3-D-Ready HDTV Uses Laser Light to Double Color Range, Save Energy

Dec. 24, 1968: Christmas Eve Greetings From Lunar Orbit

1968: The crew of Apollo 8 delivers a live, televised Christmas Eve broadcast after becoming the first humans to orbit another space body.

Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders made their now-celebrated broadcast after entering lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, which might help explain the heavy religious content of the message. After announcing the arrival of lunar sunrise, each astronaut read from the Book of Genesis.

How this went down at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Soviet Union is unknown, but it stands in stark contrast to the alleged message sent back to Earth several years earlier by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.

"I don't see any God up here," Gagarin reportedly said from his vantage point aboard Vostok I, although the accuracy of that statement has been challenged over the years. True or not, the reactions were poles apart and did nothing to diminish the God-fearing-West–vs.–godless-commies propaganda campaign very prevalent in the United States at the time.

The crew of Apollo 8 didn't claim to see God, either, but they were clearly impressed by His handiwork. "The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring, and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth," Lovell said during another broadcast. (There were six broadcasts from the crew in all.)

But admiring the vastness of space was not Apollo 8's primary mission. This was a pivotal step on the way to the ultimate goal of landing a man on the moon, which was achieved less than a year later. During a flight lasting six days and including 10 orbits of the moon, the Apollo 8 astronauts photographed the lunar surface in detail, both the near and far side, and tested equipment that would be used by Apollo 11's crew for the eventual approach and landing.

The Apollo 8 command module is on display at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.

Speaking of famous Christmas eve broadcasts, it's worth remembering that Reginald Fessenden made what is generally recognized as the first public voice-over-radio broadcast on Dec. 24, 1906. Fessenden, a Canadian inventor, was in the midst of promoting his alternator-transmitter to potential buyers of his patent rights, among them representatives of American Telephone & Telegraph.

Like the crew of Apollo 8, Fessenden's broadcast was of a pious nature. There was a reading from Luke Chapter 2, and Fessenden himself played "O Holy Night" on the violin.

Being broadcast over radio waves meant Fessenden's program was available to anyone with a receiver who was within range of his transmitter in Brant Rock Station, Massachusetts. In 1906, that audience was severely limited, consisting mostly of shipboard radio operators at sea off the New England coast.

Source: Various

3-D-Ready HDTV Uses Laser Light to Double Color Range, Save Energy

Steven Levy on His Gadget Wish List for 2009

Every January, more than 140,000 gadget-gropers pile into Las Vegas for a solid-state bacchanalia known as the International Consumer Electronics Show. All too often, I am one of them. And all too often, despite walking through so many booths that my pedometer hits quintuple digits, I leave unsatisfied. The gear that I court is nowhere to be found.

Maybe I haven't been explicit enough regarding my hopes and desires. Here's what I'd like to see in 2009.

The Kindle killer Jeff Bezos gave us a terrific first rev of an always-on electronic reader, but the Kindle falls short in key areas: pricing, button placement, and software.What it really needs is competition. Bezos once told me that he'd be open to letting another e-reader access the vast Amazon.com store. (Which makes sense, since selling stuff is what Amazon is all about.) So maybe some company renowned for making awesome consumer tech could call his bluff and make an e-reader with a color touchscreen and a better interface. Steve Jobs has said he's not interested because "people don't read anymore," but plenty of Apple's biggest fans seem to value the written word. How about it, Steve?

One laptop per adult At CES there will undoubtedly be flocks of cheap, capable netbooks. But none are as distinctive (and quirky) as One Laptop per Child's XO, the $100 computer that actually sells for $185. I was skeptical about the XO at first but was pleasantly surprised by its ruggedness, screen quality, antenna sensitivity, and software, which treats every app as an invitation to collaborate. Yes, it's great that OLPC wants to sell these in bulk to kids in developing nations, but I'd like to see a consumer company license its innovations to make an adult-safe version (with a real keyboard) for the price of an iPod classic. (Think grey plastic instead of green.) I'm not talking about the recently implemented Windows OLPC, but something with a bare-bones OS and plenty of flash storage that runs Google apps like a racehorse. Want one even cheaper? Build in EVDO and let Sprint or Verizon subsidize the cost. That way, the $100 laptop might sell for $1.

A $99 Blu-ray player Just before CES 2008, Warner Bros. Entertainment chose Blu-ray as its sole hi-def disc format, and that decision made the show into a funeral for rival HD DVD. But Blu-ray is still struggling. Turns out, standard-def DVDs look pretty good on a big TV, and the age of HD digital downloading is just over the horizon. If Blu-ray wants to wedge its way into the media ecology, it can't wait two years to drop the cost of entry from the current $400 or so—someone has to flood the market with slim, versatile players that break the three-digit price barrier. Are you listening, Sony?

Internet car radio A few football fields' worth of CES booth space is typically occupied by automotive electronics. But so far I haven't seen the perfect product: an in-dash Internet music player that streams any Internet radio station or music service (don't forget podcasts).

A really big TV screen Really big. Every year at CES, the Asian electronics giants play "mine's bigger" with flat-panel displays. It's the high tech version of the World's Largest Pig exhibit at the county fair, where gawkers pay a few quarters to stare at a heaving half-ton swine too bloated to stand up. In 2005, Samsung broke the 100-inch barrier, accelerating a space race that led to last year's Panasonic 150-inch Life Screen, a plasma TV that's bigger than a king-size bed. Nice start, but hey, this is the 21st century, and we've got needs. Can't these wimps break the 200-inch barrier? Haven't they learned anything from Diamond Vision? Are we not men? Forget the recession—give us a screen so big we'll need a map to navigate it and we'll never leave the house again.

A Big Lebowski sequel Nothing to do with CES. Just asking.

Email steven_levy@wired.com.

Top 10 New Organisms of 2008

The world's smallest snake, a prehistoric ant and microbes that may be 120,000 years old: These are just a few of the species revealed to the world in the last 12 months.

With animals going extinct at rates unseen since the dinosaurs disappeared, it's nice to be reminded that some species haven't even been discovered.

As Smithsonian Institute ornithologist Brian Schmidt said after finding the olive-backed forest robin: "It is definitely a reminder that the world still holds surprises for us."

Left: Stiphrornis pyrrholaeumus, also known as the olive-backed forest robin, was found during a biodiversity expedition in Gabon. Scientists know little more about S. pyrrholaeumus other than it exists.

Leptotyphlops carlae was found in a patch of forest on the eastern side of Barbados. Thin as a spaghetti noodle and small enough to curl up on a quarter, it's believed to embody the evolutionary limits of snake smallness.

Only three specimens of Martialis heureka have been found, all outside the Amazon jungle city of Manaus — but that's all scientists needed to trace a direct evolutionary lineage to the last known ancestor of all living ants, a subterranean creature that lived 120 million years ago.

The first new elephant shrew in 126 years, the 18-ounce Rhynchocyon udzungwensis — also called the grey-faced sengi — is a giant in its family (which, technically, are not shrews, though they are distantly related to elephants).

Video: Trevor Jones/Anglia Ruskin University

Undiscovered parasites are relatively common, but Myrmeconema neotropicum does something no other parasite can: mimic fruit. The abdomens of infected ants swell and turn bright red, making them easy targets for berry-hungry birds who then spread M. neotropicum's eggs in their droppings.

Carpomys melanurus, or the greater dwarf cloud rat, was first observed 112 years ago, and never seen again. Until it was found again in the rain-forest treetops of the Philippines, scientists thought it was extinct.

Tridacna costata is the first giant clam species found in two decades, and not a moment too soon: Fossil evidence suggests it once made up 80 percent of Red Sea giant clams, and now accounts for just 1 percent.

When Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences collection manager Mark Sabaj Pérez needed to name a new catfish, he thought immediately of Frank Gallagher, who managed the Academy's mail room for 37 years.

"I wanted to honor Frank for his many years of dedicated service to the global community of taxonomists and systematists in handling the shipping and receiving of countless loans of biological specimens," said Pérez. "I was impressed by Frank's dedication, his love for fellow employees, and his keen interest in the science we do. I simply thought, here is a guy who should be honored with his own catfish." The result was Rhinodoras gallagheri.

Photo: Mark Sabaj Pérez/Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences

When biologists in New Zealand compared modern yellow-eyed penguins to centuries-old museum specimens, they realized that the birds were not the same species. Megadyptes waitaha is a brand-new species that's already extinct.

With only 8,000 of an estimated 3 million bacterial species identified, new bugs aren't hard to find. But unlike Chryseobacterium greenlandensis, they don't usually date from the late Pleistocene.

Unthawed from ice recovered two miles below the surface of a 120,000-year-old Greenland glacier, C. greenlandensis appears unchanged by its time in deep-freeze. Its discoverers aren't sure whether it shut down or just slowed down its metabolism.

"There may be some metabolism occurring in the ice. If they have been dividing, it may be on a very low rate, on a scale we're not accustomed to — so slow, they could be dividing every 100 or 1,000 years," said Penn State biochemist Jennifer Loveland-Curtze.

Asked whether her samples may not have divided at all, and have survived in suspended animation for 120,000 years, Loveland-Curtze replied, "We don't know yet."

And there's more: 120,000 years could be the low end of C. greenlandensis' age.

"The bottom of the ice core had sediment where the glacier had rubbed against the earth," said Jean Brenchley, a Penn State microbiologist. "We don't know if the microorganisms were from snow that was deposited and became trapped, or were scooped up from the permafrost and there for millions of years."

Photo: Jean Brenchley/Penn State

See Also:

• What's Old Is New: 12 Living Fossils
• One-Organism Ecosystem Discovered in African Gold Mine
• Entire Genome of One Species Discovered Inside Another's
• 'Living Fossil' Ant Species Dates to Late Cretaceous
• Climate Change Produces (Icky) New Species








Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Dec 2008 | 5:00 am

Steven Levy on His Gadget Wish List for 2009

Every January, more than 140,000 gadget-gropers pile into Las Vegas for a solid-state bacchanalia known as the International Consumer Electronics Show. All too often, I am one of them. And all too often, despite walking through so many booths that my pedometer hits quintuple digits, I leave unsatisfied. The gear that I court is nowhere to be found.

Maybe I haven't been explicit enough regarding my hopes and desires. Here's what I'd like to see in 2009.

The Kindle killer Jeff Bezos gave us a terrific first rev of an always-on electronic reader, but the Kindle falls short in key areas: pricing, button placement, and software.What it really needs is competition. Bezos once told me that he'd be open to letting another e-reader access the vast Amazon.com store. (Which makes sense, since selling stuff is what Amazon is all about.) So maybe some company renowned for making awesome consumer tech could call his bluff and make an e-reader with a color touchscreen and a better interface. Steve Jobs has said he's not interested because "people don't read anymore," but plenty of Apple's biggest fans seem to value the written word. How about it, Steve?

One laptop per adult At CES there will undoubtedly be flocks of cheap, capable netbooks. But none are as distinctive (and quirky) as One Laptop per Child's XO, the $100 computer that actually sells for $185. I was skeptical about the XO at first but was pleasantly surprised by its ruggedness, screen quality, antenna sensitivity, and software, which treats every app as an invitation to collaborate. Yes, it's great that OLPC wants to sell these in bulk to kids in developing nations, but I'd like to see a consumer company license its innovations to make an adult-safe version (with a real keyboard) for the price of an iPod classic. (Think grey plastic instead of green.) I'm not talking about the recently implemented Windows OLPC, but something with a bare-bones OS and plenty of flash storage that runs Google apps like a racehorse. Want one even cheaper? Build in EVDO and let Sprint or Verizon subsidize the cost. That way, the $100 laptop might sell for $1.

The Consumer Electronics Show debuted in New York in 1967; 17,500 attendees saw goods from 200 exhibitors. Now it's 140,000 people and 2,700 companies — in Vegas.

A $99 Blu-ray player Just before CES 2008, Warner Bros. Entertainment chose Blu-ray as its sole hi-def disc format, and that decision made the show into a funeral for rival HD DVD. But Blu-ray is still struggling. Turns out, standard-def DVDs look pretty good on a big TV, and the age of HD digital downloading is just over the horizon. If Blu-ray wants to wedge its way into the media ecology, it can't wait two years to drop the cost of entry from the current $400 or so—someone has to flood the market with slim, versatile players that break the three-digit price barrier. Are you listening, Sony?

Internet car radio A few football fields' worth of CES booth space is typically occupied by automotive electronics. But so far I haven't seen the perfect product: an in-dash Internet music player that streams any Internet radio station or music service (don't forget podcasts).

A really big TV screen Really big. Every year at CES, the Asian electronics giants play "mine's bigger" with flat-panel displays. It's the high tech version of the World's Largest Pig exhibit at the county fair, where gawkers pay a few quarters to stare at a heaving half-ton swine too bloated to stand up. In 2005, Samsung broke the 100-inch barrier, accelerating a space race that led to last year's Panasonic 150-inch Life Screen, a plasma TV that's bigger than a king-size bed. Nice start, but hey, this is the 21st century, and we've got needs. Can't these wimps break the 200-inch barrier? Haven't they learned anything from Diamond Vision? Are we not men? Forget the recession—give us a screen so big we'll need a map to navigate it and we'll never leave the house again.

A Big Lebowski sequel Nothing to do with CES. Just asking.

Email steven_levy@wired.com.









Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Dec 2008 | 5:00 am

2008's Best Contest Photos You Never Saw

:

A lot of great photos were overlooked in 2008 in the slew images we received (an average of more than 500 submissions) for each of our twice-monthly photo contests. In celebration of the year coming to a close, we've gone back and pulled out some of our favorite contest photos that just didn't get the votes they deserved.

Click through the gallery to see these resurrected gems.

This is the first of a two-part series. Check back next week for more great photos.

Left:

Black-and-White contest

Home Sweet Home
by DSzwak

Photographer's comment:

"A view from the back patio of my childhood home outside of Limerick, Pennsylvania."

:

New Slang
by Ron Coloma

Photographer's comment:

"A neighbor's child looks on as my family arrives in my mother's hometown of Sison, Philippines."

:

Dust Bunny Thief
by Nick Wilson

Photographer's comment:

"Hey! That fly stole my dust bunny!"

:

Cupcakes
by Kim Hino

Photographer's comment:

"A sweet, afternoon delight!"

:

Summer Pastime
by Robby Petrullo (toolo on flickr)

Photographer's comment:

"Taken on June 5th, the big game when moustache Giambi crushed my dreams."

:

Moonrise in St. Kitts
by Leon L. Sandall

Photographer's comment:

"Moonrise while the sun sank. April '06."

:

JiaoZi
by MAB

Photographer's comment:

"Steamy JiaoZi served on every street corner."

:

Laying down parking-space lines on rue du roi de Sicile
by David Henry

Photographer's comment:

"Workers in Paris lay down those yellow lines, indicating that a parking spot in front of the restaurant Le Jardin du Marais is in fact a delivery zone."

:

Cow
by Meus McIntoshi

Photographer's comment:

"Hasselblad 503 CWD + Distagon CFi 4/50mm. 1/125s, f/4, ISO 100."

:

Boy at the Fort: Amber, India
by Grant Olsen

Photographer's comment:

"I was traveling through India with my sister, when we came to the city of Amber. It was one of the most amazing places I've ever been. At the top of the city is a majestic fortress. We were walking through it when this boy called out to us and said hello. This is the only shot I took of him. There was no posing or anything."







Source: Gizmodo | 24 Dec 2008 | 5:00 am

Scientists create artificial bone marrow

A University of Michigan lab has created artificial bone marrow that can continuously make red and white blood cells in a test tube. Researchers said the substance could someday provide a continuous supply of blood for transfusions, the university said Tuesday in a news release. The findings are published online in the journal Biomaterials. Lead author Nicholas Kotov said the artificial bone marrow grows on a 3-D scaffold that mimics the tissues supporting bone marrow in the body.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 24 Dec 2008 | 4:47 am

ACM Urges Obama To Include CS In K-12 Core

jmcbain writes "The ACM issued a set of recommendations supporting Barack Obama's stated goal of making science and mathematics education a national priority at the K-12 level. The ACM is urging the new administration to include Computer Science as an integral part of the nation's education system. 'The new Administration can play an important role in strengthening middle school education, where action can really make a difference, to introduce these students to computer science,' said ACM CEO John White." Is CS such a basic subject, at the level of science or math, that it makes sense to (try to) teach its principles to every elementary school child?



Read more of this story at Slashdot.




Source: Slashdot | 24 Dec 2008 | 4:18 am

Alarm hazards top hospital tech problems

A patient-safety research group says alarm hazards, needle sticks and surgical fires are among the top five technology hazards in hospitals. The ECRI Institute's list is updated annually based on problems reported to, and investigated by, the group. Our list is based on serious technology safety concerns that can be prevented with appropriate attention and planning, James P.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 24 Dec 2008 | 4:11 am

When Walking Hurts: Best Buy Offers Curb-side Pick-up

If you like buying stuff from Best Buy but you can’t stand actually entering the stores, you might soon be able to just sit in your car and wait for them to bring your in-store pickup purchases out to you as though it were a lukewarm bag of Chili’s Chicken Crispers.





Source: TechCrunch | 24 Dec 2008 | 3:24 am

When actually entering a store is too much work, there’s Best Buy’s new ‘Curbside Pickup’

If you like buying stuff from Best Buy but you can’t stand actually entering the stores, you might soon be able to just sit in your car and wait for them to bring your in-store pickup purchases out to you as though it were a lukewarm bag of Chili’s Chicken Crispers.

The “Curbside Pickup” program appears to be in some sort of testing phase – I searched for an item to pick up in the Minneapolis area and only one store, a relatively new one in Shakopee, was offering to bring my impulsively-purchased item out to my car. I wasn’t able to find pickup locations outside of Minnesota, either, so it might be a very-limited pilot program launching out of Best Buy’s home state. If it works, though, you can bet it’ll pop up elsewhere.

According to the FAQ, you have to actually call and schedule a pickup time with the store, which kind of defeats the purpose for those who want to avoid interpersonal communication until it’s absolutely necessary. Once you actually show up at the store, there’s a number to call to let them know you’re there or, if you don’t have a cell phone, Best Buy says, “We’ll be watching for you.” Sounds kinda creepy but if it means I can eat, sleep, and buy gadgets without ever leaving my car, I guess that’s something.



In all seriousness, there could be some very useful implications that go along with this. Handicapped people, the elderly, and anyone else with limited mobility might use a service like this all the time, so it’ll be interesting to see if it catches on.





Source: CrunchGear | 24 Dec 2008 | 3:21 am

Facebook silences Project Playlist widgets (CNET)

CNET - Social network Facebook has disabled widgets from music-sharing site Project Playlist at the behest of the music industry, several days after rival site MySpace did the same. The reason? The user-uploaded music on Project Playlist that doesn't have industry sanction.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 24 Dec 2008 | 3:18 am

Fake Antivirus Peddlers Helped by Microsoft, IRS (PC World)

PC World - Just weeks after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission shut down two companies accused of selling fake antivirus software, a new player has moved into the market, aided by glitches in the Microsoft and U.S. Internal Revenue Service Web sites.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 24 Dec 2008 | 2:50 am

Acer surges as Apple loses PC market share, overtaken by Asus




Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 24 Dec 2008 | 2:43 am

The top 5 Linux myths: Why you shouldn’t fear the penguin

Section: Computers, Software / Applications, Originals


As Christmas approaches and Hanukkah comes along to the later days, there’s a chance you might be expecting a new computer, or perhaps even a netbook. 

Now, what to the do with the old computer, or even with the netbook?  Why not give your old computer a new life by running Linux on it?  It may seem like a scary thought, but chances are you have a few misconceptions about Linux and that’s keeping you from making the jump. 

Here is a list of five of the biggest Linux myths out there and how you can make Linux your friend.

5. It won’t connect to an iPod or MP3 player.

This might not apply to everyone, but to some people who only have one computer it could be a big deal.  Most people now have some sort of MP3 player, and need a computer to put music on it, with special software on top of that, especially with the iPod. 

Now, of course, you can’t use the App Store without iTunes (which has some problems installing with WINE), but you can easily buy songs from Amazon MP3 store, or rip them from CDs.  Most music players for Linux support MP3 players, and even iPods, some like Songbird even look like iTunes if you’re almost too comfortable with the program.

4. Linux is not compatible with Mac/Windows files.

This seems to be a general misconception about computers in general.  A lot of people seem to think that files from one operating system won’t work on any other one.  This is true about applications, but not for the files they use or create. 

If you’re working with a word processor, chance are it can export files to .doc files, which just about any program can use.  Music is usually stored in MP3, AAC or FLAC files, all of which are easily usable on any platform.  Having compatible files is easily avoided if you use cross-platform applications such as OpenOffice, that way you dont have to worry about exporting to other file types

3. Linux can’t play games.

This might not be important to everyone, but to some people games are the main reason why they stick with Windows.  Even if all they play is World of Warcraft, they don’t want to give up their games just because thy switch to another OS. 

There’s actually a lot of games that are native to Linux, though most aren’t as pretty as the newest games.  There are ways to play those new games on Linux, however.  There’s Codeweaver’s Crossover and Crossover Games, Cedega, and WINE (Crossover is essentially a more stable, paid version of WINE).  Between these three, most popular games are easily played.  I run WarCraft III on Ubuntu Eee using WINE, and it can easily handle WoW or even games liek Team Fortress 2, assuming your computer can handle it, of course.

2. Apps are hard to find.

Most Linux distros come with a lot of useful software, but sometimes you might want to replace them with something else or find something else you might want ot need.  Unlike Windows, and to a lesser extent Mac, there aren’t many retail box copies of Linux software.  However, with a quick Google search for “Linux apps” I was able to find Linux Online’s application page.  Or, if you’re running Ubuntu, there’s Get Deb, which not only lists Ubuntu software, but also makes it really simple to install them.

1. You have to learn command line/terminal

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told people that I’m running Linux, and they immediately cringe at the idea of the terminal.  Somewhere along the line, Linux got the reputation that it’s only usable by coders, or those who know a decent bit of code. 

The same people that cringe are the same people that are surprised when I show them Ubuntu Eee.  It’s possibly even more simple than Windows with the netbook remix UI, but Linux is easy even without that. 

Some distributions such as openSUSE have a Windows-like start menu, some, like Ubuntu, have an applications drop menu that lists all your applications, making for an environment that should be easy for anyone.  Most also use GNOME or KDE file browsers which are just as easy to navigate as Windows Explorer.


If you can possibly get past these scary ideas, I would recommend Ubuntu, or Ubuntu Eee for your Eee PC (soon to be Easy Peasy, with more netbooks supported).  Also look for my article on useful applications for Linux that can replace your Windows or Mac Apps.




Source: Gizmodo | 24 Dec 2008 | 2:40 am

Adult FriendFinder Files To Go Public

Florida-based FriendFinder Networks (formerly Penthouse Media Group), a group of sites that includes Penthouse and Adult FriendFinder, has filed a registration statement with the SEC to go public.

Little known Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital is representing them in the deal. The company hopes to raise $460 million in the IPO.

The registration statement is still preliminary, but it gives deep insights on the financial condition of the company. Revenues for the first three quarters of 2008 were $244 million. The company claims 946,598 subscribers to its adult services.

The primary use of the proceeds from the IPO, the company says, is to pay off the nearly half billion dollars in debt on its books.

Penthouse acquired Adult FriendFinder in December 2007 for approximately $400 million.

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







Source: TechCrunch | 24 Dec 2008 | 2:29 am

Facebook Bails on Project Playlist, Too [MediaMemo]

Four days after MySpace cut the legs out from under Project Playlist by disabling the music streaming service’s app, Facebook is following suit. Here’s the official statement from Facebook PR:

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) initially contacted Facebook last summer requesting the removal of the Project Playlist application for copyright violation, and recently reopened those communications. We have forwarded the RIAA’s letters to Project Playlist so it can work directly with that organization and music labels on a resolution. In the meantime, the application must be removed to comply with the Facebook Platform Terms of Service. Our hope and expectation is that the parties can resolve their disagreements in a manner that satisfies the developer and copyright holder, that continues to offer a great experience to music fans, and that doesn’t discourage other developers from using Platform to share their creativity and test new ideas.”

The only surprise here is that it took Facebook this long to face up to reality: There was next to no upside for Mark Zuckerberg and company in fighting the big music labels, three of whom are suing Project Playlist. But there was plenty of downside: At best, the social network would end up squaring off against potential partners; at worst, it’s conceivable that it could end up being sued by the labels as well.

Facebook’s move is also less important than the one that MySpace made last week. That’s because Project Playlist is first and foremost a music service geared toward users of News Corp.’s (NWS) social network.

It’s also not surprising that MySpace was the first to bail on Project Playlist at the labels’ request: Not only does the network have its own competing music service–MySpace Music–but its partners in that service are the four major labels– Sony (SNE), Warner Music Group (WMG), Universal Music Group and EMI.

Most important is what the big labels who are suing Project Playlist– Warner, UMG and EMI–hope to accomplish by forcing the social networks to cut it off at the knees. The boilerplate answer from the labels is that Project Playlist violates copyright, and that they’d complained to MySpace and Facebook before, etc, etc.

But that’s a silly argument: The labels have also been trying to negotiate a deal with Project Playlist for some time, which is why investor Bob Pittman sunk up to $20 million into the company earlier this year and former Facebook executive Owen Van Natta came aboard as CEO last month. I’m told that those talks had reached advanced stages this month.

So that leaves us with two possible conclusions:

1. This is just another negotiating move by the labels, who have previously sued Web services before partnering with them (see: Warner/Imeem, Universal/MySpace). But since they’ve already sued Project Playlist, cutting off their oxygen is more effective.
2. The labels have decided that ad-supported, free music services like MySpace Music, Imeem and Project Playlist just aren’t going to work, period, and that’s there’s no point in even trying to let new ones thrive.

For now, I’m going with No. 1, just because it’s the most obvious answer. But I’m willing to hear other arguments: Sound off in comments below or drop me a line at peter@allthingsd.com.



Source: All Things Digital | 24 Dec 2008 | 2:10 am

NASA Outsources ISS Resupply To SpaceX, Orbital

DynaSoar writes "NASA has signed two contracts with US commercial space ventures totaling $3.5 billion for resupply of the International Space Station. SpaceX will receive $1.6 billion for 12 flights of SpaceX's planned Dragon spacecraft and their Falcon 9 boosters. $1.9 billion goes to Orbital for eight flights of its Cygnus spacecraft riding its Taurus 2 boosters. Neither of the specified craft has ever flown. However, the proposed vehicles are under construction and based on proven technology, whereas NASA has often contracted with big aerospace companies for services using vehicles not yet even designed."



Read more of this story at Slashdot.




Source: Slashdot | 24 Dec 2008 | 2:10 am

Telecom Giant Vodafone Gets Into Location Based Social Networking With Pocket Life



Pocket Life, a geo-aware social network backed by mobile network giant Vodafone, has launched to the public. The service allows users to update their friends on their current locations automatically, and also allows them to syndicate status updates and their recent activities to popular social networks like Facebook and MySpace. You can also use GPS to create a route (say, for mountain biking or hiking) and share that with friends over the network.

At launch Pocket Life is compatible with over 30 phones, including a number of Blackberries, Nokias, and Samsungs, with the iPhone listed as “Coming Soon” (you can see the full compatibility list here). If you have a compatible phone, you can download the software by visiting http://mob.pocketlife.com from your phone’s browser. You can also use the site from your computer at PocketLife.com, though this doesn’t feature automatic location updates. To get a feel for more of the site’s features, check out the walkthrough video.

Pocket Life has many similarities with other geo-aware social networks like Whrrl, Limbo, and Loopt, which recently signed a deal to become available on every mobile carrier in the US. Pocket Life is getting a late start, but with giants like Facebook and MySpace largely sitting on the sidelines in the race to take social networks mobile, it still has a fighting chance, especially given its backers.

Vodafone is the largest telecommunications network company in the world, with huge mobile market shares in many countries (it also owns minority stakes in some large mobile companies, with a 45% stake in Verizon). If its phones started to carry Pocket Life as a default application, it could easily overwhelm its competitors in many regions.

Disclosure: Pocket Life competitor Loopt is in the middle of a patent litigation suit that we’ve been dragged into, and they’ve also created a TechCrunch-branded Loopt iPhone app.


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







Source: TechCrunch | 24 Dec 2008 | 1:58 am

Facebook Folds In Face Of Massive Litigation, Bans Project Playlist

Just in is a statement from Facebook that they will ban the fast growing (but non-label-sanctioned) music service Project Playlist. Last Friday MySpace banned Project Playlist and removed all traces of the service from its site.

But Facebook remained silent even as music label insiders called them “irresponsible” and suggested litigation against them was on the way.

This is a big blow for Playlist, which just yesterday announced that they had their first label deal, with Sony BMG. The other three big music labels, however, remain hostile to the service.

The entire application has been removed (it used to be here), and the embedded playlists have been removed from user’s profiles. An image of what the application used to look like is below. Over 660,000 Facebook users are affected.

Facebook’s statement:

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) initially contacted Facebook last summer requesting the removal of the Project Playlist application for copyright violation, and recently reopened those communications. We have forwarded the RIAA’s letters to Project Playlist so it can work directly with that organization and music labels on a resolution. In the meantime, the application must be removed to comply with the Facebook Platform Terms of Service. Our hope and expectation is that the parties can resolve their disagreements in a manner that satisfies the developer and copyright holder, that continues to offer a great experience to music fans, and that doesn’t discourage other developers from using Platform to share their creativity and test new ideas.



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







Source: TechCrunch | 24 Dec 2008 | 1:44 am

Solo CheckFast unveils netbook sized TSA-approved messenger bag

Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Laptops, Gadgets / Other, Transportation



Netbook users will now be able to make their way through the airport just a little quicker thanks to a smaller sized TSA-friendly messenger bag.  The Netbook Instant messenger bag comes courtesy of Solo CheckFast and is designed for netbooks of 11-inches and smaller.  Of course, with the smaller size of the bag, you will have less room for extra goodies, but that combined with the typical lower weight of the netbooks may actually be another benefit. 

As for the bag itself, it is TSA-friendly and features three compartments in total—one for your netbook and the remaining two for accessories.  Additionally, one of the compartments was designed to hold those small (and easy to lose) items such as your USB flash drive.  The bag is held closed by one buckle and a piece of velcro, which should make the dealing with the security checkpoint (and removing your shoes, belt and countless other items) a little more bearable. 

One of the nicer points is the price, a surprisingly low $35.  Almost tempting, but I already have half a dozen other laptop bags, not to mention I rarely travel by plane, otherwise I would consider picking one up for the trip out to CES.

Product [Solo Cases]  Read [Gadling]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 24 Dec 2008 | 1:36 am

Playing Do, Re, Mi With Wii [The Mossberg Solution]



This holiday season, instead of gathering around the piano for traditional sing-alongs, some families will gather around their television sets and game consoles to make music — by playing games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

Now, there’s a new option for these digital performers: Wii Music from Nintendo. This $50 game was designed for Nintendo’s hugely popular $250 Wii gaming system, of which there were more than two million sold in November alone, according to the company.

Wii uses motion-sensitive controllers to move characters in games. A game of tennis in Wii Sports, for example, works when you swing the Wii remote like you would a tennis racket. The Wii’s simple graphics and adorable Miis (on-screen cartoons designed to look like you) appeal to the non-gaming set, inciting parents to challenge their kids to games of Wii Golf and spurring senior centers to start Wii Bowling leagues.


People playing Wii Music use the remote as a musical instrument.

Nintendo carries this cutesy, user-friendly style of video gaming over to Wii Music, where the remote works as a musical instrument, cheerful songs abound and a white-wigged character named Sebastian Tute gives instructions. Along with Sebastian, the Tutes — a musically gifted group of Miis that would give the Von Trapps a run for their money — appear and demonstrate how to play various types of music and instruments.

Though it’s comparably priced, Wii Music differs from games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band in many ways, and there are understandable reasons why a frequent user of those games would shun Sebastian and the Tutes. For starters, teenage fans of Guitar Hero and Rock Band who like the games’ variety of popular songs may gripe about Wii Music’s selection, which includes the likes of “My Grandfather’s Clock” and Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”; none of Wii Music’s songs are more recent than the late 1980s.

Perhaps the biggest difference is that, in Wii Music, you aren’t using a few fake instruments like a guitar or drum set. You are instead manipulating the Wii controller to simulate one of many instruments depicted on screen. There’s even one “instrument” called Dog Suit — a dog suit that, when worn by a Mii, uses canine barks in place of notes. Another key difference is that, aside from one game, Wii never penalizes you for playing an incorrect note in a song, because you can’t play a bad note — every press of an imaginary key or strum of an invisible string plays the correct note.


A musically gifted group of Miis — on-screen personas representing players — demonstrate how to play various types of music and instruments.

This “no mistakes” environment is a little bit like a sports league in which every kid gets a trophy. Wii Music got a bit too saccharine at times, like when I scored a lousy 43 out of 100 points in a game and Sebastian Tute assured me that points didn’t much matter so long as I played the way I wanted to play. But for people who are learning about music and don’t want to worry so much about playing the right note, OK: Wii Music fosters a freedom to experiment with style by allowing users to improvise and explore variations of songs.

Outside of the Games section, you are the judge of your own performance, rating it however you see fit, or not at all. Wii Music is divided into Jam, Lessons, Videos and Games. My favorite section was Games, which included conducting a song in Mii Maestro, hitting the right note at just the right moment in Handbell Harmony and arranging Miis from lowest to highest note in Pitch Perfect.

The more activities I completed, the more instruments and songs were unlocked and available for me to use; off the shelf, each copy of Wii Music starts out with 27 instruments, but over 60 can be unlocked in the game. In Lessons, Sebastian Tute explained the importance of each instrument in a song and the role that it played. Before I played drums in a reggae song, he explained that reggae drums lay down an eight-beat rhythm. In the Japanese style of music, I learned how to play and recorded myself playing all four parts of a song: taiko drum, bells, shamisen, a three-string guitar-like instrument that puts bass in the song, and flute.

If you’d like, you can opt to save your performances as music videos when you’re finished. These include your mistakes — err, improvisations — and some other funny effects like views of the audience members as they bob their heads listening to you play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Album covers can be made for these videos, and the finished product can be sent to other friends’ Wiis if they also have Wii Music. Those friends can play over parts of your song and send the revised video back to you. While you’re playing songs, small black notes with faces on them called Be-Bops appear in the bottom right of the screen and work as a metronome would, steadily keeping the beat.

But cool accessories like guitars and microphones that are used to play music with other games aren’t available for Wii Music; instead, you must use your trusty Wii remote and Nunchuk to make one of four motions: piano-type, guitar-type, trumpet-type or violin-type. These four motions work to play a variety of instruments in different music styles, but some are easier to pretend to use than others.

While playing the imaginary trumpet I held the remote like one, pressing its 1 and 2 buttons like trumpet keys. But playing the piano uses the same motion as that which is used for playing drums — a downward hitting motion with the remote and Nunchuk — and this felt more like using a hammer than playing a piano. If you own a $90 Wii Balance Board, you can use it in drum mode in addition to the remote and Nunchuk. I tried this briefly, and it was fun to use the balance board in place of drum pedals.

Wii Music isn’t meant to replace a music lesson, but it’s intended to get people thinking about music and their own music style, without fear of making mistakes. It’s fun, unintimidating and will even teach you a thing or two. Just steer clear of the Dog Suit, if you can help it.

• Discuss: Share reviews of videogames and systems in Journal Community.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

• Mossberg Solution will return, Wednesday, Jan. 14. Email us at mossbergsolution@wsj.com. Find this and other columns and videos online free at the All Things Digital Web site: http://walt.allthingsd.com


Source: All Things Digital | 24 Dec 2008 | 1:30 am

Washington Post, Baltimore Sun to share content (AP)

AP - The Washington Post and The (Baltimore) Sun, facing cost pressures as advertising revenue continues to sink, said Tuesday that they will share some stories, photos and news content starting next year.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 24 Dec 2008 | 1:01 am

Last minute gift idea for you insensitive nerds: SmileBooks: DIY photo album

Is this a gadget? Heck no! Do we insensitive nerds need help with gift ideas for the lady folk? Yes!

This is probably something you should have done in advance, but if you’re like me then a gift certificate is good enough! SmileBooks offers a variety of different sized photo albums to meet your needs/budgets. Download the SB software, upload some images, pick some patterns and you’ve got yourself a fancy photo album. It’s pretty high quality, actually. Kind of like your HS yearbook with a hardback cover and thick, glossy paper.

There are five different sized SmileBooks that come with 26 pages to start that range from $10 to whatever you feel like spending. Extra pages can be added in lumps of 8 starting at $4 depending on model. This doesn’t have to be a sappy photo album either. Aspiring comic book artist? Inventor? I think you get the idea.

Product Page





Source: CrunchGear | 24 Dec 2008 | 1:00 am

CrunchGear Contest: Free TeleNav Service for your BlackBerry Storm



CrunchGear has been around for a few years now and we know that a lot of you have been following us since the beginning so we wanted to reward those folks. Think of it as our version of Best Buy’s Reward Zone program. Otherwise known as the CrunchGear Loyalty Rewards Program. TeleNav has always been supportive of us and so we’ve teamed up to give away a years worth of free service for your Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Storm. So how do you win?

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







Source: TechCrunch | 24 Dec 2008 | 12:52 am

NEC's Visual Processors Help Cars Spot Objects On the Fly

Fast object detection is no longer confined to the smiling trivialities of digital cameras.

It's about to make the roads a lot safer for driving, thanks to a breakthrough in image processing from NEC.

With their IMAPCAR chip processor, NEC is juicing up smart cars with digital recognition capabilities. Its powerful vision processing system allows cars to recognize critical road markers like stop signs, lane closings, and even pedestrians, all in real time. The tech has already begun to appear in a few cars, but  when smart software is integrated in the next few years, the car will be safely able to run autonomously for hours.

The key behind the innovation is the parallel processing architecture of the chip, which runs 128 pixel processors at the same time.

This means that when video is taken by a car-mounted camera, each pixel in the frame is transferred to and then engaged by its own processor (that runs at 100 MHz each and uses only 2 watts). The system creates a super-fast engine that will catch very small details running by at very fast speeds.

NEC insists this is a different application from those used by DARPA challengers, because the application is smaller and more adaptable when compared to the huge full-on rigs of that competition.

The power of the processor also allows the writers of the software to build in a huge database of visual cues that accumulate over time. So if a color and the shape of a stop sign are recorded and then analyzed enough times, the car will improve its stop-sign recognition capabilities. It will also make missing those stops next to impossible.

At a recent demonstration of the technology, NEC engineers set-up a small track with 10-scale toy trucks embedded with the smart chips and video cameras. As can be seen in the video above, when a truck drives past white lanes, small blue jagged lines appear on top of them in the visual feed, and when a red box appears, it means it's looking for recognizable objects it has previously stored as data. 

According to NEC, the tech still has plenty of problems recognizing humans because of their weird and varied shapes. But its collision detection is already so good that it would force a truck to stop in front of a crossing person, by analyzing ranging data produced from the ranging sensors and the vision data captured by the camera.

Research by the company and independent sources have suggested that close to 70% of car accidents are the result of delayed driver reactions. Using this type of object recognition might lessen those numbers significantly.










Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 24 Dec 2008 | 12:37 am

Thundercats live action trailer!

It may be fan made, but it’s pretty darn cool.

Okay, maybe not.

via Techamok





Source: CrunchGear | 24 Dec 2008 | 12:32 am

TED2009 Speaker Program




TED2009 (Technology, Entertainment, Design) announced their speaker program. Above is a screen shot of the speakers whose last names begin with the letter M. You can click here then on the tab "Program" for detailed information about all the speakers.

I've attended last two TED events and they've been very inspiring and humbling. I'll be at the upcoming TED in Long Beach, California, too, liveblogging like I did last year and the year before!

Previously:
• TED 2008: Crow vending machine maker Joshua Klein - Boing Boing
• TED talk: Joshua Klein's vending machine for crows - Boing Boing
• TED 2008 -- Susan Blackmore - Boing Boing
• J.J. Abrams TED talk: "Mystery in a Box" (video) - Boing Boing
• TED 2008: Brian Cox of Large Hadron Collider at CERN - Boing Boing







Source: Boing Boing | 24 Dec 2008 | 12:27 am

Gadgetell Review: Goodyear GY-145 GPS

Section: Gadgets / Other, GPS/Navigation, Reviews



Quick Review

What is it?

• The Goodyear GY-145 GPS SAT-NAV is an OEM GPS unit for your car.

What’s Cool:

• The wide 4” screen display and most of the graphics were very good.
• The rubber casing not only provided some impact resistance, but it also felt good in your hand.

What’s Not:

• The unit would shut off when you restarted the engine and required a reboot (i.e. toggling the off/on switch on the back of the unit).
• The suction cup kept popping off the windshield glass.

The Crux:

• The GY 145 portable navigation system aka GPS or Sat-NAV, or whatever you may call it received less than stellar reviews from other reviewers.  You are better off buying another product.

Overall Weirdness

The unit would shut off when you shut and restarted the engine and require a reboot (i.e. toggling the off/on switch on the back of the unit).  I would have expected the unit to simply remain on if it had battery power.  I tried entering sleep mode before shutting the engine - same result.  This was very time consuming and frustrating.

The windshield rubber cup mounting popped off the glass in low temperatures (about 15 degrees Fahrenheit).  The cup became rock hard and inflexible against the cold glass and it wouldn’t re-affix to the windshield until the interior warmed to 60 or 70 degrees.  Softer rubber would have been better.  You would think that Goodyear should know winter rubber.

Performance

The directions were inconsistent and often wrong even though it updated frequently.  The unit often said it had a low satellite signal and asked if I wanted it to calculate directions from the last known settings (which were not very helpful from where I was at the moment). 

Entering street addresses was difficult.  For example, the system would not prompt a location on 5th Ave in NYC (i.e. tabbed “hits”).  It also seemed not to matter if I was in an urban (New York City) or a suburban (50 miles outside of NYC) or rural area (in deep New Jersey).  The maps and directions were often wrong.  The only way to resume some functionality of the system was to tap the stop navigation command and restart the get directions button.
In contrast, another manufacturer’s system locked on to satellite signals quickly and provide clear, consistent and accurate directions.


Wrap up

Also, while the primary purpose of these devices to provide clear and quick directions, this system did not have useful features that would make using the device user friendly, such as speed and speed alarm, automatic gain control on the volume to adjust for tire and road noise, auto day / night dimming of the screen, or other niceties.
Finally, I was left wondering, why would Goodyear license its brand for a GPS when they are known for their excellent tires.  All in all, not a stellar performance from a very basic system. 

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 24 Dec 2008 | 12:26 am

Quicken 2007 For Mac Lacks EV Cert Support

adamengst writes "If your bank uses the Extended Validation certificates that require a higher level of identity checking on the certificate authority's part (as at least one Seattle bank does), you may not be able to download transactions using the Mac version of Quicken. Quicken doesn't gracefully ignore extra information in EV certificates as older Web browsers do, but instead throws an error and refuses to download transactions. Intuit says they're working on a fix — but users may have to wait 'a couple of months,' and even then the fix may not be applied to versions before Quicken 2007."



Read more of this story at Slashdot.




Source: Slashdot | 24 Dec 2008 | 12:23 am

Online Shopping Pops 98 Percent Last Christmas Weekend [Voices]

By Tiernan Ray, Blogger, Barron’s, Tech Trader Daily

Online analytics firm comScore (SCOR) today released numbers for holiday online shopping activity in the U.S., and it looks as though cold weather that kept people indoors and online in some places provided one bright little sliver of hope.

Online shopping in the first 51 days of the holiday season, from Nov. 1 through Dec. 21, was $24.71 billion, reports comScore, down one percent from the prior year’s haul. Now, the weekend that just passed, Dec. 20 and Dec. 21, was down 17 percent from “the corresponding fourth weekend after Thanksgiving in 2007,” at $677 million. However, that’s a 98 percent increase from the $341 million booked during the Dec. 22 to 23 weekend of 2007, the “weekend nearest Christmas last year,” as comScore slices it.

Read the rest of this post



Source: All Things Digital | 24 Dec 2008 | 12:19 am

Study: Protein-carb sports drinks better

Sports drinks with a carbohydrate-protein mix are better than carb-only drinks in aiding cyclists' recovery from exercise, U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 24 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am

Zumbox Delivers Paperless Mail (In Beta)

Would you trust your postal mail with a company called Zumbox?

I ask, because startup Zumbox enters public beta today with a fairly interesting (but not entirely new) alternative to traditional snail mail. Here’s how it works: instead of sending bills, statements, advertisements, postcards and the likes to a street address, a business can now send those to a digitized street address, without the need for actual paper or stamps.

Let me try again: Zumbox basically created a digital mailbox for every street address in the US it could find (150 million), which can be used to receive mail that was sent to a physical location instead of an e-mail address. This approach is based on the fact that while not everyone has an e-mail address, everyone supposedly has a unique street address, and that businesses tend to have street addresses for their customers more often than they have e-mail addresses.

With Zumbox, these businesses as well as individuals can send documents and custom mailings to one’s physical street address, and by entering their address on Zumbox.com, recipients can consult what was sent. That’s an entirely different approach than Earth Class Mail, which scans all the postal mail it receives on a custom address created by a user, and then posts it to the customer’s digital account. Sending and receiving with Zumbox is free to consumers, and businesses are charged 2 cents postage per address.



I have a couple of observations. First of all, going back to my initial question: why would anyone trust their personal mail, which often includes sensitive information, with a young company they’ve never heard of? The company goes to greath lengths to explain the service is secure, and how they’re compliant with the security standards of the financial, healthcare, and banking industries, but that remains a significant hurdle.

I was also wondering if Zumbox doesn’t make it easier for companies to electronically spam people, but the startup gave me a number of reasons why this isn’t the case: it’s a closed system where Zumbox controls the entire flow of mail, the identities of senders and receivers are verified in advance, users get some control over the mail they receive, and finally the 2 cents charge should provide a barrier to senders with malicious intentions.

Another question that I had was how Zumbox notifies a user the first time he receives his mail to a digital account instead of his physical mailbox. Apparently, the startup has 3 ways of doing this: by getting consumers to sign up via e-mail, an iGoogle widget, or a desktop application (the latter two coming this January). Developers of third-party application are invited to use the company’s API to work on other ways too.

Not a flaw, but still noteworthy: the solution won’t help you a bit if you don’t have an internet connection. The number of people without internet access may be decreasing, but it’s nowhere close to zero just yet.

I’m still not sure whether I think this idea will stick or not, but for what it’s worth, Zumbox realizes it will take several years for postal mail to transition into a digital system. The company has raised $3 million in Series A funding in Q1 2008 from a number of private angel investors to finance the public beta release, but there’s no doubt they’ll need way more capital to provide a runway to success.

CrunchBase Information

Zumbox

Information provided by CrunchBase

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Source: TechCrunch | 23 Dec 2008 | 11:24 pm

How To Create More Jobs

TechDirt is spotlighting a call by Michael S. Malone, a columnist for ABCNews.com, for letting Silicon Valley create jobs once more. Malone argues that Sarbanes-Oxley and other attempts at accounting reform have done little to prevent fraud, but in fact have managed to kill off an entrepreneurship-venture capital-IPO cycle, centered in Silicon Valley, that has taken 30 years to nourish. Here's TechDirt: "...it's time to roll back SarbOx and other accounting rules that have acted more for theatrical purposes rather than any legitimate reason. Basically, all they've done is create new reporting requirements that do little to nothing to either prevent fraud or clarify a company's actual financial position (its intended purpose). I'm all for radical transparency in financial info, but that's not what has been done. Instead, we've made it burdensome to actually grow a company — and that doesn't help create jobs. It helps kill them."



Read more of this story at Slashdot.




Source: Slashdot | 23 Dec 2008 | 11:24 pm

Archaeologizing 'Watchmen': An Interview With Dave Gibbons

The artist who created one of comics' most-influential series kept very detailed notes as he worked with writer Alan Moore on Watchmen. Now, Gibbons talks about the creative process and shares his scribbles and sketches in a new behind-the-scenes book, Watching the Watchmen.







Source: Wired Top Stories | 23 Dec 2008 | 11:24 pm

Searches For “Kindle” Picked Up During The Holidays



We already know that the Kindle, Amazon’s electronic book, is sold out for Christmas, but people are still looking for them. Searches on Google for the term “Kindle” picked up in October to nearly triple the level during the summer. It’s settled down a bit, but search volume is still at about double the previous rate.

Not finding any available Kindles, searches for “Sony Reader” are picking up as well, although the clear preference is still the elusive Kindle by nearly two to one. If you really want one, just do yourself a favor and wait for the next version to come out early next year.

Despite the surge in demand and sold-out inventory, I’d be surprised if Amazon has sold more than one million Kindles to date. Maybe 500,000. That would not be a stretch, given that 240,000 had been manufactured through August. It’s a complete guess, though (the 500,000).

How many Kindles do you think Amazon has sold since it launched a year ago?

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







Source: TechCrunch | 23 Dec 2008 | 11:14 pm

Energizer solar recharger to debut at CES



Details of a portable solar-powered AA and AAA battery charger by Energizer were leaked last week and we’ll see the charger debut next month at CES. The device will feature a USB-out port to power other devices and you will also have the option to charge it from an AC wall outlet if you can’t find any sunlight. The charger comes with two Energizer Rechargeable batteries and will be available this summer for $49.99. Sure, I’d love to save the planet with this clever gadget, but not for this price. I’m a college student, what do you expect?







Source: CrunchGear | 23 Dec 2008 | 11:14 pm

Rumor: New iMacs to Ship January 2009



Here's another rumor that suggests January's Macworld Expo 2009 will be a snoozer: Upgraded iMacs are slated for shipping that month, according to a Chinese newspaper.

Chinese publication Economic Daily News says a component supplier leaked Apple's plans to launch new iMacs in the first quarter of the year.

That doesn't sound very exciting, since this will likely only be an incremental upgrade. The iMac line underwent the aluminum makeover only about a year and a half ago, so there shouldn't be any major changes.

It's highly likely this rumor is true. The last update to the iMac was in April; typically Apple refreshes its computers every six months. So January's Macworld Expo would be a good opportunity for Apple to announce an upgrade.

Adding to the validity of the iMac rumor, MacRumors' Arnold Kid last week reported that a string of code suggests there will be a new iMac shipping with an NVidia chipset.

So here's what we know about Macworld 2009, whick kicks off Jan. 5 in San Francisco: Phil Schiller (not Steve Jobs) will probably announce new iMacs and Mac Minis. The rumor of an iPhone Nano is gaining momentum, but the sources don't appear very reliable, so we still doubt that's happening.

(Yawn.) And this is going to be Apple's final appearance at Macworld. Talk about going out with a "thud" rather than a bang.

 
[Digitimes via Gizmodo]

Photo: Jami3.org/Flickr










Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 23 Dec 2008 | 11:12 pm

Single-port surgeries gaining popularity

Surgical techniques using a small, single point of entry, such as a navel, means far less pain and scarring, and far faster recovery, U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 23 Dec 2008 | 11:07 pm

VUDU offers $99 holiday special

Section: Video, Content, Video Providers



VUDU has become the latest to offer a serious holiday discount, they have lowered the price down to just $99, which means a savings of $200.  Of course, it should be mentioned that in order to get that $99 price tag you have to also purchase $50 in movie credits, which means the price is more like $149. 

That said, you are still saving half off the original price, not to mention, you would be buying those movie credits anyway.  Additionally, they are also offering a special with the wireless kit included, thanks to a $50 savings on the kit, the total for that package (with the $50 movie credits included) would come to $198.  Assuming you could deal with yet another set-top box this sounds like a good time to purchase a VUDU, or if you were feeling generous, the price is just about low enough to make for a nice gift.

Product [VUDU]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 23 Dec 2008 | 11:03 pm

HP Firebird 803 with VoodooDNA leaked



The Blackbird 002 that launched last year may be impressive, but the design is nothing special and the price range isn’t very attractive at $1,799-$4,999. Now, HP with VoodooDNA has given us something to look at. The HP Firebird 803 gaming tower flips the disc drive and most other components on their sides to allow for this sleek looking design. The Firebird doesn’t leave much room for modification or expandability, but the standard features sure do give me chills inside:

• NVIDIA nForce 760i SLI chipset
• Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz processor
• 4GB of RAM
• Dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800S cards
• Two 320GB SATA drives
• Blu-ray
• 5-in-1 card reader
• 6 USB, 1 FireWire, 2 eSATA, 1 S/PDIF and 1 DVA dual-link
• Bluetooth
• 802.11n WiFi

The Firebird unusually uses an external power supply to save on space and heat. It also comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse. Hopefully we’ll see this at CES next month and get some pricing and availability info.

via Engadget





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

Surfer speak video



I love the way this surfer talks in this TV news interview. (Thanks, Gabe Adiv!)






Source: Boing Boing | 23 Dec 2008 | 10:59 pm

Joysticks as coat hooks

Over at Boing Boing Offworld, Brandon posted about these joystick coat hooks. They're not DIY, but they certainly could be!
Hanging Joysticks






Source: Boing Boing | 23 Dec 2008 | 10:52 pm

XP or Vista? Best Buy doesn’t know the difference



Flippin’ through this week’s Best Buy ad, CG reader Carlos spotted something amiss. “Surf and e-mail with the simplicity of Windows XP”, said the header above the netbook section. That’s a great line; it’s simple and to the point. Thing is, the display of every netbook below the header is showing not XP, but Vista.

Oddly, everyone of the netbook models shown does come with XP by default. All they had to do to catch the error was actually look at one of them, or at least hit up Google Image Search for “default Windows XP desktop”







Source: CrunchGear | 23 Dec 2008 | 10:50 pm

Purple squirrel in England

This purple squirrel has been hanging around Meoncross School in Stubbington, England. Nobody is quite sure where it's unusual fur color comes from, but the school's registrar Lorraine Orridge has a suspicion. From The Telegraph:

"We don't think he is a mutant squirrel but he may have had a mishap around the school. "The old building where we have seen him nipping in and out is a bit of a graveyard for computer printers. He may have found some printer toners in there.


Purple squirrel baffles experts






Source: Boing Boing | 23 Dec 2008 | 10:49 pm

How a truck driver learned to build an atom bomb




Joshuah Bearman says:

A New Yorker story about home grown atom bombs! Or really, a home grown atom bomb researcher -- a truck driver who single-handedly reconstructed the still classified construction of Little Boy and Fat Man.

What I love about this particular piece is the motivational parallels between Coster-Mullen and the origins of the bomb he wants to recreate. It was the pure pursuit of knowledge that led to the atom bomb. Physicists wanted to understand how the universe worked at the atomic level, and there happened to be some very serious consequences to unlocking the secrets of the grand watchworks. Now, Coster-Mullen, has dedicated himself to understanding the mechanical watchworks of Little Boy. There is no motivation beyond knowing, but that pursuit too has some potentially serious consequences.

How A Truck Driver Learned to Build An Atom Bomb






Source: Boing Boing | 23 Dec 2008 | 10:43 pm

Karl Rove's IT Guru Dies In Small Plane Crash

A dozen readers have submitted the story of the death in a plane crash of Mike Connell, Karl Rove's IT adviser, the man who set up and ran the gwb43.com mail server, and an important figure in GOP tech circles since 1997. The closest thing to straight reporting to be found in a mainstream media outlet is a piece from KDKA in Pittsburgh giving a detailed backgrounder on Connell's work for Rove, two generations of the Bush family, and many GOP congressmen and committees. CBSNews.com is now mirroring the KDKA reporting. Almost all the early media coverage comes from the left and some of it is frankly conspiratorial. Among the milder pieces (although it could not be called balanced) is this interview with Mark Crispin Miller, NYU professor and author of two books about the 2004 election in Ohio. Connell was compelled to testify on the day before the US election in a lawsuit involving Ohio election irregularities in 2004. Connell, an experienced pilot, died on Sunday when his plane crashed two miles short of the runway of Akron-Canton Airport in Ohio.



Read more of this story at Slashdot.




Source: Slashdot | 23 Dec 2008 | 10:36 pm

How NORAD Tracks Santa

We get the inside scoop on how the guys with their eyes to the skies keep tabs on St. Nick.







Source: Wired Top Stories | 23 Dec 2008 | 10:30 pm

Study examines Brazilian diet pills

The illicit allure of Brazilian diet pills, with a mix of amphetamines and tranquilizers, remains strong in the United States, researchers reported Tuesday. A report by Pieter Cohen, a Boston physician and Harvard faculty member, reviewed two case studies in Massachusetts that illustrate the major problems with the pills and their unreported components, The Boston Herald reported.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 23 Dec 2008 | 10:21 pm

Beautiful music by Chris Montez




The Mayor of Mt. Holly wrote about the wonderful Chris Montez on his blog, and found this 1966 video of his song "The More I See You." Good stuff.

Oh, man how I love Chris Montez. I got turned on to him by my good pal John P. of King Cat fame, and if that is not reason enough to believe that Mr. Montez isn't something of a ray of sunshine on the face of all living creatures, check this!

Those Beatles fellas opened up for Chris Montez at his 1962 London show!

It is alleged that while in London for said show he got into a fight with John Lennon in a pub and that Lennon poured a pint over his head at one point.

Mr. Herb Alpert signed Chris Montez to his fledgling A&M record label, resulting in 3 amazing records of laid back, cheery, latin-infused bliss.

Chris Montez!






Source: Boing Boing | 23 Dec 2008 | 10:20 pm

Voice chat returns Home, immediately sent to its room

FROM GAMERTELL - Sony’s Home has already started going through a series of growing pains, with a few solutions coming through a patch. PS3 owners can once again use voice chat in the Home world but only in restricted areas… MORE »

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 23 Dec 2008 | 10:18 pm

Rockers to Press Obama on Music Torture

The United States is using music to torture prisoners held at Guantanamo. Musicians want that stopped, and they're going to lean on the new president to make it happen.







Source: Wired Top Stories | 23 Dec 2008 | 10:15 pm

iPhone App Attempts to Fake Your Location

A new iPhone app plays background noise to fool people into thinking you're somewhere you aren't. Unfortunately it doesn't do a very good job.

The purpose of Fake Call Locations is pretty funny: The app includes 15 sounds emulating noise in certain locations, such as a night club, a traffic jam, a casino and so on. So with the app the idea is to get out of an awkward phone call by playing a sound and saying something like, "Sorry babe, I'm at church. I'll call you back later."

It's the execution that's a big problem. Using the app isn't smooth at all: When making a call, you have to switch to speakerphone, then launch the Fake Call Locations app and select a sound. That's a lot of fumbling around just to lie to someone about where you are -- as opposed to, say, not picking up the phone at all.

And the results aren't impressive, either. I tested the app by calling a few friends and they could barely hear the fake sounds. Since you have to use speakerphone, you have to count on the sounds playing through your iPhone speaker to drown out all the other noise wherever you are. You'd need to be in a silent room for this app to work well.

"Hey Pam," I said. "I'm at a night club. Can you hear it?"

"Huh?" she replied. "I don't hear anything at all. You sound like you're at work. And you never go to night clubs. Also, it's 11 in the morning."

Fail.

The app would be better if it could directly integrate itself into the iPhone's phone app, but Apple doesn't allow developers to mess with that. Long story short: Funny idea that doesn't deliver; it's probably not worth your $1.

Download Link [iTunes]

See Also:

• iPhone App Bails You Out, Makes You Look Popular









Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 23 Dec 2008 | 10:04 pm

Joel Johnson on the Road to CES: Film Noir Edition (BBtv + BB Gadgets)




Continuing in Boing Boing tv's "Road to CES" series, Joel Johnson at Boing Boing Gadgets sez:

Although we didn't bother with CES last year, this year the Boing Boing team will be out in the cold Las Vegas desert, sifting through piles of sadness incarnate to find the precious products that might actually make our lives — if not truly better — a little happier in the coming year.

I'm more excited about going to CES as I have been in a long time. (Thanks in large part to your suggestions.) We try to keep it positive around here, but sometimes that's easier to do when everyone else seems so down in the dumps.

At least that's how I think it'll be at this year's show. Perhaps the convention won't be quite as bleak as I imagine in this "Road to CES" video we've put together.

Join the discussion thread with Joel, Brownlee, and Beschizza over at Boing Boing Gadgets.

Flash embed over there, and here's a direct MP4 link if you'd prefer to download.

Previously -- here was Xeni's video installment: The Road to CES: What do you want? (BBtv + Boing Boing Gadgets)

---

Sponsor shout-out: Boing Boing TV's coverage of CES 2009 is sponsored by WEPC.com, in partnership with Intel and Asus. WePC.com is intended to be a site where users come together to "share ideas, images and inspiration about the ideal PC." Participants' designs, feature ideas and community feedback will be evaluated by ASUS and "could influence the blueprint for an actual notebook PC built by ASUS with Intel inside."


---











Source: Boing Boing | 23 Dec 2008 | 9:59 pm

Saltwater angler registry to be created

The U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 23 Dec 2008 | 9:56 pm

Medi-Gadget Takes Out the Stress of the Season By Measuring The Rhythm of the Heart

The handheld emWave claims to reduce your stress, give you a personal performance boost and even 'balance your emotions.'

As one currently experiencing rattling-teeth nervousness as a result of trying to find last minute Christmas gifts, this could be really useful it I didn’t have such a hard time trusting it.

Developed by the founder of the Institute of HeartMath (IHM), the emWave is a tiny gadget that measures the 'rhythm coherence' of the nervous system and in particular, the pace of the heart. The idea is that if you can will your heart into working efficiently with the body's hormonal and immune systems, you will have more balance and will be able to concentrate on tasks easier.

According to IHM, the heart is a main generator of rhythmic patterns for people, and is also the main brain communicator. So if you fix the pattern, you get to fix your craziness.

The emWave measures these patterns through rate variability analysis (HRV), and 'rates' the degree of coherence of the heart through small LEDs. First, you have to place your thumb on the sensor or put in a small sensor in the ear. Then, a breathing pacer synchronizes your heart rhythm, and as you do breathing exercises, the LED display determines whether you are improving the rhythms.

If the red light flickers, it means your heart has low coherence and your breathing pattern needs improvement. Blue and green lights supposedly show improved rhythm states and a stress free body.

Basically, this gadget gives you visual clues that help with your breathing that controls the heart. And while I'm not anyone to scorn the recommendations of The Mayo Clinic and Duke University, two research Universities that back up the claims of the gadget, I still have a hard time believing it will work.

The relationship between the heart and the brain and the complexities of emotional stress are things you can work on without gadgets, and the visual cues, while probably relaxing and helpful, don't seem to provide enough specific historical data.

Maybe if there could be a numbered benchmark one could reach, like a giant gaming PC, I'd probably be more comfortable with it. The emWave is now on sale for $140.










Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 23 Dec 2008 | 9:50 pm

Softchoice Term Facility Extended to March 31, 2009

TORONTO, Dec.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 23 Dec 2008 | 9:47 pm

Henrietta and Merna sing "Go Tell It On The Mountain"




Henrietta and Merna's enthusiastic Christmas cheer is positively infectious. (Via Arbroath)






Source: Boing Boing | 23 Dec 2008 | 9:38 pm

Bees on coke 'dance' more

Honey bees on cocaine tend to exaggerate their actions to hive-mates for possibly altruistic reasons, University of Illinois researchers reported Tuesday. Normally foraging honey bees dance to alert others in the hive to potential food sources only when the sources are high quality, but bees buzzing on cocaine performed their dance when any food was found, the Champaign, Ill., university said in a release. The dance, or waggle, gives information that helps other bees find nectar or food. The findings, published in the latest Journal of Experimental Biology, provides new information on the honey bee dance language, said University of Illinois entomology and neuroscience professor and lead study researcher Gene Robinson.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 23 Dec 2008 | 9:33 pm

BBtv: Farewell, My Lovely Consumer Electronics Show

Although we didn't bother with CES last year, this year the Boing Boing team will be out in the cold Las Vegas desert, sifting through piles of sadness incarnate to find the precious products that might actually make our lives — if not truly better — a little happier in the coming year.

I'm more excited about going to CES as I have been in a long time. (Thanks in large part to your suggestions.) We try to keep it positive around here, but sometimes that's easier to do when everyone else seems so down in the dumps.

At least that's how I think it'll be at this year's show. Perhaps the convention won't be quite as bleak as I imagine in this "Road to CES" video we've put together.

Here's a direct MP4 link if you'd prefer to download.

---

Sponsor shout-out: Boing Boing TV's coverage of CES 2009 is sponsored by WEPC.com, in partnership with Intel and Asus. WePC.com is intended to be a site where users come together to "share ideas, images and inspiration about the ideal PC." Participants' designs, feature ideas and community feedback will be evaluated by ASUS and "could influence the blueprint for an actual notebook PC built by ASUS with Intel inside."

---




Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Dec 2008 | 9:29 pm

Saudi court won't allow 8-year-old girl to divorce her 58-year-old husband

The Telegraph reports that a Saudi court won't allow an 8-year-old girl to divorce her 58-year-old husband. The court in its wisdom ruled that the girl must reach puberty before she can pursue her case.

The divorce plea was filed in August by the girl's divorced mother with a court at Unayzah, 220 kilometres (135 miles) north of Riyadh just after the marriage contract was signed by the father and the groom.

"She doesn't know yet that she has been married," the lawyer said then of the girl who was about to begin her fourth year at primary school.

Saudi court rejects plea to annul 8-year-old girl's marriage to 58-year-old man (via Anorak)






Source: Boing Boing | 23 Dec 2008 | 9:29 pm

Crackpot Scandal In Mathematics

ocean_soul writes "It is well known among scientists that the impact factor of a scientific journal is not always a good indicator of the quality of the papers in the journal. An extreme example of this was recently uncovered in mathematics. The scandal is about one El Naschie, editor in chief of the 'scientific' journal Chaos, Solitons and Fractals, published by Elsevier. This is one of the highest impact factor journals in mathematics, but the quality of the papers in it is extremely poor. The journal has also published 322 papers with El Naschie as (co-)author, five of them in the latest issue. Like many crackpots, El Nashie has a kind of cult around him, with another journal devoted to praising his greatness. There was also a discussion about the Wikipedia entry for El Naschie, which was supposedly written by one of his followers. When it was deleted by Wikipedia, they even threatened legal actions (which never materialized)."



Read more of this story at Slashdot.




Source: Slashdot | 23 Dec 2008 | 9:26 pm

U.S. agencies probing pig Ebola outbreak

The world's first reported cases of the Ebola-Reston virus in hogs in the Philippines is under investigation, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. The Philippine government asked the U.N.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 23 Dec 2008 | 9:01 pm

Level 3 Announces Completion of Two Tender Offers and Extends the Expiration Date for One Pending Tender Offer

BROOMFIELD, Colo., Dec. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Level 3 Communications, Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 23 Dec 2008 | 9:00 pm

Review: The Flesh Is Willing but 'The Spirit' Is Weak

With a stripped-down color palette and ridiculous dialog, Frank Miller's slow-moving adaptation of the comic-book classic misfires from start to finish.







Source: Wired Top Stories | 23 Dec 2008 | 8:45 pm

XSKN iPhone Nano cases go up for sale, rumor mill catches fire



We remain dubious of the existence of an iPhone Nano, but case manufacturer XSKN has gone and taken things out of the concept renders stage we saw last week. It’s one thing to draw up some mockups based on rumors and put them on your site - even if it ends up not existing, you’ll get a sudden spike in traffic and whole bunch of Google Juice. But to actually put cases up for sale? That’s pretty risky, unless you’re real sure a product to fill those cases is on the way.

If it were anyone else, we’d laugh it off as a crazy business decision - but XSKN nailed out some details (the new shape of the back, for example) for the iPhone 3G weeks before it became official, and pulled the same trick with the 4th generation iPod Nano. You’d think Apple might consider not sharing things with XSKN anymore.

If it’s real, there are still two things we’re curious about:

• How are they handling app compatibility? Even if the resolution of both the fullsized and Nano screen turns out to be the same, Apps will need to be tweaked for usability.
• On a similar note of usability, what are they going to do with the onscreen keyboard? I already have a relatively tough time pecking away at the keyboard on the fullsized iPhone - I can’t even imagine typing on one half the size.

[Via MacRumors]

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





Source: MobileCrunch | 23 Dec 2008 | 8:42 pm

Review: Cable, sat TV alternatives OK but a hassle (AP)

AP - It's Day One of a weeklong experiment to see if I could live without satellite TV.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 23 Dec 2008 | 8:29 pm

Roku Box Adds HD, Grows Beyond Netflix

DeviceGuru writes "Roku has announced two free updates to its Internet-enabled Netflix movie-streaming set-top box. The initial update adds advanced compression capable of streaming HD video over average consumer broadband connections, while the second (expected during the first quarter of 2009) will add A/V streaming from sources other than Netflix (e.g. YouTube, Hulu, Comedy Central, MSNBC, etc.). Roku faces growing competition from other providers of Internet-based video-on-demand STBs, such as Blockbuster's STB, Syabas's Popcorn Hour (aka NMT), AppleTV, and others. Roku hasn't said anything specific, but perhaps it'll partner with Boxee, which already provides a popular AppleTV hack."



Read more of this story at Slashdot.




Source: Slashdot | 23 Dec 2008 | 8:29 pm

Molecule Preserves Complex Memories

Finding suggests that unwanted memories might be erasable without harming other brain functionsThe brain acts as a computer to both store information and process that information.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 23 Dec 2008 | 8:20 pm

RIAA Qualifies Statement on No New Copyright Lawsuits

The Recording Industry Association of America took some recent heat for saying it has not initiated new litigation for months, although dozens of lawsuits targeting alleged copyright scofflaws have been filed within the last few weeks. The RIAA qualified the statement, saying the recently filed lawsuits represent following through with legal action that was already in the pipeline, such as where subpoenas have already been issued to ISPs.







Source: Wired Top Stories | 23 Dec 2008 | 8:20 pm

'Pinups for Pit Bulls' Rally for Breed

"Fight the deed, not the breed" is the motto of these pioneering pinup models.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Dec 2008 | 8:13 pm

Notebook shipments overtake desktops in new study (AP)

AP - Shipments of notebook computers edged passed desktop sales in the third quarter for the first time, according to data from the research firm iSupply.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 23 Dec 2008 | 7:55 pm

Contest: Free TeleNav service for your Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Storm



CrunchGear has been around for a few years now and we know that a lot of you have been following us since the beginning so we wanted to reward those folks. Think of it as our version of Best Buy’s Reward Zone program. Otherwise known as the CrunchGear Loyalty Rewards Program. TeleNav has always been supportive of us and so we’ve teamed up to give away a years worth of free service for your Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Storm. So how do you win?

Read on to find out >>

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





Source: MobileCrunch | 23 Dec 2008 | 7:51 pm

Fry's exec busted for $65MM embezzlement scheme, Vegas flings

From the AP:

SAN JOSE (AP) - A Ferrari-driving vice president of Fry's Electronics Inc. who was allegedly such a heavyweight gambler that casinos chartered private planes to fly him to Las Vegas has been arrested on charges he embezzled more than $65 million from the retailer to fuel his lavish lifestyle and pay off debts.

Ausaf Umar Siddiqui is accused by the IRS of concocting an incredibly profitable scheme in which he cut side deals with some of Fry's suppliers, buying their goods at higher prices than they would normally get, and buying more of them than he normally would, in exchange for kickbacks of up to 31 percent of the total sales price.

Fry's Exec Accused In $65M Embezzlement Scheme [CBS5.com/AP]




Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Dec 2008 | 7:46 pm

Wired.com's Wishlist: What We Want in an iPhone Nano

We don't believe an iPhone Nano is coming anytime soon, but we can always dream, can't we? Here's a list of features we want in a miniature iPhone.







Source: Wired: Gadgets | 23 Dec 2008 | 7:45 pm

Gas Cubby for iPhone on sale for $1



Gas Cubby, the very well reviewed iPhone application for tracking car maintenance and fuel efficiency is on sale today for a buck. (It's normally $5.)

You can export your car data without much issue — it supports Excel/CSV — but I'd really like to see integration with Fuely.

Gas Cubby [iTunes App Store]





Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Dec 2008 | 7:41 pm

Amazon's Annual Electronics Bestseller List Is Lowbrow

Along with eggnog, ugly red sweaters and disco mirror balls, it is also time for another year-end staple: the best-sellers list.

While gadget enthusiasts were chasing the Flip HD and Blu-ray players, millions getting their gadget fix from Amazon.com went for the basics: GPS navigators, headsets and cameras.

Amazon.com's list of the most popular electronics sold through the site, till date, surprises only in how GPS still dominates the charts in terms of popular electronics bought this year.

Garmin's personal navigation GPS device topped Amazon.com's top ten best-selling devices of the year chart and its different models dominated the list. Apple's iPod nano (4GB 3rd generation Silver) came in fourth.

And who knew millions wanted a digital photo keychain more than a camera or a music player? The Coby 1.5-inch digital photo keychain in white ranked second on the charts.

Here's the complete list of the best-selling electronics products ordered from Amazon.com all year:

1. Garmin nüvi 350 GPS navigator   
2. Coby 1.5-Inch digital photo keychain
3. Canon PowerShot A590IS 8MP digital camera
4. Apple 4 GB iPod nano
5. Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000
6. Garmin nüvi 660 GPS navigator
7. Garmin nüvi 760 GPS navigator
8. Coby CVE92 isolation stereo earphones
9. Plantronics 510 Bluetooth headset
10. Garmin nüvi 360 GPS navigator

Photo: (Irish Typepad/Flickr)










Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 23 Dec 2008 | 7:22 pm

iControlPad iPhone/Touch gamepad slips into production



Sure - for all I know, it may be a while before we see a whole lot of support for the iControlPad gamepad making its way into various applications (besides the emulators, many of which already support it). And, yes, Apple might never, ever acknowledge its existence in any official manner. All that said, man do I want one.

The iControlPad has been a work in progress for a few months now, and it’s going into production at long last. ZodTTD got a shot of one of the final pre-production models, and it’s definitely a gigantasaurus step-up from the prototypes of yesteryear. While there’s still no ETA or pricing info available, we do know that the final model will be shipping in black, rather than the white shown above.

[Via EngadgetMobile]

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





Source: MobileCrunch | 23 Dec 2008 | 7:15 pm

Wired.com's Wishlist: What We Want in an iPhone Nano

An iPhone Nano launching at January's Macworld Expo? You don't say.

It's unlikely, but a few websites are drumming up rumors about the fabled gadget. An image purporting to be a leaked photo of the iPhone Nano suggests the device is just like the original iPhone, except shorter and less wide.

Boring. Apple designers are a lot more imaginative than that, aren't they? But while we're in the spirit of wishing, here's a list of features Wired.com would like to see in an iPhone Nano, if one ever sees the light of day. 

Dual-Screen Clamshell Design
In order to deserve the name "Nano," this iPhone needs to be considerably smaller than its bigger brother. It should easily slip into a pocket, to the point where one could barely even notice it. If all Apple did was scale down the original iPhone, as "leaked" photos suggest, it would be difficult to control the touchscreen without a stylus. Imagine typing on one of those things or playing with an app!

Instead, Apple should embrace a clamshell form factor similar to a patent the company published in 2006 (left). We're taking this a step further: Folded up, the phone resembles the iPod Shuffle (same buttons), with a very small, always-on screen to display status icons (e.g., missed or incoming calls).

Unfolded, the iPhone Nano would look somewhat like the fourth-generation iPod Nano -- except a second, low-powered touchscreen would replace the scroll wheel. The low-powered touchscreen would display a dialer once the phone is opened. The screen above would be the primary, fully powered one, and this would display the apps. The bottom screen would change depending on which app is open on the above screen (e.g., if the SMS app is open, the bottom screen would turn into a virtual keyboard.) You'd also be able to unfold the phone both length-wise and width-wise. (The photo at the top of the story, illustrated by reader James Camp, is similar to our idea.)

A Separate App Store
So here's what would make the diminutive size of our iPhone Nano work logistically in terms of software: It would have its own App Store. The current App Store is cluttered enough; imagine how messy everything would get if developers had to code software for two different types of iPhones. With a Nano App Store, developers could code mini, simple apps meant to be played around with on a two small screens. Heck, this would even create a new market for iPhone developers looking to strike it rich.

Universal Landscape Mode
In order for a mini iPhone to not be a pain in the butt to use, landscape mode should work for everything. Not just Safari or the video player, which is how the original iPhone works. We're talking text messaging, e-mail, third-party apps. Make this happen, Apple -- and while you're at it, think about doing the same thing for the current iPhone.

Built-in, Beefed Up Voice Recognition
The current iPhone doesn't have voice recognition, and a Nano version would need it even more. Apple could even step it up a notch and make voice-enabled text messaging, e-mailing and web search to work.

Those are just some ideas that sprung off the top of our heads. What would you want in an iPhone Nano? Submit your suggestions and vote on your favorites in the Reddit widget below.




What do you want in an iPhone Nano? Submit your suggestions -- and drawings, if you want -- in the Reddit widget below. Then vote on your favorites!

Show suggestions that are: hot | new | top-rated or submit your own prediction

 

Submit a Suggestion

While you can submit as many suggestions as you want, you can only submit one every 30 minutes. No HTML allowed.

Back to top

See Also:

• iPhone Nano Rumors Continue, Look More Legit
• Possible iPhone Nano Photos 'Leaked'
• Rumor: Apple Definitely, Probably Not Working on iPhone Shuffle ...
• iPhone Nano To Be Announced Within Next Decade


Photos: James Camp, Apple










Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 23 Dec 2008 | 7:12 pm

Africa's Oldest Chimp, a Conservation Hero, Dies

The life of 66-year-old chimpanzee Gregoire is celebrated by his caretakers.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Dec 2008 | 7:03 pm

Hide your HDMI cable in your walls with Flatwire

Flatwire, makers of specialized cabling that can be hidden in drywall with a minimum of extra work, have announced a new HDMI variant in lengths up to 20 feet. There's no price yet, but if it's anything like the component video versions, it won't be cheap. I would expect a 20-foot length to be around $140 or more.

Far more expensive than your generic HDMI cable from Monoprice, for instance, but not all that much for a nice media closet installation. Should be out in the new year.

Flatwire product page (no HDMI info yet) [FlatWireReady.com]




Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Dec 2008 | 5:56 pm

Royal College of Art freshmen envision the future of cars



Earlier this month, first year students of the Vehicle Design course at London's Royal College of Art were asked to present concepts for light, compact cars of the future. The results are pretty fun: the one above looks like it just crawled out of a Miyazaki anime, while the one below looks like it is imported from a world gone Tron.



EuroK-Cars at the Royal College of Art [Dezeen]




Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Dec 2008 | 5:47 pm

HTC On A Roll With Android

HTC's G1 phone featuring Google's Android mobile operating system is a blockbuster hit for the company.

It expects sales of more than one million G1 phones this year, says a HTC executive. The G1 launched on Oct. 22 nationwide on the T-Mobile network.

Still that is lower than the number of Apple 3G iPhones that were sold since the device's launch. Apple hit sales of 1 million iPhones just three days after it was available in stores starting July 11.


Meanwhile, the G1 has put HTC at the front of the pack when it comes to Android-based devices.Though competitors such as Samsung and Motorola are also betting big on Android, HTC has clearly taken the lead on the platform.

The company is likely to release its second Android-based handset in the first quarter of next year and is working on its third one.

[via mocoNews]

Photo: (jugglerpm/Flickr)










Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 23 Dec 2008 | 5:18 pm

Japanese gothic surrealism advertises Windows 3.1

Ditch those doofy "I'm a PC" ads, Microsoft. You were advertising Windows far better 17 years ago.

Windows 3.1 Commercial [YouTube]




Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Dec 2008 | 5:06 pm

On Earth, Evolution Booms in Bursts

Life on Earth has evolved in fits and starts, according to controversial new research.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Dec 2008 | 5:03 pm

Ancient Tombs Unveiled Near Cairo

Newly found tombs reveal the sprawling necropolis south of Cairo is larger than thought.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Dec 2008 | 4:30 pm

Television fire place in Prenzlauer Berg



There's nothing tackier than a television basking a cathode fireplace around Christmas time, but I spotted this old Zenith spitting embers and burning logs at the junta-like Scotch and Sofa in Prenzlauer Berg (do not go for the scotch selection, which is meager: go to make out in the cavernous, sofa-strewn basement), and for once did not seize up in a full body seizure, the paroxysms of which formed my body's natural allergenic reaction to low-brow Yuletide schmaltziness.




Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 23 Dec 2008 | 4:29 pm

Christmas Lights May Pose Lead Hazard

Christmas lights might be bad for our health, according to a new study.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Dec 2008 | 3:30 pm

New Spy Tricks Hide Messages in Plain Sight

Meet cryptography's evil twin: the power to hide codes in everyday communications.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Dec 2008 | 2:30 pm

GateHouse Media sues NY Times Co. over copyright (AP)

AP - GateHouse Media Inc. filed a copyright infringement lawsuit Monday against the parent company of The Boston Globe, claiming the newspaper's new community Web sites use online material from GateHouse without permission.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 23 Dec 2008 | 1:59 pm
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