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Celebrating Cereal and Consumerism - Iconic Images from Breakfast Foods (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Ryan Alexievs latest exhibition, The Land of 1000 cereals, showcases the Los Angeles-born artists uncanny knack of creating images of iconic figures using breakfast cereal. Pamela...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 3:20 pm Orbiting Space Junk - Images of Earth's Garbage Ring (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) The European Space Agency (ESA) has released a series of computer-generated pictures depicting our planet surrounded by millions and million pieces of space junk. Much like Saturn...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 2:40 pm Political Footwear - Sarah Palin Prefers Northface or Columbia, and People Actually Care (VIDEO)(TrendHunter.com) Sarah Palins eyewear is all the rage on the web. In fact, Trend Hunter was featured on both CNN and FOX News regarding Palins fashion. But what about her shoes? Will Sarah...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 2:39 pm Journals week in review: science from Nobel Intent - Ars Technica
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 13 Sep 2008 | 2:11 pm Scientists Test World's Fastest Wireless NetworkMojoKid writes "Scientists in Pisa, Italy claim to have set a new world record for the fastest wireless data transmission. They report that they were able to achieve throughput speeds above 1.2 Terabits per second, which they say beats the previous wireless data transmission speed record of 160 Gigabits per second by Korean scientists. The technology that the Pisa scientists utilized actually shares a significant similarity with fiber optics. Unlike Wi-Fi or microwave communications, which use radio-based transmissions, the Pisa scientists used a technology called free-space optical communications. In free space optics, an energy beam is collimated and transmitted through space rather than being guided through an optical cable."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 13 Sep 2008 | 2:05 pm On2 Technologies Unveils New Advanced Video Compression FormatOn2(R) video delivers over 50% bandwidth savings compared to leading H.264 implementations AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, and CLIFTON PARK, N.Y., Sept. 13 ...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 2:00 pm FACTBOX-Hurricane Ike lashes Texas coast, Houston - Reuters
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 13 Sep 2008 | 1:27 pm Examining Chrome's Source Code - Slashdot
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 13 Sep 2008 | 1:25 pm 51 Red Carpet Underwear Secrets You Need to Know (CLUSTER)(TrendHunter.com) While we ogle and admire celebrities for always managing to look stunning on the red carpet, we often dont consider its more than the dress, hair and makeup that complete the look...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 1:20 pm TC50: Japanese Companies Take The Role Of Representing AsiaJapan, the world's third biggest Internet market in terms of web users (following China and the US), disappointed at last year's TechCrunch40 conference with no company from Nippon presenting in San Francisco...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 1:04 pm Advanced Surveillance Tech for Unmanned Drones Credited In Iraqmathoda writes "Investigative reporter Bob Woodward states that America has developed secret capabilities 'to locate, target and kill key individuals in groups such as al-Qaeda in Iraq, the Sunni insurgency and renegade Shia militias, or so-called special groups. The operations incorporated some of the most highly classified techniques and information in the US government.' The LA Times now reports, 'As part of an escalating offensive against extremist targets in Pakistan, the United States is deploying Predator aircraft equipped with sophisticated new surveillance systems that were instrumental in crippling the insurgency in Iraq, according to US military and intelligence officials.' Part of the capabilities appear to be that the unmanned flying drones can track targets even inside of buildings." Update by J : Bruce Schneier's readers have some thoughts.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 13 Sep 2008 | 1:03 pm Weekly Wrapup, 8-12 September 2008Join us now for our weekly review of Web Technology news and reviews. This week we reported on the launch of Apple's iTunes 8, analyzed AOL's move to bring RSS and lifestreaming to the mainstream, and...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 1:00 pm Hurricane Ike Roars Through TexasHurricane Ike pounded Texas, causing flooded streets and burning buildings.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 13 Sep 2008 | 12:38 pm Examining Chrome's Source CodeAn anonymous reader writes "Chrome is open source, and there's clearly still some work to be done on it. In this article, Neil McAllister decided to take a peek under Chrome's hood and view it through the eyes of the developers who will improve and maintain it in the coming years. It seems Google's open source browser currently has much to offer prospective hackers — provided they use Windows. Quoting: 'The Chromium site explains how to download the source code for Linux, Mac OS X, or Windows. Unfortunately, if you're eagerly awaiting a Mac version of Chrome, you shouldn't hold your breath. As the Mac OS X area of the Chromium developer site explains, "Right now, the Mac build is a work in progress that is much closer to the start than the finish." In fact, according to the latest status report, the Chrome developers have yet to get even the browser core running under Mac OS X. Rendering actual Web pages is still a long way off, to say nothing of a usable Aqua GUI. Then again, the Linux version is in arguably even worse shape.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 13 Sep 2008 | 12:04 pm Apple improves security in iPhone 2.1 (Macworld.com)Macworld.com - Among the many improvements to the iPhone with the 2.1 software update posted on Friday are changes meant to enhance security on the device. Apple has provided details about what's changed. All of the changes affect security issues noted for iPhone 2.0 through 2.0.2 software releases. None of the problems affect iPhone software prior to 2.0.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Sep 2008 | 11:45 am Obama tones it down as Hurricane Ike pounds Texas (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Sep 2008 | 11:44 am Virginia Anti-Spam Law Overturned, Spammer Walks - Washington Post
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 13 Sep 2008 | 11:35 am Sea Eagles Kill 200 Lambs, Crofters ClaimBy SHAN ROSS CROFTERS who claim their lambs have been killed by sea eagles released into the wild in Scotland have demanded the birds are captured to avoid any more deaths.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Sep 2008 | 11:00 am Elton John Tickets On Sale MondayThe time to begin purchasing tickets on Monday for the Oct. 15 Elton John concert at the Giant Center in Hershey has been moved up an hour, to 11 a.m. Tickets are $97.00 and $67.00 plus handling fees.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Sep 2008 | 11:00 am Jaime Richards Column: ID Theft Risk All Around UsBy Jaime Richards I'M NOT in Africa! Let me explain: I was awakened last Saturday by a friend with whom I had once worked. She was concerned.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Sep 2008 | 11:00 am Social Networks for Beer Drinkers - BrewSocial (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Beer drinkers, rejoice--a beer garden just opened in the social network neighborhood, and theres a stool reserved just for you. BrewSocial combines the online fun of social networking...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 9:20 am Mesmerizing Performance-Based Hobbies - Contact Juggling (VIDEO)(TrendHunter.com) The mesmerizing hobby of contact juggling simply must be seen to be believed; it bears almost no resemblance to the standard sideshow novelty jugglers were used to seeing. Rather...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 9:00 am NYC Opens 911 Hotline To Pictures, VideoAnti-Globalism brings news that New York City has set up a system to accept pictures and videos for their 911 and non-emergency hotlines. The files can come from cell phones, computers, and PDAs. Quoting: "Tipsters in New York City can now send photos and video ... to report crimes and quality-of-life issues such as potholes, officials announced Tuesday. Depending on the case, the images may be shared widely with the public, with police officers on patrol, individual detectives or other law enforcement agencies, according to city officials. The images may also be used to help in assessing and responding to emergencies."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:52 am Travel Hot Spots - The Door to Hell in Turkmenistan (VIDEO)(TrendHunter.com) In the middle of the desert near Darvaz, Turkmenistan, there is a giant hole in the ground that locals refer to as The Door To Hell. One look at this hot spot justifies this distinction...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:40 am Edible Video Game Art - Super Mario Wedding Cake (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) I imagine that this Super Mario Kart wedding cake was heartbreaking to cut despite the happiness of the occasion for which it was made. The wedding cake itself is black chocolate...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:20 am U.S. Gets a C on Terror Effort / Those Involved in 9/11 Panel Say Threats Remain: 'We Are Still Dangerously Vulnerable'Seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the federal government has made only limited progress toward preventing a catastrophic nuclear, biological or chemical attack on U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Cud Goes BurplessBy Anonymous Cows may seem miniscule when it comes to a warming globe, yet a single cow can produce 550-700 liters of methane a day from belching. In the United Kingdom (UK) it has been estimated that cattle could be responsible for about 3% of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Back to School, Bacteria FreeBy Strausfogel, Sherrie Find out how to leave germs behind as your kids head back to school.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Fingerprints Go High-TechBy Castelvecchi, Davide New tests can reveal signs of explosives, drugs Fingerprints can tell a lot more about people - what they've touched, what they've eaten, what drugs they've taken - than just their identities.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am What's Going On Around HereLONG BEACH Young composers can enter scholarship contest Schooled in Song, in conjunction with the Arts Council for Long Beach, is offering scholarships for high school and undergraduate students who compose and perform original music in Long Beach.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Dr. FluorideBy Rindfleisch, Terry Dr. Richard Strand has been seeing dental patients in La Crosse for 45 years. At the age of 73, he still practices dentistry part time and has seen some patients for more than 35 years.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Caged River: A Pussycat Turned TigerA report blames the "caging" of the Kosi River in northern India for disastrous flooding in the state of Bihar.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am The GREEN Movement and the Forest Products IndustryBy Bowyer, Jim L Once nouvelle, green has now moved into the mainstream, reconfiguring the playing field for businesses large and small.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Recycle a Good IdeaWhen it comes to trash, Virginia sounds like a typical overeater. It'd like to reduce, but that doesn't mean it will take the hard steps necessary to cut back. In this case, that would mean what for many Virginia lawmakers is the hardest step of all: raising more money.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Making New ConnectionsBy Hardman, Chris ON A SATURDAY morning in El Alto, Bolivia, a group of men and women at the Internet cafe Scorpio stare intently at computer screens.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Colonial Avenue Baptist Members Take Mission TripThirty-two members of Colonial Avenue Baptist Church went on a mission trip to Inner-City Pittsburgh July 20-25th. The trip was part of the Hooked for Life program that fishing, faith and family. For more photos and more on the program, see The Notebook on swo-co- com.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Conference CalendarBy Anonymous October 2008 October 3-4, 2008. Council for Learning Disabilities, 30th International Conference on Learning Disabilities. Kansas City, MO. Contact: 913/491-1011; e-mail: CLDInfo@ie-events.com; Web site: http://www.cldinternational.org. October 8-10, 2008.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Botetourt SchoolsBACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT: CENTRAL ACADEMY Central Academy held Back to School Night on Monday, September 8.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Mobile Computing Initiatives Within Pharmacy EducationBy Cain, Jeff Bird, Eleanora R; Jones, Mikael Objectives. To identify mobile computing initiatives within pharmacy education, including how devices are obtained, supported, and utilized within the curriculum. Methods.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am New Wind Turbine Video OnlineBy Anonymous Onset Computer Corporation, the "HOBO" data-logger company, has produced an on-demand video available on the company's Web site entitled, "Monitoring Wind Turbine Efficiency." The video (available at www.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Modular multi-compartment fridge for student housesThis concept (?) fridge from Electrolux uses modular stacking mini-units to provide personal refrigeration compartments for everyone in the household -- it's designed for shared student accomodation:Electrolux Flatshare fridge designed for squabbling students (via Cribcandy) Source: Boing Boing | 13 Sep 2008 | 7:30 am Little Brother in the New York TimesAustin "Soon I Will Be Invincible" Grossman's written a fantastic review of my young adult novel Little Brother for this weekend's New York Times book review section. Incidentally, the book went into a fifth hardcover printing last week, and is going back for a sixth printing next week because so many orders came in between the fifth printing being set up and it being delivered!BTW, if I'm not mistaken, there are still some signed first-edition hardcovers in stock at Bakka Books in Toronto and Borderlands in San Francisco, and both stores ship. Nerd Activists Source: Boing Boing | 13 Sep 2008 | 7:28 am Higgs Boson plush toy Particle Zoo sells this adorable cuddly Higgs Boson for your kid's crib or your cubicle. No way to tell from the photo if it's very massy or just moving very fast in another spatial dimension. Higgs Boson (via Wonderland) Source: Boing Boing | 13 Sep 2008 | 7:18 am Mounties review Tasers, conclude that they're dangerous, misused and under-researchedLoraksus sez, "The recently released report about Taser use by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is quite interesting. Not only did they find that RCMP did an "inadequate" review of the literature available on Tasers and had an 'overreliance' on anecdotal information., but they also tore into 'excited delirium', saying'ED should be considered 'folk knowledge'' and '...should not be included in the RCMP's operational manual' It looks like the use of Tasers in a "ensuring compliance" role is diminishing. In most of Canada at least.""Perhaps there would have been a delay in implementation, or at least a limited deployment (e.g., to supervisors or their designates and to tactical squads)."RCMP relied too much on Taser manufacturer info: report (Thanks, Loraksus!)
See also: Taser death at Vancouver Airport Source: Boing Boing | 13 Sep 2008 | 7:16 am Ukelele covers of Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive" from PortalCheck out these awesome ukelele covers of Jonathan Coulton's Still Alive, the closing song from Portal, one of the most original and genuinely witty games I've seen since Katamari Damacy. I'm especially fond of the mop-haired kid in the Cyberdog tee, and the lady below is no slouch, either, she's the Angus from AC/DC of videogame uke covers! “Still Alive” ukulele covers (via Wonderland) Source: Boing Boing | 13 Sep 2008 | 7:11 am Phoenix Mars mission races against clock -- and waning sunlightScientists with the NASA project are hoping to finish their experiments before the dark and cold of the Martian winter cause the demise of the solar-powered lander. ...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 7:00 am Ancient graves in Greece shed light on early MacedoniaGold jewelry, weapons and pottery are found near Pella, birthplace of the kingdom's legendary leader Alexander the Great. ...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 7:00 am Integrated circuit is 50 years old - CNET News
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 13 Sep 2008 | 6:17 am University Brings Charges Against White Hat Hackeraqui writes "A university student at Carleton is learning that no good deed goes unpunished. After hacking into what was probably a not-so-secure university network, this guy took the time to write a 16-page paper on his methods and sent it to the system admins. Sounds like White Hat behavior to me. Yes, he should have asked permission before trying, but throwing the book at the guy and wrecking his life with criminal charges (which stick for a long time) seems a little excessive. The university should spend money on hiring some admins with better computer skills and teaching skills rather than paying lawyers. In the Engineering department at my old university, the unofficial policy was that when you broke in, didn't damage anything, and reported the problem and how you broke in, they didn't charge you (if you maliciously caused damage, you usually faced academic sanctions). In some cases, the students were hired or they 'volunteered' for the summer to help secure the servers or fix the hole they found. The result was that Engineering ended up with one of the most secure systems in the university." Read on for the rest of aqui's comments.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 13 Sep 2008 | 5:40 am Commentary: Suffolk Off LineTwo years ago, Long Island officials slapped themselves on the back at a press conference in Woodbury, smiling into news cameras and offering comments to the local reporters.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Sep 2008 | 5:00 am Technology: Google Gaffe Forces LaunchGoogle suffered a PR setback last week when it was forced to launch its new web browser earlier than intended. Google Chrome is the company's first internet browser and was designed to make surfing the web faster andsimpler.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Sep 2008 | 5:00 am NIN Dazzles With Lasers, LEDs and Stealth ScreensA vast wall of swirling static dances appears on a giant screen as Trent Reznor and his band launch into their song, "Only." Initially obscured by this sea of visual white noise, the Nine Inch Nails front man intermittently appears to push through the particles of snow with his hands and body, popping in and out of view and opening up random tunnels in the chaos. "Sometimes, I think I can see right through myself," he sings. Nine Inch Nails fans are accustomed to such sonic and visual feasts whenever Reznor and company go out on tour. But this time around, NIN has pulled out all the stops, creating a groundbreaking, fully interactive visual display that is as much a part of the show as the band's instruments. "I'm not really a purist," admits Reznor. "If I'm in the studio working on an album, I try to only please myself. But when it's a tour, it feels a bit more like I have a responsibility to some degree to entertain people." 
Reznor and other band members use Lemurs during the "electronic set." The touchscreen devices can be used to control a range of audio and visual aspects of the show on the fly.
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com For the band's current Lights in the Sky tour, Reznor has not only raised the bar for what's possible in an arena tour, but has also produced what could arguably be one of the most technologically ambitious rock productions ever conceived. Unlike most rock shows, the visuals for about 40 percent of the show (including "Only") aren't pre-rendered. There's no staging, no pantomiming by band members: It's all interactive, live and rendered on the fly. With more than 40 tons of lighting and stage rigging, hundreds of LED lights, a daunting array of professional and custom-built machinery running both archaic and standard commercial VJ software, three different video systems and an array of sensors and cameras, the tour is nothing if not a lavish display of techno wizardry. According to Reznor, it all started with a relatively simple idea. "I wanted to see how I could use video as an instrument," he says, "and try to really make the stage feel like it's organic -- like it's part of the overall set." Judging from initial reactions to the show, the band has done just that. Reviews have called LiTS everything from a "vision of splendor" to "the pinnacle of video art," and nowhere is Reznor's showmanship and willingness to tinker with new technologies more apparent than in the band's current tour. 
NIN programmer and keyboardist Alessandro Cortini stands in back of the giant stealth screen during sound check. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Transparent Screens The core of the show is a sophisticated trio of transparent "stealth" screens, which are raised and lowered during the performance. Using one high-resolution (1024 x 288) Barco D7 screen -- basically, an opaque, computer-controlled screen comprised of a tiny LED system on modular panels -- and two lower-resolution semitransparent screens up front, Reznor and other band members are able to trigger and control various video loops and effects directly from the stage. The musicians can also interact directly with those visuals onscreen during the show, thanks to a sophisticated array of sensors and cameras. For the most part, those visuals come from Reznor and Rob Sheridan, Reznor's creative partner and the art director for NIN. But the two had considerable help from a few outside parties in putting together the production. Roy Bennet, a veteran lighting designer who worked with Reznor on the Downward Spiral and Fragile tours, designed and put together the LiTS set according to Trent's initial specs. It was also Bennet who suggested bringing in the other key part to the show, a company called Moment Factory. Responsible for the technology driving most of the interactive tech elements, Moment Factory is a boutique Canadian outfit that's worked on a number of Cirque du Soleil shows and has produced other industrial visual installations. For the interactive portions of the show, all the onscreen video is rendered by Moment Factory's custom rig, a trio of Linux-based devices collectively known as "the brain." "They build what they call games," Reznor explains. "Each [interactive] song might have two or three settings ... or games. It's basically particle-based animation." Those particles can interact with any of the various inputs Reznor and the band have selected. 
Known simply as "the brain," this rig is Moment Factory's custom-built Linux machine that runs all of the interactive visuals audience members see during the show. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Interactive Lasers With the song "Only," for instance, the front, convex screen starts out as solid static. On Reznor's side of the display, a laser above him detects whenever he crosses a vertical plane paralleling the screen. On the floor, a piece of tape and two tiny LED lights let him know exactly where that plane is. As Reznor intersects that plane with his hand or body, the laser tracks his X and Y coordinates. The "brain" box then tells the particles to spread out to a predetermined dispersal pattern. Reznor says: "Then it follows me around. If I leave the plane, it fills back in. If I push through, it comes back out." The band uses the same tech for another song later in the show called "Echoplex," from The Slip album. Like many other NIN songs, it's based around a drum machine beat. After rehearsing live a few times with real drums, Reznor realized it sounded better sounded with a machine. "We recreated a grid drum sequencer," he says. "[Drummer Josh Freese] is actually touching and turning them on and off. But he's not really touching the screen. He's crossing the same laser on the back screen, which gets calibrated at sound check." The end effect is so seamless, most people assume the band is simply pantomiming to a pre-rendered video, or has actually somehow installed a gigantic touchscreen sequencer on a backstage wall. "We went through so much effort to make this stuff interactive and people still think it's all staged," jokes Sheridan. 
Reznor pushes through a cloud of static onscreen during the band's performance of "Only." Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Problems With the Hippotizer As with any production of this magnitude, there are also the inevitable glitches and hiccups. According to Reznor and Sheridan, many of those can be traced back to an archaic Windows machine known as the Hippotizer, as well as an antiquated lightning console that it interacts with called the Grand Ma. At one point, during the band's recent Red Rocks, Colorado, performance the Hippotizer choked and spit out some text from the machine's video-labeling system. NIN fans immediately began dissecting still shots from a video someone had taken, and a three-page discussion ensued on NIN forums trying to decipher what the secret text meant. "It was all just that stupid fucking Hippotizer getting the wrong trigger ... something from the lighting desk just misfired," Sheridan says. But Reznor, who is an unabashed Mac fan, is also playful about having to partially rely on Windows boxes for some of the show's visuals. "We purposefully put one frame of the Blue Screen of Death in this collage of static that comes up at the end of 'Great Destroyer,' and right away people caught it," he says. For the next leg of the tour, Sheridan is working to permanently move the entire lighting and visual system over to a Mac rig running ArKaos VJ software. 
Moment Factory's world of cameras. During a performance of "Terrible Lie," one camera directly records the stage and then runs that video through a special effect. That video is then re-projected back onto one of the screens, producing a cool real-time ghosting effect of the band members. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Tying Everything Together While work on the arena show didn't officially begin until last fall, Reznor says the bones of the tour date back to his 2005 With Teeth tour. "A trap I realized with NIN was that I could go out and play aggressive music where everyone jumps up and down. But if I wanted to try to bring in some of the other stuff I've been doing -- whether it be electronic or something ambient sounding -- it's tough to take an audience that's been trained to bang their heads to then sit back and think for a minute," he says. So with the help of Sheridan, Reznor stumbled on the idea of using transparent screens. That system allowed him to augment his wide-ranging portfolio of music with visuals he and Sheridan created. In turn, those visuals helped tie everything together -- or at least kept people from whipping out their cellphones or walking off to grab a beer during the "slow songs." 
Reznor appears backstage before the Oakland show. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Currently, Reznor and the band are on a brief two-week hiatus, before taking the Lights in the Sky tour down to South America and then weaving back up through the States, where they'll finish up the American portion in mid-December. There are also talks between NIN and director James Cameron to film the show in 3-D ("to at least have proof when U2 rips us off next year that we did it first," Reznor says), and the band also has been in ongoing discussions with HBO for a Year Zero miniseries which would launch in conjunction with a second album and an alternate-reality game. When asked about his future plans for touring, after the Lights in the Sky wraps up, Reznor says the next series of shows may be a different beast altogether. "Next time might just be white lights in a club and it's about the music," he says. "Because I'll be broke and that's all I'll have."
Source: Wired Top Stories | 13 Sep 2008 | 4:00 am What Modern Games Are DRM-Free?IceDiver writes "I used to be an avid PC gamer. However, I have only bought 1 game in the last 18 months because I am sick and tired of the problems caused by the various intrusive, and sometimes damaging DRM schemes game publishers insist on forcing upon their customers. Once burned, twice shy! The EA announcement that upcoming releases will include SecuROM, along with verification requirements and major restrictions on installations left me wondering which recently released or upcoming games (particularly major titles) are being released without DRM? Are there any? How has DRM affected your game purchasing? Will EA be negatively affected by their DRM decision?" The ongoing DRM controversy was stirred by the recent launch of Spore. We discussed the public outcry from Amazon's reviews (which were subsequently taken down and then re-posted). EA's response to the outcry was to say that only one percent of accounts tried to activate the game more than three times, which is the limit without help from their customer service. Meanwhile, their efforts to find a "balance" between preventing piracy and not hampering legal users may not have been as successful as they hoped. According to Forbes, a P2P research firm found that illegal copies of Spore had been downloaded over 170,000 times already. So, is it time to create a whitelist for game publishers and developers?Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 13 Sep 2008 | 3:30 am Automation Alley Recognizes Technology Leaders at Eighth Annual Awards GalaStempel Receives Legend CEO Honor TROY, Mich., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Automation Alley, Michigan's largest technology association driving growth in Southeast...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 3:00 am Inspecting YouTube's ban on "drug abuse" videos - Los Angeles Times
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 13 Sep 2008 | 2:29 am Telco Sues Municipality For Laying Their Own Fiberunreceivedpacket writes "Ars Technica reports that a company called TDS Telecom is attempting to sue the town of Monticello, Minnesota for deploying their own fiber network. Shortly after the town voted to lay the fiber, TDS Telecom filed suit and notified the town that they would be deploying their own fiber network. The telco has recently responded to Ars Technica, saying they only sued to save Monticello from itself, apparently feeling that the municipality is unprepared for the onerous costs of maintaining such a network, and would lack the expertise to do so."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 13 Sep 2008 | 1:28 am Gallery: 10 YouTube Videos Destined for the Big Screen : YouTube's biggest tear-jerker may soon be wrenching sobs from big-screen viewers. Sony Pictures has its claws in Christian the Lion, a clip of grainy footage showing a pair of animal lovers reuniting with their adopted cub in Africa. John Rendall and Anthony Bourke, the duo who adopted the cat from a high-end London department store in the late '60s, are currently in negotiations with the studio to option their book detailing the experience. From the lightsaber role-playing of the Star Wars Kid to the brawl on the savannah in Battle at Krueger, here are some of the viral video hits ripe for release in theaters. Which short destined-for-the-silver screen did we skip over? Submit your picks in the comments below. Left: Miss South Carolina 2007 Beauty queen Lauren Upton's bungled response to a question about education during 2007's Miss Teen USA competition drew gasps from the audience -- and more than 30 million views on YouTube. Upton's on-camera gaffe won her instant internet fame and notoriety, but she still managed to nab third runner-up in the contest (and high-profile gigs like a cameo in Weezer's "Pork and Beans" music video and the 2007 MTV's Video Music Awards). Her public embarrassment and rebound are prime for a Hollywood makeover a la Legally Blonde. DVD Bonus Features: Behind-the-scenes featurette with contest host Mario Lopez on his point-of-view; mumble-along music video of the mangled speech.  : Charlie Bit My Finger Chubby-cheeked baby Charlie's penchant for nibbling big brother Harry's finger has captured the hearts -- and eyes -- of more than 50 million YouTubers. It's also led us to wonder if the internet clip could serve as inspiration for a good, old-fashioned horror flick about a baby gone bad -- like Pet Cemetery, Children of the Corn or The Omen. DVD Bonus Features: Sequel to Charlie Bit My Finger -- Charlie Bit My Finger ... Off.  : Star Wars Kid The trials and tribulations of an awkward teenager sound like something out of a Judd Apatow feature, so why not give it the full treatment -- starring the likes of Michael Cera (who already spoofed the video on Arrested Development), Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen? DVD Bonus Features: Ghyslain speaks.  : Charlie the Unicorn Who knew unicorns could be surly? Charlie's psychedelic voyage to Candy Mountain feels all too short at four minutes. Hollywood could turn his subterranean battle with kidney snatchers into a horror flick -- kind of The Descent meets Turistas. DVD Bonus Features: What really happened in Candy Mountain featurette.  : Shoes Foul-mouthed valley girl Kelly and her curmudgeonly family would make a great feature-length film a la Welcome to the Dollhouse. We’d cast funnyfolk Amy Sedaris and Will Ferrell to play the twins. DVD Bonus Features: Liam Sullivan performs live as Kelly.  : Brokeback to the Future Of the slew of parodies and mashups inspired by Ang Lee's 2005 Oscar-winning drama Brokeback Mountain, Brokeback to the Future is the most entertaining. Which is exactly why we propose a feature-length fourth installment of the Back to the Future franchise -- just add a couple scenes featuring Hoverboards, Crispin Glover and a souped-up DeLorean sporting a flux capacitor, and Brokeback to the Future might just give Dark Knight a run for its money. DVD Bonus Features: Deleted scenes -- including steamy DeLorean make-out sesh where overzealous groping accidentally depresses the gas pedal, sending Marty and Doc into the future to confront the tree of life a la The Fountain.  : Chocolate Rain YouTube keyboardist Tay Zonday, nee Adam Nyerere Bahner, wowed audiences in 2007 with a keyboard-fueled baritone rendition of his original song, Chocolate Rain. His dorm room-to-Dr. Pepper endorsement deal is a success story that would make for a compelling tale for the after-school set. DVD Bonus Features: All the Chocolate Rain covers that have surfaced on the net --- from Chad Vader to Green Day drummer Tre Cool.  : Battle at Kruger The nearly nine-minute home video of nature gone wild would be even better in Imax. Think March of the Penguins meets Planet Earth, but with more action and narrated by excitable Australian tourists seeing animals for the first time. DVD Bonus Features: Whatever Happened to Baby Buffalo? follow-up finds him crashing with friends in Park Slope auditioning for Hepatitis PSAs and lampooning the entertainment business as "so phony."  : Potter Puppet Pals No Harry Potter until 2009? No problem. Potterphiles could get their Hogwarts fix with these twisted marionette substitutes tackling a host of subjects, from sensuous potions lectures to wizardy angst. That is, until puberty makes the finger that plays Harry Potter too big to be believable and a success-induced identity crisis leads to some risqué hand modeling. DVD Bonus Features: Behind the Couch featurette.  : Evolution of Dance A bleak look into dancer Judson Laipply's fictionalized early life, called Dancer in the Dark, reveals loss, drug abuse and an early adulthood spent in a desolate Russian work camp, wrongfully accused. As the film's narrative finds Laipply rebuilding his life through his love of dance, leading towards the cathartic performance that would bring joy to almost a billion viewers across the world, the film suddenly cuts to the video for Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up." The first feature length Rick Roll is born and audiences delight in encouraging friends to see it by saying it's "Oscar-worthy." DVD Bonus Features: Clips of audience reactions in theaters as they are rolled. 
Source: Wired Top Stories | 13 Sep 2008 | 1:00 am Sophie Can Walk: documentary on babies born without ability to walk.
Sophie Can Walk is a tour-de-force of cinematic advocacy greater than An Inconvenient Truth and a Michael Moore montage combined -- a film that speaks out bravely, albeit in a cute little googoo voice, against the prejudice faced by baby-Americans born without the ability to walk. Above, the YouTube low-rez; here's a better quality version. (thanks, Sepideh!). Source: Boing Boing | 13 Sep 2008 | 12:42 am (BBtv) BB Gadgets' Joel at Outside Lands: Crowdfire deconstructedBoing Boing Gadgets editor Joel Johnson checks out Crowdfire, a sort of real-life social media experiment at the Outside Lands Music fest. The experiment allows concertgoers to upload, share, remix, and "favorite" photos, audio and video they shot themselves... during the event. Some of that media was projected on the stage while bands played, and all of it was made available online. Crowdfire (with Windows) is Boing Boing tv's sponsor this month, and the project was the brainchild of BB partner and FM founder/CEO John Battelle and Rick Farman, the festival developer who created Outside Lands. Crowdfire is sort of like an event-centric Flickr or videosharing site, but on a very large scale -- some 60K+ people attended the concert each day, and as Battelle said, probably 59,000 of them were carrying cameraphones.
Link to Boing Boing tv blog post with downloadable video, discussion, and BBtv video podcast subscription instructions. Related BBtv episodes:
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Carney at Outside Lands - a "Boing Boing tv Bus Session."
(Special thanks to Bre and Wayne for the bus; to Virgin America for generously providing air transportation) Source: Boing Boing | 13 Sep 2008 | 12:33 am Velocars - microcars that are pedal powered
Over at Dinosaurs and Robots, I dipped a toe into the vast world of velocars, velomobiles and other pedal powered craft. As is often the case on the interdoodles, there is a fascinating world of diehard pedal automobile enthusiasts out there just waiting to share their passion. Velocars at Dinosaurs and Robots Source: Boing Boing | 13 Sep 2008 | 12:19 am Comcast reaches deal to to beef up its Fancast entertainment sitecontent providers to offer their shows on its entertainment website, Fancast.com. The Philadelphia-based cable operator has inked deals with ABC, CW, Showtime, HBO and the Food NetworkSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 12:17 am Flip camera tilt-shift visual experiments Reid Gershbein says: "I have just taken the low quality video from a flip camera and was seeing how interesting I could quickly make it with some inspiration from tilt-shift techniques." Flip Camera Tilt-Shift Visual Experiments Source: Boing Boing | 13 Sep 2008 | 12:08 am HYSTA Announces 2008 Annual Conference - 'China Beyond the Olympics'SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- HYSTA (Hua Yuan Science and Technology Association) will present its highly acclaimed annual conference on Saturday, October 4,Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Sep 2008 | 12:06 am Martin K. Tytell, Typewriter Wizard, Dies at 94 Beyond an average repairman, Tytell was an artisan of the typewriter. He built a hieroglyphics typewriter for a curator, musical note machines for musicians and recreated Alger Hiss' typewriter, flaws and all, thus killing the legal argument that each machine had a unique fingerprint. From the New York Times: When he retired in 2000, Mr. Tytell had practiced his recently vanishing craft for 70 years. For most of that time, he rented, repaired, rebuilt, reconfigured and restored typewriters in a second-floor shop at 116 Fulton Street in Lower Manhattan, where a sign advertised “Psychoanalysis for Your Typewriter.” From a 1997 Atlantic Monthly article by Ian Frazier: At about that time he added a new service to his business -- converting American-made typewriters to foreign alphabets for the stationery department at Macy's department store. He did these jobs on short notice and fast. Macy's would tell a customer that they could provide a typewriter in the customer's language before he left town; then Martin would remove the type from an American typewriter, solder on new type for the alphabet desired, and put new lettering on the keyboard. Usually he converted to Spanish or French, not difficult jobs, but he did Russian, Greek, and German, too. He found that by adding an idle gear he bought for forty-five cents on Canal Street, he could make a typewriter go from right to left. That enabled him to do Arabic and other right-left languages such as Hebrew and Farsi. I hope the Smithsonian is calling the Tytell family right now. New York Times Obit - Martin K. Tytell (Thanks, Ron!) Typewriter Man from The Atlantic Monthly Photo Credit: Patrick Burns/The New York Times (Mister Jalopy is a guest blogger!) Source: Boing Boing | 13 Sep 2008 | 12:03 am Former Woman Astronaut Keynote Speaker at Carnival Cruise Lines Science Building DedicationMIAMI, Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was issued by St. Thomas University: WHAT: Dedication of the Carnival Cruise Lines Science and Technology...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:58 pm TJX hacker pleads guilty as charged - VNUNet.com
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:53 pm 12 Mobile Devices From CTIA Wireless Fall 2008 - CRN
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:52 pm Turkish Police Arrest Alleged ATM Hacker-KidnapperTurkish officials nabbed an alleged ATM-hacking kingpin, according to news reports. The hacker, named Cha0, allegedly tortured an informer and said not even the FBI could catch him.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:46 pm 'Spore' doing well in first week (CNET)CNET - In its first week on the market, the long-awaited evolution game, Spore, from Electronic Arts and The Sims creator Will Wright seems to be holding its own at retail.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:42 pm Yahoo hosts developers at Open Hack 2008 - InfoWorld
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:33 pm Cloud Computing May Draw Government Actionsnydeq brings us this excerpt from InfoWorld: "Cloud computing will soon become an area of hot debate in Washington, as the increasing popularity of cloud-based services is putting pressure on policy makers to answer tough questions on the privacy and security of data in the cloud. For example: Who owns the data that consumers store on the network? Should law enforcement agencies have easier access to personal information in the cloud than data on a personal computer? Do government procurement regulations need to change to allow agencies to embrace cloud computing? So far, US courts have generally ruled that private data stored in the cloud doesn't enjoy the same level of protection from law enforcement searches that data stored on a personal computer does, said Ari Schwartz, COO of the Center for Democracy and Technology. 'I do think government has an almost infinite ability to screw up things when they can't see the future,' former Bill Clinton tech policy adviser Mike Nelson added. 'We have to have leadership that believes in empowering users and empowering citizens.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:31 pm Handset maker Qiao Xing Mobile 2Q profit declinesMobile handset maker Qiao Xing Mobile Communication Co. Ltd. on Friday reported that operating income plunged 67 percent in its fiscal second quarter, hurt in part by an earthquake in May in the Sichuan...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:20 pm First Look: iPhone 2.1 - Macworld
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:19 pm Games reviewsGames newsSince the demise of Joss Whedon's spectacularly successful TV series, fans of teenage vampire slaying have had to content themselves with the "Season 8" comic books, the usual tawdry selection...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:10 pm Dork talk: Stephen Fry discusses the Skype-hypeEvery once in a while a proprietary device or process strikes it lucky and becomes The One. A combination of apt nomenclature and mass-market penetration will allow it to achieve the ultimate accolade...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:10 pm Blog roll: The credit crunchKnow Your Money blog.knowyourmoney.co.ukPractical ways to save, the world's most expensive food and why mortgages are the devil's work.Justine Smithjustinesmith.netWhy spend it when you can make dogs (pictured),...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:10 pm On the road with Sam Wollaston: Audi A3 CabrioletConvertibles are difficult things. They are undeniably fun - the wind in your hair, the sky above, diesel fumes from buses, all that. But it's very hard not to look like a wanker in one, especially for...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:10 pm Internet review: English FailAmericans are so quick to mock foreign languages that laughing at their own failures is always funny. Here, then, you will find photographic evidence of someone at a McCain rally holding up a placard that...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:09 pm What we learned on the web this weekThe 20 greatest cricket beardstinyurl.com/5dg89eUnderbites are the new cheekbones tinyurl.com/5z82p7Anyone can put a Porsche in their drivetinyurl.com/6zqjruA brief history of fembotstinyurl.com/5vyuyzHow...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:09 pm Gadget clinic: Bobbie Johnson on transferring music from an iPod to a laptopMy Mac has died since I moved overseas, meaning that my Mac-formatted iPod is now my only source of music. I'm thinking of buying a Windows laptop and would like to transfer my music collection on to it...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:09 pm Justice Department Moving to Immunize Snooping TelcosThe Justice Department said Friday that by September 19 it would ask a court to immunize the nation's telecommunications companies for their assistance is helping the Bush administration secretly spy on Americans. President Bush signed the immunity legislation July 10 after Congress passed the measure the day before. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is trying to overturn the immunity legislation, saying it is unconstitutional.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 12 Sep 2008 | 11:00 pm Google buys South Korean blogging software company (AP)AP - Google Inc. has snapped up South Korean blogging software company Tatter and Company, or TNC, in a bid to expand the Internet search leader's reach in Asia.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Sep 2008 | 10:46 pm Google buys South Korean blogging software companyGoogle Inc. has snapped up South Korean blogging software company Tatter and Company, or TNC, in a bid to expand the Internet search leader's reach in Asia. The acquisition, announced bySource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 10:46 pm Fourth-Gen iPod Nano — We Want Our Square Form Factor Back!Another year, another refresh of the iPod Nano line. Rather than wasting your time with a bunch of re-hash about what's the same about the new nano, we dive right in and just tell you what's new, what's improved and what sucks.Source: Wired: Gadgets | 12 Sep 2008 | 10:41 pm Virtual Reality Cocoon Being Designedgurps_npc writes "CNN reports that a company called "NAU" is working on an Immersion Cocoon that seems inspired by ST:TNG's Holodeck. The images are only 2D, and you can't touch them. But it is 360-degree video and sound, with light sensors to detect your hand movements and floor sensors to detect foot movements. They hope to have a prototype by October 2009."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 12 Sep 2008 | 10:41 pm Fourth-Gen iPod Nano — We Want Our Square Form Factor Back!Another year, another refresh of the iPod Nano line. Rather than wasting your time with a bunch of re-hash about what's the same about the new nano, we dive right in and just tell you what's new, what's improved and what sucks.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 12 Sep 2008 | 10:41 pm Google buys Korean blogging software companySAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc has bought Korean blogging software developer Tatter and Company, the two companies said on Friday.Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 10:37 pm Corporate Safe Specialists Introduces Treasury Series Product LinePOSEN, Ill., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporate Safe Specialists (CSS) announces the launch of the Treasury Series of safes that enable customers to increase the accuracySource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 10:12 pm Video Podcast: Happy Penguin TechIn this Wired Science video podcast, we delve into the technology necessary to keep penguins happy at the California Academy of Sciences' new African penguin display.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 12 Sep 2008 | 10:11 pm Axion Power to Present at Merriman Curhan Ford's Investor Summit 2008 on September 15Hundreds of Institutional Investors to Attend Conference NEW CASTLE, Pa., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Axion Power International, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board:...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 9:56 pm HP May Be Developing Its Own Version of Linuxvondiggity writes to tell us that HP is working on several different ways to make an end run around Vista. Among the plans is also a supposed rumor that certain factions within HP are developing their own flavor of Linux. Executives at HP deny that any meaningful amount of resources are being directed into plans for a mass-market operating system, stating their main goal is to innovate on top of Vista. "Still, the sources say employees in HP's PC division are exploring the possibility of building a mass-market operating system. HP's software would be based on Linux, the open-source operating system that is already widely available, but it would be simpler and easier for mainstream users, the sources say. The goal may be to make HP less dependent on Windows and to strengthen HP's hand against Apple (AAPL), which has gained market share in recent years by offering easy-to-use computers with its own operating system."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 12 Sep 2008 | 9:53 pm Virginia Court Strikes Down Anti-Spam LawThe Virginia Supreme Court declares the state's anti-spam law unconstitutional Friday and reverses the conviction of a man once considered one of the world's most prolific spammers.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 12 Sep 2008 | 9:45 pm Hurricane Ike Storm Surge Risk MapsHurricane Ike is set to hit Galveston, Texas late Friday night. Forecasters fear the flooding from the surge could be devastating. Here, we present worst-case scenario storm surge maps provided to Wired Science by a risk management firm.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 12 Sep 2008 | 9:09 pm Comcast to beef up its Fancast entertainment siteComcast Corp. has reached agreements with several major content providers to offer their shows on its entertainment Web site, Fancast.com. The Philadelphia-based cable operator has inkedSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 12 Sep 2008 | 8:52 pm Va. court strikes down anti-spam law (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Sep 2008 | 8:10 pm Video games sales rise 9 pct in August: NPD (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Sep 2008 | 7:48 pm Pirate Bay Boycotts Press After Television AmbushThe Pirate Bay, the controversial Swedish search engine for file sharing, has stopped talking to the press following a scandal involving autopsy photos of two murdered children that a user legally uploaded to the site.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 12 Sep 2008 | 7:45 pm Ike's Sprawl a Meteorological MysteryWhy are some hurricanes small but others, like Ike, super-sized?Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 12 Sep 2008 | 7:14 pm Bike Accidents Fall as Ridership RisesIt sounds paradoxical, but the frequency of crashes between bikes and cars decreases as the number of bikes on the road rises.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 12 Sep 2008 | 5:57 pm Review: Novint Falcon Gaming Controller Takes Aim On Your MouseThe Novint Falcon is the biggest jump in gaming interaction since, well, the mouse. This rounded device lets touch, feel and experience 3-D environments within a 2-D videogame. Now with the addition of the pistol-grip attachment, the way we play FPS titles is about to change again.Source: Wired: Gadgets | 12 Sep 2008 | 5:41 pm Apple patches iPhone bugs, early response positive (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Sep 2008 | 5:31 pm Browser wars heat up as Firefox adds 'privacy mode' (NewsFactor)NewsFactor - Keeping in step with rival Web browsers from Microsoft and Google, Mozilla has announced a "privacy mode" for Firefox 3.1. The update is scheduled to be released in beta form in October.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Sep 2008 | 5:14 pm Roadsides Helping Bees ThriveBees are thriving along roadsides that are covered with native plant species.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 12 Sep 2008 | 4:14 pm Was Dinosaur Dominance Just Good Luck?The dino era had more to do with chance than superiority, say researchers.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 12 Sep 2008 | 2:00 pm Ahead of the Bell: Game sales show deceleration (AP)AP - For the first time in more than two years, data from market researcher NPD group showed that U.S. video game sales growth slowed to the single digits.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Sep 2008 | 1:42 pm Fault Shift Leaves China VulnerableThe Sichuan earthquake doubled the chances that another big tremor will strike.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 12 Sep 2008 | 1:36 pm Toothy 'Crocamander' Was Top PredatorA dino-era "salamander on steroids" had extra teeth on the roof of its mouth.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 12 Sep 2008 | 1:29 pm
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“Little Brother” is a terrific read, but it also claims a place in the tradition of polemical science-fiction novels like “Nineteen Eighty-Four” and “Fahrenheit 451” (with a dash of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”). It owes a more immediate debt to Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli’s comic book series “DMZ,” about the adventures of a photojournalist in the midst of a new American civil war. ...
