Gadget reviews: ZuneHD, Lenovo S12 netbook and Umid's Mbook pocket PC.

Gadget reviews: ZuneHD, Lenovo S12 netbook and Umid's Mbook pocket PC.

ZuneHD Video MP3 Player, $220

Microsoft's ZuneHD is an excellent alternative to Apple's iPod touch, but not if you like apps or dislike the Windows-only media sync software.

The new model's 3.3-inch, 480x272 multitouch display and compact form prove that MS can get the design right given a couple of tries. ZuneHD's squared-off geometry (53mm x 102 mm x 9 mm) is trendy and unpretentious, and frames a smooth, Tegra-powered user interface. It comes in 16GB or 32GB, black and silver, $220 and $290. Once loaded with music and video, you're all set ... assuming that's all you care about.

Offered with it is a convincing subsription plan: $15 for all you can eat music over WiFi, locally cached, and you get ten keep-'em-forever MP3 downloads each month. ZuneHD's ability to output 14Mbps 720p video over HDMI is a killer app: this tiny PMP, three of which may fit in a deck of cards, is also a serviceable living room media center.

There are annoyances. In bright sunlight, that lovely OLED display disappears behind glassy reflections. Microsoft's bloated software reminds us why it's just not necessary to jazz-up mundane, straightfoward stuff like media organization. ZuneHD doesn't show up as a USB drive, either.

Its lack of an internal speaker is a likely annoyance for those used to the iPod touch: could you imagine having to wear headphones to enjoy games or hear incoming app notifications? Moreover, the first batch of available programs are amateurish and slow to load, with interstitial advertisments playing before they open. Let's not even get started on the lack of a cellphone edition or the platform's obvious superiority to Windows Mobile 6.5.

Get the ZuneHD if you like the looks, run Windows, and don't care about apps.

ZuneHD [Official website]

Zune HD 32 GB Video MP3 Player [Amazon]

Umid mbook, $600
Photo: Dynamism.com

Umid's mbook miniaturizes the laptop to the point of near-absurdity: weighing just 0.7 pounds, it's 6" wide, 4" deep, and 0.7" thick. Smaller even than Fujitsu's U-series, it has a 4.8" display, a similarly tiny QWERTY keyboard, and netbookish hardware running Windows XP. Intel's 1.33GHz Atom, 512MB of RAM and a 32GB SSD lurk within. Outside are a microSD card slot and a single micro-USB port.

Assuming you can type on it--and don't assume you'll be comfortable doing so until you've actually used it--other flaws mar it. The hinge only lets it fold back about 130 degrees, making it difficult to view and use two-handed. There's no trackpad or nub, just the touchscreen and a stylus: bearing in mind that XP is not very accessible to touch in any case, finessing that high-PPI 1024x600 display is often a chore. An option for 3G internet would have added some magic.

Finally, there are better-looking MIDs about to hit stores, including Sharp's NetWalker and Nokia's N900. That said, if you want a real computer that fits in a normal pocket, this is currently the leader of that very small pack.

UMID mbook M1 product page [Dynamism]

Lenovo IdeaPad S12, $430

With its 12" display and Via Nano chipset, Lenovo's IdeaPad S12 is larger than most netbooks, but doesn't quite qualify as a mainstream machine. The 1280x800 screen resolution offers 200 more lines than most Atom-based miniatures, and the $430 price tag keeps it competitively priced against them. On the other hand, Windows XP and dismal 3D video performance suggest the same old limitations. 1GB of RAM doesn't go far these days, either.

In practice, the Via processor and HD display do lift the the S12 out of accessory territory, making it a productive and useful machine with an attractive budget price. And if the choppy full-screen YouTubes and lack of HD video get you down, it can be configured (for another $70) to have Nvidia's ION graphics chipset, which adds graphical grunt and 1080p HDMI output.

The design is clean and unfussy, a stout plastic chassis in black or white, with no silly keyboard shenanigans to make typing a pain. BlueTooth, WiFi, a 160GB hard drive, an ExpressCard slot and a 6-cell battery round it out.

Lenovo's S12 hits a sweet spot between compact size and practicality. It'll be most interesting to those who've been turned off by the experience of cheap netbooks, but who are still looking for something small.

Product Page [Lenovo]

Singer In Grocery Store Ordered To Pay Royalties

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

With Windows 7 and new designs, PCs looking better (AP)

AP - Although no one waits in long lines for a new edition of Windows anymore, the debut of Microsoft's latest software that runs PCs is part of why buying a computer is starting to feel fun for the first time in years.

Jesper Balser Joins the Board of Milestone Systems

Even Star Investors Can’t Save DotBlu From The DeadPool

DotBlu, which we first covered in 2007 when it was called BluBet, had some of Silicon Valley’s highest profile angel investors backing it. But it wasn’t enough, and company hit the deadpool earlier this week.

Investors in an early angel round included Jawed Karim (Co-Founder of YouTube), Kevin Hartz (Co-Founder of Xoom and Eventbrite), Joe Greenstein (Co-Founder and CEO of Flixster) and Keith Rabois (Former PayPal & LinkedIn Executive and Current Slide Executive). A later $2 million round was funded by Maples Investments and DE Shaw.

The company first launched as an online betting service and then changed its name and focus to social gaming. But on October 16 the company shut everything down with a brief note to users: “Dear dotblu members: dotblu.com is down indefinitely. A big thanks to each of you for being part of our community for the past two and a half years.” The note also asks users to stay in touch via their Facebook fan page.

Most startups die, so this isn’t any particular slam on the founders or investors. They tried and they failed, and that’s the way of Silicon Valley.

And as a goodbye salute to dotblu, I remind readers of The Man In The Arena speech by Theodore Roosevelt in 1910. Adapt or die, they say. And if you die, put another quarter in the machine and start the game over.

Thanks for the tip, Tinycomb.

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

Twitter becomes mutual friend of Google, Microsoft

Source: Gizmodo | 21 Oct 2009 | 9:58 pm

More Details On Loopt’s Acquisition Of GraffitiGeo And Its Plans For The Future

Last night we broke the news that location-based mobile social network Loopt had acquired GraffitiGeo, a fellow Y Combinator-backed startup that launched only a few months ago. Neither company was willing to comment on the acqusition last night, but earlier today they finally confirmed it and opened up to share some of the logic behind the deal.

GraffitiGeo launched in August, when I described it as a ‘Foursquare meets Yelp, with a dash of augmented reality’. The service invites users to review local restaurants and other venues in a manner that’s similar to Yelp, but encourages them to leave very brief descriptions (or just thumbs up/thumbs down) instead of the longer reviews you’ll find on other sites. Alongside these reviews there’s also a gaming element similar to foursquare that rewards players with points whenever they leave a comment. There’s also a system that lets you earn more points if you team up with your friends.

Loopt CEO Sam Altman says that he came across GraffitiGeo while the product will still early on in the Y Combinator program (Loopt is a YC alum), and that he took notice of the app’s feature set which paralleled some of the areas Loopt is interested in as well. In particular, he says Loopt has been exploring location-based social gaming, local reviews, and augmented reality (which is another area GraffitiGeo has experimented in), so the company seemed like a good fit. He says he was also impressed with the team, which he describes as “super smart” — founders Nikhil Pandit, Teng Siong Ong, and Jared Tame are all joining Loopt as part of the deal. Altman wouldn’t comment on it, but there’s one final GraffitiGeo feature that Loopt is likely very interested in: a platform for local business advertising.

Altman wouldn’t get into specifics as far as how GraffitiGeo’s features will be integrated with Loopt, but he says we’ll be seeing some changes very soon. He says he’s excited to see what happens with GraffitiGeo, which has around 20,000 total users, when parts of it are built into Loopt, which adds 20,000 in a single day.

Coincidentally, GraffitiGeo released a much improved new iPhone application today on the App Store. You can grab it here. At this point it isn’t clear if Loopt will keep GraffitiGeo as a separate application indefinitely, or if it will be rolled into Loopt, but there are no immediate plans to combine the services.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 21 Oct 2009 | 9:56 pm

Google To Take On ITunes?

An anonymous reader writes 'Multiple sources say Google is preparing to launch Google Audio. According to people familiar with the matter, Google has been securing content from record companies. Is Google about to go head-to-head with Apple's iTunes?'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 21 Oct 2009 | 9:46 pm

Windows 7 may help kickstart delayed corporate spend

Source: Gizmodo | 21 Oct 2009 | 9:33 pm

Best Buy announces the launch of Rocketfish Rocketboost

No, it’s not a new type of pet disposal system, it’s a wireless whole house audio delivery system. Rocketfish takes the audio output from your device, and the transmits it to the strategically placed speakers throughout your home.

The Rocketfish system is made up of a wireless amplified audio receiver, a wireless sender/receiver, a wireless outdoor speaker, and a wireless HD audio starter kit, which contains a sender and a receiver unit. With the appropriate component purchases, you can send up to five different sources to up to nine receivers throughout your home.

Rocketfish is expected to be available this month, however at this time the area of Best Buy with pricing information is not yet active.

Best Buy isn’t the first company to jump on the wireless audio bandwagon this year, and most likely won’t be the last as the holiday season approaches.

[via Ecoustics]

Source: Gizmodo | 21 Oct 2009 | 9:20 pm

Disney announces new DVD Killer technology

I love companies like Disney. They seem to think that just because they want something some way, it’ll happen. Take for instance their latest scheme. Instead of allowing you to “buy” their movies on DVD, Blu-ray, or even VHS, they are going to allow you to buy access to their content.

Disney doesn’t want you to pass your treasured copies of their movies on to your children, or sell them at garage sales. Oh no… they own that property, and expect to be paid for it without it being loaned, traded, or sold on the secondary market.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Disney’s new technology is called Keychest, and is expected to be rolled out next month. They’ve quietly been talking to electronics manufacturers about including the ability to access the content into their systems, however no information has been revealed about who exactly has bought into Disney’s new plan. The Keychest technology allows an end user to purchase a lifetime license to view a movie across multiple platforms. The movies wouldn’t be something that you can download, instead you would be able to stream the films to your devices over the internet or cable television system. Seems like an attempt to recover from the recent collapse of DVD sales, which has resulted in some companies reporting losses for the first time since 2005.

Source: CrunchGear | 21 Oct 2009 | 9:00 pm

More information about Moleskines than you require

There are some men who pride themselves in their prowess at the gaming table or in bed and there are others who brag about being able to pick the winning horse at a racetrack. But how many men can write long, detailed posts about Moleskine notebooks, offering advice to the other Moleskine fans about how to best handle your Moleskine experience.

There is only one man who does that. His name is some dude who runs InkyJournal.

That’s right. InkyJournal. The site seems to be dedicated to Moleskin hacks including how to decide on the best notebook for the best activity and how to add tabs to tabless notebooks. He even reviews a pen holder for Moleskins.

I fell in love with Moleskine in Paris (where else?) when I bought my first one from a stationary store right by Breguet’s old workshop. While I love using them, I haven’t gone to the lengths we find on this dude’s site. However, that shouldn’t stop us from trying.

Source: CrunchGear | 21 Oct 2009 | 8:33 pm

Get Ready For The Firehose. Search Is About To Get Realtime, Real Fast.

After months of negotiations and holding both off at bay, Twitter now has agreements with both Bing and Google to give them access to its full feed of public Tweets. Both search engines have been yearning to drink directly from Twitter’s the realtime firehose of micro-messages and all that they carry. A rudimentary version of Bing’s Twitter search is already live, and it will soon add public Facebook updates to its search results as well.

While financial terms of the deals were not disclosed, full access to Twitter’s data stream is very valuable to both search engines. Depending on how much Twitter was able squeeze out of Google and Bing for these licensing deals, they are likely to provide its first major source of revenue. (Imagine, if they have to pay by the Tweet).

Tweets and other realtime data streams are valuable to Google and Bing because for many types of searches (news, events, sports, stocks, shopping, etc.), the most recent information is often the most relevant. And it’s hard to beat millions of people Tweetng out their thoughts—the “pulse of the planet,” if you will—for realtime information about every subject imaginable. Google and Bing need access to this stream of data if they want to keep their results fresh and relevant.

Up until now, they had to try to index Twitter’s site selectively by concentrating on high-profile Twitterers like celebrities. Twitter wouldn’t let their robots gobble up and index every Tweet because its servers wouldn’t be able to take that kind of pounding. But Twitter didn’t just want to hand over the feed of all of its public Tweets (the firehose) to the search engines without getting paid for it either.

Now that Google and Bing are getting the firehose, it could have a big impact on search results. For the search engines, the firehose is much more valuable than any single Tweet. They can index it and sift it, looking for patterns and spikes in keywords and shared links to get a better sense of what people across the Web are paying attention to at any given moment. This data can then be folded back into regular search results, even if the top result isn’t a Tweet.

For example, if a link to a post about healthcare reform on an obscure blog suddenly gains currency and is retweeted hundreds of times, that is a signal to perhaps rank that link higher in searches about “healthcare reform.” If people stop Tweeting about it, then maybe it goes down in the ranking. But Google and Bing can use the firehose as a rich source of signals to mine and then blend back into regular search results.

Of course, Tweets and other micro-messages will become part of results. And how the search engines display them and rank them will also determine how relevant their results are. Here is where it gets interesting because realtime search is a hard problem that has not yet been solved. Do you show the most recent, random Tweets first, or the ones with the most authority? And how do you rank a Tweet? We already have PageRank, but what we now need is StreamRank.

Many startups are tackling this problem, as is Twitter itself. And now Google and Bing can try their hand at finding the most important bits of data in the firehose. The results should be a more relevant, faster feedback loop between data appearing on the Internet and the search engines finding it.

Photo credit: Flickr/ZeroOne

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

Source: TechCrunch | 21 Oct 2009 | 8:31 pm

Lexar announces new 600x Compact Flash cards

Lexar announced their new 600x compact flash cards today. It’s not unexpected that the faster speed memory cards are coming out, given the UDMA requirements of cameras like the Canon 7D.

The new Lexar cards have a amazing 90MB/s transfer rate when used in a device that supports the new UDMA 6 protocol. This is particularly important for the generation of cameras that shoot video, since the write speed is critical when you are shooting in HD.

The new cards are available in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB sizes. The 8GB and 16GB cards are available now, the 32GB should be available in November. The 8GB version sells for $149, the 16GB version sells for $249. There isn’t any pricing available for 32GB version, but you can safely assume it will not be cheap.

You can read the press release here.

Source: CrunchGear | 21 Oct 2009 | 8:30 pm

DIY: Gear clock

So let’s say you need a new clock. Sure, you could go spend $19.99 (or less) and just go buy one, but wouldn’t it be more fun to bust out the CNC machine and build one yourself? Alan Parekh of Hacked Gadgets thought it would be, and he just happened to have a new CNC machine lying around.

Alan cut the gears on his CNC router, used a micro-controller and a step motor, and created a pretty cool wall clock. He explains how he did it fairly well in the video, but his site has even more detailed instructions.

[via Make]

Source: CrunchGear | 21 Oct 2009 | 8:00 pm

AppsFire Launches App Star Awards To Find The Next Great iPhone App

Appsfire, the service for sharing iPhone Apps with anyone, has announced that they are doing a contest called App Star Awards, in partnership with SFR/AppliStore and LeWeb.

The idea is very simple. Anyone that has a legit iPhone application that doesn’t require jailbreaking, can submit a 30 second video to the contest, even if the app is not totally finished. 30 clips will be preselected, 10 in each category — games, entertainment, utility and other. Those clips will be reviewed and rated by a jury (full list below). Three winners, one in each category, will get a check of $1,500 and a free ad campaign with participating partners.

The results will be announced on stage at LeWeb in Paris on December 9th. TechCrunch Europe is organizing the startup competition in partnership with LeWeb.

AppsFire is currently taking pre-registrations on the site, but submissions will open on November 23.

The full list of jury members:

Michael Arrington (TechCrunch)
Loic Le Meur (Seesmic.com)
Marshall Kirkpatrick (ReadWriteWeb.com)
Robert Scoble
Jeff Clavier (SoftTech VC)
Jean Francois Caillard (SFR)
Eyal Magen (Gigya)
Rani Cohen (TuneWiki)
David Sifry (Offbeat Guides, Technorati)
David Marcus (Zong)
Zee M Kane (TheNextWeb, WeDoCreative)
Patrick Jordan, Just Another iPhone Blog
Yaron Samid (TechAviv.com)
Louis Gray
Daniel Brusilovsky

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

Source: TechCrunch | 21 Oct 2009 | 8:00 pm

Light Helps Injured Mice Walk Again

Mantrid42 writes "Researchers have been able to affect the brains of lab mice using light. Working in a new field called Optogenetics ("optical stimulation plus genetic engineering"), scientists injected lab mice with genes that can stimulate or inhibit neural activity based on the color of the light they're exposed to, and can be targeted to infect only on certain cell types. Additionally, another gene has been added to make neurons glow green when firing, allowing two-way communication between a brain and a machine."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 21 Oct 2009 | 7:43 pm

Fable 3 to utilize Natal, says Molyneux

The Fable 3 announcement had creator Peter Molyneux saying he was throwing away the “foundation stone” of RPGs. Yeah, I thought, you’ve been saying that kind of thing for 20 years now buddy. Show me the money. And in a pleasant surprise, it looks like he may actually be doing that; he confirmed today that the game will use the Natal motion controller, which makes him probably the technology’s biggest on-the-record developer. He already hinted that this was the case, but now it seems that Microsoft is giving the go-ahead for making official announcements.

I can only speculate on the variety of sordid acts you’ll be performing with this thing. Dancing to impress the villagers? Throwing bottles at dragons? Impregnating your wife? The possibilities, I’m sure Molyneux will tell you, are many and various.

Source: CrunchGear | 21 Oct 2009 | 7:30 pm

MetroPCS adds a second real smartphone - Samsung Code joins BlackBerry Curve

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones

MetroPCS, possibly the most intriguing pay-as-you-go services is finally adding another “real” smartphone to their phones offerings.  MetroPCS earlier in the year started carrying a BlackBerry Curve like just about every other carrier.  Aside from that, it labels any phone with an HTML browser and email capabilities as a smartphone.  Until now those other smartphones haven’t been using one of the more widely accepted smartphone OSes like Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Symbian, or Android.

That changed today when MetroPCS announced that it will start carrying the Samsung Code, which will be its second true smartphone.  The Samsung Code runs Windows Mobile 6.1, so not only is it late to the carrier, but it’s not even using the newest OS.  That does make sense, however, as MetroPCS would be trying to keep the phone price down.  The Samsung Code is currently selling for $299 since it, like all of MetroPCS’ phones, isn’t really subsidized with the $50 unlimited everything plan the company sells.  Features of the phone include 3G, a 2.4” screen, Bluetooth and expandable memory up to 32 GB.

Giving a real smartphone option to MetroPCS customers if they want to pay a premium for the phone is a great idea.  Data for feature phones, or smartphones without the standard OSes and less features can be nice to have, but can ultimately be fairly useless.  Web browsing on one of those phones is not a fun experience to say the least, and most other uses can be done through SMS rather than data.  While the Code is a WinMo phone, and therefore not spectacular, it’s not a terrible option.  At least it can take advantage of a handful of useful apps, and do most everything your average BlackBerry Curve will do.

Read [Information Week]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 21 Oct 2009 | 7:24 pm

Live-Blogging the "Whither Journalism" Panel With Google, HuffPo, NYT and WSJ [Voices]

By Shira Ovide, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

It’s a face-off between new and traditional media at the Web 2.0 Summit.

Representing new media, in a discussion over the future of journalism, are Federated Media’s John Battelle; Marissa Mayer, who leads Google’s (GOOG) search services and consumer products like Chrome; and Huffington Post CEO Eric Hippeau. Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher of the New York Times (NYT), and The Wall Street Journal’s top editor, Robert Thomson, stand in for the old guard.

Aggregator sites like Huffington Post and online portals like Yahoo (YHOO) and Google have seen their readership, advertising revenue and influence increase. Meanwhile, traditional-media types have criticized these forces for unfairly leeching their reporting and hurting their business models. We’ll be alert for verbal sparring.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Source: All Things Digital | 21 Oct 2009 | 7:07 pm

Apple's New iMac, MacBook Grow Better, Brighter [Personal Technology]

This is the week when Microsoft finally starts selling Windows 7, its much-improved successor to the disappointing Vista version of Windows. PC makers, who have suffered from Vista’s poor reputation, will begin touting models that come with Windows 7, which I praised in a detailed review earlier this month.

But Microsoft’s (MSFT) historic rival, Apple (AAPL), isn’t sitting still. After releasing its own new operating system, Snow Leopard, in August, Apple this week is rolling out new versions of two of the best- known Macs: its iconic all-in-one iMac desktop, and its least-expensive laptop, the MacBook.

[ See post to watch video ]

Though both new Macs sport important improvements, they are evolutionary, not revolutionary, and neither follows the industry trend toward bargain-basement prices. The MacBook is still $999, and the iMac still starts at $1,199, though the company is giving users more power and features at those same price points. You can pay much less for laptops and desktops from competitors like Dell (DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ).

Apple is, however, introducing one revolutionary product this week: a $69 mouse called the Magic Mouse. It’s the first mouse I’ve seen whose entire surface acts like a laptop trackpad, and allows fingertip multitouch gestures for scrolling and flipping through lists, photos and Web pages on the screen, while still performing traditional cursor movements and clicking. This mouse comes with the new iMac and will be usable on most other Macs as well, once Apple offers a software update for them. It worked well for me.

I’ve been testing these new computers for a few days, and I can recommend both. The new iMacs have spectacular screens that are larger and sport much higher resolutions than those on their predecessors. They also add more memory capacity, bigger hard disks and faster processors.

The new $999, 13″ MacBook now includes most of the key features of the similar-sized MacBook Pro, which costs $200 more. These include a large multitouch trackpad, significantly enhanced battery life, and a brighter screen. Despite its lower price, the lowly MacBook comes with a 56% larger hard disk (250 gigabytes versus 160) than the Pro model.

The New iMacs

Apple has kept the basic design of the iMac, which looks like a stand-alone monitor but has a powerful computer built in. But the new models have larger, wider screens that have been re-sized to match up with high-definition video. The $1,199 base model has a 21.5″ screen, compared to the old 20″ screen, and has 17% higher resolution.

The highest-priced models, at $1,699 and $1,999, have huge 27″ screens, versus 24 inches for the older models, and they have a 60% increase in resolution.

The $1,199 base iMac has 4 gigabytes of memory, double the amount in the prior base model, and a 500 gigabyte hard disk, up from 320 gigabytes. The costlier editions have a one terabyte hard disk, which is roughly 1,000 gigabytes. The top model has a more powerful graphics card and a heavy-duty processor.

All the iMacs now have slots for SD flash memory cards, and the large-screen models can act as external monitors.

In my tests, using a 27″ model, the machine was fast and the screen was brilliant at displaying hi-res photos and high-definition video. Its width allowed me to treat it like two monitors, with, say a Microsoft Word document on the left and a Web page on the right.

One downside: the $1,499 model now has a smaller screen—21.5″ versus 24″—though it has a larger hard disk and better graphics card.

The New MacBook

This 13″ laptop, like its predecessor, is shiny white plastic, but has been redesigned to have more-rounded edges and a rubbery non-slip bottom. It now has the Pro’s large Apple trackpad, which acts as both a huge mouse button and a surface for fingertip gestures like two-finger scrolling, and resizing and rotating photos. It’s still 1.08″ thick—but is a bit longer and wider than the older model, though it weighs less: 4.7 pounds versus 5 pounds.

Apple has dropped the FireWire port from this machine, as well as its ability to be run via a remote control. And it still lacks an SD card slot. But it now has a large sealed battery that Apple claims can last up to 7 hours between charges. On my tough battery test, where I turn off all power-saving features and play music constantly, the MacBook lasted just over five hours. In normal use, I estimate it could easily top six hours.

In my tests, this MacBook was fast and reliable using a wide variety of programs. It started up cold in a mere 22 seconds, and was ready to go after a restart, with several programs running, in 44 seconds. For anyone on a budget, it’s a better deal than the 13″ MacBook Pro, especially considering its larger hard disk.

These new models now round out a full line of refreshed Macs, but they will face stiff new competition from a horde of PCs running the new and better version of Windows.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Source: All Things Digital | 21 Oct 2009 | 7:02 pm

So! How excited are you about Windows 7

It’s nigh on a few hours before the Windows 7 launch and things are heating up in the big city. Folks are lining up at the Windows store, children are quieter and more attentive in school, and the troubles of the world – global warming, terrorists, the economy – are on hold. We are waiting for a miracle and when it comes it will rhyme with ‘dindows’ and end with ‘7′

How happy are you about Windows 7? Like how totally happy?

Joking aside, I’ve been using a Windows 7 machine for almost a month now and I’m quite impressed with the stability and usability. I’m genuinely excited. Not excited enough to buy into it right now, but sooner or later we’ll all be using it somewhere. Microsoft is a juggernaut and no amount of snark can change that.

How excited are you about Windows 7?(trends)

Source: CrunchGear | 21 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pm

Grudgingly, young people finally flock to Twitter (AP)

AP - They think it's pointless, narcissistic. Some don't even know what it is.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 21 Oct 2009 | 6:45 pm

Hey, you got Bluetooth in my Nintendo DS

A cartridge that supplies Bluetooth functionality to the DS? Why, you ask? Well, I asked the same question when I saw this, and there is no certain answer. But the fact is that the DS is a versatile, well-documented device that is used for more than just playing games. Putting Bluetooth functionality in there just makes it that much more useful.

How about a wireless headset for your DS? Or maybe streaming homebrew ROMs from your computer? The implications of this device are staggering. Well, that’s a bit of an overstatement. It might be handy for some, let’s just leave it at that.

[via Hack a Day]

Source: CrunchGear | 21 Oct 2009 | 6:30 pm

Google, MySpace, Facebook make music moves (AP)

AP - Internet power players Google, MySpace and Facebook are adopting strategies to better compete in a music industry that is rapidly shifting online.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 21 Oct 2009 | 6:26 pm

Pew Survey Finds Nearly 20 Percent of Online Americans Tweet (PC World)

PC World - A new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project claims that 19 percent, or nearly 1 in 5, Americans who use the Internet also use Twitter or some other social networking status update service to keep in touch and share information about themselves with others. The bigger news is that this figure is almost double what it was in a previous survey in December of 2008.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 21 Oct 2009 | 6:15 pm

TerraCycle introduces speakers made of candy wrappers, chip bags

TerraCycle, the company that makes household items out of recycled bottles and other gear, is now making speakers made out of chip bags and candy wrappers. Their Universal Speakers won’t win any awards for clarity but they don’t require any batteries and connect straight to any music player.

TerraCycle transforms candy wrappers into music blasters with their newest upcycled product, Universal Speakers

Trenton, NJ – TerraCycle, the company that keeps your garden looking great with its organic worm poop fertilizer, has partnered with Merkury Innovations, a leader in the consumer electronics accessory business, to bring something new and exciting to its current line of eco-friendly products; upcycled universal speakers. These foldable speakers have a 3.5mm universal plug and they do not require any batteries so there is less hassle and, more importantly, less waste.

Additionally, as with all of TerraCycle’s products, the speakers will be made from waste, such as Frito Lay chip bags and Mars candy wrappers. Through upcycling, the process by which items typically seen as garbage are instead repurposed as valuable raw materials and transformed into new, useable consumer products, TerraCycle expects to help divert over 3,000 tons of candy wrapper waste from being dumped into landfills.

TerraCycle receives material for upcycling through its various Brigade programs in which different organizations, elementary schools, and individuals across the country collect their wrapper waste and then send it in to TerraCycle. Terracycle donates two cents to a charity of the collectors choice for each piece of waste. So far, over 5 million used chip bags have been collected in only one year.

Source: CrunchGear | 21 Oct 2009 | 6:00 pm

Facebook to allow 10-cent Web song gifts from Lala (AP)

AP - Facebook will soon allow friends to send each other 10-cent Web songs to stream online or 90-cent songs in the MP3 format that recipients can download as gifts from online retailer Lala.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:53 pm

Uke-abilly Zombie Music

Gary says "Check out the new EP of Halloween themed uke-abilly music from Mad Tea Party! (And check out Ami's new uke-playing skeleton tattoo...)"

Zombie Boogie and other songs by Mad Tea Party


Source: Boing Boing | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:49 pm

MySpace blasts out new music features - CNET News

Boston Globe

MySpace blasts out new music features CNET News MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta took the stage at the Web 2.0 Summit event on Wednesday and paraded out a whole slew of announcements related to turning the flagging social network into a music and media powerhouse. ... MySpace Moves To Beef Up Music OfferingsWall Street Journal MySpace Music videos to appear on FacebookThe Associated Press Web 2.0: MySpace launches music video hub, artists dashboardVentureBeat Financial Times -Reuters Blogs (blog) -MEDIAWEEK all 361 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:45 pm

Broadband Innovation, Investment and Policy Provide Backbone for SUPERCOMM's Opening Day Agenda

CHICAGO, Oct.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:36 pm

HeyZap Helps Flash Games Go Viral With New API, Launches Analytics Too

Social gaming companies like Zynga and Playdom have proven that casual/social gaming can be an extremely lucrative business. But their success can’t be solely attributed to the quality of their games — they’re also finely tuned to maximize their virality. Users are often asked to invite their friends to join them, or publish stories to their accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and other services. Today HeyZap, the startup that helps Flash games get distribution and monetize effectively, is launching a new “Viral API” that helps developers integrate similar features into their own games.

Co-founder Jude Gomila says that up until now, developers have had to figure out how to implement these syndication features on their own — now they’ll be able to do it quickly using HeyZap’s APIs. To put the API to the test, HeyZap built a game called Balloon Boy Game (in honor of last week’s horror story-turned-scandal), which allows users to share the game with their friends via Facebook and Twitter. Over the course of a few days, the game saw 4 million game plays and 5,000 tweets. This was no doubt helped by the timeliness of the game, but it’s likely that the viral loop played a significant role.

Alongside the new viral API, HeyZap is rolling out a new Analytics feature that will allow developers to track how many times their games have been played, as well as how many times links to their games have been tweeted or shared on Facebook. Developers can do this with some other services like Mochi Media, but Gomila says that HeyZap is unique in allowing developers to see exactly how long gamers are spending during a game session. He also says that the company is working on expanding the feature to allow developers to see exactly when gamers tend to quit the games (say, at the end of a certain level), which could help them tweak the gameplay.

HeyZap is also seeing growing support from publishers, who like to use the service because it allows them to monetize Flash games that they used to host for free — whenever a developer integrates HeyZap payments into their game and someone purchases something, the publisher hosting the game gets a cut. Recent additions to HeyZap’s client roster include College Humor and ebaum’s world.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:34 pm

International Climate Day this Sat needs 22 countries to collect the set

Darren sez, "350.org, one of the coolest bottom-up, grassroots activist orgs around, is running a huge International Day of Climate Action this Saturday, Oct. 24. They have, at last count, over 4000 actions (parades, protests, flash mobs and so forth) in 170 countries. They're trying to cover off every country on the globe, but they're missing 22 (North Korea may prove particularly tricky). From the site:"

"Below you'll find a list of the UN-recognized countries where as of yet there is no action registered. Do you know someone in any of these countries. Does your church or synagogue or mosque or temple have contacts there? What about your professional society? University alumni group? Would you be willing to send an email like this to them, explaining 350 and asking them to join in by organizing some event, large or small, for the 24th of October? Can you imagine the kind of message it would sound if every country on the planet joined in actions on Oct. 24th?"

1. Angola
2. Bahamas
3. Turkmenistan
4. Comoros
5. Djibouti
6. East Timor
7. Equatorial Guinea
8. Eritrea
9. Guinea
10. Guinea-Bissau
11. Kiribati
12. Lesotho
13. Liechtenstein
14. Luxembourg
15. Mauritania
16. Micronesia
17. Monaco
18. Namibia
19. North Korea
20. San Marino
21. Sao Tome and Principe
22. Seychelles

170 Countries! (And the "Missing 23") (Thanks, Darren!)


Source: Boing Boing | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:30 pm

Improvising a car fuse

From the RULES OF THUMB blog, whose RSS feed doesn't actually link to its items (?!), this interesting and potentially flammable tip: "If your car blows a weird-looking fuse and you don't have a spare--one wrap of cigarette-pack foil around the old fuse will give you a 20 amp emergency fuse; two wraps will give you about 35 amps. Submitted by: Douglass A. Pineo, biologist and falconer, Spokane, Washington"

Rules of Thumb


Source: Boing Boing | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:26 pm

Improvising a car fuse

From the RULES OF THUMB blog, whose RSS feed doesn't actually link to its items (?!), this interesting and potentially flammable tip: "If your car blows a weird-looking fuse and you don't have a spare--one wrap of cigarette-pack foil around the old fuse will give you a 20 amp emergency fuse; two wraps will give you about 35 amps. Submitted by: Douglass A. Pineo, biologist and falconer, Spokane, Washington"

Rules of Thumb


Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:26 pm

Giant crocheted Raccoon Mario rug

Last summer, Crafster user Enemyairship debuted this magnificent 7' x 7' Raccoon Mario Rug, hand crocheted from 3.5" granny squares. ZOMGwonderful.

He's made of 386 granny squares, each one representing 1 pixel (3.5" each) that makes up Raccoon Mario. I learned to crochet in February by watching youtube videos and recently watched another video for granny squares and got started on this project right away. I had originally thought that it would take me over 1 month to complete if I made about 10 granny squares per day.

7x7ft Raccoon Mario Rug! (via Wonderland)

Previously:

• Super Mario cupcakes - Boing Boing
• Super Mario mosaic table - Boing Boing
• Beatboxing flautist performs Super Mario theme - Boing Boing
• Mario and Luigi: warrior plumbers tee - Boing Boing
• Laser cutter motors play Super Mario theme - Boing Boing
• HOWTO carve a Mario mushroom from a radish -- Offworld - Boing Boing
• Hand-painted Mario shoes - Boing Boing

Source: Boing Boing | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:25 pm

Is Dell Working on a Mobile Internet Device?

Dell’s plans for Google’s Android operating system could go beyond cellphones. Leaked photos and a video (above) show Dell may have a mobile internet device (MID) running Android 2.0 in the works.

The device codenamed ‘Streak’ looks bigger than a smartphone and has a vivid touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera and WiFi connectivity.

Streak will be Dell’s second attempt Android-based device. Dell has said it plans to launch an Android smartphone in the U.S. next year. Android has become a favorite among mobile phone makers such as Motorola and HTC because it is open source and can be customized easily. The OS has now extended its tentacles to gadgets beyond cellphones. Barnes & Noble’s e-book reader Nook launched Tuesday uses Android OS.

“Dell continually develops and tests new products that extend the mobile experience. We have not made any product announcements and do not comment on speculation, rumor or unannounced products,” says a Dell representative.

The MID category that Dell is targeting with Streak is a tricky one. MIDs have been the star of Intel’s annual developer conferences for the last two years. Yet these devices–neither as compact as a mobile phone nor as versatile as a netbook–have found it difficult to grab consumer attention. Based on what we can see, Streak doesn’t look much different from current MIDs.

Instead, Dell may be better off focusing its resources on creating a tablet, rumors of which we have heard before.

See Also:

• 12 Phones Strong, Android Army Mobilizes for Explosive Growth
• Verizon Promises Two New Android Phones This Year
• Motorola’s First Android Phone Takes Aim at Social Networks
  

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:23 pm

Web 2.0 Summit: V For Van Natta: The Socialization Of Content

MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta is here at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. He sat down with Federated Media’s John Battelle to answer some questions about his company.

Van Natta clearly had a strategy for this Q&A: To say “the socialization of content” as much as possible. That’s the direction he wants to lead the social network in as it attempts to prove it can exist in a world where Facebook has passed it as the dominant social network.

So what does the catchphrase mean? Van Natta thinks MySpace has a unique position on the web because of its music deals with all the major labels and the independent ones. And because it’s a much more open network than Facebook, he believes this will work to MySpace’s advantage in helping people find content.

And that’s why Van Natta had not one, but two announcements today surrounding MySpace Music. The first is a dashboard that artists can use to see analytics about who is visiting their page and listening to their music on the network. The second is a single hub for all music video content. (We covered both more in-depth here) Again, this is possible because of MySpace’s unique music deals with the labels, Van Natta stressed.

Van Natta wouldn’t comment on the talk that Google is unhappy with the major ad deal the signed in 2006 and is set to expire next year. He did say that MySpace has always been great at monetizing its site and losing any one deal would not be a major blow.

Earlier today, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s keyword was “sharing.” That’s essentially what Van Natta is saying too, but he’s betting that his more open network and strong media ties will differentiate it.

Find the full Q&A below (paraphrased):

JB: So, did you do a deal with Twitter (laughs)? What are you doing with MySpace?

OV: What we’re doing with MySpace is what me and Rupert first talked about it. We think it can be the next generation of digital distribution of content on the web. It’s happening through people and not through portals. It’s the “socialization of content.”

JB: To the crowd: How many people have a MySpace page (maybe 20%), how many have a Facebook Page? (everyone). So how is MySpace different, why use it?

OV: We think we’re different from Facebook because you don’t have to have a real connection to use it. Maybe you use it to discover music. Music tastes get influenced by your friends. Also movies. These are touchstones in relationships. You shouldn’t have to know them in the socialization of content.

JB: MySpace Music is a very big deal. How is music playing into this strategy? Does that box competition out?

OV: Music is a great example of our socialization of content. Everyone loves music across all demographics. Our music label relationships are unique and that gives us content that other networks don’t have. MySpace is the only place you can go today to stream all the music you want. And every band out there today has a presence on MySpace.

And today we’re launching an Artist Dashboard (more on that here). This is our first example of our integration with iLike, the deal we recently closed. You can see all kinds of data. Geographic breakdowns, etc. There was a huge demand for things like this from artists. And they can use this data beyond the web – like when they think about tour dates. This will be available to all artists.

And we can extend this across other entertainment models.

JB: Will you charge for it?

OV: I think we’ll find other ways to monetize. One more product announcement is that we’re launching the full catalog of music videos from all the labels (big and independant) in one place for the first time. This is a byproduct of our relatioships with the labels.

We know that we can make the site a lot easier to use, and we’re working on that. This is one thing. This is a cleaner design than a lot of areas of the site. This will launch as I step off the stage. This will surface videos in a social way.

JB: Didn’t Google just announce that?

OV: But ours is pretty. (laughs)

JB: But seriously what do you have to say about what Google just announced?

OV: No deal news, but we have a lot of cool partner announcements. Google has been a great partner for a long time. Stay tuned.

JB: Let’s talk about Google more. They have a huge deal with MySpace, that expires next year. It’s big to have that money, but it may not have worked out that well for Google. Does your business hurt if that goes away?

OV: We’re really pleased with where are business is and where it’s going. We’ve always been good at monetizing our business. This is integrated marketing that no one else on the web does. And we’ve just scratched the surface. A key going forward is how you measure success. Our business doesn’t hinge on any one deal. News Corp believes that too.

JB: Jon Miller is your boss, and they’re building a business of their own: FIM, and MySpace is a part of it.

OV: Jon will talk more about it, but FIM is a big part of our monetization today.

JB: If Google goes away can that replace it?

OV: Again, we’re really good at monetization. There’s a lot of opportunity.

JB: Owen was an early member of Facebook. What does success eventually look like for MySpace now?

OV: We think we have all the building blocks, we just need to execute. If we do that we will realize the vision of content being socialized.

CrunchBase Information

Owen Van Natta

MySpace

Information provided by CrunchBase

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

Source: TechCrunch | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:23 pm

Finding Closure in The Beatles: Rock Band [Voices]

By Yukari Iwatani Kane, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

When MTV Networks’ Harmonix Music Systems developed the videogame The Beatles: Rock Band, it made many small changes to some of the most beloved songs in rock history. All of them were made in consultation with Apple Corps, the Beatles’ management company, but some of the changes have come as a shock for fans.

One that is causing a particular stir is a change in “Her Majesty,” the final song on the final album that the Beatles recorded. In the album “Abbey Road,” the song starts and ends with distinction: a surprisingly loud opening and an abrupt end. To many Beatles fans, the unresolved ending conveys special meaning, a sense that the iconic band’s music has no end to it.

Well, not anymore.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Source: All Things Digital | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:22 pm

Animating the XKCD "I Love the Internet" strip

I Love xkcd from NoamR on Vimeo.

Noam sez, "There are so many things to love in this world, so just to point a few of them I've animated the xkcd comic xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel. Singing by the amazing Olga Nunes."

I Love xkcd (Thanks, Noam!)

Previously:

• XKCD role-players reenact "I Love the World" strip - Boing Boing

Source: Boing Boing | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:20 pm

Web 2.0 Summit: Marissa Mayer Shows Off Social Search, Results From Your Social Networks

At the Web 2.0 Summit today in San Francisco, Google’s Marissa Mayer unexpectedly came on stage to unveil a new product. She first announced that Google has also reached a deal with Twitter, which she wrote a blog post about earlier in the day, following the announcement that Bing and Twitter had done the same thing.

But Mayer had more to share. There’s a new Google product called “Social Search” that is launching soon in Google Labs. This is a new feature that allows you to see results for queries from people in your social network. This works by using your Google Profile. If you fill it out with the other social networks you’re a member of, such as FriendFeed, Google will scan who you are connected to and give your results from those people.

Keys to this type of search will be local information as well as image searches, as Mayer and another Googler showed off today on stage.

Mayer didn’t say it, but it’s probably safe to assume that this will only work for networks where the data is open. That means that you’re unlikely to be able to use your Facebook social graph for these web search results.

This will launch in the next few weeks. This experiment will be opt-in for now, Mayer says.

John Battelle asked Mayer how Twitter would work with Google. Mayer said that it will be integrated into regular results. A key to this functionality will be when articles and blog posts haven’t been written yet about breaking items.

When pressed, Mayer would not disclose the details of the Twitter deal, but she did say the keyword, “financial terms,” as in, money changed hands. This is in contrast to the deal Facebook struck with Bing, in which no money changed hands, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said earlier today. “We’re not trying to make money on data,” she said.

CrunchBase Information

Google

Twitter

Marissa Mayer

Information provided by CrunchBase

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

Source: TechCrunch | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:13 pm

CRTC Issues Net Neutrality Rules

An anonymous reader writes ""The CRTC today introduced a new framework to guide Internet service providers in their use of Internet traffic management practices. ISPs will be required to inform retail customers at least 30 days, and wholesale customers at least 60 days, before an Internet traffic management practice takes effect. At that time, ISPs will need to describe how the practice will affect their customers' service. The Commission encourages ISPs to make investments to increase network capacity as much as possible. However, the Commission realizes that ISPs may need other measures to manage the traffic on their networks at certain times. Technical means to manage traffic, such as traffic shaping, should only be employed as a last resort.""

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:10 pm

MySpace Adds Full Music Video Archives, Deep Artist Analytics

MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta will make a number of announcements on stage at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco this afternoon. Among them are two major changes to MySpace Music. The service will now have a full historical archive of music videos from the major labels and independents. And they are also launching an artist dashboard to give musicians deep analytics into profile views, music streams, and friend information.

Both new products will launch later this evening.

Music Videos:

MySpace Videos attracts 11 million or so worldwide visitors per month (Comscore, August 2009), but has lacked comprehensive music video licensing rights. Tonight the service will launch a deep archive of music videos from all the major labels and independents. You can see the video homepage at myspace.com/music/videos.

Users will have the ability to view videos and purchase the audio song and ringtones for the song from either Amazon or iTunes. MySpace is including pre-roll, post-roll and overlay ads on the videos.

Videos will also now be included in the music player widget on all artist pages, if they have music videos available. And users can track videos from artists they are watching, as well as videos their friends are viewing.

Artist Dashboard:

Until now, artists with a presence on MySpace could only view aggregate numbers for profile views, friends, total song plays and songs played today. Tonight, though, they’ll launch an artist dashboard with significantly more analytics data. Artists can view their fans by age and location demographics, and see total plays, friends and profile views over time. The dashboard is available in 17 languages. And it also includes similar information for the artist from iLike, which MySpace acquired earlier this year.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 21 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

Acer goes deep with 3-D laptop for gaming, movies - The Associated Press

Seattle Post Intelligencer

Acer goes deep with 3-D laptop for gaming, movies The Associated Press NEW YORK — With the launch of Windows 7 this week, PC makers are trying some new things, including laptops with touch screens. Acer Inc. is going further — introducing a laptop with a 3-D screen. The abstrusely named Acer Aspire 5738DG-6165 has a ... Hands On with Acer's 3D LaptopPC Magazine Is the World Ready for 3D Laptops? Ask AcerPC World Acer Introduces Notebook with 3-D DisplayWired News Notebooks.com -eWeek -TG Daily all 311 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 21 Oct 2009 | 4:52 pm

EarthLink Announces Payment of Quarterly Dividend

ATLANTA, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EarthLink, Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 21 Oct 2009 | 4:12 pm

First Public White-Space Network Is Alive

An anonymous reader writes "The first public white space network officially launched on Wednesday in Claudville, Virginia. It uses sensing technology from Spectrum Bridge with software and Web cams supplied by Microsoft and PCs from by Dell. The project was funded the TDF Foundation. White space networks use unlicensed television spectrum and have been called 'WiFi on steroids.' They offer more bandwidth, over larger areas, than does WiFi. IT companies duked it out with broadcasters for years to get white spaces approved by the FCC. They finally got the FCC's nod in November, 2008."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 21 Oct 2009 | 4:11 pm

Storyboard: Get Inside the 'Epidemic of Fear' About Vaccines

As Wired's November cover story about anti-vaccination conspiracy theories stirs up a heated debate, editors from the magazine discuss the story behind the story.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:51 pm

7 Things You Should Know About Upgrading to Windows 7

Thursday is a big day for Windows users. Microsoft is finally making Windows 7 publicly available, and the number of pre-orders for the operating system on Amazon.com has already surpassed orders for Harry Potter in the U.K.

Not bad for an operating system that costs $120 and doesn’t even have any magic wands or dragons in it.

That’s a good indicator that a lot of people are upgrading, and we’re sure there will be even more that follow after consumers spread the word about the vast improvements in Windows 7 over its predecessors. Here’s a simple guideline of what you should know to ensure your upgrade process is smooth — from purchase to install.

1. The upgrade is worth it
We’ve written about Windows 7’s strong points as well as the weaker points of Windows 7. On balance, we’re confident saying his is the best Microsoft operating system yet. If you’re running any earlier version of Windows, you’ll almost certainly want to upgrade — and you should feel no hesitation about buying new computers preloaded with Windows 7.

2. It will cost you
Apple offers an upgrade to its latest operating system, Snow Leopard, for $30 — and you can even take advantage of it if you don’t have the previous version, Leopard. Not so with Microsoft: You’ll need to pay $120 for the upgrade — or even more, depending on which version you get. (Unless you’re a smart shopper and can find a discounted price. See tips 6 and 7 below for details on which version to buy and how to find discounts.) As with previous versions of Windows, Microsoft has created a bewildering array of variations.

3. Double-check compatibility with your hardware
Paranoid about losing access to some of your third-party accessories and software after upgrading? You should be, at least a little bit. Microsoft claims Windows 7 will work smoothly with most third-party gadgets and software, but to be on the safe side, you should check out the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. The tool automatically scans your system and provides a report of any potential issues, as well as steps to resolve them.

4. Scout for computers shipping with Windows 7
If you’ve been shopping for a new computer — but waiting for Windows 7 to come out first — there’s a Microsoft tool to help search for new computers that ship with Windows 7. It’s called PC Scout, and it searches for computers based on your preferences. As of this writing, the results don’t bring up Windows 7 systems (since Windows 7 isn’t officially released yet), but the website clarifies all the computers listed in the database are eligible for a Windows 7 upgrade. That means if you purchase one of those computers today, all you have to pay is $10 for shipping, and you get the Windows 7 upgrade free. By the time Windows 7 ships, the PC Scout should be showing results for computers that include Windows 7.

Amazon customers shopping for Windows 7 computers: There’s a web page just for you<. Amazon breaks down a list of netbooks, notebooks and desktops shipping with Windows 7, so definitely check those out.

5. Upgrading from XP? Back up your data, wipe and migrate
Windows XP users cannot do a straight upgrade; they’ll have to back up their files, format their hard drive and perform a clean install. After your fresh copy of Windows 7 is on your computer, Microsoft offers a tool called Easy Transfer to migrate your files.

(If you’re a Vista user, you’ll be able to upgrade without doing a clean install — though fresh installations are generally recommended for optimal performance anyway whenever you switch to a new operating system.)

6. Know what you want
Disregard the awful, intimidating Windows 7 upgrade chart when you’re picking a version to buy. Choosing the right version really isn’t as complicated as Microsoft has made it sound in the past. Consumers: The vast majority of you should go with Windows 7 Home Premium. Business users: Most of you will want to go with Windows 7 Professional. (There’s a Windows 7 Ultimate edition, but that’s aimed at a very niche audience of ultra geeks who want to do everything they could possibly imagine doing with their computers.) Again, if you want to be safe, use the Upgrade Advisor to check your hardware and software compatibility.

7. Look for limited-time discounts
If you’re buying Windows 7 while it’s brandnew, you shouldn’t be paying the full price. Microsoft and its partners are holding a weeklong sale called “7 Days of Windows 7.” Companies offering Windows 7 discounts with Microsoft include Best Buy, Dell and Acer. You can sign up to hear about daily offers on Windows.com. Also, you can check discount-aggregation sites such as PriceGrabber.com or Froogle.com to find the cheapest Windows 7 deals.

See Also:

• 7 Good Reasons to Switch to Windows 7
• 7 Reasons to Avoid Windows 7
• First Look: Windows 7 Shapes Up as Microsoft’s Best OS Yet …

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:48 pm

Windows 7 Upgrades and Screen Readability [Mossberg's Mailbox]

(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)

I have a vision problem and can barely read low-contrast print, even the light colors on your Web site. Any ideas for how I and others can solve this problem? I use a Mac and the Firefox Web browser.

A: If your Mac is running the Leopard or Snow Leopard operating systems, you can use an onscreen slider control or keyboard commands to enhance the contrast. You can even switch the display to white-on-black, which really boosts the effect. This works system-wide. These settings are found in System Preferences, under the Universal Access preference, in the tab called “Seeing,” in the section called “Display.”

The new Windows 7 also has a similar feature that applies a “high contrast theme” when you press a certain key combination. It can be enabled or disabled in the Control Panel, under Ease of Access. You click on “Ease of Access Center,” and then “Make the computer easier to see.”

Where can I download the Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade edition for my Vista Home Premium computer?

A: Windows 7 can be downloaded at http://store.microsoft.com/home.aspx. And, after you’ve installed it, you can upgrade to higher versions anytime, if you like, for a fee. This is called the Windows Anytime Upgrade, and is explained at this site: http://bit.ly/VrV58.

Do you know if the new Windows 7 Home Premium will be offered at less than the retail price of $120 to current Vista PC owners who wish to upgrade?

A: That $120 price is the upgrade price for Vista owners moving to Windows 7 Home Premium, though of course some retailers might discount it. The “full,” or non-upgrade, edition of Home Premium lists for $200. Microsoft did run a sale on Windows 7 pre-orders earlier this year, but that’s over.

You can also get a Windows 7 upgrade from participating PC makers free, or for a nominal fee, if you buy a new PC equipped with Vista before the end of January, 2010, or bought one after June 26, 2009. For the latter offer, consult: http://bit.ly/rjAz4.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online, free, at the All Things Digital web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Corrections & Amplifications

An earlier version of this column erroneously stated that Windows 7 had to be purchased on a disk.

Source: All Things Digital | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:42 pm

Time Warner working on fix for security hole found in its modem/router combos

Section: Computers, Networking

Time Warner Cable says it is working on a fix for a security hole found in its SMC8014 cable modem/router devices.  The hole could allow a hacker to join private networks, hijack the browser and steal sensitive information. 

“We are aware of the issue and we are hard at work on a solution and have been for quite some time,” Alex Dudley, a Time Warner Cable spokesman, said on Tuesday.  “The manufacturer has developed a fix,” he added. “We believe it will work and we are testing it now to make sure it won’t affect our network in other ways.”

The problem lies in Time Warner’s sloppy way of trying to keep their customers from changing the configuration of the device.  They used Javascript, which is easily disabled via the browser and the web admin is accessible anywhere on the net.  Add to that the fact that a tool called “Backup Configuration File” displays the admin username and password in plain text and that the router is locked to weak WEP security by default instead of the much better WPA security, and you have a set up that a hacker could do serious damage with.

If you have one of these devices, Time Warner says it has pushed a temporary patch and will soon replace it with a permanent fix.  Really though, you are much better off with a cable modem and a separate router.  I’m a Time Warner customer and wasn’t offered one of those combo devices, fortunately. We were given an Arris cable modem and use our own Netgear router with WPA security, which is a much more secure setup!

Read [CNet]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:38 pm

Sports for Every Fan - Watch it, Live it, Love it with Rogers

Rogers Cable Launches the Big Ten Network Available Now in Free Preview TORONTO, Oct.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:30 pm

Lockheed Martin Launches 'Intelligence On Demand'

Enhanced Security: The service is carefully controlled and managed by Lockheed Martin and offered only to U.S. federal government users, giving agencies a "trusted cloud" capable of storing secure or sensitive information. Unique Data Sets: Intelligence on Demand is the only trusted service to offer ultra high-resolution images from Pictometry International Corp. Pictometry's imagery is taken from airplanes at an oblique angle, rather than straight down like traditional imagery. The result is imagery with up to four-inch resolution that can be used to create photo-realistic virtual models of landscapes that are rich, pinpoint-precise, and capable of powerful geospatial analysis. Lockheed Martin will add more data sets from other providers in the future.Sophisticated Analysis Tools:
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:25 pm

Some Users Say Win7 Wants To Remove iTunes, Google Toolbar

Foofoobar writes "Due to a strike with the UK's postal system, people in Great Britain are getting copies of Windows 7 early and have already posted their experiences about the install process. Some have an easy time but others post installs taking 3 hours including Windows asking them to remove iTunes and Google toolbar prior to installation." The article indicates that many of these early users, though, are having better luck.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:23 pm

MPOWER Mobile Attracts Strategic Investment From Veteran Technology Entrepreneurs

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile payments provider MPOWER Mobile, Inc. today announced it has received strategic investments from Mike Maples Jr., managing partner of Maples Investments, and Todd Smith, founder of Tivoli.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:10 pm

RT @google: Tweets and updates and search, oh my!

At Google, our goal is to create the most comprehensive, relevant and fast search in the world. In the past few years, an entirely new type of data has emerged — real-time updates like those on Twitter have appeared not only as a way for people to communicate their thoughts and feelings, but also as an interesting source of data about what is happening right now in regard to a particular topic.

Given this new type of information and its value to search, we are very excited to announce that we have reached an agreement with Twitter to include their updates in our search results. We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months. That way, the next time you search for something that can be aided by a real-time observation, say, snow conditions at your favorite ski resort, you'll find tweets from other users who are there and sharing the latest and greatest information.

Posted by Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Products and User Experience

Source: The Official Google Blog | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:09 pm

Three Mile Pilot's Sci-Fi Art-Rock Readies for Relaunch

Pinback, Systems Officer and The Black Heart Procession rose from the ashes of the ambitious '90s band. Now the members of Three Mile Pilot are joining forces once again to continue their musical experiment.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:09 pm

Electrical Distributor Continues Growth to Indianapolis with Acquisition

MILWAUKEE, Oct.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:05 pm

5 Things That Make Us Want Barnes & Noble’s Nook E-Reader

The latest device to join the explosively-growing e-book reader crowd is the $260 Barnes & Noble “Nook.” Nook debuted Tuesday and will be available at the end of November, Barnes & Noble says.

E-readers are one of the fastest-growing consumer electronics products, although the overall category is still small. About 3 million e-readers will be be sold in the United States this year, says research firm Forrester, with sales doubling in 2010.

To succeed, Nook will have to battle Amazon’s market-leading Kindle — now in its second generation — and a host of e-readers from Sony and other companies. But Barnes & Noble is betting there are a few things about the newcomer that will set it apart.

Hear are five Nook features that we think could give the device a leg up over the competition.

1. Sharing capabilities: One of the best things about hardcovers or paperbacks is that you can give them to family and friends. E-readers, so far, haven’t offered that to consumers. Instead, devices such as Kindle have locked down books and made it impossible for users to lend books that they have bought. Nook tries to change that with its LendMe feature. Nook users can loan books to friends for two weeks and those e-books can be accessed through PCs or smartphones such as the BlackBerry and the iPhone. Lending the book through Nook makes it unavailable to the original owner, but at the end of the two weeks, the book reverts back to its owner. Though Barnes & Noble says some publishers might not allow this for the books they publish, its a big step toward finding an acceptable solution to the question of digital rights management around e-books. Bonus: It means no longer having to bug your friends to return books they borrowed from you years ago.

2. Android OS: The Nook is the first e-book reader to run Android, Google’s operating system written for mobile devices. Android has become a favorite of mobile phone manufacturers such as Motorola and HTC because it’s open source and can be easily customized. It also gives users access to applications through the Android market. Barnes & Noble hasn’t announced anything about putting out a software developers’ kit for the Nook. But it hasn’t ruled out the idea either. “We do think, just because of the excitement and all the development around Android, that, in the future, putting out an SDK would be exciting for us and for our users,” says Barnes & Noble president William Lynch.

3. Color touchscreen: In the world of e-readers, Nook’s dual display feature is unique. Nook has the usual black-and-white E Ink screen for reading books, but it also has a color capacitive touchscreen, similar to the iPhone’s, located in the lower portion of the device. The touchscreen lets readers  browse through books by flicking through them. When not navigating books or magazines, the touchscreen goes dark to let readers focus on the content (and to save battery power). Though the idea strikes us a bit of a gimmick, it is still interesting, because it is a step out of the rut that current e-readers design seems stuck in — a single black-and-white display in a 8-inch frame.

4. Access to 3G and Wi-Fi: When Amazon first introduced the Kindle, it offered free over-the-air wireless book downloads through Sprint’s network. Kindle 2 bundled a basic browser into the device and extended the idea. The wireless connectivity feature put Kindle ahead of its rival Sony, whose earlier e-reader required users to plug the device to their computer via the USB port to download books. Since then, wireless 3G connectivity has become a nearly mandatory component of all e-book readers. But Nook is the only one to offer both 3G and Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi feature is limited for now: On launch, it will work only in Barnes & Noble stores, all of which offer free Wi-Fi. But we are hoping that its Wi-Fi will be soon be opened up to access all hotspots.

5. In-store browsing: Most of us turn to Amazon when it comes to buying books, but there is something to be said for walking into a bookstore, sitting there with a cup of coffee and browsing. The Nook lets you do just that. In a neat trick that takes advantage of Barnes & Noble’s brick-and-mortar stores, the Nook lets users read entire e-books for free in-store. None of the Nook’s storeless rivals wiil be able to offer that for a very long time.

See Also:

• Barnes & Noble Unveils Kindle-Killing, Dual-Screen ‘Nook’ E-Reader
• Barnes & Noble’s comparison of the Nook and Kindle 2
• New Asus Color E-Reader Folds Like a Book
• Plastic Logic E-Reader is Slimmer than Kindle DX
• Sony’s E-Book Reader Adds Touchscreen, Wireless Downloads
• Cosmo Publisher Plans an E-Reader of Its Own

Photo: Nook (colony of gamers/ Flickr)

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:02 pm

5 Things That Make Us Want Barnes & Noble's Nook E-Reader

We list five features that makes us want Barnes & Noble's newly launched $260 Nook e-reader more than its competitors.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:02 pm

Texas Business Accelerator Hosts Largest Presentation of Emerging Technology Companies in the Gulf Coast Region

HOUSTON, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Houston Technology Center (HTC), a business accelerator that assists emerging technology companies, is hosting 80 local companies to assist them in accelerating the commercialization of their technologies.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:00 pm

Canon's S90 Sports Pro-Level Features Aimed at Serious Shooters

What makes the best point-and-shoot cam we've seen all year? Try an extremely fast lens, totalitarian control over your shots and an innovative control ring.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Oct 2009 | 3:00 pm

Equifax Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results

ATLANTA, Oct. 21, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Third quarter revenue was $451.9 million, down 1 percent from the second quarter of 2009.Third quarter EPS was $0.47 and third quarter adjusted EPS was $0.57.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 21 Oct 2009 | 2:52 pm

Appletell reviews Elgato’s EyeTV for iPhone

FROM APPLETELL - EyeTV for iPhone is nearly everything you’d want from a TV app.  Elgato’s name brings with it some expectations, and the app meets or exceeds nearly all of them.
MORE »

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Source: Gadgetell | 21 Oct 2009 | 2:50 pm

ScannedCards.com, Inc. Open for Business

BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, ScannedCards.com, Inc. releases the long awaited ScannedCards.com, a secure virtual business card exchange.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 21 Oct 2009 | 2:48 pm

Verizon Sent Us a Droid – Sort of.

Update: We reuploaded the video to fix the last 20 seconds, which somehow got corrupted the first time around.

About an hour ago, we received a mysterious package from Verizon bearing the somewhat-gorgeous, somewhat-creepy red eye that the Motorola Droid is now known for. We, of course, could hardly wait to tear it open – but not before we put up a shot of the box to give you guys a chance to guess what was inside, first.

Some guessed that it was a T-shirt; others guessed that it was a human head. Most guessed that it was a Droid.

And sure enough, there was a Droid inside that box. It’s just not the Droid that we – or you, most likely – were looking for.

Tucked inside that tantalizing cardboard pen was none other than R2-D2 (A remote control version, no less! Is remote control mobility part of the “iDont” campaign now?), two packs of batteries, and a post card reading “11.09 – www.droiddoes.com”.

Sorry to get your hopes up, folks – but Verizon got ours up even higher.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 21 Oct 2009 | 2:36 pm

Skiing Robot May Not Be Useful, But Fun To Watch

kkleiner writes "Bojan Nemec from the Jozef Stefan Institute in Slovenia recently presented his skiing robot at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). The robot won't be winning skiing records anytime soon and its usefulness as a ski instructor or in any other capacity seems quite a ways off. Nonetheless, the videos of this robot taking a ride down the ski slopes are well worth watching. In case you are wondering, this is a completely different robot than the one Slashdot covered earlier."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 21 Oct 2009 | 2:33 pm

BLOG: Exoplanet Holds Building Blocks of Life

Basic chemicals needed to produce life are found on a planet 150 light-years from Earth.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Oct 2009 | 2:30 pm

Windows 7 is the “biggest pre-order of all time” at Amazon

Section: Computers, Software / Applications, Web, Web Browsers, Websites

Amazon states the the latest Windows offering has beaten absolutely any product they have ever had for pre-order in the UK.  Better come up with a new trick Harry Potter, because even you have lost the king of pre-order title and crown.

Amazon has sold more copies of Windows 7 in the first eight hours of its release for pre-order back in July than Vista did during its entire pre-order period.  No big shocker there.  Maybe Vista is why Windows 7 is selling like mad; people want to get rid of it in favor of something else. 

“The launch of Windows 7 has superseded everyone’s expectations, storming ahead of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the biggest grossing pre-order product of all-time at Amazon.co.uk, and demand is still going strong,” says Brian McBride, Amazon UK MD.  And if it is beating Harry in the UK?  It’s gotta be in high demand.  The official release of Windows 7 is tomorrow, October 22, 2009.

Read: [tgdaily]

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Source: Gadgetell | 21 Oct 2009 | 2:12 pm

What’s inside this mystery box?

This just mysteriously appeared on our doorstep. The return address on the label leads to Verizon’s PR company, Weber Shandwick. We’re going to do a video unboxing in just a second – in the mean time, any guesses as to whats inside?

Update: The unboxing is live. It is indeed.. a Droid. Of sorts. Sorry for the delays – YouTube just sat there spinning the “Processing!” message for over 25 minutes. Thanks for that, Youtube.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 21 Oct 2009 | 1:40 pm

Barnes & Noble E-Reader Puts Heat On Amazon - InformationWeek

Siliconrepublic.com

Barnes & Noble E-Reader Puts Heat On Amazon InformationWeek The Nook is now the e-reader to beat, but analysts say Amazon won't relinquish the Kindle's market share easily. By Antone Gonsalves Barnes & Noble's Nook e-book reader has the potential to change the market's landscape, so it's unlikely B&N's biggest ... Nook would be great if not for Barnes & Noble's high ebook pricingBetaNews Barnes & Noble Launches the 'Nook' E-ReaderPC Magazine Nook? QUE? Alex? Sony Reader? Kindle? E-reader Business Heats UpChannelWeb PC World -Computerworld -ZDNet (blog) all 808 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 21 Oct 2009 | 1:37 pm

Disney Close To Unveiling New "DVD Killer"

Uncle Rummy writes "The Wall Street Journal reports that Disney is close to releasing a new system that will sell permanent, multi-device access to digital media. The system, dubbed Keychest, is being positioned as an answer to consumer concerns about purchasing digital media that are locked to a small number of devices, and thus as a way to finally shift media sales from an ownership model to an access model. They claim that such a service would reduce the risk of losing access to content as a result of a single vendor going out of business, as purchased content would remain available from other vendors. However, they do not seem to have addressed the question of what happens to customers' access to purchased content if the Keychest service itself is discontinued."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 21 Oct 2009 | 1:37 pm

A Hovercraft for the Land (and Water) Down Under

Australia looks to hovercraft to augment trains in two port cities.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Oct 2009 | 1:30 pm

'Missing Link' Primate Fossil Debunked

Ida, the fossil discovery announced last May, was only a distant relative of humans.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Oct 2009 | 1:15 pm

Streaming Netflix from your Blu-ray player has just been made less expensive

Section: Video, Content, DVD/DVR/Blu-ray

It seems that Netflix is determined to be everywhere, we have seen dedicated players such as the Roku set top box, we have seen it integrated into television sets and even Blu-ray players.  That said, the Blu-ray players, despite being a nice option have not yet offered the most cost effective route.  That is, until now, well in all fairness it may not be the most cost effective yet, but the prices are getting better thanks to the recent deal from Netflix, Insignia and Best Buy.

Anyway, the official announcement has come and Best Buy is adding Netflix streaming to its Insignia line of Blu-ray players.  What we have is two available options which include the NS-BRDVD3 for $179.99 and the NS-WBRDVD for $249.99.  The main difference between the two players is the addition of Wi-Fi in the model for $249.99.

With that, current or future owners of either player will be able to begin streaming Netflix movies—that is right after they perform the necessary firmware update that offers the ability.

Read [Netflix]  Via [Engadget]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 21 Oct 2009 | 1:10 pm

New Structure Discovered In Butterfly Ears

Image 1: The Blue Morpho butterfly (Morpho peleides). Photo by Katie LucasImage 2: The ear on the wing of the Blue Morpho butterfly. Photo by Katie LucasImage 3: Close up showing the structure of the ear of the Blue Morpho butterfly. Photo by Katie Lucas
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:58 pm

Bing Partners With Twitter and Facebook for Real-Time Search

Microsoft’s search engine Bing has struck a deal with Facebook and the hot micro-messaging service Twitter, a brash attempt to add real-time web updates to its search results in order to make Google look like a lumbering dinosaur.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:56 pm

Fedora 12 Beta Released

AdamWill writes "The Fedora project has announced the release of Fedora 12 Beta, which is available here. This will be the final pre-release before the final release in November. New features of Fedora 12 highlighted in the announcement include substantial improvements and fixes to the major graphics drivers, including experimental 3D acceleration support for AMD Radeon r600+-based adapters; improved mobile broadband support and new Bluetooth PAN tethering support in NetworkManager; improved performance in the 32-bit releases; significant fixes and improvements to audio support, including easy Bluetooth audio support; initial implementation of completely open source Broadcom wireless networking via the openfwwf project; significant improvements to the Fedora virtualization stack; and easy access to the Moblin desktop environment and a preview of the new GNOME Shell interface for GNOME. Further details on the major new features of Fedora 12 can be found in the release announcement and feature list. Known issues are documented in the common bugs page."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:50 pm

Bones Of Smallest North American Dinosaur Identified

Image Caption: A reconstruction of the Fruitadens. Courtesy of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Dinosaur Institute. Reconstruction by Doyle Trankina, NHM Dinosaur Institute Image Credit: NHM Dinosaur Institute
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:37 pm

New Research Shows How Mobile DNA Survives -- And Thrives -- In Plants, Animals

Bits of movable DNA called transposable elements or TEs fill up the genomes of plants and animals, but it has remained unclear how a genome can survive a rapid burst of hundreds, even thousands of new TE insertions.Now, for the first time, research led by plant biologists at the University of Georgia have documented the impact of such a burst in a rice strain that is accumulating more than 40 new TE insertions per plant per generation of an element called mPing.The big surprise of their study is that the impact on the host seems to be modest.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:35 pm

Video: Chuck Norris and his Beard, coming to an iPhone near you

Gameloft just sent over this teaser trailer for an upcoming title, “Chuck Norris: Bring on the Pain”. Sure, Chuck’s a bit late to the iPhone game if he’s looking to milk this meme for all it’s worth – but we had to share the video with you, or he’d burst through our office wall and roundhouse kick us in the face. We didn’t want that to happen.

Interestingly, Gameloft is saying right upfront that this game is going to be sort of.. simple. It’s being developed under one of Gameloft’s brands, Ludigames, which they’ve told us they intend to use to house their more “casual” games.

Don’t worry, Gameloft. We know that a game involving Chuck Norris needs only three buttons: “Roundhouse kick”, “Grow beard”, and “Be Awesome”. The third button is always stuck in, but sometimes bugs out and reads “Be sort of crazy in the head.”

Gameloft is sending over some gameplay footage in a bit – we’ll update whenever we get it.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:31 pm

Out of LSD? Just 15 Minutes of Sensory Deprivation Triggers Hallucinations

After just 15 minutes of complete light and sound deprivation, otherwise healthy, sane people begin hallucinating, a new study reveals.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:30 pm

Installed Cost Of Solar Photovoltaic Systems In The US Fell In 2008

Costs Differ by Region and Type of SystemOther information about differences in costs by region and by installation type emerged from the study. The cost reduction over time was largest for smaller PV systems, such as those used to power individual households. Also, installed costs show significant economies of scale—small residential PV systems completed in 2008 that were less than 2 kilowatts (kW) in size averaged $9.20/W, while large commercial systems in the range of 500 to 750 kW averaged $6.50/W.Installed costs were also found to vary widely across states. Among systems completed in 2008 and less than 10 kW in size, average costs range from a low of $7.30/W in Arizona, followed by California, which had average installed costs of $8.20/W, to a high of $9.90/W in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Based on these data, and on installed cost data from the sizable German and Japanese PV markets, the authors suggest that PV costs can be driven lower through large-scale deployment programs.The study also found that the new construction market offers cost advantages for residential PV systems. Among small residential PV systems in California completed in 2008, those systems installed in residential new construction cost $0.80/W less than comparably-sized systems installed in rooftop retrofit applications.Cash Incentives Declined
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:23 pm

XSeed releasing KORG DS-10 Plus early 2010

FROM GAMERTELL - Developed by Cavia, Inc. and Procyon Studio, the application is based on the KORG MS-10 music synthesizer and is more a music creation and manipulation program than a game…
MORE »

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Source: Gadgetell | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:20 pm

Leaked: T-Mobile’s “Project Dark” Unlimited plan pricing

We should all probably wait until this is the least bit official before we start drooling too much, but these pricing sheets leaked to TmoNews look pretty legit. It looks like T-Mobile’s Project Dark, which has been all the rage around the rumor mill lately, is finally coming to a head.

Here’s what we’re seeing:

• Even More Plan: $59.99 for unlimited voice, $69.99 for unlimited voice and text, and $99.99 for unlimited voice, text, and data. 2-line family plans are available for $99.99, $119.99, and $179.99 respectively. 2-year contract required.
• Even More Plus Plan: No contract required, but it seems you’ll be paying full retail price for handsets (split up across 4 payments). The phones are pricier, but you apparently pay less for the plans: $49.99 for unlimited voice, $59.99 for unlimited voice + text, and $89.99 for unlimited voice, text, and data.

If these prices ring true, it looks like T-Mobile is finally stepping up to Sprint’s “Simply Everything” plan. The race to the bottom is on, folks.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:17 pm

Irrational Exuberance Behind Recent Stock Gains, Says UAB Finance Expert

A second straight week of stronger-than-expected third quarter earnings from a broad cross section of U.S. industries has held the nation's Dow Jones Industrial Average above the psychological benchmark of 10,000 points for the week of Oct.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:16 pm

New Research By UM Law Professor Analyzes The Marriage Of Science And Law

Distinguished Professor on the Humanities, Cooper Senior Scholar in Arts and Sciences, Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Law Susan Haack has recently published a research paper entitled, "Irreconcilable Differences? The Troubled Marriage of Science and Law."Because its business is to resolve disputed issues, the law very often calls on those fields of science where the pressure of commercial interests is most severe.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:13 pm

Museums Increasingly Turn To Scientists To Preserve Treasures

Museums are increasingly seeking help from chemists in an effort to understand and preserve the artistic and cultural heritage of the treasures in their collections.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:06 pm

What could a Google Music service do to iTunes?

Section: Audio, Portable Audio, Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile, Web, Web Apps

This morning, Michael Arrington over at TechCrunch has it from multiple sources that Google is prepping some sort of music service for the US.  It is unknown if it is a download service to compete with the likes of iTunes and Amazon or if it is a streaming service such as Pandora or Last.fm.  What is known is Google has a tendency to disrupt the market.

From GMail to Google Docs to search, Google has shown it can hit a home run.  In contemplating Google’s big push into mobile with Android, I can’t help coming back to this move must have something to do with getting music on Android phones.  Here are two scenarios that Google could disrupt the market:

Download service

If Google has a download service for devices running Android (or just anyone with a computer) the party most likely harmed is Amazon.  Apple’s products are so tightly integrated with iTunes that most consumers don’t give downloading from Apple a second thought: it just works and it is darn easy.  Unless a significant value proposition is made, little will change.

Streaming service

If Google plans to stream music from the net (either for devices or just through a browser) we still might see some changes in music purchasing behavior.  If you’ve tried Pandora’s app on the iPhone while long distance driving, you might be as impressed with the idea as I am.  Having all that music at your finger tips is powerful and dare I say, fun.

Integrating this concept into Android or into browsers opens up the advertising opportunities and Google is an advertisement serving company.  My money is on Google getting into the streaming game though it will be interesting to see if they can make it simpler than Pandora, whose UI couldn’t be more streamlined.

Read: [TechCrunch]

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Source: Gadgetell | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:03 pm

Deadly Spider Demands Long Courtship -- or Else

Female black widow spiders demand 100 minutes of wooing -- or they eat their suitors.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Oct 2009 | 12:00 pm

Europe ‘Not Doing Justice’ to Camera-Equipped iPod Nano

Consumers are liking the new camera-equipped iPod Nano, Apple said in its Monday earnings call. But Europeans aren’t big fans of the miniature multimedia player, the Cupertino, California, company admits.

In general, Apple’s products perform very well in Europe, said Pascal Cagni, Apple’s general manager and vice president for Europe, in an interview with the Guardian. For instance, Apple foresees notebooks will see 35-percent marketshare growth year-on-year. However, Europe is “not doing justice to the nano,” Cagni said.

“Our job is to better carry the message,” he said. “We need to express it better so that people get convinced of what we do.”

This comes as a bit surprising, because Apple’s iPods tend to be hot sellers in September during back-to-school season. However, it also signifies a general decline in the MP3 player market. In its Monday earnings call, Apple said iPod units were down 8 percent year over year.

See Also:

• Apple iPod Nano With Video
• Zune HD vs. iPod Nano Smackdown - Video - Wired
• Apple Unveils Flip-Killing iPod Nano, Revamped iTunes, No Beatles …

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 21 Oct 2009 | 11:58 am

Ocean Garbage Causing $1 Billion in Damage

The 6.4 million tons of rubbish in the world's oceans leads to huge expenses, a report finds.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Oct 2009 | 11:58 am

Countries Propose Bans On Trade Of Endangered Species

Environmental groups and international agencies are submitting their proposals to ban trade of certain products derived from endangered species.The proposals have been issued to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) prior to its triennial meeting in Qatar next year.Tanzania and Zambia have requested to lift a trade embargo on ivory in order to control the amount of elephant tusks being traded internationally.Another primary concern in Qatar is expected to be the consumption of sharks’ fins, which are considered to be a culinary delicacy in China.Additionally, the EU and the US has proposed limits on international trade of certain shark species, while Monaco has issued a proposal to ban trade in tuna."Unsustainable target fisheries for Lamna nasus in parts of its range have been driven by international trade demand for its high value meat," the EU said in its proposal."This could be the turning point for sharks.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Oct 2009 | 11:55 am

Bone Crunching Debunks 'First Monkey' Ida Fossil Hype

The discovery of a fossil primate species closely related to "Ida" -- the ancestor of a species recently hyped as the first monkey and link between monkeys and humans -- suggests Ida belongs on a relatively unimportant branch, rather than at the base of the tree.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Oct 2009 | 11:45 am

Obama Win Turned Male Republicans Into Girlie Men

Saliva tests on republicans following the announcement that Obama had won the presidency showed a drop in testosterone levels. Democrats had steady levels of the hormone.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Oct 2009 | 11:44 am

Iran Nuke Deal: Don't Believe the Hype

Iran tentatively strikes a deal that will involve shipping most of its known supply of low-enriched uranium overseas. Despite the hype about a grand bargain with Tehran, this is a modest step forward.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 21 Oct 2009 | 11:40 am

Interactive Art Pushes Boundaries of Viewer, Artist

Digital artist Camille Utterback makes installations that combine cameras, projectors and custom software to create interactive, playful paintings.

Stand in front of her work, and you’ll soon be waving your arms, walking around, spinning or hopping to figure out how your movements get translated into the abstract, colorful strokes on the screen.

“What it feels like is that the visuals are just responding to your body,” Utterback says in this video produced by Wired.com.

In these artworks, cameras track the movements of people standing in front of them, computer software translates those movements into abstract imagery according to a defined set of rules, and a projector throws the ever-evolving digital painting onto a screen in front of the viewers.

The work also invites reflection on the relationship between our bodies and the technology that surrounds us, Utterback says.

Utterback was named a MacArthur Fellow in September 2009. This $500,000, no-strings-attached “genius grant” will enable her to continue producing her art for the next five or more years.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 21 Oct 2009 | 11:35 am

Will Verizon really open its Droid? - CNET News

ABC News

Will Verizon really open its Droid? CNET News Verizon's recent iPhone attack ad featuring its upcoming Droid smartphone has the tech world buzzing, and iPhone fans are taking notice. The iPhone Blog even posted a point-by-point reply to the commercial's claims. ... Motorola Droid Release Date RevealedinfoSync World Verizon's Mystery Droid Takes Aim at Apple's iPhoneABC News Details on Verizon's Second Android Phone Leak OutBrighthand PC World -Phandroid.com -Yahoo! Tech all 815 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 21 Oct 2009 | 11:31 am

Classifying Molar Pregnancy

Researchers from The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions have used short tandem repeat (STR) genotyping and p57 immunohistochemistry to distinguish hydatidiform moles.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Oct 2009 | 11:20 am

School Children Could Lead The Way On Sustainability

Many children are not only passionate about environmental issues, but more than capable of driving forward sustainability initiatives, argues new research into the role of schools in developing more sustainable communities.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 21 Oct 2009 | 11:12 am

Jolielips, the lip-plumping vacuum system

"Something about an oversized, oddly-shaped pump arriving in an unmarked box made the whole thing seem vaguely dirty." [MSNBC]


Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 21 Oct 2009 | 11:11 am

A geeky introduction to cheap remote control helicopters and planes

Here's Dan Shapiro's geeky, fun, and inspiring five-minute Ignite talk about becoming a remote control hobbyist for under $100. He writes:

I've done a number of Ignite talks (5 minutes on a geek-friendly topics) but this was by far my favorite.  Topics covered:

* Helicopter aerodynamics
* Battery technology
* The scourge of GDS, Glue Deficiency Syndrome
* Moore's law as applied to RC aircraft and most importantly
* A detailed buying guide that will get you airborne for under a hectobuck.

Also a few shout-outs to little known aspects of the hobby world, like flying boats and 150 mph+ gliders.  If this doesn't make you spend a few bucks on getting cheap chinese electronics airborne (and then suddenly and unexpectedly groundborne again), nothing will.

Geeking out aero-style for a hundred bucks

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 21 Oct 2009 | 11:05 am

Gadgetell Review: Maximo iMetal iM-590 earphones

Section: Audio, Accessories, Headphones, Portable Audio, Reviews

What is it?

The Maximo iMetal iM-590 earphones are “enhanced definition isolation earphones” with a MSRP of $59.99.

What’s in the box?

• Earbuds
• 4 pairs of eartips
• 2.5-mm stereo plug adapter
• Airline dual-plug adapter
• 2 foot extension cable
• Shirt clip
• Carrying case
• User guide

The Good

One of the first things you notice about the headphones is a tag that says that you should “burn in” the earphones by playing music for 8-10 hours.  I have not seen that before on a set of headphones.  The audio quality out of the box was good and was a little better after the burn in period.  Generally, audio quality was very good.  Compared to the standard iPod earbuds, you get much better bass response and clearer sound all around.  The style of the earbuds allows for you to listen to your audio without needing to crank up the volume all the way.  The eartips act as earplugs so you can hear your audio source and not somebody sitting next to you. 

The headphones are quite versatile with multiple eartips so you can find your perfect fit.  A quick tip, your ears may not require the same sized eartip in each ear.  Don’t be afraid to admit your ears are not perfectly symmetrical. 

The Maximo iMetal iM-590 earphones are very light, so you won’t have to worry about them falling out of your ears due to their own weight. 

For a $59.99 MSRP, you get lots of accessories to go with your headphones.  Simple things like a shirt clip and carrying case can be helpful if you wear your headphones on the go (like most everyone does).  I’ve torn up several headphone wires in my bag, but with an included carrying case, that’s less likely to happen with the iM-590.  The addition of an airline adapter, 2.5-mm adapter, and extension cable is also helpful because it can be used with any pair of headphones. 

The Bad

Many headphone cables are covered in plastic, the iMetal iM-590 wires are covered in nylon.  The nylon cable is water resistant, but not waterproof, so it might not be the best for the gym.  The cable won’t be damaged because the internal wires are coated, but the nylon could get wet.

The Crux

 
The Maximo iMetal iM-590 earphones provide a very good listening experience for a reasonable price.  If you are the type of person who bristles at the idea of $99+ headphones but wants good audio quality, the iMetal iM-590 may be the earbuds for you.

Product Page: [Maximo]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 21 Oct 2009 | 11:00 am

Acer Introduces Notebook with 3-D Display

Acer is set to launch one of the first notebooks that will come with a 3-D display and run Microsoft’s latest Windows 7 operating system.

The Aspire 5738DG laptop throws up images with 3-D depth, perception, while maintaining the performance and features of a general notebook, says the company.

“This holiday season, we are seeing 3D content become more prevalent in popular films and games,” said Ray Sawall, senior manager of product marketing for Acer America in a statement. “The Aspire notebook enables consumers to enjoy 3D entertainment on a mobile PC that can also replicate a 3D experience from standard 2D content.”

Consumer electronics makers are trying to create devices that will make 3-D content accessible to users. So far, much of the discussion around 3-D displays has been in TVs. Companies such as Panasonic, Mitsubishi and Sony, are betting on 3-D, with compatible TV sets planned for the market in 2010. Acer is among the few PC manufacturers attempting to bring the 3-D trend to notebooks.

The Acer Aspire notebook comes with a 3-D screen, software and polarized glasses. Users can switch from applications such as spreadsheets, documents and email to 3-D viewing with a mouse click. Customers can also view 3-D multimedia without the need for a special graphics card, says Acer.

The laptop has a 15.6-inch HD display coated with a special 3-D film to help the LCD deliver a 3-D image. Customers can also use the a bundled tool to enable 2-D to 3-D conversion for some games and applications.

The $780 notebook will run Microsoft’s latest Windows 7 operating system and will be available later this week.

All this is fueled by an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics chip, 4GB memory, 320GB disk drive, webcam and a multi-gesture touchpad. The notebook weighs 6.16 lbs.

See Also:

• Sneak Peek: 3-D TV Menu Systems Surprisingly Complicated …
• Wired Explains: How 3-D Television Works
• 3-D Printers Make Manufacturing Accessible
• Self-Assembling DNA Makes Super 3-D Nano Machines
• Fujifilm’s 3D Digicam Almost Ready for Stores

Photo: Aspire 5738DG/Acer

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 21 Oct 2009 | 10:38 am

The “Onyx” BlackBerry Bold 9700 officially announced

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile

We’ve been telling you it was coming, and now it’s all official.  The latest RIM device is the BlackBerry Bold 9700, or the “Onyx.”  It has been officially announced, and is coming to AT&T, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Bell, Rogers and more. 

So to go through the recap of what it brings you—some pretty nifty features on this new model with more memory for your apps at 256 MB, a faster processor speed (624 Mhz), the camera is upgraded to 3.2 megapixels, and the general style of the phone is cooler.  It’s slimmer, has the optical trackpad, and just a jazzed-up look.  Yet, you’ve still got the parts that you probably love—the keyboard has barely changed, and it still also has the leather backing.  Also included in the latest Bold is OS 5.0.

Even with all the info we do have and the fact that RIM is launching the Onyx to just about every GSM carrier in both Europe and North America, they have yet to give a “this is it” official news on pricing and carriers.  However, AT&T has said they will be offering it for $199 after a mail-in rebate of $100.  T-Mobile hasn’t mentioned price as of their press release, but, they did say that the phone will be able to make unlimited calls off Wi-Fi for $10 a month.  No such promise from AT&T.

The latest on the streets is that we can expect the new Bold in November for that holiday shopping.  As always, stay tuned for more details as we get them.

Read: [intomobile]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 21 Oct 2009 | 10:31 am

Binging Rats Get Hooked on Junk Food

Junk food can elicit the same kind of addictive behavior in rats as heroin.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Oct 2009 | 9:40 am

Verizon Stores & Best Buy have BlackBerry Storm 2 dummy units, launch imminent?

We just got word that Verizon Stores are now receiving their BlackBerry Storm 2 dummy units and training is finally available for retail associates. All that should mean that the Storm 2’s launch date is quickly approaching. November has been the target date for a while now, but with stores already prepping for the launch, availability will probably be early in the month.

That reliable tip came in about the same time that CrackBerry posted an image of a Storm 2 dummy phone sitting on a Best Buy shelf. What other proof do you need? The BlackBerry Storm 2 will be here soon whether you want it or not.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 21 Oct 2009 | 9:12 am

Roku adding Pandora, Flickr, TWiT, Revision3 and more

Section: Video

Going back to my confession of missing my recently sold Roku set top box, I have found a few more reasons why I will most likely purchase the updated Roku XR when it becomes available.

It is expected that an announcement, or possibly multiple announcements are coming from Roku before the end of the year in regards to adding more channels and more available content options.

The channels that are expected to come may be good or bad depending on your preference, but for me and the geek inside they will all work very nicely.  Anyway, it looks like we will be seeing a dedicated channel for online content providers Revision3 and TWiT as well as Pandora for music and Flickr for photos.

So far, I have seen an announcement by way of Leo Laporte and also Revision3 as confirmation, but nothing yet for Pandora or Flickr.  That said, even with the announcements that I have seen, so far nothing was mentioned in terms of an actual date when they will be available.

In other words, those with a Roku set top box, be prepared for a software update.  All others, be on the lookout for the Roku XR.

Via [Hacking Netflix]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 21 Oct 2009 | 9:01 am

ReelDirector: Desktop Movie Editing on the iPhone

File this one under “sent from the future”. ReelDirector is a pretty full-featured movie editor, and its for the iPhone.

When I was at university in the 1990s, you edited on tape in a purpose built edit suite. It was slow, unintuitive and if you wanted to change a cut at the beginning of the film, you’d have to start over or lose quality to yet another generation of copying. Avid, a computer based, non-linear suite, was available, but cost tens of thousands, and I dreamed of the day I’d be able to edit my own computer.

Now, not only can you use a tiny pocket device to shoot video that’s arguably better than I got on a Hi8 camera, but you can now edit that video on the same device.

ReelDirector costs just $8, and lets you do pretty much all of what iMovie does on the desktop. You can trim and reorder clips, choose transitions (my favorite is the rather unfortunately-named “Wipe Bottom Soft”) and add titles. When you are done, it will render a movie, ready to be watched or shunted up to YouTube.

For you youngsters this might not seem that impressive, but for old-timers, who saw huge machines that couldn’t do this much just a few years ago, ReelDirector is a quite amazing demonstration of the march of technology.

Product page [Nexvio via Oh Gizmo]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 21 Oct 2009 | 8:17 am

Melting Arctic Could Unleash Vast CO2 Stores

Arctic lands and oceans store up to a quarter of the carbon absorbed each year.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Oct 2009 | 8:10 am

Hands-On With the International Kindle and Its Surprise Web Access

Two days after launch, Amazon’s international Kindle has started to show up on doorsteps around the world, including mine. For those outside the United States, the Kindle has until now been a curiosity. Now it’s a way for English speakers everywhere to get quick and cheap access to otherwise hard-to-find books. On Monday, we summed up the problems with the rather contemptuous attitude Amazon has shown with the “international” Kindle. Today we take a look at how the actual hardware shapes up.

When I first opened the package (with its cute “Once upon a time” tagline), I tried to peel the sticker off the screen, giving instructions on charging and switching on. This was, of course, the e-ink screen, a novelty in these parts. But of course, y’all across the pond have known that for a couple years already. On to the differences.

The first moan we had was about the power adapter. The Kindle ships internationally with a U.S. plug. This is in fact a USB wall-wart, and could easily be swapped out. The included USB cable, of course, works fine anywhere. Result: Not as bad as we thought, especially for me, as I have a U.S./E.U. adapter always in the wall for testing products from the States.

Next up, wireless. The new machine’s full name is “Kindle with U.S. and International Wireless”, and it uses a GSM cellular radio which works pretty much everywhere in the world. Service is provided by AT&T with a roaming agreement, something that means U.S. travelers have to pay extra for content to be delivered when they are away from home. It also means that, as we previously complained, many users don’t get the web browsing features. This turns out to be only half true, as we shall discover in a moment

The connection is supposed to be 3G, but it was dead slow. I bought David Byrne’s new book, The Bicycle Diaries, and it took a couple of minutes to arrive, despite being just 4.4 MB. Still, these are e-books, so there’s no real hurry.

The big surprise is that web browsing does work. Or at least, you can visit one and only one site. This is not Amazon.com (although you can of course browse the Kindle Store from the device). It is Wikipedia. If you were to choose just one web site to visit, it would probably be Wikipedia, and even without pictures it is very useful. There’s just one problem: You can only visit http://en.m.wikipedia.org/. Want to access the Spanish version, in Spain? Tough.

Am I pleased to have it? Hell yes. I do almost all my reading on my iPod Touch these days, so the Kindle’s bigger, sharper screen and longer battery life are welcome. I’d love to have a real web browser in there, along with PDF support, but the ability to have instant access to thousands of books in my own language is worth the price on its own. Oh, and the leather case (bought separately), is nice, too.

See Also:

• Crippleware Alert! International Kindle Gets No Web Access Outside …
• International Kindle Now Shipping: The Good, the Bad and the …
• Large-Screen Kindle Won't Mean Squat if Apple Tablet Arrives …
• Barnes & Noble Unveils Kindle-Killing, Dual-Screen 'Nook' E-Reader …
• Kindle Goes International — With a Little Help From AT&T

Photo credit: Charlie Sorrel

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 21 Oct 2009 | 7:49 am

Flower Power: Blooming Plants Spawned Forests

The rise of flowering plants altered the course of life on Earth.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Oct 2009 | 7:00 am

BlackBerry Bold 9700 launching on domestic and European GSM carriers in November

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 has finally been announced. Details have been leaking in about the “Onyx” for months and most of the seem to be true in hindsight. The BlackBerry Bold 9000 successor rocks a Tour-like keyboard but ditches the trackball in favor of a little trackpad like in the Curve 8520. The camera has been upped to 3.2MP and the screen is now a 480 x 320 display. Just like the Storm 2, the 9700 runs BlackBerry OS 5.0 and all the goodies are included like threaded messaging, updated BB Messenger, and BlackBerry Maps.

Best of all RIM is launching the phone to nearly every GSM carrier in North America and Europe in November although International carrier-specific pricing is hard to come by right now. That will probably change in a day or two though.

AT&T has announced that it will sell the phone for $199 after a $100 mail-in rebate, and T-Mobile is expected to follow suit although it’s press release doesn’t mention a price. What it does mention however is that the phone will be able to make unlimited calls off of WiFi for $10 per month, which is something AT&T is slowly accepting too although it seems that AT&T’s flavor will lack that ability.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 21 Oct 2009 | 6:50 am

Lazer Bike Helmet Turns You Into a Space Pilot

I know we’ve been bringing a lot of news about bike lights, and I had promised myself I’d stop for a while. That was until I saw the Lazer Urbanize, a helmet with integrated lamps that not only has the word Lazer in its name (made even more awesome by using a “z”), but that looks as if it was styled by Tron, with the influence of the original 1980s Cylons and Buck Rogers thrown in. In short, it is the coolest helmet ever.

The Urbanize can be had without lights, too, but where’s the fun in that? Front and back LEDs are integrated, although sadly they don’t scan and pulse, KITT-style, and as you’d guess from the battery requirement of a CR2032 cell, this isn’t going to light your way on a night trail ride, but keeping the lamps up top means good visibility for the drivers around you.

And while style is certainly important, the helmet is really there to protect your melon, after all. To this end it has Lazer’s Rollsys adjustment technology, which lets you roll a knob up top and adjust all the internal strapping at once. It might not be suited for the summer, with the closed-shell design it could get hot, but in the winter, whilst pretending to play Tron’s Light Cycles game, it looks fantastic.

$100, or $80 without the lights

Product page [Lazer via Urban Velo]

See Also:

• Magnet Powered Bike Lamps Light Up the Night
• Ultra-Bright Bike Tail-Light Resembles Star Wars Spaceship …
• Electric Bike Lights Up The Track
• Pedal-Mounted, Pedal-Powered Lights
• Reelight Handlebar Lights. Battery-Free Lamps Climb Higher …

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 21 Oct 2009 | 6:14 am

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