Samsung and Netflix have just announced a new partnership that will bring Netflix video streaming to a handful of Blu-ray players.  The models that will be compatible are the BD-P2550 and BD-P2500, both of which are currently available and retail for $399.99.  It was also stated that in the future they hope to bring Netflix support to a “range of home entertainment products,” of course, they did not go into any specifics.

The Netflix support for both players will come courtesy of a free update from Samsung.  Both the BD-P2550 and BD-P2500 offer similar functionality and specs.  However, the BD-P2550 will also be able to use Pandora Radio as part of this free update.

Overall, Netflix seems to be making quite a push into your home entertainment center with these recent “Watch Instantly” additions.  In the beginning support was limited to a PC.  However, we also saw the introduction of the Roku Netflix Player a short time ago, then most recently we saw the LG BD300, which is another Blu-ray player that offers Netflix streaming capabilities.  Netflix also is coming to the XBOX 360 and recently announced a deal with Starz to increase the number (and quality) of streaming movies available.

I think these extra additions are nice, if nothing else these could finally convince people to look for a Blu-ray player, however they are missing one item that would make me want to stick with the Roku Netflix Player—built-in Wi-Fi.  Sure, a hardwired connection is nice to have, especially when streaming video, but let’s face it, for $99 a small box that does not require any additional wires seems to be a plus.  How about a Netflix capable Blu-ray player with built-in Wi-Fi?

Read [Netflix] [Samsung]

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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If you’re looking for a fun, relaxing iPhone game, don’t get Puzzllotto, the first application to come out of developer Mike Lee’s United Lemur development house. The $5 app is more puzzle than it is game, and is ridiculously frustrating - I’ve spent the last 15 minutes cursing at my phone repeatedly. But there’s a pretty nice reward for anyone who can endure Puzzllotto long enough to beat it: United Lemur is giving away thousands of dollars to the first person to solve the puzzle. For every day since the game’s release, the reward (which currently stands at $1000) will increase by another $1000, with a maximum of $30,000 available. And this isn’t just a clever marketing ploy for an impossible puzzle - if nobody claims the prize by the end of the 30 days, United Lemur will donate that $30,000 to charity.

The game comes with no instructions to speak of: you’re simply presented with a lushly drawn jungle with some blinking eyes, and a looping soundtrack filled with animal noises. Tapping on the blinking eyes occasionally reveals butterflies and lemurs, and you have to tap them in the right order if you’d like to keep advancing in the puzzle. It’s all trial and error, and one mistake resets the level. I can’t recommend Puzzllotto as a $5 game - there are far better options available on the App Store. But if you think you can beat everyone else to the punch and win the grand prize, a $5 buy-in isn’t too bad.

The game serves as an introduction to United Lemur, a development company that was founded by Mike Lee after he was ejected from Tapulous (which he co-founded). The company is currently working on at least two more apps, which are said to be much more full-featured than Puzzllotto (Lee also says that a “more fun” version of the game will be released as a free update once the competition is over, as some features have been omitted for the puzzle version).

Thanks to 148Apps.com and Daniel Brusilovsky for the tip.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Source: TechCrunch | 24 Oct 2008 | 7:13 am

Scott Brown on Facebook Friendonomics [Voices]

By Scott Brown, Writer, Wired.com

Hey, want to be my friend? It’s more than possible; it’s probable. Hell, we may already be friends—I haven’t checked my email in a few minutes. And once we are, we will be, as they say, 4-eva. A perusal of my Facebook Friend roster reveals that I, a medium-social individual of only middling lifetime popularity, have never lost a friend. They’re all there: elementary school friends, high school friends, college friends, work friends, friends of friends, friends of ex-girlfriends—the constellation of familiar faces crowds my Friendbox like medals on Mussolini’s chest. I’m Friend-rich—at least onscreen. I’ve never lost touch with anyone, it seems. What I’ve lost is the right to lose touch. This says less about my innate lovability, I think, than about the current inflated state of Friendonomics.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 24 Oct 2008 | 7:04 am

A Fine Wensleydale? [Voices]

By Neil Gaiman, Author

I opened the Google (GOOG) window and found myself looking at an advert for a G1 phone. A couple of clicks later I was on the T-mobile website, checking prices and thinking, “Well, I do need a new phone…”

But randomly buying a phone I haven’t even held seemed like, well, something that I couldn’t imagine myself doing. I wanted to hold it. I wanted to know the specs and such, so I put dog in the back of the car and drove to the local T-Mobile shop.

I knew I was in the right place because there were huge posters everywhere, some bigger than I was, all advertising the new t-Mobile G1.

“Hello,” I said, like a man entering a cheeseshop. “I’d like to play with a G1, please.”

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 24 Oct 2008 | 7:03 am

Majoring in Video Games [Voices]

By Alex Pham, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

The Thukrals wanted their son, Dhruv, to go into nanotechnology. So when he told them he’d rather be a video game developer he might as well have said he wanted to join the circus.

“Are you serious?” they asked.

He was. The 21-year-old USC graduate student proved it by switching the focus of his computer science doctorate from a field known as distributed systems to video game programming.

He then launched a campaign to convince his parents back home in New Delhi that helping people have fun was not only a legitimate career but also lucrative. He peppered them with articles about the growth of the video game industry, which is expected to generate global revenue of nearly $50 billion this year. He also sent them stock charts and annual reports of some of the industry’s top companies.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 24 Oct 2008 | 7:02 am

Dutch Kid Mugged At Knifepoint For Virtual Goods [Voices]

By Eric Krangel, Contributor, Silicon Alley Insider

A Dutch court confirms the obvious: virtual goods, such as Facebook gifts or World of Warcraft gold, are real goods. And if you steal them, it’s theft.

The novel legal finding comes after two punk kids in the town of Leeuwarden attacked a 13-year-old boy, beat him up, and forced him at knifepoint to log in to the online game RuneScape and transfer an amulet, a mask, and his game credits to their account. (Now that’s engagement.)

The judge ruled “goods don’t have to be material for the law to consider them stolen.” Sentence: 160 hours community service.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 24 Oct 2008 | 7:01 am

Wikipedia and the Meaning of Truth [Voices]

By Simson Garfinkel, Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science, Naval Postgraduate School

With little notice from the outside world, the community-written encyclopedia Wikipedia has redefined the commonly accepted use of the word “truth.”

Why should we care? Because ­Wikipedia’s articles are the first- or second-ranked results for most Internet searches. Type “iron” into Google (GOOG), and Wikipedia’s article on the element is the top-ranked result; likewise, its article on the Iron Cross is first when the search words are “iron cross.” Google’s search algorithms rank a story in part by how many times it has been linked to; people are linking to Wikipedia articles a lot.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 24 Oct 2008 | 7:00 am

Daily Crunch: Watery, Domestic Edition

Crazy shoe rack you just kick ‘em into
TrueCall secures your landline against fraud - or you could just disconnect it
One year later: Remembering OiNK’s Pink Palace
A map: The technology of your voting machine
U-Diver: Bandai Japan’s remote-controlled micro submarine

Source: CrunchGear | 24 Oct 2008 | 7:00 am

The BH-804 is Nokia’s smallest Bluetooth headset

Section: Audio, Accessories, Headphones, Communications, Cellphones, Mobile

Recently, Nokia has announced a new Bluetooth headset called the BH-804.  Now, if you’re wondering why Nokia is making a splash out of this new product instead of busying itself with a more newsworthy mobile phone, hold your horses folks because the BH-804 boasts something which made it worthy of this coverage.  The BH-804 according to Nokia does not only provide crisp and clear audio quality but it happens to be Nokia’s smallest Bluetooth headset ever.

Naturally, the BH-804 comes in ultra-compact design. But don’t let its size fool you because this headset, housed in an aluminum case, features digital signal processing (DSP) which aids in background noise cancellation.  This should provide clear audio quality when using it with any phone.

What else could a tiny device such as the BH-804 possible offer us?  Well, aside from two user-friendly buttons that manages basic call functions, Nokia is also packing in a neck strap if you want to wear the thing around your neck and not on your ear and a desktop charger. 

The BH-804 also provides 4 hours operating time and standby time of 150 hours after continuous charging for one hour.

Now, for our more tech-savvy readers who are keen on getting the BH-804, you ought to know that this headset supports Bluetooth specifications 2.0 with EDR and features both hands-free profile 1.5 and headset profile 1.1.  Nokia has not announced a price yet, but expect this headset to be available soon.

Read [Nokia News Room]

Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 24 Oct 2008 | 6:44 am

Australia Developing Massive Electric Vehicle Grid

blairerickson writes "A US firm Thursday unveiled plans to build a massive one-billion-dollar charging network to power electric cars in Australia as it seeks cleaner and cheaper options to petrol. Better Place, which has built plug-in stations for electric vehicles in Israel and Denmark, has joined forces with Australian power company AGL and finance group Macquarie Capital to create an Australian network. Under the plan, the three cities will each have a network of between 200,000 and 250,000 charge stations by 2012 where drivers can plug in and power up their electric cars. The points would probably be at homes and businesses, car parks and shopping centres. In addition, 150 switch stations will be built in each city and on major freeways, where electric batteries can be automatically replaced in drive-in stations similar to a car wash." I hope they're talking to the car companies about the necessary standardization it would take to make this work, too.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 24 Oct 2008 | 6:18 am

Space tourist back on terra firma - Register

Times Online

Space tourist back on terra firma Register - 6 hours ago By Lester Haines • Get more from this author Space tourist Richard Garriott and cosmonauts Oleg Kononeko and Sergei Volkov this morning returned safely to Earth from the International Space Station, touching down in their Soyuz capsule in Kazakhstan at ... Safe landing for Soyuz capsule BBC News US space tourist is back safely Los Angeles Times Times Online - CNN International - Houston Chronicle - Business Gazette all 593 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 24 Oct 2008 | 6:09 am

Teen Said to Have Faked Heart-Attack Story About Apple's Jobs - Bloomberg

CNET News

Teen Said to Have Faked Heart-Attack Story About Apple's Jobs Bloomberg - 6 hours ago By David Scheer Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- An 18-year-old posted the fake Internet report that Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack, and investigators haven't found evidence the teenager tried to profit from driving ... Report: Fake Jobs heart-attack story posted by teen New York Times Report: Fake Jobs heart attack story planted by teenager CNET News Apple Insider - ZDNet - MacNN - CNET News all 29 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 24 Oct 2008 | 5:39 am

HP unveils the Vivienne Tam Edition netbook, available in December

Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Laptops

It looks like HP is going to be rolling out a brand new netbook this December.  However, this particular model is not going to be for everyone.  The new model will be a special edition in partnership with Vivienne Tam.  As you can see from the recently released picture, the Vivienne Tam Edition will feature a nice floral exterior, which may be the barrier for some.

This netbook seems to be a nice improvement over the current HP netbook.  Many have voiced issues with the Mini-Note’s current VIA processor, and the Vivienne Tam Edition will be powered by an Intel Atom processor.  As of now, most of the specs have not been confirmed, but it is expected to feature a 10-inch display.

If we had to venture a guess as to specs (if you consider the numerous other Atom-based 10-inch netbooks) we can likely expect that it will be a 1.6GHz processor with 1GB of RAM, and somewhere in the ballpark of an 80GB or 120GB hard drive.  We can only hope that HP decides to release a similar Atom-based netbook with a less bold exterior.

Read [tech-chic.glam.com]

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 24 Oct 2008 | 5:04 am

Children More Vulnerable to Environment

It is crucial to recognize children are more vulnerable than adults to environmental risks, World Health Organization officials in Geneva, Switzerland, say.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 24 Oct 2008 | 5:00 am

Microsoft profit up 2 percent, but outlook soft (AP)

AP - Microsoft is still churning out big profits, but its decision to trim its sails shows that even the world's largest software maker is feeling the effects of the choppy economy.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:10 am

Russian capsule carrying US tourist lands in Kazakhstan (AFP)

AFP - A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying US millionaire video game guru Richard Garriott, the world's sixth space tourist, and two Russian cosmonauts, landed in Kazakhstan as scheduled, the Russian mission control center said early Friday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:08 am

Usain Bolt of DSLR Cameras Sports Blazing Speed

The Nikon D3 pro-level camera's amazing speed is the tip of the iceberg. The 51-point focusing system and autofocus tracking offer flawless exposures that make big, beautiful prints.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

Gear Gallery: New MacBooks, Best Tapeless HD Cams and T-Mobile G1 Phone

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With all the emphasis Apple placed on the new design and construction, it's really the performance, rather than the aesthetics, that stand out for us. Our black MacBook (2.2-GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM) got an Xbench of 68.03 with a battery rundown of 2:52. On the other hand, our new aluminum MacBook (2.4-GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM) scored an Xbench of 116.70 with a battery rundown of 3:01. We know, we know ... Xbench is a synthetic benchmark. But that's a pretty shocking improvement in the performance numbers, and in our use of the new MacBook, it's noticeable across the board. This machine, in comparison to the very capable Black Book, just screams. The new Pro machine is also faster, in Xbench at least.

It's hard to evaluate aesthetics — a jaw-dropping beauty to one person is an eye-crunching catastrophe to another — but to my peepers, the new Mac laptops are some of the most handsome the company has ever released. I’m a sucker for the black bezel around the screens, and for the glass all the way to the edge of the display. (One bonus is that the laptops and the iMac, as well as Apple’s new Cinema Display, all share the same black-and-aluminum look. Jony Ive must be doing the dance of joy). This isn't the sort of redesign that makes your jaw drop, although it might be unreasonable to think that Apple has to reach that standard every time they launch a revision. That's a measure of how inflated our expectations have become. But the Apple notebook line is just miles ahead, and these two machines — especially the MacBook — only put them further out in front.

MacBook: $1,600 as tested, Apple

MacBook Pro: $2,500 as tested, Apple

Photos: Jonathan Snyder/Wired.com

Read the rest of our in-depth MacBook and MacBook Pro review.

Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

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Despite being released back in January of this year, the 1920 x 1080, 10x optical zoom SD9 is (still) the top performer. Touted by Panasonic as the world's smallest full HD cam, its slimmed-down profile makes it a real winner with the portability crowd. HD image quality and compression are noticeably ahead of other cams in this roundup, but there's still some ghosting and artifacts in certain (read: low light) situations. The menu system is classic Panasonic-simple and easy to learn, but the joystick has been moved into the LCD cavity, hampering movement and versatility. The rest of the controls are nicely placed with smooth well-modulated zoom and a fumble-resistant, dedicated optical image-stabilization button.

WIRED:Small, well-built design. Simple menu system. Top-notch battery life.

TIRED:Moving the joystick to the LCD-bridled shooting ease. Shrunken size compromised comfort and usability.

$800, Panasonic

Read the rest of Flash and the Pan: 4 Tapeless AVCHD Camcorders Tested.

Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

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Standing apart from the crowd with its unique form factor, this Sanyo AVCHD video cam is a pocket-size video rocket, shooting 1080p at 30 frames per second with a 38-380mm zoom. The novel design and sharp video are complemented by functions like Face Detection and Face Chaser, which zero in on faces in the scene and both focus and adjust the exposure on the fly.

It works surprisingly well and delivers some delicious video to the SD/SDHC memory format. The 1010 also records fairly sharp 4-megapixel stills as long as ambient light isn't terribly low. In spite of all this goodness, Sanyo may have been asleep at the wheel by not including optical image stabilization. If you can live with merely digital IS, then take good look at this multifaceted camcorder.

WIRED: Easy-to-handle form factor. 10x optical zoom. 4-megapixel stills on the fly. Admirable video quality.

TIRED: No optical image stabilization. Sound is a touch weak.

$800, Sanyo

Read the rest of Flash and the Pan: 4 Tapeless AVCHD Camcorders Tested.

Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

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Google's Android OS for the T-Mobile G1 is pretty freaking on-point for a first-gen software release. Sure, it has bugs — web pages don't automatically resize and the zoom feature blows — but it's also remarkably polished, bristling with nifty tricks. Take the long touch: Not unlike the Windows-born right-click, it brings up useful contextual menus. Long touch a field of text, for example, and you get the option to select it, copy it or paste something in (take that, Jobs!). And though Android’s first home is a touchscreen phone, you can tell that the OS was designed to work with hard-buttons as well.

In fact, if you can't abide fingerprints, you can get around the G1 quite well without ever smearing the glass. The keys are useful, but their physical location is a problem that ties into the most noticeable G1 bugaboo: its size. This is a big annoyance for us — nearly a half-inch thick — and its problematic girth is made worse by an annoying button bank.

WIRED: Android is legit, and future iterations should get even more impressive. 3G on a T-Mobile phone. Tons of apps that will keep you entertained for the duration of your 2-year contract — and all of them are free until Google decides on a way to charge. Relatively cheap, and data plans include T-Mobile hot-spot subscriptions. Snappy processor never seems to get bogged down, even with multiple apps running. Decent battery life: a day of heavy use, or three if you have no friends. Mounts on both Mac and PC as an external drive, allowing you to drag and drop music or videos.

TIRED: Fugly. Bulky. No 3.5mm headphone jack and no adapter that lets you plug your own buds into the HTC mini USB multiport. T-Mobile's 3G network is not as quick as AT&T's, and nowhere near as pervasive. We don't mean to whine about free stuff, but the included 1-GB MicroSD card seems a little dinky compared to the 8-GB iPhone you can get for $20 more. Camera is slower than a three-toed sloth to respond.

$180 with 2-year contract, T-Mobile

Photos: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Read our full T-Mobile G1 review.

Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

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While the Ultra Motor A2B makes a clear impression on the public, the plush front and rear suspension with smooth and fat motorcycle-like tires ensure that most bumps and potholes leave little or no impression on the rider. The 500-watt motor in the rear hub and motorcycle-like twist throttle delivers a comfortable and steady amount of power as you cruise along at the federally mandated max of 20 miles per hour. Encased in the aluminum downtube, the lithium-ion battery yields just over 20 miles of range over varied Los Angeles-area terrain including moderate ups and downs, groceries and other cargo onboard AND very little pedaling.

Let's be honest, the A2B is more akin to a scooter than bicycle because of its 73 pounds and laid-back beach-cruiser geometry. But the A2B's designers were smart, by giving it pedals and keeping the maximum powered speed below 20 mph, you don't have to endure the DMV's motorcycle certification test, pay any registration fees or even insure your A2B as a motorcycle. The A2B is by far the eye-catching electric "bike" in the market and provides a nice option for those who are green-minded, have a fair bit of extra green in their wallets but don't want to shvitz their way to work and back.

WIRED: Plush, comfy and downright fun to ride. Eye-catching design leaves local yokels slack-jawed. Don't worry about Crackhead Bob boosting your battery — it's encased within the bike making it nigh impervious to petty theft.

TIRED: Throttle grip is hard on the hands. Heavy. Hard to imagine pedaling it more than a couple blocks. Downhill mountain-bike style drivetrain is noisy.

$2,700, Ultra Motor

Photos: Jackson Lynch/Wired.com

Read our full Ultra Motor A2B review.

Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

Lenovo S10 — The Best Netbook We've Seen All Year

Lenovo's foray into the low-cost netbook market is an instant classic, even if it merely excels at the basics.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

Usain Bolt of DSLR Cameras Sports Blazing Speed

The Nikon D3 pro-level camera's amazing speed is the tip of the iceberg. The 51-point focusing system and autofocus tracking offer flawless exposures that make big, beautiful prints.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

Lenovo S10 — The Best Netbook We've Seen All Year

Lenovo's foray into the low-cost netbook market is an instant classic, even if it merely excels at the basics.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

Oct. 24, 1882: Koch Pinpoints the TB Bacillus

1882: German physician Robert Koch announces his discovery of the tuberculosis bacillus, isolating the cause of a scourge responsible for one in seven deaths during the mid-19th century.

Koch turned to the study of infectious diseases while still in medical school at the University of Gottingen. There, he was influenced by anatomist Jakob Henle, an advocate of the germ theory, which posited that communicable disease was transmitted through microorganisms.

Despite the work of other prominent microbiologists, including Joseph Lister and Louis Pasteur, the prevailing view for much of the 19th century was that diseases arose spontaneously within an individual. Koch, piggybacking on the work of his predecessors and making huge contributions of his own, played a key role in finally debunking that theory.

Besides discovering the TB germ, Robert Koch also isolated the infectious bacillus for both anthrax and cholera.

Koch volunteered for medical service during the Franco-Prussian War and carried out much of his groundbreaking research on anthrax — including the discovery of the bacillus anthracis — while serving as district medical officer in the rural Wollstein, a farming region in the Rhineland.

He began serious research into tuberculosis after moving in 1880 to the Imperial Health Bureau in Berlin, which offered better laboratory facilities. By 1882, Koch had isolated the bacillus and published his definitive paper on the subject.

The German Cholera Commission sent Koch overseas in 1883, first to Egypt and then to India, to study the rising tide of that disease in those countries. His work led to the identification of the bacillus that causes cholera and eventually to a worldwide convention on the handling of cholera, which remains relevant to this day.

That work took him away from tuberculosis for a few years, but he returned to it after becoming professor of hygiene at the University of Berlin. Koch developed tuberculin, which he believed would result in a cure of tuberculosis, but his claims proved to be exaggerated, which damaged his reputation for a time.

The damage was not lasting, however, owing to Koch's many achievements that changed attitudes and approaches to the treatment of infectious diseases. Tuberculin also proved effective, not as a cure for the disease, but as a test for presymptomatic tuberculosis.

An immunization for tuberculosis, BCG, was produced in 1906, although it wasn't tried on humans until the early 1920s and didn't see widespread use until after World War II.

Koch, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1905 for his work in tuberculosis, also laid down the conditions, known as Koch's postulates, that must be met before a specific bacteria can be said to have caused a specific disease.

Source: Various

Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

Found Photoshop Contest: Cubicles of the Future

For the past six years, Wired magazine's Found page has presented our best guess at what lies over the horizon, from touchscreen windshields to organ farming. Turns out, this little exercise in futurism is one of your favorite pages (as we learned recently when it took a short sabbatical). So we've decided to turn Found over to our readers — what do you think our world will look like in 10, 20, or 100 years?

Each month, we'll propose a scenario. Then it's up you: Sketch out your vision, then go to wired.com/wired/found to upload your ideas, see other submissions, and vote for your favorites. We'll use the best suggestions as inspiration for a future Found page (giving full credit to the creators, of course). Your first assignment: Imagine the future of the office cubicle.

Use the Reddit widget below to submit your best Found idea and vote for your favorite among the other submissions. The image must be your own, and by submitting it you are giving us permission to use it on Wired.com and in Wired magazine. Please submit images that are relatively large, the ideal size being 800 to 1200 pixels or larger on the longest side. Please include a description of your idea and how you made it.

We don't host the images, so you'll have to upload it somewhere else and submit a link to it. If you're using Flickr, Picasa or another photo-sharing site to host your image, please provide a link to the image directly and not just to the photo page where it's displayed. If your photo doesn't show up, it's because the URL you have entered is incorrect. Check it and make sure it ends with the image file name (XXXXXX.jpg).

Please bookmark this page and check back periodically over the next few weeks to vote on new submissions!

Vote on Found ideas submitted by other readers.

Show entries that are: hot | new | top-rated. Submit your found idea.

Submit your Found image.

(No more than one every 30 minutes. No HTML allowed.)

Back to top

Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

Gallery: Computer Kittehs Pounce on Art World

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LOLcats are invading the art scene. Thirty artists took inspiration from the syntactically challenged kitties (or is that kittehs?) to create sculptures, digital paintings and pen-and-ink sketches for a sold-out art show in San Francisco.

The artwork — including a tribute to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (pictured), a digitally rendered painting created from thousands of LOLcat images and an homage to the neon-suited Tron Guy — will be auctioned off Thursday during a one-night-only LOL Arts show in San Francisco, to benefit an adult-literacy program.

Here are some of Wired.com's favorite LOLcat artworks from the show.

Left:

2001 — A LOLcats Odyssey by Brian K. MacDonough
Acrylic on canvas

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I Does It by Amanda Siska
Etched glass

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LOLcat whiteboard by Josh Zubkoff
Paint on white board

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LOLcat Fractal Generator by Robert Burke
Silverlight-based application

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Nu & Improofed - Nao Wiff 50% mor fluff by Dana Armstrong
Digital painting

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I'm Hit by Allyn M. Cowan
Acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Best in Shoe by Allyn M. Cowan
Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

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The Amazing Lolcat by Nina Kempf
Acrylic on canvas

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I Can Has Chainburger? by Emily M. Cox
Papier mâché (glue, water) and bags from six famous fast-food chain restaurants

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Neeyon Harblz by Dino Ignacio
Digital painting

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Dumb Icarus by Kinoko
Gouache on illustration board

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LOLHyoominz at Play by Jeremy Natividad
Digital painting

Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

This Smartphone Means Business, Lets You Toggle to Personal Life

As part of this year's Wired Test roundup, Gadget Lab reviews the Nokia E71.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

This Smartphone Means Business, Lets You Toggle to Personal Life

As part of this year's Wired Test roundup, Gadget Lab reviews the Nokia E71.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

Artifacts From the Future: Fridge Display Forecasts Apocalypse, Mold

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Here's our vision of what a typical fridge might look like a few days before Thanksgiving in 2020. We imagined what new capabilities a fridge might have by then, and made some subtle changes to many pieces of bric-a-brac that you might find on a present-day icebox.

We'll continue to create a new Artifacts from the Future in upcoming issues of Wired magazine. But we'd like to see your prognostications too. What do you think our world will look like in 10, 20 or 100 years? Each month, we'll propose a scenario. Then it's up you: Sketch out your vision, then return here to upload your ideas, see other submissions and vote for your favorites. Check out this month's Office Cubicle of the Future challenge.

The concept and most of the text for this Found came from writer Steven Leckart. Contributing Wired magazine designer Walter Baumann, photo assistants Sarah Filippi and Daniel Salo, deputy photo editor Anna Goldman Alexander, Senior Editor Chris Baker and production director Jeff Lysgaard helped create the image.

: Child's drawing of extinct animals: dinosaur, bee, polar bear.: Calendar tracks family events, including defrosting grandpa: Kid's b-day invite for a zero-gravity cruise on Virgin Galactic : We support our troops in Venezuela magnet : According to the Whirlpool Intellifridge: Auto Defrost scheduled for Butterball Tri-Breasted Six-Legger Turkey, Spoiler Alert: Ho Chi Minh House Shrimp Lo Mein, The Jetsons want to borrow 1 cup of protein paste: Two £500 DNA-Coded tickets to watch the Microsoft Seahawks face off against the Dubai Roughnecks at Ballmer Memorial Stadium.: Ziggy cartoon clipping: According to his DNA workup, he's already dead. : Historic Route 101 magnet : Beautiful Antarctica magnet : : 2018 Coppola Blue Label Water magnet : Safari on Mars magnet : Moose in Los Angeles magnet : I Loved NY magnet : A €100 casino chip magnet from Reno, Nevada.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

Gear Gallery: New MacBooks, Best Tapeless HD Cams and T-Mobile G1 Phone

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With all the emphasis Apple placed on the new design and construction, it's really the performance, rather than the aesthetics, that stand out for us. Our black MacBook (2.2-GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM) got an Xbench of 68.03 with a battery rundown of 2:52. On the other hand, our new aluminum MacBook (2.4-GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM) scored an Xbench of 116.70 with a battery rundown of 3:01. We know, we know ... Xbench is a synthetic benchmark. But that's a pretty shocking improvement in the performance numbers, and in our use of the new MacBook, it's noticeable across the board. This machine, in comparison to the very capable Black Book, just screams. The new Pro machine is also faster, in Xbench at least.

It's hard to evaluate aesthetics — a jaw-dropping beauty to one person is an eye-crunching catastrophe to another — but to my peepers, the new Mac laptops are some of the most handsome the company has ever released. I’m a sucker for the black bezel around the screens, and for the glass all the way to the edge of the display. (One bonus is that the laptops and the iMac, as well as Apple’s new Cinema Display, all share the same black-and-aluminum look. Jony Ive must be doing the dance of joy). This isn't the sort of redesign that makes your jaw drop, although it might be unreasonable to think that Apple has to reach that standard every time they launch a revision. That's a measure of how inflated our expectations have become. But the Apple notebook line is just miles ahead, and these two machines — especially the MacBook — only put them further out in front.

MacBook: $1,600 as tested, Apple

MacBook Pro: $2,500 as tested, Apple

Photos: Jonathan Snyder/Wired.com

Read the rest of our in-depth MacBook and MacBook Pro review.

Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

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Despite being released back in January of this year, the 1920 x 1080, 10x optical zoom SD9 is (still) the top performer. Touted by Panasonic as the world's smallest full HD cam, its slimmed-down profile makes it a real winner with the portability crowd. HD image quality and compression are noticeably ahead of other cams in this roundup, but there's still some ghosting and artifacts in certain (read: low light) situations. The menu system is classic Panasonic-simple and easy to learn, but the joystick has been moved into the LCD cavity, hampering movement and versatility. The rest of the controls are nicely placed with smooth well-modulated zoom and a fumble-resistant, dedicated optical image-stabilization button.

WIRED:Small, well-built design. Simple menu system. Top-notch battery life.

TIRED:Moving the joystick to the LCD-bridled shooting ease. Shrunken size compromised comfort and usability.

$800, Panasonic

Read the rest of Flash and the Pan: 4 Tapeless AVCHD Camcorders Tested.

Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

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Standing apart from the crowd with its unique form factor, this Sanyo AVCHD video cam is a pocket-size video rocket, shooting 1080p at 30 frames per second with a 38-380mm zoom. The novel design and sharp video are complemented by functions like Face Detection and Face Chaser, which zero in on faces in the scene and both focus and adjust the exposure on the fly.

It works surprisingly well and delivers some delicious video to the SD/SDHC memory format. The 1010 also records fairly sharp 4-megapixel stills as long as ambient light isn't terribly low. In spite of all this goodness, Sanyo may have been asleep at the wheel by not including optical image stabilization. If you can live with merely digital IS, then take good look at this multifaceted camcorder.

WIRED: Easy-to-handle form factor. 10x optical zoom. 4-megapixel stills on the fly. Admirable video quality.

TIRED: No optical image stabilization. Sound is a touch weak.

$800, Sanyo

Read the rest of Flash and the Pan: 4 Tapeless AVCHD Camcorders Tested.

Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

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Google's Android OS for the T-Mobile G1 is pretty freaking on-point for a first-gen software release. Sure, it has bugs — web pages don't automatically resize and the zoom feature blows — but it's also remarkably polished, bristling with nifty tricks. Take the long touch: Not unlike the Windows-born right-click, it brings up useful contextual menus. Long touch a field of text, for example, and you get the option to select it, copy it or paste something in (take that, Jobs!). And though Android’s first home is a touchscreen phone, you can tell that the OS was designed to work with hard-buttons as well.

In fact, if you can't abide fingerprints, you can get around the G1 quite well without ever smearing the glass. The keys are useful, but their physical location is a problem that ties into the most noticeable G1 bugaboo: its size. This is a big annoyance for us — nearly a half-inch thick — and its problematic girth is made worse by an annoying button bank.

WIRED: Android is legit, and future iterations should get even more impressive. 3G on a T-Mobile phone. Tons of apps that will keep you entertained for the duration of your 2-year contract — and all of them are free until Google decides on a way to charge. Relatively cheap, and data plans include T-Mobile hot-spot subscriptions. Snappy processor never seems to get bogged down, even with multiple apps running. Decent battery life: a day of heavy use, or three if you have no friends. Mounts on both Mac and PC as an external drive, allowing you to drag and drop music or videos.

TIRED: Fugly. Bulky. No 3.5mm headphone jack and no adapter that lets you plug your own buds into the HTC mini USB multiport. T-Mobile's 3G network is not as quick as AT&T's, and nowhere near as pervasive. We don't mean to whine about free stuff, but the included 1-GB MicroSD card seems a little dinky compared to the 8-GB iPhone you can get for $20 more. Camera is slower than a three-toed sloth to respond.

$180 with 2-year contract, T-Mobile

Photos: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Read our full T-Mobile G1 review.

Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

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While the Ultra Motor A2B makes a clear impression on the public, the plush front and rear suspension with smooth and fat motorcycle-like tires ensure that most bumps and potholes leave little or no impression on the rider. The 500-watt motor in the rear hub and motorcycle-like twist throttle delivers a comfortable and steady amount of power as you cruise along at the federally mandated max of 20 miles per hour. Encased in the aluminum downtube, the lithium-ion battery yields just over 20 miles of range over varied Los Angeles-area terrain including moderate ups and downs, groceries and other cargo onboard AND very little pedaling.

Let's be honest, the A2B is more akin to a scooter than bicycle because of its 73 pounds and laid-back beach-cruiser geometry. But the A2B's designers were smart, by giving it pedals and keeping the maximum powered speed below 20 mph, you don't have to endure the DMV's motorcycle certification test, pay any registration fees or even insure your A2B as a motorcycle. The A2B is by far the eye-catching electric "bike" in the market and provides a nice option for those who are green-minded, have a fair bit of extra green in their wallets but don't want to shvitz their way to work and back.

WIRED: Plush, comfy and downright fun to ride. Eye-catching design leaves local yokels slack-jawed. Don't worry about Crackhead Bob boosting your battery — it's encased within the bike making it nigh impervious to petty theft.

TIRED: Throttle grip is hard on the hands. Heavy. Hard to imagine pedaling it more than a couple blocks. Downhill mountain-bike style drivetrain is noisy.

$2,700, Ultra Motor

Photos: Jackson Lynch/Wired.com

Read our full Ultra Motor A2B review.

Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 24 Oct 2008 | 4:00 am

Tuvan Throat-Singing Rap by Ondar, with the voice of Richard Feynman

Filmmaker Ralph Leighton says, "This was the highlight of my recent trip to Vladivostok, Russia, where the film GENGHIS BLUES won the Governor's Prize at the Pacific Meridian Film Festival. It features Tuvan throat-singer ONDAR and the voice of [Nobel laureate and physicist] Richard Feynman. I hope you enjoy it." Back TUVA Future: Ondar in Vladivostok. If you're wondering what the hell Tuva has to do with Feynman, check this out. (Thanks, George Dyson!)

Source: Boing Boing | 24 Oct 2008 | 3:41 am

Dell’s your new music pimp

Section: Audio, Home Audio, Portable Audio, Computers, Desktops, Laptops

Whenever you buy a PC, you probably are annoyed with all the programs that are installed on it; some of which you just leave on because it’s a hassle to remove.  Dell seems to think that people would like to have music preloaded on their PC for only a little bit extra. 

By teaming up with giant music company UMG, Universal Music Group, Dell has been able to recently load computers with music of your choosing.  Starting at $25, you can opt to receive either 50 songs or 100 songs for $45.  The nice thing about this pre-loaded music is that it’s basically half the price you would normally pay for the same amount of music, so it’s a pretty sweet deal.  All music comes DRM-free and will be able to play as soon as you start up your PC. 

It sounds like a decent idea, but the popularity of this service will depend on how big of a selection they have.  Many people will probably just rip the CD’s they own to start off their music collection, or transfer music they have from one computer to another.  However, if they do have a big selection, which they probably will, I could see this service actually working well.  Right now, it’s only available in select new Dell PCs.

Read [Dell] Via [BusinessWire]

Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 24 Oct 2008 | 3:32 am

Australian Government Censorship 'Worse Than Iran'

An anonymous reader writes "The Australian Government's plan to Censor the Internet is producing problems for ISPs, with filters causing speeds to drop by up to 86% and falsely blocking 10% of safe sites. The Government Minister in charge of the censorship plan, Conservative Stephen Conroy, has been accused of bullying ISP employees critical of his plan: 'If people equate freedom of speech with watching child pornography, then the Rudd Labor Government is going to disagree.'" Read on for more, including an interesting approach to demonstrating the inevitable collision of automated censorship with common sense.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 24 Oct 2008 | 3:20 am

Good Old Games enters public beta - go sign up!

Good Old Games, or GOG.com, is a site that hosts, sells and supports really awesome old games like Fallout, Descent, MDK, and so on. It’s been in private beta since its announcement but now you can sign up and start getting some sweet deals like Freespace 2 for $6. That’s awesome! They’ve been gussied up and configured to run on regular XP and Vista systems so no DOS emulator is required. It’s essentially a virtual console for old PC games.

I already own boxed copies of a few of these, but some are really hard to find or impossible to get running straight off the disks. If I weren’t just now getting into Far Cry 2, I’d go get my Shogo on!

Source: CrunchGear | 24 Oct 2008 | 2:59 am

Vlad and Boris: Love Song for Sarah Palin, our Alaskan Neighbor

vlad and friend boris presents 'Song for Sarah' for mrs. Palin. (via @andrewbaron)

Source: Boing Boing | 24 Oct 2008 | 2:55 am

Samsung 3rd-quarter profit falls 44 percent (AP)

AP - Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday that its third-quarter net profit fell sharply due to the global economic downturn and lower prices for its mainstay semiconductors and flat screens.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 24 Oct 2008 | 2:29 am

Samsung Elec Q3 net down 44 percent on weak chips (Reuters)

Reuters - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) on Friday posted a 44 percent drop in third-quarter profit as persistent weakness in its memory business offset a solid performance in flat screens and mobile phones.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 24 Oct 2008 | 2:25 am

Source: Yahoo to announce plans for Neb. facility (AP)

AP - Yahoo Inc. is expected to unveil plans to build a new facility in Nebraska on Friday, just days after the California-based Internet company announced it will cut at least 1,500 workers as it deals with the economic downturn.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 24 Oct 2008 | 2:15 am

California American Water Completes Drilling of Key Well for San Marino Customers

ROSEMEAD, Calif., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- California American Water this week completed initial drilling of a 550-foot-deep groundwater well just south of Cal Tech.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 24 Oct 2008 | 2:00 am

Colorado to Deploy COPLINK(R) in a Statewide Law Enforcement and Public Safety Information Sharing Initiative

TUCSON, Ariz., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The State of Colorado, through the efforts of the Colorado Information Sharing Consortium (CISC), is the most recent of several states to announce the implementation of an initiative that will deploy the award winning COPLINK(R) Solution Suite statewide.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 24 Oct 2008 | 2:00 am

Is Utah Doing Enough About Polygamy?

Utah should do more to clamp down on polygamy, a New York law professor said in a debate with a member of the Utah attorney general's office.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 24 Oct 2008 | 2:00 am

New Palm OS Announced: ALP 3.0

Alright, folks. Here we go. This is the new Palm OS, fresh out of Access, the company that bought PalmSource during the Great Post-.Com Boom Palm Upheaval. The OS supports Linux applications along with classic Garnet apps from the previous generation. Access has published PDFs on the OS and framework and there is some expectation that the OS will be hit Japan sometime this year and, if the angels smile down upon us, we too will be able use this new OS.

Source: TechCrunch | 24 Oct 2008 | 1:40 am

New Palm OS is Here: ALP 3.0

Alright, girls. Here we go. This is the new Palm OS, fresh out of Access, the company that bought PalmSource during the Great Post-.Com Boom Palm Upheaval. The OS supports Linux applications along with classic Garnet apps from the previous generation.

Access has published PDFs on the OS and framework and there is some expectation that the OS will be hit Japan sometime this year and, if the angels smile down upon us, we too will be able use this new OS.

Read more…

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Source: MobileCrunch | 24 Oct 2008 | 1:39 am

Frogmetrics: Handheld Surveys You Might Actually Want To Fill Out

Frogmetrics, a Y Combinator startup that helps companies quickly get customer feedback using a handheld hardware device, has launched to the public. The startup has created a custom firmware for the Nokia n810 internet tablet that lets companies offer their customers brief surveys that are far more convenient than traditional questionnaires, and has also developed advanced analytics software to help examine survey results. After months of pilot testing Frogmetrics has already landed its first Fortune 150 company - Google - and is now ready to start licensing its product under an enterprise subscription model.

Taking a Frogmetrics survey is incredibly simple - questions average around six words in length, and you simply tap the touch screen to answer each question. Most surveys can be completed in around 25 seconds, and while you can optionally choose to enter your email (if you’d like to be contacted by a manager after a bad experience, for example) there’s no obligation to do so. Contrast this with the archaic online surveys many retail chains employ that ask you to logon from your home computer and enter a 16 digit code for a chance to win a trivial prize, and it’s no surprise that Frogmetrics has seen response rates that put traditional questionnaires to shame.

Frogmetrics initially revealed itself over the summer at Y Combinator’s Demo Day, but details were scant. Since then it has been running pilot programs in a variety of fields, including restaurants, retail stores, trade shows, doctors’ offices, resorts, and airforces, and CEO Scott Brown says that the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Customers are intrigued by these handheld devices (it’s almost like a game), and because they’re taking the survey immediately after their experience at a store or in restaurant, their opinions are much fresher in their minds.

It’s hard to get excited about a company that deals with surveys - we’ve all grown accustomed to simply ignoring them whenever possible because they usually seem like a waste of time. But Frogmetrics has built an impressively simple solution that only takes a few seconds and even verges on being sort of fun (at least the first few times). And with Google as its first major customer, it looks like Frogmetrics may be on its way to replacing those annoying receipt codes once and for all.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

Source: TechCrunch | 24 Oct 2008 | 1:37 am

New Palm OS: ALP 3.0

Alright, folks. Here we go. This is the new Palm OS, fresh out of Access, the company that bought PalmSource during the Great Post-.Com Boom Palm Upheaval. The OS supports Linux applications along with classic Garnet apps from the previous generation. on.

Access has published PDFs on the OS and framework and there is some expectation that the OS will be hit Japan sometime this year and, if the angels smile down upon us, we too will be able use this new OS.

I’m more excited about ALP 3.0 than Android. Palm OS has skin in the game, as they say, and has to win on this or it’s toast. I’ve been waiting for this day for years, friends, and I’m quite excited.

via Mobileburn and everyone else.

Source: CrunchGear | 24 Oct 2008 | 1:36 am

Indie game developer, distributor Reflexive acquired by Amazon

FROM GAMERTELL - Reflexive Entertainment, an independent game developer and creator of the Reflexive Arcade, has been acquired by Amazon.com.
MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 24 Oct 2008 | 1:27 am

The Yellow Dots of Mystery

Don’t be scared, but your printer is spying on you. The EFF has discovered that yellow dots printed on everything you produce. They haven’t decoded the dots, but the EFF is contact printer manufactuers via SeeingYellow.com and is trying to figure out what the dots mean and who the heck is watching us via paper.

Source: CrunchGear | 24 Oct 2008 | 1:26 am

Exchanging Pictures To Generate Passwords

Roland Piquepaille writes "Today, Ileana Buhan, a Romanian computer scientist, is presenting her PhD Thesis at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. She is using biometrics to protect confidential information when it is exchanged between two mobile devices. This is a very innovative approach to security. Buhan's biometric application will generate almost unbreakable passwords from photos taken by the connected users. Here is how it works. 'To do this, two users need to save their own photos on their PDAs. They then take photos of each other. The PDA compares the two photos and generates a security code for making a safe connection.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 24 Oct 2008 | 12:59 am

Rumor: Sony Ericsson to intro the 8MP, 8GB touchscreen based Hikaru

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Mobile

The latest rumored handset to be coming from Sony Ericsson is the Hikaru, and judging from the few specs that have been leaked, it sounds like it will receive a warm welcome. 

So far, the details are very light, but what we have learned so far that makes it exciting is that it will feature an 8-megapixel camera as well as 8GB of internal memory.  It was noted as being a slider style handset with a large touchscreen display, but still unknown is whether it will feature a full QWERTY slide-out or a numeric keypad.

Still plenty to figure out with this handset, lots of specs are still unknown.  It has not even been mentioned where the Hikaru will fit in with the current SE lineup.  Will it be a Walkman branded phone?  With 8GB of internal storage that sounds likely.  Unfortunately, there have not been any leaked images of the Hikaru just yet.

Via [unwired view]

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 24 Oct 2008 | 12:39 am

Report: Fake story about Steve Jobs planted by teenager (CNET)

CNET - The fake story submitted to CNN's iReport site that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack was the work of an 18-year-old, according to a report.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 24 Oct 2008 | 12:30 am

Review: Sansa View 16GB

I like Sansa media players.  I always have.  They’re not quite as sexy as Apple iPods, and they’re not that much cheaper, really.  The reason I like the Sansa players is because they don’t require any special software on my computer — heck, the review model I received contained only the player itself and the USB cable: no software CD at all!  As a GNU/Linux user, I really enjoy being able to connect a Sansa player to my computer and have it immediately recognized as any other USB media.  I can simply drag-and-drop media files into the proper directory, and they’re ready to play.  And I can easily use a Sansa device in lieu of a USB memory stick, if necessary.  But enough about my personal preferences: let’s take a look at the Sansa View 16GB.

The Sansa View can play MP3, WMA, WAV, and DRM-free AAC audio files, as well as MP4, WMV and H.264 video.  It has an FM tuner, and the ability to record FM broadcasts.  You can also use it as a digital voice recorder, which is good for students and blackmailers.  The screen sports a 320×240 resolution: the same resolution as both the iPod Nano and the Zune, but at 2.4″ it’s bigger than both.  It also has a micro-SD slot to expand its storage capacity.

Pros

The View is a shade smaller than an iPod Touch, though not as slim, which makes it comfy enough to hold.  The scrollwheel is responsive, and easy to use.  Battery life is acceptable but not remarkable.  The user interface is simple: the main menu has only four items: music, videos, photos, and more.  Navigating through the UI is easy.  As an added bonus, it’s possible to delete files from the Sansa View without using a computer, which can be handy if you load up a song or video only to find out that you absolutely hate it and never want to hear it again (but see below for a big caveat).

The earphone jack is on the bottom of the unit, which didn’t make a lot of sense to me at first.  But then I stuck it in my shirt pocket and understood: when it’s in my pocket, I won’t be looking at the screen, so put the headphone jack closest to the control wheel, which you are likely to use (or try to) while it’s in your shirt pocket.  The included earbuds felt slightly larger than those bundled with iPods, but I found them to be perfectly comfortable.

Cons

The thing that really irks me about the Sansa View is that it uses a non-standard USB cable.  I long for the day when any device that connects to my computer by USB uses one of the standard USB cable connectors.  I’m tired of special, expensive proprietary cables cluttering up my workspace!

The Sansa View isn’t yet supported by RockBox firmware.  This may only be a bummer to folks who have a large collect of music in Ogg Vorbis format, though.

I tried to delete a single song and thought I ended up deleting all the songs from that artist.  Here’s how: after turning the unit on, before playing any music, I navigated to the music menu.  I selected “Unknown Artist” (because I didn’t set id3 tags on these songs), then “Unknown Album”, and then finally drilled down to a specific song.  I pressed the down button, which brings up the menu.  From the menu, I selected “Delete Song”.  I took note that it said “Song” in singular.  I pressed the middle button and was presented with a confirmation dialog that asked if i was sure I really wanted to delete the song (again, singular).  I selected Yes, and then I was returned to a screen that said, simply, “Empty”.  Navigating backwards, I found that the Sansa thought that the contents of  “Unknown Album” has been deleted.  Oddly, though, the next morning when I turned on the unit, I found that “Unknown Album” had been restored, and that only the song I had deleted was, in fact, deleted.  Very weird.  Moral of the story: you probably don’t want to delete files from the Sansa using the Sansa itself.

The Bottom Line

If you have an aversion to iTunes lock in, or don’t want to pay the Apple price premium, the Sansa View 16GB is a great digital audio and video player.

Thank you to Geeks.com for the review unit…

Source: CrunchGear | 24 Oct 2008 | 12:23 am

USB Floppy Drive Key provides 2-in-1 storage option

If you’re a sysadmin, you may have noticed a somewhat annoying trend: computers — especially servers — rarely ship with floppy drives any more, and yet BIOS updates still often require that you boot from a floppy disk!  Sure, you can jump through hoops and place a bootable image onto a normal USB memory stick, but that can be complicated and time consuming.  The HP USB Floppy Drive Key provides a 2-in-1 USB media solution that presents to the host comptuer a normal USB storage device and a USB floppy device!  Simply connect the USB key to a computer, place the files you want onto the USB floppy, and then move the key over to the floppy-less computer and boot.  No need to hang onto a dedicated USB floppy drive, and one more reason to ditch all those old floppy disks you’ve been hanging onto since your Windows 3.1 days.

Available from HP in 1 GB and 256 MB models for $79 and $49, respectively.

Source: CrunchGear | 24 Oct 2008 | 12:23 am

Intel Copies Jet Engines to Solve Heating Problem

As notebooks get thinner and more powerful, the major challenge is keeping their temperatures cool. It's so challenging, in fact, that Intel is modeling its new cooling technology after the method jet engines use to push away heat.

Demonstrated at the Intel Develop Forum in Taipei, the process is called laminar airflow, which ensures air is flowing in parallel layers so heat doesn't stay at the bottom of a notebook. In addition, Intel plans to tweak its upcoming Calpella laptop platform to deal with heat more intelligently by shutting down extra processor cores when they're unused and turning them on when they're actually needed.

Intel unveils new cooling tech for ultrathin laptops [CNET]

Photo: Flickr/Kevin Collins

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 24 Oct 2008 | 12:01 am

An Interview With Yahoo’s Jerry Yang, Part 2: On Opportunities, Carl Icahn and Leadership [BoomTown]

BoomTown was a squeaky enough wheel to get Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang to grant a long interview by phone yesterday–just a day after he had announced weak third-quarter earnings results for the Internet giant, caught as others are in the econalypse, as well as layoffs of at least 10 percent of its global workforce.

But instead of being glum, as you might expect, especially after a year of corporate turmoil that would have finally gotten to even Job–let’s review: management upheaval, a Microsoft (MSFT) takeover battle, an attack by billionaire shareholder activist Carl Icahn, tangling with the Justice Department over a pending Google (GOOG) search advertising partnership and more!–Yang sounded surprisingly confident that Yahoo (YHOO) would emerge a winner after all the wrenching change is wrought at the company he co-founded.

I split the interview into two parts (here is the first post on Yahoo’s financial performance, the impact of the bad economy and the layoffs).

Here is the second part, in which Yang talks about acquisition opportunities, although no comment on his talks with Time Warner (TWX) online unit AOL; his relationship with Icahn, who now holds a Yahoo board seat; the status of the controversial Google deal; his take on Microsoft; and, most importantly, why he is still the right person to lead Yahoo.

BT: What about acquisitions? Everyone knows you are talking to AOL, but what else are you thinking about here?:

Yang: I am not going to comment specifically on AOL.

But, in general, when the market is going through what it is going through, we have to be making adjustments all the time, because things are different than they were even three or four weeks ago.

But I like a lot of things we have going for us in the current situation. We have no debt. We have a strong cash position. You have to ask what is going to happen to a lot of companies when there is not a lot more money to be gotten. That changes everybody’s perspective, I think. And we think we can be opportunistic.

We have not bought back stock. Right now our stock is very cheap, but we think having our cash position is more important. We are very focused on scaling, and it is important to be able to be in a financial position to do so if opportunities come up.

BT: And how is your relationship with Carl Icahn going?:

Yang: Carl is fine and he has got a lot on his plate as well. But he has been a very useful person to have on the board and, of course, it is a different role for him than before. For the most part, he is very constructive, but he is still Carl and he doesn’t hesitate to share what’s on his mind.

BT: What is the status of the talks with the Justice Department over your search ad deal with Google?:

I don’t have a lot of new things to say. We’re still talking, as I have said, and hope to get things resolved. We have not started it, but no one has walked away.

BT: What about your relationship with Microsoft; what did you think of CEO Steve Ballmer’s comment last week about doing a search deal?:

Yang: I don’t have anything new to report there either. As we have always said, we are willing to listen to them, to talk to them about anything.

BT: You have been attacked a lot recently for not selling Yahoo to Microsoft, Yahoo’s low stock price and your management of the company–why do you think you are the best leader for Yahoo going forward?:

Yang: I think if you look at what the company is doing and what we have been going through and the story we have been telling, we have done most, if not all, of what we set out to do, starting last year.

My dream is to transform Yahoo as a platform and product company and I think we are on the way to really doing that. And a lot of what we have been doing is starting to translate into value–whether it is our front page, our profiles, our email or our APT ad platform.

And, in this uncertain environment, I think I am absolutely the right person. Times like this require a leader who really understands this company and its customers, and I think I do. The world is a different place today than even a month ago and I think I am the best person to guide Yahoo through this volatile time.

Source: All Things Digital | 24 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am

Anatomy of the First Video Game, Born 1958

afabbro writes "Fifty years ago, before 'Pong' and 'Space Invaders,' a nuclear physicist created 'Tennis for Two,' a 2-D tennis game that some say was the first video game ever. Built in 1958, it was 'gynormous.' 'In addition to the oscilloscope screen and the controller, the guts of the original game were contained in an analog computer, which is "about as big as a microwave oven."' 'We have to load it into the back of a station wagon to move it. It's not a Game Boy that you put in your pocket.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:33 pm

Woman Arrested After Killing Virtual Ex-Husband

A Japanese woman has been arrested on hacking charges for allegedly hijacking a coworker's password to play the popular virtual world game Maple Story. While in the game, she killed her virtual husband, but the online murder appeared to have been committed by the coworker.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:32 pm

Netgear: Q3 EPS Misses; Q4 Forecast Short; Sets Buyback [Voices]

By Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron’s, Tech Trader Daily

Netgear (NTGR) shares, which sold off in the regular session, are down again after hours following a disappointing Q3 earnings report and weak Q4 guidance.

For Q3, NTGR posted revenue of $179.4 million, beating the consensus at $176.9 million. But non GAAP profits of 19 cents a share were well short of the Street at 26 cents.

Also, the company sees Q4 revenue of $155 million to $165 million, below the Street consensus of $186.7 million. NTGR sees non-GAAP operating margin in the quarter of 9.5-10.5 percent.

In a statement, CEO Patrick Lo said the that the company suffered “weakness in demand for our consumer products across both retail and service provider channels in all geographies.” Lo added that the company expects subdued spending conditions to persist over the next few quarters. The company also was hurt by the strengthening dollar, reporting a currency loss in the quarter of $4.7 million.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:11 pm

Sun co-founder Bechtolsheim going part-time (AP)

AP - Andy Bechtolsheim, a revered technologist who co-founded Sun Microsystems Inc. and has been instrumental in designing the company's servers, is stepping down from his day-to-day role to help build a new networking startup.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:04 pm

Android getting support for touchscreen keyboards by April of next year

After the T-Mobile G1 reviews made their way out last week, it seemed that a complaint common across the majority of them was the lack of an onscreen keyboard. Yeah, yeah - it has a fully functional physical keyboard, but when you’re just trying to blast out a quick “lol” response, sliding the screen open seems a bit extraneous. When a member of the xda-developers managed to get a dump of the G1 ROM , it certainly seemed like a software keyboard was tucked away in there somewhere (See screenshot.) So where’s it hiding?

Turns out, it’s just not quite ready yet. According to this recently updated Android Roadmap, the first quarter of 2009 should bring a new input framework, which will allow for all sorts of input methods - most notably (and given as an example), software keyboards. Also noted is a new input engine, which will make typing on the onscreen keyboard a bit easier by way of “a dictionary of suggestions, and a suggestion algorithm”.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean the G1 will be getting an on-screen keyboard. That decision is really up to HTC and T-Mobile. It does, however, pave the way for sans-keyboard, full-touchscreen devices.

[HTC Source Via Giz]

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Source: MobileCrunch | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:02 pm

Naturally Advanced Technologies Reports Stock Options Grant to CEO - Sets More Milestones for Commercialization

PORTLAND, OR, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

Air Force creating training program for UAV pilots

I always wondered about this. Flying a drone is unlike flying a regular plane, and unlike telepresence in other arenas because of, well, the killing aspect. I figured they used a Last Starfighter type system to select likely candidates, but the actual training program will be much more practical (and less exciting). Non-pilots will be trained in flying an actual small plane over six weeks, then there is an additional six weeks of more specific instruction, such as UAVs’ weapons systems and how to coordinate with ground forces. And no Ender’s Game-esque hijinx, I hope?

Source: CrunchGear | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

New OCR and Forms Recognition/Processing Modules Featuring The Industry's Most Comprehensive Multi-Threaded OCR Engines

LEAD Technologies, Inc, the leading provider of imaging development toolkits, announced today the release of version 16 which includes all new OCR and Forms Recognition modules.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

NewMarket Corporation Declares Quarterly Dividend

The Board of Directors of NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) declared a quarterly dividend in the amount of 20 cents per share on the common stock of the Corporation. The dividend is payable January 1, 2009 to NewMarket shareholders of record at the close of business on December 15, 2008.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister of Qatar, to Deliver Opening Keynote at the Third Annual GPCA Forum

The Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) and Chemical Week announced today that Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy and Industry, Qatar, and Chairman and Managing Director, Qatar Petroleum will keynote the Middle East's largest petrochemicals event.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

ICO, Inc. Announces the Election of Eugene R. Allspach to Its Board of Directors

HOUSTON, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ICO, Inc. , global producer of custom polymer powders and plastic film concentrates, today announced that the Board of Directors elected Eugene R.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

Dorothy Young Receives the 2nd Annual Humana Starlight Award, Honoring Senior Citizen Volunteers in Salt Lake County

Dorothy Young has been selected as the recipient of the second annual Humana Starlight Award honoring the efforts of senior citizens who volunteer in Salt Lake County.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

New York Attorney General to Announce Agreement With Major National Energy Company to Disclose Financial Risk of Climate Change to Investors

NEW YORK, Oct.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

Drug Delivery System Kills Brain Tumors

U.S., Canadian and French scientists have developed a drug delivery system that is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier to kill brain tumor cells.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

Gadgetell hands-on: Samsung Epix

Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile, Features

Announced just Tuesday, the Samsung Epix is new on the AT&T network.  The 3G phone appears to be the torch bearer for the BlackJack family as it continues on in the same tradition: a smartphone that gets the job done.  I’ve had the phone for a few hours and have my initial impression to report.  I’ll report back in an couple of weeks with an in-depth look.

In short, this is one good looking business phone.  Its understated gray exterior screams, “I make way more than you think I do” and the classy chrome-like band around the phone is retained from the BlackJack 2.  The phone feels good in the hand, not heavy but solid.  I just feel more important using it.

Optical mouse

I really didn’t pay much attention to the spec sheet concerning this item as a feature like this is open to personal interpretation especially when Samsungs touts you can just turn it into a d-pad if you liike.  That says to me they weren’t sure if we’d like it.  So far, I do like it.  It is very easy to move the cursor around, the gripe I harbor is one swipe doesn’t get the cursor all the way across the screen.  It ends up only going about 2/3 of the way.  Odd.

Size matters

The Epix is almost an exact copy of the original BlackJack, just a hair bigger.  According the specs, it is 4.56 x 2.41 x 0.51.  The screen moves to touch with haptic-like feedback and increases to 320x320 vs the older 320x240 on the BJ 1 and 2.

Batteries included

My biggest complaint about the BJ2 was the new battery created just for it.  Seems Samsung listened, as this new Epix uses the same big battery from the BJ1.  Yeehaw!  All you BlackJack 1 users put off upgrading for a good reason.

Windows 6.1 - I was wrong?

I make proportionally more fun of Windows Mobile than I should.  So far, working with Windows Mobile 6.1 has been okay.  The onscreen menus that pop up when a call comes in, such as speaker phone, hold, note among others, were a very welcome surprise.  My longer term test will focus on this bit as well.

Touch-y

I liked the jog-dial from the first generation; apparently I was the only one, as it was promptly removed for BlackJack 2, but I am finding with the touch screen, I don’t need it.  In fact, I can place a call without touching a single button (except the odd one on the side to wake the phone up - it seems to be set up to sleep in 5 seconds at the moment).  So far, I like the touch screen a lot.  My man-sized fingers are navigating it okay, but that on screen keyboard is just too much; and not in a good way.  But it is there if you really want it.

So for business folks, this version seems right up their alley. 

Product page: [AT&T]

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

Take Your Code Back to Basics With Reset Stylesheets

Different web browsers render HTML differently by default. A popular trick for making the code stick to one standard is to use a reset stylesheet. This Webmonkey tutorial shows you how to build one into your next project.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 23 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

Greenspan Tells Congress Bad Data Hurt Wall Street

CWmike writes "Former Reserve Bank chairman Alan Greenspan has long praised technology as a tool to limit risks in financial markets. In 2005, he said better risk scoring by high-performance computing made it possible for lenders to extend credit to subprime borrowers. But today Greenspan told Congress that the data fed into financial systems was often a case of garbage in, garbage out. Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, told the committee that bad code led the credit rating agencies to give AAA ratings to mortgage-backed securities that didn't deserve them. Explaining in his testimony what failed, Cox noted a 2004 decision to rely on the computer models for assessing risks — a decision that essentially outsourced regulatory duties to Wall Street firms themselves."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 23 Oct 2008 | 10:41 pm

Small EV Parts Company Has Big Dreams With $8000 E-Bike

Electric Motorsport's Electric GPR-S motorbike is receiving some notoriety because of its cool styling and efficient electric batteries, but according to its owner, it shines because of its customizable nature.

"We designed a universal battery tray into it so that the efficient battery design that works great for this bike could be swapped out in the future," said the owner of Electric Motorsports, Todd Kollin, in a phone interview with Wired.com.

Customizable rigs indicate that a user could buy the bike with an efficient battery and engine build today, and when the next cycle of improved batteries is released, he'll be able to swap in the new one without investing in a new one. 

That's a strong message that's likely to appeal to riders already looking at electric motorcycles as a fuel-efficient alternative.

The GPR-S e-motorbike has a powder-coated steel frame with a braced aluminum swing arm, and pushes out a top speed of 60-70 MPH. So it's mainly for city commuting but you could take it into the next town on one charge. It has a range between 35 miles and 60 miles depending on the power consumed and, often, on the size of the rider. So if you're a particularly feathery-sized fellow, expect the bike to take you to its performance/length limits. If you're on the opposite side of the size spectrum, you should probably stay off the freeway.

The bike takes about four hours to charge with an on-board charger or about 1.5 hours with an optional speed charger with integrated BMS, which is slightly better than other e-bikes. This focus on the bike's design and efficiency is a reflection of the private, small, and parts-focused company and is a feature that should be taken into account when considering all e-bikes, said Kollin.

Like a slow-cooking stew, the GPR-S was fully funded over the last seven years by the company's electric vehicle parts business, at a cost close to $250,000. And when we say it's small company, we mean really small: The Oakland-based company has only 8 employees.

Kollin emphasizes that he is more interested in getting the efficiency of the bikes at an optimal level, and that despite their expensive starting price, maintains they have "the best pricing on batteries for these types of bikes because we’re a parts company." Most e-bikes at this level, like the Vectrix, come in between $10,000 and $12,000.

The small-co. set-up means the yearly output is limited, but unlike other heavily funded competitors (again, like Vectrix), they can maintain quality control over their bikes and make them more efficient and possible longer lasting the others.

Over the years, the company's EV parts have been used in other electric motorcycles, cars, and trucks, and even worked on the Brammo bike that we covered early last year.

But Kollin thinks his new bike will allow his company to move from relying on their parts business to focus on the bikes. He expects to sell 100 bikes by the end of the year, but could accommodate, through help from an Asian supplier, up to 500 a month.

But even for a company that knows its parts and supposedly gets the best out of its rigs, it's going to be a challenge to make its mark in this growing business. According to a recent report, Vectrix has sold 1,184 bikes to dealers in this calendar year (for close to $6.7 million), while Electric Motorsports has only pre-sold about 25 bikes.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 23 Oct 2008 | 10:40 pm

In Soviet Russia, Sickle Hammers GOOG … [Digital Daily]

Russia’s antitrust authorities have dropped the hammer (and sickle) on Google’s proposed $140 million acquisition of online advertising firm ZAO Begun. Interestingly, Russia’s Federal Anti-monopoly Service, FAS, blocked the deal not because it felt it would harm competition, but because Google didn’t provide it with enough information to make that determination.

An unfortunate turn of events for Google (GOOG), which had expected to complete its acquisition of ZAO Begun in the third quarter. More so, because of the regulatory scrutiny being leveled at the search sovereign’s proposed advertising partnership with Yahoo (YHOO). “We are very disappointed to hear that FAS has come to this decision,” Google said in a statement. “We strongly believe that this acquisition will enable us to significantly improve opportunities for Russian users, advertisers and publishers as well as the entire industry. At this time, we are reviewing FAS’s decision. Once this process is complete, we will decide on our next steps.”

Sounds like Google may not be willing to take nyet for an answer …

Source: All Things Digital | 23 Oct 2008 | 10:36 pm

Microsoft Chugs Along In The Third Quarter, But Its Online Business Is Still Sucking Wind

Microsoft announced earnings today for the third quarter. Overall revenues for the quarter came in at $15 billion, growing a decent 9 percent annually. But its net profits of $4.37 billion rose only 1.9 percent. As usual, Microsoft’s stability came from is Windows client, server, and Office businesses.

The company’s online revenues, which includes MSN, search and its advertising networks, grew 15 percent to $770 million in the quarter. However, the online business posted an operating loss of $480 million, nearly double the $267 million loss it posted a year ago. On the conference call, Microsoft boasted about its Silverlight partnership with NBC during the Beijing Olympics in which 70 million videos were streamed. You’ve got to wonder how much that partnership ended up costing Microsoft.

Total online advertising revenues were up 15 percent in the quarter, with search growing faster than display. The company expects online revenue growth to slow to 6 to 10 percent next quarter, with display advertising being more sensitive to the recessionary environment.

The company will be taking $400 to $500 million out of costs by slowing its hiring, spending less on data centers, and cutting back on marketing and travel expenses. But Microsoft still has plenty of cash: $21 billion, and that was after buying back $6 billion in stock and paying out $1 billion in dividends during the quarter. To put that $7 billion Microsoft handed back to shareholders into perspective, Yahoo’s entire market cap is now only $17.5 billion.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch | 23 Oct 2008 | 10:19 pm

Tech earnings shows some strength, led by Microsoft (Reuters)

Reuters - Microsoft Corp and a diverse group of technology companies posted quarterly results that met or beat Wall Street forecasts on Thursday in a good sign for the sector in the face of deepening economic gloom.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 23 Oct 2008 | 10:13 pm

Wal-Mart growing tired of big plastic instruments

FROM GAMERTELL - The time is quickly approaching where we just won’t have anymore room to store instruments from all our past and future music based games. We started off with mid sized guitars before Rock Band, Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Revolution introduced drums that were unique to each game. XS… MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 23 Oct 2008 | 10:12 pm

User Interface of Major Oscilliscope Brands?

teddaw152 writes "I've been tasked with ordering an oscilloscope and a logic analyzer for use in a university physics lab, and have found several models that will likely suit our technical needs from the major manufacturers (Agilent, Tektronix, and LeCroy). However, I personally have only used legacy HP scopes, and thus I have no idea what modern features are must haves and which brand's user interface is the most intuitive. Is there anyone out there that has used modern Tektronix/Agilent/LeCroy scopes side by side and can comment on their thoughts from the purely subjective side?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 23 Oct 2008 | 10:11 pm

Ingram: Q3 Revs Light; Profits Beat; No More Guidance [Voices]

By Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron’s, Tech Trader Daily

Ingram Micro (IM) posted third-quarter revenue of $8.28 billion, short of the Street consensus of $8.44 billion. Profits of 27 cents a share, however, beat the Street by four cents. The company said that it suffered “softening demand” in its three largest regions, and decided to “walk away from unprofitable business.”

Ingram, the world’s largest technology distributor, said it has decided to stop providing specific quarterly financial guidance. It did say, though, that the company believes the softer global economy will continue well into next year, “which will dampen the demand for technology products and services.”

Ingram said “softening demand due to global macroeconomic forces is expected to have a negative impact on sales growth into 2009.” The company said it has exited under-performing businesses, including some retail accounts in the U.S., China and Europe.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 23 Oct 2008 | 10:01 pm

Evolutionary Scientists Test-Drive Spore, Gripe

ahab_2001 writes "The computer game Spore has been marketed partly as an experience that makes evolutionary biology come alive in a game setting. But does that claim hold water? To find out, John Bohannon, a correspondent for Science Magazine (writing as 'The Gonzo Scientist'), sat four card-carrying scientists, ranging from evolutionary biologist Niles Eldredge to JPL astrophysicist Miles Smith, down in front of a terminal to play the game. The upshot, says Bohannon: Spore flunks basic science, getting 'most of biology badly, needlessly, and often bizarrely wrong.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 23 Oct 2008 | 9:52 pm

Singularity Summit to Discuss Impact of Machine Intelligence

As the pace of technological change increases, some experts say it will eventually reach a point where machines surpass human intelligence.

At that point, known to artificial intelligence proponents as the "singularity," it becomes difficult to predict exactly what will happen next. Will computers rise up and overthrow their human masters? Begin ignoring us as irrelevant, carbon-based life forms? Or will something much more prosaic come to pass, like a grammar checker that actually works properly? Whatever the outcome, the singularity will be a major milestone in human history.

Ray Kurzweil argued the idea in his successful 2005 book The Singularity is Near. Since then, heavyweights across different disciplines, including some of Silicon Valley’s biggest names, have come together every year to discuss how technology will evolve and what impact that will have on society.

At the third Singularity Summit in San Jose, California, on Saturday, speakers will include Intel CTO Justin Rattner, who believes the singularity is possible and can be achieved by 2048. Other speakers will include Dharmendra Modha, manager of cognitive computing at IBM’s Almaden research center; Marshall Brain, founder of How Stuff Works; Vernor Vinge, a science-fiction author who published an essay in 1993 called “The coming technological singularity”; and Cynthia Breazeal, associate professor of media arts and sciences at MIT, who will talk about the implications of robots with social intelligence.

“The theme this year is to discuss emerging technology and look at the opportunities and dangers present in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, biotech and neuroengineering,” says Tyler Emerson, executive director of the technology think tank, The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

The summit started as an event at Stanford University in 2006 to discuss the concept of singularity and the future of technological progress.

This year there are likely to be about 500 attendees, down from 1,000 last year as tickets prices have been increased to $500, in order to make it a smaller, more intimate conference.

For this year’s summit, Emerson has a handy acronym, NBIC or Neuro-Bio-Info-Cogno that offers a hint of the areas that speakers will delve into.

“What we are looking at doing is taking a multidisciplinary view of technology, how it is accelerating change and what the change means,” he says.

Wired.com readers get $75 off the ticket price of $500 using this link.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 23 Oct 2008 | 9:36 pm

Can Syndicaster Sell TV Broadcasters On Online Video Editing?

Critical Media CEO Sean Morgan has some advice for TV broadcasters who are still using $50,000 workstations and a team of professional video editors to upload TV clips to their Websites:

Fire your editor, and here is your username and password.

The password he wants to give them is for Syndicaster, his online video editing and syndication platform. Launched in beta in January, he has now just released Syndicaster 2.0, which lets TV stations edit and publish video clips from their regular broadcast to their own sites and across the Web within a minute after the video airs.

Currently, it can take TV stations hours to process video for their sites. With Syndicaster, everything is done through a browser. So no special hardware or software is needed. And the video doesn’t even need to be uploaded because Critical Media captures and digitizes live video from more than 700 local TV stations.

I was given a demo of the product, and while the UI is a little Windows 98, the underlying capabilities are pretty impressive when you consider that the system is taking raw video feeds from TV and making it Web-ready in a matter of minutes. Search results come up as thumbnails, along with transcripts. Click on a word, and it takes you to that point in the video. The clip can be bumped to the point the editor wants it, and then it lets you pick a thumbnails, add a title, descriptions, and categorize the video with automatically suggested keywords that make it easier to target ads to each video. Says Morgan:

We want to own the ad taxonomy on professionally produced video.

Once the video is ready to go, a drop-down menu lets a video editor post it to his TV station’s Website, as well as to YouTube, AOL, and ClipSyndicate (Critical Media’s Web video syndication platform). Already, 80 TV broadcasters are using Syndicaster.

Morgan’s pitch to them: Instead of 10 video editors at 10 TV stations dedicated to uploading stuff to the Web at a cost of $30,000 to $50,000 per wokstation, Syndicaster can replace that with one editor at a cost of $3,000 to $5,000 a year in Syndicaster subscription costs. That one editor could see all the video from all ten stations and prepare clips for the Web. And he could do it all in his pajamas from home.

And while Syndicaster is only for TV video professionals at this point, many of the same capabilities will be available to everyone in a product called ConsumerCaster that should launch some time in the first quarter of next year.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Source: TechCrunch | 23 Oct 2008 | 9:04 pm

Dutch Court Punishes Theft of Virtual Property

tsa writes "Last week, the Dutch court subjected two kids of ages 15 and 14 to 160 hours of unpaid work or 80 days in jail, because they stole virtual property from a 13-year-old boy. The boy was kicked and beaten and threatened with a knife while forced to log into Runescape and giving his assets to the two perpetrators. This ruling is the first of its kind for the Netherlands. Ars Technica has some more background information." In Japan, meanwhile, a woman has been arrested for "illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data" after (virtually) killing her (virtual) husband.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 23 Oct 2008 | 9:04 pm

Panasonic's Big-Sensor Camera Disappoints NYT Reviewer

Panasonic's new G1 camera contains the same large sensor as bulkier SLRs, but has a much more compact body -- it's an inch slimmer, front to back, than the Nikon D90. It focuses fast, and has removable, interchangeable lenses. It takes gorgeous photos. So why doesn't the New York Times' David Pogue think you should buy one? Three reasons:

1. There are only two lenses for the G1 so far.
2. The G1 is only slightly smaller than the Olympus E420, a full SLR.
3. It doesn't shoot video.

Still, it's clear that Pogue likes this camera for the same reason that I welcomed the Micro Four Thirds standard upon which it's based: Large sensors make for better image quality. And there's no reason why a camera with a large sensor has to be an SLR. In fact, by adopting the point-and-shoot, compose-with-the-LCD format of the G1 -- or the rangefinder style of a Leica M8.2 -- manufacturers could make large-sensor cameras significantly smaller than they do today. The Panasonic G1 appears to be a step in the right direction.

Pro Quality Without Reflex Lens [New York Times]

Photo: Panasonic

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 23 Oct 2008 | 9:03 pm

Android Market Takes On Apple’s App Store: Games Still Rule, But Should They?

24 hours have passed since the launch of the Android Market, the Google equivalent to Apple’s App Store. Medialets has conducted a thorough analysis of the two store launches. The verdict: the size of Android Market pales in comparison to Apple’s store at launch, and won’t allow for paid applications until next year. But the stores are more alike than they are different, with very similar applications launching on both platforms, and an overwhelming focus on games.

Android Market launched with a total of 62 applications, all thoroughly vetted by Google (we’ve heard that Google only wanted to launch with the cream of the crop, but will relax the process in the future). In comparison Apple’s store launched with around 552 total applications that had to go through a lengthy approval process that Apple continues to enforce.

Because both app stores obscure the total number of downloads every application sees, it’s difficult to gauge exactly how popular each app is. When Apple’s store first launched everyone could view exactly how many people had downloaded a given application, but this data was removed less than a day after launch (now the best estimate is to look at the total number of reviews). Android’s store has some very vague popularity descriptions: you can see if an app falls within a certain range (100-500, 500-1000, etc.) but above 10,000 downloads apps simply fall in the overly broad “10,000-50,000″ bracket.

Medialets reports that nine applications made it to this top bracket on Android, with ShopSavvy (an application that allows user to take a photo of a barcode to compare a product’s price with other stores) taking the top spot. Apple’s most popular app at launch was its iPhone Remote, which allows users to control their iTunes library remotely. Only three of the top nine apps in Android’s store are games, but games are still the dominant presence on the store as they are in iTunes.

It’s possible that this skew towards games is a result of developers trying to approach Android the same way as they approached the iPhone, which may wind up being a mistake. Apple has openly embraced the store’s emphasis on gaming, heavily advertising “the funnest iPod ever”. Android phones (particularly the G1) appeal to a different market - one that cares less about aesthetics and fun and more about flexibility and a built-in keyboard. Don’t be surprised if games wind up being significantly less popular on the Android marketplace.

To get a taste of what’s available on Android, check out our top 10 picks, along with AppVee’s video reviews. For more analysis, check out the Medialets report here.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch | 23 Oct 2008 | 8:53 pm

2008 Presidential Election as a D&D Game [Digital Daily]

Kucinich: I’m a bard

Source: All Things Digital | 23 Oct 2008 | 8:52 pm

Samsung Blu-ray Players Will Stream Netflix Videos (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - DVD-rental company Netflix has been working aggressively to expand its delivery options beyond the U.S. Postal Service. In its latest move, the company has struck a deal with Samsung Electronics to embed software in Blu-ray players that will allow consumers to stream video selections from Netflix's library of more than 12,000 titles. No financial terms were disclosed.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 23 Oct 2008 | 8:50 pm

Singularity Summit Kicks Off Saturday in San Jose

The Singularity Summit will bring together speakers from different disciplines to talk about the pace of technological change, its impact and how it will affect us.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 23 Oct 2008 | 8:30 pm

Video Review: Griffin AirCurve iPhone Dock

In short, it's bad. Don't buy it.

AirCurve dock product page [GriffinTechnology.com]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Oct 2008 | 8:27 pm

Hey, you stupid teen.  Learn something.

Section: Computers, Networking, Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Web, Web 2.0, Web Apps, Websites

There are lots of methods of educating children offered these days.  Private school, public school, online charter schools.  But somehow it seems the actual education kids seem to be getting is often on a downhill slide.  And to many, this is a major concern.  The latest in the list of ways to help fill in the gaps you think your child’s schooling may be lacking, or even if you just want a little “extra,” is Brightstorm. 

Who is Brightstorm?

Based out of San Fransisco, CA, and just launched this week, Brightstorm is an online learning network that allows teens, parents, and teachers to work together.  They offer courses at a rate of $50 that are broken up into what they call “episodes.” Each episode lasts about 10 to 20 minutes.  Their courses cover a variety of subjects, from core classes like Math, English and History, to “special” classes like SAT and AP prep. 

How it works

Because they want it to be the best fit possible for each student, kids are allowed to pick the teacher they want to work with based on teaching style.  The students get to view mini-clips of different teachers before making their decision and enrolling in any specific course.  Once in a course, students work at their own pace; although they are still responsible for completing quizzes, doing practice problems, etc.

The one downside is that students don’t have the ability to just raising their hand and asking their teacher a question when they encounter an issue.  It isn’t a one-on-one interactive forum considering they are watching recorded lessons.

Plenty of competition

This isn’t the first such learning “tool.” In the US alone there is PrepMe, ePrep, Teach The People, and Grockit.  Guess we’ll see if Brightstorm has that extra something that continues to draw both parents and students in, and does what it advertises...makes a positive difference in the education of each child they work with. A real learning tool? Or just another online way to scam parents desperately wanting to help their children out of their money? What do you think?

via [marketwatch]

Full Story » | Written by Jodie Andrefski for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 23 Oct 2008 | 8:11 pm

Sony Ericsson releases Beta SDK for Windows Mobile v1.0.4

Looking to develop your big idea for the mobile world, but just not vibing with the iPhone or the Android platform? Sony Ericsson wants you to come hang out in their camp for a bit. Along with adding an XPERIA category to the 2008 Sony Ericsson Content Awards, they’ve released a new Windows Mobile SDK to the public. Amongst other things, the new SDK adds drastically improved support for the XPERIA X1. Sure, your audience may be a bit smaller than with Apple or Google, and the handset itself isn’t widely available yet, but.. uh.. erm.. it’s a good looking device?

The key features of the new SDK:

• Compatibility with Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 - with predefined templates for greatest ease of use
• Windows Vista OS support (adding to its support for Windows XP)
• Built-in true Xperia X1 phone device emulator - allowing developers to run, test and debug panels locally on a desktop without phone hardware
• Key mapping support in the device emulator

If you’re plannin’ on putting something together for the X1, you best get to crackin: you’ve only got 38 days left in the Content Contest.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Source: MobileCrunch | 23 Oct 2008 | 8:04 pm

Review: Phantom Force chess. Verdict: Kids will get a kick out of it

Phantom Force is one of those chess sets that uses magnets to move its own pieces. I always wanted stuff like this when I was a kid, and If I were still 10, I would be all over this thing.

As it is, it's a cool toy, but not much of a chess set: the gimmick gets in the way of the game. But as a way to get youngsters away from the dangerous outside world, it has its charms.

On top of the loud, grinding magnet mechanism hidden underneath the board's surface, it has sound effects, voiced warnings, and an integrated LCD display. The AI offers 136 levels of difficulty and is claimed to play at a 2000 Elo rating. You can set it to play certain opening lines, speak English, Spanish or French, and give you hints when you suck. It requires C batteries or the included A/C adapter.

It evokes The Turk, a fake chess playing automaton of the 18th century and one of science's classic hoaxes. But in its array of fruity sound effects (swords clashing, horses neighing, cannons firing) it also recalls the annoying computer game Battlechess, which was also funny the first time.

If you need the gimmick, go for it. If you don't, the same company's cheaper toys offer the same AI features for far less than Phantom Force's $120 price.

Here's some video of it in action.

Phantom Force [Amazon]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Oct 2008 | 7:55 pm

Panasonic G1 Micro Four Thirds camera reviewed (Verdict: Amazing, but wait to buy)

Pogue really likes the Panasonic G1, the first camera to use the Micro Four Thirds interchangeable lens system. And then he cautions not to buy it: "A monumental advantage of an S.L.R. is interchangeable lenses, and there are only two for the G1 so far." "Not to be an ingrate, but the G1 is not actually that small." And it can't do video.

It's worth a read, though, to hear all the tech that Panasonic has crammed into this camera. The format itself, odd duck in between point-and-shoots and proper DSLRs, may end up being a worthwhile addition to the ol' camera frop bog after all.

Pro Quality Without Reflex Lens [NYTimes.com]

Previously • New Lumix DMC-G1s are smallest cameras with interchangeable lenses

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Oct 2008 | 7:25 pm

Distant Stars Send Good Vibes

A French telescope records the sound of three stars similar to the sun.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Oct 2008 | 7:10 pm

Warm Hands Warm the Heart, Sneaky Study Proves

A hot cup of coffee can make a person feel warmer toward others.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Oct 2008 | 6:42 pm

Look Ma, No Wires! Researchers Build Circuits Using Neurons

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel have developed a way to build computational circuits using cultured neurons.

By controlling the connections and activity of neural cultures developed on a glass plate, the researchers created AND gates and diodes that could become the building blocks of brain-cell circuits.

"Functional logical microcircuits are an essential building block of computation in the brain," says an abstract from their paper in Nature Physics. "However, single neuronal connections are unreliable and it is unclear how neuronal ensembles can be constructed to achieve high response fidelity."

In creating the neuronal circuit, the researchers have managed to achieve nearly 95% reliability, compared to 40% reliability that a single neuron offers.

Here's how the process works: A circuit pattern is scratched on to a glass plate coated with cell-repellent material and held together using an adhesive. The cells are forced to grow in the scratched paths, which are thin enough to allow growth in one direction only.

The result is wire-like connections that can create an AND gate that allows for a single output by adding two inputs.

A small dose of a drug stimulates the neurons, which send the signals that complete the circuit.

Though the research is a yet another step in the world of neural networks, it could potentially help develop brain-cell logic circuits that serve as "intermediaries between computers and the nervous system," say experts.

(via New Scientist)

Photo: (neurollero/Flickr)

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 23 Oct 2008 | 6:39 pm

131 Rails Apps Launched This Past Weekend; You Get To Vote For The Best

The 2008 Rails Rumble, a competition for Ruby on Rails coders, saw 131 web applications launch into the wild this past weekend. The quality of the applications increased dramatically this year, turning the competition into something of a startup hyper-incubator, with the goal of producing apps that not only win votes but become sustained products.

The rules are simple: you, along with up to three hacker friends, can’t start coding until midnight on Friday and you must finish by midnight on Sunday. All code is loaded into private GitHub repositories and all apps are deployed onto Linode virtual servers (both of which are provided for free by sponsors). And as the weekend draws to an end, your (hopefully) functional app will become frozen for testing and voting by anyone on the net.

The apps that dominated this year’s Rumble (the second ever held) relied a lot less on developing their own “network effect” than last year’s. Many were built around Twitter, and there were a number of project collaboration apps as well. The participants were also significantly more professional and thrived on the pressure to get a real product off the ground. Around five apps out of 90 total from the 2007 competition are still around today, including last year’s winner Tasty Planner. The Rails Rumble team, a volunteer organizing committee led by Nick Plante and Darcy Laycock, expects that number to grow significantly this year.

While the 2008 Rumble was Rails-specific, Plante hopes to host more events and potentially different types of competitions. He says the behind-the-scenes work done this year was primarily concerned with building “a turn-key solution for hosting a coding competition,” including registration and voting infrastructure. This year’s competition also made a big push for OpenID; it was not only required for registration and voting, approximately 95% of competition apps integrated the standard as well.

Here are some stats from the event:

• Last year: 324 participants on 140 teams. 90 teams qualified (successfully created an app).
• This year: 529 total participants on 231 teams. 131 teams qualified.
• 22 solo teams, 28 teams with two members, 27 teams with three people, 54 teams with four people
• 14355 total commits to GitHub (avg 112 per team).
• 245257 total Lines of Code (not including Rails)

Want to get involved? Voting for 2008 Rails Rumble begins now. Here’s how it works: signup to vote and get 10 random app invitations. If you cast votes, you’ll receive 10 more, and so on. Winners of this year’s Rumble will get (among lesser prizes) a mint-condition 1986 Chuck Norris Undercover Agent Action Figure (”Chuck Norris does not sleep…He waits”). So check out some of these apps, vote, and let us know what you think in the comments.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Source: TechCrunch | 23 Oct 2008 | 6:24 pm

MSI Wind Sales Soaring Toward 700,000

Perhaps numbers will quell Apple's doubts about offering a netbook. Notebook industry sources report that Taiwanese manufacturer Micro-Star International is on track to ship between 600,000 and 700,000 units of its popular MSI Wind netbook within 2008. That's quite impressive, considering MSI only entered the netbook market this summer.

And if that isn't enough to convince Steve Jobs, Taiwanese company Asus expects to sell 5 million of its trendy Eee PC netbooks by the end of the year.

ABI Research estimates about 9 million netbooks -- low-powered, miniature notebooks streamlined for web surfing -- will be sold in 2008. The firm forecasts that manufacturers will ship 200 million ultra-mobile devices, including netbooks by 2013 -- which is about the same anticipated size as the entire laptop market worldwide.

See also:

• Apple Has 'Interesting Ideas' for a Netbook, But Isn't Ready

MSI netbook shipments to fall between 600,000-700,000 units this year [DigiTimes via Liliputing]

Photo: dougbelshaw/Flickr

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 23 Oct 2008 | 6:11 pm

Google Fixes Gmail For The BlackBerry And Java Phones

Google finally got around to fixing Gmail on the Blackberry and J2ME phones like the Nokia N95 or Sony Ericsson W910i. Now you can compose emails while offline. When you hit “send, they sit in the outbox until your handset finds a network again.

The offline capability will come in really handy on the subway. Now, my BlackBerry can do what Gmail on my iPhone and Android handsets can do. Just in time for the Blackberry Storm, too.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

Source: TechCrunch | 23 Oct 2008 | 6:06 pm

Google Fixes Gmail For The Blackberry And Java Phones

Google finally got around to fixing Gmail on the Blackberry and J2ME phones like the Nokia N95 or Sony Ericsson W910i. Now you can compose emails while offline. When you hit “send, they sit in the outbox until your handset finds a network again. Gmail is also being updated with the ability to compose and save more than one draft at the same time, toggle between different email accounts, and it is introducing more shortcut keys.

The offline capability will come in really handy on the subway. As a New York City resident, that’s where I get a lot of my emails done. And as a Blackberry owner, it’s always annoyed me that I could read my emails but not to respond to any while en route to work. Now, my BlackBerry can do what Gmail on my iPhone and Android handsets can do. Just in time for the Blackberry Storm, too.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

Source: MobileCrunch | 23 Oct 2008 | 6:03 pm

Margarator MSB-585: It's a fuckin' blender

The "Margarator" is a $110 blender with a spout on the front, designed to make margaritas and other frozen drinks — and only that. While I'm sure it pulverizes ice with the best blenders, I'm a little taken aback that something so specifically tailored for one purpose exists when a perfectly good multi-purpose equivalent is likely already in the kitchens of most potential customers.

But on the other hand, the MSB-585 — it's just one of many Margarators from Nostalgia Electrics! — has a car plug to let it run off DC power. Can your KitchenAid do that? (Asking "But why would I want it to?" is not allowed.)

I discovered this particular model via Margarators.com, a strange site that exists only as an index of various margarita machines.

Margarator MSB-585 catalog page [Barware.com]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Oct 2008 | 5:52 pm

Pantech Duo gets the Windows Mobile 6.1 treatment

Right after Helio worked with Pantech on the Ocean, Pantech cranked out the strikingly similar (albeit with less spring-loaded-slider goodness) Duo.

This morning, Pantech announced that not only had all the Duos currently sitting on AT&T’s shelves been bumped up to Windows Mobile 6.1, but that the folks back at home could get in on the fun too. If you’ve got a Helio Ocean 0.8 Pantech Duo sittin around, head over to the product page for the update kit. As always, be sure to back up your data before diving in - making the switch does involve having all your data erased.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Source: MobileCrunch | 23 Oct 2008 | 5:52 pm

Robocraft Boxing Robots one up Rock'Em Sock'Em

Think of them as Rock'Em, Sock'Em Robots on wheels: Tamiya's constructable, DIY Robocraft boxing kit contains a contains a wired robot pugilist with only one function: to spurt hydraulic fluid, to knock servo-controlled blocks off, to see LED lights go dim under the bombardment of tin and plastic fists.

Rather expensive, unfortunately. Two will run you back $67, which is about $47 more than is reasonable.

Robocraft Boxing Robots [Tamiya USA via Technabob]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Oct 2008 | 5:37 pm

The Cloud Is Shaping Up. Amazon Beefs Up EC2, Bechtolsheim Shifts His Attention To Arista

Cloud computing keeps advancing like rolling thunder. Amazon today announced a major upgrade to its EC2 compute cloud service and Sun co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim has decided to spend more time at his startup Arista Networks, which sells 10-Gigabit Ethernet switches aimed at handling the loads at cloud-computing data centers. And just yesterday, RackSpace announced two small acquisitions to help it better compete against Amazon in the cloud computing as well. The biggest news today comes from Amazon, which is staking the "beta" label off of its EC2 service and announcing the following upgrades:

Source: TechCrunch | 23 Oct 2008 | 5:32 pm

Samsung confirms TouchWiz UI is headed for the US

I’m not sure if there was ever any doubt that the TouchWiz UI would show up on US handsets eventually, but Samsung’s gone and confirmed it via press release anyways.

TouchWiz is a Samsung-made user interface specifically tailored for touchscreens. Its best known feature is likely its widget system, which allows users to drag and drop widgets onto their homescreen from a drawer hidden just off screen.

They didn’t announce any handsets for TouchWiz’s US debut - just that it’s on the way for late 2008 and early 2009. The Samsung Omnia and the F480, both of which rock TouchWiz, are expected to be getting US twins sometime in the coming months. Chances are, they’ll be amongst the first TouchWiz devices in the states.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Source: MobileCrunch | 23 Oct 2008 | 5:08 pm

Retro WTF: Where Cars Come From...

Laid as eggs by the shrill, nightmarish "Metal Bird", of course, then marketed and sold by a ghoulish, bowler-doffed transvestite. And that ghoulish, bowler-doffed transvestite's name was Henry Ford.

[via POETV]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Oct 2008 | 5:02 pm

Rocket-Powered Car Aims for 1,000-Mile-an-Hour

A British speed car team launches an effort to reach 1,000 miles per hour.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Oct 2008 | 4:53 pm

Oprah, Amazon, and cockteasing

"What is Oprah's favorite gadget?" asks this video player on Amazon.com.

I don't know the answer because the 24-second clip never actually says. Thanks for making me feel doubly stupid for wanting to know the answer, Amazon.

I'll just go ahead and guess: I bet it's the Sybian. And there's one for all of you under your chairs!

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Oct 2008 | 4:39 pm

DVD player in a Darth Vader head

Every once and a while, I have to purposely exfoliate the layers of callous that have built up on my soul and allow the entombed child within out to squee.

Curmudgeon that I am, my first thought when looking at this Star Wars Darth Vader television: "Pfft. Cheap tat. No way that 14-inch screen is high-def. And the integrated DVD player? Not even Blu-Ray. George Lucas can choke a dick: he truly has no shame."

But then I remembered the kid inside of me who would have creamed himself to a galaxy far, far away if he got this for his birthday. "Holy shit, dude. A television shaped like Darth Vader's frickin' head, with a lightsaber remote and a DVD player? Mother, consider my love successfully bought off for another annum."

$212, if you've got a child to send a-squee.

Star Wars TV/DVD with Lightsaber Remote [Geek Alerts]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Oct 2008 | 4:35 pm

Review: A few days with the T-Mobile G1, the first Google Android phone

When it comes to owning, using, or reviewing a gadget, there are really only two states: love increasing or love receding.

Products are not simply loved or hated, but appreciated over time on a scale which terminates with perfection at one extreme, failure to operate at the other. That scale can be broken down in any number of metrics, all of which are useless: what matters to the owner of a product is not where a reviewer, a single sample, has chosen to mark his opinion at an arbitrary point in time on the scale, but in what direction that point is heading. (And to a lesser and murkier degree, for how long that trend will continue.)

What's lost in the review — the direction of love — is critical. Like romantic love, a slide towards increasing love helps us overlook flaws, remember only the best aspects of our product's features, and gives the relationship between a product and its owner time to flourish and grow. Hidden delights will show themselves after a time, reinforcing the relationship, even as unaddressed incompatibilities might, after a measure, begin to tilt affection towards declination.

This vector of endearment is influenced before we even first crack open the package and hold a product in our hands; by discordant keening from a chorus of marketing harpies, by expectations of a deserved future, by hope born of past failures.

So, Android. Specifically: Android as it exists in its first outing, on the T-Mobile G1.

It is a very good operating system for a mobile device, combining what appears to be a solid technical underpinning with a smattering of clever design innovations, including what might be the best implementation yet for a status bar on a mobile device. So good job there, Google.

It is, unfortunately, saddled to a hobbled war horse of a phone, heavy with features — a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a nearly one-inch tall raised hilt with buttons and a trackball that feel wholly unnecessary, a processor which is too slow, and a dearth of storage — that does little to excite or delight.

My most anticipated feature, the "Compass Mode" that makes Google Maps' Street View into a sort of augmented reality, did not work very well at all, operating too slowly and too imprecisely to serve as even a demonstration of the phone's whizbanginess to friends. Without it I was left to showing the parallax scrolling in the home screen which, while attractive, is thin gruel to serve. But at least I didn't have to resort to bragging that Android is open source — at least not within the first thirty seconds.

Integration with Google services, of which I am a heavy user, is excellent, as was instant messaging. (Although the G1's IM experience still does not match that of the years-old Sidekick, it's getting close.)

Multimedia support is mediocre, but who cares with only 1GB of included storage on (replaceable) microSD? This will need to be fixed in future Android phones, but with no 3.5mm audio minijack, it's clear that music and video will always be second tier on the G1. (There is a headphone jack on a USB dongle, which is ridiculous.)

The selection of applications in the Marketplace is really slim at launch, although download and installation is a breeze.

The web browser, while marred by the inexplicable lack of multitouch support in the touchscreen, is very good, rending most web pages like its real, grown-up desktop counterparts.

In all, Android is at launch up to par, technically, with all other major mobile operating systems. Even better, it's open source. Even better than that, it's a solid open source operating system being shepherded by a technically adroit company with effectively limitless resources and a penchant for — or at least a passing awareness of — clean, simple design.

So why don't I love the G1?

It's ugly, for one. Call me shallow if you must, but I'd call myself human: we respond to physical elegance in people and in objects and the G1 is a lumpen, crooked, creaking slab. (That creaking comes from hinges on the flip-up screen that reveals the keyboard, which makes an altogether more appealingly solid clack.) And the ugliness extends into the operating system itself, which at a minimum needs to update its icon set. Colorful, rounded icons have never been Google's most attractive corporate hallmark, but at least on the web they indicated a down-to-businessness that had a certain charm. On the phone, however, they just look chintzy.

Its keyboard is adequate. But the inclusion of a secondary system of navigation — not the keyboard, but the scroll ball and the four buttons surrounding it — make for a schizophrenic user experience. Should I use the touchscreen here? you'll sometimes wonder when the scroll ball doesn't seem to work. Then you'll touch the screen and find it somehow enables the scroll ball to work again.

Worse, going back a step in menus and applications is almost always handled by the physical Back button next to the scroll ball, which means often you have to take your hand away from the touchscreen to hit a physical button before returning your finger back to the screen.

Any complaint I have about Android can be fixed. And obviously the operating system can operate on different handsets that address the issues I have with the G1. But I remain most worried about the holistic experience that Android's first showing engenders. It seems as if Google set out to create an open source mobile operating system that bests Windows Mobile and Symbian. And so they did, turning a single cannon from a single warship of their fleet to eradicate those pesky little threats before heading off to ports unknown.

But when it comes to provoking excitement or affection, Android still feels like an open source simulacrum of existing products. (Poor Linux, always a bridesmaid...) I'm extremely happy to see it for legitimate political and competitive reasons, but at least on the G1 it's not yet ready to recede into the background of my life as a trusted companion.*

That said, Android has an interesting arc, and I think it's why the first wave of reviews are so diverse. If I were to rate it on that hated scale, I'd put it somewhere above average with my affections quickly ebbing. But somewhere in its future I suspect there are improvements that might arrest that fall.

Yet you don't — or shouldn't — buy products on what they might be in the future. For now, the T-Mobile G1 is a solid, utilitarian phone, which I can recommend without question to those looking for a basic modern smartphone.

I was just hoping that it would be so much more.

* Those of us who review products for a living — gigolos of gadgetry, who seduce an endless succession of products in one-week stands for your titillation by proxy — have learned to open our hearts quickly to something new, take a quick reading of our quickening pulse, and then move nearly effortlessly to the next victim. It's useful to a shopper, certainly, but not the same as the knowledge gained over the slow arc of fidelity. Considering that, if we really love a product, it's because it has broken through our jaded inclinations, which usually means it's meritorious above others, even if in our concupiscent fervor we might occasionally love a little too desperately.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Oct 2008 | 4:35 pm

The U.S. Penny's Un-American History

A penny's value -- and its true origins -- are dependent on the time and place it was minted.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Oct 2008 | 3:17 pm

Eco-Friendly Exhaust Filters Look Like Rocket Jets

The Blade might clean up your dirty poisoned gas pumped out by your car, cutting CO2 by a third and overall pollution by more than half, and it might even give you better mileage.

But the reason that this eco-friendly add-on might be a success is that it looks badass. As a teenager, I bought a big fat chrome extension for the tailpipe of my Morris Minor just to make it look cool (it didn't). If it had given me these environmental benefits too then... Well, I wouldn't have cared. I was a selfish teenager. But neither would it have put me off.

The problem is, the Blade costs $200, plus an extra $20 per year for the filters. Still, if the claimed 2.7 miles per gallon mileage increase is real, you'll save that in no time. The tests were carried out by EPA approved – and California Air Resources Board (CARB) licensed – labs, but not directly by either of those bodies themselves. This could, indeed, be snake oil, especially given the current climate of high gas prices and economic panic -- it's a perfect time to prey on the credulous.

Then again, if it does work, it's a cheap fix that works out well for everyone. Even teenagers.

Product page [Blade via Treehugger]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 23 Oct 2008 | 3:16 pm

Teacup with a CD as a saucer

Most enthusiast product designs fall somewhere between practicality and whimsy... usually closer to a Lewis Carrol-esque fantasy of the technology trade than anything else. This singing teacup concept by Jongmin Kim thoroughly falls under the Cheshire smile of gadget design: the obsolete compact disc is slotted into a saucer, with the tea cup its volume knob.

Singing Teacup [Yanko]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Oct 2008 | 2:45 pm

Photosynthesis May Have Started Later

Scientists try to resolve a long-standing puzzle over when photosynthesis began.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Oct 2008 | 2:27 pm

Halting Hunger With Re-Tooled Foods

A range of new strategies use food to trick the body into feeling full.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Oct 2008 | 2:00 pm

Egyptian Mummies Yield Earliest Evidence of Malaria

Scientists find evidence of malaria in mummies dating back 3,500 years.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Oct 2008 | 1:22 pm

'Extinct' Cockatoo Rediscovered in Indonesia

A cockatoo species feared extinct has been "rediscovered" with a handful of sightings.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Oct 2008 | 12:57 pm

Facebook Dreams Of Easy Music While Religious Battle Rages Internally

In August I speculated that music may be the single biggest factor helping MySpace keep its commanding lead over Facebook in the U.S. market.

It’s not that Facebook hasn’t experimented with music over the years. Artists can set up pages and promote themselves, for example, although few choose to do so. Facebook also awarded iLike (the only music service with real traction on the site) with the cherished “Great Apps” designation over the summer, which theoretically gives iLike a level playing field with Facebook’s own applications.

Every time I’ve spoken with Facebook execs, they’re stressed that they have no intention of building their own music service to compete with iLike and other applications.

But all that changed a week or so ago when Facebook began an earnest effort to build a Facebook Music application (Venturebeat has some of the details, although parts of their story conflict with information we’ve obtained). They didn’t announce this publicly. Instead, Vice President of Business Development Dan Rose and his team reached out to 8 or 9 Internet music services to discuss what the service might look like. Facebook execs also met with major music labels in New York this week to discusss the project, says one source.

We believe, based on discussions with a number of sources, that Buzznet, iLike, iMeem, LaLa, Last.fm, Rhapsody and other services were contacted and provided with a document (sometimes referred to by sources as a RFP (request for proposal), other times called a term sheet) that outlined certain goals of the new Facebook music service.

The RFP requires the third party service to build and power a new Facebook Music Service that offers free music streaming and playlists, music downloads for a fee, and other music merchandising services such as ringtones, concert ticket sales and physical goods like tshirts (if this sounds like MySpace Music, it’s because it is exactly their model). The service must not only handle front end user requirements but must also be able to handle the very tricky tracking issues required by the labels to monitor music streams and fees.

The RFP also includes onerous termination provisions that allow Facebook to take ownership and control of the service and the user data under certain circumstances. In return, say our sources, Facebook will offer the third party a split on revenues generated from the service.

We’ve heard conflicting accounts of who will pay for the big up front fees labels require to get a music service up and running. Some estimates of prepaid royalty requirements are as high as $100 million, which Facebook is looking to avoid paying themselves. Other sources say that Facebook may be willing to pay these fees if they can’t force the third party to take them on.

It’s clear from our discussions that the third party music services are impressed by how one-sided the Facebook terms are. To do the deal Facebook requests, one source said, is “suicide.” But it’s also clear that no one wants to be left out of Facebook music, either. “It’s a no-win situation,” said one source.

The Facebook Platform Religious War

Facebook faces a problem - they can’t ignore music and expect to compete effectively with MySpace. But they’ve also promised their application developers, particularly iLike, a level playing field. Those developers have spent significant resources building on Facebook based on those promises. If Facebook now carves music out of that promise, developers won’t be able to trust them in any other area (rumor is Facebook has a similar RFP out for classifieds). The message will be clear: you guys can have all the niche stuff, but if something grows too big, we’ll come in and take it over.

There are three ways Facebook can go forward: (1) build their own music service like MySpace did and lose the trust of their application developers forever (plus it will take them a year or more to build the service and secure deals with labels and other rights holders), (2) partner with a third party to build out Facebook Music, and then compete on a somewhat level playing field with other third party developers, or (3) just acquire iLike (or another service) flat out, since they’re already a “Great App,” and show developers that if they really excel in their niche, they have a path to liquidity.

iLike isn’t the ideal partner for the service because they don’t have music label relationships (they stream music through Rhapsody). But they do already dominate the music scene on Facebook. And Facebook may be forced to forge those label relationships directly anyway, making iLike a good fit.

It’s far from clear which direction Facebook will go. Our understanding is that CEO Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t want to upset developers any more than they already have. Rose is supposedly championing a direct approach that leaves developers out in the cold.

The outcome of the battle will affect far more than Facebook’s music strategy - it will also signal if the company is at all serious about being a platform/operating system for the social graph, or if they just want to own everything of value on the Facebook platform.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch | 23 Oct 2008 | 12:55 pm