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NFL to Stream DirecTV Sunday Ticket Service on the Web

by Chad Mumm, posted Mar 24th 2009 at 6:15PM



Don't have DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket because you can't get satellite service? You're in luck, because we've gotten word from the Wall Street Journal and Business Insider that DirecTV's new contract with the NFL includes a provision for bringing exclusive out-of-market games to you online, on your phone, or via your cable service.

In addition, America's most profitable league can now pursue deals with cable companies, Internet providers, and wireless carriers to offer broadcasts of DirecTV's Red Zone Channel, which shows up-to-the-minute highlights of all NFL games in real time. As a nice little bonus to you dead-zone dwellers out there, it also appears that cable subscribers who live where satellite service is unavailable will be able to buy the full NFL Sunday Ticket package via broadband Internet.

This is a great move for the NFL, since we know plenty of displaced die-hard fans -- traumatized by fourth-quarter cutouts on bootleg sites like Mogulus and Justin.tv -- would surely pay for consistent service. [From: WSJ, Via: Business Insider]

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New Database Will Expose Uninsured Drivers to Cops

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Mar 24th 2009 at 5:31PM



In this country, all 50 states require motorists to have car insurance. However, because tracking the status of a driver's insurance is up to local and state governments, many uninsured drivers are able to avoid detection unless they're stopped for other offenses. That's set to change, as a company called InsureNet is looking to simplify the detection of uninsured drivers by building a list of the nation's uninsured and allowing law enforcement officials to access the list in order to match license plates against it.

According to an article in Wired, InsureNet envisions police and traffic cameras being able to immediately check the status of a vehicle's insurance and, if necessary, issue a citation on the spot or through the mail.

Is the new driver database a threat to privacy?


The city of Chicago has already expressed interest in the system, believing that it could raise up to $100 million annually through increased fines, not to mention reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the road (which is estimated at about 16-percent nationwide). The ACLU has expressed concern that the system poses a threat to privacy, but we're pretty sure they're contractually obligated to say that about everything. [From: Wired]

Continue reading New Database Will Expose Uninsured Drivers to Cops

Is Google Chrome the Safest Web Browser? Hackers Seem to Think So.

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Mar 24th 2009 at 4:56PM

Hackers Don't Even Want to Mess With Chrome
Google: 1, Hackers: 0.

The game is far from over, but right now, Google has a pretty firm upper hand in the battle over browser security supremacy.

This past week, hackers were invited to the CanSecWest security conference, where they were encouraged to break browsers and bend them to their wills. While Firefox and Internet Explorer were both hacked and exploited, it was Apple's Safari that took a particularly hard spanking. It was the most popular target at the event and, according to Charlie Miller (of MacBook Air hacking fame), the browser with the most easily exploitable vulnerabilities. It seems that Apple's OS X isn't nearly as secure as Cupertino fan boys would have you believe.

Continue reading Is Google Chrome the Safest Web Browser? Hackers Seem to Think So.

Dentist Sues Writer of Negative Online Yelp Review

by Dan Reilly, posted Mar 24th 2009 at 3:32PM


Have you ever given someone or some business a bad review online? Well, you'd better keep what you write in check, or else you could end up getting sued like the California couple who bashed a dentist on Yelp.

Dr. Yvonne Wong, the dentist, is going forward with a lawsuit against Tai Jing and Jia Ma for libel and emotional distress after a court ruled that she had enough grounds for a case, or, as they put it, "a probability of success on the merits." In a user comment, the couple accused Wong of giving their four-year-old son a filling that contained mercury and of making him lightheaded from anesthetic gas. Wong's lawyers say that the parents' review makes it seem like she did so without their consent.

Jing and Ma tried to get the suit thrown out, citing a California law that bans anyone from preventing discussion of matters of public importance. We'd agree that mercury fillings should be examined, but we also understand why the judge didn't buy their argument. Wong, for her part, also tried to sue Yelp, but that went nowhere, as the federal Communications Decency Act protects sites from any lawsuits due to user comments.

Continue reading Dentist Sues Writer of Negative Online Yelp Review

AIG Logo Makes it Into New Wii Soccer Game

by Lee Bains, posted Mar 24th 2009 at 2:50PM


Apparently, the creators of Konami's new Wii soccer game didn't get the memo; stateside, 'AIG' has nearly become a four-letter word.

According to MTV's Multiplayer blog, in the introductory scene of 'Pro Evolution Soccer 2009,' those three infamous letters appear on the blue jerseys of the Manchester United, the British powerhouse that the corporation has sponsored of late. While this might get some U.S. players' hackles up, we can't really blame Konami. Just last week, the bailed-out corporation (which recently paid out $165 million in employee bonuses) shelled out an additional $28 million in order to sponsor the Manchester United through the 2010 season.

Surely, none of this is Konami's fault. However, we wouldn't be too surprised if some irate Wii-sters wound up putting their controllers through their TVs. After all, nobody asked us taxpayers if we wanted $28 million of our money going to a British soccer team. [From: Multiplayer]

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Peek Pronto: Push E-mail, Exchange Support, Multiple Accounts

by Tim Stevens, posted Mar 24th 2009 at 2:10PM


Boy, Peek wasn't kidding when it called its new device Pronto. With nary a press announcement to froth up the minds of mobile e-mailers the device has rushed straight to availability for $79.95, sadly in just one color. What does the $30 premium over the earlier Peek get you? Push e-mail, Exchange support, and the device now allows for up to five accounts (the previous maxed out at two). The Pronto also supports PDF and Word attachments and (so the company claims) has overall faster performance (by 50 percent says the PR). Peek is also advertising unlimited text messaging, and while we're not yet sure if that's any different than the limited support the last model had, the Pronto should help you keep in touch with your daughter and your mother in one device. Service is still just $19.95, shipping now to the eager hands of complexity-averse messaging addicts everywhere.

Update: According to the PR, the Pronto is available exclusively at Amazon.com from March 24th until
March 31st, then will begin selling at getpeek.com April 1st, and in stores at Radio Shack come April 8th. Also, it's worth noting that the company has retooled the keyboards on the new devices, making the previously stiff keys a bit easier on the thumbs.

[Thanks, Mike H.]

Best Buy Allegedly Paid Bonuses to 'Murfing' Managers

by Tim Stevens, posted Mar 24th 2009 at 1:27PM

Best Buy Accused of Paying Incentives to 'Murfing' Managers
These past months have been tough for retailers, particularly ones selling frivolous electronics that people don't really need. You'd think they'd be a bit more careful with their customers, but not so much, apparently. First we heard about a number of shady dealings at Office Depot and then some improper refusals to match competitors' prices at Best Buy. Now, we're hearing that the latter company is on the receiving end of a lawsuit that alleges, among other things, that Best Buy paid bonuses to managers who denied legitimate price matches.

Recently, some Best Buy managers have reportedly broken with the retailer's advertised price-matching policy in a practice called 'murfing.' The lawsuit quotes an internal memo that instructed managers to refuse price matching and offered them bonuses for doing so. According to the suit, over 100 such denials were made per store each week. If you happen to shop in New York state and were one of those denied, you can get in on the (class) action by calling (845) 356-2570, or by sending an e-mail to mbraunstein@kgglaw.com. Happy hunting. [From: HDGuru.net via The Consumerist]

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New: Share Your Netflix Ratings on Facebook

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 24th 2009 at 12:52PM


Clearly, having access to your Netflix queue on your iPhone just isn't intimate enough, and now the company is expanding its reach once more by announcing Facebook Connect integration. Officially, the integration "seamlessly links a Netflix member's account with his or her Facebook account," though with Facebook changing its layout every three month, you probably won't be able to find the Netflix bit by the time summer draws to a close. At any rate, Facebook Connect will extend members' movie ratings from the Netflix community to Facebook, and of course, Netflix subscribers can decide whether or not they want to take advantage. The idea here is for Facebook friends to yap online over ratings and such, and generally keep Netflix on the tip of their tongue at all times. Hit up the full release past the break for all the appropriate setup information.

Continue reading New: Share Your Netflix Ratings on Facebook

Morning Extra: IE8 Woes, NASA Room Named After Colbert, Conficker C

by Tom Samiljan, posted Mar 24th 2009 at 11:53AM


Because we can't always cover all the great news in depth, we here at Switched have started a new AM feature, which recaps other important stories we may not have hit earlier in morning. Welcome to our third edition of the Switched Morning Extra.

Folks Downgrading from Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) to IE7
Released last week, Microsoft's much ballyhooed Web browser update saw a drop in users over the weekend. Users who say many Web pages aren't coming up properly, among other glitches, downgraded to Explorer 7, which may account for the lower numbers. Meanwhile, Google Chrome is said to be so secure that hackers are staying away from it, so is it time for the rest of us to make the switch? [From : Information Week]

New NASA Space Station Room Will Be Named After Stephen Colbert
After asking his viewers to write-in his name and submit it to NASA's online space station room-naming contest, Stephen Colbert won out. The new room at the international space station will be called 'Colbert.' Looks like TV + Internet = World domination. [From: AP/USA Today]

Continue reading Morning Extra: IE8 Woes, NASA Room Named After Colbert, Conficker C

Aniston Dumped Mayer Due to His 'Twitter Obsession'

by Tim Stevens, posted Mar 24th 2009 at 11:12AM



Oh Twitter, is there anything you can't ruin? Once, you were just a fun diversion for social-networking addicts who needed another way to stay connected with their virtual friends. But, before long, you were invalidating court cases, ruining job offers, and generally making a mess of things. Now, you've gone and ruined a perfect Hollywood couple. According to Star, supposed friends of the Jennifer Aniston say that the sultry ex-Friend allegedly broken up with musician John Mayer over his so-called "Twitter obsession."

Do you use Twitter regularly?



Per the unnamed sources, Mayer constantly told Aniston that he was too busy to see her, but somehow still found the time to regularly update his Twitter page. When she called him out on it, he made no excuses and she ended it right there.

So, if you're a Twitter user, beware; that site will surely ruin your life before long. [Via: Telegraph.co.uk]


Continue reading Aniston Dumped Mayer Due to His 'Twitter Obsession'


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