HTC Thunderbolt 4G Smartphone at CES 2011

This is an amazing smartphone by HTC, presented at CES 2011 (Consumer Electronic Show) but not yet out on the market; hurry up, please. The HTC Thunderbolt features a blazing fast and bright display, plus the capability to wirelessly beam a video from the phone to a television set (that's capable of receiving such transmissions.) It has a vast set of features that makes it head-to-head competitive with the iPhone and G2 Phone.

Here are the specs:

Networks: LTE 700, CDMA EvDO revA
Operating system: Android 2.2 + HTC Sense
Display: 4.3″ WVGA TFT capacitive touch screen
Camera: 8MP with autofocus, LED Flash (2x LED), 1.3MP front facing camera
Memory: 8GB emmc + 768 RAM Memory card, preinstalled 32 GB microSD
WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth: 2.1 with EDR (3.0 when available)
GPS: GPS/AGPS
Battery: 1400 mAh
Special features: Dual mics with noise cancellation, Surround sound, Compass sensor, G-Sensor, Proximity sensor, Light sensor, 3.5mm audio jack, MicroUSB, FM radio, LTE SIM slot , TI audio DSP
Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM8655, 1GHz, Qualcomm MDM9600

As for release date? It's not official, but I would not expect to see it until April of this year.

Stay tuned.

CES 2011 - eLocity Tablets and 3D Without Glasses

As mentioned before, the Stream TV Network's eLocity brand has a tablet that's already out and with all of the features of the Blackberry Playbook, and at the same size. But the most exciting products are their 3D prototypes: the tablet, and the 3D television. Both don't require 3D glasses at all.

eLocity's 3D tablet was a non-working model, but the 3D television was very much operational, and as the video shows, impressive.

For more information visit http://www.elocitynow.com/

Gabrielle Giffords Shooting: Tucson, Arizona Protest Videos Show Climate

In the wake of the shooting of U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others by Jared Loughner (who's insanely smiling for his mug shot in this ABC News photo), six of which were killed, not enough focus has been brought to bear on the Tucson, Arizona environment that the Congresswoman operated within.

A YouTube channel called JeremyINTucson1 provides a view in three protest event videos specifically directed at Congresswoman Giffords, and from her city of Tucson, Arizona.

The point I'm making here is that the climate of negative discorse about Congresswoman Giffords provided the crucible within which Jared Loughner's actions were planned out and eventually done. 

Here are the videos:

Second Gabby Protest Video (so named by JeremyINTucson1:



Third Gabby Protest Video:



Fourth Gabby Protest Video:



There's no "First" "Gabby Protest Video" for whatever reason. But from the videos, all in Tucson, and all against Congresswoman Giffords on the specific issue of healthcare, it should be clear that Loughner was not alone in Tucson, in his essential dislike for the involvement of government in our lives.

That should raise this question: to what extent were his own parents influential in his anti-government thinking, and did they make statements against Congresswoman Giffords?  (His parents aren't talking as of this writing.)

Also, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow created this segment outlining the threats and racist incidents over the Obama Health Care Reform Initiative:



As the video shows, a number of Democratic Congresspeople have received death or quasi-death threats from people opposing the Obama Health Care Initiative.  But Tucson stands out because of its climate of negative discourse against its Congressperson - in this case Gabrielle Giffords.   Moreover, what kind of influence did this culture have on the now-obviously mentally unstable Jared Loughner?

My view is the influence was considerable, and it was unchecked.   The result is what we're dealing with today.

It also why former Governor Sarah Palin's crosshairs map is so wrong: it contributes to this negative discourse just by its design.  As revealed on Anderson Cooper 360 this evening, Governor Palin herself called the crosshairs "bullseyes."

Shameful.

CNN's David Gergen is wrong here. Tucson is at fault. Sorry.

Why Bloggers Are Broke - Jessica Gottlieb

Jessica Gottlieb is a "mommy blogger" who, as my friend Marla Schulman put it, isn't "just plain giving it away."

Although, technically, Jessica's doing just that on YouTube as she's not a YouTube Partner, but giving her view for free, essentially. But that's a minor technicality at best.

Enough from me; more from Gottlieb:

The word is Nigger

Michelle Diane has penned a heartfelt, cogent, timely response to the politically-correct, navel-gazing frenzy which Auburn Professor Alan Gribben stirred up with the planned release of a re-written, sanitized version of Mark Twain's work.

”We may applaud Twain’s ability as a prominent American literary realist to record the speech of a particular region during a specific historical era, but abusive racial insults that bear distinct connotations of permanent inferiority nonetheless repulse modern-day readers...”

Professor Alan Gribben, Wall Street Journal Interview

Writing at the new michellediane-naked blog, she bluntly goes beyond what most mainstream media pundits bother to explore, urging her readers to tear down the curtain on a step backwards deceptively cloaked in gentle political correctness. This is not an academic discussion, the effects of which will be confined to ivory towers and American Literature classes.

"...America needs to keep saying it until America stops living it. Hold it up as a mirror on the realities that be. Demand that neither they nor we can hide behind a politically correct “N” until criminals like Haley Barbour can no longer circumvent ethics, even simple human decency, in the name of political gain."

Michelle Diane, in

The "N" Word Deception

I'm not in a position to comment on Gribben's motivation, but if we ascribe the best of intentions to his undertaking one must still be wary of the constant reality of unintended consequences - and Michelle Diane is a voice well-worth heeding on this topic. If she persists, hers will be a blog well-worth following; her forthright perspective is clear, well-articulated, and more importantly thought-provoking.

Read it.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, former Democratic Campaign Manager, journalist, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

Sarah Palin Crosshairs Map Still Up; Palin's Insensitive To Shooting

Sarah Palin, the person who is the former Governor of Alaska, still has her infamous "crosshairs" map up on her Facebook page here.

And yes, the map includes Tucson, Arizona, where U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is still fighting for her life in the wake of a point-blank range shooting by an off-kilter person named Jaren Loughner.

Louhner shot 14 people; six are dead. And some political anchors claim there's no direct connection with Former Governor Palin.

Like hell there's not.

Palin's helped extremist conservative groups attack and protest Giffords, planting the seeds for the idea that harm should come to the Congresswoman (and all over the Heath Care issue), and so much so that Giffords herself mentioned Palin's approach and it's possible consequences.

Moreover, Sarah Palin's spokespersons are saying the crosshairs on the map are "surveyor crosshairs."   Right.

That from someone who loves to have you see how much they love guns.

Palin's thin skin and massive ego strikes again.  She can't even show the proper respect this matter calls for; she's got to stick it to the rest of us.



Sarah Palin, take down that damn map, NOW!

The Green Naked Lady by Snakebyte at CES 2011

Basically, this lady is naked, OK. It's hard to tell where she's not. Check her out. The The Green Naked Lady by Snakebyte was all over the North Hall Exhibit floor, showing it off. Dancing and prancing.

The personal trainer by day explained she had to undergo 4 hours of body painting work for her role at CES 2011 for Snakebyte.

And it was a smart move for Snakebyte, because while I never got over to their booth, they got coverage anyway.