Nintendo: Children Under Six Shouldn’t Play 3-D Games On 3DS

Nintendo Co. has issued a warning that children under the age of six shouldn’t play three-dimensional games on its soon-to-be-released hand-held game machine, as looking at 3-D images for a long period of time can have a harmful effect on the growth of young children’s eyes.

The company posted the disclaimer at the bottom of its Japanese-language website promoting a three-day event in Japan where people can try its new Nintendo 3DS, due to launch Feb. 26 in Japan. It asks that six-year-olds and those younger play games on the 3DS in two-dimension mode.

“For children under the age of six, looking at 3-D images for a long time could possibly have a negative impact on the growth of their eyes,” Nintendo said on the website. It also warned that users should take breaks every 30 minutes when playing games in 3-D and stop playing immediately if they feel ill.

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The Truth Wears Off

On September 18, 2007, a few dozen neuroscientists, psychiatrists, and drug-company executives gathered in a hotel conference room in Brussels to hear some startling news. It had to do with a class of drugs known as atypical or second-generation antipsychotics, which came on the market in the early nineties.

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The Unbearable Inevitability of Being Android, 1995

According to soldiers of the Android Crusade, 2011 is the year Google will crush iOS to declare its inevitable suzerainty over mobile territories.

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Top 5 Best DVD to iPod Converter Review

You may haven’t figured out how to rip your DVD to your iPod, and played in the right resolution for your iPod. And often, you are confused about which software is the best one. Everybody has its own opinion about that. Here, I give you top 5 best DVD to iPod Converter Review. You can choose what you think the best DVD to iPod Converter among them. I will take 6 points into review.

1) Cost/Performance: Everybody wants to gain more with less money.
2)Video Quality: Someone often uses the video iPod to watch movie, so the output video quality should be considered seriously. Top DVD to iPod output without any loss in the video and image quality of the exports. To enjoying the high definition video is of great pleasure. Or else, not only your eyes may get hurt; the annoying jumpy and mosaics will also bother you.
3) Speed: Convert DVD often takes time, an hour DVD movie takes around thirty minutes to convert to MPEG-4 movie, if you have multiple DVDs to be converted, a high speed converter would be your best bet, or else, you will waste much time on the conversion, and your computer will be tied to the process.
4) Quality of DVD: Sometimes, rip DVD to iPod according to the original DVD quality, or the types of the DVD to determine the ripped file quality.
5) Easy to use: There are still many iPod users knew little about computer, so complicated parameter settings will strain their brain, as a result, a application with simple interface and steps is the acceptable.
6) Personal Demands: For example, someone just wants to convert part of the DVD video, or others want the special output video format like Apple TV compliant forms and etc.

Concerning the above factors, I've selected five DVD to iPod converters for reference.
DVD to iPod Converter for Windows Review:
First: Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Suite.
Second: Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Converter.
Third: Tipard DVD to iPod Converter.

Comment: After you install Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Converter, You will be greatly impressed by its friendly interface. In addition to its top conversion function, it provides the function to optimize your conversion file, set the parameters for you, crop video, trim video, select subtitle etc. If you have many DVDs must be converted and cropped. Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Converter meet your needs.

We tested Tipard DVD to iPod Converter, it is amazing that Regardless of the DVD media we used, the ripped files looked and sounded great. It is also combined with many useful features, trim your video clips; crop the play region of video; set the video effect. If you care about the Cost/Performance, and you care about the video/ audio quality, Tipard DVD to iPod Converter is suit for you.

As for Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Suite, It is the top favorable software, I believe. The reason is that it combines DVD to iPod Converter, iPod to Computer Transfer and iPod Movie Converter into one. With this powerful software, you not only can rip DVD to your iPod, but also convert any video formats to your iPod supporting one. As well as Transfer music and video from iPod to computer. If you want to Rip DVD and convert your favorite video including the FLV format to your iPod with one and inexpensive software, Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Suite is the best one.

DVD to iPod Converter for Mac Review:
First: Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Converter for Mac
Second: Tipard DVD to iPod Converter for Mac

Comment: Similarity, the above two Mac software is same on the main function. As for the interface, it’s up to you preference. Frankly, Tipard DVD to iPod Converter for Mac take a little shorter to convert, but considering the video quality, Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Converter for Mac ripped DVD video is more remarkable. Of course, you can test it by yourself. You would found the video conversions are just as clear as the original, sometimes even better.

How to convert videos such as MP4, WMV, MOV and AVI to DVD for Free

DVD Flick is a free DVD authoring program that allows you to take a video file saved on your computer and converts it into a DVD that can play back in a DVD player, your computer, or Home Cinema set. The software allows you to add audio tracks and subtitles to your DVD. Your original video files may be in any of the following container formats: AVI, MOV, MPG, WMV, ASF, FLV (Flash video), Matroska and MPG. Supported codecs include MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, XVid, DivX, WMA and WMV (Windows Media Audio and Video), MP3, OGG Vorbis, H264 and On2 VP5/6. The program is open source.
DVD Flick is the all-in-one tool that can convert:
AVI to DVD, FLV to DVD, HDMOV to DVD, MKV to DVD, MJPG to DVD, MPG to DVD, M2V to DVD, MP4 to DVD, M4V to DVD, NSV to DVD, NUT to DVD, QT to DVD, MOV to DVD, RM to DVD, SMK to DVD, OGM to DVD, WMV to DVD, ASF to DVD, 3GP to DVD, 3G2 to DVD for free.
DVD Flick supports DVD Authoring, ISO image creating, DVD burning also in one tool.
System requirements:

• A Pentium or AMD K-6 processor. Pentium 3 or later recommended, the faster the better.
• 64 MB of free physical RAM, 128 MB or more is recommended.
• Windows 2000, Windows XP , Windows Vista (If you are Mac user, use this Mac dvd creator)

Download the latest version of the DVD Flick website
If you are using Mac, Please click here to download the Mac DVD Creator

1. Download and run DVD Flick



2. Click "New project” button to create a new project.
3. Browse your hard drives to select path to the folder, where the resulting DVD folders
(AUDIO_TS, VIDEO_TS) will be saved. It is highly recommended to use NTFS file system in your OS, cause the temporary m2v files in most cases exceeds 4GB limit for FAT32 file system. Additionally, don't use non-English letters to the browsing path, because the errors could occur during DVD authoring process.
4. Add your title - select the video file or files for the project. DVD Flick supports these video file types: AVI, FLV, HDMOV, MKV, MJPG, MPG, M2V, MP4, M4V, NSV, NUT, QT, MOV, RM, SMK, OGM, WMV, ASF, 3GP, 3G2.
5. Title added. Left bar indicates how many bytes is used on the blank DVD disc with the default preferences. The percentage depends on the video file size which you have added in the previous guide step.



6. Edit title.
(1) General settings for the "Title".
reate chapters every: Purpose of the chapters usage is forward/back skipping forward during the DVD viewing. It is recommended to use this option.
You can also use fixed numbers of chapters - check "Create" button.
Aspect ratio is an auto detected value received from video file's frame dimension.


(2) Video sources for the "Title" - this tab informs us about video codec, frame size, Aspect ratio value, frame rate - Frames Per Second.


Frame rate. Check the bottom listing:

• 23,976 FPS - NTSC Film Format
• 25 FPS - PAL Format
• 29,97 FPS - NTSC Format
• 30 FPS - NTSC Format Reccomendations for the non-standard
• 12,5 FPS - PAL Format
• 15 FPS - NTSC Format Warning! Remember the format for your file - it will be the same "Target format" in "Project settings" .

Add a file to a title: This option allow to you to add new file or files to the "Title". It could be additional videos for this DVD, cutted scenes for examples, etc. Important thing is the same FPS for the main video file and the additional file.
Remove a file to a title: You can also remove a file to a title.
(3) Audio tracks tab.
Remove an audio track: Press "Edit" button, then remove from the "Audio track sources" additional audio track.
Add an audio track: Press "Add" button on the ”Audio track sources" tab, select the audio file from hard drive, check in the new "select audio track(s)" window track(s) you wish to add. Press "Accept" button. DVD Flick could extract audio tracks from all supported video files (AVI, FLV, HDMOV, MKV, MJPG, MPG, M2V, MP4, M4V, NSV, NUT, QT, MOV, RM, SMK, OGM, WMV, ASF, 3GP, 3G2), and also native audio file formats: AAC, AC3, Flac, MKA, MP3, MP2, MPA, OGG, WAV, WMA
Select language for the additional audio track. Select the audio track, and then select from the”Track language" list box.
(4). Subtitles tab.
Add subtitles. Press "Add" button on the "Subtitles" tab, and then select from disk file with subtitles. DVD Flick supports these subtitles formats: AQT, JS, RT, SMI, ASS, SRT, SSA, TXT. Subtitle settings. Press "Edit" button to change subtitles settings. Select the language you need. Other settings are for the Font, Font size, and placement of the subtitles. As usually, press "Accept" button to save setting. "Force display" option will force subtitle displaying during playback, even they were not selected in menu.



If everything was made rightly, we will see this window with the changed settings for subtitles. There are no more editing tabs for "Title properties". Press "Accept" button to save preferences.
7. Project settings. At the DVD Flick main window press "Project settings" button.
General tab.
Select a "Target size" for your DVD from list box. The default value is "DVD (4,3 GB)", default values could be changed by pressing "Use as defaults" button. If you need to select custom DVD size just scroll up the list box to the "Custom" value and the bottom "Custom size" option will be enabled for editing.
"Encoder priority" allows to you to use "DVD Flick" with high priority in your operating system to decrease full encoding time.



Video tab.
Set your DVD "Target Format".
"Encoding profile" for better encoding performance is highly recommended to select as "Normal" or "Best". "Fastest" and "Fast" mode decrease full encoding time, but with the lower quality results.
"Target bitrate" is more easy to use as "Auto fit". This option will calculate bitrate for encoding automatically depends on DVD "Target size" and will be set as maximum possible value. If you have some advanced experience with DVD encoding, you can set "Custom bitrate".
Set up advanced video options - press "Advanced" button.
Check "Second encoding pass" to improve output encoding results. It is highly recommended to use this option, but it wills increase full encoding time.
Check "Half horizontal resolution" to enable Half D1 DVD Mode - one of the standard for DVD, decreases frame size to 352x576 for PAL and to 352x480 for NTSC (instead of 720x576 (PAL) and 720x480 (NTSC)). Could be used as a possibility to decrease encoding bitrate, for more video length on one DVD disc.
Check "Add overscan borders" to make your DVD with black left and right borders to view all the source video on your TV.
Deinterlace option is not recommended to use.
Check "Force MPEG-2 recompression" to recompress your mpeg-2 video source files, do not check option if m2v files were encoded with Cam Video Tool 4 DVD Flick.



Burning tab.
If the "Create ISO image" is set, the ISO image file will be created on your disk, in the "Project destination folder". ISO image could be useful, if you prefer to burn DVD using another application, supporting ISO images. "MDS" (Media decriptor) file will be created also. If you want to burn your DVD with DVD Flick, check "Burn project to disc" (red arrow). if you are using DVD+RW, DVD-RW disc, check "Automatically erase disc if it is rewritable". If quick erase will be not possible, ImgBurn (included in DVD Flick installation package) will make full erase for rewritable discs.
Accept all "Project settings" using "Accept" button. Now we are ready to burn our DVD.

8. Create DVD.
Press "Create DVD" button at the main window.
DVD Flick will ask for confirmation to proceed - press "Yes".
Additional warning about "Project destination folder" - Press "Yes".
"DVD Flick Progress" window shows to user all executed steps.
When the DVD burning will be done, we will see this window. Press "Close" to return to the DVD Flick main window. In the main window you can save DVD Flick project to your hard drive.

DVD Flick is only for Windows PC users. If you are Mac user, you can use this best DVD creator for Mac. It is a professional Mac DVD Burner program that converts almost all popular video formats such as FLV, MPEG1, MPEG2, MP4, DAT, 3GP, 3G2, MOV, AVI to DVD on Mac. And it can burn DVD movie playable on portable or home DVD player on Mac.

If you want to convert iTunes videos to DVD, you need to get the videos from iTunes to computer .
And then use DVD flick to convert iTunes videos to DVD for free.

If you want to burn YouTube videos on DVD, you can download the youtube videos to your computer.
And then using DVD flick to burn YouTube videos on DVD for free. If you are a Mac user, use this best dvd creator for Mac to help you. You can also copy videos form other video sites such as veoh, google video, iFlim, vidilife, blip.tv, music.com, zippyvideos, dailymotion, devilducky, etc and then burn them to DVD using this methods.

Here are some other DVD burner.
DVD Styler
DVD Styler is an open source DVD authoring system for Windows and Linux. It converts MPEG files, which you can drag and drop into its window, create NTSC/PAL DVD menus which are highly customizable (you can set image backgrounds, put text and images anywhere, change the font and colors, etc), set chapters for the movie, etc.
DivXtoDVD Perl Script
DivXtoDVD is a Perl script for Linux and other Posix systems (like BSD, Unix, Unix-like operating systems) that converts a DivX movie to DVD compliant files (AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS directories and files). It uses transcode, ffmpeg, mjpeg and dvdauthor to do the job in one step. The software is open source. Note that this is different from the commercial ConvertXtoDVD software which was also formerly named DivXtoDVD. If you're looking for the latter, a trial download is available.
ImgBurn
ImgBurn is a lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application that everyone should have in their toolkit! It has several 'Modes', each one for performing a different task:
Read - Read a disc to an image file
Build - Create an image file from files on your computer or network - or you can write the files directly to a disc
Write - Write an image file to a disc
Verify - Check a disc is 100% readable. Optionally, you can also have ImgBurn compare it against a given image file to ensure the actual data is correct
Discovery - Put your drive / media to the test! Used in combination with DVDInfoPro, you can check the quality of the burns your drive is producing
Q DVD-Author
Q DVD-Author is essentially a GUI front-end for dvdauthor and other related tools found on a Linux system. You can create DVD menus, convert your projects between PAL and NTSC (and vice versa), create sub-menus, add subtitles, transcode your input videos from other formats, apply multiple audio streams to the videos, give menus multiple soundtracks, create a DVD slideshow, create animated menus, etc. This is an open source program that works under Linux and other Posix OSes.
KDE DVD Authoring Wizard
The KDE DVD Authoring Wizard allows you to create a DVD from a DVD-compatible MPEG-2 file (that is, it doesn't do the conversion from other formats for you). You can add multiple files and create a menu of the playlist if you wish. Your DVD menu can have multiple pages, a soundtrack from OGG or MP3, animated thumbnails and be in the NTSC or PAL format, be in 16:9 widescreen or 4:3 full screen, etc. This DVD authoring tool works under Linux. It is open source.

How to convert mpeg mp4 wmv avi to ipaq, rip dvd to ipaq

The tutorial includes two parts. The part 1 will show you how to convert mpeg mp4 wmv flv 3gp avi to iPAQ video step by step with Aiseesoft Total Video Converter. And the part 2 will show you how to convert dvd movie to iPAQ video step by step with Aiseesoft DVD Ripper. The detailed steps are as follows:

Part1. how to convert mpeg mp4 wmv flv 3gp avi to iPAQ video?
Aiseesoft Total Video Converter is a powerful iPAQ video converter which can convert various video formats including AVI, Divx, XviD, WMV, MPEG, MPG, FLV(YouTube video), RM, RMVB, TOD, MOD, ASF, H.264, etc to iPAQ video. And it is a video joiner, and video editor for you to convert video files to the formats you want, so you can enjoy you movie on all common digital players like iPod, Zune, iPhone, Apple TV, PSP, Xbox 360, PS3, Archos, iRiver, Creative Zen, PMP, Smart Phone, Pocket PC, PDA, Mobile Phone, etc.

Here's the tutorial about how to convert mpeg mp4 wmv flv 3gp avi to iPAQ video with Aiseesoft Total Video Converter

Step1 Free to Download Aiseesoft Total Video Converter and install it.

Step2 Click the "Add File" button to import your videos. If you experience any problems adding videos by directly clicking the "Add File" button, you can click "File -> Add File" to add the video files you want to convert from your computer.



Step3 This software can convert video to various video formats for PMP, Xbox 360, iPod, PSP, Zune, cell phone, etc. Click the "Profile" drop-down list to select the format "HP iPAQ Video(*.wmv)"



Step4 If you want to customize the output quality, click the "Settings" button to open the Settings panel, where you can set resolution, frame rate, video bit rate, audio bit rate, sample, etc.



Step5 Click the "Browse" button to specify a location on your computer to save the converted movie. If you want to open the output folder, you can just click the button "Open Folder". If you want to merge the added video files into one file, check the option "Merge into one file". By default, the the merged file is named after the first selected file.

Step6 When you get ready to convert the added video files, click the “Start” button to start conversion.

Part 2. how to convert dvd movie to iPAQ video?
Aiseesoft DVD Ripper is all-in-one, super fast DVD ripper software. The best DVD ripper can rip DVD movies to all popular video and audio formats. And it let you easily copy DVD movie to iPAQ video, iPod Video, Zune, iPhone, Apple TV, PSP, Xbox 360, PS3, Archos, iRiver, Creative Zen, PMP, MP4/MP3 Player, Smart Phone, Pocket PC, PDA, Mobile Phone, etc.

Step1. Download Aiseesoft DVD Ripper and install it.

Step2. Insert your DVD disc into your DVD-Rom, then run the software, click "Load DVD" button and add the DVD file. You can also add DVD/IFO from your hard disk by clicking "Load IFO File".



Step3. This software can convert DVD to various video formats such as MPEG-4, AVI, WMV, FLV, 3GP, VOB, etc. Click the "Profile" drop-down list to select the format "HP iPAQ Video(*.wmv)".



If you want to customize the output video, you can click the "Settings" button next to the format field to open the Settings window and set video resolution, frame rate, bit rate, encoder, etc. See the figure below:



Step4. Select Subtitle and Audio
Regular DVD movies usually have several subtitles such as English, French, German, etc. You can select one you prefer. You can also delete the subtitle by selecting "No Subtitle", Selecting Audio is the same.

Step5. After the above steps, click "Start" to start conversion.

How to Put Youtube videos on iPod, PowerPoint ,etc for free

This guide will show you how to download video content from numerous sites (youtube, Google Video,etc) and convert videos to iPod on Mac using two methods. It is pretty simple for according to the following statements.
iPod, iPhone accepts mp4 video detail as follow: MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per sec., Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48 kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats.
PPT accepts: mpeg, asf, avi, wpl. wm, wmx, wmd, wmz, dvr-ms, mpv2, mp2v, mov, etc

1. Using free online YouTube converter
The first method is using a website to convert youtube video to iPod or powerpoint for free, Of course, you can also convert other media videos.
This is good for you when you only have one file to convert or you can't install the programs necessary for conversion. My favorite is zamzar converter.
You don't even need to download the video file to your computer. Enter the URL of the video to the box, choose the format you want to convert youtube videos to (iPod accepts mp4 video. So choose the format 'mp4'), and Enter your email address , then click 'convert'. The output file will be sent to your mailbox after the conversion.



Another free online converter I like is media convert.
But you can't convert big video files using free online converters. It is up to 100MB. And the quality of the output files is so.

Tip: How to put pictures and photos to iPod, iPhone
1. Download iTunes from http://www.apple.com
2. Plug your iPod in to iTunes
3. Make a folder on the computer with all of the photos you want on your iPod (Name it something you with remember!)
4. Click on the iPod icon in iTunes
5. Click on the Tab "Photos" on the top.
6. Check the box "Sync photos from:"
7. Chose the folder all of your photos are in.
8. Click apply, then eject your iPod and enjoy your photos!

2. Using iPod video converter for Mac
The Second Method is using iPod video converter software to convert Youtube videos to iPod on Mac for free.
For this you need the following:
1. A video to download.
2. iPod Video Converter (Mac OS X version / Windows PC version).
Step 1: Download the videos
The downloaded file might be two formats: avi and flv . iPod and iPhone only support mp4 format. So you need to convert the videos to MP4 files.
PowerPoint understands .avi. If it the file is .avi, you do not need to convert it to put it on PPT. But most videos will probably be in .flv format. You can't embed Flash in PowerPoint. These will need to be converted to .mpeg or .avi format.
To do these conversions, you will need video converter which is capable of doing the conversion.

Step 2: Converting The Video to iPod, iPhone, Powerpoint, etc
Great, now you have located the file and downloaded it to the desktop. What's next? Well, you need to open up your freshly installed Aiseesoft Video Converter for Mac.
Click the "Add File" button to add the video files that get from the video sites to the program by automatically selecting an appropriate encoder for the video files you want to convert to.
Select the output format on the output format list. Aiseesoft iPod Video Converter for Mac can convert videos to almost all popular video players like iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano, iPhone, Apple TV, PSP, PS3, Youtube (web), Creative Zen, iRiver PMP, Archos, various video mobile phones and many other digital video and audio players. If you want to put videos to PowerPoint, you need to convert the videos to avi or mpeg formats.
This process only lasts a few minutes at the most.
If you want to convert several videos into one file, what you need to is to click'merge into one file' option . As we know, the mp4 format is high conpatible with iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, PSP, so it the best format for converting to iPod, iPhone, etc.

That Was Fast: About.Me Acquired by AOL

Less than a week after its public debut, About.me, the start-up offering simple personal profile pages that tie together social networking contact info from other sites, is being acquired by AOL. The financial terms aren’t being disclosed, but the company had raised less than a half million dollars from AOL Ventures and True Ventures. Other investors include Ron Conway’s SV Angel and the New York Times Company. It had been in an extended beta trial period since September.

2010 Was a Boom Year in Chip Sales

When 2010 ends, worldwide sales of chips will have grown by their largest single-year increase ever, the market research firm iSuppli says in its latest survey of the global semiconductor market. Chip sales grew to $304 billion, up from $229.5 billion in 2009, the most significant year-to-year increase on a dollar basis ever, and at 32.5 percent, the second-largest on a percentage basis.

Memory chips, both DRAM and Flash memory, had a lot to do with this. DRAM sales grew by 80 percent, and Flash memory grew by 40 percent. But every market segment save for one saw double-digit growth. Good news for Samsung, Micron and Hynix.

The one thing I’ve learned in watching chip markets over a dozen years or so is that booms don’t last. ISuppli is predicting a much slower growth rate of 5 percent for 2011.

Flipboard Caves to User Demand; Adds RSS Feeds (And Flickr and Web Previews)

Flipboard, the social content display application for the iPad, is releasing an update tonight that adds users’ No. 1 most-requested feature: RSS feeds.

Flipboard had resisted adding feeds because its mission is to curate content through social channels. However, said co-founder Evan Doll, the company decided Google Reader wouldn’t be too much of a compromise, because it is synched through the cloud and has social sharing features.

Also, now that Flipboard has access to RSS feeds, it will display the full text of many articles when they are shared by a Flipboard user’s contacts on Facebook or Twitter.

(If publishers provide only excerpts in their RSS feeds, that’s all Flipboard users will get. If publishers are part of Flipboard’s Pages program [full disclosure: All Things Digital is a beta partner], their stories will be displayed in specially formatted “magazinified” pages no matter where they appear in the app.)

Flipboard is also adding Flickr feeds, something that had long been on the company’s list, said Doll. For users who curate their Flickr contacts and favorite pictures, viewing them on Flipboard will be a “personal life magazine,” as Doll put it.

The other big change Flipboard is making is that it will load full Web pages as soon as a user clicks on a story, rather than asking users to take the extra step of clicking a “read on Web” button.

And for good measure, Flipboard will now allow readers to update Facebook and Twitter (as pictured), rather than just consume their content.

Now that Flipboard has caved and added RSS feeds to its app, I asked Doll if it would ever add search to complement social discovery.

“That’s a great question,” he said, before not really answering it.

Flipboard launched last July and has received wide acclaim, including being named Apple’s top iPad app of 2010. However, it has not yet disclosed user numbers.

Best 5 MP3 players

There's no one-size-fits-all MP3 player that's perfect for everybody. Some people need a small MP3 player for the gym, while others need tablet-size players with wide-screen video playback. Whatever your interests are, these five MP3 players broadly represent our current favorite portable music gadgets. If you're looking for your first MP3 player and you want to start at square one, then take a look at CNET's MP3 player buying guide.

Zune (second generation, 80GB, black)



The second-generation, 80GB Zune from Microsoft offers tremendous value for the money, as well as innovative features such as wireless sync, RBDS FM radio information, Wi-Fi music sharing, and subscription music support (Zune Pass). We know the Zune name was dragged through the mud last year, but the second-generation Zune 80 does not disappoint.
Price: $237.49 - $249.99
Filed in: Best 5 MP3 players.

Apple iPod Nano (third generation, 8GB, red)



The latest version of the Nano is no longer the feature-crippled cousin to the iPod. Now in its third generation, the iPod Nano delivers every feature found on the iPod Classic, only in an exceptionally smaller and thinner format. The Nano's best assets are its crisp screen, attractive interface, sturdy and lightweight design, as well as a rechargeable battery that can play music continuously for as many as 24 hours.
Price: $199.00 - $199.00
Filed in: Best 5 MP3 players

Archos 605 WiFi (30GB)



If you're looking for an MP3 player that also makes for a fantastic portable video player, the Archos 605 WiFi is one of the most advanced gadgets around. With it's touch screen interface, gorgeous high-resolution screen, and integrated wireless video and music downloads, the Archos 605 WiFi is one of the best portable distractions money can buy. If you frequently find yourself on the road or in the air with nothing to do, consider the 605 a must-have.
Price:$259.00 - $299.99
Filed in: Best 5 MP3 players

Creative Zen V Plus (4GB, black)



One of the first flash-memory players to break into the 16GB range, the Creative Zen V Plus packs a monster wallop into an ultracompact space, and the vivid OLED display is viewable from any angle. Features include an FM radio, voice and line-in recording, photo and video playback, and compatibility with subscription WMA tracks.
Price: $99.99 - $149.77
Filed in: Best 5 MP3 players

iRiver Clix (4GB, second generation)



The iRiver Clix is the perfect slim and sleek MP3 player for those who find the iPod Nano too stifling, but the Toshiba Gigabeat too bulky. This player comes packed with extras such as an FM radio; a voice recorder; an alarm clock; support for subscription content as well as OGG and Audible files; and photo, video, and text viewing. The Clix includes SRS Wow sound effects, it has good battery life, and it's priced competitively.
Price: $150.95 - $168.99
Filed in: Best 5 MP3 players.

Recommended Products
Audio Converter for Mac
Convert video to MP3, convert audio to any audio format. Aiseesoft Audio Converter for Mac is a program designed just for Mac OS X
Audio Converter for Windows
Convert video, audio to MP3, M4A, WAV, AAC, AC3, and WMA etc. And these audio files can be played on all kinds of different MP3 players and audio players.

Downgrade PSP to version1.5 using PSP battery

Lots of users downgrade their PSP to version 1.5 because they can upgrade their PSP to any version from 1.5. And if you upgrade your PSP to version 3.51, you can play any downloaded games and run any applications. Do you know that you can downgrade your PSP system to version 1.5 all by yourself by turning your PSP battery into a pandora's battery? All you need are an original PSP battery (with more than 50% charge) and a Memory Stick Pro Duo with 1GB memory or above.

I. Get ready (Reformat PSP memory stick)
Before you get started with the downgrade, you need to reformat your PSP memory stick. If you don't know how to reformat it, you can refer to the steps below:
1. Press the HOME button on the bottom left of your PSP.
2. Use the arrow keys to move to the Settings area, then move the up and down keys to go to System Settings.
3. Push the "X" button (or the "O" button, depending on which button is the "Enter" button of your PSP) and scroll to find the "Format Memory Stick" option. Push the "X" button again to select this option.
4. Your PSP will now confirm that you want to reformat the memory stick, choose yes and your PSP will be physically formatted in a few seconds.
To do the downgrade, you also need to download an application pack. After the downloading is finished, what you get will be a compressed application pack named "pandora", decompress it to the root directory of a hard disc, say Disc H. In this "pandora" folder, you can see four folders including mspformat, msinst, battery and installer, and a file named UPDATE.PBP.
Now you are ALL ready to turn your PSP battery to a Pandora's battery and use it to downgrade any PSP!
II.Turn your PSP battery into a padora's battery
Step 1: Logically reformat your PSP Connect your PSP to your computer. And your PSP will be recognized as a new hard disc, say K. Then click Start -> Run, input cmd in the popped up dialog box, and click OK to enter DOS system. Use the below commands one by one to run the mspformat file: Input "H:", and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. (Here H is the disc where the "panndora" folder is located) Input "cd pandora" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. Input "cd mspformat" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. Then input "mspformat.exe K" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. (Here K is the name of the disc that your PSP is recognized on your computer.) After these commands, your PSP will be logically reformatted in a minute.



Step 2: Open the recognized PSP hard disc on your computer, create a new folder and name it "PSP", open this "PSP" folder, create a new folder and name it "game". Copy and paste the "installer" folder and the "battery" folder into the "game" folder. Then copy and paste the UPDATE.PBP file to the root directory of the PSP hard disc on your computer.
Step 3: On your PSP, switch to the Game option, press X or O (depending on which is the "Enter" key of your PSP). Go to "installer" and press X or O to run it.



In a few seconds, a file named "msipl.bin" will be created on the root directory of your PSP memory disc. And now, you should take out your memory disc and then put it back in, which seems to be useless but is a very necessary step.
Step 4: Connect to your PSP back to your computer. Then enter DOS system as mentioned in Step 1. Use the below commands one by one to run the mspformat file:
Input "H:", and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard
Input "cd pandora" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard.
Input "cd minst" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard.
Then input "msinst.exe K K:\msipl.bin " and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. (Here K is the name of the disc that your PSP is recognized on your computer.)
When you see a popped up message asking if you are sure, click "Yes".
Step 5: Go back to your PSP, switch to the Game option, press X or O (depending on which is the "Enter" key of your PSP). Go to "battery" and press X or O to run it, press X or O to OK every popped up message to finish running the battery application.



Now, your pandora's battery has been created!

III. Use the created pandora's battery to downgrade your PSP
After you turn your batter to a PSP downgrade battery (pandora's battery), you can use it to downgrade your PSP by following the instructions below:
Take out your PSP Memory Stick and battery, then put back in your PSP Memory Stick first, and put your battery back in.Turn your PSP power on, when you see three options; select the Downgrade option, your PSP will be downgraded in a very short time and it will be automatically shut down afterwards.Turn your PSP on again, and you will see a blue screen. But no worries, you can just press the O key, and your PSP system is already version 1.5!
Note: The above process will turn your PSP battery to a pandora's battery that can be used for PSP downgrade. But the pandora's battery cannot be used to play PSP games, videos or music. And the process is not reversible. You will need to get an additional PSP battery for regular uses. However, you can use your pandora's battery to downgrade any PSP to version 1.5 or even repair you PSP.

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DVD to PSP Converter for Windows
Aiseesoft DVD to PSP Converter for Windows is a professional application that is designed to convert DVD movie to PSP on PC.

PSP Movie Converter for Windows
Aiseesoft PSP Movie Converter is a professional video to PSP converter for Windows that can convert all sorts of video formats to PSP video on PC.

How to use Mac The Ripper to rip DVD to iPod, iPhone, etc. on Mac

Part 1. Use MacTheRipper to minus the copy protections for free
Mac The Ripper is a free DVD ripper (extractor) for Mac OS X. It can extract commercial DVD movies to your hard drive, minus all the copy protections and region controls put in place by DVD publishers. Mac The Ripper removes CSS encryption, Macrovision protection, and sets the disc's region code to '0' for region-free by default, and is capable of removing RCE region protection as well, making an unrestricted copy of any DVD movie you own. It doesn't rely on the DVD drive to get the CSS decryption keys, so that means that you do not need to play the DVD with DVD Player in order to rip it to your hard drive unprotected. MacThe Ripper is also capable of removing UOPs, or User Operation Prohibitions, which are the settings that prevent you from skipping or fast-forwarding certain parts of DVDs, such as FBI warnings, previews, logos, intros, etc. Mac The Ripper is also able to extract discs with the new ARccOS protection, as well as DVDs that have been damaged or improperly mastered.
WARNING: Disabling UOPs can break the navigation on certain DVDs. If you disable UOPs, be sure to verify the DVD with DVD Player before you burn it to DVD±R disc.

Step 1. install MacThe Ripper
Download it from: http://www.Mactheripper.org. To install Mac The Ripper, simply mount the .dmg archive by double-clicking it, and copy the Mac The Ripper application from it to your Applications folder (or wherever you want it ), along with this Mac The Ripper Manual if you need it.
Step 2. convert DVD for free
To use Mac The Ripper, you should insert your DVD movie into your DVD drive and launch the Mac The Ripper application. Then, you should set the RCE options if applicable. If Mac The Ripper displays 'DISC RCE: -CLEAR-' after scanning the DVD in the drive, you can leave the 'RCE Region' popup menu on 'OFF', as it is by default. Only (and always) set the 'RCE Region' to 'OFF' when it says that RCE is '-CLEAR-'.
Once you've selected the type of extraction and options you want, you can go back to the 'Disc' tab and click the 'GO!' button (or hit the 'Enter' or 'Return' key) to start the extraction.




Step 3, finish extract movie from DVD.



You can find a folder in the save location. The output files extracted by MacTheRipper are saved as .VOB format .
Tip: RCE region protection
region 1: North America; U.S. territories; Bermuda
region 2: Europe; Western Asia; Kingdom of the Netherlands; Egypt, Japan, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland; British overseas territories, French overseas territories; Greenland.
region 3: East and Southeast Asia
region 4: Oceania; Central and South America; Caribbean; Mexico
region 5: Africa, Central and South Asia, Belarus, India, Mongolia, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine
region 6: Mainland China

Part 2. Convert the .VOB files to other video, audio formats compatible with iPod, PSP
After using Mac The Ripper to minus the copy protections, we can use Aiseesoft Video Converter for Mac to convert .VOB files to formats that compatible with popular players such as iPod, iPhone(iPhone 3G), Apple TV, PSP, Zune, etc.
Step 1:
Download and install Aiseesoft Video Converter for Mac
Note: If you just want to convert .vob file for iPod, You can choose this powerful iPod video converter for Mac. It can convert .VOB file to iPod video and iPod audio on Mac OS with powerful functions and fast converting speed!
Step 2:
Run Aiseesoft Video Converter for Mac, click 'Add File' button to import the .VOB files, choose the output format, then click 'Start' to start the conversion. If you want to put the video on PowerPoint, you can choose .avi as output format.
Tip: Aiseesoft DVD Ripper for Mac can rip DVD to all popular video and audio formats directly. It can rip DVD to videos including MP4, AVI, MOV, M4V, 3GP, MPG, MPEG, FLV, etc and can convert DVD audio to MP3, M4A, AAC, AC3, etc. It is more easy to use than Mac the ripper. You can download it for free and have a try.
Step 3:
After the conversion is finished, You can transfer the converted files to the players. For example, use iTunes to transfer the mp4 video to your iPod, here are the steps:
1. Open iTunes and click "File" to add your converted videos to iTunes library.
2. Plug in your iPod to computer, then iTunes will detect your iPod as a device.
3. Select your iPod device on the left panel of iTunes, click "Movies" tab, check the videos you want to sync and click "Apply", done.
Recommend: DVD Converter Suite for Mac: all-in-one solution to convert DVD and Video to MP4, AVI, FLV, MOV, MKV, ASF, directly for your iPhone, iPod, PSP, iPod touch, Zune, etc. on Mac OS X.

Qualcomm to Give FloTV Users Money Back

As Qualcomm aims to bring an end to a painful chapter in its history, the company is now offering refunds to those who bought its FloTV mobile TV units.

The chip maker had already said it would suspend the service in March, so this latest news is an attempt to make good with those who shelled out for the hardware. CEO Paul Jacobs reiterated last week that the company continues to evaluate its options with Flo–from finding a buyer to potentially selling off the spectrum it has for the service.

Qualcomm once had high hopes for the service. However, Jacobs acknowledged at a Churchill Club event last week that, outside of certain live events such as sports, it probably makes sense to offer mobile TV via on-demand streaming, rather than as a broadcast.

To be fully eligible for the rebate, customers must have purchased and activated the service, though there is also a form for those who didn’t even make it that far.

Qualcomm doesn’t want your unit back (apparently, it doesn’t want a bunch of FloTVs, either). Instead, the company’s Web site lists some recycling options. Or you could always keep it as a collector’s item–an early adopter badge of glory.

It’s worth noting that your service gets deactivated once the refund is processed, so on the off-chance you are still watching your Flo, you might want to wait until March to send in your form.

U.S. Tech Job Growth Was Strongest in…Oklahoma City?

The TechAmerica Foundation’s annual Cybercities report covering the state of America’s local technology job markets for 2009 (the most recent data available) paints–as you might expect–a depressing picture in all but a few of the markets surveyed.

One big surprise: The job market with the strongest growth in tech jobs–with a net gain of 900–was Oklahoma City. Don’t pack up the U-Haul just yet. Yes, it added the most technology jobs of the 60 cities in the survey, but it also had one of the smallest overall tech job pools, accounting for only 18,000 jobs, ranking 57th of the 60.

The New York statistical area, which includes New York City, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, had the largest pool of tech jobs at 317,000. It lost 8,700 jobs during the survey period, which as we all know was during the worst throes of the recession and the catastrophe that struck the data-driven financial industry. Fifty-three out of 60 cities saw job losses. Nationally, the group found that the tech industry lost about a quarter million jobs in 2009.

Statistically, the TechAmerica report considers San Francisco, Oakland and the San Jose areas as separate. But if you added them all together, tech jobs would outnumber New York at 394,000. San Jose led the nation in tech pay, at an average of $132,100 per year, and not surprisingly had the highest concentration of tech jobs as a percentage of the workforce: One job in three is tech-related.

The only markets to see job growth aside from Oklahoma City were places like Huntsville, Ala., and San Diego. You can take a look and see how different cities fared here.

AT&T’s Lurie on Losing the iPhone Exclusive: “We Aren’t Concerned About It at All”

At D: Dive Into Mobile today, AT&T’s Glenn Lurie underwent intense scrutiny by Walt Mossberg on the state of AT&T’s wireless network and the ability to make calls.

But Lurie’s strongest opinions were reserved for when it came time to talk about the company’s iPhone exclusivity, which is reportedly coming to an end in the new year. “Remember the Razr five years ago? We had an exclusive, and it was a $600 device. Everyone said that Cingular was dead and we were fine.

“We have 93 million customers and they all have different devices. We have come out publicly and said we aren’t concerned about it at all. The iPhone has been a great device for a long time, and we are in a position to compete with anyone who has any device at any time.”

Put Limewire music, YouTube video on iPod

1. Put music and videos from Limewire to iPod
Limewire is a download tool I assume lot of us use. I often use it to download free music and videos and put them on my iPod. I also often visit Youtube to watch videos and sometimes I download videos from Youtube to put on my iPod.
Search and download songs from Limewire. You may get songs in all sorts of formats, but not all formats are supported by iPod. Usually I select three formats: MP3, AAC and M4A formats that are supported by iPod and can be directly transferred to iPod using iTunes. For the detailed specs info, you can visit http://www.apple.com/iPod/specs.html. After you download the songs, open your iTunes, click "File" from the upper left corner, select "Add file to library", browse your computer hard drive and find the songs downloaded by Limewire, select the songs you prefer, click OK and the songs will be put in your iTunes. Then you can just transfer the songs to your iPod from iTunes.

2.Youtube video to iPod
I often visit Youtube to watch videos and sometimes I download videos from Youtube to put on my iPod. Youtube videos are in FLV formats, so I use a free online FLV converter to do the conversion:
Firstly, go to Youtube and open the page of the video you want to put on your iPod. And you will find the Youtube URL of this video to the right of the playback window. Then copy this URL. See the highlighted area in the figure below:



Secondly, go to http://vixy.net/ , paste the copied URL into the URL field of this web page, and select "MP4 for iPod/PSP" from the "Converts to" drop-down list. Then click "Start" below this list to start the conversion. See the highlighted areas below:



Finally, after the conversion, this website will provide a download link for you to download the converted MP4 file. When you see the link, you can just download the final file from the link, save the downloaded MP4 file on your computer and use iTunes to sync it on to your iPod.

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DVD to iPod Converter for Mac
It's a specially designed iPod conversion program to Convert DVD to iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano, convert DVD to iTunes on Leopard.
DVD to iPod Converter for Windows
It is one of the best conversion programs for PC that can put DVD on iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano and so on.

New Zune2 review (part 2-1) upgrade, hardware, software and Social

When we first caught wind that Microsoft was in fact doing its own portable media player (and then published the first ever photo of the Zune), we hoped it might finally be the play to knock the iPod off its perch. Sure, in mid 2006 there was no shortage of devices more advanced than any given iPod, but then (and now) the iPod enjoyed unchecked dominance of the market in the US and many countries abroad. Steve Jobs knew the day would come that Microsoft would really enter the game.
What we were hoping for was that the portable media world might be in store for another Sony / Nintendo upset. Remember in the 90s how Sony and Nintendo's partnership went awry, and Sony, totally sick of Nintendo completely owning the game console space, brought out the original PlayStation? Before the console's second generation was through Sony had more market share than they knew what to do with. Sony upped Nintendo's game with the PlayStation, then upped their own with the PlayStation 2 -- and took over.
If Sony could do the impossible and topple the infallible Nintendo of old, surely Microsoft, the world's largest technology company, could make at least make a dent in Apple's armor. Yeah, the first-gen product is important, but the second gen product is crucial, because if you can't up your game -- and everyone else's -- you're just another player. This year, Microsoft really had to make the Zune count. Read on to judge for yourself whether they did.
The first generation Zune, as we all know, was little more than a slew of off the shelf hardware and software Microsoft cobbled together in a rush to make a play for the annual holiday gold rush. And the interesting part is, all things considered, it really wasn't bad at all. No one thought it was "done", but it was a lot better than some of the other PMC-based devices we'd seen to date. This year Microsoft brought a slew of new Zune products (and enhancements) to the table, including two new players (flagship 80GB and the flash model), new device software (which runs on all devices), new desktop software, and a new service (Zune Social, a music-oriented social network reminiscent of Xbox Live).



Device software
Yeah, we know Microsoft technically skipped right past device software v2.0 and jumped to 2.2, but the update is the best place to start since it affects the most users and devices. Microsoft won some well-deserved brownie points for ensuring all Zune players new and old can run the new firmware, meaning that for now your old Zune will have feature parity with the new hardware.
So here's the deal with the device software: it adds some crucial bits (many of which we expected the first time), takes away some minor but important things, and leaves the other 90% largely unchanged. First, the stuff Zune 2.0 takes away:
Song flagging
The five star rating system
The language menu The good stuff, though, is very good:
MPEG-4 and H.264 playback support
Podcasting support
Sync over WiFi (which we'll get to later)
In terms of performance, both old and new hardware and firmware were almost identical in testing. A lot of people have been claiming the new firmware is much snappier, but we didn't find that to be true at all. Two Zune 30 devices boot up within a half second between 1.0 and 2.0 series firmwares, and the flash-based Zune 8 we tested booted to home screen less than a second faster. Traversing menus took no more or less time or when syncing and the like. (Note: scrolling through long lists appears to happen slightly faster, but that's likelier an interface tweak, not a performance increase.)

Related theme:
New Zune review part 2-1
New Zune review part 2-2
New Zune review part 2-3
New Zune review part 2-4

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How to convert FLV to iPod, iPhone, PSP, etc. on Mac OS X

What is FLV?
Flash Video (FLV) is the name of a file format used to deliver video over the Internet using Adobe Flash Player and has extension FLV. The most recent public release of Flash Player supports H.264 video and HE-AAC audio. Flash Video content may also be embedded within SWF files. Notable users of the Flash Video format include YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo! Video, Reuters.com and many other news providers.
How to play .FLV files on Mac?
If you want to play FLV (Flash Video) files on your Mac, you'll need to use a player that can handle FLV files. Here are two recommendations (both of them are FREE):
VLC Media Player
The VLC Media Player is a free, cross-platform media player that supports a large number of multimedia formats, without the need for additional codecs. It can handle FLV, WMV and VOB files to name a few.
Perian
Perian is a free, open source QuickTime component that adds native support for many popular media formats including FLV, MKV, AVI, DivX, 3ivX, FLV1, FSV1, Flash ADPCM and many more.
How to Convert Youtube FLV Videos to iPod, iPod touch, iPhone on Mac OS X?
As we know, most of the video files downloaded from these online video hosting sites are in the format of Flash Video (.flv). For whatever reasons, such as prefer to view and store the videos in mpeg format, or want to play the offline video clips in portable player such as PSP, iPod, and iPhone, or simply don’t like to view it with FLV Player, then there is a need to convert the .flv video format to another format such as .avi, .mov, .wmv and .mpg. So, how can you convert your flv video to all popular video formats easily and quickly? Please follow this step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Download FLV Video Converter for Mac, then run this program.
We recommend you Aiseesoft FLV Converter for Mac, which can convert all video files (including .flv format) from one format to another perfectly. Compared with other FLV converters, this Mac FLV video converter provides you with better output quality, more advanced functions and higher conversion speed(>300%), it also has more friendly and easy-to-use interface.
You can download free trial Version here: for Mac intel users, for Mac PowerPC users.
Then install and run this program.
Step 2: Load the FLV files you want to convert.
Click the "Add File" button to browse your computer hard disc and add the .flv video files you want to convert to the program.
Step 3: Choose the output format
After you added FLV files, you can select an output format for each video file and specify a directory on your computer to save the output files. This Mac FLV Converter supports comprehensive output video formats including AVI, MPEG, WMV, MP4, XviD, 3GP, etc. You can choose "*avi", "*mpg", etc. as the output format as you want. Apart form this, You can just select the format according to the device name.
for exapmle, you can select 'iPod Touch MPEG-4(*.mp4)' when you want to convert FLV to iPod touch on Mac.
Or you can select 'iPhone 3G Video MPEG-4(*.mp4)' when you want to convert FLV files to iPhone 3G on Mac. The default setting works well.
Step 4: Advanced settings(optional)
Of course, if you don't want to use the default video and audio encoding settings, just click the "Settings" button to customize these settings.



Step 5: Edit your flv files(optional)
Aiseesoft FLV Converter for Mac can help you set video brightness, contrast, saturation, Hue, volume, crop video, trim video and even merge multiple files into one single file before the conversion.
you can know more here: How to crop, trim video files on Mac OS X ?

Click the “Start”button to start conversion.

How to download flash videos from video sites for free?
You can download the flash video (.FLV files, the default video format that most video social sites are using) from online video host into your local hard disk. With some tricks, it’s now very easy to download the videos hosted and shared on online video sites such as YouTube and Google Video.
You can follow the 2 guides:
Guide : How to get videos from video sites for free?
For windows users, use Free YouTube Downloader

Apple, Publishers Still Miles Apart on iTunes Subscriptions

Magazine publishers used to salivate over the iPad. Now they’re a lot more reserved. They make hopeful noises about Google’s Android tablets instead.

That’s because Apple and the publishing industry haven’t been able to come to terms over magazine app subscriptions: Publishers want the ability to sell the subscriptions themselves, or at least the opportunity to hang on to subscribers’ personal data. And Steve Jobs won’t let them.

Here’s what Apple is offering publishers, according to publishing sources:

• The ability to sell app subscriptions through iTunes.
• 70 percent of the revenue from each sale.
• The ability to offer an opt-in form for subscribers that would ask them for a limited amount of information: Name, mailing address, email address.

That offer has been on the table for a “couple months,” I’m told, and so far none of the big publishers have gone for it. They don’t like the 30 percent cut that Apple wants to take, but their real hang-up is lack of access to credit card data: It’s valuable to them for marketing, and without it they can’t offer print/digital bundles, either.

So for now, they’re hoping to get what they want from Google and Android, and assume Apple will come around eventually.

That doesn’t mean you won’t see any magazine subscription offerings on iTunes in the meantime.

Newsweek has chosen to sell its iPad magazine as a standalone subscription without getting any data at all. And Time Warner has chosen to give away People magazine’s digital version to any print subscriber. You could see more of both those options in the near future, for different titles.

And for publishers who are launching digital-only products, like the “Daily” don’t-call-it-a-newspaper that News Corp. is working on, Apple’s restrictions are far less problematic: Publishers don’t need to worry about upsetting their valuable print subscribers, because they don’t have any. (News Corp. also owns this Web site. It’s free!)

Speaking at Business Insider’s Ignition conference, News Corp. digital head Jon Miller said today that the Daily wouldn’t launch until the first quarter of 2011.* When it does, News Corp. officials expect it to showcase a new “push” feature from Apple, where a new issue will arrive at subscribers’ iPads without asking them to request it.

*For the record, Miller insisted that the Daily was a “rumor.” But it seems undignified to type that in the main body of this story, given that News Corp. has hired dozens of people and earmarked a budget of more than $20 million for the project.

Motorola CEO Calmly Prepares for the iPhone Storm

Arguably no company gained as much from Verizon’s lack of an iPhone than Motorola. Needing something to rival Apple’s phone, Verizon spent a fortune on its Droid brand and Motorola sold a lot of phones. But with a Verizon iPhone appearing imminent, it’s also true that it is one of the companies most at risk.

Speaking at an investor conference on Wednesday, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha made his best case for the company and its opportunities in both smartphones and tablets. Motorola also plans to have 4G phones in the market early next year, Jha said, without giving specifics. But he also acknowledged the company is headed for some serious turbulence.

The first quarter is normally down from the prior quarter, but this year’s first quarter is shaping up to be a lot worse, with the cellphone unit expected to post a loss.

“We have an additional challenge potentially with Verizon,” Jha said, speaking in code so as not to use the iWord. “There is a competitive dynamic developing.”

Mobilized isn’t afraid to say the phone that must not be named. He’s talking about a Verizon iPhone.

Jha talked a lot about the company’s efforts to diversify–selling more phones to carriers other than Verizon, increasing sales in Latin America and China, and adding tablets. Jha said the company will sell both 7-inch and 10-inch tablets.

However, clearly not everyone was impressed. As noted by Barron’s, Nomura Securities launched coverage of Motorola stock on Thursday with a “reduce” rating, saying that a CDMA iPhone could ultimately push Motorola into the mid-tier of the smartphone battle, where it will face more competition from Asian makers, such as Samsung.

And the timing could hardly be worse for Motorola, which is spinning off the cellphone unit, a process that is slated to be completed on Jan. 4.

Longer-term, Motorola faces the challenge of using an operating system, Android, that is used widely in the industry, while spending more than rivals on research and other development costs.

One conference attendee suggested HTC’s research costs are a third of what Motorola spends. Jha said that there is a difference in the two companies’ cost structures, but rejected the idea that it was that pronounced.

“I think we are investing more in software differentiation,” he said. “I think we will make that investment matter.”

There’s also the fact that the phone businesss is so hit driven. That’s something the company learned on the positive side with the RAZR way back when, and on the negative side in the drought that followed the release of that slim flip phone.

Although the competition among Android devices is fierce, Jha said he doesn’t regret the company’s bet back in 2008 to focus so much of its resources on that operating system.

“There are obviously tradeoffs in every decision,” Jha said. “But on balance it’s been a very, very good decision for us.”

Jha said he knows that in order for Motorola to produce the kind of profit margins it wants long-term, it will have to be able to differentiate its software. Hardware differentiation, he said, gives only a six-month advantage versus doing something unique in software.

“I don’t think I can get to a gorilla position from where I am in one easy sweep, but I think it is possible to create differentiation in this business,” Jha said.

Verizon Gets Ready to Launch 4G

Verizon Wireless is about to move from talking about 4G to actually launching its service. The company announced that it will hold a press event on Wednesday to officially spill the beans.

A lot of those beans, though, are already out there. The company has said it will launch the 4G network (using the Long Term Evolution, or LTE, protocol) in 38 cities before the end of the year. It’s also bringing 4G to more than 60 airports across the country.

Although Verizon’s network will launch in December, it will be only for laptops for a while, with 4G consumer phones expected by the middle of next year. As with past leaps, the big plus of the 4G network is faster connections.

For those still getting up to speed on 4G (including yours truly), here’s a recap. Sprint has already launched its 4G network using a different technology, WiMax, in a number of cities. AT&T is planning to use LTE for its 4G network, with its rollout slated for next year. And, just to further confuse things, T-Mobile has recently started billing its faster-speed 3G network using the term 4G and launching devices like the myTouch 4G.

The big question now is just what Verizon will want users to fork over for its speedy network and how it approaches the question of tiered pricing and unlimited versus capped pricing at the high end.

In any case, Mobilized will be covering the Verizon event tomorrow, which is set for noon Eastern Time and will feature Verizon Wireless CTO Tony Melone.