Previously:

• Financial crisis for Australia's Clarion South - Boing Boing

Previously:

• Secret super-copyright treaty MEMO leaked - Boing Boing
• Anti-counterfeiting treaty turns into maximum copyright free-for ...
• Wikileaks publishes anti-counterfeiting treaty doc that tries to ...
• Ask Canadian Industry Minister questions about the DMCA at the ...
• Canadian border guards to check iPods for infringment - Boing Boing

Previously:

• NBC Stars Whimper About Jon Stewart's Skewering of CNBC - Boing Boing

Previously:

• How (and why) the Great Firewall of China works - Boing Boing
• Hong Kong: more on blogger Oiwan Lam, Flickr, 'net obscenity laws ...
• Yahoo and jailed journalists in China: more documents emerge ...
• Sister of held Chinese blogger Hao Wu blogs on detention - Boing Boing

Source: Gizmodo | 13 Mar 2009 | 2:00 am

Google Voice: Flawed but still awesome - CNET News

BBC News

Google Voice: Flawed but still awesome CNET News by Larry Magid Google's new Google Voice has a few rough edges but -- for many users -- it could be a life changing experience. Google Eyes Rival Skype with VoIP Service PC World GrandCentral to Turn into Google Voice PC Magazine Computerworld - Wired News - BusinessWeek - Brighthand all 402 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 13 Mar 2009 | 1:53 am

Baby fat raises risk of long-term harm

Doctors at the University of Miami say obesity-related health problems can begin as early as age 3. A study by the university's Miller School of Medicine said health problems such as risky cholesterol and artery inflammation can begin at a very young age. ''People believe their children will outgrow their baby fat and that a chubby 2-year-old is healthy; it isn't true,'' lead author Sarah Messiah told The Miami Herald.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Mar 2009 | 1:44 am

New AOL Chairman and CEO–and About-To-Be-Ex-Googler–Tim Armstrong Speaks! [BoomTown]

For a tall man, Tim Armstrong has been on an awful lot of online companies’ short lists.

For a big Web exec job, that is. Indeed, whenever one opens up in the Internet space, the 6′-3″ Google ad sales exec always pops up on it as a possible candidate to lead a variety of digital companies and start-ups.

Finally today–after longtime speculation that Armstrong had long wanted and would eventually leave his post at Google (GOOG), in order to try his hand at being top dog–he took over as chairman and CEO of the once-mighty, but now-not-so-much AOL.

Armstrong, 38, will start at AOL on April 7.

“For me, it is a great opportunity to go to what I consider a top-five Internet brand,” said Armstrong, in an interview with BoomTown this afternoon, with a whole lot of diplomacy and nice-guyness he is well known for at Google and in the online advertising industry. “I am looking forward to taking what I have learned at Google and seeing what I can bring to really help AOL.”

Noting that for all its decline–pointed out by me–that AOL was still one of the few “global Internet brands,” Armstrong said he thought there was still a lot of juice in the consumer appeal of AOL.

So much so, that he added that AOL owner Time Warner (TWX) has given him a lot of options for its future, from keeping it inside the larger media conglomerate (unlikely) to partnering with another company (less unlikely) to spinning it out (likely!).

“One of the things we discussed was making sure we were able to have the best outcome for AOL,” said Armstrong. “That could take the form of a lot of different paths.”

(Translation: As soon as the economy brightens, I am going to become a public company CEO, just like my soon-to-be-ex-boss Eric Schmidt!)

The move to put Armstrong in at AOL was sudden and swift, and also more than a little cutthroat on the part of his new employer, which bounced current Chairman and CEO Randy Falco and President and COO Ron Grant without a lot of warning to them or any top exec at AOL.

While there has been much talk about when Time Warner would become weary of the pair’s management of AOL–which has been rocky (most especially their overpaying for the Bebo social networking site that others at Time Warner never got over)–their defenestration and Armstrong’s installation happened rather quickly.

And, indeed, Armstrong confirmed that the talks to take over at AOL had only started a few weeks ago, increasing in “intensity over the last week.”

So intense, for example, that Grant only found out he was being replaced this afternoon after a personal visit from Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, who made a rare appearance at AOL’s downtown Manhattan HQ to deliver the bad news.

(One AOLer’s funny, but entirely imaginary vision: Bewkes signed up Armstrong, whose Google office is right nearby AOL in New York, and then hightailed it over to AOL to drop the hammer before the ink was dry on the contract.)

Via a coup or not, nabbing Armstrong is indeed a coup–at least from a shiny resume point of view–for Bewkes, who has been struggling with what to do with AOL for a while.

While he often affably jokes about its many problems–from declining ad sales to management turmoil to, it must be said, increasing irrelevance–Bewkes has been trying to sell off AOL or turn the asset into something more valuable for far too long.

Bewkes knows Armstrong well, as Google is a major partner of AOL in search advertising and Google also owns five percent of AOL, in a deal in which Armstrong was involved (and whose value the search giant recently marked down).

Armstrong said he was also close to Time Warner General Counsel Paul Cappuccio.

“It was a natural fit with AOL, since I know the company so well,” Armstrong said, adding he would spend his first weeks getting to know AOL’s employees and its products better, before making more concrete strategic decisions or changing any course setting of Falco’s.

Under his plan, AOL was focusing on a three-pronged strategy: social networking and communications (People Networks), content (MediaGlow) and advertising (Platform-A).

“In general, I do want to spend time with the staff,” he said. “Some of the stuff I have seen so far has actually paid off…and a lot of the new products show a lot of passion.”

Whether he can turn passion into blockbuster products is another story and some are worried that Armstrong’s experience is too heavily weighted in ad sales rather than in development of killer services that AOL might need to recover.

But Armstrong said he had a lot of other operational duties at that search giant, noting that “Google is a very complex business.”

And both current and former AOLers hope his ad experience will allow AOL to return to its strong premium advertising roots that were less focused on of late. In fact, Falco recently hired former Yahoo (YHOO) sales head Greg Coleman to do just that.

And Armstrong has a lot of support from unusual sectors too. Wrote former AOL head Jon Miller, who was ironically forced out by Bewkes in favor of Falco and Grant, to me in an unsolicited email: “Count me amongst the Armstrong fan club.”

And, many staff at AOL I spoke to today–whose morale has been buffeted by layoffs and ongoing bad news–seem genuinely thrilled to score such a prominent exec.

“I am so thrilled. We couldn’t change the DNA with Rondy on top,” said one exec, referring to the derisive nickname that Falco and Grant had within AOL, which combined their two first names. “I feel really positive.”

So does Armstrong. “I am really looking forward to running AOL,” he said.

And personally, as a longtime and clearly obsessive watcher of AOL, I am looking forward to seeing him try.

Source: All Things Digital | 13 Mar 2009 | 1:42 am

iPod Shuffle gen 3 disassembled

iFixit takes the honors. Highlights: there is only one screw in the entire thing; it weighs 11 grams, only 2 more than the free headphones; and the battery is only 73 mAh.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Mar 2009 | 1:37 am

AMD’s partners refuse to lower price on 4870 - it would be too good of a deal

If you didn’t already have enough reasons to buy a Radeon 4870 in one of its many forms, well, here’s another one. AMD’s been trying to push sales of its graphics cards, hoping to lower inventory and get a little dough, maybe to offset the enormous loss they posted this last quarter. Their strategy was to lower the 512MB 4850 to ~$120, and its big brother the giant-killer 4870 to an incredible $150. But their partners said “no thanks,” comparing the 4870’s performance to much higher-priced NVIDIA cards. So wait, it’s too good?

AMD was planning on offsetting (but not eliminating) the loss of revenue caused by lowering prices with mail-in rebates. But the companies that make the cards you and I have in our boxes decided it wasn’t enough of a draw, they’d rather keep it at its previous pricing and hope nobody notices. What does this mean to you? Well, nothing yet. As you can see, no one has taken the bait yet, but it’s only a matter of time before you start getting even better deals for the much-loved 4870. It’s already a good deal, and you better believe that at $150 it’s a steal. Don’t believe me? Ask the guys trying to make money off them.

Source: CrunchGear | 13 Mar 2009 | 1:30 am

Review: Newton All Weather Trainer Running Shoes

Born to run? You're probably doing it all wrong! Due to a sneaker industry that produces shoes filled with gels, air and other assorted cushions most runners strike the ground flatfooted. This is wrong. A barefoot running style is better; it's more efficient and will lead to less physical stress and faster times. The Newton All Weather actually trains you to run that way. From reviewer and triathlete Mat Honan:

Newtons are designed to encourage runners to land barefoot style — with a fore or mid-foot strike — rather than landing on the heels and rolling forward. It's the most efficient way to run. Running with a forefoot strike conserves your forward momentum, which translates into faster race times with less effort. The problem with a forefoot strike is that it's not the way most people tend run naturally due to a lifetime of running in cushioned shoes. Most of us have to learn it, and it also can be uncomfortable or downright injurious to land on your forefeet without adequate support. Newtons try to help you make this transition via some fancy footwork on the bottom of the shoe.

$175 • newtonrunning.com

Read the rest of the Newton All Weather Trainers here.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 13 Mar 2009 | 1:21 am

The Amount And Value Of Twitter Traffic

Much is being written today about the value of a large following on Twitter. Jason Calacanis wants to pay $125,000 a year to have Twitter recommend him to other users, for example. He thinks that over time accounts with massive followings will somehow be able to pull in $1 million a year or more in incremental revenue, assuming they then have millions of followers.

We have unique data to share because our TechCrunch Twitter account was made one of the suggested accounts on Twitter earlier this year. On February 11 we had 65,573 hard earned followers. By March 1 that had jumped to 158,708 followers. Today it stands at 217,187.

So in just over a month the number of Twitter followers to the TechCrunch account has nearly quadrupled. What I want to know is what kind of traffic that’s sending to TechCrunch, and what value that might have.

Our recent referral traffic from Twitter is shown in the chart below. This only includes traffic from Twitter directly, it doesn’t include third party clients or Twitter Search.

My suspicion is that most of the new followers aren’t hard core TechCrunch fanatics and wouldn’t be as valuable as the follower that we “earned” prior to being added to the suggested list. So far the data is confirming this.

Traffic from Twitter spiked in January, before we were added to the list, growing from 67,000 page views to 130,000 in that month. In February, when follow number spiked upwards, traffic actually dipped to 111,000 page views. The first 11 days in March have brought in 53,000 page views from Twitter, suggesting the month will end up around 150,000.

If the March data holds, that tells us that 65,573 hard core users brought us 130,000 January page views. Nearly quadrupling that number of followers will only bring in an extra 20,000 page views in March.

We love these new users, but they aren’t nearly as valuable to us as the ones that we fought for in the early days of Twitter. We’ll update this post later with more data as we collect it.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 13 Mar 2009 | 1:20 am

AOL taps Google executive Armstrong as CEO (AP)

AP - An executive from Google Inc. is becoming the latest CEO of AOL, raising hopes that he will be able to turn around Time Warner Inc.'s struggling Internet unit.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Mar 2009 | 1:04 am

Apple is exploring a Wiimote-like controller for the next-gen Apple TV

We may see a “remote wand” in the box of the next Apple TV, according to a 64-page patent filing published this week. The wand would control the movement of a cursor on a TV screen much like the Wiimote allows in, say, your home screen. It would also allow for 3D controls. Did they talk to Nintendo about this first?

The wand could support more features for the Apple TV system (if Nintendo doesn’t bar its relesase), including zooming and rotating operations and keyboard, image, illustration, and media applications. For example, instead of navigating to letters with the arrow keys in the current remote, the wand allows you to quickly mouse over to the letters. The wand could serve as a digital pen for an illustration application (pictured above), but I don’t see a real use for an MS Paint-like application on your TV.

In my opinion, I do not want to feel like I am navigating a PC (or a Wii) on my TV screen, but I’m curious to see if this actually gets implemented and if people will find it appealing. Honestly, I don’t even want to see another Apple TV. I want to see more Roku-like set top boxes.

Source: CrunchGear | 13 Mar 2009 | 1:00 am

Say hello to your new Facebook homepage

Section: Moblog, Web, Web 2.0, Web Apps, Websites, Online Music/Video

They have been telling us to watch for it, and today it finally launches.  Well, for some users anyway.  Facebook rolled out their new homepage today for some (it should be there for everyone soon), and the features may look rather familiar to you if you use Twitter.

Rather Twitter-esque…the big change in the Facebook homepage is their real-time updates and their new way of doing newsfeeds.  The thing is, the real-time update doesn’t so far seem to be operating in exact real time.  It takes some refreshing.  The stream of updates obviously only displays for a short period of time as well, so they put a new “Highlights” sidebar on your page, where you can see some of the older stuff it deems interesting to you.

What’s nice is they’ve updated how you can sort your feeds.  You can do it by any of your different Facebook networks that you belong to, like college or hometown, or even by custom feeds or third-party apps.  On your homepage, there is a list of all your networks for you to choose from.  You just click on what you want, and receive the feed from the people within that network. 

They also got rid of the old “What are you doing right now”, and changed it to the more thought provoking “What’s on your mind?“  This is again rather Twitter-esque.  This feature is in the new Publisher section of the Homepage.  Much more open-ended than the “right now” response. 



And of course there are ads.  With the new ways of doing feeds, Facebook wants to have new ways of bringing us ads.  It does it with both its own applications as well as third party apps.  There is automated sorting and firmer restrictions in those feeds which allow Facebook to serve up a higher percent of ads in there, in positions it chooses. 

The “Highlights” part of the page is a lot more streamlined with less space between items than before.  Facebook says the ad item in this section will appear and rotate based on things like how many of your friends are interacting with that thing. You are still able to bookmark your favorite apps, just that part is moved to the bottom on the menu bar.

If you haven’t see the changes on your page yet, just be patient—-it should be hitting soon.

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 13 Mar 2009 | 12:37 am

Robot warfare has arrived, whether you’re ready or not

Although you and I don’t enjoy the benefits of pleasure droids and personal guard robots at this time, that doesn’t mean they aren’t deploying them in backwater armed conflicts to test their viability. The robot wars are bearing down upon us like a murderous cybernetic freight train, and we’d do best to acknowledge it and prepare for the consequences. Or at least so says P.W. Singer, whose book Wired for War predicts an explosion in military robotics much like the boom in internet and computer tech in the 90s.

In this interesting interview, Singer talks about what he feels is an upcoming exponential increase in both the level of sophistication and number of robots in warfare. After all, we’ve already got the well-known Predator UAV, but we also have supercomputers watching over our nukes, sinister-looking microcopters (manhack anyone?), remote control tankbots, and of course BigDog. In fact, we already have people arguing for a robot code, so Singer isn’t alone in his conviction.

We here at CrunchGear like to keep a close eye on the approaching machine takeover, so I gather all stories like this under our helpful Robocalypse tag. Thanks for reading, and keep those armor-piercing rounds handy!

Source: CrunchGear | 13 Mar 2009 | 12:30 am

Contest: CrunchGear and Coveroo want to make you less boring

Hey, guy/girl in an office. Aren’t you tired of that slacks and a button down look? Would you like to wear your total absolute cool on your phone? Coveroo just announced their new etching service for almost any phone under the sun and they want to give 10 of you a chance to try things out. Your mission? Read on.

You’ll have four chances to enter this weekend. Today, tomorrow, and Friday we’ll give away vouchers for three covers - but not actual devices. There will be three winners each day. On Saturday we’ll have a super-duper prize day during which time you’ll compete for an etched iPod Nano.

Here’s what you have to do: post a comment describing how you’re going to break out of your cubicle jail. Will you dress up in wild colors? Will you move to an island in Tahiti? Will you etch Obama on your phone? We’ll pick three commenters at random each day and one lucky winner on Saturday. Get cracking!

When you win in the first three days you can pick plates from any one of the phones you see here.

Source: CrunchGear | 13 Mar 2009 | 12:00 am

What the iPhone OS 3.0 Update Might Really Mean (PC World)

PC World - File this under random musings du jour. All the fuss about Apple's forthcoming iPhone OS 3.0 got me thinking. And in so thinking, I began to extrapolate. What if Apple is trying to beat Android to market with a mobile companion/Internet device/mini-notebook-like gadget?
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:52 pm

Bad Traveler: Suitcases Likely to Attract Attention

If you ever want to get on airplane, you should probably not carry around these suitcases.

An artist in France has created a line of boxy luggage that uses toy weapons for decoration. It appears that the 'weapons' are cut sideways, stuck on the bag's side, and then painted over to appear as if they're jutting out from the case itself.

As can be seen in her website, the self-styled 'hippie girl' artist is trying to make a point about the apparent social behavior present in the current climate of fear when traveling. Mainly, that some people might only appear to be more threatening than others based on a physical perception.

She also believes these suitcases will foster a healthy, open conversation between strangers.

Here's one possible convo: "Hey! You're the one with that 'Ax suitcase.' Just wanted to say thanks. Without you, we would have left the tarmac by now. Instead, this five-hour postponement has made me realize how much I hate traveling and attention-getting fools like you. Thanks a lot, man."

You can buy the suitcase right here, for about $125, or you can email the artist through her site, where you can request a specific color/weapon combo.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:45 pm

Cables

Source [Flickr via Reddit via CrunchGear]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:36 pm

CrunchArcade Roundup

I’ve always said that the gaming industry has an endless amount of news to cover and today had nothing but bombs, but the good kind. So, let’s get down to bidness.

Monolith cleared the air about the upcoming Toy Soldier Map Pack for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin and rest assured, the DLC will be free when it drops in mid-April. Cheers to that.

As expected, EA Montreal announced Army of Two: The 40th Day for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP. That’s right, Salem and Rios are back to kick some butt in Shanghai, China. And it drops this winter. EAM didn’t specify whether it was this winter or next.

ARMY OF TWO: THE 40th DAY features a bigger playbook of new co-op moves that either player can use at any time, opening up new strategies and countless choices for both players. The result is a bigger, better, more organic and immersive co-op experience that lets gamers put their best two-man tactics to use whenever and wherever they want.

A new multi-player mode was announced today for Capcom’s upcoming Resident Evil 5, but we sort of already told you about it yesterday. The new mode, dubbed “Versus,” pits you and up to three other players in an online battle royale. Versus will be available for both Xbox 360 and PS3 a few weeks after RE5 launches. Live users will have to fork over 400 MS points while PSN folk will have to drop $4.99.

Slayer’s Rule is a point-based game that challenges players to kill Majinis. In Survivor’s Rule, players hunt the most dangerous game, each other! Players can begin the hunt as Chris, Sheva or other secret characters, and choose from either one-on-one or two-versus-two team matches for either of the two gameplay styles.

Capcom will also be bringing three Resident Evil titles to the Wii. A sequel to RE: The Umbrella Chronicles is slated for a winter launch in NA. The storyline for Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is based on RE2 and will include Leon S Kenney and Claire Redfield. Classic GameCube titles Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero will be available some time this year for $30 each.

Dhani Harrison, son of George Harrison, told Reuters that the upcoming The Beatles: Rock Band will feature “stuff that has never been heard, never been released.”

And if you’re still playing Fable 2 then know that Lionhead is working on a DLC pack right now. Further details will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Rockstar will be holding a midnight launch party for Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars at the Nintendo World Store in NYC on March 16th from 11:59PM to 2AM. The first 25 people to purchase the game will have a shot at some Rockstar swag that includes GTA Kubrick sets, GTA apparel, and a limited edition custom Chinatown Wars DS Lite system.

Treyarch announced today that Call of Duty: World at War will be getting its first DLC on March 19th for Xbox 360 and PS3. Details on the PC DLC pack will be coming later on. Nazi Zombies are making a comeback with Verrückt, a 4-player co-op. The rest of the details can be found over at CVG.

MTV has the scoop on the new trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum and it doesn’t fail to impress.

Whatever you do, don’t tell Doug that EA announced Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 today and that it’s shipping on June 16 for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP and Wii. OK, you can tell him that, but don’t tell him that it will support the new Wii MotionPlus accessory.

And wrapping it up for today is THQ’s latest trailer for Red Faction: Guerilla that features weapons, vehicles and the hammer.

Source: CrunchGear | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:33 pm

Cybercrime-As-a-Service Takes Off

pnorth writes "Malware writers that sell toolkits online for as little as $400 will now configure and host the attacks as a service for another $50, according to email offers cited by security experts. A technical account manager at authentication firm Vasco said that cyber crime is becoming so business-like that online offerings of malicious code often include support and maintenance services. He said 'it was inevitable that services would be sold to people who bought the malware toolkits but didn't know how to configure them. Not only can you buy configuration as a service now, you can have the malware operated for you, too.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:29 pm

LED light mine

ThinkGeek's LED light mine works like this: when exploring lightless coridoors in distant abandoned space outposts, you turn one on and hurl it before you. One of its bristling crown of neo magnets will stick to something useful.

Because each LED Magnetic Light Mine is one super-bright, wide angle LED light surrounded by 12 stalks. Each stalk has a neodymium magnet on the end. Which means you not only can attach these lights to any magnetic surface, but you can aim the light, too.

It's $7 and needs three coin batteries.

LED Magnetic Light Mine [ThinkGeek]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:26 pm

Google’s transcription is “total crap” says PhoneTag CEO in Gadgetell interview

Section: Communications, Email / IM, Mobile, Features, Interviews

I just got off the phone with the always entertaining James Siminoffand he is freaking thrilled Google Voice is getting in the voice mail transcription game.  This morning, Google announced GrandCentral would morph into Google Voice and its feature spec was upgraded to include a host of new gadgets, one of which is voicemail transcription.

Trans-what?

Voicemail transcription is an awesome service that listens to your callers voicemail, converts it to text then sends it to you via email or SMS.  This has saved me hours of listening to callers ramble on and gets me to just act on their message so much faster.  I like it so much, I wrote about it back in May saying I love GrandCentral and PhoneTag working together.  It is great that Google agreed with me.

Who moved my cheese?

Siminoff awoke to chatter on Twitter this morning suggesting his company died during the night.  He suggests bloggers give too much credit to Google.  “Category killer?  Hardly!  From a fear factor side, I don’t see Google moving my lunch.  They are getting into a biz they don’t understand. l laugh at that.“

This morning, NYT’s David Pogue reportedNTY, “Companies like PhoneTag, Callwave and Spinvox already transcribe voice mail, complete with punctuation. They’re great, but they cost money. Google Voice is free.“  Pogue along with others, have painted a tough picture for PhoneTag to compete with the likes of mighty Google.  Does this worry Simonoff?

“If you are such a pussy that the idea of Google entering it is going to wipe you out, you don’t belong in the entrepreneurial world,“ says Siminoff.  If anything, the CEO says Google’s move is going to help the company, big time.  “Having Google enter this market, validates transcription in a way that hasn’t been done before.  Transcription will now matter to carriers.“  Carriers has been a target for Siminoff’s for sometime as getting them to move has taken a while.  Siminoff expects to share big news about carriers in the coming months.

“Total crap”

So what makes Google Voice so different from PhoneTag?  Core technology says Siminoff.  PhoneTag boasts the highest accuracy by far.  Siminoff says he’s played with Google’s transcription and it is “total crap.“  “They’ve got no core tech.  Goog 411 is totally different, not a launch pad for voice mail transcription. We are way ahead of everyone else.“

Siminoff says he’s thrilled Google is in it.  “Now I have someone to show our tests against and the clout to say we are better than Google.“

Company site: [PhoneTag]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:16 pm

IBM hashing out WebSphere plans (InfoWorld)

InfoWorld - IBM plans more componentizing of its WebSphere Java application server as well as additional dynamic language support, a company executive said on Thursday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:10 pm

Hyperbaric treatment effective for autism

A U.S. controlled trial of hyperbaric treatments for children with autism has determined such treatments can improve the patients' conditions. Hyperbaric therapy traditionally involves inhaling up to 100 percent oxygen at a pressure greater than 1 atmosphere in a pressurized chamber.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:00 pm

Windows Security and On-line Training Courses?

eggegick writes "My wife has taken a number of college courses over the last three years and many of the classes used on-line materials rather than books. The problem was these required IE along with Java, Active X and/or various plug-ins (the names of which escapes me), and occasionally I'd have to tweak our firewall to allow these apps to run. I don't think any of these training apps would work with Firefox. All of this made me cringe from a security point of view. Myself, I use Firefox, No-Script, our external firewall and common sense when using the web. I have a very old Windows 2000 machine that I keep up to date. To my knowledge, I've never had a virus or malware problem. Her computer is a relatively new XP machine, and at this point she feels her computer has something wrong. But now she prefers to use my old machine instead of hers since it seems to be more responsive. We plan to run the recovery disk on hers. Assuming the college course work applications were part of the cause, what recommendations do any of you have for running this kind of software? Is there a VMware solution that would work — that is, have a Windows image that is used temporarily for the course work and then discarded at the end of the semester (and how do you create such an image, and what does it cost?)."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 12 Mar 2009 | 10:40 pm

Time Warner’s Jeff Bewkes Lays off AOL CEO and President–in a New York Minute [BoomTown]

Let’s just say the firing of AOL CEO Randy Falco and President Ron Grant was not exactly expected–even if everyone thought it should happen–within the high ranks of the troubled online unit, until Time Warner (TWX) CEO Jeff Bewkes dropped the guillotine this afternoon in Manhattan.

And drop it he did, quickly lopping off the pair of executives Bewkes had installed himself. He replaced them with Tim Armstrong, Google’s head of advertising sales, a man with a much brighter resume, for what is likely to be an attempt to spin out AOL, now that merger options are moribund.

“It’s a shock to everyone how sudden it was,” said one exec. “Everyone talked about when Bewkes was going to run out of patience with Randy and Ron all the time, but no one knew it was coming now, since it had taken so long.”

Grant, for example, only found out about the situation when Bewkes told him in person earlier today at AOL’s offices in lower Manhattan, said several sources. Bewkes has hardly ever been there, who has a stunning office at the Time Warner Center in midtown, although Armstrong’s office at Google is nearby AOL.

Falco might have learned about the situation earlier, but several sources said no other top exec at AOL did until about 30 minutes ago.

The whole coup came, said several sources, from corporate, which swooped and made the moves swiftly, very quickly after signing the deal with Armstrong.

(Here is an interview I did this afternoon with Armstrong after the appointment was announced.)

AOL PR did not seem to be aware of the move until this afternoon, and neither did its three top division heads: People Networks head Joanna Shields, MediaGlow President Bill Wilson create or newly hired Platform-A ad leader Greg Coleman.

Yesterday, quite by coincidence, BoomTown wrote about the continued turmoil within AOL and the unhappiness with Falco, which was long-running:

“That’s caused a lot of people inside AOL and also a wider circle at Time Warner to increasingly point the finger of blame at AOL CEO Randy Falco, wondering if and when he will suffer too.

‘Why Randy Falco gets to keep his job is a mystery to a lot of people,’ said one top exec at another division.”

Well, it is a mystery no longer, apparently, with Bewkes putting the high-profile Armstrong in place as AOL’s CEO and Chairman, although he has been casting about for new leadership for a while, according to many sources, such as former Yahoo COO Dan Rosensweig.

AOL is in the midst of laying off 10 percent of its staff of 7,000, although many feel deeper cuts are needed, especially since Bewkes has been unable to complete a deal to sell it after a lot of trying.

Interest by Yahoo (YHOO) in merging with AOL, for example, has cooled and there seem to be no true suitors on the horizon. A spin-off of the division seems to be the most likely option.

Whether that includes a strategy reset for AOL or not is unclear.

Under Falco and Grant–who were derisively given the nickname Smithers and Burns from “The Simpsons” and also “Rondy” by some inside the division by some who did not like then–AOL paid $850 million for the Bebo social networking site last year, an overpriced move that has grated on many throughout Time Warner.

Under their plan, AOL was focusing on a three-pronged strategy: social networking and communications (People Networks), content (MediaGlow) and advertising (Platform-A).

But new Platform-A head (and former Yahoo sales exec) Coleman, whose business has to drive revenue growth–cannot perform miracles in such a weak environment, no matter what cool new products and offerings either People Networks head Shields or MediaGlow President Wilson create.

Armstrong certainly knows sales, as head of sales efforts at Google (GOOG), although he has never operated a multi-faceted business as AOL, which–despite its troubles–remains huge.

More to come soon…

Source: All Things Digital | 12 Mar 2009 | 10:36 pm

Google Voice Speaks of World Domination

Google wants to become your phone company, or at least wants its newly announced Google Voice to become the 21st century's replacement for it. But it's not just the phone company and Skype that should be worried — this product has big ambitions.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 12 Mar 2009 | 10:25 pm

UnPirate: Dreaming beyond Adobe Dreamweaver

Section: Web, Downloads, Web Apps, Features, Originals

The Pirated: Adobe Dreamweaver

One of the most popular web authoring and designing software packages is Adobe’s Dreamweaver.  With Dreamweaver, you can test content and preview pages before they go live.  Since the newest version retails for $399, you can try out these free alternatives instead. 

Free Fusion design software

NetObjects offers Fusion up as their free web design software program.  This is a basic, no frills program that a novice can use to build their websites.  Features include drag and drop layouts, free photo galleries, custom HTML, shaping tools and built-in FTP.  Need help?  Get advice through one of their many free video tutorials or download the PDF guide.

Site: [NetObjects]

PersonalWebKit: a good choice for personal website creation

PersonalWebKit is perfect for someone who is looking to create fast and professional websites with a program that has an easy learning curve.  PersonalWebKit offers up more than Fusion, including an import tool that adds music and video files quickly as well as an auto link feature.  If you are not familiar with HTML coding, this is the ideal program for you since it is not a requirement to use.

Site: [PersonalWebKit]

Simple DTP design with WebPlus

WebPlus by Serif has a huge library of templates, smart objects and automatic navigational tools.  WebPlus also uses a simple DTP website design style and will walk you through the creation of each feature of your website step by step.  If you find that WebPlus does not have enough of the design features that you require, you can choose to upgrade to the enhanced version for just $19.99.

Site: [Serif]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 12 Mar 2009 | 10:00 pm

CreditCards.com: Weekly Credit Card Rate Report

AUSTIN, Texas, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The national average annual percentage rate on new credit card offers declined this week, breaking a four-week upward trend, according to the CreditCards.com Weekly Credit Card Rate Report.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Mar 2009 | 10:00 pm

Adbusters Suggests Click Fraud As Protest

An anonymous reader writes "In response to Google's recently announced plans to expand the tracking of users, the international anti-advertising magazine Adbusters proposes that we collectively embark on a civil disobedience campaign of intentional, automated 'click fraud' in order to undermine Google's advertising program in order to force Google to adopt a pro-privacy corporate policy. They have released a GreaseMonkey script that automatically clicks on all AdSense ads."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:53 pm

Google Ad Chief Tim Armstrong Replaces Randy Falco As Chairman And CEO Of AOL

Breaking: AOL has named a new CEO and chairman. Tim Armstrong, who headed up ad sales in the Americas for Google, will replace Randy Falco as chairman and CEO. AOL President and COO Ron Grant will also be leaving the company. Armstrong’s name has been bandied about as a potential CEO or top executive at several companies. He takes on a challenging post at AOL, which does not have the strength of either Google or even Yahoo in terms of advertising assets or traffic.

This was a very closely held hiring, say our sources - even top execs at AOL weren’t told about Falco’s leaving until just before the press release went out earlier this afternoon.

Falco came from NBC when his predecessor Jonathan Miller was kicked out. Falco reorganized AOL, focusing on combining its portal (which still generates a huge amount of traffic) with its advertising assets—now bundled together under Platform-A. His strategy was to make AOL an ad network, with AOL’s own properties serving as a foundation and source of guaranteed inventory.

But the advertising strategy never quite took hold. Partly, that was because the economy blew up. Last quarter, advertising revenues at AOL were down 18 percent, total revenues were down 23 percent, and the company took a $2.2 billion writedown for previous acquisitions. Yahoo, however, saw only a 2 percent decline in display advertising during the same quarter, and a one percent decline in overall revenues. Google’ revenues, meanwhile, grew 18 percent. powered by search advertising. Armstrong was responsible for a big chunk of that revenue, and his expertise in the still-growing part of online advertising—search—no doubt made him a big catch for Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes.

AOL definitely has a sales issue, as is clear by its relative performance to Yahoo and Google. And Armstrong is seen as someone who can help solve that, along with another recent hire, Greg Coleman from Yahoo. Coleman is the new head of sales at AOL. But what would entice Armstrong to leave Google, especially if he was the beneficiary of some of the recently repriced options?

Time Warner wants to get rd of AOL. It was looking to sell it outright, but now it is gearing up more for an eventual spin-off. If Armstrong can get AOL in shape for an IPO or make it attractive enough for a buyout offer from Microsoft or some other acquirer, he will get his payday.

Below is the press release:

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TIM ARMSTRONG NAMED CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF AOL

Former Google Executive to Build AOL’s Future
and Help Determine Optimal Structure for AOL

NEW YORK, March 12, 2009 – Tim Armstrong, Google Senior Vice President, has been named Chairman and CEO of AOL, LLC, Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) Chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes announced today. Current AOL Chairman and CEO Randy Falco and President and COO Ron Grant plan to leave the company after a transition period.

In making the announcement Mr. Bewkes said: “Tim is the right executive to move AOL into the next phase of its evolution. At Google, Armstrong helped build one of the most successful media teams in the history of the Internet — helping to make Google the most popular online search advertising platform in the world for direct and brand marketers. He’s an advertising pioneer with a stellar reputation and proven track record. We are privileged to have him preside over AOL as its audience and programming businesses continue to grow and its advertising platform expands globally. He’ll also be helpful in helping Time Warner determine the optimal structure for AOL”

Tim Armstrong said: “I’m very excited about the opportunities presented in leading AOL. AOL has a wide-ranging set of assets and audience. The company is well positioned to enhance those assets into a larger share of the Internet audience and advertiser communities. AOL and Google have been partners for years and I look forward to collaborating with Jeff Bewkes and his team as we explore the right structure and future for AOL.”

Mr. Bewkes added: “Randy led AOL in its transition from a subscription business to an audience business. Under Randy and Ron, AOL’s programming sites exhibited year-over-year growth in unique visitors for 23 consecutive months with many of its sites now in the top five of their categories., They also assembled Platform-A, the number one display ad network in the U.S. with a reach of more than 90%. They also aggressively cut costs as they restructured the Audience business portion of the company into three distinct operating units: People Networks, MediaGlow, and Platform-A. As Randy and Ron move on, they leave AOL with our gratitude and appreciation for remaking the company and bringing it to a new and promising level.”

Tim Armstrong was a member of Google’s Operating Committee and served as the president of the Americas Operations. Under the Americas Operations, Armstrong’s team managed publishers and advertisers’ relationships and platforms with some of the world’s most widely recognized media and agency brands. Armstrong started at Google in the year 2000 and opened the first office outside of the Mountain View, CA headquarters.

Mr. Armstrong joined Google from Snowball.com, where he was vice president of sales and strategic partnerships. Prior to his role at Snowball.com, he served as director of integrated sales & marketing at Starwave’s and Disney’s ABC/ESPN Internet Ventures, working across the companies’ Internet, TV, radio, and print properties. He started his career by co-founding and running a newspaper based in Boston, MA, before joining IDG to launch their first consumer Internet magazine, I-Way.

Mr. Armstrong sits on the boards of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the Advertising Council, and the Advertising Research Foundation, and is a trustee at Connecticut College and Lawrence Academy. He is a member of Mayor Bloomberg’s MediaNYC 2020 committee. He is a graduate of Connecticut College, with a double major in economics and sociology.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:50 pm

Secretary Duncan, NGA Chair Rendell, Congressman Miller Urge States to Use Data Systems for Continuous Education Improvement

Data Quality Campaign Releases Action Guide for State and Federal Policy Makers; Receives $4.8 Million From the Gates Foundation WASHINGTON, March 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tuesday, U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:48 pm

Apple Schedules iPhone 3.0 Preview for Journalists (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - They're busy dusting off the chairs and sweeping the stage in the big auditorium on Apple's corporate campus. Around the country, iPhone-geek journalists are getting ready to descend on Cupertino, Calif., lured by Thursday's e-mail announcement of an "Apple event" on Tuesday, March 17. Details are scant, but the company is promising "an advance preview of what we're building" for an upcoming iPhone 3.0 software release.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:42 pm

Hammer and Dot Hill Announce Distribution Agreement and Immediate Availability of 2U 2.5-inch Fibre Channel to SAS/SATA/SSD External RAID System

CARLSBAD, Calif., March 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Dot Hill Systems Corp.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:42 pm

Technologent Announces the Introduction of a New Colocation Service in Montana

Why should you consider this service?
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:29 pm

CounterPath Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2009 Financial Results

VANCOUVER, March 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - CounterPath Corporation ("CounterPath" or the "Company") (TSX-V: CCV, OTCBB: CPAH), a leading provider of desktop and mobile VoIP software products and solutions, today announced financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2009, which ended January 31, 2009. Financial and operating highlights for the quarter include: - Revenue for the third quarter of $2.0 million compared to $2.6 million for the third quarter ended January 31, 2008, and $3.0 million for the previous quarter ended October 31, 2008. - Aggressive cost reduction primarily through employee rationalization, resulting in a reduction of operating expenses from a peak of $8.3 million for the first quarter ended July 31, 2008 to $4.3 million for the third quarter ended January 31, 2009.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:21 pm

SourceForge Announces Support for Git, Bazaar and Mercurial

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SourceForge, the leader in tech-oriented, community-driven media and e-commerce, (Nasdaq: LNUX) today announced free hosting for Git, Bazaar and Mercurial, three leading distributed source code management (SCM) systems.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:19 pm

Google's openness intensifies focus on e-mail woes (AP)

AP - Google Inc.'s recent pledge to be more open about periodic service outages appears to be drawing more attention to the breakdowns when they occur, even if it's a minor hiccup affecting a sliver of its users.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:14 pm

Computer Horizons Announces Third Liquidating Distribution

PARSIPPANY, N.J., March 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Computer Horizons Corp. (the "Company") (OTC: CHZS) today announced that the Company's Board of Directors has declared a liquidating distribution of $0.23 per share to its common shareholders.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:12 pm

Female Birds 'Jam' Mates' Flirtatious Songs

When a single female is nearby, female antbirds will sing over the songs of their male partners in an apparent attempt to keep their messages from getting through, according to a new report published online on March 12th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:05 pm

WeedMaps Wants To Be A Yelp For Cannabis Clubs

With the increasing number of states approving marijuana use for medical purposes (and the recent proposed legislation to legalize the drug entirely in California), it’s no surprise that startups are popping up looking to capitalize on the growing number of patients looking for legal marijuana dispensaries. One of these is WeedMaps, a site that aspires to be a Yelp for cannabis dispensaries in California and other states. The site offers a Google Maps mashup that pinpoints the locations of the closest dispensaries in a user’s vicinity. At this point the vast majority of clubs on WeedMaps are located in California, but the site is slowly adding locations in other states.

Aside from the proximity map, WeedMaps also offers reviews for some clubs, though it looks like many of them haven’t seen any submissions yet. Co-founder Justin Hartfield says that the site has been seeing an average of 48% growth per month since launching in July 2008, with several thousand registered patients. Hartfield also notes that since Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the federal government would no longer raid dispensaries, traffic has seen a 35% boost. To monetize, WeedMaps is using standard advertising along with a list of featured dispensaries, using a vistors’ IP address to recommend sponsored locations within a 10 mile raidus. Hartfield says that the site is also considering a buyers’ club, offering discounts at partner clubs in exchange for a low monthly or annual membership fee.

One of the issues that will face WeedMaps is that Yelp apparently already does offer reviews of these Cannabis Clubs (in fact, it has an entire category dedicated to the topic, which you can find here). That said, users may well be interested in getting their reviews from a more specialized site, and employing the aforementioned membership deal could also help differentiate WeedMaps.

Marijuana is big business, worth as much as 14 billion dollars a year in California (some have called it the state’s largest cash crop). But it’s also illegal at the federal level, has a relatively small legal market outside of California, and comes with a myriad of social taboos. Hartfield says that the startup is on the lookout for venture funding, but that it will “take a special kind of VC”. I suspect that most VCs won’t go near the site with a 10-foot pole, but we’ve seen startups like the Zivity (an adult-oriented photography site) overcome social taboos in the past to land major funding rounds.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:03 pm

Researchers Sniff Keystrokes From Thin Air, Wires

narramissic writes "Two separate research teams have found that the electromagnetic radiation that is generated when a computer keyboard is tapped is actually pretty easy to capture and decode. Using an oscilloscope and an inexpensive wireless antenna, the Ecole Polytechnique team was able to pick up keystrokes from virtually any keyboard, including laptops — with 95 percent accuracy over a distance of up to 20 meters. Using similar techniques, Inverse Path researchers Andrea Barisani and Daniele Bianco picked out keyboard signals from keyboard ground cables. On PS/2 keyboards, 'the data cable is so close to the ground cable, the emanations from the data cable leak onto the ground cable, which acts as an antenna,' Barisani said. That ground wire passes through the PC and into the building's power wires, where the researchers can pick up the signals using a computer, an oscilloscope and about $500 worth of other equipment. Barisani and Bianco will present their findings at the CanSecWest hacking conference next week in Vancouver. The Ecole Polytechnique team has submitted their research for peer review and hopes to publish it very soon."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:00 pm

Sirius To Stream Service To iPhones, iPods This Spring

Just days after avoiding bankruptcy, satellite radio provider Sirius XM said Thursday that will try to expand the reach of its service to users of Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPod devices this spring.The company also said it is exploring a potential marketing deal with DirecTV Group, the largest U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:58 pm

FiberTower Reports 2008 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results

Achieves 23% Reduction in Adjusted EBITDA Loss for 2008 Fourth Quarter SAN FRANCISCO, March 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FiberTower Corporation (Nasdaq: FTWR), a wireless backhaul services provider, today reported results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2008.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:57 pm

New Technique For Observing Aerosols Turns Gray Skies To Blue

Image Caption: This pair of images shows a standard view of farmland near the Chesapeake Bay (left) and a polarized image of the same scene (right). The polarized image has less glare and a dull tone that makes it easier for researchers to detect small aerosols. Credit: NASA GISS/Brain Cairns
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:53 pm

Pollution Dimming Skies' Brightness

Satellite and land-based data show pollution has dimmed skies over the past 30 years.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:30 pm

New battery material may charge devices in seconds, not hours

Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Gadgets / Other

With a few exceptions, despite all the advancements in computer technology there is one place where the industry hasn’t seemed to make huge leaps forward: batteries.  Apple made some interesting advancements to the batteries in the new 17” MacBook Pros, but that was more in dealing with how the energy is stored and used.  There haven’t been too many batteries pushed out to consumers that really pushed the boundaries of what we’d expect.  A major issue I find is how long it takes to change the damn things.  Having to wait hours for a netbook or laptop to fully charge can be extremely frustrating for the impatient.

In a few years that may change, thanks to a new battery material developed by researchers at MIT.  The material could lead to batteries that could power laptop or other devices in seconds rather than hours.  It can do this by allowing the electrically-charged ions travel through the material much faster than they possibly could in our current batteries.

There’s reports that through 50 charge/discharge cycles that the batteries with the new material show no real drop in capacity.  That’s very good news for those of use who are always afraid of the lifetime of a battery.  For example, my nearly three-year-old MacBook Pro’s battery can barely last 30 minutes without completely failing.

The new battery material isn’t ready yet, and probably won’t reach consumers for another two or three years.  It is licensed to two unnamed companies as of right now, which means we’ll hopefully see these batteries as soon as their ready.  I’ll be looking forward to charging my rumored Apple netbook in seconds to use for hours, or whatever notebook they have out at the moment.

Read [Wired]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:27 pm

Video: Victorian Apple Peeler

Mat Honan's pop has a Victorian-era peeler that can strip an apple down to its skivvies in under thirty seconds.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:22 pm

Cassini switches to backup thrusters

U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:19 pm

FBI Searches New Fed CIO Kundra's Former Offices

CWmike writes "While new federal CIO Vivek Kundra gave a speech here this morning on his vision for the US government's use of technology, the FBI conducted a search of the District of Columbia's IT offices — where Kundra worked until last week — and arrested an employee and another person who works for an outsourcing vendor, say reports. There was no indication that Kundra was connected in any way to the FBI's raid, which was part of a bribery sting operation. And if Kundra was aware of what was going on at his former offices or concerned about the raid, it wasn't evident during his speech at FOSE 2009, a trade show focused on government IT. The FBI would not comment on the reports. President Barack Obama last week appointed Kundra to be the federal government's first official CIO."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:11 pm

New Yahoo Home Page Caught In The Wild

Yahoo’s new home page was supposed to have launched to the general public by now, but Yahoo insiders say new CEO Carol Bartz wanted to slow things down a bit and conduct more user testing. Testing is currently being conducted, our source says, in the UK, U.S., India and France to a small percentage of users.

We wanted to get a look at what the new home page looks like in the wild, and put out a call to our Twitter friends. UK reader Andrew Lawson sent in the screenshot above.

This live version of the homepage is very similar to the mockups Yahoo supplied last September. A few things have been rearranged and fonts have been altered, but the layout is largely the same.

All the action will occur on the left sidebar, where users can access key applications (including third party apps) and expand them to take up more of the page. In the mockups the only third party application shown was eBay. The live version also contains a BBC and MySpace module.

The live version also has an “add application” button that Yahoo said was to come later. Given that Yahoo has 82 million daily visitors to its home page, I expect just about everyone out there to be quickly building their own modules for users to add.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:09 pm

'Spin battery' uses new source of energy

U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:09 pm

European Startups Put To The Plugg Test

So Plugg, the European startups conference in Brussels today (organised by TechCrunch writer Robin Wauters) wrapped up with two overall winners of their startup competition, and if I do say so myself they were pretty worthy. The overall winner was London-based Mendeley which describes itself as the “Last.fm for research” - in other words they are out to capture data about research papers, as well as making scientific research social. The audience also cast their votes in the morning session and awarded Myngle with the People’s Choice Award. This startup, based in The Netherlands, pitches itself as a ‘new way to learn languages’.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:06 pm

Mercedes Gullwing Flies Again

Mercedes resurrects an icon in a car that could become iconic in its own right.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:05 pm

Apple to Preview iPhone 3.0 Next Week

The iPhone is set to get a face lift. Apple will show off a new version of the iPhone operating system, iPhone 3.0, on March 17, along with a new version of the phone's software development kit.

While details are scanty, iPhone 3.0 could include features such as universal search, multimedia messaging and an updated user interface.

Apple will unveil the new OS and SDK at a media event for reporters and bloggers at Apple's Cupertino, California, campus at 10 a.m. Pacific time next Tuesday.

"In the past two weeks Apple has introduced new Mac hardware and a new iPod shuffle, for which the company simply issued a press release," Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says in a note. "The fact that Apple is hosting an event for the iPhone OS 3.0 shows that it will likely involve meaningful changes to the iPhone feature set."

The software preview event could also be a sign that an iPhone refresh is coming this summer. Version 2.0, the last big upgrade to the iPhone OS, was released in July last year, along with the new iPhone 3G.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs will likely be a no-show at the company's event, but Apple won't let that hold it back. In January, Jobs said he will take five months off for medical leave. In his place, it's possible that marketing head Phil Schiller, who keynoted at Macworld, will lead the event; iPhone software chief Scott Forstall is also a likely candidate.

Some bloggers and analysts have been suggesting that Apple will launch a new version of the iPhone at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. But new hardware will require an updated SDK and possibly a new version of the operating system. Those speculations align well with Apple's planned event next week.

Among the features that users can expect with the new iPhone OS are multimedia messaging and tethering via Bluetooth and USB, according to the Boy Genius Report. Universal search and a redesigned user interface are also possible, says Piper Jaffray's Munster.

Palm, which is set to release the Palm Pre phone in the next few months, will have universal search as one of its significant features. Universal search allows users to look through the contacts, e-mails and documents on their phone as well as search the internet with a single search string.

Apple's last enhancement to the iPhone software came in November 2008, when it offered Version 2.2. The update offered features such as Google Street Views, improvements to e-mail, and measures to reduce dropped calls.

What would you like to see in the new Apple OS? Let us know in the comments.

Photo: sparktography/Flickr

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:04 pm

Dell Joins 'Kitchen PC' Trend With Touchscreen Desktop

Do you want a PC in your kitchen? No? Are you sure? How about now?

PC manufacturers seem convinced that you do -- at least, that would explain the sudden crop of stylish, lightweight home desktops with touchscreens. Dell is the latest PC maker to introduce computer in this category, with a new product called Studio One 19 that targets home users who want a relatively lightweight machine for tasks such web surfing, basic multimedia and notes.

"You can watch HD content, play with your photos, surf the internet or do your taxes on a machine that is full featured," says John New, a marketing executive at Dell.

Dell's latest offering follows similar products from HP and Asus. HP has had the TouchSmart PC, which has been available for a year and a half, while Asus started offering its Eee Top touchscreen desktop earlier this year.

The Studio One 19 desktop is currently available in Japan and is expected to start retailing in the U.S. in a few weeks.

But unlike its rivals, such as Asus' 1.6 GHZ Atom processor-based touchscreen desktop, the Studio One 19 comes with enough power to keep most people happy. The Studio One 19 PC allows users to choose between Intel's Celeron, Dual Core Celeron, Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad Core processors for their machine. It also allows users to choose between Nvidia's GeForce 9200 or 9400 graphics, up to 4GB of memory, 750 GB of hard disk drive, six USB ports, web camera and optional Blu-ray disc player.

The idea to give customers the kind of flexbility and customization that they are used to while buying a Dell machine, while offering them an innovative design, says New.

The most eye-catching thing about the Studio One 19 desktop is the use of fabric as a material in PC design. The Studio One 19 will come with fabric frames in different colors including blue, black, red and pink.

The desktop is priced at $700 for a non-touchscreen model and at $800 for a touchscreen version. That's more expensive than the $500 Asus Eee Top but Dell is betting there's more bang for the buck here.

See also:
Review: Asus Kitchen PC Cooks Up Hot Fresh Processing Power

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:53 pm

Tiger Stripes Used to ID Poached Skins

Tiger stripe patterns are used like fingerprints to trace poached skins.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:45 pm

Seed germination control process revealed

U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:43 pm

Fleeing customers haunt phone co. in New England (AP)

AP - Phone companies fear that customers will increasingly switch off their landlines in favor of wireless phones or phone service from cable TV providers. So the last thing FairPoint Communications Inc. needed was to send subscribers fleeing with a botched technical transfer.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:40 pm

Debris Chunk Whizzes by Space Station

The space station crew briefly takes refuge amid concerns of a debris strike.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:30 pm

Amazon Uses DMCA To Restrict Ebook Purchases

InlawBiker writes "Today, Amazon invoked the DMCA to force removal of a python script and instructions from the mobileread web site. The script is used to identify the Kindle's internal ID number, which can be used to enable non-Amazon purchased books to work on the Kindle. '...this week we received a DMCA take-down notice from Amazon requesting the removal of the tool kindlepid.py and instructions for it. Although we never hosted this tool (contrary to their claim), nor believe that this tool is used to remove technological measures (contrary to their claim), we decided, due to the vagueness of the DMCA law and our intention to remain in good relation with Amazon, to voluntarily follow their request and remove links and detailed instructions related to it.' Ironically, the purpose of the script is to make the Kindle more useful to its users."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:24 pm

Peek + lifetime service at Costco for $399

Section: Communications, Accessories, Email / IM, Mobile

Back in January, Peek, the e-mail and texting handheld device, was on sale for $299.95 complete with lifetime e-mail service for one day only. 

What’s the story?

Lifetime service from Peek for $399.99 at Costco.  The offer runs out in 10 days on March 22, 2009.

Peek is an e-mail and text-messaging handheld device that normally costs $49.95 plus a $19.95 monthly charge to receive and send data via a cellular network.  This deal is a one-time charge that gives you access to your e-mail without the need for Wi-Fi. 

Why should people care about this?

The device normally costs only $50.  The service charge would be approximately $350.  That’s equivalent to a little under 18 months of service if you buy the Peek under normal circumstances.

An alternative to grabbing a Peek is getting a data plan with your cell phone.  Peek has put together a site called “Peekonomics” which compares its service charges to AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon.  The site shows the device to be a much cheaper alternative when compared to those telecoms’ plans. 

Why shouldn’t people care about this?

If you plan on getting rid of the device in less than 18 months, maybe you are better off with Peek plus a service plan.  Also, at almost $400, you could pick up any number of cool toys like a Kindle, a netbook, or a video game console like a PS3. 

Bottom Line:

The Peek is definitely not for everybody since it is very limited in its functionality.  If you hate the phone feature on your phone, this may be the way to go.

Read: [Peekonomics]
The deal: [Costco]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:17 pm

Homebrew software will unlock the full iPhone Bluetooth stack

Rumor has it that a new homebrew app will soon open the full Bluetooth stack on the iPhone 3G, allowing for full and proper Bluetooth support including wireless keyboard connectivity and stereo Bluetooth. The app is called iBluetooth and it’s currently available on the Cydia store.

This current app supports Bluetooth file transfers and updated versions will allow you to use the rest of the stack. The programmers are asking for $3.99 so they can continue development on a more fully-featured system. Might be a worthy cause.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:16 pm

Estrogen aids preterm-birth lung function

A U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:15 pm

French Police Save Millions Switching To Ubuntu

Ynot_82 writes "The French national police force, the Gendarmerie Nationale, has spoken about their migration away from the Windows platform to Linux. Estimated to have already saved the force 50 Million Euros, the migration is due to be completed on all 90,000 workstations by 2015. Of the move, Lt. Col. Guimard had this comment: '"Moving from Microsoft XP to Vista would not have brought us many advantages and Microsoft said it would require training of users. Moving from XP to Ubuntu, however, proved very easy. The two biggest differences are the icons and the games. Games are not our priority."'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:04 pm

Self-Healing Car Coating Repairs Scratches

A new coating can self-heal most paint scratches if exposed to sunlight.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:02 pm

Apple to Preview iPhone 3.0 Next Week

Apple will offer a sneak peek into a new software developers kit for the iPhone and an updated version of the iPhone operating system, OS 3.0, during a media event next week.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:00 pm

Apple to Preview iPhone 3.0 Next Week

Apple will offer a sneak peek into a new software developers kit for the iPhone and an updated version of the iPhone operating system, OS 3.0, during a media event next week.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:00 pm

3G Shuffle hints at new iPhone designs

Section: Audio, Portable Audio, Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile, Features, Originals

Yesterday, Apple released the 3rd generation Shuffle, their low man on the totem pole of MP3 players.  The new design is almost inconceivably smaller than the 2nd generation and moves function buttons off the device in favor of having them on the earphone cord.  A break out feature guides you by voice to get to the song of playlist you desire as there is no screen.  What can this latest player to hop out of Cupertino tell us about a new iPhone? 

I say plenty.  Apple loves their family look and there is every reason to believe we’ll see some of the concepts in the Shuffle carried into the next generation iPhone. 

Looks

Let’s start with the easy: looks.  The Shuffle is totally upscale.  The two-tone aluminum (polished and matte finish) create a stunningly sexy device that screams class.  The Apple logo stands out brilliantly on the polished clip.  I believe Apple will carry this upscale look to the iPhone.

Apple could do this by offering two colors, just as the Shuffle is offered today: silver and black.  Both would be a step up from shiny white or black.  As we believe the next model will incorporate some kind of HD (or at least higher resolution screen), an upscale look will go along nicely.

Shape

I was taken aback that the new Shuffle follows the shape of the old Mini instead of the contoured Nano.  Maybe it was too small to achieve the nuanced angles?  Regardless, it says Apple isn’t committed to sweeping contours that we see on the iPhone and the Nano.  Perhaps this is Apple just stepping back and saying, “Hey, this is our el-cheapo special, what do you expect?“ and they’d be right.  This Shuffle shouts, “don’t expect to see any fruity colors on the iPhone anytime soon.“

Features

The new Shuffle is Apple working hard to stay on top of the cheap MP3 player market.  A feature that defines it just enough to intrigue buyers.  This Shuffle’s voice technology is the Nano’s shake-n-shuffle.  Could this feature make its way upstream?  Perhaps.

Where would this feature make sense with a gorgeous screen staring back at you?  Perhaps when docked with your car stereo?  Instead of dividing your attention from outside world to iPhone screen, the audio voice would be your guide.  I’d argue some tactile feedback to tell you where the forward button is would be handy, this would be a step in the right direction.  And I am sure Apple would allow us to turn this off or on depending on your preference.

Controls in the earphones

This is trickle down tech from the original iPhone and it makes a lot of sense on the Shuffle.  While I am skeptical the button combo on the earphones will replace the simplicity of pushing the buttons on a gen 2 Shuffle, I’ll go along with anything to make forwarding Barry Manilow while I am running easier. 

I don’t believe we’ll see the iPhone use voice tech for main functionality besides music play, but who knows.

As June gets closer, you can bet Gadgetell will have plenty more analysis on the next iPhone.  Stay tuned.

Check out Appletell’s full preview of the Shuffle.

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 12 Mar 2009 | 6:16 pm

Brain Scanners Know Where You've Been

By studying blood-flow patterns in the brains of people, scientists have figured out how to recognize where a person is in a virtual room. It's not mind-reading, but it could help scientists understand memory and how it degrades in people with dementia.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 12 Mar 2009 | 6:01 pm

Exclusive: Slides from Sprint/Palm Webinar, plus a live blog

The Sprint/Palm Pre Webinar is starting in 20 minutes. We were able to dig up all of the slides from the presentation while we were waiting - and as far as we can tell, there isn’t much new stuff to be seen. We’ll keep dig through the slides - let us know if you spot anything exciting.

Live Blog:

• They’ve gone ahead and made it clear, right off the bat, that there will be no new pricing or availability information today.
• David Owens, Director of Consumer Acquisition at Sprint, and Matt Crowley, Product Line Manager at Palm, are on stage.
• David Owens is just talking about the strengths of Sprint’s 3G network. You’re not missing much.
• Owens continues on about perks of Sprint - now talking about their $99 Simply Everything plan
• Owens on Sprint’s Genius-bar-ish Ready Now : “Most of the population, they need assistance to really learn how to use a device”
• 10 minutes in, they’ve moved to talk about the Palm Pre. Matt Crowley is discussing the awards the Pre has won already.
• If you’ve been keeping up with Pre news, you can likely tune out of this live blog without missing much. It seems to be a recap.
• Crowley is demonstrating Synergy, Palm’s system for bringing information (Contacts, related calendars, message notifications, email alerts, etc) from around the device to one place. It’s our favorite part of the Pre, but we’ve seen it plenty of times now.
• Crowley is raving about the ergonomics of the phone, and the way it curves to your hand.
• Demonstrating Universal Search, which lets you search within the device and across the web right from the home screen. Again - another favorite, but we’ve seen it all before. 20 minutes in, and the Webinar is thus far a recap for the folks who didn’t make it out to CES or MWC. Good idea if they were broadcasting to the public, but I’m pretty sure most of the folks watching the webinar have seen this all before.
• Crowley is showing Touchstone, the Pre’s magnetic charging surface.
• Q&A portion is beginning; Owns reminded the audience that there is no pricing or availability update
• First Q: Will all of the Sprint services be available on Pre? A: Some of them. NFL app, Nascar app, Navigation - aaand the video just went down for us. Sorry folks, technical difficulties.
• Next Q: Will the center button light up as shown at CES? A: Yes. There are 3 LEDS. Used for Gesture feedback - just reassurance that its working.
• Q: Is Pre still on target for first half of 2009? A: (Annoyed) Yes
• Is there a limit to the number of cards open? Yes - no specific number yet, but it’s based on how many things you have open. (Wow, good question)
• Q: Will Palm continue to develop WinMo devices? A: Yes. We’ll continue to make Windows Mobile products. [Now talking about the Treo Pro]
• Q: Will there be an App Store? A: Yes. There will be over-the-air applications. We’ll talk about that later
• Q: Why no memory expansion slot? A: Design. It couldn’t be this thin or have the curvature we wanted if we added a microSD slot. We’d have to compromise on the design. 8 GB is a lot - not enough for everyone, but sufficient for most.
• Q: Is there a regular plug if you don’t want to use Touchstone? A: Yes. MicroUSB.
• Q: Will there be games available? A: In the 1.0 version, the games will be simple. Sodoku named as an example
• Q: Will there be other development options - HTML, Javascript, CSS, etc? A: We’re really focusing on bringing the web to the device. We’ve focused on developers who already have this knowledge.
• Q: Are there plans to license webOS? A: No plans for it yet.
• Q: Why the name Pre? A: The idea is that it anticipates your needs - not as in “Here’s what you want to do”, but “Here’s what the options are”. [Funny - I've been told they picked the name because they liked it and thought of the reasoning later.]
• Q: Can you provide additional info about the Ready Now program and how it works with the Pre? [Come on, guys - they've been doing this for months.] A: It’s like a personal trainer. People will be excited about the device - immediately that day, you can go through the ReadyNow service. We’ll give you a card with checkboxes, you tell us what you want to learn about. No cost service. We’ll work with you until you’re comfortable that all your questions have been answered.
• Final Q: More details on which plan is necessary for Pre? A: 450 minutes/Data, 900 minutes/Data, or Simply Everything. They start as low as $69.99, up to Simply Everything. Plus business plans. There are a host of plans available. You don’t have to get the Simply Everything plan. You can choose your minutes - but we want customers to have an unlimited data plan, because we want people to have a worry free experience.
• All over, folks. “We hope you walk away with the answer to ‘Why the Sprint/Palm partnership’?”. They’re wrapping up. “Stay tuned - you’ll see more things as we get closer to launch”
• Slide now reads “The webinar is now over. Thank you for joining us.”, backed by the cheesiest jazz in all the lands.

Recap: 20 minutes of stuff everyone watching (it was a press-only event) had seen before, with a few gems in the Q&A: It’s still on target for 1st half of 2009, Palm will continue making WinMo devices, they have no plans to license webOS, and you won’t need the Simply Everything plan with the Pre.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 12 Mar 2009 | 5:45 pm

Review: iPod Shuffle (Third Generation)

Apple's third-generation iPod Shuffle, offered for $80 in dark or light gray, is already controversial. Not only does it move most controls from the player to a module on the included earphones--meaning that they're the only earphones, for now, that will work with it--but the controls themselves are different, with odd morse-code like sequences replacing the standard rack.

Apple's business is built on creating simpler, better user interfaces, so we come immediately to the simple question of whether it's better than the last model.

The short answer is an equally simple "no." The new iPod Shuffle is Apple's worst product in years. Its headphone module-interface fails because it's really about physical appearances: it does nothing to improve the experience of listening to music, and is in fact irritating until you've learned how to use it.

The long answer, however, is that it's just not that big of a deal, and the worst Apple music player is still not a bad one. Beyond this flash-point issue, the new Shuffle is a tiny and inconspicuous metal sliver with generous storage and at least one cool novelty: Voiceover, an androgynous robot voice that tells you information about the tracks loaded onto the machine. It's not completely dumb text-to-speech, either: It pronounced Saint Etienne correctly!

With 4GB of storage, it can hold a thousand songs. The looks are fantastic --the clip now has a mirror-finish--and give it a businesslike elegance the last generation lacks. (Still, it's a shame it doesn't come in the same range of gorgeous colors as its predecessor, or the current iPod Nano.)

Voiceover, installed as a "kit" when you register the Shuffle with iTunes, reads track and playlist info at a touch. If you plan to fill all that space, you'll want it -- and be glad that you can now use it to navigate playlists, finally transferable to the Shuffle.

In the service of novelty, Apple has turned basic, generic technology into yet another private little ecosystem: you'll either buy into that or you won't. If the third-gen Shuffle fails, it will instead result from the irksome practical consequences: adapters that can't yet be bought, expenses incurred on special headphones, and the "rat a tat-tat" button dances learned just to perform simple functions.

Pros
* It's tiny and it's beautiful
* Having it read track and playlist info is cute and even useful.
* Yes, I said playlists. In the Shuffle. At last!
* Generous 4GB of space.

Cons
* Self-parodying interface worthy of a Peter Serafinowicz sketch.
* Until others release theirs, only Apple earphones work.
* Apple's earphones suck.
* Seriously, screw headphone adapters. What is this, a cheap cellphone?

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 12 Mar 2009 | 5:19 pm

Fact: Sprint to launch LG Rumor2 on March 15

Sprint announced today that LG’s second-gen. Rumor - Rumor² - will be available via Sprint.com (and by phone, what?) as of March 15, with a retail debut following on April 19.

Like the pending (can you hurry up and launch) Palm Pre, the 4.2 ounce Rumor² is exclusive to Sprint (at least initially). The text-centric handset appears to be identical to the previously leaked image we posted a couple weeks back, complete with sliding QWERTY keyboard and extra row of keys.

Featured specs include:

ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC
• NFL Mobile Live providing live audio broadcasts of every regular season game and watch the live broadcasts of all NFL Network games. Get real-time red zone alerts, scores, stats, live NFL Network 24/7 and more. Manage your fantasy football team like a pro with up-to-the-minute insights, analysis, stats and alerts.
• MP3 player with microSD memory card slot with 16GB card capability
• Stereo Headset Jack allowing users to listen to music in stereo when using a 2.5mm stereo headset

PRODUCTIVITY
• Sprint Navigation with GPS-enabled audio and visual turn-by-turn driving directions, one-click traffic rerouting and more than 10 million local listings
• Mobile email with easy, one touch access to all your personal and work email including AOL, Gmail, Windows Live™, Hotmail® and Yahoo! Mail.
• Full QWERTY keyboard for enhanced messaging and social networking
• Increased screen resolution to QVGA clarity
• 1.3 megapixel camera with 2x digital zoom
• Sprint PCS® Picture Mail to shoot, share and print high-resolution digital photos instantly
• Built-in productivity tools such as planner and scheduler, task list, world clock, alarm clock, calculator and more

SPECIFICATIONS
• Dimensions: 4.41 x 2.05x 0.7 inches; 4.2 ounces
• Display: 1.2 x1.61 inches TFT (240 x 320 pixels QVGA and 262K vibrant colors)
• Standard Lithium (LiIon) battery: up to 5.5 hours continuous talk time

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 12 Mar 2009 | 5:07 pm

Apple to spill the beans on iPhone OS 3.0 next week

Invites have begun to trickle out for a March 17th Apple event, at which they’ll be debuting iPhone OS 3.0. It has been about 8 months since the release of OS 2.0, and 6 months since Apple missed their self-imposed deadline for push notifications for background applications.

Will background apps be addressed? What about the oft-griped about lack of copy and paste? Will they polish up all those little things we still can’t stand? Tune back in on March 17th at 10 am PST to find out.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 12 Mar 2009 | 4:40 pm

MY TAKE: Time to Clean Up Space

The space station gets a space debris scare and one scientist says it's time to act.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 12 Mar 2009 | 4:02 pm

Space Shuttle Launch Delayed Further

A hydrogen leak delays space shuttle Discovery's launch until possibly next week.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 12 Mar 2009 | 3:35 pm

Heavy Metal Pollution Hits Wildlife Hardest

Lead levels in the hair of wild animals suggest they are at higher risk than humans.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 12 Mar 2009 | 3:02 pm

Trisaksri Ghost Repellent

Boondee.net is selling the "Trisaksri Ghost Repellent", a hand-crafted box that detects spirits, snaps an "invisible picture", then converts that image into a "WAVE KILLER" circuit that creates an electromagnetic blast that scares away any specter. They explains:

You or someone may have experience with ghost or devil after bought new second hand house from the former owner. Some houses may have bad spirit inside which will interfere your daily life unhappy and frighten your children. Finally many of you leave away the house and find a new home. We have a solution for you, "Trisaksri Ghost Repeller". Just place this device in side your house and switch ON. All ghost and devil will leave away your home and won't come back again. Now who run away, You or ghost ? Save money in finding a new home.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 12 Mar 2009 | 2:52 pm

Morning tech deals highlights

⌦ Monitor – Acer 23-inch 1080p LCD monitor for $183, shipped. [Slickdeals]

⌦ Batteries – 15%-off coupon for any order at Batteries.com. [Bargainist]

⌦ Keyboard & Mouse – A refurbished wireless keyboard and mouse set from Microsoft for $20, shipped. [Ben's Bargains]

⌦ Rechargeable Batteries – A four-pack of AAA Sanyo Eneloops for $10 at Amazon. [Dealnews]

⌦ Pens are Friends – Five pounds of pens, misprints and overruns from custom print jobs mostly, for $20, shipped. [Dealnews]

⌦ Wind Generator – Amazon sells the Sunforce 12-volt 400-watt wind generator for $500, shipped, or about $80 off. [Dealnews]

⌦ Scuba Scooter – Today's Woot is the Hawk Scout Aqua Scooter for $105, shipped. That's about $50-$100 off what I could find elsewhere.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 12 Mar 2009 | 2:28 pm

Will third-party gear fix the new iPod Shuffle?

If you think Apple's taken simplicity too far by replacing traditional media player controls with morse code, Scosche (!) has an answer. It plans to release an adapter that lets you fast forward and rewind the old-fashioned way.

It's among the first among makers of iPod peripherals to announce products that match the new iPod Shuffle. As special headphones with an inline control modules are required to use it, companies that make such peripherals will now become the focus of attention.

Scosche announced three compatible earbuds, but quickly moved to what people will care about more: "an inline control adapter kit that allows consumers to use any standard set of headphones," and "plug their shuffle into any vehicle's auxiliary input."

I shall leave you with Peter Serafinowicz' stunningly prescient parody: the MacTini, a computer with one button and an interface just like the new Shuffle's.

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So we're getting pitches from companies selling new earbuds and adapters for Apple's buttonless iPod Shuffle, like this new one from Scosche.* Take a look at the adapter that lets you use the Shuffle with other headphones.

It's short, because you don't want to add a lot of extra length to your existing headphones. Which puts the controls not next to your breast like the standard-issue headphones from Apple, but down next to wherever you have clipped the Shuffle. You have to pay extra money to put buttons right next to the Shuffle.

I suppose the only consolation is knowing that in a revision or two the Shuffle will actually just be inside the included earbuds and that will be that. – Joel

* Yeah, me neither.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 12 Mar 2009 | 2:04 pm

Researchers create quick-charging batteries from readily available materials

From Nature:

Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge have found a way to get a common lithium compound to release and take up lithium ions in a matter of seconds. The compound, which is already used in the electrodes of some commercial lithium-ion batteries, might lead to laptop batteries capable of charging themselves in about a minute. The work appears in Nature1 this week.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 12 Mar 2009 | 2:04 pm

Add Erosion to Alaska's Climate Woes

The rate of erosion has doubled along Alaska's Beaufort Sea in just a few decades.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 12 Mar 2009 | 2:02 pm

The Sidewinder and the Snow-Motor

Charles Shopsin is a New York City-raised and Brooklyn-based software developer. In his spare time, he runs the Modern Mechanix blog.

OK, I admit: a forklift is not exactly standard fare for a gadgets site, but the Airtrax Sidewinder is pretty cool. It uses a set of four individually powered Mecanum wheels that allow it to move in any direction, including sideways and diagonally.

I was reminded of this video by a commenter who posted another video a couple of weeks ago on my blog. It's a 1926 snowmobile kit called the Snow-Motor. It seems really agile and looks quite fetching when slung under a Chevrolet.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 12 Mar 2009 | 1:56 pm

Almost Free Pinhole Digicam Hack

Over at Make, Jason Striegel explains how to turn your DSLR into a pinhole camera using "only need a few things: black paper, aluminum foil, a rubber band, and tape. Really, that's it."

Apart from the camera itself, of course. The hack is about as simple as these things get -- remove the lens, block the hole in the body with a piece of black card (with a hole pre-bored in the center) and cover with foil. Use a pin to punch a tiny hole in this piece of foil. Hey, it's called a pinhole camera for a reason, OK?

That's almost it. If your camera can't take long exposures, set it to bulb (or "b") mode. This lets you hold the shutter release down to keep the shutter open. Striegel uses a ball of scrunched up foil and a rubber band to keep this in place.

Now, put the camera on a tripod or other steady base and take some pictures. You'll get dreamy images with almost infinite depth of field due to the small aperture. The aperture also means exposures in the minutes, not seconds, of fractions thereof.

Try it out, and be sure to post the results to the Gadget Lab Flickr Pool. I'll be making one this afternoon.

$0 digital pinhole camera [Make]

See Also:

• How To Make a Scanner Camera
• Turn a Flatbed Scanner Into a Giant Camera

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 12 Mar 2009 | 1:06 pm

Telefónica to Get Palm Pre Exclusive 'Before Summer'

It looks like bad news for any Spanish fans of customer service -- Telefónica is set to be the sole network for the Palm Pre in Spain, where it will appear alongside the abused iPhone on the company's Movistar mobile network "before summer". The Spanish telco will also have rights in Latin America (again under the Movistar brand) and even in the UK, although this time using its British subsidiary O2.

If true (and several sources concur) then the Pre will be going straight up against the iPhone. If you love Telefónica, this is great. But everybody actually hates the company, so expect to get screwed on contracts and data plans just like you did with the iPhone.

The UK outlook is, for once, brighter. O2 has one of the most liberal plans for the iPhone anywhere in the world, with decent data plans even on pay-as-you-go tariffs. One thing is sure. If Telefónica does get the rights, I won't be queuing up to buy one on launch day like I did with the iPhone. I'll save my anger and bile and just stay in bed.

Movistar 'steals' a Vodafone mobile' anti iPhone Palm [Expansión -- translated]

O2 wins UK Palm Pré exclusive? [Reg Hardware]

See Also:

• Spanish IPhone 'Still Not Arrived'
• Telefonica in Great Customer Service Shocker
• O2 Triples Minutes on Cheapest UK iPhone Plan
• O2 Leaks its Own iPhone 3G Pre-Pay Pricing
• O2 Announces Free 3G IPhones and Pay As You Go

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 12 Mar 2009 | 12:44 pm