China

The 404 159: Where Justin burns down the 404 studio

On today's show: In Jeff's absence, Justin takes over the studio and all hell breaks loose. Natali Del Conte rushes in to save the day! Wilson sits back and laughs, and we discuss a few stories about free Olympic condoms, annoying neighbors, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, and lost light sabers.

When Jeff's away, the SPig will play! That's right, Jeff's on vacation in Atlantic City, New Jersey, gambling his salary away, so I decide to take up the reins and jump into the hot seat! And trust me, you don't want … Read more

Google offers free music search in China

Google announced on Tuesday that it has launched a free music search service in China that will give users access to free downloads of licensed songs.

Google said its service would let users search tens of thousands of Chinese songs by singer or song title on its Web site, then download them from partner Top100.cn, a Chinese music site that has financial backing from NBA star Yao Ming.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Google said the service will be supported by advertising revenue, to be split with music companies and Top100.cn.

The service is being touted as a way … Read more

Internet firms agree to 'code of conduct' in China

Just days before the Olympic torch will reach Beijing, Internet leaders Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft say they are close to an agreement on a code of conduct for doing business in China and other countries that censor the Internet.

Sen. Dick Durbin on Monday released separate letters from the companies, stating they have "reached agreement on the core components of the principles" of the code, as Google put it.

Those components, the letters say, include principles for promoting freedom of expression and privacy, implementation guidelines, and an accountability framework. The specifics of the code are now being reviewed … Read more

Blu-ray releases for the week of August 5

With the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies happening this Friday, we're betting most of you will be stuck on the couch all weekend, rooting for your home country (probably the good ol' USA, right?) as they compete in baseball, basketball, football, maybe even synchronized swimming for those select few.

You should, since NBC, CNBC, Universal HD, and most of NBC's channels will be broadcasting the games around the world in gorgeous 1080i. If not, consider picking one of following new Blu-ray releases. Yes, the selection is slim for this week, but one of them did win an Oscar for … Read more

Bumpy start for China's homegrown 3G

Despite deployment troubles, China's homegrown 3G standard will likely be given more than a fighting chance to take off there, according to analysts.

That standard, TD-SCDMA (time division-synchronous code division multiple access), has seen its fair share of bumps on its road to deployment.

Initially slated for wide deployment during the Beijing Olympics, connectivity issues including dropped network connections and spotty coverage prevented China Mobile--the country's largest mobile operator and the one leading the TD-SCDMA rollout--from making this a reality for the Games.

Mark Natkin, managing director at Beijing-based Marbridge Consulting, told ZDNet Asia that TD-SCDMA's reception … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 779: Ok A moo

Here at Buzz Out Loud, we are shamelessly attempting to launch a meme, based on the awesome Twitter ramblings of a guy stoned off his gourd at the dentist. Quick, somebody make a Café Press shirt! Also, today's show is rant-central, between the news that They can take our laptops for as long as They want for no reason, Apple's killing of a short-lived iPhone-tethering app, and the U.S. Congress' mandate that our nation's schools prop up our dying music industry. Good times. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 779

Judge rules Sprint’s … Read more

Can you 'report freely' on Olympics with Net restrictions?

The International Olympic Committee has acknowledged that it acceded to Chinese government demands that some Internet censorship be kept in place during the Olympics, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Nevermind that IOC promised journalists could "report freely" from the games. Still, is this really a problem for reporters?

Long story short: this isn't much of a problem. Journalists arriving in Beijing without regularly being stationed there have already spent however much money to get to China and stay in hotels. They can afford a VPN service, which will completely circumvent the government restrictions--that is, if their … Read more

Olympic organizers cut deal to censor Net access

Allowing journalists access to an uncensored Internet apparently isn't on the International Olympic Committee's list of things to do before the Beijing games begin next week.

A day after journalists learned their Internet activities would be limited, a senior IOC official admitted to Reuters on Wednesday that committee members had cut a deal to let the Chinese government block sensitive Web sites, despite promises of unrestricted access.

"I regret that it now appears BOCOG has announced that there will be limitations on Web site access during games time," IOC press chief Kevan Gosper told Reuters, referring … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 777: Eight-letter word for fail: Scrabble

On today's show, we discover that it's hard to stand out in an orgy, only about a quarter of things Molly says are words, and EA poops all over you. That's just the kind of show we have when Rafe Needleman fills in for Tom.

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 777/b>

Happy birthday, NASA! http://science.slashdot.org/science/08/07/29/2120225.shtml

EA: Hack took Facebook Scrabble down http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10002363-36.html

Garmin delays Nuvifone http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121742654018296961.html

Dell tests player to renew iPod battle … Read more