Previously:

• Goldwag: The Sarah Palin Conspiracies - Boing Boing
• Sarah Palin's legal team doesn't understand DNS - Boing Boing
• Vlad and Boris: Love Song for Sarah Palin, our Alaskan Neighbor ...
• La Pequeña Sarah Palin (Thank you Jesus) - Boing Boing
• Computer-Generated Sarah Palin Interview - Boing Boing
• HOWTO Put a hidden radio-prompter on Sarah Palin during the debate ...

Previously:

• ChiZine party at WorldCon Montreal next week - Boing Boing
• Small sf press rallies despite recession - Boing Boing
• Todd Schorr's art book: American Surreal - Boing Boing

Source: Gizmodo | 19 Nov 2009 | 7:40 pm

It’s… a self-rolling ball

I’ll tell you what. Fill a city with these things, and I’ll move there. I can’t think of a greater source of childish delight than a playground full of these things, haphazardly zipping around the asphalt, attracting the attention of every bird, dog, and blogger that passes by.

What’s happening is there’s a solar cell in there that charges a small battery. When the battery achieves a certain level of power, it discharges, driving the wheels and rolling the ball. A clever layout of rods and rollers inside ensures that the solar panel is always pointing upwards.

It serves as little purpose as anything I’ve ever seen, yet now I can’t imagine a happy world without it. And I love the fact that if suddenly all humans were eliminated from the earth, these little guys would keep on rolling until the sun exploded.

Source: CrunchGear | 19 Nov 2009 | 7:30 pm

Android-fueled Motorola Motus specs get spec’d

(Get it? Specs, spec’d, spectacles? Anyone? Come on – maybe it’s not funny, but at least it shows I know.. uh.. words.)

I’m not too sure what to think of the Motorola Motus yet, but one thing is for sure: that form factor is crazy. The photo that leaked just a few hours ago already seemed to indicate that something weird was going on with the keyboard (with what seems like a tiny sliver of overlap, how the heck is it attached?), but these (alleged) specs just make things even more ridiculous.

The specs, uncovered by them crazy Wimberly brothers over at AndroidAndMe, are all just hearsay for the time being – so arm yourself with however many grains of salt you need to sleep soundly tonight. Here goes:

• * 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A
• * 512 MB ROM
• * 256 MB RAM
• * 3.1 inch display 320 x 480 (HVGA)
• * 5 megapixel camera with LED flash
• * WiFi / Bluetooth 2.0 / GPS
• * OS Android 1.5 with Motoblur
• * GSM 850/900/1800/1900 W-CDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100
• * Reverse flip keyboard
• * Rear directional touchpad

It’s all well and good for the first few items – 528 mhz CPU, 512 MB ROM, WiFi, Android 1.5 w/ Motoblur… nothing too crazy. But then you get to the last two items: “Reverse flip keyboard”? Uh, what?

Then it gets better: “Rear directional touchpad”. From the sound of things (with these “things” being totally unconfirmed), the Motus might be rocking some form of crazy touchpad on the back of the device. This is an idea thats been thrown around for a few years — type with the thumbs, navigate with your fingers on the back of the device — but, as far as I know, this would be the first time it’s made it into a major product.

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

Source: CrunchGear | 19 Nov 2009 | 4:30 pm

Flip Mino Wannabe Is a Catastrophe

Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Not when that imitation takes horrific video with terrible sound. Meet the Memorex Mini camcorder, a pale and warped copy of the Flip Mino.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 4:22 pm

Flip Mino Wannabe Is a Catastrophe

Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Not when that imitation takes horrific video with terrible sound. Meet the Memorex Mini camcorder, a pale and warped copy of the Flip Mino.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 19 Nov 2009 | 4:22 pm

Intel Says Brain Implants Could Control Computers By 2020

Lucas123 writes "Scientists at Intel are working on developing sensors that would be implanted in a person's head in order to harness brain waves that could then be used to control computers, televisions, cell phones and other electronic equipment. Intel has already used Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI) machines to determine that blood flow changes in specific areas of the brain based on what word or image someone is thinking of. People tend to show the same brain patterns for similar thoughts. 'Eventually people may be willing to be more committed ... to brain implants. Imagine being able to surf the Web with the power of your thoughts.' said Intel research scientist Dean Pomerleau."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 19 Nov 2009 | 4:12 pm

Breaking: eBay Completes Skype Sale At $2.75 Billion Valuation

eBay has just announced that it has completed the sale of Skype, valuing the company at $2.75 billion. The investor consortium who is the buying party and will control an approximately 70 percent stake is a group led by Silver Lake Partners and includes Joltid (i.e. the company founded by Skype’s original founders) and “certain affiliated parties”, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and VC firm Andreessen Horowitz.

As previously announced, eBay received approximately $1.9 billion in cash and a note from the buyer in the principal amount of $125 million. The company also retained an approximately 30 percent equity investment in Skype.

The company also purchased senior debt securities with a face value of $50 million as part of a Skype debt financing.

The news of the completion of the sale of the successful Internet communication company comes two weeks after Skype founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis announced that they had reached a settlement with eBay in return for a 14% stake and board seats, clearing the way for the deal to close after some very public legal quarrels.

As you may remember, Andreessen Horowitz partner Marc Andreessen swiftly deemed Skype one of the most important companies on the Internet after the settlement was reached and announced (and made quite a strong case for it).

TechCrunch was first to report the imminent sale of Skype to the investor group back in August 2009 and shortly after confirmed that the deal would value the company at $2.75 billion. As a reminder and just for reference, eBay bought Skype in 2005 for $2.6 billion, although eBay has since written Skype down to $1.7 billion.

You won’t hear me say it was the smartest acquisition eBay ever made – not buying the actual core IP was downright idiotic – but they did kinda ok with it in hindsight. Let’s not forget eBay still owns a little less than one third of the new Skype either.

In the words of Skype CEO Josh Silverman: say hello to the future.

How much bigger can Skype get on its own two feet?

(Thanks to @YarinHochman for the tip)

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

Source: TechCrunch | 19 Nov 2009 | 4:11 pm

Hi-Def DSLRs May Be Cheap, But Talent Is Priceless

Whatever happened to that indie film revolution the new generation of DSLRs was supposed to start? Turns out even cheap filmmaking isn't as easy as it looks.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 19 Nov 2009 | 4:11 pm

Hi-Def DSLRs May Be Cheap, But Talent Is Priceless

Whatever happened to that indie film revolution the new generation of DSLRs was supposed to start? Turns out even cheap filmmaking isn't as easy as it looks.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 4:11 pm

Starcraft II Story Mode on video; it looks fantastic

Even though Starcraft II was playable more than a year ago, Blizzard is still extremely selective about the assets they release. This latest video shows off the “Story Mode,” also known as the game, in which you can see a few characters driving the story, directing the flow of the game, and so on. The graphics, as we know, are very reminiscent of the original, yet polished and in high resolution; the added depth of 3D makes that Yamato Battle Cruiser look way meaner than it did in Starcraft. And the environment seems way more dynamic with the emphasis on high/low ground. How about that lava?

Can’t wait, though I do suck at the game.

Source: CrunchGear | 19 Nov 2009 | 3:53 pm

Feds Charge 3 With Comcast.net Hijacking

Three alleged members of the hacker gang Kryogeniks were hit with a federal conspiracy charge Thursday for a 2008 stunt that replaced Comcast’s homepage with a shout-out to other hackers. As one of the culprits said last year, "This is going to be really bad."

Source: Wired Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 3:45 pm

Android-powered Motorola Motus caught on film, apparently in the middle of an earthquake

There seems to be an unspoken style guideline amongst spy shot shooters: find the worst lighting possible, ditch the flash, and down 3-4 cups of coffee before snapping away. Unfortunately, the spy behind this shot of the Android-powered Motorola Motus played by all the rules.

Source: CrunchGear | 19 Nov 2009 | 3:32 pm

Android-powered Motorola Motus caught on film, apparently in the middle of an earthquake

There seems to be an unspoken style guideline amongst spy shot shooters: find the worst lighting possible, ditch the flash, and down 3-4 cups of coffee before snapping away. Unfortunately, the spy behind this shot of the Android-powered Motorola Motus played by all the rules.

According to the ol’ Rumor Mill, the Motus will tout a 3.1″ 480×320 touchscreen, 802.11b/g WiFi, and a 5 megapixel AF when it launches in Q1 of 2010. Those specs (mainly the screen) put it somewhere below the Droid on the hardware totem pole, but man – look how huge that keyboard is. That thing’s either going to be incredibly amazing, or absolutely unusable.

[MotoFan.RU via Engadget Mobile]

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 19 Nov 2009 | 3:29 pm

Microsoft Denies It Built Backdoor Into Windows 7

CWmike writes "Microsoft has denied that it has built a backdoor into Windows 7, a concern that surfaced yesterday after a senior National Security Agency (NSA) official testified before Congress that the agency had worked on the operating system. 'Microsoft has not and will not put "backdoors" into Windows,' a company spokeswoman said, reacting to a Computerworld story Wednesday. On Monday, Richard Schaeffer, the NSA's information assurance director, told the Senate's Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security that the agency had partnered with the developer during the creation of Windows 7 'to enhance Microsoft's operating system security guide.' Thursday's categorical denial by Microsoft was accompanied by further explanation of exactly how the NSA participated in the making of Windows 7. 'The work being discussed here is purely in conjunction with our Security Compliance Management Toolkit,' said the spokeswoman. The company rolled out the Windows 7 version of the toolkit late last month, shortly after it officially launched the operating system."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 19 Nov 2009 | 3:16 pm

MediaTek and Qualcomm Enter Into Patent Arrangement

SAN DIEGO and HSINCHU, Taiwan, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), a leading developer and innovator of advanced wireless technologies, products and services, and MediaTek, Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 19 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

Twitter Turns On Location. Not For Twitter.com Just Yet.

Back in August, Twitter announced that it was getting ready to roll out an ambitious new project: Geolocation. The idea was to be able to attach a location to every tweet. Today, the API for the feature has been officially turned on, but location is not a part of the main site — yet.

This means that applications that have been built using the APIs — such as Birdfeed, which we previewed recently — will be the first to be able to use location features. As Twitter notes, Seesmic Web, Foursquare, Gowalla, Twidroid, Twittelator Pro and a few others are also supporting location right now.

As you can see in the screenshot, there is a new “Enable geotagging” option in the Settings menu on Twitter. It’s important to note that this feature is entirely opt-in. There is also a button to delete all your location data if you feel the need to do that. The process apparently takes up to 30 minutes to complete.

It’s worth noting that Twitter snuck in a post about its new privacy policy just before the Geolocation post. For those interested, find the updated policy here. Twitter says it basically just updated the language to account for the new location functionality.

Location appears to be a big part of Twitter’s strategy going forward. Not only do they have the Geolocation API, but they have a new API to serve up better Trending Topics based on location.

In his blog post, Twitter Platform Director Ryan Sarver notes, “This release is unique in that it’s API-only which means you won’t see any changes on twitter.com, yet.” “Yet” is the key word there. Given the extensive UI changes Twitter has undergone in the past few weeks with features like Lists and now Retweets being added, it shouldn’t be that surprising that Twitter is choosing not to roll this out on the main site right now. But you can be sure it will be a part of the experience eventually.

Developers interested in Geolocation should also look at the notes left today in the Twitter API Google Group.

Twitter has a good sense of timing with this rollout as our Realtime Crunchup is taking place tomorrow in San Francisco, and Sarver will be a part of our panel talking about geolocation. It’s good that he now has something to talk about.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 19 Nov 2009 | 2:58 pm

With New Staff In Place, Techmeme Polishes Its Mobile Experience

If you’re addicted to Techmeme, like we are, you’re probably addicted to reading it on your mobile phone too. The problem is that the experience hasn’t been great. There was a mobile version of the site, called Mini-Techmeme, but no one seemed to know about it. More importantly, it didn’t give the full Techmeme experience because it didn’t include discussion items. Today, Techmeme has launched a new version of its site optimized for smart phones.

If you visit the regular Techmeme site now on devices like an iPhone, a Palm Pre, or the new Verizon Droid, you’ll see a site optimized for touchscreen phones. The site include three main tabs, “Top, ” More,” and “New.” These represent the three key areas of Techmeme’s main site. This tabbed navigation allows you to easily jump through the sections. Each section contains the main headlines and a right pointing arrow which you click on to see the discussion items.

As you’d expect, clicking on any headline opens that story (in a new browser window). Thumbnail pictures are also pulled in for main headlines. And there’s a ‘back’ button to make navigation easy.

Even if you don’t have an officially supported device, anyone can access the new site by visiting techmeme.com/m/. But why not do a native application, such as an iPhone app? “We might make a native app in the future, but with Android phones multiplying and capable browsers appearing on so many devices, it just made sense to start with something with broader support,” founder Gabe Rivera tells us.

Just yesterday, Techmeme announced that it had doubled it staff to 6 people.

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

Source: TechCrunch | 19 Nov 2009 | 2:51 pm

Synchronize Data Between Linux, OS X, and Windows?

aaaaaaargh! writes "I'm using a laptop with Ubuntu 8.04 for work, a netbook with Ubuntu 9.10 when I'm outside, Mac OS X 10.5 for hobby projects, and Windows XP for gaming. For backups, I'm currently using Jungle Disk and Apple's Time Machine, and I use a local svn repository for my work data. Now I need to frequently exchange and synchronize OpenOffice and Latex files and source code in various cross-platform programming languages between one machine and another. Options range from putting everything online (but Jungle Disk disks seem to be too slow for anything else than backup), storing my data on external media like USB sticks or SD cards, or working with copies by synchronizing folders over the network. I don't want to give my data away to some server outside without strong encryption (controlled by me, including the source code) and external media like USB sticks are a bit too fragile according to my taste. The solution should be reliable, relatively failsafe, as simple as possible, and allow me to continue to use Jungle Disk for backup. So what would you recommend?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 19 Nov 2009 | 2:30 pm

TDS Announces Fourth Quarter 2009 Dividend

CHICAGO, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The board of directors of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 19 Nov 2009 | 2:29 pm

TDS Announces New $250 Million Stock Repurchase Authorization

CHICAGO, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE: TDS, TDS.S), today announced that its board of directors has authorized a new $250 million stock repurchase authorization that will expire in three years.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 19 Nov 2009 | 2:27 pm

Sounds During Sleep Aid Memory, Study Finds - New York Times

TopNews United States

Sounds During Sleep Aid Memory, Study Finds New York Times Science has never given much credence to claims that you can learn French or Chinese by having the instruction CDs play while you sleep. If any learning happens that way, most scientists say, the language lesson is probably waking the ... Memories May Be Enhanced By Sleep, Study ShowsABC News Study: Playing of specific sounds during sleep can enhance memoryTopNews United States Can sound enter deep sleep and improve connected memories upon waking?HealthJockey.com WebMD -U.S. News & World Report -NPR all 28 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 19 Nov 2009 | 2:26 pm

Hit By Recession, IT Industry Changing Focus, Rather Than Slashing Jobs

Society for Information Management 2009 IT Trends Survey demonstrates rethinking of IT's role in corporate planning HOBOKEN, N.J., Nov.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 19 Nov 2009 | 2:22 pm

Brookstone(R) Celebrates Thanksgiving Savings with Special Promotion on Black Friday

Brookstone(®), the specialty retailer offering a world of unique gifts and smart wellness, audio and travel solutions, is celebrating Thanksgiving savings from Tuesday, November 24 through Sunday, November 29 with a special promotion. On Black Friday, customers will receive a free n.a.p Luxe Cuddle Bear or Pup
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 19 Nov 2009 | 2:07 pm

Dung Fungus Prompts Rethinking of Mammoth Extinction

Scientists studied a fungus that lived in the dung of mammoths and other large mammals to try to determine what caused them to go extinct 13,000 years ago.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 2:01 pm

Is Verizon’s data network down? [Update: California Only]

We’re not sure how wide spread it is (Update: seems to only be effecting California. ), but I’m seeing a whole lot of reports that Verizon’s 3G data network is down in various parts of the country. The majority of the reports seem to be coming out of the SF Bay Area and South Bay. While the handsets are reporting full 3G signal, no data seems to be piping in our out. Might the success of the Droid in the Silicon Valley have tipped things over, a la AT&T’s iPhone woes?

We’ve got a note into Verizon, so we’ll update once we get official word. In the mean while, go ahead and drop a comment and let us know whether or not the data is flowing where you are. Also mention what handset you’re using – an odd number of the reports seem to be coming from Droid users, but this may just be coincidence.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 19 Nov 2009 | 1:54 pm

Live Music Short Showcases Crowdsourced Animation

Dozens of artists use a Facebook app to contribute to the slick clip, which features music from rock guitarist Steve Vai and violinist Ann Marie Calhoun. See Mass Animation's innovative Live Music in theaters Friday, paired with animated sci-fi flick, Planet 51.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 1:47 pm

New York State Testing Emergency Alerts Over Gaming Networks

An anonymous reader writes "Gamers are used to confronting invading terrorists, nuclear attacks, and natural calamities—in virtual form. But those living in New York State could soon receive warnings about real emergencies through their favorite video console. State authorities are testing a plan that would see the Emergency Management Office issue alerts over online gaming networks in addition to regular channels."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 19 Nov 2009 | 1:47 pm

Hyperlens Sharpens Sights With Sound

High-resolution ultrasound and sonar imaging is now possible with a new metamaterial.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 1:30 pm

Lock Down Your Inbox by Encrypting Your E-Mail

Don't let your extra-strong password fool you: Your e-mail is insecure. If you're intent on locking down your message, you better learn how to encrypt it. Find out how to encrypt your e-mail messages.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 1:18 pm

California approves new standards on energy-hungry TVs - Los Angeles Times

ABC News

California approves new standards on energy-hungry TVs Los Angeles Times The California Energy Commission votes 5-0 in favor of the nation's first efficiency regulations for televisions of up to 58 inches sold in the state. The stricter rules take effect Jan. 1, 2011. New California standards for TVs, which take effect Jan. ... California sets limits on energy-gulping TVsReuters California Adopts New TV Energy Efficiency StandardsChannelWeb Calif. Requires TVs to Be More Energy-EfficientABC News San Francisco Chronicle -CNET News -New York Times all 1,232 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 19 Nov 2009 | 1:11 pm

CrunchDeals: All Konami iPhone games on sale for $.99

Got a buck? Own an iThing? Like to game and save money? Sweet! Then you’ll be really happy to hear that Konami’s entire collection of iPhone / iPod touch games are all on sale for $.99 until Saturday, November 21.

Ordinarily, most of Konami’s iGames go for anywhere from $2 and up. But enough about dollars and cents. Here’s a list of all the priced-to-move games (w/ iTunes links):

• DanceDanceRevolution S (normally $5)
• DanceDanceRevolution S+ (same price)
• Field Prowlers Police Rush (new game)
• Frogger (normally $2)
• Krazy Kart Racing (normally $3)
• Metal Gear Solid Touch (normally $6)
• Power Pros Touch (normally $4)
• Silent Hill The Escape (normally $5)
• Silent Scope (normally $3)

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 19 Nov 2009 | 1:04 pm

Google Releases Source To Chromium OS

Kelson writes "Google has released the source to what will eventually become Chrome OS, and will begin developing it as an open source project like Chromium. The OS differs from the usual computing model by (1) making all apps web apps (2) sandboxing everything and (3) removing anything unnecessary, to focus on speed." Reader Barence adds "Google said consumers won't be able to download the operating system — it will only be available on hardware that meets Google's specifications. Hard disks are banned, for instance, while Google said it will also specify factors such as screen sizes and display resolutions. Google said it plans to officially launch Chrome OS by the end of next year."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 19 Nov 2009 | 1:02 pm

Elsevier Celebrates The 20th Anniversary Of The UN Convention For The Rights Of The Child

Elsevier, the leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today the publication of a freely available Special Issue of Child Abuse and Neglect The International Journal 1989-2009 on the 20th Anniversary of the U.N.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 19 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

Cool. Even Batman uses Google.

When I first started at Google, Craig Nevill-Manning, engineering director here in New York, said to me: "The Google homepage doesn't belong to us. It belongs to the millions of people who use it." Besides the fact that Craig can make one of those insanely cool leaf patterns in his latte, I find the simple truth of his statement inspiring. I often refer to it as a guidepost for our work.

So when we got together with the search team to brainstorm ways to talk about our latest innovations (like music in search results), we decided to feature them through stories inspired by our users. Because while we're proud of the innovations we're making in search, we're proudest of the things people use search to accomplish. In other words, the best search results don't show up on a webpage — they show up in somebody's life.

So in that spirit, we made a bunch of videos. There's one about grandma dipping her toe into technology. One about friends taking a Kerouac inspired road trip. And yes, there's even one about Bruce Wayne.

Here's the first one:
Source: The Official Google Blog | 19 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

Atlantis Astronauts Embark on First Spacewalk

A pair of spacewalking astronauts hustled through work outside the International Space Station.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:59 pm

The Benefits Of Stress ... In Plants

Wild flax plants fight infection even in poor soilChronic stress in humans has been implicated in heart disease, weight gain, and diabetes, among a host of other health problems.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:56 pm

Finding More In 'Most'

TAU shakes the world of linguistics with a scientific study of an everyday wordWilliam Shakespeare, who knew a thing or two about words, advised that "An honest tale speeds best, being plainly told." But the exact meaning of plain language isn't always easy to find.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:50 pm

Sucking Up the Storm

In New Orleans, engineers are installing a giant pump they say should keep the city dry in the event of another big hurricane. Listen to the podcast.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:43 pm

Health Insurer Loses 1.5 Million Patient Records

HealthNet lost about 1.5 million records that were stored on a portable hard disk, but waited six months before telling anyone. The unencrypted data included Social Security numbers, bank account numbers and health data.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:35 pm

Energy Sector Ready For International Climate Change Agreement

Energy leaders on Thursday urged international leaders to strike a climate deal, calling it “the top long term issue.""It's the most important driver for change," said World Energy Council (WEC) Secretary General Christoph Frei.The WEC said officials in 93 countries see future climate policies as a "critical uncertainty" much similar to the current economic crises."Long term visibility is absolutely critical, without that energy industry is going to face high uncertainty.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:14 pm

Carbon Dioxide: sources outpacing sinks

Galloping increases in human fossil fuel emissions now appear to be outrunning the ability of the world's oceans to absorb them. The first year-by-year accounting of the oceans' role as a carbon sink shows that, even as they soak up ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:09 pm

Google Chrome OS: Ditch Your Hard Drives, the Future Is the Web

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California — Google today unveiled more details of Chrome OS, a lightweight, browser-based operating system for netbooks.

With a strong focus on speed, the Chrome OS promises nearly instant boot times of about 7 seconds for users to login to their computers.

“We want Google Chrome OS to be blazingly fast … to boot up like a TV,” said Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management for Google.

The first Chrome OS netbooks will be available in late 2010, Pichai said. It will not be available as a download to run and install. Instead, Chrome OS is only shipping on specific hardware from manufacturers Google has partnered with. That means if you want Chrome OS, you’ll have to purchase a Chrome OS device.

Google is currently working with unnamed computer manufacturers to define specifications for these computers, which Pichai said will include larger netbook-style computers with full-size keyboards, large trackpads and large displays.

Chrome OS netbooks will not have traditional hard disk drives — they will rely on non-volatile flash memory and internet-based storage for saving all of your data.

All the applications will be web-based, meaning users won’t have to install apps, manage updates or even backup their data. All data will be stored in the cloud, and users won’t even have to bother with anti-virus software: Google claims it will monitor code to prevent malicious activity in Chrome OS web apps.

“Chrome OS is a totally rethought computer that will let you focus on the internet, so you can stop worrying about your computer,” according to a Google promotional video shown at the event, held at the Google campus in Mountain View, California.

As part of its announcement today, Pichai said that Google would be releasing all of the operating system’s code and design documents to the public.

Introduced in July, Chrome OS is a Linux-based, open-source operating system centered on Google’s Chrome browser. Applications will run exclusively inside the browser, Google said Thursday.

“As of today, the code will be fully open, which means Google developers will be working on the same tree as open developers,” said Pichai.

The OS’s focus on design is consistent with the company’s stance that the future is in the web. In July, Vic Gundotra, Google’s engineering vice president and developer evangelist, spoke on a panel about app stores, in which he said native apps (such as those available for the iPhone) would be obsolete in the future, and that the web will “become the platform that matters.”

“Every capability you want today, in the future it will be written as a web application,” Pichai said Thursday.

Netbooks — lightweight, low-powered subnotebooks — were the surprise hit of 2008 and 2009. However, with the growth of netbook sales slowing — and the prices of some full-powered notebooks dropping below $400 — the continued viability of the netbook sector is an open question.

Though netbook shipments are falling below manufacturers’ expectations, the inexpensive, low-powered devices appear to still be selling well. Pichai cited research figures from ABI research indicating that 35 million netbooks shipped in 2009, more than twice the number sold in 2008.

Manufacturers have yet to announce pricing on netbooks shipping with Chrome OS, but Google expects the cost to be about the same as current netbooks. On average, netbooks cost between $300 and $500.

Videos demonstrating Chrome OS’s user interface, security, fast boot and other features are below the jump.

See Also:

• Five Things Google’s Chrome OS Will Do for Your Netbook
• Google Announces PC Operating System to Compete with Windows …
• You Predict the Winner of OS Wars: Chrome, Windows, Linux, OS X …
• Google FAQ Reveals Chrome OS Hardware Partners

Photo illustration: Charlie Sorrel/Wired.com; Original photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:09 pm

Hobbits Are a New Human Species, Study of Fossils Concludes

Is the hobbit human debate over? I doubt it, but the below, from Wiley-Blackwell, puts a strong notch on the side of those who believe "Homo floresiensis" represents a new human species. 'Hobbits' are a new human species -- according ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:04 pm

Partition Your Hard Drive to Boost Speed and Performance

Maybe your hard drive is twice the size, but only half as useful. Splitting it in two allows you to install multiple hard drives, create impenetrable RAM disks, or just organizes your data. Here are some tools you can use to partition your hard drive.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

Appletell reviews Sonos ZonePlayer S5 with ZoneBridge wireless music system

FROM APPLETELL - The Sonos ZonePlayer S5 wireless music system is meant to simply be placed in a room, quickly set up, and then used to stream the user’s audio to that room.
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Source: Gadgetell | 19 Nov 2009 | 11:57 am

Three New Ancient Crocodile Species Fossils Found

A 20-foot-long crocodile with three sets of fangs -- like wild boar tusks -- roamed parts of northern Africa millions of years ago, researchers reported Thursday.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 11:34 am

Releasing the Chromium OS open source project

In July we announced that we were working on Google Chrome OS, an open source operating system for people who spend most of their time on the web.

Today we are open-sourcing the project as Chromium OS. We are doing this early, a year before Google Chrome OS will be ready for users, because we are eager to engage with partners, the open source community and developers. As with the Google Chrome browser, development will be done in the open from this point on. This means the code is free, accessible to anyone and open for contributions. The Chromium OS project includes our current code base, user interface experiments and some initial designs for ongoing development. This is the initial sketch and we will color it in over the course of the next year.

We want to take this opportunity to explain why we're excited about the project and how it is a fundamentally different model of computing.

First, it's all about the web. All apps are web apps. The entire experience takes place within the browser and there are no conventional desktop applications. This means users do not have to deal with installing, managing and updating programs.

Second, because all apps live within the browser, there are significant benefits to security. Unlike traditional operating systems, Chrome OS doesn't trust the applications you run. Each app is contained within a security sandbox making it harder for malware and viruses to infect your computer. Furthermore, Chrome OS barely trusts itself. Every time you restart your computer the operating system verifies the integrity of its code. If your system has been compromised, it is designed to fix itself with a reboot. While no computer can be made completely secure, we're going to make life much harder (and less profitable) for the bad guys. If you dig security, read the Chrome OS Security Overview or watch the video.

Most of all, we are obsessed with speed. We are taking out every unnecessary process, optimizing many operations and running everything possible in parallel. This means you can go from turning on the computer to surfing the web in a few seconds. Our obsession with speed goes all the way down to the metal. We are specifying reference hardware components to create the fastest experience for Google Chrome OS.

There is still a lot of work to do, and we're excited to work with the open source community. We have benefited hugely from projects like GNU, the Linux Kernel, Moblin, Ubuntu, WebKit and many more. We will be contributing our code upstream and engaging closely with these and other open source efforts.

Google Chrome OS will be ready for consumers this time next year. Sign up here for updates or if you like building your operating system from source, get involved at chromium.org.

Lastly, here is a short video that explains why we're so excited about Google Chrome OS.




Source: The Official Google Blog | 19 Nov 2009 | 11:31 am

iPhone 3G and 3GS coming to Virgin Mobile Canada

Virgin Mobile Canada has announced that it will begin to sell the iPhone 3G and 3GS in Virgin Mobile Retail Stores and online in Canada in the “coming months.” VMC joins fellow Canadian carriers Telus, Bell Canada, Fido, and Rogers in becoming an authorized iThing dealer.

When we get more firm information regarding a firm launch date and pricing, we’ll obviously be sure to share with our favorite readers/neighbors to the north. But for now, we can all get back to watching Strange Brew and drinking Labatt’s.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 19 Nov 2009 | 11:24 am

Is the Tuna in Your Sushi Endangered?

This just in from the American Museum of Natural History: unknowlingly consuming endangered tuna A Genetic Tool Uncovers the Species of Tuna Plated in Sushi Restaurants While most of us would never willingly consume a highly endangered species, doing so ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 11:22 am

Snails: More Protein, Less Expensive Than Beef

From Inderscience: A nutritionist in Nigeria says that malnutrition and iron deficiency in schoolchildren could be reduced in her country by baking up snail pie. In a research paper to be published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 11:16 am

IBM Cat Brain Computer is Me-Wow

IBM announced this week that it has a computer system that can simulate the thinking power of a cat's brain with 1 billion neurons and 10 trillion synapses. At just 4.5 percent of a human brain, the computer can sense, ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 10:57 am

US, China Look to Expand Space Partnership

Whether the United States and its partners in the International Space Station program will get their money’s worth out of the $100 billion endeavor is still to be determined, but there’s one point even the skeptics concede: it’s been a ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 19 Nov 2009 | 10:56 am

Sprint pushes OTA bug-fixin’ update to HTC Hero

Sprint has pushed out an over-the-air firmware update for its popular HTC Hero ‘droid handset. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with Android 2.0, but it does purportedly fix a pesky SMS bug which has been causing battery drain issues. Oh, and it also helps your favorite Hero play nice with daylight saving time. But apparently, that’s just about all the update does.

If for some reason you didn’t get the 1.56.651.2 update automagically: go to Settings > About > System Updates > Firmware Update. Please let us know if you uncover any other interesting updates/fixes in the comments, you know, for the kids.

[via IntoMobile]

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 19 Nov 2009 | 10:36 am

TiVo slashes price on HD and HD XL - get Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster and YouTube all for less

Section: Video, Accessories, Content, HDTV, Gadgets / Other, Household, Web, Online Music/Video

TiVo has reduced prices on their HD and HD XL units by up to $100 for the holidays.  TiVo revolutionized DVR functionality and continues to drive services forward with integration with companies like Netflix, Amazon and BLOCKBUSTER allowing users to stream movies, even in HD, to their home TVs.  It is unknown if the sale is a move to clear stock for a new intro or a reaction to recessionary consumer spending or lack thereof.

The HD and HD XL offer TiVo’s world class navigation and time-shifting recording.  As a TiVo user, I am continually impressed with how easy the unit makes it for my family to watch videos and movies from an increasing number of sources.  Even my 7 year old can navigate to Netflix and begin watching a movie.

While HD menu’s still continue to be absent from TiVo’s line up and access to your content providers On Demand content is still not possible (in most cases) TiVo is the gold standard of DVRs.  Add to it streaming from popular services and it keeps getting better.

TiVo’s sale takes $50 off the HD to $299 and $100 off the HD XL to $499.  It might be interesting to note shoppers can pick up the a refurbished HD for just $200.

Source: [TiVo Blog]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 19 Nov 2009 | 10:34 am

HD HiFI music server blows away CDs, like Blu-ray for music

Section: Audio, Audio Receivers, Home Audio, Satellite / HD Radio

Today, Olive introduces some high-end audio gear that is said to have 250 times the resolution of a CD.  The Olive 4HD Music Server not only holds up to 20,000 songs at HD quality, but will record at 24 bit.  The unit is backed up by a host of accessible options that allow you to control your server from your HDTV or iPhone.

Removing the need to keep a music collection on a computer, the 4HD Server will store your music, convert CDs and even burn CDs.  To get users started, the company offers to import up to 100 of your CDs for free, so the new system is delivered to them complete with your music already digitized.  After the first 100, there is a nominal fee per CD.

“With a proprietary DAC featuring TI’s best-of-breed BurrBrown 1792A 192Khz/24-bit DAC, optimized circuit design, HD quality digital sound, ultra-quiet hard drives and passive cooling to eliminate fan noise, the Olive 4HD Hi-Fi Music Server delivers the best possible HD hi-fi audio experience. You’ll never hear anything like this on your computer, iPod or any other MP3 music player.”

To find music, users can interact with the 4.3 touchscreen on the server, use the HDMI interface that allows selections to be made on your HDTV or even use the company’s iPhone app.  Each choice offers beautiful (in my opinion) graphics, clean and clear navigation, an impressive collection of ways to interact with music.  Each offers full color album cover images.

Other features include the ability receive internet radio stations, more information about your music, infrared remotes to work through closed doors and has WiFi (802.11n) as well as a wired connection.

The 4HD Music Server costs $1,999 and is backed with a 60-day money back guarentee.  The company says you will hear a difference in your music from the first note.

Company site: [Olive]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 19 Nov 2009 | 9:34 am

Automatic captions in YouTube

Since we first announced captions in Google Video and YouTube, we've introduced multiple caption tracks, improved search functionality and even automatic translation. Each of these features has had great personal significance to me, not only because I helped to design them, but also because I'm deaf. Today, I'm in Washington, D.C. to announce what I consider the most important and exciting milestone yet: machine-generated automatic captions.

Since the original launch of captions in our products, we’ve been happy to see growth in the number of captioned videos on our services, which now number in the hundreds of thousands. This suggests that more and more people are becoming aware of how useful captions can be. As we’ve explained in the past, captions not only help the deaf and hearing impaired, but with machine translation, they also enable people around the world to access video content in any of 51 languages. Captions can also improve search and even enable users to jump to the exact parts of the videos they're looking for.

However, like everything YouTube does, captions face a tremendous challenge of scale. Every minute, 20 hours of video are uploaded. How can we expect every video owner to spend the time and effort necessary to add captions to their videos? Even with all of the captioning support already available on YouTube, the majority of user-generated video content online is still inaccessible to people like me.

To help address this challenge, we've combined Google's automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology with the YouTube caption system to offer automatic captions, or auto-caps for short. Auto-caps use the same voice recognition algorithms in Google Voice to automatically generate captions for video. The captions will not always be perfect (check out the video below for an amusing example), but even when they're off, they can still be helpful—and the technology will continue to improve with time.

In addition to automatic captions, we’re also launching automatic caption timing, or auto-timing, to make it significantly easier to create captions manually. With auto-timing, you no longer need to have special expertise to create your own captions in YouTube. All you need to do is create a simple text file with all the words in the video and we’ll use Google’s ASR technology to figure out when the words are spoken and create captions for your video. This should significantly lower the barriers for video owners who want to add captions, but who don’t have the time or resources to create professional caption tracks.

To learn more about how to use auto-caps and auto-timing, check out this short video and our help center article:



You should see both features available in English by the end of the week. For our initial launch, auto-caps are only visible on a handful of partner channels (list below*). Because auto-caps are not perfect, we want to make sure we get feedback from both viewers and video owners before we roll them out more broadly. Auto-timing, on the other hand, is rolling out globally for all English-language videos on YouTube. We hope to expand these features for other channels and languages in the future. Please send us your feedback to help make that happen.

Today I'm more hopeful than ever that we'll achieve our long-term goal of making videos universally accessible. Even with its flaws, I see the addition of automatic captioning as a huge step forward.

* Partners for the initial launch of auto-caps: UC Berkeley, Stanford, MIT, Yale, UCLA, Duke, UCTV, Columbia, PBS, National Geographic, Demand Media, UNSW and most Google & YouTube channels.

Posted by Ken Harrenstien, Software Engineer
Source: The Official Google Blog | 19 Nov 2009 | 9:30 am

Backup Pal Backs Up Cellphone Numbers

My cellphone is such a piece of junk that I cannot sync it with my computer, and it seems not to recognize the numbers of any incoming callers anyway. This is why I hold an iPod Touch in one hand and manually dial the number with the other. And as I never answer calls from unknown numbers, there is little point in calling me.

However, every few months I (and probably you) get emails from people who do store all their numbers on their phones, and have lost those phones. “Please send me you numbers,” they cry, and then spend hours tapping the details in on their tiny cellphone keyboards.

These people are so shortsighted that even the Backup Pal is off their radar. This ugly and expensive ($60) hunk of plastic plugs into your cellphone and sucks the numbers from within, storing them for restoration after the inevitable lost-phone-in-taxi scenario. It takes three AAA batteries and comes with adapters for LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson cellphones, and can hold details for up to 4,000 contacts.

Better, head to the local store of your cellphone provider. Many of them offer a backup service, and if you have to pay, it’ll certainly be less than $60. Plus, your flatmates won’t throw the backup away thinking it is a novelty toy that came out of a Christmas cracker.

Backup Pal Product page [Solutions via Book of Joe]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 19 Nov 2009 | 8:59 am

Terrifying Cheetah-Inspired ‘Bicycle’

This is the Pardo, a concept human powered vehicle. Kind of cool looking, right? Like a big pedal-powered go-kart. Now take a look at this picture:

Less cool, and much more scary. The Pardo (short for guepardo, Spanish for cheetah) splays the rider out prone on its plywood surface where he can cling to the small handle and start to pray for survival. Those pedals at the back are used in concert, you pump them together like a frog pumping his legs to jump, and this sends you flying forwards, face-first into oblivion. As for steering, a good deal of luck (and perhaps leaning) appears to be involved. The body of the cheetah folds in two, so it can be safely tucked in the basement when you are done terrifying yourself.

Not content with cool-looking renders of his design, Argentinian Pablo Lopez actually built a working prototype. It actually looks like a lot of fun, and it’s certainly a great antidote to beardo-recumbents. As you may have guessed, this is unavailable to buy, but it seems that money-making isn’t Lopez’ aim. “My main goal is transmitting and creating sensations”, he says.

Move Like a Cheetah with this Incredible Human Powered Vehicle [Treehugger]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 19 Nov 2009 | 8:25 am

Google Voice adds new options to display your number when sending SMS messages

Section: Communications, Web, Google

I have not made any secret as to my love affair with Google Voice, and thankfully that is backed up by the fact they seem to be improving and adding to the service little by little. And the latest little tidbit that was updated within Google Voice is dealing with SMS messaging. Or more specifically, the number that will be displayed when you send an SMS message using your Google Voice account.

“But when you - a Google Voice user - send a text message to another Google Voice number from one of the forwarding phones on your account, you probably want Google Voice to display the SMS as from your Google Voice number rather than from a (406) number. This way, the Google Voice user to whom you sent the SMS will see your Google Voice number as the originating number, the single number that reaches you everywhere.”

Personally I chose the “display my Google Voice number” option because, well, I am not sure why I would not want my number displayed.

Anyway, to check your settings or make any adjustments, just click Settings -> Calls and then go down to Caller ID (out). Once there you will see “When I SMS a Google Voice number from one of my forwarding phones.” From there you will have the option to stick with the default, or to have your Google Voice number displayed.

Unfortunately this setting currently only works with SMS messages, but it was noted that “calls will be included soon.” Of course, that just means more Google Voice updates in the future.

Read [Google Voice Blog]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 19 Nov 2009 | 8:16 am

Black Friday 2009: Toys R Us holds pre-Black Friday game sales, allows layaway for consoles and more

FROM GAMERTELL - Toys R Us is going to start holding pre-Black Friday sales from November 20-26, 2009. It will also allow people to trade in select game systems starting November 20, 2009. Game consoles can also now be put on Big Gift Layaway.
MORE »

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 19 Nov 2009 | 7:31 am

CrunchDeals: Palm Pre for $80, Palm Pixi for $25 (free activation, too)

Amazon is running a deal on the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi, selling the new-ish Sprint smartphones for $80 and $25, respectively, with a two-year contract and free activation.

Source: MobileCrunch | 19 Nov 2009 | 7:06 am

What's cooking with iGoogle...

We're both huge foodies, and we always love spending time in the kitchen with friends and family, especially around the holidays. Particularly during this season, many of us turn to Google when searching for recipes. But, in addition to spicing up your recipe repertoire, Google can be a huge resource in the kitchen. From helping you with sugar measurements, to jump starting ideas for unique Thanksgiving table settings, the web has made becoming a culinary master much easier.

Since many of us love to celebrate great food, we're excited to announce that we've partnered with a variety of top chefs and food industry experts to bring you some elegant new, food-focused iGoogle themes and gadgets. iGoogle is all about personalization and freshness, and in that spirit, these unique themes are sure to delight the chef in all of us. Be sure to check out our iGoogle gallery, where you'll find some tasty new themes from chefs like Alton Brown and Paula Deen, food artists like Carl Warner and James Parker and even famous bakeries like New York City's Crumbs Bake Shop and Magnolia Bakery.

In addition to these taste bud tantalizing themes, we've also partnered with many top food industry names to build a suite of new gadgets for your iGoogle page. For example, Supercook lets you input various ingredients you have on hand, then gives you some great recipes you can whip up. And if you're feeling like a night out at a new restaurant, Urbanspoon will help you pick a restaurant on the fly — all from your iGoogle page.

We hope this new element of gourmet iGoogle personalization will get you even more interested in enhancing your cooking and dining experiences. Here's to some great new food with family and friends this holiday season!


Posted by Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Products and User Experience and Brittany Bohnet, Product Marketing Manager
Source: The Official Google Blog | 19 Nov 2009 | 7:05 am

MSI Wind Top AE2220 all-in-one desktop PC now available

Section: Computers, Desktops

MSI has just announced that their latest all-in-one style desktop computer is now shipping. That model is the 21.5-inch multi-touch capable Wind Top AE2220.

Feature wise the AE2220 offers a choice between a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 or 2.1GHz Pentium Dual Core processor and comes with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. Other features include a built-in card reader, 1.3-megapixel webcam, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and remote control. This model is also compatible with VESA wall mounts and offers an optional Blu-ray optical drive. Finally, the Wind Top AE2220 will be running Windows 7 Home Premium.

As for pricing and availability, the AE2200 is priced from $749.99 and up depending on configuration and is just beginning to show up with online retailers. Currently Amazon has it listed as a pre-order item, but at a slightly lower price of $699.

Read [PR Newswire]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 19 Nov 2009 | 6:52 am

Cisco: New Wi-Fi Flip Camera Early Next Year

If you thought “huh?” when network supremo Cisco bought out Pure Digital - the maker of the Flip camera - earlier this year, then we at last have some reason for the purchase. A spokesman from Cisco has confirmed that a new Flip will go on sale early in 2010, and that it will have Wi-Fi built in.

This is such a perfect fit it seems obvious. The Flip’s main rival as we see it is the iPhone 3GS, which can shoot video and upload it, all without a computer. Adding Wi-Fi transfer claws back one bullet point on the spec sheet.

The same source, speaking to the Pocket Lint blog, says that the screen will not feature touch, but will move, sliding back to “reveal the record and menu buttons underneath.” This will, presumably, mean a bigger screen than the current 2-inch LCD on the top-end Flip Ultra HD, which happily co-exists with the buttons by its side. We’d also guess that there will be some editing abilities, like the iPhone, so that you can trim and tuck your clips before sending them off to YouTube.

This is what competition does, folks. Fear of death breeds innovation, and we, the customers, are the winners. Good old market Darwinism.

Next-gen Flip camcorder to boast Wi-Fi [Pocket Lint]

Photo credit: Jon Snyder for Wired.com

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 19 Nov 2009 | 6:29 am

iTablet Gains OLED Display, Delayed Until Late 2010

If an unannounced product exists solely in the minds of speculative journalists and know-nothing analysts, can it be “delayed”? If so, then the fabled Apple tablet has just seen a setback to its non-existent launch date, pushing it to the second half of 2010.

The source? Component manufacturers for the iTablet, who, according to Digitimes, say that Apple has changed its mind on the product range (partway through production, it would seem) and decided to confuse customers with a split product launch.

Instead of the usual Apple strategy of launching one product, letting it run for a few years, and only then adding more lines (think iPod, which was on sale for two years before the Mini joined it, and iPhone, which is still the only iPhone), Digitimes’ sources claim that there will be two tablets at launch. One with a TFT screen will measure 10.6-inches and one with an OLED screen will measure 9.7-inches.

The sources have even worked out the prices of the tablets. Going on current prices of OLED screens and the percentage of the product budget they normally occupy, the price is estimated to be between $1,500 and $1,700. That’s not the sale price but the cost. Add a conservative 30 percent on top  of that for Apple’s famously fat profit margins and you get to around $2,200. That’s almost as much as the 17-inch MacBook Pro.

Due to the imaginary delay, these prices are expected to drop to a more reasonable $1,200-1,500 by launch, as the prices of OLED screens drop. Digitimes also points out that “The price could be more flexible if bundled with telecom providers’ 3G services.” Extrapolating from the iPhone, which costs AT&T around $600 and sells for $200 on a two-year contract, the iTablet would need a four-year contract to bring it into the necessary price range between the iPhone and the MacBook, around $700.

Why would Apple, a company famous for its pared down, easy-to-understand product lineup, introduce two models of a new device not only almost exactly the same size, but with confusing differences in screen technology? And why would it sabotage the recent and aggressive price cutting across all product lines by launching a big iPhone at a price higher than many of its pro-level notebooks?

This is a truly bewildering story. One day, we will see an Apple Tablet, I’m sure. But until it is officially announced, the only place to get one will be in the Atlantis Apple Store, which is staffed by unicorns.

Apple tablet PC reportedly delayed until 2H10, with OLED model now included [Digitimes via Henry Blodget on Twitter. Thanks, John!]

Illustration of an Apple tablet: Photo Giddy/Flickr

See Also:

• Dear Tablet Naysayers: Stop Looking Back When We’re Thinking Ahead …
• Gadget Lab Contest: Show Us Your Apple Tablet Mock-Up
• Everything We Know About Apple’s Touchscreen Tablet
• Financial Times Confirms Apple Tablet for September
• Rumor: $800 Apple Tablet Coming in October

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 19 Nov 2009 | 6:11 am

Speedy Android smartphone announced with Snapdragon processor

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

Sony Ericsson announced their first Google Android based phone yesterday, the XPERIA X10.  The phone sticks with the Xperia slide out qwerty form factor but offers up a new user experience laid on top of Android.  Sony Ericsson showed off a non-retail prototype with an expected release date in Q1 of 2010.

Sony Ericsson needs a hit.  They’ve only two supporting carriers in the US, AT&T and T-Mobile, while they’ve done much better in Europe.  Despite a strong following there, Sony Ericsson continues to lose market share.  Sales were off by 45 percent at the last quarter check-in, year-over-year.  Is this new phone just what the doctor ordered?

Maybe.  The prototypes were running Android 1.6, the penultimate version of Android.  It lacks all the flash and excitement around the newly launched 2.0, but perhaps an update is coming.  The new UI or UX as Sony Ericsson likes to refer to as users experience looks impressive.  Dubbed Nexus, the UI does what all new UIs are attempting to do today: combine social integration into everyday simplicity.  Contacts from Facebook, Twitter, email, and other social interactions are combined and presented in unobtrusive ways to keep you connected to people that matter most.  That is the idea, anyhow.

The phone features Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor and should scream, yet there seemed to be some lag in the prototypes.  Many press and analysts found the UI to be impressive, but less so than competing Android overlays from companies such as HTC (Sense UI) and Motorola (Blur).  The phone didn’t scream unique.  While way too early to judge, using the press and analysts at their announcement yesterday as a sounding board may not have been the best route.  We’ll reserve judgment until we see the full retail product.

At the moment, we’ve no launch date or carrier information to speak of.  The off-contract price is expected to be astronomical, $879, according to the Wall Street Journal, a subsidized price from a carrier should be much less.

Read: [BoyGeniusReports] and [ title="AndroidandMe">AndroidandMe]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 19 Nov 2009 | 6:11 am

Cisco unveil plans to include Wi-Fi in future Flip Video cameras

Section: Video, Portable Video

Flip Video fans will soon have another reason to get excited, and that reason will also make it even quicker and easier to upload and share your video. That reason—built-in Wi-Fi. According to recent reports, Cisco has confirmed plans to include Wi-Fi in the next version of the Flip Video camera. Additional details about that future model include that it will have “a large screen that slides to reveal the record and menu buttons underneath.” Unfortunately that large screen will not be touchscreen though. Otherwise details are pretty light, but this Wi-Fi equipped Flip is expected to be available sometime in the “early half of 2010.”

Read [Pocket-lint] Via [CrunchGear]

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

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Source: Gadgetell | 19 Nov 2009 | 5:31 am

Ruggedized Casio Camera Is As Tough As it Looks

Casio has realized that a ruggedized camera should look tough. Normally these kinds of shock-resistant, waterproof, dustproof machines come in big, bubble-shaped, brightly colored cases. The Exilim EX-G1, though, looks like a stealth fighter with knobs on.

So how tough is it? You can shoot for an hour at ten feet below the water, use it in cold weather down to -10ºC (14ºF), bounce it from seven feet (in tests it survived drops from 26 different angles) and generally treat it like Joe Pesci treats everyone in Casino, only it won’t die.

The camera is split into inner and outer sections, like a Casio G-Shock watch. The sealed inner part contains the electronics, and the outer part has extra sealing. The lens, for example, has a reinforced glass cover and a resin ring to absorb shocks. This all houses a 12 megapixel sensor, a 2.5-inch screen, a 38-114mm (35 mm equivalent) zoom lens and an 848×480 movie-mode. It’s enough to drive a man to violence.

Available December in black or red, for $300.

Casio EX-G1 press release [Photography Bay]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 19 Nov 2009 | 5:05 am

NTT Docomo to start LTE services in Japan in December 2010

Faster data access with virtually no latency: LTE (Long Term Evolution) mobile broadband networks are coming, at least in the world’s most advanced mobile market, the nation of Japan. The country’s biggest cell phone carrier, NTT Docomo, said yesterday at GSMA Mobile Asia Congress in Hong Kong it will go fourth generation as early as December 2010.

The company plans to invest a total of $3.4 billion in LTE-based services over the next years. Docomo customers will be able to get LTE data cards in December 2010, followed by LTE-powered handsets in 2011. Bigger cities in Japan will be served first, and Docomo aims at covering 50% of the Points of Presence with 20,000 base stations by 2014. The company plans to first use the 2GHz band before expanding to 1.5GHz.

At the same event, Docomo announced they will terminate all 2G services in March 2011, with CEO Ryuji Yamada saying by that time, most of their customers will be using just 3G anyway. The carrier currently has a total of 55 million mobile subscribers in Japan.

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

Source: MobileCrunch | 19 Nov 2009 | 5:01 am

iMojito: The Vegan Friendly iPhone Case and Wallet

Funnily enough, the Malcolm Frontier promo video showcasing its “iMojito” all-in-one iPhone case and wallet (naked girl on a scooter, naked guy on fixed-gear bike, naked guy running, all SFW) demonstrates my first thought about this case: At the end of the rather nice video spot, the naked guy (on foot) grabs the wallet (cash, cards, iPhone) from the naked girl on the moped (she’s carrying it in her mouth. Where else?), handily making away with all her valuables in one easy to steal package.

It’s a classic case of too many eggs and not enough baskets, but if you are the thrill seeking type who likes to live on the edge etc. [insert more cliches here] then the design of the minimalist wallet and case has much to like. The phone and cards slip into the main sections and a further pocket in the side takes your folded bills.

The iPhone peeks out of the top and is held in place by an elastic chin-strap (on the regular iPhone-less Mojito the strap holds the cards instead).The case has a slot in the bottom, too, so you can charge the iPhone whilst still inside, and a microfiber lining should de-grease the screen for you.

The site claims that the Mojito does for wallets what the Pod did for MP3 players. While we doubt that, one thing is certainly true. With its polyurethane shell, even meat-shunning Steve Jobs could use one. $35.

Mojito product page [Malcolm Frontier]

Cheeky video [Malcolm Frontier]

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 19 Nov 2009 | 4:11 am