Gadgetell Resolution: Be more organized

Section: Originals, Web, Websites

2009 is upon us.  It is actually only a few hours old.  If you’re like me and procrastinate on a lot of things, you might not have any New Years Resolutions yet, if you even make them.  One of the most common resolutions is to be more organized.  You’d think with all the computers and gadgets around organizing yourself would be quite easy, but it tends to be even more confusing.  That’s why the web can be one of your best resources for organization.  Here’s a list of five websites that can help you in you quest for organization.

5. 43Things

Okay, so technically 43Things only organizes your goals, but that can be a great help at times.  With 43Things, you input your goals, or resolutions, or whatever you want to call them, and share them with the world.  The site is about people encouraging one another to accomplish their goals and explaining how they’ve done it.  If nothing else, you can find other people who want to be organized and see how they did it.

4. Remember The Milk

Possibly the easiest way to organize yourself in terms of what you have to do it with a to-do list.  Remember The Milk allows you to create lists online for access anywhere you have internet access.  It can even send you SMS messages, e-mails, or IMs reminding you to do something on your list.  It can connect to Google Calendar so you can store appointments on there easily.  There’s also a Pro account mode that gives you access to RTM on the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile apps.

3. Toodledo

Toodledo takes everything RTM does and expands upon it.  It allows for subtasks within tasks and time estimates on every task.  It boasts full GTD support for those who follow David Allen’s “Getting Things Done,“ or who want to.  It doesn’t have an application on every mobile platform like RTM, but its iPhone app can be used without having a pro account.  For a full comparison, Toodledo has this chart.

2. Mint

Going into the new year, the most important thing to organize is your money.  This is exactly what Mint specializes in.  It can help you keep track of all your purchases and spending.  It can link to your bank account, credit card, or any number of things.  Mint makes tracking your spending and putting together a budget incredibly easy.  Now you can see just how much money you spent on gas compared to groceries or anything else.

1. Backpack

Backpack is at the top of the list largely because of its wide range of features.  It allows you to keep track of almost everything you need to (aside from your budget) to keep organized.  There’s to-do lists, a calendar, and even the ability to upload files.  It can keep track of almost everything you need it to.  You can even connect with other users that are working with you.  Overall, it combines most everything you need to organize yourself and put it in one convenient place.

What are you waiting for?  Try out these sties and get more organized.

Read [43 Things]
Read [Remember The Milk]
Read [Toodledo]
Read [Mint]
Read [Backpack]

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

That Was, Like, So 2008 Part 1: Gamertell’s big fat January through June 2008 recap

FROM GAMERTELL - Gamertell takes a look back at the more interesting, popular, noteworthy, and weird stories of 2008. This first of the two-parter includes January through June… MORE »

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

Vibrating pillow alarm clock buzzes you awake but doesn’t wake bedmate(s)

I’m on a new kick: silent wake-ups. The vibration setting on the SleepTracker watch I reviewed has turned out to be a far less agitating way to start the day than waking up to a blaring alarm clock.

Even our own Greg Kumparak has developed a method called iPhone-in-the-pants wherein he sets his iPhone alarm to vibrate and sleeps with it in his jammie pockets. Dangerous? Maybe. Weird that he still wears jammie pants? Definitely.

Perhaps splitting the difference between alarm clocks and vibrating pants is the vibrating alarm clock pillow, available in Japan. Designed to prevent waking up your partner, the Vessel Bururu runs about $50 and gently rattles your head until you wake up. There’s a built-in clock/panel on the side of the pillow, allowing you to set everything and the whole shebang’s powered by six AA batteries. Hopefully the pillow itself is comfortable.

[via SlashGear]

Rejoice! Viacom and Time Warner prevent blackout!

Time Warner subscribers almost, almost lost some of the best cable networks if a deal hadn’t been struck by the time the NYE ball dropped. Thankfully, Viacom and Time Warner came together in the name of the subscribers (and money) and penned an agreement in principle that will keep Dora and Stewart on the air. 

The whole dispute came about as Viacom claims that their key stations - MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, SpikeTV, Nickelodeon, and Noggin - account for 20% of the providers viewing but Viacom isn’t compensated as such. So, long story short, the network wanted 23 cents more per subscriber to keep the stations on their air which works out to be between $35 to $40 million more a year in Viacom’s coffers. 

Thankfully an unannounced deal was made as I can’t imagine recovering from a hangover without MadTV.

Microsoft's Official Fix for Failing Zunes - PC World

DailyTech

Microsoft's Official Fix for Failing Zunes PC World - 35 minutes ago Zune owners now have a fix for their failing devices thanks to Microsoft that has posted instructions on how to start the new year off with a working digital music player. Zune chokes on leap-year bug Computerworld Microsoft Scrambling To Thaw Zune Freeze InformationWeek Los Angeles Times - San Jose Mercury News - E Canada Now - AHN all 513 news articles

Virgin Galactic Signs Historic Lease Agreement

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Ford hoping to attract enthusiasts with '10 Shelby - The Associated Press

Motor Spain

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Chinese software pirates get prison sentences - The Associated Press

Maktoob

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baLens White Balance Lens Cap

Shipwrecked treasure allegedly found with help from Google Maps

Google Earth and Maps is more than a noveltiy to this guy. Supposably he located a shipwrecked boat laden gold and silver worth around $3 billion. Billion. That’s a lot of booty. But wait, there is more.

He uses the Google tools to keep a watchful eye on his location while he pursues the legal path of gaining permission to dig. It seems that the area in question has been claimed by some estate while this guy says its in open water and therefore free to excavation. No matter how the court battle turns out, it’s great to see Google Maps being used for something other than casual peeping toms and Monday morning time wasting.

What Yahoo Must Do to Survive - ReadWriteWeb

ReadWriteWeb

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Microsoft Uses WGA To Obtain Record Jail Sentences

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New product speculation swirls by Apple faithful in advance of ... - Bizjournals.com

SlashGear

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Wall Street Guru Ball

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New York Times Sued Over URL Linking

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Rumor: Microsoft to lay off 17% of staff on January 15, 2009 - Ars Technica

TrustedReviews

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Powerful Storm Starts 2009 - AccuWeather.com

The Associated Press

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Don’t eat the yellow snow: No iP3G unlock yet

Here’s the current YellowSn0w status. I’m going back to bed.

Update 4: (a) The yellowsn0w Cydia package will be available as soon as our devteam member in charge of the repo wakes up to fix a file permission error. (b) Once it’s out, those users with SIMs that have apps and other menus on them will need to do that extra step we’ve been talking about. They’ll need to pull and reinsert the SIM once after rebooting the phone to engage the unlock. Even though it’s needed only once per boot, it’s still a nuisance and we’ll be fixing that ASAP. (c) You’ll know if you fall into that “extra step” category if your carrier doesn’t show up within about 10 seconds of the slide to unlock screen. (d) Yes it really is for baseband 02.28.00. That means everyone can use it now! (e) Happy New Year!

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

Don’t eat the yellow snow: iP3G unlock not out yet

Here’s the current YellowSn0w status. I’m going back to bed.

Update 4: (a) The yellowsn0w Cydia package will be available as soon as our devteam member in charge of the repo wakes up to fix a file permission error. (b) Once it’s out, those users with SIMs that have apps and other menus on them will need to do that extra step we’ve been talking about. They’ll need to pull and reinsert the SIM once after rebooting the phone to engage the unlock. Even though it’s needed only once per boot, it’s still a nuisance and we’ll be fixing that ASAP. (c) You’ll know if you fall into that “extra step” category if your carrier doesn’t show up within about 10 seconds of the slide to unlock screen. (d) Yes it really is for baseband 02.28.00. That means everyone can use it now! (e) Happy New Year!

Still waiting. Apparently this is a tiny daemon that runs at boot and will simply blow your baseband into kingdom come. The natives at the dev blog are restless. To wit:

all people waiting for “yellowsn0w”, why dev team doesn’t released on time at promised? I very hard to trust dev team at the moment. the video show for 2.1 unlocking so many days passed, you dev team shall done the software and release on time before 2008. we are unhappy on the first day of 2009, because all the world people waiting for you dev team’s yellowsn0w. you gave us very bad new year!

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The top tech prospects of 2009

Section: Computers, Hardware, Gadgets / Other, Household, Lifestyle, Peripherals, Originals

What technologies are going to go mainstream in 2009?  The following four technologies will shape your everyday life starting in 2009.  Don’t expect everything to change by tomorrow, but you’ll see. 

Wireless USB

While wireless USB hubs are currently available, they are priced too high for widespread adoption.  I expect this to become much cheaper in 2009 with more devices sporting wireless USB built in. 

What devices will have this new technology?  Point and shoot cameras, speaker systems, and printers should have the most success since they do not require that much bandwidth to be successful.  I’m sure someone will come out with wireless external hard drives, but they will be too slow for most users.

WiMAX

Free public Wi-Fi never seems to get out of the gate since major telecoms usually lobby to stop such things.  WiMAX on the other hand is just another service that can be provided by the telecoms.  Sprint’s XOHM in Baltimore is probably a good indication that the service will spread.  Baltimore is big enough to test market something like this and the bugs ought to be worked out within 2009 for widespread coverage. 

Home server appliances

Netbooks are huge right now.  Lots of people are grabbing them up as a second or even third computer.  Once you start introducing multiple computers in a location, you’ve got to have a network.  Once you start using more than one computer in a day, you’ll want to access your media from any one of the computers.  That all adds up to having a home server.

Microsoft has its Windows Home Server software and HP has put their own spin on it with their HP MediaSmart Server which will work with Windows and Mac machines out of the box.  Right now, geeks can easily set up servers and withstand the sometimes clunky networking.

2009 will be the year that the server becomes something for less geeky people.  I’m not saying your granny is going to be installing a server, but it will be easier to have one in the home.

802.11n standard finalized

Wikipedia says that the standard is supposed be finalized in November of 2009.  I expect this to get done earlier.  Draft-N has been around for such a long time, that it is only a matter of time.  802.11n is something that will help build a more networked wireless home to connect computers, televisions, and other gadgets.  Expect electronics makers to try to get this standard finalized to increase sales of networked products. 

What do you expect to see in 2009?  Sound off in the comments.

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

Fall 2009 to bring larger iPod Touches?

FROM APPLETELL - TechCrunch is reporting that Apple customers should be prepared to see a 7” to 9” screen iPod Touch device sometime in the near future, most likely by fall of 2009. MORE »

Larger iPod Touch In Apple's Future?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The pros and cons of the Navigon ZAGAT feature

Section: Gadgets / Other, GPS/Navigation

If you own certain Navigon GPSs, you have the ability to add on the ZAGAT Ratings and Reviews feature.  The feature is compatible with GPS models 2100 and 2120.  For less than $40, you can upload over 20,000 reviews onto your navigator in order to help better choose hotels, restaurants, and attractions while driving. 

The reviews come in the traditional ZAGAT format and focus on the country’s top restaurants, golf courses, spas, hotels, and other area attractions.  ZAGAT ratings include a numbered score that rates the attraction’s food, décor, service and cost.  You can search through the ratings by using the provided categories, like best food, best service, best value, etc. ZAGAT ratings include service providers in over 70 cities across the entire country.  This makes it easy to select a place to eat and stay while you’re traveling.  Once you find the ZAGAT recommended attraction, your Navigon GPS will provide directions to that location.

The main drawback of the feature is that you won’t find ratings in smaller towns.  The ZAGAT feature is only really applicable if you’re planning to travel to or through major metropolitan areas.  Overall, the Navigon’s ZAGAT Ratings and Review is a good value if you buy the feature directly from the company. Third party resellers tend to jack the price up and make it not worth your money.  For more information on purchasing the Navigon ZAGAT feature, you can go to the Navigon website.

Product Page [Navigon]

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

The Importance of Being CES - PC Magazine

eFluxMedia

The Importance of Being CES PC Magazine - 10 hours ago Six major trends and products will dominate this year's still-crucial CES and become the hot products next holiday. by Tim Bajarin Over the next week or two you'll hear a lot of news coming out of CES, the granddaddy of consumer electronics shows that ... Tech consumers unplugged Atlanta Journal Constitution What's in store at CES 2009 CNET News Alameda Times-Star - CrunchGear - In Business Las Vegas - Orange County Business Journal all 32 news articles

Happy New Year from NewsDemon

The nice guys at NewsDemon just offered you guys a coupon for 50% off monthly service between now an next Wednesday. Why? Because they want to pull Usenet out of the file sharing ghetto and expand their audience to cool people like you.

How do you get the goods? Roll over to NewsDemon and sign up for a monthly service with the coupon “CRUNCHGEARRULES.” As long as you keep re-upping, you’ll get the discount.

Thanks for reading and here’s to a great 2009!

How to Linkbait Your Blog to Popularity

25 Years of Mac: From Boxy Beige to Silver Sleek

It's the 25th anniversary of the Apple Macintosh, but Steve Jobs' eyes are dry. At the company headquarters in Silicon Valley, where he was presenting a set of new laptops to the press last October, I mentioned the birthday to him. Jobs recoiled at any suggestion of nostalgia. "I don't think about that," he said. "When I got back here in 1997, I was looking for more room, and I found an archive of old Macs and other stuff. I said, 'Get it away!' and I shipped all that shit off to Stanford. If you look backward in this business, you'll be crushed. You have to look forward."

Here's what's amazing about the Mac as it turns 25, a number that in computer years is just about a googolplex: It can look forward. The Mac's original competition—the green-phosphorus-screened stuff made by RadioShack, DEC, and then-big kahuna IBM—now inhabit landfills, both physically and psychically. Yet the Macintosh is not only thriving, it's doing better than at any time in its history. Much of the attention directed at Apple over the past few years has focused on new products like the iPod and the iPhone. Click wheels and touchscreens have distracted us from the news that the Mac market share has quietly crept into double digits. That's up from barely 3 percent in 1997, just before the prodigal CEO returned to the fold after a 12-year exile. Any way you cut it, the Mac is on the rise while Windows is waning. Roll over, Methusela—the Macintosh is still peaking.

What's behind this autumnal upswing? Apple COO Tim Cook lists six factors: better computers, better software, seamless compatibility with Windows, marketing acumen, successful retail stores, and the belly flop of Microsoft Vista. (Redmond's lame new OS was merely the last straw; over the past two decades, millions have switched from PCs to Macs.) But the larger story of Apple's rebirth begins with the return of its cofounder. Jobs called the company he came back to a "beautiful Porsche speedster that had been sitting in a field. And it got really dirty, covered with mud." He slashed the product line, Picasso-ized the design, launched a wildly successful chain of retail stores, and turned the annual Apple keynote address into the high tech equivalent of a popcorn blockbuster. And yes, Apple did make better computers than its rivals.

There was something else at work, too. Unlike almost anything else dating from the era of Culture Club and The Cosby Show, the Mac has retained its vitality and cachet without ever becoming retro or kitsch. A sense of a cultural divide was there from the very beginning and persists to this day. The skunkworkers behind the Mac were self-styled corporate outcasts who flew a pirate flag and talked trash about the competition. ("We've made almost every computer that's ever been made look completely absurd," Mac teamer vgbfvrn told me back in 1983.) On the very first day I spent with the Mac team members, working on a Rolling Stone story two months before the January 1984 launch, they made it clear that they saw themselves as a new kind of digital hipster—silicon artists determined to take down the faceless giants dominating the industry. They weren't building a computer for some wonks behind a desk; they were building it for themselves. Jobs made the case when we went out for pizza that night (he was lobbying for the Rolling Stone cover). "What if you did a story about what a group of really neat people are doing in the 1980s?" he prodded. "They aren't in the garage with a set of drums and a few guitars. At two in the morning they're in the lab, writing software." (Jobs no longer begs for covers; now he manages the press so well that we beg him.)

25 Years of Mac.
Click on the image to see the full-sized timeline of Apple products.

Those original Mac rebels (including their leader) are now in their fifties, but the Mac itself has managed to avoid middle-age wrinkles and creaky joints. Forever young, it's associated more with Millennials than geezers, even though many Millennials weren't even born when that famous first commercial—Ridley Scott's "1984" spot—ran during Super Bowl XVIII. The Mac is Obama, Microsoft is McCain. Computer scientist Paul Graham summed it up in a famous online essay in 2007: "Windows," he wrote, "is for grandmas."

That generational perception is why Apple's long-running PC-versus-Mac ad campaign, with the nebbishy John Hodgman portraying the PC, has deeply unhinged Microsoft despite the company's dominant market share. When I mentioned the ads to Bill Gates at the January 2007 Vista launch, he went Vesuvius on me. "I don't know why they're acting superior," he said. "I don't even get it. I mean, do you get it? What are they trying to say? There's not even the slightest shred of truth to it!" But that's not what the public thinks, and the sales figures prove it. Microsoft is now so rattled by Apple's advertising that it's running a $300 million counterpunch. The whole point of the "I'm a PC" campaign is to assure customers that they aren't pathetic losers.

Generally, when products go mass market, they lose their edge. So it's remarkable that with 30 million users, being a Mac person is still a statement. If the Mac share keeps growing, will that stay true? If 50 million people are using Macs, does that mean they're still "thinking different"? How about 100 million?

We may just find out.

Senior writer Steven Levy (steven_levy@wired.com), who wrote about Microsoft's Ray Ozzie in issue 16.12, still has his first Mac, seen in the photo above.

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One million of us techies don’t trust doctors

Section: Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Web, Websites

iGuard has signed up their one millionth customer and bringing their story to light.  The site is pretty ingenious, fill in the prescription medication you take and any adverse reactions with them known now or in the future will be emailed to you.  Thinking of folks that have multiple doctors prescribing all kinds of things, many are choosing not to leave their drug reactions up to fate.  The site allows patients to feel like they have some kind of control over some knowledge.

The site keeps an up-to-date list of drug-drug and drug-disease reaction list that users can view online or they can register and have customized safety reports, recalls and safety alerts sent to them as they develop.  The site is said to be secure for patients’ information.  The site is funded by medical research, not advertising, so at least the agenda isn’t to blast us with more ads.

What’s more, the site has a social feature allowing patients to leave feedback on drugs they’ve taken and the experiences they’ve had.  That’s a nice touch to round out the info, even though drugs will affect each person a little differently.

The site is free and might be worth checking out.  iGuard has gained the support of patient advocacy groups and I am directing my relatives there.

Company site: [iGuard]

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

Happy New Year!

In keeping with the spirit of New Tech Journalism, we're breaking the U.S. embargo an hour early. Happy new year, Internet!

Welcome to 2009, the International Year of Natural Fibers.

Qwest Ordered to Restore SkyWi Network Services

Boing Boing tv: The Herd, "2020," music video by Mike Daly (buh-bye, 2008!)

(Video embed above, and here's a direct MP4 download.)

A special treat from Boing Boing tv for your New Year's eve revelry, we're gonna sneak this one last episode in before the clock strikes 2009 here! Enjoy this music video for Sydney, Australia-based band The Herd, directed by the phenomenally talented Mike Daly. More about the band's "glam/folk/tropical" music here. Every time we played this one in the BBtv editing bay, we all ended up dancing around the Final Cut windows. Mike Daly did incredible work here, there's not a frame of this I'd do differently, and it says so much about the year we're ending tonight, don't you think? Dig it, TRY not to dance, keep the faith my fellow mutants, and Feliz Año a todos ustedes, from all of us at the Boing Boing blogs, and the Boing Boing TV team! Peace.

Vote for your favorite iPhone apps during the Best App Ever Awards

FROM APPLETELL - Through January 6th, the Best App Ever Awards are looking to find and congratulate some of the best applications that have been made for the iPod Touch and iPhone. MORE »

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

IBM in sales alliance with Japan's Ricoh: paper (Reuters)

Reuters - IBM and Japanese office equipment maker Ricoh Co Ltd (7752.T) will start sharing each other's sales network this year and promote their servers and printers together, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.

Zune bug explained in detail

Earlier today, the sound of thousands of Zune owners crying out in terror made ripples across the blogosphere. The response from Microsoft is to wait until tomorrow and all will be well. You’re probably wondering, what kind of bug fixes itself?

Well, I’ve got the code here and it’s very simple, really; if you’ve taken an introductory programming class, you’ll see the error right away.

year = ORIGINYEAR; /* = 1980 */

while (days > 365)
{
if (IsLeapYear(year))
{
if (days > 366)
{
days -= 366;
year += 1;
}
}
else
{
days -= 365;
year += 1;
}
}

You can see the details here, but the important bit is that today, the day count is 366. As you can see, the leap year is accounted for, but int “days” is too big for the main while loop to end. So the thing just keeps running and running… until 24 hours have passed and int day receives a new value. At least, I think that’s what happens (it’s been a while since CS101).

Itsnotabigtruck, the poster who figured this out for everyone, notes that this will occur again in four years if they don’t do something. I’m guessing that they will.

Windows 7 in 2009? I don’t think so… - ZDNet

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A Robotic Cyberknife To Fight Cancer

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Girly guitar controller for PS2

If you are a girly girl, or if for some reason you love someone with an obsession with hearts and the color pink, then you may be interested in this pink heart-shaped wireless guitar for the PS2. The guitar was designed by the teen girl band Aly & AJ and is selling for $49.99. Please don’t get this for me unless you want to see me smash it to pieces.

SayType lets you text without touching

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

We love to text.  We love to email.  We love to do this all the time, even when driving.  A new company hopes we come to our senses and pay for their services to translate our voice to text.  Am I the only one pessimistic about this?

The premise is somewhat simple:  Sign up, phone the company, talk at the tone (120 seconds limit), then *poof* your message gets sent in the mode of your desire.

Now surely you noticed I wrote, “pay for their service.“  Just how much? $14.95 per month for email OR for text. 

For road warriors, surely this makes tons of sense.  Or does it?  When I send stuff in text (texting or emails), I like to make sure what I am saying makes sense so when it gets forwarded to my superiors, I don’t look like an ass.  This takes away some of that security blanket, so even though I am on the road often, I am unsure how useful this would be for me.

For the rest of us, another monthly charge that perhaps the telecoms ought to be including?  I am not so sure that is going to bowl anyone over.  Great idea, but this company needs to get bought and incorporated into a telecom.  Other competing options are things like native app Jott.

Anyone disagree?  Let me know in the comments.  Warning: the company site plays music (uggh)

Company site: SayType

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

With Gaza Conflict, Cyberattacks Come Too (PC World)

Zune Freeze Result of Leap Year: Microsoft

It was the Z2k problem after all, a glitch related to the inability of the device clock to handle the extra day in a leap year that froze thousands of Zune media players Wednesday morning.

"A bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year affected Zune users," said the company in a statement. "That being the case, the issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009."

Early Wednesday users worldwide woke to find their 30GB Zune devices freezing. Without an immediate response from Microsoft, users flooded support groups and blogs to speculate on what could have gone wrong. Many suggested that Zune devices may have been facing the equivalent of the feared Y2k bug, a glitch that was supposed to fell computers in year 2000 as many older programs used the last two digits to represent the year instead of the whole four digits.

Zune users suspected something similar might have occurred with the player as its internal clock may have been incapable of handle the extra day in the year.

Now Microsoft says they were right. The company said the "widespread" issue affected the 2006 30GB model of the device.

The problem should fix itself, says Microsoft. The internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices should automatically reset tomorrow noon GMT. "By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on," said Microsoft in a statement.

Microsoft recommended users with frozen Zunes just let the battery drain out instead of opening up the device.

Zune Pass subscribers may need to sync their device with their PCs to refresh the rights to the subscription content on their device.

Microsoft Zune Support Page

Photo: (raybdbomb/Flickr)

Browser Privacy Test

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Pilots can now spy on you at night, look creepy

Want to live out your “Blue Thunder” fantasy? Now you can legally get military-spec night vision goggles for when you are flying your helicopter. In the past, there were no FAA approved night vision goggles for civilian use — you were taking your chances when you were flying at night, and typically doing instrument based flying (exciting, but dangerous…but exciting). Now you can use real night vision, assuming you buy your gear from this company.

Having flown at night in a small plane, I think this is a really good thing. It should help keep me safe when I’m “importing” goods across the Mexican border.

New OLED Printing Process Copies Old Model, Creates Rolled-up Displays

A research project funded by the European Union has developed a cheaper and faster system to manufacture flexible OLED displays.

According to researchers of project ROLLED, ramping up the production of the energy-efficient displays will accelerate the availability of associated future applications, like wearable displays and rolled up e-Ink newspapers.

Fittingly, the manufacturing process that Finland's VTT Technical Research Centre came up with is similar to that of regular newspaper printing. OLEDs are printed directly on top of flexible protective films (like the old roll-to-roll 'pressing' of the papers), where the resulting displays are rolled through in a single sheet that is later separated into individual pieces.

Currently, most of the OLEDs used in consumer electronics devices, like those of the Sony XEL-1 TV, are produced in a glass substrate. It's a process that often lasts a long time, and is generally inefficient and wasteful.

In order for the OLED printing to work, the researchers developed new printable 'nano-particle oxide (ITO) coatings' that form the anode needed to drive an electric current between itself and and the cathode layers, lighting up the organic layer that forms the meat of the display in between.

What is also remarkable is how thin they've managed to make the completed OLED sheet. Each roll is .20 millimeters, or about as thick as three sheets of paper.

The ROLLED project isn't the only one to figure out that the old/new printing process is a good idea.

Earlier this year, the main research group at General Electric produced a similar equipment module that mass-manufactures large, flexible OLED screens. GE is also focusing on developing a longer lasting OLED through more efficient diodes. In addition, companies as varied as LG Philips, Fujitsu and Sony have all teased flexible-displays with similar applications in mind.

According to Arto Maaninen, a manager for VTT, the first type of OLEDs that will likely come out of the project will be of the two-color variety and are likely to be used for ID packaging.

Lead photo: VTT

See also:

• GE Makes OLED Christmas Tree, Automates Scary 3D Surveillance Cameras

My Prosthetic Lung

Welsh company Haemair’s prosthetic lung just won UK Institution of Chemical Engineers’ Stopford Projects Award for Bioprocess Innovation. 

Normally, when a patient’s lungs don’t function, the patient is put on an ECMO system, an external machine that functions like a lung. The problem with these machines is that they are pretty bulky. Haemair has made a system that is much smaller and can be worn outside the body or placed inside the body. This will allow patients to be mobile and potentially live a more normal life. Plus, if you believe the pictures, it makes you look like the T2000.

The device can be easily maintained or removed but I’m just not sure how safe it is going to be. As is the problem with most devices like these, there is a high risk of fatal blood clots and infections. They are planning start off with an external device and then eventually move on to implanted ones. So we’ll see if it works.

A Look At Some Of The Best iPhone Apps Of 2008

This guest post was written by Bryan Barletta, lead reviewer at AppVee, a site that offers iPhone app reviews and news. Barletta has picked out some of the App Store’s best applications, and we’ve embedded video reviews for some of them (click the corresponding review link to view a video if it isn’t already embedded). Also be sure to check out our picks of the hottest iPhone apps from back in July when the App Store first launched.

The iPhone and iPod Touch have taken the world by storm. In just a little over six months time we’ve witnessed the doors of the iTunes App Store opening to the 10,000 app marker being crossed. In between that time we’ve see the $999 I’m Rich make several people poor, fart joke apps earning over $25K in one day, and Apple still looking the other way when users mention copy and paste. And with the number of total apps reaching over 13,500 less than a month since the 10,000 mark was passed, that growth is showing no signs of stopping. But some of these stand out much more than others do, so we’ve tried to hone in on the cream of the crop.

Top 10 Apps

Tweetie
An easy to use and full featured Twitter app that is speedy. The app has quite a bit of competition (other popular apps include Twitterfon and Twitterific).
Link: AppVee’s Tweetie Review

Pandora
Browse through the music genome and find new artists that fit your taste. These are automatically recommended by the site’s algorithm, so it acts like a personalized radio that works surprisingly well.
Link: AppVee’s Pandora Review

Simplify Media
Connect to multiple computers and stream their music directly to your iPhone.
Link: AppVee’s Simplify Media Review

RJDJ Album
Let your iPhone and the world around you create unique and original music. The app uses external inputs (like sound) to create a dynamic soundtrack).
Link: AppVee’s RjDj Review

Beejive IM
A multi-client instant messaging app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Link: AppVee’s Beejive Review

Camerabag
Emulate 5 different camera and film setting directly from your iPhone. This helps spice up the photos you’re taking with the phone (the default application doesn’t offer much in the way of effects.
Link: AppVee’s Camerabag Review

Facebook
An updated version of the Facebook app for the iPhone and iPod Touch, this allows you to chat with friends, post on walls, and use nearly every feature available on the social network’s main website.
Link: AppVee’s Facebook Review

Friendbook
A full featured replacement for the iPhone and iPod Touch contacts app.
Link: AppVee’s Friendbook Review

Vlingo
Voice control nearly every aspect of your iPhone and more - it’s like a more powerful version of the highly hyped (and still-impressive) Google Mobile App.
Link: AppVee’s Vlingo Review

Evernote
Keep track of everything you could possibly want to remember (like notes or photos) whether you’re on the go or at home.
Link: Appvee’s Evernote Review

Top 10 Games

Rolando
An epic platform adventure game for the iPhone and iPod Touch, this is easily one of the most innovate games to hit the platform.
Link: AppVee’s Rolando Review

Fieldrunners
A Tower defense game with SNES-like graphics. The classic gameply is highly addictive.
Link: AppVee’s Fieldrunners Review

Jellycar
A unique puzzle game that asks you to guide your “jelly car” to an endzone. As with most of the other games on this list, this is highly addictive.
Link: AppVee’s Jellycar Review

Scramboni
A multiplayer online word game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Multiplayer games on the iPhone are still rarer than they should be, and being able to play online definitely adds an extra dimension to the gameplay.
Link: AppVee’s Scramboni Review

Dr. Awesome
Save your friends and family from deadly micro viruses in this iPhone and iPod Touch game.
Link: AppVee’s Dr. Awesome Review

Up There
Guide your balloon through various obstacles as you attempt to get the highest score
Link: AppVee’s Up There Review

Flick Fishing
Forget your fishing rod - this uses the iPhone’s accelerometer to allow you to mimic a realistic fishing motion to cast a line. Also check out many of SGN’s games, which feature similar motion detection.
Link: AppVee’s Flick Fishing Review

Hero of Sparta
Control King Argos as you battle the Gods and their minions in this action adventure game.
Link: AppVee’s Hero of Sparta Review

Brothers in Arms
Play through 14 levels on foot or vehicle in this WWII action game.
Link: AppVee’s Brothers in Arms Review

Aurora Feint II
The popular iPhone and iPod Touch puzzle RPG game goes multiplayer.
Link: AppVee’s Aurora Feint II Review

While it’s easy to simply break down the top apps and games that we’ve enjoyed in 2008, it becomes a lot more difficult to find just five apps that took a chance and brought more innovation to the iPhone and iPod Touch. Below are the five apps we feel helped define the future of apps on these devices.

Top 5 Innovations

Ocarina

Link: AppVee’s Ocarina Review

RJDJ Album

Link: AppVee’s RjDj Review

iFun

Link: AppVee’s iFun Review

LogMeIn

Link: AppVee’s LogMeIn Review

Slydial

Link: AppVee’s SlyDial Review

The future of the iPhone and iPod Touch is wide open, to some degree. Depending on what restrictions Apple decides to lift. Developers are already chomping at the bit to release a video recording option as well as the ability for apps to run in the background. While those factors sit solely on the shoulders of Apple as they have been proven possible by the jailbroken community, there are quite a few things that we as consumers should expect out of the apps we’ll see in 2009.

With titles like Rhythm Spirit, a rhythm fighting game based on Japanese folklore, and Myst, a remake of the classic adventure game, making their way over to the iPhone and iPod Touch sometime in 2009 we’ve got some idea of what to look forward to. The real question is: What will be our Ocarina? Our Rolando? What apps are going to challenge the capabilities of this phone and create such a large hype that we find ourselves begging for just one more screenshot or bit of information? We’ll have to wait and see what the App Store has in store for us in 2009 as we count down the remaining hours.

2008 was all about experimenting. A fantastic device emerged, developers went crazy, and we’ve been flooded. Its now time to settle down, dig in and create some revolutionary applications. 2009 is going to be all about quality and depth. We’re going to see richer games that rival the DS and PSP, applications that truly make this device a portable computer, and multi-user apps that really start connecting people. Mobile social gaming is going to be huge and we can’t wait to see what developers have in store for us in the New Year.

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

Leap year bug zaps Zune music players (AFP)

AFP - It wasn't a very Happy New Year for owners of Microsoft's Zune.

Gadgetell Resolution: Expand your musical horizons

Section: Audio, Home Audio, Portable Audio, Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Computers, Desktops, Originals, Web, Downloads, Websites, Online Music/Video, Features

The new year is upon us and it is time to decide what our resolutions will be.  Music is something that everyone likes, but some of us do not take full advantage of all the great music services out there.  Let’s take a look at 5 popular services that can help you find new music.

1.  Last.fm

I’m sure many of you know about Last.fm already.  One thing that I find annoying is when you know a song by an artist but don’t know any other good ones and you’re left listening to only that one song. 

The good thing with Last.fm is that whenever you listen to a song, it will search for people who like the same song and then recommend songs for you.  A great way to find new and similar music.  Whenever you search for an artist, it even gives you a little bio about the band, which is cool to read.  You are able to see pictures of the band, top music, listen to it right away, listen to and find related artists, watch videos, and even buy the album if you are so inclined. 

2.  Pandora Radio

Pandora starts from the Music Genome Project, which was a study that researched many, many songs and compiled all the information to find about that one song - an overall process that took 20-30 minutes per song.  They have decided to give back to the public and allow you to search for whatever music you like. 

Once you search for the artist of your choosing, it begins to compile all available songs and if you register for an account.  You are able to save your artist “channel” for immediate playback whenever and wherever you want.  Also, it will play similar music and that’s another way you can expand your musical horizons.

3.  thesixtyone

This music website allows new and upcoming artists to upload their music and let a vast audience decide if it’s worth listening to or not, gaining the artist more popularity.  This allows you to find more new and different music that you might like.  Also, thesixtyone encourages you to make an account and recommend and rate music gaining you more influence and collecting badges.  It’s like a music community in which everyone contributes in finding great new music. 

4.  Hypem.com

Next up, we have Hypem, which features news in the music industry, popular music, the ability to see what other people are listening to, and a place to listen and talk about music in an online chat room.  By creating an account, you can save your searches and music, as well as news from your favorite blogs on Hypem.  In addition, each track that you listen to comes with a Buy on Amazon link, so you are able to buy music right away if you find something that you really like.

5.  Didiom

The last music service I want to talk about is Didiom, which is pretty different than all the other services I have listed so far.  Basically, this service wants you to buy their music as well as listen to your own music on the go.  If you have a compatible smartphone, you can download their mobile application as well as their desktop application and wirelessly stream music from your computer to your phone. 

You get to choose what folder of music you want to be accessed on your phone and then have it be streamed to your phone.  On your phone, you are able to buy music for your phone right then and there, buy music for your computer (that will be streamed to your computer) or buy both.  Make sure you have an unlimited data service, otherwise it could cost a lot of money.

Overall, all of these services are unique in their own way and are sure to expand your musical horizons.  This might be one new year resolution that you will be able to keep.  Happy listening!

Read [Last.fm]
Read [Pandora Radio]
Read [thesixtyone]
Read [Hypem]
Read [Didiom]

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

Facebook godfather groups spark mafia victims' ire (CNET)

Z2K9: Zunepocalypse

FROM APPLETELL - As of 2 a.m. today, and apparently part of some suicide pact/calendar-related coincidence, 30GB Zunes have been bricking themselves. MORE »

BlackBerry Storm, iPhone Actually Netbooks, Really, Really Small Netbooks [Digital Daily]

Contrary to popular opinion, Research In Motion’s (RIMM) Blackberry Storm is not a smartphone. It’s a Netbook. So says Mike Lazaridis, the company’s founder and co-CEO, who apparently hasn’t seen an Eee PC lately. Asked by CNet Asia if he viewed Netbooks as a competitor to RIM’s BlackBerry devices, Lazaridis, referring to the Storm, said, “These are Netbooks. They are just smaller.”

Now, leaving aside for a moment the fact that the Storm is clearly not a laptop replacement, Lazaridis’s comment is interesting because it mirrors Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs’s remarks about the iPhone this past October. Responding to a question about Apple’s plans for the Netbook market, Jobs suggested that the iPhone and iPod touch are essentially diminutive Netbooks. “One of our entrants into [the Netbook] category, if you will, is the iPhone for browsing the Internet and doing e-mail and all the other things that a netbook lets you do,” Jobs said. “Being connected via the cellular net wherever you are, an iPhone is a pretty good solution for that, and it fits in your pocket.”

Great minds think alike, I guess…

Londoners and LG Welcome 2009 in With Style

R.H. Donnelley Stock to Trade Over the Counter

Interview: Pytey of the iPhone Dev Team

Have you ever jailbroken an iPhone? Ever used a software solution to “unlock” the iPhone’s SIM slot, freeing it from the shackles of its original carrier? Chances are, the iPhone Dev Team had something to do with it. This group, made up of some of the iPhone development scene’s finest minds, spends countless hours tearing apart the iPhone to make it do all of the things Apple won’t allow - and then figures out a way to make it work for everyone. It’s tough, unpaid, and often thankless - but they keep cracking away.

Later tonight, the iPhone Dev Team is expected to release “yellowsn0w“, a long-awaited software-based SIM unlock for the iPhone 3G. Though they don’t often do interviews, we were able to gab with one of the members, Pytey, just hours before their big release for a chat about who they are, how they operate, and a whole lot more.

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

Audiolizer Puts Your iTunes Library In The Cloud, But Lala Does It Better

Audiolizer is a new music streaming service that lets you put your iTunes library in the cloud. After uploading your iTunes Library database file, the site will automatically compile a list of links to every song, allowing you to access your favorite music when you’re away from your home computer. Users can also manually search for individual songs.

As with a number of streaming audio sites, Audiolizer makes use of the YouTube API to serve its music (this ostensibly makes them less of a target for lawsuits, as they aren’t hosting any music). The system seems to work fairly well, through the presentation is strange - the “music video” shown alongside the player is only thumbnailed sized for some reason. You can still access the full sized video by clicking on the thumbnail, but it’s a bit odd.

Audiolizer would have been a great site if it came out at the beginning of this year - I love being able to have my iTunes library in the cloud. But SonicSwap does almost the same thing with a nicer interface. And then there’s LaLa which effectively makes both services obsolete: instead of using YouTube as a source of audio content (which can sometimes lead to incorrect results), Lala has forged deals with all the major record labels, so the majority of your music in streamed at a reasonably high quality bitrate with few false matches (check out our previous coverage for more on the cool service).

Fortunately, it sounds like Audiolizer is more of a side project than a full-fledged startup - the founders say that they developed the site in a week (they’re currently University students in Computer Engineering and Business Management in Canada).

Also, as an amusing sidenote, a TechCrunch user named Clayton came up with the domain name Audiolizer.com in a comment back in October. Looks like someone took his suggestion.

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

Is the Yellowstone Supervolcano About To Blow?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Interview: Pytey of the iPhone Dev Team

Have you ever jailbroken an iPhone? Ever used a software solution to “unlock” the iPhone’s SIM slot, freeing it from the shackles of its original carrier? Chances are, the iPhone Dev Team had something to do with it. This group, made up of some of the iPhone development scene’s finest minds, spends countless hours tearing apart the iPhone to make it do all of the things Apple won’t allow - and then figures out a way to make it work for everyone. It’s tough, unpaid, and often thankless - but they keep cracking away.

Later tonight, the iPhone Dev Team is expected to release “yellowsn0w“, a long-awaited software-based SIM unlock for the iPhone 3g. Though they don’t often do interviews, we were able to gab with one of the members, Pytey, just hours before their big release for a chat about who they are, how they operate, and a whole lot more.

How would you explain what the iPhone Dev Team is?

The iPhone Dev Team is an international group of technologists that like to hack (in the exploratory and problem solving sense) and modify the iPhone in order to perform functions that the iPhone was not designed to do on day 1.

In a vague sense (for the sake of anonymity), who is the iPhone Dev Team?

A bunch of geeks who love taking things apart and seeing how they work. When we work out how it works, we make tools and utilities for ourselves and share them with the rest of the world.

What would you say is the average age of the team?

About 32.

You guys are located all over the world - how do you manage to get anything done?

We communicate over IRC (Internet Relay Chat), which is great as it is a tried and tested collaborative working environment. This allows us to talk to each other and cut and paste ideas, code fragments or other information that is relevant to the projects that we are working on. Usually the IRC clients of each member are running in the background, rarely disconnecting. This ensures that we can all read what happened while we were asleep or at a meeting - we can scroll up the screen and see what is going on. We use a file transfer application on a fileserver so that any of the members can check on the status of a particular project or download any of the working files.

Is there any real “leader” or team hierarchy?

No, most definitely not. We vote on major changes of direction or something that is a big-deal and that could cause any drama or hassle. Members complete tasks that are within their expert field. This self-regulation works very well and allows the team members to work together efficiently, the workload is distributed and we can get tasks completed quickly. This was demonstrated in real life (and in person) when we took part in the Chaos Communication Congress Capture The Flag Competition in Berlin. We won the competition with a fairly large lead. For most of us this was the first time that we had taken part in such a competition.

It’s a ton of work split up amongst a number of people - is there much drama, internally?

We have had some drama in the past, but as I mentioned in the previous question, we work together very well. Arguments are rare as when you are communicating via IRC you have to think about what you type. This gives you a second or so more to analyze your statements than if you
just blurt them out of your mouth in an office :)

What sparked your interest in tearing apart the iPhone?

The same interest that I had with tearing apart my Speak & Spell as a kid, then my Tandy CoCo, then my Atari ST. I want to see what is inside and see if I can make it better. If I find something cool I tell other people about it.

Rough estimate - how many people would you say have jailbroken their iPhone using Dev Team tools?

It’s hard to say because over the last 5 months we’ve moved to distributing the applications using BitTorrent, and we don’t have any real download stats. We do know that there have been 3.6M Sparkle requests since the 16th of July (a Sparkle request is a check for an update from our server). Considering most people don’t use our tools very often (only when there is an update from Apple), that is a fairly large number.

It seems like a relatively thankless job - what’s the motivation?

It’s a hobby. It’s fun. Some people relax with a fishing rod or book, most of us enjoy using our spare time in front of a terminal, disassembler or soldering iron.

I’d assume that the majority of team members at least have an iPhone - but do most carry it as their primary handset? Are any other phones or devices popular amongst the team?

Yes, all of us have an iPhone, most of us have several handsets and lots of other PDAs and gadgets. Before the release of the iPhone I used to use Symbian devices (mainly Nokia) and I would always be
looking for the next device, the next upgrade, the next vendor. These devices held my attention for a couple of months and I’d be spending my money on a new handset to get the next gadget high. This all changed with the iPhone, for my needs it is an almost perfect device, my eyes have not wandered at all.

Does the team have a general opinion on the way Apple has handled the App Store and third-party development? If not, how do you feel personally?

The development environment is great. Apple supply tools for free that can be used straight away, and the tools are feature rich and very slick. It’s a great way to get people developing for the platform. For someone who wants an easy 1-click way of getting apps onto the iPhone, they’ve done a great job with that application delivery method. It is also fantastic for developers as they can code and deploy an application without investing in large server infrastructure, they can design something and release it (and as we’ve seen in the press recently) make lots of money. .

However, Apple places restrictions on what you can run on the device. They impose draconian restrictions on the type of application that you can run, they don’t allow applications to run in the background and they even restrict the applications by subject matter or if they compete with their own applications. If I buy a device I want to be able to do what I want with it, if that involves gambling or looking at an application that involves porn then so be it. The real estate agent who sold me my house doesn’t knock on my door every month to check what pictures I have hanging on the walls, so why should Apple have this right?

What do you think about Android?

Android is great. Some of our members are already working on the Android platform and they like it. It is great to have another UNIX-like operating system that is getting widespread adoption. I think it has quite a bit of catching up to do before it has the slick user experience of the iPhone, but I’m sure they’ll get there.

Outside of the unspoken game of cat-and-mouse with each firmware release, has Apple ever made any sort of official contact?

No, Apple leaves us alone. We expect them to fix the bugs that we use to install the software and manipulate the iPhone in the way we want, and as you say this is the only acknowledgment and response they’ve made. We love Apple, and we love their products (I have 4 expensive Apple
products on my desk right now). We link to them on our blog as a “friend” and we hope it stays that way :-)

Have any Apple employees ever dropped any off-the-record insight?

No.

Is there currently any hope for a post-2.2 unlock?

We believe the internals of the iPhone 3G BaseBand will be vulnerable to our patches in the future. We need to find a way of injecting these patches into the BaseBand with newer releases as we expect the method we are using now to be fixed.

Is there a story behind the unlock’s nickname, “yellowsn0w”?

Apple likes snow and ski related codenames for parts of the iPhone software, they’ve used BigBear, LittleBear, SugarBowl, Timberline etc, so our little appname comes from “Don’t eat yellow snow!”

How many man hours would you say went into making yellowsn0w happen?

There has been constant work on the iPhone 3G device since they released it. This workload is hard to estimate, but lots and lots of hours.

After the original iPhone was unlocked, a gray market of international iPhone sales sprung up. A good number of people were making a fairly hefty chunk of change - didn’t that make anyone on the team feel ripped off?

Not really. We don’t care what people do with the devices they modify with our software, but we really do hate anyone passing off our software as their own and charging for it. We specifically forbid this but there are companies who just rip us off. They’ll have their comeuppance!

Toying with the baseband is serious stuff - have you guys ended up with many Apple-brand paperweights?

This happened in the early days, but we have a good understanding of the processors and architecture used in the devices, we are extra careful!

What’s next for the DevTeam?

Releasing yellowsn0w and then partying, we’ll see what 2009 brings us!

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

Source: Gizmodo | 31 Dec 2008 | 11:30 pm

The Music Business Bids Good Riddance to 2008, Gets Ready to Say the Same Thing to 2009 [MediaMemo]

If you’ve read anything about the music business during the last eight years, you won’t be surprised to read the following summation for 2008, via The Wall Street Journal:

Increases in digitally downloaded albums and songs were not enough to offset a nearly 20% plunge in CD sales in the U.S., according to year-end figures published Wednesday by the Nielsen Co.’s SoundScan service… U.S. album sales including digital downloads fell 14% for the year, while factoring in individual song downloads, sales were off 8.5%.”

This is either the seventh or eighth year in the last decade where you could have run a similar paragraph, depending on who’s counting. The big picture is that the industry peaked in 2000, when online file-sharing/stealing/swapping/whatever-you-want-to-call-it became mainstream. It has yet to recover.

That recovery is still a long way off. Despite years of talk, the industry is still yoked to the inexorably declining CD business, which makes up the overwhelming majority of its sales and profits. So it’s going to keep declining for quite a while before it bottoms out.

The good news: If you’re only interested in listening to good music, and don’t care about the industry behind it, you have more options than anyone has ever had in the history of man. Enjoy yourself, and have a very merry new year. See you in 2009.

[Image Credit: Backstreet Boys concert photo, which has nothing to do with the clip above, via Anirudh Koul]

Source: All Things Digital | 31 Dec 2008 | 11:21 pm

Microsoft's Zune players freeze on New Year's Eve (AP)

AP - Happy New Year from Microsoft Corp.: Your Zune is dead.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 31 Dec 2008 | 11:15 pm

Survey says: U.S. consumers don’t trust mobile banking security

A new report entitled “2008 Mobile Banking Security Standards” by Javelin Strategy & Research finds that less than 10% of U.S. consumers use mobile banking tools.  47% of those surveyed do not use mobile banking due to security concerns and 73% are afraid that hackers will remotely compromise their handsets. Consumers are also worried about losing private banking information in the chance that they lose or have their mobile phones stolen.

Companies like Visa and MasterCard are working hard (see Visa Android App) to quash these fears, hoping to make mobile banking/transactions more prevalent in the States, especially in light of its high adoption rate in Japan and other Asian countries.

[via InformationWeek]

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 11:12 pm

John Malone Quietly Dumps IAC Shares [Voices]

By Shira Ovide, Reporter, Wall Street Journal

Why has John Malone been dumping his shares of IAC/InterActiveCorp in the past two weeks?

The company controlled by cable industry pioneer Mr. Malone in recent weeks has sold roughly $17.5 million worth of IAC stock, including a 193,000 share sale reported Tuesday. Mr. Malone’s Liberty Media Corp. is the majority shareholder in IAC, the Internet conglomerate run by Barry Diller.

The recent slate of sales raises questions about whether Mr. Malone is losing confidence in his IAC investment, or simply has found a better use for the cash. Representatives for IAC and Liberty declined to comment Tuesday.

Read the rest of this post

Source: Gizmodo | 31 Dec 2008 | 10:29 pm

Capitol Records Flooded Internet With MP3s, Says MP3Tunes CEO

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In court papers filed in New York in Capitol Records v. MP3Tunes, the CEO of MP3Tunes, Michael Robertson, has accused the plaintiffs EMI, Capitol Records, and other EMI record labels of flooding the internet with free MP3s of their songs for promotional purposes, 'free to everyone (except, apparently, MP3tunes).' His 10-page declaration (PDF) provides exact details of specific song files, including the URLs from which they are being distributed free of charge, both by paid content distributors, and by EMI itself from its own web sites."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Gizmodo | 31 Dec 2008 | 10:15 pm

Fish deboning gadget

Despite the silly name the Wunder Boner looks like a useful gadget for people who like to catch and eat fish. Do you think it works as advertised? (Via Arbroath)

Source: Gizmodo | 31 Dec 2008 | 9:45 pm

Motorola to 400 Employees: Looks Like We, Heh-Heh, Forgot to Fire You [Digital Daily]

Earlier this year, Motorola (MOT) said it would sack 1,500 employees during the fourth quarter of 2008. Apparently, that was a mistake.

What it meant to say was that it planned to sack 1,900 employees during the fourth quarter of 2008, as evidenced today by the company’s announcement that it will lay off 400 more employees than originally expected this year. It should be noted, though, that these positions are part of the cost cutting actions previously announced in October.

“On December 23, 2008, the Company approved certain additional plans relating to these cost-reduction initiatives,” Motorola said in an SEC filing. “These additional actions, plus other actions approved since October 30, 2008, relate to the termination of approximately 400 employees, resulting in additional pre-tax severance charges of approximately $25 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.”

What a nasty shock for those 400 employees who thought their jobs would survive through to the new year, eh? The elimination of their positions brings the total number of employees laid off at Motorola to about 12,000 since the beginning of 2007. 2009 isn’t looking too promising for the struggling handset maker, which is already heading into the new year with a junk credit rating amid a chorus of analyst skepticism.

Source: All Things Digital | 31 Dec 2008 | 9:44 pm

Famed Malibu beach is disappearing under rising sea

Malibu homeowners with houses overlooking Broad Beach are fighting two battles. The first one is against public-access activists, who accuse homeowners of illegally using private security guards keep the public off the beach. The second battle is against a rising sea level that has reduced the beach to a mere sliver. The LA Times reports with a story and video. The sandbagging efforts shown in the video seem futile.

Sandwiched between the advancing sea and coastal armor built to protect multimillion-dollar homes, the strip of sand is being swept away by waves and tides. Soon, oceanographers and coastal engineers contend, the rising ocean will eclipse the clash between the beach-going public and the private property owners: There will be no dry sand left to fight over.

...

"These folks in these overly rich communities will be sipping their martinis during some big El Niño and watching their backyards disappear in 5-feet chunks," [Bill Patzert, a climatologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory] said. "In the end, Mother Nature and global warming will win. No matter how much concrete they pour, all of those sea walls and houses will end up in the ocean."

Malibu's vanishing Broad Beach a sign of rising sea levels, experts say*

(*Note: Michael Leddy of Orange Crate Art had a funny post a while back about news headlines with the words "experts say" in them.)

Source: Boing Boing | 31 Dec 2008 | 9:39 pm

Chinese software pirates get prison sentences (AP)

AP - The alleged ringleaders of a Chinese counterfeiting gang that sold at least $2 billion worth of bogus Microsoft Corp. software were sentenced Wednesday to prison terms of up to 6 1/2 years, in what is believed to be the harshest penalties yet under China's tightened piracy laws.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 31 Dec 2008 | 9:33 pm

The Parent Company Receives Nasdaq Delisting Notice

DENVER, Dec. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Parent Company (Nasdaq: KIDS) announced today that, as a result of the company's filing for voluntary protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 31 Dec 2008 | 9:32 pm

Just a Few Reasons Why Text Messages Cost So Much [Voices]

By Nitrozac and Snaggy

Source: All Things Digital | 31 Dec 2008 | 9:30 pm

400,000 PCs Infected With Fake "Antivirus 2009"

nandemoari writes "The second month of Microsoft's campaign against fake security software has resulted in the removal of the rogue "Antivirus 2009" application from almost 400,000 infected PCs. Microsoft claims that December's version of the Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) — the free utility included in Windows Update every month — specifically targeted 'Antivirus 2009.' According to Microsoft, MSRT removed the rogue application from over 394,000 PCs in the first nine days after it was released on December 9."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Dec 2008 | 9:20 pm

Billie Holiday Sings "Strange Fruit"

We often listen to Billie Holiday albums on slow-moving Sunday mornings. This version of "Strange Fruit" is remarkable and haunting to watch.

(Shawn Connally and Bruce Stewart are guest bloggers)

Source: Boing Boing | 31 Dec 2008 | 9:18 pm

Apple, Amazon Top E-Commerce Traffic, Says ComScore [Voices]

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

ComScore (SCOR) last night published statistics from its measurement of U.S. visits to shopping Web sites from home and work, and found that Apple (AAPL) and Amazon.com (AMZN) had the biggest jump in unique visitors for the period from Nov. 1 to Dec. 23. (Dec. 23 is selected by comScore as being the last day shoppers could buy online with hopes of getting deliveries in time for Christmas.) Apple’s traffic soared, up 19 percent, to 35 million unique users, from 29.5 million in the year-earlier period. Amazon saw a surge of seven percent, rising to 76.2 million unique users. Ebay (EBAY) topped the charts for unique users, with 85.4 million unique users, but that number was down four percent year-over-year. Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Target (TGT) were third and fourth, after eBay and Amazon, with Apple coming in number five in unique visitors.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 31 Dec 2008 | 9:07 pm

CrunchBoard: Work as a community manager, managing editor, or freelance developer (from anywhere)

Want to work as the community manager of a fully-funded company that hasn’t launched yet? Or an “Information Repository Specialist“? Maybe work as a managing editor at CBS Interactive?

(Here at TechCrunch, we’re still looking for a Rails Developer.)

Some other jobs currently on CrunchBoard:

• Ruby Web Ninja
  BorderStylo - Hollywood, CA

• Product Manager for FunSpace
  Slide - San Francisco, CA

• Lead Warehouse Engineer
  TripAdvisor - Newton, MA

• Freelance Web App & Social Media Developer (PHP or RoR, JS/AJAX)
  Vested Ventures, Inc - Work from anywhere (they’re in Buffalo, NY)
  

International readers can check out our British and French job boards as well. (In response to Lucio–who commented on last week’s post–Sorry, no Australian job board… yet.)

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

Source: TechCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 9:03 pm

Tata Consultancy Services Completes Acquisition of Citigroup Global Services

MUMBAI, India, Dec.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 31 Dec 2008 | 8:51 pm

No shoes? No problem for this college interview (AP)

AP - For her college interview, Avery Cullinan put on her best outfit but didn't bother with shoes. She sat in her living room, smiled into her computer's webcam and told an admissions officer more than 800 miles away that Wake Forest University was right for her.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 31 Dec 2008 | 8:48 pm

Scribd Had A Blowout Year, And So Did the Web Document

The biggest surprise fro me in the social media rankings that I posted earlier today was the appearance of document sharing service Scribd in the top 20. According to the comScore numbers, it has more unique visitors worldwide than imeem and almost as many as Bebo, with 23.5 million visitors in November, 2008. (In the U.S., it had about 4 million visitors). This is a serious accomplishment for a startup that launched less than two years ago with $300,000 in seed capital.

Scribd, which raised a $9 million B round earlier this month, grew 218 percent from November, 2007. Scribd is heads and shoulders above other document-sharing services such as Docstoc (1.6 million uniques) and Issuu (1 million) in terms of attracting users. (All three are excellent services, by the way, and Docstoc is much closer to Scribd in the U.S.). Scribd users upload 50,000 documents every day.

What this tells me more than anything is that the concept of document sharing on the Web has legs and there is a real demand for it. (Unless Scribd’s numbers are artificially inflated—Quantcast shows an unusually steep drop-off in December, but that could just be a problem with Quantcasts’s data). Desktop-bound document formats like PDFs, Word docs, Powerpoint slides, and spreadsheets are increasingly irrelevant if they cannot be viewed and shared online directly in a browser. Scribd’s paper is an embeddable Flash viewer for nearly all document types. (I’ve embedded a document with sample job interview questions below).

It looks like we are not the only ones who like to embed documents on the Web.

Update: CEO Trip Adler explains the Quantcast discrepancy:

The drop-off on Quantcast was caused by the fact that we removed the Quantcast pixel from Scribd for a little while because it was slowing down page loads. However, I’m not sure why these numbers are still on the low side. According to our Google Analytics, we did 39.9 million unique in November, and if you include views of iPaper on other websites, it was way over 50 million uniques.

50 Most Common Interview Questions and Answers

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Do-it-yourself Tutorial truth knowledge

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

Source: TechCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 8:48 pm

Meet “Kevin the Sad PR Guy,” Our 2009 Booth Babe [Digital Daily]

Our industry is the one that this going to get the economy through this recession.

– Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association

The International Consumer Electronics Show will kick off next week shrouded in a nimbus of recessionary gloom. Show attendance is expected to be down eight percent this year, according to Gary Shapiro, executive director of the Consumer Electronics Association, who expects 130,000 attendees to flood the convention–11,000 fewer than last year. The show floor itself will be slightly diminished as well. CES exhibitor booths required 1.8 million square feet in 2008. In 2009, they’ll take up 1.7 million, presumably thanks to the absence of Seagate (STX), Logitech (LOGI), Cisco (CSCO), Philips (PHG), Yahoo (YHOO) and Sanyo–all of which have abandoned plans to exhibit on the show floor. That said, the overall number of exhibitors will remain the same as last year, at about 2,700.

So the show will be a bit smaller and a bit less clamorous than in years past. Likely a bit more sober as well, given this rough retail year. Quite a change from the extravagance of years past, but not without a certain upside. “This is the bleakest CES in 30 years going in,” said Envisioneering Group analyst Richard Doherty. “[Some exhibitors] will be spending more of their time off the show floor. We may now be able to get between the Venetian and the convention in less than an hour.”

Source: All Things Digital | 31 Dec 2008 | 8:41 pm

Phenom GSM watch phones drop, give Dick Tracy a lot more options

Watch out LG, looks like you’re not the only touch screen watch phone maker with an announcement this week.  Phenom Communications has released an entire line of timepieces-turned-mobiles, (creatively named) the Phenom Watch Phone(s).

These unlocked GSM, MP3/MP4 playin’ watch phones sport a 1.3 TFT touchscreen display, Bluetooth, a USB port, speakerphone, digital still/video camera, and a MicroSD card slot (maxing out at 2gb). Although the press release refers to a singular device, the Phenom Watch Phone, it is actually available in a number of different styles:

The SpecialOPS and Mi5 Watch Phones are for the serious gadget lovers who, just like special agents, need to have the latest technology at their fingertips.

The Glam and Stylista models have been particularly popular with women of all ages – tweens, teens, mom’s, and everyone in between.

That makes two watch phone launches in one week.  Apparently, there’s some untapped watch phone niche waiting to be appeased.  Who knew?!

[via Unwired View]

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 8:38 pm

Review: A week with Asus' EeePC 1002HA netbook

Asus's 1002HA is an attractive little laptop that could easily pass for something several times its $500 price. It's only when you open it up and find a more-or-less standard netbook that it becomes clear it's not a new rival for the MacBook Air or Vaio TT.

But a netbook it is, albeit one that's pretty good by the category's standards. The 1.6 GHz Atom CPU, gig of ram, Bluetooth, 10.2" 1024x600 display, 160GB hard drive, three USB ports and a 1.3 megapixel webcam are to be expected; the ultra-thin form and its gorgeous brushed-metal chassis are the big bonuses. It's much prettier than the 1000HA it replaces.

It runs Windows XP and has Sun StarOffice and Microsoft Works pre-installed, as well as Asus's one-click power management tray utility. You'll want to jump out of the battery-saving modes to watch video or play casual games: even YouTube was a bit choppy on the lowest setting.

WiFi-n is a pleasing upgrade (many netbooks still just have b/g) but the 2-cell battery is disappointing. Though it got fair enough life for its tiny size ??? about 3 hours ??? the lack of a more substantial upgrade option is a shame.

It also falls short of perfection of other fronts. Asus still insists on a tiny right-shift key, the trackpad has a "sticky" response, and there's no 3G option. After seeing the HP Mini 1000's stunning, MacBook-like "Infinity" display, the 1002HA's thick, extruded bevels are a bit disappointing, too.

Get the 1002HA if you want a decent netbook with unparalleled good looks. Stick with the Samsung NC10 for better battery life or HP's Mini 1000 for a better all-round machine.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 31 Dec 2008 | 8:33 pm

Remote Control Keeps Going and Going on Single Watch Battery

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week, a Dutch chip designer plans to demonstrate a remote control that could have battery makers quaking in their boots. GreenPeak claims its design offers two-way communication with multiple devices through walls and other obstacles with such efficiency that, in some cases, one watch battery can power the remote longer than some remotes last.

If only there were a human equivalent. For technology journalists, CES is about talking to everyone, writing about everything, and catching some sleep on the flight back from Vegas. For companies like GreenPeak, CES is about setting up deals with larger consumer electronics manufacturers. Sure enough, GreenPeak will be showing them a reference design featuring its Emerald GP500C chip, which it hopes they'll start putting into their remotes next year. One reason they might is that in addition to the RF transceiver, GreenPeak's chip includes an IR transceiver so it can work with consumer's existing gear. But efficiency is the main selling point here.

"By using GreenPeak's network radio technology, these remotes will be able to run for the life of the device or until the battery falls apart," stated the company. 

GreenPeak's chip's IEEE 802.15.4 protocol allows for two-way communication, so these potentially greener remotes would be able to offer high-definition album art and menus from household devices on their screens, although at this point, running a full display for a long enough time would require more than a watch battery. The company's reference design features no such screen, since one of the advantages of this design is keeping AA and AAA batteries out of landfills.

GreenPeak made its name building decentralized, energy-neutral mesh networks to help farmers monitor their crops more efficiently. Oddly enough, what began as a tool for farmers could wind up in the hands of couch potatoes.

See Also:

• Why Are Green Personal Electronics Products So Rare?
• Recession Drives the Greening of the Electronics Industry
• Class D Amplifiers Are Shrinking and Greening Your Electronics
• Greenpeace Rates "Green Electronics;" Nokia and Samsung Stand Out

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 31 Dec 2008 | 8:32 pm

The 10 Coolest Open Source Products of 2008

An anonymous reader writes "Open Source Software is about more than just the Linux operating system, and 2008 brought advances in the form of OpenOffice.org, IBM Lotus Symphony, Firefox and Android. But Linux is still the heart of the FOSS movement, and this year brought key developments in the operating system as well. Here's a look at the coolest open source products to come across the transom in 2008." Along roughly similar lines, davidmwilliams points out the year in review of the iTWire's "Linux Distillery" column.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Dec 2008 | 8:11 pm

The Legend of Master Legend in Rolling Stone (complete story) by Joshuah Bearman

BB pal Joshuah Bearman says:

I was planning to tell you about this epic tale I wrote for Rolling Stone about Master Legend, a real life superhero. But Boing Boing beat me to the punch! I was wondering if I could entice you to do an updated post now that the full story is not only available at RS but also, in full layout PDF on my blog

In addition to the layout, I put up a whole series of extra bonus Master Legend pictures. I mean, who can resist ML once you see him striking a pose in the sunset?

And that's the thing about ML. I really wanted to highlight his story for your readers, both because its right on point but also because I know that the narrative at Boing Boing (and in the wider world) about real life superheroes has mostly been bemusement at the weirdos in spandex. That was my perception of the world when I started reporting. But this is most serious look at what it actually means that people are doing this, and having found Master Legend and spent a lot of time with him, I realize that what he's doing is strange, yes, but also strangely sympathetic.

Yes, the story of Master Legend can be very funny at times, because Master Legend lives life like he's in a comic book. He even has a band, also called the Justice Force, made up of his superheroes, and they sing epic prog rock jams about the Manichean struggle of good against evil. But the thing is Master Legend is always trying to help people, every day. He's the type of dude who would give a guy his last dollar, and he doesn't have that much to start with. He made me genuinely think about what I do to help people. Take it from an enthusiastic reader who already saw the article and tracked me down to summarize as follows:

Everyone has a bit of Master Legend in them. But we don't have courage to let him out.

Awesome, right? I want to get Master Legend's story out to as many readers as possible, so they can all experience The Legend of Master Legend for themselves. I feel like the premature link was a bit of a false start, and if you can figure out a way to highlight it again, I'd be forever grateful. As would Master Legend.

The Legend of Master Legend

Previously:

• Real life superheroes in the news - Boing Boing

Source: Boing Boing | 31 Dec 2008 | 8:00 pm

Dot Hill to Present at 11th Annual Needham Growth Stock Conference

CARLSBAD, Calif., Dec.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 31 Dec 2008 | 8:00 pm

iPhone Dev Team Posts Cryptic Message - What Are They Up To?

On the eve of the iPhone 3G software unlock, the following text just went up on the iPhone Dev Team blog:

01110110 01110100 01100001 01100010 01100101 01110010 00100000 00110110 00110001 00110000 00110110 00110000 00110001 00110111 00110100 00100000

Now, any self-respecting geek should immediately recognize this as binary. If we take that block of binary and convert each 8-number chunk into it’s respective ASCII representation, we get one step closer to the final answer.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 7:56 pm

Blaupunkt and miRoamer Unveil Internet Radio for the Car

Blaupunkt and miRoamer will announce a partnership at CES that will put internet radio into car dashboards for the first time. Blaupunkt prototypes pictured here show the technology in action.

"miRoamer's development with Blaupunkt is the first seamless Internet radio solution," said miRoamer founder and CEO George Parthimos. "With the simple push of a button, users can access AM/FM stations or Internet radio's thousands of music, entertainment, news and talk stations from around the world, all from the same car stereo."

MiRoamer dipped its toe in these waters last year, but the requisite hardware deals apparently didn't materialize. Now that Blaupunkt and miRoamer have formed a partnership, we could see in-car internet radio enter the mainstream.

"The first model will connect to a 3G/HSDPA/HSPA device via Bluetooth for Internet connectivity," explained miRoamer spokesman Ryan Greives. "When connecting to the Internet via an external device (such as an iPhone), the customer’s existing mobile service provider is the default network," adding, "various models are in the pipeline which may have an internal modem."

With the radio connected to a smartphone on an unlimited data plan, these prototypes (the New Jersey 600i, pictured above, and the Hamburg 600i, below) will provide in-dash navigation of tens of thousands of miRoamer stations, already available via computer and available for access by car starting on January 1, 2009. Beyond that, the availability (and pricing) of Blaupunkt's internet car radios are unclear at this point, although Grieves confirmed that they will be available on original equipment in new cars, although surely the dedicated gadget head could find a way to get one installed.

miRoamer's claim that this is the first internet radio for the car seems a bit dubious on the surface. Indeed, although they are not elegant in-dash solutions, imeem, Pandora, SeeqPod, YouTube and other music services have been available on connected portables like the Apple iPhone and Windows Mobile for months. In addition, Autonet – another CES exhibitor this year – has offered in-car internet since last year that could potentially be used for music streaming from any number of providers. And, of course, satellite laptops can stream music to car stereos.

But miRoamer and Blaupunkt's prototypes appear to be the first models to offer in-dash internet radio. "Today, users want to jump in their car and go -- no pulling out third-party devices or plugging in cords to access their music and information," according to Parthimos.

These stereos also offer phone, address book and navigation via Bluetooth, but internet radio is the main attraction with the ability connect to tens of thousands of miRoamer stations as well as any other online playlist or MP3.

If you're diligent enough, you could post playlist files pointing to various MP3s on the internet, on a free blog site or anywhere else, since they don't occupy much disk space, since they just link to remote files. Then, you could bookmark those playlists on the Blaupunkt radio to access it all from the road. Another plus is that you can customize favorites, search options and more through your computer at miRoamer.com and access them later through the radio.

See Also:

• Imeem Brings Easy Music to Google Android
• CES: Delphi/Autonet's In-Car Wireless Access Point Adds Media Storage
• Sweet: Pandora's Streaming Radio App for iPhone
• SeeqPod IPhone Button Allows Instant Access to Free Music
• QLoud's Popularity on Facebook Proves YouTube Is Best On-Demand Music Service

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 31 Dec 2008 | 7:55 pm

iPhone Dev Team posts cryptic message - what are they up to?

Update: The Dev Team has released an image with further confirms our original suspicion. Check it out after the jump.

On the eve of the iPhone 3G software unlock, the following text just went up on the iPhone Dev Team blog:

01110110 01110100 01100001 01100010 01100101 01110010 00100000 00110110 00110001 00110000 00110110 00110000 00110001 00110111 00110100 00100000

Now, any self-respecting geek should immediately recognize this as binary. If we take that block of binary and convert each 8-number chunk into it’s respective ASCII representation, we get the following:

vtaber 61060174

Well, that makes no sense - but we’re obviously heading in the right direction. We’re just not quite there yet. Now what? If we’re following the standard cryptography process, we start simple: substitution ciphers (wherein each letter is replaced with another letter, X letters away from the origin. X remains constant throughout the word.) We’ll go with the most common, ROT-13 (each letter rotated 13 times). We wind up with:

ignore 61060174

Alright - so, we’re ignoring something with an ID of 61060174. Let’s take a look at the original blog post URL:

http://blog.iphone-dev.org/post/67687499/2008

How convenient - an 8 number chunk beginning with 6, just like what we’re supposed to ignore. Lets swap it out. We get this. It’s the blog post “The man from DelMonte - he say yes!”, in which the Dev Team announces that anyone hoping to unlock their iPhone should NOT upgrade to the official 2.2 release.

Does this mean the Dev Team has cracked 2.2? We’ll know later tonight.

Update: Looks like it. The Dev Team just released the following image:

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 7:47 pm

BlackBerry Storm: The netbook redefined?

Research In Motion’s founder and co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis, has cleared up some non-existent confusion about his company’s first touch screen device, the Storm — it’s a netbook.

Wait, what? Sorry, can you repeat that? I must have misheard you Mr. co-CEO.

In a recent interview, when asked “Would you consider Netbooks as your competitors?,” Mr. Lazaridis responded:

No, I think I can put Netbooks in here [referring to the BlackBerry Storm]. These are Netbooks. They are just smaller.

Unfortunately, there were no follow-ups to this confusing declaration.  Apparently, Lazaridis defines ‘netbook’ differently (netbook = smartphone?) than the rest of the us (see Wikipedia: A netbook is a light-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient, highly portable laptop…).  One could more reasonably argue that the Bold or other qwerty-equipped BlackBerry devices more directly resemble netbooks, albeit in a non-clamshell, 1/3 the size screen kinda way.

But it all makes just a tad more sense (maybe) if you consider some of Lazaridis’ earlier comments in the interview:

We must always work within the laws of physics and ergonomics of small handheld wireless devices with respect to processor speed, display and keyboard size, weight, cost, battery life, radio bandwidth, network capacity and latency.

These “limitations” are the same ones faced by netbook manufacturers.  However, it still doesn’t follow that the Storm, a tactile keyboard-less non-laptop mobile phone, would fall under the netbook umbrella.  It’s sorta like describing the Internet as a series of tubes — a sort of half-truth/lay understanding; although that claim at least has some merit to it. There are, after all, tubes involved.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 7:45 pm

2008's Sexiest Geeks, as Voted by Wired.com Readers

The ballot box is definitely overheated: See who came out on top in our annual reader poll of the brainy and the beautiful.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 31 Dec 2008 | 7:35 pm

RIM doing well at #2

In a wide-ranging interview, Research in Motion talked today about all things Blackberry. Trailing only Nokia in terms of sales volume, RIM has a lot reasons to feel good. According to Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO “[t]he cell phone market in the US declined by 5 percent compounded per annum in the past five years, but the smart phone market grew 58 percent.”

Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, also declares that “[Blackberry Storms] are Netbooks. They are just smaller.” Do you buy that, dear reader? Do you think the Storm offers all the computing conveniences of something like an MSI Wind, or is this some new use of the term “netbook” of which we were previously ignorant?

Scott Totzke, VP, BlackBerry Security Group, did make an interesting observation regarding the sometimes unintentional and undesired longevity of data stored on smartphones. RIM, as the corporate world smartphone darling, clearly excels here: “One of the features of BlackBerry is we have an option to erase all of the information and we go through a process of not only erasing the information, but also overwriting them, so that it’s not recoverable.”

David J. Smith, Senior Director, CDMA Handhelds, observes that RIM is “creating different kinds of devices for people who have different needs and desires.” Unlike, say, Apple where the iPhone is a one-size-fits all solution.

Also unlike Apple, RIM is looking at a broader application distribution platform from its forthcoming app store. According to Tylar Lessard, Director, ISV Alliances & Dev. Relations:

Wireless operators can also offer their own customization to that storefront experience. So this won’t be the only place you can get applications for BlackBerry. If a wireless operator chooses to have a separate store where they highlight applications they want to sell because, for example, they have billing integration with those vendors, or it’s an exclusive application that’s available only on that operator, we want to make sure they can offer those separate applications and customize the storefront experience.

It remains to be seen whether this will dilute the value of any RIM app store by making it overly difficult to locate the apps you want for your Blackberry. Oh yeah: Blackberry developers using the RIM app store will get an 80/20 revenue split, compared to Apple’s 70/30 split.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 7:30 pm

Stereoscopic 3D Graphics on the iPhone

SpatialView has announced the Wazabee 3DeeShell, a protective casing that includes a removable lens to displays 3D stereoscopic images on the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch without those dorky glasses. SpatialView also offers software to create your own 3D images using the iPod camera!

The housing contains a lens that eliminates the need for special 3D glasses, while serving as a stylish protective skin at the same time. The lens can easily be removed at any time in order to switch back and forth between normal 2D and spellbinding 3D graphics.

The 3DeeCamera, available from the Apple App store for 99 cents, lets you take two pictures to produce your own stereoscopic images.

After the pictures have been selected, you can choose to view them as one of three types of anaglyph (red/cyan, red/blue, or red/green depending on the type of glasses you have), or in either parallel- or cross-view side-by-side modes (which do not require glasses).

Be advised, though, that according to user reviews the program slaps its logo on top of your 3D creations.

Pretty cool stuff. It’ll be fun to see what people do with this easy-to-use 3D technology!

Also available from the App Store is 3Dee!oadr, which lets you take photos from Flickr and convert them into 3D. Neat!

Wazabee™ 3Dee!oadr is the ultimate 3D viewing and Flickr management tool for the iPhone and iPod Touch. 3Dee!oadr gives you the option to select side-by-side images from Flickr and convert them on the fly to an anaglyph you can view with 3D glasses. It also lets you to search, view, and manage your Flickr account from your iPhone. You can even save Flickr images to your iPhone for later viewing.

Via Into Mobile

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 7:00 pm

12 Elegant Examples of Evolution

Here are a dozen examples of evolution's handiwork, which the journal Nature says might be useful for those late-night conversations with religious zealots. But we think they're just kind of beautiful.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 31 Dec 2008 | 7:00 pm

Predicting the Top Gaming Stories of 2009

In this video feature, Wired editors predict the trends and stories that will shape the videogame business in 2009.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 31 Dec 2008 | 7:00 pm

Less Light = Milkier Way, Astronomers Say

With a fifth of the world's population unable to see the Milky Way due to too much artificial light, astronomers are calling for people to turn off the lights for the International Year of Astronomy in 2009.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 31 Dec 2008 | 7:00 pm

Queen Anne's County, MD Residents to Benefit From Verizon Wireless Network Expansion

Investing to Stay Ahead of Growing Demand for Wireless Calling, Data Access and Music LAUREL, Md., Dec.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:58 pm

Two Dell Executives Leave Company

Dell Inc announced Wednesday that its top two executives would be leaving the company as part of a company-wide overhaul. Michael Cannon, president of global operations, will leave the company on January 31. Cannon will be succeeded by Jeffrey Clarke, a 21-year company veteran.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:55 pm

FCC head drops filtering from free broadband plan (AP)

AP - Before he steps down as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin Martin still hopes to win approval for his plan to auction off a slice of the airwaves for a free nationwide wireless broadband network.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:53 pm

Top Social Media Sites of 2008 (Facebook Still Rising)

What were the top social media sites of 2008? ComScore came out with its worldwide traffic stats for November a few days ago (so these don’t include December). They are a mix of social networks and blogging platforms. Blogger, the orange line in the chart above, still rules the roost with an estimated 222 million unique worldwide visitors in November (up 44 percent from November, 2007). Facebook, the blue line, is on pace to pass it soon with 200 million unique visitors (up 116 percent). (Note, though, that this is more than the 140 million active users Facebook itself reports—go figure). MySpace is pretty steady at 126 million uniques. Wordpress is a close fourth and gaining with 114 million (up 68 percent). And Windows Live Spaces is down 22 percent to 87 million uniques.

ComScore keeps a list of what it calls “social networking” sites, but these include blogging platforms and other social media sites as well. While the audience for blogs is still showing healthy growth overall, Facebook stands out as the social gorilla taking share from not only other social networks but blogs and other social media as well.

Below are the top 20 sites on comScore’s social networking list. It is really more of a social media site list, which is what I’m renaming it for this post. It is not definitive, but it gives a good lay of the land. (Here is a similar ranking from 2007). Note on this list the stubborn persistence of Yahoo’s Geocities at No. 6, the rise of Yahoo’s Flickr at No. 7, Six Apart at No. 10, and the presences of Chinese sites like Baidu Space and 56.com. The real surprise, though, is document-sharing site Scribd at No. 16, with nearly 24 million worldwide uniques.

Top Social Media Sites (ranked by unique worldwide visitors November, 2008; comScore)

1. Blogger (222 million)
2. Facebook (200 million)
3. MySpace (126 million)
4. Wordpress (114 million)
5. Windows Live Spaces (87 million)
6. Yahoo Geocities (69 million)
7. Flickr (64 million)
8. hi5 (58 million)
9. Orkut (46 million)
10. Six Apart (46 million)
11. Baidu Space (40 million)
12. Friendster (31 million)
13. 56.com (29 million)
14. Webs.com (24 million)
15. Bebo (24 million)
16. Scribd (23 million)
17. Lycos Tripod (23 million)
18. Tagged (22 million)
19. imeem (22 million)
20. Netlog (21 million)

Here’s a screenshot of the actual data (as you can see, I rounded above):

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

Source: TechCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:47 pm

Company Hopes To Turn Algae Into Oil

Employees of OriginOil in Los Angeles are working to learn how algae is grown with hopes of using those methods to create an imitation oil to replace petroleum. However, the ten employees of OriginOil aren’t alone in their hopes to create a slimy substitute.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:45 pm

Prince George County, VA Residents to Benefit from Verizon Wireless Network Expansion

Investing to Stay Ahead of Growing Demand for Wireless Calling, Data Access and Music LAUREL, Md., Dec.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:43 pm

Lancaster County, VA Residents to Benefit from Verizon Wireless Network Expansion

Investing to Stay Ahead of Growing Demand for Wireless Calling, Data Access and Music LAUREL, Md., Dec.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:38 pm

Hot Spot Of Whale Activity In East Timor

Local and Australian researchers said on Wednesday that one of the world's highest concentrations of dolphins and whales -- many of them protected species -- has been discovered off the coast of East Timor.A study by the Timor government uncovered a "hot spot" of marine cetaceans migrating through deep channels off the Timor coast, including blue and beaked whales, short-finned pilot whales, melon headed whales and six dolphin species.Principal scientist Karen Edyvane said the team was amazed to see such an abundance, diversity and density of cetaceans.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:35 pm

The Zune Screen Of Death (Updated)

We are aware that customers with the Zune 30GB are experiencing issues with their Zune device. We are actively working now to isolate the issue and develop a solution to address it. We will keep customers informed on next steps via the support page on zune.net (zune.net/support).” - Zune spokesperson

The “issues” 30 GB Zune owners are experiencing is a mass failing, all overnight, that is yet to be resolved. From Gizmodo: “Apparently, around 2:00 AM today, the Zune models either reset, or were already off. Upon when turning on, the thing loads up and… freezes with a full loading bar (as pictured above). I thought my brother was the only one with it, but then it happened to my Zune. Then I checked out the forums and it seems everyone with a 30GB HDD model has had this happen to them.”

Just a couple of months ago I wrote that the Zune was something of an anti-iPod, attractive to people who think Apple fandom has gone a little overboard.

But a massive, synchronized operating system failure on a Microsoft product is a fact-is-stranger-than-fiction story that’s too good to pass up on a slow news day. And it also lets people dust off blue screen of death jokes, which will forever send chills down the spine of Windows users. (The image to the right is not an actual Zune failure, though. It locked up in a less dramatic fashion with a frozen status bar).

When Apple products fail, as they often do, they tend to be less dramatic affairs that don’t affect all users at once.

This probably won’t hurt the Zune over the long run unless bricking becomes a habit. But some owners are saying they’re now done with the device: “Listening to music is about the last thing I do with my Zune. I always have to reinstall, download new firmware, or wait for the slow software to catch up. Now this? I want to throw it away and never look back.”

Perhaps he’ll feel better in a day or two.

Update
The Zune dev team has posted a notice on its blog that says all issues should be automatically resolved in 24 hours (as suspected, the problem is related to a calendar bug).

Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that there was a widespread issue affecting our 2006 model Zune 30GB devices (a large number of which are still actively being used). The technical team jumped on the problem immediately and isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year.

The issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009. We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on. If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:34 pm

Far Side reenactments

Far Side Reenactments is a Flickr pool devoted to photographic stagings of Far Side strips. (Example a left by entitee.)
Far Side Reenactments (via Laughing Squid)

Source: Boing Boing | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:31 pm

Beijing Initiates Fines For High-Emissions Vehicles

An estimated 10 percent of vehicles in Beijing will be removed as of Thursday following the launch of a new initiative aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.High-emission, or so-called “yellow-label” vehicles, are to be removed from city streets after a three-month grace period.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:26 pm

California Sues Over Endangered Species Rules Changes

The state of California has sued to stop the federal government from going ahead with mining, logging and other environmentally sensitive projects without consulting scientists.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:18 pm

Boing Boing tv faves from 2008: Mark's Tour of Intelligentsia Coffee

Another installment in our "faves from 2008" BoingBoing tv retrospective -- this two-parter in which Mark Frauenfelder gets an exclusive tour of Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea. Above, part one, below, part two, and MP4 links for download here:

* A Morning at Intelligentsia Part 1
* A Morning at Intelligentsia Coffee Part 2

Snip from the original post:

Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea is based out of Chicago, Illinois and has recently opened up a new store in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Kyle Glanville, head of research and development at Intelligentsia and winner of the 2008 US Barista Championship shows Mark how they acquire and roast some of the finest coffee in the world.

The word intelligentsia derives from the Latin word intelligentia, meaning a group of people engaged in complex mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture. Kyle Glanville has been laboring to promulgate a new coffee culture with Intelligentsia to combat the "get up and go" mentality, and Mark is along for the ride to learn the careful art of roasting coffee.

Intelligentsia is located at 3922 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90029 and is open 7 days a week.

And see also this related BBtv episode: Looking for the Perfect Bean: Kyle Glanville's World Coffee Tour, part 1 - Brazil (direct MP4 Link).

Source: Boing Boing | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:18 pm

BLOG: What Will 2009 Bring to Archaeology?

Will 2009 be the year Cleopatra's tomb is found? Experts muse on the year ahead.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Dec 2008 | 6:00 pm

How to Comment on a Blog: The Air Force’s Flowchart [MediaMemo]

I know there are lots of people out there who are employed as “social media” experts or consultants or professionals. (A lot of them, oddly, seem to follow me on Twitter.) But until today, I’ve been unclear about what they actually do.

Now I think I get it: They help people at big, hidebound organizations wrap their heads around the Web. Depending on your perspective, this either a ridiculous boondoggle of a profession or a worthwhile pursuit, given the right parameters.

Here’s a good ink blot test–what do you think of this chart (click twice to enlarge), designed by Capt. David Faggard, Chief of Emerging Technology at the Air Force Public Affairs Agency?

My gut reaction was to assume this was a parody. And the next was to deride it as some sort of post-Yossarian artifact that ought to be a parody.

Then I read it. It’s actually quite reasonable.

I operate in a hothouse world of bloggers who tend to type first and think later. And none of that tends to matter much, because, well it’s just bloggers typing.

But for people with real jobs–and real bosses, some of whom may handle weapons–weighing in on the Web isn’t a natural act. And so a guide like this may not be the worst thing. Perhaps some people I know ought to read it, too.

Thanks to Ellen McGirt, Joey DeVilla and David Meerman Scott.

Source: All Things Digital | 31 Dec 2008 | 5:57 pm

Beautiful hand-made wooden computer speakers

Jeffrey Stephenson, creator of amazin art deco enclosures for small computers, has made a set of speakers to match his recent Ingraham.

With some leftover material from Ingraham and some scrap from other projects I decided to build Ingraham a set of speakers. The speakers started out life as Harmon Kardon units that came along with almost every Dell sold during 2000-2004. 5W units in a cheesy plastic case.

The brass-inlaid boxes, he writes in a forum post at Overclockers Australia, were built from 3/32" birch plywood and veneered in walnut and mahogany.

Gallery Page [Jeffrey Stephenson]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 31 Dec 2008 | 5:48 pm

Apple’s Washington D.C. Store Facing Opposition: Satanic Plot? Also, New Mac Minis

Apple is facing opposition to putting up one of its gigantic glass-everywhere stores in one of Washington D.C.’s historic neighborhoods, the complaint being that it’d be too big and too modern to fit in with all the other quaint, cute buildings in the area (see our artist’s rendition above).

I propose, however, that the complaint is a cover-up for a much more massive and sinister conspiracy involving Apple, Satan, and the White House.

In related news, there might be a new Mac Mini next week.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 5:47 pm

Rumor: New Mac Minis Dressed in Sexy Aluminum

Insiders are leaking details about Apple's rumored Mac Mini, confirming Wired.com's earlier predictions about the device.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog cites anonymous sources who say the new Mac Mini will sport an enclosure resembling the aluminum-and-black scheme seen in the new MacBooks and iMacs.

Also, sources told TUAW that the Mac Mini would ship with a SATA optical drive, which can be swapped out for a second SATA hard drive as a customization option.

Wired.com in mid-December reported the first rumor from an insider about a new Mac Mini. An Apple corporate employee said an upgrade to the Mac Mini will be launched at Macworld Expo 2009.

Our source could not disclose specification details on the device, but we predicted the Mac Mini would be composed of aluminum (and perhaps be marketed as "The greenest Mac ever"). We also guessed the rumored Mac Mini will ship with Nvidia chipsets -- which corroborates with a MacRumors report that discovered strings of code referring to an unreleased Mac Mini shipping with an Nvidia chipset. 

Rumor Watch: New Mac mini go for launch [TUAW]

Photo: Apple

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 31 Dec 2008 | 5:47 pm

Danny Choo visits Afro Samurai Creator's Japanese Star Wars Art Collection

You may remember Danny Choo from an earlier Boing Boing tv episode this year -- the "prince of Akihabara" donned his Stormtrooper finery and led some of Silicon Valley's finest CEOS through a tour of Tokyo's famed otaku district, with Joi Ito. So, Danny is also the son of famed fashion designer Jimmy Choo, and he is very well-known in Japan as a web personality, and a curator of truly wonderful nerdy things. He's like a long-lost Boing Boing cousin! Anyway -- today, Danny checks in with some amazing snapshots.

"I was at the creator of Afro Samurai's house the other day and he dug up some Japanese style Star Wars art," Danny says. This stuff is incredible. Here's the photo set link for Danny's visit with Takashi Okazaki. And below, beneath the snapshot, the trailer for Afro Samurai, which I have yet to see. Thanks Danny!

Previously:

• (BBtv) Stormtrooping Akihabara: Silicon Valley meets Tokyo meets ...
• A British Stormtrooper in Tokyo - Boing Boing

Source: Boing Boing | 31 Dec 2008 | 5:44 pm

UK Government To Outsource Big Brother Internet Monitoring. I’m moving to China.

It will cost $17.5 billion, be run by private companies and track every move we make on the internet, every call, text message and every transaction. Yes, this is the UK government proposal to manage and run a communications database that will make Chinese attempts to control and monitor its citizens look like “light touch” regulation. The only difference with one-party states like China (apart from the summary trial and execution) is that the government claims that it will not look at the content on our every electronic interaction, but merely at the points of entry. The “pings”, if you like. But of course, by building up such a database, this will create enough “content” to create a pattern of recognition about our movements.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 5:40 pm

Boing Boing faves from 2008: George Lucas in "The Boba Fett Mystique"

We're revisiting some of our favorite Boing Boing tv episodes during the holiday break, and while the one I'm embedding here (MP4 link here) is perhaps not going to win any Pulitzers, it was one of the most fun we had shooting anything ever. I won't spoil the surprise, but it involved making people in an office building very uncomfortable, and had absolutely nothing to do with George Lucas or Boba Fett. As for the bait 'n' switch title -- just work with me here, this was our April Fool's Day episode for 2008. And as for why it's worth posting today? If you're anywhere near an office park or an elevator with strangers in it, I strongly recommend you do this on New Year's Eve.

Source: Boing Boing | 31 Dec 2008 | 5:23 pm

Coming Soon From Apple: Big Touch? [Digital Daily]

“Think MacBook screen, possibly a bit smaller, in glass with iPhone-like, but fuller-featured Multi-Touch. Gesture library. Full Mac OS X. This is why they bought P.A. Semi. Possibly with Immersion’s haptic tech. Slot-loading SuperDrive. Accelerometer. GPS. Pretty expensive to produce initially, but sold at ‘low’ price that will reduce margins. Apple wants to move these babies. And move they will…. App Store-compatible, able to run Mac apps, too. By October at the latest.”

That rumor, posted to MacDailyNews this past June, generated quite a stir among Apple (AAPL) watchers, but nothing ever came of it. But new reports suggest Apple may have just such a device secreted away somewhere deep in the bowels of Infinite Loop. TechCrunch claims as much, reporting that “three independent sources close to Apple” say the company is working on a largeish iPod touch that features a seven-to-nine-inch screen. One even claims to have handled a prototype and says Apple is working with Asian OEMs to bring the device to market in late 2009.

Now like all Apple rumors, this one should be taken with a grain of salt, if not an entire salt lick. That said, if it proves true, the device described could be quite the game changer–especially if it supports handwriting recognition (entirely possible given the Chinese character recognition system already on the iPhone). As I said back in July, “a finger-as-stylus touchscreen Mac tablet would make a hell of a nice counterpart to Apple’s new MobileMe service, wouldn’t it? It would make a great e-book reader too–if Apple ever gets around to adding a bookstore to iTunes. And if Apple were to link it up to iTunes U, as it undoubtedly would, the Mac tablet might even become higher education’s killer app…a notebook, a textbook AND a MacBook–all in one.”

[Image credit: Flickr/ John Ellenich]

Source: All Things Digital | 31 Dec 2008 | 5:20 pm

LittleBigPlanet Creator Talks About His Game

Alex Evans, the man behind LittleBigPlanet, discusses the creation of the groundbreaking, creative PlayStation 3 game in this exclusive Game|Life video.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 31 Dec 2008 | 5:00 pm

The Wii Scream Heard Round the Blogosphere (PC World)

PC World - What is it about the Wii and video games and screaming kids that fascinates us? I'd sure love to ask the 108,911 folks who've viewed the YouTube clip below.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 31 Dec 2008 | 5:00 pm

Sub to explore melting Antarctic glacier

British scientists plan to use a yellow submarine to explore beneath a giant melting Antarctic glacier whose collapse could raise sea levels 4 inches. The scientists hope to find out why Pine Island Glacier, flowing west-northwest along the south side of the Hudson Mountains into Pine Island
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 31 Dec 2008 | 4:59 pm

Rumor: Mac Tablet Coming Fall 2009

Rumors of a touchscreen tablet from Apple are gaining momentum -- again.

Three independent sources close to Apple told TechCrunch that a large-screen iPod Touch is slated for a Fall of 2009 release.

The device will feature a 7- or 9-inch screen, sources told TechCrunch. One of the sources even claims holding a prototype of the tablet.

The first rumor of a Mac tablet surfaced in July at MacDailyNews. But that rumor was slightly different: Rather than describing the rumored device as a larger iPod Touch, the source said the Mac tablet would have a MacBook screen, an optical drive and run a full version of Mac OS X. The source said this device would launch October. Clearly this was an inaccurate report.

Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said a Mac touchscreen tablet would be a logical step, since all Apple would have to do is blow up the screen of an iPod Touch and slightly tweak the software.

As always, we should take rumors with a grain of salt. But this time around -- with TechCrunch's Michael Arrington citing three sources -- the fabled device has more hope.

TechCrunch did not have details on pricing for the rumored device. But we estimate the device, if real, would cost around $700 to $800 -- positioning it in between the low-end MacBook ($999) and the iPod Touch ($230).

Illustration of a fake, large-screen iPhone: vernhart/Flickr

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 31 Dec 2008 | 4:58 pm

Why the Web Matters in the Viacom/Time Warner Fight [MediaMemo]

The Viacom/Time Warner Cable faceoff–Viacom is threatening to yank its channels (Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV, etc.) off the screens of the cable company’s 13.3 million subscribers at midnight tonight–is nothing new. A cable network wants more money, a cable operator doesn’t want to pay up. Happens periodically.

The new twist here is what broadband video adds to the equation: It’s both a plus for Viacom (VIA), and a source of irritation for Time Warner Cable (TWC).

• The upside for Viacom: Additional leverage as it negotiates with Time Warner. If you can’t get “The Daily Show” on your TV in January, you can watch it all over the Web: At its own site, at Fox and NBC’s Hulu, and on Comcast’s (CMCSA) Fancast.
• But that same promiscuity with content is one of the things that’s now stuck in the craw of Time Warner: It figures it is paying Viacom a per subscriber fee because those subscribers can only get Viacom’s stuff on cable. If they can get it anywhere, the argument goes, it’s less valuable.

I don’t want to overstate the importance of the Web here: Cable subscription revenues are going to be much, much bigger than Web dollars for Viacom and other content providers for a very long time. And there’s no reason to think this won’t get resolved in the way that all these fights get settled: Time Warner pays more than it wants, Viacom accepts less than it was looking for.

But do look for the cable guys to wring some additional online concessions out of the networks in the years to come: Either the ability to distribute the shows online themselves (hence, Fancast), or a piece of online revenues, in some form or another.

Meanwhile, here’s Viacom’s 30-second ad, which you can now find on YouTube, of course:

And here’s a highlight from the last broadcast of “The Daily Show”: Hall and Oates playing tribute to former News Corp. employee Alan Colmes:

Source: All Things Digital | 31 Dec 2008 | 4:49 pm

A Dino Fossil Bonanza for China

Paleontologists in east China unearth a vast collection of dino fossils.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Dec 2008 | 4:40 pm

The One Man Living Cartoon Factory

This isn't new, but a quick search finds no prior mentions of Ennio Marchetto on Boing Boing and I'm sure many of you will appreciate the One Man Living Cartoon Factory. This clip is from a show in Amsterdam in 2004.

Thanks, Susan!

(Shawn Connally and Bruce Stewart are guest bloggers)

Source: Boing Boing | 31 Dec 2008 | 4:38 pm

Sharks Have Surprisingly Weak Bites

Researchers announced on Tuesday that sharks have surprisingly weak bites for their mass and can decimate their prey simply because of their strong teeth.Their investigations of their jaws indicate that lions or tigers are much stronger when it comes to jaw force, but sharks win frequently in the water due to their extensive jaw size."Pound for pound, sharks don't bite all that hard," said Daniel Huber of the University of Tampa in Florida, leader of the investigation.Huber and his researchers had difficulty amassing information for their investigation, "due to the experimental intractability of these animals," they laughed at in their findings, published in Physiological and Biochemical Zoology."The vast majority of the data that went into this study was biomechanical models," Huber noted.The researchers calculated the bites of diminutive sharks, like the sand shark, and investigated bigger sharks by tranquilizing them and stimulating their jaw muscles.Their deduction is that sharks inflict the majority of their harm because their teeth incredibly pointed and they have huge jaws."Our analyses show that large sharks do not bite hard for their body size, but they generally have larger heads," they stated.Most sharks employ a sawing action to rip through their victims, noted Huber.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 31 Dec 2008 | 4:20 pm

2009 Movie Guide: Where the Wild Films Are

Superheroes, Star Trek and animated aliens will square off against old-school brainiacs like Sherlock Holmes in the battle for next year's box office riches. Here's a peek at 2009's most "wired" movies.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 31 Dec 2008 | 4:14 pm

'Injectable Bone' Made to Heal Breaks in a Hurry

Will an injectable white powder be the future of broken bone therapy?
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Dec 2008 | 3:50 pm

Nokia 6208c phone features pen-based input

Nokia, the world’s most ubiquitous cell phone company, is showing off the new 6208c phone in China, which sports a pen for easy input of Chinese characters.

The touch screen on the 6208c is optimized to write Chinese characters and messages in the most natural way, with a pen. The design of the stylus, attached to the back of the phone, is inspired by bamboo slips and works perfectly with the large color display which is reminiscent of an ink stone, another element from traditional Chinese art and culture.

It’s somewhat surprising to see a return to the stylus for input in this day of multi-touch interfaces, but maybe that’s best for creating Chinese characters on a touchscreen. Thankfully the pen actually looks like a pen, rather than a standard stylus, and is well integrated into the back of the phone. It’s much nicer looking that the traditional stylus sheath.

It’s also exciting to see elements of traditional culture influencing product design, though. Here’s hoping that trend continues to imbue gadgets and technology with a little more class.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 31 Dec 2008 | 3:12 pm

30GB Zunes Killing Themselves In Droves

The internet is awash with reports that the 30GB Zune is committing suicide across the planet. Not just one of them, either. It seems that some weird bug is simultaneously causing the music players to kill themselves, like lemmings leaping from a cliff.

While the Zune is a distant also-ran in the MP3 market, which is dominated by Apple's, the Microsoft-made device has gained critical approbation with its most recent, version 3.0 models, whose features are quite competitive with the iPod line. Many users appreciate the player's built-in FM radio and "Zune Social" features, which facilitate the communal sharing and discovery of new music.

Speculation is of course centered around the timing. It is New Year's Eve, after all, and the conspiracy nuts are calling this Z2K (with or without a +9 at the end). Wired.com NYC Bureau Chief John C Abell prefers the idea that it is "Brilliant Microsoft DRM Technology", which would be the most hilarious explanation, if unlikely.

The reports say that the units are simply freezing and won't respond to anything. Grunfloz at the Zune.net forums sums up the issue:

From what I can tell it looks like every Zune 30 on the planet has suddenly crashed. Is this a virus? A glitch? A time bomb? A disgruntled Microsoft employee? Planned obsolescence to make us buy a new one?  Or just a terrorist plot to drive the free world crazy?

Update: Microsoft has acknowledged the problem on its Zune support website, but has not yet posted a fix. "Customers with 30GB Zune devices may experience issues when booting their Zune hardware," said the company. "We’re aware of the problem and are working to correct it. The Zune Social might be slow or inaccessible."

Meanwhile, Zune users speculated about the reasons for the devices locking up and suggested possible fixes.

Some users report that they have fixed the problem by disconnecting the battery (which requires opening the case) or waiting for it to run out of power and then recharging it. (Thanks to several commenters below, including James, for the tip!)

Others have speculated that Zune's failure could have been a fallout of the leap year. With 2008 having 366 days, Zune's firmware may have run into trouble when its internal clock went over 365 days for the current year, speculated some users.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Naval Observatory, which keeps a master clock, has added a  'leap second' to today--the last day of the year. The idea is ensure atomic clocks stay in sync with the Earth's slowly diminishing rate of rotation, said scientists. The bonus second raises another possibility: Will other gadgets go on the fritz tonight because they're not programmed to deal with the leap second?

Update2: Microsoft has confirmed the freeze is a result of the leap year bug.

Help-frozen zune!!!! [Zune.net]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 31 Dec 2008 | 3:02 pm

30GB Zunes Killing Themselves In Droves

The internet is awash with reports that the 30GB Zune is committing suicide across the planet. Not just one of them, either. It seems that some weird bug is simultaneously killing the music players, like lemmings leaping from a cliff.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 31 Dec 2008 | 3:02 pm

30GB Zunes Killing Themselves In Droves

The internet is awash with reports that the 30GB Zune is committing suicide across the planet. Not just one of them, either. It seems that some weird bug is simultaneously killing the music players, like lemmings leaping from a cliff.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 31 Dec 2008 | 3:02 pm

Mammoths Wiped Out by Prehistoric 'Perfect Storm'?

A new theory links three explanations for the disappearance of mammoths.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Dec 2008 | 2:53 pm

The Apocalypse is Coming: What You Need to Pack

Photo: Midnight-digital/Flickr

Crisis schmisis. It’s nothing more than a crisis of consumer confidence, and Wired.com Editor Dylan Tweney’s list of 12 Good Gadgets for Hard Times is a great way to spend some money to survive it.

But what happens in a real crisis, the kind where the world stops working, the electricity stops working and (gasp) the internet stops working? Every New Year’s Eve, some wacko predicts the End of Days. What might you need? Consulting my huge back catalog of post-apocalyptic science fiction, I came up with the following list of true essentials. Bonus points for spotting the Sci-Fi sources.

Still

In order to weather the End of the World, you’ll need a stiff drink. Once the supermarkets have been looted, you can become the most profitable member of your tribe by building a liquor still.

Finding one might be tricky, so the quickest way is to build your own. First, hit Wikipedia for the details and print them, right now (remember, there will be no internet). Then, you’ll need to ferment something starchy or sugary to get some alcohol. Then, it’s into the still.

A good vessel is a copper hot-water tank. It probably even has a heating element inside, but if you’re out of power you’ll need to light a fire. The trick is to take the temperature up enough to boil the alcohol, but leave the water behind. The vapor is then condensed back to liquid in a spiral pipe. Just be careful you leave the “top and tail” — the undesirable parts of fermentation at the beginning and end, including the poisonous alcohol, methanol.

You’re done. Now you just need an old barrel and five years of patience.

Eyeglasses

Collect these if you can. Like Eldon Blaine in PKD’s Doctor Bloodmoney, you could make some cash off the former contact lens wearers. Better still, try to pick up some stronger lenses, or magnifying glasses.

With a lens you can use the sun to heat things, and set them on fire — you know, like you did to ants when you were a kid. Equally useful is the parabolic mirror, found in the wild in electric bar heaters but easily made with the right math and a shiny piece of metal. This can be used as a solar oven. Mmmm, barbecue. Now you just need to catch some critters, and for that you’ll need some…

Knives

Essential. The knife has so many uses it should be your first priority. You’ll also need more than one: your chef’s knife won’t be much good at chopping onions if you first use it to chop down the wood for cooking them.

We also recommend a machete, mainly because we’ve seen too many explorer movies where the machete is used as both weapon and jungle-clearer. When you loot your local Walmart, forget the iPods and grab one of these. Then grab the iPods.

Electricity

Fire only goes so far. It’s great for cooking and keeping you warm, and especially for those romantic dinners with the boy or girl from the neighboring bunker, but after a while you’re going to need some juice. Fire can be turned into electricity, but it’s tricky and wasteful.

Better to use the wind and the sun. Solar panels are good, as are wind turbines. The latter can be made with a bicycle wheel, a few fence panels, some wire and some magnets. I know — I made one in art college. You won’t power the HDTV you just stole, but it should be enough for some light and to charge the iPod Touch.

iPod Touch

What? An iPod? Isn’t that a little frivolous? No, my future shocked friends, it’s an essential piece of kit, and if you preload it properly and make the generator above, it will serve you well.

First, music will stop you going crazy. Load the iPod with some classic tunes that won’t drive you mad after a year or two, and then head to the App Store. There you will find the whole of Wikipedia, ready for offline use. This could be the best 2GB you ever downloaded — even better than the Hi-Def “Two Girls One Cup” video you got via BitTorrent.

Having the Wikipedia in your pocket means you’ll be able to tackle any problem, ever. Well, almost. A quick pre-apocolyptic visit to pornhub should take care of the rest.

More

There are other things you may need, but the list above will serve for survival, fun and profit. Of course, we welcome suggestions for our disaster kit, so leave them in the comments.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 31 Dec 2008 | 2:00 pm

The Apocalyse is Coming: What You Need to Pack

Crisis schmisis. It’s nothing more than a crisis of consumer confidence. But what happens in a real crisis, the kind where the world stops working, the electricity stops working and (gasp) the internet stops working? What might you need? Consulting my huge back catalog of post-apocalyptic science fiction, I came up with the following list of true essentials.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 31 Dec 2008 | 2:00 pm

The Apocalyse is Coming: What You Need to Pack

Crisis schmisis. It’s nothing more than a crisis of consumer confidence. But what happens in a real crisis, the kind where the world stops working, the electricity stops working and (gasp) the internet stops working? What might you need? Consulting my huge back catalog of post-apocalyptic science fiction, I came up with the following list of true essentials.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 31 Dec 2008 | 2:00 pm

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