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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is inching ever closer to release, and the developers have announced a bonus for those who preorder the game from GameStop. Squad Rush mode, a 4-on-4 multiplayer mode, will be a timed exclusive for those who preorder, with everyone else having to wait until 30 days after the game’s release to get in on the action.

But it gets more complicated than that.

The Federal Communications Commission’s newest Democrat, Mignon Clyburn, had some interesting comments to make about net neutrality on Friday at the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council’s Social Justice summit. They came as the rush to stop the FCC from implementing its proposed Internet non-discrimination rules is in full force. And leading the charge are groups that, ironically, say they’re opposed to discrimination, among them the MMTC.

Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, Odds and ends, Apple, iPhone

A tablet still might not be the only new hardware we see from Apple next week — the rumor mill is still churning out news that the “one more thing” next week will be a brand new version of the iPhone, set up on the Verizon network. Obviously we’ve heard a lot about this one before, but this time it comes not from an anonymous source, but Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek, who says that not only will we see the new hardware as expected, but we’ll have those nice red maps on it as soon as June of this year.

If you ask me, this is one too many rumors not to be true — eventually, we’ll see an iPhone on the Verizon network. But I’m hesitant to agree it’ll be announced as early as next week. This is a big deal with a lot of tangles, and I doubt Apple wants to rush it out the door, especially with the much more likely tablet incoming. I do believe we’ll see a new version of the iPhone, and it will be Verizon, but Apple’s got time. I’m guessing we won’t see an official announcement until later on this year.

TUAWRumor: Apple to announce Verizon iPhone on the 27th originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ever had the urge to crank out some nasty riffs in the kitchen, record them, and then watch as millions of Xbox 360 owners rush to download your jam(s)? Don’t lie. In a move that marks the next logical step of the Rock Band journey, Harmonix has confirmed that an open beta registration of the Rock Band Network will open up later today for Xbox 360 users, enabling amateur (or professional… or novice!) musicians to record, convert and upload tracks to a network where gamers can judge how awesome / not awesome any given song is. Reportedly, those seen as “good enough” will be made available for sale (you can price each tune from $1 to $3), though we’re hearing that the actual conversion process isn’t a lesson in simplicity. In fact, some outfits are offering their services to take recordings from .wav files to ones that the game can understand, but with rates of $500 per minute (of music), we’re guessing that only serious artists will apply. And if you’ve ever heard “that local band” willing to play shows for free, you’ll agree with us when we say that this barrier to entry is probably a good thing.

Rock Band Network beta opening to Xbox 360 users, garage bands see ‘their chance’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve been paying attention to Mashable, you got an early heads-up on this in mid-December: Google’s Chrome browser overtook Apple’s Safari in the final month of 2009 to become the 3rd place browser behind Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Our first set of stats covered the week of Dec. 6-12, during which Google launched Chrome for Mac — a rush of downloads was to be expected. Now web metrics provider Net Applications has released its full month of December stats, confirming that Chrome had 4.63% of the browser market that month, versus 4.46% for Apple’s Safari.

The Net Applications stats aren’t all bad for Apple: the iPhone saw its biggest jump in the mobile operating system market in December, climbing 20% over its November numbers to 0.43% of the market. On the desktop, Apple’s growth is slow, however: OS X usage grew to 5.11% of the OS market at the end of 2009 from 4.71% at the start.

Have you switched to Google Chrome? Let us know in the comments.

[image courtesy TheAppleBlog]

Tags: google chrome, safari

With product names like “Endorphin Rush,” “Freedom,” and “The Tiger Eyes” for its headphones, it’s always been clear that Jaybird strives for a little bit more when it comes to the image associated with its listening devices. So naturally the imaginatively named “SB1 Sportsband” set of Bluetooth headphones would bring one of the classiest designs we’ve seen for that purpose, and certainly Jaybird’s most stunning contribution to the market. The headphones boast about eight hours of stereo music use, feature moisture-protected music controls, and can even handle the odd call or two. They’re shipping now for $89.

[Thanks, Matt A.]

Jaybird’s SB1 Sportsband Bluetooth headphones finally find their aesthetic calling originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 05:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For weeks we’ve reported that the wireless industry has been pressing the Federal Communications Commission to figure out ways to get the mobile services more spectrum licenses. Experts are darkly warning of a looming spectrum crisis, as consumers rush to buy bandwidth-gobbling smart phones. CTIA, the Wireless Association, says its member companies urgently need 800MHz of license space below the 3GHz mark.

Good old December, the busiest time of the year for elves, reindeer, jolly old fat guys… and lawyers, apparently. Joining the rush to make momentous decisions before Santa arrives, the International Trade Commission has made a preliminary ruling in favor of Kodak in its dispute over digital camera patents with Samsung. Though the original lawsuit included LG, an out of court settlement has left only Sammy in the firing line, and this early decision has affirmed that two of Kodak’s patents were infringed in the production of its cameraphones. It’s still necessary for the full commission to look at and approve the judgment, but considering Samsung’s vast range of camera-equipped phones, we’d throw legal caution to the wind and start bombarding the ITC with “holiday cheer” pronto.

Kodak wins preliminary ruling in patent squabble with Samsung originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s nothing terribly exciting to speak of in today’s Firefox 3.5.5 update; from the looks of the tiny changelog, it looks like one critical security fix and a few other minor bug fixes will make their way to your browser. Mozilla should officially announce the update to Firefox 3.5.5 sometime later today—they’re currently hard at working pushing the Firefox 3.5.5 update to their servers. Once they’ve got their ducks in a row, you can download the update directly from Mozilla here; in the meantime, you can grab the downloads straight from FileForum for Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux. If you’re in no rush to update manually, Firefox should prompt you for an update in the next day or two. [via gHacks]

We all know that first impressions are powerful things. Billionaire Steven A. Cohen makes the most of first impressions taking a deep breath and holding it before he enters a room. How about you?

Poorly named weblog The Art of Manliness rounds up a few tips for commanding a room, including this interesting nugget from Cohen’s playbook:

Before he makes his appearance, he takes a deep breath, filling all of his lungs. He then holds his breath and walks into the room. As he talks, the air is naturally exhaled. This simple action increases blood to your face and makes you look “more radiant and lively,” and consequently more confident.

By taking a deep breath you force yourself to not only stand up straight, but also give a quick rush of blood to your head, giving you a slightly flushed and cheery look. It might sound silly, but people are always interested in meeting someone with energy and spunk. Just remember to exhale, because no one wants to talk to a corpse—unless it’s Halloween.

Do you have a ritual when meeting people for the first time? Share your first impression rituals in the comments.