Internet

Well, the iPhone event finally happened, and now we have nothing to talk about.

Just kidding!

We decided that everyone must be sick of talking about the new iPhone, so we did everyone a favor -- including ourselves -- and talked about everything but that. Hallelujah!

On this week's show, we continue to not care about HTC's possible tablets; we talk to TechCrunch's favorite sources and learn that a browser-based version of Spotify might be in the works; and on Thursday we will finally learn Wii U pricing and its release date -- that's almost two … Read more

When I was a tot, I learned my ABCs with pictures and words printed on sliced-up trees. I also watched "Sesame Street." These days, many kids are learning to spell with tablet computers. What will Google teach them?

Rolled out two years ago this week, Google Instant shows suggested queries as you type. It was billed as a time saver, shaving two to five seconds off each search.

Google figured that Instant would improve searches because it takes people 300 milliseconds between each keystroke, but only 30 milliseconds to glace at suggested results. Before Instant, it took people more than nine seconds on average to enter a term, according to the search engine.

Some love the feature, some hate it. Some claim their reputation has suffered because of it and have sought redress in court.

But one of the most intriguing things about Google Instant is how it presents a list of queries when a single letter is typed. This autocomplete alphabet, as it's known, changes frequently according to the most popular searches. Here's the latest snapshot of the alphabet, in halves: … Read more

Are you using Carbonite to back up your data? Good for you: I highly recommend some kind of cloud-storage service in tandem with a local backup.

Ah, but are you happy with it? The folks at CrashPlan think you can do better, and they're willing to put their money where their mouth is: existing Carbonite customers can get one year of CrashPlan backup absolutely free.

Typically, that would cost you $49.99. And if you're looking to protect more than one computer, you can purchase a family plan for $50 -- a price that buys you unlimited storage … Read more

While the Clint Eastwood speech and the acclaimed director's lecturing of an invisible President Obama stole the media spotlight during the Republican National Convention in Tampa, it was Obama's terse response via Twitter that received the most re-tweets during the GOP's big event in Florida.

A Twitter spokesperson told Talking Points Memo that the president's tweet -- which read "This seat's taken" and was accompanied with the above shot of a certain big-eared and very visible Democrat in the presidential chair -- was re-tweeted over 50,000 times. That made it the biggest … Read more

They danced, and they barked, and they hitched rides on Roombas. But in the end, no amount of cat cuteness could match the emotional punch of "Henri 2, Paw de Deux," a searing documentary of a tortured feline that last night won the coveted people's choice award at the first Internet Cat Video Festival.

The black-and-white film brilliantly portrays the existential struggles of a black cat known as Henri Le Chat Noir, who spares nothing as he bravely invites the cameras into the dark corners of his soul.

"I am free to go, yet I remain," Henri shares in French voiceover, as the camera zooms in on him staring forlorn out a window. "The 15 hours a day I sleep have no effect. I wake to the same tedium." … Read more

You know that wooden chair Clint Eastwood was talking to during tonight's speech at the Republican National Convention? It already has its own Twitter account. At least two actually.

For those who might have missed it (but expect to hear plenty about it during upcoming RNC post-mortems), the iconic action actor spent part of his moment in the convention spotlight chatting (transcript) with an empty chair that was supposed to represent President Obama. And if presidents can have their own Twitter accounts, why can't chairs that are standing in as presidents?

Invisible Obama (bio: Stage left of Clint Eastwood) sent out its first Tweet at about 6:20 p.m. PT. It's been busy tweeting since: "The GOP built me." "When Mitt Romney says 'Mr. Chairman', do you think he's referring to me?" … Read more

Zap! Atari and Microsoft today launched Atari Arcade, an excellent example of how HTML5 can change the way we play video games.

The portal of retro entertainment -- primarily launched to celebrate Atari's 40th anniversary -- includes Asteroids, Centipede, Combat, Lunar Lander, Missile Command, Pong, Super Breakout, and Yars' Revenge. The best part? It's free, and doesn't require Flash, Java, or any other plug-in to play, running solely on HTML5.… Read more

Oh, Internet! Is nothing, not even a prized fresco of Jesus, safe from your creative but snarky clutches?

Amateur art restorers the world over have taken to Twitter to share their digital restorations of "Ecce Home" (Behold the Man), a painting by Elias Garcia Martinez that's more than a century old. They have given the image googly eyes, bow ties, and sunglasses, and bestowed upon it the visage of a cat, a bear, Big Bird, Batman, and Susan Boyle, among others.

But which of these restorations will win the coveted Cecilia Prize? It's named after Cecilia Gimenez, who became famous (and infamous) when news broke recently that she took it upon herself to restore the deteriorating painting in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church in Borja, Spain. … Read more

Internet addiction is real, researchers out of the University of Bonn say, and its source can be explained at the molecular level.

Researchers from the school's departments of psychology and neuroscience report in the September 2012 issue of the Journal of Addiction Medicine that a simple variation on the CHRNA4 gene results in a significantly higher prevalence of Internet addiction -- and particularly in women.

"Internet addiction is not a figment of our imagination," lead author Christian Montag says in a news release. "The current data already shows that there are clear indications for genetic causes of Internet addiction... If such connections are better understood, this will also result in important indications for better therapies."… Read more