Today’s Guests: Sebastian Rupley, Co-Crank, Editorial Director, PCMagCast.com Patrick Norton, Managing Editor, Revision3 Annaliza Savage, Multimedia Editor, WIred
The Topics: USB 3.0 Coming SoonImagine uploading an HD movie to your laptop in just over a minute. That’s the promise of USB 3.0, due out later this year. Last week, Intel released the larger part of the specification for USB 3.0. That’s 90 percent of what’s needed to build silicon that will work with the USB 3.0 protocol Is USB 3.0 going to make a difference? Psychologists Give Thumbs Up to GamesA trio of psychology reports examining the benefits of videogames have unanimously concluded that some titles can have positive effects on their players. The research, released this week, found that people of all ages and from all walks can benefit from certain types of videogames, such as brain training and educational games. 3G iPhone Plagued By Dropped CallsIf you’re having problems with dropped calls on your new 3G Apple iPhone, you’re not alone. 3G iPhone owners are complaining about connection failures – sometimes repeatedly – during calls. The problem typically occurs when the device attempts to move from 3G to another network, says USA Today. The culprit may be the chipset. What’s the Value of Online Comments?The problem with online discussion threads is that any useful comments get buried beneath an avalanche of garbage, I wrote in a recent column. Here’s how it works: The first few comments on a discussion thread will seem useful, but then the horde comes. As the thread grows longer and longer, it decays into an unread mess. Dell Can’t Trademark Cloud ComputingDell has lost its bid to trademark the widely-used term “cloud computing”. The computer giant had filed an application to trademark the phrase with the US Patent and Trademark Office in March 2007. US trademark wonks have declared cloud computing a “generic” term because it’s “incapable of functioning as a source-identifier for applicant’s services’.”