foursquare

If you travel around the world, you sometimes find yourself marveling at just how many different cultures can intersperse every second word with an expletive.

It's a talent that some might say the British have turned into something resembling an art form, as long as you have a refined interpretation of what constitutes art.

I am therefore expleting with joy that an English city has been named, by the politically correct techies at Foursquare, as the world's rudest.

How did Foursquare come to this conclusion? Well, in a post on the the company's engineering blog, Matthew Rathbone, … Read more

Donald Bell joins us today to show off the Xoom in the flesh ... and yes, it's gorgeous, but is Verizon going to ruin it with high carrier prices and contracts? Molly lays down some shocking advice. Also, the new MacBook Pros have Light Peak, called Thunderbolt, Breakup Notifier gets the cold shoulder from Facebook, and the loosest adaptation of a true story we've ever heard. Good try, Battle L.A.

On a Monday morning late last month, at the headquarters of the Finger Lakes Wine Country Tourism Marketing Association, the promotional vehicle for a vineyard-speckled region about four hours northwest of Manhattan, something was amiss with Foursquare.

Namely, the Corning, N.Y.-based tourism group's account on the location-sharing social-media site was doing something funny: It was triggering friend requests. That's not supposed to happen with a Foursquare account that's set up as a brand or business page--users should be able to automatically follow the brand or company, rather than having to wait to have their requests … Read more

On today's show, I tee off a little bit on Internet haters who just can't let it go ... in a way that might seem to suggest I can't let it go. Hm. Anyway, in tech news proper, Apple shareholders demand a succession plan, Verizon users demand their iPhone 4s, and AT&T demands $499 and a two-year contract for people who want an Atrix 4G with the laptop dock. Plus: Computer Love! Aloha, everyone! --Molly

Brian Tong returns from the islands in time for us to get collectively punked by a surprisingly elaborate rumor about Keanu Reeves and two more Matrix sequels. But that's nothing compared to the punking that is AOL's subscription service, which generates 60% of its profits and isn't needed by pretty much anyone who pays for it. Ouch. Plus, the tech bubble is our new drinking game and the white iPhone ... never mind. We're not talking about that damn thing anymore. --Molly

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

eBay launches Gifts Nearby to help you shop offline

Microsoft wants to enable the Kinect to recognize finger gestures

The new FourSquare iPhone app lets you comment on your friends' location choices

The state of Oregon will now allow spell check on state exams

And that's all folks! Loaded is on hiatus through the end of the year. We will see you at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for new tech galore! Have happy and healthy holidays!

On today's show, we get a brief appearance of Brian After Dentist, but it's not as fun as we hoped, because the poor guy was actually in pain. So, Donald and I soldier on, discussing how Google TV is probably just plain done for, Net neutrality is under attack from all sides, and how college may be useless for entrepreneurs but it's a crucial nerd breeding ground. Plus, in the future, we'll pay for everything in Jobses. Depressing. --Molly

A new version of geolocation service Foursquare's iPhone app hit the iTunes App Store this morning, bringing photos and comments to the product for the first time. Foursquare members can now post comments on their friends' "check-ins," as well as attach photographs to the directory listings for venues they visit and tips they leave behind.

These new features will be available on Foursquare's Android app later in the week and then on its BlackBerry application next month.

Photo services Instagram and Picplz, as well as food photo network Foodspotting, are already tapped into the new Foursquare … Read more

At this point, it's almost embarrassing to be a Web company that hasn't been courted by Google.

Not a week goes by when news doesn't surface regarding Google's trolling the waters of Silicon Valley for a new acquisition; Friday's discussion surrounded daily-deals site Groupon. And for every big fish contemplating the Google bait, there are tons of smaller ones that don't get as much attention but are potentially just as important to Google's overall strategy.

At this point in its history, it's simply easier for Google to let outside firms nurture promising … Read more