Happy Birthday Google Translate for Android!

Google Translate for Android is celebrating its first birthday, and Google is getting it a pretty nice gift: conversation mode. With conversation mode, two speakers can talk to each other, and Google will translate everything. So, you can have a real time conversation with someone and not let language get in the way. Right now, it's in Alpha, and it will only do English and Spanish. It also has trouble with accents and background noise, but hopefully it can soon carry the beta badge. Any experiences with this? Comment!

iPhone Alarm not Fixed

Remember how the iPhone was having problems with its alarm? Well, 9 to 5 Mac said it would get fixed automatically on Janruary 3rd. As many iPhone uses said on Twitter, it didn't. It probably won't get fixed automatically, and will need an update from Apple. As you might know, Apple isn't very good at addressing issues quickly, so you may have to wait a while.

Android Text Message Bug Fix on the Way

Remember that Android text message bug that sent a text message to the wrong person? Well, a Google employee responded to the bug report, saying that Google has recognized the bug and is working on a fix. It was such a long delay because it took a while to reproduce the bug. The employee also said that it was actually 2 bugs, not one. And, the issue status was marked "Future Release" and priority "Critical". So, Android users, a fix is on the way. Suspicious? Here's the bug report. The response is at the bottom of the page. [bug report]

Android 3.0 Video

It wasn't too long ago when Gingerbread came out. Now, we see a video of Android 3. It seems that Google's on fire with new releases; they release a new version of Chrome every six weeks, and I think they might put in something similar for Android. Okay, here's the video, since you probably don't want to listen to me talk about versions of Chrome and Android: [video]

Galaxy Tab Price Drops, Verizon Employees Tell Droid Life

The Galaxy Tab, Samsung's 7" Android tablet, might have its price dropped to $500, about $100 off from its current price. This is not official, but this is what Droid Life claims that some Verizon employees told them. I really hope that they do drop the price, since it's pretty expensive right now. At $500, it will still pretty expensive in my opinion. Well, it's certainly better that $600! Will you get one because of the price drop? Comment!

Facebook's new Home

There are some rumors going around about Facebook's new home. The Social Networking giant has chosen Oracle's Headquarters as its new home. There isn't any official word, but with over 2,000 employees, it's outgrown its current headquarters quite fast. Although there is no confirmation, this seems like a valid claim, since it looks like Facebook has been looking for a new headquarters for a while now. Pixel for Pixel will do a post as soon as we have confirmation, or if Facebook denies this.

LG ST600 Smart TV Upgrader

Well, is Apple TV not good enough, and Google TV just too expensive? For some, the LG ST600 Smart TV Upgrader may be the perfect alternative. It isn't expected to be as expensive as Google TV, while still having a web browser and apps. So, this may be the upgrade box for you. This box will be unveiled at CES, says LG on their press release. If you're looking for an upgrade box, don't forget to also check the Logitech Revue, Boxee Box, and Apple TV. Do you have one? Comment, and maybe you can do a guest post.

Two Seriously Bad Bugs in Two Seriously good Mobile OSes

Recently, some pretty bad bugs have shown up on Android and the iPhone. On the iPhone, the alarm has been having problems for a while. You may remember how on daylight savings, the alarm went off an hour late. Now, on New Year's, it won't go off at all. According to 9to5 Mac, this will automatically be fixed on Janruary 3rd. So, you may not want to rely on your iPhone to wake you up, as Apple seems to have some serious problems with it's alarm clocks. Now, Android has some serious bugs with texting. It misdirects messages occasionally, which could get you into big trouble if your text message goes to the wrong person. The details are a bit boring, so I won't share them, but this could get you into big trouble. So, just stick with Gmail chat instead of text messaging is my advice!

Poll Results

We didn't have very many people vote, which is disappointing. 2 people voted for iPhone OS, and 4 people voted for Android. I"m not sure this is fair, since only 6 people voted. So, technically Android wins, but I'm going to call it a tie between the two. Should I reopen the poll? Comment!

Google's Cr-48 Runs Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome OS

Well, Google certainly isn't like Microsoft: it actually hacked it's own Cr-48, the world's first notebook with Chrome OS pre-installed. Microsoft makes sure everything is just the way it wants it: locking 3rd party themes off of Windows XP, making sure that's its hard to customize the welcome screen, and making aero hard to modify. Well, Google hacked Ubuntu onto the Cr-48, and some other hackers hacked on Windows and OSX. I don't think the OSX is legal, I'm pretty sure Apple forbids installation of OSX on any non-Apple devices. But, it shows how hackable it was made. I know that Google believes in net neutrality, so this is sort of like it: it's your device, so you do what YOU want, not what's better for the company that made it. Anyways, here's the video of OSX: