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Chinese group file complaint over faulty HP laptops (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:39 am Most adulterous professionsA survey of the 1.9 million accounts on AshleyMadison.com, a dating site for people looking to cheat on their spouses, rounds up the most common occupations among the would-be infidelitous:Who Cheats? Docs and Stay at Home Moms! (via MeFi) (Image: The Seventh Commandment, a Creative Commons Attribution photo from pasukaru76's photostream)
Previously:
 Source: Boing Boing | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:26 am Most adulterous professionsA survey of the 1.9 million accounts on AshleyMadison.com, a dating site for people looking to cheat on their spouses, rounds up the most common occupations among the would-be infidelitous: For Women:...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:26 am GDC 2010: Power Gig - Rise of the Six String - GamePro.com
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:51 am Puzzle In xkcd Book Finally CrackedAn anonymous reader writes "After a little over five months of pondering, xkcd fans have cracked a puzzle hidden inside Randall Munroe's recent book xkcd: volume 0. Here is the start of the thread on the xkcd forums; and here is the post revealing the final message (a latitude and longitude plus a date and time)."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:49 am The Yahoo Cycling Team Is Going To Love This New Google Maps Feature
Google is announcing tomorrow at the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC that Google Maps will now include biking directions in the U.S. Apparently, this was the most-requested feature for the service, as some 57 million Americans ride bikes. Thousands of miles of bike trails have been added to the maps. And there is also step-by-step directions, much like you can see for driving or public transportation directions in the maps. There is also a new layer that shows bike trails and bike-friendly areas on roads. Yes, it’s a bike-lover’s dream. To make this new feature happen, Google partnered with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a nonprofit group that converts old rail lines into bike trails. The group have given Google information on some 12,000 miles worth of trails in the U.S. To coincide with the launch, Google also has a cycling contest. To enter, you simply have to tweet with the hashtag #bikewithgoogle. The randomly selected winner will get a voucher for $2,500 to be used at American Cyclery. I fully expect that hashtag to be dominated by members of Yahoo’s cycling team tomorrow. Find out more about the new feature in the video below.
     
If you're like me and ever looked at one of those prop TVs in a store and wondered how much they go for, then the mystery is finally over. You can seek out Props By IDM, a company who sells such fake gadgets, and price check. [Props by IDM via Boing Boing] Source: Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:35 am Viral Video: Nip and Yucks? [BoomTown]
Here is a new Funny or Die comedy video of reality TV show star Heidi Montag spoofing her plastic surgery-addled obsession with silicone. It is sort of funny and sort of creepy and even a little sad. Nonetheless, Montag and her even odder husband, Spencer Pratt, are certainly game to make themselves the subject of mockery. Here’s the video:
Source: All Things Digital | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:30 am Quote Of The Day: MySpace Co-President? “Hell, Yeah”
– Former MySpace Chief Product Officer Jason Hirschhorn’s reaction to the abrupt firing of his boss and his promotion to co-president of MySpace.      
Source: TechCrunch | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:18 am Google opens virtual shop for business software (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:09 am Street Fighter IV arrives in the App Store (Macworld.com)Macworld.com - Students of the hadouken have a new venue to test their fighting mettle: Street Fighter IV launched Wednesday for the iPhone and iPod touch. This seminal arcade fighter brings high-end graphics, complex combos, and a memorable cast of characters to the mobile platform.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:06 am Once-Casual Gamers Go 'Social' [Voices]By Mike Shields, Senior Editor, MediaWeek The audience for casual games appears to have bought, well, the farm. Traditional gaming sites are bleeding users, as millions of Web gamers shift their time to social games, such as the massively popular FarmVille. That, coupled with an increasing desire among advertisers to move beyond old-school banner ads, has put the advertising market for online gaming very much in play, said analysts and buyers. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:05 am Newspapers Over-Dependent on Advertising, Says Publicis Boss [Voices]By Jane Martinson, Reporter, guardian.co.uk Maurice Levy, the head of one of the world’s biggest marketing groups, Publicis, said today that newspapers must wean themselves from an over-dependence on advertising to survive the digital age. Speaking to MediaGuardian.co.uk at the start of the inaugural Abu Dhabi media summit, Levy, Publicis’s chairman and chief executive, added that it is “not enough to have a big audience on the internet”, with media companies needing to find a mix between free and paid-for online content to survive in the digital era. “The future of analogue media will not be supported by advertising alone. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:04 am How Ars Technica’s "Experiment" With Ad-Blocking Readers Built On Its Community’s Affection For the Site [Voices]By Laura McGann, Assistant Editor, Nieman Journalism Lab Even on the web, sometimes actions really do speak louder than words. The technology site Ars Technica has a tech-savvy group of readers, of which about 40 percent have installed ad-blocking software in their web browsers. That’s a plugin that allows you to avoid seeing most ads on a site. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:03 am Microsoft researcher wins Turing Award - BusinessWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:02 am NASA space shuttle gearing up for big phase out - BusinessWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:02 am Web Standards for E-books [Voices]By Joe Clark, Contributor, A List Apart The internet did not replace television, which did not replace cinema, which did not replace books. E-books aren’t going to replace books either. E-books are books, merely with a different form. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:02 am Publisher Profits Dive 1.7x Faster Than Sales [Voices]By Alan Mutter, Managing Partner, Tapit Partners While sales have fallen an average of 27.4% at newspaper companies in the last two years, profits have plunged 1.7 times faster, according to an analysis of the financial statements of the publicly held publishers. The average 45.9% dive in profitability at the publicly traded newspaper companies since 2007 represents not only serious financial challenges for the companies but also threatens the quality of the journalism that such major publishers as Gannett (GCI), McClatchy (MNI) and the New York Times Co. (NYT) may be able to produce in the future. News staffs and news holes already have undergone significant contraction as publishers sought to preserve profits since advertising sales began shrinking in 2006. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:01 am Home Buyers Check Out Apps [Voices]By James R. Hagerty, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal Just in time for the spring house-hunting season, smart-phone applications that provide information to home buyers are proliferating. Real-estate firms have long vied to have the most engaging Web site to attract people searching for homes. Now they also feel compelled to have an “app” for Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhone and other smart phones. Rather than being moneymakers—brokers tend to offer their apps for free—the apps are seen as a tool to make the home-buying process easier. “I don’t think it’s driving revenue for us, but it’s making customers happier,” says Glenn Kelman, chief executive of Redfin Corp., a Seattle-based broker that operates in nine states. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:00 am Daily Crunch: Down Below the Ocean Edition
Inverted, ocean-bound “seascrapers”: aqua-communes for the future?
Source: CrunchGear | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:00 am Ness Technologies Wins Strategic Contract at Raiffeisenbank a.s. for Document Management SystemSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:00 am Novel Games Launches 3D E-Cards with GamesSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 10 Mar 2010 | 12:56 am Malaysian turtles face extinction: WWFConservationists warned Wednesday that Malaysians' voracious appetite for turtle eggs could drive the marine creatures to extinction on its shores. Turtle eggs are sold openly in marketsSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 10 Mar 2010 | 12:30 am Arm Sees Over 50 New IPad-like Devices out This Year (PC World)PC World - The launch of Apple's iPad will pave the way for a slew of rival products this year, an Arm executive said Wednesday, predicting over 50 tablet PC devices will be launched globally.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 10 Mar 2010 | 12:30 am The Value of BASIC As a First Programming LanguageMirk writes "Computer-science legend Edsger W. Dijkstra famously wrote: 'It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration.' The Reinvigorated Programmer argues that the world is full of excellent programmers who cut their teeth on BASIC, and suggests it could even be because they started out with BASIC."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 10 Mar 2010 | 12:21 am More Talent Walks Out The Door At MySpace: Three Key Employees Go To Gravity
We covered Gravity’s launch in December 2009. The three MySpacer’s are Chief Software Architect Chris Bissell (we previously reported Bissell’s resignation), Chief Systems Architect Dan Farino and Development Manager Robbie Coleman. All of these employees approached Gravity on their own, says our source. But MySpace’s somewhat zealous legal department isn’t shy about engaging in the occasionally ridiculous turf war. We’ve also heard that the best MySpace employees continue to head for the door, and companies that know which employees actually get things done aren’t going to turn away good people. MySpace declined to comment on this story, other than to confirm that the three employees are no longer with the company. Gravity also declined to comment.      
SEM Elemental Analysis company ASPEX is offering this great service where people can submit their own samples to be viewed under a scanning electron microscope. They even post results—like these—on the site: Now, back to the big question: What would you want to see scanned by an SEM? [Aspex via Maria Popova] Source: Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 12:06 am BGAN from Stratos Provides Connectivity for Adventurers Running Siberia's Frozen Lake BaikalSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 10 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am MACH Reconfirms Strong Growth Forecast for 2010Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 10 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Chinese group files complaint over 'faulty' HP laptopsSHANGHAI, March 10 (Reuters) - More than 100 Chinese consumers have filed an official complaint against Hewlett-Packard Co over faulty laptop computers, leaving the door open for a lawsuit against the...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:57 pm UPDATE 1-Idemitsu to halt CDU ops, curb crude runs* Looks to suspend ops at Tokuyama, Aichi, Hokkaido plantsSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:52 pm Comscore Study: Social Gamers Want Marketing Offers For Currency
The study was conducted by Comscore, sponsored by Offerpal, and included responses from 799 Comscore panelists who play games on social networks at least once per month. 54% of panelists play games at least daily. This is good news for game developers who’ve had their monetization choices somewhat fenced in over the last few months. Gamers 25-34 are the most likely to earn virtual currency for marketing actions, according to the study – 71% of panelists in that age group said they are “very likely” to consider this. The study also showed that about 30% of panelists don’t have the ability to pay cash for virtual currency. But more than half of all panelists, including a majority of those that can pay cash and a majority of those that cannot pay cash, were willing to consider marketing actions. The bottom line of the study is that even users who have the ability to pull out their wallet want options when it comes to social games. And as long as they don’t get scammed along the way, we’re just fine with it. Watch a video in exchange for Zynga points? That’s a better deal than the credit card.      
Source: TechCrunch | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:44 pm Showa Shell sees Apr-Jun crude runs at 7.4 mln klTOKYO, March 10 (Reuters) - Showa Shell Sekiyu KK , Japan's fifth-largest refiner, said on Wednesday it plans to refine 7.4 million kilolitres of crude oil between April and June, compared with 6.3 million...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:41 pm UPDATE 1-TSMC Q1 target seen on track after Feb salesTAIPEI, March 10 (Reuters) - Top contract chipmaker TSMC posted stronger February sales on Wednesday as it is on track to reach its first-quarter sales target due to growing tech demand.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:37 pm Christopher Barazak and Karen Joy Fowler readings in SeattleLeslie Howle sez, "NW MediaArts is a non-profit organization inviting award-winning speculative fiction writers to Seattle to teach a one-day writers workshop, read at the University Book Store, and speak...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:36 pm Christopher Barazak and Karen Joy Fowler readings in SeattleLeslie Howle sez, "NW MediaArts is a non-profit organization inviting award-winning speculative fiction writers to Seattle to teach a one-day writers workshop, read at the University Book Store, and speak at schools and libraries. Workshops take place at Richard Hugo House. March 12 - Christopher Barazak, author of 'The Love We Share Without Knowing,' which was shortlisted for the Tiptree Award last year, reads at University Book Store on 3/12 and teaches a workshop on 3/14. Workshop space is still open if you register by 3/10/2010."Source: Boing Boing | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:36 pm Looking back at the dotcom boom, ten years later Wired claims that this is the tenth anniversary of the dotcom boom, and in honor of that auspicious overheated bubble, they've put together a long, Web 0.96b layout depicting the most hubristicly hubristic predictions and hype of that golden age. I moved to San Francisco in 1999, and remember the feverish absurdity of it all -- and how hard it was not to feel like all these people must know something if they were pouring all this money and energy into all the odd and improbable ideas (a recurring theme I remember was people explaining how they were going to build shopping malls for the web, which, I guess, is basically what Amazon's Z-shops are). 10 Years After: A Look Back at the Dotcom Boom and Bust
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:34 pm Looking back at the dotcom boom, ten years laterWired claims that this is the tenth anniversary of the dotcom boom, and in honor of that auspicious overheated bubble, they've put together a long, Web 0.96b layout depicting the most hubristicly hubristic...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:34 pm Cast-art depicting broken-bone X-rays Casttoo makes decorative decals for your orthopedic casts -- including these ones, depicting the broken bones within.
(via JWZ)
Cast-art depicting broken-bone X-raysCasttoo makes decorative decals for your orthopedic casts -- including these ones, depicting the broken bones within. (via JWZ) Previously:Anatomical drawing on a cast Baby goose with homemade leg...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:22 pm Movie funded by asking for pocket change on Twitter: "At Home By Myself... With You"Raj Panikkar sez, "We're screening a film called 'At Home By Myself... With You' (directed by Kris Booth, starring Kristin Booth - no relation) at The Royal in Toronto this week. The unique thing about the film is how we raised the financing to shoot. Quite literally, we campaigned for people to contribute their loose pocket change. The strategy took off, partly through an active Facebook and Twitter presence and also frequent video blogs detailing the contributions. By the time we shot the film, we had raised $42,000 (admittedly, one person's pocket change is occasionally another's small fortune - but it did really begin with 15 cents, 43 cents, a dollar 12, etc.) One might be led to assume that with a limited budget, there'd be a matching limitation on production quality. But the film looks gorgeous (Telefilm Canada came on board at the very end to help fund a pro finish), and reviews and comments have been great. We were reviewed by all the major papers in Toronto: The Sun, NOW, The Star, The Post, etc. The film plays at The Royal for the rest of the week, and then gets its TV debut right away on TMN and Movie Central, plus a DVD release on April 6th." Pocket Change Film (Thanks, Raj!) (Disclosure: Raj's mother, Bev, taught me to read)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:16 pm Movie funded by asking for pocket change on Twitter: "At Home By Myself... With You"Raj Panikkar sez, "We're screening a film called 'At Home By Myself... With You' (directed by Kris Booth, starring Kristin Booth - no relation) at The Royal in Toronto this week. The unique thing about...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:16 pm The FCC's Misguided Spectrum Quest - Wall Street Journal
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:13 pm Best jobs in America infographicPaul sez, "We have been putting this together for a week or so and thought you might like it. Looks like I am going back to school to be a systems engineer, haha." I like that they've color-coded for...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:07 pm Best jobs in America infographic Paul sez, "We have been putting this together for a week or so and thought you might like it. Looks like I am going back to school to be a systems engineer, haha." I like that they've color-coded for "low-stress," "benefit to society" and "satisfaction." However, on these three counts, I'm unsurprised to see that "science fiction writer" didn't make the cut. When I was 17, the school guidance counsellor got in some software that would help you figure out what career to set your sights on. I completed its questionnaire and hit return, and an instant later was advised to become a "geriatric nutritionist" (that is, someone who prepares meals in an old folks' home). Even today, I sometimes feel like I missed my calling. ("Science fiction writer" wasn't on that list either). Best Jobs in America (Thanks, Paul!)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:07 pm "Logorama" duo take aim at "Ghost Recon" videogame (Reuters)Reuters - The directors behind the Oscar-winning animated short "Logorama," are moving into the live-action world -- but they aren't going Hollywood just yet.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:52 pm Turn a quarter of Detroit into "semi-rural" farms?The city of Detroit is proposing to give over a quarter of its land to be turned into "semi-rural" fields and farms, with the surviving neighborhoods standing in "pockets in expanses of green." The proposal...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:51 pm Turn a quarter of Detroit into "semi-rural" farms?The city of Detroit is proposing to give over a quarter of its land to be turned into "semi-rural" fields and farms, with the surviving neighborhoods standing in "pockets in expanses of green." The proposal is politically charged (serving a death-sentence on a whole neighborhood is bound to be controversial) but the idea of "downsizing" Detroit seems to have wide acceptance.And yes, this entire thing was predicted by David Byrne in 1988 in the song "(Nothing But) Flowers" on the final Talking Heads album Naked.
Detroit looks at downsizing to save city (Thanks, Rigel!) (Image: Garden grows, a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike image from Payton Chung's photostream)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:51 pm Delicious Chrome Extension Early Beta Now AvailableBookmarking service Delicious has just rolled out a Google Chrome browser extension. Like other Chrome extensions we love to play with, this one is lightweight, fast and useful. There's no bulky sidebar...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:46 pm The iTable continues to develop and show gaming potentialWe’ve told you about the iTable before, and PQ Labs. They showed off their latest stage in the development process at CeBIT this year, by installing the screen into a coffee table. The newest version can register up to 32 touch points and actually determine the shape of the object being placed on the screen. But to me, that’s not the real story. The real story is that they installed a game that’s near and dear to my heart, Warcraft III. To me, this is the true future of the touchscreen interface, and the part of the technology that I’m excited about. It’s definitely worth your time to watch the video and see how far they’ve come in the development process, and how they are stacking up against their competitors. [via Gizmag]
Source: CrunchGear | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:30 pm The Top 10 Free Travel Apps - PC Magazine
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:26 pm Open Thread: Should Social Media Experts Be Required to Know Their Tech?Social media gurus: We all know one. If you're lucky, you know only one. They are the attendees of tech parties, the "Twitter consultants," the armchair generals of the Internet, and their numbers grow...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:20 pm In The SXSW Location War, Loopt Hopes The Correct Weapon Is Events
The latest version of the app, due to hit the App Store tomorrow will feature a new Pulse tab. Here you’ll find events populated from a ton of sources including the live music tracker SonicLiving (SXSW is first and foremost a music event, after all) and most notably, Facebook. This pre-population is important, because it means the events will already be in the system so users won’t have to do anything other than share it with friends, or check-in if they’re going. The feature also uses you current location to show which events are happening around you at any given moment that a lot of people are at. As you might expect, you also also tell who is already at the event, and which of your friend is supposed to be going. The later feature works with Facebook Connect. You can RSVP to an event right from within Loopt and see who else is scheduled to go. Calling it the “best event ever from an app,” Loopt founder Sam Altman believes they’ll have every single event taking place at SXSW in their system. A newer startup, the recently funded Plancast (started by TechCrunch alum Mark Hendrickson), may have something to say about that statement as they’ll be debuting their own events-based iPhone app at the festival as well. And like this new Loopt feature, a key Plancast component is Facebook event integration. Gowalla, meanwhile, has a full list of events straight from SXSW itself — which is highlighting the app on it’s main site. Gowalla is Austin-based. Loopt was one of the original hot players in the location space, launching an iPhone app alongside the App Store launch in 2008. However, their initial bet was on always-on location updates, which the iPhone cannot do because it will not allow third-party apps to run in the background. Loopt found a loophole (see what I did there?) to that through AT&T, but by then the momentum has already swung to the check-in based location services like Foursquare and Gowalla. Last year, Loopt pivoted its app to be more predicated around check-ins. Look for the latest Loopt app tomorrow in the App Store. Disclosure: Loopt offers a TechCrunch branded version of the service here Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:11 pm Google adds bike lane with latest mapping feature (AP)AP - Google Inc. is adding a bike lane with its latest online mapping option.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:07 pm On Tap for Facebook: New Technology for Linking to Web Sites [Voices]By Jessica E. Vascellaro, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal Facebook Inc. is holding a major developer conference in San Francisco next month. The packed agenda includes technology to better bridge the Web site with the rest of the Internet, people familiar with the matter say. The software is called the Open Graph API, which Facebook said late last year it planned to release during the second quarter of this year. Using the technology, Web sites can adopt elements of the pages business build on Facebook, like a box that allows people to become a “fan” of your site. But Facebook’s plan is far broader than helping people build Web sites. By getting sites to adopt the technology, Facebook hopes to make it even easier for users to share information from the Web on Facebook and to have that information associated with their Facebook identity. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:02 pm Google Maps Finally Adds Bike RoutesWith a click of a mouse, cyclists can get the quickest, and flattest, route between Point A and Point B.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:01 pm March 10, 2000: Pop Goes the Nasdaq!The Nasdaq begins its spectacular collapse, signaling the end of the dot-com boom.
This is definitely not easy to do with Lego or any other material. Maybe this guy should start thinking about building a Big Dog. [Flickr via Brothers Brick] Source: Gizmodo | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:00 pm Crunchdeal: Save $500 on a Toshiba R600 with OpenSolaris
If you don’t want to use Windows 7, and would prefer OpenSolaris, you can buy the exact same machine for $500 less. Odd, I know. And it definitely makes you wonder exactly how much you’re paying for that copy of Windows 7 Starter. [Thanks to Chris for the tip]
Source: CrunchGear | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:30 pm US Considers Some Free Wireless Broadband Servicegollum123 writes "US regulators may dedicate spectrum to free wireless Internet service for some Americans to increase affordable broadband service nationwide, the Federal Communications Commission said on Tuesday. The FCC provided few details about how it would carry out such a plan and who would qualify, but will make a recommendation under the National Broadband Plan set for release next week. The agency will determine details later. One way of making broadband more affordable is to 'consider use of spectrum for a free or a very low-cost wireless broadband service,' the FCC said in a statement." Nobody has more than a couple of paragraphs on this story. None of the press coverage mentions the obvious likelihood that any such free network would be heavily filtered, censored, and monitored.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Thankfully there's the ExiTool, a clever little gadget that attaches to your seat belt for quick access when your shit goes "glug, glug, glug." It includes a high-carbon stainless steel slicer, a tungsten carbide smasher, and, just for good measure, an LED light. Sure, having an open blade attached to your seat belt all the time isn't ideal, but it's definitely more ideal than being trapped in your car at the bottom of some murky body of water. The ExiTool will be available soon for $27, so if you're the type of person that worries about this thing it's probably a worthwhile investment. [CRKT via The Awesomer] Source: Gizmodo | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:20 pm Summary Box: Google expands sales of business apps (AP)AP - NEW APPS STORE: Google is selling the online services of other business software makers.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:16 pm Verizon Business Networking Solution Helps iYogi Deliver Superior Global Technical SupportMUMBAI, India, March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Technical support services provider iYogi, which has more than 100,000 consumer and small-business customers around the world, has chosen an advanced technology platform from Verizon Business to help it deliver outstanding customer service while supporting rapid growth.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:01 pm Expedia Media Solutions Grows Marketing Partnerships With Destinations WorldwideBELLEVUE, Wash., March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Expedia® Media Solutions, the ad sales division of Expedia, Inc., continues to gain momentum as a key marketing partner for destination organizations around the globe, creating highly effective campaigns that have proven to increase tourism and hotel bookings for their partners' destinations.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:00 pm Google opens Web store for business applications
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:36 pm MySpace outlines makeover after exec shake up (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:33 pm Analyst: PS3 to win over Xbox 360 and Wii
Unfortunately analysts are a trusted source in the tech industry, but stuff like this makes me wonder why. SA predicted that 127 million PS3 units will be sold, 103 million Wii units, and an unknown number of Xbox 360’s. That’s right, despite the prediction that the PS3 will win 4evar, they didn’t bother to predict how many Xbox 360s will be sold. SA furthermore goes to predict that the PS3 will continue to be a commercially viable platform for years after the Wii has been replaced by it’s successor. I buy that, but only due to the Blu-ray angle. For years now, the PS3 has been one of the best Blu-ray players other there. The author of the report goes one step further, predicting that while Nintendo has done a great job with the Wii, it’ll probably peak sometime during 2011, with the Xbox 360 doing the same in 2012 and the PS3 in 2014. All I know for sure is that I’m in the wrong business – Strategy Analytics is charging $6,999 for this report. Please don’t go buy it. [via PC World]
Source: CrunchGear | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:30 pm Alexander McQueen's final collection
Many images here, all from his 2010 collection and released today. The iconic fashion designer's work incorporated fantasy and futurist themes familiar to Boing Boing readers. He died earlier this year. MySpace readies site overhaul to rekindle growth (Reuters)Reuters - With shrinking audiences, deep layoffs and two management shake-ups, MySpace, the one-time leader in Internet social networking, has had a rocky year.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:26 pm The LHC to Shut Down... Again?The epic start-up drama surrounding the world's most powerful particle accelerator just took another painful twist.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:25 pm A Sweet Deal SouredIt was the blockbuster environmental deal of a lifetime: Florida Governor Charlie Crist announced in 2008 that the state was going to buy 180,000 acres of wetlands from United States Sugar Corporation. The purchase would effectively close U.S. Sugar's doors ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:12 pm Dalai Lama Has a Posse
Wednesday March 10 is Tibetan Independence Day—and this year will also mark His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 75th birthday. In honor of both, Shepard Fairey collaborated with photographer Don Farber on this limited-edition, signed and numbered 18"x14" print, which goes on sale at this link Wednesday, March 10, at noon Eastern/9am Pacific. Net proceeds divided between Tibet House and LA Friends of Tibet. (thanks, Christal / Tibet Connection Radio)
Open for business: the Google Apps MarketplaceEvery day, thousands of businesses choose the cloud. More than 2 million businesses have adopted Google Apps over the last three years, eliminating the hassles associated with purchasing, installing and maintaining hardware and software themselves.We've found that when businesses begin to experience the benefits of cloud computing, they want more. We're often asked when we'll offer a wider variety of business applications — from accounting and project management to travel planning and human resources management. But we certainly can't and won't do it all, and there are hundreds of business applications for which we have no particular expertise. In recent years, many talented software providers have embraced the cloud and delivered a diverse set of features capable of powering almost any business. But too often, customers who adopt applications from multiple vendors end up with a fractured experience, where each particular application exists in its own silo. Users are often forced to create and remember multiple passwords, cut and paste data between applications, and jump between multiple interfaces just to complete a simple task. Today, we're making it easier for these users and software providers to do business in the cloud with a new online store for integrated business applications. The Google Apps Marketplace allows Google Apps customers to easily discover, deploy and manage cloud applications that integrate with Google Apps. More than 50 companies are now selling applications across a range of businesses, including:
For more information on the benefits of the Google Apps Marketplace to businesses, check out our Enterprise Blog post. Developers interested in learning how to integrate with Google Apps can check out our post on the Google Code Blog. Or, you can explore the Google Apps Marketplace directly at http://google.com/appsmarketplace. Finally, we'll be diving deeper into application development for the enterprise at Google I/O on May 19-20. We hope to see you there! Posted by Chris Vander Mey, Product Manager, Google Apps Marketplace   
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:09 pm Adam Savage on recreating the gun from Blade Runner
Source: CrunchGear | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:00 pm Google Apps Marketplace: Instantly Connect Your App To 25 Million Users, Profit.
Tonight, Google has unveiled their Google Apps Marketplace. This is an app store for enterprise apps in the cloud. Using a set of APIs, these third-party apps can deeply integrate their products within Google Apps, which already some 25 million people are using. And that also includes over 2 million businesses ranging from startups, to small businesses, to Fortune 500 companies. For customers, this means a one-stop shop for a variety of applications that their business or organization can use. And it’s extremely simple to get started with apps in the marketplace — it just takes 4 clicks, Google says (though that initial click will have to come from your domain admin to approve the use of the app). For developers, particularly small startup developers, it means instant access to more users than they can likely imagine. It also potentially means something more important: money. Like the popular mobile app stores (Apple’s App Store and Google’s own Android Market), Google is allowing developers to sell their apps through this Marketplace. And they’re actually offering a better deal: Google will keep just 20% of the revenue, while the developers keep the other 80% (compared to a 30/70 split with the Android Market). The reason for this better split is that Google believes the B2B market is a bit different, and they want to entice developers to join on board. And instead of Apple’s App Store, which charges a $100 yearly fee to developers, Google is charging a one-time fee of $100 to enroll in the program — and that’s for as many apps as you want to create. As for what Google will do with their 20% share, they’re not entirely sure. “We don’t know what will happen with the revenue, but we think it’s a very fair rev share for the value we’re providing,” Google Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra says.
As you might expect, in the Marketplace, Google will feature certain apps on a rotating basis. And each will have a star rating system and reviews written by people who have used the app. Apps will be grouped into different categories to make it easier for customers to find exactly what they’re looking for. Once they do, the four steps alluded to above are:
So how does this all work? Google connection points for integration into Apps are actually done through open protocols such as OAuth. And while signing-in may seem like a pain across different apps, Google has streamlined that as well thanks to another open protocol: OpenID. Once an app is hooked in to Google Apps, it will appear on your main Apps Dashboard alongside the other Google-made apps you use. It will even appear in the “more” drop down that Google uses in the toolbar across its properties. And because these apps are so tightly woven into Google Apps, they can take advantage of the built-in Google Apps such as Gmail and Gtalk to easily communicate within the third-party apps.
And there’s more. While it’s not quite ready to launch just yet, in the second half of 2010, Google plans to launch flexible billing options for third-parties using their services. Basically, this will allow companies to use Google Checkout to handle complicated billings, such as subscriptions. This could mean trouble for startups specifically in this space, such as Recurly. Also coming later will be detailed analytics for transactions, we’re told. For now, developers are free to hook up their data to their own analytic programs to run their numbers. While Google’s options for this Marketplace sound nice and open, there’s actually something even better: you don’t have to build your apps on their platform. Whereas a big player like Salesforce wants to keep the apps it works with in the Force.com ecosystem, Google doesn’t care where you build it — it can be on App Engine, or on anything else. You simply hook your app up to the APIs and you’re ready to go. It’s a model so enticing that even a big Google competitor in this space, Zoho, is ready to work with them, and is launching as an initial partner. All told, there are more than 50 companies partnering up at launch, including a winner of the audience award at this year’s TechCrunch50, Socialwok. As to whether Google could eventually roll this app store model out to the more consumer facing apps they offer, Gundotra gave me the old, “We have nothing to announce at this time.” That reads suspiciously to me like a “yes,” provided this is the hit it seems like it should be.
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:00 pm Web-Based Productivity Suite Zoho Finds A Place In The Google Apps Marketplace
So starting today, Google Apps users will be able to add on-demand CRM app Zoho CRM and project management software Zoho Projects into Google Apps. While Zoho has previously rolled out the ability log-in to its applications via your Google Apps IDs, the two applications have been specially formatted for further immersion into Google Apps with App’s extended APIs. IT admins will now have an option to add Zoho Apps to their domains through Google Apps Marketplace. Once the IT admin adds a Zoho application to their domain, all users within the domain will have access to the Zoho Application through Google universal navigation. In the version of Zoho CRM for Google Apps, Zoho will allow Google Apps domain admins choose the users he or she wants to provide access to Zoho CRM and can import users from Google Apps contacts. And if you have Mail Add-on enabled in Zoho CRM, you can POP your email from Google Apps to Zoho CRM. These emails will show up in the CRM system automatically for each contact. Emails sent from Zoho CRM will also show up in Gmail in Google Apps. Zoho CRM and Projects will also be integrated with Google Apps Calendar. Google Apps users will now be able to subscribe and view their CRM and Projects events right within Google Calendar. Additionally, Zoho Projects and Zoho CRM allows you to attach documents directly from Google Apps. The fact that Zoho was chosen as a pilot partner for this program isn’t surprising. Although some of Zoho’s applications compete with Google apps products, the startup has consistently pushed interoperability with Google Apps. Over the past two years, the startup launched a deeper integration with Google Docs; and the ability to log-in with Google and Yahoo IDs. And according to our latest stats, Zoho has definitely reached over 2 million users, and has a loyal follower base.      
Source: TechCrunch | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:59 pm Socialwok Takes A Stroll In The Google Apps Marketplace
Socialwok in the the Google Apps Marketplace allows organizations to use their existing Google Apps accounts to login into Socialwok and create a social network for their domains to share within Google Docs, Google Calendars, Google Spreadsheets and other Google objects in feeds. For example, with the Socialwok Gmail gadget, users can view, post and comment on various feeds in their organization right from Gmail. Ming Yong, CEO of the company, said that integration with the marketplace was a logical choice because of the growing number of SMBs that are using Google Apps as their productivity suite of choice. Currently Google has more than 2 million businesses using the Google Apps Suite. Over 6,000 domains and tens of thousands of users are using Socialwok. Socialwok’s standard edition on the marketplace will be free but the startup will launch a paid edition in May. Socialwok, which employs a freemium model, has steadily been adding features and improvements to its application, including releasing a new version of its HTML 5 mobile version for Android and iPhone browsers. And in the process of developing an innocative application, startup managed to catch Google’s eye. Socialwok was chosen as one of the showcase companies for AppEngine technology at this year’s Google IO Developer Sandbox (Socialwok is powered by Google App Engine). And the startup wrote a blog post on Google’s Enterprise Blog about Socialwok. We’ve continuously written that if Google doesn’t buy the startup, they should at least heavily promoting what they’re doing. And it appears that Google has taken the latter route. For now. There’s no doubt that Socialwok could face the same fate as Google Docs killer and collaboration platform Etherpad or Microsoft Word collaboration plug-in Docverse.
     
Source: TechCrunch | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:59 pm Test-Firing of SpaceX Falcon Rocket AbortedThere's flame in the trenches, but not the one Space Exploration Technologies was hoping for, as it counted down Tuesday afternoon to the first test-firing of its new Falcon 9 rocket. Two seconds before the rocket's nine motors were to ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:51 pm Alliance for Digital Equality Statement on Cisco's CRS-3 Carrier Routing System (CRS)"The Internet of tomorrow is being created by Cisco and others today. These cutting-edge investments are essential to our economy but they alone will not secure our digital future. To fully benefit from these innovative investments we must have a nationwide infrastructure that allows everyone, everywhere to participate in the digital revolution. As we seek to reset the jobs-related skills of millions of Americans who are both unemployed and under employed, the Alliance for Digital Equality is optimistic that the National Broadband Plan to be unveiled next week by the Federal Communications Commission will allow Cisco and other industry leaders to fully leverage their enormous capital, technological and human resources to enhance a national broadband network that leaves no community behind."Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:48 pm Adam Savage: my Blade Runner gunI made my first Blade Runner pistol when I was 18, while living in Hell's Kitchen, NYC. I stared at the VHS version on pause and made sketches. Put it together from toys and model kit parts. It's lovely and terrible:
(Years later the internet would teach me that the six dollar plastic gun I bought on Canal street in NYC and cannibalized for the grip was created by Edison Giacattoli, a legendary toy gun designer)
I made a crazy accurate scratch-built when I was 30, from resin and bondo. I had great picture reference but shitty size reference, it was 20% too small. Fuck!
In 2006, the screen-used original surfaced after 25 some-odd years and sold at auction last year for $256,000.00.
It's 95% finished. My hand-built baby. About 30-40 hours of labor spread out over (at least) 6 years. An original Steyr-Mannlicher .222 target rifle receiver and magazine and a Charter Arms Bulldog .44, both demilled and gunsmithed by me (working with hardened steel -- FUN!) with custom machined aluminum and steel parts (barrel, grip, butt) and made as close as possible, in every respect, to the original. Painstaking. That is all I have to say on the subject (probably not). I can't even describe how good it feels to hold it in my hand. [Click thumbnails below for enlargements]
Source: Boing Boing | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:46 pm MetaLab Accuses Mozilla Of Plagiarizing Its Design (Updated)
While Wilkinson is understandably upset, at this point,it looks like the plagiarized image is just a mockup on the Mozilla wiki — not the actual product (though it’s obviously still in bad taste). We’ve reached out to Mozilla for a comment. You can see a screenshot comparison from Wilkinson’s blog post below. Update: Here’s a comment from Mozilla, stating that the copy-and-paste design was a proof of concept:
On its wiki, Mozilla describes FlightDeck as a tool to “enable the community to rapidly, collaboratively develop both extensions that utilize the Jetpack framework and Jetpack Capabilities crucial to the expansion of the Jetpack framework’s core.“ Update 2: Wilkinson has added the following update to his blog post:
     
Source: TechCrunch | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:39 pm New Elgato EyeTV hybrid is smaller, more compatible
The new version is now clad in brushed aluminium, but is still capable enough to catch HD broadcasts over the air. EyeTV will also capture video feeds and record them via the bundled RCA adapter. It’ll even capture input from analog sources. Elgato has priced the new EyeTV at $150, and it should be available soon through the Apple store or from Elgato directly. [via Electronista]
Source: CrunchGear | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:30 pm US Gamers Spend $3.8 Billion On MMOs Yearlyeldavojohn writes "A new report from Games Industry indicates that MMO gamers in the United States paid $3.8 billion to play last year, with an analysis of five European countries bringing the total close to $4.5 billion USD. In America, the report estimated that payments for boxed content and client downloads amounted to a measly $400 million, while the subscriptions came to $2.38 billion. Hopefully that will fund some developer budgets for bigger and better MMOs yet to come. The study also found that roughly a quarter of the US population plays some form of MMO. Surely MMOs are shaping up to be a juicy industry, and a market that can satisfy people of all walks of life."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:30 pm XNA 4.0 games on Windows Phone 7 Series look awesome (but won’t be for Zune HD)
Read the rest of this post on MobileCrunch…
Source: CrunchGear | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:28 pm XNA 4.0 games on Windows Phone 7 Series look awesome (but won’t be for Zune HD)
In slightly less-enthralling news, it seems that the Zune HD will be sticking with XNA 3.1. Hmm. So basically the Zune HD is being abandoned as far as game development — bad news for Zune owners, since it means less value for their device and suggests an upcoming Zune HD 2 or Super HD or HDX or whatever name they come up with. Zune HD 7 Series? [via Engadget]
Source: MobileCrunch | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:27 pm Manymoon and 50 Others Join Launch of Google Apps Marketplace–Here's a Video Interview With the Founders [BoomTown]
Along with 50 initial partners, Manymoon, the social productivity start-up that makes one of the more popular tools on Google’s apps platform, has joined the Google Apps Marketplace store rollout at the search giant’s Campfire One developer event tonight. Manymoon’s exec spoke at the event, along with Intuit (INTU), Atlassian and Appirio. (You can watch the event here.) The San Francisco company, funded with only a seed funding round by Harrison Metal, offers an online collaboration app that businesses or consumers can use to organize group projects, conversations, tasks and documents that are often done via email or software. Manymoon is rather typical of the innovative apps makers the search giant has been courting to populate its marketplace. Before the Google (GOOG) announcement, BoomTown made this video of an interview with co-founders Amit Kulkarni and Manav Monga about the interesting space: It's pretty simple: You plug an ethernet bridge into a wall outlet and connect it to a modem. Then you plug the four-port ethernet switch into another wall outlet and tada! You're able to stream content. The kit's even a pretty decent deal at $90, especially compared to $150-$170 kits. [PR Newswire via Engadget] The event is called "Google Campfire One" and it's all about how easy it will be to create, set up, and install apps using Google's App Marketplace. It appears that the big focus is on how everything—apps and existing Google products—will work together seamlessly and allow for all your tools and data to sit in the cloud. Right now the appeal is for business applications, but the potential seems incredible.
The first portion of the announcement is about what developers will give and get in this whole deal. Google is offering them access to 25 million users and only asking for a one-time fee of $100 and 20% revenue in exchange—that's less than what access to Apple's App Store requires. Of course, Google is providing a solid system with apps being authenticated using OpenID, secured using oAuth, and made available through a universal Google Apps navigation system.
While there are already 50 partners right at launch, we're hearing that after new apps are submitted, they may take a few days to show up in the Marketplace—mind you, there's no word on what kind of approval process there is. But once an app is in the Marketplace, it's easy for users or buyers to add them to their Google accounts: They agree to some terms of service, grant access to data—such as Gmail or GCal, and enable the app. Tada! It'll show up in the new apps drop down. Now apparently development of these apps is so simple that there are 40 developers who are on a bus traveling to an SXSW event and working on apps right now.
It looks like apps will be easy to integrate into existing Google products as seen by a demo of a payroll app by Intuit—information from it was embedded into Gmail or Google Docs.
Now remember how there have been some nice previews of YouTube videos in Gmail lately? Prepare to see more of that from these new apps because Google is offering developers the chance to set apps to be triggered by certain emails, events, or specific types of content.
What does all this mean right now? For business users, there are plenty of apps already available—ones for payroll, data entry, management, and an office suite—and they'll be able to run everything right from the cloud. For us plain Janes and Joes though, the Marketplace is full of potential at this moment. Think social media, data management, communication—all the things you already get from Google, just better. Yes, my head's already in the cloud. Hopefully everything else will follow and I'll be able to work and play there. Source: Gizmodo | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:12 pm GDC 2010: PS3 motion controller will feature “nunchuk” attachmentFROM GAMERTELL - Sony may release an attachment to its motion controller that is similar to the Wii’s nunchuk. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:09 pm Live: Google Apps Marketplace Launches At Google Campfire One
Here are the links to our extended coverage on the Google Apps Marketplace:
Below, find our live notes from the event. Vic Gundotra, Vice President of Engineering
David Glazer, Engineering Director
David Garrard from Google
And that’s a wrap. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:04 pm Twitter's New Security Strategy: Rewriting Some Users' Links [MediaMemo]Beset by phishing attacks and other scammy behavior, Twitter is taking a step I don’t think I’ve seen anywhere else before: The social messaging service says it may change the text of its users’ messages in order to protect them. Specifically, Twitter is going to rename links that users send to one another via direct messages, which allows the company to track them and shut them down if they turn out to be malicious. You’ll be able to identify the renamed links, because they’ll be shortened using a “twt.tl” prefix. In typical Twitter fashion, the company has a blog post that explains the change, but in somewhat vague and hazy terms. As best I can tell, what Twitter is really doing is rewrapping some links that users send with its own code. This doesn’t appear to change the core characteristics of the link–publishers and marketers who use the bit.ly link shortening service, for instance, will still be able to track the data generated by their links. But it does give Twitter the ability to track bad behavior. If you want to view the move in a positive light, you can think of it as the tag an airline slaps on your luggage when you check it–the only changes to your message are superficial. Or, if you’re so inclined, you could shiver just a bit at the thought of a messaging service changing any part of your message, no matter how trivial. Twitter only announced the change this evening, but the company appears to have been testing it for some time: Searching Twitter for “twt.tl” turns up shortened links going back several days. As best I can tell, this one–what appears to be the retweet of a direct message from a marketer–is the first one to show up in public:
There’s a good chance many or most Twitter users won’t see the shortened links–if you’re not sending or receiving direct messages, you may never see one, period. But Twitter seems to leave the door open to expanding the program to regular tweets as well: It has posted notes that the company has “focused [its] initial efforts” on direct messages and email. Just to be clear, I checked with Twitter spokesman Sean Garrett via email. Here’s our exchange: Q: But to be clear: Do you reserve the right to change links in regular tweets? A: This is our focus right now. Source: All Things Digital | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:04 pm eFax Integrated App Now Available Through the Google Apps MarketplaceLOS ANGELES, March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- eFax®, a brand of j2 Global Communications, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:01 pm Copy our tablet for your iPad, will you? Well how do you like… this?
Well, things have taken a turn for the absurd. GLB has re-skinned their Windows tablet to look like OS X, though somehow I think we’ll be able to tell the difference.
Source: Gizmodo | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:40 pm Hard drive design leaving XP behind
It’s been coming for a while now, hard drives are constantly evolving and becoming more efficient, and drive manufacturers want to be freed from the 512 byte sector size. This of course isn’t an issue for more modern operating systems like Vista or Windows 7, but XP won’t be able to handle the larger sector sizes. This of course won’t be an immediate issue, but as XP machines age and require new hard drives, we’re going to see shortages of compatible hardware. Don’t expect this to be a major issue until 2011 though, because the drive manufacturers aren’t planning on adopting the new standards until then. After that, it just depends on how long it is until your XP hard drive dies. [via BBC News]
Source: CrunchGear | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:30 pm In a world of tracks, Pink Floyd fights for the album
As Nicholas notes, iTunes LP sales are pretty poor. Sure, they’ll look nice on an iPad and sure, having a good official version of the video is nice, but music is simply taking another tack these days, and a big premium package doesn’t fit. Digital distribution means the album is an eccentricity — to distributors. The thing is that not every artist is ready to change that — they call themselves artists for a reason, and to completely abandon the album is, I presume, for them like admitting they’re just making a product. Hey, depending on your opinion of a lot of the music out there today, you may or may not think that’s true already, but the artists are the ones making the music and it’s for them to decide when they’ll stop making albums. I’m sure there have been scuffles along these lines ever since iTunes became popular and contracts started getting renegotiated to accommodate 99-cent track downloads and such. In fact, it seems ridiculously late for Pink Floyd to jump down EMI’s throat about offering its tracks up for sale individually, which they claim is a breach of contract. EMI contends that that clause only applied to physical albums. It’s being hashed out as we speak, but it’s a fun little conflict, isn’t it? I’m rooting for Floyd. If they leave EMI after 40 years over this, I’d freak out. Probably not possible.
Whether or not it’s a breach of Pink Floyd’s particular contract is immaterial in the end, though — the question is whether the artist should even have the ability to say “No – no singles, no individual tracks, no videos. Album only.” —or some variant thereof. I mean after all, almost all of Dark Side of the Moon flows one track into the other, to say nothing of albums from some of my favorite artists, from Sigur Ros to Deerhunter to Hotel Hotel. In fact, much of my favorite music has an album structure or concept — and I would argue that it’s because having that kind of concept indicates more care and craft taken with the music, more time and more planning. Shouldn’t they be able to say no to individual track availability, even at the cost of overall sales? But I digress; this isn’t a music blog. The question that will soon be answered is whether any artists will pull the trigger. There’s going to be a stigma to overcome (that of a mere songsmith) but when we’re already seeing iTunes exclusives and stuff like that, it doesn’t seem so far off. I support Pink Floyd and personally I wouldn’t want to buy their tracks one by one, but that’s a whole other era of music. Distributors are embracing the new system; how long can it be before artists start to do so as more than a fluke or experiment? [image: Lost Highway Records]
Source: CrunchGear | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:00 pm Veil Lifts on Apple's Secret Plan to Control UniverseThe recently unveiled secret agreement that Apple makes iPhone developers sign supports what many have suspected all along: Apple is trying to control the universe.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:00 pm Texters Should Park the Car, Take the BusTaking public transit wouldn't just decrease our carbon footprint — it'd also end all that fiddling with the phone while driving, an insanely dangerous problem.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:00 pm 10 Years After: A Look Back at the Dot-Com Boom and BustThe Nasdaq peaked at 5,049 on March 10, 2000, then it promptly nosedived and hasn't come near that level since. Here’s a look at the era that launched — and crushed — a million dreams.
Nexus is a concept designed by Francisco Lupin, and if it were either for a) sale or b) not guaranteed to get me arrested, I'd own one already. Its two electric engines run on four 12V batteries, and can achieve speeds of up to 15 km/h. It'll last two hours on one charge, though if you make it two minutes before being tackled by bored security personnel you deserve some kind of special award. [Tuvie via Dvice] Source: Gizmodo | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:00 pm Bottled Wind Could Be as Constant as CoalHuge projects that would store wind energy by compressing air in abandoned mines and porous sandstone are gaining steam in the Midwest.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:00 pm Sony, Samsung, Panasonic 3D TVs: So What's On? - PC World
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 9 Mar 2010 | 5:58 pm Power Gig: Rise of the SixString uses an electric guitar as a controllerFROM GAMERTELL - Seven45’s forthcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 game, Power Gig: Rise of the SixString, will actually use a six-string electric guitar as a controller. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 9 Mar 2010 | 5:51 pm The World's First Commercially Available JetpackElectricSteve writes "It's been a long time coming. While Arthur C. Clarke's geosync satellites have taken to space, and James Bond's futuristic mobile technology has become commonplace, still the dream of sustained personal flight has eluded us — until now. At $86,000, the Martin Aircraft jetpack costs about as much as a high-end car, achieves a 30-minute flight time, and is fueled by regular gasoline. A 10% deposit buys you a production slot for 12 months hence." Here's a video of some indoor test flights. This isn't Buck Rogers's jetpack — it's about 5 by 5 feet and weighs more than the average human. You won't be able to commute with it (the FAA has not certified this class of device) so it's recreational only for now.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
These shoes came from the minds of Rodarte, a two-sister design team, and are a beautiful example of how wearable tech can be integrated into our lives and into our three-inch heels. Now can someone tell me where I can get a pair? [High Snobette via Fashion In Tech] Source: Gizmodo | 9 Mar 2010 | 5:20 pm Fossilized Eggshells Yield DNAThese ancient DNA samples could open the door to cloning long-extinct species.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 5:01 pm Google's Computing Power Refines Translationgollum123 sends an excerpt from the NY Times on how Google has taken a lead in language translation, in one of the company's few unqualified successes as it attempts to broaden is offerings beyond search. "...Google's quick rise to the top echelons of the translation business is a reminder of what can happen when Google unleashes its brute-force computing power on complex problems. The network of data centers that it built for Web searches may now be, when lashed together, the world's largest computer. Google is using that machine to push the limits on translation technology. Last month, for example, it said it was working to combine its translation tool with image analysis, allowing a person to, say, take a cellphone photo of a menu in German and get an instant English translation. ...in the mid-1990s, researchers began favoring a so-called statistical approach. They found that if they fed the computer thousands or millions of passages and their human-generated translations, it could learn to make accurate guesses about how to translate new texts. It turns out that this technique, which requires huge amounts of data and lots of computing horsepower, is right up Google's alley. ...Google's service is good enough to convey the essence of a news article, and it has become a quick source for translations for millions of people."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 9 Mar 2010 | 4:48 pm More and more states considering Internet sales taxes
Amazon affiliates in Colorado were informed yesterday that they were no longer welcome in the e-tailing giants program, which paid them a small fee for referring customers. Why? Blame the states new law which demands Amazon charge sales tax on every purchase made by a Colorado resident. Previously online retailers were only required to collect sales taxes in states they had a physical, brick and mortar presence in, but that has been changing rapidly. 16 states have considered instating internet sales taxes, and 4 have already signed them into law.
The states that have put these sales tax laws in place insist they are being unfairly deprived of revenue and that online businesses have an unfair advantage over local businesses that collect sales taxes. A 1992 Supreme Court ruling however says that retailers can’t be forced to collect such taxes unless they have an office in those states. New York, Rhode Island, and North Carolina’s laws say that if a retailer affiliate program it’s enough to required tax collection, hence the reason such programs have been shut down in those states by Amazon and others. California, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, New Mexico, Vermont, and Virginia have internet sales tax bills under consideration. Amazon is currently involved in a lawsuit against the state of New York saying an affiliate program does not and should not be considered a presence in the state. It lost and is appealing. While New York, Rhode Island, and North Carolina’s laws are attempting to force Amazon to collect taxes directly, Colorado’s bill had the affiliate clause removed, prompting the Governor to tell angry residents who were dropped as associates that he is not to blame, Amazon is for attempting to “avoid compliance”. An emergency repeal measure has been introduced but is not likely to pass. Read [CNet]
Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 9 Mar 2010 | 4:47 pm Savvis Appoints Managing Director for North AsiaTOKYO, March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Savvis, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 9 Mar 2010 | 4:31 pm Savvis Expands Cloud Infrastructure Solutions in Asia-PacificDrive data center consolidation -- Rein in server sprawl, curtail overbuying and tackle underutilization of serversRespond to seasonality and unexpected events -- Scalable resources are available on-demand and with flexible business termsGreater control and on-demand -- Self service management and reporting through a client portal and on-demand provisioning to provide greater control Testing and development made easy -- Ability to dial-up pools of temporary resources, resulting in cost control and the opportunity to avoid large capital expendituresControl IT costs while maintaining QoSSource: RedOrbit News - Technology | 9 Mar 2010 | 4:30 pm Microsoft Fixes Eight Flaws In Excel, Movie Maker - ChannelWeb
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 9 Mar 2010 | 4:21 pm Jeff Jaffe Named CEO of W3Cblozza2070 notes the news that Jeff Jaffe has been appointed CEO of the World Wide Web Consortium. Until January Jaffe was CTO at Novell and, while his name hasn't come up very often in this community, he is one of the architects of the Novell-Microsoft patent deal. A reading of Jaffe's blog while at Novell tends to paint him as a software patent supporter, Microsoft apologist, and no fan of the FSF. This strongly worded page at Boycott Novell features copious links to support the above characterization.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 9 Mar 2010 | 3:58 pm Foursquare gets down to business - CNET
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 9 Mar 2010 | 3:57 pm Haiti Earthquake Underscores Criticality of Business Continuity Planning in Oklahoma City, OklahomaOKLAHOMA CITY, March. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Natural disasters, like the earthquake that decimated Haiti recently, can produce both horrifying and stunning tales of human tragedy and triumph.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 9 Mar 2010 | 3:55 pm Use Twitter to stop zombies in Tweet DefenseFROM GAMERTELL - Promethium Marketing and GrinLock Limited’s Tweet Defense, a tower defense game where you defeat zombies using your Twitter account stats, is now up at the iTunes store. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 9 Mar 2010 | 3:36 pm Review: Science Trips Out on Music in 'The Heart Is a Drum Machine'Through interviews with a brainy crop of musicians and scientists, a new documentary probes the connection between body, mind and music.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 3:32 pm Broadcast Video From Your MobileYou're carrying around a video camera in your pocket (it's that thing attached to your mobile phone) so be prepared and learn how to start streaming video to the web at a moment's notice.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 3:30 pm Broadcast Video From Your MobileYou're carrying around a video camera in your pocket (it's that thing attached to your mobile phone) so be prepared and learn how to start streaming video to the web at a moment's notice.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 9 Mar 2010 | 3:30 pm Oldest Known Flying 'Car' Up for AuctionIt's from 1934, and it doesn't look like a car, and it doesn't look like it would fly.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 3:15 pm NewEgg Confirms Shipping Fake Core i7sadeelarshad82 writes "After originally rejecting the story, online retailer NewEgg confirmed that a shipment of Core i7s were indeed fake, and apologized for the affair. NewEgg has also broken off its relationship with IPEX, the supplier of the phony lot. The retailer said that it has already contacted affected customers and would continue to reach out and replace the counterfeit parts. We discussed the fake Core i7s over the weekend."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 9 Mar 2010 | 3:12 pm Hot Property Sex.com on Auction BlockIt’s a sadly familiar story from the high-flying market of the past few years: Speculator thinks values will continue to go up, up, up. Overbids for a hot property. Can’t keep up with the payments. Lender is forced to foreclose. Only this isn’t about real estate — it’s about the most expensive domain name in the history of the internet: sex.com.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 3:10 pm Storyboard: Extreme-Test War StoriesFrom blasting body armor to testing the limits of a satellite tracker, the Wired magazine team talks about putting survival products through the real-world wringer.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 9 Mar 2010 | 2:46 pm Recycled Plastic Gets Fairy GodmotherA research team from IBM and Stanford announced that they have developed a new, inexpensive method for plastic recycling that could eliminate downcycling, resulting in higher quality products. One of the major problems with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, frequently used ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 2:45 pm Just How Fast Is Cisco’s New Router? Really Freaking Fast
Cisco Tuesday announced a new router, the CRS-3, that it says is capable of delivering 322 terabits per second. Now, we don’t usually cover routers and similar enterprise hardware here in Gadget Lab, but this one’s worth a brief mention. Let’s leave aside Cisco’s breathless hype (it will “forever change the internet” — yeah, we’ll believe that when we see it). And nevermind the fact that, actually, there are only a handful of people with the technical skills and the equipment necessary to put Cisco’s speed claims to the test, so they might as well claim it delivers 322 kajillion bits per second, because who would know the difference? Those caveats aside, 322 Tbps is insanely fast. Just how fast? About a million times faster than your typical cable modem (literally). Or, as Silicon Valley Insider puts it, “fast enough to allow every man, woman, and child in China to make a video call at the same time.” That’s fast. You could also use speed like that to download the entire Library of Congress in about a second, fill up your iTunes library with over 4 billion MP3 files in about a minute, or download every movie ever made in 4 minutes, SVI says. There’s more: see SVI’s article for a clever, quick presentation. Cisco’s New Router Could Let Everyone in China Make a Video Call at Once (Silicon Valley Insider) 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 9 Mar 2010 | 2:39 pm Just How Fast Is Cisco's New Router? Really Freaking FastCisco's new CRS-3 router is capable of 322 terabits per second, the company says. That's fast enough to download the entire Library of Congress in about a second.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 9 Mar 2010 | 2:39 pm Apple’s iPad ad reveals new detailsFROM APPLETELL - Apple’s iPad ad offers some real information about the iBookstore, how documents may be stored on the iPhone, and a little more about the rumor that just won’t die, a front facing camera. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 9 Mar 2010 | 2:22 pm Dot-Com Craze Peaked 10 Years Ago This Weeknetbuzz writes "When the NASDAQ stock index hit its all-time high of 5,133 on March 10, 2000, it had more than doubled in a year and the dot-com bubble was already leaking in a big way. A week later the NASDAQ had fallen 9 percent. A year later it was below 2000. Gone were such poster children of the era as Pets.com, Kozmo, and — who could forget? — Whoopi Goldberg's Flooz. Here's a look back."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 9 Mar 2010 | 2:22 pm Want to sleep with Android? Now you can.
Do you love Android? Like, really love Android? So much so that those Android action figures just don’t seem like enough? Well, now there’s a way for you to show the world how much you really care about your favorite OS: by bringing it to bed with you. Now, now, get your mind out of the gutter (There are no intentional innuendos anywhere in this post. Honest!). Etsy seller Craftsquatch has just started churning out the Android-themed throw pillows you see above for $19.99 a pop. If you want one of these, you may want to act fast for two reasons: A) it’s Etsy, so its handmade, thus inherently being limited edition and B) we’re guessing that, unlike the aforementioned Android toys, this use of the Android logo isn’t exactly licensed.
Source: MobileCrunch | 9 Mar 2010 | 2:00 pm Best Resource For Identifying Legit Applications?bjb writes "While helping a somewhat computer illiterate person figure out a problem recently, they mentioned that PDF files had recently stopped working. Upon investigation I found something installed called 'PDF Suite.' Never having heard of it, I Googled it with 'malware' and other key words, but nothing turned up, though my suspicion remained (and was somewhat confirmed by WOT.) So my question is, where can you go to find out if something is legitimate? Because the person I'm helping is on a dial-up connection, downloading malware detection applications (and updates) is too heavy consider. And I don't maintain a USB stick with such apps, since I don't do this kind of thing very often. Where can you quickly find information?"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 9 Mar 2010 | 1:30 pm Egypt Restores Historic SynagoguesJewish sites are as much a part of Egypt's culture as Muslim mosques or Coptic churches, according to Egypt's Ministry of Culture.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 1:29 pm Video: Samsung explains why their Super AMOLED screen is better than your normal AMOLED screenSamsung’s pretty proud of their Super AMOLED technology – and why shouldn’t they be? With next to no fanfare, they managed to knock out the readability issues that plagued AMOLED handsets any time they were within view of the sun. And if vastly improved readability wasn’t enough, they went and slimmed the whole thing down into a package considerably tighter than the competition’s not-so-sun friendly offerings. Samsung’s compiled a nifty little video showing off all the reason why their Super AMOLED displays deserve their name. [via Engadget]
Source: MobileCrunch | 9 Mar 2010 | 1:25 pm Gamertell Review: Alice in Wonderland (the movie)FROM GAMERTELL - Tim Burton and Disney’s latest adaptation of Alice in Wonderland is a delight. It leaves a definite impression on viewers, with strong characters and an engaging story that stumbles only once. It leaves you wanting more. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 9 Mar 2010 | 1:19 pm Dome Away From HomeIconic dome at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station successfully deconstructed; sections may be reassembled at new Navy museumAfter more than three decades of service to researchers and staff stationed at the bottom of the world, the dome at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was deconstructed this austral summer.The dome provided a platform for countless scientific discoveries in astronomy, physics, climatology, and other fields, and it also provided a home away from home for the station's 'winter over' crew during 8 months at the station during the austral winter, much of the time in darkness. The dome could no longer accommodate the demands of research activities taking place there, however, and each year the structure sunk deeper into the ice it was built on. Blowing snow that collected on top of it had to be removed and hauled away, burning up precious fuel and crew time during the short austral summer. The international treaty that governs human activities in Antarctica requires that buildings and equipment no longer in use be removed and the site remediated whenever possible, necessitating the dome's deconstruction and removal.Designed and constructed by the Seabees--the construction battalions of the U.S. Navy--in the early 1970s, the dome's geodesic design provided a unique solution to the challenges posed to engineers trying to build structures at the South Pole. The dome was sufficiently strong to withstand the weight of snow that would blow onto it, and its round shape helped deflect the fierce winds that blow almost constantly at the site. Because the dome needed no internal columns, it provided a wide and flexible space inside, where it protected buildings housing researchers and support staff, as well as laboratories, supplies, and other necessities from the harsh polar environment outside.The dome was designed to be flown to the South Pole with relative ease in small pieces and then assembled using a system of struts, bolts and gusset plates. While construction at the South Pole is never easy, this simplicity in design helped the Seabees erect the dome and helped personnel from the U.S. Antarctic Program deconstruct it over the past few months with the assistance of some individuals involved in the dome's construction.The National Science Foundation has replaced the dome with a state-of-the-art research facility that will serve science for the coming decades.After so many years of service to science in the harshest place on Earth, the dome is being returned to southern California where it will be held in storage. The top sections of the dome have been specially preserved so that they can be re-assembled for a possible exhibit in a new U.S. Navy Seabees museum.---Image Caption: The geodesic dome at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was deconstructed during the 2009-2010 austral summer. The materials were shipped to the U.S. Navy at Port Hueneme, Calif., as the dome was built by the U.S. Navy Seebees in the early 1970s. Credit: Forest Banks, National Science FoundationSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 9 Mar 2010 | 1:16 pm Tropical Cyclone Formation Likely Near MadagascarNASA Aqua satellite sees banding occurringForecasters are watching a low pressure area located off the east coast of Madagascar that appears ripe for development in the Southern Indian Ocean. If it becomes a tropical storm, it would be named Hubert.On March 9 the low, currently named "90S" is located near 20.1 South latitude and 50.8 East longitude is approximately 225 nautical miles east-southeast of the capital city of Antananarivo (which is located 145 miles inland from the east coast). The low's winds are estimated to be between 28- 34 mph (25 to 30 knots). The system is moving south-southeastward at 5 mph (4 knots). Minimum sea level pressure is estimated to be near 1000 millibars.Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that "Formation of a significant tropical cyclone is possible within the next 12 to 24 hours." There are a couple of factors helping this low become tropically organized: warm waters and improved banding of thunderstorms around the storm (indicating circulation and good convection, rapidly rising air that creates thunderstorms).Animated multispectral satellite imagery shows improved organization with curved convective banding around a low level circulation center. Another satellite showed a tightly wrapped low level center of circulation.NASA's Aqua satellite flew over 90S on March 8 at 5:23 a.m. ET and captured an infrared image from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument. AIRS infrared instrument measures cloud top and sea surface temperatures and showed that bands of convective thunderstorms are wrapping around 90S's low-level center.Forecasters believe that the low known as "90S" has a good chance of growing up to become "Hubert." ---Image Caption: This infrared image from NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, AIRS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite shows how the high cold clouds (blue) are starting to band, or wrap around the low's center of circulation on March 8 at 5:23 a.m. ET. Credit: NASA JPL, Ed OlsenSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 9 Mar 2010 | 1:06 pm Sprint Touch Pro 2 to finally get Windows Mobile 6.5 later this month?
Given that the HTC Touch Pro 2 saw upgrades to Windows Mobile 6.5 on just about every other carrier months ago, Sprint Touch Pro 2 owners might be feeling a wee bit rebuffed right now. On the brightside, chances are good that the upgrade is coming eventually, right? Well, it looks like “eventually” might be sooner than later.
Also worth noting: whoever made that table sucks terribly at making tables. Why the heck would you list “Windows Mobile 6.5″, “Android Market”, and “BlackBerry App World” as separate comparison items? No phone is ever going to have more than one. Just list what operating system they have and call it a day. [via WMpoweruser]
Source: MobileCrunch | 9 Mar 2010 | 12:48 pm Endangered Iberian Lynx Facing New ThreatConservationist groups are reporting that the world's top endangered species of feline is facing a new challenge -- Chronic Kidney Disease (CDK).In a statement released on March 9, 2010, the Lynx Conservation Program states that three of the 72 Iberian Lynx raised in breeding centers in Spain have succumbed to the illness, and more than a third of the animals housed at the country's two breeding centers have shown symptoms of CDK.According to the AFP, veterinarians at the centers say that they are "working and consulting with experts to try to find the possible origin of the CKD, as well as trying to put in place measures that could prevent the emergence of new cases." Their main focus right now, however, is "on maintaining and providing palliative care to the high percentage of the population affected by this disease."The Iberian Lynx, sometimes also referred to as the Spanish Lynx, is native to the Iberian Peninsula in the southern part of Europe.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 9 Mar 2010 | 12:42 pm 'The Rosenfeld' Named After California's Godfather Of Energy EfficiencyPioneering French physicists Marie and Pierre Curie have the curie, a unit of radioactivity, named after them. Renowned inventor Nikola Tesla is honored with the tesla, which measures a magnetic field.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 9 Mar 2010 | 12:15 pm MacHeist Packs Killer Mac Apps Into $20 ‘NanoBundle’
MacHeist, an annual Mac software promotion, is nearing the end of its NanoBundle sale. At the last minute, the bundle just added our favorite Twitter app Tweetie. Other apps in the MacHeist NanoBundle include Flow, an FTP app, Tales of Monkey Island, a five-episode adventure game, and RipIt, a DVD ripping utility, among others. With the retail prices of the eight apps added together, the collection is worth $280 but will cost you $20 as a bundle. A percentage of your purchase goes toward charity. The standout app to us, of course, is Tweetie, a hugely popular Twitter app that’s normally priced at $20. What’s more, buying the NanoBundle will ensure you a free upgrade to Tweetie 2, due for launch in the next few months. MacHeist customers will also get access to Tweetie 2 beta next month. Wired.com last year profiled MacHeist, an annual software sale that helps third-party Mac developers gain exposure. The promotion was originally conceived by software developer John Casasanta (above, left), entrepreneur Phillip Ryu and software developer Scott Meinzer. A team of roughly 30 people help create missions, videos and web puzzles to generate buzz for the software promotion. Developers participating in the sale have the option to take a percentage of the bundle’s overall sales or to accept a flat payment. “What MacHeist has accomplished is amazing,” Ambrosia president Andrew Welch told Wired.com in 2009. “They’ve created their own national [shopping] holiday for Mac users … like Black Friday.” As its name implies, the NanoBundle is a mini sale leading to the bigger MacHeist event, which is scheduled for later this year. The NanoBundle sale ends Wednesday. NanoBundle Page [MacHeist] See Also:
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 9 Mar 2010 | 12:10 pm BlackBerry App World bumped up to version 1.1.0.33
If you’ve been messing with the App World on your favorite BlackBerry device lately only to be plagued by some nasty glitch, you might want to check out the brand-spankin’-new App World update that just went live — it might have fixed it. I say “might” here because, well, we’re not really sure whats changed. RIM didn’t release a changelog, and the only thing people have noticed so far is that it runs “smoother”, which may very well be a subconscious side effect of having just updated something. We’ll update you if we get any positive confirmation about any changes – in the mean while, feel free to go dig through the new build and let us know if you find anything. It’s like an Easter egg hunt! [Via CrackBerry]
Source: MobileCrunch | 9 Mar 2010 | 12:06 pm Adobe fires against iPad: HP Slate is where it is atSection: Computers, Mobile Computers, Netbooks, Software / Applications, Wireless
Adobe uses some quick stats: 85% of Alexa top 100 sites run Flash and 75% of all video on the web is Flash, to drive their message home. Emphasizing Flash and Adobe Air as the platform developers bring you their vision, Adobe makes the case for developers to keep on using Flash and how Adobe is going to help power the open innovation that these devices will bring. The future, Adobe suggests, is not closed. For its part, the Slate looks very slick in the demos. Check out the two videos below. Read: [Engadget]
Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 9 Mar 2010 | 12:02 pm Apple's Secret iPhone Developer Agreement Goes PublicPreviously secret, the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement has been acquired and published with the help of the Freedom of Information Act.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 9 Mar 2010 | 12:00 pm Apple’s Secret iPhone Developer Agreement Goes Public
The first rule of the iPhone developer program is: You do not talk about the iPhone developer program. Before you create software for the iPhone, Apple demands that you sign away a laundry list of rights, including the ability to sell rejected apps through other channels, the ability to sue Apple for more than $50, and the ability to reverse-engineer or modify the iPhone or its SDK — and even the right to talk about your agreement with Apple. The iPhone Developer Program License Agreement (.pdf) spells out all these requirements and more. Previously secret, the agreement has been acquired and published with the help of the Freedom of Information Act. The Electronic Frontier Foundation reported Monday evening that it gained access to a March 2009 version of the agreement. EFF noticed that NASA had developed an iPhone app, so the cyber-rights foundation then used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the agreement from NASA. The space agency judged that the FOIA trumps the Apple agreement, so they turned the Apple document over to EFF. The contents of the agreement are hardly surprising, The EFF’s Fred von Lohmann summed up the highlights:
“If Apple’s mobile devices are the future of computing, you can expect that future to be one with more limits on innovation and competition … than the PC era that came before,” von Lohmann wrote. “It’s frustrating to see Apple, the original pioneer in generative computing, putting shackles on the market it (for now) leads.” Though the agreement may appear one-sided, Apple’s nondisclosure agreement for developers was more strict when the App Store first opened. Apple imposed a nondisclosure agreement in 2008 forbidding developers to discuss developing for iPhone OS 2.0. Developers were turned off by the NDA, because it stifled them from discussing programming tips with one another. Apple later dropped this part of the nondisclosure agreement, saying its purpose was to protect its intellectual property. iPhone Developer Program License Agreement (.pdf) Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:56 am Palm launches PDK beta, brings C and C++ development to webOS
Good news, everyone! We’ve got another acronym for you to remember! Back at CES 2010, Palm announced that they’d be launching a “PDK” at some point in the future – and, well, it’s here, and it’s time to pay some attention to it. You see, “PDK” stands for “Plug-in Development Kit” (as opposed to “SDK”, or Software Development Kit). Being that webOS is built on various web technologies, its been tough for them to get any boastable number of games into their app store — it’s tough to design a killer 3D game in HTML and Javascript, you know? That’s where the PDK comes in.
The PDK allows programmers to execute native C and C++ code in webOS apps. Ran through the geek translator, that means that game developers can make radically more intensive games in a programming language they’re long accustomed to working with. Even better, it helps folks who have already designed games on other platforms (coughiPhonecough) port their games over to webOS with considerably less effort, as they can use code they’ve already written. It’s still not a matter of pressing a button and flipping a switch, but it’s less mind-blowingly-difficult now. Be sure to check out Palm’s FAQ on the topic here. It seems like Palm actually fielded questions from developers , like this gem:
Source: MobileCrunch | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:46 am Tron Legacy trailer hits the web, watch in HDSection: Gadgets / Other  A few months back we saw the movie poster, a screenshot and brief synopsis released for Tron Legacy and while that was fun to look at we now have something a little better—the movie trailer—in HD. Of course, in reality what we have is 2 minutes and 21 seconds of a tease, because in the end we still have to wait until December 17, 2010 to see the full movie. Watch [YouTube] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:52 am Ode to AdWords[From time to time we invite guests to blog about initiatives of interest, and are very pleased to have Allison Schwam, Senior Search Analyst at Backcountry, join us here. -Ed.]When you don’t have to sacrifice your love of the outdoors for your career or vice versa, it’s something special. In fact, my love of both skiing and marketing has grown dramatically since I took my job at Backcountry. Getting to work with Google, specifically managing our AdWords account, is an online marketing geek’s dream come true. Combine that with every skier’s dream of Utah powder, and life is good. Day traders wake up every morning to check their portfolio — I get up and check my AdWords accounts. Backcountry sells gear and equipment for the outdoor enthusiast from ski boots to tents, and we sell all of it online. My job is to drive valuable, qualified traffic 365 days a year to Backcountry using AdWords. The AdWords platform lets me manage hundreds of campaigns and hundreds of thousands of keywords with relative ease. I have access to huge amounts of data that are revealed as daily ebbs and flows in impressions, clicks and bids. If you do a Google search for [telemark ski gear], you’ll see our ad:  Backcountry was founded in 1996 by two self-proclaimed ski bums, John Bresee and Jim Holland. Since then, the company has grown to hundreds of employees. I’ve been working here for over two years. Ultimately, our goal is to “crush it,” as some ski town folk say: work hard, play hard. A typical powder day for me is like this one last Friday when Park City got 12 inches of new snow overnight. Here’s how AdWords helps me manage both work and fun. 7 – 7:45am Roll out of bed. Get the coffee going. Fry eggs and bacon. Check snow totals. If it looks like a good ski morning, I first check my email and glance over our AdWords campaigns. All I need to do is my daily reporting to see that I’m on target for my revenue and cost goals. As long as things are okay, I email my boss to say I’ll be out slaying the white dragon. Just as I have the ideal tools to maximize our online campaign performance, I have the tools avid skiers covet for deep days: fat, rockered skis, stiff ski boots, Gore-Tex jacket and pants, helmet, goggles, merino wool layers, etc. After I grab my gear, I’m off. 7:45am – 12noon My commute to The Canyons Ski Resort takes 10 minutes. My friends and I know how to get the most out of our time on the mountain, balancing chair lift time, snow quality and vertical. Does that sound a bit like cost-per-click, conversion rate and top-line revenue? Take this lift to that lift, ski the trees while we wait for that chair to open, get after our favorite steep lines. Next thing you know:  Photo by Jim Harris Face shots are invigorating. Hard to explain, best to experience! After a few glances at the time and collecting my thoughts, I make my way off the mountain. 12pm – 5pm I head a few miles down the road to the office. As the afternoon goes by, co-workers will emerge from their cubicles; sometimes because legs are cramping up but also to share stories about how the morning was. Where did you ski? How was the snow? Smiles all around. I settle into work knowing what I need to succeed at my job is at my fingertips. AdWords gives me visibility into my programs to prioritize and understand trends. It also makes it easy to add and edit my account without getting bogged down in manual work. I regularly use Keyword Performance Reports to monitor both head terms and tail terms to stay on top of revenue opportunities. I’ll take into account the average order value and also the percentage of clicks that turn into sales (rate of conversion) in order to manage our keyword bids. As I do bid updates, I also check the AdWords Preview Tool to see how our ads are ranked and what is going on with our competition. We don’t really focus on “cost-per-click” but instead on “cost as percentage of revenue,” which means the more people purchase, the more ads we can run. So the higher the return on advertising spend, the more room we have to grow our paid search presence. 5 pm – 8 pm I like this afternoon time in particular because it’s quiet and I can really focus on data-crunching. Uninterrupted time and a strong cup of coffee are essential for doing long-term analysis. Campaign Performance Reports are great for identifying long- and short-term trends as seasons shift or for changes in demand by brand. We just wrapped up our winter sale, so this is a great time for me to run an Ad Performance Report to analyze which versions of ad copy had the strongest clickthrough rates for future reference. Finally, Google Insights for Search is a fun tool. It’s a great way to connect with our buyers by discussing big-picture trends with the brands we carry. We can look at AdWords Campaign performance and try to tie it back to general search volume in the marketplace and identify product searches on the rise. In short, given our metrics focus, AdWords gives me the information I need to make decisions about specific keywords, bids, and our overall spend. There are typically the same few folks hanging out at the office this late. We’ll exchange some pleasantries, and as the lights get turned off I’ll shut down my computer. When I earned an undergraduate degree in marketing and cultural anthropology, I had only a vague idea how I was going to create a career with behavioral and analytical activities. It turns out online marketing is an exciting mix of real-time data and customer service. AdWords lets me manage campaigns very efficiently, so I have time to dig deeper and do the strategic analysis that makes this job about much more than just meeting revenue goals. Finally, I picked Park City because it’s more than a ski town. Here fanatical skiers, trail runners, bikers, snowboarders and climbers can live year round and still have a meaningful career. I’ll always be grateful to companies like Backcountry and Google for making this possible: Backcountry for fostering the passions of the outdoor enthusiast, and Google for innovation in creating the forums and tools that really work for us. Posted by Allison Schwam, Senior Search Analyst at Backcountry  
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:37 am California Sushi Bar Caught Selling Whale MeatIn a covert operation, the team behind the Academy Award-winning documentary film "The Cove" has captured video footage that they say proves a popular California sushi bar illegally sold whale meat, according to a New York Times report. Here is ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:09 am Pain Sensitivity Tied to GeneThe discovery could lead to new, powerful treatments for pain.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:40 am MSI Wind U160 now available, retailing for $379.99 Another netbook coming courtesy of MSI is now available, this time its the Wind U160 and it can be found with Amazon and Newegg as well as many other online retailers. First things first, spec wise the MSI Wind U160 features a 10.1-inch (1024 x 600 resolution) glossy display, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and is running Window 7 Starter. Other features include Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, a built-in card reader, a built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam and a 6-cell battery that is said to offer up to 15 hours of battery life. Moving on, in terms of price Newegg is selling the U160 netbook for $379.99 with an extra $4.99 for standard shipping. As far as Amazon, they also have it priced at $379.99, however it is still being listed as a pre-order at the moment. Product [Amazon] and [Newegg] Via [netbooked] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:28 am Safe and Affordable Jetpack: Just $90,000For years, man has been trying to build a jetpack which would be safe and cheap enough to use by anyone other than Lee Majors on the title sequence of The Fall Guy. It turns out we’ve been doing it wrong. Instead of starting with a pack and adding on the jet, we should have torn the giant engines from a plane and strapped them to some poor schmuck.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:10 am Ants Smell The Scenery In StereoDesert ants perceive odor maps in stereo and use this information for navigationScientists of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena have investigated another navigational skill of desert ants. These ants are already well-known for their remarkable visual orientation: they use a sun compass along with a step counter and visible landmarks to locate their nest after foraging for food. After the research team from Jena recently discovered that these ants also use olfactory cues to pinpoint their nests, they conducted new experiments: they revealed that the animals can not only locate an odor source, but also use the distribution of different odors in the vicinity of their nests in a map-like manner. The scientists found that the ants need both their antennae for this odor-guided navigation: they smell the scenery in stereo. (Animal Behavior, online first, doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.01.011)The desert ant Cataglyphis fortis is an insect native to the inhospitable salt-pans of Tunisia. To pinpoint the nest – a tiny hole in the desert ground - after foraging for food, Cataglyphis combines several navigation systems: a sun compass, a path integrator (the ant literally counts its steps), and visual recognition of landmarks. Recently, Kathrin Steck, Bill Hansson and Markus Knaden, neuroethologists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, discovered that local odors also play an important role in the insect's orientation (Frontiers in Zoology, 2009, Vol. 6 No. 5): ants learn to associate a smell with their nest and distinguish this smell from others. But the researchers wanted to know if the insects are also able to recognize odor patterns that emerge, when several odor sources are located at different positions around the nest. And if so, they asked, do ants need both their antennae like stereo receivers just as we employ two eyes and two ears for spatial perception?"We conducted two key experiments," says Kathrin Steck, PhD student at the institute. "First we marked four odor sources surrounding the nest entrance with the substances methyl salicylate, decanal, nonanal, and indole, and got the ants trained on them. If these four odor points were shifted away from the nest in the original arrangement, the ants repeatedly headed for the odors, even though the nest wasn't there anymore. If we rearranged the odor sources relative to each other, the ants were completely confused." Therefore the researchers assumed that ants do not "think" one-dimensionally – i.e. they do not associate the nest with only one smell – but multi-dimensionally, i.e., they relate an odor landscape to their nest. The odor landscape comprising the four substances was monitored with the help of a special measuring technique: the scientists used a specific photoionization detector to determine the distribution of the odor substances in space and time.Spatial perception can easily be acquired if two separate sensory organs are available, such as two eyes for visual orientation. In the case of the ants, this would be their two antennae. "With this assumption, the second key experiment seemed obvious: We tested ants that only had one antenna," Markus Knaden, the leader of the study, explains. In fact, ants with only one sensory device were unable to make use of the odor landscape for navigation.Stereo smelling in animals is not new – rats and humans are thought to have this ability as well. This new study shows that ants smell in stereo, but not only that: "In our experiments we demonstrated that ants successfully use stereo smelling for navigation in the desert," says Bill Hansson, director at the institute. [JWK, AO] Original Publication: Kathrin Steck, Markus Knaden, Bill S. Hansson: Do desert ants smell the scenery in stereo? Animal Behavior, online first (doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.01.011). ---Image Caption: Its two antennae enable the desert ant to smell in stereo. The ant is not only able to use a single odor source for navigation, it can also memorize several odor sources in the vicinity of its nest. The picture shows four separate sources of odor molecules that the insect is able to recognize with its antennae. Credit: Picture/Photomontage: MPI for Chemical Ecology, Markus KnadenSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:05 am Google Tests TV Search Service - Wall Street Journal
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:46 am Safe and Affordable Jetpack: Just $90,000
The jetpack is made from carbon fiber, with a touch of kevlar in the rotors, and generates 600 pounds of thrust. Because the center of gravity is below the “center of thrust” (a notional point between the engines), it is self-righting: If the pilot lets go of the controls, he hovers steadily in one spot. Unlike other sci-fi vehicles, the jetpack doesn’t require plutonium or even garbage for power. Instead, it runs on ordinary gasoline, chugging down around 10 gallons per hour (a full tank of five gallons will give you half an hour of flight time, enough to get you to the office). Martin’s jetpack is classed as an ultralight aircraft, so you don’t need a pilot’s license fly it. Martin will force buyers to undergo training first, though. As its FAQ so rightly points out: “to attempt to fly any aircraft without professional instruction is extremely foolhardy.” There are some safety features, though. If the engine dies, a parachute pops out like an airbag in a car, so the only thing you need worry about is crashing into passing planes. Want one? Of course you do. Right now you’re looking at a 12-month wait, and you’ll have to pay 10 percent upfront, but at just shy of $90,000 — the same as a fancy sports car — it’s actually a pretty good deal. And just imagine landing this thing on the forecourt of the local gas station. The Martin Jetpack [Martin] The Future Is Here: Jetpacks Now Commercially Available [Wired: Geek Dad] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:34 am Alpine Marmot Spreading Into The Catalan PyreneesResearchers from the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) have demonstrated, using a map of the potential distribution, the alpine marmot's capacity for adaptation in the fields of the Pyrenees.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:32 am IBM Making Advances In Biodegradable PlasticResearchers at IBM said they have discovered a way to make biodegradable plastic from plants that could replace petroleum-based plastics and other products that are not good for the environment.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:15 am Centuries-Old Shipwrecks Found in Baltic SeaA gas company building an underwater pipeline stumbled upon several wrecks, some dating back 800 years.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:00 am Earthquake In Chile - A Complicated FractureA jumping rupture processThe extremely strong earthquake in Chile on February 27 this year was a complicated rupture process, as scientists from the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences found out. Quakes with such magnitude virtually penetrate the entire Earth's crust. After closer analysis of the seismic waves radiated by this earthquake during the first 134 seconds after start of the rupture, the researchers came to the conclusion that only the region around the actual epicenter was active during the first minutes. In the second minute the active zone moved north towards Santiago. After that the region south of Concepción became active for a short time. This rupturing trend agrees well with the distribution of the aftershocks during the following three days, as observed by the GEOFON-measuring network of the GFZ up to 03.03.2010.In the year 1960, the strongest earthquake measured at all to date, with a magnitude of M=9.5, had its origin at Valdivia, south of the region affected now. "The quake of 27 February connects directly to the rupture process of Valdivia", explains Professor Jochen Zschau, Director of the Section "Earthquake Risk and Early Warning" at the GFZ. "With this, one of the last two seismic gaps along the west coast of South America might now be closed. With the exception of one last section, found in North Chile, the entire earth crust before the west coast of South America has been ruptured within the last 150 years."The underlying plate tectonic procedure is such that the Nazca-Plate as part of the Pacific Ocean Floor moves eastwards with approximately seventy millimeters per year, collides with South America and thereby pushes under the continent. The hereby developing earthquakes belong to the strongest world-wide. In the course of about one century, the Earth's ruptures completely in a number of strong quakes from Patagonia in the South to Panama in the North. Even Darwin reported, in his diary, of the strong earthquake in Concepción on February 20, 1835 and the resulting Tsunami.In order to examine the aftershock activity in the now fractured seismic gap, scientists from the GFZ are travelling to Chile on March 13, 2010 where, together with the Chilean Seismological Service, they will set-up a seismological-geodetic network in the area of Concepción-Santiago. Partners from Germany (IFM Geomar, Kiel; Free University of Berlin) and from abroad (Institut de Physique du Globe, Paris; University of Liverpool; United States Geological Survey; IRIS) are also taking part in this measuring campaign. The mission will last about three months. The results, one expects, will be able to provide an insight into the mechanisms of the fracture in the Earth's crust. This activity is financed on the German side by the GFZ.Scientists from the GFZ have been examining the collision of the Nazca plate and the South American continent since 1994. As a result of numerous expeditions and measuring campaigns in this area this Potsdam Helmholtz Center avails of the probably the most dense data record on such a subduction zone. "Within the framework of the DFG Priority Program "Deformation processes in the Andes", and with the Geotechnology Project TIPTEQ we have just been able to collect a unique data record for the southern part of the Andes" says Professor Onno Oncken, Director of the Department Geodynamics and Geomaterials at the GFZ, and leader of these studies. The current quake puts us in the position to precisely compare the tectonics before and afterwards, a unique situation both internationally and in Earth science.Currently, the GFZ operates a so-called Plate Boundary Observatory PBO in the north of Chile, exactly in the last remaining seismic gap in Chile. This observatory will be handed over to Chilean colleagues by the Chairman of the Board of the GFZ, Professor Reinhard Huettl, within the framework of the cooperation with the Earthquake Service of Chile during a festive event on March 15.The integrated field experiment is accompanied by the new Berlin-Brandenburg research platform Geo.X, which took up its work on March 3, 2010.---Image 1: Installation of a Creepmeter of the Plate-Boundary Observatory Chile, which measures a hundredth millimeter of tectonic motions along a fault zone. © GFZ Image 2: Distribution of the Earthquakes in Southern Chile. © GFZSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:35 am Breaking: Black Swan is ready: Google Voice returns to iPhone via slick weblicationSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Email / IM, Smartphones, VoIP, Mobile
In fact, the whole effort is very impressive. The app is actually running in Safari, but most users won’t realize it (I had to keep reminding myself). Voice Central, Riverturns name for the service, has the look of a great app but, according to Riverturn, runs faster thanks to the data running through their servers. Finger swiping delete calls, little icons on the bottom provide good-looking navigation, to contact details with the stock wallpaper background, Riverturn managed to make the Google Voice web app look like child’s play next to Voice Central Black Swan. User simply navigate to the Riverturn website and the weblication loads in and users add the link to the home screen. There are some limits to a weblication. For starters, Safari (which is running Voice Central) can’t access your contacts. Instead, Voice Central suggests syncing your data with Google Voice’s contacts to get around this inconvenience. Apple prevents this so websites don’t have access to your contacts. Another limit is a confirmation box pops up when you initialize calls, again set up by Apple to protect users from websites initiating calls without users consent. And finally, voice mails are played through the speaker, not the earphone. Little issues but something to be aware of. Users can now download the program and register for free. A premium version is available that brings contact images through, allows a setting change for Do Not Disturb, unlimited history, inbox searches and product support (free version is supported via forums only). Premium is a whopping $6/year, on sale from $10/year. Product page: [Riverturn]
Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:33 am It’s Beer O’Clock! Watch Has Built-In Bottle Opener
The only way to be truly prepared for every alcoholic emergency is to always carry a bottle opener with you, but this is, of course, impractical and easy to forget. So what about building an opener into something that you do always carry with you? That’s exactly what the Happy Hour Watch is for. The quartz timepiece has a bottle opener in the buckle, keeping spraying beer away from the watch itself, which is fashioned from alloy with a stainless-steel back. The watch has two faces, one LCD and the other with traditional hands, and only marked with one hour (beer O’clock). This only takes care of beer bottles (and if you have two bottles of beer, you have a beer opener anyway), so it’s more suited to tailgating than to romantic picnics. On the other hand, you should be buying screw-top wine anyway: no cork-taint and no corkscrew required. The Happy Hour Watch is $50. Happy Hour Watch [Happy Hour Timepieces via Uncrate] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:29 am Messenger Laptop Bags, Made From Cement Sacks
With the PPC paper laptop bag, you can carry your computer, help the environment and learn how to mix cement, all at the same time. PPC stands for “Pretoria Portland Cement”, and the bags are made from the South African company’s cement bags (hence the instructions). We have a feeling that the material was chosen for the excellent logo, though, featuring an elephant and the words “Strength Guaranteed”. The messenger-style bags, made by Wren Design and sold through Etsy, aren’t just paper. The sacks have been backed with calico for strength and have been made more water-resistant using Scotchguard (good enough to stand up to cycling in Swedish snow, according to the site). The only problem is the price. At $82, you could buy a small Timbuk2 bag which would last you forever. On the other hand, this is hand-made, and undoubtedly cooler than anything off-the-peg. ‘THE’ PPC Cement Laptop Bag [Wren Design] PPC Cement Laptop Bags [Etsy] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 9 Mar 2010 | 7:08 am Flash-Cart Lets You Play SNES ROMs on Original Console
That’s where the SNES/SFC Myth comes in. It’s a SNES cart-shaped flash-memory device with a USB port. You hook it up to your PC, copy over your (ahem) legally acquired game ROMS and stuff the plastic block into the slot on the original console. This lets you play any game on the actual hardware it was designed for, no emulation required. The maker claims compatibility with 99.5% of SNES games (some need you to slot an actual, DSP-containing SNES cart into the side). The downside? It costs $170. Compared to the prices of the original SNES carts, that’s cheap. Compared to the price of a free emulator application, it’s horribly expensive, if retro-tastic. NEO SNES/SFC Myth Flash cart [IC 2005 via Engadget] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:28 am 2010 Tyler Environmental Prize Winners AnnouncedLaurie Marker of the Cheetah Conservation Fund and Stuart Pimm of Duke University recognized for scientific and management contributions to the understanding and restoration of ecosystems.Winners to deliver public lectures April 22 at USC, which administers the prize.Two conservationists whose careers have centered on understanding ecosystem functions as the essential foundation for ecosystem restoration will share the 2010 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement.The award, consisting of a $200,000 cash prize and gold medals, will go to Laurie Marker, the co-founder and executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Otjiwarongo, Namibia, and professor Stuart Pimm, the Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University in Durham, N.C.On Thursday, April 22, at 2 p.m., Marker and Pimm will deliver public lectures at USC, which administers the prize.On Friday, April 23, at 7 p.m., the Tyler Prize executive committee and the international environmental community will honor the recipients at a banquet and ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.The executive committee recognized Marker and Pimm “for their scientific contributions, their understanding of ecosystem functions and for their applications of this knowledge to the management and restoration of ecosystems to the benefit of their inhabitants.”Marker has been involved in the study of wild cheetahs for more than 30 years and established an organization in Namibia to study them and protect them.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:25 am Motorola's Backflip Will Make You Come UnhingedDespite some of forward-thinking hardware, Moto's Backflip is crippled by a horrid Android skin. And there's only so much one can do with 3.1 inches.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am Korean iPhone Sausage Now Available in US
Just one month ago we brought innuendo-laden news of the Korean sausage, a meaty snack that was being used by commuters to control their iPhones whilst still wearing gloves. It turned out that the meat-sticks worked just like a human finger, even while still inside their plastic covers. Now, you too can join those innovative cold-weather commuters with the iPhone Sausage Screen Stylus from Case Crown. The $1 wiener can be gently stroked across the capacitive screen to control, well, anything you like. The gold-wrapped sausage is marked on the product page as “not for consumption”, but we have a feeling that this is just a legal matter, or because the folks at Case Crown maybe don’t have the refrigerator space to store all those meaty snacks. What’s not to like? A iPhone stylus and a tasty emergency snack, all for a dollar! If you’re a vegetarian, don’t worry. In the interests of science, I just went to the kitchen and grabbed a chunk of Cheddar cheese. Even in its tastefully rustic, paper-mimicking plastic-wrap, it managed to unlock my iPod Touch. You’re welcome. iPhone Sausage Screen Stylus [Case Crown via Cult of Mac] See Also: 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 9 Mar 2010 | 5:48 am MSI Wind Lasts 15-Hours On One Charge
MSI’s new Wind netbook uses the low-power Intel Atom N450 “Pine Trail” CPU and manages to get an almost ridiculous 15-hours of battery life. Even if we viciously slash that time in half, to simulate real-life use, seven hours is impressive on a mere six-cell battery, and we’d expect something close to ten. The specs are otherwise similar to all other netbooks: 10-inch display, 160GB hard drive, a gig of RAM and Windows 7. But the case itself features some rather neat additions. First, it comes in gold (or black), has a glowing MSI logo on the back, and the power button sits in the hinge – hardly useful, but certainly cool-looking. Best is the big trackpad, which has no edges and just disappears into the main body of the computer. The keyboard is more stylish, too, featuring MacBook-alike chiclets. MSI has even made the comma and period keys the right size instead of the tiny vestigial buttons on the original Wind. The U160 is $430. That’s not bad, but we have a feeling that a certain $500 “tablet” computer might cause the netbook market to be even less attractive than it is already. Wind U160 [MSI. Thanks, Mark!] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 9 Mar 2010 | 5:43 am Earthquakes Not Growing, Just PopulationsExperts say the earthquakes that shook Haiti, then Chile and Turkey are not a problem of what is happening under the ground, but above it.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 9 Mar 2010 | 4:15 am
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For Women:
More bad news for an already bullet-riddled 
A new study by Comscore will be released on Wednesday that may give hope to social gaming startups trying to monetize users. 35% of the survey respondents said that they engage in “marketing actions” to earn virtual currency (such as watching a video, filling out a survey, etc.), and 53% said they be willing to consider marketing action for currency if given the choice.
Operating on a scale never before attempted in this country, the city would demolish houses in some of the most desolate sections of Detroit and move residents into stronger neighborhoods. Roughly a quarter of the 139-square-mile city could go from urban to semi-rural.
With SXSW starting Friday in Austin, Texas, 
So here’s a deal, but it’s a bit odd. The Toshiba R600 is advertised as being Toshiba’s ultimate notebook, and for the price it better be. You can buy it from Toshiba’s website for $2,099 for the base model which includes a 160GB hard drive, 3GB of RAM, and a 12.1″ screen, and comes standard with Windows 7. But that’s not the deal.
Technology analyst firm Strategy Analytics just announced their latest forecast: Sony’s Playstation 3 will will outsell the Wii and Xbox 360 by the time they all end their product cycle. Say what?
Business to business software can be a tough sell. Online B2B can be even a harder sell. While there is certainly money to be made, unless you’re one of the big players, the likelihood you’re going to succeed is pretty small. Starting today, Google is taking their roll as one of the big players and extending a platform to boost some smaller players.
Tonight, Google 
Elgato just released the updated version of their USB tuner, the EyeTV. This new version has been resized (smaller) and added compatibility with Windows 7, making it ideal for that HTPC project you’ve been thinking about.
Tonight, Google is hosting one of their Campfire One events at their headquarters in Mountain View, CA. They’re using the event to launch their new Google Apps Marketplace. This is the app store that business applications can use to reach the more than 25 million people and 2 million business that use Google Apps for their domains.
Bad news for the XP diehards out there, hard drive manufacturers are tired of supporting you, and the next generation of controller technology is not going to work properly with DOS and Windows XP users. Of course it won’t be a major issue until 2011, and maybe not even then.
Adobe has come out swinging in support of the HP Slate, that other tablet we’ve been seeing since January. The HP Slate runs Windows 7 and handles Flash, a common slag against Apple’s tablet, the iPad. In a new video by Adobe, the HP Slate is shown off doing some cooling things, all the time stressing that you’re getting the whole web, not a closed off, hacked together, 2-bit version of what one company (and an army of loyal fans) want you to get. Adobe is eager to lift up the HP Slate as a worthy competitor.
For years, man has been trying to build a jetpack which would actually be safe and cheap enough to be used by anyone other than Lee Majors on the title sequence of The Fall Guy. It turns out that we’ve been doing it wrong. Instead of starting with a pack and adding on the jet, we should have torn the giant engines from a plane and strapped them to some poor schmuck. This is what the New Zealand Martin Aircraft Company did, resulting in the Martin Jetpack.
What the heck is a “weblication?” The answer is in Riverturn’s new Google Voice web application that looks more like a native app, in fact, it fooled everyone I showed it to. The new app brings the Google Voice experience to your iPhone, allowing you to place calls, send and recieve SMS, and even browse recent calls. Even better, Riverturn did it by working around the App Store and its oft illogical approval process. Take that Apple.
I’m a big fan of retro-gaming, mostly because I can play Streetfighter II with my feet, whereas I am hopeless with anything more modern (I once played Left 4 Dead with fellow gadget-blogger John Brownlee and ended up just walking in circles). I dig emulators, but there’s something about playing Mario Kart with the proper Nintendo controller on an actual TV.
