Buzz Factor: 25%

2. Murdoch should be committed. NewsCorp Chairman Rupert Murdoch has finally lost his mind. In response to a weak advertising market and an unclear future for news he has stated that he will begin charging for all news – and then all media. So no more free Simpsons for you. While there is some credence to what he is saying – there is only so many ad dollars to go around the wide reaching approach may be too much. Unless Newscorp properties will offer greater insight or more compelling news than the alternative people will continue to rely on free sources and dedicated bloggers who at times are more informative than established news media. See Brokaw, Tom if you want a refresher on that.

Buzz Factor: 25%

3. Batteries get an upgrade. After tackling major issues like the rejection of Google Voice and why the iPhone is faltering the Obama administration is investing $2.4 billion in battery technology. The metric for success is a 10% increase in efficiency or $50M per percent. The money will be well worth it when your Verizon iPhone lasts 2:25 instead of 2:00.

Buzz Factor: 10%

4. Huge demand for DTV converter boxes (Coupons that is). In related government spending news, the DTV converter program has finally come to an end with a huge uptick in applications. Hopefully your parents were a part of the process so they can finally stop asking you why their TV isn’t working while they fiddle with their rabbit ears. There are likely to still be millions of underserved sets in the US and consumers will have to front the entire cost for the box now that the program has wrapped up. Or congress will just write them a check – that’s the more likely scenario.

Buzz Factor: 10%

5. Google Mania! Yesterday, Google acquired ON2 a video compression company. Combined with its existing video assets and its mobile platform this could be a play to lower bandwidth consumption so mobile devices could more readily access video across the web over the 3G networks instead of waiting for WiFi. While moving out into the big wide world Google is also focusing on the home. Android is expected to finally make its way into CE devices building out the much expected and hoped for ecosystem the platform promised. The question is – where will the Chrome OS fit in?

Buzz Factor: 20%

Device Review of the Day: Hello, Sexy. Who would have thought Microsoft would have created such a great looking product after it showed pics of its first Zune device a few years ago. The platform has certainly come a very long way. While the subscription service may still cost too much to compete with the likes of Slacker (where you can download free music stations to your device) the device is certain to turn heads. Could Zune finally be ready to compete with the iPod? I can’t believe I am going to say this, but I think yes! (but we need some free ad-supported music MSFT!)

Buzz: 45%

2. Palming Apple Employees. The Pre may continue to lose its connection to iTunes, but Palm’s recruiters haven’t lost Apple’s employees phone numbers. Palm hired yet another Apple Jeff Zwerner as Palm’s new Senior Vice President of Brand Design. Look for more Apple-like products and continued exchanges of employees and cease and desist orders to make their way between the companies. Maybe Palm really can compete with Apple? Former Apple employees seem to think so.

Buzz: 15%

3. The future of power. Toshiba is set to launch a fuel cell charger soon. This may not seem to be a very big deal but it will change how people travel, how devices are charged, and eventually the types of batteries embedded in devices. In short, there is a liquid pack that is put into the charger that once turned on will charge your devices. If your battery runs out you pop out the pack and put in another. No need for outlets. It’s pretty cool stuff if you don’t mind people using butane power on a plane.

Buzz: 5% but should be 10%

4. Other news: Yahoo and Microsoft have an out clause in their partnership for when Microsoft realizes they just partnered with Yahoo! Despite small marketshare Apple snags a plurality of the global smartphone profit. Cisco partners with others to develop standards for pixel-accurate remote user interfaces which basically means when you remotely access your Mac the screen doesn’t look distorted, which is the technical term for that dilemma.

Buzz: 35%

The Non-Tech Buzz:

1. Paula leaves idol. Just because this is going to be such a big story, I’ll include it. In five years we can once again ask “who is paula abdul, again?” because she’s leaving American Idol. Choose to believe what you want but it seems pretty clear after giving Simon $4B a season there wasn’t enough money left for poor Paula.

Buzz Factor: 100%

2. Dell and Intel to make e-reader. And the market is as interested in this as they were in Dell’s smartphone. Anyone remember that debacle

Quotable: This ain’t happening.

Buzz Factor: 25%

2. Radioshack undergoes the worst re-brand ever. Re-branding efforts are under way all across the globe. Pizza Hut is rumored to just become The Hut while Radioshack looks to become The Shack. Now, it’s fair to understand why the radio in radioshack is no longer relevant in our digital age, but how does The Shack better represent its offerings? The first image that comes to mind when I hear shack are fried clams. If Radioshack wants to seek more relevance it should forego its extensive collection of RC cars and batteries and focus its limited store space on more products consumers are unable to get at Best Buy.

Quotable: Now we have The Hut and The Shack – what other dilapidated structure will a company want to ape next?

Buzz Factor: 25%

3. Nikon Launched Projector Camera. Now you know that camera manufacturers have run out of ideas for point and shoot cameras. Nikon has launched a camera with a projector in case the 4″ LCD isn’t adequate for your reviewing needs. Now you can immediately bore your family with slideshows the same evening after taking the pictures. Makes you wonder if they’ll sell iPod speaker accessories so you can choreograph music to accompany it.

Buzz Factor: 15%

4. Report sizes the e-book market. According to a recent Forrester report e-book readers have mostly been targeted at men, but a new wave of red and pink devices are being planned to attract women. Because that’s all it takes to win over female buyers (by the way, that was just a joke – other earth tones are also compelling to them).

Buzz Factor: 5%

5. Everything else. Echostar might sell Sling technology to competitive set-top box manufacturers in a move that will increase the market for Sling technology by about 700%. A smart and necessary decision after the $600M acquisition. Clearwire continues its march towards relevance by launching in new markets. INQ releases more social networking phones so the masses can Tweet whenever and wherever they are – as long as they are not driving in the US.

Bottom Line: Lend no credence to this rumor.

Buzz index: 50%

2. Eric Schmidt leaves Apple board. In an unsurprising and some would say long overdue move Eric Schmidt has left the Apple board because of what some believe is the increasingly competitive nature of Apple and Google but others speculate was anger over Google Voice being rejected by the App store while the swimsuit application with naked women was approved. Not much to read into this other than these two companies are heading in the same direction and eventually the talk of Google versus Microsoft will eventually include Apple as well.

Buzz index: 35%

3. Bing hangs around. It’s officially more than just a flash in the pan at this point. Bing looks like the real deal as it continues to slowly gain share in the search market ahead of the Yahoo deal. Look for the provider to become an ever bigger player if/when Microsoft finds a way to integrate it better into Windows Mobile and Windows 7 (but not integrate it TOO well because of those pesky anti-competitive rules congress is always bandying about).

Buzz index: 10%

4. Congress wants answers. In another important step towards fixing the economy, the US Congress has said they want answers why Apple rejected the Google Voice application. In other news – the economy is 2x worse than expected but our representatives are too busy with AT&T to notice.

Buzz index: 5%

Why it matters: Google has long been the 800lb gorilla but combining the upstart Bing with Yahoo’s user base and ability to sell advertising across the platforms will prove a powerful combination. As mobile search and contextual advertising becomes the next battlefield for these companies consolidating the market (at least on the sales side) will be imperative. The good news for Microsoft is, if they feel the deal is too heavily favoring Yahoo, they can always buy them!

Quotables: “There is no way that Google is scared yet. A combined Yahoo and Microsoft are still so far behind them they can’t yet be seen in Google’s rearview mirror. But we all remember what happened with the tortoise and the hare.”

Buzz Index (number of tech conversations today that will be about this): 90%

2. Verizon launches VCast App store, world yawns. Just recently, Verizon announced they would not support third party application stores out of the box on smartphones. Now, its motivation becomes clear as Verizon launches it own self described “non-competitive” app store on its devices.

Why it matters: If Verizon is to stand firm on its no third party app store policy it severly handicaps the company from offering compelling devices and services. Yes, having its own app store will be nice and offering carrier billing can be seen as a positive (although I view it more as a negative if subs get sticker shock when they get their bill and its higher than expected). The biggest piece of news though is that if VCast App Store doesn’t launch until the end of the year, Verizon won’t see the error of its ways until it potentially alienates handset partners and subscribers all while its competition continues to evolve. In addition, Verizon will need to convince developers who are already working feverishly on iPhone, RIM, and Palm apps top dedicate efforts for Verizon and then develop specific SKUs for each of the various phone models. The small user base of the fractured handset market may not be sufficiently attractive to developers and turn VCast into a bust.

Quotables: “A carrier App store is a good idea for feature phones that are not being targeted by handset manufacturers but cannot be the thrust of a carrier’s solution. The only way for Verizon to make this work is to serve as an app arbiter so a subscriber can bring their apps from platform to platform but such a scenario seems unlikely”

Buzz index: 5%

3. Everything else

Apple continues to frustrate lilliputian to giant sized developers as its wildly varied app store policy bans Google Voice. Apple MUST quickly realize that apps “competing” with iPhone functionality require a user to actually own an iPhone (and buying iPhones is how Apple makes most of its iPhone money, apps are a small part). If Apple isn’t careful this could be the 80′s all over again.

Kodak launches a 1080p mini camcorder for less than $200 much to the chagrin of Cisco’s flip division but to the happiness of Cisco’s newtork infrastructure business.

Samsung launches a mobile application store for Europe making it official that 2009 was the year of the app store launch and 2010 will be the year of the app store closure.

As always follow updates on Twitter: JoshSMartin

2. MLB.TV Streaming to iPhone. Major league baseball continues to impress. Not only does its online service MLB.TV put watching baseball on TV to shame but now you can watch live games on your iPhone over WiFi and 3G! The 3G piece is particularly interesting since AT&T and Apple have throttled so many other services (Sling for example) which may question if MLB is getting preferential treatment. This application is the future of sports. Look for similar offerings from EPSN 360 in the near future.

3. Palm slaps Apple. In the escalating battle between Palm and Apple, Palm has fought back. After Apple turned off Pre synching in iTunes, Palm has found a new way to enable it. Too bad for Palm that the damage is already done. Buyers now know that Apple can and will disable Pres when they choose to. They may not immediately respond but the first shut-off was surely enough to scare off some Palm buyers.

4. Kindle Concern. Jeff Bezos apologized for the revocation of the George Orwell classic 1984, that ironically deals with too much external control of our lives. No matter what Bezos says consumers are again reminded that in the digital age they have no rights to what they buy – only a license to it. This can, should, and will turn buyers off.

5. Netflix continues to succeed. Going to the theater is increasingly expensive and driving to the video store is still a hassle. As such, Netflix continues to serve as an easy entertainment medium for subscribers seeking lots of content for reasonable prices. The company gained nearly 300,000 new subs in the most recent quarter and continues to build out its streaming service. But don’t look for streaming only services anytime soon. But do look for even more devices to tout they are Netflix ready this holiday.

2. Microsoft’s moving on up. After being left for dead by many pundits, Microsoft continues to fight back. The Redmond giant has made gains with their laptop hunter ads (even inviting spoofs (offensive but hilarious)) and now is preparing to strike back in public by putting Microsoft stores right next to Apple stores to hammer home the value message. I like to hate on Microsoft just as much as the next guy but the Xbox 360 innovating, Project Natal coming soon (in 2010 according to rumors and all sense of logic), Zune HD with OLED screen, and Windows 7 on the horizon Microsoft may just succeed in the consumer environment after all. Besides, hiring Apple’s former real estate chief is a shot strong enough to reach all the way to Cupertino.

3. Google Wave crashing to shore in September. Google’s ambitious new project, Wave – a new form of communication that has been open to developers in beta form will be available to the masses in just a few months. The demo has received widespread acclaim but it remains unclear how it will fit into Google’s broader portfolio – specifically Android and Chrome.

4. Apple Tablet rumor won’t die. Apple may have found a more attractive US dance partner. According to rumors, and originally predicted by Nostradamus centuries ago, Apple will release a tablet PC with Verizon sometime in the future. The speculation on this is never ending so there could be credibility to it, but the device will certainly cost an arm and a leg upfront and monthly for the data plan Verizon is sure to demand you sign up for. Just don’t exceed your 5GB cap or it’ll cost you $1,500 to download a song.

2. Yahoo’s Plastic Surgery. Yahoo continues to reinvent itself while the market yawns at is makeover. Not even a reality show would be able to make this site beautiful now. The new Yahoo homepage – tested for over a year, so you know it’s quite cutting edge now featurs Apps, better access to news, social networking and search.

3. Xbox Portable Coming. Despite the smashing success of Zune (Dozens sold!) Microsoft has finally wised up to the notion that they have  a pretty valuable entertainment platform known as Xbox. After years of refusing to release a portable version of the successful game console, the company has finally announced an intention to do so in a rather vague way, which they will surely deny or say was misrepresented until they shock the world with the Xbox portable in six months.

4. Bang Zoom to the Moon, Google. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing, Google has launched an interactive Google Moon application within the Google Earth program offering fly-overs, topographical maps, and audio commentary about different locations. Noticeably missing was information on the aliens that were watching Neil Armstrong during the first lunar landing.

5. DVD isn’t dead. Sony announced plans to distribute DVDs through DVD kiosks from Redbox reminding us that DVDs aren’t dead yet.

Later today, Apple’s earnings…. Big quarter predicted.

2. Xbox Commercials. The Xbox dashboard now features commercials. Not a surprising move for Microsoft that is looking for new ways to generate revenue. Will Sony have the temerity to ask to promote the PS3 on the Xbox dashboard and will the US Government claim its anti-competitive if Microsoft says no? Look for Sony and Nintendo to follow suit with ads of their own.

3.  AT&T, Verizon, and the iPhone. AT&T announced a store revamp which will provide powered phones for customers to test. Now buyers can experience the lag in visual voicemail plaguing iPhone buyers up close and personal. In a related note, Verizon has announced its subscriber friendly policy to no longer seek exclusives on new phones. Not surprising since all the exclusive phones seem to be on carriers not named Verizon.  How long until Verizon asks other carriers (psst AT&T) to do the same in kind.