Geekly Update August 24

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

• The White House, Marine Corps and several NFL teams have banned or limited the use of Twitter, fearing that the social tool might result in trade secrets, strategy or information falling into the wrong hands. But don't worry, your civil rights are in tact. You can still pass along sensitive information via Facebook, email or hand signals.
• Maybe it's magic... a man in New York claims that incoming calls on his cell phone turned on his Maytag Magic Chef broiler when it was within 2 feet of the appliance. The story was confirmed, and Maytag is investigating to see if this is a feature or a bug.
• Get ready. The long-awaited Zune HD will be released September 15. With WiFi connection you can get Internet radio and 10 hours of storage for your favorite tunes. It has a 3.3-inch touchscreen and supports HD movies, videos and TV shows. Pricing is set at $220 for the 16GB model and $290.00 for the 32GB model. Look for it at Amazon.com and other retailers.
• Nokia is teaming with Microsoft to put their Office software on smartphones. Included will be creating, editing and sharing documents, as well as mobile optimized versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote. Their results will be seen next year when Nokia smartphones will come loaded with MS communication software. Office programs will follow later.
• Dell will be releasing a new line of Nickelodeon PCs designed for kids. The Inspiron Mini will be given designs based on Nickelodeon's "Green Slime" as well as those with SpongeBob and iCarly. The netbooks will have wireless access, weigh less than 3 pounds and come packed with educational and entertainment content. Available in October, they can be found on Dell's online store and Walmarts.
• If you think shopping at Walmart is the place to be for HOT electronic deals, you're right. Sort of. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled $29 cheapo Durabrand DVD Players from China after it received 12 complaints of overheating, and in 5 instances, fire. If you own one, take it back to your Wally World for a full refund and consider it a lesson learned.
• The NPD Group has a new report out stating that feature phones account for 72% of new sales in the US, but smartphone sales are on the rise. So what's a feature phone? It's basically any mobile phone that's not a smartphone, such as the Blackberry, iPhone or Palm Pre. The most popular feature phones are the LG enV2 and the Samsung Rant. The report also noted that the distinction between feature phones and smartphones is blurring.
• Sony announced this week that their PS3 Slim will be coming out the first week of September. The 120GB game system is 33% smaller and 36% lighter than its predecessor and it even comes with a slimmer price of $299.
• Soon you will be able to talk to your printer and it might actually pay attention. Canon's new SELPHY ES40 has a voice guidance system with instructions for printing and adding frames and clip art without a manual. Add to that a 3.5-inch LCD and scroll wheel for navigation, and a price of $149.99 when it is released. If you're already in the habit of cursing at your electronic equipment, this might not be ideal.
• Trend Micro claims that some rogue Facebook applications are stealing login information and spamming friends of victims. Some of the evil apps that have been identified are "Friends Gifts", "Matching", "Poki" and "Your Photos." Researcher Rik Ferguson traced one of them to the phishing site "fucabook.com" and is updating his research daily. If you think your Facebook account is compromised, get rid of any "fishy" apps and change your password. No need to report it to the White House. :-)