Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2008 > February > 12 > Entry
Tech headlines just for you
I’ll be brief. Here’s the tech goodness you should know about today:
- Auto manufacturers, as you’re probably well aware, are adding tons of distracting electronics and gadgets to the dashboard, as well as plug-ins for iPods, cell phones and even computers. But are they dangerous? Most assuredly. Can we stop using them while driving before laws have to be enacted to save us from ourselves? Probably not.
- Will Wright’s long-in-development successor to “SimCity” and “The Sims” finally has a release date. The evolutionary sim, “Spore,” is expected to ship on Sept. 7.
- Netflix is dropping the HD-DVD disc format while Best Buy and The ‘Flix plan to back rival Blu-ray. This makes my Jan. 4 purchase of an HD-DVD drive for my Xbox 360 feel pretty ridiculous, thanks very much.
- Wi-Fi at Starbucks just got a little AT&T’er. The coffee giant is dropping its T-Mobile hotspots in favor of AT&T Wi-Fi, which jibes with Starbucks getting cozy with Apple and the iPhone. The Wi-Fi will be free for those who subscribe to AT&T’s broadband service or its U-Verse TV service. Starbucks Card holders get two hours of Wi-Fi a day. If you’re not an AT&T customer or Starbucks cardholder, you can get Wi-Fi service for $3.99 for two hours. ZDNet asks, why no free Wi-Fi for AT&T wireless subscribers? Incidentally, when I was recently at a Starbucks located across the street from a very large PC manufacturing company, I noticed a free, open Wi-Fi network was available that wasn’t provided by Starbucks. I used that instead of the T-Mobile with my laptop.
- The pre-SXSW Interactive party last night at Mohawk was a lovely shindig with a large turnout. I arrived a little late and stayed past my curfew, but I enjoyed meeting some folks from Five Runs, Benn Rosales and Lani Anglin-Rosales, and Thom Singer. See you all at the fest!
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