While the hot and heavy 700MHz a(u)ction is anonymously taking place behind closed doors, we do know a couple of big things have happened. That potential winning bid from Thursday was punked down by a surprise total bid of $4.74 billion. This is juicy because it indicates Google has probably been outbid—assuming it was the party that pushed the bid past the $4.6 billion open access reserve, as it had promised—most likely by Verizon, using some slightly complicated rule shuffling with the regional licenses comprising the block.
As Saul Hansell points out, if we see the bidding continue to escalate, it indicates that Google might actually be playing to win (though it’s doubtful), as long what we’re seeing isn’t an influx of bidders locked out of the B block pool by rocketing prices—driven up, no doubt, by big telcos looking to patch up holes in their 700MHz network.
Like say, AT&T, whose […]
Original post by matt buchanan
Annalee Newitz, editor of io9, posted some controversial photos of a robot on the scene of a suicide bombing in Israel. One of the worst shots includes the robot rolling over the bomber’s corpse to check if the body is rigged with a second batch of explosives. Readers are calling her names for posting such intense photos. But I think they’re wrong. WARNING: This post has very disturbing photos.
These are the craziest photos of war robots in action I’ve ever seen. But they deserve to be seen by those capable of understanding that there is tragedy outside of our candy coated American Lives. I don’t think we should shy away from that truth. Readers at Io9 who can’t handle that shouldn’t attack her as a reaction. [Globe and Mail via io9, Photos by Phil Walter/Getty Images]
galleryPost(\’israelibomber\’, 3, \’\');
Original post by Brian Lam
The Spice Gun by Chinese designer Zhu Fei takes the rotating spice caster to a whole new level. Using an air bag that compresses when the trigger is pressed, the Spice Gun allows for the bottom of the seasoning bottle to be hit by the handspike, blasting seasoning all over your food. Details on on the Spice Gun are scarce. But if Emeril Lagasse were to use this thing, he would have to change his catchphrase from BAM to BANG. [designboom via dvice]galleryPost(\’spicegun\’, 4, \’\');
Original post by Christopher Mascari
Hollywood wants ISPs such as Verizon to help filter and block the illegal transfer of copyrighted content. Unlike AT&T, Verizon is telling Hollywood to kiss its ass. Verizon EVP of Public Affairs Tom Tauke says they won’t consider Hollywood’s call to action for three reasons.
First, it opens the door for other organizations to make demands as to what should and shouldn’t be allowed. Verizon doesn’t feel the internet should be excessively policed. Second, it sets a precedent that would make networks and service providers liable for future cases where they fail to block content. Third, Verizon sees content filtering as an invasion of privacy, and they try to balance the wishes of customers with the necessity for content protection. Amen. [NY Times]
Original post by