Clues That Apple's Bought Another Processor Design House

According to Ars Technica: "Apple's gigantic bankroll may be burning a hole in its pocket. Almost two years after purchasing PowerPC designer P.A. Semi, Apple appears to have snapped up ARM design house Intrinsity. According to a report that first appeared on electronista, a number of engineers at the company have indicated that they are now or soon will be employed by Apple. Some of them have even gone as far as to change their LinkedIn profiles, with one reverting itpossibly out of fear of drawing the wrath of his new, secretive employer."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 3 Apr 2010 | 3:37 am

Sharp Chases Small 3D Screens - Wall Street Journal

Financial Times

Sharp Chases Small 3D Screens Wall Street Journal TOKYO—Sharp Corp. will start making by September small, three-dimensional liquid crystal displays that don't require special glasses, betting that most portable digital devices will eventually be 3-D capable, a company executive said ... Sharp to launch advanced 3D panels for mobile gearReuters Sharp Thinks Small for 3D ScreensPC World Sharp Plans to Start Advanced 3D Panels for Cell PhonesTopNews United States ABH News -eWeek -Afterdawn.com all 459 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 3 Apr 2010 | 3:32 am

The Expression 'Series' Soon to be Lost from Windows Phone 7 Series - TopNews United States

DailyTech

The Expression 'Series' Soon to be Lost from Windows Phone 7 Series TopNews United States The name Windows 7 Series would not be sold with the same name from the planned season of selling this year by Microsoft. It is therefore going to be known as Windows Phone 7. This operating method was better known as Windows Mobile 6.5, previously, ... Windows Phone 7 Series Gets a Slight Name ChangeDailyTech Microsoft cuts 'Series' lump from Windows Phone 7Register Microsoft plans Windows Summit for MayCNET GeekSmack -BusinessWeek -Seattle Times all 82 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 3 Apr 2010 | 3:28 am

Are You the Next Zynga? The Rocket Science at RightScale Helps Deliver a Safe Liftoff

Zynga is a leading example of how to wield cloud infrastructure to achieve scale. The company uses RightScale to help match demand of its incredibly successful game franchise with appropriate resources...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Apr 2010 | 3:18 am

Conservation calls as Canada bear hunt season opens

Canadian environmentalists are calling for strict conservation measures as the controversial grizzly bear hunt begins over the Easter weekend in Canada's westernmost province. A report...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 Apr 2010 | 2:36 am

American Express launches first iPhone App

American Express released its first iPhone application for its credit-card customers on Friday, one of the last major banks to offer an iPhone application. [via Fox Business] The Amex app lets customers...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Apr 2010 | 2:05 am

Text-messaging service advises on poison safety

Here's a new SMS Alert service I haven't come across before: a text-messaging service that provides consumer tips and poison facts. It has been launched by the California Poison Control System and is...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Apr 2010 | 1:55 am

iPad seekers queue for first shot at new Apple gadget (AFP)

AFP - Gadget-seekers determined to be among the first to get their hands on an iPad queued outside Apple's flagship shop in Manhattan Saturday ahead of the tablet computer's debut.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 3 Apr 2010 | 1:34 am

Signing and reading in Seattle at University Book Store on Monday

I'm reading and signing books at the fantastic University Book Store in Seattle this Monday, April 5 at 7PM. Also on the bill are Mark Henry, Jeanne Stein, and Jaye Wells. Hope to see you there!

Events Calendar - University Book Store, Seattle Washington


Source: Boing Boing | 3 Apr 2010 | 12:58 am

Signing and reading in Seattle at University Book Store on Monday

I'm reading and signing books at the fantastic University Book Store in Seattle this Monday, April 5 at 7PM. Also on the bill are Mark Henry, Jeanne Stein, and Jaye Wells. Hope to see you there! Events...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Apr 2010 | 12:58 am

First Weather Satellite Launched 50 Years Ago

stinkbomb writes "Fifty years ago today, the world's first weather satellite lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and opened a new and exciting dimension in weather forecasting. Top leaders from NOAA and NASA hailed the milestone as an example of their agencies' strong partnership and commitment to flying the best satellites today and beyond."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 3 Apr 2010 | 12:42 am

FBI warns letters to governors could stir violence (AP)

AP - The FBI is warning police across the country that an anti-government group's call to remove governors from office could provoke violence.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 2 Apr 2010 | 11:05 pm

Navy Wants Cyber Weapons That Shoot Data Beams

ectotherm writes "By 2018, the US Navy hopes to enable their fighter jets with the ability to shoot data streams containing 'specialized waveforms and algorithms,' useful in an electronic attack or cyber-invasion. A few non-classified details here."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Is Apple Developing Game Controls for the iPad and iPhone? (PC World)

Exotic 'Electroweak' Star Predicted

UPDATE 10-Five dead in Tesoro Anacortes refinery fire

The Struggle To Keep Java Relevant

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple iPad: It Makes Salsa, Too! (PC World)

Tesoro says Anacortes output cut to one-third

And now the Aussies are making bionic eyes too

I remember the glory days of bionics… you know, when I’d see an article on bionic eyes and not think “Another one?” Because really, there are a lot out there. From homegrown products like Eyeborg and this lady’s webcam eye to more substantial efforts like Second Sight and the Boston Retinal Implant Program, it seems like everybody and their dog is whipping up some sort of vision substitution system. And my visual neuroanatomy professor said it couldn’t be done! In your face, Dr. Schein!

Anyway, the latest is an Australian company with a method that reminds me of the excellent 2002 Wired article that got me interested in this stuff: basically, you have a camera that has its signal sent to a set of microelectrodes, which in turn stimulate the retinal cells, which respond as if there is a light stimulus. Same approach as a decade ago, but hey, whatever works.

As I actually wrote in a paper some time ago, the limitations of this method are clear: it requires not only a working visual system in the brain (some people are “brain blind,” i.e. the problem is not in the eye proper) but a working retina, which can be a tall order; many accidents and disorders would preclude the usage of this method. But it’s not meant to be a universal cure, and a microelectrode array in the visual system would have to be unbelievably precise. Even with the system being proposed by Bionic Vision Australia, they can only make an array of 98 electrodes, resulting in a resolution of about 10×10. Better than nothing, but there will be jaggies.

New Hyundai Luxury Car to Use iPad as Manual - PC Magazine

Boston Globe

New Hyundai Luxury Car to Use iPad as Manual PC Magazine Hyundai has unveiled the 2011 Hyundai Equus, a large, rear-drive luxury sedan aimed at the Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS, according to the New York Times. That's not the purpose of this post, though. It appears Hyundai, in lieu of ... Hyundai to include an iPad in new luxury carLos Angeles Times Equus Equipped With Luxury, iPadTopNews United States Apple iPad, Hyundai Equus soon to travel technology highway togetherWeekly Driver USA Today -CNNMoney.com -Boston Globe all 111 news articles »

iPad still awaits the rush (Reuters)

Open source prosthetics

Open source prosthetics

Clicking into an article by Aimee Mullins, a double below knee amputee, actress, track athlete, and total babe, resulted in a moment of groaning "what the hell" at my computer screen. The article -- "Is Choosing a Prosthesis so Different than Picking a Pair of Glasses?" -- spoke of how prosthetics have evolved to the point of being as specialized and aesthetically unique as eyeglasses in the last fifty years in the United States.

To illustrate her point, Mullins notes:

"...no one has yet to build a leg that does it all --- I have to change legs when I want to wear high heels; I have to change legs when I want to wear different height high heels; I have to change legs when I want to swim, take a boxing class at the gym, or sprint on the track. I have 12 pair in all (though many are housed in museums)."

While the there are indeed parallels, the article largely neglects the enormous burden of cost and limited access to this cutting-edge technology that so often gets featured in the press. Those very legs that Mullins has relegated to museums sit well out of financial reach for the majority of the disabled community.

Full disclosure: I myself am a double amputee; being born without legs. No stumps, femurs, or anything. I start at the pelvis. I never experienced the contrast of pre/post disability. I grew up thinking of myself as whole and complete. Whenever I was confronted with a set of legs, they felt like highly impractical stilts designed with aesthetics over function in mind.

I remember always feeling a mix of awkwardness and obligation when I slid into the big, wobbly, pair of legs. The only element that kept me in prosthetics was the reminder from doctors, family, and therapists of the time and money they took to create.

At every possible opportunity, I would abandon the legs in favor of running on my hands -- or later in life, using a skateboard. I found that the practicality and affordability of these two options allowed for more financial and logistic freedom for getting around the everyday world. If I was traveling and something on my skateboard broke, I could buy a replacement locally (and cheaply). If a glove got torn up on a hike, I could wrap some duct tape around it. My family had always focused on simple and practical solutions to any physical challenges I might face, and eventually I learned how to "MacGyver" my way out of situations as well.

I found out about www.openprosthetics.org in March, and immediately fell in love. NPR described the creator, Jonathan Kuniholm's mission, as an "open-source collaboration that makes its innovations available to anyone."

One of the most interesting examples was the reviving an old upper extremity prostheses that had been originally developed in the 1920s or '30s. Named the Trautman Hook, it consisted some rubber bands, three metal parts, and two screws. All of the designs were posted for free on the site, as well as fabrication costs from different companies around the country. A practical and cost-conscious alternative to the expensive and single function prosthetic paradigm felt like a revelation. Open Source. Some weird, cool concept that only futurists could write about. The Firefox of artificial limbs.

For a bit more perspective on the cost and difficulties of obtaining a prosthesis, I rang up Cliff Creekmore, the manager of a local Hanger Prosthetics branch in Montana.

"As of July of 2008, a moderate activity prosthesis for a below-the-knee amputee costs about $17,500."

For a double amputee, the expense doubles. And getting insurance to cover more than one leg is a hassle. When you put those costs in context of Aimee Mullins quote, from a financial perspective, buying a prosthesis is a world apart from buying glasses.

Thankfully, Aimee does go so far as to admit the issues confronted by the average prosthetic user, "Not one pair of my legs is covered by insurance; not one pair of my legs is considered "medically necessary."

And so, in the face of such debilitating costs and access to the prosthetics, it's incredibly liberating to see movements like The Open Prosthetics Project gaining momentum. Could it ever grow large enough to become an alternative to the private routes? I don't know, but I dearly hope so. As we've seen in many other areas, open source competition tends to breed innovation from incumbents, It would be something to one day finally see prosthetics that are adaptable and multi-use without the steep costs we currently experience.

Check out their main site to see some of the finished projects.

And if you want to get into the nuts-and-bolts of developing projects, head to their Ning site.

PARC Builds iPod-Sized HIV Detector

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Equipe watches designed to drive you crazy

New York Times Hikes Kindle Subscription Price 43%; Now $20 A Month

Earlier today, news broke that The New York Times was raising the price on its E-Edition from $14.99 to $19.99 a month. Now, Amazon has just told customers with Kindle subscriptions to the Times that they’re getting a price hike too: they’re jumping from $13.99 to $19.99 — an increase of 43 percent. Current Kindle subscribers will continue to pay $13.99/month for the next six months.

This is almost certainly in anticipation of the iPad launch tomorrow — Amazon just announced the release of its own Kindle for iPad app, which will be competing with Apple’s iBooks. And we’ll probably see the NYT’s iPad subscription at the same $19.99 rate. For comparison’s sake, earlier today the Wall Street Journal announced that their iPad subscription fee would be $17.29 per month.

Here’s the email Amazon is sending out:

Hello from Amazon.com,

As a Kindle subscriber to New York Times, you might like to know that effective April 2, 2010, the New York Times has raised its price to $19.99/month for new subscribers.

As an existing subscriber to New York Times, you will continue to be billed at the previous rate of $13.99/month for six more months (until October 2nd, 2010) after which you will be billed at the monthly rate then in effect.  We believe that the Kindle edition of New York Times continues to provide excellent value for customers with a free 14 day trial period, wireless delivery via Whispernet, no long-term commitments, and substantial savings vs. regular print subscription rates.

As always you are free to cancel your subscription at any time.  If you are still in the 14 day free trial period of your subscription you will not be charged, otherwise you will receive a prorated refund for the unused portion of your subscription.  To change or cancel a subscription, please visit www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle.

Sincerely, The Amazon Kindle team

Make a lap stand for the iPad

Make a lap stand for the iPad

Lenore and Windell, that brilliant hacker couple who run Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, have a complete how-to for making a foldable lap stand for the iPad.

Sure, that iPad's fun. But doesn't your arm get tired propping up one and a half pounds after an hour or two?

Yes, one thing that the iPad is definitely missing is angle. A laptop has an adjustable screen, and you can just set it on your lap for couchborne surfing. Just set the iPad on your lap and... well... it's sits there taunting you, pointing at the ceiling.

You can try sitting cross-legged like Steve Jobs, angle your knees with the help of the coffee table, or give up and shell out for a tabletop dock.

No, it's not the end of the world. But shouldn't fun new toys just be... fun? So here is our solution: a DIY adjustable-angle iPad stand for your lap. Inexpensive, cozy, and light. Designed for both portrait and landscape use, and ready to fold up for transport and storage. With a stand, you can use your 'Pad with zero, one, or two hands, and sit how you darn well please.

iPad Gets a Split Screen Browser

CrunchDeal: Borderlands for $25

Once you pick this game up, there “ain’t no rest for the wicked.” We all really enjoyed Borderlands here at CrunchGear, and here’s your chance to pick up your own copy for $25 at Steam. That’s 50% off, and one hell of a deal. Go. Now. You can thank me later.

Some New Hints at the iPad’s Innards, Aided by the FCC [Voices]

By Don Clark, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Companies that tear apart new gadgets to see who supplied key components are gearing up for a busy weekend with the launch of Apple’s iPad. But hints about some features came a day early.

That’s because hardware makers must submit new gadgets for review by the Federal Communications Commission, which worries about things like electromagnetic interference that products might generate. Some Web sites, including Engadget, got their hands on pictures of disassembled iPads that were posted on the FCC Web site as part of the certification process. After those images started popping up on Friday, hardware fans began analyzing them eagerly.

Names of chip suppliers may be treated as proprietary information, and the pictures on the FCC Web site masked images of the components so their suppliers’ name was not visible. But not too well, it seems. Folks at iFixit, a company that does teardowns, managed to exploit their understanding of how documents are handled in Adobe’s PDF format to produce some unredacted pictures.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

The Unauthorized TechCrunch iPad Review

For some strange reason we weren’t invited to test drive the iPad early. But easy-to-get stories are never fun anyway. And there has always been another way to spend time with the iPad other than a freebie loaner from apple – the third party developers.

Scores of developers have had iPad’s for weeks now. They’ve had to sign non-disclosure agreements, and have the iPad locked in a separate room that random employees couldn’t access. And even that wasn’t enough. The iPads are literally chained to the desk with steel cable and a lock. Apple comes by the office with a suitcase, installs the iPad in a bolted case, chains it to the desk and locks it there. And they they do occasional surprise visits just to make sure it’s still there.

What’s more, Apple has told developers that they are monitoring the location of the device as well. We tried (oh how we tried) to find a way to break into a company that had one and just steal the whole desk that it was chained to to bring it back here and wait for Apple or the police or whoever to show up. It would have made an excellent April Fools joke. But CEO Heather vetoed the idea.

But one thing I have had the chance to do is test iPads at developers who’ve been willing to bend the rules a little. Well, actually, a lot. This is exactly what Apple didn’t want – bloggers and other outsiders to get access to and play with the devices.

But play I did. I’ve surfed the net on the iPad. I’ve played games on the iPad. And I’ve done email on the iPad. Yes, those iPads were chained to desks and in a bolted on steel case. And even so, the experience was stunning. It’s a nearly flawless device.

And the iPad beats even my most optimistic expectations. This is a new category of device. But it also will replace laptops for many people. It does basic computer stuff, like email and web surfing, very well. Applications load quickly and are very responsive – think iPhone 3GS with a 50% speed boost.

That’s what surprised me the most. The iPad isn’t just for couch computing when you want to look something up on Wikipedia or send a quick email. It’s a perfectly usable business device. And the form factor just happens to work far better for cramped places like airplanes than a normal laptop. I doubt I’ll ever open a laptop on a plane again after tomorrow.

I am easily able to type 50 words per minute on the large virtual keyboard. A physical keyboard is a nice add on when I’m in my office or hotel room, but it works just fine without it, too.

The iPad will put significant pressure on laptop sales, particularly second device laptops. And it will also have a devastating effect on single-use devices like the Kindle, unless the price of those devices drops substantially. I will quite happily read books on the iPad, and the battery really does last for up to ten hours.

And then there are the apps. Some of the iPads best uses are yet to be imagined. This is certainly an amazing game device and productivity tool. And I’ll happily consume massive amounts of music and video content on the iPad. Third party apps, and there are a ton of them coming, will make this even more useful.

I suspect I’ll rarely be away from this device. In fact it will make my phone far less important for non-calling uses. I may not have the iPad in my pocket with my phone, but it will certainly be in my bag over my shoulder. With a 3G data plan I’ll use it to read the news, look up movie times and reviews, send instant messages and emails, and lots of other things that I do with my phone. I’m not so sure I need to have the latest and greatest phone device any more, knowing that there’s an iPad within reach.

I’d pay $1,000 for a chained to the desk iPad. The fact that tomorrow I’ll get the one I pre-ordered for just $500, chain free, makes me very happy indeed.

Time for E-ink: Seiko announces the first active-matrix watch

Here’s an interesting little tidbit; Seiko just announced that they are going to producing the world’s first active matrix e-ink timepiece. That’s right, a wristwatch that uses e-reader technology to display the time. Could we be looking at the next LCD display technology?

It’s worth your time to look at the video, and not just for the glimpse of the e-ink watch. There’s also a really interesting looking timepiece at the five minute mark. At any rate, we really don’t know much about Seiko’s new project. All we do know is that the display is 300dpi, displays the time, date, and a world clock. No word on price, no availability.. No idea if it’ll even be available in the U.S.

[Via E-ink Info]

One to watch: new details on Superbrothers' iPhone adventure Sword & Sworcery EP

And while the main adventure mode showcased at top is all serenity now, Superbrothers promises higher intensity drama to follow, showcased via a combat mode against the game's Grizzled Boor -- an antagonist that pays slight homage to Another World's dark beast in subtly leading you deeper into its world while never necessarily proving himself not exactly a threat.

Should you decide to take on the Boor, you're presented with this minigame above where here, too, Superbrothers takes their "less talk" mantra to heart, telegraphing your opponent's intentions with visual cues, in loving and open tribute to NES classic Punch-Out!! (see especially that 'stunned' star that appears overhead).

These two modes were as many secrets as Superbrothers was willing to publicly disclose in the GDC demo, but with months yet left in its development, there's hints of much deeper layers of involvement ahead -- onion peeled layers that Adams has been drip-feeding though ultra-vague hints through his "teletex bulletin" email updates over the past several months.

But this is one I can give away here: if you scroll back through the artwork Adams has released to date, one design element should stand out against the rest -- that razor sharp crescent moon hanging behind his otherwise signature field of muted pixels.

Add that to the release schedule of those teletex updates (February 14th and 28th, March 15th and 29th...) and it should start to snap into focus: your adventure through its world will modify itself based on the phases of moon in the real world. Exactly what shape this will take is another secret Superbrothers won't fully divulge, but there are hints that certain rare mushrooms which pepper the game's landscape will only come out under certain circumstances.

All this adds up to an intricate ecology that rewards multiple playthroughs, rather than a linear and static adventure meant to be experienced once and set aside, and a landscape dotted with people worth meeting and vistas worth traversing. Prior to GDC it was perhaps my most anticipated game of the event (as I might've hinted at myself with my iPad-feature-topping-image): coming away, it might just be my most anticipated game of the year.

Digital Economy Bill: the last hours

With the dread Digital Economy Bill in its final days of the UK Parliament, this is our last chance to demand that the government hold it over until after the election and give it the full debate it deserves. Please share this Open Rights Group video with your friends and colleagues and get them to write to their MP and ask for support for full debate.

This Tuesday, the government will rush a law that could cut you off the Internet


Source: Boing Boing | 2 Apr 2010 | 6:27 pm

Digital Economy Bill: the last hours

Federal Appeals Court Says Sex Offender's Computer Ban Unfair

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The iPad gets the Colbert Bump

We’re not sure how we missed this but it’s hilarious.

Why the Younger Dryas Matters

Interesting: what if your OS could “see” UI elements and react to them?

This video is a bit academic, but it’s an interesting idea. UI elements like buttons, scroll bars, and so on, are hard coded into windows and things, of course. But they’re also visually distinctive. What if your computer could see these interactive elements and adjust your input (say, slowing down your mouse when you hit a button) based only on that?

It’s nice to know that there are people working on crazy high-level UI stuff like this. When you think about how little windows and icons have changed since the early days, it’s kind of depressing. Maybe this kind of thing isn’t super exciting right now, but you take a few of these concepts and integrate them into an OS and it may provide a whole new experience.

Top 50 Fashion Trends in Q1 2010 - From Olympic Fashion to Coral Crossover Swimsuits (COUNTDOWN)

Apple's iPad: One Small Step for Tablets, One Giant Leap for Personal Computers

Apple's iPad: One Small Step for Tablets, One Giant Leap for Personal Computers

First Look: JooJoo is no Apple iPad Killer

In remarkably brave timing, Singapore-based start-up Fusion Garage’s JooJoo tablet is in the hands of the few customers who pre-ordered it. The JooJoo debuts the same weekend as the Apple iPad.

Here’s a first look at the device.

JooJoo fundamentally requires you to buy into the idea that you need a third device, beyond your smartphone and laptop. Ironically, the JooJoo seems almost Apple-esque in its hardware and user interface design. The $500 tablet–priced at almost the same as the entry level iPad model–is one of the better looking devices I have seen recently. But by its own sense of timing, the JooJoo has set itself up to comparisons with Apple iPad and it doesn’t beat that benchmark. Overall, the JooJoo feels like it is a year too late to market.

Sleek Hardware But Nowhere Close to Perfection
Powered off, the JooJoo feels polished and sophisticated. Turn it on and the 12.1-inch capacitive touchscreen springs to life in just a few seconds. The device has just one USB port and a standard headphone and microphone jack.

At about 2.5 lbs, the JooJoo feels comfortable when resting on the table or if you want to carry it around for a short time. But since comparisons to the iPad are inevitable, the JooJoo is almost a pound heavier than its rival. (See the tech specs of the device.)

What the JooJoo seriously lacks in terms of hardware design is a home button–similar to what the iPhone or iPod Touch has. Every once in a while, when you are on a page and want to go back to the home screen, it’s not easy to do so, without a home button. It’s an industrial design flaw and one that JooJoo needs to find a way to fix.

The JooJoo only offers Wi-Fi connectivity (there’s no 3G access) nd its easy enough to search for wireless networks and log on.

The biggest problem with the device, so far, that I can see is the battery life. In less than three hours of using the device–where we just had the browser open and no video–the JooJoo had lost more than half its battery charge. Fusion Garage says JooJoo can offer 5 hours of battery life–about half of that of the iPad.

Also, switching in and out of stand-by mode can be difficult, as the screen just goes blank and the device needs to be often restarted.

User interface Needs Work
JooJoo runs a custom operating system based on Linux and boots very fast. Once powered on, it directly takes the user to a home screen, from which you can go anywhere on the internet.

JooJoo’s homescreen is divided into little square icons that connect directly to services such as Twitter, Flickr, Facebook YouTube and major news sites such as The New York Times and CNN.

But there are some puzzling design problems. For instance, there’s no easy browser launch icon from the homescreen. Instead you have to type in the URL of a site into a floating navigation bar at the top of the screen–which can take a frustrating first few minutes to figure out.  Fusion Garage says that’ s because the JooJoo is a browser-based OS and you don’t have to launch the browser icon like you do on the desktop or the laptop.

The onscreen virtual keyboard is easy to use. It can be dragged and positioned anywhere on the screen but it doesn’t stay locked in that position so you have to do it for every new page. What’s missing though are small features such as the automatic capitalization of a word at the beginning of any sentence and predictive text input.

Scrolling requires two fingers, instead of a single finger scroll that iPhone users are familiar with. That said, once you are on a webpage, scrolling is very smooth and videos play beautifully–thanks to the included Flash support.

What doesn’t portend well for the JooJoo is that the device doesn’t feel zippy. It has a 1.6 Ghz Atom processor and a Nvidia Ion graphics unit but still feels sluggish, especially when switching between screens.

And while iPad users will have access to 3400 apps the minute they turn their devices on, JooJoo customers will just have to live in an app-less world.

Still the JooJoo is an impressive effort by a company that’s never done an hardware product before. Unfortunately, its up against a better product in the iPad and it will take a miraculous feat of engineering and marketing to convince potential customers to buy a JooJoo instead of the iPad–something I don’t think JooJoo can pull off.

See Also:

• JooJoo Tablet Gets a Makeover Before Launch
• JooJoo Tablet Faces Uphill Battle Against iPad
• Hands On With the JooJoo, Formerly Known as CrunchPad
• JooJoo Tablet Set to Ship Around Same Time as iPad

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Top 50 Eco Trends in Q1 2010 - From Layered Luxury Vehicles to Brush Wood Furniture (COUNTDOWN)

Meet the First $900 iPad App

The iPad App Store just launched yesterday, and as you might expect, these apps are generally more expensive. The priciest iPad app costs a whopping $900.

It’s called SiteClone Publisher, a universal app for both iPad and iPhone, and we couldn’t help but feel curious about just what it does for such a hefty price. It turns out SiteClone is a framework designed to help corporate and government entities develop apps that pull content from websites even without an internet connection.

For example, if Wired.com bought SiteClone, we could create an app that pulls videos, audio clips and other media when the iPad is online, and later even if users are without an internet connection, the app could still access all that data without having to redownload it. The screenshot at right is an example of an app using the SiteClone framework.

That sounds awfully wonky and somewhat complicated, but why so expensive?

“The app contains two years of in-house development work, so we didn’t want to make it too cheap,” said Pete Meyers, vice president of EP Visual. “If we sell a few of them, hopefully we can lower the price.” Meyers explained that hospitals, for example, could make use of SiteClone because they’re notorious for poor internet connections.

$900 is exorbitant for an app, but it sure beats the feature-less iPhone app “I Am Rich,” which was priced at $1,000 before Apple yanked it from the App Store in August 2008. Let’s hope we don’t see an “I Am Rich HD.”

A hat tip to Daisy, who pointed out this app with the help of Mobclix analytics.

Product page [EP Visual]

See Also:

• Video Gives a Glimpse of What’s Inside iPad App Store
• 10 Apps We’re Excited to Try on iPad Launch Day
• The Wired Tablet App: A Video Demonstration
• First Look at Marvel Comics’ iPad App

Photo courtesy of EP Visual

Why I won't buy an iPad (and think you shouldn't, either)

Danny O'Brien does a very good job of explaining why I'm completely uninterested in buying an iPad -- it really feels like the second coming of the CD-ROM "revolution" in which "content" people proclaimed that they were going to remake media by producing expensive (to make and to buy) products. I was a CD-ROM programmer at the start of my tech career, and I felt that excitement, too, and lived through it to see how wrong I was, how open platforms and experimental amateurs would eventually beat out the spendy, slick pros.

I remember the early days of the web -- and the last days of CD ROM -- when there was this mainstream consensus that the web and PCs were too durned geeky and difficult and unpredictable for "my mom" (it's amazing how many tech people have an incredibly low opinion of their mothers). If I had a share of AOL for every time someone told me that the web would die because AOL was so easy and the web was full of garbage, I'd have a lot of AOL shares.

And they wouldn't be worth much.

Incumbents made bad revolutionaries

Relying on incumbents to produce your revolutions is not a good strategy. They're apt to take all the stuff that makes their products great and try to use technology to charge you extra for it, or prohibit it altogether.

I mean, look at that Marvel app (just look at it). I was a comic-book kid, and I'm a comic-book grownup, and the thing that made comics for me was sharing them. If there was ever a medium that relied on kids swapping their purchases around to build an audience, it was comics. And the used market for comics! It was -- and is -- huge, and vital. I can't even count how many times I've gone spelunking in the used comic-bins at a great and musty store to find back issues that I'd missed, or sample new titles on the cheap. (It's part of a multigenerational tradition in my family -- my mom's father used to take her and her sibs down to Dragon Lady Comics on Queen Street in Toronto every weekend to swap their old comics for credit and get new ones).

So what does Marvel do to "enhance" its comics? They take away the right to give, sell or loan your comics. What an improvement. Way to take the joyous, marvellous sharing and bonding experience of comic reading and turn it into a passive, lonely undertaking that isolates, rather than unites. Nice one, Misney.

Infantalizing hardware

Then there's the device itself: clearly there's a lot of thoughtfulness and smarts that went into the design. But there's also a palpable contempt for the owner. I believe -- really believe -- in the stirring words of the Maker Manifesto: if you can't open it, you don't own it. Screws not glue. The original Apple ][+ came with schematics for the circuit boards, and birthed a generation of hardware and software hackers who upended the world for the better. If you wanted your kid to grow up to be a confident, entrepreneurial, and firmly in the camp that believes that you should forever be rearranging the world to make it better, you bought her an Apple ][+.

But with the iPad, it seems like Apple's model customer is that same stupid stereotype of a technophobic, timid, scatterbrained mother as appears in a billion renditions of "that's too complicated for my mom" (listen to the pundits extol the virtues of the iPad and time how long it takes for them to explain that here, finally, is something that isn't too complicated for their poor old mothers).

The model of interaction with the iPad is to be a "consumer," what William Gibson memorably described as "something the size of a baby hippo, the color of a week-old boiled potato, that lives by itself, in the dark, in a double-wide on the outskirts of Topeka. It's covered with eyes and it sweats constantly. The sweat runs into those eyes and makes them sting. It has no mouth... no genitals, and can only express its mute extremes of murderous rage and infantile desire by changing the channels on a universal remote."

The way you improve your iPad isn't to figure out how it works and making it better. The way you improve the iPad is to buy iApps. Buying an iPad for your kids isn't a means of jump-starting the realization that the world is yours to take apart and reassemble; it's a way of telling your offspring that even changing the batteries is something you have to leave to the professionals.

Dale Dougherty's piece on Hypercard and its influence on a generation of young hackers is a must-read on this. I got my start as a Hypercard programmer, and it was Hypercard's gentle and intuitive introduction to the idea of remaking the world that made me consider a career in computers.

Wal-Martization of the software channel

And let's look at the iStore. For a company whose CEO professes a hatred of DRM, Apple sure has made DRM its alpha and omega. Having gotten into business with the two industries that most believe that you shouldn't be able to modify your hardware, load your own software on it, write software for it, override instructions given to it by the mothership (the entertainment industry and the phone companies), Apple has defined its business around these principles. It uses DRM to control what can run on your devices, which means that Apple's customers can't take their "iContent" with them to competing devices, and Apple developers can't sell on their own terms.

The iStore lock-in doesn't make life better for Apple's customers or Apple's developers. As an adult, I want to be able to choose whose stuff I buy and whom I trust to evaluate that stuff. I don't want my universe of apps constrained to the stuff that the Cupertino Politburo decides to allow for its platform. And as a copyright holder and creator, I don't want a single, Wal-Mart-like channel that controls access to my audience and dictates what is and is not acceptable material for me to create. The last time I posted about this, we got a string of apologies for Apple's abusive contractual terms for developers, but the best one was, "Did you think that access to a platform where you can make a fortune would come without strings attached?" I read it in Don Corleone's voice and it sounded just right. Of course I believe in a market where competition can take place without bending my knee to a company that has erected a drawbridge between me and my customers!

Journalism is looking for a daddy figure

I think that the press has been all over the iPad because Apple puts on a good show, and because everyone in journalism-land is looking for a daddy figure who'll promise them that their audience will go back to paying for their stuff. The reason people have stopped paying for a lot of "content" isn't just that they can get it for free, though: it's that they can get lots of competing stuff for free, too. The open platform has allowed for an explosion of new material, some of it rough-hewn, some of it slick as the pros, most of it targetted more narrowly than the old media ever managed. Rupert Murdoch can rattle his saber all he likes about taking his content out of Google, but I say do it, Rupert. We'll miss your fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the Web so little that we'll hardly notice it, and we'll have no trouble finding material to fill the void.

Just like the gadget press is full of devices that gadget bloggers need (and that no one else cares about), the mainstream press is full of stories that affirm the internal media consensus. Yesterday's empires do something sacred and vital and most of all grown up, and that other adults will eventually come along to move us all away from the kids' playground that is the wild web, with its amateur content and lack of proprietary channels where exclusive deals can be made. We'll move back into the walled gardens that best return shareholder value to the investors who haven't updated their portfolios since before eTrade came online.

But the real economics of iPad publishing tell a different story: even a stellar iPad sales performance isn't going to do much to staunch the bleeding from traditional publishing. Wishful thinking and a nostalgia for the good old days of lockdown won't bring customers back through the door.

Gadgets come and gadgets go

Gadgets come and gadgets go. The iPad you buy today will be e-waste in a year or two (less, if you decide not to pay to have the battery changed for you). The real issue isn't the capabilities of the piece of plastic you unwrap today, but the technical and social infrastructure that accompanies it.

If you want to live in the creative universe where anyone with a cool idea can make it and give it to you to run on your hardware, the iPad isn't for you.

If you want to live in the fair world where you get to keep (or give away) the stuff you buy, the iPad isn't for you.

If you want to write code for a platform where the only thing that determines whether you're going to succeed with it is whether your audience loves it, the iPad isn't for you.

PC hardware reviews are now indistinguishable from science fiction

Its worth noting that the VRM on the P7P55D Deluxe makes use of a hybrid 16+3 phase configuration, where 16 phases are dedicated to the processor cores and three to the CPU’s integrated memory controller. Additionally, the VRM contains low Rds MOSFETs, ferrite core chokes, and Japanese capacitors.

That’s from the motherboard round-up over at Hot Hardware that I’m reading right now. I know what some of it means, but seriously, if I came across that paragraph while reading Neuromancer, I wouldn’t have thought twice. Ferrite choke cores and MOSFETs? Do those plug into the flux capacitor? I may be in Generation i, but hard hardware still makes my head spin.

Web site by Stanford experts monitors app security (AP)

Web site by Stanford experts monitors app security

L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Asks for Help to Win YouTube Contest, End Social Security Discrimination

L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Asks for Help to Win YouTube Contest, End Social Security Discrimination

Seeking Competitive Advantage, For Malware

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

New StudioTrack iPad App From Sonoma Wire Works

They’re Hot Now, but Will Start-Ups Fall Victim to "Check-In Fatigue"? [Voices]

By Timothy Hay, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

“Check-in” companies that were all but unheard of a year ago are making noise due to the simple game mechanics and competitive element they added to their start-ups, which took social networking into a new, location-based direction.

Now, the youthful founders of this new breed of start-ups say that checking in–created as a solution to “social networking fatigue”–could in turn lead to “check-in fatigue” if people do not find novel things to do with this location data.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Zagat Launches New App for iPad(TM)

Flash Builder 4 — Defective By Design?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Video: More Red Dead Redemption gameplay for y’all

Presenting, more Red Dead Redemption gameplay footage~! You’ll recall that the game had a very long line last week at PAX East. It’s not exactly GTA in the Wild West, but that’s a fairly accurate, incredibly generalized two-second description. The question on everyone’s mind: Did they have iPads back then?

4/3: LA Laker Shannon Brown Signing Autographs at Verizon Wireless Store in Irvine, CA

MicroStrategy Offers Interactive Reports and Dashboards on the New Apple iPad

MicroStrategy Offers Interactive Reports and Dashboards on the New Apple iPad

Facebook snaps up photo sharing site Divvyshot

White House Issues New Gas Mileage Standards

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

iPad Could Boost Interactive Music

iDisplay app turns your iPad or iPhone into secondary screen – too good to be true?

How cool is this? iDisplay is an app that tricks your computer into thinking you’ve got a secondary display attached, and then pushes what would be on that display onto your iPad or iPhone. That’s… brilliant.

Continue reading…

iDisplay app turns your iPad or iPhone into secondary screen – too good to be true?

How cool is this? iDisplay is an app that tricks your computer into thinking you’ve got a secondary display attached, and then pushes what would be on that display onto your iPad or iPhone. That’s… brilliant.

I mean, I can think of about a billion uses for this. As many uses as I have uses for my actual computer, in fact. The problem is that there’s some latency, as it sends the display information over wi-fi, so you can’t watch video or play games on it, or really anything that requires precision timing or responsiveness. Unfortunate, but that may improve with time.

Costs $5. It’s only for OS X right now, but there’s a Windows version in development.

[via TUAW]

Can the Ipad Do What a Comics Store Can? - New York Times

MTV.com

Can the Ipad Do What a Comics Store Can? New York Times Sure, the Apple iPad has the power to run all kinds of applications and make you the envy of your friends. But can it help you to imagine that you're Captain America, brandishing your shield and fists against the ruthless Red Skull? ... Marvel's iPad App Worries Store Owners, Comic Fans MixedPC World Marvel Debuts iPad Comic-Book R ...PC Magazine Can iPad Replace the Comic Stores?TopNews United States Tom's Guide -MTV.com -148Apps all 133 news articles »

So Hot Right Now: Top 10 Gadgetell posts for the week of March 28, 2010

Section:

Haven’t caught all of the Gadgetell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

• Verizon Droid 2.1: no more updates today (3/31)
  “Verizon has let go of the Android 2.1 release to selected users as part of a larger roll-out plan that will continue for the next several days.  Released in batches the update is an OTA (over the air), according…” MORE »
• Facebook wants to make yet another privacy change, and you’re not gonna like it
  ”  Facebook has announced a proposed change to its privacy policy that is bound to outrage many users of the popular social networking site. They want to provide send your name, photo, friends list, and any information you’ve made public to third party companies.…” MORE »
• Verizon iPhone a reality, says “people” to the Journal
  “People say.  Perhaps a gaggle of people.  Perhaps three?  I am not sure how many persons it takes to make “people” but the Wall Street Journal says “people” have told them there will be a Verizon iPhone this time.  Yes, yes, we’ve heard this all before.  The Journal…” MORE »
• iPad competitor sells only 90 pre-orders?
  ” They say timing is everything.  For Joojoo, the tablet computer, the timing couldn’t be worse.  Six months earlier and this post would have been completely different.  With launching the same month as Apple’s iPad, court documents show the device managed to sell a disappointing 90 units. To…” MORE »
• Windows Phone 7 series unofficially, but successfully ported to the HTC HD2
  ” So much for the HTC HD2 not being upgradeable to Windows Phone 7 Series. Well, in all honestly I think most were aware that the HD2 could be upgraded, but that…” MORE »
• OTA Android 2.1 update available for Motorola MILESTONE
  ” For about a week now, Motorola MILESTONE users have been able to download and install the 2.1 Android update using their computer.  The main problem using a computer is time and the hassle involved.  Users would have to plug their phone…” MORE »
• iPad buyers remorse?  2 questions that keep me from buying one
  “Today’s news cycle is all about the iPad.  It’s release this weekend has everyone excited.  Reviews are in form the old guard and they seem positive but not knock-your-socks-off “wow”.  There are two questions that need to be answered in my mind before I’ll commit and they are…” MORE »
• Google apps has 50 million users…and Microsoft’s watchful eye
  ” Google and Microsoft compete on many fronts in the tech world, and Google Apps is gunning for Microsoft’s stronghold of the office computing industry. Google Apps is just a blip on Microsoft’s radar at the moment—it generates only $50 million per year—but it’s a blip that…” MORE »
• AdMob statistics show Android platform creeping up on iPhone OS
  ” AdMob’s new report featuring data from February of 2010 depicts many new trends, some predictable and others a little shocking.  Basically, smartphone traffic has increased by 193% in a year and…” MORE »
• Chrome extensions we like: Chrome Antialiasing and zoom 85%
  ” A recently released extension for the Chrome browser may be one that netbook users are looking for. The extension is called Chrome Antialiasing and zoom 85% and comes sporting a simple description; Antialiasing and…” MORE »

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

Rugged Camera Round-Up: The Round-Up

So we’ve looked at four rugged and waterproof cameras this week: the $150 Kodak PlaySport, the $200 Fujifilm XP10, the $300 Casio EX-G1, and the $400 Olympus 8010. Which, if any, is worth your hard-earned scratch? Spoiler alert: I prefer the Casio. But here’s a quick rundown of their pros and cons if you’re not convinced.

This one is different from the rest, being a pocket camcorder and all. Still, at $150 I found it to be a fun little gadget to have around. It’s practically an impulse buy at the price — if you can handle not being able to focus closer than 3ft or so.

The cheapest point and shoot in the roundup unfortunately looks and feels like it. Although it’s certainly as waterproof as the rest, its crappy buttons and generally weird design didn’t impress.

It’s rugged as the rest, but slimmer and easier to use, as well as providing the best still images. Unfortunately, it suffers from a lack of HD video — not that any of the others shoot particularly high-quality 720p, but it would have been nice to have. Some handy extra features round out the package — this one would be my choice. But come on, Casio, give us the high-speed video in a rugged body! That would be killer.

This brick of a camera is definitely the most rugged, and is rated to greater depths and higher crush pressure than the others. It also sports image stabilization and a handy two gigs of internal memory. However, its picture quality doesn’t match its price, and the on-screen menu was sluggish (though useful, and the tap control is interesting). Not a bad camera by any stretch of the imagination, but also not worth the $100 premium over the Casio. However, there is a cheaper version, the 6020, which I would put on par with the EX-G1.

That’s the end of this little round-up. I’ll have the cameras for a bit longer, so if you have any questions, feel free to put them in the comments here or in the individual reviews.

FCC photos reveal iPad internals, sculpted aluminum case - Ars Technica

Globe and Mail

FCC photos reveal iPad internals, sculpted aluminum case Ars Technica The Federal Communications Commission beat iFixit to the punch in publishing the first iPad take-apart photos, although the Commission did have an unfair advantage since it got pre-launch access to ... San Luis Obispo's iFixit to analyze iPadSan Luis Obispo Tribune Special Report iPad striptease: It's what's inside that countsReuters Punked: iFixit Tears Down 'Apple Tablet'Wired News CNET -MacNN -Wall Street Journal (blog) all 119 news articles »

David/Goliath Story Brewing Between Apple and iControlPad Makers

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Why Volcanic Eruptions Can Spark Lightning

Bionic Eye Attempts to Restore Vision

A bionic eye prototype developed by researchers in Australia aims to implant an array of electrodes in the eye that can deliver electrical impulses directly to neurons in the retina.

The group, called Bionic Vision Australia, has developed a device called the wide-view neurostimulator for patients suffering from degenerative vision loss.

“It is really designed to give people back their mobility so they can move around their environment and avoid obstacles,” says Anthony Burkitt, research director of Bionic Vision Australia. “We are also working on a second-generation product that will help people recognize faces and read large print.”

Researchers worldwide are trying to find ways to use electronics to improve visual recognition. Last year, MIT announced it had developed a chip implant that could restore vision in some patients. MIT’s eyeball design holds a microchip that connects to an external coil on a pair of glasses. The chip receives visual information and activates electrodes that, in turn, fire the nerve cells that carry visual input to the brain.

Burkitt says other groups in Germany and Japan are working on similar projects. The difference largely lies in the the number of electrodes used, the configuration of the electrodes and how the data is transmitted.

Bionic Vision Australia uses an external camera — with resolution of up to 5 megapixels — mounted on a pair of glasses. An electrode array is implanted in the eye and that connects to the central part of the retina where the greatest number of retinal neurons are present. An external unit has vision-processing software to help generate the electrical impulses. The communication between the electrode implant and the external unit is wireless.

“The camera itself doesn’t need to be very powerful because the quality of the image isn’t the crucial component,” says Burkitt. “What’s important is the vision-processing software that picks up the image and transforms it into electrical impulses.”

The resultant vision is not the same as the images that a sighted person sees. Instead it’s a pixelated version with a relatively small number of dots: about 100 in early versions. But it’s a beginning, says Burkitt. Meanwhile, the team is also working on the next version of the bionic eye that will include 1,000 electrodes, delivering 10 times the resolution. It will be made of platinum, instead of the polycrystalline diamond used for the first one, so more electrodes can be packed in and better images generated.

Burkitt and his team hope to do the first human implant in 2013.

Here’s a closer look at what the neurostimulator will be like:

Photos: Bionic Vision prototype/ BVA

Bionic Eye Attempts to Restore Vision

Bionic Eye Attempts to Restore Vision

Maybe Steve’s Right…Maybe Netbooks Aren’t Better at Anything [Digital Daily]

“Netbooks aren’t better at anything.” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that of the ultraportable machines earlier this year, and now it seems the market may finally be nodding in agreement.

In a report out today, research firm IDC reveals that netbook sales are slowing–significantly. Shipments to retailers in the first three months of this year are expected, when the final numbers are in, to have grown 33.6 percent to 4.8 million units. Which is substantial.

Problem is, that’s not even close to the growth netbooks enjoyed during the same period last year, when sales spiked 872 percent to 3.6 million units.

Now obviously, an 872 percent growth rate isn’t sustainable. That said, the year-over-year drop IDC observes is precipitous enough to raise questions about the continued viability of the category, particularly given recent reports that manufacturers like Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Dell (DELL) are losing interest in 10-inch netbooks because of disappointing sales and the surge of interest in Apple’s (AAPL) iPad.

Condé Nast’s Plans for iPad Ads Become Clearer [Voices]

By Russell Adams, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

On the eve of GQ magazine’s debut on the iPad, how its publisher plans to sell advertising on the device is coming into focus. Condé Nast, whose app for GQ is available in the App Store for $2.99, has signed five advertisers for the first issue of GQ under an arrangement that will be used across all titles, which include Vanity Fair, Wired and the New Yorker.

Advertisers’ exposure in the iPad editions of Condé Nast titles will reflect the level of their investment in the print edition.

All advertisers in the print edition will appear similarly in the iPad’s “landscape” format, which is a replica of the print edition. A select group of advertisers who buy the most pages in that issue of the magazine will get “premium” placement in the iPad edition, meaning their ads will have added features like video and links to the Web. Those ads will appear in the apps’ “portrait” mode, the version of the magazine that includes extra functions like video and slideshows.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

SGN’s Intergalactic Capture The Flag

Mobile gaming publisher SGN’s new iPad EXO-Planet app is specifically designed to exploit the iPad’s new capabilities. While some game developers are merely converting the iPhone apps to the iPad format, the multi-player EXO-Planet is trying to elevate the shooter game experience by giving the player access to eight camera angles with a single spin of the finger.

“The key breakthrough is that in first-person shooter games, the view is limited, which will make you dizzy on small platforms, but Exo-Planet has eight cameras running in real time,” says SGN Founder and Executive Chairman, Shervin Pishevar.

It’s unclear whether EXO-Planet will match the success of previous SGN iPhone games, like Skies of Glory, iBowl, SGN Golf and F.A.S.T., but it presents the coolest version of Capture The Flag hands down. Screen shots below.

The first phase of the game takes place in a futuristic training ground for elite forces. Players leap and zoom across the zero-gravity futuristic space, outfitted in “Juggernaut EXO-suits”— hefty metal space suits. In the training phase the objective is to capture the other player’s (or team’s) flag. As the press release explains: “Players compete in three-minute matches or can win the game by being the first team to capture three flags from the opponents.” As you play, you will accrue currency called Scrip that can be used to improve your suit or buy new weapons.

The eight-camera-perspective creates a very seamless viewing experience. In addition, if you are trying to look past your fighter, the character will briefly appear transparent to maximize your line of vision. Pishevar says SGN will use some of these visual tricks in upcoming iPad games, but he declined to share specifics.

The controls are also pretty intuitive. Your right hand controls the camera angles, zoom, and your shooting device. Your left hand controls your movement; drag your finger the direction you want to move and tap to jump. The app, which can be a one player, one-on-one, or two-on-two (using 3G/WiFi connectivity), is currently available on iTunes for a one-time charge of $6.99.

Read our full list of the best iPad apps at launch here.

Screenshots:

Manage Your Windows Network from the iPad (PC World)

MusicShake Brings Their No-Talent-Necessary Music Creation Tool To The iPhone

We’ve all been there. The latest Black Eyed Peas garbage is looping on the radio for the thirty seven thousandth time this week, and you think to yourself: “I could do this. I could make this song. I could be rich!” So you run home, grab the demo of the most complicated music suite you can find mentions of on the forums, and sit down to create your masterpiece.

Thirty seconds later, you’ve got eighty nine windows staring back at you. There’s some crazy virtual piano thing just sitting there not making any noise when you hit the keys, and you’ve flipped so many random, mysteriously labeled switches that you’re confident the application will never, ever work again. You give up on your music career until the next time boredom strikes whilst Will.I.Am tries desperately to convince you that tonight will be a good night.

That’s where MusicShake, a TechCrunch40 alumnus, comes into play. They’ve been trying to bring simplified music creation to the masses — and now, they’ve just found their way onto the iPhone.

Google gets Episodic in fifth acquisition of year (AP)

MusicShake Brings Their No-Talent-Necessary Music Creation Tool To The iPhone

We’ve all been there. The latest Black Eyed Peas garbage is looping on the radio for the thirty seven thousandth time this week, and you think to yourself: “I could do this. I could make this song. I could be rich!” So you run home, grab the demo of the most complicated music suite you can find mentions of on the forums, and sit down to create your masterpiece.

Thirty seconds later, you’ve got eighty nine windows staring back at you. There’s some crazy virtual piano thing just sitting there not making any noise when you hit the keys, and you’ve flipped so many random, mysteriously labeled switches that you’re confident the application will never, ever work again. You give up on your music career until the next time boredom strikes whilst Will.I.Am tries desperately to convince you that tonight will be a good night.

That’s where MusicShake, a TechCrunch40 alumnus, comes into play. They’ve been trying to bring simplified music creation to the masses — and now, they’ve just found their way onto the iPhone.

The $4.99 application is more like the free, web-based MusicShake widget we saw launch last year than its full-blown Windows-based counterpart. In fact, the Widget is a pretty decent means of trying the concept before you buy it.

Speaking of the concept, it’s pretty simple: You’re given a 6×7 grid. Each row is a separate track, with the left most column indicating which instrument is currently selected for that track. Tap the instrument to pick a new one, and then pick any other box in the row to pick a sample from that instrument’s selection. The iPhone app’s sample selection seems to be limited to Hip Hop and R&B, whereas the widget offers up Rock, Pop, and a handful of other genres in addition.

And, playing on the application’s name, you can physically “shake” the Musicshake app at any time to have it string together a song for you.

Truth be told, I expected a bit more from the $5 app. The user interface is visually lacking and often confusing (there’s a volume slider on one of the screens that is in no way labeled a volume slider, for example). Instrument samples seem to be streamed from Musicshake’s servers which, while it keeps the filesize of the app down, makes things like previewing samples take a few seconds longer than you’d expect, even when on WiFi. The load times aren’t terrible, but they’re long enough that they get frustrating when you’re actually trying to string together a song. This also means the app won’t work if you’re not online.

On the upside, it does pack a number of worthwhile features: tracks created can be converted to MP3 and shared via e-mail, Facebook, or Musicshake’s site, and sections of songs can be converted into ringtones. They’ve also got a bit of a community behind it, with built in access to featured songs, the Top 100 creations, and a “Hall of Fame”.

The application is simple enough that a kid could be making their own little jams with it after just a few minutes, and that’s exactly the audience I think they should be going for. If they made the UI a bit more enticing to a child’s eye, opened up the range of samples, and dropped the price down to something that parents might plunk down to keep their kids busy on a road trip, I’d imagine that it would do well.

Check out MusicShake’s free widget here – and if you’d like to have something along those lines in your pocket, find the iPhone app on iTunes here.

Rugged Camera Round-Up: The Round-Up

So we’ve looked at four rugged and waterproof cameras this week: the $150 Kodak PlaySport, the $200 Fujifilm XP10, the $300 Casio EX-G1, and the $400 Olympus 8010.

Which, if any, is worth your hard-earned scratch? Spoiler alert: I prefer the Casio. But here’s a quick rundown of their pros and cons if you’re not convinced.

Continue reading…

Now tweet this: Twitterrific, Twittelator, TweetDeck come to the iPad (Macworld.com)

Creator of First Personal Computer Dies

Ed Roberts, the maker of the world’s first personal computer, died yesterday at the age of 68.

Roberts created the Altair 8800, the first computer normal people could a) afford and b) use in their homes, without it taking up an entire room. Altair 8800 was also the platform Paul Allen and Bill Gates used to make their first programs and launch Microsoft.

In the wake of nearly-obsessive anticipation of the iPad and its revolutionary potential, it’s worth remembering how people like Roberts got this whole personal computer thing started.

Roberts founded Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry System (MITS) in 1970 to sell model rocket kits. By 1971, MITS moved beyond model rockets and started making electronic calculator kits. Roberts’ next project was making a low-cost computer kit that a broad array of customers could afford and use. MITS finished building the Altair 8800 in late 1974.

The Popular Electronics 1975 cover with Altair 8800

By today’s standards, Altair wasn’t sexy. The $439 build-it-yourself computer had no display and was operated by switches. Nonetheless, it was a radical departure from massive mainframe computers, mostly owned by universities, and proved to be a commercial hit. By August 1975, MITS shipped more than 5,000 Altairs.

Bill Gates, a Harvard sophomore at the time, and Paul Allen, working in Boston, saw the Altair 8800 in the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics. The duo immediately decided to be the first to write programs for the machine, in BASIC programming language.

The only problem? They did not have access to an actual Altair 8800. Instead, they created a BASIC emulator that worked on a PDP-10 mainframe computer at Harvard.

According to Stephen Mantes’ 1994 book on Gates, the team was soon calling Roberts and claiming they have BASIC programs ready to roll on an Altair computer. They went to MITS’ headquarters in Albuquerque, New Mexico to present their products.

This was the first time they saw the Altair. To their utmost surprise, the BASIC code that they developed in a simulator worked almost perfectly in its first run on an actual Altair. A month later, Microsoft was founded.

Roberts didn’t stick around for the computer revolution that followed. He sold MITS, moved to Georgia in late 1977, enrolled in a medical school, and in 1988 started his own medical practice in Cochran, Georgia.

Robert’ Altair was the first mass-appeal, low-cost, feature-stingy personal computer. It was smaller and less powerful than most computers available at the time, but was far better suited to the needs of ordinary users. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

(Photos: Wikipedia)

Law Against Police Bumper Stickers Unconstitutional

iTunes App Store updated for iPad

FROM APPLETELL - If you haven’t been in the App Store lately, you may be interested to find new iPad specific sections in pretty much every category: New and Noteworthy, Staff Favorites, Top Grossing, Free Apps and more.
MORE »

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

Inca Skeletons Show Evidence of Spanish Brutality

N.Y. Auto Show: Who Needs a Gold Watch When You Can Have a Cadillac?

4INFO Tells FTC: Approve The Google/AdMob Deal

A couple of weeks ago we reported that Google was taking the unprecedented step of reaching out to AdMob competitors to get their support around their acquisition of the company.

The FTC is looking very hard at the deal, and some consumer groups have lobbied the FTC to block it. Despite the fact that Apple acquired AdMob’s closest rival, Quattro Wireless.

But at least one of AdMob’s competitors, 4INFO, is supporting the deal (see our recent interview with 4INFO CEO Zaw Thet here).

In a letter to the FTC, Thet says “I have no concerns about my ability to compete effectively after the transaction closes,” and “this is such a rapidly growing and evolving industry that I have no concers about Google and AdMob dominating the space.”

I’ll say this – somebody just earned a ton of credit with Google. The letter is below:

4INFO, Inc.
177 Bovet Road STE 400
San Mateo CA 94402
March 31, 2010

BY HAND DELIVERY

Randall Long, Esq.
Federal Trade Commission
Bureau of Competition – Mergers I
601 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
Re: Google’s acquisition of AdMob

Dear Mr. Long:

I am writing in support of Google’s acquisition of AdMob. I am the CEO of 4INFO, the largest SMS publishing platform and advertising network in the United States. We support multiple SMS advertising units, including click-to-WAP, call, video, and others. We also help advertisers create destinations for mobile users who respond to mobile advertisements, including mobile websites, mobile videos, white-labeled SMS content, and interactive SMS voting or polling. We also enable publishers of user-solicited SMS mobile content to monetize their inventory with SMS advertisements. Our mobile ad network includes top television, print and online content publishers, including NBC, Yahoo, AOL, The Weather Channel, CBS Sports, and TV Guide. We compete with AdMob, Google, and other companies active in the mobile advertising space including clients such as P&G, Ford, Land Rover, and many more.

I am supportive of the Google/AdMob transaction because there are plenty of alternatives for monetization in the mobile advertising marketplace. I have no concerns about my ability to continue to compete effectively after the transaction closes. I believe it will continue to be easy for me to partner with large brand advertisers who wish to advertise on mobile devices and publishers who wish to monetize their mobile content.

This is such a rapidly growing and evolving industry that I have no concerns about Google and AdMob dominating this space. To the contrary, I believe that the recent interest in mobile advertising – especially from investors – will make it even easier for new companies to enter into mobile advertising with innovative products and services that compete effectively. I believe that the Google/AdMob transaction will also help raise awareness of mobile advertising generally and encourage more advertisers to engage in mobile advertising campaigns.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at XXX@4info.net or 650-350-XXXX.

Sincerely,

Zaw Thet

Zaw Thet | CEO | 4INFO, Inc.

Facebook Buys Up Divvyshot To Make Facebook Photos Even Better

Facebook just bought up Divvyshot, a Y Combinator-backed startup that launched last March. Divvyshot was in the midst of raising an angel round when Facebook swept in with a better offer. The amount of the acquisition is not being disclosed, but it was likely small. Buying Divvyshot is a talent acquisition for Facebook. Founder Sam Odio and the two other Divvyshot team members will be joining Facebook and working on Facebook Photos, which is the largest photo-sharing service in the world.

Divvyshot is a group-sharing photo site which takes a slightly different approach than other photo sites. Most photo sites think of the photos as tied to the camera. Odio designed Divvyshot so that photos are tied to places, people, and events. So instead of 50 different shots of the same event, 50 people can all share the same photo. Facebook Photos works on a similar principle, if in a more ad-hoc fashion. People upload photos and tag the people in them. When you get tagged in someone else’s photo, it gets shared with you. If the Divvyshot acquisition is any indication, there will be many more ways to automatically share photos through Facebook in the future.

Divvyshot itself will be shut down. The site has 40,000 active, but loyal, users. Instead, Odio and his team will take what they learned at Divvyshot and apply it to the much larger canvas of Facebook Photos. Existing Divvyshot users will be able to continue to use the site, but no new accounts will be able to be created, and its iPhone app will be taken off of iTunes.

Currently, Divvyshot albums can be edited by multiple users, and can be set as private (only allowing designated friends to upload photos) or public, which lets anyone upload their photos to the album. All photos are presented at a fairly high resolution on the site, and are also available at their original quality for download (you can also download entire albums at a time as .zip files). Divvyshot has deep integration with photo services including Flickr, Facebook and Twitter so you can upload all your photos from these sites. The site recently launched an iPhone app that lets users upload and monitor event activity in real-time and contains much of the core functionality as the web application.

Review: Stiff Gods and Monsters Mar 'Clash of the Titans'

SGN Launches EXO-Planet App for iPad

Digg Launches Native Android App

Digg has just launched its own native application on Android Market. The app supports Digg’s core functionality, including the ability to Digg and bury stories and user comments. The new application comes only a week after Digg launched its highly success native application for iPhone. Unfortunately we can’t link to the app since Google doesn’t offer an easy way to do that, but you can easily find it by opening Android Market on your device and running a search for “Digg”. Or use the QR code at the bottom of this post.

Using the app is pretty straightforward: tapping on a story opens it in the Android’s native web browser, with the handy additions of a Digg toolbar at the top and thumbs up/down buttons at the bottom. To the right of each story is an arrow that lets you view comments left by other Digg users. Unfortunately, you can’t yet leave comments from the Android app (nor can you from the iPhone app), but Digg expects this to change with the next release of its API.

The top 10 free iPad apps I'm dying to try (Ben Patterson)

Justice Department Launches Comprehensive Web Site for Tribal Communities

St. iPad's Day [Voices]

By Nitrozac and Snaggy

Q&A: Discovering the World on the Most Dangerous Buses, Boats, Trains and Planes

Google Launches iPad-Optimized Gmail Web App

Google has just announced on its mobile blog that it has created a web-based version of Gmail that’s optimized for the iPad. The HTML5-based site, which is automatically activated when you visit Gmail.com from device, features a slick looking two-column view, with a list of messages in the left column and message content on the right.

Of course, the iPad comes with a built-in native Mail application, but the Gmail web app offers a few advantages, as it allows you to use Gmail features like starring, labels, and (perhaps most importantly) threaded conversations. Google launched a similar web app for the iPhone last year.

We haven’t gotten to try out the app for ourselves yet, but it will be interesting to see how responsive it is. In general, I’ve found the iPhone web app for Gmail to be good, but not great — it’s never matched the responsiveness I get on the native Gmail app Android (perhaps the iPad’s speedy processor will make up for this). Unfortunately, it’s highly unlikely we’ll be seeing a native Gmail app launch on the iPad given the ongoing conflict between Google and Apple.

As part of its post, Google highlighted some of the native applications it has that are included on the iPad — Apple is using Google as the default search provider (though there have been rumors that may change to Bing), Google powers the Maps application, and there’s also a native YouTube app.

If you’re looking for more applications for your iPad, be sure to check out our List of our favorite iPad apps.

Tropical Storm 23S Born In Southern Indian Ocean

Hurricanes and Droughts Beat Back Migratory Bird Populations

Penguins Might Fly

The Elements for iPad: Hands-on review

My initial hands-on review of the iPad for Boing Boing mentioned The Elements, one of a handful of apps built specifically for iPad available for review prior to Saturday's public launch. After spending some quality time with the app, I can say The Elements is my favorite at this very early stage. We've covered previous iterations of Theodore Gray's gorgeous periodic table series before -- books, posters, puzzles, but it's as if all of that was a sketch, and this app the real intended execution of his project. The Elements transforms a familiar scientific reference into a dazzling, living book that delights the eye and tickles the neurons. It really does hint at the possibilities promised by Apple for iPad: a device that makes it possible to merge book, game, entertainment, reference app, internet search, and who knows what else in a new and pleasingly hands-on way.

After the jump, many more screengrabs, and a video of the device playing Tom Lehrer's Elements Song, an awesome little geek easter egg accessible from within the Elements for iPad.

Video links (Boing Boing Video / YouTube):

The Elements for iPad: The Elements Song

iPad: The Elements, a first look from Boing Boing

The app will sell for $13.99, and was developed for Touchpress by John Cromie of Skylark Associates in Ireland, with some coding also by Gray. Nick Mann, who took most of the rotation photographs, using Canon cameras and lenses (Gray says they shot so many stills in the course of developing the project's image base, more than a quarter million, they wore out several sets of shutters).

The basic idea is this: view the entire periodic table on launch. Select an element, see some data, and a "movie" of a representation of that element. Advance to a second page, and see touch-spinnable icons of more real-world representations of that element. Select one of those, and you get a detail view which can also be presented in 3D, viewable with glasses sold separately (at $4.95). Each element's detail view allows you to connect to Wolfram Alpha for live data: for instance, look up the current price of gold, or scan the thermodynamic properties of antimony. The connection speed on that feature feels a little pokey in this early edition.

The app was developed in great haste, without much lead time provided by Apple. Given the speed involved in development, the end result really is impressive: stable, fast, and a joy to meander around in. Gray imagines other forms of interaction with elements for future editions, but there's plenty to work with even in version 1.0.1.

IObit Releases Random Password Generator to Keep Privacy of Your Accounts

Windows Phone 7 Series now just “Windows Phone 7″

Strunk and White fans, rejoice! Run to the nearest peak and herald to all that will listen: “Less is more! Less is more!”

The Windows Phone Team has just announced via Twitter ([cue the "Announcements via Twitter! Boo!" rants in comments]) that they’re dropping the word “Series” from “Windows Phone 7 Series”.

This makes a whole lot of sense; from the very first second Microsoft announced WP7 to a room full of press, people were asking, “What the heck do you mean, ‘Series’?” Subsequently, nearly everyone outside of Microsoft just started referring to it as “Windows Phone 7″ (partially out of laziness, but mostly because “Series” just sounded silly).

If you see anyone from Microsoft’s advertising, marketing, or graphic design teams walking around with smiles today, now you know why: that’s one less word they have to fit into everything.

[Thanks, Jonathan G.]

The Best iPad Apps At Launch

In preparation for the launch of the iPad tomorrow, iPad Apps are live in iTunes and we’re sorting through the best ones as fast as we can. But with more than 2,000 iPad apps in the App Store, the choices are already daunting.

To help you find the best apps at launch, we’ve put together the definitive list below. It includes all the iPad apps reviewed on TechCrunch, as well as other promising ones we have not gotten to yet. If you have a favorite you think should go on this list, tell us why in comments.

Here is our list, which we will keep updating through the launch of the iPad:

iBooks

Apple’s answer to the Amazon Kindle, iBooks turns the iPad into an electronic book reader with 60,000 books at launch to choose from (the app is free, the e-books are not). Although the Kindle has many more titles (450,000), iBooks lets you flip through virtual pages with your fingers on a color screen. The built-in search and dictionary will come in handy. The font size and brightness can be adjusted. Pages can be bookmarked or highlighted. Books can be read vertically in a full-page view or horizontally in a two-page view like a regular open book. The book store is part of the app and looks like iTunes for books, with best-seller and most-popular lists. Every time you buy a book, it downloads directly to your iPad.

Price: App is free; Each book typically varies from $9.99 to $14.99, many are free. (iTunes link)

Kindle for iPad

Not to be outdone by Apple’s iBooks app, Amazon released its own Kindle app for the iPad which nearly matches the iBook app feature for feature: Full-color touchscreen app, animated page-turning, adjustable font size and brightness (plus you can change the background color), portrait or landscape mode, and the ability to buy books right from the app. Of course, Amazon has a lot more books to choose from (450,000 vs. 60,000). (Search and dictionary functions are “coming soon.” It also includes Amazon’s Whispersync technology, which lets you pick up where you left off on your regular Kindle, your iPhone Kindle App, Blackberry, Mac, or PC. And the Kindle store includes all the regular customer reviews you can find on Amazon’s site. Let the digital book battle begin.

Price: Free, books priced individually (iTunes link)

Tap Tap Radiation

From our post: “The new game is similar to the series of iPhone games in many ways — you still tap on-screen buttons in time to the music. But some key changes were made to optimize gameplay for the iPad. For one, most people will be playing the game with their iPads lying flat on a table or on their lap (as opposed to held at an angle with one hand like an iPhone). Because gamers will have both hands free, Radiation’s gameplay is more involved, prompting gamers to rhythmically tap these glowing blobs as they dance across the iPad’s entire screen. Multiple people will also be able to play simultaneously on the same device.”

Price: Free (iTunes link)

Netflix

From our post: “Assuming you’re a Netflix member, the new iPad app lets you watch as many movies as you want (assuming they’re available on Netflix’s Watch Instantly service) streaming to the device. Yes, this gives you access to some 20,000+ movies and television shows. You can also browse movies and manage your queue from the app. And you can even pick up watching them from where you left off on your TV or computer.”

Price: Free (iTunes link)

Loopt Pulse

From our post: “The iPad may be better suited for planning events around location, rather than actively participating in location. With Loopt Pulse, you load up the main screen to see where you are and everything that’s going on around you. On the left side of the screen you get a list of places, and on the right, you can see each of those places on a map and more details about them.

“These featured places appear because a lot of Loopt users liked the place, or are currently there. Or maybe the place has positive reviews in the local paper. You can also sort by events and friends. On the friends tab, you only see places that your Facebook friends like (you connect via Facebook Connect). But Loopt also wanted to take advantage of the iPad’s big, beautiful screen, so they also built a new feature that allows you to browse local places by pictures.”

Price: Free (iTunes link)

TweetDeck for iPad

TweetDeck’s iPad offering is very similar to its popular desktop stream reader. You can split up your Twitter and Facebook streams into different columns, and swipe across to see more or up and down to read through them. You can compose Tweets using the iPad’s touchscreen keyboard. One new feature is a map showing all the geo-tagged Tweets from the people you follow. It looks gorgeous. Watch the demo video.

Price: Free (iTunes link)

Captain’s Log

This may just be the best app in the iTunes store. It turns your iPad into a Captain’s Log from Star Trek. You can add your own notes, or use it to post updates to both Twitter and Facebook. This app may not have all the bells and whistles you’ll find in TweetDeck, but it will make you feel like a Starship captain. It’s so retro, yet so futuristic.

Price: $0.99 (iTunes link)

SGN’s EXO-Planet

From our post: “While some game developers are merely converting the iPhone apps to the iPad format, the multi-player EXO-Planet is trying to elevate the shooter game experience by giving the player access to eight camera angles with a single spin of the finger. The first phase of the game takes place in a futuristic training ground for elite forces. Players leap and zoom across the zero-gravity futuristic space, outfitted in “Juggernaut EXO-suits”— hefty metal space suits. In the training phase the objective is to capture the other player’s (or team’s) flag. The eight-camera-perspective creates a very seamless viewing experience. In addition, if you are trying to look past your fighter, the character will briefly appear transparent to maximize your line of vision.”

PriceL $6.99 (iTunes link)

Pandora Radio

From our post: “Version 3.0 of Pandora is a Universal app, meaning it includes builds for the iPhone and iPad. The iPad version takes advantage of the large 9.7 inch screen of the device. Rather than having to switch views to see things such as your stations, they can reside on the left hand side of the screen as your album artwork and artist information is on the right hand side. Artist information is a particular area of emphasis with this new app. The top player looks similar to iTunes now, with play and pause buttons, as well as thumbs up and thumbs down buttons. There is also an easy-to-access search box along the top.”

Price: Free (iTunes link)

Epicurious Recipes And Shopping Lists

From our post: “The app, which is similar in features to its sister iPhone app, is essentially a tabbed digital cookbook which allows you to access 27,000 recipes from both Gourmet and Bon Appetit. You can browse recipe collections, search via keyword, and filter your searches by what’s in your fridge, seasonal foods, holidays and more. You can add any recipe to your favorites box to save it as well as email recipes to yourself and others.

“You can also add ingredients from your saved recipes to shopping lists and check off items as you buy them. . . . The nature of the iPad may breathe new life into cooking and recipe apps. While reading recipes on the iPhone and other mobile devices while cooking can be tough; the iPad’s large screen simulates a digital cookbook.”

Price: Free (iTunes link)

NYT’s Editor’s Choice

From our post: “The iPad application offers a selection of news, opinion and feature articles chosen by Times editors that can be downloaded automatically to the tablet device. It delivers two pages of content with the top eight to ten articles in latest news, business, technology, opinion and feature sections with accompanying videos and photo slideshows.”

Price: Free for now, but a paid app is coming (iTunes link)

The Wall Street Journal

A limited version of the paper with all of its free articles. Subscribers get the full paper. The iPad app mimics the look of the paper edition, and also includes market data, videos, and photo slideshows. Subscribers get to download a week’s worth of articles for later reading.

Price: Free, with paid upgrade (iTunes link)

eBay for the iPad

From our post: “eBay is launching an iPad app that aims to engage the user by putting the image at the center of the design, using oversized thumbnails and bleeding image close-ups to the edges of the device. The iPad’s touch screen functionality augments the traditional eBay search by letting users dash through several search pages with a few swipes of the finger. There’s also a price histogram at the bottom of the page that will let you narrow your search to a certain price range— the histogram also includes a volume chart so you can see how the goods are concentrated along the price scale. It seems to be a vast improvement from the website and the iPhone app, in terms of feel and design.”

Price: Free (iTunes link)

Gilt for iPad

From our post: Gilt Groupe’s sales on luxury goods on its properties, including Gilt, Gilt Fuse, and Gilt Man, can all be accessed directly from the app. The app allows you to receive real-time sale alerts, check upcoming sales and receive an instant Gilt membership when you download the app. The app’s shopping cart, that is always visible, allows members to quickly touch and drag desired items into their cart.

Price: Free (iTunes link)

Aurora Feint 3

From our post: “Aurora Feint is getting into the iPad game today with the launch of release of Aurora Feint 3, a free-to-play massively multi-player social gaming app based around virtual goods. Unsurprisingly, the game leverages OpenFeint X, which allows game developers to create Zynga-like free-to-play games including microtransactions and virtual goods. While the game is free to play, its main revenue source will be from microtransactions within its app. With the success of Zynga and PlayFish on Facebook, Aurora Feint wants to help grab a piece of the gaming pie, and wants to help create Farmville -like games on mobile devices.”

Price: Free, with microtransactions (iTunes link)

Red Fish

From our post: “Red Fish is based on a popular French kid’s learning Website called Poisson Rouge. FreshPlanet licensed the game and developed a version specifically for the iPad to start. There is no iPhone version. Red Fish teaches kids between 3 and 7 to count, read, spell, and even compose music all using the iPad’s engaging touchscreen. The app is free and comes with 12 different activities, but to unlock the rest (there are 50 total) will cost $9.99.”

Price: Free, with $9.99 upgrade (iTunes link)

ABC Player

ABC’s free episode player for the iPad streams ad-supported videos from the network’s roster of shows. You can watch full length episodes of select shows from the network including Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, and Modern Family. You can also browse through shows and episodes, pause an episode, watch it later and see your viewing history. The videos stream into a player that takes up the top half of the screen, while letting you browse other episodes along the bottom. (Presumably, there is a full-screen option as well).

Price: Free (iTunes link)

Kayak Flights

Kayak is one of the more useful travel search engines on the web, and its iPad app brings the same functionality to the tablet device. The app lets you compare prices for flights from Priceline, Expedia, Travelocity, Hotwire and airline sites. Plus the app will save your search history, map your searches, and allows you to book directly from the app.

Price: Free (iTunes link)

NPR

NPR’s iPad app is similar to its iPhone app, in that it features links to NPR programs and over 1,000 member-station streams, allowing you to browse news stories and listen to programs at the same time. The NPR website has been modified for the iPad to support HTML5 and includes an audio player at the bottom of the screen so you can listen to media easily.

Price: Free (iTunes link)

Scrabble

Scrabble’s iPad app features a more animated and entertaining vesion of its iPhone app, letting you connect with friends on Facebook and play up to 25 Scrabble games at once. And as you are playing, the app’s Teacher Feature will let you see what the best word choice was from your previous turn.

Price: $9.99 (iTunes link)

Yahoo Entertainment

Yahoo Entertainment is an interactive TV guide that streams in video from different Yahoo properties and partners (News, Sports, etc.)

Price: Free (iTunes link)

Gmail For iPad

From our post: This isn’t an app you get from the App Store — it’s a web app. Just head to Gmail.com from your iPad and you’ll automatically be directed to this optimized version of Gmail. The HTML5-based site, which is automatically activated when you visit Gmail.com from device, features a slick looking two-column view, with a list of messages in the left column and message content on the right.

Alternate Disc-Tractions: Sherlock Holmes Blu-ray, DVD, Digtial Copy review

FROM GAMERTELL -  It may very well be in part to Robert Downey Jr.‘s much-publicized life experiences or perhaps he has become the ideal actor to portray loveable jackasses but, boy, does it work for him here. Very well, indeed.
MORE »

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

China Journalist Group Hit With Cyberattack [Voices]

By Loretta Chao and Aaron Back, Reporters, The Wall Street Journal

An international journalists association in Beijing said Friday that its Web site was the target of cyberattacks, the latest in a string of incidents that have affected foreign journalists in China.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of China said in a statement that it disabled its Web site temporarily to deal with the problem after it experienced persistent attacks over two days involving a flood of traffic that overwhelmed its servers. Such attacks, while making a site inaccessible to regular visitors, are different from those that seek to gain unauthorized access to a Web site’s administration.

The group–which has around 400 members and lists the improvement of working conditions for journalists in China as one of its priorities–doesn’t know the motivation of its attackers or where the denial-of-service attacks originated except that they were routed through servers in both China and the U.S., the statement said.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

N.Y. Auto Show Is Rife With Lithe Energy Savers

Skyfire opens up Alpha signups for their Android browser, gets bombarded, closes Alpha signups

We’ll keep this one brief, because the news is likely as much of a bummer for most as it is good news.

Skyfire, which is still the only mobile browser able to churn through Flash, Silverlight, Quicktime, and just about any other media you throw at it, just opened up the signups for the Alpha test of their upcoming Android client. Hurray! We knew the Android port was coming after they bought up the already-established Android browser, Steel — we just didn’t think they were progressing this quickly.

Here’s where the news goes sour.

If you’re reading this now and you haven’t signed up yet, you’re out of luck. Almost as quickly as the Alpha sign-up page opened, it closed; Skyfire got overwhelmed with inquiries, and hit Alpha capacity within a few hours.

We tend to be on good footing with the folks at Skyfire, so I’ll reach out to see if they’re willing to set a few spots aside for our readers. In the mean time, keep an eye out for future Alpha signups and let us know when things go down, won’t you?

First iPad Line Sitter Also Camped for Original iPhone, Harry Potter

NYC residents planning to line up for the iPad will likely get a whiff of Greg Packer, who has been camping three days to buy Apple’s new tablet.

This isn’t the first time Packer, a retired Long Island highway maintenance worker, has committed to being first in line for an Apple product, either. He also camped out in front of the NYC Apple Store for the original iPhone in 2007.

• The Super Bowl victory rally for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006
• The Super Bowl victory rally of the New York Giants
• The 2005 release of the novel Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Bill Clinton’s first book signing
• Greeting President George W. Bush after his inauguration.

So just why does Packer want an iPad so badly?

“Because it’s like a mini laptop!” Packer said in the video interview posted above. “I mean, you just, you know, click it on, just like you click the iPhone on. And you don’t have to open it up, and you know, go through, you know, go through everything. ”

Packer has taken a few naps at the nearby Penn Station, and nobody has tried to hijack his spot. And we’re sure nobody will want to mess with a guy whose BO is probably powerful enough to incapacitate a few hundred Spartans.

Via Engadget

See Also:

• Fewer Customers Line Up for iPhone 3GS
• International iPhone 3G Launch Kicks Off With Hype, Hysteria
  

QOTD: Letterman's iPad Top 10 [Digital Daily]

QOTD: Letterman’s iPad Top 10 [Digital Daily]

“10. What the hell is it?
9. Will this make Steve Jobs notice me?
8. Really, what the hell is it?
7. Is it kosher for Passover?
6. Should I wear my Spock ears?
5. Wasn’t I saving this money for a hot tub time machine?
4. What? Ricky Martin’s gay?
3. Is it a bad sign no one can explain what the hell it is?
2. Will there be hot tattooed women in the line? (Jesse James only)
1. Can’t Apple invent something that will wait in line for me?”

– Late Show host David Letterman’s top 10 questions to ask before buying an iPad

Jewelry made out of used bullets

[Adi Zaffran via Dezeen]


Source: Boing Boing | 2 Apr 2010 | 11:37 am

Mixed News From Fossil Records

Why Do Men Cheat?

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Google Buys Video Platform Episodic to Give YouTube a Boost [MediaMemo]

Yet another Google acquisition: The search giant has purchased Episodic, an online video platform that it will integrate with YouTube. No terms have been announced, but both companies have confirmed the deal.

Here’s Episodic’s self-description (you can go ahead and imagine how YouTube might use some or all of these capabilities): “The platform lets publishers and marketers host, stream, measure and monetize video content. Content creators, marketers and enterprise customers use Episodic to deliver video to the Web and mobile devices.”

It’s the second M&A deal Google (GOOG) has closed this year to beef up YouTube. In February, the company finally finished its acquisition of video compression outfit On2. Note: A clever reader points out that Google’s plans for On2 go beyond YouTube.

Here’s Episodic’s blog post announcing the deal.

Episodic joins Google!

We are thrilled to announce that Episodic has been acquired by Google. The entire Episodic team is extremely excited about this new partnership and what it means for our customers and the evolution of online video.

The Episodic team will join Google and continue its work to bring a great video experience to the Web, mobile phones and IPTV devices. There will be no interruption in service for existing Episodic customers.

At Episodic, we have always felt that these are the very early days of online video and that there is far more growth to be had. To put it in perspective, our industry is barely 15 years old. We’ve just received our learner’s permit, we still can’t drive without adult supervision and we’re certainly not old enough to buy a drink…legally.

From our earliest discussions with Google, it was clear that the teams shared this belief and together we obviously see huge potential in online video. Our product visions were also complimentary and together we will continue to produce innovative video technology for our customers and their viewers.

Speaking of our fabulous customers, we want to thank you all for your support and your willingness to experiment and sit on the bleeding edge with our team. We can’t wait to show you all what’s coming.

Stay tuned!

Noam Lovinsky and Matias Cudich
Co-Founders of Episodic

Mythical White BlackBerry 9700 caught on RIM’s own site

The rumormill has been suggesting that a white variation of the BlackBerry 9700 was in the works for a few months now – but so far, it’s managed to stay far from the visual reaches of any interested gadget gossiper with a camera. It’s like Big Foot, except without all the crazy people looking for it.

Fortunately for us, it doesn’t seem like RIM’s actually trying to keep it a secret — or if they are, they at least aren’t telling their Thailand branch that. The white 9700 just made a surprise appearance right on RIM’s own Thailand-focused site. There’s no indication just yet that it’s coming to the US – but maybe, just maybe, if you cross your fingers and make fists with your toes, it’ll find its way over.

[Via IntoMobile]

Rug made out of cigarette butts

[via Designboom]


Source: Boing Boing | 2 Apr 2010 | 11:17 am

Turning Noise Into Vision

Turin Shroud Enters 3D Age

Scaling iPad Sales [Digital Daily]

AT&T branded Palm Pre Plus spotted and unboxed

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

The release date and all that good stuff still remains a mystery, but the folks over at the Boy Genius Report have gotten their hands on the AT&T Palm Pre Plus. And like all good tech bloggers would do, they offered up an unboxing gallery. Interesting to see, but at the same time the Pre Plus appears to be the same as what we have seen with AT&T. Of course, the outer packaging is clearly AT&T. Otherwise, it was noted that the AT&T Pre Plus does indeed have the Address Book backup service (as expected) and that its built into Synergy. Looks like a release is coming sooner than later at this point, but until then hit the read link below and check out the rest of the images.

Read [BGR]

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A "Conservative" Estimate: Apple Will Sell 14.4 Million iPads in 2011, 20.1 Million in 2012 [Digital Daily]

Well, Apple has really sucked the air out of the news cycle this week, hasn’t it? There were the reviews. The Sand Hill Road paeans. The content deal breakdowns. And sales estimate after sales estimate after sales estimate–the latest and most aggressive of which landed in my in-box this morning.

Research outfit iSuppli figures iPad shipments in calendar 2010 will top out at 7.1 million. In 2011, the firm projects sales will spike to 14.4 million. And 2012 will see shipments of 20.1 million (see chart below).

Suffice it to say, these scenarios are far more bullish than the ones we’ve heard to date. Which is ironic given that iSuppli describes them as “conservative” and warns that Apple’s (AAPL) decision not to support Flash will have “a limiting effect” on the iPad’s sales potential.

Personally, I don’t see it. I’ve noticed two things since installing ClickToFlash a few months ago.

1. Safari no longer crashes.
2. I don’t miss Flash at all.

China Must Implement Bold Innovations to be Sustainable

Tumor Cells Seek Temporary Shelter from Cancer Drugs

Scientists: Eat Soybeans, Lose Weight

Diverse wheat tapped for antifungal genes

U.S. to Begin Profiling Air Passengers

Self-esteem Declines Sharply Among Older Adults

Stone Age Scandinavians Unable to Digest Milk

Worrying Might Alleviate Depression and Anxiety

Fujitsu Announces Robotic Teddy Bear

Great story on legal battle over gene patents

You might have heard that a Federal court invalidated seven patents on BRCA1 and BRCA2, collectively known as "the breast cancer genes", earlier this week. It is, to quote our Vice President, a big fucking deal.

A couple of years ago, I wrote a story for MSN.com about women who were faced with the decision to be tested for faulty versions of those two genes. If tests showed the women had mutations that were likely to lead to breast cancer, the decisions became even more complicated. Everyone handled it differently, but they were all happy to have the choice. Unfortunately, that choice was very expensive, one expert told me, largely because Myriad Genetics owned patents on the naturally occurring genes and, effectively, had a monopoly on testing. The monopoly also meant women couldn't get a second opinion, so to speak, because there was only one lab doing the tests.

Patents like this are nothing new. But, according to United States District Court Judge Robert W. Sweet ...

the patents were "improperly granted" because they involved a "law of nature." He said that many critics of gene patents considered the idea that isolating a gene made it patentable "a 'lawyer's trick' that circumvents the prohibition on the direct patenting of the DNA in our bodies but which, in practice, reaches the same result."

That's from a fabulous story by New York Times' reporters John Schwartz and Andrew Pollack. If you want to understand what's at stake in this case, why Monday's decision was so unexpected and what's up with the legal history on gene patents, this story is a great jumping-off point.

International Peace Operations Association Appoints EODT Executive To Board of Directors

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eFortresses and Avalution Announce Ground Breaking Alliance

Dell Latitude E6410 and E6510 notebooks now available in the US

Section: Computers, Laptops

Dell has recently added two additional “business” notebooks in their Latitude lineup. The models include the E6410 and the E6510 which can be purchased for either $1,750 or $1,681.

In terms of features and specs—the E6410 will come sporting a 14.1-inch UltraSharp (1440 x 900) display and a 2.66GHz Intel Core i7-620M processor while the E6510 will feature a 15.6-inch HD (1366 x 768) display and a 1.6GHz Intel Core i7-720QM processor.

In terms of shared features, both with come with 4GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and running Windows 7 Professional. Both are currently available for purchase with estimated shipping time frames of April 30, 2010.

Read [Dell] Via [Engadget]

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Deserts Spreading Like 'Cancer'

Promising New Solar Power From Old Technology

Apple to Adobe: Suck it, Flash

FROM APPLETELL - In what is a classically underhanded-yet-still-crushingly-obvious Jobsian maneuver, Apple has deftly altered the playing field in the HTML5 vs. Flash wars.
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Wall Street Journal gets official with iPad pricing, $17.29 per month

Section: Business News, Apple

The Wall Street Journal has officially unveiled details in regards to the iPad. What we have is brief, but should be enough to convince anyone either way. First things first though, the pricing. The iPad edition of the Wall Street Journal will be going to $3.99 a week, which amounts to $17.29 per month. Overall, that is not that bad of a price, except it does see a little on the high side when compared to other Wall Street Journal subscription options including the print edition for $2.29 a week, the online only edition for $1.99 a week or the print and online edition for $2.69 a week. Additionally, iPad users will still be able to grab the free WSJ app that is currently available for the iPhone.

As for those that want to pay up, here is what you will get for your $17.29 a month.

• “Now” issue featuring updated coverage throughout the day, with top article picks from Journal editors
• Market data including quote search and customizable Watchlist
• Videos and slideshows
• Subscriber only content: Business, Markets, Opinion and more
• 7 day archive downloaded for reading anytime, even offline
• Saved sections and articles for later reading
• My Journal for saving and sharing articles across WSJ.com and mobile

It was also noted that current WSJ subscribers will get “full access to the iPad app for a limited time.” Of course, in the end the people most likely to pay for a WSJ app are either already doing so, or in a position to not question the $17.29 monthly subscription cost.

Read [WSJ]

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Analysis: Netflix might make way to DS, iPhone, other portables

FROM GAMERTELL - Netflix may soon be the surviving home videos-to-your-home company and will soon saturate to every video-capable device you own…
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City Concept Commuter Bike for Non-Cyclists

The City Concept bike manages to steer (ahem) away from the usual problems of concept bikes (no hubs, and odd-shaped, weak-looking frames), and towards a solid-looking design. But despite preferring the sensible over the fancy, it still misses a lot of commuter-bike essentials.

The City Concept is a project by Christian Vollmer, of the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt, Germany. Its main purpose is to act as city transport for non-cyclists, ie. those who just want their bike to get them around. It has a pedal-assisting electric motor in the bottom bracket, activated by pedaling like the Sanyo Eneloop bike.

Apparently this, and the clean-lined, integrated components are designed to make the bike suitable form the means streets and to deter vandals. But we know what makes the perfect commuter bike: A comfy beater, a bike that works, but looks terrible. The City Concept, on the other hand, looks expensive, has many non-standard (and therefore expensive to replace) parts and lacks the basic comforts like fenders or a carrying rack (it does have a belt drive instead of a chain, though, for grease-free pants).

It is nice to see people having a crack at making the perfect commuter bike, but it already exists: The internal hub-geared, coaster-braked city bike found all over Europe is cheap, indestructible and often ugly. If you want something faster, kit out an old road bike with some internal gears, riser handlebars and fatter tires, along with a basket and fenders, and you have the ultimate commuter. Better still, you can probably find most of the parts in your basement.

City Cycle concept bike [Bicycle Design]

The Greenspad: One Mousepad to Rule Them All

Greensgorge makes the Greenspad, a stainless-steel mousepad. It is “the last mousepad you’ll ever need.”

Snark Law would dictate that I point out that all mousepads are the last mousepad you’ll ever need because, unless you compute on a glass-topped desk, you don’t need a pad at all. But aesthetic considerations contradict the laws of snark and tell us instead that this is in fact the hottest mousepad ever.

The Greenspad is hand-cut from 1/8-inch hot-rolled steel sheet into a variety of shapes, sanded, burnished and then, depending on your order, engraved. The pads vary in price, with most coming in at $40-$50, and they have a lifetime warranty. Given that all you’ll be doing is sliding a Teflon-footed plastic box around on top, we don’t think you’ll ever be claiming on that warranty.

You can go for boring old rectangles, but our favorite is the Ravenholm (above), which looks like the blade from a circular saw but is in fact “9-inches of zombie-decapitating magic to ride your mouse around on.” Aw hell yeah! Now all I need is an actual mouse to ride on it.

Greenspads [Greensgorge]

Flickr User Gives Away Free Pinhole Cameras

Maker and Flickrer Francesco Capponi wants to give you a camera. The catch is that you must make it yourself. The pinhole camera, seen above, comes in the form of a JPEG image which you can download, cut out and keep.

The camera, called the Dippold Pinhole Camera, is a template for A4 or US letter sized paper. You print it, stick it to a sheet of cardboard and follow the assembly instructions. The black-printed template forms the inside and cuts down on reflected light, and whatever card you use shows up on the outside (we recommend a Captain Crunch cereal box). You’ll need to bring some of your own objects to the project, though. First, a rubber-band to keep it all together and second, two rolls of film.

One of these should be an empty canister, one full. You open up the empty one, thread the film-leader onto the reel and use it as a take-up spool. This has the advantage of keeping both exposed and unexposed film in a safe, light-tight container.

And of course, you’ll need to develop and print the film, but if you are in Europe or any other Easter-celebrating country, you have fully four days of holiday, including today, to try it out. A great weekend project.

dippold pinhole camera 1.0 [Flickr via Make]

See Also:

• DIY Card Pinhole Camera Overpriced — We Find Free Version
• Almost Free Pinhole Digicam Hack
• Forget Apple's New iPods. Make an iPod Touch Box Pinhole Camera …
• How To Make a Scanner Camera
• Turn a Flatbed Scanner Into a Giant Camera

Shazam! Marvel Comics for iPad

The folks at Marvel and DC must have have gone crazy when Steve Jobs first showed the iPad. While books, movies and music have all got their own place in the digital world, the iPad is the first natural home for the e-comic. Marvel is first to the game, with its official iPad application, the Marvel Comics App.

Marvel’s app is based on ComiXology, and uses the same engine as the iPhone (and soon to be iPad) application. This allows you to view a page at a time (the iPad’s screen comes in at around 80% the size of a paper comic-book) or, by flipping into landscape mode, navigate panel by panel. Those familiar with ComiXology will know and love this feature already: it breaks down the page into individual panels and flies between them one by one.

Marvel has customized the application to make it its own, from the cover-flow browsing (just like flipping through a long-box) to the full range of titles. And what a range. Many new issues will be on sale, but back-catalog titles will be in there, too, including the first appearances of Spiderman and the X-Men. A range of free titles are available for a while at launch, but the regular price will be $2 per issue. There is also an iPhone version.

This is the kind of thing that will get me back into comics, especially if DC does the same thing, and if both companies make their entire back catalogs available. It might kill the casual, paper comic-book market, but for the collectors, it’s a boon: those mint first editions can stay in their mylar bags, untouched, forever. $0, available now.

UPDATE: There’s a Jack Kirby section! ZOMG!

Marvel Comics App [iTunes]
Press release (guess the password to read it) [Marvel]

Box.net for iPad Solves File-Transfer Troubles

Online storage and backup services like Dropbox and Box.net are about to get a whole lot more useful with the advent of the iPad. These services mirror directories on your computer, putting a copy in the “cloud”. This is great as a safe, offline backup for your data. It also means that you can access it from anywhere.

One of the big questions about the iPad is how we will get our files on and off. The official way is to drag files into iTunes, where apps capable of handling files will have a special storage area. Another way is email: send a file to yourself and tap on the attachment in mail. A list of apps that can open the file will pop up.

Or you could use something like Box.net’s new iPad app. The free app (Box.net subscription required) connects to your online document repository and lets you browse and preview the files right in the app. The two-pane, Mail-like interface gives a list of files on the left and the preview on the right. Box.net is really aimed at collaboration between teams, and you can edit and comment on each other’s files (with permission). But as the free version of the service gives you a gig of storage and the iPad and iPhone apps are also free, it might be worth signing up just for the easy transfer of files.

We imagine that there will be plenty of solutions like this, and hopefully Box.net will add an “open with” command, too. This would really make the app useful, like Windows Explorer or the Finder.

Box.net for iPad [iTunes via Macworld]