Source: Gizmodo | 6 Nov 2008 | 10:30 am

Nintendo garters for gamer girls

For heaven's sake, let's not stop here, please: Nintendo controller pasties! Nintendo IUDs!

Nintendo Garter [Etsy via Geeksugar]

Source: Gizmodo | 6 Nov 2008 | 10:03 am

Once Thought Safe, WPA Wi-Fi Encryption Is Cracked - PC World

Once Thought Safe, WPA Wi-Fi Encryption Is Cracked PC World - 4 hours ago Security researchers say they've developed a way to partially crack the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) encryption standard used to protect data on many wireless networks.

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Nov 2008 | 9:25 am

iPhone gets physical keyboard, wants to be normal again

FROM APPLETELL - Many asked for it, but I’m sure this isn’t what they wanted. I’m talking about the iPhone with physical keyboard.
MORE »

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

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Source: Gizmodo | 6 Nov 2008 | 9:00 am

Yahoo: Poor, Alone and Sad

Six months ago Jerry Yang took the stage at the D Conference to talk about the state of his business. His painted a picture of a Yahoo that was spinning in circles with no clear future.

Fast forward six months and nothing has changed.

Except Yahoo has been left at the altar as Google walks away from their Yahoo search marketing deal.

Except that Yahoo’s share price has eroded another $13, destroying $18 billion in shareholder value

Except that most of Yahoo’s top managers have left the company.

What are they left with? A CEO that still can’t clearly state the core goals. Yang, slouched on stage and devoid of energy, alternated between calling Yahoo a platform company and a destination site. But he also said that Yahoo intends to remain competitive with Google in search, despite the vast differences in resources that the two companies can put towards research.

Yang’s hopes are pegged to their YOS strategy to embrace third party developers and turn things like search into web services.

Perhaps it’s the delivery, but the message isn’t getting through. The audience was left wondering how much longer this CEO has before the company is torn apart from within. Or by outsiders.

What Yahoo needs is a new CEO. They need their Barack Obama - someone to make everyone believe that a true leader is at the helm, ready to fight. Someone with a believable plan. Someone who can inspire Yahoo, and Yahoo users, to believe that Yahoo can once again become a force on the Internet.

That leader is not Jerry Yang.

It’s long past time for change.

Yang must go.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 6 Nov 2008 | 8:36 am

MSI Wind drops to $349 at Best Buy

Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Laptops

With recent rumors that an updated MSI Wind will be coming soon, this price cut is not much of a surprise, but it is still welcomed.  Best Buy, which has just recently began selling the MSI Wind netbook, originally had it selling for $399.  Now it is just $349.99, which means another reason to grab a Wind, that is if you were considering a netbook purchase. 

This price cut may have me reconsidering the Eee PC 1000h I was about to hit the checkout button for.  Sadly, the one drawback is the fact that it is currently listed as backordered, but if you can handle waiting a bit, this looks to be a great price.

The MSI Wind that you will find at Best Buy is running Windows XP and features a 10-inch display, 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, 120GB hard drive and 1GB of RAM.  Additionally, it sports three USB ports, and Ethernet port, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, a built-in card reader and a built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam.  You know, the typical netbook specs.

Product [Best Buy] Via [OhGizmo!]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 6 Nov 2008 | 8:24 am

Mary Meeker’s Entire Bummer PowerPoint on Her Internet Outlook [BoomTown]

BoomTown is no fan of PowerPoint, but this one by longtime Morgan Stanley Internet and technology analyst Mary Meeker at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco yesterday is made worse by its depressing content.

Meeker, a veteran who was around for the last Web 1.0 meltdown, should know from grim. An inveterate numbers cruncher–I actually met her 15 years ago, while she was crunching a different set of numbers on AOL late into the night at her New York office–she pulls out a lot of tough ones here.

Still, as usual, from the typically forward-looking Meeker, there is hope eventually.

But let’s let her show you, via the presentation she made yesterday.

Here it is (click the screen icon in the right corner to make it larger):

Source: All Things Digital | 6 Nov 2008 | 8:05 am

The New Economics of Computing [Voices]

By Nick Carr, Blogger, Rough Type

Are we missing the point about cloud computing? That question has been rattling around in my mind for the last few days, as the chatter about the role of the cloud in business IT has intensified. The discussion to date has largely had a retrospective cast, focusing on the costs and benefits of shifting existing IT functions and operations from in-house data centers into the cloud. How can the cloud absorb what we’re already doing? is the question that’s being asked, and answering it means grappling with such fraught issues as security, reliability, interoperability, and so forth. To be sure, this is an important discussion, but I fear it obscures a bigger and ultimately more interesting question: What does the cloud allow us to do that we couldn’t do before?

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 6 Nov 2008 | 8:01 am

Propelled by Internet, Barack Obama Wins Presidency [Voices]

By Sarah Lai Stirland, Blogger, Wired Threat Level

Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States Tuesday night, crowning an improbable two-year climb that owes much of its success to his command of the internet as a fundraising and organizing tool.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 6 Nov 2008 | 8:00 am

A Radical Business Plan for Facebook [Voices]

By Farhad Manjoo, Technology Columnist, Slate.com

Allow me to propose something crazy. Tech companies should start charging people to use their services. No, seriously. Let’s take the biggest example of a Web site that has no clear path to profitability: Facebook. The social network attracts more than 100 million “active users” around the world, but as of now—as even its founder Mark Zuckerberg admits—it’s still looking for a “business model” (that is, a way to make tons more money than it spends).

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 6 Nov 2008 | 8:00 am

New Samsung Phone: a Real iPhone Killer? [Voices]

By Moon Ihlwan, Blogger, BusinessWeek Eye on Asia

To hear Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talk about Samsung Electronics’ new upgraded smart phone, T*Omnia, Korean consumers will soon get the mother of all smart phones on the planet. “The T*Omnia is at the forefront of this new generation of mobile devices,” declared Ballmer at a Seoul ceremony unveiling the phone on Nov. 3. “I like the T*Omnia phone because it brings together communications, productivity, multimedia, and entertainment in a way that meets the needs of both consumers and mobile professionals.”

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 6 Nov 2008 | 8:00 am

End of Yahoo/Google Pact is GOOD for Yahoo, Not Bad [Voices]

By Jon C. Ogg, Editor, 24/7 Wall St.

Media reports are saying that Google walking away from the Yahoo! search pact is a bad development for Yahoo! and its shareholders.  Do not fall for that trickery.  This is a great development for Yahoo! and it is great for anyone wanting to find at least some differences in Web search results and advertising.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 6 Nov 2008 | 8:00 am

Daily Crunch: Nighty Night Edition

Brando retractable traffic cone
Lull: The baby light that turns on and off as the day goes by
Japanese university develops Ghost in the shell-like camouflage technology
USB floppy thumb drive
Windshield defroster with built-in timer

Source: CrunchGear | 6 Nov 2008 | 8:00 am

Daily Trivia Byte

Charles Grodin was originally cast as Benjamin in The Graduate (1967), but the deal fell apart following a disagreement over his salary.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Nov 2008 | 8:00 am

VASCO Gives an Answer to Security Concerns When Deploying Software As a Service (SaaS)

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill., and ZURICH, Switzerland, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VASCO Data Security International, Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Nov 2008 | 8:00 am

Cisco to Participate in Singapore's Initiative to Create Next-Generation Public Transport System

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) has announced that it will collaborate with the Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) to explore the potential of technology to deliver innovative services to commuters and transform the country's public transport system.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Nov 2008 | 8:00 am

Power On Self Test: They Just Don't Make Rocketships Like They Used To

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 6 Nov 2008 | 8:00 am

LHC Forces Bookmaker To Lower Odds On the Existence of God

A UK bookmaker has lowered the odds on proving that god exists to just 4-1 to coincide with the switching on of the Large Hadron Collider. The chance that physicists might discover the elusive sub-atomic object called the "God particle" has forced the odds lower. Initially the odds that proof would be found of God's existence were 20-1, and they lengthened to 33-1 when the multi-billion pound atom smasher was shut down temporarily because of a magnetic failure. A spokesman for Paddy Power said, "The atheists' planned advertising campaign seems to have renewed the debate in pubs and around office water-coolers as to whether there is a God and we've seen some of that being transferred into bets. However we advise anyone still not sure of God's existence to maybe hedge their bets for now, just in case." He added that confirmation of God's existence would have to be verified by scientists and given by an independent authority before any payouts were made. Everyone getting a payout is encouraged to tithe at least ten percent.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 6 Nov 2008 | 7:59 am

MySpace MyAds Product A $50 Million Business A Month After Launch

MySpace’s self service display ad product, called MyAds, officially launched on October 12, less than a month ago. Advertisers can bypass the normal sales routine, use a Flash tool to create their own display ads, and run them on a cost-per-click basis. The minimum CPC rate is $0.25.

Demand for the product was immediate and significant, we’ve heard from multiple sources close to the company. Average daily revenue, say our sources, is $140,000 - $180,000, which means MyAds is at least a $50 million/year business for MySpace already.

MySpace would not comment on the story.

Our sources say that a large number of ad arbitragers are trying out the system, as well as many of the millions of music artists that have MySpace pages. Those artist ads are doubly profitable for MySpace, since the ads link back to MySpace web pages, driving up page views and additional advertising impressions.

Outsiders are estimating that MySpace revenues for the fiscal year ending June 2009 will reach $1 billion. It’s clear that MyAds will be a significant driver of revenue growth. 2008 revenue was estimated to $750 million.

Facebook has a similar product to MyAds that allows advertisers to pay on either a per-click or per-impression basis, although Facebook ads can only contain text.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 6 Nov 2008 | 7:54 am

John Doerr On Everything - InformationWeek

John Doerr On Everything InformationWeek - 6 hours ago At Web 2.0, New York Magazine's John Heilemann talked to John Doerr (Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers) about a myriad of issues, from some of our nation's priorities to the economy to where he sees venture investment going. John Doerr's advice to President-elect Obama: Take Bill Joy CNET News John Doerr’s Advice for Barack Obama: Hire Bill Joy New York Times VentureBeat - Earth2Tech - San Francisco Chronicle - Financial Times all 10 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Nov 2008 | 7:22 am

Netflix to stop used DVD sales on website

Section: Video, Content, Video Providers

Netflix has recently announced they are planning to stop selling used DVDs on their website.  The last day for any subscribers to grab that used DVD will be November 30, 2008, after which all DVD sales will be passed off to a wholesaler in bulk.  Personally, I had no interest in purchasing those used DVDs, so this makes sense to me.  It will most likely save Netflix some time and money by getting rid of the movies in a large bunch, instead of shipping them out to customers a few at a time.

According to the Netflix Blog, this will allow the company to “spend the extra time focusing on continually improving our core rental business for you.” They also made a nice point that “this is in no way an indicator of moving away from DVDs,” claiming that they feel DVDs will be around for at least “the next five to ten years.” Of course, it is hard to think that Netflix is not beginning to plan for that time when DVDs will no longer be a viable option, and for the time when the Watch Instantly feature will see more use than the USPS.

Read [Netflix Blog]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 6 Nov 2008 | 7:12 am

Review: The Giant Twist Freedom DX Electric Bike

In today's review, Jackson Lynch takes a look at the Twist Freedom DX electric bike. These contraptions are interesting, mostly becuase they don't quite fall into the bike column (electric motor) but they don't have enough power to warrant that riders have a motorcycle license . For the most part, these vehicles tend to be a bit of a joke among serious cyclists. That was until our own Jackson (who is as hardcore of a cyclist as they come) rode Giant's Twist Freedom DX. Here's what he had to say about the vehicle:

For modern aesthetes, aspiring eco-enthusiastic commuters and folks who crave the fun of biking riding without doing much work, Giant's Twist Freedom DX hits the mark. A true hybrid, the Twist has no throttle. It relies on both pedal power and an unobtrusive, yet sturdy 300-watt motor to set you on your way. If you don't pedal, there's no power and that's just the way Giant (one of the world's, ahem, giant bikemakers) thinks it ought to be. And having built a 125,000-square-foot factory dedicated solely to developing and manufacturing its own pedal-assist bikes, the company's commitment to the technology cannot be denied.

Want to read the rest? Check out the full review of the  Giant Twist Freedom DX Electric Bike right here.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 6 Nov 2008 | 7:03 am

Verizon BlackBerry Storm set to retail for $499?

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

Some poking around on the scavenger hunt website for the Verizon BlackBerry Storm has revealed some interesting pricing info.  According to some of the fine print, you know the stuff that most people ignore, the listed average retail value (ARV) of the Storm is $499.  Of course, those willing to sign that two-year agreement can expect to see a nice drop from that price.

As of now, it looks like Verizon is still on track for a November 16 release.  However, we are still awaiting the official confirmation from Verizon.  That date does fit in nicely with the ending of the scavenger hunt contest which wraps up on November 15.

Via [RIMarkable]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 6 Nov 2008 | 6:38 am

Google to fix cracked Android - TG Daily

Wired News

Google to fix cracked Android TG Daily - 7 hours ago By Christian Zibreg Mountain View (CA) - It did not take long for the first jailbroken G1 Android phone to surface - in fact, it took hackers less time to crack Android than it took to do jailbreak the iPhone. First Google Phone Works Well, With Imperfections: Grace Aquino Bloomberg Google: it’s time to get Real ZDNet Wired News - Mobile Magazine - Wired News all 7 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Nov 2008 | 6:16 am

Google Kills Yahoo Ad Deal

mytrip writes "Google has pulled the plug on on a search-ad partnership with Yahoo that would have given Yahoo major new revenue but that raised antitrust concerns. 'After four months of review, including discussions of various possible changes to the agreement, it's clear that government regulators and some advertisers continue to have concerns about the agreement,' said David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer in a blog post Wednesday."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:47 am

PlayStation 3 firmware ver. 2.52 snuck out while you were voting

FROM GAMERTELL - Sony sneaks out a tiny firmware update during election day.  The only additions are improived playback quality for PS3-format software and a fixed text entry issue…
MORE »

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:30 am

Review: Digital frame shows pictures from phones (AP)

AP - Digital picture frames were a big item last Christmas. This holiday season, there will be an innovation on store shelves: a frame that can receive and display pictures straight from cell phones, (almost) no matter where they are.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:22 am

CNN Ratings, Beamed Up by Hologram - Washington Post

NEWS.com.au

CNN Ratings, Beamed Up by Hologram Washington Post - 8 hours ago By Lisa de Moraes Nearly 71 million viewers watched the United States elect its first African American president, across 14 television networks Tuesday night. CNN's Election Coverage Meets Star Wars PC World CNN beams in guests with new hologram technology The Associated Press eFluxMedia - Chicago Tribune - Switched - CNET News all 337 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:18 am

Sun offers OSGi app server (InfoWorld)

InfoWorld - Sun is offering on Thursday its open-source Sun GlassFish Enterprise Server version 3 Prelude, a Web application server based on a modular OSGi architecture with capabilities from the planned Java Platform EE (Enterprise Edition) 6 release.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:01 am

UPC Holding B.V. Provides Selected Financial Information for the Period Ended September 30, 2008

UPC Holding B.V. ("UPC Holding") is today providing selected, preliminary unaudited financial and operating information for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2008. UPC Holding is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Global, Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am

Rapid Time to Market With 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron(TM) Processors Achieved By Server Infrastructure Providers

AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced that more than 85 server motherboards and barebones servers are validated to support the upcoming 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron(TM) processor and are available today.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am

Record Straight From TV to Media Player's Gorgeous Screen

Sharp resolution and nifty TV connection mark the A3 portable media player from Cowan. Add FM tuner, radio and voice recording, and great battery life -- this little device rocks.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am

Nov. 6, 1928: All the News That's Lit

1928: The New York Times begins flashing headlines to pedestrians outside its offices at 1 Times Square, using an electronic news strip that wraps around the fourth floor of the building.

The Motograph News Bulletin, or "zipper" as it was known informally, was a technological marvel of its day. It extended 380 feet around the Times Tower and, with a band 5-feet tall, the moving letters were visible from a distance of several city blocks.

A Times column from 2005 described how inventor Frank C. Reilly's remarkable sign worked:

Reilly, the Times said, calculated that there were 261,925,664 flashes an hour from the zipper's 14,800 bulbs.

It was the first use anywhere of the zipper, which was itself big news on a big news day. A headline in the Nov. 6 edition of the Times declared: Huge Times Sign Will Flash News. It also happened to be election day, and the zipper's first streaming headline announced a new president:

HERBERT HOOVER DEFEATS AL SMITH

Less than a year later, the zipper would be flashing the collapse of the stock market and the events that brought on the Great Depression.

Throughout the 20th century, historic moments became frozen as zipper headlines in the national consciousness:

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT IS DEAD

OFFICIAL: TRUMAN ANNOUNCES JAPANESE SURRENDER

PRESIDENT KENNEDY SHOT DEAD IN DALLAS

MAN ON MOON

NIXON RESIGNS

In between monumental news events, the zipper kept churning out the headlines, which later included weather forecasts and sports scores.

Even before the advent of the zipper, Times Square was a mighty crossroads, home to theaters and restaurants that kept the district humming 24 hours a day. Illuminated signs began springing up with such profusion that even in the early 1900s Broadway and Times Square were referred to as The Great White Way. The first neon sign in Times Square -- advertising the automaker Willys-Overland -- appeared in 1924. But the zipper, with its streaming headlines, was something new and arresting.

When the Times left 1 Times Square in 1963 for its new building on West 43rd Street, New York Newsday took over running the zipper. But as modern Times Square gradually vanished into an orgy of commerce, punctuated by garish neon and LED displays that make midnight feel like high noon, technology had clearly passed the zipper by.

Newsday was ready to pull the plug in 1994, but the zipper was saved when a British company picked up the lease at the midnight hour. As 1 Times Square, like every other building in the area, was gradually buried in an avalanche of modern signage, the old zipper was acquired by Dow Jones and given a complete face lift.

What was once the Motograph News Bulletin is now one of several high-resolution displays on Times Square, distinguishable from the others only by the use of amber LEDs.

Source: Various

Source: Wired Top Stories | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am

3 Smart Things About Time Zones

1 // Arizona is confused about daylight-saving
The state of Arizona doesn't observe Daylight Saving Time. But it is the law in the Navajo Nation, located in Arizona's northeastern corner. The Hopi Nation—situated inside the Navajo Nation—follows the rest of the state and disregards DST. So if you drive the length of Route 264 during the summer, you might have to reset your watch three times.

2 // Venezuela is off by 30 minutes
In 2007, Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez, turned the country's clocks back 30 minutes—saying if people wake up in the daylight, they will be more productive. (Some speculate that he made the switch just to mess with El Norte.)

3 // All of China is on Beijing time
China spanned five time zones until 1949, when the entire country was synchronized to the same hour. So when dawn breaks in Beijing at 6:43 am, it's also 6:43 am more than 2,000 miles west in Kashi, where the sun won't rise for another two hours and 45 minutes.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am

Record Straight From TV to Media Player's Gorgeous Screen

Sharp resolution and nifty TV connection mark the A3 portable media player from Cowan. Add FM tuner, radio and voice recording, and great battery life -- this little device rocks.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am

Show Us Your Flagrant Cellphone-Use Photo

If you've left your house in the past 10 years, chances are good that you've been wronged by someone on a cellphone. And, let's admit it, you've probably also wronged someone else. Whether it's chatting through your coffee purchase or cutting someone off on the freeway, cellphone use can turn the best of us into a-holes faster than you can say "Can you hear me now?"

We want to see photos of ridiculous cellphone use in an Ode to Rudeness. Help us shine a light on this modern jackassery.

Use the Reddit widget below to submit your best flagrant cellphone-use photo and vote for your favorite among the other submissions. If we like your photo, we'll include it in a gallery on Wired.com.

The photo must be your own, and by submitting it you are giving us permission to use it on Wired.com and in Wired magazine. Please submit images that are relatively large, the ideal size being 800 to 1200 pixels or larger on the longest side. Please include a description of your photo so that other readers know what they're looking at.

We don't host the photos, so you'll have to upload it somewhere else and submit a link to it. If you're using Flickr, Picasa or another photo-sharing site to host your image, please provide a link to the image directly and not just to the photo page where it's displayed. Using an online photo service that requires that you log in will not work. 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, send it to your friends and check back periodically over the next two weeks to vote on new submissions!

Vote on flagrant cellphone-use photos submitted by other readers.

Show photos that are: hot | new | top-rated. Submit your flagrant cellphone-use photo.

Submit your flagrant cellphone-use photo.

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

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Source: Wired Top Stories | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am

Wired.com Readers' Favorite Portable Music Players

:

When Sony released the first Walkman in 1979, it changed the way music lovers saw the world. Suddenly everything around us played to whatever soundtrack we created, emotionally augmenting otherwise mundane experiences.

The iPod in 2001 brought more headphone wanderers into the fold with its monolithic success, but for many, it's not the musical companion of choice. Some of our readers' submissions took the 'portable music player' topic a little loosely, but here are some of our favorites.

Left: Archos Jukebox
Submitted by Brad Hodges

Photographer's comment:

"In preparation for several years in Central Africa, I bought this device long before MP3 players were commonplace. Boasting one of the first internal hard drives (20 GB) and a built-in recorder, it was a source of entertainment for an entire African village during three years in the tropical rainforest. I returned to the U.S., then spent a cold winter in Canada with it. Back in the U.S. again, it's still my favorite MP3 player, despite its small screen and amazing simplicity.”

:

Sony D-88
Submitted by Jason Sewell

Photographer's comment:

"The Sony D-88 blew my mind when I first saw it. As far as I know, this is the only CD player with a footprint smaller than a compact disc. Two-thirds of the disc stuck out of the player. And if you could find any of the smaller CDs, you could actually reposition the spindle so that the entire disc fit inside the player."

:

"The first" portable music player, early 30s
Submitted by PAOMAG

Photographer's comment:

"Early Columbia portable with 'automatic' louvres. There is a further subdivision of portable machines, which takes in the many novelty miniature and folding gramophones, particularly popular in the late 1920s, but still being made in the 1950s. Some collectors collect nothing but these novelties, of which there are dozens of variations."

:

AM/FM Headphone Radio
Submitted by Ian

Photographer's comment:

"Remember these? I guess lightning-risk awareness was not an issue at that time."

:

DataPlay Mini-DVD Player by iRiver iDP-100
Submitted by Jacquie Dutton

Photographer's comment:

"It coulda been someone … it coulda been a contender ... there were two devices and two dozen albums ready to ship to stores. Then DataPlay went bankrupt. Everyone ran. Flash memory came down in price. And Apple did something unthinkable: It incorporated nearly obsolete small form-factor hard drives — a commodity — into something HOT. But the secret sauce is always the software, and iTunes had the winning recipe.”

:

mobiBLU b153
Submitted by Jake

Photographer's comment:

"It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done. The mobiBLU b153 had voice recording, a customizable equalizer, an FM radio and more. It was cheap at the time, too: 2 GB for only $120. The kicker, though, was its 153 hours of battery life."

:

Boom Box
Submitted by Sam

Photographer's comment:

"Eight D-cell batteries guaranteed three hours of use on or off the basketball courts!"

:

Diamond Rio PMP300
Submitted by Anonymous

Photographer's comment:

"You kids and your flash players with USB ports and SD slots … this is the great granddaddy of all of your new small players, the original 32-MB Diamond Rio. Connected through the parallel port, ran on one AA, and if you had the money for some flash, could be expanded with SmartMedia. Who cares about the 17th anniversary of the iPod? We should be more concerned about the 10th anniversary of the first portable MP3 player to see any success at all.”

:

Portable music in a big way
Submitted by Not Anon

Photographer's comment:

"Seriously, the thing was the size of a brick. Owned one before my Zune. Loved the thing. Still miss the Rio DJ feature."

:

XM Helix by Samsung
Submitted by Anonymous

Photographer's comment:

"It's like a self-loading iPod and I'm not paying $1/song. I have a home cradle to listen through my surround system, and set it to record overnight. Next day, I put it in my car cradle, and listen to live tunes w/o ads; buh-bye FM. At work, I listen to saved music on 15 hrs battery. I edit the stuff recorded the night before, lock in the good and skip the bad. Cap: ~850 songs. When I hear something good on live broadcast, I hit REC and it's mine!"

:

Sansa slotMusic Player
Submitted by Mike Kabala

Photographer's comment:

"Even though most people are calling it a doomed format, I love my Sansa slotMusic player, shown here with an optional cover that lets me carry up to three additional micro SD or slotMusic cards. I enjoy being able to create custom playlists that I can listen to by simply plugging in a card and pressing 'Play,' rather than having to mess with menus or even look at a screen."

:

Sony MPD-AP20U, the CD/DVD player and CD writer that played MP3 DVDs!!
Submitted by Anonymous

Photographer's comment:

"Supported media: DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, Photo CD, CD Text, Video CD, CD-DA, CD Extra, CD-R, CD-RW. Additional media: Memory Stick Reader/Writer (Purple Stick). Write methods: Track-at-once, Disk-at-once, Session-at-once, Fixed packet writing. Write speed: CD-R Write: 4X, 8X, 8~24X Z-CLV max.; CD-RW Write: 4X, 8X, 10X max. Memory Stick: 1.5MB/s."

:

Sony Walkman Sports Edition (radio and cassette player)
Submitted by Michael

Photographer's comment:

"It might be missing a few dials and buttons, but it's been with me for a long time (through art school and my many travels) and still works.... (Sony really missed the bus on the MP3 player, IMO.)"

:

Soundwagon: Smallest Record Player Ever
Submitted by Martin

Photographer's comment:

"I used to carry this (soundwagon) around with me so I could drop it on a record in weird, dusty old record shops that didn't let you listen to the goods. I'm sure it's the worst ever for a record ... but it works."

:

Toshiba XR-P9 Portable/Dockable CD Player, circa 1986
Submitted by Anonymous

Photographer's comment:

"When I saw this page, I went to the basement and dug out my original XR-P9 (long non-functional). Seems I have the full kit: original leather-ette carry case with battery pack (6 C cells!), IR receiver and remote.

The power wedge slides off for use with the case.

My first CD player, chosen and loved for its versatility. Found this pic on eBay, but you get the idea...."

:

Xclef
Submitted by Jon

Photographer's comment:

"The Xclef is a dream for those of us who know how to build our own systems. I put my own 100-GB drive in there (standard laptop-sized drive), and can swap it out if I want. I can offload it and load onto it from Mac and PC, and the built-in equalizer sounds so much better than anything else I've heard. I wish they didn't stop making this because it truly is an amazing player."

:

The original Zen Touch
Submitted by Anonymous

Photographer's comment:

"The coolest MP3 player at the time, better sound quality then the iPod, etc...."

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am

Loopt helps reduce cost of location services (CNET)

CNET - Loopt, the friend tracking software developer, has struck a licensing deal with a Qualcomm subsidiary to help lower the cost of providing location services.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am

Wired.com Readers' Favorite Portable Music Players

:

When Sony released the first Walkman in 1979, it changed the way music lovers saw the world. Suddenly everything around us played to whatever soundtrack we created, emotionally augmenting otherwise mundane experiences.

The iPod in 2001 brought more headphone wanderers into the fold with its monolithic success, but for many, it's not the musical companion of choice. Some of our readers' submissions took the 'portable music player' topic a little loosely, but here are some of our favorites.

Left: Archos Jukebox
Submitted by Brad Hodges

Photographer's comment:

"In preparation for several years in Central Africa, I bought this device long before MP3 players were commonplace. Boasting one of the first internal hard drives (20 GB) and a built-in recorder, it was a source of entertainment for an entire African village during three years in the tropical rainforest. I returned to the U.S., then spent a cold winter in Canada with it. Back in the U.S. again, it's still my favorite MP3 player, despite its small screen and amazing simplicity.”

:

Sony D-88
Submitted by Jason Sewell

Photographer's comment:

"The Sony D-88 blew my mind when I first saw it. As far as I know, this is the only CD player with a footprint smaller than a compact disc. Two-thirds of the disc stuck out of the player. And if you could find any of the smaller CDs, you could actually reposition the spindle so that the entire disc fit inside the player."

:

"The first" portable music player, early 30s
Submitted by PAOMAG

Photographer's comment:

"Early Columbia portable with 'automatic' louvres. There is a further subdivision of portable machines, which takes in the many novelty miniature and folding gramophones, particularly popular in the late 1920s, but still being made in the 1950s. Some collectors collect nothing but these novelties, of which there are dozens of variations."

:

AM/FM Headphone Radio
Submitted by Ian

Photographer's comment:

"Remember these? I guess lightning-risk awareness was not an issue at that time."

:

DataPlay Mini-DVD Player by iRiver iDP-100
Submitted by Jacquie Dutton

Photographer's comment:

"It coulda been someone … it coulda been a contender ... there were two devices and two dozen albums ready to ship to stores. Then DataPlay went bankrupt. Everyone ran. Flash memory came down in price. And Apple did something unthinkable: It incorporated nearly obsolete small form-factor hard drives — a commodity — into something HOT. But the secret sauce is always the software, and iTunes had the winning recipe.”

:

mobiBLU b153
Submitted by Jake

Photographer's comment:

"It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done. The mobiBLU b153 had voice recording, a customizable equalizer, an FM radio and more. It was cheap at the time, too: 2 GB for only $120. The kicker, though, was its 153 hours of battery life."

:

Boom Box
Submitted by Sam

Photographer's comment:

"Eight D-cell batteries guaranteed three hours of use on or off the basketball courts!"

:

Diamond Rio PMP300
Submitted by Anonymous

Photographer's comment:

"You kids and your flash players with USB ports and SD slots … this is the great granddaddy of all of your new small players, the original 32-MB Diamond Rio. Connected through the parallel port, ran on one AA, and if you had the money for some flash, could be expanded with SmartMedia. Who cares about the 17th anniversary of the iPod? We should be more concerned about the 10th anniversary of the first portable MP3 player to see any success at all.”

:

Portable music in a big way
Submitted by Not Anon

Photographer's comment:

"Seriously, the thing was the size of a brick. Owned one before my Zune. Loved the thing. Still miss the Rio DJ feature."

:

XM Helix by Samsung
Submitted by Anonymous

Photographer's comment:

"It's like a self-loading iPod and I'm not paying $1/song. I have a home cradle to listen through my surround system, and set it to record overnight. Next day, I put it in my car cradle, and listen to live tunes w/o ads; buh-bye FM. At work, I listen to saved music on 15 hrs battery. I edit the stuff recorded the night before, lock in the good and skip the bad. Cap: ~850 songs. When I hear something good on live broadcast, I hit REC and it's mine!"

:

Sansa slotMusic Player
Submitted by Mike Kabala

Photographer's comment:

"Even though most people are calling it a doomed format, I love my Sansa slotMusic player, shown here with an optional cover that lets me carry up to three additional micro SD or slotMusic cards. I enjoy being able to create custom playlists that I can listen to by simply plugging in a card and pressing 'Play,' rather than having to mess with menus or even look at a screen."

:

Sony MPD-AP20U, the CD/DVD player and CD writer that played MP3 DVDs!!
Submitted by Anonymous

Photographer's comment:

"Supported media: DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, Photo CD, CD Text, Video CD, CD-DA, CD Extra, CD-R, CD-RW. Additional media: Memory Stick Reader/Writer (Purple Stick). Write methods: Track-at-once, Disk-at-once, Session-at-once, Fixed packet writing. Write speed: CD-R Write: 4X, 8X, 8~24X Z-CLV max.; CD-RW Write: 4X, 8X, 10X max. Memory Stick: 1.5MB/s."

:

Sony Walkman Sports Edition (radio and cassette player)
Submitted by Michael

Photographer's comment:

"It might be missing a few dials and buttons, but it's been with me for a long time (through art school and my many travels) and still works.... (Sony really missed the bus on the MP3 player, IMO.)"

:

Soundwagon: Smallest Record Player Ever
Submitted by Martin

Photographer's comment:

"I used to carry this (soundwagon) around with me so I could drop it on a record in weird, dusty old record shops that didn't let you listen to the goods. I'm sure it's the worst ever for a record ... but it works."

:

Toshiba XR-P9 Portable/Dockable CD Player, circa 1986
Submitted by Anonymous

Photographer's comment:

"When I saw this page, I went to the basement and dug out my original XR-P9 (long non-functional). Seems I have the full kit: original leather-ette carry case with battery pack (6 C cells!), IR receiver and remote.

The power wedge slides off for use with the case.

My first CD player, chosen and loved for its versatility. Found this pic on eBay, but you get the idea...."

:

Xclef
Submitted by Jon

Photographer's comment:

"The Xclef is a dream for those of us who know how to build our own systems. I put my own 100-GB drive in there (standard laptop-sized drive), and can swap it out if I want. I can offload it and load onto it from Mac and PC, and the built-in equalizer sounds so much better than anything else I've heard. I wish they didn't stop making this because it truly is an amazing player."

:

The original Zen Touch
Submitted by Anonymous

Photographer's comment:

"The coolest MP3 player at the time, better sound quality then the iPod, etc...."

Source: Wired Top Stories | 6 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am

Lazy Publishers Rejoice: Get Your Content From Pluck On Demand

Demand Media launches Pluck on Demand tonight - a new service that will add contextually relevant content to publishing websites via an easy to use widget. In other words, if you don’t have enough content, Pluck on Demand will add appropriate stuff to your site for you.

Pluck on Demand is similar to Blogburst, a product launched in 2006 that brought blog content to larger media sites. But it’s also much different than BlogBurst.

First, content is matched contextually with Pluck on Demand, meaning the service indexes a website’s content in real time and matches it to content from the network. Blogburst matched content based only on metadata about the content, not the content itself. Also, Pluck on Demand pulls content from both blogs as well as more evergreen content on Demand Media and third party sites like eHow and Encyclopedia Britannica.

Second, Pluck on Demand is widget based and much easier to implement than Blogburst. Pluck on Demand users can add widgets that show interesting content in summarized form, a widget to show full articles that are clicked on, a widget for user comments and another widget to show browsing/search results.

Third, revenue flows with the content. Demand places ads from third party networks into the content. The publisher gets 50% of net revenue. The content creator gets 30%, and Demand keeps the remaining 20%.

To see it in action, click here. The “More on this topic” area on the right is powered by Pluck on Demand. This page shows a full article along with user comments.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 6 Nov 2008 | 4:59 am

Blu ‘revolution’ continues

Section: Audio

Anybody who is fed up with new formats of media and still has only vinyl switch off your monitor now.  Boosted by their success in the High Definition DVD war with Blu-ray they have decided to expand the Blu franchise with Blu-spec CD.

Details are sketchy regarding the actual advantages due to a poorly translated Japanese press release, but what we do know is that it aims to overthrow the CD.  Unsurprisingly, they are burned using the Blu Laser Diode (hence the Blu) and even more unsurprisingly they will cost around the $20-$35 mark.  Obviously, we don’t know what you are paying for but the general consensus is that it will be significantly better sound quality.

What we were surprised by was that despite the fact that Blu-ray discs need to be read by a blue laser, the Blue-spec CD will be able to be read by your standard red laser CD player—just don’t ask how or why!  60 titles are set to be released by Christmas eve including “The Guardian of Heaven” by Satanta and ELO’s “Discovery,” but don’t expect to see it in the US soon.  There is no news on this outside of Japan so stay tuned for more information when we get it!

Source [PocketLint]
Release [sme]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 6 Nov 2008 | 4:14 am

Microsoft Begs Hardware Makers To Take Support Seriously

Banana ricotta pancakes writes "Microsoft has confirmed that there will be a widespread public beta of Windows 7 in early 2009, while urging device manufacturers to start immediate testing with its pre-beta release to avoid the widespread hardware compatibility problems that contributed so much to the negative perception of Vista. 'There is not another WinHEC planned before Windows 7 is released,' Microsoft has warned them. Better hope that testing goes well."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 6 Nov 2008 | 3:32 am

Yahoo CEO to Microsoft: Make us another offer (AP)

AP - Now that a pivotal advertising partnership with Google is off the table, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang is ready return to the bargaining table with Microsoft if the world's largest software maker remains interested in buying his embattled Internet company.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 6 Nov 2008 | 3:18 am

GoodGuide’s Database Of Consumer Product “Goodness” Goes Mobile

GoodGuide, the startup that rates consumer products by factors including the toxicity of their ingredients and environmental impact, has released its native iPhone application on Apple’s App Store. The free application allows users to browse and search through the site’s rapidly growing database (now with around 60,000 products) using either a product’s name or UPC code, and can be found here.

GoodGuide was a favorite at this year’s TechCrunch50 conference, generally regarded as a great idea and eventually finishing as a runner up for the event’s top prize. The site’s database rates each consumer product based on its health, environmental, and social performance, pointing out things like carcinogenic ingredients and the manufacturer’s treatment of employees and the environment.

Because shoppers don’t generally plan exactly which items they’re going to buy until they’re in the store, GoodGuide’s mobile functionality will play an important role in the startup’s success. Before now users could access a mobile version of the site through a web browser, but the iPhone’s native app is much speedier and more intuitive - I could see this becoming a favorite for the “soccer mom” demographic and the environmentally and health conscious. GoodGuide also plans to have an Android version available within the next few months.

My one major gripe with the app is that it always opens to a “featured products” page, forcing you to hit a few menu items before reaching the search box. I’d also like a way to photograph the barcode of a product and automatically look it up in the database, though I’m not sure the iPhone is even capable of this (there are only a few barcode apps on the iPhone, and it seems that most of them only support QR Codes. On Android, they rank among the most popular apps).

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

Source: TechCrunch | 6 Nov 2008 | 3:14 am

Windows 3.x reaches end of life

Section: Computers, Software / Applications

Most recently we were seeing plenty of fuss over the coming end of Windows XP, but it turns out that another, much older Windows OS has finally been discontinued.  Yup, Windows 3.x licensing has been officially discontinued as of this past November 1.

I am sure it is pretty safe to say that most have long since forgotten this 18 year old OS, but there were still plenty running it, of course they included items such as cash registers and in-flight entertainment systems and not your average household PC.

So, November 1, 2008 has become the last day anyone could have purchased a license, but it is important to point out that support for Windows 3.x ended back in December of 2001, and any licenses from that point were for the OS as an embedded system.

As anyone who has been around computers for a long time will realize, this once breakthrough OS is now not any more powerful than something many carry around in their pocket on a handheld device.  The system requirements were a measly Intel 80286 (or higher) processor with 1 MB or more of memory and 6.5 MB of free disk space although 9 MB was recommended.  That’s a far cry from the 1GHz processor and 20GB of hard drive space that Vista requires.

Read [BBC]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 6 Nov 2008 | 3:05 am

MySpace To Distribute Ashton Kutcher’s Blah Girls

When Ashton Kutcher launched his animated show Blah Girls at TechCrunch50 earlier this year, he ran into MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe in the hallways. DeWolfe expressed interest in the show. Fast forward two months, and Blah Girls now has a distribution deal with MySpaceTV, which had 51 million unique video streams in August (Comscore).

The show features the adventures of three gossip queen teenagers - Tiffany, Britney and Krystle. They talk about pop culture issues of the day in episodes ranging from 45 seconds to two minutes. Season One is now up on MySpaceTV.

Kutcher talked about syndicating the show to a cable television network at TechCrunch50. We assume those negotiations are still up in the air.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 6 Nov 2008 | 2:56 am

Gadgetell review: Ditch costly laptop docks with this

Section: Computers, Laptops, Networking, Peripherals, Reviews, Features

Getting a docking station from the maker of your laptop is expensive.  One way to get around the high price is with this: the Startech.com USB to VGA 4-in-1 Docking Station.  Small and tidy, this simple device requires only you to plug in one USB cable to make all the magic happen.

And what magic is that?  Dual monitor usage is the rage, so why not use the unit’s VGA out which supports 1680x1050 and 1600x1200 displays and has three distinct video operating modes allowing you to easily extend your laptop’s workspace.  There are the 4 USB ports so you can keep your mouse, keyboard and other gadgets waiting for your laptop when you are away.  Upon returning, simply plug in one USB connector and you are up and running.  The unit also has a USB Mini B port, one RJ45 10/100Mbps network port, and two 3.5mm audio (mic, line out) ports that all feed off that one USB input.

Just the cost alone for the USB to VGA feature would cost you about $75.  You can pick this device up at the manufacturer’s website for about $130.

I used this for a bit and can report back everything functions as promised.  Switching all the gadgets from one machine to another became a very simple operation.  It was very cool getting more real estate on my once fenced in laptop screen.  I love tech when it all works like it supposed to.  Give it a go and you’ll be glad you did too.

Product page: [Startech.com]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 6 Nov 2008 | 2:19 am

Guy teaches his dog to say "Obama."

Herpe, the unfortunately-named but very talented "Obama Dog." Video Link. (thanks, Brandon Elkins)

Source: Boing Boing | 6 Nov 2008 | 2:11 am

Netbooks Come Into Their Own [Personal Technology]

Somewhere between the laptop and the smart phone, the computer industry has long believed there could be a small, low-cost device that would please consumers and sell well.

The device would be more versatile than, say, an iPhone, but much cheaper and more portable than, say, a ThinkPad. The trouble is, every attempt to create such a category of computer has met with failure — until now.

This year, that in-between type of computer now called a “netbook” has finally caught on. Since I reviewed a pioneering model, the 7-inch, $300 Asus Eee PC back in January, the market has been flooded with new and better, if somewhat more expensive, netbook models. Nearly every company — from big names such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard, to obscure ones like MSI — has jumped into the fray.

Netbooks still constitute a smaller niche than laptops and the exploding smart phone, or hand-held computer, category. But they are threatening to break into the mainstream in a big way, especially in an economic climate where a low price and fewer bells and whistles are suddenly more attractive.

They are much more portable than most standard laptops. They are easier to use on a plane or carry around town. And they are way cheaper, between $300 and $500, than the very lightest, thinnest standard laptops, which often top $1,000.

Compared with even an amazingly powerful pocket device, like the iPhone, the Google (GOOG) G1, or the forthcoming BlackBerry (RIMM) Storm, a netbook, at about twice the price, offers a much larger keyboard and screen. And they can run far more sophisticated software and perform a much wider variety of computing tasks.

But netbooks come with serious compromises. While they are great for light use on the go, their cramped screens and keyboards, and slow processors, make them much less potent and less comfortable to use than even a so-called ultraportable laptop. And, as small as they are, they can’t fit in a pocket like smart phones can, be as easily used as a still camera, or function as a cellphone.

Netbooks aren’t tablets. They look and act like regular clamshell-style laptops with keyboards and track pads, but are much smaller. Most current models have 8.9-inch screens, though some now sport 10-inch displays. Dell is even planning soon to launch a netbook with a 12-inch screen for around $600, which will blur the line with traditional laptops, some of which can be bought for less with larger displays.

Compared with sleek, thin, but much costlier notebooks, such as the Apple (AAPL) MacBook Air or the Lenovo ThinkPad X300, the netbooks of today are stubbier and chunkier. But they take up much less room on an airline tray table. When the person in front of you reclines, you can happily keep using them, because their screens are so much smaller and extend upward so much less.

The early netbook models relied on the unfamiliar and somewhat geeky Linux operating system, and most still offer it as an option. But many now also can be purchased with Windows XP, with which consumers are far more experienced, and which can run many more well-known programs.

At the start of this year, most netbooks lacked hard disks, instead offering very limited storage via memory chips — often less storage than a $199 iPhone. They were pitched as limited devices mainly meant for using the Internet — thus the name “netbook” — and their makers assumed users mainly would use Web-based applications.

Now, many offer decent-size hard disks and include serious programs, such as Microsoft (MSFT) Office or Microsoft Works. But none offers a built-in DVD drive, which makes it hard to install some new software.

To offer readers a feel for today’s netbooks, I selected four representative models to test and review. I am not declaring these four as the best on the market, nor do I mean to slight makers like H-P, whose entries aren’t included in this review. The truth is, there are far more similarities than differences among competing netbooks that might make one model stand out from the others.

All four of the models I tested use Intel’s new low-power Atom processor. All have decent screen resolution — much better than the original Asus. But none can display a full Web page, or even most of a Web page, without scrolling. Each has three USB ports.

Three of the four have good battery life, but getting good power in most models means using a larger battery that adds weight and bulk.

All of my test models ran XP, not Linux, because I believe that’s the better choice for average consumers.

Here are minireviews of these four netbooks.

Acer Aspire One: The $349 blue Acer One weighs a little over two pounds with its standard battery, and has a bright, sharp 8.9-inch screen. It comes with a 120-gigabyte hard disk and 1 gigabyte of memory. It’s a little over an inch thick, and its footprint is much smaller than that of a standard sheet of paper.

As on all the other models, I tried a word processor, either Microsoft Word or Works, and several popular non-Microsoft programs: Adobe Reader, Apple’s iTunes and Mozilla’s Firefox browser. The Acer handled all of them well, though, as with all the other netbooks I tried, its speakers are mediocre.

The Acer’s small keyboard is very nicely done. Its keys are large enough, and separated and sculpted enough, to make typing comfortable and accurate, though I wouldn’t want to write a novel on it.

But the Acer has two big drawbacks. Its battery life is miserable. On my tough battery test, where I turn off all power-saving features, crank up the screen brightness, turn on the Wi-Fi, and play a continuous loop of music, it couldn’t even squeeze out two hours. In normal use, that might mean 2½ hours. To fix that problem, you can spend $50 more on a version with a double-size battery, at the cost of added weight and bulk. This costlier version also boosts the hard disk to 160 gigabytes.

The other problem, which can’t be fixed with any factory options, is that the Acer One has a terrible track pad. It’s too cramped vertically for comfortable use, and the buttons, which are mere slivers, are arranged on the sides instead of below the pad. Moving the cursor or selecting text is awkward and inaccurate.

Lesser problems are that the Acer includes only the older, slower, “G” flavor of Wi-Fi and a low-resolution Webcam.

Dell Mini 9: Like the less costly Acer, the $399 Dell Mini has an 8.9-inch screen, but it’s a bit narrower horizontally. Its standard battery is larger, making it slightly heavier but still very light.

The Dell (DELL) is a throwback to the older concept of netbooks. It lacks a hard disk and offers just 8 gigabytes of flash memory, plus 2 gigabytes of free online storage. It has just half a gigabyte of memory. For extra money, you can double the flash storage and memory.

Because of its bigger battery, and its lack of a power-sucking hard disk, the Dell beat the Acer handily in my battery test, getting just under three hours, which means that, in normal use, you would likely see four hours.

The Dell has the same wimpy Wi-Fi and Webcam as the Acer. But its track pad, while small, is much larger vertically and easier to use, with buttons where you expect to find them. It ran all my test software OK.

However, the Dell had by far the worst keyboard in my test group. Because of its compact width, the tab, arrow and other keys are squeezed to a ridiculously narrow size that impedes typing.

MSI Wind U100: This is a $399 machine (after a recent price cut) with a 10-inch screen, and comes from a Taiwan company better known in the U.S. for making computer components than entire computers. The model I tested, with a double-size battery, is $429. My test unit was white, weighed a tad over three pounds, and had 1 gigabyte of memory and a 160-gigabyte hard disk.

Despite the larger screen, the Wind still fits very well on a cramped airline tray, and it has a well-designed keyboard. It comes with a button that can slow down or speed up the processor to save battery life or add oomph. And there’s a function that can magnify portions of text.

It has a standard, decent Webcam and can use the newest “N” flavor of Wi-Fi. It ran all my test software just fine.

With my test model’s bigger battery, which protrudes from the bottom, the Wind did very well on my test at its standard processor speed, lasting three hours and 37 minutes. That suggests you could get four to five hours in normal use. Presumably, the standard model with the smaller battery would get half of that life, though you could stretch it by stepping down the processor speed.

Overall, I liked the MSI Wind a lot. My only real gripe is that the track pad is small and has only a single thin button, which performs a left or right click. This button is too small and sluggish for optimal use.

Asus Eee 1000H: Asus, another Taiwan company known as a component maker, is the king of netbooks. In fact, it has so many different, and frequently changing, netbook models that its product lineup can be a blur. The one I tested has a 10-inch screen and costs $475, making it the costliest netbook in this group. It’s also the heaviest, edging out my test Wind slightly.

Like the Wind, my Eee 1000H had a large battery that protruded from the bottom. It doesn’t come with a smaller battery. Also like the Wind, it has a standard Webcam, the faster “N” Wi-Fi, and a 160-gigabyte hard disk with 1 gigabyte of memory.

The keyboard on the 1000H was the best of this lot, with well-designed keys. It also had the roomiest and most functional track pad, though its buttons — integrated with a metal border around the track pad — took some getting used to.

The Asus, like the Wind, has the capability to tweak the speed of its processor. It also has a button that can change the screen resolution, though I found that the nonstandard resolutions looked distorted.

In my battery test, at its standard processor speed, the 1000H got three hours and 32 minutes, suggesting that in normal use it could deliver between four and five hours — more if you use the lower processor speed.

The Asus handled all my test software well. It comes with a greater variety of built-in programs than the others and offers 20 gigabytes of free online storage.

Bottom line: If you want a machine for light use, a light price and a light weight, a netbook is waiting and is worth a try. Just don’t expect the same experience as on a standard laptop or the convenience of a smart phone.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Source: All Things Digital | 6 Nov 2008 | 2:10 am

Americans Were Highly Engaged in Presidential Election at the Polls and on the Web, According to Nielsen Online

Nielsen Online, a service of The Nielsen Company, announced today that Web traffic to the Current Events and Global News category grew 27 percent on Election Day over the previous Tuesday. Page views and time per person for the category also increased, 103 percent and 61 percent, respectively.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Nov 2008 | 2:00 am

20 free Rock Band 2 songs delayed

Remember those 20 free Rock Band tracks that were expected to go live yesterday? As of last night, they still hadn’t shown up. After a full day of patiently waiting for my code to arrive, I wandered on over to the Rock Band forums looking for an explanation.

It didn’t take too much digging, fortunately. From this post by Harmonix community rep Sean:

We have hit an unexpected delay with getting the content online with Microsoft and are working diligently with them to get that resolved. We have suspended sending out the token codes until the content becomes available. Sending out the codes before the content is live will just result in more confusion. We hope to have this resolved in the next 24 hours and apologize profusely for the delay.

We’re also working with Sony to get the content up on PS3 and the codes out. More on that as information becomes available.

Again, we apologize for the delay and are working our butts off to get the content out to you.

Oh well - another day or two isn’t too much to ask for in exchange for a bucket of free goods.

Source: CrunchGear | 6 Nov 2008 | 1:54 am

Michael Crichton Dead At 66

Many readers have submitted stories about the death of Michael Crichton. The 66-year-old author of Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain died unexpectedly Tuesday "after a courageous and private battle against cancer," a press release said. In addition to writing, he also directed such sci-fi classics as Westworld and Runaway. Crichton was married five times and had one child.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 6 Nov 2008 | 1:39 am

Phoenix M. Lander is guestblogging in Gizmodo.

Sheesh, here I was bragging all over the place about Boing Boing's amazing guestbloggers -- most notably, our current star, Susannah Breslin -- and the guys at Gizmodo have to one-up us over here. NASA's frickin' Mars Lander is guestblogging over there. Brian Lam says the Phoenix Mars Lander is blogging about its "last days on Mars, recalling its life and bravely facing impending death." Gah! Brilliant.

Source: Boing Boing | 6 Nov 2008 | 1:23 am

Exploding Lock Marks Thieves, Ruins Bike

Cut this lock, and it'll blow.

Well, it won't blow up like the bus in Speed, but try to snip the cable and it'll spray colored dye all over a thief, making him easily identifiable to the PoPo. It'll also spray dye all over the bike, too, making it unsellable. Not an ideal solution for your bike, but an interesting mechanism to combat thievery.

Designer Mike Lamboum fashioned the concept, dubbed the Smart Lock. Check out his site for more details.

SmartLock [via DVICE]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 6 Nov 2008 | 1:21 am

Jerry Yang Speaks At Web 2.0: Our Live Notes

What a day for Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang to take the stage in front of a thousand or so people at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. The Google search marketing deal is toast, and it’s not clear what Yahoo’s plan is as the company’s stock continues to wither.

Conference co-organizer John Battelle welcomes Yang to the stage at 4:50 pm.

Yang says its been an “amazing year” in response to Battelle’s first question on how he’s doing personally. Battelle then asks what happened to Yahoo this year, going back to Microsoft’s offer to acquire the company in February 2008.

Yang says flat out that he’s open to a sale to Microsoft, that they were ready to negotiate a deal and that they weren’t that far apart. He says Microsoft continues to be clear that Microsoft is no longer interested in the deal. Yang also says that he and his board of directors felt that at all times they did the right thing. Both sides are to blame, he says, for the deal not happening.

Battelle says that a lot of people claim Yang is to blame for the deal falling apart. Yang counters, saying he is indifferent about keeping Yahoo independent and just wants what’s best for the company. He also reiterates that they went back to Microsoft after the offer was revoked to get them interested again.

“I have a lot of respect for Steve [Ballmer]”

“It’s not personal”

Battelle then asks about the Google search marketing deal, which fell apart today. “What happened,” he asked. Yang says they were working with the Department of Justice to make the deal worked, but Google “clearly didn’t want to stay in the deal.”

Yang says that the deal was a way for “two competitors to try and compete more by doing this.” If Yahoo could take advantage of Google’s ads, he says, users would have a better experience, which would help Yahoo “compete vigorously” in the search marketplace.

“It’s disappointing to us that Google didn’t want to defend this deal,” he said.

Yang says the government doesn’t understand our industry and has a market definition that is too narrow. “Things like this have unintended consequences on the broader industry,” he said.

Battelle asks “You founded Yahoo 15 years ago, for the first 8-10 years Yahoo was the standard bearer for the Internet. Then you had a crisis in ‘06, and you came back as CEO. Why? Why do that to yourself? Are you the right guy?” Yang answers: “It was ‘07 when I stepped back in…I didn’t make the decision to be CEO lightly…In retrospect, I don’t take my position lightly…I wanted to make the changes at Yahoo that I believe I’ve made. There has been a lot of change, a lot of people coming and leaving, but the plans we’ve tried to execute against have been done and I’m extremely proud in the sense of rewiring Yahoo as a platform company.”

“I don’t regret any minute of what happened.”

“What is the vision for Yahoo” Battelle asks.

“Yahoo is a consumer brand that allows people to do what they want on the Internet.”

Yang says that opening up Yahoo as a platform is important. YOS allows third parties to developed applications for the Yahoo audience. “It’s very different from Facebook” he said.

Yang talks about Search Monkey and BOSS and how it is changing the search experience by bringing in third party apps and they opening up search as a web service.

Battelle asks what went wrong historically with Yahoo, and if Yahoo culture of fiefdoms got in their way. Yang responds that Yahoo’s culture is changing, and that the company needs more product discipline. Historically the company had scale problems, he says, because they didn’t have a platform approach.

Battelle says there are three companies that want to be platform advertising players: Google/Doubleclick, Microsoft and Yahoo. He asks what Yahoo is trying to do with Apt, their new platform that let’s publishers form advertising subnetworks under Yahoo. Yang says they are able to bring a large audience to advertisers, but APT creates a liquid and fluid market where all types of advertising can be sold.

Battelle talks about Yahoo three years ago, when they bought Flickr and Delicious. Those days are over, he says. Will Yahoo start buying again? Absolutely, Yang says. “We bought 40 companies this year,” he says. It’s very important to us, he says.

Battelle asks if Yahoo is talking to Microsoft about any kind of deal. Yang says no. Battelle asks if Yahoo is buying AOL, Yang says “I can’t talk about that.”

In response to an audience question about search competitiveness going forward, Yang says he believe search is innovation based, not capital based, and that he believes Yahoo is spending enough on capex.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 6 Nov 2008 | 1:02 am

Fun with magnets

Warning: Do not swallow or eat magnets. Magnets could interfere with brain structure and bodily growth. Magnets are not toys, except when you use them in amazingly powerful catapults and rail guns.

Source: CrunchGear | 6 Nov 2008 | 1:01 am

Three Plead Guilty in $2 Million Citibank ATM Caper

Three Ukrainian immigrants admit plundering Citibank customers using account numbers and PINs stolen from 7-Eleven cash machines. But Cardtronics, the company that owns the ATMs, hasn't been so forthcoming.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 6 Nov 2008 | 1:00 am

Hitwise Ranks Election Traffic To News Sites

Hitwise has released a ranking of some of the top news sites, measured by traffic on Election Day. CNN.com came out on top, seeing a 146 percent spike over the day before. But MSNBC.com, Fox News, and the Drudge report all saw nice bumps as well. ABCNews.com had a record day, with a 113 percent jump in traffic over the day before. And CNN’s Political Ticker blog by itself saw a 122 percent jump. (Twitter traffic rose 43 percent and traffic to Twitter Election 2008 rose 1,100 percent).

Some sites, amazingly saw declines from the day before, such as Time.com (-21%), Current TV(-53%), and Slate (-33%).

Here is a list of the top election news sites (you can see all the stats in the table below):

1.Yahoo News
2. CNN
3. MSNBC
4. Google News
5. FOXNews
6. Drudge Report
7. The New York Times
8. FOXNews.com Elections
9. USA Today
10. ABCnews.com
11. The Huffington Post
12. AOL News
13. Real Clear Politics
14. The Washington Post
15. CNN Political Ticker
16. CBSNews.com
17. Time
18. Electoral Vote Predictor
19. The Politico
20. MSN Election 09
21. Townhall.com
22. Free Republic
23. Daily Kos
24. Current TV
25. Slate
26. FiveThirtyEight
27. Michelle Malkin

Conspicuously missing from this list are the news sites provided by search engines Yahoo, Google and AOL. If these were included, Yahoo News would take the top spot above CNN with a 55% increase in traffic and 0.72% market share. Google News would take 4th place behind MSNBC with a 58% increase, and AOL News would come in at 12th place behind The Huffington Post with a mere 19% increase. Update: I’ve inserted those three in the rankings above)

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

Source: TechCrunch | 6 Nov 2008 | 12:55 am

Body believed to be that of Brandon Crisp found

Around 3 weeks ago, 15-year-old Brandon Crisp ran away from home following an argument with his parents. As the argument revolved around Brandon’s Call of Duty 4 habits and the parent’s decision to take away his Xbox 360, much of the media associated the disappearance with the fact that the kid was a gamer.

Within two weeks, over C$50,000 in funds had been raised as a reward for information leading to his return, half of which was contributed by Microsoft. After 16 days, police called off the ground search.

Toronto TV station CP-24 reported this morning that a body believed to be Brandon’s was found in a rural area not far from his home in Barrie, Ontario. Details are still unclear as to how the body was found.

Our sincerest condolences to the family.

Source: CrunchGear | 6 Nov 2008 | 12:52 am

Designing for Space: Core77 visits NASA's Industrial Design Team

Glen Jackson Taylor of Core77 visted NASA to profile the designers of the next manned lunar rover.

Evan Twyford and Carl Conlee are two of three industrial designers working in NASA's Habitability Design Center (HDC), and in just over 2 years they have transitioned the department from one that dealt only with small isolated ergonomic projects to working on arguably the most exciting project at NASA today—a next generation pressurized lunar rover. The thing is, NASA doesn't actually have an industrial design department. They don't even have a design department. Not technically, anyway...

Designing for Space: Core77 visits NASA's Industrial Design Team

Source: Boing Boing | 6 Nov 2008 | 12:49 am

Amazing Al Capp At AnimationArchive.org

Stephen Worth says:

Today, we posted more amazing "Cappiana" from the collection of cartoonist, Mike Fontanelli at the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, including...

• Al Capp's infamous "Jack Jawbreaker" story -- a devastating satire of the notorious exploitation of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster by DC Comics.

• More than a dozen rare Wildroot Cream-Oil strips, as well as original artwork and Nat King Cole's version of the jingle.

• Two complete Fearless Fosdick stories, including Capp's over-the-top masterpiece of surreal violence, "The Case of the Chippendale Chair (or Kiss The Blood Off My Springs)"

Capp's sense of humor was decades ahead of its time, predating the sort of sick humor that is so popular in comics and cartoons today. It's amazing what he got away with in "family newspapers" during the 50s!

CAPPtivating Heroes: Jack Jawbreaker and Fearless Fosdick Fight Crime

Source: Boing Boing | 6 Nov 2008 | 12:42 am

Virgin America rolling out Gogo Wi-Fi service on November 22

Our buds over at Jaunted just gave us the heads up that Virgin America will begin rolling out Aircell’s Gogo service, which we reviewed back in August, on November 22. The “beta” flight will take off from SFO, VA’s HQ, to JFK. Virgin plans to roll out the in-flight broadband service on one plane per week with a full rollout scheduled by March 2009. Oh, and they won’t be filtering the service either. The RED system will eventually be wired in as well, but we won’t see that happen until later on in 2009.

Source: CrunchGear | 6 Nov 2008 | 12:42 am

As the Mac turns: MacBook Air delayed, Mac Mini coming soon? (CNET)

CNET - Apple customers awaiting their new MacBook Airs may have to wait a little longer than they had thought, but potential Mac Mini customers should sit tight.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 6 Nov 2008 | 12:35 am

US Army To Push X-Files Tech Development

An anonymous reader writes "The US Army is ramping up the development of technology right out of the X-Files; 'making science fiction into reality' as Dr. John Parmentola — Director of their Research and Laboratory Management — puts it. The list of things currently in the works is amazing: regenerating body parts on 'nano-scaffolding,' telepathy through electronic impulses in the scalp, and self-aware virtual photorealistic soldiers that can be deployed in the battlefield through 'quantum ghost imaging.' To test these they want to use them into a massively multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft or Eve online."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 6 Nov 2008 | 12:20 am

Chart of marijuana-related ballot initiatives for 2008: big wins

Here's a chart from the Marijuana Policy Project that summarizes the nine (out of 10) marijuana-related ballot initiatives around the country that passed in yesterday's election, and the one bad initiative that was defeated. The margins were pretty big, too.

Massachusetts Question 2: Remove the threat of arrest or jail for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana, replacing it with a $100 fine, which could be paid through the mail without lawyers or court appearances, just like a speeding ticket. WIN 65%-35%

Chart of marijuana-related ballot initiatives for 2008: big wins

Source: Boing Boing | 6 Nov 2008 | 12:16 am

Cisco warns of demand shortfall; earnings flat (AP)

AP - Cisco Systems Inc., the world's largest maker of computer networking gear, warned Wednesday that orders fell off abruptly in October and projected a large fall in sales in the current quarter. Its shares slid in after-hours trading.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 6 Nov 2008 | 12:15 am

Bike Geek: Bay Area Super Prestige Race #2

All of my tech and training is starting to pay off: I finished in the top ten of this past weekend's cyclocross race in San Francisco.

As I’ve gone through this first season of cyclocross racing, I’ve discovered various things about myself, and the sport, that I need to understand and work on. My lack of off-road riding experience has lead to a couple of hard crashes, and a set of ribs that’s still a little sore over six weeks after I dinged them up. Poor warm-ups and not fighting for a good start position has left me in the middle or at the back of the pack at the start of the race, causing me to drop time and positions that I just can’t make up in a short cross race.

This past weekend, at Candlestick Point, I resolved to change those things that I could. Coming of 21st place in the first Bay Area Super Prestige Race, I felt like I would be competitive if I just got everything lined up right. The race was on Sunday morning; Saturday all day, we got the first big rainstorm of the year here in San Francisco. So we’d have a nice muddy race — “real” cross conditions, which I found myself excited about. Back in my younger days, I liked racing in tough conditions, so hoped it would give me a mental advantage.

Check out the entire post, and my Garmin Connect data for the race.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 6 Nov 2008 | 12:15 am

Video Startup Veoh Cuts 18% of Staff

Online video site Veoh is laying off 20 people, or 18% of its staff of 110. The move comes a month after Paidcontent reported layoffs in Veoh’s Russian office in St. Petersburg, which CEO Steve Mitgang says was a strategic decision rather than a financial one, as Veoh wanted to move its development staff to San Diego (where it has hired a replacement team).

This round is more of a financial move, given the new economic reality. The company insists that it is still strong on a financial front, and expects to be profitable next year, although CEO Mitgang admits profitability could be pushed out a quarter. Despite the somber news, he is confident Veoh will emerge as one of the few surviving video sites in what will no doubt be a coming shakeout.

According to comScore, visitors to the Veoh.com in the U.S. have come down from 4.5 million people in June to 3.8 million in September. And total minutes spent on the site has similarly dropped from 99.6 million minutes in June to 66.8 million in September. That drop in visitors is more than made up for in the growth in its standalone video app, Veoh TV, which reached 2.3 million people in the U.S in September. Globally, 16 million people watched videos on the site in September, and another 12 million watched via the app (see chart below).

The company has raised $70 million, including $30 million just last June. We are adding this announcement to our Layoff Tracker.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 6 Nov 2008 | 12:14 am

Inside the Genetic Differences Between Chimps and Humans

Genome scans have revealed that though chimps are humans' closest genetic relatives, simple mutations don't tell the whole story. Now, geneticists are pinpointing the more subtle variations that make humans human.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 6 Nov 2008 | 12:05 am

Charlie on the M.T.A. in French

I'm Learning to Share was kind enough to share this delightful and gentle version of the Kingston Trio's 1959 hit folk song, M.T.A., by French singer Eileen Grayam.

There's a dearth of information out there regarding 'Eileen Grayam' and The Storytellers, but one possible theory suggests that this Eileen could be the same American-born yé-yé girl Eileen who recorded in France in the 1960's and had a hit with her French-language version of Nancy Sinatra's 'These Boots Were Made For Walking' in 1966.

'Charlie on the M.T.A.' in French: Eileen Grayam - Le Metro de Boston b/w Michel

Previously on Boing Boing:
• Nick Reynolds, RIP

Source: Boing Boing | 6 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am

A photograph of America's new president.

A really great photograph, via Boston.com. Does anyone have photog credit info? Link to original photo series, a collection of portraits of our president-elect (who, as the shot demonstrates, sometimes reads the Wall Street Journal). Here's the info on this photograph:

US Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama shares a fist bump with Ethan Gibbs, the five year-old son of campaign communication director Robert Gibbs, upon disembarking from his campaign plane at Dulles airport in Chantilly, Virgina, on October 22, 2008. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images) #

(via @SdGeek)

Source: Boing Boing | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:59 pm

Letters From Johns

In January of this year, on what amounted to a whim, I created an online project called Letters from Johns. To be perfectly honest, I can't even recall exactly why I did it, but I've been writing about the sex industry for years, and I suppose I was curious about why men pay for sex. Rather than hearing someone else's version of their stories, I was interested in collecting their stories. So, I put out a call on my blog for exactly that, and that's exactly what I got.

Every so often, another letter from a john would show up in my email box. They were state investigators, lonely, single guys, married men, enlisted, world travelers, virgins, and thrill-seekers. When Spitzergate hit, I got more letters than ever. (I wrote about the project here.) Eventually, though, the call girl and john coverage slowed. These days, I get fewer letters than I used to.

Last night, I got a new letter from a john. It was more sad than most, although many of the letters are somewhat sad. More often than not, the emails are testimonies to loneliness, and the lengths people, men, in particular, will go to be anywhere but alone. This letter, though, was particularly sad, and my guess is it came from a Boing Boing reader. Seeing as I hadn't gotten any letters in a while, and this one rolled in the night I started guestblogging, it's likely he came across the project from here.

Of course, I don't bring this up to out him. He's a John Doe, and all letters remain anonymous. Sometimes, though, there's a tendency to see stories like his, or those of the others, as belonging to lives that are nothing like ours, to "Other-ize" them, when, in fact, the themes of these letters -- the desire to transcend one's internal abyss -- are not so unlike the stories of most who have experiences that require them to find out what's hidden in their darkest places.

"I Wanted To Kill Myself."

Source: Boing Boing | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:57 pm

To do in SF: Boing Boing + Boing Boing tv + Laughing Squid + Next New Networks + Metblogs = Spontaneous Drinkup

Hope you'll join us in SF if you're in town tonight. Details here, and more here. Thanks Scott Beale! For Web 2.0 conference participants who are attending the dinner/auction at the Palace Hotel tonight: we'll be up late with the Drinkup, so just cmon by when Web 2 wraps up.

Source: Boing Boing | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:38 pm

Intentional action and Asperger Syndrome

Do people with Asperger Syndrome understand intentional actions in a different way than people without Asperger Syndrome? Edouard Machery, a philosopher of psychology and an experimental philosopher in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, says they do:

Consider the following probes:

The Free-Cup Case
Joe was feeling quite dehydrated, so he stopped by the local smoothie shop to buy the largest sized drink available. Before ordering, the cashier told him that if he bought a Mega-Sized Smoothie he would get it in a special commemorative cup. Joe replied, ‘I don't care about a commemorative cup, I just want the biggest smoothie you have.' Sure enough, Joe received the Mega-Sized Smoothie in a commemorative cup. Did Joe intentionally obtain the commemorative cup?

The Extra-Dollar Case
Joe was feeling quite dehydrated, so he stopped by the local smoothie shop to buy the largest sized drink available. Before ordering, the cashier told him that the Mega-Sized Smoothies were now one dollar more than they used to be. Joe replied, ‘I don't care if I have to pay one dollar more, I just want the biggest smoothie you have.' Sure enough, Joe received the Mega-Sized Smoothie and paid one dollar more for it. Did Joe intentionally pay one dollar more?

You surely think that paying an extra dollar was intentional, while getting the commemorative cup was not. So do most people (Machery, 2008).

But Tiziana Zalla and I have found that if you had Asperger Syndrome, a mild form of autism, your judgments would be very different: You would judge that paying an extra-dollar was not intentional, just like getting the commemorative cup (Zalla and Machery ms).

Intentional action and Asperger Syndrome

Source: Boing Boing | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:21 pm

First Whole Cancer Genome Sequenced

dooling writes "A paper detailing the sequencing of the first human cancer genome will be published in the 6 November 2008 issue of Nature. This is not only the first cancer genome published, it is the first female genome as well. You can read the paper's abstract, DNA sequencing of a cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukaemia genome, or the story in Science News. This issue of Nature also has articles on the sequencing of the first African and Asian genomes. The sequencing in all three articles was done using the Illumina Genome Analyzer, one of the massively parallel, next-generation genome sequencing platforms."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:18 pm

Product Reviews: What You May Have Missed

Greetings gadget-philes, it's been quite the week over in reviewtown. We've been hard at work making the new site sing and crafting highly critical reviews (coupled with elegant prose) about the gizmos you actually care about. Our fave gadget of this week? The long delayed, often hyped, incredibly pretty BlackBerry Bold that landed in the United States..finally. Reviewer Christopher Null weighed in with this take on it:

Some improvements are immediately visible, even to novices. The non-touch screen, at 480 x 320 pixels, is now on par with the iPhone, though it's quite a bit smaller at just 2.6 diagonal inches. Impressively bright, it's easy to read even birdseed type (which you'll probably do a lot) — the web browser is one of the most capable we've seen on a BlackBerry to date.

    

Read his full BlackBerry Bold review here.

We also had a look at the WD TV from Western Digital. This plucky black box essentially takes media files from a hard drive and streams them direct to a HDTV. Wired Mag Associate Editor Joe Brown, howerver, found a more, uh gripping application for the device. From his write-up:

A certain class of people have long wanted to easily download and play files on their massive flat-panel TVs. This powerful special interest group is responsible for many of the technological innovations that drive our modern economy. They are internet porn addicts, and the WDTV is the answer to many of their prayers.

Read the full WD TV review right here.

Yes, we managed to have a look at a Panasonic camcorder that uses SD cards as its primary recording format. Reviewer Roger Hibbert had this to say about it:

You've longed to document your fascinating life for some time now, but you just haven't found the right lightweight HD camcorder. Well, here's the perfect tool for it: The Panasonic HDC-SD100 3CMOS camcorder can shoot 1080i HD video or 2.1-megapixel stills, all in a light, easily toted package.

   

Read the full SD100 review right here.

Additional to the menu was HP's newest netbook, the Mini 1000. Gadget reviewing powerhouse Christopher Null had this to report:

The 1000 is not only extremely thin (less than an inch thick, all around), it's the lightest 10.2-inch netbook we've tested, at just under 2.5 pounds. For the most part, HP doesn't skimp on features to hit this weight, either.: The model we tested includes the now-standard 1.6-GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1 GB of RAM, Windows XP, and an incredibly bright widescreen LCD.

 

Read the full HP Mini 1000 right here.

Finally our own Terrence Russell spent some quality time with a set of bargain basement priced noise canceling headphones from Able Planet:

From the moment we strapped its jet-black cans to our cranium, it was clear the NC200s are designed for a frugal user. Even with their satisfying heft and plastic/leather-ish accents, these headphones still feel cheap and a little sparse.

 

Read the full Able Planet NC200 review here.

 

 

Until we have RSS capabilities on the new gadget review website (it's still in BETA guys!) we'll be posting links and previews to our reviews here. So remember to hit those links and hit the comments. Anything you guys like? Let us know. Anything that we can do better? Definitely give us any and all suggestions. We'll be standing by. 

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:04 pm

MarketTools Ranked As One of the Fastest-Growing Companies in Deloitte's Technoloy Fast 50 Program for Silicon Valley

MarketTools, Inc. today announced that it has been named to Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 Program for Silicon Valley Internet, Media, Entertainment and Communications companies.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

Informex to Introduce the GreenExchange at InformexUSA

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Informex today announced that it will launch the GreenExchange at the InformexUSA exhibition next January in San Francisco, California.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.42 Per Share

Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. (NYSE: PCL) today announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.42 per share. The dividend is payable on Nov. 28, 2008, to shareholders of record as of Nov. 17, 2008.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

Environmental Power Corporation and Organix, Inc. Establish Alliance to Produce High Value Soil Amendment Products

TARRYTOWN, N.Y., Nov.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

ViewCast Corporation to Report 2008 Third Quarter, Nine-Month Financial Results

PLANO, Texas, Nov.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

Hearst-Argyle Stations, Websites, Draw Record Audiences With On-Air and Online Election Coverage

NEW YORK, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- It was a landslide victory for numerous Hearst-Argyle Television stations and websites -- which led their markets in audience ratings and in web traffic during coverage of the historic presidential election.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

Laptop With Social Security Numbers Swiped

North Carolina officials say they are alerting residents whose names and Social Security numbers were stored in a laptop computer stolen from a state employee. The identification data is from more than 52,000 North Carolinians registered with the Division of Aging and Adult Services.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

EXACT Sciences Corporation to Present at the Rodman & Renshaw 10th Annual Healthcare Conference

EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS) announced today that it is scheduled to present at the Rodman & Renshaw 10th Annual Health Care Conference on Wednesday, November 12, 2008.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

D-Link DIR-655 Firmware 1.21 Hijacks Your Internet Connection

chronopunk writes "Normally when you think of firmware updates for a router you would expect security updates and bug fixes. Would you ever expect the company that makes the product to try and sell you a subscription for security software using its firmware as a salesperson? I recently ran into this myself when trying to troubleshoot my router. I noticed when trying to go to Google that my router was hijacking DNS and sent me to a website trying to sell me a software subscription. After upgrading your D-link DIR-655 router to the latest firmware you'll see that D-link does this, and calls the hijacking a 'feature.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 5 Nov 2008 | 10:45 pm

Apple Issuing MacBook Fix Soon, Complainers Say

Complaints about the new MacBooks' trackpads appear to be prevalent enough to force Apple's mouth open.

Some customers are complaining that the glass trackpads on their new MacBooks or MacBook Pros are occasionally unresponsive. Two customers this week said they e-mailed Steve Jobs about the issue and received responses. One said he received a call back from an Apple representative, and the other said he received a short e-mail from the CEO himself. In both responses, Apple indicates it's working on a patch to fix the problem.

More interesting than the issue itself is the increasing frequency of customers reporting e-mails from Jobs. Just a few weeks ago, a MacBook customer said Jobs sent him an e-mail justifying the new notebook's lack of FireWire ports. And in recent months some dissatisfied iPhone customers said they received e-mail responses from Jobs as well. Increasingly regular responses from Apple suggest that the company is having a difficult time upkeeping its culture of secrecy.

Software Fix for MacBook Pro Trackpad Issue "Coming Soon" [MacRumors]

Photo: William Hook/Flickr

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 5 Nov 2008 | 10:42 pm

Obama, McCain Campaigns Both Hacked, Files Compromised

dunezone writes "As the election ends, news is coming out from both campaigns on what happened behind closed doors. During the summer, the Obama campaign had their systems hacked, but so did McCain — and not by each other, but bya third party. '... both the FBI and the Secret Service came to the campaign with an ominous warning: "You have a problem way bigger than what you understand," an agent told Obama's team. "You have been compromised, and a serious amount of files have been loaded off your system." The following day, Obama campaign chief David Plouffe heard from White House chief of staff Josh Bolten, to the same effect: "You have a real problem ... and you have to deal with it." The Feds told Obama's aides in late August that the McCain campaign's computer system had been similarly compromised.'" Also from the article: "Officials at the FBI and the White House told the Obama campaign that they believed a foreign entity or organization sought to gather information on the evolution of both camps' policy positions — information that might be useful in negotiations with a future administration."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 5 Nov 2008 | 10:20 pm

The use of Electricity for lighting is in no way harmful to health

Your grand-grand-parents new media {next Nature]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 5 Nov 2008 | 10:15 pm

How to Edit Wikipedia

Everyone's an expert on something. That's the idea behind wikis, where any web user can contribute by adding their knowledge to a topic. No site is a better exemplar of the power of groupthink than Wikipedia, the largest and most well-known wiki on the web. Wired.com's own How-to Wiki has tips to help you dive in and start editing pages.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 5 Nov 2008 | 10:00 pm

Google Search Deal Slips Through Yahoo's Fingers — Is AOL Next?

The disintegration of the Google-Yahoo search partnership should effectively eliminate Yahoo's chances to buy AOL and make it a tantalizing target for Microsoft yet again.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 5 Nov 2008 | 9:33 pm

Critical Vulnerability In Adobe Reader

An anonymous reader writes "Core Security Technologies issued an advisory disclosing a vulnerability that could affect millions using Adobe's Reader PDF file viewing software. Engineers from CoreLabs determined that Adobe Reader could be exploited to gain access to vulnerable systems via the use of a specially crafted PDF file with malicious JavaScript content. Successful exploitation of the vulnerability requires that users open a maliciously crafted PDF file, thereby allowing attackers to gain access to vulnerable systems and assume the privileges of a user running Acrobat Reader."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 5 Nov 2008 | 9:32 pm

The Chevy Volt Will Save GM (And Get the Girl)

The future of General Motors all but rests on the electric car that the company is scrambling to put into showrooms by 2010.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 5 Nov 2008 | 9:30 pm

8-megapixel camera phone throwdown: Pixon vs Innov8 vs Renoir vs C905

With Sony Ericsson, LG, and Samsung all throwing 8-megapixel camera phones into the market within a few months of each other, we’ve been a bit disappointed at the lack of comparison sample photos available. The Samsung Pixon, Samsung Innov8, LG Renoir, and Sony Ericsson C905 all showboat their 8-megapixel shooter as the defining feature - so which is best? I’d been hoping someone would be able to scrounge up all four phones (and an enormous amount of time) to do a roundup, and GSMArena has knocked it out of the park.

Unfortunately for those looking for someone to tell them outright which handset to buy, there doesn’t seem to be a clear winner. While the Innov8 seems to be the best all around performer, the other three all have that little something that makes them worth considering. If you’re in the market for an 8-megapixel handset and you’re down to dig through 7 pages of photo samples and interface walkthroughs, this roundup is definitely worth the read.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 5 Nov 2008 | 9:01 pm

FCC Approves The Use of White Spaces for Wireless Broadband Connectivity

The Federal Communications Commission's decision to open up the white spaces' spectrum to unlicensed devices could usher in a new telecom revolution, similar to what Wi-Fi did a few years ago, say analysts.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 5 Nov 2008 | 8:45 pm

DNA Tests Confirm Death Of Steve Fossett

Image Caption: At NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility, Steve Fossett, seated in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer cockpit, checks visibility and head space. Fossett will pilot the GlobalFlyer on a record-breaking attempt by flying solo, non-stop without refueling, to surpass the current record for the longest flight of any aircraft. This is the second attempt in two days after a fuel leak was detected Feb. 7. The expected time of takeoff is 7 a.m. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett (Feb. 8, 2006)
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Nov 2008 | 8:45 pm

EnerTeck Corporation Announces Reach Approval for the Expansion of Marketing Efforts to the European Union

EnerTeck Corporation (OTCBB: ETCK) (the "Company") announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, EnerTeck Chemical Corp. ("ECC"), intends to expand the market for its primary product EnerBurn(R) to the European Union.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Nov 2008 | 8:00 pm

Computer Finds Molecules Causing Diseases

U.S. scientists say they have created an algorithm that can identify genes and proteins most likely to cause complex diseases such as cancer or schizophrenia.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Nov 2008 | 8:00 pm

Pinpointing The Perfect Golf Swing

An engineering professor at the University of Surrey claims to have found the key to the perfect golf swing.Professor Robin Sharp suggests that the answer is not to use full power from the start, but to build up to it quickly.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Nov 2008 | 8:00 pm

African, Asian Join Genomics Library

The full genetic profiles of two men are opening a window on human diversity.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Nov 2008 | 7:15 pm

AT&T Fuze demo units make their way to AT&T retail spots

Busting at the seams with excitement over the HTC Touch Pro AT&T Fuze? We can’t blame you - it’s a pretty little piece. Fortunately, it doesn’t look like you have too much longer to wait. Tucked inside the latest batch of shipments to AT&T corporate stores is a nice little treat: Fuze demo units.

While this doesn’t necessarily mean a launch is looming around the corner, it’d be surprising if it didn’t go down within the next few weeks. If you’re dying for some QWERTY-enabled TouchFLO but just can’t see yourself with Sprint, start planning a trip to AT&T near the end of November.

[Via BGR]

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 5 Nov 2008 | 6:57 pm

Sony Ericsson announcing new stuff tomorrow, W705 expected

Much like you can always expect new iPods in September, you can always expect new Sony Ericsson announcements in November. Right on schedule, Sony Ericsson is expected to make an announcement tomorrow. A few details from the announcement have already leaked out and, from what we know so far, this one’s looking to be all about the Walkman series.

First up is the W705 (”Rika”), which looks to be a remodeled G705 doppelganger. It seems like they’ve polished up the body’s aesthetics a bit, so it wouldn’t be too surprising to see a few spec changes as well.

Also expected is the MBS-900 portable wireless speaker, which looks a whole lot like a Sony Ericsson branded smoke detector. (Pic after the jump)

[Via SEMCBlog]

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 5 Nov 2008 | 6:00 pm

BioEnergy Solutions Names Renee A. Rippchen VP of Sales and Marketing

BioEnergy Solutions announced that it has named Renee A. Rippchen, a well-known dairy expert with strong ties to California's dairy industry, to the newly created position of vice president of sales and marketing.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Nov 2008 | 5:00 pm

Stanford Research Sheds Light on Key Trigger of Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation

Clusters of mouse embryonic stem cells called embryoid bodies more closely approximate true embryos in organization and structure than previously thought, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Nov 2008 | 5:00 pm

SLIDE SHOW: Organic Electronics

Carbon-based computer chips give new meaning to the term "organically grown."
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Nov 2008 | 4:27 pm

BLOG: Why Is Obama Holding This Dog?

Is Baby the world's most popular dog? Jennifer Viegas reports.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Nov 2008 | 2:49 pm

Mars Phoenix Probe in 'Hospice' Mode

After a five-month stint on Mars, Phoenix ends a troubled but fruitful mission.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Nov 2008 | 2:01 pm

Berlin Metro Bans Free iPhone Timetable Application

Fahr-Info Berlin is an iPhone application which helps Berliners to navigate the city metro system. Or rather, it was. BVG, the company which runs the Berlin Metro, has ordered 21 year old student and programmer Jonas Witt to remove the free application from the iTunes Store. The reason, as you will have guessed, is the catchall excuse called copyright, a term fast catching up to terrorism and communism as a way to shut up anyone you don't like.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 5 Nov 2008 | 1:12 pm

Christmas Island Rats Wiped Out by Disease

Rats on Christmas Island are the first-known case of extinction caused entirely by disease.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Nov 2008 | 1:01 pm