Brad Stone at the New York Times Bits Blog has an interesting article up in which he talks to Andy Rubin, vice president of engineering at Google and co-founder of Android. While the article is mainly about Android, there’s a part toward the end that is humorous when Stone jokes with him that his press relations colleague wanted to confess that he had left a prototype Android phone at a local bar.

At least when it comes to their reading comprehension.

It makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Less people will complete a doctorate as will complete a four year undergraduate degree. Less people will compete a four year degree as will graduate high school. Less education usually means less reading and less reading leads to a lower level of reading comprehension. If the words and sentences you use are too complex a number of people who might otherwise appreciate what you have to say may have trouble following how you’re saying it.

In the context of the Gizmodo social hack, Seth writes:

"Anonymity is the enemy, whether it’s online or walking around a trade show with a clicker in your pocket."

I vehemently disagree with Seth’s statement.  Here’s why.

Brilliant. That’s all I can say about Adam Frucci’s post at Gizmodo on “Ten Reasons We’re Doomed: CES Edition.” Bloody brilliant. It describes every tech trade show I’ve ever been to. Some of my favourite highlights:

Last week I read an interesting article by the Alley Insider that I’ve been dying to share – mainly because it included the following Nielsen chart that revealed an interesting comparison of sites.

Did you know that Nissan has developed a new kind of paint that can change colors on command? It was news to Nissan, too.

In case you’re still convinced there’s a true open market in broadband space and the handful of companies running it are sufficient competition for each other, consider this: in Hong Kong, you can get a fiber-to-the-home connection 20 times faster than Verizon’s FiOS connection for about the same price.

Under the right circumstances, an air of exclusivity can create a lot of interest.  Under the wrong circumstances, it can generate a lot of shrugs.  And by blocking some Australian mobile users, MySpace seems to have earned an unhealthy mix of the two.

Dare Obasanjo asks “what are those A-list technology bloggers good for?”

He’s absolutely right! (I’ve been saying that a lot today — I’m in a very agreeable mood).

All the latest televisions have embraced this format, and now YouTube (sort of) has, as well: video search results are being displayed in a widescreen ratio.  It’s not clear when this feature might make the jump to the videos themselves, however.

Those of you who like the Google Street View program should celebrate; those who have privacy concerns should stock up on window blinds and baseball caps.  A report indicates that Google’s got at least 30 new Chevy Cobalts, and they appear ready to serve as Street View camera cars.

This won’t change the world, but it’s a nice gesture: Helio (“don’t call us a phone company”) has stopped charging its users for access to YouTube.  The “mobile brand” is even refunding customers who already sent over some cash.

their top products of 2007 list, and as usual it only covers the first few months of 2007. Still, Google should be quite happy, as it took the #1 spot with Google Apps Premier Edition, with PC World basically saying that Google’s $50/year docs/spreadsheet/calendar/email/IM software being the best product right now. In the entire world.

Conclusions? Draw them.

PayPerPost offers bloggers payment for writing reviews of products or services. Their business model has drawn criticism from sites like Valleywag, which just happens to be under the Gawker Media umbrella with Gizmodo.

I’m a huge fan of the Opie & Anthony radio program on XM Satellite Radio, have been for years, and over the last week, I’ve heard show host Anthony talking about his experiences with Windows Vista.

Anthony’s had a lot of trouble, running into unsigned drivers, video card drivers that have worse performance in Vista than in XP, and a constant Blue Screen of Death before every install.

As if there isn’t enough evidence of media convergence, Niall Kennedy reports that the latest high-definition TV’s from Sony will allow you to subscribe to RSS feeds.

Coverage of the Steve Jobs keynote at the Macworld conference took on several different forms this year. Some publications took the traditional journalistic approach by writing articles after the fact, while others experimented with the less formal, more reactionary approach of blogging.

Phil Waligora, who works at Microsoft, is watching Steve Jobs’ keynote (I’m not, but am trying to check in here and there) and calls me out, wondering if I’ll say the just announced AppleTV is innovative.

The Windows Live folks have released a really cool application for mobile phones, one that makes it easier to check out maps and find driving directions and traffic conditions.

It’s funny, a friend told me Microsoft couldn’t innovate anymore and that Google was going to eat its lunch.

Microsoft may have something really cool up its sleeve. A strange site has appeared at www.notfornoobs.com. It features a static-filled television that shows glimpses of the Microsoft logo, a three-headed snake, and a countdown timer. Then it requests your e-mail address.

If you’re a subscriber to Engadget or Gizmodo, or both, there’s a new gadget site to add to your reading list – CrunchGear.