We learn more about Sony's cloud music service, another major player jumps into the tablet fray, and is an Emmy-winning actor the new ambassador of geek chic? Let's close out the week in news!
Job Market
Are Paper Resumes Dead?: This writer says no, there's still plenty of "traditionalist" employers who want to see the old-fashioned piece of paper. It's probably smartest to have a resume that works in both formats.
Economics/Geekonomics/Greekonomics
Greece Default Possilibies: A graph showing that economist's hopes for the country's long-term economic health are pretty pessimistic.
Media
LG Builds Plex into TVs, Blu-Ray Players: Plex is a Boxee-like service that, until now, has only been available via Macs and iPhones. LG (until now best known as a phone maker) will hard-wire Boxee into its NetCast Entertainment Access System products, so users can now start watching a show on their iPhone and finish it on their TV. Not too often you see synergy like this between devices from different manufacturers, but this is worth noting. (Also worth noting is the rise of Korean tech, between LG making a move in televisions and Samsung making a strong push into the tablet market.)
3-D Blu-Ray Release of Avatar Will Be a Panasonic Exclusive: It will come bundled with Panasonic's 3-D TVs, and existing owners can get the disc with proof of purchase. It apparently will be released to the general public at a later date. At least it's smart marketing of something a lot of people say will be a tough sell.
Netbooks/Tablets
Toshiba Joins the Tablet Wars: The long-time laptop maker unveiled its Folio 100 in Berlin, saying it will be released in Europe in about a month and will cost 100 euros less than the iPad. The 10.1-inch device will be wifi only (unlike Samsung's, which will be offered via mobile providers). No word on a North American release date yet. Meanwhile, Research in Motion will debut their BlackBerryBlet in November – except it won't run the BlackBerry OS, it'll be an Android tablet. And Sony is still deciding if they want into this arena, so don't look for the PSP to be reborn as a tablet – yet.
Intel Banking on the Atom: It's best known as the processor inside netbooks, but they're planning to put them into devices as diverse as gas pumps and musical instruments. One more way they're being smart about life in a post-PC world – and one more reason they're a good resume bet right now.
Social Networking
Skype Adds 10-Person Video Conferencing for Windows: And their value in the business market just exploded. Expect this to be heavily used by corporations looking to chop their business travel budgets. If you're a business owner or manager, this is definitely one to look into.
Video Games
Red Dead Redemption Helps Take-Two Beat Earnings Estimates: They've finally broken out of being a one-trick (read, Grand Theft Auto) pony. They're not even two-trick, because they also had strong sales from Mafia II and NBA2K. Now, they just need to keep this momentum going. (However, not all the news for the company was good, as they delayed the release of their much-anticipated LA Noire to the first quarter of 2011).
Sony's PS3 Cloud Music Service Gets a Name: It's going to be called Qriosity, and it will involve not only the PS3, but other Sony devices (expect them to use it as leverage to push Sony phones and the PSP). This is probably their biggest step yet in the total-lifestyle-device gameplan, especially considering that they've beaten not only Xbox to the punch with this, but also Apple. (Meanwhile, word has it that Google is about to follow Sony into the musical cloud.)
Anime/Manga
Children's Anime Producer Files for Bankruptcy: Japanese officials aren't naming the company, all we know is they produce children's anime for NHK. All in all, it's another sign of the downturn in this industry, something that, needless to say, will affect anime operations over here.
Geek Lifestyle
Actor Jim Parsons Spreads Geek Chic: He just won an Emmy for playing Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory, and many are calling him the poster child of geek chic. There's even a shopping site where fans can buy copies of the shirts the character wears on the show, and his popularity prompted Daniel Malen of TheTVAddict.com to proclaim, "Geek is the new black." Whether you consider him the new geek role model or a shameless exploiter of stereotypes (his character is a socially awkward Star Trek addict who Tweets what time he goes to the bathroom), you've got to admit it's a step up from Anthony Michael Hall.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: Is the fact that Apple did not deliver the rumored cloud music service this week going to hurt them in the wake of Qriosity and Google Music?
- Bonnie