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Fun With Data

Cool Visualization Shows World's Spending On Electronics By Country (We Spend A Lot)

Here we see ol' Mercator, if country sizes were drawn according to the amount of discretionary income spent on electronics by its citizens. As the world's largest economy, the US being the biggest blob here at $162 billion for 2007 is not that surprising. But what might be surprising is Japan, who spends more on recreation than clothing, household items and electronics combined—pretty interesting for such a style- and gadget-conscious nation. Also note central Europe's electronics spending, which is clearly becoming a force to be reckoned with if IFA in Berlin was any indication. Head over to the NYTimes for more playing with this cool little flash data visualization with other categories of spending. [NYTimes via Boing Boing]

industry

Hope Everybody Likes Touchscreens...

This year, 341 million touchscreens will ship worldwide. But according to research firm iSuppli, we ain't seen nothing yet. Because by 2012, they claim that these shipments will double (682 million units) with the people of 2013 loving touchscreens even more (833 million units for a market of $6.4 billion). If you're one of those people who hates touchscreen technology, it might be a good time to exit the planet. Sorry. [PCWorld]

media

PC World Editor-In Chief Harry McCracken Moving On

PC World Editor-in-Chief Harry McCracken announced in a blog entry today that he will be stepping down in June to build his own tech site from scratch. McCracken gained notoriety last May, after temporarily resigning due to the publisher's pressure to kill an anti-Apple piece. Giz wishes Harry the best of luck in the next stage of his career. [PC World]

news

Nintendo Not Slashing Console Prices

Bad news, bargain hunters; Nintendo has gone on record saying there are no imminent price cuts for the Nintendo Wii or DS. Satoru Iwata, the company's president, said he did not believe in the "model" of price slashing, as it tends to leave early adopters feeling a little disheartened. Though we do agree, surely early adopters are well out of their honeymoon phase by now? With Nintendo's profits soaring to new heights, they're not exactly looking for a quick dollar, so perhaps the move makes a little sense. Still, Nintendo is not expecting to make as much cash on DS hardware sales in the coming year, which means there are a few more eggs in a Wii basket somewhere. The exact DS stats breakdown like this: More »

industry

Is CBS Blocking Shows From Your DVR?

John Sciacca at Sound & Vision says his DVR no longer lets him record his favorite show, Survivor. Sciacca claims that despite setting his Time Warner box to record every episode of the reality show, when the time comes, it acts as if there is nothing to record. Sometimes, he says, the record light even goes on during the show, but it isn't saved to the hard drive. Apparently he's not the only one stuck without Survivor. More »

news

Eee PC Touchscreen Coming This Summer, Asus Confirms

Asus' president of sales, Kevin Lin, has announced the upcoming 8.9-inch Eee PC will have a touchscreen incorporated. Lin also speculated that the device may have GPS functionality, too, however this was not confirmed. The announcement has us a little confused, as earlier reports suggested otherwise. Still, Lin went on to say the expected starting price for an 8.9-inch touchscreen toting Eee will be around $500, and he also added that the Eee Desktop PC will begin retailing at the $199 mark. Put that in your Eee PC news pipe and puff it. [DigiTimes]


industry

Varioptic and Seiko to Bring Liquid Lenses to Cellphones, Finally

Varioptic has been talking about bringing liquid lenses to cellphones since 2005, but now they have teamed up with Seiko and the watery dreams look to be coming alive. Liquid lenses have the added benefit of being speedier and less power hungry than conventional lenses, but the release of Varioptic's pioneering technology for cellphones has been in the pipe lines for almost two years. Thankfully, Seiko has stepped up to the mark, coining a mass production date of Q3, 2008. The initial models that will be created are the Arctic 314 and Arctic 416, which rate 5 mega pixels in 0.33-inch and 0.25-inch modules. The faster lenses should see an increase in video capture quality and battery life for cellphones adopting the new standard, which can only be a good thing. Jump for the press release.
More »

breaking

Paul McCartney Signs $400 Million iTunes Deal For The Beatles Catalog

Finally! Paul McCartney has signed a $400 million deal, which will see the Beatles catalog make its way to iTunes, at long last. UPDATE: While the UPI is a great source, and their story was written as fact, Sony/ATV, holders of much of the Beatles publishing rights, are throwing doubt on any of this being true. The UPI could have been had, too. Consider their source, the Daily Mail. And EMI, who we contacted directly, denies any news, either. More »

industry

Nokia to Support Microsoft Silverlight Web Video

Nokia has committed to bring Microsoft Silverlight video services to its S60 devices. Further, Nokia will also add support for the video content to its S40-based handsets at later stages. Given the immense market penetration of Nokia's Symbian- based cellphones, this partnering will have a large effect on mobile content support, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Adobe is feeling a little sick right now. [Reuters]

industry

Pioneer to End 42-Inch Plasma Display Production

Pioneer is ending its production of 42-inch plasma displays, as the company hopes to focus all its attention on producing 50-inch models instead. Specifically, Pioneer will be closing the Kagoshima plant in Japan by March 2009, when it will then be put up for sale. So, if you're interested in a factory producing 42-inch displays, you're in luck. Pioneer will continue selling the smaller units, but will purchase parts from Hitachi to meet the demand for sub 50-inch plasmas. [Reuters]