Common Paradox Tech Blog

Yesterday’s report from Android tracking site AndroLib that the Android Market had probably surpassed 20,000 apps was heartening for Android users and industry watchers alike. Minor issue! According to Google, they overshot the figure by about 20%. Still, the current count of 16,000 apps sit on a pretty healthy growth curve, if not a particularly steep one. So anyway, continue to party! Just a little less hearty. [MobileCrunch]

The quasi-mythical Google Phone is many things. To optimists, it’s Google’s bid to shake up the wireless industry. To cynics, it’s just an overhyped Android phone. And to some Googlers, it’s apparently this year’s Christmas bonus. They’re less than thrilled.

Earlier today we got a tip from reader whose buddy was one of the selected recipients of Google’s Nexus One Android phone. Google has admitted to “dogfooding” a phone—that is, testing it on its employees—so we expected reports like this. What we didn’t expect, though, was his friend’s response:

Two problems, however: first, the phone is GSM only, so he’s not happy about that. Second, this phone is HIS BONUS for this year. His usual bonus is $1K in cash, taxes paid by Google.

SO according to him the phone is just going to sit, unused, in a drawer in his apartment. Hoo…ray?

Complaining about getting a free phone might seem sour at this proud time in our nation’s economic history, but if you’re accustomed to getting cash—you know, money, that you can spend on things you might need—instead of a niche smartphone that you probably can’t even use properly on your carrier, I can understand the bitterness. And what kind of Googler doesn’t already have a smartphone? Didn’t they all get Android handsets back in 2008, when Google pulled a nearly identical bonus stunt with the HTC Dream? People loved that! —Thanks, AndPreciousLittleofThat!

Austin, Texas based mobile social network GoWalla’s pre-money valuation in their recent financing was $20 million, we’ve confirmed from multiple sources. The company raised $8.4 million in that round, making their post-money valuation $28.4 million.

That’s not bad for a service that launched just months ago and has 50,000 users. Part of GoWalla’s valuation is based on their PackRat Facebook application that still brings in “single digit millions” in revenue. But it’s clear that Greylock, Shasta and the other investors in that round are focused on GoWalla’s mobile strategy.

NYC-based competitor foursquare has just over 150,000 users, and has raised just $1.35 million in funding. Their products are similar – users “check in” to places they visit. Friends can see where they are, and vice versa.

This clearly seems to be a winning model. Mobile social networks have been evolving briskly over the last couple of years, and the location based check in model seems to be what people want. Both services are expanding quickly, and passionate users chirp constantly about the services.

This is ‘Muscle,’ the latest outdoor seating design from French artist Alexandre Moronnoz. Along with Moronnoz’s earlier works, Muscle makes a strong argument for moving to a world where form matches function in even our most everyday settings.

Moronnoz works with materials ranging from laser-cut steel (“Interferences”) to modular Y-shaped timber (“Y”). His designs are just exhibits for now, but hopefully they’ll inspire us to abandon our staid park benches and bus stops. It’s not like those are any more comfortable anyway.

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In elementary school, I was that kid who always had to sit up front when I forgot my glasses. Think of all the time I could have spent goofing off! If only I had those notes delivered to my Kindle…

Luidia’s eBeam whiteboard has been around for a while, the one that takes a snapshot of the notes on the board and saves them as an image. Now those images can be transmitted directly to a Kindle.

At first I thought this was a pairing of two cool but inessential technologies resulting in something that’s, well, cool but inessential. But now I think it’s kind of neat. In the future, instead of actually watching someone give a presentation, the audience will be staring at their Kindles and tablets the whole time.

Imagine the consequences. Teachers, bosses, parole officers, no one would never be able to tell if you were paying attention to the notes or goofing off on the internet. Not by reading Gizmodo, of course. We would never condone such behavior. [Press Release via Ubergizmo]

The CGI recreation of Tiger Woods’ accident was amusing enough, but a Taiwanese news show made some more animations to retell the whole crazy dramarama through awkward shower sex scenes, strange gesturing, and plenty of bad translations.

If only Fox News started doing things like this, I think I’d finally be able to sit through Shepard Smith. [Thanks, OMG! Ponies!]

Seriously, would anyone? Hundreds of pounds of cathode ray tubes, glass and particle board, dangling inches from your head. The caution tape doesn’t inspire confidence, either. Maybe this restaurant would be better off with a flat-panel. [Thanks Matt.]

The Pompeii ruins are one of the most tourist-visited sites in the world, which is one reason to stay home, sit on your couch with no pants on and enjoy the ruins on Street View. It’s pretty gorgeous. [Google]

Apple may overwhelm the MP3 market, but the stock earbuds included with iPhones and iPods have always been a frowning point for those devices. It’s the buds! They’re like cheap diapers: sound leaks al…

You’ve heard of realtime stock quotes. Nearly every finance site has those. Now Google Finance is adding realtime news streams. If you go to its market news page, the stories will update automatically without refreshing the page, kind of like updates on FriendFeed but not as frequent.

Looking at it now, new stories are updating only every minute or two, so I’m not sure how useful this is going to be most of the time. But when a stock-related story is breaking, it could be very compelling, giving you a sense of how quickly market information is reported.

Perhaps that is why the news stream will only be turned on during trading hours. It switches back to the static news page 90 minutes after trading ends in the U.S. and starts up again the next morning 90 minutes before.