In addition to going head-to-head with Microsoft's just-announced SkyDrive and Apple's iCloud, Google is rattling Dropbox's cloud with the introduction of Google Drive, which lets users "access their files, even the big ones, from wherever they are. Share them with whomever you want, and edit them together in real time."Continue reading...

So what else is buzzing at South by Southwest Interactive, apart from the Homeless Hotspots blow-up? A few tidbits:

• Rumors that CNN will buy Scottish social media pin-up Pete Cashmore's website Mashable for more than $200 million.

• Highlight has proved a highlight of the festival, is an iPhone app that informs you when you’re near someone else with even a remote social media connection, redefining the burgeoning people discovery market. "You learn about new people you're about to meet before you meet them," says founder Paul Davison. "It's about life's connections. We've given the world a new sixth sense."Continue reading...

Apple introduced the new iPad today, which starts at $499. Described by Apple as "brilliant from the outside in," the third generation tablet boasts sharper-than-an-HDTV graphics thanks to its "stunning Retina display," ultrafast 4G LTE, a 5-megapixel iSight camera and 3D capability.

Check out the "don't call it the iPad 3" below and tell us: enough to merit trading up — or finally taking the iPlunge if you've been iPadverse until now?Continue reading...

The South by Southwest festival is eighteen years young, and more than 20,000 are expected to attend this week in Austin, where the SXSW Interactive and Film conferences kick off on Friday. The festival has grown from its alternative roots as a confab for a tightknit group of musicians and fans who flocked to Texas to catch the next Michelle Shocked to encompass corporate sponsors and corporate types. It's now a must-attend mainstream event and a hotbed of innovation, which makes it a must-attend for companies in the digital and tech space, especially startups.

"Some people tend to think of 'South By' as more of a [consumer-facing] event where the next big thing like Twitter gets launched. But you have a lot of B2B brands setting up booths next to B2Cs. You'll go to a panel and see the head of marketing for Adobe sitting next to Pepsi on stage. That's what makes it great," said Jesse Noyes of Eloqua. "Unlike other conferences, it's where you can get in front of both up-and-coming and established players. You want to be in that."

Twitter made an explosive debut at SXSW in 2007, followed by Gowalla and Foursquare in 2009. Last year Apple stole the spotlight with its pop-up iPad store, and this year’s star contenders include ‘people discovery’ applications Highlight and Glancee.Continue reading...

Above, watch Microsoft's new Windows 8 promo and below, the winners of its first Windows 8 app contest, introduced by Windows president (and prolific blogger) Steven Sinofsky:Continue reading...

Hoping to lose a little weight but somehow don’t seem to hear that little voice in your head telling you to stop when you’re reaching for the ice cream in the fridge? You might need a talking fridge.

Recalling the old Woody Allen routine about talking appliances, LG Electronics has introduced a new high-tech refrigerator as part of its ThinQ Smart appliance line, as part of its slew of product announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. The twist: the fridge knows its own contents and can help the owner with meal planning and diet goals, according to the Daily Mail and Mashable (above).

How it works: After you input your weight-loss and body-mass index goals into the fridge’s computer, it can recognition who is opening the door by its internal TV and voice-recognition technology, the Daily Mail reports. Then it can make suggestions based on what is inside.Continue reading...

PaidContent felt that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer phoned in his CES kick-off last night — the company's last hurrah at the show. While Ballmer's CES Keynote wasn't as lively as the tribute video showing Microsoft's past CES kick-offs above, he did generate buzz with a preview of product developments coming this year.

Check out Microsoft's blog post for more of the highlights from Ballmer's presentation, including Kinect coming to Window, or watch some highlights of Ballmer's CES farewell below, including a Kinect demo with Sesame Street and one of the odder moments of the keynote: a tweet choir.Continue reading...

Just because Polaroid isn’t producing the instant film cameras that dominated that marketplace for 60 years doesn’t mean it's just going to disappear from the scene altogether. PetaPixel.com reports that Polaroid and The Impossible Project are teaming up to release 6-10 Polaroid Classic-branded products each year. The first item in their collaboration: a do-it-yourself paper-camera kit. The kit (only $20) contains materials to create replicas of six classic Polaroid cameras out of paper. The set will include little fake Polaroids that will “develop when rubbed,” the site notes.

The two companies famously paired up in 2008 when cofounders Florian Kaps and André Bosman met at a party for the closing of a Polaroid plant in the Netherlands. The pair teamed up (along with Marwan Saba) and bought the plant and its machinery in order to take over the instant-photo business that creates products that work with Polaroid cameras. Now, Impossible has offices in New York and Vienna, while Polaroid is putting its energy into consumer electronics and eyewear these days. The two will also work together to sell off the final “batch of Polaroid film ever produced,” the site notes. 

The announcement of the new products came in conjunction with the kickoff of this year’s massive Consumer Electronics Show. At last year’s CES, Polaroid announced that it had partnered up with Lady Gaga to announce its new Grey Label, which was to be co-designed by the performer.Continue reading...