Rattleblog: Tales from the blogosphere

30-07-2007

by Damien Mulley

Welcome to Rattleblog. This week we cover ad networks, Google wanting to be a telco, and we get knee deep in silly season.

Irish blogger Conor Power links to the story of someone that tried to cash a cheque from Google only to be told that there was insufficient funds in the bank account. Yes Google, the company worth 100s of billions of dollars forgot to top up its bank account. The story got worse when the person who tried to cash the cheque was stuck in phone support hell, trying to talk to a real person and not an automated voice system.

While Google has been making a lot of shapes and moves about the possibility of becoming a telco and demanding certain rules to be put in place for an upcoming spectrum auction, it seems that the American version of ComReg, the FCC, has spurned the internet giant's suggestions. The FCC Chairman has said that such restrictions on what can be done with the spectrum will not happen on his watch. If the FCC followed Google's suggestion, even if Google lost the auction, it would still be entitled to access the network. Clever, but maybe too clever.

Techcrunch talks about how almost-forgotten AOL still wants to be in the big league, and like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, has now also bought an ad network to add to the many other web portfolios it owns.

Staying with the ad theme, Techcrunch also reports that online marketing company Media Whizz has also bought its own online ad company called AuctionAds, which specialises in displaying ads for live eBay Auctions.

Meanwhile Dave Weinberger points out that Apple has patented a charging system which will ensure only Apple-made charging devices will be able to power your iPod. Just one more way of Apple adding a premium to its customers.

Engadget reports that the Wii is now influencing TV remote control designers who are coming up with gesture-based controls for televisions, instead of the traditional remote. One wonders what gestures could be used to change the channels. Obscene gestures will no doubt be secretly programmed into the devices.

We normally end Rattleblog with a link to some useless gadget or funny story, but with this being silly season, which even occurs in the tech blog world, we thought we'd point out lots of silly gadgets and stories that are floating around the blogosphere. First up is the Cat Cam, a camera that ties on to the collar of your moggy and takes pictures every 90 seconds so you can see what your cat got up to all day when you connect the camera to your computer. Useful? Does it have to be?

Not to leave your dog feeling unloved, you can now buy an iPod holder for your dog. A manufacturer has now unveiled a walking jacket for your dog on which you can put in your iPod. We'd have thought if you were excited enough to take your dog for a walk, you wouldn't be lazy enough to have the poor pooch carry your music device.

And lastly, want to pimp your scooter or BMX bike? Look no further than a new spray gun that will chrome up anything you put in front of it. Just be sure to have a vast amount of money to buy the chrome and sunglasses for the glare, should the Sun ever come back to Ireland.

Damien Mulley is an Irish blogger and works as a technical writer in Cork.