Daily Marauder

DROP IT LIKE ITS HOT: THE JAWBONE

Introducing the Jawbone, an adaptive Bluetooth headset for your mobile phone.

Noise Shield Technology

Here’s the difference between this device and all others: it eliminates virtually all of the background noise around you so that people on the other of the line can hear you and not Soulja Boy. Stop playin’. You know you jam out to that track in your ride.

I know you’ll need a bit more convincing. I surely did. Check out this demo video below.

Jawbone Demo

Just to put the device through my own rigorous walk-through, I took it out for the ultimate test of noise cancellation: bike riding on busy Manhattan streets while chatting on the Jawbone. Don’t worry mom. Other than pushing the device once to answer a call, no hands needed. Other than hearing a slight wind in the background, callers responded that they would have no idea I was biking up 1st Avenue at that very moment.

Next up: business meetings from my bike. Don’t hate. I would totally attempt it and do some of my most inspired thinking on the bike.

Design

Yves Behar, renowned industrial designer of the XO laptop (see below), designed this little device.

XO Laptop

Designed to be ergonomic, the fit around the ear improves acoustic performance and fits snug even at 20 miles per hour as I fly up Broadway. And it comes in three colors: black, red, and silver.

Jawbone

Even the case is cool.

The JawBone Case

Marauder Review

Two Thumbs Way UP. I’ve definitely drunk the Kool-Aid. Here I thought folks had stopped designing thoughtful technology.

Where to Get It

Priced at $140 with wall charger, this little gadget aint cheap. But. . .it is WORTH it. Click here to purchase.

The fine print: I get NO $$ to review these products nor do I get $$ when you click through on the link above. I dig it pure and simple.

BROADCAST/CABLE

Leave it to HBO to make John Adams attractive. The pay-cable channel’s seven-parter, “John Adams,” wooed an average of 2.5 million viewers during its premiere Sunday at 8 p.m. The second part of the miniseries, from 9 to 10 p.m. Sunday, did even better: It pulled in an additional 300,000, according to data from Nielsen. (The Hollywood Reporter 3/19)

John Adams Trailer

 
News Corp.’s Fox is passing CBS as the most-watched television network after its “American Idol” topped ratings and the Hollywood writers strike limited competition from scripted shows. Fox is said to have been harmed the least by the writers’ strike of any of the broadcast networks. (Iwantmedia 3/19, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=acpl3EwIwyBI  3/18)

 
USA averaged 2.79 million viewers in prime time for the week that ended March 16 to earn its 11th consecutive ratings win this year, according to Nielsen. USA also was No. 1 among adults 25 to 54, with an average of 1.28 million viewers, but TBS took top honors in the 18-to-49 demo, with an average of 1.26 million. (Mediaweek 3/18)

 
DVR pioneer TiVo has announced that it has started offering customers the ability to move Web-based videos — such as RSS feeds from favorite shows or home movies — from their computers to their TVs. The announcement comes a week after TiVo executives said they had inked a deal with Google’s YouTube to access videos from the popular social-networking site. (Broadcasting & Cable 3/18)

 
During its upfront presentation, NBC’s Sci Fi Channel announced plans to develop a prequel series to “Battlestar Galactica” that will be titled “Caprica.” The network also said it had struck a deal with actress Rosario Dawson for a two-hour dramedy pilot titled “True Believer.” (Broadcasting & Cable 3/18)

 
Kirstie Alley is entering a development deal with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions for “future television projects, including a possible daily strip format.” The former “Fat Actress” star recently appeared in ads for Jenny Craig. Harpo president Tim Bennett says: “Audiences love her.”  (Iwantmedia 3/19, http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/03/59720  3/19)

 
Media stocks are continuing to underperform, despite the unusually hefty U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut on Tuesday. Media stocks are “more sensitive,” says Steve Birenberg, of Northlake Capital Management. “Despite the big rally, concerns about advertising growth remain.” (Iwantmedia 3/19, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3ifff588c2bae9eaff266d0a648533aef1   3/19)

 
Comcast is informing the U.S. Federal Communications Commission that the agency has no legal power to stop the cable giant from engaging in “network management practices” — or what critics refer to as peer-to-peer traffic blocking. The FCC does not need to “test its legal authority.” (Iwantmedia 3/19, http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080318-comcast-fcc-lacks-any-authority-to-act-on-p2p-blocking.html  3/18)

 
Cablevision in April will begin offering its Voom HD Network of high-definition channels via switched-digital video. According to this report, the company will deliver the 15 HD channels for free to customers with CableCard-based systems. (Multichannel News 3/18)

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Reported talks between Apple and the major music companies could lead to a radical overhaul of how people download from iTunes to their iPod or iPhone. Under discussion is said to be a model that would allow customers to download all the music they wanted at no charge — other than a premium they would pay for the devices, similar to the deal Nokia cut with Universal Music last December. (Financial Times 3/19)

Yahoo is asserting that is worth more than the $42 billion Microsoft is offering in a takeover bid. CEO Jerry Yang and other top execs are meeting with their largest shareholders in several cities, arguing that Yahoo can double its cash flow from operations in the next three years. (Iwantmedia 3/19, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-yahoo19mar19,1,7475641.story  3/19)

 
Google’s $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick shouldn’t spell doom for smaller advertising networks, according to a report by DeSilva + Phillips. A “long tail” of revenue, profit and scale for the smaller ad networks remains. “There is still a lot of ungathered and unsold inventory.” (Iwantmedia 3/19, http://www.foliomag.com/2008/there-long-tail-ad-networks  3/18)

 
ABC.com is capitalizing on advertising for online programs thanks to popular shows like “Lost” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” which are streamed online with limited commercials. Viewers find ads to be an acceptable exchange for program access, says Disney-ABC media exec Albert Cheng. (Iwantmedia 3/19, http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/media-report-disney-abc-digital-chief/story.aspx?guid=%7B3BD44323%2DF350%2D4282%2D8BC9%2DB9AD69339936%7D  3/19)

Facebook announced new privacy controls at a press event at their downtown Palo Alto headquarters today, and also demoed their new chat application - called Facebook Chat - that has been rumored since last week. Our real time notes and pictures from the event are here. See CNET for more. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/18/facebook-to-launch-new-privacy-controls-confirms-chat-is-coming  3/18)

 
When a second trailer for “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” premieres online this week, it should spread as fast as the first thanks to a widget. Viacom’s Paramount is counting on widgets posted on blogs and social networks to maximize the exposure for its trailers. (Iwantmedia 3/19, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ifff588c2bae9eafff6e0544339032bc9  3/19)

 
More blogs are raising venture capital, we’re hearing from people they’ve pitched. Newcomer Silicon Alley Insider is looking for a $3 - $5 million round, if reports are correct. And PaidContent is pitching for a second round in that same range (PaidContent raised a round of “less than $1 million” in 2006). We’re also hearing that PaidContent is trying to sell the company for $15 million or more, and just bail out with some spending money. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/19/more-bloggers-raising-money-here-come-the-politics-and-here-comes-my-rant  3/19)

 
Craigslist’s Craig Newmark divulges that his company helped to broker eBay’s 25% investment in his online classifieds site, contrary to earlier reports that the online auction behemoth acquired the stake without his consent. (Iwantmedia 3/19, http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/7628/Craigslist-Founder-Talks-Biz-Recession-eBay-Community  3/19)

Guess Sarah Lacy’s career is just fine post the insidiously awful Zuckerberg interview at SXSW.  Here she is interviewing Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

WIRELESS

Adobe Systems is committed to bringing Flash to the iPhone, according to CEO Shantanu Narayen, even though Steve Jobs said last week that Flash isn’t suitable for the iPhone . (http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/19/Adobe-will-make-Flash-work-on-iPhone_1.html?source=NLC-MOBILEHARDWARE&cgd=2008-03-19  3/19)

Mobile-phone users have accessed the Internet in significantly larger numbers since Google introduced new, speedier Web services on some phones, the company said Tuesday. “We have very much hit a watershed moment in terms of mobile Internet usage,” Matt Waddell, a product manager for Google Mobile, said in an interview. (CNET/Reuters 3/19)

More than one-third of the ultramobile PCs coming later this year on Intel’s Atom Centrino platform will offer a combination of WiMax and Wi-Fi, the head of the company’s Ultra Mobility Group said Tuesday. (http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/18/WiMax-will-take-flight-with-Intels-new-mobile-platform_1.html?source=NLC-MOBILEHARDWARE&cgd=2008-03-19  3/19)

The FCC auction of wireless spectrum concluded Tuesday, bringing in a record $19.6 billion, nearly double the estimates of budget officials in Congress and the White House. However, the so-called D-block, which was intended for use as a nationwide emergency network, failed to attract a minimum bid and will likely be put up for auction again with different rules. The FCC is likely to publish a list of the winning companies in the next few days. (The Washington Post 3/19, The New York Times 3/19)