Source: Gizmodo | 14 Nov 2008 | 4:15 am

Mars Rover Spirit Still Alive

Toren Altair writes with this excerpt from a story at The Space Fellowship: "NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit communicated via the Mars Odyssey orbiter today right at the time when ground controllers had told it to, prompting shouts of 'She's talking!' among the rover team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 'This means Spirit has not gone into a fault condition and is still being controlled by sequences we send from the ground,' said John Callas of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., project manager for Spirit and its twin, Opportunity."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Nov 2008 | 4:01 am

Live.com goes social

Section: Computers, Desktops, Software / Applications, Web, Downloads, Web 2.0, Web Apps, Web Browsers, Websites

Microsoft just announced that they are giving Windows Live a major face lift.  They plan to debut a whole bunch of new beta Windows Live features to help users combine all parts of their online life.  These features are not going to just be Microsoft services either.  But they will all be under the Windows Live umbrella page.

Even though they already hold the title of the most used messenger program; they obviously want to reach even farther into the online cookie jar.  Microsoft wants to offer competition with the popular social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.  Whether or not they can actually provide any kind of competition coming into the game this much later remains to be seen.

Besides their Hotmail and SkyDrive (which upped the free storage to 25GB from the initial 5GB), Microsoft is teaming with over 50 third-party services for their new pages.  Flickr, Twitter, Photobucket, Digg, Wordpress, Pandora—these are just a few of the “big names” joining the dance.  With these third-party site partnerships, Microsoft’s “What’s New” feed is enabled. 

This feed is shared with other Live friends through your Windows Live homepage, your Messenger account, and other WL services.  You can personalize the What’s New feed to show updates you either make or receive.  So, for example, when you update your Photobucket account with a couple of new pictures, your friends know about it.  Or you can customize it to show tweets from the folks on your Twitter list.

The beta services won’t all be available immediately according to Microsoft, but will gradually be introduced to WL users beginning in December.

Obviously, the whole goal is to get more people to be spending their time at Live.com.  But will trying to recreate the wheel really help them hit that goal?  Several comments I’ve been reading about the service have people saying things like they really don’t want or need yet another social networking site.  Gebedia Smith says “no more social sites… please go away… MS you can’t be everything to everybody. Try to focus on testing windows 7, something you forgot to do on Vista.”

However, Brian Hall from Microsoft Live rebuts these kind of thoughts by commenting “I run the Windows Live business at MS - and I’m happy to tell you that we’re not creating ‘yet another social network.’ we’re building more ways to keep in touch w/ the people you already have if you’re a Windows Live Messenger or Windows live Hotmail customer. this is a big group of people with a big network of people that use these services because they’re trying to keep in touch with others (using email and IM, but those are just means not ends). we’re providing more ways for them to keep in touch with the people they want, and now also letting people link their other activities across the web so that they don’t need to just use our services. if you’re a happy facebook user - great, keep using facebook. ditto myspace, bebo, skyrock, daum, QQ, linkedin, … there are lots of social networks out there doing a very good job.” Yet, noticeably missing from the 50 partner sites are Facebook and MySpace.  Guess Live doesn’t want to share the ball in the playground all that much. 

What do you think?  Is it enough to make you want to join their club?  Or do you not feel the need to go Live?

via [techcrunch]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 14 Nov 2008 | 4:00 am

In case you missed it - stereographic RED 3D setup

Down at the very bottom of RED’s enormous Epic/Scarlet page there is this little item you may have overlooked. We told you they were trademarking “RED 3D” back in October, and sure enough here is the dedicated 3D setup we thought would come to pass. In light of the rest of the announcement, it’s clear it’s essentially just a special baseplate and lateral fasteners to stick a couple RED brains together, but that doesn’t stop the thing from looking totally awesome.

Source: CrunchGear | 14 Nov 2008 | 3:42 am

Gadgetell Review: NYRIUS Global Talking Translator

Section: Communications, Accessories, Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Reviews

The NYRIUS Global Talking Translator offers 8400 programmed phrases in 12 languages.  The unit has a speaker so that it can say the phrases for you in the language you choose.  In emergencies, this could be quite helpful since you wouldn’t need to worry about miscommunication due to mispronunciation.

The form factor is small—small enough to fit in a shirt or pant pocket.  However, the sacrifice for such a convenient size is the lack of a keyboard to type in phrases, leaving you tied to the unit’s less than convenient menu tree of phrases.  Access to the menus is via dedicated buttons on the unit, such as Emergency, Transportation, and Restaurants.  The unit does come with a paper reference guide that maps the phrases by the menus.  Finding a phrase this way is a bit quicker than doing it through the unit, but it means you’ve got one more thing to bring with you.

The screen, which has green backlight, is not much more than your standard calculator.  This adds to the difficulty in quickly finding the phrase you need via the unit.  You often have to scroll to see the full phrase, since it is a one-line display.  There is an option to save your favorite phrases, but there are no dedicated, assignable buttons for them.

Overall, the translator seems like a good option for someone who wants to be a frugal world traveler—the unit will set you back about $50, which is on the cheaper end of translators (some units go for upwards of $150-200), speaks phrases for you, and will take up little space in your pack.

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 14 Nov 2008 | 3:00 am

IntenseDebate Goes Public Again, Releases WordPress Plugin

IntenseDebate, the enhanced commenting system that was recently acquired by WordPress’s parent company Automattic, has relaunched to the public (the service originally opened its doors in late 2007, but reentered private beta as soon as it was acquired). IntenseDebate has also released the public beta of its WordPress plugin, which includes a number of features that make it much more appealing to blog owners.

The most important feature is two-way comment syncing, which copies all comments left on your blog through IntenseDebate’s system to your WordPress install. One common complaint about early versions of some comment systems, including InstenseDebate and close competitor Disqus, was that comments resided on their servers, leaving blog owners in a bind if they ever chose to discontinue the system. Disqus remedied this issue with their 2.0 release in August and IntenseDebate has done the same with this plugin.

Other new features in the plugin include integration with the WordPress admin panel, search engine-optimized comments, setting and profile sync, and trackback support. WordPress will also start integrating some IntenseDebate features into its standard install beginning with version 2.7, though details on the integration have been scant. And while the service is now owned by Automattic, it continues to offer support other blogging platforms, which actually comprise the majority of the service’s installbase.

Besides Disqus, other competitors in this space include SezWho and JS-Kit.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 14 Nov 2008 | 2:41 am

A full Alienware rig for a grand? Can it be?

Looks like Alienware is sensitive to the needs of country. In these times, when the only people who can afford top-shelf parts are AIG executives, we need an option that doesn’t break the bank, yet can pull down 50fps in Far Cry 2. Alienware may be little more than a Dell organ now, but they still make good computers, and if you’re looking for something premade with a little more cachet than Wal-Mart’s house brand, configuring one of these might be worth it. I say “might” because although it looks decent, the specs really are kind of anemic. A GeForce 9800? 250GB of storage? And an E8400 when quad-cores are standard in gaming rigs and Core i7s are around the corner?

I can certainly vouch for their build quality and reliability, but now may be the time to learn something about putting a computer together and save a few bills by putting together your own sweet budget rig.

Source: CrunchGear | 14 Nov 2008 | 2:40 am

Make Android more like iPhone visual voicemail

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile

PhoneFusion announced yesterday that their Fusion Voicemail + is coming to the Android platform that will allow users to view their voicemails and listen to them in any order they choose.  This was a big selling point of the original iPhone and now it is coming to the Android platform.

Currently, PhoneFusion offers this software for free to Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Linux, Palm and Symbian phones via their downloaded application.  PhoneFusion announced the addition of the Android to their compatible platforms at the Under the Radar: Mobility event.  The company says the application will be available before the end of this year.

Fused voicemails?

PhoneFusion redirects your voicemail calls to its hosted service and alerts your phone.  The service does not limit users to just cell phone voicemail, it allows home, office, VOIP and any other voicemail to be redirected to the service.  This means no matter where you are, your voicemails can find you.

Just like the iPhone, you just tap the voicemail you want to hear and it plays.  While not as integrated as the iPhone system, PhoneFusion looks nice and should be a help to users who seek this feature.

Not for me?

Personally, I find PhoneTag (formerly SimulScribe) much more usable as the voicemail is transcribed and emailed or SMS’ed to me.  I can read much faster than the caller can talk, so I save time and don’t have to listen to pregnant pauses and “um’s” and, you get the idea.  However, that is a paid service and the PhoneFusion is not.

Company site: [PhoneFusion] Source: [newsblaze]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 14 Nov 2008 | 2:19 am

EMCORE Corporation to Report Fiscal 2008 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Results on Wednesday, December 10, 2008

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Nov.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 14 Nov 2008 | 2:00 am

Telcos: Don't mess up the Internet with regulation (CNET)

CNET - WASHINGTON--Representatives from industry, government, and advocacy groups agreed on Thursday that the Internet needs to be open and widely available throughout the United States. The question is how to get there.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 14 Nov 2008 | 1:47 am

AMD Banks On Flood of Stream Apps

Slatterz writes "Closely integrating GPU and CPU systems was one of the motivations for AMD's $5.4bn acquisition of ATI in 2006. Now AMD is looking to expand its Stream project, which uses graphics chip processing cores to perform computing tasks normally sent to the CPU, a process known as General Purpose computing on Graphics Processing Units (GPGPU). By leveraging thousands of processing cores on a graphics card for general computing calculations, tasks such as scientific simulations or geographic modelling, which are traditionally the realm of supercomputers, can be performed on smaller, more affordable systems. AMD will release a new driver for its Radeon series on 10 December which will extend Stream capabilities to consumer cards." Reader Vigile adds: "While third-party consumer applications from CyberLink and ArcSoft are due in Q1 2009, in early December AMD will release a new Catalyst driver that opens up stream computing on all 4000-series parts and a new Avivo Video Converter application that promises to drastically increase transcoding speeds. AMD also has partnered with Aprius to build 8-GPU stream computing servers to compete with NVIDIA's Tesla brand."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Nov 2008 | 1:22 am

BLAB! art exhibition catalogue

I just got my contributor's copy of the beautiful Blab! art exhibition catalogue.

Organized by the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Kansas State University, BLAB!: A Retrospective features the work of 46 alternative comics artists, illustrators, graphic designers, printmakers, and painters from BLAB!, the annual anthology of visual art produced by Monte Beauchamp. Began in 1986 as a self-published fanzine devoted to MAD magazine and other ECComics publications, BLAB! has evolved into a significant outlet for contemporary artists andhas made meaningful contributions to the blurring of boundaries between alternative graphics and mainstream illustration.

The accompanying 128-page catalogue, designed by Beauchamp, contains 84 color illustrations and includes a range of essays that should be of interest to unfamiliar readers and aficionados alike. Bill North's "This Thing Called *BLAB!*: Notes Toward an Understanding" surveys the anthology from its inception in 1986 to the present. In "Blabbing about BLAB!" Mark Frauenfelder considers Beauchamp's methods as an art director from the perspective of the artists featured in BLAB!. David A. Beron "BLAB!: A Visual Journey" is a reflective recollection of his personal experience with BLAB! and the ways in which the anthology has informed his work as a scholar. Finally, Matt Dukes Jordan's extensive, in-depth interview with Beauchamp provides a frank and revealing glimpse into the mind of BLAB!'s creator.

BLAB! art exhibition catalogue

Source: Boing Boing | 14 Nov 2008 | 1:13 am

AMD makeover moves show limited choices in slump (AP)

AP - Many of the problems facing Advanced Micro Devices Inc. are of its own making. But the limited choices the chip maker has for solving its troubles are symptoms of an affliction sweeping through Silicon Valley.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 14 Nov 2008 | 1:12 am

October video game sales jump 18 percent (AP)

AP - People flocked to buy video games in October despite a drop in consumer confidence to a historic low, spending $1.31 billion in U.S. retail stores on hardware, software and accessories.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 14 Nov 2008 | 1:05 am

Be Nice: How to Share Your WiFi With Neighbors

If you live in an apartment building, a crowded city block or some other high-density area, why not offer up access to your wireless broadband signal to the kind folks next door while you're away at the office? There's no better way to earn geek cred and cosmic karma all at once.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 14 Nov 2008 | 1:00 am

EPA Ruling Puts 100 Coal Power Plants in Jeopardy

An EPA panel blocked the agency Thursday from issuing a permit for a proposed coal-burning power plant in Utah without addressing global warming. That will probably leave it to the Obama administration to determine the fate of similar plants.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 14 Nov 2008 | 1:00 am

Web tracker NebuAd sued over privacy claims (AP)

AP - Angry online subscribers who had their Web surfing habits tracked in detail are suing a Silicon Valley startup that created the technology and six Internet service providers that briefly used it.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 14 Nov 2008 | 12:58 am

Classmates.com gets sued by user: His friends weren’t really looking for him

Section: Web, Web 2.0, Web Apps, Web Browsers, Websites

Classmates.com is one of the biggest advertisers on the ‘net.  It’s been around since before MySpace, Facebook, or Friendster grew to the popularity they have now.  They spend wicked amounts of money on their online advertising; $30 million was spent in 2005 to give you an idea.  However, now they just may have to answer for some of their “lure the customer in” tactics.

Anthony Michaels had been a free member of the Classmates.com site since last year.  Then, Classmates.com informed Michaels that his old school pals were trying to contact him.  He got that familiar to many message “Your former classmates are trying to contact you! Upgrade now to see their messages!” sent to him from Classmates.com.  So, curious as to whether it was an old grade school buddy or that girl he was always secretly smitten by, Michaels did what many others are suckered into doing with that message. 

He coughed up his $15 for the Gold Membership and became an official subscriber.  Logging into his spanking new upgraded account, eager to see who was trying to reach him, Anthony Michaels was hit with the truth.  No one was trying to reach him.  No messages were waiting in his inbox.  He saw that the people that had checked out his profile, he didn’t even know.  They weren’t even classmates.  And he claims, he had been scammed in order to pay to subscribe.

The way Classmates.com works is that the site allows you to sign up for free—you just can’t really do anything that interesting with a free subscription.  You can’t send messages or see yours (if you get any!), you can’t see who has been viewing your profile or trying to contact you.  And that is where they get you.  They send out messages claiming someone is trying to talk to you.  I know I had signed up for a classmates account years ago, and really not that many people were on from my school.  Yet, I too started (and still do) receiving those infamous emails from the Classmates.com site. 

Upset with the situation, Michaels decided to do something about it.  So, on behalf of both himself and any others that paid to subscribe based on those e-mails they received from Classmates.com, he sued.  In the lawsuit (.pdf), he accuses Classmates.com of “intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, negligence, and fraudulent concealment.” He also maintains that the site violates California Business and Professional Codes.

Classmates.com “knew at all times that the individuals, members, and/or users who were making attempts to contact Plaintiff and the Class were not former classmates when they . . . made false representations regarding the attempted contacts,” reads the complaint. “The Defendants… intended to deceive, and did deceive Plaintiff and the Class by concealing and failing to disclose the fact that the individuals, members, and/or users who were making attempts to contact Plaintiff and the Class were not former classmates.”

Michaels is hoping that his case will be approved by a judge as a class-action; and that general, special and punitive damages will be awarded to all those involved in the case.  The lawsuit (which was filed October 30th), states that there are “hundreds of thousands of Anthony Michaels around the country who were similarly duped.” It asks for millions of dollars in restitution for the subscription dollars spent and to furthermore fine the company for deceptive advertising.

Although at first glance it may seem like no big deal, and like Michaels is just whining and making a stink over nothing; Scott A. Kamber, a plantiff’s attorney with KamberEdelson seems to disagree.  “Cases that seemingly have a similar chuckle factor are rooted in a real consumer fraud that influences a consumer purchase decision,” Kamber said. “Sometimes people are defrauded and misled and obviously there is a financial benefit in companies making those claims or they wouldn’t do it.”

Classmates.com’s billing practices have long been taking the heat.  They are complained about just about every day on ConsumerAffairs.com.  And although luring in by “scamming” may be a practice that happens often (think of how the dating sites are well known for using this familiar trick!), many feel it obviously doesn’t make it right, and companies need to be held accountable. Eric Sinrod, an attorney and partner at Duane Morris in San Francisco, CA says “Classmates.com is not some fly-by-night company—it is a real service, not something being operated by unknown people offshore.  So they are subject to U.S. law and regulators if they are conduct themselves improperly.”

This case is not going to just be a “false advertising” claim.  If Michaels wins, it will end up being a type of landmark, since it just may force more stringent rules on how not only Classmates.com tries to lure in subscribers, but other sites (especially dating sites) as well.

via [arstechnica]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 14 Nov 2008 | 12:58 am

Hodgman and Coulton tonight in Los Angeles (Nov 13, 2008)

John Hodgman says:

Hello, friends in Los Angeles, or recently moved from there.

You should feel zero obligation to come see me and Jonathan Coulton perform at the Echoplex. Seriously.

Of course, you should know that the 27 dollars includes a copy of my new book, MORE INFORMATION THAN YOU REQUIRE.

Additionally, the show will not only feature me wearing a tuxedo, but also COULTON playing guitar in the way only he can.

And now: SPECIAL GUEST JOHN RODERICK OF THE LONG WINTERS, who is missing a front tooth and really knows how to be awesome.

Plus other surprises.

All of the details, times, ticket info, etc, are here

HODGMAN
November 13, 2008
8:00 pm
WITH JONATHAN COULTON AND JOHN RODERICK

Echoplex
1154 Glendale Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 413-8200
Tickets are $27, and include a copy of MORE INFORMATION
THAN YOU REQUIRE
A BOOK SOUP event.

Source: Boing Boing | 14 Nov 2008 | 12:42 am

Everybody Gets Back In The Boat: Nasdaq Jumps 6.5 Percent [Voices]

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

Well, I for one never know what to make of a day like this one, with the market jumping back and forth over the flat line before staging one of those crazy end of the day runs that have become so much a part of the current market pattern. The Nasdaq Composite finished at the high for the day, up 97.49, or 6.5 percent, to 1596.70, and 168 points above the day’s low. The other major indexes had similar gains, with the Dow up 552 points, or 6.7 percent, to 8835, or 900 points above the low for the day, after briefly dropping below the 8000 level.

It sure is tempting to think that we’ve set a sustainable bottom; but what it really feels like is yet another unsustainable bear market rally. I will note that it seems encouraging that investors opted to more or less ignore the bearish earnings news yesterday from Intel, Best Buy, National Semi and others, and focus instead on hunting for bargains. But I would also note that, as Bernstein Research pointed out earlier today, earnings estimates for many tech company are likely still too high, and due for further cuts in the weeks and months ahead.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 14 Nov 2008 | 12:41 am

The Trap Set By the FBI For Half Life 2 Hacker

eldavojohn writes "You might remember the tiny news that Half Life 2 source code was leaked in 2003 ... it is the 6th most visited Slashdot story with over one kilocomment. Well, did anything happen to the source of the leak, the German hacker Axel 'Ago' Gembe? Wired is reporting he was offered a job interview so that Valve could get him into the US and bag him for charges. It's not the first time the FBI tried this trick: 'The same Seattle FBI office had successfully used an identical gambit in 2001, when they created a fake startup company called Invita, and lured two known Russian hackers to the US for a job interview, where they were arrested.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:37 pm

Analyst: Nortel Bankruptcy Rate May Soar [Digital Daily]

“Bankruptcy” and “distinct possibility.” Not the sorts of words a company hopes to see in its press coverage, but precisely the ones Nortel has been confronted with today. Describing the telecom equipment manufacturer as “overwhelmed with debt and burning cash,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue cut his price target on Nortel to $0 from $1.50 and warned that the company is facing a very bleak future.

“Considering the worsening macro environment, Nortel’s challenged industry position, and concerns related to liquidity while the capital markets are basically closed, we think bankruptcy is a distinct possibility down the road,” Sue wrote in a note to investors. “The world moved on while Nortel was stuck in restructuring mode, and the lack of financial flexibility means Nortel has to rely on asset sales to fund future operations.”

More ugly news for Nortel (NT), which just announced layoffs and seems to be slipping closer and closer to the abyss each day.

Source: All Things Digital | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:34 pm

Top 4 Reasons You Need 'World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King'

From a wicked new player class to massive new landmasses, World of Warcraft just got dramatically bigger — and better.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:34 pm

Net Spying Firm and ISPs Sued Over Ad System

ISP customers sue a controversial Net monitoring firm and its ISP partners, alleging that the companies violated federal wiretapping law with their ad-targeting scheme. All have already quit monitoring customers' behavior after bad press and congressional pressure.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:34 pm

Bush Administration: Dismiss RFID 'Mark of the Beast' Lawsuit

The Bush administration urges a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a group of Michigan Amish. The lawsuit claims a proposal requiring using RFID devices on their cattle violates their religion and is a "mark of the beast."

Source: Wired Top Stories | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:20 pm

OpenSocial: State Of The Union Presentation

It’s OpenSocial day today. It’s been roughly one year since the service launched to fight Facebook’s exploding platform product, and the main companies behind OpenSocial are holding an all day press and developer event at MySpace’s San Francisco headquarters.

The presentation above was shown to attendees of the event. See our other coverage as well:

OpenSocial Turns One: My, How You’ve Grown!
Social Network Apps To Finally Monetize Within The Next Year

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

Source: TechCrunch | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:13 pm

HTC, Russian carrier Scartel intro world’s first GSM/WiMAX phone

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

HTC, along with Russian carrier Scartel have just unveiled the world’s first integrated GSM/WiMAX handset—the HTC Max 4G.  The new handset has taken plenty of design cues from the HTC Touch HD and has a solid feature set.  To begin with, the Max 4G has built-in support for WiMax, and it takes advantage of that support.  When calls are made in-network, they are automatically switched over to the WiMax network and handled as a VoIP call.

Other features of the Max 4G include a 3.8-inch touchscreen display with an 800 x 480 resolution, GPS, WiFi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth, 8GB of built-in flash memory, an accelerometer, a 5-megapixel camera with a second VGA quality camera on the front, a 3.5mm headphone jack and an FM radio.  Additionally it will be running Windows Mobile 6.1 and powered by a 528 MHz Qualcomm ESM7206A processor.

As of now a release date has not been announced, of course, this one is not destined for the US market anytime soon, so no sense in holding your breath.

Keep reading to check out the full press release…

SCARTEL AND HTC LAUNCH WORLD’S FIRST INTEGRATED GSM/WIMAX HANDSET

Designed and Optimized for the Russian market, HTC MAX 4G Will Be Available in Russia on November 26th

Moscow, Russia – November 12, 2008 – Scartel (brand Yota), Russian provider of Mobile WiMAX, and HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, today announced the HTC MAX 4G, the world’s first integrated GSM/WiMAX handset. Supported by a broad range of services based on Yota’s Mobile WiMAX network, the HTC MAX 4G delivers a rich multimedia and high quality telephony experience in a sleek and powerful touch screen handset.

“Yota was established to provide a unique set of mobile communication services to millions of people in Russia and today we have launched the first device and services to realise its full potential,” said Denis Sverdlov, General Director of Yota’s parent company, Scartel LLC (brand Yota). “We really believe that these innovative services, high-speed Internet and stylish HTC MAX 4G will completely change the communications industry, just as the introduction of cellular communications did many years ago.”

HTC MAX 4G: A New World of Entertainment

The Yota Mobile WiMAX network offers high-speed wireless Internet access that opens a new realm of entertainment and communication possibilities. The basic Yota Home package will provide subscribers with instant access to online games, maps, messaging and file exchange applications while on the move. In addition, the high-capacity Mobile WiMAX network with traffic prioritisation algorithms, allows online films, video and TV programmes to be viewed on the large WVGA screen.

Thanks to mobile WiMAX, high-quality multimedia entertainment is no longer limited. With Yota Video, a full video on demand (VOD) service, users can watch their favourite movies and videos from their personal Yota catalogue anytime, anywhere.

Broadcasting 14 free channels at launch and 23 channels by the end of 2008, Yota TV introduces a powerful mobile television experience. The vibrant, 3.8 inch 800×480 screen of the HTC MAX 4G can display up to nine TV channels simultaneously, allowing quick and easy channel surfing and programme selection. Thanks to the device’s TV-out capability, users can also watch content on the big screen, putting the HTC MAX 4G at the very heart of the mobile entertainment experience.

For music-lovers, Yota Music offers an extensive online music catalogue of more than 50,000 titles, including a wide range of music from both international and independent music labels. Users can choose to either play the tracks direct from the online catalogue, or download them to the HTC MAX 4G’s 8GB of onboard flash memory.

In addition, a separate catalogue of electronic books is available, so users can download, read and enjoy a broad range of books while on the move.

”The introduction of the HTC MAX 4G represents the culmination of a close partnership between HTC and Yota to develop the world’s first integrated mobile GSM/WIMAX handset,” said Peter Chou, CEO and President, HTC Corporation. “Russia is a key strategic market for HTC and Yota’s Mobile WiMAX network sets a new global benchmark for next-generation mobile services.”

HTC MAX 4G: Flexible Communication

The HTC MAX 4G supports GSM calls using a SIM card from any Russian network operator and when both callers are Yota subscribers, the call will automatically be routed as a VoIP call over the Yota Mobile WiMAX network. The Yota Phone service also supports more business applications, allowing users to switch between English and Russian contact records while providing functionality such as call holding, conference calling and video calling using the VGA camera on the front of the device.

HTC MAX 4G: Unparalleled Performance With Intuitive Usability

The HTC MAX 4G was created to take full advantage of Yota’s high-speed Mobile WiMAX network without compromising style or ease of use. The device is sleek and elegant and includes a vibrant, large 3.8 inch, 800×480 WVGA touch screen display. The HTC MAX 4G also integrates a 3.5mm headphone jack to create the best possible experience for enjoying movies, music and photos on the go. Running Windows Mobile 6.1, the HTC MAX 4G incorporates HTC’s proprietary Touch FLO 3D user interface, allowing swift and intuitive navigation to key applications such as dialling calls, listening to music, taking picture and more.

Introduction of Yota Yap-yap

HTC MAX 4G users can now record their lives through a lens thanks to Yota’s Yap-yap service. This allows contacts to be synchronised and edited through the Web and video clips and photos can also be uploaded to http://www.yota.ru. Images taken with the integrated 5MP camera can also be geo-tagged using coordinates from the integrated GPS.

Key HTC MAX 4G specifications:

Processor: Qualcomm® ESM7206A™ 528 MHz

Platform: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional

Memory: ROM: 256MB / RAM: 288MB / Flash: 8 GB

Dimensions: 113.5mm X 63.1mm X 13.9mm

Weight: 151 grams (with battery)

Display: 3.8-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 480 x 800 WVGA resolution

Network: Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:900/1800/1900 MHz

Yota Mobile WiMAX 2,5-2.7 GHz

Device Control: TouchFLO™ 3D

GPS: Inbuilt GPS

Connections: VoIP

Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g

Bluetooth® 2.0 with EDR

HTC ExtUSB™

Main camera: High-resolution with autofocus

Second: VGA-camera

Additional: Motion G-sensor (automatically rotating picture)

Proximity sensor (saving energy while talking due to the switching the display off)

FM-radio

Audio: Ring tone formats:

AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, QCP, MP3, WMA, WAV

40 polyphonic and standard MIDI format 0 and 1 (SMF)/SP MIDI

Battery: Li-Pol, 1500 mAh

Talk time: GSM: up to 420 minutes

VoIP: up to 230 minutes

Standby time: GSM: up to 350 hours

VoIP: up to 50 hours

AC Adapter: Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz

DC output: 5V and 1A

About Scartel

Scartel LLC was founded in 2007 in order to provide mobile services of the most up-to-date mobile broadband access technology (4G) - Mobile WiMAX, where the network is the tool and services – business basis.

First Mobile WiMAX networks (standard IEEE 802.16e-2005) were developed in Moscow and Saint Petersburg within the range of 2,5–2,7 GHz.

The company Scartel is owned by WIMAX Holding Ltd., which also includes such companies as Scartel Star Lab - Mobile Service Research and Development Center, and the media company «More» - media content aggregator.

The head office of Scartel is in Saint Petersburg, the second office is in Moscow. At the moment the company employs 420 people.

The company Scartel offers services under Yota brand. The trade mark is registered in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation.

http://www.yota.ru

About HTC

Founded in 1997, HTC Corp. (HTC) designs, manufactures and markets innovative, feature rich smartphone and PDA Phone devices.

Since its establishment, HTC has developed strong R&D capabilities, pioneered many new designs and product innovations and launched state-of-the-art PDA Phones and smartphones for mobile operators and distributors in Europe, the US, and Asia. These machines are available as HTC devices and as products individually customized for operator and device partners.

HTC is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile device market. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit http://www.htc.com.

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:11 pm

Charles W. Fischer Joins the Board of Directors of NOVA Chemicals

NOVA Chemicals (NYSE:NCX)(TSX:NCX) today announced that Charles W. Fischer was appointed to the Board of Directors of the company effective November 13. Mr. Fischer is President and Chief Executive Officer of Nexen Inc., an independent, Canadian-based global energy company.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

Sigma-Aldrich Enters Distribution Agreement With AlphaGenix, Inc.

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sigma-Aldrich today announced a distribution agreement with AlphaGenix, Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of products for basic and clinical life science research.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

Justice Department Resolves Lawsuit Alleging Race Discrimination At Roseville, Michigan Apartment Complex

WASHINGTON, Nov.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

Pesticides More Dangerous Than Thought

U.S. scientists studying 10 of the world's most popular approved pesticides say, when combined, the chemicals caused 99 percent mortality in tadpoles. University of Pittsburgh researchers said the U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

Pact Reached on Klamath Dam Removal Study

PacifiCorp said Thursday it had reached an agreement with state and federal officials that could lead to eventual removal of four dams on the Klamath River.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

WebVisible CEO Presents at Fourth Annual Piper Jaffray Global Internet Summit

WebVisible Inc. Chief Executive Officer, Kirsten Mangers, was a featured presenter at the fourth annual Piper Jaffray Global Internet Summit on Nov. 12 in Laguna Beach, Calif.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

HP Resolves Ink Cartridge Patent Infringement With LexJet Corporation

HP (NYSE:HPQ) today announced that it has resolved the dispute and dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit against Florida-based LexJet Corporation and LexJet Southern California, LLC, regarding inks used in certain remanufactured HP large-format ink cartridges.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

NET2BE Partners With PacketTrap to Bring Leading Network Management Software to Africa

NET2BE Limited, a provider of high-quality IT consulting solutions and services to small and medium organizations as well as larger enterprises, has selected PacketTrap Networks (www.PacketTrap.com) as its premiere network management software vendor.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

Extreme Networks Announces Financial Conference Schedule

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Extreme Networks, Inc., today announced participation in the following upcoming event with the financial community: UBS Global Technology and Services Conference Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 Time: 9:45 a.m.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

Yahoo! Breaks Audience Record and Wins 2008 Election!

Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) today released new comScore Media Metrix figures showing that Yahoo! News attracted 7.6 million unique users on Election Day, November 4, the largest single-day audience in online news history.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

New Theory for Embryonic Sex Development

A gene essential to growth and development of most organ systems is also vital to female, but not male, embryonic sexual development, U.S. researchers say.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm

The Death Of Packaged Software: Microsoft Store Opens On The Web For U.S. Shoppers

The days of buying packaged software loaded onto CDs are numbered. Today, Microsoft quietly drove another nail into the coffin of packaged software by launching the Microsoft Store on the Web. After testing the software download store in Europe and Korea, Microsoft opened up its U.S. version today.

The store sells all Microsoft software from Office to Xbox 360 games. Instead of shipping the software in the mail, you download it over the Web. Just like you can download apps directly to your iPhone from the iTunes App Store, the Microsoft Store takes the same approach for its own PC and server software. (It does not distribute mobile apps or software made by other companies).

CEO Steve Ballmer hinted this would happen last week. But the company did not make a big deal about today’s launch, perhaps not wanting to alieante any of its retail distribution partners. . Microsoft program manager Trevin Chow put out the word on his personal blog, explaining the benefits of Electronic Software Distribution (ESD):

You pay for an ESD product just like you would for one that would be physically shipped to you. The big difference is that after your payment is confirmed, you can immediately download the product to your computer and install it right away. There is no longer any need to pay for shipping costs and waiting for the big brown truck to drive across the country. You’ll be able to enjoy your software almost immediately – all it takes is the download time of the product, which will vary depending on the size of the digital download.

The obvious fear for most users buying ESD products is not having the software on physical media to re-install the product at a later time. Microsoft Store solves this by letting you re-download the product until mainstream support for the product ends. Typically this is 5 years after the product is released. You always have the option of copying the downloaded products to physical media if you want to have it available longer than the mainstream support lifetime.

The store also sells Microsoft peripherals such as Xbox 360 consoles, computer mice and keyboards (those need to be shipped).

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

Source: TechCrunch | 13 Nov 2008 | 10:52 pm

Debian Running On the T-Mobile G1

chrb writes "Following hot on the heels of the G1 root exploit, Jay Freeman now has Debian ARM running on the G1. The RC30 update has fixed the root hole, but with utilities and images already available to replace the flash image with your own signed code, it looks like the manufacturer-hacker arms race is on."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 13 Nov 2008 | 10:52 pm

Social Network Apps To Finally Monetize Within The Next Year

Today at OpenSocial’s first birthday event, a group of press, developers, and members of the OpenSocial team convened to discuss the future of the platform. Of the many topics discussed during the roundtable, perhaps the most pressing was the issue of monetization - many developers are simply unable to convert their users to a steady stream of revenue. And while OpenSocial’s Director of Engineering David Glazer admitted that he didn’t know the answer, he predicted that within the next year we’ll see a standardized payment platform integrated into OpenSocial. And with that, we may start to see more of these applications transition into viable businesses.

Since the launch of Facebook Platform (and the subsequent launch of OpenSocial on MySpace, Hi5, and many other social networks), application developers have struggled to convert their userbases into steady revenue streams. Advertising has seen some success (spawning companies like SocialMedia), but very few apps have been able to successfully implement any kind of transaction or micropayment system.

Much of the problem can be attributed to the fact that there is no consistency between payment platforms - users typically have to reenter their credit card information for every app, which is both a hassle and also increases potential security risks. What we need is a unified system, where users enter their information once and use it across any application. Facebook (which is not on the OpenSocial platform) annouced plans to roll out a micro-payment platform back in March, but it still hasn’t materialized.

Now it sounds like OpenSocial will have its own system - one that could potentially work across every social network that supports that platform, including MySpace, Hi5, and Orkut. Glazer explained that he suspected someone would figure out how to effectively implement a monetization system into the standard, allowing developers to call on standardized hooks to securely deal with financial information. Having a ubiquitous microtransaction system would significantly lower the barrier associated with spending money on these apps, which would likely be a boon for developers. Many developers will still struggle with establishing user bases in the first place, but those that can will no longer have to rely exclusively on banner ads to pay the bills.

Of course, this assumes that every participating social network would fully implement the monetization standard, which is by no means guaranteed. But if it did happen, the scenario would leave Facebook as the odd man out - one of the only major social networks to use its own proprietary payment system (if it ever releases one at all). Don’t be surprised if Facebook rushes to be first out the gate, which would make it look like an innovator rather than the holdout.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 13 Nov 2008 | 10:48 pm

The Butterfly Dance

For those readers traumatized by the AR girlfriend video, may I suggest "Butterflys" (scroll down and click "See the Film"), a lovingly restored 1907 Italian short dance film, director unknown, with an original 2008 score by Antonio Coppola?

Early films were mainly experimental, without a narrative framework. The dancers performed cinematographic experiments that attempted to render body movements in space and time. Dance scenes (here a serpentine dance, known as a Butterfly Dance) represent a third of the films produced.

This film, produced by the Italian company Cinès, presents viewers with one of many imitations of the serpentine dancer Loïe Fuller. The fathers of cinema all made their contribution to this essential genre. Edison and Dickson, as well as Louis Lumière and Paul Nadar propelled the first serpentine dancers to fame: Annabella (1897), Crissie Sheridan (1897), and Ameta (1903).

A bit of history:

These Butterflies twirl around with dazzling effects thanks to the marvelously restored colors. This jewel was marvelously restored. For a long time, the Morcraft company presented this film to collectors of 16mm film. A terrible version issued from a painted print revealed what the film might have been at the time of its first projection.

Color film from the '50s to the '80s is characterized by a great color instability, which turns to pink after a few years. In addition to the scratches, the original colors then look faded, sad, and insipid.

During a visit in Los Angeles, Serge Bromberg accidentally comes across the original nitrate print, which the owner Morcraft had certified having destroyed. Proof of its authenticity is found in the title, Butterflys (an obvious mistake for an Anglophone since the right spelling is of course: Butterflies) that survived on two frames, making it necessary for the restorer to make a freeze-frame, which is the case on the few surviving 16mm prints.

This nitrate print color painted in 1907 still shows the footage marks between the perforations, for, at that time, the colorists are paid by the meter! A true gem.

(Via Submarine Channel.)

Source: Boing Boing | 13 Nov 2008 | 10:18 pm

BURN-E [Digital Daily]

The adventures of WALL-E’s colleague

Source: All Things Digital | 13 Nov 2008 | 10:17 pm

Gamertell Review: Peak’s Starpex guitar controller for PS3, PS2

FROM GAMERTELL - Screw those mamby pamby plastic guitar controllers with wood grain stickers.  Those are for wimps and wussies.  Peak has released the first full size, wood body guitar game controller and it looks, feels, and plays wonderfully…
MORE »

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 13 Nov 2008 | 10:09 pm

Verizon and Photobucket team up for instant photo uploading

Whenever people remember to use that camera on the back of their phone, what do they do with it? Do they go out into the wild and try to capture what Ansel Adams’ work would look like through a crappy VGA sensor? No. They go and take pictures of themselves with the bathroom mirror, or snap a shot of their drunken friends for later uploading and sharing. Recognizing this, Verizon has gone and removed a bit of the kludge from the process, teaming up with Photobucket.com to crank out an application for instant photo sharing from VZW handsets.

The application will set you back 3 bucks a month, and is available now through Verizon’s Get It Now catalog. Of course, you could always just use Photobucket’s long available mobile-to-email method and save a couple dollars a month, but I’m sure there are plenty of would-be uploaders out there who might be a bit mystified by anything but a purposed, spoon-fed application.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 13 Nov 2008 | 10:07 pm

And Now iJustine, The Fifth YouTuber

This story has moved from absurd to absurder. And from crazy to a little boring.

Herbert Elwood Gilliland III claims he invented YouTube and wants compensation (he asks alternatively for $1 million or 1% of the sale price, which is significantly more. All the details are here, including a crazy video.

Video blogger iJustine jumped on the bandwagon and created a spoof video making fun of the whole thing. And Gilliland has responded, minus the crazy but plus a whole lot of boring. And now he says he fixed Paypal, too. Videos are below:

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

Source: TechCrunch | 13 Nov 2008 | 10:05 pm

Job and Internship Salary Comparisons?

spydabyte writes "I'm a current undergraduate at the Georgia Institute of Technology and have been getting offers for internships next summer. I was wondering if there is a source of information on intern markets or how a market's competitive salaries are. How do you know if you're getting a decent offer or you deserve more when you're entering a (personally) new market? Is there a definite source? Do you have your favorite? I know that many factors matter, as in location, previous experience, etc., but I think there's more to find out besides asking for my friends' current offers. If not internships, how about full time or careers? Any ideas?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 13 Nov 2008 | 10:05 pm

Ad Market: Nightmare Dead Ahead [Voices]

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

If you think we are going to get out of this mess in a hurry, think again.

UBS analyst Matthieu Coppet today cut his expectations for advertising spending for this year, next year and 2010. He now sees overall spend up 3.7 percent this year, down 3.9 percent next year, and then up 3 percent in 2010. His old forecast: up 4.1 percent, then down 0.7 percent, then up 4.8 percent.

Particularly sobering is his forecast for the U.S., where he sees an 8.7 percent drop in spending next year, including an 11 percent decline in “traditional media”–print, broadcast and outdoor. That would be the worst year for those categories in 60 years.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 13 Nov 2008 | 10:00 pm

Today on Boing Boing Gadgets

Today on Boing Boing Gadgets, we inspected the geometric beauty of a Linux boot sequence, prefered to pay $50 than deal with an Apple genius and contemplated the creepy uses of a realistic mask of our own face. Brownlee liked a webcam very similar to a War of the Worlds Tripod. He laughed at Valve Software's schemes to arrest a hacker by offering him a job. He found a neat iPhone app to measure his blood alcohol level, and he found a 141 MPG scooter that he can't ride at any time according to that same iPhone app. Joel remains defiantly supportive of the new Enterprise design and applauded the shutdown of a rogue ISP that reduced spam by seventy five percent. Rob meanwhile sneered at a scamgadget that promises to increase fuel efficiency up to 30 percent by plugging into your cigarette lighter. We made Beschizza a Muppet in his own likeness and Joel contemplated on how little geek grousing changes. And then there were the reviews: with an arch of an eyebrow, Beschizza reviewed some high-tech bubble wrap, while Joel reviewed a toy helicopter and looked more fabulous than he ever has. Link

Source: Boing Boing | 13 Nov 2008 | 9:57 pm

IBM Servers Feature New AMD Quad-Core Processors (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - IBM on Thursday announced two blade servers that will feature the new quad-core Opteron Shanghai processor from Advanced Micro Devices. The announcement was synchronized with AMD's release of the 45nm processor.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Nov 2008 | 9:43 pm

AT&T, Nokia Launch Smart Flip Phone with Symbian (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - AT&T and Nokia on Thursday brought the Nokia 6650 to market to compete against other devices launching in time for the holiday shopping season. The small folding device runs on the Symbian-based S60 platform, which lets users personalize their mobile experience with third-party application downloads, themes and profile settings.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Nov 2008 | 9:42 pm

Google Take All [Digital Daily]

We see little to stop Google from reaching 70 percent market share eventually; the question, really, comes down to, ‘How long could it take?’”

– RBC Capital Markets analyst Jordan Rohan, March 2006.

No wonder the Department of Justice was going to file suit to prevent Google’s (GOOG) proposed advertising partnership with Yahoo: The company controls nearly three quarters of the search market. Research outfit Hitwise reports that Google’s share of the U.S. Internet search market rose to 71.7 percent in October from 71.16 percent in September. A nice little jump from the 64.49 share it claimed a year ago.

And what of Yahoo (YHOO) and Microsoft (MSFT)? Well, they fared about as you would expect. Yahoo’s share fell to 17.74 percent in October from 18.06 percent in September and 21.65 percent a year ago. In contrast, Microsoft’s share rose slightly to 5.4 percent, up from 5.36 percent in September.

Sadly, that’s a decline of about two percentage points year-over-year. Not even a respectable showing for an also-ran. ‘Course, that will all change if Microsoft ever gets around to acquiring Yahoo–or, at least, its search business. Together the two companies would control almost, but not quite, a quarter of the search market.

Source: All Things Digital | 13 Nov 2008 | 9:42 pm

Researchers Discover How Bleach Kills Germs

US scientists said after more than 200 years they have finally discovered how bleach kills germs.Researchers at the University of Michigan said it seems that hypochlorous acid, the active ingredient in bleach, attacks proteins in bacteria, causing them to clump up much like an egg that has been boiled.However, they say the discovery came about by accident."As so often happens in science, we did not set out to address this question," said Ursula Jakob, who led the team.The team was researching a bacterial protein called heat shock protein 33, which is a kind of molecular chaperon that becomes active when cells are in distress, for example from the high temperature of a fever.The discovered the source of the distress was hypochlorous acid or hypochlorite.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Nov 2008 | 9:21 pm

Nifty iPhone app: ComicZeal lets you read Golden Age comic books

This $1.99 iPhone app lets you download and read Golden Age comics.

ComicZeal's built-in downloader lets you browse our great collection of copyright-free Golden Age comics and download them straight to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

All the comics are free and you can download as many as you want.

ComicZeal works in portrait and landscape mode to suit the orientation of the page or panel you're reading.

It remembers what page you were up to for each comic in your collection and will take you straight there next time you read it.

Because ComicZeal uses pinch-zoom and fingertip scrolling you can move around the page really quickly and zoom in to detail when you need to.

The library isn't huge, but I imagine it will grow over time.

ComicZeal lets you read Golden Age comic books

Source: Boing Boing | 13 Nov 2008 | 9:18 pm

Microsoft's Office Web Will Do iPhone, Linux, Mac

CWmike writes "Gregg Keizer reports Microsoft has clarified that its upcoming Office Web service will be available to users running Mac OS X and Linux, as well as from Apple's iPhone. The key to this cross platform-friendliness: Office Web will run in Firefox and Safari browsers, in addition to IE. Introduced last month, Office Web is a lightweight version of its Office suite that runs as an online service. I think it's time for Google to embrace OpenOffice.org to take on Microsoft head-on, as CW blogger Preston Gralla has argued for and described how to go about it."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 13 Nov 2008 | 9:15 pm

Tech Puts JFK Conspiracy Theories to Rest

A new investigation into the JFK assassination debunks theories with hi-tech forensics.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 13 Nov 2008 | 9:00 pm

Brown Smog Clouds Mask Impacts of Global Warming

Thick smog clouds that loom over Asia threaten the livelihood of crops and contain particles that actually reflect the sun’s rays away from the earth, the United Nations reported on Thursday."One of the impacts of this atmospheric brown cloud has been to mask the true nature of global warming on our planet," United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) head Achim Steiner said at the launch in Beijing of a new report on the phenomenon.Caused by the burning of fossil fuels, wood and plants, these brown clouds of soot, particles and chemicals stretch from the Persian Gulf all the way to Asia.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Nov 2008 | 9:00 pm

Hubble's Exoplanet Pics Outshined by Keck's

dtolman writes "Scientists at the Keck and Gemini telescopes stole the thunder of Hubble scientists announcing the first picture of an extrasolar world orbiting a star. Hubble scientists announced today that they were able to discover an extrasolar world for the first time by taking an actual image of the newly discovered exoplanet orbiting Fomalhaut — previous discoveries have always been made by detecting changes in the parent star's movement, or by watching the planet momentarily eclipse the star — not by detecting them in images. Hubble's time to shine was overshadowed though by the Keck and Gemini observatories announcing that they had taken pictures of not just one planet, but an entire alien solar system. The images show multiple planets orbiting the star HR 8799 — 3 have been imaged so far."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 13 Nov 2008 | 8:33 pm

RED Releases New Digital Video and Still Camera System, Including a 3D Video Prototype

Maybe we can finally believe the hype. Jim Jannard is formally announcing his customizable digital video and still camera RED system today that aims to take on DSLRs and further push the boundaries of video quality.

But the hypemaster couldn't help himself with only one announcement. Oh no. He had to go out and give us a prototype of a RED 3D camera (see pic below), giving the 3D movement another boost of juice (albeit a vaporware-ish one) that suggests that technology will be legitimate and mainstream within a few years.

After taking a quick look at the specs of RED's DSMC, we can say that the system is, above all, ridiculously ambitious. You have to build up the camera from the 'brain' of the system (named 'Scarlet' and the super high-end 'EPIC'), built with camera sensors that range from 2/3 of an inch to a huge 6x17-cm. That sensor’s bigger than my apartment.

But probably the most interesting idea about this system is its easily customizable design. If a bigger sensor is released in the future (or if the prices come down), you don’t need to trash your video camera -- you just upgrade it with a new sensor. That’s not a bad way to sell a system that could set as many records for its price as for its number of pixels in a sensor.

The Scarlet will come with several lens mount options and will be able to shoot 3K @120fps (with still pictures at 4.9 megapixels) all the way up to 6K @30fps (at 9.4 megapixels). They'll be priced as low as $2,500 but most likely will go over ten big ones for the better rigs.

The EPIC sensors will shoot from 5K @100fps (with still pictures at 13.8 megapixels) to 9K @50fps (at 65 megapixels), and the price range will range from $28,000 to over $45,000 when they are released in the Spring next year.

Jannard is also promising an unfathomable 261-megapixel sensor for the rig within two years. We'll believe that one until we see it, or until Guillermo Del Toro comes out of his cave and says he'll use that camera to shoot The Hobbit.

RED isn't the only company to integrate HD video and digital pictures into one rig. One of the true innovations of the year so far came up when the Canon 5D Mark II built-in the ability to shoot 1080p HD video. Other companies are obviously looking into integrating video into their DSLRs to not fall behind and to take advantage of the improved optics.

So far, the early word on all RED cameras has been that they are slightly unstable and quite a bit unfinished. But the video quality is really the key, and most early examples have been special and (almost) worthy of that hype.

See also:

• New Chips Poised to Revolutionize Photography, Film
• Analog Meets Its Match in Red Digital Cinema's Ultrahigh-Res Camera
• The RED DSLR: A Wish List
• Immersive Media's Geodesic-shaped Camera Rides the Wave, Captures 360-degree Action Video

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 13 Nov 2008 | 8:23 pm

AMD To Have Netbook Chips in 2009, 32-nm Process in 2011

On the heels of the launch of its quad-core server chips codenamed Shanghai that use the 45-nanometer process technology, AMD has laid out its roadmap for desktops and notebooks.

The company will have a 65-nm chip codenamed Conesus with two cores and 1MB cache for the ultra-portable and mini-notebook, or the netbook, market in 2009. In 2010 the Conesus chip will be succeeded by Geneva which will have twice the cache at 2MB.

For mainstream notebooks, the company will have a dual-core 45-nm chip codenamed Caspian with 2MB cache available next year, said AMD during its meeting with financial analysts Thursday.

AMD will also move to a 32-nm manufacturing process by 2011 with processors codenamed Llano for desktops. Llano will be an integrated CPU, GPU unit and will have four cores. For ultraportable notebooks, it will have dual-core chips codenamed Ontario with 1MB cache and integrated graphics processing unit.

Also see:
AMD Fields New Chips, Battles for Surival Against Intel

Photo: AMD Financial Analyst Day Presentation

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 13 Nov 2008 | 8:07 pm

Telescopes Capture First Images of Alien Planets

Astronomers identify fuzzy specks as four planets outside our solar system.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 13 Nov 2008 | 8:00 pm

ExxonMobil Chemical's Vistamaxx Specialty Elastomers and Resins Achieve FDA and EU-Directive Compliance

ExxonMobil Chemical's Vistamaxx(TM) specialty elastomers and resins targeted at flexible and rigid food packaging applications have received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Food Contact Notification process.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Nov 2008 | 8:00 pm

AT&T launches the S60-powered Nokia 6650

Hey, there it is! After the Nokia 6650 missed its leaked release date and managed to stay off the radar for nearly a month, we were beginning to think they’d canned it.

Turns out, the first S60 device to hit AT&T in a long was just taking its sweet time to make it to the shelves. So what do you get for $70 bucks and a 2-year marriage to AT&T? A 2.0 megapixel camera, 2.2″ QVGA display, and support for AT&T Navigator, AT&T Mobile Music, and AT&T Video Share. Plus: it’s running S60, automatically putting it many bounds above the vast majority of $50-$100 flip phones.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 13 Nov 2008 | 7:52 pm

Gadget Lets Bicyclists Turn Red Lights Green

Wouldn't it be cool if there was a gadget that could turn a red traffic light green? Now there is -- and it's small enough to strap onto a bicycle.

Bicyclists and motorcyclists get stuck at red lights more than cars do. That's because many traffic lights are wired up to induction-loop sensors in the pavement, and until the sensors detect the presence of a car, they won't change from red to green. This is hugely frustrating to  bicyclists of the law-abiding variety (there must be some out there, right?).

So inventor Ed Richley decided to do something about it: He built a gadget that you can strap onto your bike frame and use to trip the traffic sensors. It does this by emitting a brief but strong magnetic field that simulates the presence of a much larger conductor (like a car).

Best of all, the gadget is legal. Probably.

Richley's gadget is just a prototype at this point, but he's looking for manufacturers to bring this much-needed product to the biking masses.

Wired.com's Autopia has the details: Bike Gadget Turns Red Lights Green

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 13 Nov 2008 | 7:48 pm

Los Angeles: GAMA-GO Holiday Sale!

I went to GAMA-GO's holiday sale in San Francisco on Saturday and it was pandemonium (the fun kind). I was really happy to meet a bunch of BB readers who stopped by! Next time I have a party, I'm going to offer hoodies and t-shirts at 75 percent off. Maybe I'll have a line around the block too! This Saturday, November 15, the mayhem heads south to the Bigfoot Lodge in Los Angeles. GAMA-GO's Greg Long says, "There will be items for men and women plus some extremely rare non-production samples!"
GAMA-GO Los Angeles Holiday Sale

Source: Boing Boing | 13 Nov 2008 | 7:34 pm

Your Virtual Girlfriend

Say hello to your new Dennou AR girlfriend. Feministing deems her a "virtual torture victim"; Gizmodo declares the 3D webcam hottie "entrancing, if a little perverted." NSFW?

Source: Boing Boing | 13 Nov 2008 | 7:33 pm

The iBoogie speaker and dance machine

The iBoogie is a twenty dollar speaker containing the accompanying rhythmic dance routines of a Stop Signal refuge. I would have prefered a moonwalking ampelmann, personally.

iBoogie Speaker and Dance Machine for MP3 Players [HSN via Oh Gizmo]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Nov 2008 | 7:32 pm

Live Poker Introduces Social Gaming to iPhone

A social gaming network on Thursday launched the first poker game for iPhone with online, multi-player capabilities.

Zynga's Live Poker, a game available through the App Store, looks like any ordinary Texas Hold'em poker game, but its unique feature is the ability to play with others live online. The game is free as is the gaming experience, meaning players only gamble with fake money. Each player receives a daily allowance of 1,000 play chips.

Though a poker game may not sound all that exciting, the launch of Live Poker represents the iPhone's shift toward online, social gaming. While many games on the iPhone are quite impressive, they exist as their own islands: You play them either by yourself or with another player on the same handset. Live Poker is an example of a game looking to share the gaming experience with other iPhone owners.

iPhone developer Steve Demeter, who made the popular game Trism, is working on something similar. He's offering iPhone game developers a free tool called Onyx Online, which will automatically add social networking features to games such as leaderboards, achievements, forums and so on. Thus, iPhone owners who play Onyx-embedded games will be able to view each other's profiles to compare scores and see what games other people are playing. That way they could find more games or challenge each other to duels, Demeter explained.

Being the busy bee that I am, I don't have much time to play games on iPhone. But it seems natural that game coders are taking the next step to turn the handset into an online, multi-player gaming device. What are your thoughts about this shift, Gadget Lab readers? Would you care, considering there are already other more powerful portable gaming devices out there (e.g., Sony PlayStation Portable or Nintendo DS)?

Product page [via VentureBeat]

Image: Brian X. Chen/Wired.com

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 13 Nov 2008 | 7:17 pm

Bird-Like Dinosaur Sat On Eggs

A bird-like nest of eggs likely belonged to a small, meat-eating dinosaur.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 13 Nov 2008 | 7:00 pm

Life and Minerals Evolve Together

Life influences the origin of minerals, just as minerals influenced the origin of life.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 13 Nov 2008 | 7:00 pm

Ted Stevens, walking the Bridge to Nowhere

Convicted felon Ted Stevens (R, Alaska) may lose his Senate Seat after all. As vote tallies trickle in, his opponent, Democrat Mark Begich is in the lead.

Mark Begich (D) - 132,196
Ted Stevens (R) - 131,382

Markos "Daily Kos" Moulitsas, who's been following the numbers closely, claims that the remaining ballots come from Democratic-leaning districts. Nate "538" Silver has more. If Begich even builds a 0.51 percent lead over Stevens (he's at a 0.29 percent lead now), he escapes a recount and takes over the seat. This would, among other things, close Sarah Palin's escape hatch out of Alaskan politics. It would also lock down 58 Democratic Senate seats (counting Joe Lieberman), with the Minnesota Senate race looking better for them every day. (Democrat Al Franken has gained hundreds of votes as the state recounts ballots, and the Republicans have shown their panic with lawsuits and op-eds trying to cast doubt on the count.)

Reason: Ted Stevens, Walking the Bridge to Nowhere

Source: Boing Boing | 13 Nov 2008 | 6:53 pm

Sprint offers employee buyouts to avoid layoffs

With just about everyone pulling at their collars over the economy right now, more and more people are winding up on the chopping block. Amongst the many companies on layoff watch at the moment is Sprint; after bleeding out over 1.3 million customers over the last quarter, it’s pretty clear that Sprint was going to have to cut back their employee headcount.

Forced layoffs are no fun for anyone - Sprint knows that. Rather than dumping a big box of “We thank you for your time and dedication, but…” letters onto desks around the nation, Sprint is offering buyouts to an unspecified chunk of its employee base. Specific details of the buyout haven’t been disclosed so it’s not clear how enticing their offer might be, but employees have until December 3rd to jump ship. It all sounds nice and friendly, but being given the option to leave probably doesn’t feel a whole lot better than getting the axe.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 13 Nov 2008 | 6:36 pm

Sony Plans Twelve-Megapixel Cameraphones

Mobile phone cameras are set to get more powerful as the race to see who can deliver the most megapixels is on.

Sony has said it will commercialize a new image sensor that could deliver up to 12.25-megapixel resolution. The sensor measures just 7.5-millimeters diagonally. 

The latest sensor is designed to meet the increasing demand for better cameras inside mobile phones, says Sony.

The company also announced that it will produce two additional sensors, a 5.76-mm CMOS image sensor with 8.11 effective megapixel resolution and a 4.5-mm sensor with 5.15 effective megapixel resolution.

Sony said it will also produce compact lenses to make it easier for the cameras to be integrated with phones. The company will make two modules--one of which will be a lens module with the 12.25 MP resolution sensor and will measure 10-mm wide, 8.5-mm long and 11.5-mm deep.

The other module with 8.11 MP resolution sensor will be 11.5-mm wide, 6.5-mm long and 9.5-mm deep. The modules have lens and auto focus functions and are the industry's smallest and thinnest, says Sony.

Miniaturization of mobile phone camera technology has become important as phones are getting smaller. But the process of shrinking the components challenges the image quality and camera sensitivity.

Sony says its new image sensors can improve sensitivity levels and offer a high signal-to-noise ratio, even while the number of pixels increases.

The company, however, did not disclose when these high-resolution sensors are likely to be available in cellphones.

Sony rival Samsung has already released a 10-megapixel camera phone in Korea. By comparison Apple has a 2-megapixel camera for the iPhone, while the latest BlackBerry Storm touchscreen phone to be released on Verizon Wireless later this month will have a 3.2-megapixel camera.

Complete Specifications for the Sony Sensors

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 13 Nov 2008 | 6:32 pm

Review: Mugen Pop Pop Endless Bubble Popping toy

Mugen Pop Pop is a handheld toy, based on bubble-wrap, manufactured by Bandai America. It comes in four colors and is in stores now. They fired one our way, and I can humbly report that is it as addictive as it is silly. And best illustrated by video:

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Nov 2008 | 6:00 pm

LG Swift lands in Alltels lineup

A new LG handset was announced for Alltel (and in the long run, I suppose, Verizon) this morning. Don’t let its appearance fool you, my friends - this is no standard flip phone. This one will change your life.

Okay, fine. It won’t change your life. In fact, with its defining features being a 1.3 megapixel camera and Bluetooth, it’s all pretty standard. It’s the first Alltel handset to feature Fastap “Press-to-Experience” shortcut keys tucked between the numbers on the keypad, which I suppose is pretty exciting if you’ve never owned a cell phone before. You can nab one in blue or red at Alltel.com or any Alltel spot for $49.99 beginning today.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 13 Nov 2008 | 5:59 pm

Security Alliance Slashes Spam, Closes Malware Host (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - The Internet is a little less jammed with spam after a cybercrime group blew the whistle on one of the biggest offenders. HostExploit, an alliance of volunteers who work at Google, McAfee and Arbor Networks, has been tracking and documenting cybercrime activity and its latest effort slashed worldwide spam by 50 percent and junk e-mail by 75 percent.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Nov 2008 | 5:57 pm

BlackBerry Storm to Hit Verizon on Nov. 21

It's official. The first touchscreen phone from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion will be available nationwide on Nov. 21 through Verizon Wireless.

The BlackBerry Storm will be available for $200 after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a two-year contract.

The Storm will have a 3.2 inch screen, built-in GPS, touchscreen navigation, media player, 3.2 megapixel camera, video recording capability and access to an App Center along the lines of iPhone App Store or Google Android marketplace.

The launch of the phone comes just three weeks after RIM released the BlackBerry Bold through AT&T. The keypad-based Bold, which was supposed to debut in the summer, was much delayed and is now effectively available for free through Wal-Mart after a $200 rebate discounting the entire cost.

Meanwhile, in the last few days Verizon and RIM have been burning up the airwaves with nationwide television ads of the Storm. But getting consumer attention for the device during the holiday season won't be easy.

The Storm will compete with Apple's iPhone, which is priced at $200, and with T-Mobile's recently launched G1 phone, the first to carry Google's Android mobile operating system. The G1 will cost $180 with a two-year contract.

What RIM is hoping will set the Storm apart from its competitors is a touchscreen that mimics the 'click' tactile response that comes with typing on a keypad. The phone also offers feature such as cut and paste of text that the iPhone lacks.

An early review of the Storm by Wired.com pegs it as the first touchscreen device that could truly be a stiff competitor to the iPhone, though it is unlikely to ever match the iPhone in terms of its "cultural cache."

Photo:Daniel Salo for Wired.com

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 13 Nov 2008 | 5:30 pm

Review: WowWee Flytech Bladestar flying toy (Verdict: Clever but dull)

Like a lot of WowWee products, the Flytech Bladestar is more impressive as an engineering feat than as a toy. Infrared hoverdiscs have been around for ages, but the Bladestar has its own sensors inside — presumably another little IR blaster — that can let it sense light-colored objects like walls (or ghosts). In this "Autopilot" mode all you need control is the altitude via the throttle, sending it up or down as it meanders around a room. It's fun for a second.

In "R/C mode" you can steer it in four directions. The Bladestar cleverly modulates its two fans to make forward motion. Unfortunately the infrared receivers inside the Bladestar aren't very responsive, meaning it's quite possible to have the Bladestar crash into a wall or ceiling or pet before it responds to your correction. Or worse, refuse to shut off as it thrashes on the ground, denting the light but sturdy foam wings.

There's nothing wrong with the Bladestar, per se. It does exactly what it aims to do. It's just that it's only amusing for a bit. (I handed it over our backyard wall to the neighbor kids; they returned it in a few minutes and went back to playing basketball.) At $40 you'd be better off buying two of the tiny little foam helicopters available nearly everywhere. They may not be as technologically advanced, but they're a lot more fun to fly.

Flytech Bladestar product page [BladestarOnline.com]
Flytech Bladestar catalog page [Amazon]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Nov 2008 | 4:41 pm

"All this has happened before, and all this will happen again."

Nate Miller writes:

I'm reliving a current fascination with the Apple ][ family, and am considering picking up a //c for the reasons I can't quite justify.

I stumbled upon this page, which is an original review of a //c, circa 1984. It's just so easy to read it as the output of a current blogger.

Some of the fascinating quotes:

"The ivory color, rounded edges, and high-performance look of the IIc have been dubbed the "Snow White" look and will be featured in all new Apple products. It is the look of the 80's, the Pepsi Generation, and you had better get used to it. You will be seeing a lot of it in years to come."

"It also reinforces Apple's contention that the IIc isn't machine for people who want to hack around with the hardware."

It's even got the fanboy Art of War maxim: turn your weakness into the greatest strength:

"The lack of slots is really a blessing in disguise. It makes the IIc a "closed system." This is the kind of environment for which software developers like to program, since they don't have to worry about all the different cards and hardware kits that you may or may not have in your computer. With a closed system, if the program runs correctly on one IIc, it runs correctly on every IIc. I anticipate that software firms will flock to the IIc. This machine is a programmer's dream•a powerful closed system with a wide range of special features."

Couple this with the fact that the //c was introduced at an "Apple Forever" event at Moscone Center...and it was somehow carried off, even without a single liveblogger.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Nov 2008 | 4:08 pm

Review: Riff Rocker USB guitar controller (Verdict: Sorry, but no)

The Riff Rocker pitch was intriguing: a cheap little USB guitar peripheral that actually ships with the open-source Guitar Hero clone Frets on Fire. Pretty cool — except the $20 peripheral is really just not a good piece of equipment and worth, at most, a buck or two.

The controller is two small to easily hold in two hands and the narrow neck makes the fret buttons difficult to strike. It doesn't feel anything like playing a standard-sized guitar peripheral at all — let alone a guitar.

The tiny little rocker switch that serves as a strum bar is difficult to flip back and forth. The cord is only about three feet long, which means you'll have to be seated right next to your computer. At that distance, why not just use a keyboard?

Consider Frets on Fire ships with only a couple of songs — let's face it, it's really designed to be used with copyright-violating packs of pop songs with fret patterns programmed by fans — there's really nothing much left to a Riff Rocker owner except frustration and a desire to play with a full-sized (miniature) controller.

Riff Rocker project page [Riff-Rocker.com]

Related • Make a Guitar Hero Kit for your PC for $30 [Instructables]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Nov 2008 | 3:59 pm

Brain Stimluation May Ease Obessive Compulsiveness

Brain stimulation is shown to be effective against obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 13 Nov 2008 | 3:35 pm

LED Menorah

For the Festival of Blinkenlights.

LED motherboard menorah [Fred Flare via Hack a Day]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Nov 2008 | 3:34 pm

Make your own Muppet Whatnot

By selecting from a rainbow of felty flesh tones, bulbous noses, jutting thyroidic button eyes, flapping mouth shapes and appalling fashion choices, FAO Schwartz will allow you to create your very own likeness in Muppet form, then sell it to you for $90 as a "Muppet Whatnot."

It's all terribly neat. To the right, behold Beschizza's Muppet Doppelganger. Beschizza is quintessentially British, and I think — short of ripping the teeth out of a decaying horse and cramming them into this Muppet's mouth — I've found his perfect likeness, right down to the grotesque plaid blazer, the green pallor of the hungover binge drinker and the dropsied Liverpudlian eyelids. I can't wait until it arrives, so I can prance around BBG headquarters with my hand up its backside, lispily rattling off Beschizza-isms in a shrieking castrati falsetto as Bobert himself quietly arranges a noose for himself in the supply closet, reflecting upon the glory of Empire.

The Muppet Whatnnot Workshop [FAO Schwartz]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Nov 2008 | 3:18 pm

Note: Magic things you plug into 12V power ports don't give you extra MPG

The Magic Power System Power Bar plugs into your auto's 12V power port and is claimed to increase fuel efficiency up to 30 percent, increase torque and reduce emissions. Also said to improve car audio quality and "clean the entire car electrically," it costs just £35.

It's a scam, of course, but hey—it says its magic right on the side!

Contribute To The Environment Unconsciously With The Magic Power System! [Jalopnik via Dan's Data]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Nov 2008 | 3:07 pm

Recycling E-waste the right way

The Times profiles "e-Scrap", an E-waste recycling company that vows to have a "zero landfill policy". It's clearly a problem in need of solving:

Finding ways to dispose of America’s increasingly large stream of e-waste is difficult: an estimated 133,000 computers are discarded by homes and businesses every day. In a 2006 report, the International Association of Electronics Recyclers estimated that about 400 million pieces of e-waste are scrapped each year. And while some prominent manufacturers, like Dell and Hewlett-Packard, have agreed to recycle their own equipment, such programs have so far made only a modest difference.

For the Digitally Deceased, a Profitable Graveyard [NYTimes]

Previously • Video: 60 Minutes tackles exported E-waste

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Nov 2008 | 2:55 pm

California Stars in Massive Earthquake Drill

The largest disaster drill in U.S. history will have millions of people ducking for cover.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 13 Nov 2008 | 2:35 pm

Bone Marrow Transplant Appears to Cure AIDS

An AIDS patient seems to have been cured by a bone marrow transplant.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 13 Nov 2008 | 2:22 pm

Colo shutdown takes a big bite out of spam traffic

Brian Krebs reports that the takedown of a single computer colocation facility in Northern California, the cleverly named "McColo", caused worldwide spam traffic to drop an amazing "two-thirds" to "75 percent". It has long been suspected that the majority of spam comes from just a handful of sources, but that's pretty incredible.

My unix admin roommate and I were debating how a location pushing out such an overwhelming amount of spam could have operated within the United States for so long without being taken down. Obviously they could be relaying the mail, etc., but they what's to stop the spammers from simply reinstating the control machines from another location? I'm sure there's a simple explanation, but I'm too dumb to know what it is.

Spam Volumes Drop by Two-Thirds After Firm Goes Offline [WashingtonPost.com]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Nov 2008 | 2:14 pm

ComicZeal: iPhone Comic Books Done Right?

ComicZeal is another application for reading comic books on the iPhone and, despite being a little rough around the edges gets things pretty much right. Back in August we took a look at two other comic readers for the iPhone but they both failed on one essential point: They split the pages into individual frames, leaving the reader unable to enjoy more complex, dramatic page designs.

Comic Zeal lets you read whole pages in the same way as Mobile Safari lets you read whole web pages: You just pinch to zoom in. And although the iPhone's screen is a little small for the medium, reading comics with Comic Zeal works surprisingly well.

We had a quick chat with the author of the application, Emiliano Molina.

First, the features. Comic Zeal comes pre-loaded with some public domain titles -- Out of This World, Racket Squad and Romantic Adventures. You can also download a lot of free "Golden Age" comics direct to the iPhone for some retro reading. This last lets you browse the cover art on a wooden bookshelf.

Far more useful is the ability to add your own comics. Or it would be, if it worked. First you need to install Python (a programming language) on your computer and use the free ComicZeal Creator application to convert your comics (in either cbr or cbz formats) into a form that the iPhone app can use. Then you need to fire up the open source application SyncDocs, which will do the work of transferring the new, smaller comics to your iPhone.

Assuming you do manage to get through this meandering journey (I didn't), the actual process of reading comics is pretty slick. Pinch to zoom, swipe to turn pages, and press once to bring up a navigation menu. That's it, and it works well, although the page-turn animation is a little unsettling the first time you see it -- new pages slide in from the right, but at the same time your finger-swipe moves the existing page around. The app even remembers where you left off in the comic, so you can come back later.

If you're happy rolling up your sleeves to get things working, then the $2 app is cheap enough to play around with. If you want to read your own comics on the go, and you want it to be iPhone-easy, we'd suggest you wait a little while for the computer end of things to mature.

We asked Emiliano a few questions about the birth of Comic Zeal, the problems of synching files between iPhone and computer, and whether comic books have an electronic future.

Gadget Lab: Syncdocs is a little janky. Is it Java? Any plans for a native OS X app?

Emiliano Molina: SyncDocs is Java, we originally had a web-based process for getting the comics into the iPhone but it had a couple of shortcomings. First it only allowed for transfers of one comic at a time, and second, it could be difficult to set up the networking. Even worse for us it made it look as though the networking problems people were having were due to ComicZeal or ComicZeal Creator.

As I was wondering what to do a post went up on the Apple developer forums about SyncDocs. It's an open source software project which is used by a number of apps.

I gave it a go and found it easy to install and very functional, it's very reliable and the configuration is a breeze. Since we started using it our support emails have gone down dramatically.

It's also cross-platform, which is great, but it also means that it just doesn't look like a Mac app.

GL: Viewing full sized comics works surprisingly well. Any thoughts on the iPhone as an official delivery platform for comics -- ie. Marvel and DC actually selling comics through the iTunes Store?

EM: I'd love to see that happen (hey, lets ALL use ComicZeal), but the problems here are not really technological any more.

I KNOW ComicZeal doesn't match the experience of reading a real paper comic, but it does give the user options that paper comics don't. You can read one-handed on a train, you can take your whole collection on holiday, you can read a comic as many times as you want and it won't be damaged.

The roadblock is the required change in business models for comic publishers. They are not experts in digital distribution, it must scare the heck out of them to think that their wares can be replicated time and time again with no cost, and there is no copyright protection methods that truly work. What are they going to do?

They can't sell digital comics at the same price as paper ones, they can't reach the same audience with them, the iPhone and iPod touch are great sellers but the overlap of people who own them and people who buy comics may not be great.

Something else worth considering is this, what's in it for them? Can publishers make more money by selling digital comics? If you buy a paper comic, will you pay more to get a digital version? If you don't buy a paper comic, are you likely to buy a digital version?

GL: There are a lot of slick iPhone apps with terrible Mac and PC back ends. Why?

EM: That's because every developer is being forced to do it from scratch, by themselves. It's huge time sink and very difficult to get it right. Assuming that all the software works perfectly on both ends, the user would still need to set up a wireless network between their PC and their iPhone. It's the only way to move data between them that doesn't require a web-server. Of course, for a lot of types of data the user won't trust a web server they don't own anyway so you're back to a wireless network.

What we need is for Apple to come up with a way for us to use the iTunes sync framework.

GL: Anything else?

EM: Next up on the to-do list is a way to sort comics on the iPhone. When we came up with the requirements for ComicZeal we thought users would have around ten comics on the device. Delete them as they read them, put new ones on as needed. It turns out that users want to keep most of their collection in ComicZeal, so we had to add support for batch downloads - thanks SyncDocs - and now we need to provide a way to sort hundreds of comics.

Product page [ComicZeal]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 13 Nov 2008 | 1:51 pm

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