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Turn a Super Boy spray into a Super Girl spray If you've got a Super Boy
The Sharpie Helps Again
(via Parent Hacks)
The iPad 3G: Is the extra $130 worth it? - BusinessWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 4 May 2010 | 3:30 am Enormous, fetishistically annotated hand-drawn map of London Artist Stephen Walter's enormous, fetishistically annotated hand-drawn map of London, entitled "The Island" (a comment on Londoners' tendency to view themselves as separate from the rest of the nation) is entrancing. Zoom way in and mouse around and get lost. Stephen Walter, 'The Island', 2008 (Thanks, @wineandgolover!)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 4 May 2010 | 3:25 am Enormous, fetishistically annotated hand-drawn map of LondonArtist Stephen Walter's enormous, fetishistically annotated hand-drawn map of London, entitled "The Island" (a comment on Londoners' tendency to view themselves as separate from the rest of the nation)...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 May 2010 | 3:25 am Videos: Super-mobile rescue robot Quince
This is one of the coolest rescue robots I’ve ever seen. Meet Quince, jointly developed by Japan’s International Rescue System Institute, Tohoku University and the Chiba Institute Of Technology. The eight-wheeled robot may not look like much, but it’s actually very impressive when you see it in action. Quince is supposed to help humans during “CBRN”-type emergencies (it can be used in the case of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear disasters). The robot is sized at 655mmx481mmx225mm, weighs 26.4kg and can move as fast as 1.6m/s.
It’s equipped with a set of cameras, mics, speakers, a PSD sensor, a laser range finder, Wi-Fi, a door opener, and an infrared thermography camera. Quince is the follow-up to Kenaf, another super-advanced rescue robot we covered two years ago. This video serves as a good summary of what Quince is capable of: This video shows the robot moving over rubble in more detail: And this video is probably the most spectacular one, showing how Quince goes up stairs: Via Node [JP]
Source: CrunchGear | 4 May 2010 | 3:22 am Texas Tells Cape Wind "You're Not First Yet"longacre writes "Cape Wind is making headlines for for being the first offshore wind farm to earn federal approval, but it still has plenty of legal hoops to jump through before groundbreaking. Texas, on the other hand, requires no review — state, federal, or otherwise — to build wind farms off its shore. Texas energy expert and Popular Mechanics senior editor Jennifer Bogo talks to Texan energy leaders who are confident they will beat Cape Wind to the punch for the distinction of having the first functional US offshore wind farm. 'I was about to write a press release to congratulate Cape Wind for getting their approval,' says Jim Suydam, press secretary of the Texas General Land Office, 'and let them know when they're done jumping through hoops up there they can come build off the Texas Coast.' Despite its reputation as an oil-addicted, non-environmentally-friendly, conservative state, Texas's existing land-based wind farms actually produce four times more electricity than California's."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 4 May 2010 | 3:21 am Rupert Murdoch dabbles in Socialist Realism Sinister media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has decided that England's next ruler should be David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, and he's turned his empire of "news" outlets to producing this outcome (for example, his YouGov survey of voter impressions of a leader's debate was timed to coincide with LibDem leader Nick Clegg's speech; unsurprisingly, those surveyed didn't have much of an opinion on Clegg's fitness). The latest is this Socialist Realist full-cover ToryPorn shot of David Cameron's Nostrils and Fist Vanquishing the Forces of Liberalness, in today's Sun. Apparently, the Tories have invented something called a "Battlebus," presumably some variant on the appropriately ancient and obsolete blunderbuss. Rupert Murdoch dabbles in Socialist Realism, David Cameron SUN cover shot, London, UK Source: Boing Boing | 4 May 2010 | 3:19 am Rupert Murdoch dabbles in Socialist RealismSinister media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has decided that England's next ruler should be David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, and he's turned his empire of "news" outlets to producing this outcome...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 May 2010 | 3:19 am AVG Takes 20% Stake In Zbang, Makers Of The Ultimate Social Inbox
(This is a review of one of the 7 startups presenting today at Techonomy 2010 in Tel Aviv. To read about the others, browse all posts tagged ‘techonomy’.)
Such a silly name for such an amazing product. Those were my thoughts after interviewing the founder and CEO of Zbang, an Israeli startup that is building the communication platform I’ve been genuinely longing for. Think of it as a universal social media inbox, like Threadsy, Inbox2 or MailSuite but an inch closer to perfection. Zbang is a desktop application that enables users to aggregate updates from their email inboxes and social networking accounts into a single, well-designed interface that reminds a lot of Microsoft Outlook. More than simply aggregating messages, Zbang is also capable of managing and sharing a variety of files through a number of cloud sharing services, and lets you collaborate and communicate with people the way you desire, provided you connect to apps like Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, LinkedIn … you get the drill. I’ve seen a live demo of the product twice now, and it is exactly what I need. Unfortunately, the company isn’t quite ready for launch yet, and isn’t even accepting private beta users anymore. A full launch is expected for next July, although we should note Zbang will not be available for all platforms upon launch, and it will also not have a full-fledged mobile offering yet. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to their debut, and I’m definitely going to use this one. Zbang was founded by Eidan Apelbaum, who has previously worked as Director of Product Management and Strategy at Yahoo! He has been responsible, among others, to the Front Page of Yahoo! and managed the Business Intelligence group that oversaw strategic development of Yahoo’s client-facing applications (Mail, Messenger, My Yahoo!, Groups etc.). The company realizes full well that its biggest challenges will be distribution and gaining user trust in terms of security and privacy. Hence, it makes a lot of sense for the company to set up a strategic partnership with AVG, which is exactly what they did. The security software maker has purchased a 20% stake in the company for an undisclosed amount (although we hear they got a good chunk of the startup for relatively little cash). As part of the investment partnership, AVG will collaborate with Zbang on current and future product development and provide the more than 110 million AVG customers worldwide with the cross-application platform. The collaboration of the two companies will also mean that the Zbang.it console will be wrapped in a security layer, with AVG technology providing protection against malware, phishing, identity theft, as well as added functionality from other technologies developed or acquired by AVG. Million dollar question if this is a product that is only impressive for social media power users like myself, or if it will also be able to appeal to mainstream consumers.
     
Source: TechCrunch | 4 May 2010 | 3:15 am Apple may face ani-trust investigation - TG Daily
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 4 May 2010 | 3:08 am Google buys a 3D software company - Inquirer
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 4 May 2010 | 3:02 am Want to See Second Life Machinima on Sesame Street? Vote For It in Aniboom's Animation Contest!Aniboom, the online animation studio, is holding a contest to select an animated short to air on the beloved public TV show Sesame Street. The selection is partly driven by community vote, and right now,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 May 2010 | 3:00 am Sedo Sold More Than $23 Million Worth Of Domain Names Last Quarter
In its highest quarter for domain sales since 2008, Sedo has sold close to 12,000 domain names via its online marketplace in Q1 2010, accounting for more than $23 million in transactions. Based on numbers presented in its Q1 2010 Domain Market Study, this represents an 18.6 percent increase in the number of sales compared to Q4 2009 for the AdLink company. Sedo attributes the jump in sales to the recovering economy and an increased marketing spend, particularly among larger corporations, in addition to the recent introduction of one and two-character domains and IDN domains that use non-Roman scripts.
During the first quarter of this year, Sedo witnessed a surge in both generic and country code Top Level Domains. Some of the more high-profile sales include the one of Poker.org ($1 million), Credit.fr (€587,500) and Pilot.com ($300,000). Unsurprisingly, the .com extension remained the most popular generic Top Level Domains, accounting for more than 42% of all sales on the Sedo marketplace and 76% of all gTLD sales. The average price of a .com domain was quite modest, particularly considering the total of $23 million in transaction recorded for the quarter: $2,373. The .com TLD was followed by the .net, .info, .biz and .org extensions, respectively.
Sedo’s complete report can be found online here. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 4 May 2010 | 2:45 am The Sun's Coronal Rain Puzzle SolvedFor years, solar scientists have been confused as to why "coronal rain" falls so slowly through the sun's atmosphere... until now.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 4 May 2010 | 2:39 am Psycho Shower Curtains - Scare Guests With the Figure Shadow Shower Curtain (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Scare any visitors to your home with this scary shower curtain which has a shadowy figure imprinted onto the white vinyl material. The shower curtain is designed with fright in mind,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 May 2010 | 2:10 am SIGVerse simulates cooperation between humans and robots in virtual space
Japan’s National Institute of Informatics (NII) has developed SIGVerse, a piece of software that makes it possible to simulate how human beings and “intelligent” robots cooperate in a virtual space. The goal is to assess how robots can be “trained” to better work together with humans one day – without actually having to build robot prototypes in real life. SIGVerse is supposedly the first software of its kind. The current version of the simulator system enables a virtual robot and a human being to work on simple tasks, such as baking a savory pancake, together. SIGVerse is supposed to make it easier to study how that robot converses with the human or how it behaves, while a real person can assume the role of the avatar. For example, a virtual robot that doesn’t talk when being asked a question during the simulation can hardly be called cooperative and thus would need to be reprogrammed (in C++). SIGVerse can also be used to determine non-verbal communication skills, for example by examining how a robot turns its look when interacting with a human. The NII plans to make SIGVerse available for everybody to use for free soon (it’s completely open-source).
Source: CrunchGear | 4 May 2010 | 2:01 am JibJab Re-Creates The Original Star Wars Trilogy, Now Starring Your Friends
There are three clips available — one for each film in the original trilogy. The videos take footage from the original films, condense each into a whirlwind two minutes of wisecracks, and insert your friends’ faces wherever possible. The end result is hilarious. There’s obviously a big monetization opportunity here, which JibJab is taking advantage of. You’ll be able to create your own clip for The Empire Strikes Back for free, but only paid members will be able to make clips based on A New Hope or Return of the Jedi. We’ve embedded all three clips below, starring some of the TechCrunch writers. This is by far my favorite JibJab video series, but they’ve had plenty of other good ones. Recent features include the keyboard cat tribute to play off 2009, and the ever-popular Elf yourself. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 4 May 2010 | 2:00 am Learn All About Internet Marketing Stuff: SMASH Summit On May 12 In San Francisco
We’re giving away five tickets to the event, chosen randomly. Just retweet this post with the #SMASHsummit hashtag and the winners will be picked at noon PST on Wednesday, May 4. You can also get a 20% discount on tickets by entering in the code TC. See you there. Well, not me, I live in Seattle now. But TechCrunch will be there!      
Source: TechCrunch | 4 May 2010 | 1:55 am Tightrope Couture Editorials - The Prada Spring Summer 2010 Menswear Line (VIDEO)(TrendHunter.com) The Prada Spring Summer 2010 Menswear Line is presented in an otherworldly realm in this campaign spread. The black and white prints feature simple, stylistic pieces within a mystical...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 May 2010 | 1:50 am UNLIMITXT: Photographer Explores Global Texting BehaviorsPhotographer Dennis Rito has put together a conceptual series called UNLIMITXT. In it, he explores mediated interpersonal communication through text messaging. [via MobileBehavior] In his own words:...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 May 2010 | 1:48 am Woodpecker Alarm Clocks - Natalie Duckett Wants You to Hear Natures Carpenter (VIDEO)(TrendHunter.com) Natalie Duckett wants to enhance your sleep with her Woodpecker Alarm Clock that makes the drumming sound of a woodpecker twice a day. The entire clock is made of natural materials,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 May 2010 | 1:30 am Teaching by TextingAOL News reports on texting as a teaching tool experimented in several schools across the US. So, for subjects ranging from Spanish to science, from homework help to exam reminders, teachers around the...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 May 2010 | 1:29 am Why I Hate 3-D (And You Should Too) [Voices]By Roger Ebert, Contributor, Newsweek 3-D is a waste of a perfectly good dimension. Hollywood’s current crazy stampede toward it is suicidal. It adds nothing essential to the moviegoing experience. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 4 May 2010 | 1:23 am A Lost iPhone Shows Apple’s Churlish Side [Voices]By David Carr, Columnist, New York Times Journalists are already getting warmed up for the next big Apple (AAPL) event, the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, where they will most likely get a look at the next generation of the iPhone. But there might be fewer people lined up, and not just because we got a peek inside the new model when photos of a prototype were leaked on a blog two weeks ago. We also got an unflattering peek inside the company itself. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 4 May 2010 | 1:19 am Rest in Peas: The Unrecognized Death of Speech Recognition [Voices]By Drake Martinet | Blogger, robertfortner.posterous.com, Blogger, robertfortner.posterous.com The accuracy of computer speech recognition flat-lined in 2001, before reaching human levels. The funding plug was pulled, but no funeral, no text-to-speech eulogy followed. Words never meant very much to computers—which made them ten times more error-prone than humans. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 4 May 2010 | 1:16 am $4 Million Gold Stoves - Cook Your Food in Luxury with the Iron Dog 05 Huraxdax(TrendHunter.com) For the economical price of $4 million you too can own a two-an-a-half foot tall, 260 kilogram Iron Dog 05 Huraxdax stove. When it's on, there is no need for an extra heat source as...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 May 2010 | 1:10 am H.264 Is A Codec, Flash Is A Platform: One Can't Kill Off The Other [Voices]By Dan Rayburn, Blogger, Business of Video Over the weekend I read another few dozen articles on the whole Apple (AAPL) and Adobe (ADBE) debate and probably read through a thousand comments. Some of the posts I read were really good, but far too many people are comparing codecs (H.264, VP8), platforms (Flash) and languages (HTML5) as if they are all the same thing. There are lots of posts talking about open standards and making statements on how H.264 is going to kill off Flash. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 4 May 2010 | 1:09 am Twitter to offer embeded tweetsSince quoting Twitter posts is all the rage in journalism these days, Twitter's launching an official way to do it, reports Cnet. On Tuesday, the company will either unveil, launch, or roll out (they're...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 May 2010 | 1:01 am The Bifurcation of Twitter [Voices]By Mark Cuban, Founder, HDNet In case you haven’t noticed, there are now 2 Twitters. The first Twitter operates just as its founders intended. Its a great broadcast medium for quickly distributing quick hits of information and/or links. Its a great source of real-time information that travels with you on any device. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 4 May 2010 | 1:01 am Daily Crunch: Lightning Dust Edition
Laser-powered rain: sounds too awesome to be true
Source: CrunchGear | 4 May 2010 | 1:00 am Google Invests in Two Wind Farms [Voices]By Scott Morrison and Cassandra Sweet, Reporters, The Wall Street Journal Google Inc. (GOOG) has invested $38.8 million in two North Dakota wind farms, the Internet giant’s first direct investment in utility-scale renewable energy generation. The Mountain View, Calif., company said in a Monday blog post that it invested in wind farms built by NextEra Energy Resources, a unit of FPL Group Inc. The wind turbines, made by General Electric Co. (GE), generate 169.5 megawatts of power, enough to serve more than 55,000 homes. The investment marks a departure from Google’s initial approach to renewable energy, which focused on investing in early-stage renewable energy companies such as BrightSource Energy, eSolar and AltaRock, which are developing new solar, wind and geothermal power technologies. Google said it is investing directly in energy projects to accelerate the deployment of the latest clean energy technology, while providing attractive returns to Google and more capital for developers to build additional projects. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 4 May 2010 | 1:00 am Massive Star Birth RevealedUsing observatories in Chile, astronomers have spotted what appears to be the largest gravitational collapse of gas into a massive cluster ever seen.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 4 May 2010 | 12:54 am T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide: A Great Entry-Level Smartphone - Washington Post
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 4 May 2010 | 12:46 am Gene Therapy Restores Sight To BlindAn anonymous reader writes "Looks like we have found a cure for genetic blindness (clinical trial — abstract — paper [PDF] — ABC News video). This gene therapy treatment increases both cone and rod photoreceptor-based vision. These engineered viruses are implanted to do our bidding to restore vision. Clinical trials on 6 children and young people proved the therapy and didn't find any notable side effects." Any blind person, especially any adapted and competent one, who wants to gain the sense of sight would be well advised to study Oliver Sachs's classic piece "To See and Not See."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 4 May 2010 | 12:31 am Atmel Announces Proposed Sale of SMS Business to INSIDE ContactlessSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 4 May 2010 | 12:00 am Honeywell TFE731-50R to Power Hawker 800XPRSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 4 May 2010 | 12:00 am Honeywell's SmartView(TM) Synthetic Vision Winning Wide Acceptance Among Gulfstream OperatorsSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 4 May 2010 | 12:00 am Honeywell Names Air Works First Authorized Service and Support Center for IndiaSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 4 May 2010 | 12:00 am Terry Pratchett: Doctor Who isn't science fictionWriting in SFX Terry Pratchett explains why Doctor Who, whatever its other merits, isn't very good science fiction. A provocative hypothesis, but it's hard to argue with his reasoning:Terry Pratchett vs Who (via IO9) (Image: Doctor Who Exhibition, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from 33124746@N04's photostream)
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Source: Boing Boing | 3 May 2010 | 11:54 pm Dot-to-dot wallpaper Cox & Cox's connect-the-dot wallpaper starts off as a subtle design but grows as complex as you want it to be -- just add lines! Join the Dots Wallpaper - NEW! (via Babygadget)
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Source: Boing Boing | 3 May 2010 | 11:48 pm Composite hero/villain masks made from bits of multiple iconic characters' costumes
Artist Seven Hundred has created composite "Hero Masks" and "Villain Masks," each assembled from elements of seven comic book and sf masks. Show here, the "Hero" model, combining Batman, Luke Skywalker, Tron, Robocop, Spiderman, Optimus Prime and Rorschach. He's selling tees, too.
Hero and Villain Masks (via Geeklogie)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 3 May 2010 | 11:39 pm Skin-tone-matched hospital gowns make it easy to spot color-shiftsA paper by Mark Changizi in Elsevier's journal Medical Hypotheses cleverly suggests that hospitals issue gowns matched to skin-tone for new patients, so that it's easy to tell if skin-tone has shifted (an urgent warning sign of many urgent health conditions):Nude-colored hospital gowns could help doctors better detect hard-to-see symptoms
Harnessing color vision for visual oximetry in central cyanosis (PDF)
Official Eee Keyboard specs revealed
Asus put the Keeeyboard on their site this weekend, with the retail price set at $599. It’s not bad, consider it for what it is and you can see where the trade off is. It comes down to this; the Eee Keyboard is a essentially a netbook in a new form factor, with a touch screen. Right down to the Intel Atom N270 keyboard, 945GE chipset, 1GB of on board memory, and the choice between a 16GB or 32GB SSD. Battery life is around 4 hours (we’ll see). There’s two USB ports, one HDMI port, VGA, gigabit LAN, and headphone and microphone out, all located on the back. So what do you think? Is the form factor worth the premium? I don’t know, I’d have to have a pretty compelling use to buy one. The touch screen is a great concept as well, but without a “killer app” I don’t see it going far. [via Tom's Hardware]
Source: CrunchGear | 3 May 2010 | 11:30 pm Space Invaders propaganda poster
Artist Steve Thomas's latest in a series of vintage video game propaganda posters is his ad for the Space Invaders laser gunners' corp. Makes me want to sign up and defend the homeworld.
Arcade game propaganda: Part VII (via Super Punch)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 3 May 2010 | 11:25 pm HOWTO live out of your carReddit user xenophone has some practical, hard-won tips for living out of your car. His list has sparked a long and pretty interesting thread of tips, tricks and theory that runs from "how to live off the grid" to "how to hang on by your fingernails."I'm 25. My marriage just ended, I have no job and am living out of my car. All I want to say is - (via Consumerist) (Image: Homeless Victim, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from 23905174@N00's photostream)
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Source: Boing Boing | 3 May 2010 | 11:14 pm Warning stickers for the Daily Mail England's Daily Mail isn't just a source of funny Internet posts, it's also a veritable font of hysterical, nutso reporting about "epidemics" of child abuse, immigration, welfare cheats, violent crime, etc and so forth. They're not solely responsible for the rise of authoritarianism and surveillance and the erosion of civil liberties here, but they're sure in the vanguard. Here's some sticker template for decorating the free copies of the Wail that you encounter in your life. I wish these were a) funnier and b) better designed. I have a feeling that, like the cigarette-pack ads they're meant to ape, they're just going to come across as finger-wagging. Got ideas for improving them? Hit the comments. Take back our country from right-wing tabloids (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)
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Source: Boing Boing | 3 May 2010 | 11:07 pm North Hollywood and Arcadia high schools place third and fourth in National ... - Los Angeles Times
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 3 May 2010 | 10:55 pm Apple Tweaks Wi-Fi in IPhone to Use China Protocol (PC World)PC World - Apple appears to have tweaked its iPhone to support a Chinese security protocol for wireless networks, as companies increasingly adopt Chinese government-backed technologies to break into the country's huge market.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 3 May 2010 | 10:40 pm Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitionsMay 4 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 0400 GMT on Tuesday.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 May 2010 | 10:34 pm Market Chatter -- Corporate finance press digestBANGALORE, May 4 (Reuters) - The following corporate finance-related stories were reported by media on Tuesday:Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 May 2010 | 10:30 pm Market Chatter -- Corporate finance press digestBANGALORE, May 4 (Reuters) - The following corporate finance-related stories were reported by media on Tuesday:Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 May 2010 | 10:30 pm Why Explore Mars?After President Obama's new plans for NASA, Discovery News talks with Mars Society founder Robert Zubrin and SETI Institute planetary scientist Adrian Brown to find out why Mars exploration should be a priority.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 10:22 pm Startup Wants to Be R Alternative to IBM, SAS (PC World)PC World - A company focused on R, the open-source language for statistical analysis, relaunched under a new name Tuesday and gave a preview of its technology roadmap for 2010.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 3 May 2010 | 10:20 pm Internet Explorer web browser use drops below 60% - Apple Insider
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 3 May 2010 | 10:06 pm Hands-on with the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide In a perfect world, every phone would be like the T-Mobile MyTouch Slide. It's small, it's light, it has a keyboard, and it's easy enough for almost everyone to use even if it's running one of the most powerful mobile OSes out there. Built by HTC to T-Mobile's specifications, the MyTouch Slide with full QWERTY keyboard is, in actuallity, one of the best feature phones I've seen in a long time.
Source: CrunchGear | 3 May 2010 | 10:01 pm Hands-on with the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide
The second in T-Mobile’s MyTouch line, the Slide adds a keyboard and a unique user interface to the mix. Instead of My Faves, the phone allows you to create “cards” for each of your favorite contacts. From these cards you can dial them, read all their messages, and text them instantly. This, in short, “pops out” your favorite contacts with a single click. The Slide comes in three colors and runs HTC’s sense UI with a few special T-Mo tweaks. It is, in short, a T-Mobile phone and if you’re looking for something to for texting, music, and emailing, this may be the successor to the Sidekick you’ve been looking for. Pricing and availability will be announced later.
Source: MobileCrunch | 3 May 2010 | 10:01 pm Iomega Delivers EMC Enterprise Storage Solutions to SMBS and Distributed Offices With New Highly Affordable 12-Drive Rackmount Network Storage ArraySource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 May 2010 | 10:01 pm Medical Marketers and Brand Managers to Benefit from Reprints Desk Launch of Content Licensing Service for Scientific LiteratureSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 May 2010 | 10:01 pm Iomega Delivers EMC Enterprise Storage Solutions to SMBS and Distributed Offices With New Highly Affordable 12-Drive Rackmount Network Storage ArraySAN DIEGO, May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Iomega, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC) and the world's fastest growing provider of network storage to small and medium business, today announced the most advanced entry in its lineup of easy-to-use network storage products with the worldwide launch of the new Iomega® StorCenter(TM) ix12-300r Network Storage array.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 May 2010 | 10:01 pm Oil Rig Backup Devices Shouldn't Be OptionalAs crude oil keeps gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, the Deepwater Horizon rig spill is looking like it could easily end up being one of the worst environmental disasters in our nation's history. What's especially tragic is that a ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 10:00 pm May 4, 2000: Tainted 'Love' Infects ComputersThe net's first truly malicious malware relies on social engineering. Many people simply can't resist.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 10:00 pm We Estimate Zynga Revenues Around $270M In 2009 And $240M In 2010 YTD
There has been a lot of speculation about Zynga’s revenue. Last week Business insider said:
Businessweek says:
We thought that we would estimate Zynga’s revenue ourselves by looking at publicly available info. Here is what Linus Chung and I did:
This estimate is likely to be inaccurate for many reasons, notably (i) the coarse estimates of revenue/DAU (rounding to the nearest 50c), (ii) the low end of range estimates for many of Zynga’s most popular games, and (ii) the fact that we ignore revenue from MySpace, Zynga’s websites, and mobile. None the less, it shows some interesting results:
Again, note that these are all estimates. However, our estimates show that revenue ramped fast over calendar 2009. The H1 ramp was driven by Poker and Mafia Wars, and the H2 ramp driven by Farmville, Cafeworld and Fishville. Our estimates show that revenues have been flatish since the beginning of 2010, with a decline in older games compensated for by the launch of Treasure Isle. Feel free to see the details and play with the assumptions yourself – the spreadsheet is here. It is a read only Google Doc so that your changes won’t affect others who are later to check it out, but you can download the spreadsheet to change assumptions. Note that there are four tabs to the spreadsheet (at the very bottom of the page). To download, click File–> Download as –> Excel. Play with the assumptions, and let us know what you think.      
Source: TechCrunch | 3 May 2010 | 9:56 pm HTC Droid Incredible: $50 Off (PC World)PC World - The HTC Droid Incredible hit Verizon customers less than a week ago, and it's already sold out (the Verizon website features a notice that says "Due to high demand, this device will ship by 5/14"). But if you can't wait and you don't want to drop $200, CNNMoney.com's Fortune blog reports that you can get it for $50 less than the advertised price at Amazon.com.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 3 May 2010 | 9:40 pm Black Market May Develop For IPv4 AddressesGMGruman writes "Everyone knows that we're running out of traditional IPv4 Internet addresses and that switching to IPv6 is the answer — yet foot-dragging by IT departments and vendors means the problem is still on the back burner. IPv4/IPv6 coexistence is now expected to last for 5 years. In this article, Mel Beckman explains how this is all leading to a black market in traditional IPv4 addresses that will catch many people off-guard, and boost Internet access prices sky-high."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 3 May 2010 | 9:37 pm Compostable pen, sure, but the price isn’t right yet
Here’s their little statement:
The only bits of the pen that aren’t compostable are the nib and nib holder, which they used noncompostable materials for in order to create a better writing experience. And there’s a catch: the pens won’t compost in landfills, only in dedicated compost facility. You can send the pens back to them and they’ll take care of it too. The problem is that a price of 3 pens for $8, there’s no way these will be adopted in bulk. See, sustainability isn’t high on a lot of other corporations’ lists, period. Ah well. Small steps. [via Gizmag]
Source: CrunchGear | 3 May 2010 | 9:30 pm The Microsoft Courier lives on…in partsSection: Gadgets / Other  We covered the death of the Courier, Microsoft’s shining tablet device that was supposed to take down the iPad. Although the Courier is dead as a device itself, it will live on in parts. Microsoft’s Bill Gates said the following regarding the abrupt halt of the Courier:
This device, according to the videos floating around the web, was made for content creators. In that sense, Mr. Gates is absolutely right that this would be an ideal device for students. Although I will never be able to hold a Courier in my hand, I am happy to see some of the cool technology being distributed among other projects at Microsoft. Read [The Next Web] Image via [Gizmodo]
Full Story » | Written by Hunter Clarke for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 3 May 2010 | 9:05 pm 3G v. Wi-Fi: Which iPad is Right for You? (PC World)PC World - The iPad has been available for a month now in the United States, but the 3G-capable version of Apple's tablet device just launched this past Friday. Apple has reportedly sold more than one million iPads thus far--less than half the time it took the original iPhone to reach that same milestone. If you aren't one of the million plus that already has one, here are some things to consider when choosing between the Wi-Fi only or 3G-capable models.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 3 May 2010 | 8:55 pm 4INFO Adds New Execs To Fuel 100% Growth/Quarter
I interviewed CEO Zaw Thet in February to better understand the 4INFO business. 4INFO offers customers a publishing platform, which is tools to manage SMS subscribers and send them content. They also run an ad network for SMS ads, and a SMS gateway to handle the carrier relationships and charges. 4INFO’s larger publishers pay as much as $15,000 per month to use the platform. Those publishers can run their own ads, or use 4INFO’s ads with a revenue split (self service customers have no choice but to accept 4INFO’s ads). At the time of the interview, just three months ago, 4INFO was sending about 200 million text messages per month. That will be 500 million/month by June, Thet tells me, based on growth from new publisher products and international expansion. And that doesn’t include traffic from mobile display ads, a new product 4INFO launched in December 2009. The company has hired two new senior executive to help handle the growth, says Thet. Julie Shumaker has joined as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and Rob DeMillo, who is also currently the CTO of Revision3 (he will become a technical advisor to Revision3). Thet says that DeMillo and Shumaker signal 4INFO’s intention to be more than the “King of SMS” (as I labelled them). “DeMillo is clearly all things mobile advertising (Third Screen Media, mQube, Transpera run the gambit from mobile display to messaging to video) not just SMS, and Shumaker is a digital advertising pioneer, as the first to launch games as an advertising vehicle at EA,” says Thet.      
Source: TechCrunch | 3 May 2010 | 8:51 pm UPDATE 2-PDG buys Agre in $1.4 bln Brazil real estate deal* Agre was created in September through mergers (Adds background on both firms, background on executives)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 May 2010 | 8:40 pm Hot or not? Meccaniche Veloci Quattro Valvole quad-face wristwatch
What say you, readers? Doesn’t really matter, actually, since the watch costs like $4000. Hmm. They couldn’t get more than $75 from me, but that’s like two months of a blogger’s salary so it’s really a compliment. [via The Awesomer]
Source: CrunchGear | 3 May 2010 | 8:30 pm Kindle Update Starts Rolling Out. Twitter, Facebook Included. Color, Touchscreen Not.
The reason why I haven’t used a device I paid several hundred dollars for in weeks is probably obvious: the iPad. As even the most diehard skeptics note, the iPad has absolutely made the Kindle obsolete. Sure, there’s e-ink, but you don’t even really hear that argument anymore. In fact, I feel like praise of the device’s weight has become the Kindle-apologists only real line of defense left. Still, this impending doom isn’t stopping Amazon from trying to update the device. Software update 2.5 contains a number of new features. The biggest one is the Twitter and Facebook integration. “Share book passages with friends on Facebook and Twitter directly from your Kindle,” the feature page notes. That’s somewhat interesting — provided the passages are short enough for Twitter. Actually, it’s more interesting that Amazon is apparently letting users use their baked-in cellular connect to send out this data. Other updates include the ability to organize your books into collections (read: folders), popular network-wide highlights in books, more fonts, pan & zoom in PDF viewing, and password protection for you device. No, I’m not kidding. Absent from the list of updates are a few key features that would actually help the device compete with the iPad. First, a touchscreen. Second, a color screen. Third, the ability to play other media (the “experimental” MP3 support is laughable). Fourth, a somewhat usable browser (the current “experimental” browser is even more laughable). Fifth, apps — ahh, forget it. Amazon was wise to make an iPhone app for its Kindle books. It was even wiser to make an iPad one (which is great, by the way). The fact of the matter is that while they may try to come out with some sort of touchscreen, color Kindle, Amazon is unlikely to be able to compete in hardware with Apple. And the fact that Apple has 200,000 apps at their disposal, while Amazon has none, just makes it even more daunting. And really, Amazon should probably be more concerned at this point with making sure the book publishers stay with them rather than jump ship to Apple’s new iBookstore. They’re working on that. Or at least trying to outsell Barnes & Noble’s Nook. A $259 device that does one thing well (the Kindle) versus a $499 device that does a dozen or more things well (the iPad) is not a fair fight. Yes, even with this software update. Though I am interested to see what fonts they’ve added.      
Source: TechCrunch | 3 May 2010 | 8:23 pm Future storage to be nanodots by the gazillion?
The dots themselves are actually “single, defect-free crystals” acting as magnetic switches, somehow, and they can be packed in with incredible density, resulting in chips where an area of about 3×3cm would store a terabyte. Now, to be honest, that’s more impressive than incredible; the promises of holographic tech are much more insane, due to the fact that the data is not limited to a flat plane. Will we ever see this technology in practice? Well, the inventor says five years or less. So we’ll check back in five years, and see where the goalposts have moved to. [via Tom's Hardware]
Source: CrunchGear | 3 May 2010 | 8:00 pm College Humor takes on GoldenEye N64-version
Classic.
Source: CrunchGear | 3 May 2010 | 8:00 pm Valve releases plush Left 4 Dead Boomer zombieFROM GAMERTELL - The Valve Store is now carrying a talking, plush Boomer, the first of five stuffed Left 4 Dead 2 toys. If you have a spare $49.99 lying around, you can bring him home to infect your house with love. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 3 May 2010 | 7:58 pm NASA Mars Rover Spots Its Ultimate Destinationcoondoggie writes "It has been years in the making but NASA said its Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has captured a new view of the rim of the planet's Endeavour crater, perhaps the rover's ultimate destination. The Mars rover set out for Endeavour in September 2008 after spending two years exploring the Victoria crater. NASA says Endeavour is 13 miles across, some 25 times wider than Victoria crater, and could offer scientists more insight into the red planet's makeup."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 3 May 2010 | 7:44 pm Sea Turtles Washing Up Dead Near Oil Spill SiteAt least 25 sea turtles have washed up dead on Mississippi beaches over the past few days. Tests are ongoing to determine if the recent oil spill is to blame.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 7:43 pm Laser-powered rain: sounds too awesome to be true
Now, don’t go expecting a personal raincloud device in SkyMall any time soon: the power required for such a beam is immense, and of course if you pointed it in your eye… well, we’ve seen what lasers can do. The technology is still totally just a lab thing right now, and of course there’s more to making it rain than just making water molecules stick together. It helps to be smug, for instance, which is probably why it’s so wet here in the Northwest.
Source: CrunchGear | 3 May 2010 | 7:30 pm Black and white Wiis to come with Wii Sports Resort after May 9, 2010FROM GAMERTELL - Nintendo has confirmed that black Wiis will be in stores starting May 9, 2010. Also, starting May 9, 2010, all new Wii consoles will include Wii Sports Resort and the MotionPlus peripheral. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 3 May 2010 | 6:40 pm Nearly 5 Years Later, Gmail Set For A UK Comeback
So why the change? Well, initially Google had to stop using Gmail in the UK because of a legal dispute. As they explain here, it was a trademark issue. Rather than offer no service to UK users, Google made the call to go with Google Mail while it fought for the Gmail name. “We are still working with the courts and trademark office to protect our ability to use the Gmail name, but in the meantime, we want you to have an email address you can rely on,” they wrote at the time. In announcing that soon (new sign-ups can get their addresses later this week) Gmail will be available for Google’s use in the UK again, the company doesn’t get into specifics. So it’s not clear if they settled with the owners to obtain the name, or if they won their case after all these years. I’ve reached out to Google for clarification. Back in 2005, they noted, “We have tried to resolve this dispute through negotiations, but our efforts have failed.” Naturally, Google is pumping this up more than just a branding win — “Since “gmail” is 50% fewer characters than “googlemail,” we estimate this name change will save approximately 60 million keystrokes a day. At about 217 microjoules per keystroke, that’s about the energy of 20 bonbons saved every day!,” they note. And yes, if you choose to, you’re welcome to still keep your @googlemail.com address. Update: It looks like Google was able to reach a settlement on the name. “After engaging in legal proceedings at the trademark office, we were able to reach a settlement with the party with whom we had the conflict. We are happy to have resolved this issue, and look forward to offering @gmail.com addresses to users in the UK,” a Google spokesperson tells us.      
Source: TechCrunch | 3 May 2010 | 6:15 pm Drunken Robot Will Not Stop Until Your Floors Are CleanGot pets? Get this newest Roomba to eliminate their furry deposits from the floor.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 6:00 pm Playlist: New Pornographers, Skate & Destroy, Nerd Merit BadgesWhat's Wired this month? A provocative film-within-a-film by graffiti prankster Banksy, awkward family photos -- in book form! -- and a whole lot of vinyl-coveting.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 6:00 pm Drunken Robot Will Not Stop Until Your Floors Are CleanGot pets? Get this newest Roomba to eliminate their furry deposits from the floor.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 3 May 2010 | 6:00 pm Print: GeekDad DIY Manual Can Smarten Up Kids on the SlyGeekDad editor Ken Denmead draws from his days as an awkward kid obsessed with videogames and science fiction for his new book, Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share. The book is being released May 4.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 6:00 pm Black Eyed Peas break digital sales record (Reuters)Reuters - The Black Eyed Peas continue to steamroll their way into the record books. This week the group's "I Gotta Feeling" surpassed Flo Rida's "Low" as the best-selling digital song of all time, according to Nielsen SoundScan.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 3 May 2010 | 5:56 pm The FCC May Decide Not To Regulate BroadbandThis morning the Washington Post reported that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is leaning toward letting the telecomms have their way — not asserting greater authority to regulate the Internet by reclassifying broadband as a Title II service. The blogs are atwitter (HuffPo, StopTheCap) that not voting to apply Title II regulation to Internet carriers is tantamount to giving up on net neutrality — which has been a centerpiece of the Obama administration's tech policy. The Post paraphrases its sources, who are reading the chairman's mind, that Genachowski believes "the current regulatory framework would lead to constant legal challenges to the FCC's authority every time it attempted to pursue a broadband policy." The FCC will say only that the chairman has made no decision yet.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 3 May 2010 | 5:56 pm What to Expect From 'Halo: Reach' Beta - Wired News
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 3 May 2010 | 5:51 pm Android OS Distribution Chart Updated, Inches Slowly In Right Direction
This data is important to developers because it indicates how fragmented the market is, and which operating systems they should ensure their applications are compatible with. As we’ve noted before, the fact that over two thirds of Android users are still tied to an outdated operating system is a serious problem — for example, anyone who isn’t on 2.1 can’t run the official Twitter app. (Google may address this at its I/O conference later this month). One other reason this is interesting: Google is now updating this OS pie chart more frequently. There was a four month gap between the previous updates that stretched from January 2010 (before the Nexus One was released) until mid-April. The latest updates came only a few weeks apart. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 3 May 2010 | 5:49 pm The Virtual Choir ProjectAn anonymous reader writes "Conductor and composer Eric Whitacre has successfully created a virtual choir using the voices of 185 people who posted their performance on YouTube. The piece that's performed is called 'Sleep,' composed by the conductor himself in 2000. Anyone can join in — all you need is a webcam and a microphone."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 3 May 2010 | 5:49 pm Starcraft II launches July 27 (Macworld.com)Macworld.com - On Monday, Blizzard gave millions of sci-fi strategy fans the news theyâÂÂve been waiting for.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 3 May 2010 | 5:47 pm Hands on: Twitter apps for iPadFROM APPLETELL - With additional screen space, being able to literally touch the social graph, and the ability to hop between programs, the iPad is the home portal for sites like Twitter. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 3 May 2010 | 5:32 pm Microsoft Fixes Bug in Producer Software (PC World)PC World - Microsoft has released a new version of its Producer software, fixing a critical security problem that plagued the product for several months.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 3 May 2010 | 5:30 pm Noise-Canceling Earbuds Have Got Your Concha CoveredDecent earbuds that also block noise? Why, that would be the EPH-50s from Yamaha.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 3 May 2010 | 5:30 pm Noise-Canceling Earbuds Have Got Your Concha CoveredDecent earbuds that also block noise? Why, that would be the EPH-50s from Yamaha.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 5:30 pm Jailbreak App Turns iPhone Into 3G Modem for iPad
MyWi, an app available for hacked (i.e., jailbroken) iPhones, turns the handset into a wireless 3G modem that can be tethered to an iPad. That means you can skip paying the extra $130 on a 3G-only model, along with the $15 or $30 fee for data, and get internet access for free from your iPhone’s unlimited data plan, instead. The process of turning your iPhone into a wireless modem for the iPad looks quite simple. According to AppAdvice, which originally reported on MyWi, all you have to is launch the app and flip the “WiFi Tethering” option to “On.” Then, your iPhone will create a Wi-Fi network that you can choose with your iPad. There is a drawback, of course: Jailbreaking comes with risks. Apple recently issued a support bulletin stating that hacking your iPhone can result in application instability, unreliable voice and data service and other issues. And of course, turning your iPhone into a modem drains its battery pretty fast. Nonetheless, the jailbreak community has come a long way. The MyWi app looks less cumbersome to set up than an official tethering app we reported on in 2008 called NetShare, which actually made it into the App Store briefly — it was almost immediately pulled and banned by Apple. The MyWi app can be downloaded through the Rock app store available for jailbroken iPhones. It costs $10, and it comes with a free 10-day trial. For information on jailbreaking an iPhone, visit the Dev-Team Blog. See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 3 May 2010 | 5:25 pm Jailbreak App Turns iPhone Into 3G Modem for iPadAttention, iPhone owners: Don't want to buy a 3G iPad? A jailbreak app turns your iPhone into a 3G modem you can use with a Wi-Fi iPad.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 3 May 2010 | 5:25 pm Jailbreak App Turns iPhone Into 3G Modem for iPadAttention, iPhone owners: Don't want to buy a 3G iPad? A jailbreak app turns your iPhone into a 3G modem you can use with a Wi-Fi iPad.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 5:25 pm Google Taps Employees to Crowdsource Venture Capital ArmGoogle plans to rely on its employees for leads on which companies to invest in. It says its giant computing power will help it fund companies not related to search, including pharmaceutical and bioscience startups.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 5:15 pm 15 Vintage Tech AdsJimLynch writes "Tech ads just aren't what they used to be. Sure, you have your robot phone wars and naked spokeswomen in bathtubs (what was she selling, again?). But missing are the cheesy songs, silly slogans, and giant gadgets that made the tech ads of yesteryear so wonderful to watch. Check out these 15 vintage tech commercials for yourself. If all the obsolete technology doesn't put a smile on your face, surely the cameo by a young William Shatner will." Apple's "1984" is included, and it has a strange and unanticipated resonance these days.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 3 May 2010 | 5:13 pm Google expands VC staff to do more deals this year (AP)AP - Google Inc. plans to feed its appetite for tantalizing new technologies by investing in more startups while it devours others by buying them outright.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 3 May 2010 | 5:08 pm Lawmakers Draft Web-Ad Privacy Safeguards [Voices]By Emily Steel, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal Advertisers and Internet companies have been scrambling to head off regulation they say will hamper growth of online advertising. The pressure is expected to build Tuesday as lawmakers prepare to announce proposed privacy legislation. More than a year in the making, the draft legislation proposes regulating Internet companies’ tactics for collecting information about Web visitors and the use of that data for ad targeting. It also could apply to the practices for collecting consumers’ information in the offline world. The proposed legislation comes as the furor over privacy issues related to the Internet grows. Lawmakers and regulators say that most consumers experience a great deal of confusion about what information is collected about them and how it is used. Privacy advocates say such tracking has reached alarming levels. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 3 May 2010 | 5:04 pm Spell It Out: Co-Founder Of reCAPTCHA Leaves Google For Facebook
Ben Maurer was a co-founder of reCAPTCHA and its chief architect. As he announced on his blog today, he’ll be joining Facebook’s infrastructure team. “With all the growth Facebook has seen comes unique challenges in scaling systems. I’m looking forward to working on this,” Maurer writes. So why leave Google for Facebook? Well certainly, Facebook is getting a lot of buzz right now as a company that can potentially rival Google in the years ahead. Also, Facebook is not yet a public company, so the move probably makes sense for monetary reasons. Most importantly though, Maurer used to be an intern at Facebook a couple of years ago, so he’s returning home, so to speak. And the Facebook he’s re-joining is undoubtedly different than the one he left. As the service approaches 500 million users, saying they have “unique challenges in scaling systems” is putting it mildly. Meanwhile, reCAPTCHA (at least the technology) will live on. “It’s been over 3 years since we started working on the crazy idea of getting millions of people to digitize the world’s books in their spare time. I’m looking forward to seeing reCAPTCHA continue to grow,” Maurer writes.      
Source: TechCrunch | 3 May 2010 | 4:53 pm Apple's iPad: Angel or Cannibal? [Digital Daily]
UBS analyst Maynard Um surveyed customers in line to buy a 3G iPad in New York on Friday and found that only a handful hoped the iPad would replace their traditional computer. The other 94 percent said they were purchasing the device for Web browsing and personal entertainment. In other words, few people are under the illusion that the iPad is a $499 MacBook or a viable Mac replacement. In that sense, Apple truly has positioned it as a third category of mobile device. Said Um,”The survey further supports our view that the iPad will not cannibalize Macs & we continue to view the device as a largely incremental growth opportunity for Apple.” So most likely, the iPad will prove additive for Apple. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it generates a halo-effect around the company’s products similar to that created by the iPod. Certainly that’s the sense one has paying a visit to an Apple Store these days or being spotted with an iPad in public. Source: All Things Digital | 3 May 2010 | 4:43 pm MechWarrior 4 Free Release Now AvailableMr. Sketch writes with news that the free release of MechWarrior 4 has finally arrived. We've discussed the game in the past when it was announced, and later when its release was held up by Microsoft. Quoting the announcement: "One of the greatest features of MekPak3.1 and of MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries in general, is the ability to customize. MechWarrior always has been about the Mechlab, especially multiplayer. The Mechlab truly distinguishes MW4 from a long list of shooters that have come out in the past 10 years. The ability to create literally thousands of configurations allows the game to continue in popularity over its lengthy life span. Since the Free Release not only comes with the original mechs and weapons of Mercenaries, but also with the Clan and IS Mech Packs and all the Mektek mechs and weapons, here is what you are getting ... for free."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 3 May 2010 | 4:30 pm The First American Corporation Announces Extension of Solicitation of Consents From Holders of Its 7.55 Percent Senior Debentures Due April 1, 2028SANTA ANA, Calif., May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF), America's largest provider of business information, announced today that it is extending the expiration date of its previously announced consent solicitation to amend the indenture under which First American issued its 7.55 percent senior debentures due 2028.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 May 2010 | 4:25 pm Boy Scouts add Video Game belt loop, academics pin to awards listFROM GAMERTELL - Wanna win an award for playing video games? Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts and Webelos Scouts now can and here’s how… Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 3 May 2010 | 4:24 pm Ezenia! Inc. Announces InfoWorkSpace(TM) 3.0.6.1 Service Pack 3NASHUA, N.H., May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ezenia! Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 May 2010 | 4:13 pm It's Official, StarCraft II Hits Stores July 27 - PC World
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 3 May 2010 | 4:05 pm ConnectAndSell Names Shawn McLaren CEOREDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- ConnectAndSell, provider of on-demand telephone conversations with prospects and customers, announced today the appointment of their board chairman Shawn McLaren to the position of company CEO.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 May 2010 | 4:01 pm Exar Corporation Schedules Fiscal 2010 Fourth Quarter Financial Results Conference Call for May 13, 2010FREMONT, Calif., May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Exar Corporation (Nasdaq: EXAR) will hold its fiscal 2010 fourth quarter financial results conference call on May 13, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. PDT.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 May 2010 | 4:00 pm What to Expect From 'Halo: Reach' BetaGameplay upgrades, aggressive new weapons and a character class system make the latest version of the sci-fi videogame series even better.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 3:56 pm How Bad Is the Gulf Coast Oil Spill?Dasher42 writes "Claims are circulating on the Internet that the Coast Guard fears the Deepwater Horizon well has sprung two extra leaks, raising fears that all control over the release of oil at the site will be lost. The oil field, one of the largest ever discovered, could release 50,000 barrels a day into the ocean, with implications for marine life around the globe that are difficult to comprehend. So, considering that losing our oceanic life, with subsequent unraveling of our land-based ecosystems, is a far more possible apocalyptic scenario than a killer asteroid — what do we do about it?" Other readers have sent some interesting pictures of the spill. One set shows the Deepwater Horizon rig as it collapsed into the ocean. Others, from NASA, indicate that the spill's surface area now rivals that of Florida. The US government has indicated that it intends to require BP to foot the bill for the cleanup. And the Governator has just withdrawn support for drilling off the California coast.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 3 May 2010 | 3:53 pm PIA Partners With MobileSecure for Expanded Data Risk Management SolutionWASHINGTON, May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA National) today announced the evolution of its partnership with MobileSecure, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 May 2010 | 3:53 pm iPad sales cross million mark twice as fast as original iPhone (Ben Patterson)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 3 May 2010 | 3:42 pm Appleton to Release First Quarter 2010 Financial ResultsAPPLETON, Wis., May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Appleton will release its first quarter 2010 financial results on May 10 after market close.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 May 2010 | 3:41 pm StarCraft II To Be Released On July 27Blizzard announced today that StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, the first game in a series of three, will be released on July 27. The game will contain the Terran campaign (29 missions), the full multiplayer experience, and "several challenge-mode mini-games," with "focused goals designed to ease players into the basics of multiplayer strategies." It will launch alongside the revamped Battle.net, which we've previously discussed. Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime said, "We've been looking forward to revisiting the StarCraft universe for many years, and we're excited that the time for that is almost here. Thanks to our beta testers, we're making great progress on the final stages of development, and we'll be ready to welcome players all over the world to StarCraft II and the new Battle.net in just a few months."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 3 May 2010 | 3:30 pm Trombetta Proposes Charter School Digital Learning Network in Pennsylvania"Schools across the state are scrambling to create their own cyber programs. Soon every school will be a cyber school." - Dr.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 May 2010 | 3:24 pm Google TV: The Android 'Dragonpoint'? - PC World
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 3 May 2010 | 3:20 pm Consumer and Privacy Groups Warn Online Tracking at 'Alarming Levels,' Joint Letter to Congress Outlines Principles Privacy Legislation Must IncludeWASHINGTON, May 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Warning that "tracking and targeting of consumers online have reached alarming levels," a coalition of 11 consumer and privacy advocacy organizations today sent a letter to Congress outlining the protections any online privacy legislation must include. The coalition said that industry self-regulation has not provided meaningful consumer protection and stressed that legislation is needed. "This tracking is an invasion of privacy...Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 May 2010 | 3:16 pm FCC Mulling New Do-Nothing Broadband Policy [Digital Daily]
Seems a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that found the FCC had overstepped its bounds when it censured Comcast for interfering with peer-to-peer traffic on its network has given the chairman cause to reconsider his plan to reclassify high-speed Internet access as a transport service subject to FCC regulation. “… Sources said Genachowski thinks “reclassifying” broadband to allow for more regulation would be overly burdensome on carriers and would deter investment,” the Post reports. “But they said he also thinks the current regulatory framework would lead to constant legal challenges to the FCC’s authority every time it attempted to pursue a broadband policy.” Genachowski hasn’t yet made a final decision on the matter, but the fact that he’s even considering leaving broadband services unregulated has incensed critics who say to do so is to abandon ‘Net Neutrality. “We simply cannot believe that Julius Genachowski would consider going down this path. Failing to reclassify broadband means the FCC is abandoning the signature communications and technology issues of the Obama administration. Such a decision would destroy Net Neutrality,” Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, said statement. “It would deeply undermine the FCC’s ability to ensure universal Internet access for rural, low-income and disabled Americans. It will undermine the FCC’s ability to protect consumers from price-gouging and invasions of privacy. … If Chairman Genachowski fails to re-establish the FCC authority to protect Internet users, he will be allowing companies like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to slow down, block or censor content at will. “ Source: All Things Digital | 3 May 2010 | 3:14 pm C&D Technologies Receives Notice Regarding NYSE ListingBLUE BELL, Pa., May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- C&D Technologies, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 May 2010 | 3:00 pm Google Ventures: Year oneWhen we launched Google Ventures last March, we wanted to honor Google's entrepreneurial roots while tapping into the wealth of human and technical resources available at Google Inc. to build a unique venture fund. Rather than looking for investments that would simply be strategically useful to Google, we aim to invest in best-of-breed ventures in a wide variety of fields. Our fund's calling is to generate a financial return while supporting entrepreneurs who are creating transformative ventures. In doing so, we try to bring to bear Google's resources to support them in that mission.The job is fairly straightforward: we want to find outstanding entrepreneurs and start-ups, perform thorough and careful due diligence with the help of the combined experience of more than 20,000 Googlers, and then do everything we can to help those companies grow and succeed. To do so, we're building a team of seasoned entrepreneurs, subject-matter experts and investors committed to this goal — above all else, we want to provide more than dollars to our investees. From product launches to code reviews, from help with communications to UI design and beyond — there are a lot of areas where Google's collective experience might be helpful to a start-up. We recently revamped our website, where you can find out more about the people that make up the growing Google Ventures team as well as information on the 10 currently announced portfolio companies. Google Ventures is an expression of our optimism in the future and the belief that looking for, supporting and fostering innovation is worthwhile. We don't know where the next great idea will come from, but with the help of many Googlers, great co-investors and a growing team, we're going to keep looking while working to help entrepreneurs succeed. Posted by Bill Maris, Managing Partner    
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 3 May 2010 | 2:44 pm Apple sells 1 million iPads, outdoing first iPhone (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 3 May 2010 | 2:44 pm Sprint fires up 4G service in Central Pennsylvania
You feel that, Central Pennsylvanians? That slight warmth radiating through the air? That’s Sprint’s 4G service you’re basking in, friend. (Whats that? You don’t feel it? That’s okay. You’re not supposed to be able to. That was just a shout out to all the crazies that swear they get headaches from radio towers — even when they’re turned off.) To make a short story shorter: Sprint’s 4G service is now up and running in Harrisburg, Reading, Lancaster, York, and a handful of other locales in Central Pennsylvania. You know what that means!
Erm.. not a whole lot, at this point. You can get an Overdrive. It’ll be a whole lot more worthwhile once the EVO 4G and subsequent 4G handsets launch — but until then, just sit back and enjoy the warmth.
Source: MobileCrunch | 3 May 2010 | 2:17 pm Former Microsoft Deal Guy Bruce Jaffe Lands at IPO Candidate Glam [MediaMemo]
The Web publishing heavyweight has already been on the shortlist of tech/media companies in line for an IPO, though the company won’t comment on anything connected to a possible offering. But you can connect the dots here: If you are going out to the public markets, it helps to have a guy with doctorate from Redmond. Then again, you could have said the same thing about Stephen E. Recht, Glam’s current CFO, who helped bring Shutterfly public way, way back in 2006, and joinged Glam in 2007. Recht will stay on with Glam through the summer, the company says. Glam’s new hire put in more than a dozen years at Microsoft, including a stint as CFO at its MSN unit. Most recently, Jaffe ran its corporate development group. Glam points out his experience with the $6 billion aQuantive deal in 2007 as a highlight, but there are plenty of Web folks I talk to who argue that Redmond blew billions on that one. Jaffe left Microsoft (MSFT) in early 2008. Since then he’s been running his own consultancy, working with clients including… Glam. Jaffe’s name did pop up as a possible Yahoo (YHOO) hire after Carol Bartz reshuffled the ranks last year. Source: All Things Digital | 3 May 2010 | 2:00 pm NASA's Apollo-Era Launch Pad Leader DiesIn the early days of the space program, when launching was even dicier than it is today, Pad Leader Guenter Wendt sent the early astronauts into space. He died today at the age of 86.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 1:47 pm Medieval African Found Buried in EnglandHow did this man manage to journey from Tunisia to Ipswich, England, during the 13th century?Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 1:45 pm Could a Mini Horse Be Bred Small Enough to Fit in Your Palm?The world's smallest horse was born last week, but how much smaller can these horses get? There may be no limit.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 1:45 pm Magpies Induce Mortality Of 'Unwanted' ChicksHuman parents often pay more attention to a few favored children among all of their offspring. It has already been known that birds do it too, and it may result in some baby birds dying in the nests.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 May 2010 | 1:30 pm Is Purple The New Green?University of Miami researcher examines the light harvesting properties of purple bacteria in hopes of adapting their natural designs in 'green' technologies for humansPurple bacteria were among the first life forms on Earth. They are single celled microscopic organisms that play a vital role in sustaining the tree of life. This tiny organism lives in aquatic environments like the bottom of lakes and the colorful corals under the sea, using sunlight as their source of energy. Its natural design seems the best structural solution for harvesting solar energy. Neil Johnson, a physicist and head of the inter-disciplinary research group in complexity in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami, thinks its cellular arrangement could be adapted for use in solar panels and other energy conversion devices to offer a more efficient way to garner energy from the sun."These bacteria have been around for billions of years, you would think they are really simple organisms and that everything is understood about them. However, purple bacteria were recently found to adopt different cell designs depending on light intensity," says Johnson. "Our study develops a mathematical model to describe the designs it adopts and why, which could help direct design of future photoelectric devices."Johnson and his collaborators from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia share their findings in a study entitled "Light-harvesting in bacteria exploits a critical interplay between transport and trapping dynamics," published in the current edition of Physical Review Letters.Solar energy arrives at the cell in "drops" of light called photons, which are captured by the light-gathering mechanism of bacteria present within a special structure called the photosynthetic membrane. Inside this membrane, light energy is converted into chemical energy to power all the functions of the cell. The photosynthetic apparatus has two light harvesting complexes. The first captures the photons and funnels them to the second, called the reaction center (RC), where the solar energy is converted to chemical energy. When the light reaches the RCs, they close for the time it takes the energy to be converted.According to the study, purple bacteria adapt to different light intensities by changing the arrangement of the light harvesting mechanism, but not in the way one would think by intuition."One might assume that the more light the cell receives, the more open reaction centers it has," says Johnson. "However, that is not always the case, because with each new generation, purple bacteria create a design that balances the need to maximize the number of photons trapped and converted to chemical energy, and the need to protect the cell from an oversupply of energy that could damage it."To explain this phenomenon, Johnson uses an analogy comparing it to what happens in a typical supermarket, where the shoppers represent the photons, and the cashiers represent the reaction centers."Imagine a really busy day at the supermarket, if the reaction center is busy it's like the cashier is busy, somebody is doing the bagging," Johnson says. "The shopper wonders around to find an open checkout and some of the shoppers may get fed up and leave…The bacteria are like a very responsible supermarket," he says. "They would rather lose some shoppers than have congestion on the way out, but it is still getting enough profit for it to survive."The study develops the first analytical model that explains this observation and predicts the "critical light intensity," below which the cell enhances the creation of RCs. That is the point of highest efficiency for the cell, because it contains the greatest number and best location of opened RCs, and the least amount of energy loss.Because these bacteria grow and repair themselves, the researchers hope this discovery can contribute to the work of scientists attempting to coat electronic devices with especially adapted photosynthetic bacteria, whose energy output could become part of the conventional electrical circuit, and guide the development of solar panels that can adapt to different light intensities.Currently, the researchers are using their mathematical model and the help of supercomputers, to try to find a photosynthetic design even better than the one they found in purple bacteria, although outsmarting nature is proving to be a difficult task.---Image Caption: These are cultures of several bacteria. From left to right: Phaeospirillum molischianum, Rhodopseudomonas palustris, Rhodobacter Sphaeroides (strain Ga), Rhodospirillum photometricum and Rhodospirillum rubrum. Credit: James SturgisSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 May 2010 | 1:07 pm Making Rain Clouds With LasersShooting lasers into the sky could be the ticket to growing artificial rain clouds.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 1:00 pm Large Caps This Spring' For Water FleasNew accessoriesWater fleas have the ability to change their appearance to suit their surroundings and the season. This may involve, for example, donning new accessories: water fleas can grow long antennae, a larger back hump or a new "cap" of varying sizes. Researchers at the Department of Zoology at the University of Gothenburg who studied water fleas in the Örekilsälven river basin believe these accessories to be the water fleas' way of reducing the risk of being caught and eaten.Different trendsWhat's remarkable is that water fleas in different lakes follow different trends. For example, high up in the Örekilsälven water system, the females have been wearing small round caps teamed with fairly large bodies, while their counterparts further down in the system have gone the other way - larger caps but smaller bodies.Fashion for protectionHans Lord, researcher at the Department of Zoology, offers an explanation in his thesis. A large cap protects the water fleas from small invertebrate predators, as it makes it harder for these predators to catch and hang on to them. Smaller bodies, in turn, are the water fleas' way of adapting to predatory fish, which rely on their sight to locate their prey. The combination of a small body and a large cap is a compromise: the smaller body reduces the risk of being spotted by a fish, while the large cap (which is transparent and therefore invisible to the fish) offers protection from invertebrate predators.Males not trendyThe males, on the other hand, don't seem at all bothered by current trends.This may be to do with reproduction: given that the females carry the offspring, a dead female is a greater loss than a dead male. It is therefore more worthwhile for the females to invest in a look that will protect them against predators. Another explanation is that the males are driven by their need to find females to mate with as quickly as possible - and that swimming up to a female whilst wearing a large cap and long antennae requires too much energy, takes too long and entails a risk that other males will get there first.Extravagant for summerThis also explains why the fashions are more extravagant in the summer than the winter. "When the water's cold, it's more difficult to move through, which makes it extra-hard to swim with accessories," says Lord, researcher at the Department of Zoology and expert in fashion trends for water fleas. "This is one of the explanations for why we find water fleas with extreme looks during the summer only, when the water is warm, but not during the rest of the year. Another explanation is that the summer brings more invertebrate predators."---Image Caption: These are photographs of five water fleas, females of Daphnia cristata, caught in August in five different lakes in the Örekilsälven river basin in the Munkedal district. In the pictures we can see examples of different sizes and styles of cap. It is particularly interesting that the fetuses in water fleas a and d have the same-shaped caps as their mothers. Credit: University of GothenburgSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 May 2010 | 12:37 pm Large Amounts Of Nitrogen Stored Beneath Selected Agricultural AreasA new model probes to new depths in search of nitrogenLarge amounts of nitrogen are stored in the soils of agricultural areas in Nebraska and Maryland, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 May 2010 | 12:18 pm Sony Promises Emotion Detecting Touchscreen Table
Microsoft’s multi-touch tabletop display called Surface has a competitor as Sony gets ready to start selling a 35-inch, full HD touchscreen table. The table will track gestures and even discern emotions, the makers claim. The table is made by a Swiss company called Atracsys, which has partnered with Sony for the technology. The table comprises a video-based movement-tracking system, a computer, a beamer and a screen, explains Atracsys on its web site. It will also have two Sony ISS XCD-V60 cameras to build a 3D image, according to gadget news blog Pocket Lint. What’s intriguing is Sony’s comment that the Atracsys table can also detect emotion such as surprise, happiness and anger. The tracking system detects the positions and movements of a user’s fingers and the objects on the screen. The data is processed by the computer and sent back to the beamer resulting in what seems like real-time interaction with the device. The whole set-up fits inside the table so users don’t see anything beyond the touchscreen display, as the video below shows.
The idea is very similar to what Microsoft has with its Surface table. Microsoft first announced it in 2007 and since then the technology has showed up in places like Disneyland, Las Vegas casinos and MSBNC (during the TV channel’s presidential elections coverage). Surface hasn’t proved to be a commercial blockbuster, largely because it is big and expensive. The Sony Atracsys table doesn’t fundamentally change that, but it does offer an alternative to the Surface. The tabletop display isn’t designed for homes. But it is expected to show up at retail stores, events and in gaming. Sony and Atracsys haven’t disclosed pricing for the multi-touch table. See Also:
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Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 3 May 2010 | 12:11 pm Not merely tilting at windmills — investing in them tooOn Friday we made our first direct investment in a utility-scale renewable energy project — two wind farms that generate 169.5 megawatts of power, enough to power more than 55,000 homes. These wind farms, developed by NextEra Energy Resources, harness power from one of the world’s richest wind resources in the North Dakota plains and use existing transmission capacity to deliver clean energy to the region, reducing the use of fossil fuels. Through this $38.8 million investment, we’re aiming to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy — in a way that makes good business sense, too.To reach a clean energy future, we need three things: effective policy, innovative technology and smart capital. Through our philanthropic arm Google.org, we’ve been pushing for energy policies that strengthen the innovation pipeline, and we’ve been dedicating resources to developing new technologies, including making investments in early-stage renewable energy companies such as eSolar and AltaRock. Smart capital includes not only these early-stage company investments, but also dedicated funding for utility-scale projects. To tackle this need, we’ve been looking at investments in renewable energy projects, like the one we just signed, that can accelerate the deployment of the latest clean energy technology while providing attractive returns to Google and more capital for developers to build additional projects.  A clear windy day at the Ashtabula II wind farm We’re excited about this first project investment because it uses some of the latest wind turbine technology and control systems to provide one of the lowest-cost sources of renewable energy to the local grid. The turbines can continuously adjust the individual blade pitch angles to achieve optimal efficiency and use larger blades with 15 percent more swept area than earlier generations, allowing capture of even more wind energy for each turbine. The control systems for these wind farms are also advanced and dynamic, allowing for remote 24/7 monitoring and operation to ensure maximum turbine up-time and power production. A couple of us got a chance to climb 80 meters up one of the 113 turbines to see firsthand how the rotating blade motion goes through a gearbox to turn the generator that makes the electricity. The climb to the top also provided a great view of the entire wind farm (don’t worry — we all had harnesses and turned the turbine off!).  My colleague Matt takes a rest after the 80-meter climb We look forward to finding more opportunities to invest in renewable energy projects that use the latest technologies to push the envelope for delivering low cost clean energy. We’ll let you know what we find. Posted by Rick Needham, Green Business Operations Manager   
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 3 May 2010 | 12:02 pm Apple might have to battle the DoJ and FTC over decision to ban Adobe’s Flash compiler
Uh ohs. The world has begun to move on after Steve Job’s public decrying of Flash (and the subsequent word-by-word breakdowns) and the pre-emptive App Store banishment of Adobe’s Flash-to-iPhone compiler — but not everyone is willing to just let go. In fact, two big players are purportedly looking into the whole ordeal: the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.
According to the New York Post, the two organizations are currently negotiating over which will lead an antitrust. Alas, it’s not clear whether these are “No, you do it!” negotiations or “No, I want to do it!” negotiations. “Antitrust?” you say. “Isn’t that all about prohibiting things that restrict free competition?” It is! And that’s exactly what these watchdogs fear is going on. You see, Adobe’s cross-compiler would (or, would in time, in theory) allow for developers to build one application that worked on a number of smartphone platforms (the iPhone included) rather than requiring them to invest the resources to build for each platform separately. By banishing cross-compiling, is Apple making unfair moves to force developers to choose between developing on iDevices and developing on.. everything else? That’s what the inquiry will aim to figure out. Apple has been framing their decision as a positive one for developers from the beginning: they just don’t want developers to rely on tools that might be out of date versus the official SDK — or even abandoned altogether, eventually.
Source: MobileCrunch | 3 May 2010 | 11:37 am iPhone app review: GoodReader
GoodReader is a PDF and text file reader. I’ve been using it for awhile now to enjoy reading books during my commute, and I’ve found it almost perfectly adequate. The biggest selling point for me was the reflow feature:
  The only problems with reflow are that 1) images are lost (not a problem in the works I’ve been reading, but could be an issue in some instances), and 2) page formatting is lost, which means that heavy dialog can be a bit more challenging to follow in some works. When displaying a reflow-ed document, GoodReader can automatically scroll the text for you, making a completely hands-off reading experience. It’s basically like watching a teleprompter. It’s a great idea, but I’m too slow of a reader to really make use of this feature. The integrated document library lets you easily import files from online services like Google Docs, Dropbox, etc. And it includes a WebDAV server so that you can easily transfer files from your PC or Mac directly into the GoodReader library. For a buck, you get a lot of functionality. Extra functionality is available through paid add-ons, which seems like a nice balance: if you don’t need ‘em, don’t buy ‘em.
Source: MobileCrunch | 3 May 2010 | 11:30 am Friday News Feedbag for Friday, April 30!If this is your first exposure to the Friday News Feedbag...we're glad to have you in the club. Welcome to Feedbag Nation, which stems from our weekly science news podcast that you can subscribe to here on iTunes and chat ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 11:22 am World’s greatest $30 phone: Palm Pre Plus?Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile
Although, if you really want to save, you could head over to Amazon and pick up the Verizon Palm Pre Plus for free. This deal features the same phone Verizon is selling now at $29.99. This deal runs from 5/3-5/6, so you’ll have to move fast. Shipping looks to be free as well. The Palm Pixi Plus is still offered by Verizon for the same $29.99 but does qualify for the buy-one-get-one offer, whereas the Pre Plus does not. It’s a great time to be buying a smartphone. Read: [PreCentral] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 3 May 2010 | 10:45 am Introducing Google’s 2010 Anita Borg Scholars & FinalistsThe Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship, established by Google in 2004, honors Dr. Anita Borg, a computer science pioneer who dedicated her life to changing the way we think about diversity and technology. Now in its seventh year, her namesake scholarship continues to support under and post-graduate women completing degrees in computer science and related areas, recognizing and encouraging the next generation of technical leaders and role models.This year, we're awarding 62 scholars and finalists in the U.S., 17 in Canada and 91 in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. In addition to receiving academic scholarships, all of our winners will be invited to participate in all-expenses-paid networking retreats featuring workshops, speakers, panelists, breakout sessions and social activities at Google offices. See below for a full list of winners and the institution they currently attend. In the coming months, we’ll be announcing winners for the Australia and New Zealand Scholarships. And we’ve introduced some other big changes for 2010: for the first time, we’re awarding Anita Borg Scholarships to students in Sub-Saharan Africa and to high school seniors in the U.S. Later this year, we plan to introduce the first-ever Anita Borg Scholarship in Asia. For more information on the Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship and other Google scholarship opportunities, visit our scholarships page. Congratulations, 2010 Scholars and Finalists! U.S. Scholars Aditi Goyal, Stanford University Adrienne Felt, University of California-Berkeley Angela Oguna, University of Kansas Main Campus Anna Molosky, Carnegie Mellon University* Bonnie Kirkpatrick, University of California-Berkeley Boya Xie, East Carolina University Carla Villoria, Texas A & M University Carrine Johnson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology* Daniela Rosner, University of California-Berkeley Erika DeBenedictis, California Institute of Technology* Fan Zhang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Floraine Grabler, University of California-Berkeley Jill Woelfer, University of Washington Karthika Periyathambi, Stanford University Kristi Morton, University of Washington Kyle Rector, Oregon State University Lauren Stephens, Massachusetts Institute of Technology* Lydia Chilton, University of Washington Madeline Smith, Ithaca College Maithilee Kunda, Georgia Institute of Technology Micol Marchetti-Bowick, Stanford University Moira Burke, Carnegie Mellon University Nalini Vasudevan, Columbia University in the City of New York Natasha Nesiba, New Mexico State University* Samantha Ainsley, Columbia University in the City of New York Sheri Williamson, George Mason University Shilpa Nadimpalli, Tufts University Sneha Popley, Texas Christian University Svitlana Volkova, Kansas State University Therese Avitabile, Brown University Valeria Fedyk, Stanford University* Victoria Nneji, Columbia University in the City of New York* *High school senior — planned matriculation at university listed U.S. Finalists Adriana Lopez, New York University Anne Neilsen, University of Nebraska - Lincoln Cassandra Helms, Colorado State University Christina Brandt, Cornell University Emily Shen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Esha Nerurkar, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Farzana Rahman, Marquette University Jana Zujovic, Northwestern University Jessie Li, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Juliet Bernstein, University of Washington Lirida Kercelli, Carnegie Mellon University Marayam Ramezani, DePaul University Maryam Aziz, Montclair State University Michal Rabani, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Michelle Burroughs, Carnegie Mellon University Minlan Yu, Princeton University Miray Kas, Carnegie Mellon University Natalie Yudin, Rice University Pallavi Yerramilli, University of Pennsylvania Rachael Harding, Carnegie Mellon University Rachelle Fuhrer, University of California, San Diego Razieh Nokhbeh Zaeem, University of Texas at Austin Riddhi Mittal, Stanford University Sanjana Prasain, University of Washington Sonia Haiduc, Wayne State University Wei Chen, Carnegie Mellon University Yang Shan, Carnegie Mellon University Yi Gu, University of Memphis Yinian Qi, Purdue University Main Campus Zeinab Abbassi, Columbia University in the City of New York Canada Scholars Allaa Hilal, University Of Waterloo Barbara Macdonald, University Of Waterloo Dana Jansens, Carleton University Ioana Burcea, University Of Toronto Michelle Annett, University Of Alberta Canada Finalists Audrey Corbeil Therrien, University Of Sherbrooke Constance Adsett, Dalhousie University Inmar Givoni, University Of Toronto Jasmina Vasiljevic, Ryerson University Jennifer Woodcock, University Of Victoria Jignasa Shah, Dalhousie University Margareta Ackerman, University Of Waterloo Nazish Bhatti, Concordia University Phillipa Gill, University Of Toronto Rachel Zhang, Queen's University Veronica Irvine, University Of Victoria Yanyan Zhuang, University Of Victoria Europe, Middle East and Africa Scholars Adi Shklarsh, Tel Aviv University, Israel Alexandra Jimborean, Université Louis Pasteur Strasbourg, France Andrea Francke, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland Arlette van Wissen, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands Birgit Schmidt, Graz University of Technology, Austria Christina Pöpper, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland Christine Zarges, Technische Universität Dortmund, Germany Ekaterina Shutova, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Elena Tretyak, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia Estrella Eisenberg, Bar-Ilan University, Israel Hilary Finucane, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel Hind Saddiki, Al Akhawayn University, Morocco Irina Makhalova, Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology, Russia Katayoun Farrahi, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland Lavinia Basaraba, Politehnica University of Timisoara, Romania Limor Leibovich, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel Maria Francesca O' Connor, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Maria-Camilla Fiazza, University of Verona, Italy Melanie Ganz, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Monika Schubert, Graz University of Technology, Austria Nina Kargapolova, Novosibirsk State University, Russia Ntombikayise Banda, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Nuzhah Gooda Sahib, Queen Mary, University of London, United Kingdom Oana Tifrea, Free University of Bozen · Bolzano, Italy Pinar Yanardag, Bogazici University, Turkey Ruzica Piskac, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland Samreen Anjum, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Qatar Silvian Gitau, University of Cape Town, South Africa Sinini Ncube, Rhodes University, South Africa Sus Lundgren, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden Susanne Pfeifer, University of Oxford, United Kingdom Tatiana Starikovskaya, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia Yael Amsterdamer, Tel Aviv University, Israel Europe, Middle East and Africa Finalists Afsaneh Asaei, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland Aia Hassouneh, Birzeit University, Palestinian Territories Alissa Cooper, University of Oxford, United Kingdom Anastasia Tkach, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Russia Anastasia Shakhshneyder, Technische Universität München, Germany Anna Astrakova, Novosibirsk State University, Russia Anna Dehof, Saarland University, Germany Anna Zych, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland Annemarie Friedrich, Saarland University, Germany Archana Nottamkandath, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands Charlotte Ipema, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands Ching-Yun Chang, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Claudia Rosas Mendoza, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain Claudia Schon, University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany Efrat Mashiach, Tel Aviv University, Israel Elzbieta Dlutowska, University of Wrocław, Poland Eman AbdelSalam, Alexandria University, Egypt Eva Darulova, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland Floor Sietsma, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Grace Mbipom, University of Manchester, United Kingdom Hildegard Kuehne, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany Ifeanyichukwu Ekeruche, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana Ioana Verebi, Politehnica University of Timisoara, Romania Ivonne Thomas, Hasso Plattner Institute, Germany Janneke van der Zwaan, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands Julia Preusse, University of Magdeburg, Germany Julie Rico, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom Karolina Soltys, University of Warsaw, Poland Laura Zilles, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Germany Lene Mejlby, Aarhus University, Denmark Lina AL Kanj, American University of Beirut, Lebanon Lucy Gunawan, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands Maria Mateescu, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland Maria Karoliina Lehtinen, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Marije de Heus, University of Twente, The Netherlands Marleine Daoud, University of Stuttgart, Germany Mary Baraza, Busoga University, Uganda Maysa Nouh, Birzeit University, Palestinian Territories Meyyar Palaniappan, Technische Universität München, Germany Min Bao, Linköping University, Sweden Mounira Bachir, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France Naama Tepper, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel Nga Nguyen, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Nino Shervashidze, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Germany Olga Streibel, Free University of Berlin, Germany Reem Mostafa, Alexandria University, Egypt Rehab Alnemr, Hasso Plattner Institute, Germany Rikke Bendlin, Aarhus University, Denmark Ruth Rinott, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Sarah Greenfield, De Montfort University, United Kingdom Sarah Niebe, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Saskia Groenewegen, Utrecht University, The Netherlands Sophia Wadie, American University in Cairo, Egypt Svetlana Olonetsky, Tel Aviv University, Israel Sylvia Grüener, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany Tamar Aizikowitz, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel Viviana Petrescu, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland Zsuzsanna Püspöki, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary Posted by Beate List, EMEA University Programmes   
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 3 May 2010 | 10:25 am Jordan River, Site of Jesus' Baptism, Could Dry UpBy 2011, the famed river, now merely a polluted stream, could disappear entirely.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 10:20 am Presenting..The Northern Red-Bellied SnakeNaturalist Mark Fraser introduces us to the Northern red-bellied snake.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 3 May 2010 | 10:18 am Asus officially unveils the Eee KeyboardSection: Computers, Peripherals, Mice / Keyboards  Coming a little while after we saw the pre-orders go live, and after an unboxing—but still, the Asus Eee Keyboard has finally been made official. The “official” comes in the form of a press release which was posted on the Asus website offering the complete details including specs. That said, the Amazon listing we mentioned last week, is still listed as a pre-order at this time. Keep reading to check out the full release below… Read [Asus]
 Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 3 May 2010 | 9:39 am The Bivalve EffectNew understanding of marine ecology will enable better management of resourcesExplaining and understanding life cycles is on many people's minds in spring, and McGill Biologist Dr. Frédéric Guichard is no exception – in fact, he's made a fascinating discovery relating to the life, death, reproduction and communication … of mussels. Guichard says marine life can communicate over thousands of kilometers, calling into question current fishery management and marine preservation practices. "If I kill mussels in San Diego, it will have an impact in Seattle. We now know that populations are connected," he said.Using mathematical modeling and data from natural populations, Guichard and his colleagues, Dr. Tarik Gouhier and Dr. Bruce A. Menge at Oregon State University, found a phenomenon similar to the "butterfly effect," whereby the actions of one individual can cause a series of chain reactions. Mussel populations communicate by actions such as releasing larvae or dying. "Current practices are based on the knowledge that a mussel can travel no further than 100 km in its lifespan, so efforts are focused on local areas in the belief that we can control local populations," Guichard explains. "But this 'fence approach' only looks at the life history of an animal, which isn't enough to predict how it will affect its environment and other marine life."We can now see what we normally don't look for in the wild, so we can use this model to better manage their numbers. Scientists have long theorized about this, but this is the proof," Guichard said.The principles of their discovery should be applicable to many species and will have important ramifications in the short term for the design of marine reserves and in the longer term for fisheries management. Frédéric Guichard was funded by the James McDonnell Foundation and the research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.---Image Caption: Sea stars (Pisaster ochraceous) are predators that can control local population abundance within rocky intertidal communities by consuming the dominant mussel (Mytilus californianus). Credit: Dr. Tarik C. GouhierSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 May 2010 | 9:30 am Famed Jordan River Under ThreatThe once-famed, now heavily polluted Jordan River could cease to exist in 2011, according to a report released Monday by the environmental group Friends of the Earth, Middle East (FoEME)."Diversion of over 90-percent of its fresh water, in addition to discharge of large quantities of untreated sewage, threatens to irreversibly damage the River Valley," the FoEME's official website says.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 May 2010 | 9:15 am Endangered Lions Making ComebackThe endangered Asiatic Lion, which once thrived in southwest Asia before being forced to congregate in a small forest in western India, is starting to make a comeback thanks to the efforts of local conservationists, according to media reports on Monday.Fewer than 200 were believed to be in existence in the late 1960s.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 May 2010 | 8:55 am Magyarosaurus Was A Shrunken GiantA dwarf among giantsOver the years, paleontologists have frequently debated the question of whether or not the Magyarosaurus was a dwarf. Martin Sander, spokesperson of the Research Group on Sauropod Biology funded by Germany's central research funding foundation the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) notes, "An animal the size of a horse may not seem like a dwarf to most people but, in sauropod terms, it's tiny!" When Magyarosaurus was discovered in Transylvania (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), the paleontologist Nopcsa advanced the idea that Magyarosaurus was an island dwarf, but he could not prove it back then, at the beginning of the 20th century. Many discoveries have since indicated that his theory might be correct, especially the fossils of dwarf elephants and hippopotamuses found on Mediterranean islands like Sicily, Malta and Cyprus.However, scientists first pursued a different theory. For in the subsequent decades, other researchers found big sauropod bones on the Transylvanian site. They therefore concluded that Magyarosaurus was simply a youngster, while the larger bones came from fully grown adults.The study now being published provides conclusive evidence that Nopcsa's hunch had been right all along. "Our study shows that dinosaurs on islands were subject to the same ecological and evolutionary processes that shape modern mammals," explains Martin Sander. "We were also able to demonstrate that the bigger bones found in that area belong to a different dinosaur species." Whether they come from stray animals who swam to the island from the mainland, or from large ancestors of the dwarf Magyarosaurus, remains a secret shrouded in the mists of pre-historic time. ---Image Caption: This is how Magyarosaurus could have looked. Credit: Mihai Dumbrava, liliensternus.deviantart.comSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 May 2010 | 8:35 am Plumage Color Traits More Extreme Over TimeNext generationThe third generation of ecological researchers at the Department of Zoology at the University of Gothenburg are now publishing their findings in this field. Together with colleagues and project leader Staffan Andersson, postgraduate student Maria Prager has studied how sexual signals in widowbirds and bishops (Euplectes spp.) are produced and change during the evolutionary process.Enormous rangeIn the past, the function of signals was much disputed but is now well-known: it has to do with attracting a mate for reproduction and deterring rivals. But why the animal kingdom displays such an enormous range of signals and traits has still not been explained. The African widowbirds and bishops are an excellent illustration of this phenomenon: despite being closely related and using classic avian signals – elongated tail feathers and bright colors – there is a fascinating amount of variation in the traits of these species.More extremeMaria Prager's thesis follows on from field studies that indicate a general pattern amongst these and many other birds: females prefer males with the longest tail feathers, while males with larger and redder color signals are able to occupy larger breeding territories. Maria Prager's hypothesis was that the signals of widowbirds and bishops thus have become ever more extreme during evolution.DNA-studiesA lack of fossil feathers means she has studied modern DNA in order to reconstruct the evolution of colors and plumage in the genealogical trees of these species. The results show that today's species of widowbirds and bishops are descended from birds with short tails and yellow color signals.Genetic imitationsThe current red color has evolved through several means: the birds store large amounts of yellow dietary pigments in their feathers, which produce a red hue, or they convert some of the dietary yellow pigment to red with the aid of an enzyme. As yellow widowbirds and bishops seem to lack this enzyme, color diversification may be due in part to physiological or genetic limitations in some species.Evolution of colorMalte Andersson was a pioneer in work to test and further develop Darwin's concept that the reproductive success of males often depends on eye-catching ornamentation. Maria Prager's research now clarifies three new aspects of color signaling: the pigment mechanisms behind colors, the development of colors in individuals, and the evolution of color signals over time."Our combined research provides a unique and complete picture of color evolution in birds, and there are few other animals for which we now have so much knowledge of the various aspects of these signals."---Image 1: This is a red bishop bird. Credit: Staffan AnderssonImage 2: Maria Prager is the author of the thesis, "Phylogeny and Signal Diversity in Widowbirds and Bishops (Euplectes spp.)" Credit: Staffan AnderssonImage 3: This is a photo of a white winged widowbird. Credit: Maria PragerSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 May 2010 | 8:26 am Appletell reviews Artist’s Touch for iPadFROM APPLETELL - Artist’s Touch for iPad works as a creativity app for the kids and as a photography/art app for adults, and will create yet one more unique use for your iPad. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 3 May 2010 | 8:22 am Apple: One Million iPads Sold in 28 Days
Apple has sold one million iPads just four weeks. Writing in an Apple press release, Steve Jobs compares this to the “74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone.” Whichever way you look at it, the iPad is a huge success. That number equates to almost 36,000 units sold every day. The press release mentions a couple other show-off figures: in the same time frame, 12 million apps have been downloaded by iPad users, and 1.5 million books have been checked out of the iBooks store. A lot of those will be free, but it sure shows that iPad users are download-happy. Back in January, when the iPad was announced, I Tweeted that the tech press would hate it, and that Apple would sell a zillion anyway. Almost four months later and the press continues to hate on the iPad, with daily screeds about the evil, closed app store and Apple’s victimization of poor Adobe and its execrable Flash plugin. Meanwhile, the rest of the world (well, the rest of the US right now - the press release says that demand still outstrips supply) is full of happy customer. Sick and tired of being forced to tend to the fickle, unfathomable whims of “real” computers for decades, they are rushing to give Apple their cash in return for a machine that is easy and fun to use. Say what you like, command-line freaks: The iPad is huge, an its only going to get bigger. Sure, it’s full of problems, but that won’t make a bit of difference to the general public. Remember the iPod? To see the business angle on this announcement, head over to our sister blog, Epicenter, and read “Apple iPad Reaches ‘One Million Sold’ Twice as Fast as iPhone” by Wired.com’s Eliot van Buskirk. Apple Sells One Million iPads [Apple] Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 3 May 2010 | 8:09 am Wii to bundle Sports Resort, MotionPlus - CNET
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 3 May 2010 | 8:05 am Hands-On With the Dual iPod Touch GPS-Kit
The Dual GPS Navigation and Battery Cradle is an accessory which adds proper GPS navigation to the iPod Touch. You slide in the iPod and it gets full navigational functionality, just like the iPhone. For the past few weeks, I have been testing it. The iPod Touch is often thought of as a phone-less iPhone, and although that’s true, it’s only half the story. Aside from the lack of phone functionality, the Touch misses out on a camera, always-on internet, a compass and a GPS chip. The Dual cradle adds this last back in, letting you use the iPod as a GPS tracker for geo-tagging photos and as an in-car, turn-by-turn satnav system. The Dual comes with a lot of accessories. First, the cradle, which plugs into both the dock connector and the headphone socket. It more than doubles the thickness of the iPod, but also adds a beefy battery pack which powers the GPS or recharges the iPod. A three-way switch on the back lets you choose between GPS or battery, or to switch it off. There is a mini-USB port in the bottom which will let you charge and sync the iPod while in the case, but you need to slide the switch to “Battery” to make it work. There is also a speaker (with volume switches) and a pass-through headphone jack. Also in the box is a windshield-mounting kit: another cradle which attaches to the glass with a suction cup. This hooks up to the car stereo via 3.5mm jack and to the cigarette-lighter socket via included cable. I don’t have a car, so I used my bike, and my good friend Francesc modded the bracket to fit my handlebars. I also ignored the free NavAtlas GPS application that is made by the same company for use with the unit: it is USA and Canada-only, and therefore useless outside those countries. Fortunately, an iPod in the cradle just passes the GPS info direct to any GPS-aware app. You can use anything that works on an iPhone. Out on the sunny Barcelona streets, I fired the cradle up. It can take a while to get a fix, and you’ll need a very clear view of the sky to get one. I had to wait for a few minutes each time, and found that moving slowly along on the bike seemed to speed things up. One the unit is locked on, it stays locked on, though. In fact, once it gets going, the GPS tracking appears to be flawless, holding on even in brief jaunts through tunnels or indoors. On the bike, the audio is loud enough to hear, as long as you aren’t on a busy road (and the speaker is quite a bit louder than the iPad’s own, making this a good way to listen to podcasts while cooking). The battery is long-lasting, with a 1,100mAH-rating. Dual claims ten hours when used in GPS mode. I didn’t get anywhere near this time in my testing, but the four-LED battery indicator never came off full even after a couple hours. This is good: The iPod battery itself drains scarily fast when tracking with the screen switched on, so you will want to use the cradle’s battery for a top-up at journey’s end. Many apps will let you track with the iPod display switched off, however. In use, there isn’t much to fault with the Dual cradle. It does what it says it does, and build quality is fine. The trouble comes with the size and the price. The kit costs $200, double that of rival TomTom’s car-kit. For that price, you could buy a standalone GPS and never have to worry about your iPod’s battery life. That choice is up to you, though. If the price and features of this cradle seem good to you, then go ahead and buy it. It works great, and does it without fuss. Dual XGPS300 [Dual] Photo: Charlie Sorrel See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 3 May 2010 | 7:45 am Microsoft KIN ONE & KIN TWO rumored for a May 13th releaseSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  Assuming we can believe these latest screen captures (seen below) then it looks like the KIN ONE and KIN TWO will both be available for pre-order as of May 6th and that they will be available in store as of May 13th. This does coincide with the general time frame of May that we had heard through official channels, but as of now these dates have not been confirmed. Instead these screenshots are reported to have come by way of a leaked internal Verizon Wireless email. Either way, May 6th is just a few days away, so official or not we are going to see just how accurate they are in a few days time. Anyone waiting for a KIN ONE or KIN TWO? Via [SlashPhone]  Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 3 May 2010 | 7:18 am Photos: iFixit Rips Open iPad 3G
You knew this had to happen: IFixit has taken the brand-new iPad 3G and torn it open, all before some of us have managed to get our hands on one. The internals of the 3G iPad don’t differ much from those of the earlier Wi-Fi-only model, but there are some design surprises apart from the big plastic strip on the back of the body. The hardware additions come down to the cellular networking and aGPS chipsets. The iPad uses the exact same 3G chip as the iPhone 3GS, although it isn’t marked as such. iFixit’s sleuthing confirmed that it is in fact the Infineon 337S3754 PMB 8878 X-Gold IC used in the latest iPhone. The GPS hardware, though, is different: Apple has switched to a Broadcom AGPS chip, dropping the iPhone’s Infineon Hammerhead II (which has a way better name). The most interesting part for those of us not into chip numbers is the amount of antennae in there. You thought the iPad was stuffed full of battery, but it is also stuffed full of aerials: the 3G has five of them, for Bluetooth, GPS, 3G and Wi-Fi. One of the cell antennae is in the plastic RF window, as you’d expect. The other is hooked up to the LCD frame, running round the entire edge of the iPad. This should give great reception, and is a trick that Apple has used before in some MacBook models. As ever, though, the best part of the iFixit post is the pile of wonderful pictures of the tear-down process. If you ever dreamed of ripping open your gadgets to see what was inside, but know that you’ll never get all the parts back together again, iFixit is the place to go. See a few more photos below. iPad 3G Teardown [iFixit. Thanks, Kyle!] Photo credit: iFixit
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 3 May 2010 | 6:30 am Reducing Farm Fossil Energy UseThe impacts of low-external-input cropping systems on energy and yieldConventional agriculture production relies heavily on fossil fuels, particularly in its ability to provide energy at a low cost. However, the uncertain future of fossil fuel availability and prices point to need to explore energy efficiencies in other cropping systems.Most of the U.S. Corn Belt relies on a two-year rotation of corn and soybean with heavy inputs of fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides derived from fossil fuels to achieve high yields keep costs low. Matt Liebman, Michael Cruse, and their colleagues at Iowa State University conducted a six-year study to compare energy use of a conventionally managed corn and soybean system with two low input cropping systems that use more diverse crops and manure applications, but also use less fertilizer and herbicides. The results were published in the May/June 2010 edition of Agronomy Journal, published by the American Society of Agronomy.The two input systems consisted of a three-year rotation of corn-soybean/small grain/red clover and a four-year rotation of corn-soybean-small grain/alfalfa-alfalfa. Between 2003 and 2008, nitrogen fertilizer inputs in the 3-year rotation decreased 66% and decreased 78% in the 4-year rotation. Herbicide use decreased 80% in the three-year rotation and 85% in the four-year rotation. Despite the energy input reduction, corn and soybean yields matched or exceeded the conventional system yields.Did the application of manure decrease the fossil fuel energy costs? Manure prices are dependent on local economic conditions, but the two low-input systems used 23% to 56% less fossil energy than conventional systems. To analyze the energy and economic costs of manure application, the researchers used two approaches. One where manure was a waste product of live stock and essentially free of cost except for the energy used in its application, and a second approach as if the costs of manure were the same as commercial fertilizers. As a low economic input, manure can return $249 per acre, or $28 to $38 under high economic input for four and three-year systems, respectively.Most of the fossil energy input for all systems was from grain drying and handling. Conditions in northern latitudes, where farmers have limited time to allow grain to dry in the field, make it difficult to reduce this cost. The researchers point out, however, that growing corn less frequently in a rotation sequence can reduce the need for grain drying with fossil energy.The three and four-year rotation plans rely on agriculture systems where livestock feeding, manure application are integrated into crop production practices. "Iowa has a long history of mixed crop and livestock farming, although these operations do require more management and labor," said Liebman. "If fossil energy costs rise steeply, we may see more of them again."While fossil energy inputs may decrease with manure application and increased crop rotation, the opposite trend is true for labor inputs. A two-year rotation required 41 minutes per acre per year, with a three-year rotation increasing labor 54%, and a four-year rotation requiring 91% more labor. However, the increases in labor were mainly in parts of the year not associated with corn or soybean production activities.The researchers conclude that low energy prices and high wages contributed to the adoption of the conventional two-year corn/soybean rotation. Fossil fuels offset labor costs and allow net economic returns to remain constant. If demand from ethanol or overseas grain markets increase, or if biofuels from corn stover become economically viable, Midwest cropping systems may continue on a trend of less diversity and more corn. However, if fossil energy prices rise without an increase in crop value, diversified cropping systems may become more preferable."It's hard to predict the exact details of what the future will bring us," said Liebman. "But results of this study show that we do have options for maintaining high farm productivity and profitability while substantially reducing our dependence on fossil energy."The research team was funded by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is expanding its activities into measurements of effects of the different cropping systems on water quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics.---Image Caption: Fossil energy use was compared among three different crop rotation systems in a field experiment conducted between 2003 and 2008 in Boone Co., Iowa. Credit: David N. SundbergSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 May 2010 | 6:15 am “Dear Steve:” Campaigns that tried to change Apple (and failed) - part 2FROM APPLETELL - Too many wanna-be-Steves think that what the company really needs to do is follow what the rest of the computing world is doing. This brings us to the Apple netbook. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 3 May 2010 | 6:02 am Glass-Sided Toaster: Watch it Burn
Your toaster, like mine, is probably jammed somewhere between an electric kettle and a blender. The only visible parts are the filthy, crumb-caked slot and the handle which starts the mysterious browning process as it plunges the raw, naked bread into the hot slit. You have likely never adjusted the timer since the day you bought it, relying instead on yanking the toast as the edges start to char and burn. What you need, my toast-abusing friend, is this $350 machine from Magimix. The Vision Toaster deserves to be taken out from its dark corner and proudly displayed. If not, you’ve kind of wasted your money, as the Vision is a hot-box with glass sides that let you see its inner workings. It will fit two slices of soft American pap at one time (or four slices of tasty baguette, as the sales page proudly shows) and let you see the Maillard reaction as it occurs, in exciting real-time. The Vision has buttons for toast, bagels (one-side only), reheating and defrosting, all of which could easily be replaced by the one timer-dial in the center. The glass sides flip down for cleaning, and there is a slide-out crumb-tray for you to ignore. Available now, from Williams Sonoma. Or you could just keep your existing toaster, drop in 350 bucks, set to high and walk away. Magimix Vision Toaster [Williams Sonoma via Uncrate] See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 3 May 2010 | 5:34 am IPad 3G Sold 300,000 on Launch Weekend, Analyst Guesses
Gene Munster, analyst at Piper Jaffray, has made public his educated guess on the sales figures for the iPad 3G launch weekend. The number? 300,000. Munster came up with the number by combining several other numbers, according to Fortune’s Apple 2.0 blog. First, Munster and team counted the lines outside the flagship Apple Store on 5th Avenue in New York, and a store in a mall outside Minneapolis. The results were compared to a count made at the launch of the Wi-Fi-only model, and gave up 329 vs. 730 in NYC and 119 vs. 132 in Minneapolis. Then, Munster decided that the Friday launch gave people more time to buy than the first iPad’s Saturday launch, and threw a few more numbers into the pot. Then he had the idea that maybe more pre-orders had been made, because people had, you know, more time to do it. Mixed, shaken and spat into a spreadsheet, the final number is exactly the same as the official figure for the original iPad launch: 300,000. Some real facts did come out of this, though. The team called around 50 Apple Stores yesterday (Sunday) and 49 had sold out of 3G iPads. Generally, Munster’s figures tend to be high. As a rough guide, you can half his guesses to arrive at an accurate figure. When he cast his runes to predict the initial launch on April 3rd, for example, his magic number was 600,000 to 700,000, or double the actual number. Has Gene Munster already applied the Munster Equation this time? We’ll have to wait and see. iPad 3G sold out in 49 of 50 stores [Fortune] See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 3 May 2010 | 4:46 am iPad Jailbreak Ready for Download
If you’re all into destabilizing your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch whilst simultaneously reducing its battery life, we have good news. The “Spirit” jailbreak is now available for all iPhone OS devices (including the just-released iPad 3G). The jailbreak, from SpiritJB.com, is untethered. This means that once you have hacked your iDevice using the one-click software, you can restart it at will, just like you could with a clean, Apple-approved copy of the operating system. Some alternate methods require that you hook the iPhone OS device up to a computer to enable it to boot. Jailbreaking involves hacking the OS to give you access to the file system and to allow running of third party software (as much of it as you like at the same time, hence the possible battery-life hit). With this release, the third-party application repository Cydia is reported to be buggy, so much so that it may crash your iPad or iPhone and require that you restore it from your official and proper Apple backup. What this hack doesn’t do is unlock your iPhone from its carrier. If you’re feeling brave, go grab the download from the link below. Happy hacking. Download Spirit Jailbreak for iPhone 3.1.3, iPod touch 3.1.3, and iPad 3.2 [SpiritJB via Cult of Mac] UPDATED 5/3/2010 with correct download URL. 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 3 May 2010 | 4:09 am
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The Force is strong with 
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The unexpected, unadvertised solution which kisses it all better is known as a deus ex machina - literally, a god from the machine. And a god from the machine is what the Doctor now is. A decent detective story provides you with enough tantalising information to allow you to make a stab at a solution before the famous detective struts his stuff in the library. Doctor Who replaces this with speed, fast talking, and what appears to be that wonderful element "makeitupasyougalongeum". I don't know about you, but I don't think I would dare try to jump-start a spaceship that looks like the Titanic by diving it into the atmosphere... but I have to forgive the Doctor that, because it was hilariously funny.
One potential solution, Changizi said, is for hospitals to outfit patients with gowns and sheets that are nude-colored and closely match their skin tone. Another solution is to develop adhesive tabs in a large palette of skin-toned colors. Physicians could then choose the tabs that most closely resemble the patient's skin tone, and place the tabs at several places on the skin of the patient. Both techniques should afford doctors and clinicians an easy and effective tool to record the skin tone of a patient, and see if it deviates - even very slightly - from its "baseline" color over time.
After over a year of delays, promises, and waiting, we finally know what’s going to be in the
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The mobile advertising space got white hot last year when 
I have a confession to make: today was the first day I touched my Kindle in weeks. And I only did it to check if I had received the new 
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Since October 19, 2005, Gmail has been known as “Google Mail” in the UK. The means that everyone who signed up since that point was forced to use the cumbersome @googlemail.com address rather than a @gmail.com one. But 
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Apple (AAPL) investors worried that the company’s new iPad might cannibalize Mac sales can rest a bit easier. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there’s probably not much cause for concern.
Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski is considering leaving broadband services unregulated. That’s what a trio of sources inside the agency tell The Washington Post, anyway. 
Attention bargain shoppers, Verizon has just put the Palm Pre Plus, featuring the capable webOS, on sale for just $29.99. This price includes the free mobile hotspot as well that turns the phone into a WiFi router for other gadgets and computers. If you’ve been holding off on a smartphone purchase, this could be the time to jump in.
