Es el caso del llamado PSGroove, un jailbreak Open Source para la PS3 que utiliza un método similar al PS Jailbreak pero sin muchas de las restricciones de este.

El creador de este nuevo método es conocido como Mathieulh quien se dio el trabajo de liberar el código interno del PS Jailbreak, pero con una serie de modificaciones que en teoría permitirían realizar este proceso en consolas con firmware anteriores.

Otra de las ventajas que posee este nuevo método de “desbloqueo” es que no es necesario mantener insertado el USB una vez que se ha instalado el software, aunque en su versión original se había deshabilitado la opción de usar el Backup Manager (algo que otros hackers han logrado corregir).

Según Mathieulh para fabricar este dongle USB se requiere invertir unos 20 dólares (comparados con los USD$ 100 que cuesta el PS Jailbreak), aunque en la medida que vayan apareciendo nuevas soluciones es factible que se reduzca aún más su precio.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Link: PSGroove (Vía AfterDawn)

En total, se enviaron 80 mil videos desde 197 países, de los que se seleccionará un grupo para crear un documental, dirigido por Kevin McDonald y producido por Ridley Scott.

YouTube subió hoy una galería con todos los videos, ordenados por hora, lugar, estado de ánimo y otras categorías.

Entre los videos seleccionados para el documental, se elegirá a 20 ganadores que podrán viajar al festival de cine Sundance 2011, donde se estrenará la película.

Puedes revisar los videos en este link.

Link: Explora la galería de videos de La vida en un día (Blog de YouTube)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – AOL Inc said on Thursday it has renewed a search agreement with Google Inc, further cementing a decade-long partnership as AOL tries to turn around its business.

The new five-year deal, effective immediately, includes a revenue share on a per-search basis. Additional financial terms were not disclosed.

For the six months that ended in June, AOL's advertising revenue associated with the Google relationship was $209 million.

The new agreement allows AOL to place its content on YouTube with both camps sharing ad revenue placed against the video.

AOL is also working with Google to create an AOL mobile search product.

AOL and Google's 2006 contract was set to expire in December, setting off months of speculation as to what company, including Microsoft and its Bing search engine, AOL planned to partner with for search.

"We took a very specific tact to this deal," said Tim Armstrong, chief executive of AOL and a former executive with Google. He said AOL began serious discussions with a handful of companies in April.

"We wanted a better product and better revenue and better distribution of AOL content," he said about ultimately choosing to partner with Google.

AOL was spun off by Time Warner Inc late last year and Armstrong is tasked with setting the 25-year-old Internet company, synonymous with dial-up and "you've got mail!" on a different course.

Since Armstrong came on board, AOL has been shedding properties, including social networking site Bebo, streamlining its sales force and rebuilding its ad platform to capture more marketing dollars as it emphasizes its content.

AOL shares rose to $23.42 in premarket trading after closing on Wednesday at $22.90.

(Reporting by Jennifer Saba, editing by Maureen Bavdek)

Aunque la iniciativa pretendía atacar los casos de bullying por internet, podría haber terminado prestándose para que aumentara la regulación de comentarios en todas partes (o definitivamente eliminando la opción de comentar), ya que los administradores resultarían responsables de todo lo que se dijera en el sitio, incluyendo lo que dicen los trolls, por ejemplo.

Ayer, tras una solicitud del senador Pedro Muñoz – uno de los tres que habían presentado el proyecto – la iniciativa se retiró. Al menos algo de sentido común hay. Esperemos que el corto revuelo que causó este caso evite que aparezcan nuevas ideas como ésta.

Link: Twitter de @claudio

NEW YORK – Google Inc. will continue to provide the search results on AOL Inc.'s websites under a new, five-year deal the companies signed this week.

The agreement largely reinforces an arrangement that has been in place since 2005. But the new contract, announced Thursday, also expands their cooperation onto AOL sites for cell phones and other gadgets. And it will put AOL video content on Google Inc.'s YouTube site for the first time.

In its search agreement, AOL shares revenue with Google from the text ads that appear alongside search results.

AOL shares rose 54 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $23.44 in pre-market trading Thursday, while Google rose $2.67 to $463.

AOL, which is based in New York, is led by former Google executive Tim Armstrong, who is in the midst of a major overhaul at the Web company. AOL, which split from Time Warner Inc. last year, has been trying to grow its online ad business as its dial-up Internet service continues to lose customers to faster broadband connections.

Although AOL declined to give specific financial details, Armstrong called the deal a "home run." He framed it as an important step in the turnaround effort.

"We have a very methodical play book for turning AOL around," Armstrong said in an interview. "And today represented another big step."

Armstrong said AOL talked with five or six other search providers before deciding to stick with Google. But the deal was done well ahead of the December expiration of their previous agreement.

Existen inventos que, de tan útiles que resultan ser, terminan pasando desapercibidos para la mayoría de los que trabajamos a diario con herramientas tecnológicas. Generalmente suele decirse que algo que no se nota y cumple su función, es algo que está bien hecho.

La archiconocida alfombrilla que va debajo de nuestros ratones, conocida comercialmente como “Mouse Pad”, nació en un laboratorio en 1969, pero en un formato rudimentario y con el sólo objetivo de contener dentro de un espacio limitado de trabajo a los primeros prototipos de mouse que comenzaban a experimentar Alex Pang y Jack Kelley, los científicos y continuadores del proyecto de Douglas Engelbart y padres del nombre “mouse” para los ratones actuales, en el Stanford Research Institute.

En este mismo instituto fue donde Douglas Engelbart inventaba el mouse en 1969 pero lo patentaba bajo el nombre de X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System o Indicador de posición X-Y para un sistema con pantalla, (imagínense pidiendo uno de estos en un local de informática…).

Tuvieron que pasar diez años para que en 1979, el mexicano Armando Fernández le diera el definitivo empujón comercial y el nombre oficial por el cual lo conocemos hoy, además del diseño y sobre todo, la utilidad que hasta hoy a perdurado.

El computador personal

Fernández trabajaba para la empresa Xerox, quien estaba interesada en incluir en sus primeros modelos de computadoras personales Xerox Star 8010 con interfaz gráfica, un dispositivo de entrada para facilitar algunas tareas y optimizar el uso de imágenes, para lo cual el invento llamado “mouse” iba a ser la opción elegida.

Este nuevo e innovador dispositivo iría acompañado de una simple almohadilla que facilitaría aún más el desplazamiento y la precisión del ratón, el cual se convirtió en compañero inseparable a lo largo de sus más de 20 años de existencia.

El invento de Fernández se destacó y funcionó de manera inmediata, debido a que mejoró notablemente la precisión y velocidad de uso de estos primeros y costosos dispositivos de entrada (un mouse en 1980 costaba alrededor de US$400).

En la actualidad, la utilidad sigue siendo la misma, se han perfeccionado variando los materiales de fabricación y adecuándolos a los distintos requisitos de los usuarios. Los podemos encontrar en todas las formas y tamaños (y para todos los gustos), tanto como regalo empresarial comercial o como elección propia de acuerdo al tipo de uso que le daremos si somos gamers, diseñadores o simplemente operadores de una computadora con síndrome de túnel carpiano.

Además del uso comercial o la utilidad como servicio (algunas compañías publican sus datos de soporte en los mouse pad), también han sido utilizados por artistas plásticos y músicos para presentar algunas de sus obras o materiales.

Google presentó la octava versión de SketchUp, programa de modelamiento 3D disponible tanto en versión libre como de pago.

En esta nueva versión se incluyen nuevas características que facilitan el trabajo de crear modelos 3D: Geolocalización por medio de Google Maps, imágenes del terreno a color y con mayor nivel de detalle e integración con Building Maker.

En la versión de pago también se le han agregado nuevas herramientas para construir objetos sólidos, LayOut 3 y la opción de exportar nuestros dibujos para ser utilizado con alguna herramienta CAD.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Link: Model the world with Google SketchUp 8 (Official Google Blog)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. communications regulators on Wednesday put off a controversial decision on Internet traffic rules, giving industry and consumer groups a chance to forge a compromise while avoiding a politically sensitive issue ahead of the November elections.

The Federal Communications Commission has been prodding phone, cable and Internet companies for months to find consensus on the thorny issue of net neutrality -- a debate over whether high-speed Internet providers should be allowed to give preferential treatment to content providers who pay for faster transmission.

Broadband and Internet companies have held a series of face-to-face and phone meetings this summer to craft a framework on how to treat the Internet data flowing through both home connections and wireless devices.

But those talks have failed to yield a deal due to big differences over the treatment of wireless broadband in particular. At stake is how quickly handheld devices, like Research in Motion's BlackBerry and Apple's iPhone, can receive and download videos and other content.

Rather than imposing stricter regulations that are opposed by broadband providers, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski delayed a decision by calling for more public comment. He wants to know how companies and consumers will be impacted if wireless devices are treated differently from home broadband lines.

"We have made progress over the last year -- but we still have work to do," Genachowski said.

Analysts said Genachowski, who proposed a set of open Internet rules last year, wants to tread carefully before the elections.

They also said it was unlikely the FCC would adopt draft proposals at the September 23 meeting or in October.

"The chairman could cite progress in the industry talks as grounds for delaying circulating a draft order, and postpone a decision until after the election," said Nicolaus Stifel analyst Rebecca Arbogast.

Democrats are afraid that Republicans will portray any FCC action to voters as an attempt by President Barack Obama and his party to control and regulate the Internet, analysts have said.

Some broadband providers are pointing to a proposal unveiled earlier this month by Google Inc and Verizon Communications Inc as a sign of progress. Their plan would give providers more flexibility to manage wireless broadband traffic and possibly create a fast lane.

"Even a proposal that accepts enforceable rules can be flawed in its specifics and risk undermining the fundamental goal of preserving the open Internet," Genachowski said in a statement seeking another 55 day-comment period.

Proponents of net neutrality, including public interest groups, argue consumers will be harmed if carriers create a two-tiered Internet, the top tier offering faster speeds at a premium.

Carriers such as AT&T Inc and Verizon say they need to prioritize traffic on wireless networks due to congestion and already do so on handsets to allow people to make and receive phone calls.

(Reporting by John Poirier; editing by Andre Grenon; Carol Bishopric)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc unveiled a smaller, cheaper version of its Web-to-TV device on Wednesday, stepping up a battle with Google Inc and Microsoft Corp for control of the digital living room.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs also rolled out a completely overhauled lineup of iPod media players and the latest version of iTunes, with a new logo that does away with the outdated image of a CD.

The new Apple TV device, which accesses content from the Internet and plays it on a TV, will sell for $99. It is a quarter the size of the original, which cost $229.

The 4-inch-square device allows users to rent TV shows for 99 cents and first-run films for $4.99. Earlier models, which allowed users to only buy shows, failed to find a major audience.

"Consumers are already terrified of hooking anything up to their televisions, so unless you can make it crystal clear why they should and make it super easy for them to do so, you're limiting yourself to a niche market," said Avi Greengart, research director for consumer devices at Current Analysis.

The biggest shift to iTunes is the introduction of a social networking feature called Ping, which allows users to recommend songs to followers or their chosen circle of friends.

"It's Facebook and Twitter meets iTunes. It's a social network all about music," Jobs said at a presentation to unveil the products on Wednesday.

But the centerpiece of the event for reporters and investors was Apple TV, which the company introduced in 2006 but which never became a big hit.

Jobs once referred to Apple TV as a hobby, but made clear that the company is now ready to seriously focus on marrying the Web to TV, a combination that is also in the sights of some of the world's most creative and deep-pocketed companies, including Google, Microsoft and Amazon.com Inc.

"They're beginning to shift the paradigm for a very entrenched behavior," said Altimeter analyst Michael Gartenberg, who attended the event. "TV viewing hasn't changed that much in 50 years. They're trying to shift that behavior the way they shifted phone behavior."

Alongside renting TV shows and movies, Apple TV users will be able to stream content from video rental site Netflix Inc. Netflix shares closed 7.5 percent higher on Nasdaq.

Analysts were lukewarm toward the device, though some saw it as only a small, initial step in a much more ambitious plan.

Apple's shares rose almost 3 percent, roughly in line with a broadly higher Nasdaq composite index.

"What they showed was an improvement from what they had before, but it's not as far reaching as it could have been," said analyst Daniel Ernst of Hudson Square Research.

Others doubted whether users would pay to rent TV shows on top of their cable bill, and suggested TV networks would be wary of allying with Apple5.

"The content companies have to be careful not to destroy any of the value to their ecosystem because the cable bundle is really valuable and breaking apart content into individual pieces is risky," said Laura Martin, analyst Needham & Co.

Apple said it has struck rental deals with Walt Disney Co's ABC and News Corp's Fox. "We think the rest of the studios will see the light and get on board pretty fast," Jobs said.

Rival Google is taking a slightly different path with its latest offering of Google TV, which allows viewers to search and watch programs, DVR recordings and the Internet in one fell swoop.

Some new TVs will come Google TV-ready, though plans are in the works to market a separate stand-alone device in the fall. Google is working with the cable and satellite distributors.

Jobs spent most of his presentation on a snazzier line of its iPod, which dominates the music- and media-player market with 275 million units sold, but has suffered moderating sales in recent years. Jobs has turned his attention toward the iPhone and more recently the iPad, which became an immediate success when it was launched in April.

The company has revamped its product line ahead of the key holiday sales season. Jobs called it the "biggest change in the iPod lineup ever."

But Rodman & Renshaw LLC analyst Ashok Kumar said the new products wouldn't stop his expectations for iPod sales to stop growing after this year as they will be cannibalized by sales of devices such as iPad and iPhone.

"We think this year the iPod category will peak and then start to decline," Kumar said.

The revised iPod shuffle has been updated to include playlists and buttons to navigate the volume, and is smaller than the previous model. Jobs said it would play 15 hours of music, and would come in five different colors at a price of $49.

The nano, the next model up, now includes FM radio and can hold 24 hours of music. It will be priced at $149 for the 8-gigabyte version or $179 for the 16-gigabyte model, Jobs said.

A third revised iPod model, the touch, will include a front camera and is thinner than the current model. It will be priced from $229 to $399 depending on storage, and will be available next week.

Apple stressed the FaceTime video chat function on the touch, and its ability to play games with advanced graphics, a move which puts the device in competition with existing mobile gaming devices such as Sony Corp's PSP, Nintendo Co's DS, and the soon-to-be released Microsoft-powered phones that will run some Xbox games.

(Writing by Paul Thomasch; Additional reporting by Jennifer Saba, Yinka Adegoke, Sinead Carew in New York, Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles, Poornima Gupta in San Francisco; Editing by Richard Chang)

BURBANK, California (Reuters) – A booming market of tweens is changing the landscape of online games.

This audience of boys and girls aged 8 to 11 has game publishers launching new games like Disney Online's "World of Cars Online" and Sony Online Entertainment's "Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures."

As these tweens grow older, they are also fueling the success of established online games like Blizzard Entertainment's "World of Warcraft" and Zynga's "Farmville."

In 2007, when children's marketing research firm KidSay asked boys what virtual worlds or online games they had visited in the past two weeks, 35 percent of boys aged 8 to 11 replied "none."

But a new M2 Research Report, "Kids and Games: What Boys and Girls Are Playing," found 91 percent of boys and 93 percent of girls aged 8-11 are playing games online on a regular basis.

"The number of families with broadband Internet access has increased substantially in the past several years and this has greatly helped make online gaming accessible to a younger audience," said Wanda Meloni, founder of M2 Research.

Over the past few years, video game publishers like Sony Online Entertainment, Electronic Arts and Disney Online have focused on creating new free-to-play gaming experiences like "Free Realms," "Monopoly Online" and "Pirates of the Caribbean Online" to a growing audience of young, connected kids.

It seems the strategy is paying off.

Sony Online Entertainment has attracted over 12 million "Free Realms" players in North America and Europe in its first 16 months and plans on expanding the game to China.

According to John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment, 46 percent of "Free Realms" players are under the age of 13 and 75 percent of them are under the age of 17.

FAMILY PLAY

"We went out of our way to make sure kids were in a safe online environment, so that's why we're getting such a strong amount of kids registering," said Smedley.

"And we're finding that many of our older players now play this game with their kids."

"World of Cars Online," which just launched on Disney.com, is the latest free-to-play game from Disney Online Studios. The company has had success in this category with games like "Club Penguin" and "Disney Fairies Pixie Hollow."

M2 research has shown that children gravitate to games that have strong brands like Disney's and are marketed on television. Meloni said with the right marketing, these games will be on a fast track to success, as long as the gameplay remains engaging.

"'Cars' fans will be able to experience the characters and story lines they love in an entirely new medium," said John Lasseter, chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios.

"The 'World of Cars Online' gives players the ability to create and customize their own car characters and worlds in a fun and imaginative way, just as we are working on expanding that same world with our upcoming feature 'Cars 2.'"

Michael Pachter, video game analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities, believes "World of Cars Online" will ultimately attract 3 to 5 million consumers and open the door for in-game micro-transactions for virtual items for gamers.

Meloni said that while tweens tend to play age-appropriate games online such as Disney's "Club Penguin" and SOE's "Free Realms," as they move into their teens (12-15) they start to move away from these games.

"In particular, we are starting to see more references of 'World of Warcraft' and Xbox Live showing up on the 'preferred games lists' for boys, and Facebook games showing up for girls," said Meloni.

(Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)