Previously:

• Big-ass flying boats full of water save LA from fiery doom!
• The Los Angeles fires
• Straight Outta Mordor: Notes from the LA Fires

TechCrunch50 Conference 2009: September 14-15, 2009, San Francisco

Source: Gizmodo | 1 Sep 2009 | 9:42 pm

Microsoft Hyper-V Still a Work in Progress, Group Says (PC World)

PC World - Windows Server 2008 R2 will help Microsoft narrow the feature gap with virtualization products from VMware and Citrix Systems, but its new Hyper-V software still won't be "production-ready" for most enterprise applications, according to Burton Group.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 1 Sep 2009 | 9:40 pm

Original Zunes go towards the light

I think we all knew it was coming. After all, the new interface, while aesthetically similar to the old Zune UI, is totally incompatible with the old hardware. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, unfortunately — though I would add, that doesn’t mean you have to throw away the dog.

Unfortunately, that’s what Microsoft has to do in order to run with Apple and Samsung and the rest; slick little touchscreen players are the future, and as we’ve seen, you can make the screen bigger (or the whole device smaller, as with the Zune HD) if you remove those bulky controls.

So, farewell, pal Zune. We’ll post a proper retrospective at a later time. Anyway, I’ll continue to use you because you’re good and I don’t want to buy anything from Apple.

On the plus side, this means there will be some crazy prices on Zunes within a few weeks. For those of you out there like me who buy their tech one generation behind (lovin’ my PS2), it’ll be a bonanza.

[via Zune Spring and Engadget]

Source: CrunchGear | 1 Sep 2009 | 9:25 pm

Laura Ling and Euna Lee's first statement on their North Korea capture

While covering human trafficking between North Korea and China, Current TV employees Laura Ling and Euna Lee were captured and detained by North Korea. They were sentenced to 12 years hard labor, but released 140 days later after extensive efforts to negotiate their freedom. Here is a snip from the journalists' first public statement since their return to the United States:

When we set out, we had no intention of leaving China, but when our guide beckoned for us to follow him beyond the middle of the river, we did, eventually arriving at the riverbank on the North Korean side. He pointed out a small village in the distance where he told us that North Koreans waited in safe houses to be smuggled into China via a well-established network that has escorted tens of thousands across the porous border.

Feeling nervous about where we were, we quickly turned back toward China. Midway across the ice, we heard yelling. We looked back and saw two North Korean soldiers with rifles running toward us. Instinctively, we ran.

We were firmly back inside China when the soldiers apprehended us. Producer Mitch Koss and our guide were both able to outrun the border guards. We were not. We tried with all our might to cling to bushes, ground, anything that would keep us on Chinese soil, but we were no match for the determined soldiers. They violently dragged us back across the ice to North Korea and marched us to a nearby army base, where we were detained. Over the next 140 days, we were moved to Pyongyang, isolated from one another, repeatedly interrogated and eventually put on trial and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor.

Hostages in the Hermit Kingdom (Current)
Related video: Thank You From Laura and Euna (Current)

Source: Gizmodo | 1 Sep 2009 | 9:00 pm

Why Gmail Failed Today

When Gmail went down today, it caused more than a minor panic. People, like me, who use Gmail as their primary email couldn’t get much work done. There’s nothing like an outage to make you realize how much you rely on something.

So what happened exactly? Isn’t Gmail supposed to have multiple points of failure? Well yes, Gmail has thousands and thousands of overlapping mail servers which can pic up the slack if any one fails because the data is replicated and spread all around. But there are also request servers which do nothing but route the requests for email to whichever server (with the right emails on it) happens to be available.

It tuns out that Google took down some regular email servers for routine maintenance, and because of some recent changes, that overloaded the request servers. Google engineering VP Ben Treynor explains on the Gmail Blog:

At about 12:30 pm Pacific a few of the request routers became overloaded and in effect told the rest of the system “stop sending us traffic, we’re too slow!”. This transferred the load onto the remaining request routers, causing a few more of them to also become overloaded, and within minutes nearly all of the request routers were overloaded. As a result, people couldn’t access Gmail via the web interface because their requests couldn’t be routed to a Gmail server. IMAP/POP access and mail processing continued to work normally because these requests don’t use the same routers.

So much for redundancy.

Gmail, which recently passed AOL to become the third largest Web mail service in the U.S., is obviously having some growing pains. A few hours of downtime is not the end of the world, although it might seem like it at the time. It just better not make this a new habit.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:59 pm

Hackermouse is equipped with Time Distortion Field

I’ll let this one speak for itself. Click on through for the full story.

As Thomas Jefferson said (about the Holy Trinity, not anti-cheat measures, but it applies here too): “Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions.” And these support guys weren’t making themselves intelligible. Either the fellow on the other end has a sense of humor or has none, but either way I like the way this turned out.

[via Reddit, where there is the following solid gold comment: "With real bits of panther, so you know it's good."]

Source: CrunchGear | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:55 pm

Toshiba Introduces High-Capacity 640GB 2.5-Inch HDD

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), the pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), today announced a new series of 5,400 RPM 2.5-inch HDDs offering up to 640GB(1) of capacity.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:51 pm

Big-ass flying boats full of water save LA from fiery doom!

A ginormous amphibious air tanker called the Martin Mars just made a massive water drop over Mount Wilson, the hill northeast of Los Angeles where the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory and nearby TV, radio and cell phone towers are all located. The World War II-era flying boat literally water-bombed the peak today to douse flames from the Station Fire, which has burned 127,000 acres (the largest in LA County history).

Here's an LA Times pic of this bad boy in action over Mt. Wilson. Snip from the accompanying story:

Los Angeles County Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Martin said, "We are going to burn, cut, foam and gel. And if that doesn't work, we're going to pray. This place is worth a lot, but it's not worth dying for. "

In a worst-case scenario, firefighters were expected to retreat to the safety of the observatory parking lot or seek refuge in the concrete and steel basement of the 105-year-old, 100-inch telescope observatory. A Martin Mars air tanker, also known as a Super Scooper, dropped 7,500 gallons of water on Mt. Wilson.

In previous BB posts about the LA fires, I mentioned these giant 747s that have also been spurting water from the sky, to extinguish the blaze. Wired has a nice photo gallery of those guys in action here. And Popular Science has some interior shots of the 747s. Spoiler: they are friggin huge inside.

The managers of the observatory are now very optimistic that the historic site will make it okay.

Below: Astronomer Mike Brown has been tweeting while the area around the Mt. Wilson Observatory burns, and he spotted the WWII flying boat in action.

Source: Boing Boing | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:43 pm

Watering Mount Wilson

Photo: Martin Mars

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:32 pm

Qiao Xing Universal Telephone, Inc Signs Letter of Intent in Connection with the Proposed Sale of its Subsidiary Qiao Xing Communication Holdings Limited

HUIZHOU, Guangdong, China, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Qiao Xing Universal Telephone, Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:30 pm

Baby chicks ground up alive: animal rights video goes viral

(Warning: video is totally gross). Via this SF Gate item, a Chicago-based animal rights group called Mercy for Animals shot the video above of baby chicks being ground up alive at an Iowa chicken processing factory. It's pretty disgusting, and reinforces a personal decision I made to avoid consuming eggs that come from this sort of place:

Hy-Line admitted to the Associated Press that "instantaneous euthanasia" (e.g. grinding up male chicks) is a standard practice and claims that it is also supported by the animal veterinary and scientific community. (Male chicks are less valuable because they can't lay eggs or be raised quickly enough for meat.) Mercy for Animals estimates that 200 million male chicks are killed annually and United Egg Producers confirmed this figure.

I'll take the happy kind of eggs Mark grows in his back yard, or none at all, yo. (Thanks, Brian Lam)


Source: Boing Boing | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:27 pm

The latest Stargate Universe trailer clearly shows someone watched BSG

Oh man, Stargate Universe launches on October 2nd. I can’t wait even though the latest trailer shows that the show has clearly taken a more edgy stance, which in my mind at least, isn’t what a Stargate show be. But that’s not new info. The creators have stated that SGU will be different for a while, but this trailer confirms it. The show is going to be darker, full of mystery, and shot to look like Battlestar Galactica. But the simple Star Wars reference at the end of the trailer shows some hope that the show might actually maintain some of its Stargate identity. Hopefully.

Source: CrunchGear | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:25 pm

PS3-Compatible Phone Coming in October

SpuriousLogic sends along this quote from CVG: 'You may remember reports of Sony's flashy Aino phone earlier this year which can, among other things, connect to a PS3 via Remote Play, giving you full access to your XMB through its tiny screen. Well, Sony's revealed that the Aino is now just weeks away from release in October, and spewed all the details prospective buyers need to know about the device. ... Remote Play with Aino lets you turn your PS3 on and off, browse and control the XMB and access the internet browser from anywhere in the world. Remote Play also lets you control and access the hard drive's media content on the PS3 using the built-in WiFi or 3G connections via Aino. You can also access the PlayStation Store via Remote Play or chat with friends via the PlayStation Network. It is also possible to buy and download a new game from the Store via Aino so it is ready and waiting for you when you get home.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:19 pm

Brilliant: Advertisers Pay To Drive Traffic From One Place On Facebook To Another Place On Facebook

So I was reading this Comscore report about the massive number of ads that are being served on social networks. 8.2% of all display ads on the Internet today in the U.S. are being served on Facebook. Wow. MySpace still has a small lead there, with 9.2%. Overall, social networks are serving up 21% of all U.S. display ads, and that’s with Twitter basically still on the sidelines.

Anyhow, as soon as I finish reading the report and some of the associated coverage, I see an email from Facebook in my inbox. It says:

Hi there,

My name is Melissa and I work in advertising at Facebook. Could you forward this along to the appropriate person who does your online media buying?

I am a huge TechCrunch fan, and I think TechCrunch has one of the best Pages on Facebook. It has seen a sizeable amount of organic fan growth, and the Page content does a great job keeping users engaged. Now that we have “Become a Fan” cost-per-click ads, it’s easier than ever to expand your fan base to a much greater size. With over 250MM users, we can target by various parameters to reach the right people that would want to fan the TechCrunch Page. Having 9,000 fans is a great start, but with the potential for 50,000 or even 500,000 fans, you can make your updates that much more effective.

Running through our online tool, you can control your daily budget, ad creatives, and target audience so your ads are as effective as possible. We can also have a dedicated account manager work with you to make sure the ads are being optimized for the best performance. I am more than happy to help with this fan-growth effort and tap into the potential that TechCrunch’s Page has on Facebook. Feel free to reach out to me by phone at 650-xxx-xxxx or via email at xxxxxx@facebook.com, and I can set you up with a business account and some free ad credits to get started. Look forward to hearing from you!

And all I can think is, how did these guys manage to set up a system where people pay to drive traffic from one place on Facebook to another place on Facebook? Even Google hasn’t managed to figure that one out yet. I’ve known they (and MySpace) have done this since launching their ad platforms, but it never really hit home until today how brilliant this all is.

They even have a nice pre-created ad to show me when I visit our fan page on Facebook, and offer to let me pay via cost per impression or cost per click. It’s all so easy. All I have to do is pull out my credit card and push Facebook a little bit closer to that looming IPO.

I love the Internet.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:14 pm

Examiner.com expands local news with NowPublic buy

Source: Gizmodo | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:00 pm

If you buy this $30,000 85-inch plasma, I will come to your house and watch it

I know plasma is on the way out — or rather, I hear, since I’m not a big TV guy. But man, it’s got solid picture and they can make ‘em nice and big. For some people that’s all that matters. And by some people I mean rich people.

Who else but the fabulously rich would buy this fabulously large TV? I mean, you can get a serious projector for a few grand that’ll put up an image that big — but a plasma will have a better picture… especially one that costs thirty grand.

It’s 74″x42″x4″ (nice and thin!) and weighs a gossamer 260 pounds. The TH-85PF12U should be coming out next month.

Source: CrunchGear | 1 Sep 2009 | 7:59 pm

Shin Kurushima Dockyard Starts Implementation of Intergraph(R) SmartMarine(R) 3D

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Shin Kurushima Dockyard (SKDY), recognized as one of the most productive shipyards worldwide, has standardized on Intergraph((R)) SmartMarine((R)) 3D design and engineering software after an intensive two-year benchmark study.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2009 | 7:00 pm

Archos 5 Android tablet pictured and priced

It’s… almost exactly what I would expect from an Archos-branded Android tablet. We saw it before via the FCC, but this is a much clearer picture. The device will be coming in four (if not more) flavors: two flash-based at 16GB and 32GB, and two HDD-based at 160GB and 500GB. It looks like a decent little device, but I don’t think I’ll ever understand the draw of this sort of device. If a nice Android-based phone does 85% of what this tablet does, what’s the point of this? A slightly bigger screen? More storage?

There’s a lot of speculation going on over at Archos Fans, from which the images originate. The pricing was also noted as follows:

• 16GB: $294
• 32GB: $370
• 160GB: $320
• 500GB: $420

My my, pricey! But Archos has never been into budget electronics that I know of. For that price you’ll probably be able to Get a CrunchPad.

[via the internet]

Source: CrunchGear | 1 Sep 2009 | 6:56 pm

Sony ships PCs with Google Web browser installed (AP)

AP - Sony Corp. is giving Google Inc.'s fledgling Web browser a boost by installing it on new computers.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 1 Sep 2009 | 6:49 pm

Bluetooth Headsets That Up the Chic Factor [The Mossberg Solution]

The cover of Wired magazine’s August issue showed Brad Pitt wearing a Bluetooth headset with the words, “Ditch the headset. He can barely pull it off—and you are not him.”

Fashionable or not, more people are wearing these wireless headsets for making phone calls in the car and in everyday life. This week, I reviewed two that look stylish enough that you won’t mind being seen wearing them: Plantronics Inc.’s Discovery 975 (Plantronics.com) and Aliph’s Jawbone Prime (Jawbone.com).

These Bluetooth headsets cost $130 each and use the best technology from their respective companies, including impressive-sounding features like AudioIQ 2, WindSmart, NoiseAssassin 2.0 and an Acoustic Voice Activity Detector. Each headset aims to deliver clearer incoming and outgoing sound.

After using these two headsets in an office, while walking through noisy city streets and as I drove a car with its windows open, I found that I liked the Plantronics Discovery 975 more than the Jawbone Prime. It felt more comfortable and stable in my ear, and its longer boom fit my face better than the Jawbone Prime’s stubby build. I was able to hear people more clearly while using the Plantronics (PLT) earpiece. But on the other end of the call, friends said the Jawbone Prime did a better job of muffling noise.

The Plantronics Discovery 975 also has something that the Jawbone Prime doesn’t have: a carrying case that holds the earpiece and charges it on the go. This charging case can triple the device’s talk time from five to 15 hours, and it holds its charge for a week on standby. A display on the case shows how much battery remains both in the charged case and on the earpiece itself when it’s held in the case.

I liked using this case because it meant I didn’t have to think so often about charging my headset. It also gave me a place to keep the small Discovery 975 earpiece, making it harder to lose in the bottom of a purse or large work bag. Though people who don’t carry briefcases or purses wouldn’t likely use this case, it’s convenient to have the option.

None of the Jawbone models come with carrying cases, though stores like Best Buy sell some cases that will hold Jawbone headsets. In the future, Aliph says it plans to make its own cases that will hold and charge its Jawbone headsets.

Aliph’s Jawbone has always been one of the most stylish Bluetooth headsets, thanks to its compact form factor and disguised buttons. The Jawbone Prime follows suit with a design that makes it appear slightly smaller than its predecessor. It comes in seven colors, including four especially bright “EarCandy” hues: Drop Me a Lime, Lilac You Mean It, ‘Yello! and Frankly Scarlet. The Prime maintains the original Jawbone’s namesake design feature: If worn properly, it touches your face near your jawbone and removes background noise. But a new feature also uses sound to detect the speaker’s voice and eliminate extraneous noise, so the headset doesn’t always need to touch the face.

The design of the Plantronics Discovery 975 ups the company’s chic factor by replacing its former model’s triangular boom with an elegant boom made of a single thin metallic sliver. It reminded me more of jewelry than a tech gadget. Like the Jawbone models, it looks less geeky because buttons are disguised, and it doesn’t emit a blinking blue light while in use—an improvement for Plantronics. The Discovery 975 comes only in graphite, though AT&T (T) stores will carry it in silver.

I started testing the Plantronics Discovery 975 and Jawbone Prime from my quiet office, without any distracting background noise. There, the Plantronics headset sounded better than the Jawbone, making my voice sound crisper, according to the person on the other end of line; likewise, his voice sounded louder to me. He also said he couldn’t tell I was using a headset while I was on the Discovery 975, but definitely knew I was on a headset while I used the Jawbone Prime.

Next, I walked along the streets of busy downtown Washington, D.C., chatting on each headset while standing steps away from the squeaky sound of car brakes and taxis honking. Here, the Jawbone did a better job of fading that street noise into the background, compared to the Plantronics headset.

I also took turns using the Jawbone Prime and Plantronics Discovery 975 while driving through the city with all four car windows open to test the antiwind capabilities of each. Here again, the Jawbone Prime sounded better to the person on the other end, though the Plantronics didn’t sound bad. My friend said it would have been impossible to guess where I was while making the phone call using the Jawbone Prime. But from my end of the call, I was able to hear slightly better while using the Plantronics Discover 975.

While using the Jawbone, I accidentally hung up on friends in midconversation a few different times because the place where I pressed to secure the earpiece in my ear was also the Talk button. I tried each of the Jawbone Prime’s three fit earbuds, three round earbuds and its included earloop, but none of these felt as comfortable as the Plantronics headset.

Both headsets are capable of using Multipoint technology, allowing them to connect to two Bluetooth devices at once. They’re each lightweight at .28 ounce and .35 ounce for the Plantronics and Jawbone, respectively; the Plantronics case weighs 1.27 ounces. According to each company, the Plantronics headset takes one-and-a-half hours to fully charge and lasts for five hours of talk time; the Jawbone takes 50 minutes to fully charge and lasts four and a half hours of talk time.

When both headsets were in front of me and I wanted to make a hands-free call, I reached for the Plantronics Discovery 975 because of its overall fit and feel in my ear. It stayed in place using a soft, gel insert that wasn’t uncomfortable, even after long conversations. Its sound quality was good enough for me.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

Write to
Katherine Boehret at mossbergsolution@wsj.com

Source: All Things Digital | 1 Sep 2009 | 6:08 pm

Review: Snow Leopard Combines Minor Improvements, Major Future-Proofing

“Rowr!” Well, more like, “Purrrrrrr.” That’s a better way to describe Apple’s new operating system Snow Leopard, which hit stores Friday. The new Mac OS (10.6) has been optimized for 64-bit addressing. The result? It delivers minor improvements to current and previous Macs, and will have an even more significant impact on future systems. An excerpt:

From our testing, Snow Leopard indeed delivers on its promises of speedier performance and superior memory management, which in turn results in longer battery life. Thinking ahead, the OS focuses on maximizing the power of future systems armed with multiple processor cores, and its 64-bit addressing will support massive amounts of memory. With that said, the benefits combined with the OS’s low price tag make Snow Leopard definitely worth buying — but there’s no rush, even if you own one of the latest Macs.

Want the entire rundown? Check out our review at Wired.com/reviews.

See Also:

• Faster, Bigger, Longer: How Snow Leopard Will Improve Your …
• 6 Things You Need to Know About Mac OS X Snow Leopard
• Adobe Won’t Guarantee CS3 Will Work on Snow Leopard
• Gallery: OS X Snow Leopard Unboxed

Image: Apple

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 1 Sep 2009 | 6:01 pm

Hammers, Water, Lasers Make Deep Drilling Easier

The process of punching a well hasn't changed in a century. The search for oil, gas, or water may extend more than 7 miles, but it's still done with a tricone bit—three grinding cones angled inward and downward, with spinning teeth. This system is effective at crushing and shearing, but every time a bit wears out, engineers have to "trip" the drill: They bring the head to the surface, change it, and send it back down. A lot of drilling time is actually tripping time, which means a project's cost goes up exponentially with depth. So researchers are developing replacement technologies to reach superheated water for geothermal power or stretch down to previously inaccessible fossil fuel. Here are a few ideas for parts that will be greater than the hole.

The Next Drills

Hydrothermal Spallation
Potter Drilling of California uses jets of superheated fluid to break through granite five times faster than traditional techniques, which don't do well against hard rock types. The first field test of the technology is scheduled for next year in the Sierra Nevada.

Laser Drilling
Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory repurposed a 1.6-kilowatt industrial laser to burn through shale, limestone, and sandstone. Their relatively cheap technology hasn't made it out of the lab, but Argonne is working with a startup to commercialize it.

Pneumatic Hammers
Normal hammers slam into rock 30 to 60 times per second. Sandia National Laboratories has overclocked theirs to 100 strikes and subbed metal for plastic so that the hammer can withstand the temperatures (up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit) inside a geothermal well.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 1 Sep 2009 | 6:00 pm

Verizon Wireless Planning to Invest More Than $100 Million in Upstate New York Network in 2009

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless is planning to invest more than $100 million in network enhancements throughout Upstate New York for the ninth consecutive year.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2009 | 5:55 pm

Rumor: HTC Desire 6200 to be Verizon’s next Google device?

Hold on tight kids, there’s another Google-powered HTC phone coming. Looking at the screen shot, it’s going to be called the HTC Desire 6200, and it’ll be specifically listed as a Google product.

There’s not a whole lot more information available, other than this leak, which appears to have come from a Costco employee. We’ll keep you informed as more news becomes available.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 1 Sep 2009 | 5:40 pm

Some hard hardware reading for your slow Monday afternoon

You’re just waiting for that clock to tick over to 5:00, right (well, you West-coasters anyway)? When I was a 9-to-5er, I had the same compulsive time-checking starting a little after 4, especially on Mondays and Fridays. Well, here’s something to tide you over until it’s safe to leave — something you might have to pick back up at home, since it’s a bit technical and lengthy.

The SSD revolution is moving along as we speak, a sort of slow revolution that will take many years to replace our trusty mechanical hard drives. Cost is one issue, but that’s changing, and the other is the idea of SSD wear and tear. You may have heard that consumer SSD drives have memory cells (which hold the 1s and 0s in SSDs) that wear out after 10,000 discharges. This leads to a sort of data fragmentation which can be damaging to both capacity and speed. In practice, that can be many years, but how the cells wear down, when, and how to minimize it is a serious area of research. Configuring the drive controller differently can lead to huge increases in performance, major lengthening of mean time before failure, and all that. Anand covers a lot of these issues in detail in this monster of a post.

I’m still working through it, but it’s an easy recommendation for those of you at all interested in the nuts and bolts of the devices we use every day. He’s collected some ideas, and proposes some, for lengthening SSD life expectancy as well as speeding up read/write operations. It’s interesting to see this kind of theorizing in the public arena; you’d expect to hear it in the break room at Intel while engineers woolgather and brainstorm, but to have it all laid out for you to read like this is a treat. Well, for some.

Source: CrunchGear | 1 Sep 2009 | 5:35 pm

Windows Mobile 6.5 cell phones scheduled for October 6 release

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones

Microsoft’s new Windows Mobile cell phone OS is set to be available in new smartphones starting October 6, 2009, a little over a month away.  The new OS is supposed to have an easier UI, superior browsing capabilities, Windows Marketplace for Mobile, and a way to back up all phone information called My Phone. 

Let’s look at the cell phone manufacturers in various parts of the world who will create phones using the Windows Mobile 6.5 OS.  In North America, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Bell, and Telus will all carry phones using the 6.5 OS.  Manufacturers such as LG, Samsung, HP, HTC, and Toshiba will be creating such phones.  Expect similar carriers and manufactures for Europe, Latin America, and Asia. 

A redesigned Internet Explorer hopes to make the browsing experience easier and more efficient.  Using Adobe Flash Lite, pages and other tasks will be rendered faster, which will definitely please users.  Microsoft Office Mobile has been revamped and allows users to open, read, and edit any Word, PowerPoint, or Excel file.  Be sure to take advantage of a new Microsoft Outlook Mobile to manage all your emails and sync between your PC and phone.  Of course, no smartphone is complete without strong social networking capabilities, such as Windows Live - a tool that combines many social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. 

Whether you are using Windows Mobile 6.5 with a physical keyboard, or it’s all touch - the OS is designed to work on any type hardware phone.  Also, users have the ability to change the homescreen with personal images and can fill it with the widgets used most often. 

Via [Microsoft]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 1 Sep 2009 | 5:12 pm

Space Shuttle To Be Replaced By SpaceX For ISS Resupply

destinyland writes "Next year SpaceX will perform resupply missions for the International Space Station after the Space Shuttle is grounded, as part of a $3.5 billion NASA resupply contract. 'The fledgling space industry is reminiscent of the early days of the personal computer,' notes one technology reporter, 'when a number of established vendors and startups reversed-engineered Microsoft's DOS and manufactured PCs using the Intel 8080 chip set. We're likely to see a similar industry shakeout in the private space vehicle market segment in the coming decades.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 1 Sep 2009 | 5:12 pm

Alan Graham's automatic chicken door

Alan Graham's home made automatic chicken door has mine beat by a country mile, because he can run it from his iPhone. His hens sure are cute.


Source: Boing Boing | 1 Sep 2009 | 5:05 pm

Monkeys Appreciate Monkey Music and Metallica

Cotton-top tamarin monkeys have an ear for music created using their own calls -- and Metallica.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 1 Sep 2009 | 5:01 pm

Snow Leopard Combines Minor Improvements, Major Future-Proofing

Snow Leopard is here. But should you upgrade? Wired.com takes a deep dive into the newest Apple OS, finding its biggest upgrades, worst flaws, and ultimately, if it's worthy of your ducats.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 1 Sep 2009 | 5:00 pm

Snow Leopard Combines Minor Improvements, Major Future-Proofing

Snow Leopard is here. But should you upgrade? Wired.com takes a deep dive into the newest Apple OS, finding its biggest upgrades, worst flaws, and ultimately, if it's worthy of your ducats.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 1 Sep 2009 | 5:00 pm

BLOG: Origin of Dogs Determined

A new study claims to have found the original date and birthplace of the first dogs.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 1 Sep 2009 | 5:00 pm

Wisconsin-Based Herzing University Opens New Campus in Kenosha

Former Aurora Building Renovated for Herzing's State-of-the-Art Classrooms MILWAUKEE and KENOSHA, Wis., Sept.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2009 | 4:49 pm

Yahoo Launches Microblogging Platform Yahoo Meme In English

A few weeks ago , we reported that Yahoo quietly launched its microblogging product Yahoo Meme, in Spanish. Yahoo had previously launched a Portuguese language micro-blogging product, Yahoo Meme, that drew similarities to Twitter and Tumblr. And on second glance, it seemed to be a mediocre competitor to Twitter, Tumblr and other micro-sharing services in terms of its offerings and features.

It looks like Yahoo definitely has lofty ambitions for Yahoo Meme, as it has stealthily rolled the micro-blogging service out in Spanish and now in English to appeal to the masses. Here’s how Yahoo Meme works: you create an account and it starts you off with an empty blog that you can fill with text, images, videos, music or a mixture of those things. All you can add to your blog - apart from the content - is a title, a 100-character description and an avatar. You can also create a comment thread underneath the content you post, which was a feature that was missing when we reviewed Yahoo Meme previously.

Like Twitter and Tumblr, you can search other people’s public accounts and follow them, with updates from these users appearing in your stream. You can also ‘Repost’ anyone’s entry, similar to the ‘Reblog’ feature that’s integrated into Tumblr. But the micro-blogging service seems lacking in its features and its potential to surpass its competitors.

Yahoo also recently launched Yahoo Know Your Mojo, a site that claims to tell you what kind of “social mojo” you possess by analyzing your Tweets, but actually appears to do basically nothing. Yahoo hasn’t had the greatest luck with social networks recently, with its Indian social network, SpotM, shutting its doors less than a year after its launch.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 1 Sep 2009 | 4:46 pm

Brizzly Adds Photo Uploads. 500 Invites For TC Readers.

Brizzly, the new web-based Twitter client that was first unveiled at our Real-Time Stream CrunchUp in July, has today added a new feature: photo uploads. Users can now upload images to Brizzly’s servers and they will tweet out along with any message you enter. This is a nice addition for Brizzly because one of its key features is the inline display of images.

Alongside the new feature, Brizzly is also announcing a wider roll-out of its beta today. As such, they’re giving us 500 invites to hand out to TechCrunch readers. Simply go to brizzly.com and use the code: ‘multiplylibrary‘ to sign up.

Aside from in-stream images, Brizzly also shows videos right from users’ tweet streams. While co-founder Jason Shellen tells us that they have nothing to announce for video today, it is in the works. Right now, the images will be hosted on the Amazon servers Brizzly users, we’re told.

When they are sent out to other Twitter services, the photos use brizzly.com URLs, and direct users to a special Brizzly photo page. On this page you can see how many time the photo has been viewed, when it was upload, and who uploaded it, pretty standard stuff, but it has a nicer interface than some of the other Twitter photo-sharing services.

There is also a new area in the left-side menu of Brizzly just to view photos that have been uploaded through the service.

We’ve been trying out Brizzly for a few weeks now, it’s a really nice interface to interact with Twitter from. On top of inline images and videos, it also offers a nice way to see and reply to Direct Messages as they come in, and explains to you why certain items on Twitter are trending topics. Most importantly, you can group the people you follow together to cut through a lot of Twitter clutter if you follow a lot of people. There is also support for multiple Twitter accounts.

Brizzly has put together a reviewer’s guide for how to use it here. You can also learn more in the video below (note that the interface has been updated slightly since this video).

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Source: TechCrunch | 1 Sep 2009 | 4:45 pm

Video of paging through R. Crumb's illustrated Book of Genesis

The publisher of the forthcoming Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb sent me this exclusive video of an unknown person thumbing through an advance copy of what promises to be the graphic novel sensation of the year. It looks great!

(I have an advance reader's copy, which is watermarked with repeating gray logos on every page. I found it to be as distracting as trying to listen to music with static added to it. I could only read a few pages of it before I decided I should wait and read a real copy of the book when it comes out.)

Pre-order The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb on Amazon for $16.47


Source: Boing Boing | 1 Sep 2009 | 4:42 pm

Judge Won't Lower $5M Bail For Jailed SF IT Admin

snydeq writes "San Francisco County Judge Charles Haines has denied Terry Childs' motion to reduce his $5 million bail, alluding to 'public security concerns,' according to Richard Shikman, who is representing Childs in court. The ruling comes in the wake of a recent decision to drop three of the four changes that have been levied against Childs, who has spent the past 14 months in jail. The fourth charge — that Childs violated a California statute regarding illegal denial of service for the San Francisco FiberWAN — has been called into question by those closely monitoring the case. As a point of comparison, the San Francisco Felony Bail Schedule lists a $1 million bail for the most serious crimes, such as sexual assault of a child, aggravated arson, or kidnapping for ransom. Prosecutors have argued that the bail is appropriate because, if released, Childs could cause damage to San Francisco's network."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 1 Sep 2009 | 4:17 pm

Shields Up!: Bluetooth Security

Section: Communications, Accessories, Cellphones, Smartphones, Computers, Mobile Computers, Security, Features, Originals, Columns

Most anyone who uses a cell phone knows what Bluetooth is; Bluetooth headsets and dongles sell like hot cakes.  Everyone loves the wireless technology that allows them to talk on the their phones without having to hold them and also send data to and from the phone quickly, easily, and wirelessly. 

In many overseas countries Bluetooth is even more popular.  Some have special kiosks you can connect to and get a free game or ringtone sent to your phone.  However the fun and convenience do not come without risks.  Here’s a look at the most common Bluetooth security issues.

Bluejacking

This attack targets any Bluetooth enabled device.  It happens when a hacker finds a Bluetooth device in discoverable mode and sends an unsolicited message or photo to it.  The attack can be harmless and meant to shock or amuse— it can also be malicious.  For example, a hacker could send a message to someone over Bluetooth with something enticing that makes them respond and/or add them to their address book.  This sets up the recipient for everything from spam to phishing attacks.  In a simpler form of Bluejacking, the messages themselves can be spam or otherwise unpleasant in nature.

Bluesnarfing

This type of attack, while quite harmful, is targeted mostly at older Bluetooth devices.  Hackers exploit a firmware flaw in those devices that forces a BT connection and allows them to access the device’s data and even the device’s IMEI which could actually let them reroute calls from the victim’s device to theirs.

Bluebugging

This type of attack is also targeted at old devices.  By exploiting a firmware flaw, a hacker can access the phone without the user’s knowledge and access data, listen in on phone calls, send messages, and more.

Car Whisperer

This attack targets hands free car kits.  By using a software tool, a hacker can exploit a flaw in them that allows them to send or receive audio from the car kit.  They can eavesdrop on calls made from it and transmit audio to the car’s speakers.

Shields Up!

How can you protect yourself?  The first thing to do is always make sure your device’s firmware is up to date and that any hotfixes or patches issued for it are installed.  Once you’ve done that the most important step you can take is to not leave your device in discoverable mode and to disable Bluetooth when you’re not using it.

When you leave your device in discoverable mode it is open and visible to other devices, much like an unsecured Wi-Fi network is.  That makes it easy for a hacker to connect to it.  Even when in undiscoverable mode it’s technically possible for a determined hacker to find your phone and connect to it, so it’s a good idea to change your pin from the manufacturer’s default to something more complex.  Finally, check your device’s list of paired devices regularly and if there is any unknown device on the list delete it immediately.

Have any thoughts, questions or comments?  Let us know!

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 1 Sep 2009 | 4:09 pm

Gameloft has sold 6 million games through Apple’s App Store

Earlier today, Paris-based downloadable video game studio, Gameloft, announced that it has sold over 6 million games through Apple’s App Store. Considering that the App store is less than 14 months old, 6 million sales isn’t too shabby. In fact, compared to current state of the Android Market, it’s downright amazing.

“From the distribution model to the types of games available, the App Store has completely revolutionized the way handheld games are played, perceived and received,” said Michel Guillemot, chairman and CEO, Gameloft. “Our strategy from the onset has been twofold. First we deliver an aggressive line-up of high quality games and then we adapt in real time to consumer needs. With over 6 million paid games sold, it has proven to be quite successful.”

Currently, Gameloft has 35 games floating around Apple’s virtual mall, of which more than half (18) have earned Top 10 Paid Games honors worldwide, with plans to release an additional 15-30 titles before year’s end. Popular titles include: NFL 2010, Guitar Rock Tour 2, The Oregon Trail, Assassin’s Creed: Atlair’s Chronicles, UNO, and Terminator Salvation. Not surprisingly, the company cites the iPhone OS as its #1 platform.

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Source: MobileCrunch | 1 Sep 2009 | 4:05 pm

Take-Two FY Q3 Tops Estimates; Q4 Outlook Light [Voices]

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

Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) this afternoon posted revenue for its fiscal third quarter ended July 31 of $138.6 million, down from $433.8 million a year ago, but ahead of the Street consensus at $125.3 million. The video-game company suffered a non-GAAP loss in the quarter of 66 cents a share, two cents less than the consensus at 68 cents.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Source: All Things Digital | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:55 pm

NASA Infrared Imagery Sees Landfalling Jimena, Weak Kevin, and Pyrocumulus Clouds

It's unusual to see towering clouds that are created from smoke and fires, but that's what showed up in the latest satellite imagery from NASA, when also capturing powerful Hurricane Jimena and Tropical Depression Kevin in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:55 pm

Designs From Raw Sketches To Speed Parts Creation

Going back to the drawing board is much easier now that researchers have developed a new type of design program called FEAsy.The program allows the designer to sketch a rough concept of the part and then analyze the part's characteristics while it is still only a drawing, said Karthik Ramani, a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University.The concept represents a departure from conventional design methods, in which engineers use a painstaking procedure called finite-element analysis to test designs, he said."Ordinarily, the designer creates the component and then it has to go to other engineers who use specialized analysis software to test the design," Ramani said.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:50 pm

Tiny Pump Means Pain Relief For Big Cats

Veterinarians from the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo and the University of Tennessee have found a solution to the challenge of providing effective pain relief to some of their most difficult patients: big cats.The answer: A surgically implanted, capsule-sized pump that provides continuous pain relief while the animal recovers from surgery, according to a new study appearing in the August edition of the American Journal of Veterinary Research.The paper features the results of evaluations carried out with domestic cats at the University of Tennessee for the purpose of evaluating the potential usage of osmotic pumps for big cats.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:45 pm

ANSI Announces Recipients of the 2009 Leadership and Service Awards

NEW YORK, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) announced today the recipients of its 2009 Leadership and Service Awards.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:40 pm

Green Production Guidelines Give 'Road Map' For New Administration

With good directions, anyone can find the right path.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:40 pm

Satellites And Submarines Give The Skinny On Sea Ice Thickness

This summer, a group of scientists and students — as well as a Canadian senator, a writer, and a filmmaker — set out from Resolute Bay, Canada, on the icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:36 pm

Alright, Who Broke The Internet? Dell.com Also Knocked Out. (Updated)

Of course Gmail being down is not good news for Google’s business (directly nor indirectly), but if you’re a giant computer manufacturer directly retailing products online across the globe, I’d wager you’re a bit worse off when your website is completely unavailable.

At least for the past half hour (since 5 PM EST), Dell.com has been suffering from a serious outage. Just for your reference, the company saw sales of $12.76 billion last quarter, and that was down 22% from $16.43 billion a year ago. Rest assured every minute of downtime is costing the computer manufacturer serious money.

Update: site is back up as from 5:40 PM EST

Are the two events related and are we experiencing yet another massive DDoS attack, or is this merely coincidental?

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Source: TechCrunch | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:29 pm

Wrestling With Bighorn Sheep

University of Alberta researcher David Coltman wrestles with bighorn mountain sheep to gauge their personalities.Coltman, a U of A biology professor, is part of a team that traps the animals in a plywood enclosure on a mountaintop in the Rockies.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:28 pm

Researchers Say Climate Change Mitigation Strategies Ignore Carbon Cycling Processes Of Inland Waters

In the paper, The Boundless Carbon Cycle, published in the September issue of Nature Geoscience, scientists from the University of Vienna, Uppsala University in Sweden, University of Antwerp, and the U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:26 pm

Hydrogen Storage Gets New Hope

Economical hydrogen-based vehicles could result from rechargeable ‘chemical fuel tank’A new method for “recycling” hydrogen-containing fuel materials could open the door to economically viable hydrogen-based vehicles.In an article appearing today in Angewandte Chemie, Los Alamos National Laboratory and University of Alabama researchers working within the U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:25 pm

Gorgeous line graph of sci-fi TV themes over past 4 decades

Annalee Newitz of science fiction blog io9 points to a neat post they've just published with...

Beautiful infoporn, showing the rise and fall of 5 major scifi themes (robots, aliens, time travel, etc.) since 1970, from io9's graphic designer Steph Fox. Now we just need somebody to interpret the data! Why is there a rise in shows about magic, and a fall in shows about space travel, right at the start of the Bush Administration?"

At Last, A Graph That Explains Scifi TV After Star Trek (io9)


Source: Boing Boing | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:23 pm

GMail Experiences Serious Outage

JacobSteelsmith was one of many readers to note an ongoing problem with Gmail: "As I type this, GMail is experiencing a major outage. The application status page says there is a problem with GMail affecting a majority of its users. It states a resolution is expected within the next 1.2 hours (no, not a typo on my part). However, email can still be accessed via POP or IMAP, but not, it appears, through an Android device such as the G1." It's also affecting corporate users: Reader David Lechnyr writes "We run a hosted Google Apps system and have been receiving 502 Server Error responses for the past hour. The unusual thing about this is that our Google phone support rep (which paid accounts get) indicated that this outage is also affecting Google employees as well, making it difficult to coordinate."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:22 pm

GMail is down, but you can still get your mail

Section: Web, Websites, Google

Right now, access to the web version of GMail is down for some.  Users are greeted with a server error and offered little comfort.  A quick look at Twitter will help you access your mail even if the first option is down.  The first is iGoogle’s mail widget.  If you don’t already have the widget there, go to google.com/ig and then click “Add Stuff” on the top right of the page.  A quick search for “Gmail” will get you a gadget that will give you access to your mail. 

Another work around is simply using IMAP or POP.  You can use Google’s detailed directions at the following link.  Good luck.

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:20 pm

Mobile browser maker Skyfire adds another $5 million to its war chest

SkyFire is getting ready to roll with its rich mobile browser. Last May, the company (finally) released its Symbian program after a long beta trial and announced that a BlackBerry version was in the works. Earlier this Summer they hired former Travelocity executive Jeffrey Glueck to lead the company into the next phase. Now a regulatory filing reveals the startup has raised a Series C closed off its earlier Series B round of funding with an extra $5 million, reports peHUB.

Source: MobileCrunch | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:15 pm

Privacy Groups Urge Congress to Toughen Up on Online Ads [Voices]

By Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Ten privacy groups urged Congress on Tuesday to take greater steps to limit advertising that tracks consumers’ behavior online.

The coalition, which included the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Consumers Union and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, singled out behavioral advertising, in which Internet users are tracked, analyzed and served ads based on the information gleaned from their movements, in its recommendations. Doing something about the practice has become more urgent as consumers go online for increasingly sensitive transactions, members of the group said on a call with reporters.

“We want consumers to be able to take advantage of all of the new technologies without the technologies taking advantage of the consumers. Right now, that balance is not there,” Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, said.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Source: All Things Digital | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:11 pm

Alternate Disc-Tractions: Green Lantern: First Flight Blu-ray (with digital download) review

FROM GAMERTELL - With the rumors about an upcoming Green Lantern movie that may or may not be delayed yet again, fans of the colorful Corps have to be happy with any on-screen adventure they can get.  And this, my fellow poozers, is a pretty decent get…
MORE »

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:11 pm

Viral Video: Mad (Wo)Men [BoomTown]

Suddenly, it seems the AMC original series, “Mad Men,” is having its “Sopranos” moment–with its stars all over the media, its fans more obsessive than ever and its ratings doubled in the third season.

And, just today, the potboiler television show about a 1960s advertising agency in New York was renewed for a fourth season by AMC, which is owned by Cablevision Systems (CVC).

So, of course, there are also spoofs galore online too, some pretty elaborate, such as this one with a gender switcheroo.

Fascinatingly, it still works.

Here’s the video:

Source: All Things Digital | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:10 pm

iPhone App Finds Disease Outbreaks Near You

A new iPhone application presents disease outbreaks near you, from swine flu to salmonella — and even allows you to contribute information that could portend an emerging public health threat.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 1 Sep 2009 | 2:55 pm

How Many Bits Does It Take To Kill You?

pegr writes "Andrew 'bunnie' Huang, Reverse Engineer, XBox hacker, and generally smart guy, muses over the H1N1/swine flu virus as only a reverse engineer can: 'I now know how to modify the virus sequence to probably make it more deadly.' Not that he would, of course. bunnie has consistently made the esoteric available to us mere mortals, and his overview of the H1N1 virus is a fascinating read from a unique perspective." (Seen today also at the top of Schneier on Security.)

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 1 Sep 2009 | 2:36 pm

A Pair of Loners: War Photogs Bond Over Their Craft

The photojournalist has long been known as the lone wolf, traveling solo to the far-flung corners of the world to document experiences few are capable of seeing. So it’s significant when a couple of fledgling photographers meet, far from their respective homes, and form a friendship.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 1 Sep 2009 | 2:36 pm

ACLU Says CIA at Odds With Obama Over Torture

Citing national security, the CIA is refusing to divulge more details about its secret torture program -- a position the ACLU says is at odds with President Barack Obama's wishes.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 1 Sep 2009 | 2:31 pm

Gmail Down, Again

Gmail, Google's popular online e-mail service, went offline Tuesday afternoon, stranding millions who rely on the cloud computing service for business and pleasure.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 1 Sep 2009 | 2:30 pm

Homebrew Diesel Trike Channels Chris-Craft

Even amongst the odd cars at GreenFest, the Dirigo stands out.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 1 Sep 2009 | 2:06 pm

Nokia delays Comes With Music launch in the US

Nokia’s Comes With Music service has always intrigued us. For 1 year after you purchase your “Comes With Music”-enabled Nokia device, you get an all-you-can-eat pass for Nokia’s catalog of over 5 million tracks. When your year is up, you get to keep the tracks you’ve nabbed. Tons of music, and we get to keep it? Yes, please.

Alas, we’ve yet to get the opportunity to check it out - and it looks like we won’t for a while. While Nokia said back in 2008 that they’d have the service up and running this year, Forbes now has it on good word that it’s not going to happen. According to a Nokia rep, the US launch has been pushed back until 2010.

Forbes postulates that the delay is the result of a lack of interest from the US, which may just be right. With a market share hovering down around 7%, it might be tough to justify shelling out for the required licenses when the audience just isn’t paying attention yet.

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Source: MobileCrunch | 1 Sep 2009 | 2:06 pm

Opera 10 Arrives: Turbo, New Tabs and Fresh Coat of Paint

Opera’s latest version of its desktop web browser is available for download. We recommend trying out Opera 10 for its speed, flexibility and its broad support for the latest web standards.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 1 Sep 2009 | 2:00 pm

Southwest heat waves likely to worsen

U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2009 | 1:57 pm

iPhone App Wins Microsoft-Campus Programming Contest

imamac writes "Startup Weekend was a 54-hour coding marathon held on Microsoft's campus last weekend. It was designed to encourage the use of MS programming technologies. However, the winner of the contest was an iPhone app: '"Awkward," whispered Startup Weekend organizer Clint Nelsen into the microphone upon announcing the top vote getter.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 1 Sep 2009 | 1:43 pm

Orion spacecraft passes design milestone

The U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2009 | 1:40 pm

Hands-on: IM+ for iPhone's speech-to-... - CNET News

MediaMughals | Technology First

Hands-on: IM+ for iPhone's speech-to-text feature CNET News Typing on the iPhone/iPod Touch's keyboard can be arduous. This is never more evident than when trying to bang out messages in several instant-messaging conversations at once. Shape Services, the makers of the popular IM+ ... Watch every baseball game with MLB's iPhone appMacworld Vonage Mobile VoIP App Gets Apple App Store ApprovalSoft Sailor Appolicious turns iPhone App Store into a social networkVentureBeat Ars Technica -Indianapolis Star -Washington Post all 284 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 1 Sep 2009 | 1:37 pm

Canon goes wireless with serious pro cameras

Section: Imaging, Digital Cameras

Canon introduced the WFT-E5A exclusively for the new EOS 7D SLR camera the company announced today.  Canon believes this $699 transmitter will allow users the luxury to control their shots better, extend the shooting environment beyond a small screen and even share exactly where the shot was taken from.  This is a serious tool (shown attached above) for serious shooters.

The WFT allows the unit to connect via 802.11a/b/g and Ethernet and is geared toward professionals, according to Canon.  The camera also has Bluetooth built in so it can connect to modern GPS devices and phones.

The WFT allows control of up to 10 cameras allowing users to fire shots from a laptop or even mobile phone.  Great shots?  (Wait for it) There’s an app for that (probably).  The WFT can also send photos to DLNA (Digital Life Network Alliance) devices such as TVs and digital photo frames.

The EOS 7D is no slouch of a machine on its own.  The $1699 (body only) camera featuring “fast eight fps continuous shooting, 18-megapixel resolution and Full HD video recording with variable frame rates and manual exposure control.”  Zoom.  The EOS 7D is due out this month while the WFT-E5A (best. name. ever.) is due in November.

Product Page: [Canon]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 1 Sep 2009 | 1:35 pm

Geo-Engineering May Be Planet's Last Hope

Risky attempts to engineer Earth's climate may be the only way to cool the planet.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 1 Sep 2009 | 1:30 pm

Scientists study global weather patterns

U.S.-led scientists say the solar cycle, Earth's stratosphere and oceans work in sync to produce global weather patterns. The researchers, headed by the U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2009 | 1:28 pm

Collaborative Filtering and the Rise of Ensembles

igrigorik writes "First the Netflix challenge was won with the help of ensemble techniques, and now the GitHub challenge is over, and more than half of the top entries are also based on ensembles. Good knowledge of statistics, psychology and algorithms is still crucial, but the ensemble technique alone has the potential to make the collaborative filtering space a lot more, well, collaborative! Here's a look at the basic theory behind ensembles, how they shaped the results of the GitHub challenge, and how this pattern can be used in the future."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 1 Sep 2009 | 12:49 pm

Rumor: Samsung Galaxy Lite gets pictured?

For the past few weeks, rumors have been brewing indicating that Samsung has been crackin’ away on a scaled-down sibling to their Android-powered Galaxy. After an appropriately shaped handset with a similar model number (I7500 for Galaxy Standard vs I5700 for the Lite) made its way through the FCC, the rumors started to seem pretty solid.

Adding a bit more credibility to the idea, French Android-fansite Frandroid has managed to unearth what’s purported to be a promo shot of Mr. Galaxy Jr. They’ve also dug up what they believe to be the specs, which are a bit off from what we’d expect; past whispers indicated that Galaxy Lite was to be a lower-spec’d version of its bigger brother, but with WiFi, 3G, and GPS packed in, it seems surprisingly beefy.

We’re not quite sure what to think of this guy, but we’ll keep our ears to the ground.

[Via SamsungHub]

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 1 Sep 2009 | 12:11 pm

Japan Plans $21B Space Power Plant

Mike writes "Japan has announced plans to send a $21 billion solar power generator into space that will be capable of producing one gigawatt of energy, or enough to power 294,000 homes. The project recently received support from Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and IHI Corp, who are now teaming up in the race to develop new technology within four years that can beam electricity back to Earth without the use of cables. Japan hopes to test a small solar satellite decked out with solar panels by the year 2015."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 1 Sep 2009 | 12:03 pm

Android market going to the light side?

While we could debate for hours on end on the merits of the Android Marketplace, there’s one thing that is simply unarguable: the color scheme is a bit depressing. White text on a black background might look sharp, but ultimately it’s still primarily one big black screen. It gets old fast.

Seems that someone agrees - though we’re not quite sure who. Someone purportedly rocking a pre-release Motorola Sholes has sent CNET a pair of screenshots showing the App Store in a whole new light. If these are real, we have to wonder: is this Google’s doing, or Motorola’s? Does the Sholes tote an unreleased version of the App Store, or did Motorola reskin things themselves for their own sake?

We’ll find out in just over a week.

[Via IntoMobile]

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 1 Sep 2009 | 11:31 am

Insert Data Here [Better Headline?]

For only $20, you can have a racy graphic of Kim Kardashian added to your hard drive.

Or a skin of Domo. Or Wu-Tang Clan. Or even Bob Marley.

One love, Seagate.

[via Gearlog via New Launches]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 1 Sep 2009 | 11:25 am

New Tegra based smartbooks emerging from Acer and Lenovo with Chrome OS?

Section: Business News, Computers, Mobile Computers, Laptops, Netbooks

According to an exclusive retrieved by Shanzai.com from a “reliable” unnamed source, Acer and Lenovo plan to release a new operating system installed on a new form factor while running on a new platform.  The rumor is that the manufacturers plan to release Nvidia’s Tegra based devices running Google’s Chrome operating system.  It is expected that the targeted date of release could be as soon as the next couple of months. 

Nvidia’s Tegra platform utilizes a low power ARM processor along with a high performance graphics chip.  Google’s Chrome operating system was just announced this summer and Google indicated that it would not be ready for install on devices until sometime next year, but may be pre-released as early as the fall. 

Although the story has yet to be officially confirmed by either Lenovo or Acer, it looks like the devices would likely get categorized as smartbooks.  Smartbooks are a fairly new category of devices that fall somewhere between a smartphone and netbook.   

Read: [Shanzai.com]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 1 Sep 2009 | 11:16 am

Nokia Delays U.S. Launch of Music Service

Nokia will postpone the launch of its ‘Comes with Music’ music subscription service  in the U.S. to next year, according to reports.

Nokia launched  the service, widely seen as a potential iTunes competitor, in the U.K. last year by bundling free unlimited music downloads with some of its handsets. The first of Nokia’s phones, the 5310 XpressMusic, featured the service. Nokia would offer a year’s worth of music to its users free and charge users for it after that. Customers were allowed to keep all the music they already downloaded.

If successful, Nokia could be in a position to challenge Apple’s iTunes hegemony in the music distribution business, said some analysts.

However, the service met with lukewarm reception in Europe. In the U.K. only one carrier partnered with Nokia to offer the service.

The company’s problems with the service have been much greater in the U.S.  Nokia stumbled in its launch of the 5800 XpressMusic phones after users complained of crippling connectivity problems with the device. Nokia pulled the U.S. version of the phone off its shelves and offered the handsets a few days later after a fix.

The company is now reportedly rethinking its strategy for the music subscription service in the U.S. Without subsidies from carriers such as AT&T and Verizon, American mobile phone users are unlikely to pay the high cost of handsets that are bundled with music. Nokia will also have to simplify the Digital Rights Management (DRM) issues in the service that could potentially cripple how users listen to the music before it is introduced in the U.S.

See Also:

• Nokia’s Linux-Based N900 Finally Official
• Nokia’s Booklet 3G Is Not a Netbook
• 7 Reasons Nokia Phones Get No Love in U.S.
• Nokia Ovi App Store Faces Turbulent Start
• Nokia’s Music Strategy Takes a Bite of Apple

Photo: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone (manu contreras/Flickr)

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 1 Sep 2009 | 11:12 am

Windows Mobile 6.5 phones launching October 6th

Which phones, specifically? We don’t have the slightest idea. But come October 6th, ol’ Redmond is saying we’ll have a “bunch” of new Windows Mobile 6.5 phones (known as “Windows phones” from here on out) to choose from.

In just a bit over a month, now, WinMo-devouts will be kickin’ around a brand new UI, a new application marketplace, and Microsoft’s backup service, My Phone. It seems like just about every big name is hopping on the WinMo 6.5 train; in North America alone, they’ve partnered with AT&T, Bell Mobility, Sprint, TELUS and Verizon Wireless, HP, HTC Corp., LG Electronics, Samsung and Toshiba Corp.

So what do you think - is it time to start showing WinMo some love again?

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 1 Sep 2009 | 10:25 am

Media Mashup: Microsoft lowers Xbox 360 Elite price by $100, the web’s achatter

FROM GAMERTELL - Check out this sample summary of the web frenzy of coverage of Microsoft’s international Xbox 360 Elite price reduction…
MORE »

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 1 Sep 2009 | 10:10 am

Poll Technica: Will Steve Jobs presen... - Ars Technica

New York Times

Poll Technica: Will Steve Jobs present at September 9 event? Ars Technica Is Steve Jobs planning to present at next week's iPod event? Two analysts have taken opposing views on the matter, and so has the Ars staff. What do our readers think? Tell us in the poll. By Jacqui Cheng | Last updated September 1, 2009 10:58 AM CT ... Apple's iPod Event: Too Small for Steve Jobs?PC World Apple 09/09/09: Steve Jobs Returns? New iPods? Apple Tablet?ChannelWeb Apple Announces Sept. 9 EventInformationWeek FOXBusiness -Apple Insider -Rolling Stone all 433 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 1 Sep 2009 | 10:09 am

Review: 16 Months w/Belkin's 300W DC/AC Inverter

Why ALL automobiles don't come equipped with at least one, built-in 3-prong outlet is beyond me. And why more drivers don't keep an inverter like this one from Belkin in their cars is also a mystery.

Emergencies alone make a simple inverter a super worthwhile item (we also keep a tub filled with spare clothes, shoes, MRIs, water, etc. in the trunk, you know, "just in case."). But apart from the once-in-a-blue-moon, doom-and-gloom scenarios where we'll be stranded in our car and need to tap the battery to charge a phone or radio, having an inverter available for daily use is a true no-brainer.

Since last April, I've stashed this 300-watt DC-AC inverter in one of the rear seat pockets. I've used it to charge my cell phone and replenish my GoBe battery overnight while car camping. In addition, I've charged up a range of devices en route on car trips — long and short — way too many times to count. Here's the short of it:

Easy to Use: Just pull out the thing, plug the business end into the cigarette lighter, flip the switch on the device, and plug in up to two devices. (Dr. Obvious says: There's no need to have the car turned on.)

Easy to Carry: The whole thing weighs just 2 lbs.; it's not as if you'll ever need to take the device backpacking, but my point is that it's never a hassle to pull out, put back, ad nauseam.

No Outside Juice Required: Requires no batteries, no charging, no sunlight because, you know, it runs off the car battery (Dr. Obvious says: Triple duh).

One Caveat: The inverter's internal fan hums rather loudly when in use. Not enough to disturb phone calls or music too much, but it's noticeably audible.

Verdict: Get one. If not this particular device, then be sure to pick one up that's got at least two 3-prong outlets... and, perhaps, even a USB. You'll rely on your inverter more than you'd expect.

~$40 from Amazon.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 1 Sep 2009 | 9:45 am

Google makes deal to pack Chrome into Sony PCs

Section: Computers, Hardware, Software / Applications, Web, Web Browsers, Google

The easiest way to get anybody to use your software is to pack it into their brand new PCs.  While most of us hate the software pre-packaged trial software that comes bundled with a new PC, there’s no doubt that its an easy way to get the software out to the general public.  Google seems to have realized this, and has announced its first partnership to bundle its Chrome browser with new PCs.

The partnership lies with Sony and the deal apparently went into effect this summer.  Computers with the browser pre-installed are still forthcoming, though we have no idea what models will ship with it.  All we know right now is that Google has partnered with Sony to bring Chrome to some of its computers and that Google is looking into making more deals with other hardware manufacturers.

Chrome is certainly fighting an uphill battle against Internet Explorer, Firefox, and even Safari as it sits in fourth place behind them all.  Getting the browser put onto more machines could certainly help that.  Chrome at first glance is possibly the easiest browser to figure out - it just doesn’t hold the presence of the top three.  While pairing with one of the less popular computer manufacturers might not be the biggest leap in exposure, it’s at least a step forward.  Perhaps if that next deal is with one of the bigger manufacturers, perhaps the increasingly popular Acer, Chrome could possibly overtake Safari in overall usage.  For now, any support for my personal favorite browser is always a good thing.

Read [Reuters]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 1 Sep 2009 | 9:00 am

WATCH: Prescribing Fires

How do fire officials purposely and safely burn 80 acres of prairie?
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 1 Sep 2009 | 9:00 am

Best Buy offering buy one 360 game, get one half off

FROM GAMERTELL - Looking for a good deal on some Xbox 360 hits? Best Buy has a sale worth checking out.
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Source: Gadgetell | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:38 am

Apple rejects BitTorrent monitoring App, claims it’ll be used to infringe copyright

It’s not even a story any more that Apple loves to reject Apps from the App Store. Today’s entry in the Big Book of App Rejections is µMonitor, an App that monitors µTorrent that you have running on your PC. Apple rejected it because “this category of applications is often used for the purpose of infringing third party rights.”

And if Apple is prepared to make the blanket statement that BitTorrent is “often” used to infringe copyright, then maybe it can explain why it approved myNZB. It’s an App that let’s you monitor SABnzbd, a Usenet daemon that absolutely rules. (I switched from Unison to SABnzbd about a month ago… so much faster.)

So, if BitTorrent is “often” used to violate copyright, then what does that say about Usenet, especially when all we’re doing is combing through the binary groups (via NZBs)? (Usenet discussion groups are still top-notch, though. I learned a lot about Mac in comp.sys.mac back in the day.)

My guess is that Apple knows the number of people who know how to use Usenet are so miniscule compared to the number of people who are able to use BitTorrent. As it stands, I can almost understand Apple’s concerns. Let’s face it: when you say the word “BitTorrent,” your mind first goes to The Pirate Bay and not distrowatch.org or downloading Blizzard patches!

All of that said, you can still actually download µMonitor, you just need to jailbreak your iPhone and search Cydia.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:19 am

Rats Devastating Native Hawaiian Snails

Rats are devouring Hawaii's extraordinary range of snail species.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:07 am

INTERVIEW: When Wildfires Threaten Telescopes

An astronomer offers perspective as wildfires threaten a famous observatory.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 1 Sep 2009 | 8:06 am

HOWTO Make A Cheap Version of Muji's CD Player

Ariel Schlesinger put together a guide on how to fabricate a cheap, homemade version of the wall-mounted CD player Nato Fukasawa designed for Muji.

Per Ariel's directions, here's everything you need:

a CD-player with an access to the batteries compartment from the front (disc side),
a pair of portable speakers that have a built in amplifier,
a pull cord light switch with a cotton thread,
circle cutting knife. for nice circle cuts.
epoxy glue, cardboard glue and some wires.

Or you could buy the original for $178.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 1 Sep 2009 | 7:30 am

UPDATED: The Skype is falling?  Google runs away from sale, again

Section: Business News, Communications, Email / IM, VoIP, Mobile, Computers, Software / Applications, Web, Web 2.0, Websites, Online Music/Video

*UPDATED BELOW When word broke that eBay was considering selling Skype, Google was the first company to come to mind for many.  Google Voice would be a great fit with the VoIP enabled Skype and hopes became high for a nifty solution and good home for the unit, but Google walked away.

eBay bought Skype, a company that allows users to call other users for free via VOIP and ring landlines at discounted rates for $2.6 billion back in 2005.  Word is expected to come today that Skype will be sold to a private investor group that hopes to restore the the company’s vision and track to an IPO.  It is expected to be sold for $2 billion.

So why did Google walk away?  It couldn’t have been a lack of subscribers.  Since being acquired by eBay, subscribers went from 53 million to 408 million.  Could Google’s decision be based on cash flow?  Skype is expected to bring in $600 million this year.

According the the New York Times, Google was in negotiations last month when it learned of some potentially damaging litigation taking place now in England.  The dispute is over ownership of the core peer-to-peer technology.  Without a successful outcome for Skype in this matter, Skype looks like nothing more than a hollow brand name.  Interestingly, Google passed on Skype back in 2005 when eBay snatched it up.

The trial between Skype and JoltId, the company that produced the Skype technology, appears to be over the licensing terms of the technology and is expected to take place in June of 2010.  eBay hasn’t said what part of Skype runs on the licensed tech, but has said that without the license, there is no Skype.  Skype engineers are at work to create their own software but it isn’t clear how close they are and how much of a drain on resources that will be or even if it can be done.  Gulp.

Update: EBay has announced they are selling 65% of Skype to Silver Lake Partners.  The move puts the value at $2.75 billion, a loss for EBay.  EBay says it will hold onto the remaining shares.

Read: [NYT] and [CNN]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 1 Sep 2009 | 7:01 am

The Limousine, An Unrideable Stretch-Bike

This is “Limousine”, a stretch-bicyle from Wouter Mijland. It is completely impractical, the handlebars put out of the riders reach by the iron-pipe extensions, and even if you were Reed Richards that huge triangle would surely flex and buck like an unmanned fire-hose.

But I love it. Perhaps it is the ridiculous inclusion of the everyday practicalities like lights and a pump on such an outlandish machine, or maybe it is the clean lines and seamless construction. Either way, it actually starts to make tall-bikes look like sensible transport solutions.

You can’t buy it either. The description, “‘Limousine’, 2008, bycicle [sic], iron pipes”, combined with the Flash site, telegraph that this is art. And who would want it anyway when you could hop onto Mijland’s other cycle project, a bike/shopping cart hybrid (below)?

Product page [Wouter Mijland via Noquedanblogs]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 1 Sep 2009 | 5:51 am

Audio Technica’s Candy Colored Headphones Are ‘For Women’

These awkwardly-named headphones from Audio Technica solve several problems for me. The ATH-ON300 ONTO (told ya) features a super-thin headband, which has been dubbed the “seamless headband”. This will let me keep my headphones on my ears while cycling — earbuds have a dangerous habit of popping out in the heaviest of traffic.

But better, they will let my stylishly wander the streets wearing both headphones and a gentlemanly Panama hat, as I drown out the din of the city and instead imagine myself in the depths of India, beating malaria with a cold gin-and-tonic. Delicious!

The ‘phones have 30mm drivers and output a dynamic range of 12-23,000Hz, enough to take care of all your compressed MP3 files. At once. The tunes are pumped at a coclear-rattling 100mW and have a 1.2 meter cord. All this for $50.

The downside? Audio Technica seems to have bought the colors from the 1980s. That, and the company says that its colored cans are “designed for women.” There goes my all-male explorer fantasy.

Product page [AudioCubes via Oh Gizmo]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 1 Sep 2009 | 5:00 am

Astronauts Prepare for Spacewalk

Two astronauts will venture out for a spacewalk to remove an old ammonia tank.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 1 Sep 2009 | 5:00 am

Manliest Man-Bags Ever Resemble Gun-Holsters

The hotness of the product is doused somewhat by the shots of bed-haired male models prancing in Wallpaper-style interiors, but in the end it triumphs. After all, what could be cooler than a leather gun-holster style case for your cellphone?

Sadly, the pitch is even lamer than the lifestyle photos:

It is not just a handbag for men but more a very special accessory for businessmen à la 007 and anyone else who values elegance.

The man-bags, from German company Koffski, are fashioned from calfskin leather and, with their angular shapes, resemble small pistols. The logo is burned into the leather, which is manly enough to make me beat my chest and roar.

Now, the trick lies in how you wear the bag. You can hook it onto a belt (please don’t) or sling it crosswise over your pumped-up pecs. But real men will go for the concealed holster-style strap which looks both comfortable and awesome. As a certain editor may have said on the Twitter, “If the Nazis had cell phone holsters, they’d probably look like this.”

Want one? Then you’d better brush up on your poker skills and win some cash. The bag is €350 ($500) and the strap another €100 ($140), or you can go downmarket for the No.2 bag and pay just €200 ($290) plus €60 ($85) for the holster strap.

Product page [Koffski]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 1 Sep 2009 | 4:26 am

Leica ‘Teaser’ Promises M9 Next Week

The worst kind of puzzle is the one that is too easy to answer. Leica’s new teaser is this kind of “conundrum”. See if you can work it out.

The event will take place next week, on September 9th, 2009. That’s 9/9/09. Leica says that we shall “witness the unveiling of the next generation of Leica Cameras.” To me, this must be the M9, the follow-up to the German company’s first fitful foray into the digital rangefinder realm with the M8.

Rumors have been swirling about the M9. Some say it will have a full-frame sensor, others that this sensor will be the same as found inside the Canon 5D MkII. This would mean that all of Leica’s wonderful old lenses would be useful again, and that its M8 crop-sensor lenses would fade quickly into the mists of obsolescence. The Canon sensor seems unlikely, though, as one of the big problems with digital rangefinders is that the lens is so close to the sensor. Film doesn’t care what angle light comes from, but digital sensors are more fussy about anything that doesn’t hit almost straight-on.

The announcement (at 9AM EST, natch) will come via a webcast, rather than by the dusty fax we might expect. It hints at several new products, for both novice and pro, so we might also see Leica’s large sensor behemoth, the S2.

Press release [Leica]

See Also:

• Leica S2: $26000 Body-Only
• Leica Euthanizes R-Series SLR Line
• Cult Of Leica

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 1 Sep 2009 | 4:07 am

Canon’s New 18 Megapixel Monster, The EOS 7D

True to form, yesterday’s Chinese forum leak was swiftly followed by an official announcement from Canon, just as hunger comes a few hours after eating Chinese takeaway.

The camera is of course the brand new 7D, a crop-sensor (1.6x) body set square against Nikon’s D300s, and in the Canon line the 7D sits above the to-be-continued 5D. In fact, it is so closely pitched at the D300s that we put together a comparison table:

	7D	D300s
Sensor (MP)	18	12.3
ISO	100-6400	200-3200
Video	1080p MOV, 24fps	720p AVI, Motion jpg, 24 fps
Shooting speed (fps)	8	8
Focus	19 points (all cross)	51 points (15 cross)
Viewfinder	100%, 1.0x	100%, 0.94x
Processor	Dual DIGIC 4, 14bit A/D	EXPEED, 14bit A/D
Remote flash	Yes, E-TTL II	Yes, i-TTL
Price	$1700	$1800

Other differences are the dual card slots of the D300s (one each of CF and SD) and an optional Wi-Fi adapter for the Canon which fixes to the base and also acts as a vertical grip. On its own this looks rather limited in use, especially as it won’t fit on any other camera, but in addition to slow old 802.11 a,b and g it has an Ethernet port and USB capability for hooking up to, say, a GPS unit.

This is a strong-looking camera, and we’ll have one soon to test. We don’t expect anything other than excellent: at this level, both Canon and Nikon are playing an good game, and it doesn’t look like either of them is going to slip first.

Lenses

Also from Canon today are a clutch of new lenses. The first are for the crop-sensor cameras, and, as ever, the names tell you all you need to know. The EF-S 15-85mm ƒ3.5-5.6 IS USM ($800) and the EF-S 18-135mm ƒ3.5-5.6 IS USM ($500), both have four stop image stabilization and both have small, dark maximum apertures, worsening as you zoom. This is the reason I hardly ever use zooms: for a depth-of-field limiting aperture of, say, ƒ2.8 throughout the range, you’ll pay a fortune. Sure, carrying a couple of primes with you is less convenient, but its a lot cheaper, too. Especially if you buy second-hand.

The new EF 100mm ƒ2.8L IS USM is such a lens, and is the first to feature Canon’s brand new Hybrid IS stabilization, giving four more stops on an already wide-open lens, and up to two stops when shooting in macro mode. The price is $1050.

Canon EOS 7D Preview [DP Review]

Press release [Canon]

Lens press release [Canon]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:52 am