Raised by Radio Shack

Beginning at age 11, I spent a lot of time hanging out at two different Radio Shack stores. There, I discovered Leo Christopherson's Dancing Demon and his later gems Duel-n-Droids and Voyage of the Valkyrie. I used to live for each year's Radio Shack computer catalog.

Eventually, I parlayed $600 in horse race winnings (my Dad picked and placed a good exacta bet for me at Hollywood Park) and about $600 in sales from my entire baseball card collection to upgrade my computer to have a 5 1/4" floppy drive. Yes, $1200 for an internal floppy drive.

At one point, a Radio Shack manager paid me $10/hr (a fortune) to manually re-type the entire contents of private investigator Gavin De Becker's client database. He set up two Model II computers side by side and I manually moved his entire database from (I think) Profile Plus to (I think) DBase. Basically, it was a catalog of all the psychos tracking his clients such as President Reagan (prior to his election) as well as a lot of code names, e.g. I think Reagan's was Pigskin.

Another fellow traveler hanging out at Chuck's store was the child star, Josh Milrad, from Beastmaster. I was impressed with his filmography but couldn't take him seriously because he had a Color Computer. I took assembly language classes at Radio Shack and later earned first place in my age category in 80 Micro's Young Programmer's Contest. Radio Shack and its salespeople launched my computing career.

Raised, in part, by Radio Shack (Thanks, Jeff!)

(Image: Science Fair 160 in ONE Electronic Project Kit, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from mightyohm's photostream)

Top US psychiatric pharmaceuticals, 2009 edition

Top 25 Psychiatric Prescriptions for 2009 (Thanks, Gary!)

US Stock-Index Futures Advance; Palm, Baidu Shares Surge - BusinessWeek

Telegraph.co.uk

US Stock-Index Futures Advance; Palm, Baidu Shares Surge BusinessWeek April 29 (Bloomberg) -- US stock-index futures rose on speculation earnings reports from companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., Motorola Inc. and Viacom Inc. will show the economic recovery is strengthening. Palm Inc. surged 25 percent ... Can HP create its own mobile destiny with WebOS?InfoWorld HP Buys Palm: It's All About TabletsTheStreet.com Palm shares jump in Europe after HP offerReuters Sarasota Herald-Tribune -News Provider -Houston Chronicle all 1,278 news articles »

Asteroids the source of Earth's water, NASA suggests - Register

ABC News

Asteroids the source of Earth's water, NASA suggests Register NASA scientists have provided tantalising evidence that Earth's oceans may have originated in space, supplied by water-packed asteroids which deposited their loads in terminal collisions with our ancient ... Icy asteroid may shed light on where Earth's water came fromCNN Asteroid ice hints at rocky start to life on EarthNature.com Asteroid may contain keys to life on EarthSan Francisco Chronicle Wired News -The Money Times -Scientific American all 300 news articles »

Google Updates Its Image Search for Android 2.1 and iPhone 3.0+ [with video]

Google today announced on its blog that they have upgraded the mobile Image Search on Android 2.1 and iPhone OS 3.0+ devices.

It’s a typically Google update, in that the revamp will provide more speed and less clutter — two things that are always welcome.

There will now be more thumbnails per screen, and a quick swipe to the left or right will have you move between pages of results.

After clicking on a thumbnail, the images will be presented fullscreen on a plain black background (try saying that 6 times quickly), with the text disappearing after a few moments.

All in all, it’s a nice, clean, fast upgrade: a win in my books.

To access it, simply go to www.google.com on your Android 2.1 or iPhone 3.0+ handset, and click on images.

Neither of those handsets in reach right now? No worries: check out the video demo, below.

[via Mashable]

AUO and TCL to Establish a Joint Venture for TFT-LCD Module Plant

Globalization Partners International (GPI) Expands its Global Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Practice to Help Companies Increase Global Website Traffic

AUO and Haier to Establish a Joint Venture for TFT-LCD Module Plant

Don't Prosecute Gizmodo for the iPhone That Walked Into a Bar [Voices]

By Tim Wu, Professor, Columbia Law School

In 1971, the New York Times got a hold of a secret Defense Department report on the Vietnam War and began to publish excerpts. The Nixon administration promptly prosecuted the Times for treason and obtained court orders stopping publication. The leaker, Daniel Ellsberg, was subject to a CIA-aided effort to gain access to his medical files and was also prosecuted for treason, theft, and other crimes.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Apple is Now Outflanked on their iTunes Business Model for Music and Internet Radio [Voices]

By Steve Krampf, CEO, Chestnut Hill Sound

Industry Players can’t put the pieces together. But You Can.

While Apple (AAPL) still enjoys tremendous acceptance in the market, their current revenue and use model for iTunes and the iPod is under pressure on several fronts.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Frothy Times for Web Angel Investing [Voices]

By Liz Gannes, Blogger, GigaOm

The startup Formspring.me was just four months old when it closed a $2.5 million angel round of funding last month from 10 name-brand investors, among them angel funds, individual entrepreneurs — even a venture capital firm. Formspring’s premise is a kind of blogging in reverse; users set up a profile and invite anyone to ask them questions.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

HP-Palm: Everyone's a Loser but Apple [Voices]

By Adam Lashinsky, adam-lashinsky

Not even a year ago Palm (PALM) and its chief investor, Elevation Partners, confidently spun a yarn about the pioneering company’s long-term plan. The smartphone market was nascent. It was going to be massive.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Viral Video: Ouch!–Apple Gets Smacked Hard by Jon Stewart [BoomTown]

Here’s a video that is sure to go rocketing around the Web today: A smackdown by Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” of Apple for its behavior related to the stolen iPhone 4G prototype.

It’s titled: “Appholes.”

That’s gotta hurt.

There’s not much more to be said than Stewart does in a tough attack on the recent door-bashing police raid of a reporter from Gizmodo, which bought the smartphone from the person who allegedly found it in a German beer garden in Silicon Valley.

Stewart began the opening monologue by saying he was a huge fan of Apple (AAPL) and its products, but soon was lacing into the company and blaming it for the messy legal morass.

There are a ton of great lines, although it’s the easiest jibe at iPhone wireless carrier AT&T (T) that is still the funniest: “If you want to break down someone’s door, why don’t you start with AT&T, for God sakes? They make your amazing phone unusable as a phone!”

He ended with a plea to CEO Steve Jobs: “C’mon, Steve, just chill out with all the paranoid corporate genius stuff. Don’t go Howard Hughes on us.”

Then, of course, Stewart asked for o Jobs to send him the new 4G: “It looks totally sick.”

Enough said, here’s the video:

How I Did It: Google’s CEO on the Enduring Lessons of a Quirky IPO [Voices]

By Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google

It happened six years ago, but I still remember every detail of our journey to becoming a public company. It was a uniquely “Googley” experience that to this day says a lot about who we are.

An IPO can change a company. Many in the media seemed certain that if we went public, the Google (GOOG) ethos wouldn’t survive.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Acer to Launch Full Line of Mobile Internet Devices in May (PC World)

Frost & Sullivan Finds Double Digit Subscriber Growth in Southern African Mobile Markets

Nokia to launch X2 phone: report (Reuters)

Ironic MP3 Gadgets - The TAP3 Music Player Brings Back an Old Friend (VIDEO)

Cub Scouts To Offer Merit Pin For Video Gaming

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Top 50 Marketing Strategy Trends in April 2010 - From Easy-to-Use 3D Printers to Shadowy Time-Teller (COUNTDOWN)

Daily Crunch: Endless Thread Edition

The US’s first offshore wind farm approved, to be located off the coast of Cape Cod
Custom stand actually holds your microphones in place
Wind-powered knitting machine produces infinite scarf
This Art Lebedev mug shows your caffeine power level
You need to play Super Mario Crossover right now

Facebook Execs Defend Changes as D.C. Eyes Privacy Regulations [Voices]

By Amy Schatz, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Facebook executives defended recent changes to the social-networking site that have upset some users and privacy advocates, telling reporters Wednesday that Facebook users simply need time to get used to the changes.

“We believe as users get more familiar with these tools and as we continue to educate them … the new features we’ve offered and the tools that users have to engage with them, will be embraced even more,” said Elliot Schrage, Facebook’s vice president of global communications and public policy, on a call with reporters.

The call was set up by Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, who couldn’t talk much during a planned press luncheon in Washington last week after losing her voice. (She also didn’t say much on the press call Wednesday, as Mr. Schrage leaped in to answer most of the questions.)

Read the rest of this post on the original site

VASCO Data Security Announces a Secure Solution for Document Viewing

Are We Infecting Mars With Our Germs?

Fossils in seabed on Earth shape search on Mars - San Francisco Chronicle

India Talkies

Fossils in seabed on Earth shape search on Mars San Francisco Chronicle Microscopic fossils from the dried-up seabed of the Mediterranean have led space scientists to seek similar evidence of ancient life in the red sands of Mars, where the rover named Opportunity is now exploring. The scientists said they are impressed by ... Search for alien life may take giant leap forwardmsnbc.com Common Mars rock can preserve microfossils after allNew Scientist Are We Infecting Mars With Our Germs?Discovery News ABC News -Popular Science -MSN India all 103 news articles »

Boxy Blood-Red Dresses - The Burjuman Ads by Mohanad Shuraideh (GALLERY)

Quest for life beyond Earth 'in NASA future plans'

Wind-Powered Device Knits Infinite Scarf

Brought to You By:

First Solar Powers Through Strong Q1

Top 50 Art and Design Trends in April 2010 - From Toddler Tattoo Artists to Spine-Showing Photograph (COUNTDOWN)

"Plant Her": Indie Triphop Band Potlatch Uses Second Life Machinima for Its Latest Music Video

UnifiedHelp.org Launched to Allow Ordinary People and Corporations to Help Nonprofits In Haiti

UnifiedHelp.org Launched to Allow Ordinary People and Corporations to Help Nonprofits In Haiti

SPECIAL OFFER to Our Facebook Friends

California-Only Electrocars - The CODA Electric Sedan is a Golden State Exclusive (GALLERY)

Apple may charge $1 million to display mobile ads: report - Reuters

TrustedReviews

Apple may charge $1 million to display mobile ads: report Reuters An advertisement for the Apple iPhone is shown at a retail store of an Orange mobile phone network provider in Bordeaux, southwestern France, October 23, 2009. (Reuters) - Apple Inc may charge about $1 million for displaying advertisements on its ... Apple to Charge a Premium to Put Ads in Mobile AppsWall Street Journal Apple Drops Mac Category From Annual Design AwardsPC World Apple Will Host Developers Show Starting June 7eWeek Techtree.com -Computerworld (blog) -Washington Post all 408 news articles »

Sweet Canon AE-1 hack makes this classic film SLR all-digital

Greatest thing of all time? It’s at least in the running. Some very dedicated Canon lover (and DIYer) has put the guts from a modern Canon digital into the a hollowed-out AE-1, one of the wonderful old metal bodies from the early 80s. I learned to shoot on its elder sibling, the FTb, and I still love to just hold it my hands as a reminder of how things were once built. If only I could have both… like this thing.

It seems that pretty much all the dials have been replaced with the digital ones (otherwise you wouldn’t be able to operate the camera), and there’s a d-pad looking rather out of place on the back. I love that the film advance, wind, and ASA knobs are still there. I mean, why take them off? Woah, and take a look at that lens, what the hell?! 10mm F/1.4 pancake? WANT.

The video says it has 9 megapixels, but what model he might have cannibalized to create this thing isn’t coming to mind. Some point and shoot from around two years back, I’d guess… but from the d-pad styling it doesn’t look like a G-series (update: Looks like a Powershot SD870 or something like it).

This thing is cool as hell and I want it so bad. More pictures over at the DP Review forums.

[via Canon Rumors]

Saft Groupe SA Reports Quarterly Financial Information for the First Quarter of 2010

Saft Groupe SA Reports Quarterly Financial Information for the First Quarter of 2010

TABLE-Indonesia's Medco Q1 net profit up 17 pct

Search engine Baidu's Q1 profit jumps 165 percent (AP)

Search engine Baidu's Q1 profit jumps 165 percent

Texas Man Pleads Guilty To Building Botnet-For-Hire

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Android 2.1 comes to G1 and MyTouch via CyanogenMod

Nice. The latest version of Cyanogen’s modded ROM (version 5.0.7) brings Android 2.1 support all the way back to the G1 and MyTouch. Being a G1 owner I can say I’m pretty pumped about this: check out the video above, it seems to work perfectly well. The only thing we’re waiting on is to get the package size down to G1 size — if he can’t trim it, we’ll probably see a holdover release for MyTouch users, though.

Expect a news post over at CyanogenMod when it’s cooked all the way through.

Congress Inadvertantly Passed Law Decreasing CO2 Levels

BRIEF-Moody's assigns first time rating of Ba3 to Vinacomin

Market Chatter -- Corporate finance press digest

Market Chatter -- Corporate finance press digest

Microsoft Says Google's Android May Infringe Patents (Correct) - BusinessWeek

Reuters

Microsoft Says Google's Android May Infringe Patents (Correct) BusinessWeek April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, is demanding patent royalties from mobile-phone makers that use Google Inc.'s Android operating system. HTC Corp., which makes Google's Nexus One ... Patent fights could change Google's Android pitchCNET Is Microsoft Prepping Patent Battle Against Google's Android?PC Magazine HTC Android Deal Could Pay Off for Microsoft, Not GooglePC World eWeek -Wired News -InformationWeek all 519 news articles »

Apple Buys a Start-Up for Its Voice Technology - New York Times

Erictric

Apple Buys a Start-Up for Its Voice Technology New York Times Apple continued its migration into Google's turf on Wednesday with the acquisition of Siri, a mobile application that allows users to perform Web searches by voice command on a cellphone. Siri, a start-up based in San Jose, Calif., ... Apple Buys Siri, a Small Victory in Mobile Web War With GoogleeWeek Apple Buys Siri To Push Voice SearchITProPortal Apple to buy Siri, maker of virtual assistant appSan Jose Mercury News USA Today -Telegraph.co.uk -Financial Times all 149 news articles »

TABLE-India's Biocon Jan-March net triples, beats f'cast

April 29, 1882: Trackless Trolley Starts Rolling

India's Tata Group in $2bn road JV with Actis-report

Palm CEO: “We Are Taking a Huge Step Forward” [Internal Memo] [Digital Daily]

On Wednesday afternoon Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) announced plans to acquire Palm (PALM) for $1.2 billion, throwing a a lifeline to the struggling smartphone maker which recently put itself up for sale. Below, the all-hands memo Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein sent to employees following the announcement.

Team,

Over the past three years, we have made remarkable progress transforming Palm. We returned to our innovative roots and delivered some of the best mobile experiences on the market. Today, we are taking a huge step forward in accelerating that strategy with the announcement of a merger with HP.

I am very excited about the potential of this merger (and not only because I started my career there). HP recognizes the value of our platform, our IP and our people, and that is all a result of your hard work. In a very short period of time, we’ve amassed a world-class team, brought webOS to market with widespread acclaim, launched four new devices and launched in eight countries. In short, we have delivered on our original plan.

HP is a world-class company which brings the extensive resources necessary to scale the Palm webOS platform. Together, Palm and HP share a history of innovation and technology leadership, and I look forward to working with them to accelerate the development and adoption of Palm webOS.

There are many decisions to be made and questions to be answered in the coming months as we turn to completing a successful integration. During this process, we must remain laser focused on our priorities – increasing sell through and customer satisfaction, and continuing to work on our innovative product roadmap.

Thanks again for all your hard work, and go Palm and HP!!

Jon

Chavez takes to Twitter to fight critics online (AP)

AP - President Hugo Chavez has joined the ranks of those who say, "If you can't beat 'em, tweet 'em."

Of Flattened Flora and Expulsion Cavities: The crop circle controversy continues

Greenpeace's GM Crop Circle from Circlemakers.org

In an earlier post I reviewed some possible explanations for the crop circle phenomenon, and I noted the various theories left several issues unanswered: Who are the hoaxers and what is their exact role in the charade? If a technology is involved, how does it work to actually make the designs? Could it be directed from space or simply from an aerial platform? And why would anyone develop such a beam in the first place? What seemed to me like simple questions raised a surprisingly emotional and occasionally venomous storm of comments on this blog and on other, more specialized, lists. Since we have obviously hit a nerve it may be interesting to drill a bit further.

While New Age believers and skeptics feel passionate about the issue, the educated public and the scientific and technical community have firmly pushed it out of their mind, convinced that all the circles were hoaxes. Even the people who have studied the circles or commented on them may argue for or against their paranormal nature, the possible role of Aliens or the idea that the designs hide an experiment in military electronics, but there is no disagreement about the fact that most of the designs have been made by hoaxers.

Among these fakers are two men, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley whose "revelations" were picked up by the international press with great eagerness (front-page treatment in major newspapers, interviews on CNN and BBC, etc.) when they stated they had fooled believers in saucer landings since 1978 with their technique for flattening crops with a wooden board and a piece of string.

As researcher Patrick Gross writes, "These early crop circles were round, because flying saucers were circular, as "everybody knows", in people's imagination if not in reality." His analysis of the phenomenon can be found on this page, where he articulates the proposition that ALL circles are the result of hoaxers, some of whom are actually artists. Mr. Gross provides links to many other useful references.

I once met several of these artists at a conference in Switzerland, where they were presenting their techniques and the resulting data. When I asked them, "How dare you fool people this way?" they answered that art in general was about fooling people to create a sense of awe, beauty or simply a brief, healthy disconnect with ordinary reality. One of them pointed out that "When you look at the Mona Lisa you think you look at a woman, but you have been fooled: there is no woman there; someone just applied some paint to a rectangular piece of canvas. Well, we do the same thing, except that our canvas happens to be a cornfield."

When you put it that way it is perfectly all right for teams of artists to run through the fields at night and produce things like the spider, the bicycle or more elaborate geometric designs. People like Jim Schnabel have participated in the game and there are even international competitions in circle making, with recognition for the most complex productions. No wonder people are convinced that all the circles are made for fun by a team of humans crushing the corn for kicks when the subject comes up in discussions among scientists or businessmen today.
The difficult question is, "does this explain ALL the circles, or only the relatively simple ones?" The artists I spoke to in Switzerland confessed that some of the extraordinary designs were beyond their ability to produce them. While the initial "weather phenomenon" theory of Terence Meaden and others has not survived, there are still people who firmly believe the complex designs are made by Aliens and some who state they are a warning from Gaia. Among the technical community there are also those who pursue the idea first expressed by Dr. Jean-Pierre Petit, Jean-Jacques Velasco and others, looking to military electronics as the key to the mystery.

My own feeling about the New Age interpretations is frankly negative. Why assume that Aliens are at work here, when the designs show universally human symbols? Even the Mandelbrot set, one of the most perfect displays, is a representation of a human concept. There is nothing new or scientifically profound in any of this. We are not being taught anything. Similarly, the Gaia hypothesis doesn't work for me. When the Earth teaches us something it is usually brutal and very explicit, like the volcano in Iceland, which leaves little to the imagination.

Which brings us back to the beam weapon hypothesis. Until recently it seemed rather far-fetched, which is why neither Velasco's presentations nor my early articles made any impact. Now that disclosures about actual beam weapons are available, including devices acting from the sky and beams capable of harming humans and stopping engines, we have to revisit the issue and look a bit more seriously at the hard facts left unexplained by the hoax explanation.

The first piece of interesting data has to do with systematic differences between those circles where plants are broken by mechanical action and those where some form of energy has exploded the nodes in the stalks. A detailed study of so-called "expulsion cavities" in corn with exploded nodes is found in the report where the authors note: "During the 1990s multiple specific and distinctive plant abnormalities were repeatedly documented in several hundred different crop formations which had occurred in various European countries as well as in the States and Canada. Extensive laboratory examination of thousands of these crop circle plants and their controls by American biophysicist W. C. Levengood established the presence of consistent changes in the circle plants which were not present in the control plants (plants taken at varying distances outside the crop formations, but in the same fields) -- changes which control studies revealed were not caused by simple mechanical flattening of the plants (with planks, boards, cement rollers or human feet)."

For detailed discussion of earlier plant (and subsequently soil) anomalies documented between 1990-2002, see here and here:
That particular line of analysis gets increasingly complex and the controversy is likely to continue for a long time, but other data tends to support the idea that military research is involved.

I have mentioned before that I interviewed a reliable witness who described to me a rather extraordinary device hovering above the fields in an area where circles were commonly found. This man is a professor of physics who is also an avid glider pilot. On that particular occasion he was happily taking advantage of some thermals above the English countryside, admiring the landscape, when he was surprised to see his aircraft reflected in something like a perfect mirror hanging vertically in mid-air. Being of a logical turn of mind he decided to verify the image was not a hallucination, and then he tried to determine the shape of the object by making several turns around it. The thing was cylindrical and covered with a perfectly reflective surface.

While some of my theoretical physics friends continue to argue that a beam capable of causing crop circles could be activated from space, it seems much more likely to me that a low-observable, optically stealthy, hovering platform would be more practical in situations like a battlefield or an urban guerilla flashpoint. Admittedly we are dealing with hypotheticals here, but this would explain the proximity of the circles to classified facilities: the controllers of the device would want to minimize chances that it would wander off and perhaps crash, resulting in premature exposure.

A third argument needs to be mentioned, in answer to the obvious question, "Why would anyone want to develop a beam weapon, and why would it have to come from above?" Part of the answer has already been given in the two disclosures I have quoted before from New Scientist. However the requirements for extremely sophisticated beams go well beyond the applications mentioned in the magazine. In the complex, dangerous range of threats we face today one may need to destroy targets with devices that can create very concentrated areas of extremely high temperature without blowing up whatever building or facility is targeted. Bombing a biological warfare lab, for example, is not a good idea if the result is to disperse a dangerous microbial agent. One could also think of beams that would be used to control the trajectory of a ball of plasma (possibly created by a small atomic explosion) targeted at objects in the atmosphere, in space or on the ground. All such applications would require a long period of development and testing, and would probably be designed as multi-country experiments.

Indeed, during the eighties and nineties there were discreet exchanges of expertise among government agencies concerned with the UFO phenomenon in the U.S., France and Great Britain (and perhaps others). One of the French experts detached to work on this topic with American Intelligence is said to be visible on one of the crop circle videos, mingling among New Age enthusiasts and civilian researchers. Interestingly, much of the classified research conducted in these three countries (while any official interest in UFOs was denied in public statements) was done by microwave experts, including medical researchers specializing in the effect of radiation on living tissue.

From the point of view of rational analysis the weight of evidence is still on the side of the skeptics who assure us that all crop circles are made by artists and lovable, jolly old men like Doug and Dave. But there are facts that don't quite fit, and the alternatives are worth considering. They lead into very disturbing areas, not all of which have to do with physics. In a concluding (fourth) post, I plan to come back to the initial issue raised by the crop circle problem, which is that of the construction and manipulation of belief systems.

Flintstones hawking cigarettes

Japanese emoticon stamp is too cute for \(^o^)/

This is one of those products that I look at and cringe. I do realize though, that some people just can’t live without this type of thing. If that describes you, you can get an emoticon stamp to “share your emotion to your lover in real world with a secret”. Apparently this is a “Kaoiro” which means facial expression, and you can buy one in Japan or order one online for 2,700yen. Each one is hand made, and has seven belts which enable you to make over 2000 different combinations.

[via Today and Tomorrow, and thanks to Ashley for the tip]

Adam Ant comeback

After a troubled and turbulent decade, one of the most iconic faces on the planet during the post-punk era is returning to active service, and in a most unpredictable and chaotic style. Over the last few weeks, Adam Ant has been turning up unannounced at assorted club nights for quick guerrilla gigs - a dandy highwayman in the underworld - and joining other artists onstage for surprise duets

Quantitative and Qualitative Demand for Food and Beverages Fuels Growth in the Southeast Asia and Australia and New Zealand Automation and Software Solutions Market, Finds Frost & Sullivan

VanceInfo Technologies Inc. to Announce First Quarter 2010 Financial Results on May 13, 2010

The US Continues Its Reign As King of Spam

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

German site lets you pre-order unreleased HP Mini 210

Oops! Looks like someone spilled the news about HP’s new Mini 210 netbook. The new netbook (if the site is to be believed) will be running the new Intel N455 chipset, the successor to the N450. The N455 runs at 1.55GHz, and is expected to support the newer DDR3 RAM.

The Mini 210 is listed at $464, and comes with Windows 7 Starter, a 250GB hard drive, and 1GB of RAM. The bad news is, there’s not pictures, and no delivery date listed. Oh well, at least we found something out about the new machine. You can pre-order from Amazon.de, but I have no idea if they’ll ship to the US.

[via ComputerWorld]

Ancestry.com Previews Mac Version of Family Tree Maker Software

Lego Robot Solves Bigger and Harder Rubik's Cubes

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

MSI announces new GE600 gaming notebook

MSI just announced their latest, the GE600 gaming notebook, is now available for purchase. Built around an Intel Core i5 processor and the ATI Radeon HD5730 GPU, the GE600 is billed at MSI’s lightest gaming notebook yet at 5.9 lbs, and this latest addition to their stable is also DirectX11 capable.

The GE600 comes standard with Windows 7, 4GB of RAM, and a 320GB SATA drive. The new machine is currently for sale at Newegg, and you’ll be able to pick it up for $899, today.

From the press release:

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA – April 28, 2010 – MSI Computer Corp., a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, is proud to announce the availability of the stylish new GE600 gaming notebook. Weighing in at just 5.9 lbs, the GE600 is MSI’s lightest 16-inch gaming notebook to date, but still packs quite a punch with Intel’s powerful new Core i5 processor and ATI Radeon 5730 graphics card — all for under $900.

The GE600’s new ATI Radeon HD5730 GPU supports DirectX 11 graphics, making the notebook compatible with the rapidly approaching next generation of games and 3D graphics. Its new Core i5 processor improves battery life by as much a 15% and Intel’s new Turbo Boost technology can increase overall performance by 30%.

“The new GE600 is a powerful mobile gaming station that delivers everything a gamer needs to emerge from battle victorious in a lightweight affordable package,” said Andy Tung, Vice President of Sales, MSI North America.

The notebook’s handsome new design features a durable scratch resistant chassis, glossy black exterior and a sand accented interior with illuminated touch sensitive hotkeys. The GE600’s raised chiclet keyboard and wide touchpad increase both accuracy and comfort while typing or gaming.

The newest addition to the G-Series family of gaming notebooks also ships with a 16-inch LCD screen with 1366×768 resolution, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 320GB hard drive 7200rpm, a 6-cell battery, Bluetooth connectivity and Microsoft’s Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.

Activision in legal battle with game developers (AFP)

AFP - Activision has a fight on its hands as developers behind "Modern Warfare" accuse the videogame publisher of holding them "hostage" to complete a new installment of the blockbuster franchise.

Windows 7’s Worst Features (PC World)

A Brief Rundown of What You Need in a Laptop [Personal Technology]

As consumers open their wallets again to buy new computers this spring, they’ll face a wide variety of choices and price points, ranging from bargain PCs for as little as $299 to heavily equipped machines for thousands of dollars. This season, there aren’t any big, new mainstream developments in the market, such as when tiny netbooks were introduced a couple of years ago. But there are some new processors and new graphics innovations.

To help guide you through these choices, here’s my annual spring computer buyers’ guide, a quick cheat sheet that tries to clarify some of the issues to make shopping easier.

I’ve focused on laptops, which now dominate the market, but most of this advice also applies to desktops. I haven’t included the new generation of tablets, an emerging category that may eventually replace laptops for some users, but have instead focused on the traditional computers most consumers still seek.

As always, these tips are for average users doing the most common tasks. This advice doesn’t apply to businesses or to hard-core gamers or serious media producers.

Cost: Last fall, I noted that manufacturers and retailers were striving to move buyers away from cheap netbooks to a somewhat pricier type of Windows laptop, variously called “thin and light” or “ultrathin.” These typically cost $500 to $800, and have bigger screens and keyboards and better graphics. But you can still pay less. Netbooks, which usually run between $300 and $500, are hanging in and have improved, with higher screen resolutions and punchier graphics. A desktop tower can be had for $400 or less, and some stores carry a 15″ Acer laptop for just $299. Some dealers, including the Micro Center chain, even regularly knock $200 off the $999 price of Apple’s entry-level MacBook laptop, despite the rarity of discounts for Apple products.

Processors: The big news on this front is Intel’s new Core series of chips, called i3, i5 and i7, which is available in both PCs and Macs. Intel says all three are faster and more efficient than their predecessors. But the i5 and i7 also feature something called Turbo Boost, which hikes the speed when it senses it’s needed, and turns off parts of the chip to save power during less-intensive tasks. Having said that, there’s also nothing wrong with buying a PC that uses chips from rival Advanced Micro Devices, which can often cost less, and bargain shoppers can still do fine with older chips, like Intel’s Core 2 Duo. Netbook buyers with limited needs should look for Intel’s wimpier Atom processor.

Graphics: For the most common tasks—even video playback—integrated graphics, which lack their own dedicated memory, are adequate. So-called discrete graphics, which are almost like having a second processor, are more potent, especially for games. Some programs use them to carry out nongraphical tasks, which can improve speed and efficiency. But discrete processors suck up more battery life.

Now, a few Windows PCs are featuring a technology from graphics-chip maker Nvidia called Optimus that switches between the two types of graphics to save power. Apple has built a similar system into its latest 15″ and 17″ MacBook Pro laptops.

Windows vs. Mac: Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system is quite competitive with Apple’s Snow Leopard operating system. And Windows PCs can be had for much less and in more varieties than Apple’s lineup, the heart of which starts at $1,199. But Macs have their own advantages. Apple’s hardware is handsome and reliable, and, in my tests, Macs usually boot faster than Windows machines.

Plus, Apple often scores highest on surveys of customer support, and Macs aren’t affected by the vast majority of malicious software, which is overwhelmingly designed to run on Windows. Also, I consider Apple’s built-in software excellent. By contrast, Microsoft has removed things like a photo organizer and basic email program from Windows 7. Some PC makers do include them, but in many cases, you’ll have to download these from Microsoft or other companies.

Memory: Unless you’re buying a bargain model, you should look for 4 gigabytes of memory, or RAM, on a new computer, and never settle for less than 2 gigabytes.

Hard disks: A 320-gigabyte hard disk should be the minimum on most PCs, though 250 gigabytes will do if price is crucial. On a netbook, look for at least a 160-gigabyte disk. Solid-state disks are faster and use less battery power but cost much more.

64-bit: Many models now use a 64-bit architecture, which allows properly written software to use more memory and run faster. If possible, buy 64 bit, which will become more and more important.

Touch: Windows 7 allows you to control the computer by touching the screen with your fingers, and some PC makers add their own touch-screen features. Make sure any touch-enabled PC you consider has a full multi-touch screen that supports all the Windows 7 gestures. Apple uses the laptop touch pad, or its new desktop mouse, as the multi-touch, finger-gesture, mechanism, instead of the screen.

As always, don’t buy more machine than you need.

Find Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

FAA Setting Up Commercial Spaceflight Center

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Wind-powered knitting machine produces infinite scarf

Another headline for the ages. This… I don’t know what it is exactly, but it creates a tube scarf as long as you’ve got wind and yarn. It’ll keep on going as long as both hold out, producing (potentially) a scarf long enough to keep the moon warm. The creator noticed that in cul de sacs, the wind tended to blow only in one direction, and decided to make a machine that would take advantage of that.

But instead of making something that, say, charged batteries or spun a fan inside, it was decided he would make it knit a scarf autonomously. I guess when inspiration strikes, you just have to go with it.

Well, however weird it is, it’s really freaking cool. Get the rest of the story here and watch a video of the machine in action here.

[via knitgrrl, Craft, and Make]

Nate Silver on the British election

Nazi pedophile, torturer, cult leader in Chile dies

Nazi pedophile, torturer, and cult leader Paul Schäfer died in a prison hospital in Chile last week. The German-born Evangelical Christian raped children, founded and ruled over a Jonestown-like agricultural commune, and oversaw a torture and assassination outsourcing service for the bloody regime of Augusto Pinochet. One of the men Schäfer is suspected to have "disappeared" on behalf of Pinochet was an American citizen, Boris Weisfeiler, in 1985.

Here's a New York Times obit, Washington Post here, a BBC article when Schäfer was arrested in 2005.

By far the most comprehensive article I found about the history of "Colonia Dignidad" (aka "Villa Baviera," or "Bavarian Village,") and all of the evil committed there: The Torture Colony, by Bruce Falconer in The American Scholar. A fascinating and disturbing read; great journalism on a horrible subject.

Few outsiders ever gained access to the Colonia while its reclusive leader remained in power. An old Chilean newsreel, however, filmed at Schaefer's invitation in 1981, provides a rare picture of life inside the community, a utopia in full and happy bloom. The footage shows a bucolic paradise of sunshine and verdant fields set among clean, fast-flowing rivers and snowy peaks. Its German inhabitants improve the land and work their trades. A carpenter assembles a new chair for the Colonia's school. A woman in a white apron bakes German-style torts and pastries in the kitchen. Teenaged boys clear a new field for planting. Children laugh and splash in a lake. Schaefer himself, wearing a white suit and brown aviator sunglasses, takes the camera crew on a tour. Standing next to the Colonia's flour mill, he extols the quality of German machinery. "We bought this mill in Europe," he says in broken Spanish. "It is 60 years old, but we have not had to do any repairs on it."

And nearby that mill, the mass graves and torture cellars. The easy joke to make here is that with a C.V. like his, no-one sheds tears when you die—but the further loss for victims is that he was not tried for all the crimes for he was suspected of having committed. Chile's president Sebastián Piñera said Saturday, "There is another justice that never ends, which is divine justice."

Random fact: as a student, Schäfer gouged out his own right eye while using a table fork to tie an uncooperative shoelace.

(PHOTO: The entrance of "Colonia Dignidad" in Chile, a Creative Commons-licensed photo from Flickr user Robert Brands.)


Source: Boing Boing | 28 Apr 2010 | 6:11 pm

Gallery: Battle Bots Reign Triumphant at Robogames

For robots, Robogames is the ultimate fighting competition. It’s where brain turns into brawn, electronics trump athletic prowess and the arena is heavy not with sweat, but with the smell of solder and burnt metal.

At this year’s games, held in the sleepy Silicon Valley town of San Mateo, California, some 500 robots from 17 countries competed, while at least 5,000 spectators witnessed the mechanized mayhem.

“It’s just like the Olympics, but for robots,” says David Calkins, founder and one of the organizers of Robogames.

At Robogames, robots compete for medals across categories such as combat, soccer, hockey, sumo and kung fu. Scores are tallied and medals awarded. But fun and games aside, Robogames also helps advance technology breakthroughs, says Calkins.

“There’s nothing that motivates a person more than to lose,” he says. “If you are an athlete you train harder but if you are an engineer you spend more time in the garage and rewrite the code. Without that level of competition, it is difficult to stay motivated.”

There’s more at stake than just medals: Reputations can be made within the metal-Plexiglas robot combat arena. And it’s not just for geek cred: Last year, winning teams from Indonesia and Mexico found themselves invited to meet with the presidents of their respective countries.

Want to see what it takes to make a competitive robot? Watch our video, below, or click here: What’s Inside a Winning Battle Bot.

Then, read on for some highlights from this year’s games.

Photo courtesy Willow Garage

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Gallery: Battle Bots Reign Triumphant at Robogames

Gallery: Battle Bots Reign Triumphant at Robogames

Vectron Wave UFO is a tiny copter-drone for your kids

It ain’t that new, but this thing looks like fun. They call it “motion-controlled,” but unlike the (far more expensive) Parrot AR Drone, it doesn’t use a remote motion sensor. No, you control the Vectron by using your hand to change the way its thrust goes. The closer your hand to the bottom, the more resistance the rotors get, and it rises up to equalize the… well, just watch the video.

I imagine it runs through its six AA batteries pretty quickly, but there’s a lot of fun to be had before that happens. Although Dave just told me that he bought one and it’s not as fun as it looks. I say he is the one that is not fun. Anyone else have one of these?

Well, for $30 it’s not much of an investment. If nothing else you can DIY a little camera onto there and make it your very own remote camera.

[video courtesy of Gearlog]

Review: Harman/Kardon HKTS 20BQ 5.1 speaker system

Short version: Harman/Kardon makes great speakers, and this set is no exception. If you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive home-theater speaker system, you can definitely do much worse then the HKTS 20BQ. This is a complete 5.1 system in a box, and includes everything you need to get your system rocking. The speakers have great response throughout the range, and the 8 inch powered subwoofer will definitely shake things up.

Features:

• Complete 5.1 home-theater speaker system
• Eight-inch, 200-watt, powered subwoofer
• Four identical, video-shielded, two-way satellite speakers
• Voice-matched, video-shielded, two-way dual-driver center speaker
• Includes all cables, satellite table stands and wall brackets for satellites and center
• MSRP: $699

Pros:

• Small speakers give off big sound
• All 5 speakers are voice matched and shielded
• Easy to set up and connect wires

Cons:

• Mounting brackets are a bit fiddly
• Includes wall mounting brackets, but not the floor stands
• Wires too short for some applications

Product page

Full Review: I want to start this out by saying that I’m not an audiophile. I don’t sit and obsess over frequency range, and until recently I didn’t even have a receiver that supported DTS. I do however love to watch movies and play games, and when I do I like to be able to hear everything that’s going on the way the audio engineer intended me to. I feel that the H/K’s definitely reproduce that sound quality. Of course, to test, I couldn’t just be scientific about it, the first thing I did was plug in the Blu-ray version of The Dark Knight, and ran it through the “Trip to County” scene. Absolutely stunning. The tonal range is perfect, and the balance between the four satellite and one center speaker is perfect. There are no obvious levels missing, and the subwoofer provided just the right amount of subtle bass tones.

For the not so subtle sound, I dropped Battlefield: Bad Company 2 into my Xbox 360. Again, the sound was what I expected from a company like Harmon/Kardon. Explosions were suitably window shaking, and the high tones from when a grenade explodes near your head are faithfully reproduced. The sound experience while gaming was excellent as well.

Music reproduction was good as well. There was no distortion at either end of the range, and the speakers performed well playing either Carmina Burana or Jump Around by House of Pain. All in all, no matter what the volume level, the sound reproduction was perfect. I’d say the only point that was really disappointing about the speakers was the wall mounts. Ideally, you want to point the rear channels at your optimum viewing location, and because of the way the speaker wire feeds into the bracket, that’s very difficult. It can be done, but expect to spend a little time thinking about how to mount the brackets.

Conclusion: Is the HKTS 20BQ worth the money? Well, I’m notoriously cheap, and I’m seriously considering buying a set of these for my house. The sound quality is amazing, and the speakers work well no matter if you are listening to music, playing games, or listening to your favorite explosion laden movie. MSRP is $799, but a saavy shopper can find them for $699 online.

HP buying Palm for 1.2 billion dollars (AFP)

AFP - US computer giant Hewlett-Packard, in a bid to become a player in the fast-growing smartphone market, said Wednesday it was buying struggling US mobile phone maker Palm for 1.2 billion dollars.

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Mississippi school purges top student from yearbook for being lesbian

"They didn't even put her name in it," Sturgis' mother Veronica Rodriguez said. "I was so furious when she told me about it. Ceara started crying and I told her to suck it up. Is that not pathetic for them to do that? Yet again, they have crapped on her and made her feel alienated."

Sturgis and her mother commissioned the Mississippi ACLU to protest officials' October 2009 decision not to allow Sturgis' photo to appear in the senior yearbook because she chose to wear a tuxedo instead of a dress.

The ACLU wrote an October letter demanding officials use Sturgis' submitted photo in the yearbook, but Copiah County School District officials refused. Rodriguez said she expected the yearbook to at least contain a reference to her daughter on the senior page. What she discovered on Friday, when the yearbook came in, was that the school had refused to acknowledge her entirely.

Palm CEO Jon "Ruby" Rubinstein Talks About the HP Deal–He's Staying, Will Always Love the Pre Mirror and Still Will Not Be Touching Any iPhones [BoomTown]

After an All Things Digital report last week on Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) being the most likely suitor for Palm (PALM)–despite multiple reports of intense interest from HTC and Lenovo from China–CEO Jon Rubinstein jokingly asked how we knew about the deal.

We didn’t! It was a complete guess, Ruby!

Actually it was a very informed one by Digital Daily’s John Paczkowski, but his cogent analysis of the synergies between Palm and HP is pretty much what Rubinstein said drove the action.

“We’ve got great intellectual property with webOS and a great team assembled,” he said, in an interview with BoomTown this afternoon after the $1.2 billion acquisition was announced. “HP is the largest tech company in the world and they are now going to invest in driving it to scale, which we could not do at Palm.”

Getting its innovative webOS mobile operating system software to scale–or, more precisely not being able to at its size–was one of the major issues that Rubinstein pointed to in doing the deal (and, it goes without saying, Palm’s struggles).

“This industry became much more competitive very quickly than we had hoped or could have predicted,” he said, referring to the giant investments in the space by Google (GOOG) with Android, Apple (AAPL) with the iPhone and even Microsoft (MSFT) with its new Windows Phone 7. “We did predict the right marketplace and thought the smartphone market was going to explode, so it was the right direction.”

Now it will be up to HP to drive Web OS, although Rubinstein said he expects most of the team at Palm–including himself–to move over intact.

Rubinstein, who once worked at HP, said more details over who the rivals to nab Palm were will be revealed when regulatory documents are released, although he declined to comment specifically now. Now, it is up to him and HP to sell it to Wall Street.

He said he expected the deal “should not attract significant” government scrutiny, given the high amount of competition in the space.

Which he predicted would be heightened now that HP is backing Palm as its new owner, rather than struggling on its own, as it has been.

“Certainly from a tech point of view, the ability to compete is now profound,” he said. “I think this is a logical and natural match and the synergies are obvious.”

As to missteps, such as its creepy lady advertising and questionable marketing, Rubinstein said no CEO likes to focus on those.

Which is why when I asked him about the silly exchange I had with Silicon Valley VC and Palm backer Roger McNamee about last year’s D: All Things Digital conference about the mirror on the back of the Palm Pre that the “ladies” would love, he joked that—even though McNamee was now out–the overly loquacious Elevation Partners investor would be brought back from time to time to liven things up.

As to Rubinstein’s own controversial quote to me in an onstage interview at a D event at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, where the former Apple exec said he had never used an iPhone, he quipped: “I still haven’t touched one.”

In truth, Palm never really did.

Here is that video, as well as highlights of the appearance by Rubinstein and McNamee at last year’s D7:

Video clip: Jon Rubinstein says he’s never used an iPhone.

Video clip: Mirror, mirror, on the smartphone…

Gordon Brown apologizes to bigoted woman

Custom stand actually holds your microphones in place

Any band can buy a regular mic stand. But getting one custom molded as cool as this? That’s a whole new level of awesome some seriously deep pockets.

This stand is a construction of stainless steel with a brass quick-release from Artist Chris Conte. Commissioned by Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace, the build sounds quite involved.

The band wanted a left arm and the original was a right. I suggested we take molds and make casts from the original. I first needed to sacrifice the original arm and reverse-engineer it into a left arm. I also needed to construct it in such a way where it could be broken down into sub-assemblies that were practical for mold-making and casting. Eleven separate silicone molds were taken from the master to create the wax models needed for the casting process.

As cool as they are, I don’t really see how these stands fit into the Three Days Grace aesthetic. At least ZZ Top and their truck exhaust pipe stands make more sense. But my hat goes off to Conte for a very good looking build. Now he just needs to integrate a shock mount into the wrist somehow, and I’ll exclusively use these stands in my studio. When I have a studio.

via [Wired]

Power-Sipping Netbook Is a Traveler's BFF

Power-Sipping Netbook Is a Traveler's BFF

What's Inside a Winning Battle Bot

What's Inside a Winning Battle Bot

Vanity Fair Columnist Takes App Rejection Personally

Let’s welcome Palm to the land of the living dead

I’ve been bearish on Palm as a standalone platform since they launched last May and today the sadness-tinged chickens have come home to roost: Palm is now part of HP and, like the iPaq before it, the Pre and Pixi will slowly be subsumed into the company’s line-up.

In fact, I couldn’t be happier for Palm. A recent perusal of HP’s line-up including their new Envy line of laptops show that, unlike Dell, they can produce a beautiful and powerful product at a nice price. Palm, in short, needed out of the hardware business and this gave them that chance.

It’s hard to run a standalone hardware company these days. Name one product besides TiVo that has mass appeal and adoption and is produced by a company whose sole purpose is the production of that product. The boutique model of hardware manufacturing is dead and the big guys – the Dells, the Apples, the HPs – are the only ones with the scale and energy to propel products into the market. In a world where Sony can barely make a sale anymore, how many Palms did they think they’d move?

Fanboys will rage and claim their beloved WebOS will live on – and maybe it will in HP’s portable line – but one course of action I could see is the WebOS UI being HP’s equivalent of HTC’s Sense but with a built-in kernel and underlying OS.

Don’t cry for Palm. They had a good run and they caught the world’s attention. This HP acquisition will change Palm irretrievably and probably for the good.

FrameLoader syncs digital picture frames with your Mac (Macworld.com)

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Gizmodo's iPhone Saga: Fact vs. Speculation - PC World

Sydney Morning Herald

Gizmodo's iPhone Saga: Fact vs. Speculation PC World The high drama of Gizmodo and the iPhone prototype it acquired could be heading to the courtroom, as prosecutors try to determine who should face charges. Police raided editor Jason Chen's home last Friday and confiscated his computers and related ... Gizmodo considers suing police after iPhone raidCNET Apple comes down hard on iPhone leakersNetworkWorld.com Gizmodo may attempt to sue police over iPhone prototype raidApple Insider ITProPortal -San Jose Mercury News -ABC News all 1,393 news articles »

Rough Justice For Terry Childs

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Boy Scouts now offer video game merit awards - msnbc.com

Christian Science Monitor (blog)

Boy Scouts now offer video game merit awards msnbc.com By Helen AS Popkin “Be prepared,” most everyone knows, is the motto of the Boy Scouts, the organization for young lads founded around 1907 in England by General Robert Baden-Powell. “Be prepared for what?” someone once asked Baden-Powell, ... Boy Scouts to get video game awardsCNET Cub Scouts Add Video-Game AwardsPC Magazine Boy Scouts Offer New Merit Pin -- for Video GamingFOXNews The Tech Herald -DVICE -Chicago Daily Herald all 79 news articles »

Android App Video Review: Progressive Insurance (Appolicious)

T-Mobile cutting 5 GB data limit, almost

Section: Communications, Cellular Providers

By now we’re all used to the standard 5 GB data cap on most cell carriers.  After 5 GB of data is used, the carrier will start to charge you extra, making that unlimited data you signed up for seem for naught.  Those data caps don’t seem to be going anywhere, though T-Mobile is changing it’s approach to how to handle those who go over the limit.

Rather than charge those who go over the 5 GB a month data cap, T-Mobile will begin just slowing down those users.  You can still get data after the 5 GB with no extra charge, but the speed will be reduced by an unclear amount.  For those without the “unlimited” data option, T-Mobile has decided to decrease the price per MB over the 250 MB limit.  Now, rather than $0.20 per extra MB users will be charged $0.10.

Being the number four carrier in the US, T-Mobile can afford to take such measures, which is nice for it’s users.  Slower speeds are always better than an extra charge on a cell phone bill.  However, because it is number four, the others likely won’t follow T-Mobile’s nicer data usage plan. They really don’t need to, however, since most if not all of the interesting upcoming Android phones (HTC Incredible, EVO 4G, Dell Thunder) are either on or are coming to the other carriers.  T-Mobile could use something to attract those who might still want a Nexus One, or those who are considering abandoning the once owner of the American Android market for other carriers with more interesting phones.

Read [Boy Genius Report]

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

Icy Asteroid Hints Earth's Oceans Came From Space

HP To Buy Palm For $1.2 Billion

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Nokia Releases Qt SDK For Mobile Development

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Is Online Social Networking Good or Bad?

HP Buys Palm for $1.2 Billion

After months of speculation, smartphone maker Palm has finally found a buyer. HP has said it will buy Palm for approximately  $1.2 billion.

The move will give HP a foothold in the fast-growing smartphone business, at a time when HP rival Dell has its own smartphone available on AT&T.

Palm’s chairman and CEO, Jon Rubinstein, a former Apple executive, will remain with the company, says HP.

Over the last two years, Palm has tried to reinvent itself by introducing a new smartphone operating system called webOS and new phones such as the Palm Pre and the Pixi. The phones have been well-received, with positive reviews, especially for the latest versions, the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus.

But Palm has been stymied by lack of a big marketing budget, particularly when compared to its rivals such as Apple, Motorola and HTC. Palm has been steadily losing money and market share. And acquisition rumors have been rampant with companies such as HTC and Lenovo reportedly interested in Palm.

Now that HP has bagged Palm, it could mean a new direction for the latter. Access to HP’s distribution channel and coffers could help turn the tide for Palm.

That’s especially true for the enterprise channel — computers and smartphones for business users — where both Palm and HP have historically been strong. This might ensure Palm a healthy future as the corporate sidearm of choice, even if it fails to gain significant consumer traction.

“HP’s longstanding culture of innovation, scale and global operating resources make it the perfect partner to rapidly accelerate the growth of webOS,”  said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer of Palm in a statement.

HP and Palm are expected to close the transaction in the third quarter.

See Also:

• Palm Palm Pre Plus vs. Palm Pixi Plus
• Review: Palm Pre
• 6 Reasons Why the Palm Pre Is Special
• Palm Unveils Its Long-Awaited Smartphone, the Pre

Photo: (Patrick Moorehead/Flickr)

New iPhone Expected at Apple Developer Conference

HP Buys Palm for $1.2 Billion

Breaking: HP agrees to buy Palm for $1.2 billion

Section: Business News, Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile

In a move that surprised many, HP announced today the acquisition of Palm for $1.2 billion.  For stockholders, that comes out to $5.70 per Palm share.  Palm is most notably known for their innovative and unique webOS platform developed specifically for smartphones. 

The main motive for purchasing Palm is their prominence in the smartphone industry.  Todd Bradley, executive Vice President of HP, had this to say regarding the latest acquisition by HP:

“Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices.” The “highly skilled [Palm]” team is set to join HP engineers and “continue to deliver industry-leading mobile experience.”

The merger has already been approved by the board of directions of the two respective companies.  The final signing should take place in HP’s third fiscal quarter, which ends on July 31.  Jon Rubenstein, CEO of Palm, is set to stay with the company, but his role it not yet known. 

As this news breaks, I’m sure more details will become available, and Gadgetell will keep you posted. 

Keep reading to check out the full press release…

HP to Acquire Palm for $1.2 Billion

Combination will accelerate HP’s growth within the more than $100 billion connected mobile device market

PALO ALTO and SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 28, 2010

HP and Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which HP will purchase Palm, a provider of smartphones powered by the Palm webOS mobile operating system, at a price of $5.70 per share of Palm common stock in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction has been approved by the HP and Palm boards of directors.

The combination of HP’s global scale and financial strength with Palm’s unparalleled webOS platform will enhance HP’s ability to participate more aggressively in the fast-growing, highly profitable smartphone and connected mobile device markets. Palm’s unique webOS will allow HP to take advantage of features such as true multitasking and always up-to-date information sharing across applications.

“Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices,” said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP. “And, Palm possesses significant IP assets and has a highly skilled team. The smartphone market is large, profitable and rapidly growing, and companies that can provide an integrated device and experience command a higher share. Advances in mobility are offering significant opportunities, and HP intends to be a leader in this market.”

“We’re thrilled by HP’s vote of confidence in Palm’s technological leadership, which delivered Palm webOS and iconic products such as the Palm Pre. HP’s longstanding culture of innovation, scale and global operating resources make it the perfect partner to rapidly accelerate the growth of webOS,” said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer, Palm. ”We look forward to working with HP to continue to deliver industry-leading mobile experiences to our customers and business partners.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Palm stockholders will receive $5.70 in cash for each share of Palm common stock that they hold at the closing of the merger. The merger consideration takes into account the updated guidance and other financial information being released by Palm this afternoon. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of domestic and foreign regulatory approvals and the approval of Palm’s stockholders. The transaction is expected to close during HP’s third fiscal quarter ending July 31, 2010.

Palm’s current chairman and CEO, Jon Rubinstein, is expected to remain with the company.

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

HP To Buy Palm for $1.2 Billion

Breaking news, fresh off of the wire: HP just finalized agreements to buy Palm for $1.2 billion dollars.

HP’s $1.2 billion dollar purchase breaks down to roughly $5.70 per share of common stock. While this is spot on with the $1.2-$1.3 billion pricetag Palm was rumored to be shopping around as of late, it’s still a mammoth difference from what Palm was trading at just months ago. In October 2009, Palm was worth about $17.46 per share; by January of this year, that was down to $13.41. It has, unfortunately, been a downward spiral ever since.

And for all you webOS fans out there: Don’t worry — it doesn’t look like the platform is going anywhere just yet. It appears that the companies plan to continue the development of webOS, leveraging HP to “rapidly accelerate the growth” of the platform.

HP has seemingly been lightening their efforts in the pocketable mobile space lately — but with the iPAQ line and countless Pocket PC handsets behind them, they’re by no means strangers to it.

However, the smartphone space might not be HP’s only interest here – given HP’s recent desire to take on Apple in the tablet space (with the HP Slate) and that Windows-powered tablets just don’t seem to sell, might we see a webOS-powered tablet sometime in the future? Paired with the proper hardware, webOS could easily make for an absolutely incredible tablet experience.

Even if HP abandoned webOS altogether (which, again, doesn’t appear to be the plan right now), they just bought them selves a monstrous card to play: Palm’s patent catalog. It’s a porcupine tactic: It’s hard to make a big dent in the smartphone biz when every company around can throw patent infringement suits at you — but when you’ve got hundreds upon hundreds of patents (or quills) in your armory, people are going to be a whole lot more careful about stepping on you.

Contrary to previous whispers, it appears that CEO Jon Rubinstein will be staying with the company. To quote the release, “Palm’s current chairman and CEO, Jon Rubinstein, is expected to remain with the company.”

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HTC Cuts Patent Deal With Microsoft Over Android

Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has friends in powerful places: The company has inked a patent licensing deal with Microsoft. The move will allow HTC to continue using the Google-designed Android operating system in its phones while mitigating its risk should Microsoft aim any patent lawsuits at the OS.

Microsoft and HTC did not disclose specific details of the agreement but they have said HTC will pay Microsoft an undisclosed sum for the patent rights.

“The license agreement itself isn’t as interesting as the fact that Microsoft chose to publicize it,” says Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, a research and consulting firm that focuses entirely on Microsoft. Microsoft has more than 600 licensing agreements relating to its patents.

Rosoff says the patent agreement is a signal that Microsoft is a company to reckon with in the smartphone business. It also suggests that Microsoft and HTC are likely to continue working together, he says.

“They want to let everyone know that Microsoft and HTC are partners and HTC is going to continue to create Windows Mobile-based devices,” says Rosoff.

HTC’s meteoric rise as a cellphone handset maker has largely been attributed to the company’s big bet on Android. HTC created the first Android phone for T-Mobile and Google, and the Nexus One phone that is directly sold by Google. HTC is one of Android’s biggest cheerleaders with more than six Android devices in its portfolio.

The rise of Android has also come at the expense of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile platform. And while HTC still produces Windows Mobile phones, they are fewer in comparison to its Android devices.

Meanwhile, HTC’s close relationship with Google’s Android OS caught the attention of Apple. Last month, Apple sued HTC alleging infringement of the former’s 20-odd patents relating to user interface and touch. That lawsuit was widely seen as an indirect hit against Google.

The patent agreement with Microsoft is unlikely to help HTC in its battle with Apple, says Allen Nogee, principal analyst for research firm In-Stat.

“There are two separate issues here,” says Nogee. “Apple’s lawsuit against HTC is largely about the user interface and use of touch, while Microsoft is concerned with the software stack used in the smartphone OS.”

In the past, Microsoft has said that companies that use Linux-based operating systems infringe on some of Microsoft’s patents. But it has never really disclosed details of its patents, says Rosoff.

Android, which is a Linux-based operating system, could pose similar patent-related issues, which is why HTC and Microsoft may have entered into an agreement, he says.

As smartphones get more powerful and turn into handheld computers, the software holds the key to the device, says Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft’s deputy general counsel of intellectual property and licensing.

“Now the industry is in the process of sorting out what royalties will be for the software stack, which now represents the principal value proposition for smartphones,” he says in a blog post.

“In the next few years, as the IP situation settles in this space and licensing takes off, we will see the patent royalties applicable to the smartphone software stack settle at a level that reflects the increasing importance software has as a portion of the overall value of the device,” says Gutierrez.

Microsoft is also talking to other handset makers about its “concerns relative to the Android mobile platform,” he says. Motorola and Sony Ericsson better be prepared to hear Microsoft knock on their doors.

Photo: avlxyz/Flickr

See Also:

• T-Mobile, Garmin Announce New Android Phone
• AT&T Plans 5 Android Smartphones in 2010
• Android Fragmentation Declines, But Older Versions Still Rule
• New Phones Still Sold With Old Versions of Android
• Strapped to Android, HTC Takes a Dizzying Ride to the Top

HTC Cuts Patent Deal With Microsoft Over Android

Ancient Megafloods Inundated Part Of Alaska

New iPhone Expected at Apple Developer Conference

Apple announced the dates Wednesday of its Worldwide Developers Conference, where the company is expected to introduce a new iPhone (even though tech blog Gizmodo may have spoiled the surprise).

Taking place June 7 to June 11 at San Francisco’s Moscone West convention hall, the five-day conference includes hands-on sessions for software developers to become familiar with iPhone OS 4 and Mac OS X. In previous WWDC events, Apple has announced new products during a keynote presentation that kicks off the conference.

Apple announced new iPhones during both WWDC 2008 and WWDC 2009, so we expect the introduction of a fourth-generation iPhone. Because the conference is software-centric, we can also expect more details about the next iPhone operating system, iPhone OS 4, which was previewed in early April.

Meanwhile, the tech community is still bubbling with a mixture of excitement and anger over Gizmodo’s publication of a lost iPhone prototype, which many believe is a near-final version of that fourth-generation iPhone. Apple engineer Gray Powell reportedly left the iPhone in a bar, which was retrieved by an individual who later sold the device to Gizmodo. The tech blog published photos and videos of the device and later returned it to Apple.

Police have since launched an investigation on the case of the missing iPhone, which involved raiding the house of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen and seizing his electronic equipment — an action whose validity is being disputed. Wired.com’s Threat Level reported Tuesday that police have identified the finder of the phone, but a name has not yet been disclosed to the public.

See Also:

• What to Expect From Apple at WWDC 2009
• WWDC Report Card: Wired.com Grades the Apple Rumor Blogs
• Apple Debuts Aggressively Priced iPhone 3GS, MacBooks
• Expect Next iPhone Hardware, Software in Early July

Copy-and-paste on iPhone OS 3
Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Unraveling a Comet's Dirty Little Secret

Mountain Climber Claims Record Amid Controversy

Palm plays on their new-found ability to make good ads with two new ones

Semi-transparent smartphone screens floating in front of the user Minority Report style are all the rage right now. Palm started it back in May with their first “Life moves fast. Dont Miss A Thing.” commercial. Microsoft had the unfortunate timing of launching a strikingly similar ad just 3 days later — and then RIM showed up with their crazy impromptu dance club remix of the idea just yesterday.

Oh well. Copy-cats aside, Palm’s carrying on with the idea. Showing off their new found abilities to make ads that don’t creep us out or otherwise turn us away, they’ve just released two more TV spots. (Heads up: Instead of cute lady people, these ones feature hipster dudes, one of whom seems to be trying to dress like Neo.)

Military Develops 'Green' Decontaminants For Terrorist Attack Sites

Steve Jobs to Speak at All Things Digital Conference

Steve Jobs will appear as a guest speaker at the All Things Digital conference hosted by The Wall Street Journal in Los Angeles.

The Apple CEO is scheduled for an onstage interview on June 1, the opening night of the tech conference.

“There is much to talk to Jobs about, obviously, including the new iPad, the mobile market and the iPhone, its tense relationship with Google (GOOG) and the next innovations from the Silicon Valley computer icon,” wrote All Things Digital columnist Kara Swisher.

Jobs has appeared a number of times at previous All Things Digital events. In 2007, Jobs and co-founder Bill Gates spoke in a joint session about their long history in the technology industry.

These onstage interviews tend to be interesting, as Jobs rarely speaks at events other than those carefully planned (and scripted) by his own company. At the 2003 All Things Digital Conference, for example, Jobs told writer Walt Mossberg that Apple wasn’t planning to produce a tablet, among other sneaky statements demonstrating the businessman’s knack for masterful misdirection.

This year’s All Things Digital conference takes place from June 1 to June 3 near Los Angeles. Other guests include director James Cameron, Microfot CEO Steve Ballmer and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

See Also:

• Steve Jobs’ 6 Sneakiest Statements
• Google’s ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Mantra Is ‘Bullshit,’ Adobe Is Lazy …
• Steve Jobs’ Best Quotes Ever
• Want Porn? Buy an Android Phone, Steve Jobs Says
• Roundup: Steve Jobs’ Terse Replies to Fan Mail

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

iPhone App Translates Iraqi to English

Anne Frank's Full Diary Exhibited in Amsterdam

Appletell reviews MusicSkins for iPad

FROM APPLETELL - Are Music Skins any better than the other skin manufacturers out there? Some of them, yes, based on the quality and strength of the skin, but it’s the artwork that should determine your decision.
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Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Gypsy Moth Continues To Shrug Off Best Pesticides

Scientists Probe Earth's Core

Rare Species Of Earthworm Found In Washington

Asus Eee PC 1015P netbook makes the required FCC appearance

Section: Computers, Netbooks

Another day, another netbook from Asus. The latest is the Eee PC 1015P which happens to have stopped by the FCC recently. The netbook details have been around the Internet for a little while now, but so far we have yet to hear anything in terms of an actual release date. That said, the FCC listing certainly does not offer us that little tidbit, but it does suggest a release is coming sooner than later. Otherwise, the Eee PC 1015P will come featuring a 10.1 inch display, Intel Atom N450 processor, Wi-Fi 802.11n and a chiclet style keyboard. Additionally, there is a battery life being promised of up to 14 hours, which is coming by way of a 6 cell battery.

Via [Wireless Goodness]

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

Alis volat propriis: Oregon’s bringing Google Apps to classrooms statewide

IceBridge Mission at Halfway Point

Rumor: Microsoft KIN ONE and KIN TWO may come to AT&T and T-Mobile after Verizon

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Mobile

We already know that the KIN ONE and the KIN TWO are heading to Verizon Wireless and Vodafone as exclusive offerings for launch. But it looks like that may not be the final stop and that we may be seeing both handsets end up with other carriers sooner than later.

The details were dug up by a ROM hacker that goes by the name of Conflipper. As to what he found—a bunch of provision files for wireless carriers. The files were for AT&T, T-Mobile, Fido, O2, Softbank, China Mobile and many more.

In the end though, this is not entirely convincing proof that the handsets will be coming, just a little clue. Heck those provision files could have been put in place early on and just never removed. They could also have been added for the simple reason of throwing people like us that read into the little details off track.

In short, the KIN ONE and KIN TWO may or may not be heading to other carriers aside from Verizon and Vodafone.

Via [MobileCrunch]

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

Where To Locate Tsunami Warning Buoys

Diminutive Vodafone 845 Android Phone Set to Confound Big-fingered UK Residents From May 2010 [With Video]

The itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka dot, Vodafone 845 has just become official in the UK.

The device, manufactured by Huawei and running Android 2.1, measures the merest of 100 x 55 x 13 mm.

It has a 2.8″ QVGA touchscreen (remember, it’s only a very tiny thing), a 3.2 megapixel camera, and the usual bluetooth and wifi b/g connectivity.

The device will support triband GSM/GPRS/EDGE at 900/1800/1900 MHz as well as dualband UMTS/HSDPA at 900/2100 MHz.

It is expected to launch on the UK Vodafone network from May 2010. No word on a state-side release just yet.

[via Talk Android]

Laptopogram: Photo-Paper Exposed by Computer Screen

Laptopogram. An old-new name for a marriage of ancient and modern technology. It works like this: take a piece of photo-sensitive paper (if you can find a darkroom supply store that is still trading), press it to the screen of your computer and switch that screen on for an appropriate interval (probably less than ten seconds depending on brightness). Splosh the paper through developer, stop and fixer baths, turn on the lights (you did turn out the lights, right?) and you’re done.

This wonderful practice was named by nerd-tographer* Aditya Mandayam, who presses the paper to the screen of his IBM R51 Thinkpad and runs a (Linux) command-line script to blip the screen on and off.

All prints were developed on Ilford Ilfospeeed RC Deluxe 5 Glossy paper using Tetenal Neofin Blau with water as a stop bath and a fixer of unknown provenance.

Photo paper registers a negative of the image projected upon it: more light darkens the paper. Normally you would project a negative film frame down on to the photo-paper, but fortunately modern computers are adept at image processing and can invert a picture easily. You can also “dodge and burn” parts of the image before printing.

These photos are more like contact prints or photograms, but the results are something else entirely. This is probably helped by the Tetenal Neofin, which is a B&W film developer, not meant for paper. Perhaps by keeping the screen as dim as possible (to minimize light from the shadows) and by using a proper paper developer, the whites would stay a little whiter. Still, I’m pretty tempted to get back into the darkroom, although I’m almost certain the chemicals under the sink are out of date by now.

Laptopogram [Tumblr via Kottke]

*Another made up term, this time mine. Sorry.

Sagem’s Solar-powered Puma Phone Says Hello to the FTC

You’re an outdoorsy type, aren’t you? You only read mobile-phone blogs on your down-time between hiking and BASE jumping. I can tell.

Being that you are that wonderful blend of outdoorsman (or outdoorswoman) and phone aficionado, I bet you’re often peeved about the whole lack of power outlets in the wild (I know I am). Well, well, looky here, someone out there has heard your cries.

Sagem are soon to release their solar-powered, puma-branded feature-phone to the masses. How do we know that? Well, it’s just gone and had it’s first photo shoot with the FCC, that’s how.

It’s not all candy and rainbows (or mountains and douglas firs, if you’d prefer), though, as it seems that the supported bands are GSM 850, 900, 1800 and 1900, as well as WCDMA I and VIII… which means no 3G in the US. Sorry, peeps.

It is, however, slated for release in Europe in April, so at least you know you can make phone calls while traversing the Swiss Alps, Bond style. International markets will follow “later”.

[via Wireless Goodness]

Infinity Ward staff sues Activision for up to $500 million - Ars Technica

Sydney Morning Herald

Infinity Ward staff sues Activision for up to $500 million Ars Technica The fallout between Infinity Ward and Activision has taken yet another dramatic turn, as a large number of IW employees—both current and former—have filed a class-action lawsuit against the ... Call of Duty crew sues ActivisionLos Angeles Times Activision Exec Griffith ResignsGamasutra Four more ex-Infinity Warders Respawn as exodus grows to 26GameSpot Computerandvideogames.com -AFP -Gamespy.com all 238 news articles »

Apple Buys Chipmaker, Intrinsity (and all their voodoo)

On Tuesday, Apple announced that late last month, they closed a deal to acquire Intrinsity — the Texas-based chip maker responsible for the A4 chip used in the iPad.

Word has it that Intirinsity cast the voodoo that allowed the A4 chip in the iPad to clock up to 1Ghz without destroying battery life.

This dark magic is obviously attractive to other mobile device manufacturers, so it makes business sense for Apple to acquire this company.

Having wizards like this working for Apple would obviously help Apple develop chips in the future, too, and also helps keep future hardware developments “in house” and under the watchful eye of The Apple Secret Police.

This isn’t the first time that Apple have purchased a chipmaker: Apple purchased PA Semi in 2008. And with rumours of Apple considering purchasing ARM, it probably won’t be their last.

A more detailed dissection of the issue is over at TechCrunch.

[via The New York Times]

Is This Really Noah's Ark?

JooJoo tablet now available in Europe

Section: Computers, Mobile Computers

Putting aside the story that suggests Fushion Garage was only able to sell 64 JooJoo tablets here in the US, lets hope they can beat that with the European release. Yup, those in Europe now have the privilege of ordering a JooJoo tablet for themselves. All in all, the tablet is the same as what we had here in the US in terms of specs. Price wise, those interested can expect to pay €359 plus €15, and for those that may be curious and outside of Europe—those prices are roughly $472 and $20 in terms of US dollars. Now lets see if Europe can order 65 and beat the US in terms of JooJoo sales, of course, I am not sure that is a record anyone would want to have.

Via [Liliputing]

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

Nokia: Trust us, the N8 has a really nice camera

Nokia N8 first HD video sample from Nokia Conversations on Vimeo.

After a heady excoriation of the N8 based on pre-release hardware surfaced this week, it looks like Nokia is trying hard to convince us that the N8 is still the phone to beat.

Look: I love Nokia. I would even marry it if that were legal in my state. But they haven’t made a compelling phone in years. As T. Ricker of Engasmic writes: “But Nokia, a company known for using decent optics, sensors, and flash units in its N-series devices, certainly won’t be disappointing impromptu photogs making their first jump into Symbian^3. Just imagine what Nokia hardware coupled with a killer user experience could do. Could do.”

Could do is right, young T. Ricker. Could do is right.

Pixelated Planks: Pac-Man Cutting Board

It is curiously appropriate that this Pac-Man cutting board is made in the tough, end-grain style. These boards are fashioned from wooden strips glued together with their grain running parallel, and the board itself is a cross-section cut from this master block.

This gives a great pixellated 8-bit style to the picture of Pac-Man, Blinky (or Clyde) and the power-pill in between them. End-grain boards are also self healing (like Pac-Man, kinda) as your knife doesn’t cut the wood fibers but gently pushes them aside with every stroke, like the bristles of a brush. This keeps your knife sharper, longer – not really Pac-Man related, but still cool.

These particular boards are made by Etsy seller 1337motif, and are built from blocks of “walnut, hard-maple, and cherry put together with FDA approved, water-proof glue, and treated with a mixture of mineral oil and beeswax.” An a-maze-ing rendering of the cutting-edge 1980 arcade game. Waka-waka-waka! $165.

PacMan Cutting Board [Etsy via Geeky Gadgets. Thanks, Julian!]

See Also:

• Steampunk Pac Man Game: Pac Gentleman

US Cellular Tease HTC Desire Details And Release Window

On their Facebook page today, US Cellular today teased an “around July” release for the HTC Desire (previously known as the Bravo).

The device, in case you didn’t know, is basically a Nexus One in Sheep’s (or HTC’s) Clothing (which includes Sense UI), but with a few differences.

There is a little more RAM on the Desire (presumably to fit in the extra bits of Sense UI), and no docking ports, or second-mic-noise-cancelling-tech.

The buttons on the desire are also “physical” (as opposed to capacitive), and there is an optical trackpad, rather than a trackball (which is good, because, like old mice balls of yore, the trackball on my Hero is already wearing out. Or getting gunked up. I don’t really know. But it’s not working so great anymore… aaaanywhooooo).

The original announcement is included below:

Hungry for more Android info? How about a peek at some specs for the gorgeous HTC Desire including a 3.7″ AMOLED touchscreen display, 5 MP camera with LED flash, Wi-Fi, GPS, Android Market and an 8 GB microSD card. How about news of a launch date around July? We’ll need to make sure our rigorous testing is complete before you can get your hands on this sweet phone. Stay tuned here for more exclusive Android updates!

[via Phone News]

How to record CD quality audio with your iPad

FROM APPLETELL - What’s stopping you from using Apple’s iPad camera connection kit to connect a Blue Yeti or other high quality microphone to your iPad and recording CD quality audio? Nothing actually.
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Apple Ships 3G iPad

Get ready for round two of the iPad Hype Extravaganza: the 3G models of Apple “magical” Unicorn Tablet are shipping. Those who pre-ordered the cellular iPad have begun to receive tracking numbers and shipping notices from FedEx.

While we’re not expecting quite the wave of news this second time around, we’re certainly interested to see how the 3G affects the iPad’s performance. Of course, such a portable machine is way more useful with and always-on connection, but will it surpass its promised nine-hour battery life? Will it kill AT&Ts 3G network? Will switching in and out of the data plans really be as smooth as promised? Will Apple sell yet another half a million units in a week?

And most importantly, will my iPad, to be bought in NYC and shipped to me over in Europe, get here quickly?

Update: AT&T has published a pdf explaining data pricing for the 3G iPad, available for download here.

3G iPad Shipping [9to5Mac]

See Also:

• Wired.com Buyer’s Guide: Choose the Right iPad
• New iPad 3G Orders Pushed Back to May 7th
• Apple: iPad 3G Delivered April 30th
• AT&T Sees iPad as Wi-Fi Driven, Not a 3G Hog

Garmin-Asus Echoes the Nuvifone A50 With Their Second Android Phone, The A10

Garmin-Asus today announced their second Android-powered phone, the A10 (for reasons unknown, they’re seemingly not calling it a nuvifone).

Just like the nuvifone A50, the device aims to be a pedestrian navigation device (as in, for pedestrians, not a boring navigation device), and will come with Garmin’s navigation software and maps pre-loaded.

The benefit of pre-loaded maps is that no matter where you are (reception be damned) you’ll be able to use the navigation features (unlike Google Maps).

The disadvantage here is the you’ll have to manually update the maps every-so-often so that the maps are current (unlike Google Maps). Sadly, there is no word on the process/price for updating the maps.

The screen has the same HVGA (320×240) resolution as the A50, and, just like the A50, it will support Microsoft Exchange (whether this means it’s running Android 2.1, with native Exchange support, or — like the A50 — Android 1.6 with Exchange on top, isn’t clear from the press-release).

The phone includes a 5 megapixel camera, which is pretty standard fare for current Android devices, but still an improvement upon the A50’s 3 megapixels.

In fact, aside from the camera spec bump, I don’t really see much of a difference between the this A10 fellow and it’s elder sibling, the A50.

Unfortunately, no price details were mentioned, but the device is set for launch in Europe and Asia-pacific some time around the middle of 2010, and will include a car mount kit — just like the A50. *A50* *A50* (…those were meant to be echoes…)

Home-Made Protection: Rear Lens-Cap Pad for Stackable Storage

Unlike some photo DIY projects, I can see no reason why you would ever have to buy a commercial version of Derrick Story’s Rear Lens Cap Pad. It is as simple a project as you could imagine, but also solves a real problem: bag space.

The Rear Lens Cap Pad is simply a circle cut from a sheet of adhesive, padded material, and stuck to the existing rear-cap of your lens. What does it do? It allows you to stack lenses inside a bag or pouch without a bulky lens cover. And while it doesn’t offer the dust or bump-protection of a proper lens bag, it looks protective enough for day trips, stopping lenses from bashing and scratching each other as they jostle.

Derrick uses the caps so he can perch smaller lenses atop a zoom lying flat in his bag. A 50mm prime is small enough for a pocket, but put it inside a padded case and it immediately becomes unwieldy. I often leave lenses at home because of the size problem, and this hack gives me an even better idea: With a single foam tube and a few cap-padded lenses, you could easily make a minimal case into which any number of small objectives could be slid. A weekend project? I think so.

Rear Lens Cap Pad for Stacking in Camera Bag [The Digital Story]

See Also:

• Make a Cheap Lens Case
• Make It: Stealth Camera Bag

OLED Coating Could Give You Night-Vision Spectacles

A new thin-film technology sees infra-red light and displays it using OLEDs. Coating your spectacles, it could give you Predator-style night-vision.

The tech, from DARPA-funded Franky So at the University of Florida, is surprisingly simple. The seven-layer screen detects IR with the first few layers. This signal is amplified and then the remaining layers are used to output the image as visible light, albeit with the tell-tale greenish glow. The maximum voltage required is five volts, compared to thousands in regular night-vision goggles, so it could easily be powered with a small, lightweight battery.

Night vision specs are the coolest application, but there are also more practical uses. Cellphones could take shots at night, and car windshields could let drivers see into the murky night away from the beam of the headlamps.

Talking to Discovery, So said that his team plans to create heat-detecting displays, too. He cites medical uses, but heat-sensing, night-vision glasses are obviously good for something way better: chasing down Arnie in the jungle.

Night Vision Coming Soon to Cell Phones, Eyeglasses [Discovery]

Night vision photo: diveofficer/Flickr