Call of Duty: Black Ops Launch Trailer released by Activision, as Nov. 9 launch nears

Call of Duty: Black Ops will launch on November 9. It will be available on Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and the Nintendo DS. Activision has just released the official launch trailer.

Although the YouTube video says it was uploaded on Oct. 29, it was done then so it could render in HD and be tested properly. It was only publicly revealed about an hour ago at the time of this writing.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is the seventh installment of the Call of Duty series and the third game in the series to be developed by Treyarch. It is a sequel to the Treyarch's previous title in the series, Call of Duty: World at War. It is the first Call of Duty title set during the Cold War era. The MSRP of the Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows editions is $59.99. The Wii version is $49.99, and the DS version is $29.99.

"Hardened" and "Prestige" limited editions for PS3 and Xbox 360 will be available, just as with Modern Warfare 2. The Hardened Edition includes a SteelBook case, a medal with its display case, four exclusive co-op levels and an Xbox Live or PlayStation Home avatar outfit. MSRP is $79.99.

The Prestige Edition will offer everything that the Hardened Edition does, but adds a real RC-XD remote-control vehicle modeled after the in-game Killstreak reward, which gives video and audio feedback to the controller.

Watch the video.

Jailbroken iPhone 3GS phones to see HD recording functionality

Once again the "magic" (not iPad magic, though) of jailbreaking enables another function that Apple has artificially restricted. Using a jailbroken iPhone and some instructions via Mike Pan, you can record HD video of up to 1080 x 800 resolution on the iPhone 3GS @ 30 frames per second.

The ARM Cortex processor in the iPhone 3GS is perfectly capable of recording at that resolution, but Apple has placed restrictions in place to prevent it. Here are the instructions on Pan's blog. One would expect that someone would come up with a one-click install for Cydia soon, but until then those will to do a little work can enjoy it now.

You can see a sample of the result below.

Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you? On Google's Halloween Doodle

Google's latest Doodle is one for Halloween, and it celebrates All Hallows' Eve with the canine king of spooks: Scooby Doo. Scooby Doo, of course, is the talking Great Dane which began as a CBS cartoon in 1969. Since then it's been spun-off into numerous sequels, revivals, and even live-action (except for Scooby Doo) movies and TV movies.

Google's Doodle on All Hallows' Eve (better known as Halloween) is actually a set of five Doodles you can scroll through. Scooby Doo and the Gang are obviously, as usual, hot on the trail of some mystery.

"Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" made its CBS network debut on Saturday, September 13, 1969 with its first episode, "What a Night for a Knight." In those earlier episodes, the show followed the theme of cartons at that time: there was a montage of some sort which included a "sing-over" with some sort of pop song.

Another such example was the Hardy Boys cartoon series which ran from 1969 to 1971 on ABC. In that series, Frank and Joe Hardy were even members of a rock band.

There have been two live-action (with a computer generated Scooby Doo) Scooby Doo movies, starring Freddy Prinze, Jr. as Fred, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, and Linda Cardellini as Velma. Cartoon Network has also aired two live-action Scooby Doo TV movies as well.

At any rate, hopefully tonight you'll get candy, not Scooby Snacks, but congratulations Scooby Doo for making Google's home page. Enjoy the original Scooby Doo theme below.

Don't forget: no Silly String in Hollywood on Halloween

A gentle reminder that Silly String is banned in Hollywood on Halloween. This ban has been in effect since 2004.

Hollywood's ordinance calls for a maximum $1,000 fine and/or six months in jail for use, possession, sale or distribution of Silly String in Hollywood from 12:00 a.m. on October 31 to 12:00 a.m. on November 1.

While the whole thing sounds "silly," it's not to the LAPD. It was, at least prior to the ordinance, a major issue and expense for the city, and for business owners, who asked for the ordinance to be put in place. The press release from 2004 says:

On a typical Halloween night, up to 100,000 people come to Hollywood Boulevard in search of something to do. Given the lack of a formal event, hundreds of illegal vendors flock to the street and sell Silly String which then becomes the sole source of entertainment for the night.

Loa Angeles City personnel are deployed from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), Department of Transportation, Bureau of Street Services and Department of Sanitation to protect and clean up the Silly String "event." The financial costs to the city are detrimental as they exceed $200,000 for this one night.

Silly String, for those who don't know it, is supposed to be a toy, but it used by adults as well. Basically, it's aerosol string: a stream of liquid shot from an aerosol can sets quickly into a flexible, brightly-colored plastic string, in mid-air. It gets used for various celebrations, parties, and the like.

Apple countersues Motorola, over multi-touch patents

Apple has unsurprisingly fired back at a Motorola filing to invalidate several of Apple's patents with a filing of its own. The Cupertino, CA-based tech company has filed a lawsuit accusing Motorola of violating six patents related to multi-touch functionality found on the iPhone.

Apple filed two lawsuits on Friday in a U.S. District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin. The company's suit names a number of Motorola Android handsets as infringing upon the patents. Those named in the complaint include the Droid, Droid 2, Droid X, Cliq, Cliq XT, BackFlip, Devour A555, Devour i1 and Charm. Not all of those were that popular, but all were Android-based

The patents at issue are:

• U.S. Patent No. 5,379,430 - "Object-oriented system locator system"
• U.S. Patent No. 5,838,315 - "Support for custom user-interaction elements in a graphical, event-driven computer system"
• U.S. Patent No. 6,493,002 - "Method and apparatus for displaying and accessing control and status information in a computer system"
• U.S. Patent No. 7,479,949 - "Touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics"
• U.S. Patent No. 7,663,607 - "Multipoint touchscreen"
• U.S. Patent No. 7,812,828 - "Elipse fitting for multi-touch surfaces"

In its earlier filing, Motorola sued to invalidate 11 patents, the same ones that Apple earlier sued HTC over. Motorola had reportedly been trying to come to a cross-licensing agreement with Apple, but the deal fell through.

Dating site for 'aesthetically challenged' heralds first engagement

Amazed at home many of the folks on sites like Match.com, Chemistry.com, or CougarLife.com are incredibly good-looking? There's a site for people who are "aesthetically challenged" (their words, not ours) and it is celebrating a milestone: the first engagement between two of its members.

Tom Clifford, 36, and Janine Walker, 31, have become engaged after meeting on the U.K. version of the website "The Ugly Bug Ball," which has U.K., U.S., Canadian, Australian, and Irish versions of the site. The site describes its mission statement as follows:

Internet dating is more popular that it’s ever been with singles all over the world logging on to find the love of their life. But aren’t you sick of all the twee lovey dovey dating sites that show perfectly pretty people walking hand in hand on a wind swept beach?

We know it never turns out like that - at TUBB we deal in reality.

If you are one of the millions of people that don’t always like what they see in the mirror, then this is the place for you!

Clifford and Walker have become engaged after just four dates, though Clifford first saw her ad in August. The site is so excited to hear of their engagement, it has offered them a free honeymoon, to Borth in Wales.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Clifford said as much in his initial email to Walker:

"Dear Janine, Just seen your beautiful face on The Ugly Bug Ball and would love to meet up. You live near me, so this shouldn't be a problem. I've got a face that makes children cry but, as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder - and I think you'll love me too."

Here's what Walker said:

"I appreciate that Tom isn't Brad Pitt, but then I'm no Angelina Jolie either. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and to me Tom's the perfect, handsome prince. I'm just so pleased to have been able to meet him, and I'm head-over-heels in love."

We wish them well. Not everyone in this world can be Jennifer Aniston or George Clooney, but all deserve love.

Zombify a picture of yourself for Halloween at ZombieMe.com

With Halloween nearly here, as well as the premiere of the new AMC series, "The Walking Dead," what better time of the year to turn yourself into a zombie? If you don't want to bother with all the makeup, you can do it the easy way at ZombieMe.com.

At ZombieMe.com, you can zombify a photo of yourself. Upload it, and using the free generator, or a custom paid-for zombie creator, you can add cool zombie effects and zombify yourself. Maximize size of the start image is 800 (w) x 555 (h). You can add wounds, gashes, exposed teeth, and more. Once complete, you can share the image on Facebook or Twitter.

If you want a fully customized image, the prices are steep, for an Internet service. ZombieMe Lite is $9.99, ZombieMe Express is $29.99, and ZombieMe Standard is $49.99 but includes an 8x10 print.

There's no question that zombies have been a horror film favorite, and that recent films like ZombieLand have increased their exposure (though not just in terms of exposed teeth). The new AMC series, "The Walking Dead," based on a black-and-white comic series, hopes to do for zombies what "True Blood" and "Twilight" have done for vampires.

Speaking of "The Walking Dead," it premieres on AMC on Halloween; watch the trailer below, along with ZombieMe.com demo.

Verizon iPhone confirmed: Fortune

When Verizon announced it would begin selling the iPad in its stores, albeit with a MiFi hotspot device for 3G connectvity, we said that this was the final signal, that after all the other signs earlier this year, Verizon would be getting the iPhone in early 2011. Still, there has been no official word.

We still don't have it, but we have the next best thing: Fortune, in an interview piece with Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, says it has confirmed that a Verizon iPhone will be released in early 2011.

Earlier signals that a Verizon iPhone were coming included the following big sign" AT&T's "generosity" with giving its customers early upgrades to the iPhone 4 (which we noted would lock them in for two more years). That to us, was a key signal that Verizon would be getting the iPhone, and we said at the time we thought it pointed to an early 2011 release, as the customers who got the "early upgrade" package were those whose contracts would allow an upgrade anytime in 2010.

As we've said before, however, despite the common belief by end users that Verizon's reputedly better network would solve the issues with the iPhone, which has seemingly brought AT&T's network to its knees, that's not necessarily a sure thing:

As noted, wireless data usage on the device is a major burden on AT&T's (T) network; iPhone users who complain about AT&T service don't always realize how much they contribute to the strain, partly because the iPhone persistently reaches out to AT&T's towers, switches, and computers to grab data. While Seidenberg wouldn't comment on the iPhone specifically, he and Lowell McAdam, his operating chief and heir apparent, seem confident the Verizon network will hold up. McAdam points out that Verizon already carries a data hog of a phone, the Motorola Droid (which runs on Google's (GOOG) Android operating system), and that the average Droid user consumes more data than the average iPhone user.

Fortune also reported that Apple CEO Steve Jobs voiced concerns over CDMA in the past, including the fact that it doesn't work in nearly as many countries as GSM does. At the same time, the story confirmed prior rumors: the first CDMA-based iPhone model on will "probably" not be dual-mode, which means it won't be a "World Phone" with a SIM for roaming globally, as some other CDMA phones have.

It most likely won't support Verizon's nascent LTE network, either. That, however, makes a lot of sense. Apple hasn't necessarily been a trend-setter with iPhone hardware; most will recall that the iPhone's first generation didn't even include 3G, although it wasn't that new.

It will be interesting to see how the introduction of a Verizon iPhone will affect Android sales. Of course, as we've said before, Verizon is one network in one country. It will also be interesting to see if the rumors and stories about a Verizon iPhone will affect holiday smartphone sales, as consumers wait for the announcement of a phone that's probably the most desired of all, even if it's not official.

Twitter sees flood of Rally to Restore Sanity Tweets as schedule nears

As sunrise approached on the East Coast, Twitter began seeing Tweets from folks who had already set up shop in the National Mall, despite the hours remaining, per the Rally to Restore Sanity schedule, before the event even begins. Thousands were already at the Mall or on their way there, hoping to join Jon Stewart "Rally to Restore Sanity" and faux conservative Stephen Colbert's "March to Keep Fear Alive."

The official Twitter stream for the Twitter stream for the "Rally to Restore Sanity / Fear" as the combined events are billing themselves, can be found here. Stewart, who was recently named the Askmen.com's Most Influential Person of 2010, created the event in response to Glenn Beck's "Rally to Restore Honor."

The Rally to Restore Sanity schedule, which as is typical for a live event, will probably be a bit loose, is as follows (all times are ET):

Pre-Pre Show – 10 AM to 12 PM (Video montages and music will play on Jumbotrons to entertain the rally crowd)

Pre Show – 12 PM to 1 PM
12:00-12:40 – The Roots will play
12:40-12:57 – A comedian (TBA) will warm up the crowd
12:57-1:00 – Video countdown and intros

Main Event 1 PM-3 PM
1:00-1:05 – Singing of the National Anthem by special musical guest (TBA)
1:05-1:20 – Jon Stewart welcomes the crowd
1:20-1:30 – Stephen Colbert enters
1:30-1:35 – Benediction by Father Guido Sarducci (actor Don Novello)
1:35-1:40 – Poem reading by actor Sam Waterston (”Law and Order”)
1:40-1:50 – Performance by Jeff Tweedy ("A Film About Wilco") and Mavis Staples
1:50-2:15 – Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert perform together
2:15-2:20 – Performance by Sheryl Crow
2:20-2:30 – Brief statements from special guests (TBA), both live and taped
2:30-2:40 – Performance by special musical guest (TBA)
2:40-2:50 – Sanity and Fear Awards
2:50-3:00 – Wrap-up by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert

Jon Stewart hosts Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," while Stephen Colbert hosts the same network's "The Colbert Report." There has even been an iPhone app created for the event, which can be downloaded for free from the App Store.

Gmail creator donates $100K toward California Prop 19, for marijuana legalization

Paul Buchheit, creator of Gmail and Friendfeed, has now joined Facebook. He's also just joined two Facebook co-founders in donating to the Yes on Proposition 19 campaign, for the legalization of marijuana in California.

The two co-founders, Sean Parker and Dustin Moskovitz have given a total of $170,000 to the backers of Proposition 19 ($100,000 and $70,000 respectively). Buchhelt's contribution comes in the last weekend before the vote, and as polls show Proposition 19 losing support.

Earlier this week, billionaire George Soros donated $1 million to the Yes on Proposition 19 campaign. As he did so, he said, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed:

California's Proposition 19, which would legalize the recreational use and small-scale cultivation of marijuana, wouldn't solve all the problems connected with the drug. But it would represent a major step forward, and its deficiencies can be corrected on the basis of experience. Just as the process of repealing national alcohol prohibition began with individual states repealing their own prohibition laws, so individual states must now take the initiative with respect to repealing marijuana prohibition laws. And just as California provided national leadership in 1996 by becoming the first state to legalize the medical use of marijuana, so it has an opportunity once again to lead the nation.

Buchhelt, meanwhile, explained the reasons behind his decision to contribute a six-figure amount on his blog.

Some politicians have argued that proposition 19 is "flawed". To me, this seems like a weak defense of the status quo from politicians afraid to stand out on a controversial issue. Of course it's not perfect -- no law is perfect. However, the current system of drug prohibition is much, much worse. "Perfect" is not one of the options offered on Tuesday's ballot. We can either choose "much better" (Yes on 19), or "keep the current, disastrously bad, system" (No on 19).

If proposition 19 passes, the immediate effect may not be that significant due to federal challenges and such. However, I believe the long-term effects will be enormous. Prohibition is a disaster. Many politicians will admit to this fact, however most of them have been too timid to actually do anything about it, to lead the country towards safer, saner policies. In this case, the voters must lead, and the politicians will follow. Even if 19 does not pass (Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight gives it "even odds" of passing), it will still mark an important shift in the debate over drugs, especially if YOU vote for it.

Of course, among those who favor the law in California, many see green, and not in terms of the plant itself. Rather, it is seen by many as a way to infuse cash into California's state and local coffers, through taxation of the drug.

A Public Policy Institute of California survey last week showed 44 percent of likely voters supporting Proposition 19, with 49 percent opposed.

Young girl fools would-be kidnapper into thinking her iPod touch is an iPhone

A 12-year-old girl used some quick thinking and an iPod touch to scare off a potential kidnapper. The incident happened in Delaware, at around 6:10 PM Wednesday evening.

The unnamed (as she is a minor) girl told investigators that a man driving a white van entered the Stanton Middle School driveway and pulled up next to her. He then told her to "get in the van." Holding up her iPod touch, she told the man that she had dialed 911. Mistaking the iPod touch for an iPhone, he drove off.

The suspect is described as a white male, 35 - 45 years of age, with dark crew-cut styled hair. He was wearing a dark sweatshirt and was driving a white work van.

While obviously she couldn't make a call with her iPod touch unless she had some sort of VOIP app installed, as well as wi-fi connectivity, she could have made a call if she had access to this recently announced kit that turns an iPod touch into an iPhone.

Although the incident occurred at Stanton Middle School, a spokesperson for the Red Clay School District said the girl is not actually a student at the school or the Red Clay District. Those with any information in the incident are asked to contact Troop 6 at 302-633-5000 or Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333.

How Twitter's Direct Message feature can make you turn red

Twitter's mobile feature allows you to receive text messages when someone sends you a Direct Message (DM) on Twitter. That's a great feature, but if used improperly, can result in a great deal of embarrassment.

Cue Nouriel Roubini, a professor of economics at New York University. Responding to a DM the "wrong way," Roubini posted the following comment about Joe Weisenthal as a public Tweet instead of as a DM back to the originator:

Off the record:Because he is a loser and like all parasite losers hopes for attention and traffic.

As embarrassing as that was for Roubini, we don't get to find out who the person who made the query was. The Tweet, of course, has since been deleted.

Roubini made the mistake many do when receiving a DM on their cell phone. It comes in as an SMS, from 40404. However, and here is they key, any message sent to 40404, without the prefix d USERNAME in front of it, is treated as a public Tweet. Thus, if you just reply, without thinking, like you might to a regular SMS message, you send your message to everyone, not as a reply to the originator.

It's commonly known as a "DM Fail." Most aren't quite so high profile as this one, but still: are you still keeping your DM-to-SMS feature turned on?

Angry Birds Plush Toys now available for pre-order

We were expecting them, and they are here. Or rather, they will be here in December, but you can pre-order them now: Angry Birds Plush Toys.

If you don't already know, Angry Birds is a video game in which you shoot different types of birds with a slingshot, trying to defeat the "evil pigs" which have stolen the birds' eggs.  It recently entered the Android Market as a free, ad-supported game, and is extremely popular on both iOS and Android.

There is a toy for the following types of birds: red, blue, yellow, black, white. They are all priced at $14.99. You'll recall the birds all work in the game as follows:

• Red birds: just shoot 'em
• Blue birds separate into three smaller birds
• Yellow birds speed up and dash into their targets
• Black birds explode on command or shortly after coming into contact with an object
• White birds drop egg-shaped bombs

You can find them at shop.angrybirds.com or Toywiz. Just a tip: shipping seems cheaper at Toywiz, and at least for our state, there was no sales tax.

Balloon Boy's Dad returns in a YouTube infomercial

Those who remember the horror that was the story around the "Balloon Boy" will find this unbearable (pun intended). The father involved in that debacle, Richard Heene, is back with an invention he's trying to hawk via YouTube.

First the invention: it's called the Heene Bear Scratch. Some of those who may have seen an actual bear scratch himself by rubbing up against a tree can see where this is going. The Bear Scratch is a backscratcher, but one that you use by mounting it to a wall and then rubbing your back against it, like a bear does, "in the woods." For those interested, it's $19.95 for one and $29.95 for two.

We sincerely hope that no one is going to shell out money for any of Heene's inventions. It was Oct. 15, 2009 when Richard and Mayumi Heene alerted authorities that their son Falcon had floated away in a UFO-shaped silver weather balloon.

It created a media frenzy, with live coverage of the balloon floating across Colorado as police and military helicopters chased it. Denver International Airport even shut down briefly. It ended wonderfully, with the realization that 6-year-old Falcon had actually been hiding in the garage and wasn’t aboard the balloon.

The problem is, it was all a hoax. After a segment on "Wife Swap" failed to ignite the Heene family's fortunes, this was their latest stunt. It was hoped that the publicity would give the family a reality TV show. Instead, it all fell apart when, after being asked by Wolf Blitzer on CNN why he had been hiding, Falcon looked at his father and said, "You told me we were doing this for a show."

Cut to denouement: both Richard and Mayumi Heene served a limited amount of jail time. You can watch the "Bear Scratch" video below. We don't believe he is much of a Billy Mays type, but perhaps you will feel otherwise.

Note: Heene wisely disabled comments for his "YouTube infomercial."

Better as a general Android tablet than we thought: the NOOKcolor

If only it had access to the Android Market, the NOOKcolor would be a decent general purpose Android tablet, it seems. The processor in the new device has been revealed to be an 800Mhz Texas Instruments OMAP3621 (ARM Cortex-A8 processor-based) applications processor.

The NOOKcolor was introduced a few days ago. That processor should put the NOOKcolor in the iPad range for performance.

Barnes and Noble's new $249 e-book reader sports a color screen, and runs Android 2.1, although 2.2 is promised for 2011. It will not, however, have the Android Market installed.

Instead, Barnes and Noble will run its own store, with apps requiring approval. The store won't "open" until 2011, with submissions being taken early next year and approvals taking "a few weeks."

According to the Gizmodo report, Barnes and Noble wants the device to be seen as mostly an e-book reader, and want applications to "extend the reading experience." They don't want it seen as a multi-purpose tablet, which is probably good for the Galaxy Tab, since the $249 price seriously undercuts the leaked $499 wi-fi only Galaxy Tab price.

We assume, however, that although Barnes and Noble wants the reading experience optimized, that doesn't mean that the company would want it optimized to the point that a Kindle app would be accepted into the store. Of course, enterprising folks would surely be able to sideload the APK if they tried hard enough.

The Monster Mash song: it's still a YouTube smash

With Halloween comes candy, but also, another bump to the YouTube statistics for any rendition of the Monster Mash song. Debuting in 1962, it became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year, reaching that peak just in time for Halloween, on Oct. 20th. It has been a perennial Halloween favorite ever since.

Since then, the song has been re-released several times, and managed to make it back onto the Billboard charts three times after the original release, in Dec. 1962, August 1970, and May of 1973. Interestingly, the Monster Mash song was banned from the BBC when it was first released, with the BBC saying it was "too morbid." Eventually, they relented, and the song was released in the U.K. in 1973, peaking at No. 3 in early October, again in time for Halloween. It again re-entered the British Charts on November 2, 2008 at #60.

Meanwhile, every year, around this time, the Monster Mash song hits the Internet via YouTube and other video sites. There are so many different versions, that no single one gets a huge number of hits, but the one below is arguably the "best." It plays the Monster Mash song atop a series of clips (including audio) from a series of horror films (some of them quite corny).

Also, a reminder: Halloween will be here on Sunday, and for those who wonder when Daylight Savings Time ends: it is, at least for now, always the weekend after Halloween.  Indeed, a delay to the end of DST was lobbied for by candy companies for years.

New PlayStation Phone photos, details, emerge

As speculation continues to rise, more information about the so-called PlayStation Phone has emerged. Engadget has managed to obtain more photos of a prototype PlayStation Phone, as well as some specifications.

The phone is codenamed "Zeus," is running Android 2.2, has an 8GB microSD card and has at least 512MB of internal storage. Reportedly, there are multiple devices in the wild with different versions of Android on the device, including at least one with Android 3.0.

Engadget feels there is very little chance that the PlayStation Phone, or whatever it ends up being called, will launch with Froyo. It will have at least Gingerbread (Android 2.3) in that case, although, Engadget noted that the phone in the latest set of snaps is sporting Android 2.2.

More details, obviously, to come.

Pegatron expects to ship 10 million CDMA iPhones in 2011: report

Although when folks think of CDMA wireless networks, they usually think Sprint and Verizon (and for the iPhone, specifically Verizon), there are plenty of other CDMA networks globally. Thus, although this report cites a huge number of CDMA iPhones expected to be manufactured in 2011, they won't all be on Verizon's network.

A lot of them will be, however.

The report cited a source indicating that Pegatron, which had earlier been rumored as the manufacturer of the upcoming CDMA iPhone, expects to ship 10 million units in 2011.

Digitimes' sources added that Pegatron is also pursuing MacBook and iPad orders, and that the company has installed new equipment as well as hired about 10,000 new employees at its plant in Shanghai, China.

The sources added that Pegatron will start shipping the CDMA iPhone 4 in December, and that it should become a key driver for 2011 revenues, with the company expecting 20 - 30 percent growth in 2011 revenue.

Excitement around a Verizon iPhone has reached near riot proportions as many signs have pointed to the U.S. largest wireless carrier obtaining the iPhone in early 2011. While many feel that Verizon Wireless can handle the iPhone better than AT&T, which has been soundly criticized for its 3G and voice performance, some are not so sure.

Amazon.com begins 'Countdown to Black Friday' sale with HDTV

As thoughts of Black Friday turn away from Tiger Woods 2009 Black Friday SUV crash, and to 2010 Black Friday deals, Amazon.com has begun its "Countdown to Black Friday" sale. Every Friday from today until November 19th, Amazon.com will offer a hot deal to prep you for the actual Black Friday 2010, which this year is November 26th.

Amazon.com will be using its Gold Box Daily Deal section to post these Black Friday-ish deals. To access Gold Box deals on Amazon.com's site, just click the golden icon at the top of most pages on their Web site.

Today's first Amazon.com "Countdown to Black Friday" deal is an HDTV. It's the 55-inch Toshiba 55UX600U Net TV. To be clear, despite the reference to Net, this is not a Google-enabled TV, but instead is Internet-enabled, with support for VUDU, an online video rental service.

The list price of the 55UX600U is $2,399.99, and yesterday's Amazon.com price was $1,399. The "Countdown to Black Friday" sale price today is nearly $200 less, $1199.99.

The Toshiba 55UX600U is Energy-Star rated and has wi-fi support.  A list of some of its feature includes:

• 55-inch LED-backlit HDTV with Full 1080p HD resolution; ClearFrame 120Hz screen refresh rate for minimizing motion blur in sports and action movies
• Net TV on-demand entertainment from VUDU Movies, Pandora and access to social networking sites; Wi-Fi adapter included
• DynaLight backlight control adjusts for deeper black levels for higher dynamic contrast and more realistic picture
• Inputs: 4 HDMI, 1 component, 1 composite, 1 PC, 1 USB, 1 Ethernet, 1 optical digital audio output
• Includes removable stand; measures 52.87 x 34.96 x 15.59 inches with stand

The Toshiba 55UX600U is just the first of Amazon.com's "Countdown to Black Friday" deals. Black Friday is the first retail shopping day after Thanksgiving, and for 2010 Black Friday will be Nov. 26. It is reportedly the biggest shopping day of the year for retailers, and is followed closely by Cyber Monday, which is the first work day after Thanksgiving (and thus, the first day that some folks have access to high-speed Internet). In 2010 Cyber Monday falls on Nov. 29.

Black Friday used to be the best shopping day of the year for consumers, but nowadays retailers and e-tailers start setting out deals earlier and earlier. It doesn't hurt that many of these retailers are still trying to recover from the throes of the past recession.

After anti-gay rants on Facebook, school district member resigns

The Facebook group "Fire Clint McCance" has its wish. McCance, a Midland School Board member (in fact, vice-president), is resigning after his Facebook anti-gay rant became public knowledge.

McCance, appearing with CNN's Anderson Cooper, said,

"I'm sorry I've hurt people with my comments. I'm sorry I made those ignorant comments and hurt people on a broad spectrum."

However, based on the venom in his original comments, many seem to feel that what McCance really meant to say, is "I'm sorry I was caught."

It all started when, in response to "Wear Purple for LGBT Spirit Day," McCance wrote the following on Facebook:

"Seriously they want me to wear purple because five queers killed themselves. The only way im wearin it for them is if they all commit suicide. I cant believe the people of this world have gotten this stupid. We are honoring the fact that they sinned and killed thereselves because of their sin. REALLY PEOPLE."

As if that wasn't bad enough, once someone called him on the comment, McCance added fuel to the fire, saying:

"Being a f-g doesn't give you the right to ruin the rest of our lives. If you get easily offended by being called a f-g then dont tell anyone you are a f-g. Keep that s--- to yourself. I dont care how people decide to live their lives. They dont bother me if they keep it to thereselves. It pisses me off though that we make a special purple f-g day for them. I like that f-gs cant procreate. I also enjoy the fact that they often give each other aids and die. If you arent against it, you might as well be for it."

"I would disown my kids they were gay. They will not be welcome at my home or in my vicinity. I will absolutely run them off. Of course my kids will know better. My kids will have solid christian beliefs. See it infects everyone."

What's interesting is the focus of this year's Purple Day was to draw attention to the recent rash of suicides by teens who were bullied because of their homosexuality. The recent suicide by Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide after his roommate webcast an encounter between Clementi and another male, brought national attention to the problem.

In his position on the school board, whatever his beliefs, McCance should have known better than to make such statements, particularly on a public social networking forum.

Apple faces iPad trademark battle with Chinese firm

Proview, a Taiwanese-owned company which owns the trademark for "iPad" China says it will sue Apple for infringing on its ownership in that market, according a report in the Financial Times. Nearly a decade ago, PRoview tried unsuccessfully to market a tablet computer it called "I-Pad."

Although the product failed, the company trademarked the name "IPAD" in the E.U., China, Mexico, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam at different times between the years 2000 and 2004. FT notes that trademark databases validate Proview's claim.

In 2006, Proview reportedly sold the global trademark (except, Proview said, in China) to a U.S. company named IP Application Development, for $55,100. It turns out, however, that IP Application Development was really just a front for Apple.

Now, Proview's having some financial difficulties. In fact, a group of Chinese creditor banks has seized the assets of Proview’s Shenzhen unit, including the trademarks, after the company defaulted on loans worth $400 million.

Naturally, Proview’s shareholders and creditors would love to see the trademarks sold at the highest possible price, but Apple has blocked any attempts to do so via preliminary injunctions granted after Apple and IP Application Development sued Proview.

According to the FT, Apple is seeking an order requiring Proview to assign the Chinese IPAD trademark to IP Application Development, per the 2006 agreement. However, FT added, according to online trademark databases, while the ownership of the E.U. trademark for IPAD changed from Proview to Apple this year, two IPAD trademarks registered in China are still shown as belonging to Proview.

Interestingly, just prior to the launch of the iPad, Apple settled with the owner of the U.S. trademark: Fujitsu.

The Samsung Nexus Two is the real deal: source

Mocked up Nexus Two: Gizmodo

If an anonymous report is correct, the Samsung Nexus Two is the real deal. According to a report in Gizmodo, a source told them he's had hands-on time with the next Google Phone.

"When I first saw it from 10 feet away, I thought it was the Galaxy S," says our source, who got to handle one. "I was a little surprised it was the Nexus Two," because it's so different from the Nexus One.

It's black and shiny, built with glossy plastic. Up close, though, it's "got this curve to it." While the screen, which our source thinks is the same 4-inch AMOLED affair from the Galaxy series, is flat, the front is "sort of concave" with hard edges. And the back is curved. The tapering makes it feel thinner than Galaxy S, though it might be about the same thickness. "It feels really similar to the Galaxy S in a lot ways."

In fact, it sounds like a Galaxy S with a front-facing camera. Think Fascinate wirh the additional front-facing camera that only the Epic 4G, among U.S. Galaxy S phones, sports. Possibly, the source said, right down to the Super AMOLED screen of the Galaxy S phones.

However, if this is your typical "Google Phone," and like the Nexus One, it would be stock Android UI, and it would be the first phone to ship with Gingerbread (Android 2.3). It would, of course, be the perfect phone to unveil at Samsung's Nov. 8 event.

On the other hand, it's also possible that the previously leaked Continuum, the dual-screen Android phone, will be unveiled on Nov. 8.

One thing's for sure: assuming this is a new Google phone (and hey, Google needs to have a new stock Android phone to take the place of the Nexus One as a developer phone, doesn't it?), Google won't make the same mistake it made with the Nexus One. We'd be willing to bet this time there'd be carrier launches on more than just one carrier, and hopefully on CDMA carriers (like U.S. No. 1 Verizon), too.

Adobe demos a Flash-to-HTML converter

We know that Apple isn't a fan of Adobe Flash, and won't support it on its iOS products, pushing HTML 5 instead. Adobe, while definitely not agreeing with that stance, is nothing if not pragmatic. Thus, at Adobe's MAX 2010 event on Thursday, the company demo'ed a Flash-to-HTML5 converter.

The product is simply a tech demo for now, but we expect there will be a ton of requests for this to make it to production. Watch the demo.

Microsoft's Online Services Division burns cash at a $2B annual clip

Microsoft (MSFT) released its fiscal Q1 2011 results after the bell on Thursday. They were both good, and bad, as earnings and revenue both beat the street, but Online Services continued to burn through tons of cash.

Net income jumped to $5.41 billion in the quarter ending Sept. 30, at $0.62 a share, beating Wall Street's estimate of $0.55 a share. Microsoft reported revenue of $16.2 billion, up 25 percent year-over-year, and once again beating the street, which expected revenue of $15.8 billion.

Looking at the divisions that many would say are "the future," meaning smartphone and Internet, things were so-so for Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, which includes Xbox and Windows Phone. That division reported quarterly revenue of nearly $1.8 billion, up 27 percent from a year ago, and earnings of $382 million, up from $260 million year-over-year.

However, the Online Services division, which is essentially Bing, continued to burn through cash at an alarming pace. For fiscal Q1 2011, Online Services reported an operating loss of $560 million on $527 million of revenue. Year-over-year, things got worse: in fiscal Q1 2010 the Online Services division lost $477 million on $487 million of sales. Doing the (easy) math: this division, which is basically competing with Google, is losing $2 billion a year for Microsoft.

Also, this quarter marked the first time in 15 years that Apple's revenue numbers bested those of Microsoft. The Cupertino, CA-based Apple reported $20.34 billion in revenues during the same period, while as noted, Microsoft's numbers were $16.2 billion. However, Microsoft did generate more net income than Apple, $5.41 billion vs. Apple's $4.31 billion.

Smartphones and the Internet are the future, however, and it's good news that Microsoft is lagging in those divisions. As Windows Phone 7 hits the market, analysts will undoubtedly be looking to see if revenue for the Entertainment and Devices division spikes or not.

Mt. Everest is now 'connected'

High-speed Internet service has reached the base camp at Mt. Everest. The signal, however, does not have sufficient range to reach the summit of the mountain.

Don't expect fiber optic speeds. Scandinavian telecommunications company TeliaSonera, or rather, its Nepalese subsidiary, Ncell, created a 3G mobile base station at the Mt. Everest base camp. The base station is powered entirely by solar energy.

Ncell is also working to increase coverage of the rest of Nepal. Currently, only about a third of the country has access to a cell phone signal. Meanwhile, only about two percent of the country has Internet access. Ncell is investing $200 million over the next two years, and hopes to provide 90 percent of the population with mobile phone access by 2012.