Proposed Law Will Exempt More IT Employees from Overtime Pay

A bill introduced to congress would define more IT job descriptions that are exempt from overtime pay. 

[Ars Technica]

A bill recently introduced in Congress would greatly expand the exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act for IT employees, ending overtime benefits for many more types of workers, including network, database and security specialists.

Among other things, the FLSA mandates that employees get time-and-a-half overtime pay for working more than 40 hours in a week, unless they are executives or specifically exempted from the law's protection. There are already many exemptions, and the current text related to IT workers exempts "any employee who is a computer systems analyst, computer programmer, software engineer, or other similarly skilled worker," whose primary duties fall under categories including "systems analysis techniques and procedures," and "design, documentation, testing, creation, or modification of computer programs."

But a bill sponsored by Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC), titled the "Computer Professionals Update Act," takes the exemption's 131-word text and bumps it up to 205, adding job classes such as database and network specialists and security professionals along the way. The proposed text exempts "any employee working in a computer or information technology occupation (including, but not limited to, work related to computers, information systems, components, networks, software, hardware, databases, security, internet, intranet, or websites) as an analyst, programmer, engineer, designer, developer, administrator, or other similarly skilled worker," with primary duties including "the application of systems, network or database analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine or modify hardware, software, network, database, or system functional specifications."

The bill would also label all employees listed in the exemption as part of the "bona fide executive, administrative, or professional" class exempt from overtime and minimum wage laws. However, the proposed modification keeps the exemption's current text limiting affected employees to those who are on salary or make at least $27.63 an hour.

An IT administrator who blogged about the bill notes that "I think that I may have originally underestimated the importance of this bill to us SysAdmins in the United States…see, I was under the impression that we were almost all salaried and exempt—in other words, that overtime wasn’t an option anyway. I’ve been informed by a couple of friends of mine that this isn’t the case at all, and that there are a lot of hourly SysAdmins who get overtime."

According to Govtrack.us, Hagan's bill was referred to the Committee on Health Education, Labor, and Pensions, on Oct. 20, helpfully noting that "the majority of bills and resolutions never make it out of committee." But if you want to tell Sen. Kagan what you think about limiting overtime pay for IT pros, a contact form is on the senator's website.

Happy 10 Year Anniversary Windows Live Messenger!

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Earn FREE rewards for something you do every day — search the Web! Frequent flyer miles. Music downloads. Xbox® 360 controllers. With your Windows Live™ ID, you've got a head start toward earning these and other great prizes when you join SearchPerks! from Microsoft. • It's rewarding: Earn tickets toward exciting prizes for the Web searches you do on properties powered by Live Search. Whether it's on Live.com, MSN.com, Windows Live™ Hotmail®, or Windows Live Messenger. • It's easy: With one simple download, we count your searches automatically and award valuable tickets for each one, up to 25 a day. • It's brought to you by Microsoft® Live Search: So you know you won't compromise quality while earning rewards.

Tweeting from the Womb...

This is pretty weird. I support technology, but this idea is just ridiculous. If you are going to "tweet", then why not actually "tweet" it?How much do these devices cost? The only good thing I can see is that instead of sitting in front of the computer saying "I am giving baby a bath", you are ACTUALLY doing that and transmitting it.Other than that, I think it is silly.

Unborn babies can now use Twitter

No you didn't read that wrong, unborn babies can now send Tweets from the womb. Creepy sounding isn't it?After you get past the initial "ick" factor of this, it's not that disturbing... actually it's quite interesting but, do you think Tweeting from the womb is taking social media too far? Tell us.Corey Menscher, an NYU student, has developed a suite of devices entitled "The Honeycomb", the first of which is "The Kickbee".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiUq-iMQy7E&feature=player_embedded


The Kickbee allows physically separated spouses to connect with one another by transmitting fragments of sensory experiences of prototypical parenting activities from various stages of babyhood. In order to pass long the information, The Kickbee utilizes the popular microblogging service Twitter as a platform to record and distribute “kicks” to fathers as mobile phone text messages, thanks to its publicly available Application Programming Interface (API).

In layman’s terms: Whenever your kiddo kicks... you get a Tweet about it.

On the technical side of things, a series of vibration sensors are attached to the belt longitudinally so their sensing areas can register the vibrations within the torso generated by a third-trimester baby. A microcontroller receives these signals, performs software filtering and processing, and transmits validated “kick” signals wirelessly to a custom Java application running on a personal computer.

Personally, back when my wife was pregnant (my son was born January 15, 2009) I would call my wife several times a day for general check-ins to see if the baby had been kicking much. I always enjoyed hearing about it, as it helped ease my worrisome mind, I guess.

I'm not saying that we would've used this product, but it would've been nice knowing when the baby was kicking.

As I mentioned above The Honeycomb also has two other stages, they are "The Burpbee" and "The Bathbee". Judging by the names you can probably tell what they're about.

The Burpbee transmits the warmth of a baby’s body on one parent’s shoulder to the other over a distance. It consists of two objects: a “transmitter” in the form of a burp cloth, and a “receiver” in the form of a men’s button-down shirt. The heater warms slowly, and after 30 seconds has reached its peak temperature of about 110º fahrenheitIn layman’s terms: Whenever your kiddo is burping... your shoulder area gets hot, as if you're the one doing the burping.

The Bathbee is an olfactory bathtime awareness device for a parent who is away from home. It consists of two objects: a “transmitter” in the form of a rubber ducky bath toy, and a “receiver” in the form of a rubber ducky-themed children’s lunchbox. When the bath toy is being actively played with in a bathtub, it transmits the smells of bathtime over a distance by filling the room with the scent of baby oil.

In layman’s terms: Whenever your kiddo is getting a bath... your room begins to smell of baby oil.

I can see the allure of The Kickbee... but the other two are kind of a stretch in my opinion.

What are your thoughts on The Kickbee and the other Honeycomb devices - Creepy or Innovative?

As you can see, we went back to Best Buy and exchanged the Dynex webcam for an HP webcam. I am pretty satisfied with it. I am by no means a movie producer and would not need all the fancy/technical things that come with some of them. I wanted one that was easy to use and had some flexibility as far as features go and of course, a good price. It turned out that this HP webcam was actually $10 cheaper than the Best Buy Dynex generic one...so again, Discount Diva does it again! :O)

Although, I noticed that their website says the Dynex webcam is $39.99, which is what we paid in the store, but the HP webcam on their website says $83.99. I would set myself into a coma if we paid that...

We paid $30.00!! How Fanatically Frugal is that!

And now introducing our first video starring my TooheyBugs; Daniela, mostly and Jacob!

Daniela singing to her new Kid's Bop cd that came with her Happy Meal at McDonald's; Delilah and Girls Just Want To Have Fun.

New Webcam not all it's cracked up to be...

We went to Best Buy yesterday so that Shawn could get the parts he needed to fix his computer. I have been wanting a webcam and finally got one yesterday.

The problem is that I'm not a loyal shopper and I go where the price is the cheapest. I have blogged about a few of those instances. Getting this webcam is another one of those to add to the list.

The webcam, Dynex brand - a Best Buy generic, was the cheapest by about $20. But it doesn't have much for controls and looks great when you are not recording or taking pictures. As soon as you record a video, everything is delayed by about 10 seconds. This is an important feature that wasn't written on the package and would have to be one of those learn from mistakes circumstances.

As you can see from their website, they really didn't do much with it. This is important people!!! Get with the program Dynex!

I will be packaging this back up and exchange it for something that I should have gotten to begin with.

Again, I didn't save money...I saved $20 for something that doesn't exactly work as intended and now the time and gas to get back there, just to do it right, like I should have to begin with.

But hey, live and learn....and if you're not learning, you're not living! :O)

Playboy: The Mansion Soundtrack to Feature More than 40 Emerging Artists, 83 Tracks and a Local Tie to Western Massachusetts

Playboy: The Mansion Soundtrack to Feature More than 40 Emerging Artists, 83 Tracks and a Local Tie to Western Massachusetts

How cool is this? I don't know why, but I just got so excited and happy hearing about this and then found out that one of the studios is located locally. I thought it was so cool, I just had to share it!
BTW, the soundtrack is so wickedly awesome and good!

Playboy: The Mansion Soundtrack to Feature More than 40 Emerging Artists, 83 Tracks
Press Release

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 16, 2004 - Hip Interactive's (TSX:HP) wholly-owned subsidiary, ARUSH Publishing, in conjunction with Groove Games, today announced that the highly anticipated multi-platform video game release, "Playboy: The Mansion," will feature a diverse soundtrack including music from more than 40 artists. Players can select from eight different stations ranging from hip-hop to rock to house music, setting the mood at their virtual "Playboy Mansion." Developed by Cyberlore Studios for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and PC systems, "Playboy: The Mansion" is rated M for Mature by the ESRB, and is slated to launch in January 2005.

Emerging bands such as Start Trouble, The Wylde Bunch, The Rosenbergs, Aquavibe and Sugarcult have songs featured in "Playboy: The Mansion," as well as established artists including Petey Pablo, Felix Da House Cat, All-American Rejects and Sander Kleinenberg. In the game, players can purchase stereos and select music for different areas of the virtual Playboy Mansion. The soundtrack not only will allow players to customize their experience, but also serves a gameplay purpose by entertaining guests, and in turn, keeping the party going.

"With 'Playboy: The Mansion,' you can create the ultimate virtual party, and as the best hosts like Hef know, a party isn't a party without great music," said Jim Perkins, president of ARUSH Publishing. "We're thrilled to showcase music from amazing up-and-coming artists, and think there is something for everyone, with rock, punk, hip-hop, and even flamenco music available on your Playboy Mansion's radio."

Songs from the game's INgrooves radio station, which features dance and house music, will be featured on a CD release mixed by DJ Felix Da House Cat, and released in retail stores and on the Internet in January 2005.

Artists Featured in "Playboy: The Mansion" Include:

Petey Pablo; All-American Rejects; Sugarcult; The Rosenbergs; Start Trouble; Wylde Bunch; Aquavibe; Felix Da House Cat; Sander Kleinenberg, featuring Miss Bunty; Swollen Members; J. Boogie's Dubtronic Science; F.I.L.T.H.E.E. Immigrants; Armand Van Helden; Autopilot; Blue Van; Bob Berg; DJ Sneak; Dolla Skills; Eastern Sun and John Kelly; DJ Excess; Imperial Assassins, featuring Judge D; Jimmy Bruno; Jimmy Grand; Joey DeFrancesco; Like Minds; Matthew Skutnik; Michael Tello; Out, Out; People Under The Stairs; Poncho Sanchez; Prince Charming; Ray Roc; Reflekt, featuring Deline Bass; Silvertide; Simply Jeff; Sweatshop Union; The Moontrane Conductors; Toadstyle; Tony C And The Truth; Tricia Muldrow; and Young Rome.

To download a sample track from the "Playboy: The Mansion" soundtrack, please visit http://www.playhef.com/downloads/Aquavibe_4AM.mp3

About Playboy Enterprises, Inc.

Playboy Enterprises is a brand-driven, international multimedia entertainment company that publishes editions of Playboy magazine around the world; operates Playboy and Spice television networks and distributes programming via home video and DVD globally; licenses the Playboy and Spice trademarks internationally for a range of consumer products and services; and operates Playboy.com, a leading men's lifestyle and entertainment Web site.

About Cyberlore Studios

Based in Northampton, Massachusetts, Cyberlore Studios, Inc. has been creating great, award-winning games for over a decade. Cyberlore's mission is to create games that focus on providing fun and innovative play. The company also values its employees, offering them an open, healthy and fun workplace along with great benefits. For more information about Cyberlore Studios and their games, please visit their website at www.cyberlore.com.

About Groove Games

Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Groove Games is a global publisher of interactive entertainment software. Groove partners with leading developers to deliver great games for avid gamers everywhere. Currently Groove is publishing Digital Extremes' cutting-edge new first-person action game, "Pariah" as well as co-publishing the highly anticipated multi-platform game, "Playboy: The Mansion." For more information visit http://www.groovegames.com/.

About ARUSH Publishing

Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., ARUSH Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hip Interactive Corp., is a worldwide publisher of interactive entertainment software for personal computers and advanced entertainment consoles. ARUSH publishes PC and console video games for sale in retail outlets and on the Internet. The Company's current projects include Playboy: The Mansion and Fear Factor: Unleashed. For more information, please visit http://www.arushgames.com/.

About Hip Interactive

Hip Interactive (www.hipinteractive.com) is a leading provider of electronic entertainment products, including PC and video games, movies, video arcade games, and proprietary games, branded as Hip Games, and accessories, branded as Hip Gear. The Company distributes all first party products, including Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo hardware, software and accessories, as well as third party licensed video game software. With offices across North America and in Europe, Hip uses its distribution business to leverage into higher margin, higher growth areas of the electronic entertainment industry, such as licensing, publishing and its proprietary games and accessories. Hip Interactive trades on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "HP".

About Xbox

Xbox (http://www.xbox.com) is the video game system from Microsoft that brings people together for the most exhilarating game and entertainment experiences. Xbox delivers an expansive collection of breakthrough games, powerful hardware and the unified Xbox Live online service. The new tagline, "it's good to play together," captures the spirit of Xbox as the social hub of the new digital entertainment lifestyle. Xbox is now available in North America, Europe and Australia.

Xbox is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.



Full Soundtrack List<-Flamenco Fusion-1. CIN / Matthew Skutnik2. Fading Memories / Matthew Skutnik3. Going Home / Matthew Skutnik4. Gypsy / Matthew Skutnik5. Into The Night / Matthew Skutnik6. Mexy / Matthew Skutnik7. Nice Guitar / Matthew Skutnik8. Rumble / Matthew Skutnik9. Samba / Matthew Skutnik10. Springtime / Matthew Skutnik11. Sweet / Matthew Skutnik12. What If? / Matthew Skutnik_____________________________________________________________________________-Hip Hop-1. 4 A.M. / Aquavibe2. Day By Day / Imperial Assasins, featuring Judge D3. Dvision / Aquavibe4. Find Us / F.I.L.T.H.E.E. Immigrants5. Last Day Of School / Wylde Bunch6. L.U.S.T., The Remix / Aquavibe7. Mansion / Imperial Assasins, featuring Judge D8. Too Hot / Swollen Members9. Up From The Ground / Sweatshop Union10. Vibrate / Petey Pablo11. Wha Cha Doin Tonight / Young Rome_____________________________________________________________________________-Rock-1. Ain't Coming Home / Silvertide2. Champagne / Sugarcult3. Chemical / Start Trouble4. Crockett And Tubbs / The Rosenbergs5. Department Store Girl / The Rosenbergs6. Little Bit More / Tony C And The Truth7. Nighttime Lover / The Rosenbergs8. Non Stop / Start Trouble9. Playboy Mansion / Prince Charming10. Swing, Swing / All- American Rejects11. Throw The Covers / Start Trouble12. Word From The Bird / Blue Van_____________________________________________________________________________-INGROOVES-1. Barrio Beats / Michael Tello2. Do Me What I Do / Felix Da House Cat3. Drumbox / People Under The Stairs4. Fly Away Love / Armand Van Helden5. Jangle Kisses For You / Ray Roc6. Moodswing / Simply Jeff7. Need To Be Loved / Reflekt, featuring Deline Bass8. Playa Love / Eastern Sun and John Kelly9. Prescribe / Autopilot10. Trb / Autopilot11. Wickeddy Beats / DJ Sneak12. Work To Do / Sander Kleinenberg, featuring Miss_____________________________________________________________________________-Jazz-1. Blue Goo / Bob Berg2. Funk 'n Benny / Jimmy Bruno3. Get it All / Joey DeFrancesco4. Goodfellas / Joey DeFrancesco5. Hypertension / Jimmy Bruno6. Into The Blue Light / Jimmy Bruno7. Jammin' In The Basement / Joey DeFrancesco8. Moon Pie / Poncho Sanchez9. On Time / Poncho Sanchez10. SoHo Sole / Bob Berg_____________________________________________________________________________-Industrial-1. Admire The Question (Naive Mix 2) / Out Out2. Ampex, My Ampex / Out Out3. Antidote Serum / Out Out4. Blanc Says / Out Out5. Forestry For The Theives / Out Out6. Futile Abortive And Barren / Out Out7. Learning English In NYC / Out Out8. Never Tell Ram Produce / Out Out9. No. 5 United / Out Out10. Pointed Fingers / Out Out11. Rot Wither and Worsen / Out Out_____________________________________________________________________________-StylasWars-1. Another One / Toadstyle2. Blocks / Tricia Muldrow3. Grimy / Toadstyle4. It's Gonna Land / Excess5. Lally / Excess6. Life Is / Dolla Skills7. Show And I Shall See / Excess8. UG (Undiscovered Gems) / Like Minds9. Up Jump / Dolla Skills_____________________________________________________________________________-Techno-1. Bossaroca / The Moontrane Conductors2. Deep In The Cut / J. Boogie's Dubtronic Science3. La Playa / J. Boogie's Dubtronic Science4. LeSengre / J. Googie's Dubtronic Science5. Never The Sun / The Moontrane Conductors----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Enjoy!

Twitter + Last.fm = LastfmLoveTweet

LastFM love/twitter mashup

After siging up, any track that you 'love' on lastfm will automatically generate a tweet on Twitter from you that has the track's artist and name, as well as a link to it so your followers can give it a listen.

I actually liked this alot and think it does it's job very well, but due to the number of "comments" I have received from 3-4 people, I have decided to take it off.

Everytime you love a song on last.fm or through the plug-in on Windows Media Player, it would send a tweet saying that you loved a song. I guess this would be alright if you only like one or two songs.

I can see how people would think it was "spammy"...but really? I am a real person who really likes a real song.

Anyways, it's not the end of the world and to please my audience, I have taken it off. Does anyone know of any other type of Twitter + Last.fm apps, widgets, plug-ins, etc? What do you guys use? Why or why not?

Just a little info about LastfmLoveTweet:

• Who did it?

twitter: @pootytang
lastfm: pootytang

• Why?

I was tired of seeing hypemachine auto-generating tweets of loved tracks, and not being able to do it with lastfm. So I threw together a little app with ruby and mysql, and then added a simple form to open it up to the people!

Circuit City Liquidation: What You Need to Know

After going into bankruptcy, Circuit City was unable to find a buyer and is going out of business. This means that all of its stores must be shut down. There's a massive liquidation underway of all of its products. So what does this mean for you, the consumer? We poked around the web to see what we could learn and have compiled a list of information below. First Off, the Numbers. Consider the following: Four firms that specialize in liquidation events purchased Circuit City's assets (the products it sells) at a discount to their retail and wholesale values with the hope of selling the items for more than what they paid for them. Here's how it breaks down: $1.8 billion -- the full estimated retail price of all of the goods acquired by the liquidation firms $1.2 billion -- the full estiamted wholesale price of all of the goods acquired by the liquidation firms $846 million -- the price the liquidation firms paid for all of the assets (70.5% of the wholesale value) Okay, so what does this tell us? Well, for one thing, we know that the liquidators paid just 47% of the retail value ($846 million/$1.8 billion). So the liquidators stand to make a decent amount of money. For example, even if they sell all of the items at the wholesale price, they would make over $354 million and get a nice, handsome return of over 40% on their money (and in less than one year -- a pretty amazing annualized return, no matter what the economic environment!). But to be fair, the liquidators do have expenses, both their own operating expenses as well as the costs to operate the Circuit City stores while they liquidate (they are on the hook for all of the store operating costs). And in some cases, liquidators have arrangements to give some of the profits to the bankrupt company. Still, they should do reasonably well if they can move all of their merchandise. What the Numbers Mean for You For the consumer, this is good to know, because you can see that the liquidators have a fair amount of wiggle room to lower prices and still get a hefty return on their investment. The liquidators have an incentive to sell these items as quickly as possible, too. They incur costs when the stores are open, and they have their own operating costs, all of which eat into their margins. So at some point, it's more cost-effective for them to lower the prices of the items and get them sold than to hold out hope that all of their products will sell at the current prices. You can't ever be sure how supply and demand will work together. If consumers are afraid that the products will be gone tomorrow and thus feel compelled to buy today, then demand trumps supply and prices won't fall further. But in a slowing economy like the one we're in now, this is probably less likely than at other times. A lot of people just can't afford to buy the goods at the current prices. Period. Be Knowledgeable About Prices The website Consumerist.com posted an article about Circuit City recently that quotes a reader who says he is a current employee. Among the interesting things he has to say is this quote: "All of what you have seen is correct, not much is actually on sale. Looking at items I remember from a couple weeks before, most everything is more expensive. Especially things like blank CDs, flash drives, and anything in the computer area. Cables are less expensive than usual, but still way more than online. Game systems are not a bad deal either."  So one tip is: Don't assume that just because you're walking into a store that is in liquidation and must sell their entire inventory, everything is a "deal". Some items may not be discounted at all, or their discount may be less than a discount that was offered weeks ago -- particularly around the holidays when big sales were in place. Shop around online before you hit Circuit City and make sure you know the price ranges for items of interest, and make sure that you don't get caught up in the excitement of a going out of business sale and overpay. Discounts Vary Also keep in mind that products are discounted differently. Apparently, big-ticket items like TVs haven't been discounted much so far -- maybe 10% at most. Other items, like game systems, as the employee cited above notes, might be discounted as much as 30%-40%. As a recent Business Week article noted, "liquidation sales trim the price of items that normally don't go on sale, such as the game accessories ... or leftover iPods, which are rarely discounted." An iPod that is discounted at 10% might be a great bargain, because iPods are rarely discounted and will probably be scooped up quickly. So it might be worth it to pick up an item like this at a small discount, just because there will be more demand than supply and you might not see the discount go below 10%. As the Business Week article notes, the "psychology, typical of going-out-of-business sales, is heightened by the recession that has consumers paring back. Liquidators acknowledge that they'll sweeten the deals as the sale goes on, but they also warn that items in demand will move before then. Still, liquidators worry they may have paid too much for inventory that newly thrifty shoppers may not buy." When to Buy Okay, so nobody has a crystal ball and it's tough to know with certainty when to buy a product and when to wait. A discount of any kind is tempting, particularly large ones. But what if prices drop further? It's really a roll of the dice, and at some point you have to take in all of the facts and then go with your gut. Time magazine notedthat the liquidation "will likely take eight weeks". So if that's true, it might be worth swinging through the store a month from now to see what's left, as it might be massively discounted by that point. And the liquidators are ready to drop prices should they get the sense that items aren't moving as hoped. Again, according to Time magazine (referring to a liquidator involved with a Circuit City store), "in a stockroom, he's got hundreds of additional discount stickers piled up — 40%, 50%, all the way through 80% off. Electronics are rarely discounted as desperately as, say, clothes, so 10-20% deals alone could move the merchandise. According to the liquidation firms, Circuit City sales are beating projections thus far. But with consumer spending so dismal, and so many stores desperate for dollars, Fried [the liquidator being referenced] might need to shift those stickers to the sales floor. 'It used to be that if you were doing a liquidation, you were the only one out there,' Fried says. 'Now, there's much more competition. You have to be sharper.' And ready to sell a 40-inch plasma for chump change." Buyer Beware One final note: In most -- if not all -- cases, once you purchase an item from Circuit City, you cannot return it. So make sure that you really want the item, and understand that if you run into a problem, you're stuck with it.

Give Us This Day Our Daily CupCake...

In search of finding out more information about the G1 Google Android Cupcake Update...I found the cutest ever post. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

The 2nd of two rumored cupcake release dates have passed and depression is setting in. It seems we must resort to prayer and so…

“In the name of the father/fabricator (HTC) and of the son/service (T-mobile) and of the holy ghost (Google)amen.

Our father (Android) who are in heaven (Online) hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come on earth (in handsets) as it is in heaven (online). Give us this day our daily bread (cupcake) and forgive us our trepasses (being early adopters) as we forgive those who trespass against us (AT&T, Apple and Iphone users).
Lead us not into temptation (lusting for flash, video and stereo bluethooth), world (internet) without end amen.”

Let “Cupcake” fall from heaven like “Manna” to sustain us as we cross the desert looking for the holy land, peopled by other Android users.

* * Confirmation of Replacement G1 Batteries Being Sent Out?

Confirmation of Replacement G1 Batteries Being Sent Out?

Last week, a handful of Android and mobile tech sites were buzzing with rumors of a replacement G1 battery being sent out by T-Mobile. Our friend Michael, of GoogleAndBlog, seemed to be the one to break that story, getting lots of attention from around the net.

One of our readers sent in an email this evening regarding a conversation he had with a supervisor at T-Mobile:

Just wanted to let you guys know that i just got off the phone with a tmobile supervisor who confirmed that replacement batteries are being sent out and that there was an internal memo sent around that extra batteries are being sent out free of charge and there will be no need to send back your old one! He was unable however to confirm whether or not they would be of a higher capacity or not. He said he would think it would be the same one just that consumers would have two batts.

Has anyone else spoken to T-Mobile directly about this situation? If so, what have you heard? Having a second battery is nice and all, but it’s still a pain to charge up when you have to put it into the phone. Here’s hoping it’s just a bigger battery.

HTC Dream based Android Dev 1 phone available for US$399

HTC Dream based Android Dev 1 phone available for US$399

Google is now offering the HTC Dream based Android Dev 1 smartphone to registered Google developers for US$399. The device is free of locks of any kind, and can be used with any SIM card. It also features an unlocked bootloader that doesn’t require signed images, so that you can load custom builds of the Android OS onto the phone.

Before you can buy one of these, though, you have to be registered as a Google Android developer, a process that is simple, but costs $25 to do. Right now, at least, Google is limiting orders to one handset per developer. They hint at the possibility of that changing in the future, though.

The specs on the phone appear to be exactly the same as those of the T-Mobile G1, including Wi-Fi and 3G access on the 1700 and 2100MHz network bands. The graphics on the back of the phone are new, though, so people in the know will recognize your phone as being one of the special development versions. The phone includes a 1GB microSD card and basic accessories like a charger and USB cable and wired stereo headset, but nothing special that I can see.

The Android Dev 1 phone is currently available in the United States as well as the following markets: UK, Germany, Japan, India, Canada, France, Taiwan, Spain, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Poland, and Hungary.

You can register as an Android developer on Google’s website and will be able to buy an Android Dev 1 once you have done so.

Thanks to Nick from HTCSource.com for the tip.

[via HTC Source]

Yahoo! Profiles

Have you set up your Yahoo! Profiles page yet?

Unlock new features by connecting to the people you care about.*

Start making connections now.

Go to Mail

Your Inbox understands friends and family come first.

See your preferred emails first.

Emails from your connections appear right on your "Welcome" page.

Find your favorite emails quickly.

Click "From Connections" to only see messages from your connections.

Keep up with friends and family.

See what your connections are sharing on the web—right from your Inbox.

Making connections 101

• What are connections?
• How do I invite a connection?
• What's in it for someone I invite?


• All help topics for connections >>

More smart features are on the way!

Large file sharing

Birthday reminders

Making connections 101

• What are connections?
• How do I invite a connection?
• What's in it for someone I invite?


• All help topics for connections >>

More smart features are on the way!

Large file sharing

Birthday reminders

*If these features are not already available to you, they will be soon!

What’s in it for the people I am asking to connect with me?

Here are a few reasons why they would want to connect:

• Connecting puts their new messages to you front and center in your Inbox.
• They get a profile on Yahoo!—a page that’s all theirs.
• They get Yahoo! Updates. When their connections (like you) do something like post new photos, rate or review something, etc., they’ll see it in Yahoo! Updates. It makes it easier for them to keep in touch with you!
• If they use Yahoo! Mail, they will get access to the newest features first and also see your new messages front and center in their Inbox.

And more is coming soon to make it even easier for connections to communicate and share.

Windows Live OneCare safety scanner: Free online tool for PC health and safety

Have you tried Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner?
I have. It really is free and it really does work. The catch? After it scans and removes the bad stuff from your computer, it gives you the choice to either try the 90 day free trial or to skip it. That's it.

Windows Live OneCare safety scanner: Free online tool for PC health and safety

Get a free PC safety scan
Windows Live OneCare safety scanner is a free service designed to help ensure the health of your PC.
Check for and remove viruses
Get rid of junk on your hard disk
Improve your PC's performanceNew: Windows Vista users, try the beta edition of the scanner, just for Windows Vista.

Fix specific PC issues
Use the full service scan to check everything. To help fix particular problems on your PC, turn to the individual scanners below.
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Learn How to Protect Your PC
To help protect your computer against a wide variety of security threats, see Protect Your PC.

Getting more SuperBuddy icons

I was online with my brother tonight on instant messenger and he was telling me that he has a penguin SuperBuddy icon that talked. I never knew this because I mute my sound on instant messenger. So, he was showing me by typing certain words, his penguin would say what he typed. I never knew that! How cool! So, of course, I just HAD to share this with everyone! They are FREE, so get yours today!

Getting more SuperBuddy icons

A supply of SuperBuddy™ Icons is already available from AOL Expressions.

To get more SuperBuddy Icons

1. Click the Expressions icon on the AOL Toolbar.
2. In the AOL Expressions window that opens, click Change Buddy Icon.
3. Click the SuperBuddy tab and select a sub-category from the list in the middle.
4. Select a SuperBuddy from the SuperBuddy preview window.
5. Click Save.

More SuperBuddy icons are being developed, and AOL will make them available in AOL Expressions when they are ready.

2008 Budget Holiday Gift Guide - Great Gifts Under $25

Introducing ThinkComputers.org, our first male Budget Babe! Welcome to the Budget Babe Brigade! Great, cool and modern gift ideas for reasonable prices.

ThinkComputers 2008 Budget Holiday Gift Guide:
2008 Budget Holiday Gift Guide - Great Gifts Under $25

This holiday season is different from many that we have seen in the past. The main reason for that is because the economy is horrible right now. Most people are spending less than they ever have before on holiday gifts this year. Things are so bad that most stores do not even have those amazing deals that we are used to seeing this time of year. If you look at Black Friday's deals none were really earth-shattering. So with that said here are some things you can get for that computer enthusiast or yourself on the cheap.

Black Friday Sale at StarWarsShop Starts Nov 28!

If you are looking for a gift this holiday for the Star Wars Lover/Collector in your life, this is a great deal to get for them.

Black Friday Sale at StarWarsShop starts November 28 and continues through to CyberMonday, December 1!

Starting November 28, make sure you're in front of a computer to take advantage of StarWarsShop's huge Black Friday Sale, which knocks 10% off every item in stock for regular shoppers, and 20% off for Hyperspace members! That's one dollar off every five spent!

And just in case you're sleeping off a tryptophan haze the day after Thanksgiving, StarWarsShop is extending the sale through the weekend and into Monday, so that's four whole days to reap big savings on Star Wars, Clone Wars, and Indy merch!

StarWarsShop is also giving away a free exclusive "Star Wars Holiday Special" Topps trading card with every order while supplies last, so you'll not want to miss this sale!

Be sure to mark your calendars and be camped out in front of StarWarsShop's virtual doors on November 28 to get the best deals of the year!

Hyperspace members -- be sure you're signed in to StarWarsShop to get the extra 10% discount on top of the 10%-off sale prices! Not a Hyperspace member? What are you waiting for -- Join today!

Google Chrome is rather odd with iGoogle

I don't often use homepages, but I do have them for wherever you can. I added an application to my iGoogle page using the Google Chrome Browser and I got a pop-up that alerted me that "this page is not supported by this browser." Rather strange wouldn't you say? Hopefully Google will fix this rather intricate miscommunication with each other soon.

Microsoft chopping Zune prices

With the economy tanking and the holidays looming, Microsoft is hoping to salvage some Zune sales by chopping prices.

(Credit: Microsoft)

The software maker plans to announce on Wednesday a price cut for its flash-based models. The 4GB version will drop to $99, the 8GB model will drop by $10 to $139, and the 16GB model will sell for $179, down from $199.

Microsoft is also cutting prices for several of its Zune accessories. The cuts take effect on Wednesday in the U.S. and on Friday in Canada.

Zune marketing director Adam Sohn said in an interview on Tuesday that the moves were being made to "ensure hopefully we have a good holiday season." The prices put Zune's flash players cheaper than a similar capacity iPod Nano, though Sohn said that wasn't the explicit goal of the price cuts.

"We're trying to take into consideration what the realities of the market are," Sohn said.

The company introduced the latest Zune models, as well as the version 3.0 update to its software in September. Microsoft introduced a few new games and other device features on Tuesday as part of a version 3.1 firmware update.

Microsoft also kicked off a new wave of TV ads on Monday that aim to get more people to download the free Zune software, even if they haven't yet decided to plunk down for a Zune player or Zune Pass subscription.

"We think we need to attack it from both sides," Sohn said. The ads will run in prime time as well as on national cable and online, he said.

Originally posted at Beyond Binary

Computer, Interrupted

Most of you aren't aware of this, but my computer has been shutting itself off alot lately. This was Shawn's computer prior to it becoming mine. I have no idea why it does this, but it always seems to shut off while I am in the middle of a post or uploading photos. Finally after the One Millionth time of doing this, it finally opened a browser window and said:
Blue screen error caused by a device or driver
You received this message because a hardware device, its driver, or related software has caused a blue screen error. This type of error means the computer has shut down abruptly to protect itself from potential data corruption or loss.
In this case, we were unable to detect the specific device or driver that caused the problem.
Troubleshooting

The following troubleshooting steps might prevent the blue screen error from recurring. Try them in the order given. If one step does not solve the problem, then move on to the next one.
Step 1: Download and install the latest updates and device drivers for your computer
Step 2: Remove any new hardware or software to isolate the cause of the blue screen
Step 3: Scan your computer for viruses
Step 4: Check your hard disk for errors
Step 5: Restore your computer to an earlier state

Advanced troubleshooting

Corrupted error report
Unfortunately, the error report you submitted is corrupted and cannot be analyzed. Corrupted error reports are rare. They can be caused by hardware or software problems, and they usually indicate a serious problem with your computer.
Troubleshooting

Scenario 1: Click here if this is the first corrupted error report for this computer
Scenario 2: Click here if the corrupted error reports are persistent on this computer


Problem caused by computer hardware
You received this message because hardware or software in your computer caused Windows to shut down unexpectedly and restart. This is a serious problem, commonly referred to as a stop error or blue screen.
Troubleshooting

If you have received this error more than once, we recommend that you do the following:
Back up your files to avoid data loss in case of a complete hardware failure.
Contact the original manufacturer of your computer to determine the specific component which is failing.
How do I find my computer manufacturer (OEM)?
Additional technical information


Corrupted error report
Unfortunately, the error report you submitted is corrupted and cannot be analyzed. Corrupted error reports are rare. They can be caused by hardware or software problems, and they usually indicate a serious problem with your computer.
Troubleshooting

Scenario 1: Click here if this is the first corrupted error report for this computer
Scenario 2: Click here if the corrupted error reports are persistent on this computer



Problem caused by antivirus software
Although we have not determined the specific cause of this problem, we know the problem was caused by antivirus software.
Recommendation

To try to solve this problem, follow these steps. One step might solve the problem, but if it doesn't, then go on to the next step.
Update your antivirus software
Check for multiple antivirus programs running on your computer
Contact the antivirus manufacturer
To see a list of Microsoft and third-party solutions for spyware, adware, and antivirus software, go to the following website online.
Security software: Downloads and trials


Problem caused by computer hardware
You received this message because hardware or software in your computer caused Windows to shut down unexpectedly and restart. This is a serious problem, commonly referred to as a stop error or blue screen.
Troubleshooting

If you have received this error more than once, we recommend that you do the following:
Back up your files to avoid data loss in case of a complete hardware failure.
Contact the original manufacturer of your computer to determine the specific component which is failing.
How do I find my computer manufacturer (OEM)?
Additional technical information

Is it possible that my computer just cannot handle the web 2.0? Too many pictures and widgets and stuff to keep up with?

Computer, Interrupted

Most of you aren't aware of this, but my computer has been shutting itself off alot lately. This was Shawn's computer prior to it becoming mine. I have no idea why it does this, but it always seems to shut off while I am in the middle of a post or uploading photos. Finally after the One Millionth time of doing this, it finally opened a browser window and said:
Blue screen error caused by a device or driver
You received this message because a hardware device, its driver, or related software has caused a blue screen error. This type of error means the computer has shut down abruptly to protect itself from potential data corruption or loss.
In this case, we were unable to detect the specific device or driver that caused the problem.
Troubleshooting

The following troubleshooting steps might prevent the blue screen error from recurring. Try them in the order given. If one step does not solve the problem, then move on to the next one.
Step 1: Download and install the latest updates and device drivers for your computer
Step 2: Remove any new hardware or software to isolate the cause of the blue screen
Step 3: Scan your computer for viruses
Step 4: Check your hard disk for errors
Step 5: Restore your computer to an earlier state

Advanced troubleshooting

Corrupted error report
Unfortunately, the error report you submitted is corrupted and cannot be analyzed. Corrupted error reports are rare. They can be caused by hardware or software problems, and they usually indicate a serious problem with your computer.
Troubleshooting

Scenario 1: Click here if this is the first corrupted error report for this computer
Scenario 2: Click here if the corrupted error reports are persistent on this computer


Problem caused by computer hardware
You received this message because hardware or software in your computer caused Windows to shut down unexpectedly and restart. This is a serious problem, commonly referred to as a stop error or blue screen.
Troubleshooting

If you have received this error more than once, we recommend that you do the following:
Back up your files to avoid data loss in case of a complete hardware failure.
Contact the original manufacturer of your computer to determine the specific component which is failing.
How do I find my computer manufacturer (OEM)?
Additional technical information


Corrupted error report
Unfortunately, the error report you submitted is corrupted and cannot be analyzed. Corrupted error reports are rare. They can be caused by hardware or software problems, and they usually indicate a serious problem with your computer.
Troubleshooting

Scenario 1: Click here if this is the first corrupted error report for this computer
Scenario 2: Click here if the corrupted error reports are persistent on this computer



Problem caused by antivirus software
Although we have not determined the specific cause of this problem, we know the problem was caused by antivirus software.
Recommendation

To try to solve this problem, follow these steps. One step might solve the problem, but if it doesn't, then go on to the next step.
Update your antivirus software
Check for multiple antivirus programs running on your computer
Contact the antivirus manufacturer
To see a list of Microsoft and third-party solutions for spyware, adware, and antivirus software, go to the following website online.
Security software: Downloads and trials


Problem caused by computer hardware
You received this message because hardware or software in your computer caused Windows to shut down unexpectedly and restart. This is a serious problem, commonly referred to as a stop error or blue screen.
Troubleshooting

If you have received this error more than once, we recommend that you do the following:
Back up your files to avoid data loss in case of a complete hardware failure.
Contact the original manufacturer of your computer to determine the specific component which is failing.
How do I find my computer manufacturer (OEM)?
Additional technical information

Is it possible that my computer just cannot handle the web 2.0? Too many pictures and widgets and stuff to keep up with?