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Major Google Competition - Cuil Is Up and Running (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Cuil is out, The next Google, as the search engine is being hailed, and no one can contain their overwhelming curiosity. But what is Cuil? Where did Cuil come from?...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 29 Jul 2008 | 2:38 am Sponsored Post: Connect at home. Connect on the go.This post is sponsored by Verizon. Get Verizon FiOS Internet and Verizon Wireless Service all on ONE-BILL. FiOS has blazingly fast internet speeds, and Verizon Wireless is backed by Americas most reliable...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 7:00 pm Futuristic Eco Faucets - The Guru Tap(TrendHunter.com) The Guru tap was so named because it comes from the Hindu word which means master. The Italian designer, Ernesto Messineo, is based in Milan and has high hopes that his tap design will...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 5:59 pm Edible Boat Races - Chocolate Tart is Champion(TrendHunter.com) The BBC reported that arguably the very first edible boat race in the UK was won by a chocolate tart. It was a schoolboy's entrant whose mother did the actual baking. All the contenders...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 5:39 pm Laser Air Writing - The Flowlight(TrendHunter.com) The Flowlight is a hyped up laser pointer that enables writing and sketching in the air. The streams of light are created when the base unit - a cone shaped device - focuses a laser...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 5:00 pm Sci-Fi Inspired Webcams - Philips 3 Legged Bluetooth Cam (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Now this Philips webcam is one creature I wouldn't mind having crawl on my desk. Internet cameras more or less have the same boring design, so it's refreshing to stumble upon this sci-fi...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 4:20 pm Warp Drive Engine Would Travel Faster Than LightPhysicists outline how to manipulate the fabric of space to accelerate a craft.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:43 pm 'Dinosaur Eel' Inspires Body Armor of FutureAn ancient African fish could be the model for light, bomb-proof body armor.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:43 pm Fabrik launches ‘eco-friendly’ hard drive - Macworld
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:31 pm iPhone, App Store problems causing more than just headaches - Ars Technica
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:29 pm DIY piano rolls: teach kids to digitally encode music using paper tapeTeach your kids to digitally encode music with this 20-note music-box/player piano that recapitulates the first digital music format -- the piano roll.Link (via Red Ferret) Source: Boing Boing | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:29 pm Ex Google Workers Unveil 'Cuil' New Search Method - AHN
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:27 pm Mutant animal photoshopping contest Today on the Worth1000 photoshopping contest: mutated animals. I love the adorable cryptozoological critters! Link Source: Boing Boing | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:24 pm Microsoft Calls Forrester's Windows Vista Report 'Schizophrenic' - InformationWeek
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:20 pm Imagine a Bigger Market and You'll See a Bigger MarketScientists in two studies at the University of Virginia discovered that softball players and golfers who had good days perceived balls and golf holes as larger than the players who had bad days. The question...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:20 pm Microsoft: With No Yahoo, What's the Web Strategy? - NewsFactor Network
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:20 pm Verizon's Income Grows on Mobile and Data Services (PC World)PC World - Verizon posts revenue and net income growth, based on increases in mobile and data customers.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:20 pm Facebook fends off attack of the clones (AP)AP - In its bid to go global, Facebook is facing off against itself.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:19 pm Facebook Fends Off Attack of the ClonesFacebook is going global and facing local competion from sites that not only aspire to capture its social networking stickiness but also resemble the service right down to color, font and layout. In Russia alone Facebook is facing off against Vkontakte, a Russian-language Facebook clone that boasts more than 14 million users.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:19 pm Motorola Creates New Divisions in Advance of SplitThe Wall Street Journal is reporting that Motorola has divided itself into three units, rather than two. In March Motorola said it would spin off its handset business in the wake of poor performance. Now,...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:14 pm Fabrik [re]drive is Worlds Most Eco-Friendly External Hard DriveThis post is syndicated with permission from Gadgetoholic.com Going green is the latest big thing for companies and product manufacturers. Many different items we use with our computers are getting more...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:06 pm Smart Desktop Organizes Your Info, Both Online and OffOne of the software programs mentioned at this year's IORG conference (see our coverage here) was SmartDesktop. This program uses machine intelligence to automatically organize your information by project...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:03 pm The Pragmatic CSOBen Rothke writes "The Pragmatic CSO: 12 Steps to become a Pragmatic CSO is worth reading for one sentence on page 12 which states: It's not about technology — it's about business. The even better news is that the book is full of insightful ideas like that, on how information should work, and how to make it work in today's large enterprise organizations. One of the mistakes many security professionals make is that they think of security for its own sake, when security is simply meant to support the business. CxO's could care less about encryption key lengths and operating systems. While they don't care about the technical details, the people from information security often mistakenly communicate to them in those terms." Keep reading for the rest of Ben's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:03 pm WB Took Pains To "Delay" Pirating of Dark KnightJay writes "The LA Times is reporting on a new studio tactic- not to prevent piracy, but to delay it, as was the case with special tactics used with Dark Knight. "Warner Bros. executives said the extra vigilance paid off, helping to prevent camcorded copies of the reported $180-million film from reaching Internet file-sharing sites for about 38 hours. Although that doesn't sound like much progress, it was enough time to keep bootleg DVDs off the streets as the film racked up a record-breaking $158.4 million on opening weekend. The movie has now taken in more than $300 million. The success of an anti-piracy campaign is measured in the number of hours it buys before the digital dam breaks."" You know what else helps have a big opening weekend? Making a good movie.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:01 pm Current State of the Economy Triggers CIOs to Reshape Their Strategies, InformationWeek Research Survey FindsIT Budgets are Feeling Pressure but Not All IT Projects are Being Put on Hold, InformationWeek Feature Story Uncovers What Some CIOs are Doing to Stay Competitive SAN...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:00 pm Ando Media and AirKast Partner to Deliver the First Fully Integrated Mobile Media PlatformPROVIDENCE, R.I., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Ando Media, LLC, the leading ad serving and measurement platform for broadcast media, and AirKast, Inc., a mobile media softwareSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:00 pm NAVYForMoms.com Reaches Membership Milestone, Growing QuicklySocial Networking Web Site Unites 3,500 Navy Moms MILLINGTON, Tenn., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, recently-launched social networking Web site NAVYForMoms.com...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 2:00 pm Apple Mans Up To MobileMe Mess - InformationWeek
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:59 pm Worktopia Introduces its Online Universal Meeting Solution at NBTANow there is one fully integrated process for booking meeting space and group room accommodations for simple meetings LOS ANGELES, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Worktopia,...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:55 pm Ideiasnet Announces Preliminary Net Revenue and EBITDA Figures for 2Q08RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ideiasnet S.A. (Bovespa: IDNT3) expects 2Q08 Net Revenue of R$ 200 million and EBITDA of R$ 7 million, growth ofSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:49 pm 24-7 Press Release Newswire Adds PayPal Gateway Making Payment Process Faster24-7 Press Release Is Now Giving Their Customers The Flexibility To Use PayPal For Checkout Payment. NEW YORK, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- 24-7 Press Release (Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:42 pm Yahoo director Kotick to resign after meeting (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:41 pm Yahoo director Kotick to resign after meetingNEW YORK (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc director Robert Kotick's resignation will take effect after the company's annual meeting this week, where he will stand for reelection, to comply with a...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:41 pm Adtegrity.com Reports Best-Ever Revenue, Improved Net Income for Second QuarterGRAND RAPIDS, Mich., July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Adtegrity.com (Pink Sheets: ADTY), a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company specializing in Internet advertising...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:41 pm Supercontinent Pangea Gets Climate RethinkEarth's famous supercontinent Pangea may have been far colder than thought.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:40 pm Artic Oil Too Risky?Image Caption: Workers using high-pressure, hot-water washing to clean an oiled shoreline. In this treatment method, used on many Prince William Sound beaches, oil is hosed from beaches, collected within floating boom, then skimmed from the water surface. Other common treatment methods included cold-water flushing of beaches, manual beach cleaning (by hand or with absorbent pom-poms), bioremediation (application of fertilizers to stimulate growth of local bacteria, which degrade oil), and the mechanical relocation of oiled sediments to places where they could be cleaned by wave and tide action. (NOAA)Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:30 pm FAQ: Comcast vs. BitTorrent - PC World
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:16 pm Apple After Jobsrecoiledsnake writes "The connection between Apple and Steve Jobs is unlike any other brand and CEO relationship in corporate America, maybe the world. While Bill Gates has successfully transitioned himself away from his day job at Microsoft, can Apple do without Jobs at all? Once word started circulating that Jobs may be ill, Apple stock took a considerable hit, dropping more than $10 a share. And when Mr. Jobs was absent from last week's quarterly earnings conference call, the questions started again — and the stock fell again. What does this mean for corporate users of Apple for whom switching costs are high? Can Apple continue innovating in Job's absence?"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:14 pm Bell streamlines management structure to improve competitivenessMONTREAL, Quebec, July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE) today announced it will reduce the size of the Bell management team as part of an organizational...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:08 pm Take Control of Your Travels with 'Cancel for Any Reason' Protection from InsureMyTrip.comWARWICK, R.I., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- As the complexities of travel today continue to challenge and frustrate travelers, many are turning toSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:00 pm Mobile use on planes moves step closerWidespread use of mobile phones on UK airlines moved a step closer today following a ruling by the communications watchdog Ofcom. The decision to grant licences for mobile communications on aircraft means...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 12:59 pm IBM to Buy Ilog for $340 Million (PC World)PC World - IBM will buy business rules management system vendor Ilog for $340 million.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Jul 2008 | 12:50 pm Zune Tattoo Guy Signs Off: Buh-ByeSteven Smith, who you might know as the Zune Tattoo Guy, has seen the light -- and it isn't Microsoft's mp3 player. No, the ultimate Zune fanboy says he is disenchanted and that you won't have him to kick around anymore. All we can think to say is ... thanks?
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 Jul 2008 | 12:42 pm San Francisco to Hopefully Learn From Its Mistakes - DailyTech
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 28 Jul 2008 | 12:37 pm Verizon Q2 Beats; FIOS Starts to Edge Out DSLVerizon's Q2 earnings rise 12%, beating expectations, while revenue slightly lags. Other highlights: Customers are dropping landlines faster than ever before; DSL subscriptions decrease for the first time and FIOS increases; the company has started selling cable-TV service over FiOS in New York City.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 Jul 2008 | 12:34 pm China Has Largest On-Line PopulationSmivs writes "China now has the world's largest net-using population, say official figures. More than 253 million people in the country are now online, according to statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). About 95% of those going online connect via high-speed links. Take up of broadband has been boosted by deals offered by China's fixed line phone firms as they fight to win customers away from mobile operators. Despite having a greater number of people online, China's net economy still has a long way to go to match or exceed that of the US or even that of South Korea. Figures from Analysis International said China's net firms reported total revenues of $5.9bn (£2.96bn) in 2007. By contrast net advertising revenue alone for US firms in 2007 stood at $21.2bn (£10.6bn)."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 28 Jul 2008 | 12:30 pm Science Weekly podcast: Ted Bianco and Lonesome GeorgeAlok Jha and Ian Sample are joined by Ted Bianco, the Wellcome Trust's director of technology transfer. Plus Edzard Ernst on homeopathy. Solar power from the Sahara. And why Lonesome George may not be...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 12:22 pm Static continues for Apple's iPhone debut (USATODAY.com)USATODAY.com - LOS ANGELES - Apple's experiencing serious Microsoft-type growing pains with its launch of the new iPhone.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Jul 2008 | 12:18 pm Netbytes: Metacritic spots the turkeysIf you're planning to see a movie, rent a DVD, buy a CD or - most importantly - a video game, then Metacritic is the place to go. It reads the reviews so you don't have to, then adds up the ratings to...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 12:14 pm Ex-Google engineers debut new search engine 'Cuil' (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:35 am Tech Giants Rush to SolarImage Caption: IBM researchers have achieved a breakthrough in photovoltaics technology that could significantly reduce the cost of harnessing the Sun's power for electricity. (IBM)Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:15 am Japan Poised to Accept WTO Compromise Proposals for Free Trade DealText of report in English by Japan's largest news agency Kyodo [By Takuya Karube] Geneva, July 28 Kyodo - Japan is considering accepting many of the compromise proposals having been put on the negotiation table at the World Trade Organization for a free trade accord, trade sources said Sunday.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Puerto Rico's Environmental Movement Stops Some DevelopmentBy Frances Robles, The Miami Herald Jul. 28--SAN JUAN -- Protesters outside Puerto Rico's historic San Geronimo Fort are lying in hammocks, cooking on grills and sleeping in tents while the buzz of construction continues around them.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Gas Leak Leads to Temporary Evacuation of Some Sun City ResidentsBy Daniel Brownstein, The Island Packet, Hilton Head Island, S.C. Jul. 28--A storm that moved through greater Bluffton on Sunday afternoon caused a major natural-gas leak near Sun City Hilton Head's Okatie maintenance yard off S.C. 170, prompting road closures and evacuations.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Judge Limits Acres Opened By USDA for Cattle Feeding: Conservation Reserve Land Had Been Taken Out of Agricultural Production but Freed Amid EmergenciesBy Dawn House, The Salt Lake Tribune Jul. 28--A federal judge has restricted haying and grazing on lands the U.S. Department of Agriculture had opened up to cattle producers coping with drought, other natural disasters and escalating feed costs. Seattle Judge John C.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am "Timber Mafia" Funding Militancy in Northwest Pakistan, Tribal Areas - MinisterText of Daily Times Monitor report headlined "'Timber mafia' funding militancy in FATA: minister" published by Pakistani newspaper Daily Times website on 28 July Lahore: The "timber mafia" is responsible for funding militancy in the NWFP [North-West Frontier Province] and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas [Federally Administered Tribal Areas], and the provincial government is devising a strategy to crack down on the covert industry, Environment Minister Hameedullah Jan Afridi said on Sunday [27 July].Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Cintas Transitions to NPE-Free DetergentsCintas Corporation, in conjunction with Washing Systems, LLC (WSI) announced today it has become the first major industrial launderer to transition company-wide from a Nonylphenol Ethoxylate (NPE) - based detergent to a new, more environmentally friendly detergent for use in its industrial laundry facilities.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Take Only Pictures, Leave Only FootprintsTread Lightly, a non-profit organization striving to enhance the outdoors experience for everyone, suggests 10 ways outdoors-types can be more environmentally sensitive, especially when camping on public land. This is, perhaps, more applicable to backpacking, but it is always useful.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Long Beach to Focus on Educating SwimmersBy Sophia Chang, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Jul. 28--Long Beach city officials are meeting today to work on improving swimmer safety following a spate of riptide-related drownings, they said yesterday.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Taiwan, China Brace for TyphoonTaiwanese authorities Monday canceled flights and train and ferry services as Typhoon Fung-wong picked up momentum toward the island. Sandbag barriers had been put up while fishing boats were ordered to port, the Taipei Times reported.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Tax-Free Holiday is 'Christmas in August'By Jennifer Hall, St. Joseph News-Press, Mo. Jul. 28--Back-to-school shopping is like Christmas. "The season is the second-biggest season behind Christmas," said Shannon Frederick, spokeswoman for Wal-Mart. Ms.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Hip Hop Artist C. James Retains TransMedia Group to Add Bling to His Rap Songs on WatchCuff(TM) ShirtsBOCA RATON, Fla., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- C. James, aka "your favorite rapper" has retained TransMedia Group to create a blinging buzz for his latest rap songs, including one about WatchCuff(TM) shirts that bling his mega watches. "We're thrilled to represent C.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am FiSpace.Net Provides Investor Social Networking for Shareholders of SIRI, XMSR, MSFT, GOOG, AAPL, AMZNIRVINE, Calif., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- FiSpace.net, which provides social networking tools for investors, announces the availability of blogs, message boards, and articles regarding technology innovators Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. , XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Helping the 'Server Hugger' to Embrace Cloud ComputingCHICAGO, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- DNAmail, a premier provider of email hosting services, will be present at the 2008 HostingCon tradeshow in Chicago, Illinois, July 28-30.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Feeding the Flock: St. Rochus' Annual Festival Could Be Its LastBy Randy Griffith, Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa. Jul. 28--Although it may have been the last St. Rochus Catholic Church Summer Seafood Festival, Sunday's event was not a time for laments. "It's all about having fun," church member Gary Vitko said at the barbecue booth.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Alvarion Chosen By AccessKenya Group to Deploy WiMAX in KenyaAlvarion Ltd.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Will Plug Be Pulled on Long Island Wi-Fi Plan?By Reid J. Epstein, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Jul. 28--Long Island's ambitious and belated Wi-Fi network is teetering on the price of a pole.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Experts on Reading Wonder: Is the Internet Friend or Foe?By Motoko Rich Books are not Nadia Konyk's thing. Her mother, hoping to entice her, brings them home from the library, but Nadia rarely shows interest. Instead, like so many other teenagers, Nadia, 15, is addicted to the Internet.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Show Lacks Fire, but Has SoulBy Jordan Levin, The Miami Herald Jul.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Sophos Plans to Acquire German Data Security Company (PC World)PC World - Security vendor Sophos plans to acquire Utimaco, a German company specializing in software that aim to prevent sensitive data...Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am New Search Engine Cuil Takes Aim At Googletheodp writes "CNET reports that Cuil (pronounced 'Cool'), a startup founded by the husband-and-wife team of Stanford professor Tom Costello and former Google search architect Anna Patterson, is launching a new search engine today that claims to index three times as many Web pages as Google." Running a few searches left me underwhelmed with the content of the results (hitting the next-page button on a search with a listed 62,200,000 results — for "seattle" — got me the unexpected error message "We didn't find any results for 'seattle.'"), but pleased with the actual layout of the results when it worked, so I hope the kinks are worked out.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 28 Jul 2008 | 10:10 am Facebook 'stabbing' game removed following knife-crime complaintsA Facebook game that lets users 'shank' each other - street slang for stabbing - has been removed following complaints from anti-knife crime campaigners. The virtual "shank" appears as an icon within the...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 10:08 am RealNetworks Patches Four Critical Bugs in Multimedia Player (PC World)PC World - RealNetworks has issued four critical patches for several versions of its RealPlayer running on Windows, Linux and Apple's Mac...Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Jul 2008 | 10:00 am China becomes biggest net nation - BBC News
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 28 Jul 2008 | 9:16 am New PlayStation 3 Console Gains FCC Approval (PC World)PC World - A new PlayStation 3 console was approved by the U.S. FCC last week, according to the agency's online filings database.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Jul 2008 | 7:20 am Olympic Media Village – Most Expensive Internet In the World?An anonymous reader writes "Working for the Olympics as an IT contractor, I recently moved to the Media Village (where all of the reporters live) and was surprised the there was no free internet. BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee of the 2008 Olympic Games) is charging a ridiculous amount of money for ADSL service: for 512/512 it costs 7712.5 RMB (1131.20 USD); for 1M/512 it costs 9156.25 (1342.95 USD); for 2M/512 it costs a whopping 11,700 RMB (1716.05 USD). That is for only one month! For extra features like a fixed IP? That costs an additional 450 RMB (66 USD). I just can't believe that not only do I have to deal with the Great Firewall of China, but also pay through the nose to use it!"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 28 Jul 2008 | 7:02 am IRS cellphone rule called outmodedEmployers must pay back taxes if workers fail to keep detailed usage logs. Some see a disconnect between law and life. ...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am Icon Aircraft's A5 is built for just plane funA Marina del Rey company's light sport plane is meant to be flown more places by more people, and can land at remote airfields and on lakes. ...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am Secrecy cloaked 'Dark Knight'Warner Bros. took painstaking care to thwart pirates ahead of the film's premier, and the effort paid off. For...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am Kansan sticks it to election systemA simple online comic strip raises heaps for his Democratic bid. When Sean Tevis decided to run for a seat in...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am Jemima Kiss explains location-based servicesShould you ever be at Stonehenge, looking out across Salisbury Plain and wondering when the stones were excavated, you can pull out your mobile phone and go to wikinear.com. It knows you are at Stonehenge...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 6:53 am On the absurdity of "maximizing shareholder value"Over on Crooked Timber, Daniel Davies has uncorked a hell of a rant on the fatuous absurdity of the old saw that "corporate officers have a fiduciary duty to maximize shareholder value." He starts off by pointing out that you could maximize the profits of the company for this quarter by, for example, firing everyone -- but that the next quarter would be pretty dismal. Then he gets into the meat of it, how every conceivable action can be justified as "maximizing value."In real life, the business judgement rule protects more or less anything that the Creative Capitalism gang might want businesses to do. Even the paradigm example used by Posner – of a corporate chief executive making charitable donations and specifically saying that they weren’t doing it for PR purposes and that they didn’t run the company in the interests of the shareholders – doesn’t actually necessarily give rise to a situation which would fail the business judgement test, because that’s pretty much the story of Body Shop, and if the only way that a company can secure the services of a talented and energetic cosmetics executive like Anita Roddick is to give away money without regard for shareholders, then that’s in the interests of shareholders. There is, of course, a cottage industry in business school cases and the funnies pages of the Economist in proving that instances of corporate philanthropy are actually in the interests of shareholders in the long term.What obligation? Maximise what? Source: Boing Boing | 28 Jul 2008 | 6:39 am National newspaper websites attract 95m monthly visitors, report findsThe national newspaper websites of six of the UK's largest newspaper groups attracted close to 95 million visitors in June, according to a new report. The report, by the Newspaper Marketing Agency, aggregated...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 28 Jul 2008 | 6:23 am An un-American feel aids expanding US Web firms (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Jul 2008 | 6:03 am BBtv - Russell Porter: Hot 8 Brass Band of New Orleans, pt. 2 (music)Today, Boing Boing tv presents part two of our UK-based music correspondent Russell Porter's interview with the legendary Hot 8 Brass Band, from New Orleans. Band leader Bennie "Big Peter" Pete explains the history of second line, the roots of New Orleans jazz, and what it took to survive as jazz band in the French Quarter. Today's episode is a little longer than usual, so we can include an extended musical number live from the streets of Brighton -- the Hot 8 Brass Band performing their Louisiana-style cover of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing." The band is currently on tour throughout the USA. Enjoy! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Link to Boing Boing tv post with discussion, downloadable video, and instructions on how to subscribe to the BBtv video podcast. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Previous PORTER REPORT episodes on BBtv:
Source: Boing Boing | 28 Jul 2008 | 5:14 am Ex-Google Engineers Debut 'Cuill'It's hardly the first Google-challenger, but "Cuill" is the first search engine to hit the market that's created by Google alumni. Still, the search behemoth isn't worried.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 Jul 2008 | 4:09 am July 28, 1858: Fingerprints Go Official1858: A British colonial magistrate in India starts using fingerprints as a means of identifying people. It's the first-known, modern official use of the technique. Like many innovations, this one wasn't completely new. Ancient Babylonian clay tablets recording business transactions were sometimes "sealed" with fingerprints. Officials in ancient Rome may have solved one murder by matching the culprit's hand to a bloody hand print. China's T'ang Dynasty (618 to 907 A.D.) used fingerprints as a source of identification. A thumbprint was a legal signature for documents in Japan around the same time. A medieval Persian official noticed that the fingerprints on government documents were unique to the individual. British physician Nehemiah Grew lectured in 1684 on the ridge patterns on fingerprints. Italian doctor Marcello Malpighi wrote about the same subject just two years later. An 1823 doctoral dissertation by Johannes Purkinje at the University of Breslau classified fingerprints into nine types. Purkinje studied the ridges, spirals and loops with a microscope, another first in fingerprint study. But neither he nor Malpighi commented on fingerprints' potential use for identification. William James Herschel served as a magistrate at Nuddea, India. At his request, local businessman Rajyadhar Konai made a hand print on the back of a contract July 17, 1858. Herschel wasn't initially trying to use the system for personal identification. He merely wanted to "frighten [Konai] out of all thought of repudiating his signature." Herschel liked the idea and made it a regular requirement for Indians executing documents. He soon moved from using palm prints to just taking impressions of the right index and middle fingers. And he began to notice that no two prints were identical, and that prints didn't change as individual grew older. Herschel's 1877 request to use fingerprints to identify inmates at a Bengali prison in 1877 was denied, but the concept was moving from civil law to criminal law. It would be 1892 before Argentine police official Juan Vucetich clearly established modern fingerprinting as a way to solve crimes and prove guilt. Vucetich was born in ... 1858. Source: Various
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 Jul 2008 | 4:00 am Top 10 Wired.com Reader Blue Photos, Decided by You : We were floored by the fa-blue-less entries in our blue photo contest this week, and Wired.com readers have selected the 10 deserving winners. Eric Cabahug takes home the gold with his tranquil photo of the blue canoe on a sandbar at left. Mr. Cabahug will be receiving a subscription to Wired magazine and a digital picture frame for his desk. Since there were so many great photos that we thought should've received more votes, we've also compiled a Wired.com Editor's Choice Blue Photo Gallery. Our next twice-monthly photo contest is cities. We want you to hit the pavement and show us what your city looks like through your camera lens. Check out the contest page for more information. Left: Isla Azul Photographer's comment: "White Island, Camiguin, Philippines.”  : Rumspringa Photographer's comment: "While visiting Grand Canyon a group of Amish approached the cliff composing this blueish family picture.”  : Fro-Zen Photographer's comment: "The morning sky reflected in a frozen mud puddle reveals the true meaning of Zen."  : Gathering Storm Photographer's comment: "Changi Boardwalk, Singapore."  : Homeward Photographer's comment: "Homeward bound, Tomigaoka station, Kyoto."  : Blue Poison Dart Frog Photographer's comment: "The Okopipi is one beautiful creature that you definitely don't want to hold in your hand!"  : Air Time Photographer's comment: "Lauren gets some huge air time against a bright blue sky. Nikon D80, Shutter Priority 1/400, f/4.0, ISO 400, 27mm Focal Length."  : Hot Photographer's comment: "Old wash basin."  : Sunset at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Photographer's comment: "Taken with Canon 350D, shooting three different exposures (-2, 0, +2) and converting it into High Dynamic Range photography using Photomatix."  : Light-Speed Escalator Photographer's comment: "Long exposure photo with LED lights in the background for a light-speed warp drive effect."
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 Jul 2008 | 4:00 am What Gore Didn't Say About Solar CellsAmericanInKiev writes "Computer World posted a piece on Al Gore and his claim that solar cells will improve at the same rate as microprocessors. Vinod Khosla on the other hand has expressed disappointment that the doubling rate for price/performance of PV is 10 years rather than 18 months for transistors. Which of these two has the facts on their side?" Before anyone has him inventing the Internet again, note that Gore's claim as related in the article is much milder than that Moore's Law applies to solar cells per se -- namely, he's quoted as saying "We're now beginning to see the same kind of sharp cost reductions as the demand grows for solar cells." An optimistic statement, but not a flat-out silly one.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 28 Jul 2008 | 3:57 am Loving city photos Wired's current reader photo challenge is to send in pics of cityscapes that epitomize your town. There are some beautiful little urban valentines in this lot -- I love cities on general principles, and it's pretty clear to me that these photos are shot with a lot of affection. Shown here, by Kristoffer N's "Mumbai India." Link Source: Boing Boing | 28 Jul 2008 | 3:41 am Mars Soil Frustrates Phoenix AgainTablizer writes "The Phoenix Mars lander has been frustrated yet again by Mars' odd soil. The wet nature of the soil they are targeting appears to have made it get stuck in the scoop rather than drop into the oven. Past problems with similarly clumpy soil may have damaged the lander because the vibrator had to be used longer than designed, resulting in a short circuit."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:11 am Back to the Grind in WoW — and Loving Every Tedious Minute
Getting into World of Warcraft for the first time means hours of grinding: performing the same tasks over and over to “level up” a character. But far from being boring, grinding is one of the great unsung joys of gaming.
Last week, I finally decided to start playing World of Warcraft again. And you know what that means: Exciting medieval adventures! Chess-like strategizing with guildmates over raid techniques! And, of course, grinding. Hours upon hours of mind-numbing grinding. Even if you've never played World of Warcraft -- or any role-playing game, online or off -- you are probably familiar with the concept. To "level up" your character, you've got to gain experience, and that generally involves doing a few simple tasks -- mostly "killing stuff" and "collecting stuff" -- over and over again. When I rolled my new Paladin, I had to spend the next eight hours planted at my desk, repetitively clicking through the same tasks as if I were an industrial robot making car parts on the Chrysler line. I slaughtered wolves, bears, a few more wolves, some creepy little Kobold humanoids, then -- hey -- some more wolves. I rooted around in their corpses for random junk. (Woo! A candlestick!) Then I did it again. And again. And again. Until 3 a.m., actually. This is of the most-prodigious mysteries of the gamer soul. Theoretically, we love multiplayer games because they offer a dramatic alternative to our shades-of-beige meatspace lives. They let us cast off our mundane existence and become a colorful, empowered hero. And what do we do with this second life? We behave like obedient workers in a Soviet collective outside Stalingrad, circa 1971. Comrade, your job is to collect potatoes. For seven years. We pay $20 a month for this privilege. What the hell is wrong with us? There are several obvious explanations for why we grind. Partly, we know that the game gets interesting only once you're powerful enough to fight the bad-ass monsters. We'll endure whatever hazing necessary to get there. We'll grind until the sun explodes. There's also the addictiveness of it all. And as I've argued before, WoW -- like many RPGs -- was designed to replicate the emotional logarithm of heroin. You reach level 2 quickly, level 3 a bit less quickly, and levels 4, 5 or 22 less quickly yet -- but it's such a blast each time you level up that you can't stop the party. You'll kill yourself to feel that hit one more time. These explanations are all true, more or less. But I actually believe there's another reason we're willing to spend 20 hours a week grinding, and it's far weirder. It's because we love it. We love grinding. We cannot get enough of it. Why? Because there's something enormously comforting about grinding. It offers a completely straightforward relationship between work and reward. When you log into WoW, you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if you just plant your ass in that chair for long enough, you'll level up. It doesn't require skill. It just requires putting in the time. Play 10 hours, you'll do better; play 50, you'll do better yet; and yet more so with 500 hours. The thing is, almost no arenas of human endeavor work like this. Many are precisely the opposite, in fact. When you go to your job at the office, there's little or no linkage between effort and achievement: You slave like a madman all year long, only to watch the glad-handing frat guy hired two months ago get promoted above you. And if you're a really serious nerd, the logic that governs interpersonal relationships -- marriage, kids, your parents -- is even more abstruse: Things can actually get worse the more time and effort you put into them. But grinding? Grinding always works. Always. You get a gold star just for showing up. This is a quietly joyful experience. It feeds our souls, as well as our sense of justice and fair play. We grind because we can't believe what a totally awesome deal we're getting handed here, often the first time in our entire suck-ass put-upon lives. Granted, a game based around grinding tends to privilege those with huge amounts of free time, which of course means younger people and robots and gold-farming guys in China (who, incidentally, are sometimes getting handed a much better deal than they'd get in a comparable meatspace job). And here's the inevitable caveat: I realize that WoW isn't only about grinding; it encourages teamwork and cooperation and strategy and woof-woof, meow-meow. But let's not kid ourselves. There's a lot of grinding going on in that game. Like, right now. Seriously; go log on and check. I'll wait right here. It's cool. Grinding is idiotic, but it will never go away, because it sustains us. When we're exhausted by things we can't understand, we take solace in things that are what they say they are. Our video games may be idiotic, but at least their idiocies are consistent. - - -Clive Thompson is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and a regular contributor to Wired and New York magazines. Look for more of Clive's observations on his blog, collision detection.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:00 am Wired.com Photo Contest: CitiesFor our photo contest this week, we want to see photos from the grid. From dirty streets to pristine cityscapes, your assignment is: the city. Use the Reddit widget below to submit your best city photo and vote for your favorite among the other submissions. The 10 highest-ranked photos will appear in a gallery on the Wired.com homepage. Show us entire Dickens' novels wrapped up in a single image, the clash of classes, the roar of industry, the sickening high of syrupy commerce. Get out there and capture the faces behind the rat race and iconic, everyday make-or-break moments. Just be sure to make it out alive. The photo must be your own, and by submitting it you are giving us permission to use it on Wired.com and in Wired magazine. Please submit images that are relatively large, the ideal size being 800 to 1200 pixels or larger on the longest side. Please include a description of your photo, which may include exposure information, equipment used, etc. We don't host the photos, so you'll have to upload it somewhere else and submit a link to it. If you're using Flickr, Picasa or another photo-sharing site to host your image, please provide a link to the image directly and not just to the photo page where it's displayed. If your photo doesn't show up, it's because the URL you have entered is incorrect. Check it and make sure it ends with the image file name (XXXXXX.jpg). Please bookmark this page and check back periodically over the next two weeks to vote on new submissions! Also, check out the winner's galleries from our previous contests: Holga, Red, Self-Portrait, Night, Macro, Transportation and Black and White. Vote on city photos submitted by other readers.
Show entries that are: hot | new | top-rated. Submit your city photo. Submit your city photo.(No more than one every 30 minutes. No HTML allowed.)
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:00 am Top 10 Wired.com Reader Blue Photos, Decided by Us : Though Wired.com readers selected 10 excellent photos in our blue photo contest, we here at the photo department like to fight for the underdog. Here are our 10 favorite submissions that we think deserved more attention. Our next twice-monthly photo contest is cities. We want you to hit the pavement and show us what your city looks like through your camera lens. Check out the contest page for more information. Left: Beading Blue Photographer's comment: "Beads of dew form on the inner workings of a small flower in the early hours of the morning.”  : On a Wire Photographer's comment: "Birds on a wire."  : Blue Hallway Photographer's comment: "A hallway inside Casa Mila by Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona."  : Hong Kong Rainstorm Photographer's comment: "This was taken one evening on an overpass on Queens Road Central in Hong Kong. I used a Leica MP and a 35mm f1.4 lens and Fuji Provia 400 film."  : Soothe Photographer's comment: "Taken after sunset on Kri Island, West Papua, Indonesia. Nikon d80 F/3.8, 2s, lens 18-135mm@20mm."  : Blue Jelly Photographer's comment: "Blue jellyfish at Monterey Bay Aquarium."  : Blue Man Photographer's comment: "Hand-painted statue outside Gao Brothers Studio in the Dashanzi Art District, Beijing. Un-retouched."  : Red Cross in the Blue Photographer's comment: "At my German hometown someday in the 1990s, analog slr shot on the way to work."  : Rain and Pachinko Photographer's comment: "A rainy day in Tokyo outside a pachinko parlour."  : BlueFlyer Photographer's comment: "Kodak Ektachrome Professional Infra-Red Minolta X-700."
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 Jul 2008 | 1:00 am Nukes Not the Best Way To Stop Asteroids, Says Apollo AstronautMajorTom writes "Right now, we are not tracking many of the asteroids that could destroy earth. But within the next decade, new telescopes will make that possible, and leave us with the tough decision of what to do about objects with an alarming chance of hitting our planet. Last year, NASA said that the best option is to nuke them. This week, Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart, explained that there are far better options, and he has started an organization to prove that they can work."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 27 Jul 2008 | 11:40 pm Medical Health Disclosure vs. Steve Jobs' PrivacyAn anonymous reader writes "The New York Times is saying that Steve Jobs doesn't have cancer, but that he needs to disclose all the information about his medical condition so investors can decide. Gizmodo's strong rebuttal says that everyone has the right to keep medical records confidential. They argue that, if prominent US presidents legally kept their grave illnesses secret — even while the security of the country was at stake — a simple CEO should be able to do the same: 'Steve Jobs has the right to keep his medical records private for as long as he wants. Like FDR. Like JFK. Like any single person in this country and the world. It's our right, as humans, to do so.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 27 Jul 2008 | 10:34 pm Study: Exercise Slows Alzheimer's Brain DeathPatients with early Alzheimer's disease who exercised regularly saw less deterioration in the areas of the brain which control memory, according to a study released Sunday at the 2008 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Chicago.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 27 Jul 2008 | 8:52 pm
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