major gaming sites that the upcoming successor to Sony’s Playstation 3, the aptly-named Playstation 4, will not be seeing much of an upgrade on the processor side.  In fact it may not see any bump at all, as Sony will probably simply bump the amount of RAM and the graphics chip to make for a moderate performance gain.  Is this really bad for us as consumers?

I don’t think so.  This will likely mean that the PS4 will come in as one of the cheaper of the next generation of consoles, a direct 180 degree turn from Sony’s launch of the PS3 at 600-700 dollars.  Besides that, the fact is that the processor has become less and less important in gaming, with the graphics chips taking up more of the slack.   As long as Sony puts in a GPU that is state of the art for the time that console comes out, it will undoubtedly be capable of far more than today’s PS3 is capable of.   Considering the fact that we have likely not even seen the limit of today’s consoles,  I don’t think there’s much to worry about here.

Facebook redesign capped off with new iPhone app / new homepage

Well it looks like the redesign of Facebook has made its way through the entire system now.   Visiting the website this morning will greet you with a brand spanking new homepage and login dialog that looks a little something like this:

Also, the Facebook for iPhone app was updated to version 2, and was also given a sparkling new look and a lot of new features including making it easier to search for people, improvements to the news-feed, more allowances for comments, and the fix for the strangely omitted ability to send someone a friend request from the app itself.

As someone who has enjoyed Facebook, but was not overly impressed with it’s overall design,  I have to say that altogether the new Facebook is a dramatic improvement.   Regardless of the fact that there are groups protesting the redesign,  I think eventually everyone will come to realize the fact that this is simply more organized and less cluttered than the previous iteration.  I’ve been using it since the first day it gave me the option to do so, and I would NEVER want to go back.  

In some ways, Facebook Applications had become one of the problems of Facebook, with applications making some people’s homepages 15 miles long.  Not to mention the annoyance of every one of my friends wanting to throw a sheep at me, try to turn me into a mobster, or a vampire, etc.   It had become more and more like Myspace with people’s pages being cluttered to in-usability.  

Putting the Applications on a seperate tab away from the homepage allows people like me who aren’t interested in applications, to simply focus on the social nature of Facebook, while allowing people who are interested in those things to be able to participate in them.  I think the Facebook redesign will make for a much more stable and happy community, and I’m glad to see that some social networking sites don’t rest on their laurels and continue to innovate.

You can help save Pandora!

I’ve been a big fan of the music discovery service Pandora for quite a few years now.   Unfortunately it’s starting to look like US Government legislation is getting ready to shut the service down for good.  If you’re a Pandora fan, get in touch with your local representatives to save this service!

CONGRESSIONAL EMERGENCY!!!

Listeners we need your help… NOW!

After a yearlong negotiation, Pandora, artists and record companies are finally optimistic about reaching an agreement on royalties that would save Pandora and Internet radio. But just as we’ve gotten close, large traditional broadcast radio companies have launched a covert lobbying campaign to sabotage our progress.

Yesterday, Congressman Jay Inslee, and several co-sponsors, introduced legislation to give us the extra time we need but the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), which represents radio broadcasters such as Clear Channel, has begun intensively pressuring lawmakers to kill the bill. We have just a day or two to keep this from collapsing.

This is a blatant attempt by large radio companies to suffocate the webcasting industry that is just beginning to offer an alternative to their monopoly of the airwaves.

Please call your Congressperson right now and ask them to support H.R. 7084, the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008 – and to not capitulate to pressure from the NAB. Congress is currently working extended hours, so even calls this evening and over the weekend should get answered.

The central congressional switchboard number is: (202) 225 3121

Or to look up your representative, visit: https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

If the phone is busy, please try again until you get through. These calls really do make a difference.

This is a fork in the road. Only massive grassroots opposition will keep us from another 50 years of top 40 radio. It’s time to take a stand and break the stranglehold of broadcast media on radio.

Thanks so much for you ongoing support.

Tim

Founder, Pandora

Photo of the Day: Trees Snow and Shadows

Today’s image is a gorgeous shot of a winter landscape with a few trees dotting the landscape. The gorgeous sky makes this photo.

And the new MacBook fake machine starts right up

Well that was fast.   Here’s the first of what looks to be many new MacBook mockups coming.   Is it real?  Don’t know for sure but I doubt it.  Not sure how functional having the dock down on a touch screen trackpad would actually be.  But hey I’m open to new ideas.  Oh and people taking pictures of secret products?  Bring better cameras to work, PLEASE!  At least 4 megapixels.  They’re cheap now, and thin!  Maybe only $100 bucks.  Oh, and make your watermark actually readable so I can give you your credit.