This picture of the Skype logo being split in two by a lightning bolt explains today's outage about as well as Skype's own story about "supernodes" all deciding to go offline at once.
The great thing about the Internet is its diversity and the spirit of innovation it promotes. Every single For every Flickr there’s a Picasa or one of a dozen other photo sharing sites. We’ve got AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Windows Messenger, Google Talk and all the clients that unite them. Once upon a time, Facebook had to worry about MySpace and Orkut (which is still big in Brazil and India).
Then there’s Skype. Are there other VOIP services? Absolutely. Can we name any of them? Nope. For better or worse Skype has become pretty much the only game in town for Internet-based voice services. Millions of people and thousands of businesses now rely on it to connect to friends and colleagues the world over.
Which is why it’s such a huge problem that Skype has been down for the last 4 hours or so.
Continue reading ‘Hold All Our Calls-Skype is Down!’
We're pretty sure if you have a picture of Norm and/or Cliff at your bar you'll automatically win just about any contest.
Here at Juggle, we’re no strangers to the home bar scene. In fact, we love it so much we have a bar in Juggle HQ. Really, there’s nowhere better to host a Christmas party or even better, a New Year’s Eve party than a home bar–the price is usually right and last call’s whenever you want it. We’ve also had trouble finding “real” bars where you can crash on the couch.
As operators of our own private watering hole, we’re naturally curious as to what others have set up, so we wandered the web to see. Boy are we glad we did, because in doing so we learned that a little site called PintGlasses.com is sponsoring a search for the best home bar, aptly called the Best Home Bar Contest. While we’re pretty partial to our office bar, it’s pretty apparent from the photos that it’s not in a house, so we’ll be forgoing an entry. Also, we’re not sure we’d be able to share the $100 worth of PintGlasses.com merchandise we’d win for coming in first. (In the extremely unlikely event of Juggle finishing second, we’d get $50 worth of loot.)
So with us out, we’re excited to see what others submit. It’s not even to late to build your own bar and enter (the deadline is December 31st), so here are some ideas you might want to consider.
Continue reading ‘Raise the Bar on Home Bars’
Bonnie Tyler may not have been sining about the moon in "Total Eclipse of the Heart," but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check out tonights total lunar eclipse.
We’re not going to pretend that we even begin to understand exactly why it will happen, but sometime tonight the moon will turn a bright orangey red. This is because Earth will be directly between the sun and the moon (a lunar eclipse, not a Twilight Eclipse-sorry tween girls), and as a result our planet will cast this reddish shadow over the moon.
This would be pretty cool in and of itself, of course, but it’s even cooler because the lunar eclipse is happening on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. It’s the first time this has happened since 1638, and it won’t happen again until 2094, so keep reading for moon viewing tips.
Continue reading ‘Turn Around, Bright Eyes… Total Eclipse of the Moon Tonight!’
We'll miss Blake Edwards, both because he gave us the Pink Panther movies and because he made Mary Poppins so happy.
We’re sad to report that film director Blake Edwards has died at age 88.
Known for directing comedies, Edwards famously cast and directed Peter Sellers in The Pink Panther, which of course originated the legendary character of Inspector Clouseau. Edwards also made a few more serious movies including the now-iconic film adaptation of Truman Capote‘s Breakfast at Tiffany’s with Audrey Hepburn.
Continue reading ‘Farewell, Blake Edwards’
Maybe Wesley Snipes will try out the prison boxing moves he used in "Undisputed" in real prison? On second thought, that's probably a terrible idea. Like not paying taxes.
Former famous person Wesley Snipes finally ran out of jail-avoiding tricks and reported to prison in Pennsylvania today. The actor, who you may recall was quite famous in the 1990′s, had been trying to avoid jail since being convicted of not filing tax returns back in 2008. (He was acquitted of much more serious charges, however.)
Apparently the IRS doesn’t like it too much when you earn $40 million since 1999 (considering Wesley’s career choices since then, this is really impressive), and then fail to pay–and some years even file–taxes.
Continue reading ‘Wesley Snipes Reports to Jail’
Yes, Google's Cr-48 notebook is beautiful and blissfully logo-free. No, you can't buy it. (But you might be able to get one for free. Maybe.)
Yesterday Google had themselves a big ol’ press event all about their Chrome OS. You may recall that this is Google’s browser-based operating system “for people who spend most of their time on the web.” Not surprisingly, the highlight of Google’s event yesterday was the anouncement of the first Chrome OS computer, the Cr-48. (We’re totally digging the old-school Cr-48 name, by the way.)
The first Chrome OS computer will be a notebook, and an attractively minimalist one at that. It even excludes a caps lock key to prevent your grandparents from sending more of those yell-y, telegraph-style emails they’re so fond of. The Chrome laptop’s specs are pretty decent, too. It rocks a 12.1 inch screen, WiFi and global 3G data (Verizon in the US), a webcam and flash-based storage. The battery will allegedly last more than 8 hours, which is pretty impressive, as is its ability to power on instantly.
In a classic Google twist, you won’t be able to buy the Cr-48, however. Instead, they’re giving them away for free (including free 3G data!) in a public beta testing program. Here’s how you can sign up to (maybe) get one.
Continue reading ‘Google Announces Cr-48 Chrome OS Notebook-Here’s How to Get One for Free (Maybe)’
Ben Affleck and former movie star Josh Hartnett flank Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay as the four take a break from destroying history during the production of "Pearl Harbor."
December 7, 1941 remains, as Franklin Delano Roosevelt predicted, a date which lives in infamy. When the naval forces of Japan attacked the US Naval fleet in Hawaii that morning, the attack propelled the United States into one of the defining events of the 20th century: World War II.
The attack on Pearl Harbor became a rallying point for the nation during World War II and has since been a day to remember the many lives lost during the events of December 7, 1941, as well the many feats of bravery that saved lives that day. (LIFE has an awesome slideshow about the attack.)
Today, we honor the memory of Pearl Harbor the event, and also use it to remind ourselves of another, nowhere-near-as-horrible but still-shameful event: 2001′s Pearl Harbor the movie.
Continue reading ‘Take Time This December 7th to Remember Pearl Harbor In All Its Forms’
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