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Portable speaker turns your iPhone into an electric guitar (sort of)
Japan-based Bird Electron has announced [JP] the Ezison 100 today, a quite unusual speaker for the iPhone (or iPod touch) that’s supposed to turn those devices into some kind of electric guitar. The Ezison 100 is (hand)made in Japan, with Bird Electron saying they used mainly wood and acrylic fiber in the production process.
Users are supposed to place their iPhone into the speaker’s housing and connect it with the speaker through the headphone jack. You can then run a guitar app on your iPhone, for example this one, and pretend to be a real guitarist. The Ezison 100 features a 2W digital amplifier. Measuring 450×150×35mm, the device weighs 650g and is powered by three AA batteries.#
You can only get the speaker on Bird Electron’s Japanese website. It will go on sale on January 30 and is limited to 50 units (price: $290). Ask the Japan Trend Shop or Geek Stuff 4 U if they can get one for you.
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Jan 2010 | 3:40 am Spotify Rival Deezer’s CEO Kicked Out By Investors, Drama Ensues [France] Music search and discovering service Deezer is currently caught up in a storm of controversy: its co-founder and CEO Jonathan Benassaya has effectively been forced out by his investors. After Deezer faced mounting competition from services like Spotify, it's emerged that investors ousted the founder in order to put in place a more experienced business manager to both reorganize and perhaps prepare some kind of exit. They've been disappointed with Deezer's performance towards a premium service and low advertising revenues.
The rumour that this was about to happen began last week grew a head of steam over the weekend, as reported by music expert Philippe Astor on French site Electronlibre (Google translation). Midem, the annual conference for the music industry, is currently taking place in Cannes, France and the departure of Jonathan Bessaya from Deezer was one of the buzzing topics during the weekend. One of the things that confirmed this rumour was that the CEO was due to participate on a panel on Saturday during Midemnet (the part of Midem focused on the online music industry) but he conspicuously did not show up. His name was even up on screen during the panel he was supposed to attend. On this panel was also Paul Brown, SVP of Spotify, that is widely regarded as a Deezer killer.
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Jan 2010 | 3:22 am Spotify Rival Deezer's CEO Kicked Out By Investors, Drama Ensues[France] Music search and discovering service Deezer is currently caught up in a storm of controversy: its co-founder and CEO Jonathan Benassaya has effectively been forced out by his investors. After...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 3:22 am Dad writes to his sons from under the Haitian rubble - Oregon Faith Report
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 3:14 am Gates Frets Over Aid, Sees R&D as Vital to Energy in Letter - PC World
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 3:10 am China denies state role in Google cyberattacks (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Jan 2010 | 3:06 am NASA Prepping Plans For Flexible Path To MarsFleaPlus writes "A group at NASA has been formulating a 'Flexible Path' to Mars architecture, which many expect will be part of the soon-to-be-announced reboot of NASA's future plans. NASA's prior architecture spends much of its budget on creating two in-house rockets, the Ares I and V, and would yield no beyond-LEO human activity until a lunar landing sometime in the 2030s. In contrast, the Flexible Path would produce results sooner, using NASA's limited budget to develop and gain experience with the technologies (human and robotic) needed to progressively explore and establish waypoints at Lagrange points, near-Earth asteroids, the Martian moon Phobos, Mars, and other possible locations (e.g. the Moon, Venus flyby). Suggested interim goals include constructing giant telescopes in deep space, learning how to protect Earth from asteroids, establishing in-space propellant depots, and harvesting resources/fuel from asteroids and Phobos to supply Moon/Mars-bound vehicles."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Jan 2010 | 3:01 am Travel by train: "pillows that approach normal size"A slightly ambivalent ode to Amtrak. If you like American trains, you should try those in Europe and Japan!Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 3:00 am Travel by train: "pillows that approach normal size"A slightly ambivalent ode to Amtrak. If you like American trains, you should try those in Europe and Japan!Once the object is placed on the Ortery turntable inside the box, a Canon DSLR takes 360 degree photos, with the four daylight bulbs giving 6500K of illumination—the perfect lighting conditions for the 72 photos taken. Connected to a PC by USB, the images are saved as GIF or Flash files, and then transferred to the Photosimile software. If all of this is getting you hot under the collar at the thought of such a machine, better schedule a meeting in with your bank manager—it's $17,000 and has just started shipping. [Ortery via Gizmag via TechRadar]
 Source: Gizmodo | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:57 am Omnifone snares HP bundle deal - Register
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:50 am Need to Know: Ethan Beard of Facebook [Voices]By Drake Martinet, Intern, All Things Digital A feature wherein All Things Digital talks with top players inside tech companies–much as we talk to emerging entrepreneurs in “Almost Famous” posts–who are perhaps not as prominent publicly as their influence suggests, but should be. This week: We friended Ethan Beard, director of the Facebook Developer Network, and had a sit-down with him at its Silicon Valley HQ to talk about–of course– the importance of platforms.
Who: Ethan Beard What: Director of the Facebook Developer Network Why: After stints in investment banking, Viacom (VIA) music service MTV Networks and most recently Google (GOOG), Ethan made the move to Facebook almost two years ago. Where: Facebook Developer Blog (Web site); @ethanbeard (Twitter); Palo Alto, Calif. (analog place) Who Else: Everyone has been trying to spread their social graphs deeper into the Web, but Facebook dominates. Five Stats You Won’t Find in His Facebook Profile:Worst Job: I worked one summer for the United States Postal Service, sorting mail at a post office in Bangor, Maine. Yeah, that was pretty bad. Basically, it was just endless piles of mail that you had to sort into different little holes. And you’d have, like, your timed break…10 minutes every couple of hours or something. You’d deal with these unionized people who’d been working at the post office forever, who would smoke cigarettes and play cribbage during their 10 minutes and then back to sorting. Has a Geek Crush on: In the tech world, I’m a big fan of Alan Kay, both because he’s super geeky and super thoughtful. Gadget of the Moment: Well, when I was at Google, I worked a lot with early Android stuff, so I’m very intrigued by the Nexus One. I’d like to get my hands on one, but haven’t yet. What Do You Hope the Upcoming magic Apple (AAPL) Tablet Will Do?: Respond to my emails. Or at least delete some of them. Fails At: I’m a miserable snowboarder. That’s not a good answer though. My wife would say that I never seem to stop working. Bio in 140 CharactersHails from Winterport, Maine. Got schooled at Wharton and NYU. He did time at an investment bank. Left for MTV, Google and now Facebook. The Five QuestionsWe’ve heard “It’s not just a Web site, it’s a platform” before. What is Facebook offering today that sets it apart? The Facebook platform is actually very different than many platforms that have come in the past. The app platform is actually a lot more like standard platforms. It’s a development environment with lots of different UI elements you can integrate and build this experience. But, really, what we’ve done with Facebook Connect is change Facebook platform to make it cross-platform.
Facebook platform is on Facebook.com, but it’s on lots of other Web sites, it’s on mobile devices, we’re pushing into gaming consoles. It’s less about a place you can build an application and more about features and functions you can add to any platform. We want to give users the tools and technology that allow them to connect with anything they care about, anywhere they are. What industries haven’t caught on yet, or could be using social connection tools much better than they are today? I’d point to two things. I think the media consumption space is changing very rapidly; like the TV industry is changing very rapidly. I mean, NBC is being sold not for NBC, but for all the cable assets in it. The printed news businesses is just begin turned on its ear. I think there are some really great opportunities for layering in the social graph that could affect consumption habits. It can bring a different lens to what is news. Also, I’d love to be able to go to Pandora and see the stations my friends are listening to. I have some specific friends who are great at picking music. What we want to do with Facebook platform is tie those two together, so I can connect with that friend who always picks great music. I think the DVR is a good example [of the possibilities]. I would like to be able to see what my friends are watching and interact with them based on that. Yeah, let’s talk music for a second. I looked on your Facebook profile and saw all these bands and said to myself, “Either this guy has a music-savvy intern in his office, who went to college in the 2000s, who made this profile for him, or he is a legit music fan.” Which is it? I’m a BIG fan of music. A HUGE fan. I don’t really remember what’s on there…probably Radiohead, the Decembrists, the Killers, maybe Sufjan Stevens. I like to stay current. I just bought a Sonos music player. I love having it all at my fingertips, with a little touch screen. Lots of big-time geeks have some strong memories of early experiences with technology. Do you have an “ah-ha” tech moment like that? Yeah, sure, absolutely. So, when I went to college, this is a couple of decades ago now, pre-Web, my father, who worked at a university, gave me a 1200-baud modem when no one had modems. You’re probably going to read some deep rooted psychology into this, but he was like, “This is how we’re going to communicate–we’re obviously not going to see each other and don’t expect me to talk on the phone with you. You should be sending me email.” And so, in 1990, I had this modem, and there wasn’t anything you could do with it except like log on to university computers.
There was Telnet and FTP. I didn’t need to go to the lab. I could log into Michigan’s computer from right here in my dorm room at two o’clock in the morning, which is what I tended to do. I’d log on and try to download some random shareware at two in the morning at 1200 baud, which basically meant leaving your computer on overnight, getting up in the morning, seeing that it had failed and trying again. You’ve seen all kinds of arenas tap into the social space. What has been the sleeper hit for Facebook? I’m gonna say the games. They didn’t catch us by surprise, but their size, success and the success of the gaming companies wasn’t something that we all saw coming. That was one that, in retrospect, makes a lot of sense, but wasn’t one that we all saw coming. Currently, I’m addicted to Bejeweled. It’s like crack on the iPhone, it’s 60 seconds long, and you’ll look at the score and realize that your mom has a higher score than you. Its not like FarmVille, where you can just say to yourself, “Well, she just has more time to farm.” It’s the same 60 seconds, so its just about how good you are. The In Living Color Interview[ See post to watch video ] Source: Gizmodo | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:40 am Better Place Raises $350 Million To Make This World A Better PlaceI've been quite fascinated by electric car firm Better Place since I read up on how the company was founded by former SAP executive Shai Agassi in the excellent book 'Start-up Nation', which tells of Israel's...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:29 am Better Place Raises $350 Million To Make This World A Better Place
Basically, Better Place aims to reduce global dependency on petroleum through the creation of a market-based transportation infrastructure that supports electric vehicles, relying on renewable energy from solar arrays and wind farms instead of oil. The startup, founded just 2 years ago, is currently building its first electric vehicle network in Israel, and plans to deploy the infrastructure in other nations on a country-by-country basis with initial deployments beginning this year, and commercial sales beginning in 2012. As of April 2009, it had already raised $400 million, with several countries offering tax breaks in favor of the ambitious venture. This morning, Better Place announced that it has raised a massive $350 million follow-up venture funding round to lay the groundwork for these deployments, valuing the company at a whopping $1.25 billion. HSBC led the round with a $125 million capital injection (buying them approx. 10% of the company), with eight other investors participating, including Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Lazard Asset Management, Israel Corp., VantagePoint Venture Partners, Ofer Hi-Tech Holdings and others. Better Place says it intends to expand into markets where the business model economics and investor returns are “optimized”, citing Europe and Asia specifically. The company also reaffirmed its original target to begin full commercial operations at the end of next year, when industry partner Renault plans to offer the first car with a replaceable battery.
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:29 am HCL Technologies profit down 18 pct, bucking trend (AP)AP - Indian software services firm HCL Technologies Ltd. said Monday that quarterly profit fell 16.7 percent in dollar terms, stung by foreign exchange losses, falling interest income, higher costs and weak revenues from its back office business.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:24 am UPDATE 1-S.Korea Lotte seals Buy The Way deal for $235 mln* Deal may position it closer to sector-leader FamilyMartSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:23 am REFILE-UPDATE 2-Japan's KDDI to buy $4 bln Jupiter Telecom stake* To acquire Liberty Global's entire 37.8 pct stake in cashSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:23 am REFILE-UPDATE 2-Japan's KDDI to buy $4 bln Jupiter Telecom stake* To acquire Liberty Global's entire 37.8 pct stake in cashSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:23 am Wicks Looper
Rarebeats' Wicks Looper is a box. The box makes noises. The noises are strange.
The wicks looper has 3 main controls; The sound control adjusts the frequency of the tone in the first half of the dial and the level of noise in the second half of the dial, giving two distinct sounds. The second control is Tempo, which controls how fast the loop is played. Write the loop at a slow tempo then speed it up for a great effect. The third control is the write button, when pressed it writes a sound to memory which is then replayed next time the loop is run. With the sound control knob adjusted anticlockwise, you can add a rest to the loop by pressing the Write button.Also consider the SwoofTronic and StrobeTronic, which react to light rather than programmatic manipulation--but otherwise get on with the noble business of making strange noises. Wicks Looper [Rarebeats' Etsy Store] Source: Boing Boing | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:16 am Wicks LooperRarebeats' Wicks Looper is a box. The box makes noises. The noises are strange. The wicks looper has 3 main controls; The sound control adjusts the frequency of the tone in the first half of the dial...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:16 am UPDATE 2-Ericsson Q4 sales fall on lower operator spendingSTOCKHOLM, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Telecoms gear maker Ericsson posted a sharper-than-expected fall in quarterly sales on Monday as telecom operators curbed their spending, while cost cuts helped operating...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:08 am UPDATE 1-Alcon investor expects Novartis to raise offerZURICH, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Novartis AG's bid to buy out minority shareholders in Alcon does not fairly value their holdings, one of the largest investors in the eyecare group said.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:04 am Education Documentary Featuring Bill Gates Gets First Distribution Deal at Sundance [BoomTown]
Like BoomTown, Bill Gates was at the Sundance Film Festival this past weekend–not just to sample some of the fare at the well-known independent film festival, held annually in Park City, Utah–but also to appear at the screening of a documentary about the crisis in public education in which he appears and that scored the first distribution deal at the event. The worldwide rights for “Waiting for Superman,” which was directed by Davis Guggenheim and produced by Participant Media, was sold to Paramount Vantage, a unit of the Viacom (VIA) movie studio. The film premiered Friday at Sundance, with Gates in attendance. The Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder took questions at the screening, and also made it to several Sundance events, surprising several film types. “I couldn’t believe it was him,” said one participant at a filmmakers gathering. Yes, it was him, especially since issues in public education have been a big focus on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he has been spending most of his time since leaving day-to-day work at the software giant in 2008. Interestingly, Participant–along with Guggenheim–put out “An Inconvenient Truth,” the global warming doc starring former VP Al Gore, which was a huge success. And, in yet another Silicon Valley connection, Los Angeles-based Participant was founded by former eBay (EBAY) exec Jeff Skoll. Here’s highlights from a terrific interview that Walt Mossberg did with Melinda Gates at the sixth D: All Things Digital conference in 2008, where she talked eloquently about the problems faced by U.S. schoolchildren: [ See post to watch video ] And here’s the press release from Participant on the “Superman” deal:
Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:03 am A Risqué IPO: FriendFinder [Voices]By Lynn Cowan, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal A name change, not making any money, a lot of debt: If that description sounds like a recipe for a dicey online date, then investors might want to apply the same principles to the coming week’s IPO of Web-site operator FriendFinder Networks Inc. FriendFinder, which operates more than a dozen Web sites aimed primarily at people looking for relationships or flings, changed its name 18 months ago from Penthouse Media Group. It isn’t profitable, and until recently was in default on its debt covenants. It struck a deal in October with its creditors to waive its defaults in exchange for all the money it raises in its initial public offering. It is hoping for $200 million in net proceeds from the sale of 20 million shares through RenCap Securities and Ledgemont Capital Markets LLC, according to its prospectus, with an estimated price range of $10 to $12, and a listing on the New York Stock Exchange with symbol FFN. The company is portraying itself as a potential catch in the social-networking industry, a sector that has few stand-alone stocks and a lot of buzz. It describes itself as a leading “social networking and multimedia entertainment company,” and in prerecorded roadshows compares itself with privately held Facebook Inc. and MySpace, owned by News Corp. (NWS), publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:00 am UPDATE 1-Valiant says to restart drilling in Don Southwest wellJan 25 (Reuters) - British oil and gas company Valiant Petroleum Plc said it was ready to restart drilling operations in a production well on Don Southwest after four weeks of delays due to operational...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:58 am China Rejects Claims of Internet Hacking Attacks - ABC News
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:53 am China rejects claims of Internet hacking attacks (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:51 am South Korea's Lotte to purchase Buy The Way -reportSEOUL, Jan 25 (Reuters) - South Korean retailer Lotte Group will take over convenience store chain Buy The Way from private equity firm Unitas Capital, online news outlet eDaily reported on Monday, without...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:41 am Scientists 'losing climate fight' - ABC Online
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:40 am Top 50 Trends of the Week (Jan 18) - From Creepy Kid Photobombs to Broken Plate Butterflies (COUNTDOWN)(TrendHunter.com) For the week of January 18th, these are the Top 50 trends, which include Creepy Kid Photobombs, Sunday Morning Undies, Alarming Digitography, and Heroin-Chic Photography. The rankings...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:40 am Elbit Systems Signs Agreement to Purchase Balance of Azimuth Technologies' SharesSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:37 am Wheelbarrow Chairs - Transsakrales by Florian Borkenhagen at the Gabrielle Ammann Gallery (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Even though Borkenhagen is a great word simply for sounding like a euphemism for something other than furniture, artist Florian Borkenhagen has made a name for himself with his mobile...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:30 am Researchers Make a Case For Learning Through Video Game Creationub3r n3u7r4l1st sends along this snippet from Science Daily: "Computer games have a broad appeal that transcends gender, culture, age and socio-economic status. Now, computer scientists in the US think that creating computer games, rather than just playing them, could boost students' critical and creative thinking skills as well as broaden their participation in computing. ... 'Worldwide, there is increasing recognition of a digital divide, a troubling gap between groups that use information and communication technologies widely and those that do not,' the team explains. 'The digital divide refers not only to unequal access to computing resources between groups of people but also to inequalities in their ability to use information technology fully.' There are many causes and proposed solutions to bridging this divide, but applying them at the educational and computer literacy level in an entertaining and productive way might be one of the more successful. The team adds that teaching people how to use off-the-shelf tools to quickly build a computer game might allow anyone to learn new thinking and computing skills."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:26 am Openly Outdoor Architecture - Wallflower Architecture Perfects an Open Floorplan with Six Ramsgate (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Six Ramsgate is a home designed by Wallflower Architecture located in Singapore. According to Fresh Home, the owner wanted as open a home as possible. (While still being safely enclosed,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:20 am UPDATE 1-Cisco CEO confident China, Google spat will be resolved* Cisco's Chambers: confident in Chinese, U.S. leadershipSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:17 am Imagined City Apps - Phantom City iPhone App Shows the New York City That 'Could Have Been' (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) The Phantom City project has created an iPhone app that lets you see a New York that's never actually existed. Instead of what's really there, in the city, the Phantom City app shows...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:10 am Piece Of Art Sells Itself On eBayBy Evan Ackerman Want this piece of art? It can be yours, since it’s for sale on eBay. Always. Called “A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter,” this black box has some software inside it plus...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:07 am O'Reilly Drops Ebook DRM, Sees 104 Percent Increase In Sales [Voices]By Cory Doctorow, Co-Editor, BoingBoing.net It’s been 18 months since O’Reilly, the world’s largest publisher of tech books, stopped using DRM on its ebooks. In the intervening time, O’Reilly’s ebook sales have increased by 104 percent. Now, when you talk about ebooks and DRM, there’s always someone who’ll say, “But what about [textbooks|technical books|RPG manuals]? Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:05 am Fred Wilson and the Venture Capital (Non-)Cartel [Voices]By Paul Kedrosky, Blogger, Infectious Greed When a capitalist says that he is pleased to see profits increase as his competitors disappear and the remainder hold the line on price is that a cartel? How is it different from the CEO of, say, Honda, gloating about the elimination of other auto companies, and then asking the remaining companies to hold car prices? All these questions came to mind in reading some of the more entertainingly outraged comments to venture capitalist Fred Wilson’s post today about the venture capital diet. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:04 am Fail to the Chief [Voices]By Farhad Manjoo, Technology Columnist, Slate.com Shortly after Barack Obama won the White House, I called up Joe Trippi, Howard Dean’s Web-savvy onetime campaign manager, to talk about why he thought Obama would be a “different kind” of president. Back then—long before AIG bonuses, “death panels,” the underpants bomber, and Martha Coakley—many supporters argued that Obama’s brilliant, tech-savvy campaign suggested a new model for governing. The president-elect and many on his staff promised that when they took office, the Web would be at the center of their efforts to reach out to the public. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:03 am Update on the Evolution of comScore Media Metrix 360 [Voices]By Linda Abraham, comScore Voices It’s been nearly seven months since comScore first announced the introduction of Media Metrix 360, our new panel-centric Unified Measurement of digital audiences. Our stated premise behind this initiative was to bring the digital media industry a solution which integrates server-side web analytics which do a good job of measuring total page views (if properly filtered for non user-requested traffic and counted correctly as one beacon per page) and panel-based audience measurement which provides insights into the behavior of individual people, as opposed to cookies or machines. The response to this initiative has been overwhelmingly positive, as evidenced by the high level of participation among top publishers – approximately 75% of the top 50 publishers in the U.S. are either fully reportable under this new methodology or in the process of doing so – as well as the reaction we’ve gotten from agencies and other industry stakeholders. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:02 am Why We Should Boycott ComScore (and *Perhaps* Why Traders Should Short Their Stock) [Voices]By Jason Calacanis, Founder and CEO, Mahalo.com Comscore (SCOR) is the technology industry’s biggest bully, and today I’m calling for an industry-wide boycott of their services. I’m asking journalist and bloggers to stop covering their stats, I’m asking advertisers to not use their services, and finally, I’m asking startup companies to not support their new and widely reported on “$10,000 to get your stats correct” extortion ring. If I was a stock trader I would short the stock–but I’m not–so I won’t (I keep my money in bonds and angel investments for the record). Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:01 am CrunchGear Week in Review: Incoming Edition
Here are some stories from the past week: Plug-and-play bomb system for radio-controlled model airplanes
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:00 am Black Diamond Homes - The Snow House is a Mild-Manned Mountain Abode (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Xella cellular concrete blocks are the inspiration behind the Snow House, designed by Chilean architects Nicolas Dorval-Bory, Juan Carlos Lopez Huerta, and Emilio Marin. The design...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:00 am The darkened hollow
Photo: Andrew FergusonSource: Boing Boing | 25 Jan 2010 | 12:15 am NZ School Goes Open Source Amid Microsoft MandateDan Jones writes "Kiwis have built an entire school IT system out of open source software, in less than two months, despite a deal between the New Zealand government and Microsoft that effectively mandates the use of Microsoft products in the country's schools. Albany Senior High School in the northern suburbs of Auckland has been running an entirely open source infrastructure since it opened in 2009. It's using a range of applications like OpenOffice, Moodle for education content, Mahara for student portfolios, and Koha for the library catalogue. Ubuntu Linux is on the desktop and Mandriva provides the server. Interestingly, the school will move into new purpose-built premises this year, which include a dedicated server room designed based on standard New Zealand school requirements, including four racks each capable of holding 48 servers for its main systems. The main infrastructure at Albany Senior High only requires four servers, suggesting an almost 50-fold saving on hardware requirements."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 24 Jan 2010 | 11:43 pm Illuminated 15th c. Manuscript - full of hidden demons
The Morgan Library in New York is currenty exhibiting one of the great masterworks of medieval illumination, the Hours of Catherine of Cleves. All 157 miniatures have also been digitized.From the website This digital facsimile provides reproductions of all 157 miniatures (and facing text pages) from the Hours of Catherine of Cleves. The original one-volume prayer book had been taken apart in the nineteenth century; the leaves were shuffled and then rebound into two confusing volumes. This presentation offers the miniatures in their original, fifteenth-century sequence. For other illuminated manuscript collections online, see The Pages from the Past, Central Asian Miniature and LUSAMUT Studio's Armenian Miniatures. You can see a few more pages from Books of Hours in this RIT collection to give you some idea of just how impressive this manuscript was. [via MeFi] Source: Boing Boing | 24 Jan 2010 | 11:09 pm Who Needs iTunes? doubleTwist Partners With T-Mobile, Now Bundled On Some Android Phones
For those that haven’t used it before, doubleTwist is a media management program that’s both visually and functionally similar to iTunes in many respects, but with one big difference: it will work with nearly any device (iTunes only plays nice with iPods and iPhones). You can drag and drop songs to playlists, sync music, photos, and video to your devices, and share your media with friends using integrated Facebook and Flickr support. In effect, doubleTwist can serve as an “iTunes for Android”. The software is impressive in its own right, but the company has also gotten quite a bit of attention because it was co-founded by DVD Jon, who serves as CTO. This is a smart move by T-Mobile. One of the most jarring experiences when moving to an Android phone is figuring out how to sync media to the device. First, you have to manually mount the SD drive from the phone’s screen. Once that’s done, you may find yourself half-expecting iTunes to cheerily pop up to help transfer your media, but nothing happens — it’s up to you to drag and drop media from your computer to the appropriate folder on the phone. There are plenty of applications out there meant to help you do this, but it’s a poor experience for users who are trying the platform out for the first time. doubleTwist makes this much easier for new Android owners (it even shows you how to mount the SD card). It may not be quite as robust as iTunes, but it’s going to be good enough for most people. If this proves to be successful for T-Mobile, it wouldn’t surprise me if doubleTwist was adopted by other carriers as well.
One downside to the T-Mobile version of doubleTwist is that it’s missing one of the app’s best features: integration with Amazon’s MP3 Store. The feature, which launched in October, allows users to purchase music from directly within doubleTwist, much as you would with iTunes. doubleTwist wouldn’t comment on why T-Mobile decided to omit the feature, but the company is planning to further expand the software, so hopefully it’s in the pipeline. In any case, you can still download the fully featured version at doubleTwist.com. Money is changing hands in the deal. Co-founder Monique Farantzos declined to comment on any specifics, but says that doubleTwist licensed its software to T-Mobile and that it’s a “significant source of revenue”. We should also note that while it was previously known that doubleTwist would come preloaded on the Fender myTouch phone, the full extent of the partnership hadn’t been announced before now. doubleTwist isn’t the only company looking to establish itself as a viable alternative to iTunes. Earlier this month Songbird, an open-source media player/browser hybrid landed a deal with Philips to come bundled with some of its MP3 player devices.
Source: TechCrunch | 24 Jan 2010 | 11:02 pm Disney-logoed DDT-impregnated wallpaper for the kids' room (1947) Does your 1947 tenement apartment suffer from the kind of disease-bearing insects that thrive in filth? Why not protect your children from this infectious influence by wallpapering every surface with DDT-impregnated wall-paper? It's hygienic and stylish! Available with Disney trademarks!
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 24 Jan 2010 | 10:49 pm Overflowing urinal cascade
I know nothing about this ToiletFall art installation except that
it is both great and made of toilets.
Update: Now I know more. "American Standard is an installation that featured fifteen functional urinals arranged in a pyramid formation on the wall of the men's washroom in the Alexander Centre studio at Simon Fraser University. Transforming the facility into a public indoor fountain, water overflowed from the uppermost urinal and splashed its way down through the formation creating a deluge of water flooding the sunken floor. Visitors enter the space via tiled stepping stones, providing access directly to the sink and preexisting toilet, leaving the facility fully functional and open to both sexes."
Toilet Falls Ensures No Privacy
(via Cribcandy)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 24 Jan 2010 | 10:43 pm What to Expect From Apple's Tablet UnveilingMost industry watchers expect Apple to unveil a tablet at the press conference scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 27. The company may also update its iPhone OS and MacBook products. Here's what to look for.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 24 Jan 2010 | 10:00 pm What to Expect From Apple's Tablet UnveilingMost industry watchers expect Apple to unveil a tablet at the press conference scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 27. The company may also update its iPhone OS and MacBook products. Here's what to look for.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Jan 2010 | 10:00 pm iSoftStone, a Leader in Global Outsourcing from China, Secures a Round of Financing Led by EverbrightBEIJING, Jan.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 24 Jan 2010 | 10:00 pm Jan. 25, 1979: Robot Kills HumanA robot in a Ford factory kills a human worker. It's the first known instance of death by robot.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Jan 2010 | 10:00 pm How to Get Paid What You're WorthBefore accepting your next job offer, learn what constitutes a fair, competitive salary.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Jan 2010 | 10:00 pm 'Decode' Exhibition Points Way to Data-Driven ArtArtists turn data streams — culled from Twitter, air traffic reports and other real-time sources — into eye-catching interactive works in Decode: Digital Design Sensations, an exhibition on display at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 24 Jan 2010 | 10:00 pm Brightcove Wants To Take “TV Everywhere” Beyond Your Cable Company’s Video Website When cable companies like Comcast and Time Warner talk about “TV Everywhere,” they are generally talking about a Web video portal they control themselves which gives their regular cable TV subscribers access to at least some of the same programming online. If viewership is going to shift online, they want to be the ones providing it—and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But when Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire talks about TV Everywhere, he envisions more of a federated model where TV programmers make more of their shows available on their own sites to visitors who are authenticated as paying cable subscribers. It’s a video paywall across the Web, and he wants to make it possible with a new Brightcove TV Everywhere product that allows programmers to authenticate which visitors are cable subscribers and which ones are not. So in addition to Comcast or Time Warner offering subscribers an online version of their channels, each channel (i.e., NBC, ABC, HBO, Discovery) can also offer a fuller spectrum of their TV shows and movies on their own individual Websites. Comcast could easily do Hulu one better, but all of those videos should also be available on HBO.com, NBC.com, and elsewhere. All they need is an authentication system and an online video platform, hence Brightcove’s interest in providing the video plumbing to make it all work. Allaire explains this to me via email:
In other words, if they are going to call it TV Everywhere, it really should be everywhere. Or at least available on the sites of related TV channels. The way this would work is that if you are HBO (to use a hypothetical example), only your programming is available on your site. Once a user is authenticated, they can watch whatever they are already paying for on their TVs. The cable companies might like it it because the value of that subscription just went up and they are giving people who are tempted to cut the cord altogether another reason to stay. The programmers might like it because they can now show videos online which they are currently contractually prohibited from showing, and they get to keep any ancillary advertising revenues they make from their high-CPM sites. And consumers? Well, most of us are already paying for cable or satellite TV anyway. If they are going to start to distribute that TV programming online, the more places it is available, the better. But those pesky paywalls are still going to be annoying, especially if you follow a link to one.
Source: TechCrunch | 24 Jan 2010 | 9:46 pm Asus ebook reader images begin to hit the webSection: Gadgets / Other, ebooks  We have been seeing more and more information regarding the upcoming ebook reader from Asus, and this latest bit comes in the form of several images which thankfully have not come from Mr. Blurrycam. The images are crisp and clear and come by way of the ASUS UK Flickr account. Basically what we have is a good look at the DR-950 ebook reader and its 9-inch display. Of course, which what we can only describe as being for good measure, there are two shots of the DR-950 with the iPhone. Features of this model include the 9-inch display which comes with a resolution of 1024 x 768, an SD card slow and support for ePub, HTML and PDF file formats. Images [Flickr] Read [Electric Pig] Via [Engadget]
In short, there were about 200 different apps being tested on the devices, most of which were games, media or some type of entertainment-type program. It more or less mirrors the type of applications we've been seeing in the app store for the iPhone. In addition, the devices were running OS 3.2, which means either that the Tablet is running an iPhone-like OS, or that this is a bigger iPhone/iPod Touch type deal, and not exactly like the tablet we've been picturing. In any case, if earlier rumors were true, developers are already building apps for it. Flurry didn't give any other details about resolution, memory or anything else they determined from their analytics tracking.
Source: Gizmodo | 24 Jan 2010 | 9:02 pm Brightcove Launches TV Everywhere Solution PackCAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 24 Jan 2010 | 9:01 pm Toshiba America Business Solutions Accelerates Sales Channel Performance with Jive Social Business SoftwarePORTLAND, Ore., Jan.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 24 Jan 2010 | 9:01 pm What to Expect From Apple’s Tablet Unveiling
Apple’s got a lot planned for its Wednesday press event. While the invitation — “come see our latest creation” — is broad and vague, it’s fairly obvious that the biggest news will be the widely anticipated tablet. It’s about time. Tech observers have been anticipating an Apple tablet for several years, churning out report after report of rumors and speculation. And Apple has been considering tablet designs since at least 1983. Now, perfectionist CEO Steve Jobs finally seems satisfied enough with the product to show it off in public. But that’s not the only thing the company is likely to announce. Updates to the MacBook line and the iPhone OS are also likely to be on the ticket. Here’s our guide to what you can realistically expect. And if you don’t care to read our predictions, just stay tuned for the Jan. 27 event. We’ll be providing live blog and news coverage here on Gadget Lab and on Twitter: follow @bxchen and @GadgetLab for real-time news nuggets. The Apple TabletMultiple independent reports have described the tablet’s appearance as a 10- to 11-inch iPhone or iPod Touch. (AppleInsider’s sources describe the tablet as “a first-generation iPhone that’s met its match with a rolling pin.”) The tablet, many have reported, will serve as a slate-like substitute for magazines, newspapers and books, while also offering the general-purpose functions seen in the iPhone, such as gaming, viewing photos, web surfing and using apps. A recent report from The Wall Street Journal adds that Apple will market the tablet as a product that can be shared among multiple people at home or in classrooms, thanks to its bigger screen. A few reports have claimed the tablet will sport a 10-inch OLED touchscreen, which would be great for reading books. But there aren’t many of these displays on the market, and they would also cost Apple about $400 apiece. A 10-inch LCD touchscreen, on the other hand, would cost Apple $60 — much more in line with the expected $1,000 price tag. The true mystery about the tablet lies in its software and user interface. Simply expanding the iPhone OS to fit a larger screen can’t be the whole story. We expect a tablet interface that strives to appeal to everyone, like the iPhone OS does with its 3.5-inch screen, SpringBoard user interface and fingertip-sized icons. The ergonomics of text entry will especially be challenging on a device that size. People briefed on the product say it will incorporate a virtual keyboard. But if the tablet is going to serve as an alternative to a notebook or netbook, an ordinary virtual QWERTY isn’t going to cut it. We’re predicting Apple will incorporate new multitouch gestures, and maybe even the accelerometer, to trigger functions of the traditional QWERTY keyboard. Imagine if pressing two fingers down anywhere triggered the Shift key, for example. And to add a wild guess, we think Apple will expand on the voice-recognition feature seen in the iPhone 3GS, to augment text entry. Still, no one outside Apple’s tablet team has a solid idea of what the tablet’s interface will be like. The only minuscule clue is a quote from a recently departed Apple employee who told New York Times’ Nick Bilton, “You will be very surprised how you interact with the new tablet.” If it’s taken Apple this long to figure it out, I’m sure we will be.
But we do expect the tablet’s operating system to share some of the same DNA as the iPhone OS. Indeed, the iPhone reportedly contains some elements of an older, shelved Apple tablet project. What could it be called? Internet sleuthers at MacRumors.com have found evidence suggesting Apple is interested in the names iSlate, MagicSlate, iGuide and iPad. Apple has apparently filed for trademarks for each of those names. Apple not only filed for the iSlate trademark; the company also procured ownership of the domain iSlate.com, making this the most likely candidate. As for when the tablet will ship, WSJ published the most credible report to date claiming Apple has plans to ship the device in March. Price tag? All we’ve heard are guesses from analysts, some who claim the tablet will cost as much as $1,000 including carrier subsidy. We estimate the tablet should cost between $700 and $1,000, placing it somewhere in between an iPhone and a MacBook. There are a few scant rumors claiming the tablet will be carried by Verizon, but none seems substantive enough to bet money on. There’s too little information out there about the carrier to make any reasonable predictions. In summary:
iPhone OS 4.0, iLife 2010Fox News’ Clayton Morris had a scoop citing anonymous Apple employees who claim iPhone OS 4.0 and iLife 2010 will be announced at the event. I’m a believer. The tablet will likely have a beefed-up version of the iPhone OS with all the newest features. So given the logic that the tablet OS is ready to be announced, iPhone OS 4.0 should be ready for a preview as well. But a preview would probably be it, just so Apple can begin seeding betas to developers to prepare their iPhone apps for 4.0. As for iLife 2010, Apple has announced almost all of its iLife suites during January of years past. I believe we’ll see an iLife launch only because it would be consistent. Jobs likes to pepper up press events with small announcements leading up to the major “One more thing,” so iLife and iPhone OS 4.0 will probably be the first to be announced. MacBook Pro Upgrades — MaybeAn Intel contest promoted by e-mail appeared to leak upcoming MacBook Pros equipped with the newest Intel chips. Intel had sent e-mails to members of its Intel Retail Edge program, promoting a chance to win two MacBook Pros equipped with Intel’s new Core i5 processors during January, according to a report by MacRumors. However, Intel soon after retracted the promotion, saying it was a mistake and that HP notebooks would be given away for the contest instead. I found this move suspicious, because the promotion had been sent in multiple languages to members in the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain. Seems odd that it would have gotten so far if the product weren’t even real. Plus, MacBook Pros are due for a refresh. Apple last upgraded the MacBook Pro in June 2009, and typically the company refreshes notebooks every six or seven months. Therefore, my gut tells me Intel realized it accidentally leaked the MacBook Pros and then moved to undo the slip. I believe there’s a good chance MacBook Pros will be announced at next week’s event. iTunes UpgradeI haven’t seen any rumors of Apple introducing a new version of iTunes, but I assume it would have to, in order to launch the tablet. That’s because the tablet alone won’t be compelling unless it creates avenues for new content that can be used on the tablet, such as e-books, newspapers and magazines. Expect Apple to preview a new version of iTunes, perhaps 9.1, that would add new content sections to the iTunes Store. We’ll most realistically see a new e-book section demonstrated in iTunes, as Apple has reportedly been in talks with HarperCollins Publishers to make e-books for the tablet. See Also:
Illustration of an Apple tablet 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 24 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pm Breaking: Flurry Notices Cupertino-based Users Testing Apps on Apple Tablet Flurry, a mobile app analytics company, has noticed approximately 50 devices in the Cupertino that match the characteristics of Apple's tablet device. Flurry claims to have reliably placed these devices on Apple's Cupertino campus, and are confident that they are "observing a group of pre-release tablets in testing."
This make sense - as the Apple Tablet has to be tested before it is announced this Wednesday, January 27 in San Francisco. Furthermore, Flurry has been an extremely reliable source on analytics data thus far and don't often break stories unless they are sure they've checked their facts.
They've noticed that a large number of the apps downloaded were Games (140 total downloads or launches) and the next group was Entertainment, followed by News and Books. Here's a chart of the usage data:
Source: CrunchGear | 24 Jan 2010 | 8:41 pm Breaking: Flurry Notices Cupertino-based Users Testing Apps on Apple Tablet Flurry, a mobile app analytics company, has noticed approximately 50 devices in the Cupertino that match the characteristics of Apple's tablet device. Flurry claims to have reliably placed these devices on Apple's Cupertino campus, and are confident that they are "observing a group of pre-release tablets in testing."
This make sense - as the Apple Tablet has to be tested before it is announced this Wednesday, January 27 in San Francisco. Furthermore, Flurry has been an extremely reliable source on analytics data thus far and don't often break stories unless they are sure they've checked their facts.
They've noticed that a large number of the apps downloaded were Games (140 total downloads or launches) and the next group was Entertainment, followed by News and Books. Here's a chart of the usage data:
Source: TechCrunch | 24 Jan 2010 | 8:39 pm Breaking: Flurry Notices Cupertino-based Users Testing Apps on Apple Tablet
This make sense – as the Apple Tablet has to be tested before it is announced this Wednesday, January 27 in San Francisco. Furthermore, Flurry has been an extremely reliable source on analytics data thus far and don’t often break stories unless they are sure they’ve checked their facts. They’ve noticed that a large number of the apps downloaded were Games (140 total downloads or launches) and the next group was Entertainment, followed by News and Books. Here’s a chart of the usage data:
Flurry also noticed that the Apple device was running on OS 3.2, which has not been announced. This confirms suspicions that the Apple Tablet will be accompanied by an announcement of a new iPhone OS. Flurry notes that this also jives with common practices for Apple, which tends to announce OS upgrades during the launch of new hardware. The rest of the report is available here. Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors
Source: MobileCrunch | 24 Jan 2010 | 8:35 pm SAS Named Best Company To Work For In 2010theodp writes "If you're in the market for a new job, Fortune has just published its list of 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2010. Topping the list this year is SAS (jobs ist), the largest privately held software company, which Fortune notes is populated with more statisticians than engineers or MBAs, and led by a Ph.D. founder whose first love is programming. Google (jobs), which once viewed SAS as model for employee perks, took the #4 spot, and Microsoft (jobs) checked in at #51."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 24 Jan 2010 | 8:29 pm Exploding Term Sheets Prompt Y Combinator To Sync Acceptance Dates With Competitors
The move stems from the growing competition between Y Combinator, which pioneered the startup mentorship model, and similar programs that have sprung up in its wake. Last March, Y Combinator issued an advisory to prospective applicants warning them of exploding term sheet offers from some of these competitors. These exploding term sheets are nullified within a day or two, which forces startups to quickly decide if they’d like to accept the offer. Because Y Combinator’s acceptance dates have historically been later than those of some competitors, this led to some startups joining programs that may not have been their first choice. It’s worth pointing out that Y Combinator itself encourages startups to make up their minds quickly once they’ve received a funding offer. But YC founder Paul Graham says that the program will give startups more time if they have a reason for needing it, and that they’ve never used exploding termsheets. Companies that have been accepted to Y Combinator will be notified the weekend of March 26-29. TechStars will be extending their offers on March 28. And DreamIt Ventures will make offers between March 25-31. This session’s application includes one other notable change: startups are being encouraged to submit their applications as early as possible. Before now, half of all applications have been submitted in the last two days before the deadline as founders work to polish their applications. This time, the YC team will be reviewing applications earlier and interacting with founders before the deadline, so it’s in your best interest to apply as early as possible. Applications are due by March 3. Information provided by CrunchBase
Source: TechCrunch | 24 Jan 2010 | 8:24 pm Google Voice extension for Chrome gets updated, adds click to call and moreSection: Communications, Cellular Providers, Mobile
Thanks to the updated extension, users can now make calls from the icon, and the calls are even easier to make since the phone numbers that appear in the browser are all links. In other words, no more remembering a number or having to cut and past into the Google Voice webpage. Basically, you just need to click to call, and then choose which phone to call with. The complete features are listed as:
Additionally, it was noted that a future update to the extension will also allow user to playback voicemail directly from the extension popup. Read [Google] Via [TechCrunch] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 24 Jan 2010 | 7:37 pm SmartFish concept aircraft swims in the air
The prototype is expected to be a ducted fan, two seater craft, capable of just under Mach 1. Still, that’s a respectable speed when you consider the top speed of other civilian aircraft in this size. Looking at the design though, I can’t help but think that is should be chrome with a robotic co-pilot.
I also encourage you to sample the rest of the portfolio, as they run an interesting gamut of urban landscapes, machinery and even a vintage pic of something our parents once called a "newspaper printing press." Oh, I'm sorry, I've just been told that last one is still around. [Stem Agency] Source: Gizmodo | 24 Jan 2010 | 7:10 pm Rumor: Apple could announce end of AT&T iPhone exclusivity Wed. - Apple Insider
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 24 Jan 2010 | 6:37 pm Ursula Le Guin's Petition Against Google BooksMiracle Jones blogs about the petition against the Google Book Settlement created by science fiction writer Ursula Le Guin, winner of five Hugo awards and six Nebulas. Le Guin is urging professional writers who are opposed to the terms of the settlement to sign her online petition before the January 28th deadline. From the petition: "The free and open dissemination of information and of literature, as it exists in our Public Libraries, can and should exist in the electronic media. All authors hope for that. But we cannot have free and open dissemination of information and literature unless the use of written material continues to be controlled by those who write it or own legitimate right in it. We urge our government and our courts to allow no corporation to circumvent copyright law or dictate the terms of that control."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Ultimately, the plan would establish "a multiyear, multi-billion-dollar initiative allowing private firms, including some start-ups, to compete to build and operate spacecraft capable of ferrying U.S. astronauts into orbit-and eventually deeper into the solar system," reports the WSJ. Safety concerns are at the top of the list of objections to the plan, as are concerns over shifting NASA funds for existing programs to a private initiative. Other additions to the NASA budget include stepped up climate-monitoring programs, and better cooperation internationally for manned and unmanned space programs. Unsurprisingly, private contractors like Lockheed Martin are lobbying for such a shift, as they could experience substantial gains should a new private NASA wing open in the near future. Those opposed to the change, like Arizona representative Gabrielle Giffords, argue that because NASA's budget will remain the same under the new program, at about $18.7 billion, the private programs will only serve to spread the agency more thinly (hence the shifting funds worry stated above). During a hearing last month, Giffords said the private funds could weaken NASA and put human space flight "on hold for the foreseeable future." Case in point, only $200 million are earmarked for privatization this year, but that number is expected to increase to about $3.5 billion over the next five years. [WSJ - Thanks, Pablo] Source: Gizmodo | 24 Jan 2010 | 6:00 pm Treo Pro gets removed from the Palm websiteSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile
Read [Palm Info Center]
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 24 Jan 2010 | 5:29 pm Run Windows 3.1 in your browser?
Yep, you read that right. Win3.1 in a browser. Everything that was there on that desktop, including Minesweeper. Of course, it’s also a whole lot more stable then the original, and some of the icons take you into Michael’s personal website. Thankfully, you can’t run the old version of I.E. on the site, but you can shut down windows.
Source: CrunchGear | 24 Jan 2010 | 5:00 pm Overheard: Steve Jobs Says Apple Tablet “Will Be The Most Important Thing I’ve Ever Done.”
“This will be the most important thing I’ve ever done” – Steve Jobs, referring to the soon-to-be-launched Apple Tablet.We haven’t heard this first hand, but we’ve heard it multiple times second and third hand from completely independent sources. Senior Apple execs and friends of Jobs are telling people that he’s about as excited about the upcoming Apple Tablet as he’s ever been. Coming from the man who has created so much, that’s saying something. If Steve Jobs thinks the iPhone was just a warm up act to this device, I can’t wait to see what it can do. As if our expectations weren’t already set high enough. We’ll all know a lot more this Wednesday.
Source: TechCrunch | 24 Jan 2010 | 4:56 pm Track New Foursquare Deals And Easily Drink For Free
Arthur Klepchukov implemented a pipe which simply takes the Foursquare Businesses page and runs it through some filters to get at the new deals in certain cities. As you can see, in Klepchukov’s version, he’s just looking for new deals in Oakland, Berkley, and Emoryville. But since it’s built with Yahoo Pipes, anyone can take it and easily plug in any city they wish to monitor. It makes some sense that Foursquare wouldn’t more clearly promote which deals are going on where — after all, most venues probably don’t want everyone in a city trying to take advantage of the deal (much like any other form of coupon). But this information can be very useful to people in various cities trying to decide where to go for lunch, for example. And with the number of these deals quickly increasing in a number of cities, it’s not a bad idea to track them so you don’t miss the really good ones. After all, everyone love free beer.
[photo: flickr/Schlüsselbein2007]
Source: TechCrunch | 24 Jan 2010 | 4:41 pm Superman - The 1948 Serial "The Superman serial was a 1948 15-part black-and-white movie serial starring an unaccredited Kirk Alyn (but billed only by his character name, Superman) and Noel Neill as Lois Lane. It is notable as the first live-action appearance of Superman on film and for the longevity of its distribution." All 15 chapters are available at the Internet Archive's open source movies archive. Meanwhile, Superman is still on the list of banned Twitter passwords.Source: Boing Boing | 24 Jan 2010 | 4:16 pm HP to launch music service in Europe (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 24 Jan 2010 | 4:11 pm IPv4 Free Pool Drops Below 10%, 1.0.0.0/8 Allocatedmysidia writes "A total of 16,777,216 IP address numbers were just allocated to the Asian Pacific Network Information Centre IP address registry for assignment to users. Some venerable IP addresses such as 1.1.1.1 and 1.2.3.4 have been officially assigned to the registry itself temporarily, for testing as part of the DEBOGON project. The major address blocks 1.0.0.0/8 and 27.0.0.0/8, are chosen accordance with a decision by ICANN to assign the least-desirable remaining IP address ranges to the largest regional registries first, reserving most more desirable blocks of addresses for the African and Latin American internet users, instead of North America, Europe, or Asia. In other words: of the 256 major networks in IPv4, only 24 network blocks remain unallocated in the global free pool, and many of the remaining networks have been tainted or made less desirable by unofficial users who attempted an end-run around the registration process, and treated 'RESERVED' IP addresses as 'freely available' for their own internal use. This allocation is right on target with projected IPv4 consumption and was predicted by the IPv4 report, which has continuously and reliably estimated global pool IP address exhaustion for late 2011 and regional registry exhaustion by late 2012. So, does your enterprise intranet use any unofficial address ranges for private networks?" Reader dude_nl sends in a summary of the issues with allocating from 1.0.0.0/8 from the BGPmon.net blog. "As Alain Durand mentioned on Nanog: 'Who said the water at the bottom of the barrel of IPv4 addresses will be very pure? We ARE running out and the global pain is increasing.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
"The best massages come from playing games that require the player to press a lot of buttons and combinations," says designers Mika Satomi and Hannah Perner-Wilson. Indeed, you coy bastards, indeed. [Ecouterre] Source: Gizmodo | 24 Jan 2010 | 4:00 pm "I will probably be found dead in the woods"A 2003 BBC story cast doubt on claims that Iraq could deploy WMDs within 45 minutes. UN weapons inspector David Kelly, revealed as the source, died mysteriously shortly thereafter. It seemed that if foul play was involved, it was the extensive public hounding that led to his apparent suicide. By imposing a 70 year gag on evidence relating to his death, however, the British government perhaps reveals more than a state secret could ever hide. [Daily Mail]Source: Boing Boing | 24 Jan 2010 | 3:55 pm Get a Palm Pre for free with BellSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  The Palm Pre has officially been reduced to a free handset with Bell in Canada. Of course, if you remember back to last month, we saw the Pre as a free handset through the third party retailer Wireless Wave. But as of now, potential Pre purchasers (say that three times fast) can head directly to Bell and avoid using the third party. In the end, the Palm Pre is free with Bell, just as long as you commit to a three year agreement. Additionally, you will need a plan that is $50 or more a month to qualify. Basically, this is nice for anyone in Canada, but should also be something that Sprint may want to consider, after all Verizon will soon be offering the Palm Pre Plus here in the US. Read [Bell Canada] Via [MobileSyrup]
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 24 Jan 2010 | 3:19 pm The Killer App for Apple’s Tablet: Gaming This guest post is by Jeff Scott, founder and publisher of 148Apps, a blog providing fanatical coverage of everything iPhone and hopefully soon, the Apple tablet.
While we still don't know the name of the new tablet device; could be iPad, iTablet, iSlate, iCanvas, or an extension of the MacBook name. But what we do know, due to many recent leaks on the announcement coming from Apple next week, the tablet is being targeted as a gaming device.
Connections with the device and gaming started when the Wall Street Journal reveled that Apple had been working with Electronic Arts purportedly to have games available to demo for the device reveal on January 27th. What games EA will be presenting, we don't know. This follows earlier reports that Apple had been in contact with "select developers" to create apps to showcase on the device. At that time we were unable to find anyone to admit to working with Apple for the Tablet launch.
Then in the last couple days came indications from many gaming related publications small and large that they had been invited to the special Apple event on 1/27. This shows a clear push by Apple to have the device covered in the games press, pointing to gaming as a major target for the device.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the Apple tablet as a gaming device.
Source: TechCrunch | 24 Jan 2010 | 3:12 pm The killer app for Apple’s tablet: Gaming
While we still don’t know the name of the new tablet device; could be iPad, iTablet, iSlate, iCanvas, or an extension of the MacBook name. But what we do know, due to many recent leaks on the announcement coming from Apple next week, the tablet is being targeted as a gaming device. Connections with the device and gaming started when the Wall Street Journal reveled that Apple had been working with Electronic Arts purportedly to have games available to demo for the device reveal on January 27th. What games EA will be presenting, we don’t know. This follows earlier reports that Apple had been in contact with “select developers” to create apps to showcase on the device. At that time we were unable to find anyone to admit to working with Apple for the Tablet launch. Then in the last couple days came indications from many gaming related publications small and large that they had been invited to the special Apple event on 1/27. This shows a clear push by Apple to have the device covered in the games press, pointing to gaming as a major target for the device. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the Apple tablet as a gaming device. The tablet device is expected to have a stronger processor than the iPhone 3GS which will make it well suited for games. But it’s also expected to have a screen resolution of at least 640×800 since it will also have a larger screen. This means that the device will have to work harder to put graphics on the screen with 4 times or more the resolution of the iPhone. An upgraded graphics co-processor will help with that to some extent — as will extra RAM. I think we can expect all of those. Form Factor The tablet is expected to be rather large compared to the iPhone. Rumors range from a 7″ to 11″ screen. My bet is on 2 models — one at the low end and one at the high end. The smaller one targeted at gaming and the larger for more general use. Imagine if your iPhone had an 11″ screen — roughly 9 times the size of your current iPhone. Picking up that device and moving and tilting it to control an accelerometer based game. Similar in size to lifting and tilting your laptop to control a game. It would get tiring, quickly. Especially for us lazy Americans. Moving an 11″ device around quickly to play a twitch game makes little sense, really. Not to mention the potential for damage to the device and it’s surroundings. Think of all of the stories and pictures we saw of the Wii controller being thrown into TVs, windows, and faces. It will be that same story all over again. But this time you are throwing around a potentially $1,000 device not a $45 controller. On the other hand, a 7″ device, roughly 4x the size of the iPhone wouldn’t be nearly as bad. Still rather large for a portable gaming device, but much more workable. Operating System All indicators are pointing to the tablet running an expanded version of the iPhone OS 4. We can assume the major new features of that OS will be resolution independence and support of more hardware varieties. Much as OS X has been created to work on different platforms, processors, devices. The expanded iPhone OS will likely include an update to the way you view the installed apps on the device. Having a 4×5 grid on an 11″ screen wouldn’t be too appealing. I expect we’ll see iPhone OS 4 beta released to developers quickly. It’s expected to be a fairly big change to allow it to support the tablet. It’s early release to developers will give them extra time to update their apps before the general release. Data Connection I think we can say that Wifi connectivity is a given. The question is will there be some form of cellular data connectivity with AT&T or Verizon? I think it’s likely — but I really hope it will be optional and not required to purchase the device. I really don’t relish the idea of paying AT&T (or Verizon) an extra $60-$100 a month to use another device. Another option, while a long shot, is be that it will tether to the iPhone in your pocket utilizing it’s data network. That is once AT&T finally support tethering that is. I find this much more appealing and hope it will be an option. Expect connectivity and cloud services to be a major push for the tablet. Mobile Me has been moving further that way with each revision. Apple also recently bought LaLa, a cloud music service. Many see iTunes going toward the cloud and the tablet would be a great device to take advantage of that. We might even see an officially supported social gaming network from Apple like XBox Live from Microsoft. And I don’t think it’s out of the question to think Apple might jump-start this by buying out one of the networks already created, it’s not very likely. Interface / Game Controls We can assume that there will be no joysticks or control pads on the device. That would be very non-Apple. Apple has committed heavily to multi-touch control and we expect to see more of that for the tablet. And for games, that’s pretty good news. While many prefer hardware controls, developers of iPhone games have made great use of multi-touch as controls for games. Here’s an example of TouchGrind — one of the games with the most interesting and unique interfaces on the iPhone — running on a Mac and utilizing the multi-touch trackpad on that laptop. The advantage of a large multi-touch screen becomes instantly clear after seeing that video. While the iPhone is limited by hardware to 5 simultaneous touches on the screen, realistically it’s more like 2-3 to provide good control without obscuring the whole screen. With a larger screen, you are presented with more options for multi-touch. Unfortunately, this also exposes the main issue with multi-touch, obscuring the screen. This is multiplied when you have a larger screen. Notice in the above video that the game uses the trackpad as the multi-touch device not the screen. When you touch the screen, you obscure parts of the display. With an iPhone, it’s just your fingers in blocking parts of the screen. With a larger device, your whole hand gets in the way obscuring even larger parts of the screen. There have been some rumors floating around about the potential for a touch sensitive back on future iPhone devices – similar to the top of the Magic Mouse. And there have been insiders quoted stating that we will be shocked at how we interact with the tablet. Putting two and two together, it’s not out of this world to think that the tablet might be the first device with a multi-touch sensitive back. Another possibility, as seen in the Palm Pre and other mobile devices, an area on the front, apart from the screen, that can be used as a touchpad. While I’m sure the accelerometer will be included in the device — as it will be required to be compatible with some iPhone apps and games. It doesn’t make as great of a method to control games in a large device. As mentioned earlier, the thought of quickly moving around a large, expensive device like this, is rather scary. Not to mention that the games on the iPhone that use the accelerometers are tuned for the movement of a small device — moving a larger device will make all of these games seem a little off until they are tuned. iPhone Apps on a Tablet It is pretty certain at this point that the tablet will run iPhone apps and games, hopefully unmodified. It’s possible that they will need to be certified to work on the device though — much the same process we had with OS 3 and apps being certified to work with that new version of the iPhone OS. Compatibility with the tablet will likely be the biggest factor of the iPhone OS 4 certification. The Games Using games designed for a 320×240 screen on and increased screen size brings up issues. One of them being that if the game display is just scaled up to fit the screen, the graphics will look rather chunky. Most games use sprites sized specifically for the screen size of the iPhone. Up to this point that has always been 320×480. The tablet will have a larger screen resolution and require new graphics to take full advantage of that for full screen apps without scaling. This isn’t something that’s easy or quick to change. It could take a lot of work depending on how many different raster graphics there are in the games. 3D games are less effected as they can scale. But they will still take some work and updated graphics to be properly tuned to the larger screen size. Some of the textures used for the 3D objects may need to be upgraded for instance. And performance will most certainly need to be tuned for the larger screen size. Multiplayer Games While there have been a few instances of simultaneous multiplayer games on the iPhone, the small screen makes it difficult. A device with a larger screen will make that experience much more compelling. Both traditional games, like board games, and arcade games could take advantage of the larger screen and increased multi-touch capabilities to support multiplayer games. Imagine a high resolution Scrabble, Chess, Checkers, etc. game on the tablet device where you can play either simultaneous multiplayer on a single device or across multiple devices. Beyond traditional games, a first person shooter could use the device split screen and allow multiple players to compete in the same game. Tablet Games Demoed With all of the games press invited Wednesday we know that we will see some games demoed on the new device. For early demos Apple generally sticks with large developers — ones they can trust with keeping secrets — when choosing who to demo a new device. We heard previously from a developer who had 3 days, sequestered at the Apple campus, to develop a demo of in-app purchasing before the press event for iPhone OS 3.0. They will also occasionally throw in a small developer if the risk is worth it for a really good demo. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Apple has been working with EA to create a games demo for the tablet. We can say pretty certainly that EA will show one or more of their games at the event. First guess is that it will be something we haven’t seen from them yet, not just one of their games updated for the new device. Apple likes to make a big splash with the demos at press events. I’m have sent 2D Boy this theory and await their response. Even a ‘no comment’ would be good news for this theory. Apple and ngmoco:) have had a pretty close relationship with ngmoco:) demoing at multiple different Apple press events. That and ngmoco:) also been rather quiet lately. That might indicate they are working with Apple and we may see something from them on Wednesday. iTunes Account Sharing Currently, you can authorize up to five desktop machines under a single iTunes account. This means that those five machine are authorized to play any protected content that account purchases. And, those five machines can sync to as many iPhone OS devices as you wish. So you can have an iTunes Account and all apps purchased on that account, shared amongst every member of your family – no matter how large that family is. But, will that licensing model extend to the tablet? It makes sense for Apple to extend the license to the tablet as it will help them for sales of the new device. If you can have the same apps on your iPhone as your tablet without paying extra, that will make people happy. I don’t relish the thought of having to purchase apps for the iPhone and re-purchasing for the tablet to use them there. But it can also be said that the tablet is more of a computer than the iPhone. And most software for desktop computers is licensed per machine. There could be some push back from developers on this. But initially I think we’ll see that it will be able to work with all of the iPhone apps you have already purchased. Game Prices As we all know, the prices for games on the iPhone are unbelievably low. Low even compared to other mobile platforms and especially so compared to the other mobile gaming devices. Will Apple find a way to drive prices higher for apps on the tablet? While we expect the tablet will be seen from an App Store perspective as just another iPhone OS device — like the iPod Touch — it’s possible that Apple will segment certain tablet apps. Perhaps we’ll see multiple versions of the same games — some for the iPhone that work on the tablet — and extended versions just for the tablet. Another possibility is that the rumored premium app store will actually be for expanded tablet apps. We may see expanded apps — apps to take advantage of specific tablet hardware like the increased screen size — segmented and at higher price points on a premium app store. There are a lot of possibilities on what the tablet could be. But no matter how it comes out, we know Apple is going to push it, much like it has the iPod Touch, as a gaming device. How successful it will be is up to the app developers. All of our questions will be answered soon. I for one am very excited for the announcements on Wednesday. While I don’t consider myself a hard-core Apple fan boy, I am very excited to see this new Apple creation and what it will mean for mobile gaming.
Source: CrunchGear | 24 Jan 2010 | 3:10 pm DIY: Turn your digital picture frame into a nixie clock
The creator of this project built a custom frame, upholstered it, added some custom brass accents, and then set the whole thing up to advance one image per second, based on a series of pictures that she created using some images from flickr. The end result is a really nice looking clock that would look great in an airship or steam powered car. She’s nice enough to include instructions, as well as the source code required to reprogram the frame, and a link to the original flickr art used to show the time. [via Make]
Source: CrunchGear | 24 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm Radiation Therapy Mistakes Cost Livesjmtpi recommends a long NY Times investigative report about how powerful medical linear accelerators have contributed to at least two deaths in the New York area. Although the mistakes were largely due to human error, buggy software also played a role. "...the records described 621 mistakes from 2001 to 2008... most were minor... The Times found that on 133 occasions, devices used to shape or modulate radiation beams... were left out, wrongly positioned, or otherwise misused. On 284 occasions, radiation missed all or part of its intended target or treated the wrong body part entirely. ... Another patient with stomach cancer was treated for prostate cancer. Fifty patients received radiation intended for someone else, including one brain cancer patient who received radiation intended for breast cancer."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The quartz device is simple, cheap, and in tests remarkably effective. It sniffs out a substance called TATP, which made its infamous debut on the world stage during the 2004 Madrid bombing and later in July 2005, when terrorists attacked the London tubes. Why TATP? It's easily made, cheap and similar to TNT, making it an obvious choice for terrorist cells across the globe. It's also used a lot as a detonator, but the quartz rod device can detect either usage easily:
In the tests, the device was accurate, sensing TATP at levels of 1ppm. Researchers say 0.1 ppm will be possible in the future. Detectors that implement the technology will cost about $100, meaning they could easily be put in bus doorways, checkpoints and airports. Oh, and they actually work. Photo note: Damage done by a TATP bomb. [New Scientist] Source: Gizmodo | 24 Jan 2010 | 2:00 pm Pope Urges Priests To Go Forth and BlogHugh Pickens writes "Pope Benedict XV, whose own presence on the Web has grown in recent years, is urging priests to use all multimedia tools at their disposal to preach the Gospel and to engage in dialogue with people of other religions and cultures. 'The spread of multimedia communications and its rich "menu of options" might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web,' but priests are 'challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources,' says the Pope. The message from the Pope, prepared for the World Day of Communications, suggests such possibilities as images, videos, animated features, blogs, and Web sites and adds that young priests should become familiar with new media while still in seminary, though the Pope stresses that the use of new technologies must reflect theological and spiritual principles. Many priests and top prelates already interact with the faithful online, and one of Benedict's advisers has his own Facebook profile. So does the archbishop of Los Angeles. The Pope adds, 'I renew the invitation to make astute use of the unique possibilities offered by modern communications. May the Lord make all of you enthusiastic heralds of the Gospel in the new "agorà" which the current media are opening up.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 24 Jan 2010 | 1:52 pm Why VCs Should Take Their Own Advice
And if a firm was one of many that couldn’t raise a new fund last year, who needs to know they were even trying? Unlike a startup, any firm that’s been around for a cycle or longer still has enough money under management from previous funds to keep the lights on. If they failed to raise a fund in 2009, they can always try again in 2010. It could take decades for even the worst firms to “go out of business.” Like generals, bad VCs don’t die, they just fade away. It’s an industry perfectly structured for sweeping problems under the rug, and as its fundamentals have declined over the last decade, that’s just what it’s been doing. But those big, lumpy problems are getting harder and harder to hide. Aside from rumors, it’s hard to know exactly who couldn’t raise a new fund in 2009, but we know the numbers were down precipitously. And slow economic recovery aside, it’s not going to get easier in 2010. Limited partners, the institutions that invest in venture funds, are finally accepting what almost every VC I know has been saying for a decade: There’s too much money in the industry and it’s killing the kind of early stage investing the asset class was founded on. And that’s killing returns. But just as we’re finally starting to see limited partners make the hard decisions to throttle back investments in private equity, so too are some VCs grappling with their own hard decision: Stick with a broken asset class and try to fix it or just leave and start anew. Vinod Khosla was one of the first to make that decision: Leaving Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers at the peak of his and the firm’s power to get back to real, risk-taking early stage investing. Of course, his recent $1.1 billion fund flies in the face of the too-much-money argument, but it bears noting that Khosla invests in some capital intensive sectors like cleantech. Web 2.0 is a different matter. The capital needs are low, and, YouTube aside, the returns are low too. In the last few weeks, another investor who I respect has made a similar move. Simon Levene of Accel’s UK offices has resigned the firm, despite an impressive track record that includes investments in MyHeritage, Seeking Alpha and Etsy. I spoke with Levene this week about the decision and unfortunately for me, it’s not a particularly juicy story. This wasn’t an intercontinental Accel battle royale. This wasn’t an issue where he wanted to invest in sectors the firm deemed dead. Nor was it a case where Levene wasn’t pulling his weight. And, of course, with investments in as varied and successful companies as BBN Technologies, Marvel and Facebook, Accel itself isn’t in any trouble. It simply boiled down to the fact that, like many of the world’s best Web investors, Levene doesn’t see the best deals out there needing many millions of dollars. And structurally, a small partnership investing a $525 million fund with $1.5 billion actively under management can’t do a large number of tiny deals and still give each investment the attention it needs. As he puts it: “You see something that needs half a million or a million and you think, ‘That’s a good investment,’ but there are only so many you can do given the structure of these larger funds.” In London, Accel takes a classic VC approach of putting at least $15 million in each company. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for the kinds of micro-deals that Levene saw netting better returns and frankly, the ones in which he had more fun investing. “I enjoy the bigger deals too, but they are fewer and far between, and they tend to be very competitive, so you have to pay up for them,” Levene says. “When it comes to early stage I’m just seeing a bigger market opportunity in Europe and Israel.” That VC angst—while similar to what you hear about in the Valley—has a different twist in markets like Europe and Israel. In the Valley, it’s largely a reaction to more nimble angels and seed funds beating traditional VCs in the market. Funds have been forced to adapt or lose. Witness Greylock’s hiring of uber-angel investor Reid Hoffman. Indeed, even before Hoffman’s arrival, forward-thinking partners like David Sze had been doing less-traditional deals. In 2006 Sze did two deals that didn’t seem to fit with the venture model and had peers scoffing that he’d never make money off either. One was Digg, where he could only invest $2 million, a fraction of the normal-sized series A deals at the time. The other was Facebook, where he invested at a whopping $500 million pre-money valuation. At the time, he shrugged and said, “I don’t know how I’ll make money, I just believe in the teams and believe it’ll work out.” In hindsight, he looks like a genius on both. Sze’s approach —not just downscaling to do seed-deals, but investing without spreadsheet-induced restrictions at all — is similar to that of newer firms like Andreessen Horowitz, which does tiny deals as well as mammoth deals like the recent investment in Skype. Andreessen has said he wants a piece of the best tech companies in the world—no matter when they’re started, what stage he can get in and what price is necessary to make it happen. (After all, it was pure, math-based investing that helped wreck the public markets.) But in Europe and Israel, there’s not that same level of experimentation on the part of venture funds, nor are there many investors like Andreessen or Hoffman who have the clout, confidence and star power to say they’re just going to invest in what they want and trust it’ll work out. The closest is Saul Klein’s firm Index Ventures, which has had plenty of traditional venture hits with Skype, MySQL and Last.FM, but has been open to plenty of experimentation too—much of it lead by Klein himself, a long-time angel investor and entrepreneur. Index has not only supported Klein in continuing to do investments from his seed fund, The Accelerator Group, it’s encouraged him on a project called Seed Camp, that scours Europe and Israel for good companies and makes Y Combinator-style investments in them. So far Seed Camp has invested in 21 companies and mentored nearly 300. Klein brought a crop of them over to Silicon Valley this week to meet with investors, get grilled by the press, and get mentored by success stories like Google. “Given that the raw natural material for venture capitalists is entrepreneurs, I find it strange that the venture community does nothing to help develop those raw materials,” Klein says. (There’s much more on his blog about this topic here.) For Levine’s part, he sees the venture industry in Europe and Israel as “still a work in progress.” He continues, “There’s more of an opportunity to pioneer and strike new ground. That’s part of what was exciting to me when I moved back here seven years ago.” Not surprisingly, Levene spent a lot of time talking with both Hoffman and Klein as he was mulling the ballsy decision to leave one of the top firms in the venture universe. What’s he going to do now that he’s unemployed? He’s not saying yet. (My guess is he’s not saying because raising a seed fund takes some time, but that’s only a guess.) But the more investors who follow their heart in this uncertain time for the asset class, the better for startups here and in Europe and Israel. After all, that’s what top investors would advise entrepreneurs to do during a downturn. Information provided by CrunchBase
Information provided by CrunchBase
Source: Gizmodo | 24 Jan 2010 | 1:30 pm music for/by the birdsFrench artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot has created "a walk-through aviary for a flock of zebra finches, and furnished them with electric guitars and other instruments" at the Barbican Gallery. Same project, different location. [via MeFi] Source: Boing Boing | 24 Jan 2010 | 1:25 pm Rumor: T-Mobile ditching the Sidekick in favor of the myTouch SlideSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile
Read [BGR] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 24 Jan 2010 | 1:03 pm Get multi-touch on your Nexus OneCyanogen is at it again; the creator of the popular replacement interface for Android phones has come up with another hack, this time for the Nexus phone. The hack allows you to use multitouch functionality in the browser only for now, but the plan is to add this (much wanted) option to application in the future. [via Gadget Lab] Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
And as commenters far wittier than I have noted below, this calendar is also adept at making moldy applesauce by about days 25-31... [I Believe In Adv book of joe via Neatorama] Source: Gizmodo | 24 Jan 2010 | 1:00 pm Designing the Computer UIs In Moviesxandroid points out an NPR interview with Mark Coleran, who "...designs the fancy-but-fake graphics that flash across computers in the movies. He has worked on a laundry list of blockbusters: The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Ultimatum, Children of Men, Mission Impossible III, and many more. He says a lot of the inspiration for computer screens comes from video games." The main point of these fake movie UIs is different than that of real UIs: to tell a story very quickly, not to reveal and enable function.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 24 Jan 2010 | 12:41 pm DIY: Wireless door access using a watchThe TI Chronos has been a bit of a hackers darling recently, but this has to be the coolest application of it I’ve seen so far. Rather then getting an RFID tag embedded in your hand, program your watch to use a pre-programmed combination of taps to activate the wireless door locking system. The inventor created this locking system using the TI development kit, some basic electronics, and the Chronos watch. The watch uses a 128 bit AES key encryption, and requires that you know the pre-programmed tap code before it will open the door. This is more secure then RFID, which just opens based on proximity. I love this project, the only potential issue I could see would be someone mugging you and stealing your watch, leaving you unable to open your door (unless you have a key with you). [via Make]
Source: Gizmodo | 24 Jan 2010 | 12:30 pm To get NBC, Comcast still has persuading to do (AP)AP - Before Comcast Corp. can transform the entertainment business by taking control of NBC Universal, it must convince Washington that the plan won't hurt rivals and consumers. And the promises the cable company has made so far don't impress opponents who want federal regulators to attach strict conditions to the deal.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 24 Jan 2010 | 11:43 am Levitating Magnet Could Provide New Approach To Clean EnergyA new experiment that reproduces the magnetic fields of the Earth and other planets has yielded its first significant results.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 24 Jan 2010 | 11:40 am A Case For the Necessity of Science Fictionunc0nn3ct3d writes "This article makes an interesting point about the necessity of science fiction — or, more specifically, speculative fiction as a tool to aid in the long-term survival of the human species. 'We live in a world that is incredibly frightening for a growing portion of the population because of the exponential rate of change we are experiencing. Our world is changing so fast now that we often don't have time to contemplate the full ramifications that come with the increasingly rapid adoption of new technologies and social changes. Most often this is simply because these changes are being introduced almost one after another after another, without any time to breathe. Speculative fiction, however, if widely adopted, makes it almost instinctive that we think about these situations and possible outcomes before they even arise.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 24 Jan 2010 | 11:31 am Apple further tips their hand about tablet name
The details are pretty technical, but what it boils down to is this: Fujitsu registered the trademark “iPad”, Apple filed to oppose Fujitsu’s move as soon as it was legally possible, in September 2009. Apple has been consistently delaying their court dates, by asking for more time to put together arguments about the case. This is identical to the tactics they used for the name “iPhone” with Cisco back in the day. Apple filed for (and has received) the international patent for the name “iPad” in January 2009. What’s going to happen? Well, most likely, Apple will launch the “iPad” next week, Fujitsu will file an injunction, and then the lawyers will fight over the name and delay the launch until it’s all resolved.
Source: CrunchGear | 24 Jan 2010 | 11:30 am Appletell reviews the ThinkFlood RedEye Universal RemoteFROM APPLETELL - Overall, the RedEye iPhone universal remote system works very well, but there are two huge problems here… Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 24 Jan 2010 | 11:01 am Welcome, guestblogger Jessamyn West!Our next guestblogger is the incomparable activist geek librarian Jessamyn West, who, along with other library-hackers like Jenny Levine are part of a movement to redefine librarianship in the information age. I've been enjoying Jessamyn's projects and thoughts for years and it's a delight to have her here. Here's her official bio:Not only that, but she co-edited Revolting Librarians Redux, one of the most exciting books I've read in the past ten years.
Welcome, Jessamyn!
Google Wants Smartphone Game Makers On Its SideInternet giant Google is cozying up to companies that make games people love to play on smartphones.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 24 Jan 2010 | 10:08 am MySpace bids to pay musicians 'lost' royalties (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 24 Jan 2010 | 10:05 am Apple Tablet an Ideal Business Tool (PC World)PC World - The clock is winding down to the big reveal on Wednesday at Apple's major press event. It could be an iSlate, or an iSlab, or an iTablet, or perhaps even an iPod Tablet Edition. There are almost as many potential names for the mythic device that may not exist as there are pundits speculating about what the device will or won't do--myself included...if it exists.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 24 Jan 2010 | 7:54 am Supercomputers Explore Nuclear EnergyImage Caption: An elevation plot of the highest energy neutron flux distributions from an axial slice of the reactor is shown superimposed over the same slice of the underlying geometry. This figure shows the rapid spatial variation in the high energy neutron distribution between within each plate along with the more slowly varying, global distribution. The figure is significant since UNIC allows researchers to capture both of these effects simultaneously. Photo courtesy Argonne National Laboratory.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 24 Jan 2010 | 6:25 am Holy tweet! YouTube-era pope urges blogging for faith - USA Today
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 24 Jan 2010 | 6:22 am Haiti Disaster Captured With High-Tech Imaging SystemWorld Bank funds five-day missionIn the aftermath of the Jan.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 24 Jan 2010 | 6:15 am Study Shows Driving Hinders TalkingIt is well known that having a conversation (for example on a cell phone) impairs one's driving.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 24 Jan 2010 | 6:05 am Managedcomms Expands Leased Lines Product RangeLONDON, Jan.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 24 Jan 2010 | 3:29 am
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I’ve been quite fascinated by electric car firm 
I have long been a Google Voice fanboy, and with little perks like this my fanboyism is not likely to go away anytime soon. The latest Google Voice perk comes in the form of an update extension for the Chrome web browser, which now allows users to make calls directly from the extension icon.
The SmartFish aircraft is a concept vehicle created by an engineering firm in Germany, based on the aerodynamic shape of a fish. So far, they have only built a remote control version of the aircraft, and a prototype is in the works. The prototype will be built from kevlar and carbon fiber; but, the designers expect the vehicle to be relatively inexpensive to build.
With the Palm Pre, and later the Pixi taking center stage with webOS, its no surprise that older Palm models including the Treo Pro have been taking a back seat. But still there is something to be said about seeing one of those models lose its dedicated page on the Palm website. The latest model to have been affected is the Windows Mobile based Treo Pro, which up until recently was listed under the “non-webOS device” category. Of course, this is just another step in what will hopefully be a good road ahead for Palm. After all, moving past Windows Mobile cannot be an entirely bad thing, right? Finally, those that are still interested in purchasing the Windows Mobile based Palm Treo Pro will either have to head over to Sprint or move on to third party sites such as eBay and Craigslist. 
Personal website are usually a train wreck. With the death of 
One of the most interesting things about 
Apparently, it’s DIY Sunday here at Crunchgear. Here’s another little project for you to do, using an inexpensive digital picture frame and some steampunk aesthetic to create a pretty sweet looking clock.
The way venture capital firms are structured makes it almost impossible for outsiders to see what’s really going on inside those 1970s lodge-like Sand Hill Road offices. A firm is nothing more than a collection of partnerships around certain funds that run for ten years or more. So if a partner gets fired? Well, he or she is still technically a partner in an earlier fund, so firms don’t really have to talk about it if it isn’t in their best interest.
The details are still pretty light on this story, but it looks like T-Mobile may soon begin phasing out sales of the Sidekick. This comes courtesy of BGR, who are reporting that “T-Mobile will slowly be phasing out all Sidekick sales.” The reasoning behind the phasing out is because of the still-rumored myTouch Slide, which is said to be the device that will replace the Sidekick. Of course BGR was clear to point out that this information has come courtesy of a “new tipster” and the information could not be verified otherwise. Not to mention, assuming the myTouch Slide does come to T-Mobile—that does not necessarily mean that all Sidekick sales will come to an end. Still, this could be an interesting story to follow, after all Sidekick users are a loyal bunch which could make for a nice little revolt against T-Mobile.
It appears that Apple has tipped their hand regarding the name of their expected tablet computer. Way back in September of 2009, Apple filed to oppose Fujitsu regarding the name, “iPad”. Apple hasn’t been aggressive about fighting for the name, but they did file for the name on an international scale, and they own that trademark.
I'm a library technologist working in rural Vermont teaching people on
the back end of the digital divide how to use computers.
