The UpStream

It would appear that Verizon's love affair with Microsoft is not as dead as it appeared. Despite not currently offering any active WinMo handsets (only old-stock), Verizon is still very willing to work with their partner. In this example, we see a collection of Verizon Wireless Android handsets coming with Bing as the default search engine instead of Google. The story doesn't end there, however, as on some handsets it is impossible to change it back.

Let's take the Samsung Fascinate as our working example. It is the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S phone (T-Mobile Vibrant, AT&T Captivate, Sprint Epic 4G) which is the most impressive series of Android handsets I have had the opportunity to use yet. The Fascinate, however, has a few alterations that make it a lot less impressive than the rest.

To read what Verizon has done to the Fascinate, hit the break.

This week, Google launched their newest, most ambitious search enhancement yet - Google Instant. If you have made it to the Google homepage in the last 36 hours or so, you will notice that all of the searching is different. As soon as you start typing, it starts searching.

Google says,

Google Instant is a new search enhancement that shows results as you type. We are pushing the limits of our technology and infrastructure to help you get better search results, faster. Our key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page. This means that you can scan a results page while you type.

For more about Google Instant, hit the break.

Josh Moore, a 26-year-old Xbox Live fanatic recently received notice from Microsoft that his account had been suspended for offensive language on his profile. When he went to look at what was so offensive, he found out he had been suspended for having the word "gay" on his account. The only problem with that is he lives in Fort Gay, West Virginia.

While it is a little town, I do not believe it is offensive for him to live there, and neither did he. He promptly called Microsoft support and figured he could clear up the misunderstanding.

I figured, I'll explain to them, 'Look in my account. Fort Gay is a real place.' I told him, Google it - 25514! He said, 'I can't help you.'

The rep was uninterested in hearing his story and threated to cancel his account and keep the money he had prepaid for 2 years of service.

For more on this story, hit the break.

iOS 4.1 is scheduled to release as soon as today which could be good news for some iPhone and iPod Touch users who are eagerly anticipating the Apple Game Center. The iPad will also have access to AGC but not until the release of patch 4.2 for iOS 4. In the mean time, it looks to be a social gaming platform that Apple has put a lot of emphasis on since the initial demo of iOS 4.

Apple Game Center will have a dashboard similar to what Xbox Live and PSN use but of course with an Apple twist. You can also expect achievements and player to player invites to be part of the mix. A demo was given at a recent Apple music event highlighting some of the features discussed previously.

For more on the Apple Game Center, hit the break.

Does anyone remember DN3D? I sure do, and that was a long time ago, back when the years started with 19 instead of 20. In the world of gaming and technology 14 years is the equivalent of forever (pun intended) to the nth power so is anyone still waiting for Duke Nukem Forever with high hopes? If so then do me a favor and watch the video after the break.

This week, Apple, in an attempt to keep their name in the news, announced their newest line of iPods and the response was not quite what they expected. Normally people get all excited and talk about how they have to have the new version. This time that does not seem the be the case. We'll start with the devices they didn't screw up.

Th iPod Classic hasn't been altered. Done. The iPod Shuffle has been restored to its previous glory of the little stamp/clip and has added back the buttons! I know some people were a fan of a device that you could not only not pick the music on but also couldn't control, but the rest of the world will be excited to have the only decently designed Shuffle ever back.

For the rest of the rundown, hit the break.