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Leaked Olympic Opening Ceremony - Watch Before it Happens (VIDEO)(TrendHunter.com) Why bother waiting to watch the 2008 Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony when you can see it before it happened? This is a friendly reminder from Trend Hunter that footage of the rehearsal...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 2:15 pm Multi-Year Charity Contracts - Jonas Brothers Partner With Bayer Diabetes Care (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Teen music superstars Jonas Brothers have launched a three year partnership with Bayer Diabetes Care to help spread awareness and offer encouragement to young people living with diabetes...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 2:01 pm Google admits its AOL investment may be impaired (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:14 pm Sea Turtles Dive to Depths for ReconnaissanceA deep sea mystery is solved: sea turtles dive deep to scout out prey.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:03 pm Stem Cell Lines Allow Study of 10 DisordersNew stem cell lines allow scientists to study genetic diseases, in vitro.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:03 pm Computer Beats Pro At US Go CongressBob Hearn writes "I was in attendance at the US Go Congress match yesterday where history was made: the go program MoGo, running on an 800-core supercomputer, beat 8-dan professional go player Myungwan Kim in a 9-stone handicap game. Most in the audience were shocked at the computer's performance; it was naturally assumed that the computer would be slaughtered, as usual. Go is often seen as the last bastion of human superiority over computers in the domain of board games. But if Moore's law continues to hold up, today's result suggests that the days of human superiority may be numbered." Read below for more details in Bob's account of the match.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:52 pm Apple Has The Power To Disable iPhone Apps Remotely - dBTechno
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:37 pm CERN: LHC to fire first proton-smash ray next month - Register
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:36 pm Blog: Scientists Blast Beijing AirScientists criticize the Olympic Committee for being easy on Beijing and its pollution.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:33 pm Vista's Security Rendered Completely Uselessscribbles89 sends in a story with that alarmist headline from Neowin.net; it does sound like it could be a game-changer. "While this may seem like any standard security hole, other researchers say that the work is a major breakthrough and there is very little that Microsoft can do to fix the problems. These attacks work differently than other security exploits, as they aren't based on any new Windows vulnerabilities, but instead take advantage of the way Microsoft chose to guard Vista's fundamental architecture. According to Dino Dai Zovi..., 'the genius of this is that it's completely reusable. They have attacks that let them load chosen content to a chosen location with chosen permissions. That's completely game over.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:08 pm TELUS Corporation - Notice of Cash DividendVANCOUVER, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of forty-five cents ($0.45) Canadian per share on...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:02 pm Manhattan Software Named Leader in the 2008 Integrated Workplace Management Systems MarketBOSTON, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Manhattan Software is a leading provider of real estate software according to Gartner, Inc. based on their recently released Magic...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:00 pm China Information Security Announces Second Quarter 2008 Results Conference CallSHENZHEN, China, Aug. 8 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- China Information Security Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPBY) ("China Information Security,"...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:00 pm China TransInfo Technology Corp. Chairman and CEO to Ring Closing Bell at NASDAQBEIJING, Aug. 8 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- China TransInfo Technology Corp., (Nasdaq: CTFO), ("China TransInfo" or "the Company"), a leading...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:00 pm TELUS Reports Second Quarter ResultsStrong data and wireless results with record wireless additions VANCOUVER, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - TELUS Corporation today reported its financial results...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:00 pm Atmel Supports Digital Broadcasting Information Service, Journaline, at the Olympic Games in BeijingHEILBRONN, Germany, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) announced today that it supports a new text-based information service for digital...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:00 pm Honeywell Downsizes Skaneateles Facility, Maintains Business Presence in RegionSKANEATELES FALLS, N.Y., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) today announced workforce reductions in its Imaging and Mobility manufacturing facility inSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:54 am Google believes $1B investment in AOL is crumbling (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:24 am Climate Change Equals Stronger Rains - Scientific American
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:11 am Openmoko Declares Another Freedom: Publishes Schematics for Neo PhonesOpenmoko Shows Beauty is More Than Skin Deep SAN FRANCISCO and THALWIL, Switzerland, August 8 /PRNewswire/ -- LINUXWORLD EXPO - Booth 1625 ...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:03 am North Korean Leader Visits Pig, Goat FarmText of report in English by state-run North Korean news agency KCNA Pyongyang, August 7 (KCNA) - Kim Jong Il [Kim Cho'ng-il], general secretary of the Korean Workers' Party and chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission, gave field guidance to the Hamju Pig Farm and the Hamju Phyongphungdok Goat Farm.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Waterfront Boost After Project Ruled Safe for BirdsBy Jenny Haworth environment correspondent PLANS to transform Edinburgh's waterfront can go ahead without harming important wildlife habitats, conservationists said yesterday.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Will Reid Learn Lesson of Daschle?To the editor: Since moving to Nevada in 1991, I've been a Democrat. But right now, I'm a very unhappy Democrat. It's hard to be happy while I'm paying $4 a gallon - about $80 a tankful - for gasoline.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Wildlife Habitats Need ProtectionBy C. Douglas Nielsen It was well past dark when we finally found the campsite we had been looking for. The directions Chris' plumber had given him were easy to follow until we turned off the main road and began looking for the location he recommended.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Your Little Slice of Paradise CoastBy Larry Olmsted Named for the Italian bay it evokes, Naples has long been a top second-home choice on Florida's west coast. Gated golf communities are seemingly everywhere -- and with nearly 90 courses, the region claims to have more holes per capita than any place in the nation.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Television Review: Warriors on the Wildlife FrontierBy Andrea Mullaney Born to Be Wild, BBC4 THERE'S a man up a ladder, halfway up a cliff, using a long stick to grab seabirds so he can put rings on their feet and keep track of them.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Publicis Acquires Google Search Marketing ArmFrench advertising and communications company Publicis Groupe has agreed to acquire Google's search marketing business Performics.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Air China Office in Japan Receives Bomb ThreatText of report in English by Japan's largest news agency Kyodo Tokyo, Aug. 8 Kyodo - Air China's Japanese office received an e- mail threatening to bomb aircraft unless flights are suspended at around 12:50 p.m.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Poker Groups Split on BillBy Tony Batt By TONY BATT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON - A new bill that would limit the Internet gambling ban to sports betting while exempting poker and other online wagering is splitting poker advocates.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am EDS Awarded Contract Extension From European BankElectronic Data Systems has won a five-year IT outsourcing contract extension from Luxembourg-based private bank Sal Oppenheim to continue to manage its IT infrastructure.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am AT&T Launches Utility Computing ServiceAT&T has introduced a next-generation utility computing service to provide managed networking, security and storage services for business customers. The announcement is part of its $1 billion global network investment planned for 2008.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Cogent Communications Reports Second Quarter 2008 ResultsWASHINGTON, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cogent Communications Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: CCOI) today announced net service revenue of $53.9 million for the three months...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Harland Clarke Holdings Corp. Reports Second Quarter and First Half 2008 ResultsHarland Clarke Holdings Corp. to Participate in M & F Worldwide Corp. Conference Call on August 13, 2008 DECATUR, Ga., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Harland Clarke Holdings...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Buffalo airport to install body-imaging technology - Buffalo News
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:58 am IBM Exec Bemoans Lack of Industry-Specific Linux AppsIan Lamont writes "Bob Sutor, IBM's vice president of open source and standards, used his keynote appearance at LinuxWorld to complain about the lack of industry-specific open source apps. Despite some encouraging signs in the educational field with Sakai, Sutor said that he was 'tired of waiting' for specialized applications to appear in other sectors, adding that the proliferation of different licenses — and changing legal requirements for using the same software over time — is holding some businesses back from using open source applications."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:58 am Athletes from Sinking Islands Scramble For GoldRising sea levels may one day sink some South Pacific islands, and Olympic athletes are warned it's now or never to go for the gold. Tuvalu is a ring of nine Polynesian islands covering 560 sq km of ocean, with only 25.9 sq kms of land. It’s sending three athletes to Beijing.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:55 am Apple MobileMe Memo Shows Jobs Grown Soft - InformationWeek
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:18 am Black Hat USA 2008: A report from Day 1 - InfoWorld
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:11 am Fingerprint Test Tells What a Person Has Touched - New York Times
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 8 Aug 2008 | 10:09 am Update: NASA Says No To Martians, Maybe To Life - eFluxMedia
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:40 am New Name, Better Gadget Pouches: Hard Graft Dapper CollectionWorking Class Heroes, the brand known for their minimalist felt gadget pouches, has returned with a new name and a brand new collection. Now known as Hard Graft, the new Dapper collection has been unveiled...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:39 am Competition Commission Deadline for investigation into Project Kangaroo bounced to next yearThe Competition Commission has extended the deadline for its investigation into Project Kangaroo, the broadband video joint venture between ITV, Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide, into next year.Today's extension...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:35 am Ian Sample discusses a report on the effectiveness of infertility treatmentsIan Sample looks a report into the effectiveness of infertility treatmentsSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 9:10 am Facebook Responds To Security Issue With A Hope And A PrayerFacebook head of security Max Kelly, a former FBI computer forensics examiner, wrote a blog post tonight addressing the worm attacks on Facebook we wrote about earlier today. His advice to Facebook users:...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:49 am When the meteor and the 1PB database collide - Computerworld
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:21 am BBtv: TCHO Chocolate, pt. 3 -- The Taste Test Trip.In this final installment of our TCHO Chocolate trilogy, Xeni and Pesco go on a magical mystery taste test tour -- think Willy Wonka meets The Trip. Former NASA software developer Timothy Childs founded the tech-minded chocolate company, and was joined by WIRED co-founder Louis Rosetto. In previous BBtv episodes we learned about the hacked-together, home-tinkered machines and high-tech wizardry that keep their factory humming. Today we dive in to the genetics of chocolate plants, and the hedonics -- the tasting experience -- of the finished product, where science meets sensuality meets sugar. Oh hell, who are we kidding, you guys? We sat around and GOT HIGH on neuroactive cocoa alkaloids. We freebased theobromine and we LIKED IT. We liked it a LOT.Warning: this episode is NSFC (not safe for chocoholics).
Link to Boing Boing tv blog post with viewer discussion, downloadable video, and podcast subscribe instructions. Previously on Boing Boing tv: Related: read a feature about TCHO by David Pescovitz in the current issue of MAKE Magazine, Timothy and the Chocolate Factory. Here are some iPhone snapshots from Xeni on Flickr: TCHO, Boing Boing tv.
(Special thanks to Amy Critchett, and Wayne & Breanna) Source: Boing Boing | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:05 am Ripe for Tapping: An Abundance of Opportunities in Malaysia's O&G SectorBy C K Lau ALTHOUGH Malaysia's share of oil production is less than 1% of the world's output, it has a well-developed oil and gas industry, which has brought investments rolling in from global oil giants.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am What's in Store for Malaysia's O&G Sector?By C K Lau THE year ahead promises to see the high pace of change continue in the oil and gas (O&G) sector.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am Research and Markets: A Company Profile of Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P.: An Essential Oil and Chemicals Storage Operation Summary ReportResearch and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager, press@researchandmarkets.com Fax from USA: 646-607-1907 Fax from rest of the world: +353-1-481-1716 Logo: http://www.researchandmarkets.com Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ ec681a/magellan_midstream) has announced the addition of the "Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am INNOVATION Announces Non-Disruptive Data Protection, Business Continuance and Storage System Resources Management Solutions for New IBM System Z10 Mainframes and Newly Announced Z/OS 1.10 Operating SystemINNOVATION Data Processing, Inc. Thomas J. Meehan, 973-890-7300 tmeehan@fdrinnovation.com or Lori Fabisiak, 973-473-6643 lori@weinrichadv.com Logo: http://www.innovationdp.fdr.com INNOVATION Data Processing, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am Dell to Host Global Mobility Event Aug. 12 in San Franciscofor Dell Elizabeth Crosta, 415-596-9585 ec@enfatico.com Logo: http://www.dell.com Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) invites you to join it on Aug.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am Awaiting the CallBy Rob Johnson rob.johnson@roanoke.com 981-3234 Preachers who stir things up are popular at Riverside Church in New York City, and the Rev. Brad Braxton, a native of Salem, is the choice of the congregation's hiring committee as their new leader.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am Aiken, N. Augusta Make ChangesAIKEN - In the wake of a flap earlier this year over an e-mail exchange, the cities of Aiken and North Augusta have updated their policies on Internet use at work. In May, a North Augusta resident complained to the city about receiving inappropriate e-mails from a city employee.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am Across South CarolinaVA reveals name of new cemetery COLUMBIA - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has announced that South Carolina's new veterans cemetery will bear the name of the Army installation where it is located.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am Targeted for hacking by reporters at my table (CNET)CNET - LAS VEGAS--I should have known it was only a matter of time.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am Controlling copies isn't necessarily part of an artist's livelihood, but getting them accurately attributed isDanny O'Brien's new essay "Copyright, Fraud and Window Taxes (No, not that Windows)" makes a really good point about the way that people view copying on the Internet: copying is a ho-hum, every day thing (after all, in order for you to read these words, they had to be copied dozens, if not hundreds, of times) but "passing off" (plagiarism, fraud) is more frowned-upon than ever.Copying is important in the process of creative remuneration, I feel, because it used to be an excellent tapping point from which to extract value and distribute it back to the creator. Copying cost money, and the only reason you'd do it would be to sell the produced copy for cash. Therefore, it was a perfect statutory location to place a money-pipe back to the artist. Matters blurred when radio broadcasts and performance rights came along, but fortunately the term "copying" could still be stretched to cover these events without anyone feeling too uncomfortable. It always took money and effort to make a copy: costs that you'd almost always only pursue for commercial gain.I'm reminded of the fact that the original Creative Commons license allowed creators to choose whether they wanted their works attributed to them or not, but after a year or two, it was discovered that nearly every CC user turned the attribution switch on while generating the license -- everyone wanted correct attribution, even when they were giving away free copies. Copyright, Fraud and Window Taxes (No, not that Windows) Source: Boing Boing | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:26 am Controlling copies isn't necessarily part of an artist's livelihood, but getting them accurately attributed isDanny O'Brien's new essay "Copyright, Fraud and Window Taxes (No, not that Windows)" makes a really good point about the way that people view copying on the Internet: copying is a ho-hum, every day thing...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:26 am Perineum-crushing bike seats give cycle cops "penile numbness" and erectile dysfunctionA study by Dr. Steven Schrader of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Cincinnati and others concluded that the "nose" of a bicycle seat was implicated in "penile numbness" and...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:21 am Perineum-crushing bike seats give cycle cops "penile numbness" and erectile dysfunctionA study by Dr. Steven Schrader of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Cincinnati and others concluded that the "nose" of a bicycle seat was implicated in "penile numbness" and erectile dysfunction in bicycle cops. It's been a decade since I was a regular cyclist, but I'm here to tell you that the "perineal discomfort" of a bike seat was no fun at all.“For the first time, we have a prospective study of healthy policemen riding bikes on the job, using wider, no-nose bike saddles for 6 months. Not only did their sensation improve, their erectile function also improved. Changing saddles changed physiology. This is a landmark study for our field that that is important for future riders, and modification of lifestyle showing improvement without any active treatment.”No-nose Bicycle Saddles Improve Penile Sensation And Erectile Function In Bicycling Police Officers Source: Boing Boing | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:21 am Mozilla Launches Snowl Messaging PrototypeJack Spine writes with the story that the Mozilla project "has launched 'Snowl' — an experimental messaging prototype that could allow people to collate and view messages from email, RSS, messaging, and social networks. From the article: 'Key ideas behind the project, called 'Snowl', are to enable users to prioritise messages by importance, and have a search-based interface for message retrieval, according to Mozilla developer Myk Melez. "Could the web browser help you follow and participate in online discussions?" wrote Melez in a blog post on Wednesday. "Snowl is an experiment to answer that question." Another of the key ideas of the project is that browser functionality for navigating web content, including tabs, bookmarks, and history, be used to navigate messages.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:19 am Stonehenge robot clock arm tells time by arranging little cardsThe Stonehenge Robotic Clock from Norris Labs is a robot arm that tells time by plucking numbered cards from an array around its body, setting them down in front of itself, waiting, then doing it again...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:10 am Stonehenge robot clock arm tells time by arranging little cardsThe Stonehenge Robotic Clock from Norris Labs is a robot arm that tells time by plucking numbered cards from an array around its body, setting them down in front of itself, waiting, then doing it again with fresh cards. Depending on the time-change, it can take more than a minute to advance by one minute -- the robot knows this, so it skips those minutes and jumps straight to the next one, timing its motions to finish the advance right on the dot. Stonehenge - A Robotic Digital Clock (via Make) Source: Boing Boing | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:10 am Introducing Xenki, An Open Source App That Runs Second Life (And Open Sim) In A Web BrowserThe picture above tells a proverbial thousand words, or perhaps much more. It's a screenshot from Second Life, but check the top left corner-- it's SL running within a Mozilla Firefox page. Darren Guard...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:07 am Animatronic zombie that rises out of your garden and chases people, dragging its entrailsThe Fright Catalog's Dead Fred runs on two 12V battery and sports four separate motors that allow it to sense passers-by, rise up out of the earth and chase them, howling and growling and dragging its...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:07 am Animatronic zombie that rises out of your garden and chases people, dragging its entrailsThe Fright Catalog's Dead Fred runs on two 12V battery and sports four separate motors that allow it to sense passers-by, rise up out of the earth and chase them, howling and growling and dragging its entrails behind it. It's $2650, so it's a little pricey for Hallowe'en, but that sum does compare favorably with the total cost of ownership for a pet dog or cat, so when the kids start complaining that they need a companion who'll follow them around and do tricks, this might be a good choice. Dead Fred Zombie Chaser (via DVice) Source: Boing Boing | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:07 am Apple removes I Am Rich, a $1,000 featureless iPhone applicationEight people bought the software, which has no function except to alert other people that you have money. Eight iPhone owners have joined...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am Business BriefingMORTGAGES 30-year fixed rates remain at 6.52%Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am 40% of U.S. population has been tested for HIVHowever, 250,000 are infected and don't know it, according to new data released by the CDC. Efforts to increase screening are underway. ...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am Timestamp: gallery show of illustrated postcards in LAJulianna Parr's first gallery show opened yesterday at the LA Gay and Lesbian Center's Advocate and Gochis Gallery. Parr's show is a collection of over 1400 postcards that she has painted/drawn/illustrated...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 6:51 am Timestamp: gallery show of illustrated postcards in LA Julianna Parr's first gallery show opened yesterday at the LA Gay and Lesbian Center's Advocate and Gochis Gallery. Parr's show is a collection of over 1400 postcards that she has painted/drawn/illustrated/scribbled over the last 10 years. Her subject matter from robots to loss to portraits to popemobiles. Timestamp: A Diary in Postcards (Thanks, Cristin!) Source: Boing Boing | 8 Aug 2008 | 6:51 am Victorian ParaTechnology art -- protosteampunk from 1993-1996Marque's kinetic steampunk sculptures, built from junk, are very striking -- I'm really fond of "self-portrait," the first piece in the video. Marque made 'em 1993-1996, and he says, "Back then, I was calling it 'Victorian ParaTechnology'. The moniker of Steampunk flows so much better." Early Steampunk Kinetic Sculptures 1993-96 (Thanks, Marque!) Source: Boing Boing | 8 Aug 2008 | 6:44 am Nissan sold on electric cars, not hybrids - CNNMoney.com
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 8 Aug 2008 | 5:42 am Web 2.0 Summit line-up announcedOur fearless band manager John Battelle is the co-host, along with Tim O'Reilly, of the Web 2.0 Summit, a huge confab where Internet heavyweights talk big vision. Combined, John and Tim know everyone on the Internet (and their brothers) and so they always line up great talkers. They've just announced the speaker list for this year's Web 2.0, to be held November 5-7 in San Francisco. It's no "insider baseball" Internet conference. Indeed, the big thematic question of Web 2.0 2008 is: "How can we apply the lessons of the Web to the world at large?" Folks like Al Gore, Lance Armstrong, Saul Griffith, Elon Musk, and Michael Pollan will attempt to provide some answers. From Battelle's post on Searchblog:Speakers: Web 2.0 Summit 2008 (O'Reilly Media), "Al Gore Joins the Lineup at Web 2.0" (John Battelle's Searchblog) Source: Boing Boing | 8 Aug 2008 | 5:06 am New Map of Carved Up Arcticthepacketmaster writes "The International Boundaries Research Unit has recently published a new jurisdictional map of the Arctic, using geographic and legal definitions. Now it appears Santa Claus could potentially be Danish. But as pointed out in an article at The Star, more important than St. Nick is 'an area thought to contain one-fifth of the world's undiscovered and recoverable oil and gas resources,' and from this map, Russia has a huge claim in that."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 8 Aug 2008 | 4:18 am Reporters booted from conference for hacking (AP)AP - With thousands of hackers milling around the Black Hat convention here, and widespread snooping on the public WiFi network, one place was supposed to be off limits: the press room.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Aug 2008 | 4:05 am Gifted Firestarter: High-Tech Pyrotechnics to Kick Off OlympicsBecause of Cai Guo-Qiang, the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Olympic Games is not going to be abstract, hard to decipher and boring. It's actually going to be a blast. Literally. The New York-based, Chinese-born Cai is an installation artist who revels in using explosives (primarily gunpowder) to create violent displays of pyrotechnics, or, as he calls them, "Explosion Works." And because of his considerable talents with both art and fire, he has been commissioned to produce Friday's opening Olympic ceremony. "His shows are on a huge scale," says Melissa Chiu, director of the Museum of the Asia Society and expert on Chinese diaspora artists. The Chinese Olympic committee has dropped some hints about the nature of the opening ceremony. But if Cai's past works are any indication, we can expect to see an elaborate display that combines fireworks and gunpowder along with a thick helping of technology. Cai first exploded into the art scene with a 1993 show at the Great Wall of China. Starting at the western end of the barrier, Cai layered gunpowder along the ground and then set them it in a domino-like succession. The result was a partition of thick smoke that made it appear as if the Great Wall itself extended an extra six miles into the Gobi Desert. His follow-up works have been equally ambitious and even more tech-heavy. For the 2005 Festival of China event at the Kennedy Center, he teamed up with fireworks guru Phil Grucci to create a 500-foot-high, 150-foot-wide tornado of fire over Washington, D.C. In order to pull this feat off (and not burn any nearby structures down) Cai turned to silicon for an assist. First sketching out his concept on pencil and paper, Cai then uploaded it to computer-aided design (CAD) software in order to model a digital rendering of the flaming twister. Then using special firework shells (invented by Grucci's company) embedded with computer chips, Cai was able to detonate each charge at precisely the time he wanted, igniting a swirling column into what he deemed "Tornado: Explosion Project for the Festival of China." Now Cai and Grucci are partnering again for the opening ceremonies in Beijing. And it might just prove to be the best part of the entire games -- certainly more exciting than sitting through four hours of Olympic racewalking. But what the show will actually consist of is still a complete mystery. Some early videos of the rehearsals for the opener have popped up online, but it remains to be seen if this is a taste of what we'll see or just an elaborate head-fake. "I think it will be very simple but profound. It's not going to be something of lots of color," Chiu says when asked what Cai and Grucci have in store, "but something that has gravitas to it because of the occasion." 
Source: Wired Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 4:00 am Aug. 8, 1876: Edison Patents Mimeograph1876: Thomas Edison receives a patent for the mimeograph. It will dominate the world of small-press-run publication for a century. Before the inkjet printer, before the laser printer, before the dot-matrix printer, before the photocopier, there came the mimeograph machine. They were everywhere — in schools, offices and the military. If you needed just a few copies of a document, you used carbon paper. If you needed thousands (and had the time and the budget), you could send it to a print shop for typesetting and publication. But if you needed something in between, say 30 copies for a classroom handout (or test!) or 500 or 1,000 for a church bulletin or incendiary revolutionary poster, you had the mimeograph. Before the light bulb lit up in his laboratory, before he pioneered the power station, before he recorded "Mary had a little lamb" in the first practical phonograph, before he made motion pictures work and then made motion pictures, before 1,000 or so other inventions and improvements great and small, Edison invented the mimeograph. Those of us who are old enough to remember the mimeo can probably conjure up the smell of its ink -- especially ink for the Dittograph or spirit duplicator, which handled the smaller press runs. Those who actually used to "run things off" on the machines probably remember the look and feel of its sometimes-delicate stencils. Those who are younger may not even know how the word is pronounced. It's MIM-EE-oh-graf, not MYME-oh-graf or MEEM-oh-graf. Ask your parents. The process is simple: Cut a stencil, push ink through the holes onto paper, and repeat. The business model is also simple: Sell the machine, sell the stencils, sell the ink, maybe even sell the paper, but there might be competition there. Edison's 1876 patent covered a flatbed duplicating press and an electric pen for cutting stencils. Chicago inventor Albert Blake Dick improved the stencils while experimenting with wax paper and merged his efforts with Edison's. The A.B. Dick Co. released the Model 0 Flatbed Duplicator in 1887. It sold for $12 ($270 in today's money). If you didn't want to use the electric pen, you could try cutting a stencil with one of those newfangled typewriters. But hand drawing of stencils persisted well into the 20th century for diagrams of sentences and diagrams of scientific concepts, as well as mathematical formulas that were beyond the scope of the typewriter keyboard. Later models replaced Edison's original flatbed press and hand roller for the ink with a rotating cylinder and an automatic feed from the ink reservoir. Deluxe models included an electric motor. You could also get cheaper ones that you had to crank by hand. The A.B. Dick Co. believes almost every U.S. military personnel order of World War II was run off on one of its machines. And so central is the mimeograph to the history of 20th-century education that the Columbia University Teachers College is planning a special exhibit on the mimeograph at its library today. We saw that on the web, not on a mimeographed flyer. Source: Various
Source: Wired Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 4:00 am Gear Gallery: Shrinking Computers, DVR Expander and iPhone Competitors : Most of the new mini-laptops look like toys, educational tools or lab experiments in miniaturization, but the MSI Wind is an actual PC. Packing the latest 1.6-GHz Atom processor and a roomy 80-GB drive, the Wind boasts some legit PC cred. Yes, your iPod probably has more drive space, but 80 gigs was plenty not so long ago, and it's not like you're going to be producing HD video on this thing; it's more of an internet lapdog than a laptop. The 10-inch widescreen can display most fixed-width webpages comfortably, and its keyboard is large enough to house decent-size keys so you can type easily without resorting to Homer's dialing wand. While even some larger laptops are short on ports, the Wind finds room for three USBs, an SD slot and a display connector (take note, MacBook Air!). Of course, it's not perfect. We would have loved to see a DVD burner included, and with all its ports, a mini FireWire would be welcome. Also, don't expect high-end performance from the unit or hearty battery life from its slim, three-cell battery. But if you want a cheap and tiny companion for uploading pictures during a Malaysian jungle trek, or just a little buddy to hang out with you on the couch for IMDB searches, it's pretty hard to be against the Wind. WIRED: Grown-up looks (as opposed to "I want to sit at the big kids' table" found in other netbooks). Full keyboard and the largest screen among mini-notes. Plenty of ports to plug away at. 2.3-pound weight and rounded edges make it simple to pack and lug. TIRED: Lack of a DVD is understandable, but it still makes us cry a little. Hard drive sometimes makes mysterious swallowing sounds. Two-hour battery life is OK, but three would be better. $500, MSI Mobile
Photo: Jon Snyder/ Wired.com Read our full MSI Wind U100 review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.  : Behold, the new Eee Box! Like the rest of the Eee bloodline, these varicolored desktop boxes are small, cheap and adorable (think AppleTV or Mac Mini). Intel's 1.6-GHz Atom processor, up to 2 GBs of memory, four USB ports, an SD card slot, 802.11n and Bluetooth are plenty for the Eee Box to hit that elusive "good enough" mark with aplomb. Once again, you'll get your choice of running either Linux or Windows XP. Then there's the size. While it does have a slightly larger overall footprint, it's much trimmer than the Mac Mini. Not only will this elegant 8.5 x 7 x 1-inch box fit anywhere, but you also have the choice of mounting it directly to the back of any extra monitor you happen to have lying around. To be clear, the Eee Box is not for sweaty frag fests or heavy-duty HD video decoding. But if you have a hankering for a killer kitchen PC or just an über-cheap second or third home PC that runs Linux or XP, it simply can't be beat. WIRED: Small, lightweight and cuter than a bowlful of kittens. More than enough processing power for everyday computing. Cheaper than an ounce of Da Kine bud. The option of running Splashtop for preboot access to Skype, web browsing and IM clients. TIRED: Where's the optical drive? No HDMI output, which actually doesn't matter much because there's also no hardware to decode acceleration. By itself, the Atom processor can barely handle 720p H.264 streams, dashing our hopes of this being the ultimate home-streaming box. $300 as tested, Asus
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Read our full Asus Eee Box review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.  : Iomega's own $190 solution for a filled DVR is a 500-GB drive that plays nice with two DVRs in particular: Scientific Atlanta's 80-GB standard definition 8300 and the more recent 160-GB 8300-HD model. We tested the drive out on the latter model and found it more or less did what it promised. It even worked with a neighbor's Series 3 TiVo, which (to its credit) is known for being something of an eSATA slut. Setup in both instances was quick and painless, and involved simply turning off the DVR, plugging in the Iomega drive, and then turning everything back on again. Voila, no more having to choose between Emmanuelle: The Art of Love and the latest episode of Mad Men. WIRED: Reasonably priced. Your grandmother could probably set it up. Instantly adds an additional 300 hours of SD TV, or 60 hours of HD content. TIRED: Only one way to connect the drive to a DVR (that would be eSATA). Limited compatibility, although Iomega claims the drive will work with future SA eSATA-enabled DVRs. No way of controlling what gets stored on the expander drive and what gets stored on the DVR. Transporting DVR'd content to your computer is verboten, and plugging the drive into a computer will automatically reformat it. $190, Iomega
Read our full Iomega DVR Expander Drive review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.  :
The Samsung U900, aka Soul, aka Magical Touch, doesn't really have any supernatural abilities. What it does have is a tiny, touch-sensitive OLED nav-pad that is one of the coolest, most efficient touch interfaces we've seen on a handset. The small display (situated below the main 2.2-inch QVGA screen) features icons that morph based on whatever application is currently on the screen. Switch to camera mode and controls for snapping pictures. Toggle to the music player and buttons for fast-forward, rewind, pause and play pop up. The big selling point is the phone's pocketability. The picture quality and dynamic range could be better (LED flash, we're talking about you), but at 0.5-inches thick and 7 ounces, this slider is more svelte than just about every 5-MP cam we've tested. Ultimately, our biggest complaint is that you cannot use the camera without sliding open the phone first. This design protects the lens from dust bunnies and pocket grime, yes, but shooting with a fully open device was a tad awkward at times. WIRED: External microSD slot makes it a cinch to swap cards on the fly. Bluetooth (+A2DP). Competent image-editing suite. Video editor allows you to layer additional audio tracks. Decent facial detection. Haptic feedback can be tweaked to three different levels of intensity or switched-off entirely. TIRED: Bundled proprietary ear buds sound duller than Ben Stein. No Xenon flash. No GPS. No WiFi. Lower-res video clips. Proprietary headphone jack positioned on the side = hard to pocket when phones are plugged in. Noticeable screen glare when outdoors. $400, Samsung
Photo: Issac Brekken/Wired.com Read our full Samsung SGH-U900 Soul "Magical Touch" review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.  : The biggest selling point of the new Sidekick is supposed to be the customizable "skins" you can order to replace the solid-color ones (we opted for jet black). But apart from flashy aesthetics, the pocket-friendly 2008 is 0.4-inches shorter and 0.9-ounces lighter than the pricier LX. It also packs features that were sorely missed with the tragically minimalist iD. Most notably, a 2.0-megapixel camera that can also capture video clips (albeit crappy ones). Though the 2.6-inch WQVGA swivel screen’s received a slight -- and necessary -- boost in pixels (400 x 240), the resolution’s still not fantastic. And neither is Bluetooth. We found data transfers not only paused the media player (annoying), but afterward, we had to go back and manually un-pause whatever track was playing (doubly annoying). For the price, though the 2008 is a solid option compared to the LX -- but only if you live and die by instant messaging and you don't mind being seen with Paris Hilton's device of choice in public. WIRED: Spacious, comfy QWERTY. 3.5-mm headphone jack. Surprisingly loud, radically clear music player. Wide screen excellent for web browsing. Solid battery life. Quick video recording/sharing. Comes with two skins (we got black and iridescent lime). Bluetooth with A2DP (great to have, even if it does disrupt tunes). TIRED: Screen retains more fingerprints than the Feds. No flash. No WiFi. Mike captures poor sound when recording video. Only 20-second video clips. Only 512-MB microSD card included. Apps are mostly in the $2.99+ range (except for the janky free Calculator). No 3-G. Price/maker: $150 (with 2-year contract), T-Mobile
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Read our full Sidekick review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.  : Cyclists know it's plum foolish to roll around on two wheels sans helmet, but it can be just as dangerous to bike about at night without a light. A good headlight affixed to your handlebars is just the thing to help cut through the murk and get you to your destination safely. Here we pit two of the top dogs on the market against each other and see which comes out on top. —Eric Smillie This one-watt LED cannon goes the extra mile, and we don't just mean it shoots light a ridiculous distance. Due in no small part to its particularly aggressive blinking mode, accurately called superflash, it didn’t just help us catch drivers' attentions; it had them anxiously craning their necks to check whether we were trying to pull them over. Drawing on only two AA batteries, this baby cuts down on weight but its CREE XR-E diode, coupled with a specially engineered Fraen lens, still pumps out the brightest light of all the lamps we tested -- enough to bounce off signs, license plates, and other reflective materials up to four blocks away, giving us plenty of time to make an impression. All we have to worry about now is whether some cop-hating, GTA IV-overdosing motorist trying to run us down. WIRED: Recessed switch only works if pressed firmly, which means it won’t turn on in your bag while you jostle your way to the bar, leaving you in the dark at closing time. Planet Bike spends 25 percent of its profits on bike advocacy. TIRED: The brightness and reduced weight come at a price: 20 hours of battery life in blinking mode, and only seven on high. Though it installs without the use of a tool, the handlebar bracket is tricky to tighten and slips easily. $50, Planet Bike
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.  : While not the sharpest bulb on our handlebars, the WhiteLite HP AA is in it for the long haul. Don’t get us wrong -- just like other 1-watt LED headlamps, this portable, all-in one lamp is more than a glorified blinky. When engineering this light, Topeak got all snippy, cutting the cords to one of its external power-pack lights and reengineered it to accept three AA batteries. Its widely diffused beam covers plenty of surface area and earned our trust by helping us dodge nasty potholes and tree roots on unlit paths. But where this guy really shines is in perseverance, by lasting 30 hours on high and a whopping 120 on flash. WIRED: The mounting bracket screws tight with a finger knob and adjusts five degrees left and right to get a straight aim even on angled handlebars, although it does require an Allen key to tighten. Little red LED signals when batteries are low. TIRED: Blinks come slowly and lack urgency in flashing mode. Pushing the rear on/off push button can rotate the mount and mess up the light angle. Sound like a small problem? It won't be when you look up just in time to face plant into the bumper of a lifted pickup. $60, Topeak
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.  : The E71 looks more like a Blackberry Killer, but don’t be fooled: This great white hope gives the iPhone a run for its money in a lot of different areas (yes, really). Despite its obvious lack of an oversize touchscreen interface, Nokia wins points for a remarkably trim profile (10mm vs. 12.3mm), decent 3.2-megapixel camera (instead of 2.0), and the fact it's not tied to any carrier (yet). Setting up Nokia's Mail for Exchange program required no IT help or time. QuickOffice let us create, edit and send Word/Excel/PowerPoint files on the fly while we browsed PDFs with Adobe Acrobat Reader. The E71 is stocked with enough apps and goodies to keep even the most overworked road warrior on the ball, but it didn't feel too "business" due to two separate customizable home screens. One is designed to house all of your work apps while the other is geared more toward entertainment with programs for audio, video and gaming. The phone's 2.36-inch, 320 x 240 QVGA display is only slightly smaller than the iPod classic's, and though the resolution can't top the iPhone's, with 15 fps, the E71 is still solid for YouTube clips. Oh, and did we mention the E71's got battery life for days? Yes, literally, three of them. WIRED: Up to 8 GB in an easy-to-access, external microSD slot. Quick and seamless OS. GPS, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth (you name it, it's basically got it). Vivid screen (even in direct sunlight). Textured stainless steel backing prevents slippage. Relatively lightweight (127 grams = six grams lighter than iPhone). Hit any letter on the QWERTY pad and predictive text calls up that section of your address book. TIRED: No standard 3.5-mm headphone jack. 3.2-megapixel camera's optics could be better. LED flash could be way better. N-Gage gaming platform not available. Screen's wide, but not wide enough to do a feature-length film justice. For $500, you could get two 8-GB, 3-G JesusPhones (with $100 left over to put toward AT&T's data plan). $500 (unlocked), Nokia
Photo: Max Buck/Wired.com Read our full Nokia E71 review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 4:00 am Gear Gallery: Shrinking Computers, DVR Expander and iPhone Competitors: Most of the new mini-laptops look like toys, educational tools or lab experiments in miniaturization, but the MSI Wind is an actual PC. Packing the latest 1.6-GHz Atom processor and a roomy 80-GB drive, the Wind boasts some legit PC cred. Yes, your iPod probably has more drive space, but 80 gigs was plenty not so long ago, and it's not like you're going to be producing HD video on this thing; it's more of an internet lapdog than a laptop. The 10-inch widescreen can display most fixed-width webpages comfortably, and its keyboard is large enough to house decent-size keys so you can type easily without resorting to Homer's dialing wand. While even some larger laptops are short on ports, the Wind finds room for three USBs, an SD slot and a display connector (take note, MacBook Air!). Of course, it's not perfect. We would have loved to see a DVD burner included, and with all its ports, a mini FireWire would be welcome. Also, don't expect high-end performance from the unit or hearty battery life from its slim, three-cell battery. But if you want a cheap and tiny companion for uploading pictures during a Malaysian jungle trek, or just a little buddy to hang out with you on the couch for IMDB searches, it's pretty hard to be against the Wind. WIRED: Grown-up looks (as opposed to "I want to sit at the big kids' table" found in other netbooks). Full keyboard and the largest screen among mini-notes. Plenty of ports to plug away at. 2.3-pound weight and rounded edges make it simple to pack and lug. TIRED: Lack of a DVD is understandable, but it still makes us cry a little. Hard drive sometimes makes mysterious swallowing sounds. Two-hour battery life is OK, but three would be better. $500, MSI Mobile
Photo: Jon Snyder/ Wired.com Read our full MSI Wind U100 review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily. : Behold, the new Eee Box! Like the rest of the Eee bloodline, these varicolored desktop boxes are small, cheap and adorable (think AppleTV or Mac Mini). Intel's 1.6-GHz Atom processor, up to 2 GBs of memory, four USB ports, an SD card slot, 802.11n and Bluetooth are plenty for the Eee Box to hit that elusive "good enough" mark with aplomb. Once again, you'll get your choice of running either Linux or Windows XP. Then there's the size. While it does have a slightly larger overall footprint, it's much trimmer than the Mac Mini. Not only will this elegant 8.5 x 7 x 1-inch box fit anywhere, but you also have the choice of mounting it directly to the back of any extra monitor you happen to have lying around. To be clear, the Eee Box is not for sweaty frag fests or heavy-duty HD video decoding. But if you have a hankering for a killer kitchen PC or just an über-cheap second or third home PC that runs Linux or XP, it simply can't be beat. WIRED: Small, lightweight and cuter than a bowlful of kittens. More than enough processing power for everyday computing. Cheaper than an ounce of Da Kine bud. The option of running Splashtop for preboot access to Skype, web browsing and IM clients. TIRED: Where's the optical drive? No HDMI output, which actually doesn't matter much because there's also no hardware to decode acceleration. By itself, the Atom processor can barely handle 720p H.264 streams, dashing our hopes of this being the ultimate home-streaming box. $300 as tested, Asus
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Read our full Asus Eee Box review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily. : Iomega's own $190 solution for a filled DVR is a 500-GB drive that plays nice with two DVRs in particular: Scientific Atlanta's 80-GB standard definition 8300 and the more recent 160-GB 8300-HD model. We tested the drive out on the latter model and found it more or less did what it promised. It even worked with a neighbor's Series 3 TiVo, which (to its credit) is known for being something of an eSATA slut. Setup in both instances was quick and painless, and involved simply turning off the DVR, plugging in the Iomega drive, and then turning everything back on again. Voila, no more having to choose between Emmanuelle: The Art of Love and the latest episode of Mad Men. WIRED: Reasonably priced. Your grandmother could probably set it up. Instantly adds an additional 300 hours of SD TV, or 60 hours of HD content. TIRED: Only one way to connect the drive to a DVR (that would be eSATA). Limited compatibility, although Iomega claims the drive will work with future SA eSATA-enabled DVRs. No way of controlling what gets stored on the expander drive and what gets stored on the DVR. Transporting DVR'd content to your computer is verboten, and plugging the drive into a computer will automatically reformat it. $190, Iomega
Read our full Iomega DVR Expander Drive review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily. :
The Samsung U900, aka Soul, aka Magical Touch, doesn't really have any supernatural abilities. What it does have is a tiny, touch-sensitive OLED nav-pad that is one of the coolest, most efficient touch interfaces we've seen on a handset. The small display (situated below the main 2.2-inch QVGA screen) features icons that morph based on whatever application is currently on the screen. Switch to camera mode and controls for snapping pictures. Toggle to the music player and buttons for fast-forward, rewind, pause and play pop up. The big selling point is the phone's pocketability. The picture quality and dynamic range could be better (LED flash, we're talking about you), but at 0.5-inches thick and 7 ounces, this slider is more svelte than just about every 5-MP cam we've tested. Ultimately, our biggest complaint is that you cannot use the camera without sliding open the phone first. This design protects the lens from dust bunnies and pocket grime, yes, but shooting with a fully open device was a tad awkward at times. WIRED: External microSD slot makes it a cinch to swap cards on the fly. Bluetooth (+A2DP). Competent image-editing suite. Video editor allows you to layer additional audio tracks. Decent facial detection. Haptic feedback can be tweaked to three different levels of intensity or switched-off entirely. TIRED: Bundled proprietary ear buds sound duller than Ben Stein. No Xenon flash. No GPS. No WiFi. Lower-res video clips. Proprietary headphone jack positioned on the side = hard to pocket when phones are plugged in. Noticeable screen glare when outdoors. $400, Samsung
Photo: Issac Brekken/Wired.com Read our full Samsung SGH-U900 Soul "Magical Touch" review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily. : The biggest selling point of the new Sidekick is supposed to be the customizable "skins" you can order to replace the solid-color ones (we opted for jet black). But apart from flashy aesthetics, the pocket-friendly 2008 is 0.4-inches shorter and 0.9-ounces lighter than the pricier LX. It also packs features that were sorely missed with the tragically minimalist iD. Most notably, a 2.0-megapixel camera that can also capture video clips (albeit crappy ones). Though the 2.6-inch WQVGA swivel screen’s received a slight -- and necessary -- boost in pixels (400 x 240), the resolution’s still not fantastic. And neither is Bluetooth. We found data transfers not only paused the media player (annoying), but afterward, we had to go back and manually un-pause whatever track was playing (doubly annoying). For the price, though the 2008 is a solid option compared to the LX -- but only if you live and die by instant messaging and you don't mind being seen with Paris Hilton's device of choice in public. WIRED: Spacious, comfy QWERTY. 3.5-mm headphone jack. Surprisingly loud, radically clear music player. Wide screen excellent for web browsing. Solid battery life. Quick video recording/sharing. Comes with two skins (we got black and iridescent lime). Bluetooth with A2DP (great to have, even if it does disrupt tunes). TIRED: Screen retains more fingerprints than the Feds. No flash. No WiFi. Mike captures poor sound when recording video. Only 20-second video clips. Only 512-MB microSD card included. Apps are mostly in the $2.99+ range (except for the janky free Calculator). No 3-G. Price/maker: $150 (with 2-year contract), T-Mobile
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Read our full Sidekick review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily. : Cyclists know it's plum foolish to roll around on two wheels sans helmet, but it can be just as dangerous to bike about at night without a light. A good headlight affixed to your handlebars is just the thing to help cut through the murk and get you to your destination safely. Here we pit two of the top dogs on the market against each other and see which comes out on top. —Eric Smillie This one-watt LED cannon goes the extra mile, and we don't just mean it shoots light a ridiculous distance. Due in no small part to its particularly aggressive blinking mode, accurately called superflash, it didn’t just help us catch drivers' attentions; it had them anxiously craning their necks to check whether we were trying to pull them over. Drawing on only two AA batteries, this baby cuts down on weight but its CREE XR-E diode, coupled with a specially engineered Fraen lens, still pumps out the brightest light of all the lamps we tested -- enough to bounce off signs, license plates, and other reflective materials up to four blocks away, giving us plenty of time to make an impression. All we have to worry about now is whether some cop-hating, GTA IV-overdosing motorist trying to run us down. WIRED: Recessed switch only works if pressed firmly, which means it won’t turn on in your bag while you jostle your way to the bar, leaving you in the dark at closing time. Planet Bike spends 25 percent of its profits on bike advocacy. TIRED: The brightness and reduced weight come at a price: 20 hours of battery life in blinking mode, and only seven on high. Though it installs without the use of a tool, the handlebar bracket is tricky to tighten and slips easily. $50, Planet Bike
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily. : While not the sharpest bulb on our handlebars, the WhiteLite HP AA is in it for the long haul. Don’t get us wrong -- just like other 1-watt LED headlamps, this portable, all-in one lamp is more than a glorified blinky. When engineering this light, Topeak got all snippy, cutting the cords to one of its external power-pack lights and reengineered it to accept three AA batteries. Its widely diffused beam covers plenty of surface area and earned our trust by helping us dodge nasty potholes and tree roots on unlit paths. But where this guy really shines is in perseverance, by lasting 30 hours on high and a whopping 120 on flash. WIRED: The mounting bracket screws tight with a finger knob and adjusts five degrees left and right to get a straight aim even on angled handlebars, although it does require an Allen key to tighten. Little red LED signals when batteries are low. TIRED: Blinks come slowly and lack urgency in flashing mode. Pushing the rear on/off push button can rotate the mount and mess up the light angle. Sound like a small problem? It won't be when you look up just in time to face plant into the bumper of a lifted pickup. $60, Topeak
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily. : The E71 looks more like a Blackberry Killer, but don’t be fooled: This great white hope gives the iPhone a run for its money in a lot of different areas (yes, really). Despite its obvious lack of an oversize touchscreen interface, Nokia wins points for a remarkably trim profile (10mm vs. 12.3mm), decent 3.2-megapixel camera (instead of 2.0), and the fact it's not tied to any carrier (yet). Setting up Nokia's Mail for Exchange program required no IT help or time. QuickOffice let us create, edit and send Word/Excel/PowerPoint files on the fly while we browsed PDFs with Adobe Acrobat Reader. The E71 is stocked with enough apps and goodies to keep even the most overworked road warrior on the ball, but it didn't feel too "business" due to two separate customizable home screens. One is designed to house all of your work apps while the other is geared more toward entertainment with programs for audio, video and gaming. The phone's 2.36-inch, 320 x 240 QVGA display is only slightly smaller than the iPod classic's, and though the resolution can't top the iPhone's, with 15 fps, the E71 is still solid for YouTube clips. Oh, and did we mention the E71's got battery life for days? Yes, literally, three of them. WIRED: Up to 8 GB in an easy-to-access, external microSD slot. Quick and seamless OS. GPS, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth (you name it, it's basically got it). Vivid screen (even in direct sunlight). Textured stainless steel backing prevents slippage. Relatively lightweight (127 grams = six grams lighter than iPhone). Hit any letter on the QWERTY pad and predictive text calls up that section of your address book. TIRED: No standard 3.5-mm headphone jack. 3.2-megapixel camera's optics could be better. LED flash could be way better. N-Gage gaming platform not available. Screen's wide, but not wide enough to do a feature-length film justice. For $500, you could get two 8-GB, 3-G JesusPhones (with $100 left over to put toward AT&T's data plan). $500 (unlocked), Nokia
Photo: Max Buck/Wired.com Read our full Nokia E71 review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily. Source: Wired: Gadgets | 8 Aug 2008 | 4:00 am Solar table made from teak and stainless steelThis handsome, expensive table has solar top that tilts up so you can charge its built-in batteries.
Place SunTable in a sunny outdoor location and it automatically stores backup energy. Get hours of power for laptops, cellphones, lights, radios, water purifiers, and more. Perfect for entertainment and vital during electrical blackouts.Sun Table: $2200.00 Source: Boing Boing | 8 Aug 2008 | 3:03 am Online social networking sites are hacker playgrounds (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Aug 2008 | 2:37 am Typos can bedevil online political campaigns (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Aug 2008 | 2:09 am How Phishers Think, Act, and Make a Profitwhitehartstag writes with a write up of "the excellent session at Black Hat that detailed 'how phishers create sites, share info and code, and basically are lazy.' They store their stolen data 'on websites that they have hacked into, or on [publically available] sites like guestbooks. And even worse, they are not protecting their stolen data ... which means that all one needs to do to find this info is to reverse engineer a real phisher's website, look at their PHP script, and find out where they are storing the data.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:29 am Spokeswoman: Bernie Mac responding to treatment (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Aug 2008 | 1:21 am Google believes $1B investment in AOL is crumblingIn an assessment that could lead to a substantial charge against its future profits, Google Inc. believes its $1 billion investment in advertising partner AOL is souring.Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:39 am "You're a Bad Mommy!" 1941 Fletcher's Castoria magazine advertisementThe blog "I'm Learning to Share!" asks, "How many things can you find wrong with this old magazine ad?"
"You're a Bad Mommy!" 1941 Fletcher's Castoria magazine advertisement Source: Boing Boing | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:24 am Emulex raises stock repurchase commitment by $100MEmulex Corp. is expanding a stock repurchase plan to help boost its shares as the data storage networking supplier battles a sales slowdown.Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:22 am Sapient posts higher 2Q profitTechnology consulting company Sapient Corp. said Thursday its second-quarter profit and revenue jumped sharply, beating Wall Street's expectations.Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:14 am French Reporters at Black Hat Hacked Fellow ReportersEven the journalists are hacking at the Las Vegas security conference, organizers charge, after ejecting three French reporters for allegedly snooping on their peers.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 8 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am MediaSentry Hired By People's Republic of ChinaNewYorkCountryLawyer writes "MediaSentry, now called 'SafeNet,' the RIAA's illegal, unlicensed investigator of choice, has been hired by the Peoples Republic of China to provide DRM for the Olympics coverage. The PRC says it 'owns exclusive rights to the broadcast of all audio and video content via online and mobile distribution channels across Mainland China' and wants to protect it from 'piracy.' I wonder if the Chinese government is aware of MediaSentry's track record — i.e. all the good things it has accomplished so far for the Big 4 record companies."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 7 Aug 2008 | 11:59 pm Mitsubishi Testing Its Cute EV in CaliforniaPacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison will put the i MiEV through its paces to see how a car designed for Japanese city driving would do in America.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 7 Aug 2008 | 11:21 pm Virgin Media aims for 40 times faster broadbandVirgin Media could be offering customers broadband at up to 200Mb per second by 2012, roughly 40 times faster than the average speed currently enjoyed by British web surfers, according to the cable company's...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 7 Aug 2008 | 11:13 pm Obituary: Ray WyreObituary: Trailblazing therapist with a unique approach to sex offendersSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 7 Aug 2008 | 11:06 pm Ohio Sues Over Missing Electronic Votesdstates writes "The Columbus Post Dispatch reports that the State of Ohio is suing Premier Election Systems (previously known as Diebold) over malfunctions in electronic voting machines. Election workers found that votes were 'dropped' in at least 11 counties when memory cards were uploaded to computer servers. The same voting machines are used nationwide. The company blames a conflict between their software and antivirus software for the problem and says that an advisory was issued on the subject. The Ohio lawsuit contends that the company made false representations and failed to live up to contractual obligations and seeks punitive damages."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 7 Aug 2008 | 10:47 pm 'Two Guys Drinking at a Bar' Parodies 'Lost, Galactica'A breezy web show loaded with booze, loopy punch lines and over-the-top credits spoofs some of the coolest sci-fi shows around.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 7 Aug 2008 | 10:20 pm Netbooks A Linux Stronghold? (Investor's Business Daily)Investor's Business Daily - Petite laptops with small screens and even tinier price tags may do more than shake up the computer hardware industry: They might loosen Microsoft's grip on the computer operating system.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 7 Aug 2008 | 10:01 pm How To Sell a Video Game Idea?fobsta writes "Do any Slashdotters have experience of selling video game ideas? I'm an artist who has programmed a rough-as-nails demo and animated a trailer to explain my concept. Obviously I think it's fun, it shows promise, and my friends think it's cool. Who should I pitch the idea to? Existing video games companies, venture capitalists, or what about those dentists who financed the Amiga? Are they still around? I've had a previous idea hijacked, and received no reward for it whatsoever; how can I prevent this happening again?"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:52 pm FCC Is Field Testing Devices to Gauge Interference With Theatrical Microphone Frequency (Playbill)Playbill - The Federal Communication Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) is currently field testing the performance of prototype White Space Devices, like laptops, which use the same free broadcast television spectrum as theatrical wireless microphones.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:21 pm Even computer security pros vulnerable to scams (AP)AP - Computer security professionals tend to be a highly paranoid bunch, seeing potential threats everywhere. It turns out that some aren't cautious enough, though.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:03 pm McCain Campaign Offers Rewards For Turn-Key CommentsAccording to a story at the Washington Post, John McCain's presidential campaign is offering more than moral suasion to fire people up for a McCain presidency; they're also offering ready-made snippets of rhetoric for interested supporters to supply under their own names in public comments to online news sources and forums. Such pre-written commentary by itself is neither new nor necessarily nefarious, but it seems a bit off-kilter that prolific commenters are eligible for rewards — not just campaign swag like hats and stickers, but higher-ticket items like a ride with McCain on his campaign bus. Probably a script could be whipped up to compare the canned suggestions on the site with "grassroots" comments on political news sites around the web.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:00 pm Digg This Story: Share Your Site's Content With ShareThisThe ShareThis widget, which can be embedded in any blog or webpage for free, is an easy way to encourage your readers to submit your content to all of the popular social networking and social news sites. It's easy to set up -- all you need is a little bit of JavaScript know-how and this guide from Webmonkey.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 7 Aug 2008 | 9:00 pm Airbus A380? Pfft. It's 747 v2.0Yeah, yeah. The Airbus A380 is one sweet plane. But Boeing did it all first with the 747 -- nearly 40 years ago.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 7 Aug 2008 | 8:50 pm Chertoff Misleads on Laptop Searches, Feingold ChargesIn an interview with Wired.com, Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff blatantly mischaracterized when border agents can search Americans' laptops, Sen. Russ Feingold charges. The Wisconsin Democrat says Congress needs to step in to protect Americans from intrusive searches of their electronics.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 7 Aug 2008 | 8:46 pm Dominate Your Son's Pinewood DerbyThe pinewood derby is more than a childhood game, its your son's reputation. Give your little speed racer an extra edge on the track by using physics to turn a piece of pinewood into a turbo blur. With some simple tweaks, you will show those cub scouts how fast a toy car can really go.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 7 Aug 2008 | 8:30 pm New Fingerprint Tech ID's ParticlesScientists find a new way to tease more clues out of fingerprints.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 7 Aug 2008 | 7:03 pm Female Guppies Risk Death to Avoid Males on the MakeFemale guppies swim in predator-laden waters to avoid pursuing males.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 7 Aug 2008 | 6:29 pm Neanderthal Bone Yields Complete Mitochondrial GenomeThe Neanderthal mitochondrial genome is sequenced from a 38,000-year-old bone.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 7 Aug 2008 | 4:01 pm Shakespearean Theater Possibly Found in LondonThe possible remains of a theater where "Romeo and Juliet" debuted is discovered.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 7 Aug 2008 | 3:01 pm Ancient Chariot Unearthed in BulgariaA complete chariot is found at the tomb of an ancient Thracian aristocrat.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 7 Aug 2008 | 2:01 pm Plasma Rocket May Be Tested at Space StationA new engine uses radio waves to create plasma to power a rocket through space.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 7 Aug 2008 | 1:32 pm
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As we convene the fifth annual Web 2.0 Summit, our world is fraught with problems that engineers might charitably classify as NP hard—from roiling financial markets to global warming, failing healthcare systems to intractable religious wars. In short, it seems as if many of our most complex systems are reaching their limits.
