Since the holidays are upon us, and since I've finally decided to pick a side in the HD format wars (as I'm sure a lot of you will be doing come later this month) I felt it was appropriate to not only ask you which format you prefer better (blu-ray, HD-DVD), but also ask for some advice. For awhile now, I've remained in the "wait until there's only one format" camp. I cannot stand the fact that some movies come out in blu-ray, while others come out in HD-DVD, and so the penny pincher in me had been against shelling out money for one when there was a chance it could become obsolete in the next year or several. But that all changed earlier this year when Ifinally received my first ultra-awesome flat-screen HD TV (a 46-inch Sony Bravia, in case you're wondering). Now I'm hooked on HD. . And if I can't watch something in HD, I throw a fit. It's pretty lame.

That being said, with Christmas upon us, I finally decided to take the plunge and choose a side; if only so that at least I could watch some movies in HD. The route I took? Playstation 3. Yup, this way I get the games and the blu-ray player. Worse comes to worse, at least I'll always have a gaming system. But here's my dilemma: What film do I premiere? When I first bought the TV, I opted to premiere Boogie Nights (because when you upgrade your screen, the first thing you want to check out is nudity). The film I wanted to premiere in HD was The Bourne Ultimatum (until I found out it was only coming in HD-DVD form). So now I'm stuck

Un article de Peter Sayer dans MacWorld

French mobile phone operator Orange will sell unlocked iPhones for €649 (US$964), far less than the €999 that T-Mobile charges in neighboring Germany. The price falls to €399 with a special iPhone airtime contract of at least one year, the same as in Germany.

 

The four “Orange for iPhone” tariffs include free access to the iPhone’s visual voicemail service, and what Orange describes as “unlimited” access to e-mail and the Internet.

 

Orange is the fourth mobile network operator to sell the iPhone, following in the footsteps of AT&T in the U.S., T-Mobile in Germany and O2 in the U.K. Twelve Orange retail stores, including a brand new one on the prestigious Champs Elysées, will stay open late to begin selling the phones Wednesday evening, from 6:30 PM.

 

When the phone launched in the U.S. in June, Apple forced anyone buying an iPhone there to sign up with AT&T for a two-year contract if they wanted to use it. That policy marked the start of a game of cat-and-mouse, with hackers trying to unlock the phone, and Apple regularly updating its firmware to thwart their efforts.

 

[...]

The unlocked price of the iPhone in France compares favorably with that of Nokia’s N95, which sells for €829 without an airtime contract, or €269 for those signing a two-year contract with Orange rival SFR. Nokia’s phone lacks the iPhone’s touch-sensitive screen, but includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver for navigation and works on 3G (third-generation) high-speed mobile networks, where the iPhone is constrained to older EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) networks.

 

The cheapest of the four tariffs it is offering, at €49 per month for two years, includes four hours of calls (two hours at peak times, two hours off-peak), 50 text messages and 10 hours’ access to Orange Wi-Fi hotspots. The most expensive, at €119 per month, includes 8 hours of peak-time calls and 8 hours of off-peak calls, 1000 text messages and 100 hours of Wi-Fi access. Customers signing up for only one year pay an additional €4.50 a month.

Vocabulaire :

unlocked : débloqué ici désimlocké ou nu
far less than : Beaucoup moins que
airtime contract : ici période d'engagement
at least : d'au moins
falls : to fall tomber
the same as : comme
following in the footsteps: suivre dans la foulée
launched : preterite de to launch : débuter
That policy : Cette politique
a game of cat-and-mouse,: le jeu du chat et de la souris
updating : mettre à jour
to thwart :  contrecarrer
compares favorably : etre comparable, coincider
lacks : manquer, ne pas disposer de
is constrained : est contraint
The cheapest : le meilleurs marché,
The most expensive : le plus cher
peak-time : heures pleines
off-peak : heures creuses
Customers : les clients

L'opérateur français de téléphonie Orange vendra l'iPhones nu à 649 € beaucoup moins que les 999€ de T-Mobile en Allemagne . Le prix tombe, comme en Allemagne, à 399 € avec un abonnement Orange iPhone d'une durée d'engagement d'un an.

Les quatre tarifs disponibles incluent un accès gratuit à l'IPhone VoiceMail, ainsi que, ce que décrit Orange comme "un accès illimité" à internet et à la consultation d'email.

[...]Orange est le quatrième opérateur mobile à vendre l'iPhone, suivant dans la foulée AT&T aux Etats Unis, T-Mobile en Allemagne et O2 au Royaume Uni. 20 espaces Orange y compris un tout nouveau eux prestigieux Champs Elysées, vont rester ouverts tard pour commencer à vendre les téléphones Mercredi à 18h30.

Quand le téléphone a été lancé aux Etats-Unis en juin dernier, Apple a contraint les acheteurs à signer avec l'opérateur exclusif AT&T pour deux ans d'engagement. Cette politique commerciale a marqué le début d'un jeu de chat à la souris, avec des pirates informatiques essayant de débloquer le téléphone ce qui a forcé Apple à mettre régulièrement à jour le firmware pour contrecarrer leurs efforts.

Le prix de l'iPhone nu en France est comparable à celui du N95 de Nokia, qui est vendu à 829 € sans engagement ou 269 € pour ceux qui signent un contrat de deux ans avec SFR. Le N95 ne dispose pas de l'écran tactile de l'IPhone, mais inclut un GPS, et est compatible 3G, l'iPhone lui est contraint au EDGE.

Le tarif le moins cher est à 49 € par mois pendant deux ans, il inclut quatre heures d'appels , 50 sms et 10 heures d'accès à Orange Wi-Fi des hotspot. Le plus cher, à 119 € par mois, inclut 16 heures d'appels , 1000 sms et 100 heures d'accès Wi-Fi. Les clients signant pour un engagement de seulement 1 ans paient un supplément de 4.50 €

Un arcticle de Caroline McCarthy dans news.com

Hey, Facebook users: Put down those virtual hamburgers. It's time to talk politics.

The New York Times reported Monday that Facebook and ABC News are close to announcing an agreement to collaborate on political coverage. The two will co-sponsor debates for both parties in New Hampshire shortly before the presidential primaries, and Facebook members will be able to "follow" ABC reporters and interact with news content in a special "U.S. Politics" category.

The Times article fails to mention that ABC is actually a bit late to the game here. CNN has co-sponsored debates with Google's YouTube, and Facebook rival MySpace has an ongoing series of "dialogues" with candidates that it has organized in conjunction with MTV.

What makes the ABC deal different is that it's with Facebook; not only is it the hottest name in social networking these days, but the young company has a history of inking few formal partnerships instead relying on its third-party developer platform and advertiser-sponsored pages for "content."