Source: Gizmodo | 29 Oct 2009 | 8:00 pm

Ustream Boosts Virality, Now Lets You Syndicate Your Comments Across The Web

Ustream has just started to roll out a new feature for its live video streams that allows commenters to syndicate their thoughts across four of the web’s largest social sites: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and AIM instant messenger. The feature will go live for Featured shows beginning on Monday, and everyone else will have access soon thereafter.

The feature is similar to what Facebook has offered for its video broadcasts (like the one it had for President Obama’s inauguration), where users are invited to update their statuses in real-time as they watch a video. Except with Ustream’s comments, users will be able to check off boxes at the top of the chat window to choose if they’d like to broadcast their updates across multiple services. Each update from the Ustream ‘Social Stream’ box will also include a link to the video you’re watching, which means that the feature can help videos go viral quickly.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 29 Oct 2009 | 7:59 pm

JetBrains Releases YouTrack 1.0 - Brand New Bug and Issue Tracker

PRAGUE, October 29 /PRNewswire/ -- JetBrains(R), creators of intelligent, productivity-enhancing development tools, today announced the release of YouTrack 1.0, the company's brand new bug and issue tracking system. Following the success of TeamCity continuous integration and build management server, JetBrains continues to penetrate teamwork solutions market with top-class offers. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070118/JBLOGO ) Modern issue tracking tools are known to be rather time-consuming. Dissatisfied with how much time working with them generally takes, the company designed YouTrack - a web-based, keyboard-centric issue tracker. JetBrains' own development teams as well as other early adopters are now able to process bugs and requests faster and easier than ever before. "We at JetBrains use issue tracking tools extensively to respond to user

Source: Gizmodo | 29 Oct 2009 | 7:40 pm

Pinning Down Superconductivity To A Single Layer

Findings may lead to precision engineering of superconducting thin films for electronic devicesUsing precision techniques for making superconducting thin films layer-by-layer, physicists at the U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 29 Oct 2009 | 7:33 pm

FlipShare TV: yet another way to access your PC’s videos on your TV

The number of techniques for getting content from your PC to your TV is getting alarmingly high. It’s possible that it’s so simple at this point that anyone can put out a product and sell a few — so you can either get a basic one cheap now, or wait for the inevitable breakthrough product that will do something awesome but cost a bundle. The FlipShare (pdf from FCC) ain’t that breakthrough, but it does look like a nice, simple way to watch your home videos on the TV.

The older generation doesn’t want to fiddle around with codecs and all that nonsense, they want to shoot a video and then watch it later. That’s all. And if they have a Flip camera (good present by the way), they’ll be comfortable using the FlipShare TV. It’s simple to set up: just plug it into your TV, then attach the USB dongle to your PC. Then you can watch videos using a simple file browser interface and included tiny remote.

There’s no pricing information yet, but considering Flip likes to keep it low, I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing went for $99. We’ll update when there’s more, of course.

[via Wireless Goodness]

Source: CrunchGear | 29 Oct 2009 | 7:30 pm

Scoopler Digs Up Some Funding, New Features

Realtime, realtime, realtime — it’s all you seem to hear now with regard to the web. But back in May, it was just emerging as a new trend that looked poised to explode. And one company at the forefront of that was Scoopler, a Y Combinator-backed realtime search engine. Today, being ahead of the curve has paid off, as the service has just raised a seed round of funding from some big name investors.

When we intially wrote about the service (remember, very early on in the realtime search phenomenon), we noted that the presentation of results was impressive, but the results themselves were utterly dominated by Twitter. That really shouldn’t have been all that surprising considering Twitter’s popularity in the space. But the service has since added some new features to make it more robust.

You’ll notice that when you do a search, there is a clean, two-column layout. On the left, popular shared items appear. These can be links shared on Twitter, Digg items, etc. You can also filter this content by videos, links, and images. On the right, you’ll see the live-updating items from around the web. The majority are still coming in from Twitter, but there are plenty of results from places like Delicious and Digg mixed in as well. These two columns have been swapped since when we first covered the service, and the “Your Searches” column has been removed and place in the top bar.

More importantly, Scoopler has added an entirely new top area to break searches up into categories. Scoopler is calling the feature “Realtime Channels,” and co-founder AJ Asver describes it as, “like Digg’s categories but updated in realtime. They show the hottest tweets, links, videos and images in News, Business, Technology, Politics etc.  The idea is to drive more search queries by suggesting what people should search for.”

Makes sense. And the results are pretty solid. For example, I just clicked on the Entertainment channel and I see the live posts are being populated with talk about things like the new Michael Jackson movie and also the new Avatar trailer. There is also a constantly updating area along the top of the page to show you the hottest topics being talked about in realtime around the web.

But perhaps the best feature of Scoopler remains the “peek” option. This allows you to quickly see the content being linked to through tweets and Digg results in an overlay without having to leave Scoopler. The service also has little picture thumbnails that get inserted into the stream for things like Flickr pictures.

Scoopler’s seed round has attracted investors such as Ron Conway, (Bebo co-founder) Michael Birch, Avalon Ventures, and XG Ventures. Though the amount of the round wasn’t officially disclosed, we hear it’s in the $500,000 to $1 million range.

Speaking of realtime, don’t forget our second Realtime CrunchUp taking place on November 20.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 29 Oct 2009 | 7:23 pm

Apple Breaks Palm Pre Media Synch a Third Time [Digital Daily]

“As we’ve said before, newer versions of Apple’s iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with unsupported digital media players.”

When Apple said it does not support iTunes integration with third-party digital media players, it meant it.

With iTunes 9.0.2, Apple (AAPL) has once again disabled the Palm Pre’s ability to synch with the media software, a feature re-enabled by Palm (PALM) earlier this month after Apple disabled it in response to Palm’s re-enabling of it following its first disabling by Apple.  

And if you think that round-and-round sounds asinine, just wait until Palm releases webOS 1.2.2.

Source: All Things Digital | 29 Oct 2009 | 7:18 pm

Is Google trying to kill us by screen-only navigation?

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile, Gadgets / Other, GPS/Navigation

With all the hype around Google’s big announcement yesterday that they would be providing Android devices with free turn-by-turn directions, you’d think stand alone GPS companies should call it a day and pack up the office.  But we are missing something: nowhere does Google say anything about spoken turn-by-turn directions.

Turn left in 1.3 miles

One of the best features in a GPS navigation system, in my book at least, is audible instructions so I don’t have to take my eyes off the road.  TeleNav, which I use, even speaks the road names I should be turning on to.  How can a GPS navigation system be viable without spoken instructions?  Isn’t this traffic safety week or something?

Rerouting?

I’ve been thinking since the announcement that I must have overlooked it.  I twittered my question to bloggers and got no responses.  I combed Google’s Navigation site and watched videos.  The closest I came to any kind of confirmation was a mute button.  Not very convincing, right?

There is nothing better than connected GPS (IMO) and Google brings this.  I really dig the street view, another great thing Google brings.  But without spoken navigation instructions, what’s the point?  It will be just a step above the Google Maps route info on the iPhone.  At best, we can hope to get pulled over by all these no texting laws for this, at worst we take our eyes off the road and miss who knows what.  Surely Google isn’t trying to kill us, right?

I’ll continue searching.  If you find something on this, post it in the comments.  We’ll get to the bottom of this, hopefully before the phone launches.

Read: [Google Navigation]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 29 Oct 2009 | 6:57 pm

Microsoft Haunted By Windows 7 Upgrade Issue - ChannelWeb

Brisbane Times

Microsoft Haunted By Windows 7 Upgrade Issue ChannelWeb By Kevin mclaughlin, channelweb Rumblings of discontent within the Windows user community are growing louder this week over Microsoft's failure to provide clear direction on the Windows 7 upgrade process. For the past several months, Windows 7 testers ... Five Things You Should Know About Windows 7 SecurityPC World The Real Deal 185: Road test: Windows 7CNET News Microsoft trumpets Windows 7 support optionsComputerworld InternetNews.com -DailyTech -Alibaba News Channel all 743 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 29 Oct 2009 | 6:56 pm

MicroStrategy Announces Third Quarter 2009 Financial Results

MCLEAN, Va., Oct.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 29 Oct 2009 | 6:33 pm

Google Tackles Mortgage Market With New Comparison Ads

Google has just debuted a new form of advertising called AdWords Comparison Ads — a special kind of ad that will prompt users to view a list of sponsored products in a structured format. To get started, Google is running the ads for queries related to the mortgage market, though it has plans to eventually expand beyond that. The ads are in a limited rollout for now, with only some users in some states seeing them.

Here’s how Google describes the new ad type:

AdWords uses a host of targeting and relevancy signals to determine the best ads for each query. However, sometimes a user’s query doesn’t provide enough information for us to confidently predict what they want. Take, for example, users who search for “mortgage.” Do they want a new home loan or a refinance? Do they want a fixed rate or an adjustable rate loan? Comparison Ads improves the ad experience on Google.com by letting users specify exactly what they are looking for and helping them quickly compare relevant offers side by side.

Users searching for “mortgage” on Google.com may see a promotion from Comparison Ads prompting them to select the type of loan they are looking for and to compare various rates.

If they click the promotion, users are taken to a page with more detailed sponsored results. They can choose directly from the offers listed on that page, or they can further refine their search by providing additional information like income and home value…

Once users find an offer that matches their specific needs, they can either call you directly or request a quote. If a user requests a quote, Google automatically anonymizes the user’s phone number and sends you a unique code that you can use to contact the user. You only pay if a user calls the phone number on your offer or fills out a form to request a quote.

As Leadcritic points out, Google’s entry into this space is obviously going to be bad news to lead gen services like LendingTree, and they aren’t the only newcomers looking to get in on the action — we hear that Billshrink will soon be expanding its price-saving tools to include mortgage comparison shopping.

And, as noted before, Google will be expanding this ad type beyond mortgages. This may well be its answer to Bing’s decision engine model, which presents a number of structured options for the services and products you’re looking for that aren’t based exclusively on search rank.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 29 Oct 2009 | 6:27 pm

Lucky 7's: PROXY Pro 7 Remote Desktop Software Supports Windows 7

BOSTON, Oct.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 29 Oct 2009 | 6:24 pm

Video: Apple Legend Jonathan Ive Talks Design

In the video above, Apple’s senior vice president of industrial design Jonathan Ive offers a rare glimpse into his design process. He discusses the latest line of aluminum products; the iMac, the MacBook family, the iPhone and the iPod Nano each make appearances.

Watching the clip, you’ll understand why Apple seems obsessed with looks. Ive talks about gadget design like an artist would speak about his paintings. He’s one heck of a passionate guy.

See Also:

• Design According to Ive

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 29 Oct 2009 | 6:22 pm

Rumor Mill: French site claims Wii 2 to feature Blu-ray, available 2010

FROM GAMERTELL - If this rumor is correct, the new sysytem will play Blu-ray movies and there might be a trade-up program…
MORE »

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 29 Oct 2009 | 6:11 pm

Software Update Imbues Apple TV With New UI, iTunes LP

Apple on Thursday issued a software update for its Apple TV set-top box. The update includes a redesigned user interface and enables support for a new interactive artwork iTunes format, among other features.

With Apple TV 3.0, customers can watch iTunes LP, a format that bundles some iTunes albums with interactive elements such as videos, photos, sleeve notes and lyrics. Apple TV owners can also access iTunes Extras, a format that bundles extra content with some TV shows or movies purchased or rented through iTunes.

Apple TV 3.0 also added support for Genius Mixes, which automatically creates playlists generated from a user’s iTunes library. The update also introduces access to thousands of internet radio stations.

iTunes LP, iTunes Extra and Genius Mixes were all features that launched with iTunes 9 during Apple’s September iPod event.

Apple TV 3.0 is a free, automatic download for Apple TV customers.

Press Release [Apple]

See Also:

• Why Apple TV Must Evolve to Avoid Extinction
• What We Want in an Apple TV
• Apple TV Update Adds Remote Gesture Control
• 5 Reasons Why Apple TV Rules, 5 Reasons Why it Sucks
• Hack Apple TV With a Thumb Drive, Set It Free

Image courtesy of Apple

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 29 Oct 2009 | 6:09 pm

JQuery Dumps Google Groups Over Spam, Interface Problems

One of the most popular developers' groups on the free Google Groups mailing-list service is seeking a new home. The owners are fed up with Google's lack of attention to the service, which has led to poor usability and an abundance of spam.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 29 Oct 2009 | 6:00 pm

Meet Stephen King's Gore Specialist

Stephen King knows the golden rule for horror and sci-fi: Make it real. That's why he needs Russ Dorr, a physician's assistant trained at Dartmouth who schools King on everything, from jellied blood to missiles to meth. It was no different for his latest book, Under the Dome.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 29 Oct 2009 | 6:00 pm

Federal Judge Says E-mail Not Protected By 4th Amendment

DustyShadow writes "In the case In re United States, Judge Mosman ruled that there is no constitutional requirement of notice to the account holder because the Fourth Amendment does not apply to e-mails under the third-party doctrine. 'When a person uses the Internet, the user's actions are no longer in his or her physical home; in fact he or she is not truly acting in private space at all. The user is generally accessing the Internet with a network account and computer storage owned by an ISP like Comcast or NetZero. All materials stored online, whether they are e-mails or remotely stored documents, are physically stored on servers owned by an ISP. When we send an e-mail or instant message from the comfort of our own homes to a friend across town the message travels from our computer to computers owned by a third party, the ISP, before being delivered to the intended recipient. Thus 'private' information is actually being held by third-party private companies."" Updated 2:50 GMT by timothy: Orin Kerr, on whose blog post of yesterday this story was founded, has issued an important correction. He writes, at the above-linked Volokh Conspiracy, "In the course of re-reading the opinion to post it, I recognized that I was misreading a key part of the opinion. As I read it now, Judge Mosman does not conclude that e-mails are not protected by the Fourth Amendment. Rather, he assumes for the sake of argument that the e-mails are protected (see bottom of page 12), but then concludes that the third party context negates an argument for Fourth Amendment notice to the subscribers."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 29 Oct 2009 | 5:58 pm

Overstock.com Marks the Passing of John M. O'Quinn, Esq.

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Overstock.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: OSTK) was saddened today to learn of the passing of John M. O'Quinn, Esq. who died Thursday in an automobile accident in Houston, Texas.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 29 Oct 2009 | 5:55 pm

OpenTable Seats One Million Diners Via Mobile Apps

Online restaurant reservation site OpenTable has hit a milestone today, seating one million diners via its mobile apps. And the site says that based on an estimation of a $50 average check per diner, OpenTable believes that diners using its mobile applications have generated more than $50 million in revenue for its restaurant partners.

OpenTable allows diners to find and book reservations at more than 11,000 different restaurants in multiple countries via mobile applications for the iPhone, Palm, Blackberry and Android. Other smartphone users can book reservations through OpenTable’s mobile-optimized Web site.

This year OpenTable filed for a healthy IPO, despite recessionary conditions in the markets. OpenTable is a solid internet company that has a viable business model. On the restaurant side, OpenTable delivers reservation management software to establishments through a Web browser and collects monthly subscription revenues, similar in theory to the offerings that software companies like Salesforce sell to clients.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 29 Oct 2009 | 5:50 pm

Video: Hands-On With Motorola’s Droid

We’ve been waiting a long time for an Android enabled device that wasn’t manufactured by HTC. A few weeks ago Motorola answered our prayers with the Cliq, a handset flaunting an Android OS but outfitted with a complicated skin that revolved around social networking. It was difficult to use, bloated as a beached whale, and generally a pain in the ass to use. In short we were not amused.

But we just got Motorola’s second swing at an Android phone and, at first blush, it’s light years ahead of the Cliq.

Ostensibly dubbed the Droid, the phone is offered on Verizon’s network which thumps AT&T’s borderline crap coverage. Web pages loaded faster, calls were hardly dropped, and the free(!) turn-by-turn directions blow away the $99 TomTom app offered on the iPhone app store.

And the bad? This thing is pants-tearing heavy at 6 ounces. It’s also not exactly easy to type on the small-ish sliding QWERTY keypad either.

Right now the Droid is the best phone offered by Verizon and should quickly become its marquee device. But better yet for Motorola, the Droid is ts most exciting handset since the OG RAZR.

See Also:

• First Look: Motorola’s Droid Is Memorable, But Won’t Make You Forget the iPhone
• Verizon Attacks iPhone, Hints at Upcoming Droid
• Motorola’s First Android Phone Delivers Messy, Turbulent Ride

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 29 Oct 2009 | 5:40 pm

Hiding Your Sexual Orientation From Your Parents 101 (teen-made video)

Vincent Pearase, of Oak Park High School in Winnipeg Canada, writes:

One of our talented Oak Park students, Andrew Vineberg, helped make this hilarious short, Hiding Your Sexual Orientation From Your Parents 101. The kid is a vlogger, too. He does an amazingly erudite, funny vlog under the moniker Volatile Chemical. Check it out! Andrew has asked to show this at our next school assembly.

Source: Boing Boing | 29 Oct 2009 | 5:32 pm

Ubuntu unleashes Karmic Koala, adds in MobileMe-like service for syncing

Section: Computers, Netbooks, Software / Applications

Only one week removed from the release of Windows 7 we have yet another new operating system.  Canonical today released the newest version of its popular Linux distribution, Ubuntu 9.10 “Karmic Koala.”  The new version doesn’t pack in as many changes as an X.04 update does, but it does have more stability and more refined features than the previous version, Jaunty Jackalope.

Perhaps the biggest improvement with Ubuntu 9.10 is the inclusion of Ubuntu One.  Ubuntu One is essentially Ubuntu’s version of Dropbox with some MobileMe-esque syncing included for good measure.  It allows for 2GB of online storage, public sharing of files, syncing of Tomboy Notes and contact syncing, all for free.  The service can be upgraded to 50GB for $10 a month, just like Dropbox.  Other features include faster, prettier boot-ups, improved sound control across applications, and improved battery usage for Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

Karmic Koala, while not exactly featuring a lot of new things, promises to be a great upgrade or a good starting point for new users.  Contrary to popular belief, Ubuntu Linux is actually quite simple to use, some might even say it’s easier to understand that Mac OS X for those who only ever used Windows.  While Windows 7 is certainly a good OS, it might be worth the 25 minutes to install Ubuntu, or just use VirtualBox to try it out.  If nothing else, the Ubuntu Netbook Remix is worth a shot for anyone tired of trying to run XP on a netbook and doesn’t want to try and instal 7 onto it.  The interface is incredibly simple, and uses Firefox, so it shouldn’t be too foreign.  If nothing else, its a decent way to change up your netbook experience while waiting for Chrome OS.

Read [Ubuntu]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 29 Oct 2009 | 5:22 pm

NSFW Science: Fruit Bat Fellatio

Yeah, I'm just going to put this whole NSFW thing behind the jump. Read on for an in-depth look at bat blow-jobs, and insights into the evolution of such work, in general.

Figure 3. Copulation duration in Cynopterus sphinx according to whether the female licks the male's penis (Licking) or not (No licking). Means and standard errors are shown. Vignette shows a female performing fellatio, drawn by Mei Wang. (I assure you, I am not making any of this up.)

So, why do you think blow jobs happen?

This is not a trick question.

Most of us would probably go for the, "Hey, that feels nice," theory of oral sex. But researchers Min Tan, Gareth Jones, Guangjian Zhu, et. al., think there may be more to it than simple pleasure. As part of their attempt to prove a practical function for oral sex, the team conducted a study of the fellatio habits of fruit bats. The paper was published October 28 in the journal PLoS ONE. You can read the whole thing online.

The basic idea here is that there might be some benefit to blow jobs (beyond the obvious) and the fact that bats who engage in fellatio have longer sessions of sex than bats who don't could be evidence in favor of that theory. Why? Because it's showing that oral sex is correlated with a change in behavior and, the scientists theorize, there may be reasons why that behavioral change is beneficial to the animals. How beneficial? The team theorizes that oral sex could be doing everything from increasing the chances of sperm fertilizing egg, to killing bacteria on the penis and protecting both parties from sexually transmitted disease. Of course, the only thing proven is that oral sex means longer sex in fruit bats. The team concedes a need for further research...

In conclusion, we have documented fellatio in animals that may have functional significance. Of course, adaptive benefits remain unproven until tested, ideally by experimentation, but our study identifies potential avenues to explore if the null hypothesis of no benefit is to be rejected. We believe that ours is the first large scale observational study of oral sex in non-humans, and we extend the interpretation of such behaviour beyond that of 'pleasure giving' into an evolutionary context.

I'm not sure I buy that a behavior that results in a, erm, pleasurable response, really needs any other reason for existing. Although, it is worth noting that this appears to be the first time that fellatio has been documented as a regular part of adult sex outside of humans. Also, the paper contains some truly EXCELLENT quotes that need to be shared. To wit...

During copulation, the pair appeared to move forwards and backwards uninterruptedly and rhythmically.

When copulation was completed, the male licked his penis for several seconds. This self-licking occurred after all of 20 copulations, but was absent after three instances in which intromission failed to occur. Subsequently, the male often groomed himself or licked the inner surface of the tent, yet seldom flew away. Also, the female groomed herself and typically stayed close to her mate.

It is plausible that this female's behavior increased male arousal [22].

There's also a video. Enjoy.

Thanks to Chris Combs at National Geographic Newsfor alerting me to this study.

Thumbnail photo: Allesok [Flickr]


Source: Boing Boing | 29 Oct 2009 | 5:22 pm

Explain DRM to Your Dad

Teach your pops — or any net noob — about the facts of web life when it comes to music, movies and books.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 29 Oct 2009 | 5:15 pm

Fixing Bugs, But Bypassing the Source Code

shreshtha contributes this snippet from MIT's Technology Review: "Martin Rinard, a professor of computer science at MIT, is unabashed about the ultimate goal of his group's research: 'delivering an immortal, invulnerable program.' In work presented this month at the ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles in Big Sky, MT, his group has developed software that can find and fix certain types of software bugs within a matter of minutes." Interestingly, this software doesn't need access to the source code of the target program.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 29 Oct 2009 | 5:03 pm

Make the Ultimate DIY Haunted House

Giant spider webs, creepy fog and gallons of fake blood. What else do you need to turn your house, yard or garage into a DIY fright-fest?

Source: Wired Top Stories | 29 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

Intel CFO Sees Signs of Business Spending [Voices]

By Jerry A. Dicolo, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Intel Corp. (INTC) Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith said evidence is beginning to emerge that corporations are returning to technology spending, although such spending is driven more by the savings offered than by any spending increases.

“Our sales guys are picking up more interest at corporations,” Mr. Smith said in an interview Thursday. Conversations with customers, he said, are often focusing on the value proposition inherent in upgrading to new computers and servers.

“In general, what we see is that things are improving,” Mr. Smith said. The stimulus package in China has provided a direct boost to the PC market because of the government’s efforts to close the digital divide among its population. And while the European market isn’t yet showing strength, the U.S. market appears to be improving.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Source: All Things Digital | 29 Oct 2009 | 4:46 pm

Where are all the great Android games? The answer is simpler than we think

I was Tweeting with Michael Gartenberg last night about all the great Android games. After all, the Android Marketplace has so many great titles like Civilization Revolution, Canabalt, iShoot, and… oh… wait…

All kidding aside, the reason there is such a dearth of great games has to do with some programming choices in Android itself and it’s a problem that can – and should – be fixed before the Droid comes to market this November.

The real culprit behind the lack of Android apps isn’t lack of developer adoption or a difficult SDK – it’s the ludicrous 256MB limit on app storage for most current Android phones and Android 2.0 itself. The OS also does not support the installation of apps on removable storage like SD cards, further ruining chances for more effusive and expansive titles. Considering most apps are in the 10MB range we’re talking a max of 25 apps on a good day and about 5 on a bad one.

This limitation has existed since Android 1.0 and continues in Android 2.0. As this enlightening post notes, Myst for the iPhone runs 727MB, a little under a gigabyte. That’s right: Droid doesn’t even have enough space to allow you to render the well let alone let you into the rocket.

The Droid has 512MB of memory with half of that available to apps. More internal storage is definitely in order if Android can’t support external storage – an understandable move due to potential data corruption during an unexpected card removal – it definitely needs a bit more space under the hood in future models.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 29 Oct 2009 | 4:39 pm

CounterPath Closes Private Placement

VANCOUVER, Oct.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 29 Oct 2009 | 4:34 pm

Students Help Ford Bring the Cloud to Cars

Looking ahead to Sync 2.0, Ford turns to the same demographic that made Sync a success.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 29 Oct 2009 | 4:30 pm

Identical tract houses after 50 years of personalization

Photographer Julia Baum spent four years photographing suburban tract comes in Sta Clara, CA. The houses were all built in the 1950s to look identical, but over the years, their owners have modified them in a very pleasing, very vernacular way to personalize them.

As I take a second look at these neighborhoods, I've found vast differences in what was once a uniform typology. Over the past 50 years these Houses have transformed from modest white cubes into a vibrant display of personality and present a rebellion against conformity. My work asserts that human individuality cannot be contained. Inevitably it shines through even the most average facade.

Houses (via Kottke)


Source: Boing Boing | 29 Oct 2009 | 4:26 pm

Petition to Obama government to disclose secret copyright treaty

Rishab sez, "Knowledge Ecology International is organising a petition to President Obama to make the US position in negotiations on the secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement transparent to the public. Boing Boing readers may remember previous posts on ACTA, the 'throw people in jail for sharing' agreement being developed in secret by rich countries who find the semi-public consultations in forums like WIPO tiresome."

Obama's administration has refused to disclose the drafts of ACTA on the grounds of "national security" (yes, really!), but we know from leaks and memos that it includes universal surveillance of the net; mandatory loss of Internet connections without trial for households where one member is accused of violating copyright; and a duty to search your laptop and personal devices at the border for infringing material.

Petition to President Obama, regarding transparency of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Thanks, Rishab!)

Source: Boing Boing | 29 Oct 2009 | 4:22 pm

Sony Reader Pocket Edition available as of today

Section: Gadgets / Other, ebooks

At this point it seems to be getting harder and harder to keep track of all of the ebook readers that are coming available. Which ultimately is a good thing, after all more models should mean more competition and in the long run that should be better for the consumers.

Anyway, the latest reader to move from the announced category into the available category is the Sony Reader Pocket Edition, which is also known as the PRS-300. This model was originally announced back in early August and hits the market as the budget priced model at $199.

Just to recap the features, the Pocket Edition will offer a 5-inch E Ink display and come with 512MB of internal storage and USB 2.0. As for colors, you can choose from either dark blue, pink or silver.

Product [Sony Reader Pocket Editon (via Amazon)] Via [E-Reader-info.com]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 29 Oct 2009 | 4:14 pm

The Internet Turns 40, For a Second Time

sean_nestor writes with this excerpt from The Register: "Some date the dawn of the net to September 12, 1969, when a team of engineers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) connected the first two machines on the first node of ARPAnet, the US Department of Defense-funded network that eventually morphed into the modern interwebs. But others — including Professor Leonard Kleinrock, who led that engineering team — peg the birthday to October 29, when the first message was sent between the remote nodes. 'That's the day,' Kleinrock tells The Reg, 'the internet uttered its first words.' ...A 50kbps AT&T pipe connected the UCLA and SRI nodes, and the first message sent was the word 'log' — or at least that was the idea. UCLA would send the 'log' and SRI would respond with 'in.' But after UCLA typed the 'l' and the 'o,' the 'g' caused a memory overflow on the SRI IMP. ... 'So the first message was "Lo," as in "Lo and Behold,"' Kleinrock says. 'We couldn't have asked for a better message — and we didn't plan it.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 29 Oct 2009 | 4:14 pm

EnerSys Reports Second Fiscal Quarter of 2010 Results

READING, Pa., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EnerSys (NYSE: ENS) the world's largest manufacturer, marketer and distributor of industrial batteries, today announced results for its second fiscal quarter of 2010, which ended on September 27, 2009.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 29 Oct 2009 | 4:11 pm

Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office to Acquire NAViSEER(R) Personnel Tracking System for SWAT Tactical Deployment

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- SEER Technology, Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 29 Oct 2009 | 4:09 pm

The Internet at 40: History Began With Its First Crash - PC World

Brisbane Times

The Internet at 40: History Began With Its First Crash PC World Why do we today celebrate today--October 29--as the Internet's 40's birthday? Because on this day in 1969, what would later became known as the Internet was used for the very first time--and crashed. Here is what happened: The first network had four ... Internet Turns 40 Today: First Message Crashed SystemNational Geographic Internet Pioneer Celebrates 40th Birthday Of BrainchildAHN October 29 – a 'red-letter-day' in Internet history!TopNews United States ABC News -USA Today -Register all 222 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 29 Oct 2009 | 3:57 pm

Inequality, 'Silver Spoon' Effect Found In Ancient Societies

The so-called "silver spoon" effect -- in which wealth is passed down from one generation to another -- is well established in some of the world's most ancient economies, according to an international study coordinated by a UC Davis anthropologist.The study, to be reported in the Oct.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 29 Oct 2009 | 3:50 pm

Exar Corporation Continues to Invest in Dynamic China Region

FREMONT, Calif., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Exar Corporation (Nasdaq: EXAR) continues its long-term strategy of supporting the dynamic China market with the addition of two leading distributors.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 29 Oct 2009 | 3:50 pm

Exploring The Final Frontier: Disease Proposed As Major Barrier To Mars And Beyond

New research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that prolific virulence and growth of bacteria, coupled with reduced production of antibodies could limit future space travel
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 29 Oct 2009 | 3:47 pm

Organized Chaos: Viral Marketing, Meet Social Media

Thanks to a juvenile cable TV show and an upscale automaker, viral marketing is a whole different beast than its earlier word-of-mouth, tell-your-friends versions.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 29 Oct 2009 | 3:44 pm

Ask.com? Give It to Microsoft; He'll Eat Anything. [Digital Daily]

“The big steps we’ve been out and after for the last several years in search [have] not been achieved and you’d have to say that the future is speculative. We’ve been asked a lot whether we’re open to consolidating transactions in the area of search. The answer is yes and it’s unlikely that we would be the consolidator.”

– IAC CEO Barry Diller

If Barry Diller is looking for somewhere to unload IAC’s Ask.com search engine, he’d be wise to consider Microsoft–if he doesn’t have that in mind already. Analysts reflecting on Diller’s recent remarks about Ask’s “speculative future” say Microsoft is the most likely buyer if IAC (IACI) is truly serious about dumping the little search engine that couldn’t.

Ask, analysts note, has about four percent of the domestic search market, which would give Microsoft (MSFT) a nice little bump up from the 9.4 percent market share it currently claims. And it certainly wouldn’t hurt that a Microsoft acquisition would undoubtedly mean the end of Ask’s relationship with Google (GOOG).

“Right now, Microsoft wants share so they could pick up those points from Ask,” Colin Gillis, an analyst at Brigantine Advisors, told Reuters. “Plus it has a double impact since Google powers Ask’s paid search.”

Source: All Things Digital | 29 Oct 2009 | 3:38 pm

Nintendo Announces DSi XL

lbalbalba writes "This morning, Nintendo announced the third upgrade to the DS family, the DSi LL (or DSi XL). It will be released in Japan on November 21, one year after the DSi debuted, for ¥20,000 (approx. $220). The LL's main improvement is the size of its screens, which have been increased from 3.25" to 4.2" with a moderate increase to the size of the chassis. The device also includes a much bigger stylus, which looks to be the size of a ballpoint pen, and battery life has reportedly been increased to five hours at maximum screen brightness."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 29 Oct 2009 | 3:23 pm

Clive Barker and Ray Zone 3D comics event at Meltdown in Los Angeles, Thursday, Oct. 29

Gaston Dominguez-Letelier says:

Acclaimed novelist/filmmaker/painter Clive Barker is making his return to comic books in October with Clive Barker's Seduth, an especially horrific one-shot being presented with vivid 3-D effects. For Barker, who is joined on the one-shot by the Eisner-nominated art team of Gabriel Rodriguez and Jay Fotos (Locke & Key), along with co-writer Chris Monfette and 3-D art expert Ray Zone.

Who: Clive Barker, Chris Monfette and Ray Zone

What: Q&A and Signing

When: Thursday, October 29th, 2009 6PM

Where: Meltdown Comics/Sunset Blvd. Map

Source: Boing Boing | 29 Oct 2009 | 3:14 pm

High Price Tests China's Appetite for iPhone [Voices]

By Loretta Chao, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is a master at creating buzz around its product launches. But as the popular iPhone approaches its official debut in China–the world’s largest mobile-phone market–consumers here seem anything but excited.

The buzz-killer is price. China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., which will start selling the device Friday, is offering a version of the 32-gigabyte iPhone 3GS for 6,999 yuan ($1,024) without a service contract, which is the most popular way for people to purchase phones in mainland China. That compares with about the $800 consumers pay for the same product in nearby Hong Kong, which has different wireless carriers.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Source: All Things Digital | 29 Oct 2009 | 3:09 pm

How to tell Verizon’s Droids apart: a practical guide

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile

Word is that Verizon will launch not one Droid phone in early November, but two.  You know one, the Motorola Droid, the other looks to be the HTC Eris and is quite unlike the Motorola’s version.  The two will run Android but that is about all that keeps them similar.

OS

The Motorola phone features the hot-off-the-presses Android 2.0 and offers unfettered access to the Android operating system.  HTC, on the other hand, features Android 1.5 with the sense UI from HTC.  The sense UI acts as a skin to provide users a different feel than just Android.  The experience is intended to be simpler for common tasks; HTC is regarded as top dog in the skins world.  It is unclear if HTC will upgrade its sense UI to 2.0 and if so, will the HTC Eris be supported for this upgrade.

Form factor

The Motorola Droid features a slide out QWERTY keypad that is getting mixed reviews.  The trade off for being oh-so-slim is very short key action and the result seems to be a less than stellar typing experience.  As with anything, the more you use it, but better it feels.

The HTC Eris is a true touchscreen phone.  The soft keyboard has more in common with the iPhone than Motorola’s version.  This makes choosing a Droid phone very easy: how do you like your keyboards: hard or soft?

Processors

This is an oft debated aspect, but for what it worth the Motorola has a 585MHz processor while the Eris has a 528MHz

Price

Yesterday, Verizon and Motorola announced their phone would be $199 after appropriate contracts, rebates, spiffs, and insults were done.  The HTC Eris in contrast is rumored to be the working-man’s phone at just $99. 

Marketing

So far, Verizon’s only talked freely about the Motorola version.  Pricing the HTC touchscreen version at the iPhone price seems to suggest the Motorola version is more of an upgrade in buyers’ eyes.  Verizon knows phone folks are going to gravitate to the up-speced version, the Motorola Droid.  Word is the $99 Eris will be just fine for most folks looking to get some of that soft keyboard touchscreen love.

Read: [BoyGeniusReports] and [Phandroid]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 29 Oct 2009 | 3:01 pm

Vaccines Could Slow Flu's Evolution

Vaccinating more children could inhibit the mutation of the constantly changing flu virus.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 29 Oct 2009 | 3:00 pm

Startups Rise From Wreckage of NYC's Financial System

New York City's top software engineers and entrepreneurs used to get sucked up by high-paying financial firms, but no longer. A new crop of Big Apple startups is sprouting from the wreckage of our banking and financial systems.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:58 pm

Similar Molecular Tweaks Led Both A Shrew And A Lizard To Produce Venom

A harmless digestive enzyme evolved twice into a dangerous toxin in 2 unrelated speciesBiologists have shown that independent but similar molecular changes turned a harmless digestive enzyme into a toxin in two unrelated species -- a shrew and a lizard -- giving each a venomous bite.The work, described this week in the journal Current Biology by researchers at Harvard University, suggests that protein adaptation may be a highly predictable process, one that could eventually help discover other toxins across a wide array of species."Similar changes have occurred independently in a shrew and a lizard, causing both to be toxic," says senior author Hopi E.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:56 pm

Electric chair haunted house prop

Ken Pilot's "Sparky" is a haunted house prop of a guy getting fried in an electric chair. It would scare the wits out of my kids.

Electrocution prop par excellence

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:45 pm

EA’s Peter Moore says disc-less consoles a decade away

FROM GAMERTELL - Everybody’s talking about digital download but EA Sports’ Peter Moore said the future of digitial download is not now…
MORE »

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:44 pm

D&D on multi-touch table

Students at Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) developed a Dungeons & Dragons experience for the Microsoft Surface multi-touch table. From ETC:

The objective of the SurfaceScapes project is to create a proof-of-concept for playing tabletop role-playing games on the Microsoft Surface Table. We will be using Dungeons and Dragons as a basis for our prototype, with the option for future expansion to other role-playing games. SurfaceScapes will provide Game Masters and players with a set of features to enhance the combat and role-playing aspects of tabletop games. This will include the ability to interact with the digital environment using real objects such as miniatures and provide automated calculations and visual and audio feedback for actions performed by the player and non-player characters. We are taking traditional tabletop role-playing games to the next level, adding a new layer of immersive and intuitive gaming to the Microsoft Surface Table and assisting both GMs and players in enjoying exciting and engaging adventures.

SurfaceScapes... what lies beneath.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:43 pm

Largest Bat In Europe Inhabited Northeastern Spain 10,000 Years Ago

Spanish researchers have confirmed that the largest bat in Europe, Nyctalus lasiopterus, was present in north-eastern Spain during the Late Pleistocene (between 120,000 and 10,000 years ago).
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:39 pm

Google, Garmin, And Free Navigation - BusinessWeek

Globe and Mail

Google, Garmin, And Free Navigation BusinessWeek Six years ago this week, and before I worked for BusinessWeek, I wrote this profile of the GPS company Garmin in Forbes Magazine. (I have a scan of the print version of the story here.) I thought of it this morning as I read Rob Hof's post as well as ... Google Maps Nav Will Not Kill Standalone GPSPC World Why Google Didn't Kill the Standalone GPSWashington Post Android 2.0 Revs Enterprise FeaturesInformationWeek AHN -BBC News -IntoMobile (blog) all 550 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:37 pm

How To Enter Equations Quickly In Class?

AdmiralXyz writes "I'm a university student, and I like to take notes on my (non-tablet) computer whenever possible, so it's easier to sort, categorize, and search through them later. Trouble is, I'm going into higher and higher math classes, and typing "f_X(x) = integral(-infinity, infinity, f(x,y) dy)" just isn't cutting it anymore: I need a way to get real-looking equations into my notes. I'm not particular about the details, the only requirement is that I need to keep up with the lecture, so it has to be fast, fast, fast. Straight LaTeX is way too slow, and Microsoft's Equation Editor isn't even worth mentioning. The platform is not a concern (I'm on a MacBook Pro and can run either Windows or Ubuntu in a virtual box if need be), but the less of a hit to battery life, the better. I've looked at several dedicated equation editing programs, but none of them, or their reviews, make any mention of speed. I've even thought about investing in a low-end Wacom tablet (does anyone know if there are ultra-cheap graphics tablets designed for non-artists?), but I figured I'd see if anyone at Slashdot has a better solution."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:36 pm

Typhoon Mirinae Already Scaring Philippines Before Halloween

Image Caption: NASA and JAXA's TRMM satellite captured the rainfall in Typhoon Mirinae on Oct. 29 at 1018 UTC. Mirinae had moderate rainfall (yellow-green) around its center. Rainfall was between .78 to 1.57 inches per hour. Credit: NASA /SSAI, Hal Pierce
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:34 pm

La-Z-Boy in drunk driving debacle headed for eBay, "Hell Yeah It's Fast" sticker included

Remember the La-Z-Boy DWI story Pesco blogged earlier this week? A local paper reports that the lounger is headed for eBay. See also this update at Smoking Gun on the case of Dennis LeRoy Anderson, who drank "eight or nine beers" before driving the motorized lounger into the street and smashing it into a parked car. Snip:

Anderson's customized vehicle, seen in the police evidence photos on the following pages, is powered by an eight horsepower Kohler lawnmower engine, and has a stereo, headlights, a built-in cup holder, and a "Hell Yeah It's Fast" bumper sticker. The ride, however, does not have a seat belt.

Proctor Police Chief Walter Wobig described Anderson as a "super-nice guy." The cops say they'll soon put the man's cherished chair up for sale on eBay, under state forfeiture laws (auctioning it off was one option, the other was using it for official police business, LOL). If anyone can find the eBay listing once it goes live, I'd sure love to see it -- and, hey, maybe bid on it.

Related articles: Proctor Journal, BBC, Duluth News Tribune, Wired.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:24 pm

'Moonlighting' Molecules Discovered

Johns Hopkins researchers uncover new kink in gene controlSince the completion of the human genome sequence, a question has baffled researchers studying gene control: How is it that humans, being far more complex than the lowly yeast, do not proportionally contain in our genome significantly more gene-control proteins?Now, a collaborative effort at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to examine protein-DNA interactions across the whole genome has uncovered more than 300 proteins that appear to control genes, a newly discovered function for all of these proteins previously known to play other roles in cells.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:14 pm

It’s a data cable! It’s an external battery pack! Actually, the XP1 is both in one.

As smartphones get more powerful and mobile internet connections get faster, battery life seems to be getting worse and worse. While there are a truckload of technologies in the works to make things better in the coming months and years, the only real option for mobile junkies to stay juiced up is to carry an external battery pack.

Thing is, every damn time we go to use our external battery packs, we run into one of two problems: we forgot to charge it, or we forgot the cable required to hook it up to our handset. The XP1 cable from XMultiple solves both of these problems with one absurdly obvious solution: the cable is the battery. They’ve got models for the iPhone, BlackBerry, and any phone that can be charged over Mini USB.

The XP1 serves as both a data cable and an external battery. Whenever you’ve got your handset plugged into your computer, the 2500mAh battery in the cable is charging up. If you use it as your primary data cable, you’re pretty much ensured to have at least a bit of backup juice next time your battery icon starts flashing.

While the suggest retail price of $49.99 seems pretty steep for a cable, it’s pretty reasonable when you consider that equivalent (but not nearly as clever) battery packs hover anywhere from $30 to $60. Unfortunately, we’re having a hell of a time finding anywhere that sells these in the US – drop us a comment if you find one.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:08 pm

A look At Public Policies And Motorcycle Safety In The US

Researchers from the University of Miami and Florida International University conduct an analysis of the effectiveness of public policies on motorcycle safety
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:07 pm

Trick or Tweet? Malware Abundant in Twitter URLs

As many as one in 500 Twitter posts include URLs that link to sites containing malicious code, according to an automated analysis by Kaspersky Lab. The spread of malware is aided by the popular use of shortened URLs on the microblogging site.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:07 pm

Storyboard Podcast: Vintage Science Illustration Evolves

A flea-market find inspires a brainy mission: Give artwork from Roy A. Gallant's '50s textbooks a 21st-century upgrade. A behind-the-scenes look at "Intelligence, Redesigned," which appears in the November issue of Wired.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:07 pm

Rogers to get the BlackBerry Bold in white; rumored to be priced at $99 on contract

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

I spent some time this morning digging around for some Android information, and ended up with some interesting info on the BlackBerry Bold instead. According to a Phandroid tipster, it seems that Rogers has a few goodies in store for customers beginning on November 3.

Of course, due to the website that provided this information, the highlight of their post was in regards to the Android based LG Eve that will be available for $49 on contract. Granted the Eve is no Verizon Droid, but that considered, it seems like a good deal. A few of the features of the LG Eve include a full 5-line slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 3-inch QVGA display.

But moving on to the BlackBerry Bold, according to the image that was provided, Rogers will soon begin offering the BlackBerry Bold in white. That part we already new, but perhaps the better part of that news comes in regards to the pricing—$99 on contract. Sadly though, Rogers like all of the Canadian carriers requires a three-year agreement.

This seems to be a big drop from the current $249.99 price tag. Unfortunately, this is just coming from a tipster and nothing has yet to be confirmed by Rogers. Luckily November 3 is not all that far away.

Read [Phandroid] Read [Rogers]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:03 pm

LANL Roadrunner Simulates Nanoscale Material Failure

First-ever simulation of a stretching silver nanowire over a period of a millisecondVery tiny wires, called nanowires, made from such metals as silver and gold, may play a crucial role as electrical or mechanical switches in the development of future-generation ultrasmall nanodevices.Making nanodevices work will require a deep understanding of how these and other nanostructures can be engineered and fabricated as well as their resultant strengths and weaknesses.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:01 pm

Fennec Fits Everything You Love About Firefox Into Your Pocket

Mozilla's mobile version of Firefox for Nokia's Maemo operating system earns high marks in Webmonkey's hands-on review.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 29 Oct 2009 | 2:00 pm

American Physiological Society Endorses Report On Random Source Dogs And Cats

Immediate action needed to ensure no disruption of researchThe American Physiological Society (APS; www.the-aps.org) announced today that it has endorsed the recommendation of a National Academy of Sciences* (NAS) report calling for the identification of new suppliers to replace Class B dealers as providers of random source dogs and cats for medical research."Class B" is a broad category of licensure required by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that applies to individuals who buy and sell animals that they do not breed and raise themselves. There are currently about a dozen Class B dealers who provide dogs and cats for medical and veterinary research and training and the development of veterinary drugs. The APS says that "immediate actions" are needed to identify or develop new suppliers of random source dogs and cats so that these activities may continue without disruption. A statement adopted by the APS Council on October 26, 2009 (http://www.the-aps.org/pa/resources/policyStmnts/paPolicyStmnts_dogscats.htm) underscores the importance of dogs and cats as research subjects: "These animals remain critical for health research to alleviate serious and life-threatening conditions that afflict humans and animals," the statement said.BackgroundMost of the dogs and cats needed for research are specifically bred for that purpose, but some non-purpose bred or "random source" animals are also needed because these animals exhibit traits that are difficult to replicate in purpose-bred animals. Very old animals or ones with pre-existing health conditions, and exposure to viruses, allergens, or parasites may be needed to study age-related conditions or diseases that cannot be artificially induced. At one time local animal control facilities were willing to make such animals available for research, but nearly two dozen states and many municipalities—including many where the affected research is being done—now have laws prohibiting that practice.The APS statement points out that the NAS report, Scientific and Humane Issues in the Use of Random Source Dogs and Cats in Research, "found strong evidence of an ongoing need for random source dogs and cats in several important areas of biomedical research." At the same time, the NAS report also found evidence that a small number of USDA-licensed Class B dog and cat dealers had a history of recurrent Animal Welfare Act violations. The NAS panel, which was charged with examining the use of random source dogs and cats in research funded by the National Institutes of Health, recommended that NIH-funded researchers obtain random source dogs and cats from other suppliers. It offered as alternatives purchasing animals from commercial breeders (licensed by USDA as "Class A" dealers), animal control facilities, and hobby breeders. It also suggested that researchers obtain animals from individuals willing to donate them for research. However, the panel recognized that in some cases these alternate suppliers may be unable to provide the animals needed so it also suggested that "additional effort" by the NIH was needed to identify and/or develop new mechanisms to replace the animals currently supplied by Class B dealers.Other needs for random source dogs and cats
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 29 Oct 2009 | 1:55 pm

New Improvements On the Attacks On WPA/TKIP

olahau writes "Two weeks ago, improvements to the previously reported attack on WPA/TKIP, were presented at the NorSec Conference in Oslo, Norway. In their paper coined 'An Improved Attack on TKIP,' Finn Michael Halvorsen and Olav Haugen describe the improvements, which enable an attacker to inject larger, maliciously crafted packets into a WPA/TKIP protected network, thus opening the probabilities for new and more sophisticated attacks against the well-established wireless security protocol."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 29 Oct 2009 | 1:45 pm

Amazon Introduces PayPhrase Payment Shortcut - InformationWeek

TopNews United States

Amazon Introduces PayPhrase Payment Shortcut InformationWeek Online merchants can use Amazon's passphrase payment scheme to ease the friction of online commerce. By Thomas Claburn In an effort to simplify e-commerce and increase the appeal of its online payment platform to merchants, Amazon Payments, ... Amazon rolls out "PayPhrase" authenticationV3.co.uk Amazon PayPhrase: Just Another Shopping Password To Forget?PC World Will You Remember Your payphrase?Wall Street Journal PC Magazine -ChannelWeb -DailyTech all 285 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 29 Oct 2009 | 1:24 pm

BLOG: Five Scary (But True) Space Stories

There's nothing like a good horror story, especially when it's set in space.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 29 Oct 2009 | 1:20 pm

Sears to start offering Black Friday deals this weekend

Section: Gadgets / Other

Sears has announced it will be kicking off the holiday shopping season this weekend by offering special Black Friday deals.  It plans to offer those special “Black Friday Now” deals every Saturday from 7am until Christmas.  The deals will cover everything Sears carries, from jewelry to electronics and more.  On November 7th Sears will offer a Zenith 42’ Plasma TV for $499 (regularly $699).  Pre-orders will begin today.  Other HDTV deals to look forward to include a 40” Samsung LED HDTV for $599, a 50 inch Samsung Plasma TV for $699 and a 46” Sony LCD HDTV for $854.

Want to get in on the deals but don’t have the cash?  Sears is ready with their layaway program, which is available in stores and on their website.  They will also match competitors pricing.  Most retailers are worried about what affect the economy will have on holiday shopping and that means lots and lots of deals.  This is only the beginning so stay tuned!

Read [PRNewsWire]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 29 Oct 2009 | 1:08 pm

NASA to Start Irradiating Monkeys

Spider monkeys will be exposed to radiation as NASA investigates the effects of space travel.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 29 Oct 2009 | 1:00 pm

Homemade radio creates spooky sounds

Mr Fixit Rick built a neat-looking "Spooky Tesla Spirit Radio" that could be used to provide background industrial noises for a Lynch movie. He shows you how to build your own at Instructables.

Spooky Tesla Spirit Radio


Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 29 Oct 2009 | 12:24 pm

Beer + Videogames = A Kegerator for the Ages

The Arkeg would seem to have almost everything a Wired reader (or editor) would like: Beer. And videogames.

What else is there?

Indeed, we’ve enjoyed playing (and drinking) with the Arkeg for the few short weeks that it has been in our offices for testing.

It’s a big, vertical arcade-style console. Inside, there’s a Windows XP computer running an emulator, and it’s loaded up with arcade classics like Asteroids, Joust, Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat, Rampage and lots more. All that is wrapped up in a friendly interface that’s easy to navigate using the classic controls on the front (two joysticks, two trackballs and an array of highly mashable buttons). One- or two-player games are as fun to play as they were in the videogame arcade back in the day. Only, instead of putting quarters into it, you’re getting beer out of the Arkeg’s convenient side tap.

Unfortunately, there are a few downsides. There’s no place to put your beer — a cup holder or a flat shelf would have been nice. The Arkeg seemed to have some trouble keeping our test keg cold (it required some fiddling and some troubleshooting from the manufacturer). It only holds a paltry 5-gallon “Corny keg,” not a full 15.5-gallon half-barrel. And it costs about $4,000.

But hey: These are quibbles when it comes to the facts: The Arkeg offers both videogames, and beer, and what’s not to like about that?

See Also:

• How Wired.com Built Beer Robot, Our DIY Kegerator
• Extreme, Custom and Pimped-Out Kegerators
• How to Build a Kegerator - Video - Wired
• Head-to-Head: Kegerators — Sanyo vs. Edgestar

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 29 Oct 2009 | 12:00 pm

Original Body HTC Heros with US 3G coming soon – but you’ll have to import

If your pockets are just beggin’ to be filled with an HTC Hero, your options thus far (assuming you’re in the US) have been limited. You could get one through Sprint or wait for Verizon’s Hero-esque Droid Eris – but either of those options means you’re on a modified, round-bodied Hero rather than the angled, chin-tastic Hero that nearly 70% of our readers prefer. You could import one of the original bodied Heros from the UK – but then you wouldn’t be able to get 3G on any US Carrier.

If you wanted US 3G and an original Hero, you were out of luck – until now.

Earlier today, a new product page for the HTC Hero popped up. The good news: It’s an original-body Hero, and its got the 850/1900mhz UMTS bands required for 3G on AT&T. The bad news: It’s headed for Telus in Canada. There’s a really, really solid chance that you’ll be able to get one of these across the border and get it unlocked and running on an AT&T sim – but that means you’ve gotta deal with an importer and the (generally not too painful) unlocking process. But it’s totally worth it if that means you’re the only kid on the block with a burly-bodied, 3G-totin’ HTC Hero, right?

[Thanks Nagaki!]

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 29 Oct 2009 | 11:55 am

Bike outfited with one-cylinder engine

Writer Jeroen van Bergeijk lives in The Netherlands but is spending some time in Australia. He's posting his photos and observations on his blog. Today he came across a bike retrofitted with a small one-banger engine.

Saw this awesome - or I should say grouse - looking bicycle today when I went to Port Adelaide to pick up my stuff coming in from Rotterdam. It's a Dunlop Bushranger mountain bike with a small, one cylinder engine fitted on to it. The great thing is that all the original bicycle gears still work. I suppose the owner starts the engine when going uphill or something.

It has sprockets on both sides of the wheel. On the right side the original bicycle gears, on the left side a sprocket driven by the engine.

Looks like Mad Max's Bicycle

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 29 Oct 2009 | 11:32 am

Droid Eris doc leaks, shows WiFi and 5 megapixel Camera

The first phone in what will eventually become a line of Droid phones only became a reality yesterday morning, and its sibling is already in tow.

We already know a bit about the HTC-made Droid Eris, such as its $99 price tag and that it’s likely to be spec’d almost identically to the Hero. We’re suckers for the minute details though, and PhoneArena
just uncovered a doc which confirms a couple new ones.

According to the leaked document, the HTC Droid Eris will tote WiFi, a 5-megapixel camera and, like the HTC Sprint Hero, absolutely no chin.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 29 Oct 2009 | 11:26 am

NASA's Ares Flies; Commercial Falcon Follows

NASA is looking to the private sector to develop vehicles to launch astronauts into orbit.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 29 Oct 2009 | 11:15 am

Microsoft sells clean signature PCs

Section: Computers, Desktops, Software / Applications

Microsoft’s retail and online stores will be selling a line of signature PCs. When you usually buy a PC, you have to spend time removing all of the pre-installed applications on the computer.  These can include 30 day music trials, limited anti-virus protection software and photo editing tools you probably will never use.  On these signature PCs, no crapware or trials will be included. 

With the Microsoft Signature PCs, you will only receive Microsoft brand software.  The PCs will include the Microsoft Live mail client, Zune, Silverlight, 3D maps and MS Security Essentials.  Internet Explorer will be the default browser and Bing will be the default search engine.  Adobe Flash and Acrobat Reader will be included in the Signature PC package as well.  It goes without saying that the Windows 7 will be the operating system on these computers.

Microsoft will also be allowing staff members at their retail locations assist users in installing the programs that they want on their computer. 

Store Site: [Microsoft Store]
Image Source: Complex

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 29 Oct 2009 | 11:06 am

Review: Dyson DC25 Blueprint LE

Dyson has clearly won the Death Star contract: its latest all-white upright vac looks made to match the battle attire of stormtroopers. Though unable to hit the side of a bus with a blaster, they might finally get a fighting chance against kitty litter spills.

For the rest of us, the Dyson DC25 Blueprint LE is set apart by its relatively light weigh-in, industrial styling, and the manoeverability created by the ball. Like all of its kin, it's a object of consumed art, easy to love and laden with an elaborate set of accessories and tools. Also available is the DC24 Blueprint, which is only 12lb but has half the suck.

Performance was excellent: it handled all the solid spills we set it against, collecting them without fuss. Wisps of dog hair spun like cotton candy in the translucent bin. The ball makes a big difference to manoeverability, but there is an apparent trade-off: it doesn't have the same forward pull that everyday vacs do. It's also loud, especially when the motorized brushes are turned on, and could do with a retractable cable stash.

Both models are available at Target, priced at $430 for the DC24 and $530 for the DC25 (the big one is also offered at Dyson's online store). In each case, that's $30 more expensive than the standard edition.

It's not really worth the premium (which goes up to $50 if you buy a standard DC24 or DC25 from Amazon), but it sure is pretty. Bottom line: get a Dyson ball model if you don't like the angular, hamfisted movements that a normal vac encourages, or if you want to get the house cleaned in record time without cutting corners--and think that the 5-year warranty justifies a higher price tag.


Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 29 Oct 2009 | 10:01 am

Hungry Bats Prompt Firefly Flashes

Fireflies may flash their bio-luminescent lights at night to warn off hungry bats.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 29 Oct 2009 | 9:40 am

Self Fetching Ball is Cruel and Unusual Toy for Dogs

You know, one of the main reasons for owning a dog (apart from picking up girls) is to get a little exercise. Every day you take a stroll with your filthy, butt-sniffing pal, tossing him a ball and generally getting the blood flowing.

Now, with the Autofetch Motion Pet Ball you don’t even have to take the wet rubber lump out of pooch’s slobbering mouth and strain your poor weak shoulder by throwing it. The ball isn’t actually auto-fetching, but it will certainly keep a dog entertained: in the same way pushing bamboo shoots under somebody’s fingernails will keep them entertained.

You drop in a piece of food or doggy-treat through a special slot and set off the gyroscope inside. The ball spins, wobbles and gallivants around the place as your poor pet struggles to get at the food within, while you lean back from a hard minute of Segwaying (yes, you’re on a Segway, you lazy thing) to chuckle at his clueless desperation.

So go ahead and buy one. It’s only $15, and your dog will love you for it.

Product page [Chinavasion via Red Ferret]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 29 Oct 2009 | 8:58 am

Exploding Star Sets Distance Record

A dying mega-star 13 billion light-years away is the most distant object ever found.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 29 Oct 2009 | 8:45 am

TomTom’s iPhone car kit no workie with iPod touch, first-gen iPhone

Bad news, you guys. If you were thinking of dropping $120 on TomTom's iPhone car kit and then another $100 on TomTom’s navigation app for use with your first-generation iPhone or second-generation iPod touch, it now looks like you’d to run into some compatibility issues. AppleInsider is reporting “that although the Car Kit dock is compatible with all iPhone models, the TomTom application will only work with the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G – even with the dock connected to a first-generation iPhone or iPod touch.”

Source: MobileCrunch | 29 Oct 2009 | 7:43 am

Economic Crisis Could Spread Invasive Species

A depressed shipping economy is helping invasive species spread around the world.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 29 Oct 2009 | 7:40 am

Nintendo DSi LL: Bigger, Browner, Pen-ier

Bucking the slow march to smaller and smaller electronic goods, Nintendo has actually come up with a newer, bigger version of its DSi handheld. It’s called the DSi LL (XL in Europe) and along with the new 4.2-inch screen (the old one is 3.25-inches) it gets an extra, bigger pen and, best of all, some new grown-up colors. Boring old white is joined by dark brown (so successful for the Zune) and wine red (a kind of murky burgundy that only a 1970s TV detective could love).

The bigger DSi will launch in Japan on November 21st and come with three built-in games for the equivalent of $220. Europe will follow early next year and then the United States, at an as yet unspecified date. Hopefully Nintendo will have bought some non-horrible-colored plastic by then.

Product page [Nintendo - Japanese and in Flash]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 29 Oct 2009 | 7:18 am

Walnut Cable Wrap is Hypnotically Simple

There is almost nothing to say about the $17 Wrap Wrap other than that it is a rather beautiful accessory for your headphone cables. Available in walnut or oak, the little pinch-waisted loop of wood has no moving parts, weighs very little and will add absolutely no e-complication to your life.

So why is it that I’m curiously drawn to it, even though I know it will pull the earbuds slowly from my oversized earholes with my every tiny move? Thanks, designer Naoto Yoshida. Thanks for getting inside my head. I shan’t be buying one, but as the winter nights draw in, I shall be pulling out my whittling knife for the first time in years, chewing on tobaccy as I systematically destroy the neighborhood’s flora in search of a cable wrap of my own. Way to destroy the planet, Naoto.

Product page [Merchant 4 via Noquedanblogs]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 29 Oct 2009 | 6:16 am

BIG PIC: Strange Cloud in Ares Launch

Seconds into the Ares launch, an odd cloud formed around the upper stage. What was it?
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 29 Oct 2009 | 6:00 am

Folding Digital Kitchen Scale is Easily Hidden

Like thermometers, kitchen scales are an essential cooking tool. You have a choice between the more accurate digital models, or analog scales which don’t run out of batteries just when you need them. I have a glass-slab Salter scale, and it has sat in a cupboard for at least five years, awaiting a new pair of CR2032s to power it.

So I’m interested in this folding scale, which not only runs on AAA batteries which can easily be swiped from the remote control, it also folds up into a tiny cylinder which could be stowed in the back of a kitchen drawer for decades without getting in the way.

The cross (or cylinder) shaped scale is made from stainless steel with a strategic plastic rubber coating, and comes with its own cage and hanger. It’ll only weigh up to 3kg or 6.6 lbs, and the readout is on a tiny LCD screen, but that doesn’t matter — it’s not like you’ll use it more than once anyway. £34 ($55).

Product page [Pro Idee via Oh Gizmo]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 29 Oct 2009 | 5:35 am

Hands-On With the Diana F Lens Adapter and Fisheye: As Bad As You’d Expect

If you’re thinking of buying Lomo’s latest plastic-fantastic accessory, the Diana Lens Adapter, which lets you put the company’s range of medium format lenses onto your DSLR, we have one word of advice. Don’t.

The adapter was launched just over a month ago, and at the time I wrote “I’m sold. As soon as the local Lomo store re-opens after today’s holiday, I’m going to pick one up.”

It took a little longer, but I bought one this week for €12, although in the US it costs just $12 (€8) along with a Diana Fisheye lens (around €30). You get a small plastic disk which slots into your Nikon of Canon’s bayonet mount, and onto this clips the lens of your choice. The little widget works fine in this regard, although as it looks just like a body cap with a hole in it, you may wonder where your cash is going.

The real problem comes when you team it up with a lens. Remember crop-factors for lenses? The same works for different film-formats. The Diana is a medium-format camera which shoots on 120 film, which is 6cm wide. Putting the 20mm Diana fisheye onto a 35mm (full frame) DSLR therefore makes the lens “longer”. In practice this means that you don’t get the extreme vignetting and spherical images you’d expect of a fisheye. Of course, if you opt for the longer Diana lenses, like the 110mm, you actually get a much longer focal length. I’m not going to do the math here, as I always get it wrong, but the effect is more than noticeable (feel free to post the numbers in the comments).

What you do get, though, is Lomo’s famous poor-build quality and blurred, distorted images. The shot above is straight out of the camera with no processing, shot on a Nikon D700. Pretty nasty, right? But that’s the point, and the low-contrast fuzziness is easily tweaked in software to make it even worse (or better). The worst part is in fact that the plastic adapter alone can be pressed into service as a very wide-angle pinhole for a DSLR. The problem? It’s stuck fast on the back of the lens. I don’t think there’s any way I can get it off without pocket knife.

And one more thing. The fisheye comes with a clip-on (or hot-shoe mounted) viewfinder. Useless unless you actually put it on a real Diana, but lots of fun for sticking in front of a small compact camera’s lens and shooting through it.

Product page [Lomo]

See Also:

• Digi-Diana: Lomo Lens Adapter for Canon, Nikon DSLRs

Photo credit: Charlie Sorrel

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 29 Oct 2009 | 4:58 am

Kata 3N1 Camera Bags Now Carry Netbooks

Just like a fashion house, Kata has tweaked its excellent 3N1 (three in one. Get it?) camera backpack line for the coming year. And like the fashion industry, which likes to creep its hemlines year by year to make you buy more, the Kata bags have hardly changed at all. This, if you are wondering, is a good thing.

Some of you may remember that the previous 3N1 was the bag I actually bought for myself, amidst a slew of review units from various manufacturers. I still love it. The new range keeps exactly the same formula — good looking, easy to access and TARDIS-like in capacity - and adds a sleeve for a computer.

Depending on which of the three sizes you go for, you can fit in anything from a netbook to a 15.4-inch notebook. This addition does add a little depth to an otherwise very compact bag, but from the photos at least it doesn’t look like much.

Everything else remains, from the three choices of strap configuration to the easy sling-n-swing access to the top pocket in which can be kept sandwiches and a small hip-flask. $100, $120 or $145, depending on size, available soon.

Product page [Kata]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 29 Oct 2009 | 4:52 am