The UpStream (Page 538)

Many Xbox 360 owners are still salivating over Project Natal that Microsoft unveiled at this years E3. There certainly is something interesting about the interface (except Milo, who gives me a budding serial killer kind of vibe) and what it has to offer. We can't expect to see Natal on a grand scale anytime soon but alas there is hope for a lucky person. Microsoft is giving you a chance to get your hands on Natal at Gamescom 2009 in Cologne, Germany.

Hit the break for the contest details:

We all know Apple's app approval process is a little less than straightforward. We see apps all the time that are declined for sometimes no reason at all. For example, the Google Voice app, which was declined with no reason stated. Today, I bring you Ninjawords, a dictionary app. Simple, harmless, educational; all these words can be used to describe Ninjawords. That, and vulgar!

Apple actually rejected the dictionary because it contained "objectionable material." Now, there are a few things to consider here. First of all, these are words. Words are in the dictionary. Period. Second, Apple has its own dictionary built into its MacOS, and a quick search pulls up all of the "objectionable content" that made this app so unpleasant. Third, did I mention it is a DICTIONARY?!

With such a competitive market for home movie-viewing, subscription services, such as Netflix, seem to be outshining them all. There were many doubts originally about streaming videos, but as we have seen, this method is creating the most revenue and is very economical is this unstable economy, for consumers. Fees can get expensive for these subscription services due to monthly charges, but overall, Netflix is doing much better, with 25 times more downloads then pay-per-download customers and producing 20 times the revenue. Obviously something must be working for them.

We all know RadioShack. Most of us in the technology world have even worked there at some point in our careers. In the PLuGHiTz World, that is how most of us ended up working together here (in fact, all current hosts of PLuGHiTz Live! Radio once worked together at a RadioShack). The image of the company has stagnated over the past decade or so. Despite several branding attempts, RadioShack still conjures up images of batteries, cordless phones and resistors to most people.

High definition televisions are finally starting to take over households in the United States! A recent report has shown that the sales of HD televisions have skyrocketed in 2009. Only 35% of consumers owned a HDTV in 2008, but this number has increased 51% (or 18% of the population) this past year, totaling 53%. More than half of U.S. households own a HDTV!

The number of HDTV owners using HD services also showed a 13% increase in the past year. Another area showing strong growth in sales, are large screen televisions-32 inches and larger, increasing 6% in 2009. HD televisions have by far increased the most in sales compared to other electronic such as PCs, Cell phones, DVD players, and video game systems.

This has been an interesting week for the technology business. Apple lost Google's CEO as a member of their board of directors. Now, GameStop has hired a new executive to head up a department that doesn't exist in a business space they have no ability to compete in. Gamasutra says: