Lanyrd – Plancast Meets Upcoming For Conferences
TechCrunch   

Look out Plancast and Upcoming, here comes rd. Ok, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but if it's possible to have a SXSW "tipping point" at an event then Lanyrd had it at struct, a popular design and developer conference in the UK.

So what is it? The guys behind Lanyrd say they are not trying to build a general purpose events site but instead they are just interested in conferences and everything associated with them: speakers, attendees, venues, books, video and audio, twitter conversation, blog coverage - you name it.

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Want To Use Gmail Priority Inbox With IMAP? Tough Luck
TechCrunch   

Curious what Google's l Priority Inbox means for those of us who use an IMAP or POP client like Mail or the Mail function on an iPhone? Well as of yet the feature is not fully enabled on either IMAP or POP-compatible third party or mobile clients, leaving a large percentage of people who hate viewing email their email on a standard web browser out in the cold.

If you try to use the service in Mac Mail right now the emails determined by the Priority Inbox algorithm to be "Important" are sent to an "Important" folder under Gmail. In order to reach them in Mail for the iPhone you have to search for the "Important" folder under your Gmail account.

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Fast Trains to Connect US Cities, Alleviate Highway Congestion
TechCrunch   

The Obama administration promised $8 billion in funding for cities and states to build -speed, intercity rail projects back in January.

This week, the rtment of Transporation issued its specifications for the manufacture of new fast trains, namely double-decker coach, dining, baggage, and business class passenger rail cars that can travel between 79 MPH and up to 220 MPH.

Bi-level rail cars not typical in the US today, would accommodate more passengers, and hopefully alleviate congested roads and some resulting air pollution...

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Video Impressions Of Google TV On Logitech Revue Hardware
TechCrunch   

It seems that one of the beta testers for Google TV couldn't keep all that goodness to himself, and has posted several pictures and some video of the near-finished interface and hardware. It's a brief and not particularly shocking video, but seeing it running on a home TV and hearing a regular guy expressing legitimate (if subdued) excitement make it a lot more real.

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Why This New Apple TV Makes Sense — For Now
TechCrunch   

As a longtime Apple TV owner, I'll admit a dirty little secret: I really like the device. Sure, it has been one of the rare flops for Apple in recent years. And it could be so much more with say, a Blu-ray player or a web browser. But it is really good at its core functionality: bringing iTunes content into your living room. And that's why this new version of the Apple TV makes sense -- at least for now.

When I first bought the Apple TV, there were two varieties: a 40 gigabyte version and a 160 gigabyte version. I was torn between which one to get, but I ultimately went with the 160 GB one thinking I could put most of my movies on it. Big mistake. I basically never use the hard drive on my Apple TV, so it's a 160 GB hard drive sitting there doing nothing. Instead, I stream everything to the Apple TV.

In fact, the only time I do use the hard drive on my current Apple TV is when I rent a movie on it. Currently, even when renting, you download a movie to your hard drive where it sits for up to 30 days (or 24 hours after you start playing it). But with the new iTunes rentals (both TV and movies) everything is streamed -- no hard drive is required (besides a small one for buffering purposes). Thanks to that, and undoubtedly the knowledge that most owners were using it for streaming, Apple removed the hard drive from the device, and cut it down in size and price.

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Vidyo Bets On The iPad And iPhone For The Future Of Video Conferencing
TechCrunch   

o, a company that specializes in high-quality video conferencing technology for the enterprise, is betting big on bringing video conferencing to mobile devices, including tablets and smartphones. Similar to Skype, Vidyo offers a technology that allows people to connect with each other over the web via video conferencing. However, the company says that Vidyo system is focused more on the enterprise, providing a reliable system, allowing conferencing for many parties at once, and offering high quality video.

And Vidyo has built a big business licensing its technology to large electronics companies, such as HP, Intel and Hitachi. Vidyo’s technology is also used by Google to power video for Google Chat.

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CNET News, now on Android
CNET   

The iPhone's no longer the only smartphone with a CNET News app. Our breaking stories and in-depth features are now even easier to read and browse on Android devices from the new, free CNET News app. Read about what it does and why it's worth downloading.

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Google settles Buzz lawsuit for $8.5M
CNET   

Internet privacy groups will be the beneficiary of the settlement, which came as the result of a lawsuit filed over Google's maligned Buzz launch.

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China's Baidu Refocuses on Mobile and Apps
ReadWriteWeb   

u is the most-visited website in China and has captured 70% of search revenue in that country. Alexa's 500 Global Sites list puts it at number 6. But with virtually no penetration outside Asia, can it really be considered a global company at all, or just an awfully big one?

Until it reaches beyond its shores in an appreciable and sustained fashion, it probably won't be considered a global player of consequence. But its latest move may do just that. It is refocusing a great deal of its enormous resources into the mobile and app markets.

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At the annual Baidu developers conference yesterday, CFO Jennifer Li reiterated the company's dedication to the mobile space. The 10-year-old company started focusing on mobile last year with the development of a texting language and mobile mapping. At that point it also established a dedicated mobile department.

As for apps, last night its Box Computing Open Platform went live. The BCOP allows users to run apps, including games, videos and e-books, through the Baidu website using any platform.

A lot of coverage of China focuses on Google's issues there. Among those issues are the lack of stability: what can a company or developer expect, day to day? With China's shifting censorship regime, it is hard to anticipate what might be disallowed. Mobile apps are dependent on the robustness of their developer community.

Will non-Chinese developers be willing to put time and money into developing on Baidu's platform? Can Chinese developers develop on Baidu for Western users compellingly enough to attract them? Or will the future of China's global influence be on the rnet of Things, leaving Baidu a strictly Chinese concern?

This isn't a rhetorical question. We sent it to a couple of our friends with first-hand knowledge of the Chinese web industry. But if you've got knowledge of your own, share it why not?

uss

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