Source: Gizmodo | 4 Nov 2009 | 8:00 pm

Google Betas Chrome 4 Touts 30% Speed Boost

CWmike writes "Google upgraded the beta version (4.0.223.16) of its Chrome browser yesterday, boasting a 30% speed improvement over the current production edition and adding integrated bookmark synchronization. Developers Idan Avraham and Anton Muhin, who announced the release, tout Chrome 4.0's faster JavaScript rendering speeds. 'We've improved performance scores on Google Chrome by 30% since our current stable release, and by 400% since our first stable release,' they said, referring to Chrome 3.0. The new beta includes the ability to sync bookmarked sites across multiple computers."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 4 Nov 2009 | 7:53 pm

At The Top Of Its Game, And The App Charts, Ngmoco Bets Its Future On In-App Purchases

On Monday, ngmoco released worldwide its latest game for the iPhone and iPod Touch: Eliminate Pro. It’s been downloaded 500,000 times so far at a rate of about 25,000 an hour, currently making it the top free app in iTunes. The top paid app, Skeeball, also happens to be affiliated with ngmoco through its Plus+ social game network. ngmoco has had it’s own top paid apps as well, like Rolando, but CEO Neil Young says that Eliminate Pro is more “representive of where we have been moving our business—free applications, that we monetize with in-app purchases.”

Ever since Apple opened up in-app purchases for free apps two weeks ago, it’s been catching on. In general, free apps are downloaded 10 to 20 times as much as comparable paid apps. Now, says Young, the payments can be “built into the compulsion loop of the game.” In other words, developers will get consumers to try their apps and then ask them to pay only once they are hooked.

This model works particularly well for games. Eliminate Pro easily could have been a paid app for which ngmoco could have charged $7.99 or $9.99. It is the first multiplayer first-person-shooter for the iphone. You play against other people on their iPhones around the world, and can connect to the server-based game via WiFi or the 3G cellular data network.

In order to advance or level up, your battle suit needs to be powered, and you need to buy power cells to charge up your suit. Power cells are the currency of the game. The game comes with 30 free power cells, and then you can buy them in increments going from $0.99 to $39.99. You can still play the game without buying power cells, and your suit gets trickle-charged, but some people are really impatient and they’d rather pay to play.

It only takes a small percentage of hardcore gamers who opt to pay for their power-ups to exceed the revenues ngmoco could have made with an all-paid app being bought by fewer people. Ngmoco has three more games it is planning to release before Christmas, and they will all follow the same freemium model. “We think at the end of the day this is the best way to build a big business on the iPhone,” says Young.

Both Eliminate and Skeeball are also part of ngmoco’s Plus+ social gaming network, which allows players to send out game challenges to their friends via push notifications on the iPhone 9the most effective method), as well as Facebook and Twitter. Add the multiplayer aspect to Eliminate, and what we’ve got here is a realtime game on the iPhone. No wonder it’s so popular.

Ngmoco is part of Kleiner Perkins’ iFund portfolio of iPhone startups. The company also announced today that back in July it acquired another iPhone game developer, Miraphonic, creator of the Epic Pet Wars game.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 4 Nov 2009 | 7:37 pm

Klipsch ProMedia speakers rock the wireless

Klipsch announced their new ProMedia 2.1 speakers today. Designed for use with a laptop system in mind, these THX-certified speakers are totally mostly wireless.

So by mostly wireless, I mean that you still need to provide power. The subwoofer and speakers will need to be plugged in to work, just not into your computer. You will need to stick a dongle into your USB port however. This sounds ideal for a laptop user or college student, since you can bring your computer back to the speakers and not have to worry about the cables.

The Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 wireless speakers sell for $199, and are only available from the Klipsch website, and only in the U.S.

[via Dvice]

Source: CrunchGear | 4 Nov 2009 | 7:30 pm

Brightpoint 3Q profit doubles on tax benefit boost (AP)

AP - Cell phone distributor Brightpoint Inc. said Wednesday its third-quarter profit more than doubled, helped by tax benefits.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 4 Nov 2009 | 7:24 pm

Homophobia in Venezuela

Police in Venezuela are rounding up gay/lesbian/bi/trans folk into vans and hauling them to jail by the dozens, according to reports. "Our IDs and mobile phones were taken away, we were beaten, [and] our sexual orientation was insulted." (Thanks, Antinous)


Source: Boing Boing | 4 Nov 2009 | 7:19 pm

T-Mobile Pins Outages on S ... - PC Magazine

Phones Review

T-Mobile Pins Outages on S ... PC Magazine On Wednesday, T-Mobile said it had discovered the root cause of the outages on Tuesday: a software glitch. The explanation was posted on T-Mobile's support forums at 3:30 PM PT on Wednesday. T-Mobile also reconfirmed in a separate ... T-Mobile says software error behind outageCNET News T-Mobile USA Restores Service After OutageWall Street Journal T-Mobile OutageABC News V3.co.uk -The Associated Press -Register all 339 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 4 Nov 2009 | 7:17 pm

Motorola's Droid Is Smart Success for Verizon Users [Personal Technology]

Verizon Wireless customers tend to love the company’s fast 3G network. But many tech-oriented Verizon loyalists gripe about the carrier’s high-end smart phones, which haven’t matched the cachet and versatility of the Apple iPhone sold by AT&T (T). In fact, some Verizon customers have switched to AT&T simply to get an iPhone.

But this week, Verizon (VZ) is rolling out a device that finally gives it a more credible alternative. This new $200 phone is the Motorola Droid and it’s the first Verizon model to run Google’s (GOOG) Android smart-phone operating system. I’ve been testing the Droid, and while it has some significant drawbacks, I regard it as a success overall. It’s the best super-smart phone Verizon offers, the best Motorola (MOT) phone I’ve tested and the best hardware so far to run Android. I can recommend the Droid to Verizon loyalists who have lusted for a better smart phone, but don’t want to switch networks.

Like the iPhone, the Droid is really a powerful hand-held computer that happens to make phone calls, and is a platform for numerous third-party programs, or apps. Currently, Android offers over 12,000 apps. That is just a fraction of the 100,000 apps available for the iPhone, but it’s well above what the newer BlackBerry or Palm (PALM) phones offer.

The Droid is also the first phone that runs the 2.0 version of Android, which sands off some of the rough edges of Google’s platform and adds some features—notably, a free voice-prompted turn-by-turn navigation program. Android still isn’t as slick or fluid as the iPhone’s OS, in my view, but it has some functionality Apple (AAPL) omits, including the ability to run multiple third-party apps simultaneously.

The Droid is a handsome, squared-off device with a gorgeous, huge, high-resolution screen, bigger and sharper than the iPhone’s. There’s also a slide-out physical keyboard. It’s only a tad longer and thicker than the Apple product. But it’s 25% heavier, which makes it less comfortable to carry around in a pocket.

The Droid also has a higher-resolution camera than the iPhone’s: five megapixels versus three megapixels. And the camera has a flash, which the Apple lacks. In my tests, pictures came out OK, though not dazzling, and videos I shot were quite good.

The Droid’s large 3.7-inch screen looked great, but it lacks multitouch features, such as two-finger zooming, and it seemed less responsive than some other touch screens I’ve tested.

Battery life is listed at a whopping 6.4 hours, and, in my tests, the Droid easily lasted through the day on a single charge. Phone calls were crisp and clear, and I never suffered a dropped call. Verizon’s network was speedy and reliable for Web surfing, email and social networking. I copied some songs and videos onto the Droid by plugging it into a computer, and all played properly.

The Droid, whose $200 price comes only after a $100 mail-in rebate, requires a minimum $70 monthly service plan for two years, and text messaging costs extra. It comes with 16 gigabytes of memory, in the form of a removable card, and can handle up to a 32-gigabyte card.

Unfortunately for lovers of physical keyboards, I found the one on the Droid to be pretty awful. It has flat, cramped keys that induce too many typing errors, yet lacks auto-correction. I found myself using the virtual on-screen keyboard, which was pretty fast and accurate for me, and did include auto-correction.

Another downside: The Droid’s screen has only three panels for displaying apps, versus 11 on the iPhone, and some large apps, called widgets, hog much of the space on these panels.

Like the Palm Pre, the Droid tries to integrate social networking with contacts, though in a more limited way. It handles Google’s Gmail and Facebook, as well as Microsoft Exchange for corporate email and data. A nice feature lets you tap a contact’s picture and get instant options for ways to communicate.

The Droid can do some cool tricks with a couple of $30 optional docks, one for the car and one for the desk or nightstand. When placed in the car dock, the phone automatically displays a horizontal view with large buttons, including one for the built-in navigation system. In my tests, this navigation system worked pretty well, even showing photos of certain intersections. But it also gave me a couple of bad directions, such as sending me the wrong way at a fork in the road.

When placed in the desktop dock, the Droid displays the time and a different row of large icons from when it’s in the car dock, including music and an alarm clock.

I ran into one odd flaw with my test Droid, and with a second test unit tried by a colleague. Neither could send a photo via multimedia messaging to either my iPhone or her BlackBerry. Verizon was able to send pictures this way to my iPhone from other Droids, and it suspects some flaw in our test units.

The Droid is potentially a big win for Verizon, Motorola and Google, as well as for loyal Verizon customers.

Find Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com

Source: All Things Digital | 4 Nov 2009 | 7:10 pm

Lawyer bait: OS Calculators

Electronics design studio Mintpass is treading a fine line. They’ve come up with a pretty cool concept, bit it’ll probably never make it to market. What have they done that’s so controversial? Created calculators based on the designs in Windows and OS X.

It is a cool idea, though questionably legal. The person who did the rendering did invite Apple and Microsoft to contact him, but somehow I suspect it won’t be the kind of contact he’s hoping for. I have to admit though, I hope this product does get made. Good luck Mintpass!

[via Technabob]

Source: CrunchGear | 4 Nov 2009 | 7:00 pm

Fisk on USA's role in Karzai's re-election: Vietnam 2.0

Robert Fisk writes: "As in Vietnam - where Saigon was a lonely kingdom of brutal power totally isolated from the rest of the country - Karzai is going to rule over an equally tiny island of corruption, protected by US mercenaries while the Americans perform their familiar role of propping up a dictator." [Independent, via Ned Sublette]


Source: Boing Boing | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:52 pm

Verizon increases ETF for smartphones, netbooks

Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile, Computers, Netbooks, Wireless

If there’s one thing we can all agree we hate about cell phone contracts, it would have the be the Early Termination Fee.  The ETF has long been the bane of anyone who cannot stick to a single phone or carrier for any extended period of time.  Up until now they’ve ranged anywhere from about $175 to $200, but for some Verizon Wireless customers that’s about to change.

Starting November 15th, Verizon Wireless will be raising the ETF for devices like smartphones and netbooks to $350.  That number will decrease by $10 for every month or service, so even if you want out of the contract at month 23 you’ll have to pay $120.  The reason for the change makes sense for Verizon, smartphones and netbooks cost much more than feature phones do.  Verizon subsidizes the phones, and makes it’s money back through the monthly payments.  A smartphone that costs the buyer $99, like the BlackBerry Bold or upcoming Droid Eris, is paying much less than what Verizon paid for the phone, so this is really just Verizon trying to make that money back.

No matter how much business sense it makes, the change won’t make consumers any happier.  The ETF is already frustrating enough, and there are those who don’t want to be stuck with the same smartphone on the same network for two years.  Especially not Verizon’s network which until the Droid has had fairly poor choices of smartphones.  Of course there are those who don’t mind having the same phone on the same carrier for two years who won’t be affected.  It’s likely this give customers even more reason to stick with their plans until they run out, or just not use Verizon.

Read [USA Today]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:39 pm

Twitter Testing Out New Tweet Notifications To Keep Users Engaged

Twitter has a problem: A number of users tweet, then lose interest. It needs a way to reengage them in the site. And tonight it’s starting to test one way: Notifications.

The test is currently only rolled out to a “limited” number of users right now, according to this update. But those who have it should notice an indicator similar to what Twitter does to let you know there are new search results on a query (see a capture above and below). There’s another service that does these types of notifications for new messages also: Facebook. Yes, Twitter for once is taking a playbook from its rival rather than the other way around.

When Twitter was still a young service, it used to auto-update with new tweets as they came in, in realtime. That was one of the first features killed off as the service began to explode in size and was having trouble scaling. FriendFeed implemented a similar live-updating stream before the Facebook acquisition, and that seemed to help boost engagement. Twitter currently offers live updating stream with its widgets.

There has always been some debate as to whether a constantly updating stream is better than notifications. Twitter is clearly now choosing the latter. When FriendFeed first launched it, plenty of users complained that the live updating was moving too fast. Seeing as Twitter is much larger than FriendFeed ever was, that could be an issue. The notification method is probably easier on server load than the constantly moving stream, as well.

As you can see in the screenshot below, these notifications shows up in the titlebar as well (just like with Twitter Search).

[photo via stephromanski]

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

Source: TechCrunch | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:35 pm

In an age of free and abundant wi-fi, Starbucks takes a stand

Here in Seattle, there isn’t enough room to swing a cat without hitting an open wi-fi access point. During lapses in my own internet service (damn you, Comcast) I have gotten by on my neighbors’, or one of the dozen cafes or bars within half a mile that have free, unfettered internet access. In fact, it’s become a sort of lifestyle I and other Seattleites subscribe to, flitting about the cafes, sharing music, blogging together. Pretty obnoxious, now that I think about it. But if there’s another thing Seattle is known for, it’s Starbucks. Now, like any true Seattleite, I haven’t set foot in a Starbucks in years except when absolutely necessary (airport, gift card, etc) — I could make some statement about burned beans and corporate culture, but really, it’s because of their lack of wi-fi.

Oh sure, they have wi-fi. There’s a guy in Madison Park who’s been playing WoW almost nonstop for years at one of the flagship stores. But it isn’t free, and internet you pay for isn’t really a hot item in the most wired city in the country.

But as if it weren’t enough to have to pay for internet there, Starbucks is revamping their system to create a wi-fi access point of unprecedented complexity. Instead of doing something like selling vouchers for a day, a month, or a year of wi-fi at any Starbucks, they are instituting a complicated rewards system, with tiers, drink privileges, and a bunch of other stuff involved.

What can I say about a program with a FAQ like this? You’re giving people stars, and moving them around levels? I can’t decide whether they’re trying to be Super Mario Galaxy or a first grade classroom. It’s completely ridiculous.

I think what they’re doing is just pushing pre-paid cards, because that forces you to go back to Starbucks more. And if there’s a free drink there for you after however many drinks, and the card is linked to your internet access, you’re kind of stuck with it. But really, why not just have verified punch cards for free drinks, and if you really must charge for internet, why not just sell blocks of time and have people log in through a gateway? This cumbersome Starbucks ecosystem is why people who dislike Starbucks do so. …Also, your espresso is thin and the drip sucks.

Source: CrunchGear | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:30 pm

China's Baidu May Not Link to Licensed Music After All (PC World)

PC World - An announcement earlier this week that seemed to indicate that China's Baidu would start linking to licensed music downloads may not have been the major step it first appeared to be for the search company.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:30 pm

Apache readies Tomcat Java servlet container upgrade (InfoWorld)

InfoWorld - The Apache Software Foundation for open source projects is readying an upgrade to its Tomcat Java servlet container, eyeing improvements in areas such as scalability and security, Apache personnel said on Wednesday afternoon.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:20 pm

Iraq Swears by Dowsing Rod Bomb Detector

jggimi writes "According to the New York Times, more than fifteen hundred remote sensing devices have been sold to Iraq's Ministry of the Interior, at prices ranging from $16,500 to $60,000 each. The devices are used for bomb and weapon detection at checkpoints, and have no battery or other power source. Sounds great, but according to a retired United States Air Force officer, Lt. Col. Hal Bidlack they work on the same principle as a Ouija board — the power of suggestion. He described the wand as nothing more than an explosives divining rod. Even though the device has been debunked by the US Military, the US Department of Justice, and even Sandia National Laboratories, the Iraqis are thrilled with the devices. 'Whether it's magic or scientific, what I care about is it detects bombs,' said Maj. Gen. Jehad al-Jabiri, head of the Ministry of the Interior's General Directorate for Combating Explosives."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:16 pm

On The Call: Cisco CEO says firms easing off brake (AP)

AP - Cisco Systems Inc.'s latest results show that the world's No. 1 maker of computer-networking equipment is still being hurt by the downturn, but sees things turning up. The company is forecasting its first year-over-year revenue increase since the financial crisis erupted a year ago.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:12 pm

Your Favorite Sci-Fi Flicks, From 'Metropolis' Through the '50s

Wired.com readers rattle off some classics and re-school us on some forgotten science fiction gems as they reveal their most cherished movies about robots, aliens and other fascinating creatures. Part 1 in a series.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pm

XTENT, Inc. Sells Its Assets and Makes Initial Distribution to Stockholders

MENLO PARK, Calif., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- XTENT, Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:42 pm

Ancestry.com Inc. Prices Initial Public Offering at $13.50 Per Share

PROVO, Utah, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Ancestry.com Inc. today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 7,407,407 shares of common stock at a price of $13.50 per share.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:37 pm

Offerpal Tries Out A New CEO. Shukla, Queen Of Scams, Is Out.

Offerpal Media, the central character in the Scamville drama, is changing CEOs. Anu Shukla is no longer the CEO of the company she cofounded. Veteran executive George Garrick, most recently the CEO of Mochi Media, is now the CEO of the company.

From the press release quietly announcing the change:

Offerpal Media, the leader in virtual currency monetization for online games, virtual worlds and social networks, announced today that George Garrick has been named chief executive officer.

Garrick brings more than 25 years of experience in technology, advertising and consumer businesses to Offerpal Media. His track record of accelerating revenue growth and brokering strategic relationships with customers and partners will be critical assets in leading Offerpal Media.

I had an…interesting public exchange with Shukla last week at the Virtual Goods Summit in San Francisco (see video at end of this post). I’ve also embedded it below.

She vehemently denied that her company’s offers ever scammed users. Despite her defense of the industry, MySpace, Zynga, RockYou and others have since made significant policy changes to protect consumers from the types of offers Offerpal peddles.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:34 pm

Review: Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000

Short Version: As ergonomic mice go, Microsoft’s wireless offering provides plenty of relief from repetitive stress injuries without deviating too far from the familiar form factor found in standard mice. And with an MSRP of $80 (and available for even cheaper online), it’s priced competitively with other specialty mice.

Features

• Unique slanted ergonomic design keeps your hand in a more natural position
• Four-way scrolling, customizable buttons
• Six-month battery life
• MSRP of $79.95

Pros

• Great natural hand placement
• Quick learning curve
• Long battery life

Cons

• Wireless range is a bit limited
• Awkward side button and scroll wheel placement
• Uses standard AA batteries instead of rechargeable ones

Review

Anyone who’s had the displeasure of dealing with a computer-related repetitive stress injury will tell you that even the simplest of tasks (like moving a mouse around) can become excruciatingly painful. And while there are plenty of ergonomic mice on the market, they’re often expensive, oddly-shaped, or both.

Microsoft’s take on the ergonomic mouse strikes a delicate balance between usability and relief. It’s a bit taller than an average mouse, and its sloped design forces your hand into a more natural “handshake” position which works wonders to relieve inflammation of the tendons running along the underside of your wrist.

Since it’s laid out like a regular mouse, though, the learning curve is all but nonexistent. I was up and running in no time – much faster than with any of the trackballs or joystick-style ergonomic mice that I’ve tried in the past.

The two main buttons make up most of the surface on the top of the mouse, which allows you to click with your entire index or middle fingers, and a large groove on the left hand side of the mouse provides a comfortable saddle for your thumb. The scroll wheel is downright amazing in that it simply rolls back and forth with no resistance whatsoever, almost as though it’s somehow lubricated.

Wonderful though the scroll wheel may be, its actual placement makes it awkward to use as a third mouse button. I’ve historically used middle mice buttons to open new tabs in browser windows, but pressing the Microsoft mouse’s scroll wheel takes too much straining so I’ve been relegated to holding down the CTRL key on my keyboard instead. The wheel is positioned too far back on the mouse’s body to easily click downward with an index finger.

The wireless mouse uses two standard AA batteries to communicate with a USB receiver. Battery life is rated at over six months (I haven’t had the mouse long enough to actually verify that claim yet), but the receiver needs to be placed within a few feet of the mouse in order to avoid intermittent signal drops. Thankfully, the USB cable attached to the receiver is nice and long, allowing you to position it nearby.

There are also two programmable buttons located between the thumb and index finger, but they’re so hard to effectively manipulate that most users will likely forgo using them altogether. They’re just out of thumb’s reach and placed too far back to be clicked by the index finger quickly enough to make the effort worthwhile.

Aside from those few minor quibbles, though, the actual experience of using the mouse for straightforward tasks is outstanding. After just a single day your wrist will feel much better and by the end of the first week, you’ll likely notice that the pain has gone away completely.

Product Page: Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000

Source: CrunchGear | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:30 pm

Ken Seagall on his old boss

His real talents are charisma, good taste, and no compromises. Guess who. [CoM]


Source: Boing Boing | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:25 pm

GCI Reports Third Quarter 2009 Financial Results

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GCI (Nasdaq: GNCMA) today reported third quarter 2009 revenues of $150.8 million as compared to revenues of $151.7 million in the third quarter of 2008.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:25 pm

Three-armed baby costume

My friends Christy Canida and Eric Wilhelm of Instructables dressed up their lovely daughter Corvidae as a three-armed happy mutant (!) baby! Naturally, they posted an Instructable about it:

This year we were a Nuclear Family for Halloween, with our 4-month-old daughter Corvidae dressed up as a 3-armed happy mutant.

While we wanted to be subtle, this was almost too subtle - she wore the costume all day, and hardly anyone noticed!  But when they finally detected a problem, the responses were excellent.

Happy Mutant 3-Armed Baby Costume


Source: Boing Boing | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:17 pm

New Smoking Cessation Research Presented At CHEST 2009

New Formula Calculates More Accurate 'Lung Age' in Smokers(#7896, Wednesday, November 4, 1:30 PM ET)A new formula more accurately calculates a smoker's "lung age," which researchers hope will help persuade patients to quit the habit. A research team from Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, developed and evaluated a new lung age formula based on %FEV1/FEV6 rather than the current lung age formulas based on height and FEV1 or FVC. They found that the new formula closely approximated actual lung ages in 5,800 never-smokers, while values using the earlier formulas were erratic. They also found that in 3,500 current smokers, mean increases in lung age progressed to more than 25 years by age 50 and above, much higher but less erratic than using lung ages based on earlier formulas. Researchers conclude that sharing physiological lung age with smokers may be more effective in smoking cessation than sharing spirometry results.Pulmonary Rehab May Improve Smoking Cessation Rates(#8531, Wednesday, November 4, 1:30 PM ET)New research shows that patients who smoke who participate in a structured pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) program achieve higher abstinence rates than those who receive usual care. A research team from Montreal compared smoking cessation rates among 413 patients with chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). Of the patients, 27 subjects participated in a PR program, while 386 received standard care. After a follow-up of 31±24 months, 81.5 percent of patients in the PR group had at least a short-term abstinence compared with only 46.1 percent in the non-PR group. Additionally, 37 percent of patients in the PR group showed signs of sustained quitting, compared with 8 percent in the non-PR group. Researchers conclude that PR may play a role in smoking cessation in patients with COPD.Clinicians Lack Training in Smoking Cessation(#8699, Wednesday, November 4, 1:30 PM ET)Physicians, nurses, and other health-care providers receive limited training on smoking cessation strategies. University of Arizona researchers surveyed 250 hospital employees about the extent of their smoking cessation training and knowledge of smoking cessation methods. Results showed that more than 50 percent of nonphysician patient care providers talk at least weekly with their patients about smoking and smoking cessation. However, only 24 percent of nurses and 15 percent of medical technicians have formal training on the subject, and both groups had limited knowledge of smoking cessation strategies. Furthermore, less than half of the physicians surveyed reported having any formal training in techniques of smoking cessation, and only 54 percent were aware of patient support resources such as telephone help/quit lines. Researchers suggest that significant education of health-care providers at all levels is needed to allow them to effectively help their patients understand the risks of smoking and methods of smoking cessation.Varenicline Effective and Well Tolerated for Smoking Cessation(#450, Wednesday, November 4, 3:45 PM ET)
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:06 pm

Minority Students Earned Greater Number Of Academic Degrees In Fiscal Year 2006

A new National Science Foundation report shows an increase in the number of academic degrees awarded to minority students since 2004, the last time such data were published.The report, Science and Engineering Degrees by Race/Ethnicity: 1997-2006, developed by the Science Resources Statistics division of NSF's Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences directorate shows more degrees awarded to minorities in nearly all categories.Among U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:04 pm

Rockers No Doubt sue Activision over "Band Hero" (Reuters)

Reuters - Rock band No Doubt sued video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc over the use of their likeness on its new "Band Hero" product, accusing the company of turning the rockers into a virtual karaoke act.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm

Has Research In Motion’s BlackBerry Lost Its Edge?

Over the past decade, Research In Motion’s BlackBerry phone has become a cultural phenomenon. But can it stay one?

With a confusing mix of new products, poor developer support, lack of innovation and an unwillingness to take risks, RIM is in danger of being outsmarted and overshadowed by aggressive new rivals, such as HTC and Motorola.

RIM is a victim of its own success, says Michael Mace, principal at Rubicon Consulting, a strategy consulting firm for technology companies, struggling with problems around execution and distracted the pace at which the smartphone market is changing.

“Does RIM have a lot of problems? Yes, they do,” says Michael Mace, principal at Rubicon Consulting. “Can they fix it? Sure. But the question is do they want to?”

RIM did not respond to Wired.com’s request for comment.

Since RIM released the first BlackBerry smartphone in 2002, it has gathered about 56 percent share of the U.S smartphone market and sold more than 65 million phones, landing the company in Fortune magazine’s recent list of fastest growing firms.

But its future may not be as promising. Its market share among smartphones could shrink from a 20 percent overall market share today — which includes both smartphones and feature phones — to 12.8 percent at the end of 2012, says research firm Gartner. Google’s newly introduced Android operating system could move ahead of the BlackBerry and bag the No. 2 position, after Symbian.

Unless RIM acts fast, it may soon find itself facing treading the same path as Nokia. Despite its position as the largest handset maker and a huge presence in emerging markets, Nokia’s profits have eroded and its share in the smartphone market shrunk significantly.

So what’s ailing RIM?

Too many smartphones

Apple’s one-size-fits-all approach may be too spartan for most handset makers, who like to give consumers a choice of different devices. But RIM may have gone a little too far in its approach. Any at time, RIM offers more than 20 handsets, most of which are minor variations of each other. Take the Storm and its updated version Storm 2. The two are near identical in terms of features. The difference? Storm 2 offers Wi-Fi capability, a feature missing in its predecessor. Now try spotting the difference between the BlackBerry Curve 8900 and the Tour. Again, almost similar features except for that fact that Curve has Wi-Fi capability and the Tour doesn’t. The Curve 8900 is a GSM phone, while the Tour is a CDMA version.

Having too many handsets, with each named differently, confuses consumers, says Mace.

“RIM is doing all these different configurations because it is what the operators want,” he says. “But it is better to give up some growth than become a mediocre product in your current market, which is what they are in danger of right now.”

It will be bitter medicine for RIM. With its $34 billion market capitalization, RIM can’t afford to offend Wall Street. But Mace says the company needs to step back and streamline its product portfolio.

Not knowing which handsets to focus on also takes a toll on BlackBerry developers. It drives up development costs for programmers who want to create software for the device. Developers have to test their programs for multiple handsets and that is difficult and expensive, says Peter Sisson, founder and CEO of Toktumi, a company that created the Line2 app for the iPhone. Sisson is a seasoned entrepreneur who sold his last startup, Teleo, to Microsoft.

“Once we got into it developing for the BlackBerry, I realized, ‘Oh my God, this is an absolute nightmare.’ There are all these phones out there and the hardware is not abstracted,” he says. “By the time you get your app out of QA and into production, a new model comes along that is not quite compatible with the others, requiring further coding changes or even a whole new build.”

Innovation in handsets

When RIM first introduced the BlackBerry, the device’s push e-mail capability set it apart from its peers and created a legion of BlackBerry addicts.

But now a smartphone is no longer a device that just makes calls and checks e-mail. The rise of social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter means users want a device that can help them stay connected beyond e-mail. Sophisticated consumers also want integrated contact management that can pull in contacts from different buckets. Add to that list a good web browser that lets them surf on the go and maps that can offer accurate turn-by-turn directions. Almost all these features have increasingly become de rigueur in smartphones. Except in the BlackBerry.

The BlackBerry has gained notoriety for having a browser that seems stuck in the last decade. RIM is reportedly working to fix that. In September, the company bought Torch Mobile, which makes the Webkit-based Iris browser. Webkit is the layout engine that is also used by the iPhone, Android and Symbian mobile operating systems.

While rivals such as Motorola and HTC are experimenting with new interfaces for their devices, RIM has stuck to a formula that works for now — but makes its devices look boring.

If the Storm, RIM’s first touchscreen phone, is any indicator, creating a radically new product isn’t easy for RIM. The Storm was BlackBerry’s first attempt to create a device that wasn’t a variation of its earlier handsets. The Storm was widely panned by reviewers, although it sold more than a million units in just two months of its launch.

“They shipped a product that wasn’t completely tested and debugged,” says Mace. “It is something that the old RIM wouldn’t have done. The first Storm is the sign that they lost control over their handset development process.”

Despite some recent mis-steps, discounting the BlackBerry is a mistake, says Dulaney. “The Bold and Curve are very well-done designs for those who like a keyboard,” he says. “And for business users they tend to work very well since they want to use their devices in portrait rather than landscape mode.”

Support for developers

Meanwhile, Apple’s success with its App store forced every handset manufacturer to attach an app store with their device. RIM is no exception. In April it introduced the BlackBerry App world.

But the BlackBerry platform was never created with the intention of allowing a swarm of independent developers to write software for it.

“RIM needs to clean up the platform and make sure the technology is more flexible,” says Mace. “These are things that take time and do not yield revenue immediately. You have to take a bunch of engineers and clean up all the garbage in the background.”

The complexities of the platform also mean that fewer developers know how to code for the BlackBerry, says Sisson. A few weeks ago, Sisson posted an ad on Craigslist looking for developers for the iPhone and the BlackBerry platforms.

Within hours, he says, he received more than 100 resumes from iPhone developers, while just a few responded to the BlackBerry posting. “There’s a shortage of talented developers who are both interested and capable of writing code for Blackberry apps,” says Sisson. “This spells major trouble for the future of the BlackBerry.”

A quick look at the BlackBerry App world bears this out. The App World store has just about 2,000 apps available for download, compared to the iPhone App Store’s 90,000 apps or Android’s 12,000.

Sisson suggests RIM come up with a new device that can take on the Droid, iPhone, the Palm Pre and the host of new smartphones cropping up. It could be a device targeted at consumers, that would integrate with the company’s app store and put the BlackBerry on equal footing with its rivals.

“They will still have their existing loyal customer base that wants e-mail and the typical BlackBerry experience,” says Sisson. “But they can also cut free from the older models and create a frictionless experience for consumers and developers.”

RIM is trying to solve some of these problems. The company recently restructured its Alliance program, its resource for independent developers to offer better access to support and a faster cycle to get application developers up and running.

But that is not enough, says Sisson. “Unless RIM makes major changes to its platform — standardizing the hardware and OS, offering a QA test lab for engineers and streamlining the Alliance program still further — the BlackBerry will never have the quantity and quality of Apps that iPhone or Android phones will have.”

Telecom carrier challenges

A major catalyst in RIM’s growth and success is the company’s ability to work with a wide range of telecom carriers. But the cozy relationship with carriers also means that the company may be kowtowing to wireless service providers a little too much.

Even though Wi-Fi has become a must-have feature for most smartphones, some reports suggest BlackBerry reportedly left it out of the Storm at Verizon’s insistence. RIM’s relationship with Storm paid off. Despite extremely tepid reviews and user complaints about the difficult touchscreen and buggy software, Verizon’s position as the biggest U.S. carrier helped sell more than 1 million units of the Storm in just two months of the device’s launch.

Meanwhile, AT&T’s exclusive partnership with iPhone changed the dynamics for RIM in the United States. Three years ago, AT&T and Verizon Wireless represented about 20 percent each of RIM’s sales, estimates an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. Today AT&T is down to 15 percent of RIM’s sales, while Verizon is up to 28 percent.

But the dependence on Verizon is now starting to backfire. Last month, RIM introduced an updated version of its touchscreen phone the Storm 2. The phone is expected to be exclusively available on Verizon. But Verizon is putting its marketing muscle behind Motorola’s newly released Droid phone. Droid has gathered much better reviews than the Storm 2 and is being backed by an aggressive advertising campaign from Verizon. Together that could eat into Storm 2’s sales, says Ken Dulaney, vice-president of mobile computing with Gartner.

“You will have to watch Verizon’s result in the next quarter for signs of weakness at RIM,” he says. “The Droid will compete against the Storm and the Curve. If we see degradation of sales for RIM, then we can say RIM is under attack in the soft underbelly segments that they have.”

See Also:

• Review: RIM BlackBerry Storm
• Review: RIM Blackberry Tour 9630
• Review: RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900
• Reviled by Reviewers, BlackBerry’s Storm Rages On
• 5 Things RIM Needs to Fix in its BlackBerries

Photo: (Ninja. M/Flickr)

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm

Tim Berners-Lee Sees Promise, Challenges in HTML5

The web's inventor is excited that HTML5 is transforming his creation into a computing platform. But he also there's work to be done to make sure the latest web apps operate in a secure and safe way.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm

NY Attorney General Sues Intel for Bribing PC Makers

Intel, the world's dominant chip maker, is hit by New York's attorney general, who says the company illegally pays off computer makers to keep its rival's chips out of the world's computers.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm

BLOG: 2012 Stars Discuss 'Doomsday' Plans

Find out what John Cusack will be doing on December 21, 2012.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm

Has Research In Motion's BlackBerry Lost Its Edge?

The BlackBerry handset has had little innovation in the last three years. Developers complain that it's difficult to create applications for the BlackBerry network. So, how will it stack up to the competition from aggressive new rivals?

Source: Wired Top Stories | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm

Smartphones are vulnerable to phishing attacks but security apps may help

Section: Communications, Smartphones

When the CEO of Packet Focus decided to test the security of the top three smartphones, he was shocked to discover they all failed miserably.  Joshua Perrymon sent a spoofed phishing email made to look like it was a LinkedIn invitation from Bill Gates to users of the iPhone, the BlackBerry and the Palm Pre and found his message got through 100% of the time.  Perrymon says smartphones simply have no protection against phishing attacks.

“What I found on the Palm and BlackBerry is [that there is] no protection to any type of phishing attacks. The Palm runs on Linux, so I SSH’ed into it and looked around. The email client is built in JavaScript and made to download emails from a server - POP, IMAP or Exchange. So if the hosted server doesn’t pick up on the email, then the phone gets the attack delivered.”

Perrymon sent the results of his experiment to RIM, Palm and Apple but none of them responded.  He said he hopes that they will eventually address the issue and hopefully issue a fix of some sort. Just last month RIM fixed a flaw in their browser that would have allowed a hacker to send a malicious link via text message.  The flaw prevented the browser from properly warning the user that the URL and the site certificate didn’t match.  This would have allowed the user to easily fall for a phishing attack.

To help combat this, a company called Deepnet Security has introduced a new app called MobileID that will allow banks, retailers and online service providers to offer authentication protection.  This will insure that customers data is protected and phishing attempts are blocked.  It’s available for Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Symbian and the iPhone.  Norton offers a security suite for smartphones that can also provide protection.  Norton Smartphone Security helps keep your phone free of spam and malware and can protect against phishing attempts by allowing to to block texts from unknown senders. It’s available for $29.99.

Read [SCMagazine]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:58 pm

Maryland Town Tests New Cryptographic Voting System

ceswiedler writes "In Tuesday's election voters in Takoma Park, MD used a new cryptographic voting system designed by David Chaum with researchers from several universities including MIT and the University of Maryland. Voters use a special ink to mark their ballots, which reveals three-digit codes which they can later check against a website to verify their vote was tallied. Additionally, anyone can download election data from a Subversion repository and verify the overall accuracy of the results without seeing the actual choices of any individual voter."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:58 pm

Wake Up, Humans: DROID by Motorola Goes on Sale Early in Florida Stores on Friday, November 6

TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- With the tech blogosphere buzzing about the new DROID phone from Motorola, Verizon Wireless will open most of its Florida stores at 7 a.m. Friday (Nov.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:56 pm

Success, frustration in competition to develop outer space elevator - San Jose Mercury News

KCBY.com 11

Success, frustration in competition to develop outer space elevator San Jose Mercury News AP Photovoltaic panels, which convert laser light into electrical energy similar to solar panels, are seen on the bottom of the LaserMotive entry in the $2 million Space Elevator Games at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at ... Success in space elevator challengeThe Press Association Teams Battle For $2 Million At Space Elevator GamesTurnTo23.com Reach For The Sky, Space Elevator Race Rises Up In USdBTechno RedOrbit -NBC Los Angeles -NEWS.com.au all 535 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:44 pm

Toshiba Introduces Two 1.8-Inch Hard Disk Drive Families for Both High Performance and Long Battery Life in Mobile Computing Applications

MKxx33GSG series is available in 320GB, 250GB and 160GB capacities and uses 42 percent less power during seek operations than best-in-class 5,400 RPM 2.5-inch HDDs. The single-platter 120GB, MK1235GSL
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:43 pm

Sunrise Telecom(R) Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:34 pm

Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade for the Samsung Jack now available

Look – we’re certainly not the world’s biggest fans of Windows Mobile 6.5, but we still absolutely feel that anyone who has the opportunity to upgrade from 6.1 to 6.5 should certainly do so. If you’ve got a Samsung Jack, we’ve got good news: that “anyone” group now includes you.

Samsung just hit us up to let us know that the Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade package has gone live here. It doesn’t seem like the simplest upgrade process ever — you’ll definitely want to back up your stuff before you dive in — but in return you’ll get Internet Explorer 6, the Windows Mobile Marketplace, and all of the other goodies that Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard brings along.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:29 pm

NY joins the antitrust effort against Intel (AP)

AP - The legal challenges to Intel Corp.'s sales tactics mounted Wednesday as New York's attorney general accused the world's biggest computer chip maker of using "illegal threats and collusion" to dominate.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:25 pm

'Half-Life' Visuals Supercharge Sci-Fi Short 'Escape From City-17'

By mixing imagery from the classic videogame with real-world acting, Canadian filmmakers David and Ian Purchase create a five-minute flick for $500 that manages to get Hollywood's attention. Video and stills offer a peek at the eye-grabbing City-17.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:20 pm

Mind control with sound and light

From a slew of new brainwave toys and bionic monkeys to advanced brain scans and wireless neuro-implants that will soon enable paralyzed people to remotely operate computers with their minds, the gap in the human-machine interface is closing. But while mind-reading gets all the glory, other researchers are developing new amazing non-drug methods to control the brain as well. We've posted many times about zapping regions of the brain with magnetic pulses, called transcranial magnetic stimulation, to treat depression, boost creativity, or even improve reaction time. And brain "pacemakers" are increasingly common treatments for epilepsy, Parkinson's, and even depression. What's next? Mind control through sound and light.

Arizona State University researchers are using ultrasound pulses to stimulate activity deep inside the brain from the outside. The sound waves cause brain cells to spew certain chemical neurotransmitters, ultimately resulting in physical movements or other effects. The technique may also be used to lower the brain's metabolic rate after an injury to reduce secondary damage.

"We're trying to develop the technology to the point where we can do away with the electrodes that are used in vagus nerve stimulation and deep brain stimulation," ASU professor William J. Tyler told IEEE Spectrum:

The low frequencies used can travel some distance through the air. So could you be zapped with a mood-altering blast from across a room? Probably not, Tyler says. In theory, the ultrasound technique could work from up to about a meter away, he says. "The farthest we've tried so far has been roughly 50 millimeters."

Meanwhile, other researchers are exploring how light, rather than sound, can be used to reprogram the brain. The field is called optogenetics and lies at the intersection of optics and biotechnology, specifically genetic engineering. By introducing genes that encode for channels and enzymes that are light-sensitive, scientists can "probe" the brain with light to learn about neuronal function. A fiber optic cable is literally plugged into the skull to excite the appropriate brain bits, essentially introducing an on/off switch in the head. (See the image at top from Stanford University's Optogenetics Resource Center, led by optogenetics pioneer Karl Deisseroth.)

"We are inventing new tools for analyzing and engineering brain circuits," says Ed Boyden, director of MIT's Synthetic Neurobiology Group and a leader in the field. We are devising technologies for controlling specific neural circuit elements, to understand their causal contribution to normal and pathological neural computations."

In the new issue of Wired, Institute for the Future affiliate Michael Chorost, author of the fantastic book Rebuilt, visits with Deisseroth and Boyden, and explains how optogenetics was used to make mice with paralyzing Parkinson's walk again. Fortunately, it doesn't sound like folks undergoing optogenetic treatments in the future will have fiber optic cables snaking out of their skulls. From Wired:

One of Deisseroth's colleagues designed a paddle about one-third the length of a popsicle stick. It has four LEDs: two blue ones to make neurons fire and two yellow ones to stop them. Attached to the paddle is a little box that provides power and instructions. The paddle is implanted on the surface of the brain, on top of the motor control area. The lights are bright enough to illuminate a fairly large volume of tissue, so the placement doesn't have to be exact. The light-sensitizing genes are injected into the affected tissue beforehand. It's a far easier surgery than deep brain electrical stimulation, and, if it works, a far more precise treatment. Researchers at Stanford are currently testing the device on primates. If all goes well, they will seek FDA approval for experiments in humans.

Source: Boing Boing | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:07 pm

Windows Live Email, Vista and Apple Tablets [Mossberg's Mailbox]

I have just bought a new computer with Windows 7, and not only can’t I download Outlook Express, I can’t even find it. Is it there? Where?

A: Sadly, Microsoft killed Outlook Express—its free, fast and simple Windows email program—long before Windows 7 came out. In Vista, it was replaced by something called Windows Mail. Now, there’s no email program at all built into Windows 7, unless a PC maker chooses to include one. But Microsoft offers for download a free product called Windows Live Email that is the latest successor to Outlook Express. You can get it, alone or as part of a suite of free “Essentials” programs that used to be routinely part of Windows, at: windowslive.com/desktop.

I was told that Apple is developing its own version of the Kindle e-book reader. I wanted to purchase a Kindle for Christmas, but now I’m not sure whether I should wait for an Apple version.

A: I have never heard any Apple official say or hint that the company is developing a direct competitor for the Kindle, or is planning to make any dedicated e-book reader. What you may be referring to is that some Web sites have been speculating that the much-rumored forthcoming Apple touch-controlled tablet would be mainly intended to be an e-book reader. I haven’t any evidence of this either.

The iPhone and iPod Touch already can run a free Kindle app from Amazon that allows you to read Kindle e-books on those devices without needing to own a Kindle itself. And Barnes & Noble, which has also announced a dedicated e-reader, has a similar iPhone app. So I assume that any general-purpose Apple tablet would likely be able to run such an app as well and function as an e-reader—along with performing other tasks.

But that’s different than producing a dedicated reader with a screen and controls designed primarily for book reading and a companion electronic book store, something Apple currently lacks. It’s entirely possible Apple is going into the e-book business, but I know of zero hard evidence that this is the case.

Do you have any recommendations about switching an existing 64-bit laptop from Vista to Windows 7? I totally dislike Vista but I don’t know if the switch can be done.

A: Yes, it can, in most cases, unless your PC’s manufacturer for some reason isn’t supporting or recommending the upgrade of your particular model. Just make sure you get the comparable version of Windows 7 (say, 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium if you are currently using 64-bit Vista Home Premium) so you can do a direct, in-place upgrade that will allow your programs and files to remain in place.

You can also do an in-place upgrade if you opt to move up to the costlier Ultimate version. I would also advise backing up your irreplaceable personal files before you begin the process.

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

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at walt.mossberg@wsj.com

Source: All Things Digital | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:05 pm

'Genetic Zoo' Could House 10,000 Animal Species

The proposed genetic zoo could provide a better understanding of the evolution of vertebrates.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

Storyboard: Tim and Eric's Brilliant Dementia

In this week's Storyboard podcast, Wired editors discuss what's so funny about the Tim and Eric Awesome Show!'s gross, awkward sketches.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

INTERVIEW: Dr. Mike Brown, Pluto Killer

Mike Brown, an expert dwarf planet hunter, discusses killing Pluto, hate mail and Planet X.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

How to Rock the House With a Digital Media Server

You've filled a hard drive with digital media, and you want your home network to have easy access to it. We'll show you how to serve up and tune into your media server from anywhere in the house.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

Offerpal Media Names George Garrick CEO

FREMONT, Calif., Nov.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

What's Inside Buckley's Minty, Piney Cough Mixture

Minty, piney, sticky: Getting to the nitty-gritty of what's inside Buckley's cough medicine may or may not make you feel better.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

On-Demand Video + CMS + Interactive Input For Museum?

remolacha writes "I've been given the task of tech chief for a biggish art museum (1300 m2, or about 13,000 sq ft) in Spain. The museum's designers want 20 'terminals' that will offer on-demand video and interactive content. the terminals' content will change with the exhibits; many will have touchscreens. More interesting forms of input are planned as well (floor sensors, big buttons). It's all on one floor, and the floors are raised, so I can run cabling and set up floor ethernet jacks. Max cable run is 60m / 190ft. The museum may expand to 4 times its projected size once open, by comandeering other floors in the building. To give an idea of where the designers heads are, they were talking about a massive dvd changer in a closet somewhere. I am thinking an intranet running a webserver with a CMS and flash media server, terminals running firefox in kiosk mode. I'd love to do everything on Linux. Does anyone have experience with a setup like this, better ideas, or advice?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:55 pm

Startup Hits Sweet Spot for Selling Local Services

Groupon seems to have figured out a magic formula for getting people to buy coupons for services in their cities. But will the discount service survive the recession?

Source: Wired Top Stories | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:31 pm

PayPal Introduces Open API

m2pc writes "PayPal has just announced the availability of their Open API under the 'PayPal X Program.' This enables developers to integrate PayPal payment processing services without forcing users to redirect to PayPal's website to enter payment information. This new initiative is designed to allow the company to better compete with the likes of Google and Amazon, which offer similar services. I wonder how much they paid for their domain: x.com?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:11 pm

New Netbook Twists to Fit in the Living Room

It’s a netbook that can morph into a picture frame. Boston-based startup company Litl has launched a laptop that can be used straight up or flipped around so it can stand upright like an easel.

Called Webbook, the device has a 12-inch screen and a hinge that can pivot to change how the netbook looks. Twist it around and the device takes on the form factor of a picture frame than a traditional laptop.

“With its screen exposed, the Webbook is ideal for passive or lean back web activity like enjoying photos, listening to music, or consuming news, weather and other web content,” says Litl in a statement.

Under the hood, the Webbook doesn’t have much to brag about. The device has a 1.6 GHz Atom processor, 1 GB RAM, 2 GB flash memory, a camera, Wi-Fi connectivity, a USB port, two infrared ports and a HDMI port. Clearly it is intended as a clould computing device, one where you don’t store much locally on your hard disk but use it to access files or photos already on the internet.

The Webbook will also have proprietary “channels” or feeds from sites such as Flickr, Shutterfly, The Weather Channel and Facebook, says the company.

It’s a cute idea but rather expensive one. The device is available online for $700, with an optional remote control for $19. Without the hardware muscle to back it up, the Litl Webbook will be a hard sell for most users. The device doesn’t have enough storage to be a primary laptop and at its current price point, an all-in-desktop for the living room might be an attractive alternative.

More pictures of the Webbook

See Also:

• Dell Joins ‘Kitchen PC’ Trend With Touchscreen Desktop
• Stylish, Touchscreen ‘Kitchen PCs’ Set to Grab Consumers
• MSI Offers Cheapest All-in-one TouchScreen Desktop
• Asus ET1602 Eee Top

Photos: Litl Webbook/Litl

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:33 pm

New Web-Based Netbook From Litl — Based On Clutter, Uncluttered

cananian writes "The webbook company of Gnome's own Havoc Pennington (with a healthy dose of ex-Nokia and ex-OLPC engineers) finally shed its secrecy today, with a new web site and an article in the WSJ. Technical specs on the hardware were found by Engadget last week, and now comes a bit more information on the software behind the UI. Most of the client software is written in JavaScript with GTK/Clutter bindings, and the UI has some superficial similarities to Pentagram's designs for OLPC's Sugar."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:24 pm

‘Genome 10K’ To Sequence DNA Of 10,000 Vertebrates

An international consortium of scientists is proposing to generate whole genome sequences for 10,000 vertebrate species using technology so new it hasn't yet been invented.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

Microsoft cuts 800 more jobs - CNET News

MiamiHerald.com

Microsoft cuts 800 more jobs CNET News Microsoft said on Wednesday that it is notifying approximately 800 workers that their jobs are being eliminated as the software giant completes the layoffs it announced earlier this year. In January, Microsoft said it would cut ... Microsoft Lays Off 800, Exceeds Original ForecastChannelWeb Microsoft Slashes 800 JobsInformationWeek Microsoft Cuts Another 800 JobsWall Street Journal PC World -CNNMoney.com -eWeek all 384 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:48 pm

Microsoft gives the MSN butterfly a makeover - CNET News

BusinessWeek

Microsoft gives the MSN butterfly a makeover CNET News Aiming to stay relevant, Microsoft is introducing a new look for its MSN.com home page. Although MSN gets far less attention than the company's Bing or Windows Live efforts, the home page remains an important economic engine for ... Microsoft Refreshes MSN, Adds Social Networking LinksChannelWeb MSN Revamps Site with Focus on Social NetworkingPC World Screen Shots of The New MSNBusinessWeek White Hat News -eWeek -PC Magazine all 260 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:48 pm

Beatles catalog comes to USB - CNET News

New Zealand Herald

Beatles catalog comes to USB CNET News by Caroline mccarthy No, the digitally remastered Beatles catalog hasn't come to Apple's itunes. But it has come to an apple-shaped USB device. In addition to MP3 and FLAC versions of 14 stereo titles, according to a release, the 16GB device contains ... BlueBeat Ignores EMI, Still Sells Beatles Catalog OnlinePC World EMI Sues Site Over Beatles SongsWall Street Journal Beatles Catalog Officially Goes Digital ... Sort OfAversion ABC News -The Money Times -Everything USB all 282 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:48 pm

Apple Veteran Ken Segall Shares How He Thought Different

Say hello to Ken Segall. “Who?” You know, Ken Segall, Apple’s veteran creative director who came up with the name “iMac” and drew up the Think Different ad campaign.

OK — most of you probably didn’t recognize his name, and that’s because most Apple stars stay low-profile thanks to the company’s secretive nature. Fortunately, Wired.com’s old friend Leander Kahney scored a rare interview with Segall at his blog Cult of Mac.

Segall shares his experience working with Steve Jobs to rescue Apple back when the company was near bankruptcy in 1997. The Think Different campaign ultimately played a crucial role in rebooting the Apple brand, as did the famous iMac.

“He didn’t like iMac when he saw it,” said Segall, reflecting on his days with the picky CEO Jobs. “I personally liked it, so I went back again with three or four new names, but I said we still like ‘iMac.’”

Check out the full interview at Cult of Mac.

See Also:

• Video: Apple Legend Jonathan Ive Talks Design

Photo: Cult of Mac

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:36 pm

GM Coexistence Experts In Melbourne

More than 200 experts on GM and non-GM coexistence will converge on Melbourne next week as part of the GMCC-09 conference.Conference chair, Professor German Spangenberg, says GMCC-09 will provide an opportunity to showcase world-leading science on the development and implementation of coexistence
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:25 pm

Verizon to sell the Droid to New Yorkers extra, extra early

So you’ve lurked the blogs, watched the unboxing, and read the coverage, and you just know: you want your Droid. You already know that most Verizon Stores are opening the doors a bit early at 7 AM to get your your fix – but what if you want it even earlier?

We just got word that a very, very limited number of Verizon stores will start peddling the Droid as soon as the clock ticks over to November 6th, from midnight to 2 a.m. The emphasis here is definitely on “limited”.

As far as we’ve confirmed so far, there’s only one store doing the midnight sale, and it’s right in the heart of New York. If you’re anywhere near the store (located at 134 W 34TH St, New York), go get your camping gear ready; there’s nothing like getting the object of your desire at midnight, excitedly playing with it for 2 minutes, and then caving to the utter exhaustion that standing out in the freezing cold midnight air will cause.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:23 pm

Quantum Gas Microscope Offers Glimpse Of Quirky Ultracold Atoms

Research creates a readout system for quantum simulation and computationPhysicists at Harvard University have created a quantum gas microscope that can be used to observe single atoms at temperatures so low the particles follow the rules of quantum mechanics, behaving in bizarre ways.The work, published this week in the journal Nature, represents the first time scientists have detected single atoms in a crystalline structure made solely of light, called a Bose Hubbard optical lattice.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:55 pm

Frequent Flower Buyers Seek Product Variety

Study reveals consumer values influencing floral purchasesFlorists and other retailers who sell flowers and plants can now add another tool to their marketing kit.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:49 pm

Earthquakes Actually Aftershocks Of 19th Century Quakes

Repercussions of 1811 and 1812 New Madrid quakes continue to be feltWhen small earthquakes shake the central U.S., citizens often fear the rumbles are signs a big earthquake is coming.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:47 pm

Singapore Scientists Describe Novel Method For 3-D Whole Genome Mapping Research

Results reported in this week's NatureIn this week's NATURE, Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) scientists report a technological advance in the study of gene expression and regulation in the genome's three-dimensional folding and looping state through the development of a novel technology.The technology is ChIA-PET (Chromatin Interaction Analysis using Paired End Tag sequencing).
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:44 pm

Mimicking Nature, Scientists Can Now Extend Redox Potentials

New insight into how nature handles some fundamental processes is guiding researchers in the design of tailor-made proteins for applications such as artificial photosynthetic centers, long-range electron transfers, and fuel-cell catalysts for energy conversion.From rusting iron to forest fires to the beating of a human heart, oxidation-reduction reactions, which transfer electrons from one atom to another, are at the heart of many chemical and biological processes.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:42 pm

Hybrid Bluegrasses Analyzed For Use In Transition Zone

'Thermal Blue' and 'Dura Blue' hybrids put to the testThe transition zone can be one of the most challenging places to maintain high-quality turfgrass; changeable growing conditions in these regions often prove too hot for some grasses and too cold for others.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:40 pm

Wal-Mart’s Pre-Black Friday sale - Xbox and cheap laptops

Section: Video, DVD/DVR/Blu-ray, HDTV, Computers, Laptops, Gadgets / Other, Gaming, Console

What’s better than a Black Friday sale?  A desperate Pre-Black Friday sale in hopes to get all the dollars you would have spent on the actual Black Friday.  Wal-Mart delivers with a sale this Saturday, Novermber 7.  The deals look worthy of making a special trip.

From the Xbox 360 reduced to $199 and includes a $100 gift card,  to a 46” Panasonic Plasma HDTV (I love mine) at just $788, $149 for a Sony Blu-ray player and $298 HP 15.6 laptop.  Both the Xbox and the HP laptop are guaranteed to have 10 units per store, according to our friends at bfads.com.

The Panasonic’s lowest price on Google Checkout is $830 and it looks to be a full 1080p, nice. 

Walmart says the sale starts at 8:00am on the 7th.

Read: [BFads]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:02 pm

BLOG: Earth to Wolf: Make a Mess

Sloppy wolves are good for the environment when they litter the ground with scraps.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 4 Nov 2009 | 11:40 am

Car Finder app for iPhone

Leander Kahney of Cult of Mac spotted this $0.99 app for the iPhone 3GS. It's called Car Finder and it helps you find your parked car.

The app uses the iPhone's camera to overlay the direction of your car and how far away it is. The app relies on the camera and a digital compass, and is  compatible only with the iPhone 3GS  running 3.1 or later.

Car Finder iPhone App Uses Augmented Reality To Find Your Wheels

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 4 Nov 2009 | 11:35 am

T-Mobile shares some Android statistics, will soon support carrier billing

While other carriers might finally be dipping their toes in the Android water this month, T-Mobile has been in this game for a long time. They got their first Android phone (the G1) out last October, and managed to launch two more (the myTouch and the CLIQ) within the year. It makes sense, then, that they’re the first to pipe up with some usage details.

T-Mobile today shared a few interesting Android statistics, and announced a number of ways they’d be increasing their support for the Android Market.

All of the details T-Mobile shared involve the T-Mobile myTouch specifically – it is, after all, their flagship Android phone. It would have been nice to get some more general Android usage stats, but we’ll take what we can get:

• Around 50% of myTouch users launch the Market app each day
• 80% of myTouch users launch the browser once a day, and roughly 66% launch it more than once a day
• More than 40% of myTouch users access social sites multiple times each day
• Roughly half of myTouch owners say they have “completely customized” their handsets, though that term seems a bit ambiguous

T-Mobile’s not set on just dumping out the hardware, though. It’s unarguable at this point that the App catalog on any given platform makes or breaks the experience (psst, hey Palm – pay attention), and it seems like T-Mobile realizes this. They’ve announced a handful of ways they’ll be aiming to improve the market for their customers:

• Carrier Billing is coming “soon”, allowing users to charge app purchases back to their phone bill rather than Google Checkout. This is great news for developers – I’d imagine that this streamlining of the purchasing process will cause a huge uptick in sales from T-Mobile customers.
• T-Mobile has recently refreshed their “App Pack” to include a total of 34 T-Mobile suggested apps
• By Thanksgiving, T-Mobile will have a specific section of the Android Market which users can tap into to view a list of T-Mobile’s favorites. This is a feature of the revised Market that came with Android 1.6. The Droid, for example, already has a Verizon channel – but at this time, it’s currently only listing a Verizon-friendly Visual Voicemail app

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 4 Nov 2009 | 11:14 am

Apple’s App Store Hits Six Digits; How Many Apps Do You Need?

Apple’s App Store is now serving over 100,000 downloadable iPhone apps, the Cupertino, California company announced Wednesday. Overall, iPhone owners worldwide have downloaded over 2 billion apps to date, according to Apple.

“The App Store, now with over 100,000 applications available, is clearly a major differentiator for millions of iPhone and iPod touch customers around the world,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of marketing, in a press release. “The iPhone SDK created the first great platform for mobile applications and our customers are loving all of the amazing apps our developers are creating.”

Games appear to be the hottest items in the App Store. Of the 100,000 apps, only 16,000 titles are games, according to NPD Group. And yet, 65 percent of the 2 billion apps downloaded are games, according to Tal Kerret, co-founder of casual game solution provider Oberon Media.

Hitting six digits is an impressive milestone for Apple, especially when pitted against Google’s Android platform, which is serving about 11,000 apps. But as the App Store continues to expand, an inevitable question arises: How many apps do you really need? My colleague Philip Elmer-DeWitt raised this point recently in a piece in which he argued 11,000 apps may very well be sufficient to serve Android users.

The key, then, for Apple and its rivals — Motorola, Verizon, Palm and Microsoft — should be to focus on marketing high quality, killer apps that will lure consumers toward their respective handsets and app stores. We’re certain Apple’s “There’s an App for That” campaign is generating a lot more interest in the iPhone than press releases boasting the number of apps available for download.

iPhone owners: How many third-party apps do you have downloaded? I have 40.

See Also:

• iPhone App Store Approaches 1 Billion Downloads
• With 2 Billionth iPhone App Download, Apple Gets Blasé
• iPhone Poster Celebrates 10000 Apps in the App Store
• Apple Pre-Celebrates App Store's First Birthday
• Apple's iPhone: More Apps, More Problems

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 4 Nov 2009 | 11:03 am

Traveler’s gift: Moshi mini alarm clock

Section: Gadgets / Other, Household, Lifestyle

If you travel for business then you agonize over one gadget in every single hotel room: the alarm clock.  Many seem straight out of 1976 with peculiar buzzer/sound settings, incorrect time and who knows if it works.  Enter Moshi mini, the alarm clock that uses a bit of smarts to understand spoken commands.

The Moshi mini is a smaller version of the original designed for traveling.  Simply set an alarm by push the one button and speak a command, like “set alarm”.  Users simply say the time they wish to create an alarm for and Moshi understands it.  They’ve simplified setting the time, setting an alarm, even getting current temperature.

As a traveler who has a (healthy?) fear of foreign alarm clocks, this one looks mighty appealing especially after a night of fighting with airlines, loosing baggage, being delayed and rerouted.  At just $24.99, it is priced well for a peace of mind gift.

Product page: [Moshi]

 

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 4 Nov 2009 | 10:20 am

Sea Lion Brain Mapped to Study Toxins' Effects

Chemical pollutants are causing brain damage in sea lions.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 4 Nov 2009 | 10:10 am

Test-driving the Electrobite, a trilobite-shaped DIY vehicle (BB Video)

Watch: MP4 download, YouTube, Dotsub (with captions/text translations).

In this episode of Boing Boing Video, we test-drive "Sarriugarteis (Odontochile) trilobiteis," also known as The Electrobite.

This trilobite-shaped DIY vehicle was created by "Oilpunk" enthusiasts Kyrsten Mate + Jon Sarriugarte, with help from fellow makers Amy Jenkins and Tansy Brooks.

Pesco previously blogged about the little bugger here -- it's even been to Burning Man, where it no doubt terrified some trippin' hippies.

We shot this inside the Tcho Chocolate warehouse (thanks, Timothy!), with help from Boing Boing pals Eddie Codel and John Behrens. Special thanks to Karen Marcelo, who also shot the incriminating photo below.

Previously:

• Boing Boing Video: The Boiler Bar, Oilpunk Creations + Sexy Burlesque Gyrations


• Sarriugarte and Mate's trilobyte vehicle


• Jon Sarriugarte's fire and metal art


• VW Beetle conversion into giant snail


• Oilpunk Fun in SF Bay Area This Saturday: Boiler Bar

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 4 Nov 2009 | 10:09 am

New antitrust suit against Intel, this time from NY State AG Cuomo

NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo files antitrust suit against chip maker Intel. Intel is charged with violating state and federal law by abusing its leading position in the chip market to keep rival AMD at bay.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 4 Nov 2009 | 9:14 am

Update: Droid personal plan with Exchange for $30

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

Yesterday I posted on the Verizon Droid and what appeared to be the carrier charging more for Exchange access.  It looked ridiculous and it turns out it is.  If you are getting a personal line for the Verizon Droid, you can pay the $30 data plan and enjoy all the Exchange you wish.

The confusion looks to have stemmed from the definition of business.  Carriers consider you a business customer if you use a business credit card and purchase from their business department.  If you are just doing business on a phone in your name, then technically from the carriers point of view, you are not business.

Thanks to Sacha Segan for sorting this out for us.

Read: [GearLog]

 

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 4 Nov 2009 | 9:09 am

Going Up? Use the Space Elevator

A contest to develop a space elevator pushes for a new wave of space travel.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

Google Friend Connect, now more personalized

(Cross-posted with the Social Web Blog)

On the subway, I bump elbows with a guy for 20 city blocks without exchanging a single word. Forty-five minutes later, I find the same guy at the local guitar shop, and we start to talk — turns out he plays a Gibson Les Paul just like I do. We may have been strangers on the train, but in the guitar shop, we discover our shared passion for guitars.

Often, the web can feel like that subway. There are probably people commuting to the places you regularly visit, but you don’t know who those people are, and your paths may never cross. With Google Friend Connect, we've been helping millions of website owners make their sites more like that guitar shop — a social place where visitors can get to know each other — and less like the anonymous subway ride.

With this in mind, we're thrilled to introduce a new set of Friend Connect features that let site owners help their visitors get to know each other and personalize their site's experience and content.

Break the ice
Visitors to your site can get to know each other better by sharing details about themselves that are relevant to the site they're on. As a site owner, you can help them do this by visiting the new "Interests" section of your Friend Connect account, where you can add site-relevant questions that people can answer when joining your website or via the poll gadget. For instance, if you have a music website, you might ask people to share their favorite bands, the last concert they attended, or where they discover new music. Or if you run a hiking site, you can ask them about a favorite hike or national park. The details people share are added to their Friend Connect public profiles for your site, which are seen by other site visitors. This way, your visitors can learn more about each other in the context of the interests that bring them to your website.

We've also added the ability for people to send private messages to each other. That way, when a user discovers someone who shares their interests, they can send a message to that person via their Friend Connect profile to start a dialogue.

And as with any data you collect on Friend Connect, you can use open export tools and APIs to integrate this information with any other systems you might use. The interests people share on your website are also made available in the new "Community data" section of your account in the form of easy-to-read charts.

Personalize your website experience
The ice-breaking isn't limited to your visitors; you'll learn more about them too. The interests people share make it possible for you to create a more personalized experience on your website in a number of ways:

• Send custom newsletters: The new "Newsletter" section of your account lets you create, send and manage newsletters. And with the help of "Interests," you can either send out newsletters to all your subscribers, or send out custom newsletters to different segments of your subscribers, based on the interest responses they submit.
• Personalized content gadget: This new Friend Connect gadget automatically presents a dynamic personalized set of links to your site's content that matches each visitor's specific interests. Is a visitor learning how to play swing music? Links to articles your site has published about playing swing are presented to him or her.
• Google ads: For those of you who display ads on your website, your Friend Connect account now includes an "AdSense" section that lets you enable Google ad units that are matched both to your site's content and to the interests users publicly share on your website. 

All these new features are easy to implement and require no coding whatsoever. Here's a quick tour of what Friend Connect now has to offer:



If you'd like to see the new features in action, check out some of our partners' sites, like sfstation.com, huffingtonpost.com, metrolyrics.com and pachakam.com.

We're excited to see the web evolve into a place where visitors of all websites can get to know each other — to share and discuss the things they care about most. To get started with Friend Connect, visit http://google.com/friendconnect.

Posted by Mussie Shore, Product Manager, Google Friend Connect

Source: The Official Google Blog | 4 Nov 2009 | 8:33 am

Rogers lists the Android based LG GW620, availability date still unknown

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

LG had unveiled the GW620 in mid-September and at the time, at least according to the press release it was noted as being headed to “select European markets.” Of course, that did not stop some from hoping to see it become available with AT&T here in the US. Well, in a little bit of good news and bad news, the GW620 did launch somewhere else. In fact it will be coming to North America—but not here in the US.

Instead, Rogers has just listed the GW620, which is also the first Android handset to come from LG. As of now, the handset is listed on the website and is priced at just $49.99 with a three year agreement. Additionally, you can also grab it contract free for a pretty reasonable $399.99. Sadly though, as of now, the GW620 is still listed as being out-of-stock.

Feature wise, the GW620 will offer users a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 3-inch touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and video capture, Wi-Fi, GPS, an accelerometer, Bluetooth and support for 7.2Mbps HSDPA connectivity. Additionally, the handset will also ship with a 2GB microSD card. And of course, it is running the Android OS, but the listing does not confirm which version.

All things considered, Rogers seems to be shaping up quite nicely as an Android provider. They are already offering both the HTC Dream, err G1 for us here in the US as well as the HTC Magic.

Product [Rogers]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 4 Nov 2009 | 8:03 am

The Nokia X3 passes the FCC exam

The Nokia X3, not to be confused with the Android-powered SE X3, just made it through the bowels of the FCC, which is somewhat of a surprise. The phone launched back in September and we didn’t really expect to see it stateside like many of Nokia’s fun and unique handsets. But here it is, in all of its GSM glory.

The phone isn’t 3G so it’s up in the air whether it’s AT&T or T-Mobile bound. But as long as the European specs remained, the S40 slider should come with a 3.2MP camera, FM radio, stereo speakers, microSD expansion ports, and dedicated music keys. The X3 costs €115 ($169) unlocked in Euroland, so hopefully we’ll get a similar price.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 4 Nov 2009 | 7:58 am

Wanna go beta?  We’ve got Threadsy invites

Section: Communications, Email / IM, Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Web Apps, Websites

Wish there was a web app that brought together your email, twitter and Facebook into one, easy to deal with place?  Threadsy is the answer.  I’ve been using it for over a month and it keeps getting better.  Today, I’ve got invites (500) thanks to the fine folks at Threadsy.

The service is still in beta but operation is far better than it was just 30 days ago.  The team is working fast and seems very responsive.  Here is quick recap on how Threadsy works:

Inbound

In the left pane, email is displayed along with @me Twitters and Facebook messages.  The idea is to have only the stuff that was specifically directed to you be in your inbox.  You can choose to view all of this or just the incoming mail from individual providers (like just Twitter).  Users can search through messages and this search was surprisingly fast.  Emails can be composed as either quick replies right from this screen or open and reply seeing the full message.

Unbound

In the right pane (which users can control its width), are the streams you follow from Twitter and Facebook.  As with the Inbound pane, you can choose to filter just Facebook or Twitter streams or view them all.  Another tab on top allows you to access GMail chat, which is very handy.

What’s better?

By bringing Twitter, Facebook and my mail together, I get instant context in reply to friends.  Let’s say I get an email from Gadgetell Editor, Robert Nelson.  Threadsy shows me his latest status updates from Facebook, his bio and his latest Tweets in the right hand pane.  I know what he is doing, how he feels, making my reply that much better.  It is very handy and very powerful.  Incidentally, this is the idea behind Motorola’s Blur UI for Android.  It is a winning idea.

I really like the way Threadsy lets users hover over a message and select delete, archive or quick reply without opening the message.  I am able to work through my GMail much faster.

What’s not?

Notifications on Chat is less than alerting.  The other big thing missing, for me at least, is how GMail handles attachments.  I rarely download anything anymore thanks to “preview in html” and that is missing from Threadsy. 

For me, these are small trade-offs for keeping on top of my communication (or at least believing so).  Check it out and let us know what you think, below is the special invite link just for Gadgetell readers.

Invite link: [Threadsy]

 

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 4 Nov 2009 | 7:19 am

A la peanut butter sandwiches!

Google doodles celebrate events and anniversaries around the world, while reflecting the personality, interests and quirkiness of Google employees. Today, you likely noticed a pair of familiar feet on the Google homepage. Leading up to Sesame Street's 40th anniversary on November 10th, we're excited to be featuring some of our favorite characters over the next seven days. Today: Big Bird!

Many Googlers grew up on Sesame Street, watching the colorful, seamless blend of education and entertainment. We're delighted to have partnered with Sesame Street to create this special series of doodles, particularly since we share the same values of education, diversity and accessibility. And here's a fun find from the crew at Sesame; they found a little known video clip of Cookie Monster singing about Google (rhyming it with bugle) way back in 1982 — 16 years before our company even existed.



So, happy 40th anniversary, Sesame Street. For those Sesame lovers out there, be sure to check back as we'll feature a different character each day.

Posted by Marissa Mayer, VP, Search Products & User Experience

Source: The Official Google Blog | 4 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am

Palm to give webOS a speed boost in the “immediate future”

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile

Despite my fanboy like affection for the Pre, and my desire for it to be a perfect phone, there are still some complaints coming from users. One of which that is often heard mentioned is dealing with sluggishness in webOS. Of course, to be fair, I would say webOS is not the only to hear complaints about that.

However that may soon be corrected, because according to statements from Ben Galbraith and Dion Almae of Palm;

“On ease of use, multitasking has been great; UI latency is still an issue even though the hardware is comparable to 3GS. The problem is the path to the GPU didn’t exist, but now with CSS transforms, that will be solved in the immediate future.”

Overall that sounds like a good bit of news, after all what can be better than “immediate.” That said, we are still going to have to sit tight and wait for some more details because we are unsure which update this will be coming with.

We already know that the Palm Pixi is getting ready to launch soon, and we are expecting version 1.3 soon. But we are not sure if these speed UI enhancements will be coming with 1.3 or in a later update. Bottom line, immediate sounds good, but it will be nicer when we have some firm details as to when.

Via [Everything Pre]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:36 am

Verizon to raise ETF to $350 on “advanced devices”

Don’t expect to scam Verizon on BOGO deals anymore, folks. The carrier is raising early termination fees on Novermber 15 to $350 for “advance devices” only. Clearly VZW is targeting users who were abusing the buy one get one free BlackBerry deals and those that figured out that it was cheaper cancel their current contract and pay the $175 ETF than to pay full retail for the hot new handsets like the Droid.

The leaked document doesn’t exactly spell out which devices qualify as advanced, but chances are it’s any BlackBerry, Android, or Winmo handsets. The new fee does decrease every month by $10, which is a plus. So you know what this change means, right? You have a week and a half left to scam Verizon.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:34 am

Gamma Ray 'Race' Proves Einstein Right Again

By clocking two gamma rays over 7.3 billion miles, scientists confirm Einstein's theory.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:30 am

Rogers drops the BlackBerry Bold 9000 to $99.99 on-contract, also adds the white Bold 9000

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

Just yesterday we saw the introduction of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 with Rogers. And at the time, the Bold 9700 was listed for $299.99 with the now older model Bold 9000 at a slightly lower $249.99.

Not much of a difference in price, but thankfully the BlackBerry Bold 9000 is now much lower in price, its down to $99.99 on-contract. Of course, that contract is three years.

Additionally, Rogers has also listed the once rumored white BlackBerry Bold 9000. And as you would expect, the white model is priced the same at $99.99 on-contract.

Product [BlackBerry Bold 9000 (white)] Product [BlackBerry Bold 9000 (black)]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:54 am

Apple Stores Will Use iPod Touches for Checkouts

Until now, the Apple Stores have used Windows CE-based handheld computers to check out your purchases. The convenience of not having to queue at a counter to pay meant that Steve Jobs has doubtless spent the last few years squirming that his company relied on a Microsoft product. Apple store employees weren’t happy either. According to Apple Insider, “the system has drawn complaints from employees about software crashes, sluggish operation and the need to frequently reboot.”

Now that the iPod Touch can run applications that interface with add-on hardware, everything has changed. The new payment system uses an iPod in a hard plastic case that can scan barcodes and swipe credit cards. This is married to an application called EasyPay Touch, which will process cards, issue returns and even let you buy and activate an iPhone on the plan of your choice. If the Apple employee hits the “cash” button, a register drawer will open somewhere in the store in which to deposit the filthy lucre (participating stores only).

What about signing for your purchase? The grand irony is that the stylus-free handheld computer needs to use a stylus. And not just any stylus, but the Pogo stylus, which we called “The Most Useless iPhone Accessory. Ever” back in December 2007. Still, it’s one more weapon in the fight against Microsoft, and especially the new Microsoft stores. Apple Insider says that “The Microsoft solution is about four times larger than an iPod touch and weighs five times as much.”

We’re sure that Steve Jobs is very happy.

Exclusive look at Apple’s new iPod touch-based EasyPay checkout [Apple Insider]

See Also:

• Pogo Stylus: The Most Useless iPhone Accessory. Ever
• Autograph: Sign Documents With Finger and Trackpad
• Pogo iPhone Stylus Bounces Back. Again
• Pogo Stick Turns Mac Touchpads Into Graphics Tablets

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:36 am

Pollution from Underground Coal Fires Tallied

Thousands of coal fires ooze greenhouse gases through cracks in the ground.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:15 am

Wall of Sound: World’s Biggest iPod Speaker

The world’s biggest iPod speaker is best described in numbers. The Wall of Sound weighs 102 kilos (225 pounds), stands almost a meter tall (a yard) and 1.25 meters wide (a bit more than a yard) and can rock up to around 125 watts.

The wall is made up of 28 individual speakers, each housed in their own chamber, and the whole thing is hand-built. It even has its own tube amplifier hidden away inside and yes, that tiny protrusion on the side is an iPod dock.

The pitch reads thusly: “It looks frightening and it IS frightening!” This is backed up by the horrendous music which blasts from the website of the maker, Brothers of Stockholm, and of course the name, Wall of Sound, which reminds us of the scary Phil Spector.

The most frightening part, though, is the price: $4,500. Incredibly, the first batch has already sold out.

Product page [WoS via Cult of Mac]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:10 am

Best Buy partners with CinemaNow for movie streaming

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

Physical media is slowly dying, or so it seems, and we all know it.  The retailers know it, too, and some have been striving to find a way to survive if/when the transition finally happens.  One of those retailers, Best Buy, has just inked an interesting deal with CinemaNow that it hopes will help.

The partnership between Best Buy and CinemaNow includes both physical and digital media.  More particularly, the deal will allow consumers to buy DVDs from Best Buy, then watch the same movie through CinemaNow on their computers, smartphones or Blu-Ray players.  It’s almost like buying a DVD and getting a digital copy on the second disc, but now you require just an Internet connection rather than the digital file.  The exact details of the partnership have yet to be revealed, but it’s expected the service will launch in early 2010, just as soon as some studios jump on board.

Getting studios to jump on, historically, has been difficult, but this might be different.  Best Buy’s plan will require a DVD to be bought, but there’s no guarantee that the DVD will stay with the buyer, or that the stream will.  If it does work, however, it will add yet another streaming service to our media boxes.  As it stands with Netflix, Amazon Video, Blockbuster OnDemand, Hulu among others, we already have quite a few.  When it all settles down, hopefully we’ll be down to just one or two major companies doing movie streaming/downloads.  That will make it much simpler to decide who to pay every month.  In the meantime, its a good idea from Best Buy, but it wouldn’t be all that surprising if it doesn’t work out all that well.

Read [Electronista]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 4 Nov 2009 | 5:08 am

Lacie’s 1TB ‘Network Space’ Is Almost Perfect

If you have a computer, it’s likely that it is a laptop. A handy, take-anywhere, do-anything computer that has one shortcoming: storage. You can of course stick in a bigger hard drive, but that doesn’t help if you have a ton of movies, and it certainly makes backing up trickier. This is where Lacie’s new Network Space comes in. The sleek block of black is designed to make hooking up easy, even without wires.

To show how convoluted laptop management can get, let’s look at my own (admittedly rather paranoid) setup. My MacBook has a 500GB hard drive inside. At the desk, I hook into a USB hub to which is connected a 500GB external drive and used by Time Machine. In addition, I have a bunch of movies and TV shows on another 500GB drive, and every few days I make a bootable backup to a smaller 320GB, bus-powered hard drive using the excellent Super Duper, from Shirt Pocket software. Finally, I use Backblaze for off-site backup ($5 per month, or the price of two bottles of beer in my local bar).

That’s a lot of cables and a lot of mental overhead trying to remember to do it all. And that’s why the Network Space looks so attractive. NAS (Network Attached Storage) isn’t new, but this Lacie gets a lot right. First, it’s $160 for a terabyte, almost $100 less than Apple’s Time Capsule. It has a sleep mode, can be woken over the network and the USB port means you can hook up another drive to it. There is even an option to control the glowing light, and it will work as an iTunes server, and serve files to Macs, Windows machines and games consoles.

Perfect, right? You can just throw this in a closet with a power supply and forget about it. Sadly, no. You need to run a cable to your router as the Network Space is Ethernet-only, with no Wi-Fi. So close, Lacie, so close. You almost made the perfect solution. Maybe I should buy that Time Capsule after all.

Product page [Lacie. Thanks, Kim!]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 4 Nov 2009 | 4:28 am

Hot-Seat: Anatomic Leather Saddles In Bright, Bright Colors

Yesterday’s post on the venerable Brooks saddle brought a few good comments (and one from somebody who appears not to have actually read the article). The most interesting pointed us to a seat from Selle An-Atomica, a Californian company (unrelated to Selle Italia) that makes leather bike saddles.

The product, the Titanico LD Watershed, is similar to the Brooks B17 in that it is made from leather strung between metal rails, only it has an anatomical cutout to ease perineal pressure. Brooks makes the B17 Imperial, which has a similar hole, but its perineal hole is smaller. The other big difference is that, being from sunny Fairfield, California instead of the rainy gray Midlands of England, the Titanico comes in colors! Alongside the more usual brown and black you can choose pink, white, red and yellow.

The leather is also said to be more flexible than that of the Brooks, and the shape is certainly more rounded. I’m very interested, not least by the opportunity for color-matching seat to bike. The catch is that the seats cost $180, but they do ship internationally. And even if you don’t want one, check the website. It’s not pretty, but it has a lot of great, in depth information about bike saddles and their design.

Product page [Selle An-Atomica. Thanks, Underwhelmer!]

See Also:

• Gadget Lab FAQ: Six Things You Should Know About Brooks Saddles …

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:55 am

Pinstriped Cashmere Kindle Case Is So Very English

Now that the Kindle has ventured outside its home — the land of cowboys, blue jeans and beef — it seems that it should get a change of clothes. The Amazon-supplied leather jacket may make the e-reader look all cool and James Dean in its native land, but overseas we’re a little more conservative.

So it seems very fitting that the first English Kindle case to reach our inbox is a wool and cashmere pinstripe number, the very essence of the City Gent in protective rectangular form. It costs 22 Pounds Sterling ($36), and with its foam lining works as a protective slip case rather than mimicking a paper book’s cover like the official Kindle uniform. The maker, UK Wrappers, also offers a range of materials and designs, including a couple of tartans for Scottish Kindle owners, and a Paisley-lined number for the Irish.

It’s all very international, although I now feel that my Kindle is a little underdressed here in Spain. What should he wear, I wonder? Suggestions in the comments.

Product page [UK Wrappers. Thanks, Debbie!]

See Also:

• Kindle Goes International — With a Little Help From AT&T
• International Kindle Now Shipping: The Good, the Bad and the …
• Amazon Kills U.S. Kindle, Cuts International Price
• Kindle Case Features Leather and Lights
• Beautiful Leather Kindle Cases Give Darwinian Advantage







Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:22 am

Sound Egg Chair: A Cocoon for Your Crib



If you have any kind of imagination, you will have taken a look at the classic 1960s Ovalia egg-chair, perhaps during its starring role in Men in Black, and wondered why somebody didn’t make an uglier version, filled with sound-dampening material and speakers, and take a photo of it with full-frontal flash, rendering it even nastier-looking.

Well, good news! Somebody saw inside your twisted mind and actually went and did it. The result is the Sound Egg Chair, incorporating 5.1 surround sound. The $1,500 seat has six pairs of jack sockets on the back so you can trail cables from it like fluid pipes from a Matrix-style person-pod, and it will of course accept sound input of any kind — video games and movies being the main selling points.

It’s actually kind of cool, and we’re sure that when you aren’t illuminating the interior with a camera’s flash bulb it looks as good as Henrik Thor-Larsen’s original. You can even choose the color of the foam inside, as well as the plastic outside. Weirdly, all the foam color options will cost an extra $25, except burgundy, which the makers seem to agree was possibly the worst color ever invented.

Product page [Sound Egg. Thanks, Joel!]








Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am

HTC launches the HD2 in Europe and Asia, reconfirms stateside availability in early 2010



Seeing as HTC’s CEO Peter Chou sorta slipped up and mentioned this back in October, it’s not exactly, you know, news news – but just in case you were a little bit shaky on the dates, HTC has gone ahead and confirmed that the 1 Ghz, WinMo 6.5-powered HTC HD2 will be coming to the United States “with a major US carrier in early 2010. ”

Note that they specifically say a US carrier – implying that it’ll be just one, at least right off the bat. The rumor mill has endlessly pinned this one as being destined for T-Mobile, so it’s at least somewhat safe to assume that’s where its heading.

Either way, we’ll be getting it a bit later than our overseas brethren; in the same press release, HTC disclosed that HD2 shipments in Europe and Taiwan are heading out right this second, and the rest of Asia should see it hit the shelves over the next few weeks.

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






Source: MobileCrunch | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:20 am
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