The Buzz

Kindle software has been popping up on all sorts of devices for the past few years, but to use software on the PC, for instance, you still have to download the books to your machine.

While stopping short of fully resolving that problem, Amazon has begun testing Kindle for the Web, a service which lets you look through the free book samples that are available for Kindle books. Generally, the free samples give you access to a chapter or two of the book, in the hopes that the sample will drive you to purchase the full volume. I’ve found it very helpful in avoiding dreck, allowing me to skip books that don’t capture my interest.

Even cooler, an embed feature allows you to share the free sample on your own site or social network, making it easier to share what you’re finding a good read. This will surely help Kindle expand its grasp on the eBook market, and continues in Amazon’s aim to make reading more social.

This also works out to be a nice feature for those who prefer the printed word, as you can get a feel for a book before ordering it. It’s available for the 700,000 titles in Kindle’s library.

Although Gizmodo makes it sound like you can read full books through the browser, the product seems to be positioned for now on simply making discovering books you like easier, and then get you to purchase/download as normal to your Kindle-supported device of choice.

SOURCE: Amazon via Gizmodo

By now, most have heard of the Katy Perry controversy, where her video singing a cleaned up version of “Hot and Cold” with Elmo was yanked from the season premiere for “unwanted cleavage” or something that’s a euphemism for showing too much skin. The offending video, and more, after the jump:

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The PlayStation 3 provides some of the most realistic gameplay around. However, I’m not sure what was intended was for the explosion on the screen to be duplicated in real life by the controller in your hand going kaboom.

Yet Sony is warning that fake controllers could do just that, albeit not intentionally. Apparently, some retailers are not selling the genuine article, and Sony says that the fraudulent wireless controllers can be flawed in ways that could cause, among other things, an explosion. The controllers themselves look just like a standard PS3 wireless controller, but are likely bought at non-official retailers. In other words, you probably won’t need to worry about controllers bought at GameStop or Walmart, but instead maybe at a place like Johnny’s House of Canned Tuna Fish and PS3 Accessories.

SOURCE: Sony via CNet news.com

It had been rumored for months, but today Blockbuster finally made it official and filed for bankruptcy. The 3,000-unit chain isn’t necessarily going to liquidate; indeed, Movie Gallery put up the fight for years after filing before ultimately discontinuing operations earlier this year. However, it’s not a good sign in the company’s ongoing battle against Netflix and Redbox. The store by me just shuttered, but others are holding on.

SOURCE: Deadline Hollywood

Here’s another one of those oddly addictive, really long infographics. This one, too, is about text messaging (see the earlier one here), but there’s some really cool facts here, like how phone calls have decreased with the rise of text messaging. Check it out after the jump:

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I don’t have much to say except, this is a bit scary. These are closed circuit camera images from the Pacific Sun, a cruise ship which hit extraordinarily rough waters in 2008.

SOURCE: Consumerist

Earlier this year I shared the story of one airline’s announcement of introducing standing seating to pack more people into a plane.  Everyone laughed at the idea as pure junk, but some disagree.

Good Morning America’s Becky Worley got to take a closer look at one company’s proposal for a new class, under economy, that would be closer to a standing seat if the FAA approves. The seat, called SkyRider, would eliminate 7 inches of leg room, allowing airlines to pack even more people into the plane.  I suspect the overhead bins would get a mite crowded with all those extra people.

Check out the video below to learn more.

As an aside, Worley is part of an enjoyable new program, Tech News Today, a weekday audio/video podcast produced by TWiT. She appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The program’s microsite can be found here.

SOURCE: Good Morning America via Gawker

Clearwire has announced that 4G service is becoming intermittently available in New York, which bodes well for the company’s expansion into Connecticut somewhat soon.

As reported here earlier this year, the company has already sought permission to install antenna locations throughout southern Connecticut, and the company (which markets itself as Clear) has the New Haven and Hartford metro areas listed as future coverage areas.

4G service is available in Boston, Providence and Philadelphia, and with New York on the way, it makes sense that Connecticut would remain a high priority, given the amount of business and traffic in the Washington to Hartford corridor. The company’s services are also advertised as Sprint’s 4G networks for devices like the HTC Evo and the new Samsung Epic.

The Buzz has received a report from a colleague who has an Evo, stating that he briefly saw 4G light up on his phone in New Haven. If that is indeed true and testing has begun, we could have another high-speed internet option in the area quite soon.

Meanwhile, Verizon and AT&T are promising an aggressive rollout of LTE, a competitor to Clear’s WiMAX technology. Clearwire has also begun LTE testing.

SOURCES: Clearwire, CNet news.com, Phone Scoop