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iPod touch tricksFROM APPLETELL - iPod Touch Hacks may be a site focusing on jailbreaking, but they’ve just compiled a list of built-in tricks of which any iPod touch/iPhone user can take advantage. MORE » Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 21 Nov 2008 | 10:42 pm Swedish iPhone users get MMS, what about everyone else?FROM APPLETELL - iPhone users in Sweden now have another reason to avoid jailbreaking their phone. MORE » Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 21 Nov 2008 | 10:20 pm Are you secure? Here’s a “Top 5” list of free security software downloadsSection: Computers, Security, Software / Applications, Originals, Web, Downloads, Features
Some favorites that are really worth a try: Ad-Aware 2008This perennial favorite of many is an anti-spyware program. Keep in mind that the free version does not detect viruses, so I wouldn’t really suggest using this as a first line of defense. That said, I still put it on the list since there have been times it picked up things that other programs missed. For what it is meant to do it does a good job. It scans your RAM, your hard drives and external storage devices, and the Windows Registry. Ad-Aware looks for what the program name suggests—advertising, data-mining, or tracking components. It is easy to use; scanning and deleting any corrupt files is done with a few simple clicks. My one complaint is that scan time in the ‘08 version seems to take much longer than previously.
SpyBot Search and DestroySpybot has been around a long time; it’s one of the original anti-spyware programs. Even more than just the “scan and find the adware and other naughty modules” feature of the program; I like the other goodies they package in. One handy thing it offers is the ability to check the system registry and what apps are showing up at system start-up. You can then get rid of any you don’t want. They also offer a Secure Shredder to totally destroy files and a Hosts File which blocks adware from even hitting your system. I know of some people that find that feature a bit annoying; I deal with it for the fact that it really does keep me from having to deal with a lot of extra junk hitting my system. This is a nice program because it is good if you aren’t especially familiar with running spyware scans. It is very easy to operate and user-friendly. For those who know what they are doing, it also offers an “Advanced Mode” with some extra options. It is one of the faster scans out there and has over 30 language options, so international users aren’t left in the dark. SpyBot Search and Destroy 1.6 (14.38MB): Download
Avira AntiVir PersonaThe latest version practically has more numbers behind it than my social security card. 8.2.0.334 for the curious among you. (That’s the version number, not my social security number to clarify). Avira is probably one of the best free anti-virus scans out there. It runs a very thorough system check for both malware and viruses, with a just as thorough quarantine. This is in spreadsheet form and gives the option of either scanning again, deleting, or restoring files and more. It allows users to pick their scan too which is nice: full system scan, a customized scan, or they even have pre-loaded scans you can choose from. The one con to the program is it has its own occasional ad pop-ups/placements. The program isn’t lightning fast, but it isn’t a total dog either by any means. It does have a “real time Guard protection” running in the background, as well. Although some may not like the idea of that just on principle, it really doesn’t affect system performance. Avira AntiVir Personal (23.96MB): Download
Avast Home EditionOk, now this one does have more numbers to it than my social security card. Version 4.8.1229.80923. Now if you can get past that, Avast is really a great program. The creators say the latest version is even better than the previous editions at finding trojans, rookits, and backdoor viruses. They are also proud to boast that they are a “complete ICSA & Checkmark certified antivirus, Checkmark certified anti-spyware & anti-rootkit package.“ The program really does earn its stripes. The on-demand scanner is easy to operate. You pick what you want it to do and press the Play button. It also has an on-access scanner, which will scan most e-mail clients, IM services, P2P, Network traffic, and more. You can adjust the sensitivity level for these scans to set it just the way you want it. The “standard” scan runs fairly quickly, though the boot scan took longer. However, you do have the option to skip this. They offer up some nice cleanup tools if anything is found on your system as well.
Trend Micro HijackThis 2.02Warning: Use this program with caution! This one is not really designed for the novice. A Hijack This scan lists the contents of core areas of your Registry and hard drive. It picks areas that are used by hijackers as well as legit programmers. It doesn’t search out certain programs or URLs; it picks the way the hijackers make you hit their site. Because of this, you will see files that you do not want to delete on the list. Lots of what you see is just going to be customizations. This is not one of those programs where you run a scan, check the box for what all comes up and simply hit delete. If you are not sure what you are looking at after you run the scan, save the log. It saves it as a text document for you, and you can either ask someone who is King Geek, or go to a forum (like castlecops) and post it there to get some feedback before you wipe something you need. Hijack This is really a program to use when you have something down deep in your system that you just aren’t having any luck removing with the standard spyware removal process. It’s definitely powerful, so use with care. Full Story » | Written by Jodie Andrefski for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 21 Nov 2008 | 9:05 pm Google launches Searchwiki
Another day, another new product or feature from Google. Well, at least it seems that way sometimes. Usually, there isn’t much added to the search function of Google, the updates tend to be to Gmail, Maps, or new products. This time its different, Google has actually found a way to change, and possibly improve searching the web using its search engine. Its called Searchwiki, and it isn’t as intimidating as it might sound. In a nutshell, Searchwiki allows you to customize your searching if you search for things often. It allows you to move results up to the top of the list where it might not appear normally. You can also remove sites you don’t think fit the category or you just don’t like. There is one thing to know, however: these results are only for you. Google will remember them for you, but the results won’t go to the top for everyone else. So even if you add Gadgetell to the top of your list when you search for “gadget” it unfortunately won’t happen to everyone else. The other main feature of Searchwiki is the ability to take notes on search results. Maybe you find a site you need some information on, but not until you get back to your computer. Now, you can sign into your Google account, move it to the top of that search, and write a note to yourself why you needed it. Remembering what you searched for isn’t even necessary, as you can click the link on the bottom of the Google search page to view all of your Searchwiki notes. This being such a new feature, I can’t rightfully comment on how much I’ll use it, but it can possibly serve a purpose. I doubt I’ll use it everyday, or even often, but some people might end up doing so. It might be an easy way to put down notes on websites between computers, and is easier than writing it down on paper at least. Given time, chances are a few of us might find something useful about Searchwiki. For now in my mind it remains a “hey, that’s pretty cool” feature. Read [TechCrunch] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 21 Nov 2008 | 8:02 pm Bring the net to your TV: Sony Bravia leads the waySection: Video, HDTV, Web, Web Apps, Websites, Online Music/Video
How controlled? One at a time, baby. That is right: they added CBS which uses Flash 10 for content, as does Hulu but Sony does not have a partnership with them. You’ll have access to their partners via a special link, not a browser. Curious? Of course you are! So was I. So I asked Sony and got:
Current partners include Slacker, Amazon Video On Demand, YouTube, Dailymotion, CBS; Yahoo!, Men.Style.com, Sports Illustrated, blip.tv, CondeNet’s Style.com, Epicurious, Wired.com, Concierge.com channels, Sony Pictures’ Crackle, and more. Big brands are getting into this. This raises some serious questions in my head. Questions like:
If you’ve got any answers, let’s talk about them in the comments. Source [ecoustics] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 21 Nov 2008 | 7:00 pm The Option ARM Non-Bomb?I just had someone email me something interesting today about their adjustable-rate mortgage resetting - but to considerably lower levels. How widespread is this phenomenon? Or, asked differently, what...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 21 Nov 2008 | 6:37 pm MySpace loving BlackBerry users break download recordSection: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile, Web, Websites
RIM has just announced that the recently released MySpace app for the BlackBerry has been a record breaking success. The app was originally made available just one week ago on November 13, and since then it has seen more than 400,000 downloads. According to Jim Balsillie, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Research In Motion;
And how true that statement is, it seems that those 400,000 downloads allowed users to send and receive more than 15 million messages and also update their mood and status a whopping two million times. I guess despite the previous availability of a Facebook app, there were still plenty of users itching to get on MySpace. Read [Business Wire]
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 21 Nov 2008 | 6:00 pm Buffett: Unemployment Going Past 8% [MediaMemo]
FBN is describing the chat as an “exclusive”, which is true in the sense that they’re the only ones running an interview with Buffett at 4pm eastern today — he tends to be fairly visible these days. Still, there’s some good stuff here, and not all of it is depressing. Excerpts follow: On Unemployment: “There are going to be more people unemployed…but I’m not worried about how we come out in the end. I mean, I’m not worried about five years from now. Five months from now, can be very painful…it will be considerably higher…It will happen eventually [surpassing 8%], and we will go on to new heights, but it will not turn around by mid-year next year.” On Berkshire Hathaway’s Stock Plummeting: “No, it doesn’t make any difference. I mean, if you don’t own it on margin, you own a business…I look to the business to determine my results. I’ll say it’s happened to me three other times in my life, too. It happened when it went from 90 to 40 back in 1974, and it happened in 1987. It went down 50 percent in 1998 to 2000. I mean, I hope I live long enough so it happens a couple more times to me.” On the Auto Bailouts: “I would drive a deal like I would drive myself if I were buying a business. And I think, I would say there’s plan A or plan B. And if you don’t want to do it this way, you know, then…take bankruptcy. I would make the CEOs buy in. I would say, you know, the United States government is willing to put in X dollars, but we’re going to have you put in a certain percentage of your net worth right along with us. We’ll give you more upside, but you’re going to lose if we lose.” On the Future of Goldman Sachs: “Their businesses are all tough now, but they’re going to get around it…This time, the institutions got very, very leveraged, and when the whole world tries to be leveraged at one time, I mean, there is a lot of pain that goes around. But you know, the Goldman’s of the world, they’re going to be around. Some of them needed, I mean, not Goldman specifically, but some of them needed the help of the TARP.” On the President’s Role in the Bailouts: “I think really only the president can do that effectively. I think it’s very difficult for the Congress, where you’ve got 535 people where each — you know, one guy has a plan for Chrysler and somebody else has another — and I think that — and you have to have somebody who can deliver, who can say, if you do these things, we will come up with a solution. But if you don’t have a business solution, they’ll just be putting money in every year for the — you know, as long as the federal government’s around.” On Being the Next Treasury Secretary: “Well, I haven’t been asked. And I won’t be asked. But the answer is I wouldn’t give up my job. I’m glad to help in any way I can, but I would not do it. So I think, you know, we’ll know in a few days, perhaps, who the Treasury secretary will be. And we’ll go from there.” On President-Elect Barack Obama: “I think that Barack — I think that Hillary would have made a good president too, and I think Barack will make a terrific president. I think he’s the right person for this time…..you need a strong, decisive, smart leader, who can communicate very well with the American people at a time like this. They need somebody they believe in, and I think that he has the qualities that are right for this time.” On Selling Investments: “…I do sell stocks. Not very often…if we’re going to put the money in the Goldman Sachs preferred or the General Electric preferred, the Mars-Wrigley deal, to some extent, if we have the money around we’ll use the money that is in cash. But I like to keep a lot of money around, so I will sell some things if I need to sell them in order to buy something else…We don’t sell businesses, though. Businesses we own we keep.” On His Next Investment Pick: Not right now. But that could change tomorrow. Both GE and Goldman Sachs happened on a phone call I got in the morning and I said yes. It was — that’s that, something like that. On Henry Paulson: “I think it’s a very, very tough situation. There are no silver bullets here. It’s not like some one idea or three ideas that’s all of a sudden going to turn around the economy and the markets. We are in a negative feedback cycle. It’s going to last for a while. I don’t know how long it’s going to last… And I don’t think I could have done a better job, and I don’t think most of the congressmen could do a better job….I think that putting the capital in the various financial institutions, probably you’ll get more mileage out of that dollar spent than in the mortgage repurchase program.” Source: All Things Digital | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:33 pm Hundreds wait at Verizon stores for BlackBerry Storm (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:25 pm A CrunchDeals reminder: Verizon’s New Every Two works with the Storm
Source: CrunchGear | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:20 pm iPod Touch 2.2 update stops short - CNET News
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:19 pm Is Apple scared of RIM? - CNET News
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:15 pm IE8 in 2009, but will it be late to the Firefox party? - CNET News
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:15 pm Lots to like about new iPhone 2.2 software update - Ars Technica
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:15 pm Black Friday 2008 video game deals roundupFROM GAMERTELL - A nifty, bullet-point list of stores offering Black Friday 2008 deals on video games, game systems, accessories andother game-related goodies… MORE » Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:13 pm A Web App For Real-Time Collaborative Writingadamengst writes in with good news for anyone who needs to collaborate remotely on a writing or editing project — coding too. It's especially good news for those using Windows and Linux. Mac users have had SubEthaEdit for a few years now. With EtherPad, two or more people can edit a document and see all the edits simultaneously. EtherPad's main differences from SubEthaEdit: it's a Web application that de facto supports many platforms without the need for a central Mac OS X host; and it's free. Here is a comparison of EtherPad and SubEthaEdit.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:05 pm New European online library crashes under weight of interest (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:04 pm Sharp looking at 10% reduction in production
Sharp is looking at a 10% reduction in flat screen production in its overseas factories, a reaction to the cooling economy and a recent lawsuit for price fixing. 50-inch LCD prices have dropped six perecent since October and Sharp’s own index fell to 12%. Don’t worry, though: LCDs should hit $110.8 billion in 2012 after we all dig our homes out from under the rubble of the economy. Source: Gizmodo | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:00 pm Still more questions than answers about Microsoft Morro - ZDNet
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:54 pm Google SearchWiki Addition Fails to Wow - PC World
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:53 pm A splash of paint for Dell's netbook
Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 just went to the art gallery and came home with a new paint job courtesy of Tristan Eaton. As the first big shop to do this, Dell seeks to underscore its transformation into a PC design haus: Sony, for example, doesn't even have a Netbook out, yet. Tristan Eaton designed his first toy -- for Fisher-Price -- at age18, and has since become a driving force in the world of “designer toys.” He was the head designer for the influential Kidrobot brand and designed some of its most influential “art toys,” including Dunny and Munny. He currently is the President and Creative Director of Thunderdog Studios, a New York-based designer toy brand and creative agency. Eaton joins Mike Ming, Joseph Amedokpo, Bruce Mau and Siobhan Gunning as contemporary artists reinterpreting the PC for a new generation. How long until print-on-demand laptops? Someone make it happen! Or something in green. Dell Adds Eye Candy to Inspiron Mini Mix with Cherry Red, Pretty Pink and Tristan Eaton Designs [Dell via Crunchgear] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:48 pm Study Finds Online Activities Help Teens' Development (NewsFactor)NewsFactor - Online games, social-networking Web sites, and chat rooms are empowering and motivating for teens and help with their development, according to a study released Thursday by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation at the American Anthropological Association's annual meeting. The study covered three years and 5,000 hours of observing teens online.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:46 pm (BBtv) Unicorn Chaser, Friday Review: Offworld.com Death Dwarf DanceALL HAIL FRIDAY! Here we post lulz for the benefit of the nation. Earlier this week, we announced new programming plans, including a weekly UNICORN CHASER video feature at the end of each week. Here is the first: we reprise the Boing Boing OFFWORLD debut episode with an one-minute dance remix of editor Brandon "death dwarf" Boyer's musical moment in Azeroth. Perhaps you were "busy" doing "productive things" like "earning a living" this week, and missed your weekly dose of Boing Boing tv? I'll re-embed the episodes below. * THU: Tibetan Sovereignty Supporters Hold Historic Meeting in India to Plan Future. * WED: BBtv: Offworld Premiere. What's Offworld? * TUE: SELK Bag, Boing Boing Gadgets review with Joel Johnson * MON: Boing Boing tv Update: OFFWORLD, YES MEN, and THIS IS THE FIRST. Boing Boing tv: We're a Year Old, and Yes We Can (Announce a New Programming Plan) Source: Boing Boing | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:45 pm The Dell Mini finds its artsy side
There is no doubt that the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 and 12 are hot netbooks, but the standard digs are just a little too Dell. You know what we mean. Even the new pink and red models are still a bit pedestrian. But these new lid designs will certainly scream, “Look at me! I have a sweet mini-laptop and I’m in a coffee shop!” Available now. Source: CrunchGear | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:40 pm If Nobody Got Told"The biggest fuck-up with killing people, if nobody, if nobody got told then nobody would've slipped information," he added.I was reading this story of a Calgary murder trial in Toronto's Globe and Mail and I was surprised by the above quote. I'm not used to seeing "fuck-up" in a newspaper but then again I'm reading mostly American newspapers. Not only would the obscenity cause problems for American editors, but the grammar would give them another reason to reject the quote. It's a choice between decency and realism, and I liked the Globe and Mail's choice, which gives me greater insight into how this awful man thinks and acts. I can't resist summarizing the crime story, which is tragic, but it sets up another astonishing quote from this 25-year-old murderer. He and his then 12-year-old girlfriend killed her family because they didn't want him seeing her. These cold-blooded killers fled but were caught, presumably because they told friends how to find them. On the way to a psychiatric evaluation, the man gave details of the murders, bragging to a fellow traveller who was an undercover cop. He was already thinking about what life would be like with his girlfriend after prison. He ruminated about their plans once they get out to have a "gothic wedding," move to Germany, buy a castle and raise a couple of kids. He talked almost proudly about the notoriety the murders had given them. "Me and my old lady have become legends," he said. Source: Boing Boing | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:32 pm Half a Billion in Online Donations? Yes, We Can [Digital Daily]
The Washington Post reports that some 3 million donors made a total of 6.5 million online donations to the campaign. The average online donation was $80, and the average donor gave more than once. “You looked at the money being raised online in the same way that you looked at the crowds who came to the rallies,” Joe Rospars, the director of Obama’s new-media department, told The Post. “You were constantly surprised at the number of people who were coming out to see him [and when it came to online donations] people exceeded our expectations as to what they were willing to do.” Astonishing. Seems a comprehensive online presence — one that spans microblogs, social networks and video sites — really does have its benefits, when it comes to political campaigns — important ones, anyway. Source: All Things Digital | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:31 pm Mini Nuclear Reactors to Power Remote AreasA company is taking orders for shed-sized, semi-truck-delivered nuclear reactors.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:25 pm My Racer, a Korean handheld gaming console
One of these days, we'll do a colossal roundup of budget gaming consoles like Korea's MPGIO My Racer, which has a 320x240 pixel display and plays Adobe Flash lite files. It comes with a subway map, MP3 player and personal info basics. It's 90,000 Won, about $70. Something like this, able to play real Flash without sputtering, would have a lot of potential in the U.S. if served by a solid application store and sold at a similarly throwaway price. MYRACER [Aving] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:24 pm Florida Teen Live-Streams His Suicide Online - ABC News
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:20 pm Apple stock back to pre-iPhone levels
Apple experienced significant stock growth thanks to the iPhone, but even Steve Jobs & Co. are susceptible to the financial doldrums. The entire tech sector is chill’n on the poop shelf and Apple’s stock is following the crowd down the hole. For the first time since January 9, 2007 - the iPhone launched on the 10th - AAPL is below $85 a share. Even MacWorld might not help the stock as the fund dropped during the MacBook Pro announcements just weeks ago and took a nose dive during last years MacWorld Keynote. Still, the iPhone is going strong and recently became the best selling handheld in American history so while the stock might be in the bargain bin, someday it should regain its value. Hopefully. Source: Gizmodo | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:20 pm iPod cigarette case fits Marlboros, cloves, magic jay bones alike
A fantastically carcinogenic use for an old iPod: turn it into a cigarette case. This is a lot cooler if you smoke [Tulip Society] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:17 pm Lori Drew Cyber-Bullying Trial BeginsAn anonymous reader writes "The cyber-bullying trial of Lori Drew opened yesterday. She was indicted for conspiring to access and accessing MySpace illegally in order to 'further a tortious act, namely, intentional infliction of emotional distress' (PDF of the indictment). The BBC has background on the case, the NYTimes covers the opening statements, and Wired has today's testimony."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:17 pm Somali Pirates and TARPOthers may have seen this elsewhere, but it did amuse me for a moment this morning when it popped up in my email inbox: *SOMALI PIRATES APPLY TO BECOME BANK TO ACCESS TARP *PAULSON: TARP PIRATE...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:14 pm OMG New GNR on MySpace! Oh…Nevermind [MediaMemo]
That appears to be the conclusion that visitors to GNR’s MySpace page, where the album is being streamed in its entirety, have reached. Lots of people are showing up at the page, which encourages them to pre-order the album, which goes on sale exclusively at Best Buy (BBY) on Tuesday. But few of them are sticking around to actually listen to the whole thing. Glenn Peoples at Coolfer has actually plotted out the song-by-song streaming results. The numbers in Glenn’s chart, below, are a day or so old at this point, but they’re directionally accurate: Only about 20% of the visitors to the page are sticking around to hear the whole album.
What to make of that? Probably an Occam’s Razor answer: People check out the page out of curiosity, hear the first few songs (the title track plays automatically when you load the page), and decide they stink. More charitable answer: Web music fans in 2008 just don’t listen to entire albums, period. Glenn makes a nod toward this by noting that tpeople who have checked out the MySpace page for the new Paul McCartney album also flit away after a track or two. Perhaps News Corp.’s (NWS) social network just isn’t the place to stream more than a couple songs. But I’m going with the first explanation: These may be Guns N’ Roses songs, but they’re not good Guns N’ Roses songs. Remember those? Here’s one, from way, way back in 1991, which as I recall was the tail end of the band’s heyday. Would you like a professional reviewer’s take on the new album. No problem: Chuck Klosterman takes a crack at it in The Onion. And while we’re addressing all things Axl, a question for MediaMemo readers: Does anyone remember “White Trash Wins Lotto,” the excellent GNR-meets-Gilbert & Sullivan production from about a decade ago? I can still remember the songs, but can’t find them anywhere. Any help, either in comments or via email, much appreciated: peter@allthingsd.com. Source: All Things Digital | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:08 pm BlackBerry Storm Rolls Out, But It's Not an iPhone (NewsFactor)NewsFactor - All eyes were on Research in Motion Friday as the BlackBerry Storm rolled out across the United States with Apple-like fanfare. The phone is available exclusively through Verizon Wireless.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:07 pm Web Zen: making things zen video panoramas Permalink for this edition. Web Zen is created and curated by Frank Davis, and re-posted here on Boing Boing with his kind permission. Web Zen Home and Archives, Store (Thanks Frank!) Source: Gizmodo | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm ‘Wii 64’ is a Nintendo 64-infused Wii
How’s this for ingenuity? USA! USA! USA! In what can only be described as the ultimate in convergence devices, some guy on eBay is selling a Wii with a Nintendo 64 cartridge slot that actually plays real games. What’s most impressive, I suppose, is that the whole thing looks pretty natural with the slight exception of the side panel jutting outwards a bit to make room for the N64 controller port. Take note, Nintendo: when you release Wii HD or whatever it’ll be called, please include a cartridge slot with various adapters for NES, Super NES, and N64 games. Wii 64 Nintendo Wii 64 console! Working! ONE OF A KIND! [eBay via NWFB] Source: CrunchGear | 21 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm Green Cars at the LA Auto Show AutoblogGreen is covering some of the more eco-minded products automakers (the ones still standing?) are unveiling this week at the LA Auto Show. Above, the Dodge EV. "You can find all our stories on the show here," says editor Sebastian. " Lots of cool stuff being announced. We're also on Twitter." Source: Gizmodo | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:45 pm UPDATE 2-Turkish assets rise on deposit guarantee reportsISTANBUL, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The Turkish lira and shares gained strongly on Friday, rebounding from sharp losses a day earlier, after government sources said Turkey planned to raise the state guarantee...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:38 pm Scientists Look At How Cracks Form In Brittle MaterialsThe Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is part of an international team of scientists that is learning more about how cracks form in brittle materials. The team used both computer modeling and experimentation to investigate how cracks grow at low speeds in silicon.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:38 pm ASUS Eee Top PC’s dropping in both 20- and 22-inch sizes too
Source: CrunchGear | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:35 pm BLOG: 'Dance Your Ph.D.' Winners AnnouncedResearchers perform interpretative dances illustrating their research.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:35 pm Telcos Will See a More Activist CongressI'd better hightail it to Washington, because a reshuffling of Congressional Committee members is poised to herald more regulation for telecommunications firms on issues ranging from rural access to Net...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:34 pm UPDATE 1-Exxon: rates cut at Beaumont after sulfur plant snagNEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp cut rates at its 348,500 barrel-per-day Beaumont, Texas refinery after the sulfur plant lost power on Thursday, according to a company filing with state environmental...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:33 pm E=mc^2 Verified In Quantum Chromodynamic Calculationchirishnique and other readers sent in a story in AFP about a heroic supercomputer computation that has verified Einstein's most famous equation at the level of subatomic particles for the first time. "A brainpower consortium led by Laurent Lellouch of France's Centre for Theoretical Physics, using some of the world's mightiest supercomputers, have set down the calculations for estimating the mass of protons and neutrons, the particles at the nucleus of atoms. ... [T]he mass of gluons is zero and the mass of quarks is only five per cent. Where, therefore, is the missing 95 per cent? The answer, according to the study published in the US journal Science on Thursday, comes from the energy from the movements and interactions of quarks and gluons. ... [E]nergy and mass are equivalent, as Einstein proposed in his Special Theory of Relativity in 1905." Update: 11/21 15:50 GMT by KD : New Scientist has a slightly more technical look at the accomplishment.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:31 pm Einstein's E=MC2 Proven Thanks to QuarksScientists calculating the weight of particles prove Einstein's famous formula is right on.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:25 pm STC wireless router vase
There's plenty of reason to laugh at this combination router / vase's breathless press release: "The STC Router successfully bridges the gap between lifestyle and technology with it’s flower vase functionality!" the designers enthuse. Indeed... and my Time Capsule successfully bridges the gap between lifestyle and technology with its wharf rat crushing facility. That all said, I still think this is pretty neat. Certainly, I arch a quavering eyebrow at filling my router with liquid, but given the fact that my router does nothing except blink silently on a small table in my hallway, I'm just in touch with my feminine side enough to think how nice it would be to have sunflowers there instead. Wireless router vase by STC [Dezeen] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:24 pm BRIEF-Saipem statement on Aramco contractMILAN, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Italian oil field services company Saipem SpA says in statement:Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:24 pm Cub Cadet Chipper Shredder VacuumSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:20 pm McKesson to settle pricing litigation for $350 mlnBOSTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Healthcare services company McKesson Corp said on Friday that it had agreed to pay $350 million to settle charges that it fraudulently inflated the price of more than 400 prescription...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:18 pm Exxon says lower rates at Beaumont after sulfur plant snagNEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp cut rates at its 348,500 barrel-per-day Beaumont, Texas refinery after the sulfur plant lost power on Thursday, according to a company filing with state environmental...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:15 pm US STOCKS-Wall St loses ground as Citi plummetsNEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks pared gains on Friday, and the Dow Jones industrial average briefly turned negative, as shares of Citigroup slid further and investors fretted about the worsening...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:15 pm America runs on Dunkin’… will China?
Visit any Dunkin’ Donuts store nowadays and you’ll see signs that say something about how, in a blind taste test, people preferred the company’s coffee to Starbucks’. Yes, fine, the coffee is good, but have you tried the donuts? My God, are they delicious. I know it’s not “cool” to gorge on fried dough anymore, but try a plain stick, a glazed stick, and a chocolate glazed stick the next time you’re near a store. After a failed first try stemming all the way back to 1994, Dunkin’ Donuts is attempting to re-enter the Chinese market, according to the Boston Globe. Its first foray failed in large part to poor business partnerships and a menu that didn’t cater to Chinese tastes. Given the 1.3 billion potential customers in China, though, Dunkin’ has revamped its strategy, altered its menu, and found an experienced local partner. The first order of business was to “lower the sugar level in its traditional pastries like chocolate doughnuts to appeal to the Chinese, who prefer their desserts less sweet than Americans do.” It then worked up some menu items based on local tastes, “like mochi rings, chewy treats made of glutinous rice that are fried in oil, and marinated lamb sandwiches.” Dunkin’ and Chinese partner Mercuries & Associates did copious consumer testing to make sure everything appealed to local tastes. The company is also finding it a bit easier to push coffee in China now that Starbucks has been there since 1999. Having to compete with Starbucks might be Dunkin’ Donuts’ biggest hurdle, though, as the Seattle-based coffee chain already has over 300 stores up and running. Be that as it may, Dunkin’ is planning to open 100 stores in Shanghai alone over the next decade, along with 50 stores in the Guangdong region. [Thanks for the tip, Josh!] Source: Gizmodo | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:00 pm Dancing Marines - Military Men Do the 'Cha Cha Slide' (VIDEO)(TrendHunter.com) A video of US Marines doing an aerobic dance workout has become a viral hit on the internet. It was first posted on MySpace as Cha Cha Slide USMC Style where it has since spread to...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:59 pm Jack Spade Reversible Superhero Coal BagSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:56 pm Navigon surveys drivers; no morning nookie for better drive time
You know what this survey proves? 25% of those that stuck in morning traffic are not married.
NAVIGON survey exposes the growing frustration from traffic and how commuters would rather give up sex than sit in gridlock
CHICAGO, November 20, 2008 – In an effort to better understand drivers’ frustrations on the road, NAVIGON, one of the world’s leading and fastest growing providers of navigation products and solutions, today announced the results of an independent survey conducted by Kelton Research of 1,021 American drivers ages 18 and over. The study provides a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of driving-related anxieties and behaviors, from getting lost to the morning commute.
The Commuter Blues A staggering 94 percent of American drivers get stressed when driving on the highway, with the most common sources of frustration cited as traffic or congestion (70 percent) and roadwork (65 percent). And even with the turmoil in the commercial airline industry, 67 percent of drivers are more frustrated with delays on the road than delays in air travel. The survey found that 86 percent of drivers find themselves in traffic congestion during their morning commute and that it adds an average of 18 minutes to the drive each morning. Over the course of one year 18 minutes a day adds up to 78 hours, or more than three full days spent in traffic.
I Give Up! A clear sign that commuters are at the end of their rope, 67 percent of those who sit in traffic during their morning commute would be willing to give up some part of their cherished morning routine—TV, family time, or even taking a shower—in exchange for a traffic-free commute. Of this group, 40 percent would forgo breakfast, 34 percent would go without a cup of coffee and nearly a quarter would even be willing to give up morning sex! “Traffic is no longer limited to major cities like New York and Los Angeles, drivers across the country are doing whatever they can to avoid it like the plague,” said Sam Schwartz, aka “Gridlock Sam,” one of the leading transportation engineers in the U.S. “The most important thing for drivers is to be prepared for traffic. Whether that means leaving early to avoid the rush or using alternate routes that are less traveled, drivers should plan ahead to avoid headaches caused by gridlock.”
Can I Get a Loan? The data also shows that drivers are willing to spend significant sums of money to completely avoid traffic. In fact, 50 percent of the drivers who’d pay money to avoid traffic would spend more than $1,000 each year, while 20 percent would pay upwards of $2,500 a year to avoid congestion! “Traffic wastes time, energy and money, something we understand not only from a research perspective, but from a personal one as well since we commute too,” said Gareth Schweitzer, president of Kelton Research. “This study reveals that drivers are getting stressed out with the traffic they regularly face on the nation’s roadways, something that has many of them willing to spend thousands of dollars throughout the year just to avoid it.”
Which Way Do I Go? A whopping 85 percent of American drivers admit they’ve gotten lost while driving, with poor directions and unclear or missing highway signs being named as the top two reasons drivers have lost their way. An overwhelming 91 percent of drivers admit they’ve missed an exit on the highway, oftentimes resulting in getting lost. Perhaps this is because 44 percent of American drivers—50 percent of women versus just 38 percent of men—find road signs or sudden lane changes on the highway confusing. As if missing the exit wasn’t enough, 62 percent of drivers who have missed an exit say they’ve wasted time and gas trying to find their way back on track. The tension caused by losing their way on the road isn’t helping drivers’ relationships either. American drivers across the country admit that directions—especially when they’re lost—are the number one thing they’ve fought about while driving with their significant other. “Let’s face it, the roadways can be frustrating,” said Michael Roach, NAVIGON’s president for the America’s. “From high-end to entry-level price points, we’ve made a commitment to helping drivers stay on track and get to their destination quickly and safely, while routing around traffic whenever possible. We’ve all been stuck on the road during rush hour, but NAVIGON features like Free Real-Time Traffic Updates for Life will help consumers steer clear of congestion that was once unavoidable.”
Methodological Notes The Survey was conducted by Kelton Research between August 20th and August 24th, 2008 using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of American drivers ages 18 and over.
Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results.
In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.
Source: CrunchGear | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:53 pm Green news harvest: Tracking Congress' signals (CNET)CNET - Here's a sampling of green-tech news, with quick commentary.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:52 pm Engineers face jail in economic espionage case (AP)AP - Two engineers from China who pleaded guilty to the rare charge of economic espionage against the U.S. are facing sentencing Friday, in a case that highlights national security threats surrounding sensitive technologies.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:49 pm Torvalds's Former Company Transmeta Acquired and Gonedesmondhaynes sends along a posting from the TechWatch blog detailing the sale of Transmeta (most recently discussed here). Linus moved ten time-zones west, from Finland to Santa Clara, CA, to join Transmeta in March 1997, before this community existed. Here is our discussion of the announcement of the Crusoe processor from 2000. Our earliest discussion of Transmeta was the 13th Slashdot story. "Transmeta, once a sparkling startup that set out to beat Intel and AMD in mobile computing, announced that it will be acquired by Novafora. The company's most famous employee, Linux inventor Linus Torvalds, kept the buzz and rumor mill about the company throughout its stealth phase alive and guaranteed a flashy technology announcement in early 2000. Almost nine years later Transmeta's journey is over." Update: 11/21 16:25 GMT by KD : It's not the 13th Slashdot story, only the 13th currently in the database. We lost the first 4 months at one point.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Gizmodo | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:30 pm NASA Narrows List of Next Mars Landing SitesPotential signs of life is the priority as NASA decides among four Mars landing sites.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:25 pm The male blogger’s ultimate desktop companion: USB rechargeable shaver
Source: Gizmodo | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:15 pm Boom Bench: A bench that booms
This odd bench promises one thing: to rock your ass off. It’s a Bluetooth-enabled bench with lots of speakers in it. You’re supposed to sit down, connect to the bench, and blast some LCD Soundsystem for all the oldsters in the park. This thing is essentially a concept right now so don’t expect it to show up outside a nearby library. If it did, you can expect to see me there rocking out to Journey while you’re trying to read. I’ll be the guy in acid-washed jeans. Source: CrunchGear | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:07 pm iPhone Cut-and-Paste Apparently Withheld Out of Spite [Digital Daily]
Notably absent from this latest firmware update, landscape SMS, MMS support and, of course, cut-and-paste–whose continued absence Apple (AAPL) apparently views as a feature. Source: All Things Digital | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:03 pm 10 Unconventional Winter Holiday MoviesEverybody knows the classic winter holiday movies, from older ones like It's a Wonderful Life to newer ones like A Christmas Story. Admit: it does get repetitive watching the same stories over and over again. Here, then, are ten holiday movies (in no particular order) that aren't on most people's list to watch with the family (some of them for very good reasons).
Source: Gizmodo | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:00 pm Obama's Mobile Phone Records Compromised, SharedTiger4 writes "Verizon has confirmed that some of its employees have accessed and perhaps shared calling records of President Elect Barack Obama (coverage at CNN, Reuters, AP). Verizon says the people involved have all been put on leave with pay as the investigation proceeds. Some of the employees may have accessed the information for legitimate purposes, but others may have been curiosity seekers and may have even shared the information around. The account was 'only' a phone, not a BlackBerry or similar device, and Verizon believes it was just calling records, not voicemail or email that was compromised. The articles do not mention the similarity to the warrantless wiretapping or hospital records compromises of recent months. But that immediately sprang to mind for me."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:59 pm Breaking: Yahoo Finally Sells Off Kelkoo
The company has been sold to a UK-based private equity firm called Jamplant Ltd (update: here is a profile of the fund) for something less than €100 million, according to sources with knowledge of the deal. Ex-Kelkoo CEO Pierre Chappaz announced the news on his blog (in french), and a copy of the internal email announcing the acquisition is below. The company has lost much of its momentum since the Yahoo acquisition in the face of significant competition. The email is below.
Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily. Source: TechCrunch | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:53 pm Evernote Passes 500,000 Registered Users, Most of Them On The iPhone
Some apps wander around the wilderness for a while until they can find the perfect home. For Evernote, that home is the iPhone. The note-taking, picture-capturing, voice-recording, handwriting-recognizing universal memory service has been under development for years and launched last February in private beta on the PC. But it wasn’t until May 29 that it debuted on the iTunes store as an iPhone app. That’s when it started to take off. Now Evernote has 512,000 registered users, who have created 13.8 million notes. In addition to the iPhone app, Evernote offers its service thorugh a PC client, a Mac client, a Website, and other mobile devices. The iPhone app is the most popular, being used 57% of the time. It is followed by the Web (51%), the PC client (32%), the Mac (28%), and other mobile clients bring up the rear (8%). These numbers add up to more than 100 because nearly half of all users access the service via more than one app. The PC and Mac clients are the most fully-featured, yet it is the iPhone app that gave Evernote its critical mass. Perhaps that’s because the iPhone app lets you take pictures using the camera, append a note and save it to your Evernote page, where it is archived and searchable. It is more difficult to capture memories with a laptop. Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0 Source: Gizmodo | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:45 pm Woman Who Posed as Boy Testifies in Case That Ended in Suicide of ... - New York Times
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:37 pm BringIt Lets Gamers Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is
Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily. Source: TechCrunch | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:32 pm 360 Cities Brings Stunning Spherical Panoramas To Google Earth
A collection of the panoramas just became visible automatically to every user of the free 3D earth visualization software, and the rest of the 360cities database, which is nearly 10,000 spherical images strong, has been added to the Gallery in Google Earth as well. Some of these are breathtakingly beautiful: check out this shot of the Berlin holocaust memorial, or the inside of this Iranian mosque, or this market place in Gambia, or the Cuban corner bar I embedded below. I love seeing people outside of Google doing their best to enhance the Google Earth experience, although it must be said that the company is doing its part too. Recently, they made it possible to visit Ancient Rome in 3D. Note: this only works with the latest version of Google Earth (4.2), which features the new PhotoOverlay format. You can download the KMZ file here.
Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware. Source: TechCrunch | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:30 pm Need Any More Proof Why Microsoft Wants Back Up the Money Truck to Verizon Wireless? [BoomTown]
Here is an amazing chart from a story in The Wall Street Journal recently about mobile phone search preferences, which says a whole lot about why Microsoft (MSFT) is so eager to hand a pile of money over to Verizon Wireless (VZ) to become the default search on its many devices. Well, as in the PC market and on social-networking sites, because of–wait for it–Google (GOOG), of course. According to another Journal story recently: “Under the terms now being considered, Microsoft would share revenue with Verizon from ads shown in response to cellphone Web searches, with guaranteed payments to the carrier of approximately $550 million to $650 million over five years, or roughly twice what Google offered, these people said.” Why so much of a premium, especially since the widgetization of smartphones makes it easier for all players to compete? The chart tells the tale:
Please see this disclosure related to me and Google. Source: All Things Digital | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:30 pm Quantum Computers Better For Modeling Chemical ReactionsFuturistic devices would likely outperform conventional computers in chemical simulationsQuantum computers would likely outperform conventional computers in simulating chemical reactions involving more than four atoms, according to scientists at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Haverford College.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:30 pm Baboon Society Not A DemocracyIn decisions about where to eat, baboons don't all have an equal say, according to a report in the November 20th issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:22 pm Deep Sea Discovery Provides New Perspective On Animal EvolutionImage Caption: The giant deep sea protist, Gromia sphaerica, approaches three large cup corals growing on a half-buried sea urchin. Credit: Dr. Mikhail Matz, the University of Texas at AustinSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:15 pm AP Suspends DoD Over Altered US Army Photodjupedal notes a story up at the BBC about the Associated Press's suspension of the use of Department of Defense photos after a photo of General Ann Dunwoody was found to have been altered (before and after comparison). "The Pentagon has become embroiled in a row after the US Army released a photo of a general to the media which was found to have been digitally altered. Ann Dunwoody was shown in front of the US flag but it later emerged that this background had been added. The Associated Press news agency subsequently suspended the use of US Department of Defense photos. 'For us, there's a zero-tolerance policy of adding or subtracting actual content from an image,' said Santiago Lyon, AP's director of photography."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:14 pm Why The Times Cut Its Dividend: Revenues Shrank Again in October [MediaMemo]
The move is one of several the paper is going to make if it’s going to service its $1.1 billion debt load. It is also “re-evaluating assets” (i.e., looking for spare parts to sell), and while it has told its editorial staff that it will try not to fire anyone, it couldn’t make an ironclad promise. That’s because the paper’s financial results continue to decline, and there doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel. Even the promise of the Internet, where the paper has been devoting substantial resources and effort, is dimming. The newest numbers, released yesterday: Revenue at the company decreased 9.4 percent in October, which is an acceleration from September, when revenue dropped eight percent. Ad revenue dropped 16.2 percent, compared to a 13 percent drop in the previous month. And while the paper’s digital side is still growing, it’s growing much more slowly: Internet ad revenue grew just 5.3 percent, down from 16.4 percent in September; total Internet revenue, including the company’s About.com unit, was up 4.3 percent, down from 11.7 percent. Is there any good news? Just a sliver: The Times’s readers still value the paper. Circulation remains steady, but circulation revenue continues to creep up. It bumped up 3.9 percent last month, up from three percent growth in September. But it doesn’t matter how loyal the Times’s readership is if the company can’t pay its bills. Expect more turmoil ahead. [Image Credit: Joe Shlabotnik] Source: All Things Digital | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:54 pm UN Releases Climate Proposal Ahead Of ScheduleOn Thursday, the United Nations released a report to help leaders during an upcoming climate summit move closer to a new agreement on global warming.The report included proposals from countries and other organizations as to what a new treaty should feature.The European Union proposed limiting the average global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius by trading technology and emissions.U.N.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:30 pm Canadian Solar: Q3 EPS Light; Sees Q4 Revenue Collapse [Voices]By Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron’s, Tech Trader Daily Canadian Solar (CSIQ) this morning forecast a dramatic drop in revenues for the fourth quarter as the solar sector continues to struggle with falling demand. For Q3, the company posted revenue of $252.4 million, above the Street at $248 million. But profits of 41 cents a share were 13 cents short of the Street consensus of 54 cents. The shocker is the guidance: For Q4, the company now sees revenue of $70 to $85 million, just a fraction of the Street consensus of $270.1 million. For the full year, the company now sees revenue of $650 million to $750 million, well below the Street at $901.9 million. In a statement, the company said that “given the uncertainty of project and customers’ financing coupled with softening solar market demand in Europe and USA at the year-end, the company has shifted its short-term operational emphasis to preserving cash and minimizing risk from the credit environment.” Source: All Things Digital | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:20 pm Dell Reports Better-Than-Expected ProfitOn Thursday, the world’s second largest personal computer maker, Dell Inc, posted better-than-expected quarterly profit. Dell shares rose 6 percent with the announcement.The company had been facing low expectations for its October quarter, and warned in September that it was seeing a “softening” of its global demand.On Thursday, the company said it expected global demand to continue to be challenging, and reported that global shipments had dipped below 14 percent during the third quarter.The unexpected announcement rallied Wall Street, but the after-hours share rise only made up for the drop during regular trading.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:20 pm Stealing the iPhone’s Thunder [Voices]By Nitrozac and Snaggy
Source: All Things Digital | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:15 pm Verizon Apologizes to Obama: Sorry We Snooped on Your Account [MediaMemo]
Verizon (VZ) said Thursday night that “a number of Verizon Wireless employees have, without authorization, accessed and viewed President-Elect Barack Obama’s personal cell phone account.” Verizon says the phone is a “simple flip-phone,” and not a Berry, and that it has been inactive for several months. But the startling public admission should be enough to convince Obama, if he needed any more prompting, that he’s going to have to give up his prized gadget. It may also prompt Verizon to rethink its long-running ad campaign where its customers are followed around by hordes of the mobile company’s employees. Source: All Things Digital | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:02 pm Silverlight On the Way To LinuxAfforess writes "For the past two years Microsoft and Novell have been working on the 'Moonlight' project. It is a runtime library for websites that run Silverlight. It should allow PCs running Linux to view sites that use Siverlight. Betanews reports 'In the next stage of what has turned out to be a more successful project than even its creators envisioned, the public beta of Moonlight — a runtime library for Linux supporting sites that expect Silverlight — is expected within days.' Moonlight 2.0 is already in the works."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 21 Nov 2008 | 11:39 am iPhone 2.2 Update Up Close
I took some shots of 2.2 in action. The walking directions would have been great for the past two weeks - I've had so much trouble using car-based GPS in walking/biking cities. Streetview is also great for cities like New York but it's very limited right now - there was no information for Paris, for example. The podcast download is also really nice to have. An impressively end-user-oriented update by Apple this time around.
  
Source: TechCrunch | 21 Nov 2008 | 10:59 am A Small Data Glitch At Facebook
We’ve received two reports tonight of users having their email notification settings on Facebook deleted. They were notified at login that there was a problem, and told to head over to the Notifications page to reset them. At least one user is angry about it. The other (Simon from Ozmota), who sent the screenshot above, was more contemplative. He suggests someone simply forgot to back up a table before implementing an enhancement. I checked my account, and it’s fine. Whatever happened, it’s a small embarrassment. The kind you see with young startups all the time. And Facebook, despite its massive growth, is still a young startup. Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors Source: TechCrunch | 21 Nov 2008 | 10:53 am We’re Doomed… [Digital Daily]
Forty-five percent of respondents to ChangeWave’s November survey of corporate IT spending expect their companies to spend less money or nothing at all on IT during the next 90 days.
And given the tech sector’s continued desanguination, who can blame them? If your stock’s trading at a 12- or 13-year low, you’re probably not thinking a lot about future IT purchases. “U.S. corporate IT spending is in the midst of a huge nose-dive, the likes of which hasn’t been seen before in a ChangeWave survey dating back to 2001,” said ChangeWave research director Paul Carton. “In short, the current ChangeWave survey findings virtually guarantee that we’ll be seeing the technology sector get hammered with pre-announcements before the January earnings season gets underway.” Wonderful. Something to look forward to. One last point worth noting here: According to ChangeWave, Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone is now the No. 2 smartphone in enterprise. And while RIM’s (RIMM) BlackBerry continues to be the focus of planned corporate smartphone purchases, the iPhone is gaining traction. Twenty-two percent of future enterprise smartphone buyers say they plan to iPhones; 78 percent say they plan to buy BlackBerrys.
Source: All Things Digital | 21 Nov 2008 | 10:34 am Jonathan Hoefler on the 441-year life of the pixel In a great post by Jonathan Hoefler titled "On the Death and 441-Year Life of the Pixel", Giovanni Ostaus' alphabetical bitmap embroidery from 1567 is juxtaposed against modern typographical design:
Renaissance ‘lace books’ have much to offer the modern digital designer, who also faces the challenge of portraying clear and replicable images in a constrained environment. Ostaus’s alphabet follows the cardinal rule of bitmaps, which is to always reckon the height of a capital letter on an odd number of pixels. (Try drawing a capital E on both a 5×5 grid and a 6×6, and you'll see.) Ostaus ignored the second rule, however, which is “leave space for descenders.” On the Death and 441-Year Life of the Pixel [Typography via Daring Fireball] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 21 Nov 2008 | 10:34 am Inside Nokia's S&M dungeon
Gizmodo has a great photo gallery up of the Nokia Damage Test Labs, where they bake, burn, spray, drop, bend, crack, freeze, acid dip, explode and otherwise maim mobile phone prototypes, all aimed to scientifically gauge the precise conditions under which they can deny you a warranty repair. A Look At The Nokia Damage Test Labs [Gizmodo] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 21 Nov 2008 | 10:23 am Google, It Wasn’t Broke
Google’s overall search share has grown substantially this year (and all other years since it went live). Their share of search advertising dollars is likely even higher. The changes Google made to search today certainly make it more interactive and social. I can now write comments on search results, and read comments from everyone about TechCrunch (or anything else - see the awesomely useful TechCrunch comments in the image below, along with my votes on each) and vote them up or down. I can move search results around on the page - up, down, or off the page entirely. I can also add other URLs into search results. In fact. Google paid Wikia Search the highest compliment possible today. They copied most of their features. So, why did they do it? In their blog post, Google says they’ve created a way to customize search results, and share (via the comments). They say they are striving to improve the search experience, and giving people tools to make search even more useful to them in their daily lives. But Google search wasn’t broken. It’s one of the few things on the Internet that isn’t. I love it, as does 62% of everyone on the Internet. This new stuff is a mess of arrows and troll comments and stuff moving around the page. That doesn’t make my search experience more useful. It makes it move to another search engine. My guess is they’ve made the changes to see what kind of data they get, and how it can be used to make their overall search results better. So when Google says “The changes you make only affect your own searches,” I think they’re only being half-truthful. All this data, in aggregate, will certainly be used to improve Google search results in general. The worst part of the new stuff is you can’t turn it off. Once you click “Yes, continue” you’re in. And as far as I can tell, you can’t get back to the good old Google that worked just fine. Google, I’m begging. Please pull a Lively and get rid of this thing fast.
Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware. Source: TechCrunch | 21 Nov 2008 | 10:18 am Vintage vinyl CD packaging kit
Although the RIAA would doubtlessly disagree, I still find mix CDs to be a rather charming and thoughtful gift: since my parents have retired, I have tended to ask my father to make me CDs of tracks pulled from his extensive jazz collection over his natural inclination to buy me box sets. One problem with burnt CDs as gifts though is the presentation: it's hard to make them truly look good, which is why this $17 Vintage Vinyl CD Packaging Kit appeals: sure, it's just an attractive sleeve, but that makes all the difference. I really like the colors: they remind me of the Acme Novelty Library. Vintage Vinyl CD Packaging Kit [Fred Flare via Geek Sugar] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 21 Nov 2008 | 9:55 am New Beta Version Of m.yahoo.com In The Works - We’ve Got Screenshots
Where as the public beta can be found at beta.m.yahoo.com, our tipster dug up the new version by instead navigating to beta2.m.yahoo.com. Unfortunately, it seems we weren’t supposed to see this just yet; within a half-hour of us reaching out to Yahoo! for comment, the page had become password protected - but not before we snagged a couple screenshots.
The screenshots you’ll see below are what you’d see on an iPhone - on most other handsets, the new beta will look more like the current standard mobile front page: white backgrounds, light image use, etc. The visual changes of the iPhone version from the first beta to beta 2 are somewhat minimal - at least, they’re much less extreme than the jump made between the current m.yahoo.com and the first beta. They’ve decreased the gloss on the gradients, but have rounded out the corners. They’ve also added in a spot for advertisements above the fold, which I don’t remember being there before. More notable than visual tweaks, however, is the addition of Yahoo’s oneConnect and onePlace. oneConnect brings in the notifications and updates from your e-mail accounts (Gmail, Windows Live, Yahoo) and social networks (Facebook, Flickr, Myspace, Twitter, Dopplr, and a bunch of others), and allows you to update your status at all appropriate sites in one quick swoop. onePlace is a similar all-in-one concept but for general information, squeezing together news, weather, stocks, bookmarks, RSS feeds, and more. Both oneConnect and onePlace were announced as downloadable applications in the first quarter of 2008, though it seems that an iPhone version of oneConnect is the only thing to have made it out thus far. This is the first time we’ve seen a browser based version of either. Oh - and if you’re curious as to what Yahoo had to say on the matter after they locked it up tight: they’re “constantly working on innovations” but they have “nothing to announce anytime soon.”
(I’ve removed a bunch of the status updates from image 2 to keep it from making this page absurdly long. Click the image for the fullsize version.) [Thanks Matt!] Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors Source: TechCrunch | 21 Nov 2008 | 9:54 am Yieldex Takes Top Prize In Amazon Web Services Startup Challenge
Yieldex, not to be confused with similar service YieldBuild, has a solution for managing ad inventory, enabling Web publishers to allocate advertising campaigns more efficiently by forecasting overlapping inventory and predicting how ads are going to deliver. All in all, it seems like a nice solution to hmm … yield more revenue out of premium ad inventory, but I’m left wondering if ensuring optimal ad campaigns isn’t something that’s baked into most ad serving solutions already, or at least should be? I mean, it’s one of the core reasons for using an ad serving system in the first place, right? Amazon.com annually rewards the most innovative US startup built on its cloud-computing infrastructure, and they get hundreds of applications every year, so there must be something about Yieldex that made them the winner. So, congratulations to Yieldex and its founders, which consists of industry veterans from Matchlogic and NetGravity (check out CEO Tom Shields’ blog post on winning the award). The prize comes in addition to a previous, undisclosed seed funding round from Sequel Venture Partners, First Round Capital and Woodside Fund. Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily. Source: TechCrunch | 21 Nov 2008 | 9:53 am Orb for iPhone Launched: Stream TV, Video, Music from Your PC
Orb, a $9.99 iPhone application that should be familiar to home networking buffs, is available now and will stream music from your home computer, photos, and live television from a TV tuner card - all over the Internet. It can even stream input from a webcam to your phone.
Source: TechCrunch | 21 Nov 2008 | 9:52 am Meet the Spreadheads... their nosebleeds are your condiments
Crunchgear's John Biggs just received this bizarre PR dispatch for "Spread Heads." Even I think the visual metaphor here is absolutely disgusting: squeeze a horrible otherkin until thick, gelatinous ropes of gore spray from its nasal passages. Spreadheads plus “Today’s lesson in PR pitching” [Crunchgear] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 21 Nov 2008 | 9:38 am iPhone OS 2.2 update out now
Rather unexpectedly, Apple has rolled out firmware 2.2 in the middle of the night, which brings Google Street View, over-the-air podcast downloads, mass transit directions and location sharing by e-mail to iPhones and iPod Touches. Needless to say, if you're jailbroken, you'll want to wait. The Pwnage team don't anticipate any problems, but they stress that a safe jailbreaking path is not imminent. Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 21 Nov 2008 | 9:13 am New beta version of m.yahoo.com in the works - we’ve got screenshots
Where as the public beta can be found at beta.m.yahoo.com, our tipster dug up the new version by instead navigating to beta2.m.yahoo.com. Unfortunately, it seems we weren’t supposed to see this just yet; within a half-hour of us reaching out to Yahoo! for comment, the page had become password protected - but not before we snagged a couple screenshots.
The screenshots you’ll see below are what you’d see on an iPhone - on most other handsets, the new beta will look more like the current standard mobile front page: white backgrounds, light image use, etc. The visual changes of the iPhone version from the first beta to beta 2 are somewhat minimal - at least, they’re much less extreme than the jump made between the current m.yahoo.com and the first beta. They’ve decreased the gloss on the gradients, but have rounded out the corners. They’ve also added in a spot for advertisements above the fold, which I don’t remember being there before. More notable than visual tweaks, however, is the addition of Yahoo’s oneConnect and onePlace. oneConnect brings in the notifications and updates from your e-mail accounts (Gmail, Windows Live, Yahoo) and social networks (Facebook, Flickr, Myspace, Twitter, Dopplr, and a bunch of others), and allows you to update your status at all appropriate sites in one quick swoop. onePlace is a similar all-in-one concept but for general information, squeezing together news, weather, stocks, bookmarks, RSS feeds, and more. Both oneConnect and onePlace were announced as downloadable applications in the first quarter of 2008, though it seems that an iPhone version of oneConnect is the only thing to have made it out thus far. This is the first time we’ve seen a browser based version of either. Oh - and if you’re curious as to what Yahoo had to say on the matter after they locked it up tight: they’re “constantly working on innovations” but they have “nothing to announce anytime soon.”
  (I’ve removed a bunch of the status updates from image 2 to keep it from making this page absurdly long. Click the image for the fullsize version.) [Thanks Matt!] Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0 Source: MobileCrunch | 21 Nov 2008 | 9:10 am Hacks Allowing Disabled Gamers To Play Guitar Heroangrymilkman writes "Here are two interesting new approaches where researchers modified the popular Guitar Hero game so it can be played by gamers with disabilities. Air Guitar Hero modifies the Guitar Hero controller so someone without limbs can play it by using electrodes attached to the user's residual arm. Blind Hero is a mod for Frets on Fire that uses a haptic glove that can turn visual feedback into haptic feedback, allowing blind gamers to play Guitar Hero songs." There have been a variety of Guitar Hero hacks in the past, including a custom drum pad for playing the guitar part, using the plastic guitar as a real instrument, and rocking out with your bike, but it's nice to see some more serious modifications showing up.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 21 Nov 2008 | 9:01 am Giant chunky handmade knitwear from a funny makerEtsy seller Yokoo not only makes some pretty rad gigantic chunky knitwear, but she also gives good funny in her little "featured seller" interview:Yokoo (Thanks, Robert!) Source: Boing Boing | 21 Nov 2008 | 8:50 am YouTube testing HD video and improved audioSection: Web, Websites, Online Music/Video, Google
Possibly the biggest improvement to those who care most about the poor video quality is the availability of HD video. To be more precise, 720p HD video. It might not look much different than the high quality in the standard YouTube video screen, but put it in fullscreen and there is a definite improvement. It looks just about as good as the 720p trailers from Apple. This isn’t available for all videos, but you can add “&fmt=22” to the end of any video URL to see if it has HD video. Elephant’s Dream, The Helium Project and Where Is Matt all have HD video, though unfortunately, the official Monty Python channel’s black knight scene does not. The second improvement is one to please audiophiles: Surround Stereo! A lot of the sound on YouTube is painful to audiophiles and this should help a bit for at least the few videos that have the high quality stereo. This should help a bit for all those people who use YouTube to preview songs of artists they might want to buy (possibly from the handy links below the video). Chances are it won’t make a bit of different to most users, but to those who will care, it is a huge step forward. YouTube is finally becoming the video hub for everyone, and not just those who can deal with bad video and audio quality. Read [Wired] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 21 Nov 2008 | 8:05 am iPhone 2.2 firmware released, iPod Touch version missing some features The calendar now reads November 21st and, just as expected, iPhone firmware 2.2 has been released to the masses. Seeing as a pretty good number of developers have had their hands on test versions of 2.2 for sometime now, and as NDAs generally turn to pudding after a few hundred people are in on the secret, we’ve had a pretty good idea of what this release would bring to the table for a while. For the sake of those who may have missed a day or two, though, we’ll recap: Safari’s address bar/search has been tweaked a bit, apps now request a rating upon deletion, over-the-air podcast downloads (which, oddly, works over 3G, though podcasts downloaded over radio can’t be over a certain size, determined by the carrier), various video and audio quality tweaks, and assorted bug fixes throughout. Oh, and Google Maps has been upgraded to include Street View and directions for public transit and walking - if you have an iPhone rather than an iPod Touch, that is. According to early reports, 2.2 for the iPod Touch brings everything but the Google Maps upgrade. No one’s quite sure why Touch users are missing out; perhaps Apple came to the conclusion that they would have legally had to charge for the upgrade, as they did when they added the Mail/Maps/Stocks/Notes/Weather applications? Seems a bit absurd, seeing as this is simply an upgrade - but we’ll wait until some sort of official reason before passing judgement. [Thanks David!] Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies Source: MobileCrunch | 21 Nov 2008 | 7:59 am Get your game on with the Logitech MX518 Gaming Mouse on sale for $29.99Section: Computers, Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Gaming, Accessories, Miscellaneous, Peripherals, Mice / Keyboards
The MX518 utilizes the award-winning MX Optical Engine. This Engine gives you a major dpi-resolution at 1600. Because of this resolution, you get pixel-by-pixel accuracy in your positioning, which obviously does wonders for your game. The mouse has eight buttons (no scrimping here!), and gives up to 15g of acceleration and spot-on aiming with very little mouse movement. You also get the SetPoint software with your mouse. This software is exclusive to Gaming-Grade mice. It is totally innovative, and lets you pick between 5 “custom level sensitivity settings”; this ensures that you get just the perfect feel and movement for you. The MX518 gives you in-game switching to three different sensitivity levels. You can choose from 1,600, 800 and 400 dpi resolution, which will help ensure exact targeting and quick evasion. It’s been specially designed for major gaming sessions, featuring a contour grip design, and a sculpted thumb support. You can play this baby for hours. The Logitech MX518 got great customer reviews everywhere I checked. Everyone seemed to totally love the “on the fly sensitivity adjustment.“ Most say they went back and bought another for other systems they owned; they loved it that much. So, if you know a gaming freak, or just happen to be one yourself. . .at the sale price of 29.99 with free shipping to boot, the MX518 is probably worth setting your sights on. via [newegg] Full Story » | Written by Jodie Andrefski for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 21 Nov 2008 | 7:47 am Kingston announces 64GB DataTraveler USB flash driveSection: Peripherals, Storage
Portable storage seems to be increasing rather quickly, and the latest to see a nice increase is the DataTraveler 150 USB flash drive from Kingston. The DataTraveler 150 is now available in storage capacities up to 64GB. Personally, I am far from needing anything this large, but would imagine that there are plenty of people that will be happy to see this size available. The one downfall here is the price, the MSRP is listed at $177. Of course, you could always opt for the smaller 32GB, which is priced at a little more affordable $116. Aside from the pricing, the DT150 has the usual features and support found with USB flash drives. It is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems and measures in at 3.06 x 0.9 x 0.47-inches in size. Read [Kingston] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 21 Nov 2008 | 7:13 am iPhone 2.2 Launches, Adds Podcast Downloader and Street View
Apple late Thursday night released a major software update for its iPhone operating system, introducing features such as remote podcast downloading and Google Street View.
Apple also made major changes to the Google Maps app, which is now capable of displaying Google Street View, a mode that provides a 360-degree view of thousands of locations taken with cameras mounted on Google's cars. Also new to the Maps app are the abilities to look up walking and public transit directions, view addresses of dropped pins and share location via e-mail. In addition to new functions, iPhone 2.2 decreases dropped calls and set-up failures, according to Apple. Other fixes include better sound quality for voicemail, improved Safari performance and enhancements to the Mail application. Thursday's release validates a few rumors and leaked screenshots floating around about the update a few weeks ago. And no, there isn't yet copy and paste.
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 21 Nov 2008 | 7:00 am iPhone 2.2: Podcast Downloader and Street ViewApple late Thursday night released a major software update for its iPhone operating system, introducing features such as remote podcast downloading and Google Street View. Remote podcast downloading enables users to download audio and video podcasts onto their iPhones with the iTunes app over a wireless connection.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Nov 2008 | 7:00 am iPhone 2.2: Podcast Downloader and Street ViewApple late Thursday night released a major software update for its iPhone operating system, introducing features such as remote podcast downloading and Google Street View. Remote podcast downloading enables users to download audio and video podcasts onto their iPhones with the iTunes app over a wireless connection.Source: Wired: Gadgets | 21 Nov 2008 | 7:00 am Oblong's g-speak Brings "Minority Report" Interface To Lifetracheopterix writes "Oblong Industries, a startup based in LA has unveiled g-speak, an operational version of the notable interface from Minority Report. One of Oblong's founders served as science and technology adviser for the film; the interface was an extension of his doctoral work at the MIT Media Lab. Oblong calls g-speak a 'spatial operating environment' and adds that 'the SOE's combination of gestural i/o, recombinant networking, and real-world pixels brings the first major step in computer interface since 1984.'" The video shown on Oblong's front page is an impressive demo.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:50 am Dell 3Q profit falls as PC spending slows (AP)AP - Dell Inc.'s fiscal third-quarter profit sank 5 percent as concerns about the deepening economic crisis crimped corporate spending on computers and other technology products.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:49 am Icefields Parkway in Banff National ParkToday, we travelled up the Icefields Parkway from Lake Louise. We didn't make it all the way to the Columbia Icefields but we saw lots of incredibly beautiful mountains and glaciers. I took this picture near Glacier Lake.
The next photo, I believe, has a view of the Crowfoot Glacier.
I've been reading How Old is that Mountain? by Chris Yorath. In answering the question in the book's title, Yorath uses a metaphor that will stay with me longer than most of the geological terms. He said it's like a new house built with hundred-year old timber. The rock was formed first long before the forces that "deformed" the rock and created the mountain. The sedimentary rock in the Banff National Park was formed about 610 million years ago but the mountains were created 90 to 60 million years. In addition, glaciation and erosion continue to change the mountains as well as carve the valleys between them. I was disappointed not to get further north. (Ok, I'll admit that I didn't top off the gas tank before leaving Lake Louise and there were no services along the way, so I had to turn back fearing we might not have enough gas for the round trip.) I wanted to get to the Columbia Icefields and ideally all the way to Jasper. The sight I wanted to see was Mount Athabasca, which is described as the hydrographic apex of North America. That is, water from this mountain drains in three possible directions -- west to the Pacific, east to the Atlantic and north to Hudson. Yorath writes that it is the "one point on which a mountaineer can pollute all three oceans with a single act."
I will have to come back again. There's lots more to explore. I want to see the Canadian Rockies in other seasons but this glimpse of early winter is really wonderful.
Source: Boing Boing | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:18 am Nov. 21, 1968: Love Canal Calamity Surfaces1968: Karen Schroeder, a second-generation resident of the Love Canal neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, gives birth to an infant girl with multiple birth defects. The enormity of the neighborhood's affliction will take a few more years to come to light. Love Canal was a never-used, late 19th-century hydroelectric channel that was sold to the Hooker Chemical company in 1942. Between then and 1953, Hooker used the site to bury 22,000 tons of chemical wastes in barrels. Hooker sold the site to the Niagara Falls School Board for $1, and the board built an elementary school there in 1955. A blue-collar suburban neighborhood flourished around the disused industrial site. Flourished is probably the wrong word. Schroeder's parents found black sludge seeping through the walls of their basement starting in the late 1950s. A woman who ran a beauty parlor in her basement developed a debilitating weakness and had to give up working. Trees and shrubs died. Noxious chemical smells hung over the neighborhood. Schoolchildren developed strange rashes and vague, unexplained allergies. Sometimes, they played with phosphorus-laden dirt that exploded with a crackle when lumps of it were thrown to the ground. Baby Sheri Schroeder was born with an irregular heart beat and a hole in the heart wall, nasal bone blockages, partial deafness, deformed ears and a cleft palate. As she grew, her family realized she was mentally retarded. Her teeth arrived in a double row on her lower jaw, and she suffered from an enlarged liver. Heavy rains in the mid-1970s caused groundwater levels to rise. Swimming pools lifted up out of the ground. The buried waste rose closer to the surface. The Niagara Gazette began reporting in October 1976 about chemicals seeping into basements in the Love Canal neighborhood, with stories of harm to humans, pets and plant life. Chemical analyses showed 15 organic chemicals, including three toxic chlorinated hydrocarbons. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state and county health departments began to take notice, testing the neighborhood's soil, water and air, as well as blood samples from residents. Still, it was August 1978 before the state health commissioner declared a state of emergency, closed the school and ordered an evacuation ... but only of pregnant women and children under age 2. Soon it was learned that Hooker had buried 200 tons of dioxin at Love Canal, that residents suffered a high rate of miscarriages, birth defects and chromosomal damage, and that 10 percent could develop cancer. U.S. Rep. Al Gore (D-Tennessee) charged in 1979 that the tragedy had been avoidable. He publicized a 1958 internal Hooker Chemical memo, describing three or four kids burned by materials at the Love Canal waste site. The first lawsuits were filed in 1979. Early amelioration work released noxious smells in the neighborhood, and the evacuation area was widened. More schools were shut down. Government programs bought condemned homes and tore them down. Hundreds of families evacuated, but 60 families remained behind. Cleanup costs have been estimated at $250 million. A federal judge eventually found Hooker Chemical negligent but not reckless, and parent company Occidental Petroleum settled with the EPA for $129 million. An EPA regional administrator called Love Canal "one of the most appalling environmental tragedies in American history." The core area around the dump is still off-limits, but new buildings have been built nearby. The neighborhood is now called Black Creek Village. Source: Various
Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am Pentax Optio W60: Rugged, Waterproof Aqua-Shooter Performs on Land, TooSubmariners and landlubbers will love this easy-to-handle, waterproof Pentax. The 10-megapixel cam is built for abuse, is good in the water down to 13 feet and has a wide-angle zoom lens.Source: Wired: Gadgets | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am Star Prosecution Witness Backs MySpace Hoax Defendant's AccountThe young woman who typed the final, cruel message to 13-year-old Megan Meier the day she killed herself took seemed to undermine a key government point while testifying for the prosecution: it was her idea, not defendant Lori Drew's, to create a fake MySpace account to befriend Megan, and it was she who opened the account and clicked through the MySpace terms of service at the core of the case.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am Pentax Optio W60: Rugged, Waterproof Aqua-Shooter Performs on Land, TooSubmariners and landlubbers will love this easy-to-handle, waterproof Pentax. The 10-megapixel cam is built for abuse, is good in the water down to 13 feet and has a wide-angle zoom lens.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Nov 2008 | 5:00 am Obama's Cellphone Records Breached by Verizon EmployeesBilling data for a cellphone account belonging to Barack Obama was "improperly breached" by Verizon employees, according to the president-elect's transition team. Obama's spokesperson says the phone was old and no longer in use. There is no indication that email records were accessed or voicemails or call contents monitored. Snip:Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the team was notified Wednesday by Verizon Wireless that it appears an employee improperly went through billing records for the phone, which Gibbs said Obama no longer uses.Obama's cell phone records breached (CNN) Source: Boing Boing | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:42 am Black Friday TV Deals Come Early For Retailers
Judging by the significant drop in price of TVs across the country, it appears the faltering economy is forcing retailers to start their Black Friday deals early. Sony, Samsung, LG and other manufacturers have started bringing down the price of their TVs in the last couple of weeks by as much as $600 per set.
Other manufacturers are cutting their 2008 LCD models by $200 to $300 at most, with further cuts expected on the actual Thanksgiving weekend. The LG 32LG30, the larger brother of the 26LG30 TV that we gave a score of 7 (out of 10) in the Fall TEST issue of the Magazine, is down to $550 at Best Buy, with 30%+ discount. That’s one excellent deal for a top TV. And here's a useful tip: If you have the money to spend on a TV in the next week, you can also use the thirty-day price protection that some manufacturers offer. If they do, you can buy a TV now and then keep a close look until the prices come tumbling down even more with the rest of the economy (when you'll start seeing sings like the ones at the right). Then, you can go back to the retailer with your receipt and get back the difference. Check out some of the deals available now and coming up in the next few days. Stats courtesy of HD Guru and This Week in Consumer Electronics. If you hear of any more deals, please send them to us and we'll keep updating this list through the holidays.
Photos: Bekathwia/Flickr, Hilmartj/Flickr
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 21 Nov 2008 | 3:27 am Massive Martian Glaciers FoundKozar_The_Malignant writes "Scientific American is reporting that 'data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter point to vast glaciers buried beneath thin layers of crustal debris.' Data from the surface-penetrating radar on MRO revealed that two well-known mid-latitude features are composed of solid water ice. One is about three times the size of the City of Los Angeles. This certainly makes the idea of establishing a station on Mars far more plausible."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:56 am Warcraft Identity of Obama's FCC Transition Team Co-Chair Revealed, Analyzed Earlier on Boing Boing, Cory blogged that President-elect Barack Obama has appointed Net Neutrality advocates and "virtual worlds nuts" Kevin Werbach and Susan Crawford to co-chair his FCC transition team. Okay, so we might know the guy as Kevin Werbach out here in meatspace, but to his Terror Nova Guild buddies, he's better known as Supernovan Jenkins (the first name presumably a reference to Werbach's Supernova tech conference series), and he's a Level 70 Tauren Shaman. Livejournaler Waltermonkey opines on the deeper meaning of Werbach's WoW identity: What does this tell us about him, as a person, as a gamer, as a government official? I will attempt to translate all the dorkese.Read the whole thing: victory or death! yes we can! (Waltermonkey; thanks Drew Coombs of Project Lore! Recompense of phat lewt, reagents, and pizza await thee.) Source: Boing Boing | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:46 am Phooey to Fuel Economy: 10 Cars That Just Don't Care : Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.comOh sure, we're all for alt-fuel green cars. Hybrids? Love 'em. EVs? We'll take two. Hydrogen? Show us where to get the stuff, and we're there. But there's something to be said for being pushed back into butter-soft, hand-stitched leather as you hurtle toward the horizon at absurd velocity. Here then are our picks for the 10 cars at the Los Angeles Auto Show that will do just that. Left: Gumpert Apollo  : Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.comIf you have to ask, you'll never understand.  : Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.comIt's not the flashiest car around. The doors don't flip upward. It isn't covered in carbon fiber. And most people won't have any idea what it is. But the DBS is just so quintessentially British that way. It's got a 6.0-liter V12, it'll hit 60 mph in 4.3 seconds, and it tops out at 191 mph. When you're that good, you can afford to be understated.  : Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.comIt's got more scoops than Baskin-Robbins and more bling than Flavor Flav, so you'd be forgiven for thinking it's something of a joke. But this Dutch rocket with a racing pedigree produces 400 horsepower, does 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds and has a top speed of 187 mph. So the joke's on you.  : Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.comLotus is one of the most-storied names in sports cars, and those who have driven them love them. If you haven't driven one, now's the time to start.  : Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.comEeenie, meenie, miney, mo … oh, just pick one. You can't go wrong.  : Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.comFrom the gleaming chrome hood ornament and 500-horsepower twin-turbo V8 to the diamond-quilted leather interior (choose from one of 25 different kinds) and jeweled fuel cap, everything about the Azure T is decadently, sensuously luxurious. And for $350,000, it damn well better be.  : Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.comYes, there are faster Porsches. Yes, there are more-expensive Porsches. And yes, there are Porsches that will run circles around the Boxster. But we just love this scene.  : Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.comThe R8 is stereotypically German — beautifully engineered, ruthlessly efficient and exceptionally quick. It isn't as good as you've heard; it's better. Everyone should have one.  : Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.comFor burning rubber, doing donuts and blowing the doors off anything short of a Gumpert Apollo, nothing beats the 638-horsepower Corvette ZR1. It's a muscle car on steroids and the best 'Vette ever. Dollar for dollar, pound for pound, nothing beats it.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Nov 2008 | 2:00 am WSJ: How Detroit drove into a ditchGreat article from the Wall Street Journal's Paul Ingrassia that summarizes how and why the US auto industry fell to pieces. My favorite part was this telling excerpt:In Detroit, amid worker alienation and the "blue-collar blues," Chevies, Fords and Plymouths rattled, rusted and rolled over -- and those were the good ones. The Ford Pinto's gas tank was prone to explode into flames when the car was hit from the rear, making the Pinto the poster product for corporate callousness. In 1978, after three Indiana girls burned to death when their Pinto got rear-ended, Ford became the first company to be indicted for reckless homicide. The company later was acquitted, but public opinion judged the Pinto guilty.How Detroit drove into a ditch Source: Boing Boing | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:53 am Teen Kills Self on Justin.tvPembroke Pines police in Florida are investigating the apparent suicide death of a 19-year-old teenager whose death was seen on a live Justin.tv feed
Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:29 am Fooling immune systems to fight diabetesDoctors have tricked mouse immune systems into thinking cells from a donor pancreas are theirs, bringing hope to diabetes patients, U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Nov 2008 | 1:06 am Fake Lunar Photos Sent Astronomers Over the MoonMocked-up photos of models of the moon's surface in the 19th century were widely acclaimed for their authenticity, and inspired astronomers to do better with the real thing.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:53 am Central Texas in extreme droughtA Texas A&M researcher said central Texas is suffering from extreme drought conditions that are expected to get worse during the next few months. Steve Quiring, a professor in the Department of Geography, said Austin is experiencing the sixth driest year ever recorded, with only 15 inches of rain this year -- half the normal year-to-date rainfall of 30 inches per year. (Hurricane) Ike didn't really make much of a dent in the drought, Quiring said Thursday in a release.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:48 am iPhone Developer May Be Bribing Reviewers
An iPhone developer appears to have paid people to give its application glowing reviews in an effort to boost sales. The developer of Santa Live, a jokey iPhone app for kids, appears to have posted a listing on Amazon's Mechanical Turk offering to pay $4 for the highest-rated reviews on Apple's iPhone App Store. "So for this hit, all you have to do is download the application (1.99) and then leave a 5 star review for the app in iTunes or the App Store," said the posting, which has now been taken down, but is preserved here by a screenshot taken by "Techtistic," a reader of The Unofficial Apple Weblog. It's no surprise to see developers taking aim at the App Store, which has been a gold mine for coders thanks to the enormous population of iPhone users downloading applications. In September, independent developer Steve Demeter announced earning $250,000 in just two months with his iPhone game Trism. Many other programmers are reporting similar success. Glowing reviews can make or break an app in the App Store -- a fact Apple recently acknowledged when it changed the rules regarding reviews. In the past, anyone could review an app without even downloading it. Apple saw that was unfairly hurting -- or favoring -- some developers, so the company revised the policy, requiring customers to download an app in order to rate it. In the screenshot, the Mechanical Turk listing offers $4, asking "workers" to download the $2 app and leave it a five-star review, earning $2 in profit. The listing asks participants to identify themselves in the App Store by sticking five periods (.....) somewhere in the review. Currently, out of the 22 reviews for the app, there are six including five dots. Casual Game Network developed the app, and its CEO Adam Majewski, whose name is listed as the "Requestor" in the screenshot, neither denied nor confirmed the marketing method. "I can't speak to the marketing efforts being done," Majewski told Wired.com. "There's numerous being done by people in my organization, and I don't know the day-to-day aspects ... so I can't speak to that specific approach [on Mechanical Turk]." We're definitely going to keep looking into cases like this. Have you seen any other similar methods online, Gadget Lab readers? If so, please send an e-mail to bchen [at] wired [dot] com. This just in: Santa Claus has his own iPhone app [TUAW]
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:36 am iPhone App Developer May Be Bribing ReviewersAn iPhone app developer appears to be using bribes to get better reviews in order to boost his sales.Source: Wired: Gadgets | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:36 am iPhone App Developer May Be Bribing ReviewersAn iPhone app developer appears to be using bribes to get better reviews in order to boost his sales.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:36 am FDA approves epilepsy drugThe U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:35 am Put Your Hands in the Fire (Or Not) With a Special Ops Glove
A protective glove system that is currently being used in Iraq by the military is now being made available to civilians. Expect plenty of gear heads, wannabe heroes, and disaster preparedness aficionados to add them to their must-get Christmas wish list. Outdoor Research’s latest Modular Gloves are highly useful flame resistants and have proven integral in the battlefield because of their temperature versatility -- they can handle extreme cold and super-hot flames just the same. Made out of a tough, abrasion-resistant exterior fabric called 'Wolverine' that is also lightweight, the gloves team up with a three-layer soft-shell fabric for improved comfort. The user is supposed to mix up the different glove layers as the need demands it.
According to OR, the $1100 Modular Glove System is currently used by all active SOF operators, including troops serving in the Middle East. With the dangerous increase of MID attacks (and their inevitable flying shrapnel), they've proven more than useful and have saved plenty of limbs from potential burns. So while we won't recommend that anyone should, in fact put his or her hands in a fire, it's good to know that if you absolutely had to (like an emergency), there's some gear out there that can handle that dangerous task.
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:23 am Google empowers users to edit search results (AP)AP - If Google delivers useless search results, just erase them and you won't see them again.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:15 am Fair play key to waiting in lineFair play -- or the idea of first come first served -- is at the heart of most successful queues, a U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:14 am "Der Untergang" clip used as real estate downfall video
Some joker used a clip of Der Untergang to portray Hitler as a real estate sucker. Source: Boing Boing | 21 Nov 2008 | 12:11 am Apple Developing Always-On Backlight for iPhone
The company this week published a 24-page patent detailing a dual-backlight system, so that in addition to the primary backlight, a second low-powered backlight would always be on displaying e-mail, text and call notifications. Positioned behind the primary backlight, the second always-on backlight would project through transparent layers. If the technique materializes, it would be Apple's solution for one of iPhone's weaknesses when pitted against the BlackBerry smartphone. When a BlackBerry receives an e-mail, a small light turns on to notify the user. Similar to the BlackBerry's light indicator, Apple's method eliminates the need to manually check the handset for messages, and it'd probably look cooler, too. Of course, we probably won't see Apple implement this feature until the company resolves its battery issues on the iPhone 3G. Plenty of people are still complaining that the handset's battery life is poor, especially when surfing the 3G network. Apple developing always-on iPhone status indicators [AppleInsider]
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 20 Nov 2008 | 11:36 pm Study: California fish face extinctionMost of California's native salmon, steelhead and trout species face extinction this century without quick action to provide proper habitats, a study found. Twenty of 31 species of prized fish are in sharp decline, including the Sacramento River winter run of Chinook salmon, coastal Coho salmon and the Sierra Nevada golden trout, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Our fish need cold, clean water to survive, but they're getting less and less of it, said University of California, Davis, conservation biology professor Peter Moyle, the state's leading salmon expert. Dams block access.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 20 Nov 2008 | 11:25 pm Artist Wants Nuke Waste Dump to Make New UniversesYucca Mountain can hold millions of pounds of nuclear waste, but if an artist gets his way, it would also be home to what he calls a quantum "universe generator."
Source: Wired Top Stories | 20 Nov 2008 | 11:03 pm Enter to Win the Wired Wish List Bag -- and Everything In ItWhat to give? What to get? See what would go in our perfect holiday gift bag. Then sign up to win it all.Source: Wired: Gadgets | 20 Nov 2008 | 11:00 pm Google's virtual world Lively to die next month (AP)AP - Lively, a virtual reality service from Google Inc., is dying.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 20 Nov 2008 | 9:00 pm Give the Ultimate Gift: A Posh Bag Packed With Best Mobile Gizmos : You will never catch us yawning at an airport gate. You won't find us desperately rereading the in-flight magazine, and we never ... ever ... cross the thresholds of hotel business centers. We are the quartermasters in the battle to stay connected, productive, and entertained — and we do not travel unprepared. As wired gadget editors, we make it our mission to see every new product. As avid gadget-fiends, we make damn sure that the best of them end up in our personal arsenals. This is our current must-have list, the gear we reach for whenever an eticket pops into our remotely accessible inbox. Left: Tod's Cartella computer bag $1,600 Enter for a chance to win the Wired Wish List Bag (yes, Tod's Cartella tote, pictured), filled with today's hottest technology and products on the cutting edge of design.  : $249  : $275  : $18  : $40 (base unit)  : $170 (60 GB)  : $399  : $500  : $7 (set of three)  : $465  : $500  : $100  : $10  : $199/year  : $100  : $450  : $34  : $55  : $30  : $9  : $40  : $1,900  : $850  : $200 (16 GB) Source: Wired: Gadgets | 20 Nov 2008 | 9:00 pm Space Station at 10: Much Teamwork, Less ScienceA look at what value the International Space Station has offered after 10 years.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 20 Nov 2008 | 8:58 pm Video: Microphone FellatioNothing's shocking — except phantom power. [via BuzzFeed] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 20 Nov 2008 | 8:19 pm U.S. Online Advertisement Is Up Despite EconomyU.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 20 Nov 2008 | 8:05 pm Vast Frozen Water Reserves Found on MarsUnderground reservoirs of frozen water on Mars suggest the planet could sustain life.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 20 Nov 2008 | 7:58 pm Nokia Teams With IBM Lotus Notes EmailTwo firms said on Thursday that starting next month Nokia smartphones will be able to access IBM Lotus Notes corporate email.Nokia said the new software will enable more than 80 million users of its smartphones to access IBM's Lotus email. In September, Nokia signed a similar deal with Microsoft, a leading corporate email provider."With this partnership we are able to mobilize close to 90 percent of corporate emails without any extra investments from corporations," Ilari Nurmi, VP at Nokia, told Reuters."A lot of companies have servers in place and a lot of Nokia devices on the premises.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 20 Nov 2008 | 7:40 pm Yahoo Search Expands To T-MobileYahoo Inc. will expand its mobile Web portals to T-Mobile, so its smart phone users who get data will have Yahoo search by default.Yahoo started working with T-Mobile in 10 European countries this year, sharing ad search revenue.There will be 105 million U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 20 Nov 2008 | 7:40 pm WoW Celebrates New Expansion PackWorld of Warcraft fans lined up outside stores around the world this month to get the game's second expansion pack "World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King."The massively-multiplayer online (MMO) game by Blizzard has about 11 million people worldwide registered as players, paying around $15 a month to explore the fantasy role-playing universe of Azeroth.Fans of the game have been eager for the second expansion pack, which gives players access to the forbidding continent of Northrend where the malevolent Lich King Arthas seeks to end life on Azeroth.The new pack is expected to sell about five million copies, cementing "World of Warcraft" as the dominant MMO game over about 150 rival games on sale or in development, according to Michael Pachter, videogame analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities.Pachter said “World of Warcraft” is probably 60 percent to 65 percent of the market in the U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 20 Nov 2008 | 7:25 pm Microsoft Changes Zune Pass SubscriptionOn Thursday, Microsoft announced a new music subscription plan for owners of its Zune players, which would allow them to keep 10 tracks per month.The Zune Pass subscription service currently gives consumers on-demand access to millions of tracks for $14.99 per month.Thursday, the softwareSource: RedOrbit News - Technology | 20 Nov 2008 | 6:36 pm Privacy Group Hopes Hopes To Shape PolicyA newly-formed group of privacy experts are seeking to influence policy decisions of President-elect Barack Obama. The Future of Privacy Forum sees the present time as the prime opportunity to shape policies and decisions on crucial privacy issues.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 20 Nov 2008 | 6:30 pm Microsoft's Morro Could Challenge Security Giants (NewsFactor)NewsFactor - McAfee and Symantec could be affected as Microsoft moves to provide free antivirus software. If the software, code-named Morro, successfully protects against viruses, analysts said, it could mean an exodus from well-known security brands.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 20 Nov 2008 | 6:22 pm MySpace Debuts McCartney, Guns N’ Roses AlbumsNew albums from Paul McCartney and Guns N' Roses debuted online on MySpace Thursday, as the trend of releasing new records early on social networking sites continues to show promise.MySpace users will be able to listen for free to "Electric Arguments," the new album by McCartney's side-project group The Fireman, and "Chinese Democracy," the long-delayed album by hard rock band Guns N' Roses, before the songs are in stores and at online shops like Amazon.com.Members can play the songs on the band’s MySpace pages, but they’re restricted from downloading them onto their computers.Geffen Records has an exclusive deal with Best Buy to release "Chinese Democracy" on November 23 in the United States.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 20 Nov 2008 | 6:21 pm Samsung Instinct MR-4 update now available
Things were a bit quiet around here yesterday due to an all day field-trip to Nokia in San Diego (more on that soon - likely tomorrow evening), but we’re back. First news of the morning comes via tip from Sean. Sometime yesterday, Samsung made an update (MR4, Version BJ20) available for the Instinct with at least one feature that many users have been anxiously awaiting: keyboard support in Java applications. Update: Some Java applications, it seems. While it works with Opera Mini, readers have mentioned that other applications are still keyboard-less
This is something users have been clamoring for since the Instinct’s launch back in june. Without it, many MIDP-compliant Java applications were pretty much useless on the device, including the much-loved Opera Mini. The update also includes “Standard Document support”, and fixes for 165 little bugs that had been reported. [Thanks Sean!] Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors Source: MobileCrunch | 20 Nov 2008 | 5:53 pm Copernicus' Tomb Found After 200-Year HuntDNA studies end a centuries-old hunt for the tomb of astronomer Nicolas Copernicus.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 20 Nov 2008 | 5:48 pm Making Methane Gas More TranportableChemists at the University of Liverpool have developed a way of converting methane gas into a powder form in order to make it more transportable.Scientists have developed a material made out of a mixture of silica and water which can soak up large quantities of methane molecules.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 20 Nov 2008 | 5:30 pm Single-Celled Giant Upends Early EvolutionThe tracks of a single-celled organism forces scientists to rethink early evolution.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 20 Nov 2008 | 5:28 pm Fujifilm FinePix A20fd: Sleek Shirt-Pocket Cam a Snap to UseSleek design, excellent image quality and handy interface make this little Fujifilm snapper stand out from the crowd of point-and-shoots.Source: Wired: Gadgets | 20 Nov 2008 | 5:00 pm King Herod May Have Been Buried Amid PaintingsArchaeologists find lavish paintings in what may be King Herod's mausoleum.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 20 Nov 2008 | 3:54 pm
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Just about all of us have probably been hit at one time or another by a virus, trojan, or ended up with that dreaded blue screen of death. It’s certainly not fun when it happens. These days, simply running Norton in the background often just isn’t enough. Thankfully, there are several really good programs out there to download (free!) that help us to protect our computer from any nasties trying to worm their way in.
Sony announced they’ve added some new partners for their connected Bravia TVs. These TVs, when hooked up to broadband, bring the net experience to your living room. Sony is doing this in an extremely controlled fashion.
Half a billion dollars. That’s what Barack Obama raised online in his 21-month campaign for the presidency. Astonishing, considering total donations for the president-elect’s campaign were around $660 million. 
Apple rolled out 
Yahoo has been 
Color me impressed with this one: Prague-based 
What an abundance of ugly statistics we’ve seen this past week. An 
When we 
YouTube has always been the scourge of those of us who like to watch really good looking video. Not just the quality of the content, but the actual video quality. It first started out with high quality videos that were a pretty big step up from the normal quality. Now, the site is taking the quality up in two ways. First with video and also with sound.
