Camera Boom	Eyes on the Street	Small-Town Sentinel
Estimated value of the US surveillance cam market in 2000: 2.4 billion Estimated value in 2007: $4.7 billion	Number of visible street cams in lower Manhattan in 1998: 769 Number of street cams in 2005: 4,176 Estimated number by 2009: 7,176	Cost to install a camera in the town park in Liberty, Kansas (funded by a federal grant : $5,000 Population of Liberty, Kansas: 95
View to a Kill	Flight Time	Secret Agent Moth
Number of feet from which a camera can read a license plate: 1,000 Percentage change in red light violations after Philadelphia installed cams: -96	Hours an unmanned surveillance helicopter can hover: 18.7 Minutes a robo-dragonfly (toting a minicam and image-recognition software) can fly: 3	Cost to produce a moth cyborg, which Darpa hopes to turn into a remote-controlled spy bug: $15 Grams a moth cyborg can carry: 5

Google is adding more sidebar options to Gmail. Now you can add gadgets on the side that show your appointments from Google Calendar and your last five documents in Google Docs. In the calendar gadget, you can see any calendar you subscribe to and add events directly from Gmail. The Docs gadget gives you a few different view options (only spreadsheets, only presentations, or only documents previously opened by you).

Gmail Labs is also releasing another experimental option that lets you cut and paste the URL of any Google gadget and turns it into a sidebar item. So if you don’t like iGoogle’s new wider look, you can squeeze those gadgets into the sidebar of Gmail.

I personally would prefer to have them in Gmail (because I am constantly in that app), but with the option of expanding them into more screen real estate when necessary.

These gadgets are new entry points into Google’s other apps. I’d expect to see more cross-fertilization like this in the future as Google finds new ways to tie its apps together in deeper and more intuitive ways.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 28 Oct 2008 | 3:35 am

Samsung's New Carbon Nano-Tube Color E-Paper

Iddo Genuth writes to tell us that Samsung and Unidym have shown the world's first carbon nanotube-based color e-paper. Interestingly, the new film is electrically conductive while remaining almost completely translucent and only 50 nanometers thick. "The company also mentions that the EPD [electrphoretic displays] has important advantages over conventional flat panel displays. EPDs have very low power consumption and bright light readability, which means that even under bright lights or sunlight, the user would be able to view the display clearly. Furthermore, since the device uses the thin CNT films, applications can include e-paper and displays with thin, flexible substrates. Power consumption is lowered due to the EPD's ability to reflect light and therefore able to preserve text or images on the display without frequently refreshing."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 28 Oct 2008 | 3:33 am

A Storm in the Horizon, should Apple and their iPhone be worried?

FROM APPLETELL - Up until this point, Apple’s iPhone has been the only mobile touch screen device that has been worth buying.  However, a new Blackberry from RIM may soon change that for many smart phone users.
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Kwanzoo, a new startup launching today, is looking to help increase your advertising revenue by embedding your ads in small quizzes. The site features a bank of over 50,000 questions spanning categories that include video games, sports, and movies. Users can try out the questions at the site’s homepage, but CEO Mani Iyer says that the company’s primary goal is to create interactive ad units. The startup has already established partnerships with large clients including Meebo and Glam Media, who are reportedly seeing click through rates as high as 10x what they normally see from typical banner ads.

Users can build quizzes by searching for pre-written questions from their favorite topics or by inputting their own questions. Each quiz consists of five or ten questions, and don’t display an ad (or “call to action”) until after the questions have been completed. And while ads may not be readily visible when the quiz is displayed on a page, they are much better at grabbing the viewer’s attention than traditional banners, which users have trained themselves to ignore.

At this point Kwanzoo isn’t an ad network - it isn’t finding the ads that will appear on your site. Instead, you embed ads from other networks into your widget. For large publishers like Glam the site is employing a paid service with a three way revenue split (between publisher, ad network, and Kwanzoo), but in the future the site will also offer free widgets with a different revenue sharing scheme that has yet to be determined.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 28 Oct 2008 | 2:45 am

Philips’ green HDTVs to grace lux hotels across the nation

Although luxury hotels are, in every respect, incredible and conspicuous wasters of resources (in the name of comfort), at least that means they’ve got nowhere to but green. So although you may safely blast the Sheraton, W, and Westin hotels among others for things like washing clean towels, throwing away used card keys and so on, at least you’ll know that when you turn on the tube for a little late-night decompression, you’ll be turning on a nice energy-efficient “green” TV.

That’s because Philips struck a deal with the Hotel meta-company Starwood to outfit all its hotels with Smartpower2 TVs, a line intended for this exact purpose and which boasts power savings of up to 40%. It may be that Starwood was looking at the bottom line: $12 million in power savings over the life of the TVs. Sure; as I read once, “corporate responsibility” may be a myth, but if we can make the “right” choice at the very least not cost them too much, they’ll be happy to do it for that more intangible benefit: the illusion that they care.

Source: CrunchGear | 28 Oct 2008 | 2:18 am

Vringo gets foot in the door; video ringtones set for world domination

Section: Communications, Accessories, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Mobile

Kids love those darn ringtone and ringback tones.  Imagine if those same kids could share their favorite web clips just by phoning someone.  Vringo is turning a simple phone call into an expression of self that can change by the hour.

A Turkish carrier has become the first to venture into a subscription model for video ringtones.  Not only can the Turks with this service enjoy a web clip when their phone rings, they can push out these clips to others, making something that was somewhat personal (setting ringtones for your friends) into a very social party.  Users can push these clips to show on their friends phones when the user calls them.

Users will have access to an exclusive 4,000+ clips for Patlican members or can create their own clips, use licensed content (say a Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff video) or even set up YouTube clips to be a video ringtone.

The Turkish carrier Avea will set this up on their hip Patlican platform.  The service will be free for 60 days (the hook) and then cost 4 SMS per month.

Vringo is a well financed company with its own Board of Directors so clearly, I am not the only one thinking this is going to be huge.  Earlier this year, the company launched a way to get your friends images onto your iPhone as a contact photo.

It is just a matter of time before you’re forced to watch your hip niece’s webclips when she calls to ask you for money.  Awesome stuff.

Company site [Vringo]

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Source: Gadgetell | 28 Oct 2008 | 2:17 am

White Supremacists Plotted to Assasinate Obama, Behead Black Children

White supremacist terrorism persists in America: Two neo-nazi skinheads planned to assassinate Barack Obama and shoot or behead dozens of black people, but their plot was thwarted by a federal investigation. Photo below: Daniel Cowart, 20, of Tennessee vamps for a MySpace vanity snapshot with one of the guns seized by ATF agents. His plot partner, also arrested: Paul Schlesselman 18, an Arkansas native. Snip from Eric Lichtblau's piece in the NYT:

The assassination was to be the culmination of a “killing spree” that would also single out children at an unnamed, predominately black school, federal officials said. The men talked of “killing 88 people and beheading 14 African-Americans,” according to the affidavit.

The two men each had “very strong views” about Aryan white power and “skinhead” ideology, the federal officials said, and the numbers 88 and 14 have special significance in the white power movement. The number 88 is shorthand for “Heil Hitler” — H is the eighth letter in the alphabet —and 14 signifies a 14-word mantra among white supremacists: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”

Officials said the two men met via the Internet through a mutual friend.

Arrests in Plan to Kill Obama and Black Schoolchildren (New York Times).

Smoking Gun has a copy of the ATF affidavit, which reveals that the fashion-conscious FAIL duo planned to wear white tuxedoes and top hats to the massacre. Here's a video of Obama's response to the news. Here are the original PDFs of the ATF affidavit , complaint, and news release.

Previously on Boing Boing:
Black man dragged to death 200 miles from site of Byrd murder 10 years ago.

Source: Boing Boing | 28 Oct 2008 | 2:03 am

Nielsen Online Announces September U.S. Search Share Rankings

Nielsen Online reports September 2008 data for the Top U.S. Search Providers. Top search providers, ranked by total searches. Searches represent the total number of queries conducted at the provider.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 Oct 2008 | 2:00 am

When would it be appropriate to declare Vista dead?

Read this line and you’ll understand how Joe Wilcox (and pretty much everyone else online) over at eWeek feels about Windows Vista:

Vista is headed to as quick a death as Microsoft can give it. Someday soon, some gun-toting Microsoft executive will lead Vista out back and “Pop!”

Screaming “Vista sucks!” is by no means a novel idea, but Wilcox uses, you know, evidence to support his claim, that Vista is dead to Microsoft. For example, Microsoft didn’t bleat endlessly about Vista licenses sold during last week’s earnings call. Is that because sales are down, or because sales weren’t as impressive at last quarter?

There’s also netbooks, the tiny half-laptops that, for whatever reason, people are snapping up. Needless to say, RAM- and graphics-hungry Vista doesn’t exactly run well on netbooks, which is why so manufacturers offer XP or Linux in lieu of Vista. If Microsoft can’t sell its fancy operating system to manufacturers of netbooks, where is growth going to come from, Mars?

This is why, by the way, Microsoft is so bullish on Windows 7—ignore that whole Vista thing, ’twas but a minor setback.

Source: CrunchGear | 28 Oct 2008 | 1:30 am

Microsoft Announces Windows Azure, Cloud-Based OS

snydeq writes "Microsoft today introduced Windows Azure, its operating system for the cloud. The OS serves as the underlying foundation of the Azure Services Platform to help developers build apps that span from the cloud to the datacenter, to PCs, the Web, and phones. Cloud-based developer capabilities are combined with storage, computational, and network infrastructure services, which are hosted on servers within Microsoft's global data center network."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 28 Oct 2008 | 1:24 am

How to Spruce Up Your Business Card

When financial times get rough, the rough start updating their business cards. Focus on the basics, like your contact information, before diving into fancy designs and card stock. If you want to stand out, there's more to it than just that. Get started with some of our simple steps.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 Oct 2008 | 1:00 am

Review: Amethyst AIP aka the iPig

Why do you need a pig-shaped iPod dock? I don’t know, but it exists and it’s a sensible little device. The pig blows out some thin music but it’s nice and heavy on the bass and it looks great in a kids room. It is audiophile quality? Absolutely not, but it comes with a mini-remote that controls most iPod features and it costs about $150 - probably less when it comes to retail stores. Best of all, the website encourages you to make your neighbors jealous:

This speaker can be placed anywhere: on a shelf , a desk or any place you want in your rest room, study, sitting room……it will never makes you disappointing, but the only thing you should care is your neighbor’s jealousy.

Bottom Line
Great iPod dock for kids, the porcine inclined.

Source: CrunchGear | 28 Oct 2008 | 12:57 am

Updated Maps application to make debut in iPhone 2.2

FROM APPLETELL - Apple has seeded a new build of the iPhone 2.2 software to developers. Along with a reworked Safari interface, other functional improvements include updates to the Maps application.
MORE »

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Source: Gadgetell | 28 Oct 2008 | 12:38 am

Review: Logitech Pure-Fi Anytime for iPhone/iPod

Quick Version: The $99.99 Pure-Fi Anytime is a good choice as an alarm clock and single-room speaker system. If you’ve got your life on your iPhone, you’ll appreciate this gadget as it pulls double duty as a bedside phone charger and music player.

Overview and Features

• Universal iPod/iPhone dock and alarm clock
• Motion activated backlight and snooze – just waving your hand over the top of the alarm clock acts as the snooze function
• AM/FM radio
• Audio input for non-iPod devices
• Remote control
• MSRP of $99.99

It’s good for…

…people who live and die by their iPhone or iPod. If your iPhone is a major part of your life – contacts, appointments, phone, mobile internet, music, and all that good stuff – then you might as well integrate it into how you wake up in the morning, right?

If you’re the type that has trouble getting going in the wee hours, you may appreciate the ability to flail your arms about wildly when your alarm starts up with the off-chance of activating the snooze. A simple Obi Wan Kenobi-style hand wave within a few inches of the top of the Pure-Fi Anytime is just as good as physically tapping the actual snooze button. The same goes for the backlit buttons on top of the device. They’ll remain dark until your hand gets close to them, at which point they’ll illuminate.

At under a hundred bucks, too, the Pure-Fi Anytime isn’t outrageously expensive. If you have a small apartment/dorm or spend a lot of time in your bedroom, it’s a nice do-it-all alarm clock and speaker dock if you’re low on space.

Not so good for…

…audiophiles, party people, those seeking block rocking beats and/or who wish to be taken to FunkyTown, etc. The sound quality is above average for an alarm clock but a little tinny once you crank it up. It’d also be a little too low-volume for a party, as it doesn’t get all that loud. If you’re from the Midwest like I am, you might be able to throw a successful party because everyone in the Midwest is polite and refrains from talking over one another in social situations. If you’re one of the 900 girls on the East Coast who are each somehow part of my wife’s side of the family, though, forget it.

Also, the remote isn’t really a selling point if you ask me. It’s one of those credit card remotes that seem to ship with every inexpensive audio device on the market. I find myself having to point the remote directly at the Pure-Fi, giving it a nice, hard, deliberate press. Even then, it still doesn’t register sometimes. Not really a direct Logitech issue – none of those tiny remotes seem to work well.

Conclusion

A good choice, especially if you have most of your music on your iPhone/iPod and want to listen while you’re getting ready in the morning. Many people sleep with their phones charging right next to their beds anyway, so you might as well kill two birds with one stone and cut down on the cords to boot.

The price is nice, the motion sensing stuff is pretty cool (if a bit gimmicky), and the unit itself is a handsome piano black which should go well with most bedroom motifs.

Pure-Fi Anytime [Logitech.com]

Source: CrunchGear | 28 Oct 2008 | 12:37 am

'Doom' creator wins first stage of lunar challenge (CNET)

CNET - Armadillo Aerospace, a team led by Doom video game creator John Carmack, has won $350,000 in prize money in a contest to improve lunar flight.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:56 pm

Video Condolences to the Hudson Family [BoomTown]

Today, the news was the worst possible for Academy-Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson, an impossibly talented and obviously lovely singer and actress, after the body of her seven-year-old nephew was found after an intense search of the Chicago area.

Julian King was murdered, along with Hudson’s mother and brother, in a horrific crime police are trying to solve now. The main suspect in the case is the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson’s sister and the mother of Julian.

Hudson used her MySpace page to encourage fans to help in the now tragically-ended search for the boy and news stories broke all day long fast and furious. Hudson’s mother and brother were found dead several days ago in the family’s home on the city’s South Side.

No surprise, Internet video is popping up all over, many in the form of condolences to Hudson and her sister in the form of songs and music mashups.

The first and second videos are typical, while the third is Hudson herself singing her signature song–”And I Am Telling You”–from the movie “Dreamgirls.”

Words cannot express the pain of her family’s loss. But her singing, as you will see, expresses so very much.

Source: All Things Digital | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:48 pm

Cox to provide wireless service (AFP)

AFP - Cox Communications, the third largest US cable television company, announced plans Monday to provide wireless service next year.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:39 pm

Inside View of Epic, Preparing Gears of War 2

Subm writes "Lamborghinis, motion-capture rooms, secret new weapons, these are a few things included in the profile of Epic Games and its Design Director, Cliff Bleszinski. 'A Microsoft employee who works closely with Epic described the company as having a "band dynamic." Staff turnover is low, and many of Epic's most senior employees have been friends for more than a decade. This does not seem a very long time until one sits in on an Epic meeting and realizes that anyone over the age of thirty-five achieves the temporal stature of Methuselah. Epic's recent growth is regarded with wary gratitude by many of its employees, though some miss the old days, when, as Sweeney put it, "we were just a bunch of kids who had some cool ideas and were doing neat things."'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:38 pm

Dell introduces the next up in their line of sleek netbooks: the Inspiron Mini 12

Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Laptops, Wireless, Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous

So, Dell comes out with a new netbook.  At first, the Mini 12 was just a rumor, but it is all official.  It comes complete with a 12-inch display (up from their earlier Mini 9 model), although it is pretty much geared for the same crowd.  According to Dell, it is super for “teens, tweens, travelers and ‘Tweeters’ to surf the Web, chat with friends, blog, stream content, upload photos or enjoy online videos, music and games.”

Japan gets it first

Oddity of the deal—Japan gets it before the US.  It’s available in Japan for about a month and then will be available to buy online for about $600 base price starting the end of November.  For that price, you pretty much get the standard set of specs for any other basic netbook.  A gig of RAM, Vista, either a 60 or 80 GB hard drive, and Wi-Fi packaged into the system.  No real bells and whistles, but not the worst system out there by far.  They also offer a built in webcam, Bluetooth, and claim to have a battery life of about three hours.

Vista, really?

What makes me wonder with the whole offerings in the basic package is the OS that Dell selected.  Vista Basic?  On this system?  Vista takes a HECK of a lot to run correctly and a netbook with this amount of RAM and hard drive?  Ummmm...I think they just may be asking for some customer complaints until they come out with the XP and Unbuntu versions Dell says are going to show up later this year.  Because just about anyone that has used Vista will tell you, Microsoft’s “suggestions” for the requirements for using Vista are baloney.  Your system is NOT gonna run right on 1 GB of RAM with a 40 or 60 GB hard drive and you really should have a minimum of a Pentium 4 or dual core processor.

Taking on the Macbook Air

Some are comparing the Inspiron Mini 12 to the MacBook Air.  It weighs in at 2..27 pounds and is 0.92 inches thick.  So the comparisons to the Air begin, even though it is slightly thicker, which may be due in part to the row of function keys it sports that the previous Mini didn’t have, as well as additional USB ports. 

Well, it may be a tad thicker, but for that little bit of extra weight you have to lug around, you get to shave about $1,000 off the price tag of the Air.  Although, granted, you are also obviously compromising some in the quality department with the Air offering full CPU and NVIDIA graphics.

Dell is still a name most know and trust.  Definitely at the upper end of the price scale for netbooks, the Inspiron Mini 12 should be interesting to see how the actual hands-on reviews pan out.

Via [dailytech]

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Source: Gadgetell | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:24 pm

Counting Kangaroo Rats From Space

Using a borrowed spy satellite to spot this species’ distinctive burrow entrances, researchers track their numbers in hopes of protecting biodiversity on the Carrizo Plain in south-central California The Carrizo Plain National Monument in south-central California is the largest single native grassland remaining in the state.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:20 pm

Ants Prefer Salty Snacks To Sweet

Ants prefer salty snacks to sugary ones, at least in inland areas that tend to be salt-poor, according to a new study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Ecologists from the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) and the University of Oklahoma tested the salt versus sugar preferences of ants from North, Central and South America, using ant populations at varying distances from the ocean.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:15 pm

Gov. Crist Endorses Amendment 4

Florida's conservation community issued glowing praise for Gov. Charlie Crist today after the governor strongly endorsed Amendment 4, Florida's land conservation amendment, at an Audubon of Florida event Friday evening in Crystal River.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

Most Pennsylvania State Parks Open for Goose Hunting

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Most Pennsylvania state parks are now open for the extended Canada goose hunting season. An exception is the southeast section of the state, within the Atlantic Population Zone, which will be open to hunting starting Nov. 15.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

NASCAR Great Ward Burton Uses Haybuster's 77 Seed Drill for Wildlife Preservation

Ward Burton, NASCAR Cup driver and founder of the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation, has teamed up with agricultural equipment manufacturer Haybuster to promote wildlife preservation.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:00 pm

MTV’s Video Site: Very Nice, Very Late [MediaMemo]

Kudos to our sharp-eyed former coworker, Dan Frommer, who has spotted what appears to be a nice new rollout at MTV.com: a place where you can–gasp!–watch a bunch of videos.

MTV Music seems to be what MTV.com famously should have had, but never really figured out how to do very well (actually, it’s one of several things, but that’s a longer story).

But it’s nice to see it now, regardless: clean interface, embeddable videos, social networky without actually trying to be a social-networking site.

Dan is calling this a “Hulu For Music Videos,” but that’s not the case, at least not formally. Hulu, you may recall, is an actual joint venture between GE (GE) unit NBC and News Corp.’s Fox (NWS), created in large part as a foil against YouTube, owned by Google (GOOG). (News Corp. is the owner of Dow Jones and this Web site.)

But the labels aren’t taking stakes in this site–MTV is just using the existing licenses in a smart way.

We’ve lobbed in calls to MTV and will report back if there’s more to say. But for now we can tell you that the site does have content from all four majors: Warner Music Group (WMG), Sony (SNE), EMI Music Group and Universal Music Group.

It does not have the video for the Killer’s new song, “Human,” which we can find on YouTube, though.

So we’ve asked our neighbor at Starbucks to pick a clip, and he’s taking responsibility for this one, which quite frankly, we’re sick of.

Enjoy:

Source: All Things Digital | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:58 pm

It's Hard up Here for a Blimp

Commercial rides on the first zeppelin in the U.S. in more than 70 years will start at $495 for an hour-long flight. The airship touched down at NASA Ames near San Francisco on Saturday and will take its first commercial flight on Halloween.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:54 pm

Canadian Court Rules "Hyperlink" Is Not Defamation

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In a landmark ruling, a Canadian court has ruled that a web site's publication of hyperlinks to an allegedly defamatory web site is not in and of itself a 'publication,' and therefore cannot in and of itself constitute defamation. In a 10-page decision [PDF], Crookes v. Wikimedia, Sup. Ct., British Columbia, Judge Keller dismissed the libel case against Jon Newton, the publisher of p2pnet.net, which was based on the fact that his article contained links to the allegedly defamatory site, since hyperlinks, the Court reasoned, are analogous to footnotes, rather than constituting a 'republication.' Mr. Newton was represented in the case by famous libel, slander, and civil liberties lawyer Dan Burnett of Vancouver, British Columbia."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:54 pm

HP Offers A Peek Into the Mini 1000

HP's offered a sneak peek, albeit inadvertently, into its upcoming Mini 1000 netbook when it posted a image of the computer on its online shopping site.

Later removed it showed a Black HP Mini 1000 that weighs about 2.25 pounds and will be less than one-inch thick.

Reports suggest the netbook will be priced upwards of $400 but specifications are still rather sketchy. It is not clear what kind of processor the netbook will have though there is some speculation it is likely to feature Intel's Atom processor or Via Nano CPU.

The Mini 100 could have a 10-inch display, bigger than the current HP Mini-note netbooks with their 8.9 inch screens.

Meanwhile, Dell earlier today released the Mini Inspiron 12, a Macbook Air-sized netbook. The Mini has weighs 2.72 lbs and has a 12-inch screen.

Which brings us to the question, at what point does the netbook become a notebook?

[via The Technicist]

Photo: HP 2133 Mini-Note PC (viagallery.com/Flickr)

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:48 pm

New Facebook App Rewards Amateur Movie Critics With Tickets

Spill.com's Payback Time lets moviegoers flame crappy flicks — and potentially get their money back, if enough readers dig the critique.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:39 pm

What.cd Volume 2: Showing the recording industry how to promote music in the BitTorrent era

What.cd continues to show the decrepit recording industry how to promote music in the BitTorrent era. The site just released The What CD Volume 2, a compilation album of some of the artists that are featured there. (Bands, song writers, and so forth are encouraged to submit their material to the site—they’re added to a special subsection called the Vanity House, which is promoted differently than otherwise commercially released music.) It’s a 20-song album, and comes in at just around 1.4 hours long. A quick first listen while doing a million other things suggests that it’s a better album than the first volume, which was released during the summer.

To those of you on the site, make sure you grab it. The rest of you, well, make friends with someone on the site ;-)

Source: CrunchGear | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:30 pm

Antec Skeleton case - verdict: inconvenient

We saw this Skeleton case from Antec around a while ago, and although I was intrigued, I was also concerned at the design decisions that would have to be made to accommodate its open-air design. Would they nail it or blow it? Unfortunately, according to the thorough reviewers at Hardware Secrets, they blew it.

Not only does the case’s fundamental design invite catastrophe in the form of coffee spills, chairs rolling against it and so on, but the design compromises they’ve had to make are completely inexplicable. Your hard drives, for instance, must be fitted with special clamps, and are then hung on the outside of the case. Your hard drives. You know, where you store your precious data? Anyway, it looks like a big fail for Antec this time around, which is surprising considering their excellent track record. Maybe it was just a lark for them, but it’s an expensive, crappy lark.

Source: CrunchGear | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:30 pm

Update: Google *not* playing favorites with Android

Section: Apple, Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile, Gadgets / Other, GPS/Navigation, Web, Google

Last month, I asked whether Google would start to play favorites with respect to designing and upgrading their products now that the Android phone was out.  Today, I learn that Google Earth for iPhone became available yesterday as a free application from the App Store.  There is no Android version, yet.

The Google team seems very excited about putting the world in your pocket via the iPhone.  A quick tour of the application shows it augments the native Google Maps application that comes with every iPhone and iPod touch.  An accelerometer based trick allows you to tilt the phone to get a 3D view, panning up or down as you tilt.  It’s quite a neat trick.  A bare bones search function is also available, though in my test the very same results were brought up in Maps.

One might conclude something this exciting for Google might have been saved or delayed until the Android version was ready or even introduce it to the iPhone after the Android version.  But Google seems to be driving it all forward, regardless of platform.

Couple that info with what we are seeing in the iPhone 2.2 build: major Google Maps enhancements and you can only conclude that Google isn’t playing favorites.  In the 2.2, Google is bringing killer advancements like street view, alternate transit directions, location sharing and my favorite: movable map pins allowing route changes on the fly.

It seems clear to me that Google will continue improving and localizing their applications for the iPhone as well as their own Android OS, which is great news for every iPhone and iPod touch owner as their products are often go-to options for many of us.

Read [CNET]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:15 pm

Microsoft Embraces AMQP Open Middleware Standard

AlexGr writes to tell us that Microsoft apparently has plans to embrace a little known messaging standard called AMQP (Advanced Message Queuing Protocol). Red Hat, a founding member of the AMQP working group, was very excited about the news and wrote to welcome Microsoft to the party. "Suffice it is to say that AMQP is to high-value, reliable business messaging what SMTP is to e-mail. The proprietary message oriented middleware (MOM) products on the market today like IBM's MQ or Tibco's Rendezvous fulfill the same function as AMQP. But they operate exclusively in single-vendor fashion and utterly fail to interoperate with each other. They are also — perhaps not by coincidence — burdensomely expensive. As a result their use is mostly limited to wealthy organizations such as Wall Street banks (at least the ones who are still in business) that need to exchange huge volumes of business messages very reliably and very quickly. But AMQP's supporters feel the market for such reliable messaging could be much larger if a less expensive and truly open solution became available."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:07 pm

10 Years Later, Misunderstood DMCA Is the Law That Saved the Web

Love it or hate it, but 10 years after Congress passed, and Bill Clinton signed, the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act, there's no doubt that the law's "safe harbor" provision cleared the way for everything from Digg to YouTube.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:01 pm

Activision Blizzard: Guitar Hero World Tour Launches, Earnings Loom–Recession-Proof or Recession-Resistant? [Voices]

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

Activision Blizzard (ATVI) shares are sliding following this weekend’s debut of Guitar Hero World Tour, the latest version of the company’s popular music game. UBS analyst Benjamin Schachter says his assessment of the first day of sales was mixed: near sellout sales of Wii and Xbox 360 versions of the game at many locations, with PS3 kids often in stock. He said the guitar-only and game-only versions of the games were shipped in larger quantities but did not seem to be selling as well as the full version of the game. He also says that a small minority of buyers is reporting issues with the drum kit that comes with the game.

On a broader subject, Schachter says the videogame industry is likely to be recession-resistant, but not necessarily recession-proof.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:00 pm

Stylize Web Forms With CSS

Any browser's default web forms are ugly. Black and white text boxes, buttons, checkboxes and radio buttons all look like a sore thumb next to Web 2.0 hotness. If you want to make them blend in with your site, all it takes is some simple markup in your CSS.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:00 pm

Arduino microcontroller used to trigger flash for high-speed photos

These little Arduino boards are a real boon to amateur electronics tinkerers: cheap, versatile, and very small. This guy had the idea to make a high-speed photography setup using one, instead of the more direct circuits usually involved. His reasoning was that the Arduino allows for a lot of easy customization, like for instance hooking up a sound sensor as well as a laser sensor. It allows for failsafes, better timing, and involvement of mixed hardware and software which may in turn control the object drop, speed of projectile, and so on.

I’d definitely be rocking one of these if I had the time to throw down on some sweet high-speed shooting. His gallery is here, but there are more photos over at Hack n Mod.

Source: CrunchGear | 27 Oct 2008 | 9:32 pm

Yellowstone Amphibians Declining Under Climate Change

Three of the four amphibian species native to Yellowstone are declining.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 27 Oct 2008 | 9:31 pm

Perceptual Bias Clouds Tennis Refs' Calls

A study found that the vast majority of errors tennis referees make is calling balls out that are in.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 27 Oct 2008 | 9:30 pm

Ashley Todd pulled hoax hijinks in Ron Paul campaign, too

When you're too whacked-out for the Ron Paul campaign, you really do have a problem. Snip from an article about previous victim-hallucination hijinks by Ashley "A Giant Black Man Carved A B Into My Face for Barack" Todd:

In March, Ms. Todd was asked to leave a grass-roots group of Ron Paul supporters in Brazos County, Texas, group leader Dustan Costine said. He said Ms. Todd posed as a supporter of former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and called the local Republican committee seeking information about its campaign strategies.

"She would call the opposing campaign and pretend she was on their campaign to get information," Mr. Costine said last night. "We had to remove her because of the tactics she displayed. After that we had nothing to do with her."

About a month earlier, he said, Ms. Todd sent an e-mail to the Ron Paul group saying her tires were slashed and that campaign paraphernalia had been stolen from her car because she supported Mr. Paul. "She's the type of person who wants to be recognized," Mr. Costine said.

McCain Volunteer Admits to Hoax (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Source: Boing Boing | 27 Oct 2008 | 9:24 pm

Apple killing off Firewire on iPods

FROM APPLETELL - Apple has slowly been killing off Firewire on the iPod—first removing the ability to transfer music, but keeping the charging capability.  Now it appears even that is on the way out.
MORE »

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 27 Oct 2008 | 9:22 pm

Ted "A Series of Tubes" Stevens Found Guilty

techmuse writes "According to a series of tubes sites, Senator Ted Stevens has been found guilty of lying about free home renovations that he received from an oil contractor. He faces up to 5 years in jail, and the outcome of his current reelection bid is now in doubt. 'The conviction came after a tumultuous week in the jury room. First there were complaints about an unruly juror, then another had to be replaced when she left Washington following the death of her father. Finally, jurors on Monday discovered a discrepancy in the indictment that had been overlooked by prosecutors. Jury deliberations in this historic trial have at times been as contentious as some of the proceedings The Justice Department indicted Stevens on July 29, and the Alaska Republican took a huge legal gamble and asked for a speedy trial in order to resolve the charges before Election Day. Judge Emmet Sullivan complied with Stevens' request, and in less than three months from the time of his indictment, Stevens was found guilty.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 27 Oct 2008 | 9:18 pm

Ubuntu Updates Offer Mobility, Virtual Machine Building (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - Canonical has announced that it will release its latest Ubuntu updates for desktop and server editions on Oct. 30.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 27 Oct 2008 | 9:16 pm

iPods, Asus EEE PCs coming to Toys ‘R’ Us

Sometime in the coming weeks Toys ‘R’ Us is going to start selling iPods and, more notably, Asus EEE PC’s as the retailer is grasping for higher holiday sales. The iPods are going to be in their own little iPod boutique that is sure to be decorated in novel all white fashion.

The EEE ultra portable notebooks will range between four models and be priced-out at $269 for Linux model and $299 for the Windows option. Open Office comes standard on the Linux EEE PC, while Microsoft Office is understandable loaded on the Windows model. Who knows if parents will feel comfortable buying a EEE PC from the same retailer that sold them a Big Wheel, but having another national retailer pimping the EEE PC is great news for geeks more comfortable purchasing in a brick and mortar store.

Source: CrunchGear | 27 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm

Microsoft's Ozzie unveils `cloud computing' play (AP)

AP - After more than two years as Microsoft's low-profile chief software architect, Ray Ozzie finally has something to say: Windows Azure.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 27 Oct 2008 | 8:59 pm

LEGO Bot Takes Orders From iPhone, Pours Beer

 

The "Inebriator" is a LEGO bot triggered to pour beer whenever an iPhone sends the word "pour" to an RSS feed via Pownce. Quite silly -- but an amusing contraption demonstrating the limitless imagination of a geek who's had a bit too much to drink. Even more impressive would be a bot that perfects beer pouring with zero head.

YouTube via Crunchgear

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 27 Oct 2008 | 8:59 pm

The Greatest Scientific Hoaxes?

Ponca City, We love you writes "The New Scientist has an amusing story about the seven greatest scientific hoaxes of all time. Of course, there have been serious cases of scientific fraud, such as the stem cell researchers recently found guilty of falsifying data, and the South Korean cloning fraud, but the hoaxes selected point more to human gullibility than malevolence and include the Piltdown Man (constructed from a medieval human cranium); a ten-foot "petrified man" dug up on a small farm in Cardiff; fossils 'found' in Wurzburg, Germany depicting comets, moons and suns, Alan Sokal's paper loaded with nonsensical jargon that was accepted by the journal Social Text; the claim of the Upas tree on the island of Java so poisonous that it killed everything within a 15-mile radius; and Johann Heinrich Cohausen's claim of an elixir produced by collecting the breath of young women in bottles that produced immortality. Our favorite: BBC's broadcast in 1957 about the spaghetti tree in Switzerland that showed a family harvesting pasta that hung from the branches of the tree. After watching the program, hundreds of people phoned in asking how they could grow their own tree but, alas, the program turned out to be an April Fools' Day joke." What massive scientific hoaxes/jokes have other people witnessed?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 27 Oct 2008 | 8:34 pm

Why Darwin Would Have Loved Botox

A fascinating and extensive piece in Discovery magazine on why Charles Darwin "would have loved Botox" -- not as a tool of vanity, but of science, to "eavesdrop on the intimate conversation between the face and brain." Here's a snip:

Botox and Dysport are best known as treatments to mask aging. Injections into the muscles that make frowns can slow the growth of lines around the eyebrows. For his brain experiment, Haslinger and his colleagues gave 19 women Dysport injections. Two weeks later the scientists scanned their brains as they showed the women a series of angry or sad faces and asked them either to imitate or just to observe the expressions. Haslinger then ran the same experiment on 19 women without Dysport and compared the two sets of scans.

When the women made sad faces, the same brain regions became active in both those with Dysport and those without. But making angry faces triggered different patterns. In the Dysport-free women, a region known as the amygdala—a key brain region for processing emotions—became active. In the women with Dysport, who could not use their frown muscles, the amygdala was quieter. Haslinger also found another change, in the connections between the amygdala and the brain stem, where signals can trigger many of the feelings that go along with emotions: Dysport made that connection weaker.

Of course neuroscience labs are not the only place where people get shots of Dysport or Botox. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in the United States doctors administer millions of injections of Botox each year, many of them to people’s faces. Haslinger’s research suggests that this is part of a massive, unplanned experiment.

In June 2008 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, a team of cosmetic surgeons suggested this experiment is making all of us happier. People with Botox may be less vulnerable to the angry emotions of other people because they themselves can’t make angry or unhappy faces as easily. And because people with Botox can’t spread bad feelings to others via their expressions, people without Botox may be happier too. The surgeons grant that this is just speculation for now. Nevertheless, they declare that “we are left with the tantalizing possibility that cosmetic procedures may have beneficial effects that are more than skin deep.”

The Brain: Why Darwin Would Have Loved Botox (Discovery Magazine, thanks Susannah Breslin!)

Source: Boing Boing | 27 Oct 2008 | 8:12 pm

AvalonBay Supports 'Make a Difference Day'

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, 25 October 2008, several thousand residents, staff, and management of AvalonBay apartment communities all across the country partnered in "Make a Difference Day", a national day of service sponsored by USA Weekend.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 27 Oct 2008 | 8:00 pm

Coastal Jobs Coalition Points to Federal Fisheries Management Analysis Revealing Flaw in Unbalanced Quota Plan

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), which will meet in San Diego November 3-7 to vote on a preferred alternative for an Individual Quota system, released a report detailing potential impacts of an unbalanced plan.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 27 Oct 2008 | 8:00 pm

Mountain Lake Cancels Flow-Through Portion of Private Placement

Mountain Lake Resources Inc. (TSX-V: MOA) ("Mountain Lake" or the "Company") reports that it has cancelled the flow-through portion of the non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") announced October 3, 2008 due to adverse market conditions.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 27 Oct 2008 | 8:00 pm

Around the Americas Sailing Expedition and Awareness Campaign Kicks Off in Seattle With Support From Pacific Science Center and Sailors for the Sea

SEATTLE, Oct.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 27 Oct 2008 | 8:00 pm

Bike Seat Cuts Off the Nose to Save the Penis

MoonSaddle's latest crescent-shaped bicycle seat design promises to improve your riding comfort and up your sperm count. If you're a man and that didn't just make you sit straight up in your seat, you may need to get checked out.

The 2008 MoonSaddle has improved the design from last year's model but the principle remains the same: to avoid putting pressure on the perineum by sitting back on your butt bones.

The 2008 model comes with a 140,000 high tensile strength stainless steel tubing set up a 20-30-degree angle and also raises the rider up slightly. This model also provides more space between the saddle and the rails, which supposedly allows for easier seat adjustment.

According to bike forums online, it appears that this seat shape is gaining momentum in the bike community, despite early difficulties. For example, the back-end nature of the seat has forced some riders into slipping off the seat, and the angle required by different-sized riders is forcing riders to take them to bike shops for correct adjustment. Also, some people have said the seat is just too "hard and uncomfortable," despite fewer instances of numbness. 

Several studies have declared that regular nose-shaped bike saddles contribute to erectile dysfunction. In a study cited in the MoonSaddle website, Dr. Steven M. Schrader of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says that traditional seats create "nerve entrapment and vascular occlusion," and significantly reduces penile blood flow and sensation.

Other studies have found that women cyclists also experience 'decreased genital sensation,' and are under the same long-term risk for decreased sexual performance as men.

However, it's important to note that most instances of the perineal-based problems are a function of long, daily riding and racing. So if you're a 15-minute rider with only a couple runs per week, that's probably not enough to cause you significant problems.

The 2008 MoonSaddle is currently available for about $85.

Photos: MoonSaddle, TheBikeGeek.com

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 27 Oct 2008 | 7:57 pm

OBEY ALFRED E. NEUMAN

Artist Shepard Fairey, who created the iconic OBEY/OBAMA image we've seen so much during the current presidential campaign, writes:

Check out this link to a plethora of parodies of my Obama HOPE poster. I’m very happy that the HOPE poster has become such a point of reference. One parody that is not included is something I consider a high point in my career for pop culture recognition. Mad Magazine’s new cover is a spoof of my Obama image. I loved Mad as a kid. I think Mad’s satire heightened my understanding of irony and hypocrisy. I’m very excited to be a part of Mad’s history.

mad history (obeygiant.com, thanks Sean "kappa hunter" Bonner!)

Source: Boing Boing | 27 Oct 2008 | 7:52 pm

8.1 megapixel Casio W63CA Exilim headed for Japan

Taking the 8-megapixel handset battle and kicking it up 1/10th of a notch, Casio has announced the 8.1-megapixel W63CA. Sure, the name needs work - but man, this thing looks gorgeous.

Besides taking shots at an impressive resolution of 3288×2464, the W63CA’s camera rocks a wide angle lens, face detection, anti-shake and a 9-point auto focus. And because the camera apparently wasn’t going to be enough to have these things flying off the shelves, Casio went and shrunk a WVGA-resolution screen (480×800 pixels) down to 3.1 inches. That screen’s going to be sharp enough to cut diamonds.

We’ve got bad news, and we’ve got good news. The bad news: While its already made its way through the FCC’s torture chambers, you’re probably not going to find this one for sale outside of Japan. Oh, and we don’t actually have any good news, we just wanted to keep your spirits high during the bad bit.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 27 Oct 2008 | 7:30 pm

A Dropped Phone, a Train Toilet, and Massive Humiliation

The BBC reports that a passenger on a French train had to be rescued after dropping his mobile down the toilet, reaching in after it, and getting stuck.

Apparently the 26-year-old man tried to fish his phone out of the toilet bowl when his arm got sucked into the toilet's powerful suction system.

Emergency personnel carried the man away, after a 2-hour rescue operation, with the toilet still attached to his arm.

No word on whether his hand was still holding the phone.

Man's arm trapped in train toilet [BBC]

Image: The Rocketeer / Flickr

UPDATE: This is not the first time an accident like this has happened on board a train, either: Wired.com's Dave Demerjian has the lowdown on phone-train-toilet accidents over on our sister blog, Autopia.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 27 Oct 2008 | 7:01 pm

Singularity Summit Asks 'Are You A Believer'?

As computers get more and more powerful, a few wide-eyed enthusiasts are looking forward to the day -- in 2045, they say -- when machine intelligence will surpass that of humans.

This event, called the "singularity," was popularized by Ray Kurzweil’s 2005 book The Singularity is Near. And last weekend, academics and technology heavyweights gathered for a day-long conference in San Jose, California to discuss its implications.

The speakers presented ideas ranging from creating artificial intelligence to the impact of genomics and how super-intelligent machines could impact society.

But rather than a dispassionate discussion about the impact of technological advances, the convention had a slightly cult-like feel.

For instance, people sitting down to lunch at the conference casually asked one another, "Are you a believer?"

And many attendees voiced the belief that the singularity would change humankind and that those who survive until the event happens will reap great rewards -- painting a Utopian vision of the world.

A quick poll among 300 or so conference attendees showed more than a handful had signed up for cryonics--where the body is frozen and waiting to be resuscitated in the future. That's a significant percentage of the 1,300 people in the world that have signed up for cryonics, according to James Miller, assistant professor of economics at Smith College, who spoke at the conference.

Most speakers at the conference were in little doubt that machines will be smarter than humans in a few decades. “Barring physical catastrophes -- a major nuclear war or if the human race became extinct -- singularity will happen,” science fiction author Vernor Vinge told attendees.

And unlike what some doomsday scenarios may have predicted, machine intelligence will help improve society, said Vinge.

The evolution of super intelligent machines could unfold in four ways, argued Nova Spivack, the founder of Radar Networks, which runs Twine.com, an online site that helps people keep track of their interests.

Individual computers could get smarter or large computer networks could become more intelligent, said Spivak. “The computer interface could become intimate, so that we become so connected to each other and our computers that each individual becomes superhuman,” he said. “And finally the human intellect can also be enhanced by biological means to become super intelligent.”

How machines will become super intelligent is a matter of much debate. But mere belief in the singularity may be enough to produce change, said Miller.

Casting the singularity as an event pitting believers against non-believers had some attendees puzzled.

“I worry about the rhetoric because science is under attack more than ever before and the rhetoric of the singularity seems more appropriate for a religious movement than science,” saidscience journalist John Horgan, who chatted with Kurzweil on stage during the conference.  “It damages the credibility of science as a whole at a time that’s not good for it.” 

Still, conference goers such as Emiliano Kargieman, an associate with Aconcagua Ventures, found some of the discussion thought-provoking. “The pace at which new technologies are coming is increasing and the consequences that will have on society are very interesting areas for thought,” he said. “I compare the situation we are in right now to one where physicists were at the beginning of the 20th century.”

For attendees focused on the science there was plenty of fodder for thought. Ben Goertzel, director of research at the Singularity Institute, introduced the Open Cognition project, or OpenCog for short. It attempts to use open source code to create a platform to build and share artificial intelligence programs.

The project has created a open wiki for interested users to contribute. “We are looking at how to make a design for a thinking machine,” said Goertzel. OpenCog could eventually help create an "operating system for artifical general intelligence," he said.

OpenCog could be used to create a chat robot capable of holding an intelligent discussion with a human, virtual parrots that can be used to teach language, or software for controlling virtual animals.

“We are creating virtual dogs that can play with each other and can be taught using reinforcement and punishment,” said Goertzel.

The Singularity Summit also plans to start a university along the lines of the France –based International Space University which offers graduate level training in areas such as space science, engineering, policy and law, announced Peter Diamandis, founder and CEO of the X Prize Foundation. The foundation offers multi-million dollar prizes for problems solved in areas such as education, space and energy.

See also:

• Brainy Robots to Lead to Longer Unemployment Lines?
• Expectation of Machine Intelligence Could Change Social Behavior, Says Economist
• Space is The Next Frontier for Esther Dyson
• Singularity Summit to Discuss Impact of Machine Intelligence
   

(Photo: Nova Spivack, CEO of Radar Networks at the Singularity Summit)

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:51 pm

Long profile of Dean Kamen, discusses his Stirling engine

Ben Hazell says: "Dean Kamen invented the Segway. He's also made a fortune in medical technology and now thinks he's built a working Stirling Engine - efficient electrical energy from heat. If it's true it's amazing and world changing - the breakthrough we need to face climate change. Even if it's not, he's a fascinating guy."

Now he and his engineers have built and tested a range of Stirling engines suitable for mass production that can be run on anything from jet fuel to cow dung. The one in the boot of the small blue car is designed to extend its range and constantly recharge its batteries to make a new kind of hybrid vehicle: one fit for the roads of the 21st century. A Stirling-electric hybrid, Kamen tells me, can travel farther and more efficiently than conventional electric cars; it generates enough power to run energy-hungry devices such as heaters and defrosters that are essential for drivers who, unlike those he calls the 'tofu heads' of California, must cope with a cold climate; and even using petrol, the engine runs far cleaner than petrol-electric hybrids such as Toyota's Prius.

However, Kamen confesses, his new creation isn't quite finished yet: 'The Stirling engine's not hooked up. Which really pisses me off.'

But it could work?

'It will work,' he says. 'Trust me.'

Dean Kamen: part man, part machine

Source: Boing Boing | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:47 pm

Today on Boing Boing Gadgets

Today on Boing Boing Gadgets, things started as usual: with Napoleon popping a wheelie on a motorcycle. Apple censored all mentions of hot teen p***y on the iTunes UK store, a deliriously nerdy gamer proposed to his girlfriend by hacking the video game Chrono Trigger and Dell announced a new netbook that is being favorably compared to the MacBook Air. Rob looked at a not-so-humble four track and a new Casio camera phone with an 800x480 screen, as well as a silvery steampunk Motorola Aura. Also, did you know that you can buy a stungun for $13? Rob didn't. A car engine that fits on your finger, an Australian perpetual motion machine. Joel liked an alarm clock called the Bandai Gun O'Clock and puzzled why Google released Google Earth on the iPhone before Android. There was a clock with a thousand gears, a giant human skull made out of kitchenware, a bench made of Nokias, an Open Source GameBoy and an Atari Punk Dreamcast. And that's not even to mention an invasion by LEGO bots. And the headline of the day was: I have no mouth and I must bark. Link

Source: Boing Boing | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:45 pm

Japanese Prime Minister complains that he no longer has time to read comic books

“It’s hard to read comic books as my time is now restricted.” -- Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso

My heart truly goes out to him.

Link (Via Comics Journal)

Previously on Boing Boing:
• Japan's badass new prime minister

Source: Boing Boing | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:36 pm

Artificial Heart Would Make No 'Lub Dub'

Scientists are developing an artificial heart that would pump blood continuously.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:31 pm

Forrester CEO: Here’s a Little Song I Wrote … [Digital Daily]

Wonderful news. The recession’s impact on the tech sector will not be nearly as pronounced as its predecessor’s, which turned Webvan’s refrigerated Freightliner trucks into hipster moving vans and made the Pets.com mascot piddle itself into oblivion like a submissive puppy. That’s the word from Forrester Research (FORR) CEO George Colony, who believes the current downturn will be far kinder to tech than the one that heralded The Great Dark Time of 2001-2003. His rationale: With tech spending in in the U.S. up only six percent from 2006 to 2007, tech doesn’t have nearly so far to fall this time around (spending was double that number in 2000). More importantly, tech is pervasive–and essential. “It’s seven years since the last recession,” Colony writes. “Technology has become markedly more pervasive in that time–it’s the air we breathe and the water we swim in. Cell phone penetration in the U.S. has tripled in that time; eCommerce has increased by 85 percent. While it may have been ‘nice to have’ (and therefore eminently cut-able) back in 2002, tech now sits at the center of companies’ operations. IT has become Business Technology. If you don’t believe me, start unplugging wires at your company and see how long you can develop, manufacture, deliver, sell, and service your products.”

Point taken. Certainly, we’re not going to see the recession inspiring companies to suddenly shutdown their e-commerce operations or disable Salesforce in aid of their longevity. But that doesn’t mean the Grim Reaper of the “Next Economy” isn’t going to sweep this latest crop of Webvans and Scients off into the abyss, and from there into the pages of a 2013 Fast Company article.

That said, take it from Colony: Don’t worry, be happy.

[Image Credit: Sequoia Capital via VentureBeat]

Source: All Things Digital | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:09 pm

Orcas Missing From Puget Sound Thought Dead

Seven missing Puget Sound orcas could represent the biggest decline in a decade.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:06 pm

German traffic cops angered by British driver who mocks traffic cams with a Muppet

Someone in Germany is driving an automobile built for UK roads and has installed a Muppet in the passenger seat. The speed cameras in Germany are made to take photos of drivers who sit in the left side of the vehicle, so drivers of UK-style cars driver can't be easily identified.

A German police source said: “The number plate is not enough. We need clear evidence of who is driving the vehicle too.

“But because this is a British vehicle we can never get a decent picture. The driver has obviously worked this out because he has placed a large puppet in the passenger seat.

“This may be an example of the famous British sense of humour but it is still dangerous driving. The driver has been caught on camera on several occasions and the puppet is on the passenger seat every time. We suspect he positions the toy deliberately before accelerating past the camera.”

German police seek speeding British Muppet

Source: Boing Boing | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

SmartFlicks brings NetFlix to Blackberry by way of the new API

Got a bit of time between your big business emails and your big business texts? Why not manage your NetFlix queue? Utilizing the NetFlix API made available to developers just last month, Pyxis Mobile has released SmartFlicks, a NetFlix app for your BlackBerry.

The application was built partly as a demonstration of Pyxis Mobile’s Application Studio, and was “designed and delivered by creative, forward thinking teams of technology, business and marketing experts in under 24 hours.”

One of the more unique aspects of Pyxis’ approach is that the application is rebuilt on the device at launch. To the end-user, this just means no more manual updates; if something has changed, just log out and log back in.

Feature-wise, it’s already fairly polished. From day one, the application let you peruse the NetFlix library, manage your queue, and get your fix of movie and entertainment news. Since then, they’ve added movie synopsis and enhanced recommendations to the mix.

For the always welcome cost of free, it’s worth checking out.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 27 Oct 2008 | 5:39 pm

Pesticides Dropping in Groundwater?

A new study has some encouraging news for people concerned about pesticides in groundwater.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 27 Oct 2008 | 4:06 pm

Dell Mini Inspiron 12: Cheap, MacBook Air-Sized Netbook

Dell has announced its new 12-inch netbook, the Inspiron Mini 12, and has promptly thrown into confusion the whole definition of just what a "netbook" is supposed to be.

The not-so-Mini 12 is a curious machine: The size is very similar to that of Apple's MacBook Air. The Dell is just 0.92" thick at its thinnest point, a scant 0.2" thicker than the Air. It also squeezed in an extra two USB ports (for a total of three), VGA out and a 3-in-one card reader. In these respects, it is a regular notebook.

The rest of the specs are impressive: A weight of 2.72 lbs, a choice of either a 60 or 80 GB hard drive (no SSD option yet), Bluetooth, 802.11b/g wireless, a webcam and "Twitter compatibility" (seriously).

But it is also cheap, starting at $600 -- a lot less than its similarly svelte rivals like the Air. There must, of course, be some compromise. And there is, in the form of the netbook-standard Intel Atom processor. Interestingly, the Atom that Dell is using is a slightly different one than that found in the Winds and Eee PCs, most likely the Atom Z530 which runs at the same 1.6GHz clock speed but, according to Dell, is "more energy efficient."

Dell has also made the very strange decision to supply the Mini 12 with Windows Vista, an operating system hardly suited to such modest hardware (especially as the stock Mini 12 will come with just 1GB of RAM and Aero Glass-unfriendly integrated graphics).

So, what defines a netbook anyway? So far, we've seen small machines with low-powered processors which have actually proved to be surprisingly capable machines. But perhaps the distinguishing feature is not the size so much as the performance.

Dell has somewhat scrambled the netbook preconception of a purse-sized computer, but this larger computer is a welcome addition. The sub-10" machines might be handy, but so far the keyboards and trackpads are too tiny for real work. 12" is just big enough to accommodate a full sized keyboard, but in thickness, it is as slim as the ultra-expensive ultraportables. On the downside, its underpowered processor means it can't hang with those more expensive computers.

We don't see netbooks making much difference to the full-sized notebook market, but it seems like a good bet that the category going to beat the hell out of the low-end, badly made "proper" laptop sales. Rob Beschizza over at BoingBoing Gadgets is a little more cynical. He calls this whole thing out as a branding scam from Dell, an attempt to shift the same old cheap crap by throwing onto the netbook badwagon. He moans thus:

 

I fear we fall victim to marketing, here. Watch as those who established "netbook" as a fashionable category follow Asus in applying that branding to cheap, nasty notebooks, little different to the bog-standard Inspirons and Averatecs that have been available for under $500 for years.

He's probably right, but at least with the netbooks we know we're buying something less capable. The "bog-standard Inspirons and Averatecs", by contrast, try to pass themselves off as real computers.

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 First Impressions; The $600 MacBook Air? [Laptop Mag]

Q + A: Dell Shares Plans for Inspiron Mini 12 [Laptop Mag]

Dell Mini Inspiron 12 isn't particularly Mini [BoingBoing Gadgets]

Photo: Laptop Mag

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 27 Oct 2008 | 3:12 pm

Tourist Argues for More Access to Space Centers

Richard Garriott describes his trip to space and advocates opening up access.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 27 Oct 2008 | 2:58 pm

SLIDE SHOW: Our Prodigal Sun

View the hottest solar images ever captured, thanks to hi-tech roving space telescopes.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 27 Oct 2008 | 1:41 pm

Germany Says "Nein" to Full Body Scanners

In a pique of common sense, a German ministry spokeswoman has ridiculed EU plans to put full body scanners in European airports. At a press conference, she said this:

I can tell you in all clarity that we will not take part in this nonsense.

This doesn't seem to be an objection to adding yet another pointless prop to the security theater that is today's airport experience, but instead a privacy issue. According to Reuters, the scanners – which can see through clothes – are "a virtual strip search" which could infringe human rights.

With airport security now being nothing more than a race to cover any and every lunatic possibility in order to avoid bad publicity, human rights have long since been crushed. I'd actually welcome these Peeping Tom machines if they speed up the airport queues.

Others, though, might be less enthusiastic. For example, the poor girl going through security at Rome's Ciampino Airport, who I saw a few years ago. The young Italian buck running the X-Ray machine spotted something in her bag and, grinning broadly, called over another handsome young officer to take a look. He too started to smile, as the poor traveler became redder and redder, staring at the floor.

After this embarrassing ordeal, she was waved through, bags unopened. At least she had something with which to comfort herself upon reaching her destination.

Germany says full-body airport scanner "nonsense" [Reuters]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 27 Oct 2008 | 1:32 pm

Tomatoes Made Purple -- For Your Health

Scientists engineer purple tomatoes to add nutrition to the standard veggie.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 27 Oct 2008 | 1:31 pm

Jewel-Like Luxe MP3 Player Pairs With Cellphones

Right now, it's almost pointless to go up against the iPod with any regular kind of MP3 player, which is why even Philips has decided to follow the novelty route.

The Luxe looks like a piece of Kryptonite, as imagined in the first Christopher Reeve movie, albeit the wrong color. And if a Superman-killing ability isn't enough to make you pay $95 for a mere 2GB of memory, consider the internal extras.

First, it has Bluetooth and so can be paired with a phone, cutting the music when a call comes in and piping the caller ID to the Luxe's one-line LCD display. There is also and FM radio for those of you who still haven't tired of "all the hits from the seventies, eighties ands nineties", interspersed with endlessly annoying ads.

The Luxe will be on sale in Singapore in November, spreading out across Asia thereafter. US and European releases are as yet unconfirmed, although Lex Luthor is said to be working out an import deal.

Philips LUXE player connects to your music and calls [Crave Asia]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 27 Oct 2008 | 12:55 pm

Google Earth Comes to the iPhone

Google Earth. On the iPhone. That is, I would imagine, all you need to know to send you careening off to the App Store, from where you can grab the free download of Google's Aerial Opus

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:04 am