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Android 2.2 sets Android 2.1 on fire. From the friction. Because it’s so fast.
Ian Douglas has run some benchmarks on his Froyo-powered Nexus One, and it’s scoring almost 5 times better. To be a bit more specific, an Eclair-powered Nexus One usually scores around 6-7 MFLOPS in Linpack benchmarks, but this shiny new Froyo build delivers a blistering 38-40 MFLOPS. The magic comes from the spankin’ new JIT compiler included in the Froyo build. Now, as I said before, these are just benchmark results, so real-world performance will differ. Android And Me point out that Android apps will probably have to be tweaked to take full advantage of the new compiler, so it could be a few months after release before Android users really start seeing a difference. But, man, I’m excited. Yesterday, a video showing off Flash 10.1 on a Froyo-powered Nexus One emerged. This bump in speed could explain how it was able to run so smoothly. So, here’s to hoping that 2.2 makes it to my upgrade-shy HTC Hero.* *yes, I have a European HTC Hero, and not a Sprint one, but I’m still plagued by the same upgrade-frustration…
Source: MobileCrunch | 12 May 2010 | 4:15 am IT in developing nations helps women and poor peopleA study by BCS, the UK Chartered Institute for IT, concluded that the introduction of technology to developing nations disproportionately benefits women and poor people. This runs contrary to the anti-IT-development argument that runs, "The world's poor need civil rights and food, not phones and laptops."Technology linked to happiness, study claims (Image: Connecting India, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from t1tan's photostream)
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Source: Boing Boing | 12 May 2010 | 4:11 am Prime Minister Cameron was in a rich Oxford brats club that destroyed restaurants for funHere's an 1987 photo of Prime Minister David Cameron (back row, 2nd from left) with fellow members of the "notorious" Bullingdon Club, which Martin Lewis describes as "a UK equivalent of Yale's exclusive Skull & Bones Society ... an ultra-exclusive clique that admits only the nation's richest and brattiest trust-fund kids."The New York Times reported in 1913 "The Bullingdon represents the acme of exclusiveness at Oxford; it is the club of the sons of nobility, the sons of great wealth; its membership represents the 'young bloods' of the university." (Source: Wikipedia) What do these sons of nobility do for fun? The same thing they've been doing for centuries -- terrorizing peasants with impunity:
UK Election Winner! Meet the New Toff (Same as the Old Toffs) Sharp develops 3D camera system for mobile phones (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 May 2010 | 4:10 am Google Android comes to life - InfoWorld
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 12 May 2010 | 4:04 am Office and Mail bugs star in May Patch Tuesday update - Register
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 12 May 2010 | 3:55 am Optical illusion: impossible anti-grav rampsKoukichi Sugihara's "Impossible motion" -- a cunning arrangement of cardboard ramps carefully skewed to create the illusion that balls roll up them -- won top honors at the Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences' Best Visual Illusion of the Year Contest 2010. It has a delightful 3D physicality, being a real object made out of atoms, that makes it especially wonderful. Impossible motion: magnet-like slopes (via Neatorama)
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Source: Boing Boing | 12 May 2010 | 3:42 am Heinlein freaked out at "invasive" review of STRANGER IN A STRANGER LANDScience fiction legend Frederik Pohl continues his memoir-in-blog-form, HOW THE FUTURE BLOG. Today, he's got a post about how Robert A Heinlein reacted to an early look at AJ Budrys's detailed and highly critical review of the major novel Stranger in a Strange Land.It's a great little anaecdote, but Pohl's being somewhat coy or elliptical in explaining the incident: apparently Budrys's review was viewed by Heinlein as an invasion of his privacy (despite the fact that Budrys and Heinlein didn't know each other). Reading between the lines, it sounds to me like Pohl is saying that Budrys speculated that Heinlein was polyamorous (Stranger is one of the most influential sources of inspiration for the poly movement). I don't know if Heinlein was or not, but I could see how, in 1961, this might be an upsetting thing to have said about you in print. Happy ending: Pohl introduced Heinlein and Budrys to each other at the Seattle Worldcon and the two became good pals. Robert A. Heinlein, Algis Budrys and me (Images: File:Algis Budrys 1985.jpg, Bill Shunn/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA; File:Heinlein-face.jpg, Dd-b/Wikimedia Commons, GDL)
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Source: Boing Boing | 12 May 2010 | 3:36 am Video: Samsung I5801 mid-range Android phone
Today sees another mid-range Android device previewed before being set upon the masses. This time it’s from Samsung. Specs are a bit scarce at the moment, but as it stands, the device appears to run Android 2.1, 802.11n, 3G, a (possible) 240×400 display, 3.5mm headphone jack, and MicroSD slot. As I said before, this will be a mid- to low-end device, but I think it’s wonderful that the mid- to low-end phone market now have the option to grab something more than the usual Spartan feature phone. No, not literally. [via Samsung Hub]
Source: MobileCrunch | 12 May 2010 | 3:27 am Mozilla CEO John Lilly announces plans to leave - TG Daily
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 12 May 2010 | 3:25 am 2.5 dimensional optical illusion bookshelf Designer Bjørn Jørund Blikstad created these "2.5 dimensional" wall-hung shelves that combine real depth with optical illusions to bend your brain and hold your stuff. Second and a Half Dimension Shelves
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Source: Boing Boing | 12 May 2010 | 3:20 am 2.5 dimensional optical illusion bookshelfDesigner Bjrn Jrund Blikstad created these "2.5 dimensional" wall-hung shelves that combine real depth with optical illusions to bend your brain and hold your stuff. Second and a Half Dimension Shelves...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 May 2010 | 3:20 am AT-AT jungle gym from a lost and golden ageThis old AT-AT Walker jungle-gym looks like it would be so goddamned fun! I don't care how unsafe and overbalanced it is: plummeting to the cold hard ground is a small price to pay for something this...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 May 2010 | 3:16 am AT-AT jungle gym from a lost and golden age This old AT-AT Walker jungle-gym looks like it would be so goddamned fun! I don't care how unsafe and overbalanced it is: plummeting to the cold hard ground is a small price to pay for something this wicked.
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Source: Boing Boing | 12 May 2010 | 3:16 am $1.5 Million In Series A Funding For Online Pawnshop
Online pawnbroker Internet Pawn, self-reportedly the first of its kind in the United States, this morning announced that it has completed a $1.5 million Series A equity financing. New investors Daylight Partners and Access Ventures have joined the company’s founders in the financing. The best part of the announcement is the name of the Daylight Partners partner that has joined the company’s board as part of the deal: Rocky Mountain (a Dell veteran). Internet Pawn was established in 2009 by people who’ve actually owned and operated a chain of brick-and-mortar pawn shops in different states, so this is actually not a poor investment at first glance. The startup essentially offers short-term loans based on the collateral of customers’ personal valuables (like that PlayStation 2 or early Zune you still have lying around somewhere). Internet Pawn says it offers cash quickly, doesn’t require payment of interest for six months, and lets people do it from the security and privacy of their homes. More info on loan rates is available here. The company adds that it will loan on “just about anything legitimate and of value” but specializes in providing loans for Rolex, Omega, Tag Heuer, and Breitling watches. If a customer decides not to repay the pawn loan amount and any unpaid pawn service charges (“redeem” the loan) after the 180 loan period, the customer “forfeits” the property to Internet Pawn in full payment of any and all amounts owed to them. Internet Pawn will then sell the item. The company promises compliance with various Federal laws, including: USA Patriot Act; the privacy provisions of Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act; Truth in Lending Act; Bank Secrecy Act; and certain IRS regulations.
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 12 May 2010 | 3:15 am Sharp unveils first 3D high-definition camera for mobile devices - ZDNet (blog)
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 12 May 2010 | 3:11 am Sharp unveils world’s first 3D HD camera module for mobile devices
Sharp really believes in 3D, it seems. In the past weeks the company presented a new 3D touchscreen for mobile devices, then the world's first four-primary 3D display, followed by a 3D e-book reader. And today Sharp in Japan unveiled [press release in English] the world's first 3D camera module that can be used in mobile devices such as cell phones, cameras or portable gaming systems.
Source: MobileCrunch | 12 May 2010 | 3:03 am *RU There*: Feature Film About Second Life, Gaming, and Living Digitally, Selected for the Legendary Cannes Film Festival This Year!A movie about Second Life and gaming is screening at this year's prestigious Cannes Film Festival, which opens today. The name of the film is R U There, a Dutch/French production partly shot in Taipei,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 May 2010 | 2:59 am Yet another prototype iPhone slips from Apple’s clutches
Engadget reported earlier this morning about the leak, and noticed that the phone is slightly different from the one seen during Gizgate, in that the screws on the bottom of the phone are no longer present. Aside from that, there are few other differences. The model is still pre-production — you can see little XXX placeholders on the body — so it may still change before launch, but the front-facing camera looks to be a pretty sure thing. Pro tip: the source link has some awesome commentary on the leak, courtesy of Google Translate. It also has more photos.
Source: MobileCrunch | 12 May 2010 | 2:59 am EU Patent Examiners Warn Parliament Will Have "No Power"zoobab writes "The Staff Union of the European Patent Organisation sent a letter to the President of the European Parliament, warning that after the EU accedes to the European Patent Convention, there is a risk that the European Parliament would be 'circumvented' as a legislator. The European Patent Organisation is in no way a model of democracy: national patent offices are in power, there is no parliament involved in the decision-making process, and diplomatic conferences are held behind closed doors. There are plans to create a central patent court in Europe, which would operate in a democratic vacuum, not counterbalanced by any legislative assembly, in particular not the European Parliament. Such a central patent court could also validate software patents via caselaw (as the German Supreme Court recently did with the Microsoft FAT patent). And Microsoft, IBM, and SAP are lobbying in Brussels not to reopen consideration of the software patent directive."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 12 May 2010 | 2:56 am Sharp unveils world’s first 3D HD camera module for mobile devices
Sharp really believes in 3D, it seems. In the past weeks the company presented a new 3D touchscreen for mobile devices, then the world’s first four-primary 3D display, followed by a 3D e-book reader. And today Sharp in Japan unveiled [press release in English] the world’s first 3D camera module that can be used in mobile devices such as cell phones, digital cameras or portable gaming systems. Technical details are relatively scarce at this point, but what we know is that the module will make it possible to shoot both 3D photos and 3D videos in HD (720p) with those devices. Sharp plans to begin shipping the first 3D modules to hardware makers as early as July, followed by mass-production within this year. Having this thing built into the Nintendo 3DS sooner or later would be kind of cool.
Source: CrunchGear | 12 May 2010 | 2:21 am Blueprint Timepieces - The May 28th 'Architect' Watch Collection Resembles a Condo's Lay (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) The May 28th 'Architect' watch collection features detailed blueprints of architectural plans. May 28th is a Toronto-based watch company, started by Latvian Agni Tilla, known for designing...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 May 2010 | 2:18 am Man arrested for death threat against Japan princess (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 May 2010 | 2:08 am Digg’s Biggest Problem Is Its Users And Their Constant Opinions On Things
Product should be a dictatorship. Not consensus driven. There are casualties. Hurt feelings. Angry users. But all of those things are necessary if you’re going to create something unique. The iPhone is clearly a vision of a single core team, or maybe even one man. It happened to be a good dream, and that device now dominates mobile culture. But it’s extremely unlikely Apple would have ever built it if they conducted lots of focus groups and customer outreach first. No keyboard? Please. Digg is sort of on the opposite end of the spectrum The company has been standing still now for years as Facebook, Twitter and others have run laps around it. But the company is famous for listening to its hard core fanatical users. In 2007, for example, Kevin Rose surrendered to a mob of Digg users who were upset that Digg was blocking stories publishing the decryption key for HD DVDs. He wrote:
Compare his statement to how Facebook routinely handles user revolts – by absolutely ignoring them. Once or twice a year Facebookers get upset that the font changed on the home page, and set up mass protests demanding that things go back to the way they were. Back in 2006 users were angry about the new News Feed and how it affected their privacy (how quaint). Hundreds of thousands of users joined organized protest groups to demand the product be killed.” CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s level headed response: “Calm down. Breathe. We hear you.” and “We didn’t take away any privacy options.” I’m calling this the Eddie Murphy defensive tactic, and it works really, really well.
User outrage over Holocaust denial? Not a budge. Beacon? Well, that’s the exception that proves the rule. Eventually Facebook did cave on Beacon, but later they just repackaged it and called it Open Graph. What do you think the final outcome of this week’s privacy explosion will be? Yep, you may go pound sand. The point is Facebook knows what you want and is willing to street fight you in order to give it to you. They may go to jail, or to Hell, for all this (they won’t). But there’s a reason that half of the population of the Internet hits their site every month. This is the Age of Facebook. They know where this train is heading and they are clearing out every obstacle in their path to get their. Angry users are the obstacles. They aren’t cuddled and hugged. They either get out of the way or get run over by the train, which can leave horrible physical wounds. But anyway, back to Digg. They’re the opposite of Facebook because they really like getting the community’s input on things before they roll out. Or after they roll things out and then pull them back in when users get upset. The HD DVD encryption key is just one example. Digg users also get to veto ads on the site, and are doing so with increasing frequency (oh, the power!). Digg’s most active users form a sort of shadow board of directors that guides the company. The end result is a very nice place to hang out for those 250,000 or so hard core Digg users. But for the rest of the Internet, not so much. Digg has never had a mainstream crowd on their site, and they never will as long as they even listen to their users, let alone actually take action based on what they say.
To his credit, Kevin is fighting back. He came back to the company that he essentially walked out on last year out of frustration. He’s gotten his investors to give him six months to show how he can turn Digg around. His core team, including Chas Edwards and Keval Desai, share his new vision, we’ve heard. Maybe something strong is coming soon. But maybe not. One thing we’ve heard about the new Digg all along is that it is designed to keep the fanatics happy while bringing in the masses. That’s going to be a very difficult thing to do. Sort of like adding a bunch of airbags and cup holders to the Porsche and trying to sell it to soccer moms while maintaining your core customer base of balding, insecure middle aged men. Bringing peace to the middle east might be an easier task to take on than making a single product serve the needs of 250,000 hard core Digg….oh how do I put this…morons, as well as the billion or so relatively normal people on the Internet. If they pull it off I’ll eat a TechCrunch Tshirt on stage at an event right after they’ve done it. But I don’t think they’ll pull it off. I think that they care too much about the hard core users and what those users want in their fantasy land Digg paradise. It’ll have lots of cup holders, that’s for sure. But it sure won’t be a porsche. The clock is ticking. Kevin has been given six months, we’re heard, to get this ship going in the right direction. That means big user growth, particularly big U.S. user growth. Right now they’re at just under 10 million U.S. unique visitors (Comscore) per month. I imagine they think something like 50 million would be a nice goal for a year from now. For 50 million U.S. Digg users, I’ll eat that shirt and kiss Kevin Rose’s ring. Just remember, Kevin, those fanatical users mean well, they really do. But they are nothing but distractions towards a true vision of Digg that will disrupt the way we share and consume news. That was the original promise way back in 2005. Now is your time to shine and show that you aren’t just a really nice, really fun guy. You are a hard core steel eyed product dictator who wants to kick some ass and change the world. And maybe then retire and go on TV a lot. Fight the urge, Kevin. You want to win the war, not be the most popular startup founder who ever lived. You can be both, actually, but that comes from winning. I know you’re trying your hardest, but Sean Connery put it best when he said:
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 12 May 2010 | 2:03 am 28 Darth Vader Innovations - From Surfboarding Super-Villains to Geek Fashion Fusion (CLUSTER)(TrendHunter.com) Whether you love Mr. Big-Bad-Dark-Side or hate him, these Darth Vader innovations prive that he is one of the most well-known pop culture icons of all time. From Darth Vader ads to...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 May 2010 | 2:03 am 35 Skyscraper Heels - From Death-Defying Stilettos to Killer Heels (CLUSTER)(TrendHunter.com) Shoes are every girl's best friend. It's amazing to think about how many pairs of shoes a girl owns, and of those, how many are those skyscraper heels with which we share a love-hate...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 May 2010 | 1:53 am Majority of Mobile App Developers Unhappy with Revenue Share AgreementEighty percent of developers in North America think they should receive more than 30% of the revenue generated by their apps in an app store according to the Spring North American Development Survey, an...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 May 2010 | 1:53 am Twitter effective for public opinion pollsAccording to a new report out of Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science, Twitter is effective as a public opinion poll. [via arstechnica] Twitter posts could act as a "cheap, rapid means of gauging...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 May 2010 | 1:47 am Ogre Manicures - The Opi 'Shrek' Nail Polish Line is Enviously Green (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) The OPI 'Shrek' nail polish line features shades like 'Fiercely Fiona' and 'Rumple's Wiggin,' which range from lilac purple to a greeny-yellow. The OPI 'Shrek' nail polish line is...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 May 2010 | 1:38 am FCC Bureau Launches Initiative to Help Consumers Avoid "Bill Shock"The FCC said Tuesday that it was seeking public comment on a plan that would require wireless phone companies to notify customers when they are running up unusually high charges for data usage, roaming...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 May 2010 | 1:37 am Those Sony Alpha NEXs (NEXes?) are available for pre-order, by the way
The basic setup is that the NEX-3 costs $550 with the 16mm lens, and the NEX-5 costs $650; add $50 for the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 (nah). The difference between the two? The NEX-5 shoots in 1080i/60, which is a ridiculous format that nobody should bother with. Go for the slimmer NEX-3, which does a more everything-friendly 720p, and save yourself a bill. Don’t forget (I feel like a sales guy but I like these cameras for some reason) that the new E-series lenses will likely work with the sweet new camcorder they’ve got cooking, and possibly the new video-capable Alpha DSLRs. [via Engadget]
Source: CrunchGear | 12 May 2010 | 1:20 am AU R18+ Rating Plans Put On Hold Due To "Interest Groups"Dexter Herbivore writes "Australian gamers are yet again left disappointed by their government's response to a lack of an R18+ rating for games. Gamespot reports that Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor has blamed 'interest groups' for swamping the public consultation with pro-R18+ submissions. From the article: 'A strong response from gamer groups in the Australian Federal Government's R18+ public consultation has led Censorship Ministers to claim that more views from the community are needed before a decision into the introduction of an R18+ classification for video games can be reached.'" Reader UgLyPuNk adds that support for the new rating is coming from unexpected places.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 12 May 2010 | 1:16 am Mapping Ancient Civilization, in a Matter of Days [Voices]By John Noble Wilford, Reporter, New York Times For a quarter of a century, two archaeologists and their team slogged through wild tropical vegetation to investigate and map the remains of one of the largest Maya cities, in Central America. Slow, sweaty hacking with machetes seemed to be the only way to discover the breadth of an ancient urban landscape now hidden beneath a dense forest canopy. Even the new remote-sensing technologies, so effective in recent decades at surveying other archaeological sites, were no help. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 12 May 2010 | 1:05 am iPad Usability: First Findings From User Testing [Voices]By Jakob Nielsen, Blogger, Alertbox “It looks like a giant iPhone,” is the first thing users say when asked to test an iPad. (Their second comment? “Wow, it’s heavy.”) But from an interaction design perspective, an iPad user interface shouldn’t be a scaled-up iPhone UI. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 12 May 2010 | 1:04 am What 'Like' Really Means for Facebook Advertisers [Voices]By Kevin Ryan, Contributor, Ad Age If the first internet ad boom set the stage for arrogance in internet advertising, the new millennium will see a new level of hubris in the field. If Google set the standard for egotism in the internet marketing world, Facebook is now seeking to redefine the trait. According to a post by Facebook intern Moira Burke, Facebook’s aim is to reduce the isolation caused by technology, citing Robert Putnam’s book “Bowling Alone.” Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 12 May 2010 | 1:03 am Those Special Google Logos, Sliced & Diced, Over The Years [Voices]By Danny Sullivan, Editor-in-chief, Search Engine Land I’ve been working on a project to classify all the special logos that Google (GOOG) has done over the years. Crazy? Perhaps a bit, but it’s interesting to see what Google has honored with special logos and the great increase in them recently. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 12 May 2010 | 1:02 am We’ve Had “Gradually”; Get Ready for “Suddenly” [Voices]By Mike Shatzkin, Founder & CEO, The Idea Logical Company I don’t think too many future predictors are .300 hitters, and one ground ball I tapped out to shortstop was my hunch that the iPad wouldn’t have an immediate significant impact on ebook sales (although I thought it would be important over time.) According to data and analysis uniquely developed and provided by Michael Cader, published last Wednesday (which you need to subscribe to Publishers Marketplace to get and, if you don’t yet, what are you waiting for?), I was proved wrong in less than a month. Apparently if we get slightly larger and portable screens into people’s hands, they want to read books on them. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 12 May 2010 | 1:01 am Service for Private Google Searches Shuts Down [Voices]By Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal A service that allowed users to search Google (GOOG) without having their queries tracked has shut down after Google changed the site that the service was using to get results, the service said Tuesday. But Google said the site was never intended to be used for scraping of results and that changes were made for reasons unrelated to the service, called Scroogle. The Scroogle project raised concerns about privacy and tracking amid the ubiquity of Google search. Its potential demise also highlights the problems that services face when building their products to rely on other companies, especially if those companies don’t benefit. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 12 May 2010 | 1:00 am More Product Housekeeping At Digg: Kalmikoff And Howard Out The Door
More heads are rolling at Digg as the company struggles to reinvent itself. Well known designer Jeffrey Kalmikoff was let go, we confirmed, just months after he moved cross-country to work at Digg. And long time Director of Product Chris Howard is gone as well. Digg is clearly trying to form the core product team moving forward to create a more customized Digg that will appeal to a larger audience. Old baggage, no matter how talented, is being thrown out for new employees with a different way of thinking about things. Will it work? We’ll all be waiting impatiently. But we believe the biggest obstacle to Digg’s success may be Rose himself. More on that in my next post. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 12 May 2010 | 12:43 am With A Small, Simple Feature, Gmail Continues Its Assault On Desktop Email
While I occasionally rag on Google Apps for downtime, the fact of the matter is that some of them are getting pretty amazing. The crown jewel is still, of course, Gmail. It’s so good that I haven’t regularly used a desktop email client in years. But despite that fact, there have still been a few things I’ve always missed, such as simple drag-and-drop to insert images into messages. Tonight, that changes. As Google has just announced on its Gmail blog, the ability to drag images into messages has been added to Gmail. There is no Labs feature to enable, it just works — well, provided you’re using Chrome. (You see the benefit of developing your own browser?) You can simply click on any image on your computer, drag it into your browser window, drop it into the body area of your Gmail email, and it’s instantly inserted in the message. Sure, it may seem like just a small feature (and it is), but it’s another step towards making browser email just as good as desktop email from a user experience perspective. Yes, you could get images into the bodies of emails before, but you used to have to use a button to do so (which required a few clicks — a pain). And before last year, you actually couldn’t do it at all without using a workaround. This feature is an extension of the drag-and-drop ability to attach images to emails that Google enabled last month in Gmail. Google says this feature will be “coming soon” to other browsers. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 12 May 2010 | 12:32 am Microsoft's two-pronged strategy for Office 2010 - BBC News
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 12 May 2010 | 12:03 am Another Security Hole Found On Yelp, Facebook Data Once Again Put At Risk
Tonight, Deglin discovered a second hole in Yelp that once again allowed him to inject malicious code using XSS that could put Facebook user data at risk. Yelp has now patched this second hole, and once again the company believes that no user data was compromised. Facebook has turned off Instant Personalization on Yelp for the time being as Yelp looks to ensure there are no more vulnerabilities. Some Background Instant Personalization is a new feature that allows a handful of trusted third-party sites to immediately access a user’s Facebook information as soon as the user hits the site (the three launch partners are Yelp, Pandora, and Microsoft’s Docs.com). Unlike standard sites that implement Facebook Connect, these Instant Personalization sites don’t have to prompt users to log-in or hit a ‘Connect’ button before Facebook shares data with them. Unfortunately, this also means that when one of these Instant Personalization sites gets compromised, the potential for abuse is much greater than for most standard Connect sites. Facebook has granted Yelp automatic access to a user’s name, profile photo, friend list, networks, fan pages, and other information that has been shared with ‘everyone’, which could include status updates and some photos depending on the user’s privacy settings. If a malicious site were to compromise Yelp, every time a Facebook user visited that malicious site it would be able to immediately harvest all of this data, even if the user had never actually been to Yelp before. Why This Is A Problem We should point out that since last night, Facebook has tightened up the amount of data shared through Instant Personalization. Before last night’s exploit, Yelp was also given automatic access to Facebook users’ email addresses. Facebook says that this was shared because of a bug, and is no longer sharing email addresses with Yelp. The fact that Facebook could have been accidentally handing out user emails isn’t comforting in the slightest, but at least it’s fixed. With email addresses out of the picture, the only Facebook data that could potentially be accessed through this kind of exploit is information that is shared with ‘Everyone’, which is visible to the public anyway. But even though the type of information being shared is not terribly alarming, the context in which it could be shared is. There’s a reason not every site has access to Facebook’s Instant Personalization. Using this kind of XSS hole, it would be possible for a malicious ad served by an ad network in an iFrame to surreptitiously harvest data about any Facebook user who viewed the ad. The ad could conceivably customize itself to address the user by name or show their profile photo. Likewise, unauthorized third party sites could use such an exploit to identify its users not just by IP address, but by name, current city, etc. I don’t mean to pick on Yelp in these cases — XSS vulnerabilities are quite common on the web, and I suspect we’ll see similar exploits on Facebook partner sites in the future. All of which goes to show that no matter how much Facebook tightens its own security, it cannot ensure that its third party partners are secure. Here’s Yelp’s statement on tonight’s issue:
And Facebook’s statement:
     
Source: TechCrunch | 11 May 2010 | 11:55 pm Possible Breakthrough In Hydrogen Energydestinyland writes "MIT researchers have developed a method of splitting a water molecule by emulating the way blue-green algae separates oxygen from hydrogen. One chemistry professor called it 'an extremely clever piece of work' that addresses 'the nanoscale organization of the components.' Using sunlight rather than electricity to make hydrogen from water could greatly improve the efficiency of the process. The hydrogen can be stored for generating electricity or burned as fuel for cars. The project is being led by the winner of a 2004 MacArthur Foundation genius grant, who uses genetically engineered viruses as templates for nanoscale electronic components. 'Suddenly, I wondered, what if we could assemble materials like the abalone does — but not be limited to one element?'" Here is the press release from MIT; the research paper is available only to subscribers of Nature Nanotechnology (or those willing to part with $18).
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 11 May 2010 | 11:47 pm Map of Europe (Financial)
The NYT quotes economist Carl Weinberg: "Lending more money to already overborrowed governments does not solve their problems. Had we any Greek bonds in our portfolio, we would not feel rescued this morning."Source: Boing Boing | 11 May 2010 | 11:22 pm Telekom Austria Group: Strong Cost Control Absorbs Revenue Pressure and Limits EBITDA Decline in the First Quarter 2010- Stabilization of Fixed Net subscriber base with just 0.8% lines lost - Mobile Communication continues to grow its subscriber base with a 6.0% increase to 19.0 million customers - Revenues decline by 5.9% to EUR 1,126.0 million primarily driven by lower revenues in domestic operations and Bulgaria - Cost reductions absorb half of the revenue pressure and limit EBITDA decline to 6.4% - Free cash flow increases by almost 26% to EUR 165.7 million - Outlook 2010 reiterated, excluding effects from merger of domestic businesses - Dividend per share floor of 75 cents reiterated for 2010-2012 in EUR million 1Q 10 1Q 09 % change Revenues 1,126.0 1,197.1 -5.9% EBITDA 425.9 454.8 -6.4% Operating income 166.3 180.1 -7.7% Net income 91.2 85.3 6.9% Earnings per share (in EUR) 0.21 0.19 6.7% Free cash flow per share (in EUR) 0.37 0.30 25.8% Capital expenditures 136.4 116.0 17.6% in EUR million March 31, 10 Dec.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 May 2010 | 11:04 pm Telekom Austria Group: Strong Cost Control Absorbs Revenue Pressure and Limits EBITDA Decline in the First Quarter 2010Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 May 2010 | 11:04 pm Prototype single lens camera sees the world in 3D
The camera can see using light pulses that reflect off an object similar to sonar, using a CMOS sensor to collect the light as it returns. These aren’t movie, or even still photo quality images, but the potential is there for devices to help the handicapped, or for interactive gaming. Details are sketchy of course, since this is a prototype, but it’ll be interesting to see where the technology goes. [via Gizmag]
Source: CrunchGear | 11 May 2010 | 11:00 pm Strategic Technology Management and Roadmapping: Innovation Framework Technologies and nu Angle Announce Strategic PartnershipInnovation Framework Technologies, the premier supplier of software solutions dedicated to the innovation and new product development value chains, today announced its partnership with Cambridge based nu Angle,Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 May 2010 | 11:00 pm Strategic Technology Management and Roadmapping: Innovation Framework Technologies and nu Angle Announce Strategic PartnershipSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 May 2010 | 11:00 pm FINCAD Adds Scenario Analysis to Derivatives Pricing and Risk SolutionSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 May 2010 | 11:00 pm FINCAD Adds Scenario Analysis to Derivatives Pricing and Risk SolutionLONDON, NEW YORK and VANCOUVER, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- FINCAD, the leading global provider of financial analytics, announced today the addition of scenario analysis capabilities to Fair Value Insight. "IFRS 7 and FAS 157 regulations require measurement of a derivative's sensitivity to key market inputs," said Bob Park, President and CEO, FINCAD, "so everyone who reports a derivative position on their Financial Statements will need a way to measure the potential impact of interest rate or other market changes on that position.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 May 2010 | 11:00 pm China Mobile interested in bringing Apple iPad to ChinaHONG KONG (Reuters) - China Mobile , China's dominant mobile carrier, is interested in selling Apple's iPad tablet computer in China, the company's chairman said.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 May 2010 | 10:55 pm China Mobile interested in bringing Apple iPad to China (Reuters)Reuters - China Mobile (0941.HK), China's dominant mobile carrier, is interested in selling Apple's iPad tablet computer in China, the company's chairman said.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 May 2010 | 10:55 pm Halo 2 Online Preservation Effort EndsA couple weeks ago, we discussed news that some dedicated Halo 2 fans were keeping the game's multiplayer alive after support for online play was dropped. Now, a few days shy of a month after support ended, the last users have been knocked off the server. "[A user named] Apache N4SIR outlasted everyone. 'May 11th @ 0158hrs I was FORCEFULLY REMOVED!!' he wrote on the forums at Bungie.net. 'I thought I'd be the one turning off the lights but that was done for me. Good night everyone, my Elite needs a rest.' His last comrade in arms, Agent Windex, was still signed on, as spotted by Kotaku at 4 p.m. US Pacific Time on May 10, but their adventure, which began on April 15, ended after Windex announced 21 minutes later that he had been removed from play and Apache N4SIR suffered a similar fate hours later, as he described in his post."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 11 May 2010 | 10:48 pm Sir Ian 'Gandalf' McKellen mistaken for homeless, given a dollar
As if you needed proof Sir Ian McKellen is a damn fine actor:
The 70-year-old actor is rehearsing Waiting For Godot in Melbourne, Australia, and was sitting in his tramp costume having a break when a passer-by gave him an Australian dollar. He said: "During the dress rehearsal of Godot, I crouched by the stage door of the Comedy Theatre, getting some air, my bowler hat at my feet (and) seeing an unkempt old man down on his luck, a passer-by said, 'Need some help, brother?' and put a dollar in my hat."Sir Ian McKellen mistaken for tramp outside theatre (via Sci Fi Wire) Source: Boing Boing | 11 May 2010 | 10:45 pm AMD Introduces New Laptop Chips to Close Gap With Intel - PC World
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 11 May 2010 | 10:32 pm BSA Piracy Study: Quantifying Piracy Data Easier Than We Thought (PC World)PC World - The Business Software Alliance (BSA), in conjunction with global market intelligence firm IDC, released its seventh annual study on software piracy on Tuesday. The study estimates that the commercial value of pirated software globally was $51.4 billion. According to the BSA, while losses due to piracy are hard to quantify, the $51.4 billion is most likely lower than the actual losses sustained due to piracy in 2009.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 May 2010 | 10:30 pm Thumbs Up On The New AOL Homepage
Starting today AOL is testing a dramatic new homepage layout with a small percentage of users (something we’ve been expecting to happen sooner or later). This is what the new site looks like to those users – gone is the plain vanilla “portal” look with tons of columnized links to internal AOL content. The test site hits you with a row of large, colorful pictures up top along with related news item headlines. Below are lots more pictures, and all of them are much larger than the old AOL homepage. Let us know if you see the new page or not, and link to any screenshots that look different than these. We’ve emailed AOL to ask if this is a final look, and when it will launch for everyone. The old site is below. AOl is actually supporting three different versions of its homepage now. The new test, the current page, and a classic look that you can see by clicking at the bottom of the current one.
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 11 May 2010 | 10:28 pm Dell announces new Latitude E5410 & E5510 notebooks
Dell is focusing on the business user with the new Latitude models, including improved deployment time, stability, and global support. The new models also include a battery with a three year warranty, Windows 7, and WiMax support.
The E5510 is essentially the same machine, except with a 15 inch screen. MSRP starts at $789, and both machines are available now.
Source: CrunchGear | 11 May 2010 | 10:02 pm Xilinx and Tokyo Electron Device Offers V-by-One HS Video Interface Support for Using Spartan-6 FPGAs in Consumer Video ApplicationsSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 May 2010 | 10:02 pm Xilinx and Tokyo Electron Device Offers V-by-One HS Video Interface Support for Using Spartan-6 FPGAs in Consumer Video ApplicationsTOKYO, May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Xilinx, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 May 2010 | 10:02 pm Verizon, Google Developing iPad Rival - Wall Street Journal
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 11 May 2010 | 10:01 pm Asia Pacific Contact Center Outsourcing Market Projected to Reach US$20.3 Billion by 2011KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The challenge of stretching limited resources has been a continuous concern for the contact center industry.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 May 2010 | 10:01 pm Brightcove Unveils First HTML5 Video Advertising Solution with FreeWheelSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 May 2010 | 10:01 pm May 12, 1936: Dvorak Patents KeyboardChange a few letters here, move things around, and wow! This thing really speed things up. Too bad it's so easy to learn.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 10:00 pm Kill your walletGreat tips for keeping your wallet clean of junk. For example, take cellphone photos of those special "reward cards" you use to get discounts at the store, so you don't need to take them with you. [mnml]Source: Boing Boing | 11 May 2010 | 9:42 pm Amazon Is Collecting Your Kindle Highlights & NotesTechDirt catches Amazon playing fast and loose with data that consumers may think is private — namely, their highlights and notes entered into Kindle books. "Amazon will now remotely upload and store the user notes and highlights you take on your Kindle, which it then compiles into 'popular highlights.' I have no doubt that the feature provides some interesting data, but it's not clear that users realize their highlighting and notes are being stored and used that way. Amazon basically says there's no big privacy deal here, because the data is always aggregated. But it sounds like many users don't realize this is happening at all. Amazon says people can find out they added this feature by reading 'forum posts and help pages.' ... [This situation] once again highlights a key concern in that the 'features' of your 'book' can change over time. Your highlighting may have been yours in the past, but suddenly it becomes Amazon's with little notice."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 11 May 2010 | 9:38 pm Is Bit.ly Awe.sm Or Just Awesome?
I’m not saying there’s necessarily something nefarious going on here, but judge for yourself. In their source code, Bit.ly has the word “awesome” as one of their meta keywords. This may just seem like some kooky programmer having some fun — until you remember that one of their main rivals is a another URL shortening service called Awe.sm. Now, Bit.ly is much, much larger than Awe.sm by likely every metric. After all, they are the default URL shortener Twitter and several of the top Twitter clients use. (We also use them to manage our tcrn.ch domain.) They’re now seeing something around 300,000 Bit.ly links being created every 10 minutes and something around 150 million clicks on those links a day. They’re massive. So it definitely seems like they wouldn’t need to resort to some silly meta keyword tactic to try and draw in web surfers searching for their rival. And yet, there’s the word in the code, clear as day. There are only three keywords Bit.ly has included in the header, “bit.ly, awesome, url shortener,” two make sense, one does not.      
Source: TechCrunch | 11 May 2010 | 9:07 pm Leaked: Telcos' secret plans to use fake "citizens groups" to kill Net NeutralityThinkProgress has a leaked copy of a telcoms industry PowerPoint presentation laying out their plans to use astroturf to kill Network Neutrality. The industry is hiring the same turfers who work with the Tea Party movement to carry their message to the people.What the telcos want to do is reduce your access to websites and services unless those services have paid a bribe for "premium carriage" to you. So Google buys its bandwidth from its ISP. You buy your bandwidth from your ISP. Then your ISP goes to Google and says, "If you want to send your bits to our customers when they ask for them, you'll have to pay us too." If Google doesn't pay, the ISP slows down its bits when you ask for them. They call this "free and unregulated internet access for content flow and connectivity speed free and unregulated internet access for content flow and connectivity speed." Here's how I see it: the telcos and cable operators got a huge public subsidy when we agreed to let them use our public sewers, tunnels and streets (not to mention our houses and basements) for their wires. We give them all this for free or far below the market costs. They put their wires in our dirt. Now they're saying they don't want to give us the service we want. Literally. That's what fighting Net Neutrality is about: it's ISPs fighting for the right to slow down or discard the bits you, the customer, ask for. I say, it's our dirt, so we make the rules. If they don't like those rules, let them get their goddamned wires out of our dirt, off our streets, out of our basements. Let's give them 60 days, and if they haven't pulled up their wires by then, we'll buy them for the scrappage price of the copper. Then we'll turn over those wires to companies that are willing to give us the bits we want in exchange for the billions (trillions?) worth of public subsidy these greedy corporate welfare bums are currently enjoying. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say, "Congress shall give away the public's priceless assets to companies and then sit around sucking its collective thumb while the companies screw the public." If AT&T and Comcast don't want to give us the service we want, let them buy every inch of conduit and right-of-way at market prices. Until then, they can STFU and give us the network we demand. Telecoms' Secret Plan To Attack Net Neutrality: Target Video Gamers And Stoke Fear Of Chinese Censorship (via /.)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 11 May 2010 | 8:47 pm Using Twitter Data To Approximate a Telephone Surveycremeglace writes "A team led by a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University has used text-analysis software to detect tweets pertaining to various issues — such as whether President Barack Obama is doing a good job — and measure the frequency of positive or negative words ranging from 'awesome' to 'sucks.' The results were surprisingly similar to traditional surveys. For example, the ratio of Twitter posts expressing either positive or negative sentiments about President Obama produced a 'job approval rating' that closely tracked the big Gallup daily poll across 2009. The analysis also produced classic economic indicators like consumer confidence." By averaging several days' worth of tweets on presidential job approval, the researchers got results that correlated 79% with daily Gallup polling. Lead researcher Noah Smith said, "The results are noisy, as are the results of polls. Opinion pollsters have learned to compensate for these distortions, while we're still trying to identify and understand the noise in our data. Given that, I'm excited that we get any signal at all from social media that correlates with the polls." Here is CMU's press release.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 11 May 2010 | 7:30 pm Wiggio Raises $2.1 Million, Prepares For Mobile Launch And Profits (Hopefully)
Online collaboration tool Wiggio has raised $2.1 million in Series A financing, led by New Atlantic Ventures. Founded in late 2008, the Cambridge-based company allows users to create online work groups where members can share calendars and files, host web conferences, conduct group polls, and send texts and voice messages. According to CEO Dana Lampert, a large portion of the new funds will be used on Wiggio’s mobile initiatives: the company is on track to roll out a mobile version of its website in mid-June and native apps for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry by mid-summer of this year. The mobile options will have all the functionality of the original site with the exception of video conferencing. Since its 2009 launch, the free service has attracted 350,000 users and 750 schools. While a variety of small businesses and non-profits are using Wiggio, the company has focused on its core demographic: the college market. Its user base is relatively modest compared to its larger rivals, like Yammer (which has more than 600,000 users) and Basecamp, but Wiggio is on a steady growth path— in the last 6 months the user base has grown roughly 43%. Lampert says he plans to expand and diversify the user base by increasing the company’s marketing budget and aggressively courting high school and small business groups. That enterprise community will be critical as Wiggio shifts from a free to freemium model. Next month, the company plans to release a “pro” version that will include new features like increased customization, security upgrades, hourly back-ups and possibly a new tool that will help groups find the best time to schedule events (Lampert hints that it will be something akin to Doodle’s service). Currently, Wiggio’s monetization scheme is a bit fuzzy— or at least fluid. The company has not set a price for the “pro” package and is still crafting a strategy for advertising on its website. Since it has a variety of groups, Wiggio hopes to created targeted ads tailored to the user’s market. The hope, says Lampert, is to be profitable by early 2011.
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 11 May 2010 | 7:14 pm I’m not buying this performance gaming NIC nonsense
Woah woah woah. Shut the front door. Let’s just take a look at this. 10 times faster than what, exactly? Latency is introduced in so many places other than the NIC that I would say the NIC is the most efficient part of the system. Packet loss occurs at any of like a billion places your bits are exchanged, redirected, backed up, and so on. Buying one of these NICs would be like buying a moving driveway for your car and saying it improved mileage. Observe this handy chart I made for the occasion.
To be honest, I’m sure it’s a perfectly good network card. But I really don’t think that any of the effects of lag, packet loss, choke, or all the other things that can go wrong with a sustained connection, are occurring in whatever it replaces. My onboard Ethernet can easily sustain two or three megabytes per second, and games use a tiny fraction of that. Furthermore, these days, most gameplay is calculated client-side, which is the reason you don’t have to lead your shots any more. Lag is resolved and predicted for at the server level. You’re a hundred times, a hundred thousand times, more likely to get gameplay problems from a fragmented hard drive, outdated graphics drivers, an old sound card — hell, moving the shadows notch up or down one setting will affect your performance way more than getting a $129 special network interface card. Look, when it comes to trading bits with your router or cable modem, even the cheapest PCs out there are hot rods. Don’t even think about getting one of these things — but if you feel the need to investigate further, head over to http://www.bigfootnetworks.com/killer-2100/“>Bigfoot Networks. And when you come back, some guy was talking about a bridge he had for sale.
Source: CrunchGear | 11 May 2010 | 7:00 pm Disney forms joint venture in South KoreaLOS ANGELES, May 11 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co and South Korean telecommunications provider SK Telecom Co Ltd on Tuesday said they plan to form a joint venture to launch Korean-language Disney-branded...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 May 2010 | 6:48 pm Mozilla CEO Lilly to Step Down (PC World)PC World - Mozilla CEO John Lilly will leave the nonprofit company as soon as it can find a replacement, ending his more than two years at the helm of the maker of Firefox.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 May 2010 | 6:40 pm "Avatar" fastest selling DVD after three weeksLOS ANGELES, May 11 (Reuters) - "Avatar" has sold 19.7 million DVD and Blu-ray discs in three weeks, more than any other film has ever sold in that span, the studio 20th Century Fox said on Tuesday.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 May 2010 | 6:37 pm Goalbook iPhone app not much more than a glorified notepad (Appolicious)Appolicious - The Notes iPhone app is still on my home screen, just the way it was when I first started up my iPhone. It’s not out of habit, but out of use. I am constantly jotting things down on various Notes pages. Whether it’s grocery lists, small to-do’s, or just phone numbers I’ll need to reference quickly later, Notes is a very solid app. In theory, I could also easily put a few “goals” down as well, but the Goalbook iPhone app ($1.99) has other ideas.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 May 2010 | 6:33 pm Linux fragmentation: good or bad?
In his new blog post, “Fragmentation is good and bad for Linux“, Zemlin points out that all Linux variants use the same kernel, maintained by a collection of smart, dedicated people. Sure, someone could start maintaining their own Linux kernel, but that’s an expensive, time-consuming proposition that wouldn’t be very beneficial to the end-product. Similarly, most Linux solutions use the same X.org windowing solution, the same GNOME or KDE desktop environment, and the same OpenOffice.org suite of applications. Different distributions might use different release versions of these products, but the fact that they’re all coming from a unified upstream provider means that the Linux distribution can focus on integration issues, rather than specific application issues.
Indeed, at work I use Red Hat Enterprise Linux while at home I use Ubuntu. Many of the research applications we use at work come from ISVs that specifically target the longer release cycle of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and these applications are built with specific requirements for RHEL-supported libraries. Although we use RHEL, many of the ISVs also support SuSE, allowing us to have some choice in which Linux distribution we choose to use. And for desktop users who want more of the “oooh shiny!” features of Linux application development there’s Fedora and Ubuntu, both of which offer faster release cycles and more interesting features developments, but which ISVs are hesitant to target due to more frequent API and ABI changes.
(As I was writing this piece a new blog post by Tim Bray hit my feed reader: Practical Open Source. It’s a pretty succinct introduction to how easy it is to grab the Android source code and start making progress with it. Not exactly related, but sufficiently similar as to pique my interest in the context of Linux fragmentation.) While chatting with Devin about Linux fragmentation, he observed that the majority of people don’t care about Linux on their devices, and as such fragmentation is only an issue to the enthusiast crowd. He’s definitely on to something. Normal consumers might recognize the brand differences between Apple and Android and Palm, but they have no idea that Android is, in fact, a flavor of Linux. The consumers aren’t going to care about Linux fragmentation because they’re not going to see much of it: they’ll see “Android”, which happens to be built atop a rich stack of Linux kernel and library components. As long as their calls don’t drop and their apps run, they’ll be blissfully ignorant of any Linux fragmentation.
Source: CrunchGear | 11 May 2010 | 6:30 pm CABLESHOW-Cable warns programmers on rush to Web* Distributors, programmers should work together - Cox CEOSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 May 2010 | 6:28 pm Google in the clear on e-book store (Christopher Null)Christopher Null - Reports are arriving this week that Google has all the permission it needs to open its recently announced e-book store, a credible threat to Amazon and Apple in the race to become the predominant electronic bookseller.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 May 2010 | 6:23 pm Is Google Getting Back Into The Gaming Business?
The posting says that Google is looking to hire an employee to develop Google’s games commerce product strategy and help “build and manage the business with a cross-functional team.” Whether it be through hiring or acquisitions, there are a number of signs that point to Google moving into the gaming world. Google also recently hired gaming exec Mark DeLoura as “Developer Advocate” for games. And Google just acquired LabPixies, an Israeli game developer. It makes sense for Google to get into gaming. Not only is it a huge revenue channel, but Google can publish its games easily to a variety of its platforms, including Android, TV and Chrome. This could also be a move to bolster their array of games on Android, which is a weak spot for the mobile platform. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 11 May 2010 | 6:22 pm AU Optronics Corp. Files 2009 Annual Report on Form 20-FHSINCHU, Taiwan, May 11 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- AU Optronics Corp. ("AUO" or the "Company") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO) today announced that it has filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2009 with the U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 May 2010 | 6:19 pm AU Optronics Corp. Files 2009 Annual Report on Form 20-FSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 May 2010 | 6:19 pm In addition to point-and-shoots and camcorders, Sony Alpha DSLRs to do video
Paul Genge of Sony UK has confirmed that an improved processor will allow the next series of Alphas to shoot video, although he didn’t mention resolution, framerate, codec, or anything like that. Sounds good — of course, anything less than this and they would have been trampled by pretty much every other DSLR out there. [via Photography Bay]
Source: CrunchGear | 11 May 2010 | 6:00 pm WinPho 7 screenshots – almost final?Microsoft has been throwing their latest builds into the Windows Phone developer tools, so they haven’t exactly been secretive about exactly what WinPho is going to look like. Luckily, there’s a developer who’s shared the latest shots with us, from what looks to be close to the final ROM. Not everything worked, of course, but you get the basic idea of what the new OS is going to look like. Think Zune, with dial out capabilities. Hit up Paul’s site for the rest of the screen shots.
Source: MobileCrunch | 11 May 2010 | 6:00 pm Got Problems With AT&T Service? Cisco's MicroCell Is the SolutionNo cell signal in your home? Use the AT&T 3G Microcell to boost the signal. It works!
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 11 May 2010 | 6:00 pm Swiss Artist Catalogs Mutant Insects Around Nuke PlantsScientific illustrator Cornelia Hesse-Honegger finds mutations in 30 percent of the insects she gathers around nuclear facilities. The artist says the bugs are like "prototypes of a future nature."
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 6:00 pm Video Scavengers Spin Cultural Slag Into Comedy GoldNot even the crew at the web site Everything Is Terrible! knew how funny it would be to cut together clips from old TV shows and late-night ads. Here’s a breakdown of a fan fave, "Infomercial Hell."
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 6:00 pm Got Problems With AT&T Service? Cisco's MicroCell Is the SolutionNo cell signal in your home? Use the AT&T 3G Microcell to boost the signal. It works!
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 6:00 pm Healthy Mouth, Healthy Pregnancy?Taking care of your teeth and gums was never more important -- it could affect the health of your unborn baby.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 5:46 pm Facebook Makes Gains in Web Ads [Voices]By Jessica E. Vascellaro, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal Facebook Inc. is catching up to rivals Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) in selling display ads. In the first quarter, Facebook pulled ahead of Yahoo for the first time and delivered more banner ads to its U.S. users than any other Web publisher, according to market-research firm comScore Inc. (SCOR). Overall, Facebook.com served 176.3 billion display ads on its website over the first three months of 2010, or 16.2 percent of the total, said comScore. Yahoo served 131.6 billion banner ads to Yahoo users, and Microsoft served 60.2 billion, according to comScore. The data don’t include ads that Yahoo and Microsoft delivered to other Web sites through their networks, a major source of revenue for each. By revenue, Facebook has a long way to go to catch up to its more established rivals. The social-networking site earned more than $500 million in revenue in 2009 and is forecasting revenue of more than $1 billion in 2010, according to people familiar with the matter. Yahoo earned $6.5 billion in revenue in 2009, mostly from advertising. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 11 May 2010 | 5:45 pm Mozilla CEO John Lilly Stepping Down To Join Greylock Partners
Lilly has been at Mozilla since 2005, when he was VP of Business Development. He later became COO in 2006 and then CEO in 2008, taking the helm of the company from Mitchell Baker. Lilly will remain on Mozilla’s Board of Directors, and won’t be leaving the company until a suitable replacement is found.      
Source: TechCrunch | 11 May 2010 | 5:44 pm Party On, Tim! AOL Hooks Up With Chuck Close for 25th Anniversary. [BoomTown]What in the world is AOL CEO Tim Armstrong up to now? A “Project on Creativity With American Artist Chuck Close,” according to a party invite for the iconic online service’s 25th anniversary that the company just sent out, which you can see below. I have calls in to the chiseled-cheekbone exec find out what that means. But extra points for putting AOL and creativity in the same sentence without even a trace of irony! Indeed, after getting busy hiring the best management team in online history to run the digital equivalent–compared with Internet giants like Google and even Yahoo (YHOO)–of a lemonade stand, it’s nice to know that Armstrong is still thinking big. And BoomTown loves a big thinker! In fact, that’s why we’ve invited the former Google (GOOG) advertising exec to the eighth D: All Things Digital conference, taking place in just a few weeks near Los Angeles. We’ll be inquiring about how AOL (AOL) is doing at 25 years old, how Armstrong’s going to lift it back to innovative relevance and get is ad revenue back, its nascent content effort, how it feels to go from a Goliath to a David, and much more. Until then, check out Tim’s party (click on it to make it larger): And here is an interview I did with Armstrong right before AOL spun off as an independent public company last year: [ See post to watch video ] Source: All Things Digital | 11 May 2010 | 5:33 pm When did Apple become uncool? (Christopher Null)Christopher Null - It's hard to remember a time when Apple wasn't the coolest company on the planet. In 1984, the company made its voice heard with a groundbreaking Super Bowl ad that launched the Macintosh to the world.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 May 2010 | 5:30 pm Here’s the official trailer for Super 8
Source: CrunchGear | 11 May 2010 | 5:30 pm Ultrasound As a Male ContraceptiveTeslaBoy writes "The BBC has an article about using ultrasound aimed at the testicles as a reversible male contraceptive. This can last for six months. With a grant of $100,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, researchers at the University of North Carolina will push ahead with more clinical trials, fine tuning, and safety tests."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 11 May 2010 | 5:24 pm EA's profit beat not enough to satisfy investors (Reuters)Reuters - Electronic Arts Inc's fourth-quarter results topped analysts' estimates, helped by sales of hit video game "Battlefield: Bad Company 2," but its shares fell as investors were looking for an even stronger performance from the company.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 May 2010 | 5:19 pm FCC Aims to Ease Cellphone Bills - Wall Street Journal
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 11 May 2010 | 5:17 pm How You Can Help the Oil Spill Cleanup EffortFind out how you can help with the Gulf oil spill wildlife recovery effort. Here's a hint: soap isn't needed.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 5:12 pm World's Best Animal Jumper IdentifiedCopepods may be small, but their tiny leg muscles generate the most forceful leaps in the world.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 5:01 pm Hawaii to get Nissan Leaf early (because they’re eco-friendly there (and it’s an island))
Well, even if that’s true, it’s not really worth making fun of. It’s just a smart decision — the growing pains of an electric infrastructure are best contained in a small area, and Hawaii is really ideal for it for a number of reasons. Man, I really want one of these things… and at around $25k it’s not even that expensive. [via Treehugger]
Source: CrunchGear | 11 May 2010 | 5:00 pm Coppola comes out against 3D as well
As I said in my response to Ebert’s broadside against 3D, I think there’s still a long way to go, and yes, some of it has to do with money. Of course, if moviemakers could make the money they’re making today on soundless black-and-white 8mm film, we’d still be watching movies like those from the ’20s. Technical advancements may be initiated by a desire to differentiate and make some money, but they’re technical advancements nonetheless. I don’t like how they pretty much misquote him, though. He says the glasses are tiresome, not 3D cinema in general.
Source: CrunchGear | 11 May 2010 | 5:00 pm CatholicSingles.com(R) Announces Free Open House This Weekend May 14-16LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif., May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- CatholicSingles.com, the original dating website for Catholic singles brings back their Free Open House taking place this weekend, May 14th-May 16th, 2010.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 May 2010 | 5:00 pm Drifting satellite threatens US cable programming (AP)AP - A TV communications satellite is drifting out of control thousands of miles above the Earth, threatening to wander into another satellite's orbit and interfere with cable programming across the United States, the satellites' owners said Tuesday.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 May 2010 | 4:57 pm Hubble Spies Trailblazing Star Ripped from Stellar NurserySometimes even the biggest stars can be bullied. Hubble has spotted a large star ejected from its place of birth, probably catapulted by the gravity of a couple of stellar siblings.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 4:49 pm Vista Broadband Networks & CMC Provide Live Web Stream of 2010 Rose ParadeSANTA ROSA, Calif., May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Vista Broadband Networks, Inc. and The Community Media Center of the North Bay have teamed for the second year in a row to provide a live web stream of the annual Luther Burbank Rose Parade.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 May 2010 | 4:48 pm CoSine Communications Announces Financial Results for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2010LOS GATOS, Calif., May 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CoSine Communications, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 May 2010 | 4:43 pm The Telcos' Secret Anti-Net Neutrality StrategyNoMoreHelio writes "The political blog ThinkProgress lays out big telecom's plan to attack net neutality. The blog obtained a secret PowerPoint presentation from a telecommunications industry front group (PPT) that outlines the industry strategy for defending against regulatory attempts by the FCC. The industry plans to partner with two conservative 'astroturfing' groups, best known for their work seeding the Tea Party movement. Today's revelation from ThinkProgress comes as Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) joined various telecom-funded front groups to unveil an anti-net neutrality bill."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 11 May 2010 | 4:43 pm Verizon Wireless Is Working on Tablet With Google [Voices]By Niraj Sheth, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal Verizon Wireless (VZ) is working with Google Inc. (GOOG) on a tablet computer, Verizon Wireless Chief Executive Lowell McAdam said Tuesday, as the company works to catch up with iPad host AT&T Inc. (T) in the area of devices that connect to wireless networks. Tablets are part of the “next big wave of opportunities,” Mr. McAdam said in an interview. He said the work on a tablet is part of a deepening relationship between the largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers and Google, which has carved out a space in mobile devices with its Android operating system. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 11 May 2010 | 4:27 pm Exclusive: Mozilla CEO John Lilly to Step Down and Head to Greylock (Plus Departure Email!) [BoomTown]
John Lilly, the well-regarded CEO of Mozilla, is preparing to give up his post at the open-source software nonprofit foundation, which is also a for-profit start-up. [UPDATE: Lilly confirmed the move in an email to Mozilla employees, which you can read below in its entirety.] Lilly (pictured here) is moving to Greylock Partners as a venture partner, sources added, although the affable entrepreneur could eventually end up doing a start-up. In a post on his personal blog about the change, Lilly said: “Venture investing is what I’ve wanted to do for quite a long time–I’ve been involved in many startups, even building an incubator a decade ago, and have interests that span enterprise, open source, and the broader web, among others. I’m incredibly excited to join an amazing team there, and the firm that I’ve noted to be incredibly strongly oriented towards entrepreneurs–it really matches my sensibilities as an operator quite well.” Lilly became CEO of Mozilla in early 2008, after serving as its COO. He took over from Mitchell Baker, who remained the company’s chairman. A search is on to find Lilly’s replacement in what will be gradual transition that will last many months. Lilly will stay involved at Mozilla and continue to serve on its board of directors. While Mozilla makes a number of products, it is best known for its Firefox browser, whose share has steadily increased since it debuted in late 2004. According to a recent survey, Firefox had a 24.6 percent share, well up from its 11 percent share in 2006. Microsoft’s (MSFT) Internet Explorer still holds the lead place in software to navigate the Web with a share that just dipped below 60 percent. The Chrome browser from Google (GOOG) is in a distant third place. Mozilla just announced that it will ship a beta of Firefox 4 next month, with a finished version coming out in November. The new version is slated to have a slicker interface and speed improvements. By dislodging Internet Explorer from its dominant market position, Firefox has proved not only that open-source projects can provide better software but that it’s possible for a particularly well done one to become an everyday consumer application. Despite its success, Mozilla still has to keep up its innovation and technical prowess. But given its unusual status as both a profit and nonprofit, it is hindered in that it is not likely to go public and shower its Silicon Valley employees with giant gobs of overhyped stock. Here’s Lilly’s email to Mozilla staff (he also has a post on his own Web site):
Lilly appeared onstage at the seventh D: All Things Digital conference last year, with Baker. Here is the full video of their interview with Walt Mossberg at D7: [ See post to watch video ] Source: All Things Digital | 11 May 2010 | 4:22 pm World's Smallest Interchangeable-Lens Cameras DebutSony's new NEX cameras are the smallest digital cameras yet to feature mirrorless (non-DSLR) design and the ability to use interchangeable lenses.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 11 May 2010 | 4:15 pm World's Smallest Interchangeable-Lens Cameras DebutSony's new NEX cameras are the smallest digital cameras yet to feature mirrorless (non-DSLR) design and the ability to use interchangeable lenses.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 4:15 pm Microsoft Dismisses Rumor of October Launch for Project NatalThe company sticks by its original holiday-season launch date for the next-generation motion controller.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 4:13 pm Drifting Satellite Could Knock Out Cable TVA few days back we discussed some of the problems caused by the demise of Intelsat's Galaxy 15, including possibe degradation of GPS and its WAAS refinement. Now reader crimeandpunishment writes in with another damage scenario, one which could affect vastly more people — interference with cable TV programming across the US. "A TV communications satellite is drifting out of control thousands of miles above the Earth, threatening to wander into another satellite's orbit... Galaxy 15 continues to receive and transmit satellite signals, and they will probably interfere with the second satellite, known as AMC 11, if Galaxy 15 drifts into its orbit as expected around May 23... [A spokesman] said one option would be using AMC 11's propulsion system to shift that satellite about 60 miles (100 kilometers) away to an orbit that's still within its carefully prescribed 'orbital box' but as far away as possible from Galaxy 15."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 11 May 2010 | 4:01 pm Elsys Instruments Continues Global Expansion with Establishment of North American HeadquartersMONROE, N.Y., May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Elsys Instruments, a leading manufacturer of custom and standard fast, high-precision data acquisition systems, has announced that, in support of its global expansion, it has established North American headquarters in Monroe, NY.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 May 2010 | 4:00 pm Hubble Deciphers Misfit Star MysteryA runaway star that was bounced from its home cluster by heavier brethren is the star of this mind-blowing space photo from Hubble.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 3:55 pm Medieval Aqueduct Found in JerusalemThe 14th-century aqueduct runs along a route that dates back to the time of Jesus.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 3:40 pm Ball Lightning Caused By Magnetic HallucinationsKentuckyFC writes "Transcranial magnetic stimulation involves placing a human in a rapidly changing magnetic field powerful enough to induce eddy currents in the brain. Focus the field in the visual cortex, for example, and the induced eddys cause the subject to 'see' lights that appear as discs and lines. Move the field within the cortex and the subject sees the lights move too. Physicists have calculated that the fields associated with certain kinds of multiple lightning strikes are powerful enough to induce the same kind of visual hallucinations in anybody unlucky enough to be within 200 meters or so. These fields ought to induce hallucinations that would take the form of luminous lines and balls that float in front of the subject's eyes, an effect that would explain observations otherwise classed as ball lightning, say the scientists."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 11 May 2010 | 3:14 pm Where on the Web Is HTML5?By now, everyone knows HTML5 can be used to play videos. But it also powers complex applications, displays animations and is responsible for a heap of other innovations on the web. We break down what HTML5 can do, and show you who's using it.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 2:49 pm Apple's Jobs 'Fully Operational' Year After Operation - BusinessWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 11 May 2010 | 2:47 pm How to Trigger Green Traffic LightsYou can make those underground magnetic loops at stoplights start working for you rather than against you.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 2:00 pm Does AT&T have iPhone exclusivity until 2012? - CNET
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 11 May 2010 | 1:46 pm Verizon: Android 2.1 rollout for Droid Eris begins today, done within 2 weeks
@gmase001 As of today you should be able to update the Droid Eris. *ANless than a minute ago via web
@mrabdi Yes you will within the next two weeks. *ZCless than a minute ago via web
Source: MobileCrunch | 11 May 2010 | 1:40 pm Apple’s Contract With AT&T Does Not Quash Verizon Rumor
Apple’s supposedly confidential agreement with AT&T was not a secret after all: They struck a five-year exclusivity contract to carry the iPhone in 2007, an old court document reveals. Still, the validity of the contract remains a question. An ongoing class action suit filed against Apple and AT&T in 2007 alleged that the two parties held a monopoly over the iPhone by locking consumers into a contract for an indefinite amount of time. However, Engadget’s Nilay Patel discovered that Apple filed a brief in October 2008 citing a USA Today article, which says Apple and AT&T struck a five-year agreement for the iPhone in 2007. “AT&T has exclusive U.S. distribution rights for five years — an eternity in the go-go cellphone world,” the USA Today article dated May 23, 2007 wrote. “And Apple is barred for that time from developing a version of the iPhone for CDMA wireless networks.” That would imply AT&T will be the exclusive U.S. carrier of the iPhone until 2012, which comes at odds with persistent rumors that Apple’s contract with AT&T expires this year and that a Verizon iPhone is due this fall. However, Engadget’s Patel notes that the contract could very well have been amended since then. Also, it’s unclear whether the contract would only apply to a specific model of the iPhone (first- or second-generation, for example). If that were the case, it would still open doors for Verizon to carry a brand new model of the iPhone. Rumors of a Verizon iPhone gained more credence in March when The Wall Street Journal, which has a solid track record for Apple rumors, was tipped about a CDMA-compatible iPhone scheduled for mass production in September. CDMA is the standard used by Verizon. Also, just today, tech blog Crunchgear claims it received a tip that advertising company Landor Associates is already preparing an ad campaign for a Verizon iPhone. Crunchgear has been an unreliable source of Apple rumors, according to MacRumors’ Arnold Kim, but the idea of an ad agency leaking information is plausible. See Also:
Photo: Fr3d/org/Flickr 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 11 May 2010 | 1:32 pm Inside Tornado Science: Monday's Twisters Could Have Been WorseForecasting techniques are building toward the long-awaited goal of being able to predict tornadoes an hour before they form.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 1:08 pm Apparently, Only Old Fogies Hate the New FacebookThe current backlash against Facebook for having turned its privacy promises inside out is likely being driven by adults over the age of 35, according to survey data from YouGov’s Brandindex.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 1:08 pm Video: Hands-On With the Kin One and Kin Two
Microsoft’s two newest phones, the Kin One and Kin Two, take aim at the same demographic as the company’s earlier Sidekick phones: Text-happy tweens. The phones have a promising new interface that puts social media updates front and center, with tweets, Facebook updates and other tiny news blurbs stacked up in an attractive column on the phones’ home screen. And the smaller Kin One is super cute. But do the phones measure up? They’re not exactly smartphones, and with poor web browsing and e-mail capabilities — not to mention no app store — they don’t deliver everything you might expect. Check out the video below, in which I go over the high and low points of these phones, which are available now from Verizon.
Highlights from our recent review: Kin One
Kin Two
Want more of the lowdown? Read our review of Microsoft’s Kin One and Kin Two. 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 11 May 2010 | 1:06 pm Video: Hands-On With the Kin One and Kin TwoTweens rejoice! Microsoft's new social-media-centric phones have Facebook, Twitter, texting -- and they're super cute. Hope your parents are buying, because they're pricey.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 11 May 2010 | 1:06 pm Google Maps for Android gets Bike directions, Location Sharing, Navigation Shortcut
If you’re running Android 1.6 or later, go pop into the Market and update Google Maps. You’ve got some new toys waiting for you. The new goods:
I’ll see you guys later. I’m going to go update and then proceed to not get hit by friggin’ cars on my bike. Thanks, Google Maps!
Source: MobileCrunch | 11 May 2010 | 12:53 pm Most Fat Dinosaurs Didn't ChewNew research explains the ultimate dinosaur fast food lifestyle. Many gulped down their food whole without chewing.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 12:40 pm Ancient Egyptian 'Nilometer' Helped Measure River's HeightThe structure was among several new discoveries at the so-called Avenue of Sphinxes.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 12:23 pm Court docs says no Verizon iPhone until 2012?Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile
If the contract is still being enforced, then we’ve got at least another year of exclusivity, wrapping the iPhone up at AT&T and keeping it away from 75% of the top four big teleco’s. If not, then we might see the iPhone hit the road and start popping up like a whack-a-mole at other carriers. What could be in the contract that might provide an escape for Apple? Surely sales thresholds must be met, but network features such as tethering, MMS, or network improvements could have been worked into the agreement and are anyone’s guess. What matters is this: AT&T has a lot to lose if the iPhone walks. Meanwhile, both iPhone-lusting Verizon users and disgruntled AT&T users dream of a day where the iPhone will play on a field of red. Verizon red. Read: [TechCrunch]
Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 11 May 2010 | 12:16 pm Bats’ Echolocation Recorded For Human ExploitBats’ remarkable ability to ‘see’ in the dark uses the echoes from their own calls to decipher the shape of their dark surroundings.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 May 2010 | 12:16 pm Early adopters, rejoice: AT&T begins rolling back upgrade eligibility dates for the next iPhone
Okay, I’ve got big news. Really – you’re going to want to sit down for this one. Ready? Apple.. is going to release a new iPhone this year. Probably next month. Why is your jaw not dropping? Sure, Apple releases a new iPhone every year in June — and sure, the next iPhone has already played a pivotal part in a massive scandal that resulted in a police raid on a blogger’s house. But.. but.. Fine. At this point, a new iPhone announcement in June isn’t really a surprise. It’s more of a tradition — and this year, it looks like AT&T is getting ready a bit early. Early this morning, we received a report from a reader:
Upgrade eligibility jumping from November 21st to June 21st, eh? You know what happens in June? Flag Day, people — not to mention Father’s Day and the Philippine Independence Day. Also, new friggin’ iPhones. We’ve since confirmed that this isn’t an isolated incident, but it’s definitely not showing up for everyone. AT&T could be rolling this out across their database slowly. Another possibility: they may not have intended for anyone to see this yet, and just borked the query for a handful of people. AT&T offered up early upgrade paths for long-time iPhone owners with both the 3G and the 3GS. Now, onto the date itself: Could this day, June 21st, be the day that the next iPhone hits the shelves? Quite possibly. It’s worth noting, however, that it would mean bucking tradition: June 21st is a Monday, whereas Apple has launched every single previous iPhone on a Friday. Friday launches are all about the numbers: less people work on weekends, meaning more people have time to buy the iPhone in the first 3 days. Apple’s got two venues from which they could announce the fourth gen iPhone: WWDC (where they’ve announced every other iPhone), which begins on June 7th this year, or the Yerba Buena Arts Center, which Apple has purportedly locked down for June 22nd (one day after the upgrade eligibility date). What say you? What do you think will happen? [Thanks Rob!]
Source: MobileCrunch | 11 May 2010 | 12:13 pm Gulf Oil Spill Animal Victim Tally May Be MisleadingOil spill animal victim tallies may be misleading, since BP has used a chemical dispersant to break up oil released into the Gulf.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 11:32 am Apple: Fix for iPad’s Wi-Fi Is on the Way
Apple is planning to issue a software update to address Wi-Fi connectivity issues for iPads, according to a company document. A recently updated support bulletin recommends possible solutions for iPad owners experiencing Wi-Fi problems, and it states that “Apple will also address remaining Wi-Fi connectivity issues with a future iPad software update.” Shortly after the iPad was released April 3, a number of customers groaned about the device’s erratic Wi-Fi performance. In Apple’s support forums, some complained that their iPad’s Wi-Fi signal was very weak, while others said they were unable to join their network after waking iPads up from standby. Apple acknowledged that Wi-Fi issues could be related to dual-band routers, but the updated version of the support document confirms that the iPad software is a factor and a fix is on the way. Apple did not provide an estimate for when to expect the update, and the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Via AppleInsider See Also:
Photo: Brian Derballa/Wired.com 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 11 May 2010 | 11:23 am Microsoft joins the party, adds free turn-by-turn Voice Navigation to Bing for Windows Mobile
GPS makers, commence shaking in your boots. Yet another party has come along with hopes of destroying your business model. The first hit came from Google, who announced back in October that they were adding free turn-by-turn functionality to Android. Nokia followed up with a massive haymaker in January, bringing free voice navigation to over a dozen of their most popular handsets. This time, it’s Microsoft.
Source: MobileCrunch | 11 May 2010 | 11:21 am Stress Can Change Your DNANew research says that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder isn't all in your mind -- it's in your genes, too.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 11 May 2010 | 11:18 am Space Tech Revolutionizes Archaeology, Understanding Of MayaLaser beams penetrating thick canopy detect thousands of new structures, show Maya adept at 'building green'A flyover of Belize's thick jungles has revolutionized archaeology worldwide and vividly illustrated the complex urban centers developed by one of the most-studied ancient civilizations -- the Maya.University of Central Florida researchers led a NASA-funded research project in April 2009 that collected the equivalent of 25 years worth of data in four days.Aboard a Cessna 337, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) equipment bounced laser beams to sensors on the ground, penetrating the thick tree canopy and producing images of the ancient settlement and environmental modifications made by the inhabitants of the Maya city of Caracol within 200 square kilometers (77 square miles).UCF anthropology professors Arlen and Diane Chase have directed archaeological excavations at Caracol for more than 25 years. The hard work of machete-wielding research scientists and students has resulted in the mapping of some 23 square kilometers (9 square miles) of ancient settlement.The NASA technology aboard the Cessna saw beyond the rainforest and detected thousands of new structures, 11 new causeways, tens of thousands of agricultural terraces and many hidden caves – results beyond anyone's imagination. The data also confirm the size of the city (spread over 177 square kilometers or 68 square miles) and corroborate the Chases' previous estimates for the size of the population (at least 115,000 people in A.D. 650).Until now, Maya archeologists have been limited in exploring large sites and understanding the full nature of ancient Maya landscape modifications because most of those features are hidden within heavily forested and hilly terrain and are difficult to record. LiDAR effectively removes these obstacles."It's very exciting," said Arlen Chase. "The images not only reveal topography and built features, but also demonstrate the integration of residential groups, monumental architecture, roadways and agricultural terraces, vividly illustrating a complete communication, transportation and subsistence system."UCF Biology Professor John Weishampel designed the unique LiDAR approach. He has been using lasers to study forests and other vegetation for years, but this was the first time this specific technology fully recorded an archeological ruin under a tropical rainforest."Further applications of airborne LiDAR undoubtedly will vastly improve our understanding of ancient Maya settlement patterns and landscape use, as well as effectively render obsolete traditional methods of surveying," Chase said.The images taken at the end of the dry season in Belize last April took about 24 hours of flight time to capture and then three weeks to analyze by remote sensing experts from the University of Florida. Now Caracol's entire landscape can be viewed in 3-D, and that already offers new clues that promise to expand current understanding of how the Maya were able to build such a huge empire and what may have caused its destruction."The ancient Maya designed and maintained sustainable cities long before 'building green' became a modern term," said Diane Chase, who has worked as co-director of the Caracol Archaeological Project beside her husband for the past 25 years. Her conclusion is based on the extensive agricultural terracing LiDAR revealed.In addition to the UCF researchers, partners include Jason Drake with the U.S. Forest Service in Tallahassee and an adjunct professor at UCF; Ramesh Shrestha, K. Slatton and William Carter of the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping; and Jaime Awe, director of the Institute of Archaeology in Belize.Much more powerful information is anticipated from the data collected. UCF's Weishampel said rainforests play an important role in understanding and managing global warming today. The team's results also give him a snapshot of forest vegetation in that part of the world and how it was influenced by land-use practices 1,000 years ago. This may help scientists understand past human-environment interactions and changes that should be made today.---Image Caption: University of Central Florida researchers led a NASA-funded research project in April 2009 that collected the equivalent of 25 years worth of data in four days. Aboard a Cessna 337, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) equipment bounced laser beams to sensors on the ground, penetrating the thick tree canopy and producing images of the ancient settlement and environmental modifications made by the inhabitants of the Maya city of Caracol. This LiDAR image shows the density of terracing in the Ceiba terminus area. Credit: Caracol Archaeological ProjectSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 May 2010 | 11:15 am AT&T to launch the Palm Pre Plus on May 16 for $149Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  Starting May 16, AT&T will offer the Palm Pre Plus for $149 with a new two-year contract. However, to entice current and new AT&T customers, the Palm Pre Plus will be combined with the Touchstone charging device. The Palm Pre Plus price (try saying that three times fast) is comparable to the Palm Pre on Sprint, yet it is $100 more expensive than the Palm Pre Plus on Verizon. Then again, Verizon has been selling the Palm Pre Plus for a while now, so the price has come down. No word on whether the Pixi will also be available on AT&T, but if you are on AT&T you can get your WebOS fix with the Palm Pre Plus soon enough. Here is the official comment on their Facebook page:
Via [Facebook] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 11 May 2010 | 11:01 am Credit Card Reader Lets You Accept Plastic AnywhereSquare, which launches today, is a mobile payment-processing system that lets anyone with an iPhone or Android phone accept credit card payments on the spot.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 11 May 2010 | 11:00 am Giving a voice to more languages on Google Translate(Cross-posted from the Google Translate Blog)One of the popular features of Google Translate is the ability to hear translations spoken out loud (”text-to-speech”) by clicking the speaker icon beside some translations, like the one below.  We rolled this feature out for English and Haitian Creole translations a few months ago and added French, Italian, German, Hindi and Spanish a couple of weeks ago. Now we’re bringing text-to-speech to even more languages with the open source speech synthesizer, eSpeak. By integrating eSpeak we’re adding text-to-speech functionality for Afrikaans, Albanian, Catalan, Chinese (Mandarin), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Latvian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese and Welsh. You may notice that the audio quality of these languages isn’t at the same level as the previously released languages. Clear and accurate speech technology is difficult to perfect, but we will continue to improve the performance and number of languages that are supported. So go ahead and give it a try! Click the on the speaker icon for any of these translations: “airport” in Greek, “lightning” in Chinese or “smile” in Swahili. Posted by Fergus Henderson, Software Engineer    
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 11 May 2010 | 10:47 am Concentration Of Ash Particles After Volcanic EruptionReconstruction of the spread of the ash cloudGKSS employees used mathematical models to reconstruct the spread process of the cloud. The findings of the scientists confirmed the spread of the ash cloud, as it was forecast by the VAAC, in addition, they also allowed important evaluations of the concentration of ash particles at various heights and the probable strength of the ash eruption.It became clear that the ash spread was very inhomogeneous in terms of geography, e.g. on April 19 ash concentrations of some 50 micrograms per cubic meter were calculated above Southern Germany, while the air was relatively clean over Northern Germany.The simulations were compared with the preliminary results of a measurement flight of the German Aerospace Centre of April 19 between 3.00 pm and 6.00 pm UTC, which were made publicly accessible on the Internet. Here, the spatial pattern of the ash cloud, calculated with the models as well as the modeled aerosol concentration, matched within the measurement error.Statements on the concentration of ash particlesIn addition, claims on the concentration of the ash particles were hedged by a comparison of the simulated optical thickness or light attenuation of the ash cloud and all other atmospheric particles with measured data. This could be done because the simulations included all particles, also those which are found close to ground. The measurement data were supplied by the ground-measurement stations of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) in Hamburg, Helgoland, Leipzig, Cabauw (Netherlands), Lille (France) and Chilbolton (UK).Subsequently, these were compared with several model calculations, which differed as regards the assumed emission strength of the volcano. The probable scenario appeared to be that the volcano initially emitted, among other large particles that fall down to ground within a few hundred kilometers distance, about four tons per second of small ash particles, which can be transported over great distances. However, the emissions then became smaller until April 21.The researchers interpret these findings as a confirmation that only a combination of measurements and model calculations allow reliable statements, both on the geographical and temporal dynamics as well as on the concentrations of volcanic ash. ---Image Caption: Simulation of the volcanic ash concentration between a height of approx. 2,000 and 7,000 meters on April 17, 2010 (right). Left, by way of comparison, the spread forecast by the VAAC (red line). Simulation of the volcanic ash concentration between a height of approx. 2,000 and 7,000 meters on April 17, 2010 (right). Left, by way of comparison, the spread forecast by the VAAC (red line).Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 May 2010 | 10:39 am Marine Protected Areas Conserve Mediterranean Red CoralA team of Spanish and French researchers has undertaken a pioneer analysis of red coral populations in the oldest Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in the Mediterranean and the impact that fishing activity has had.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 May 2010 | 10:24 am Video: Chunky BlackBerry 9670 flip phone
C’mon, there’s a few of you, isn’t there? Well, in the hopes that there is, I’ve gone and found a video of this most unholy union. There isn’t a whole lot revealed in the video. The proudly emblazoned 5.0 MP label on the camera, the dual screens, the inane size… and as The Celular Guru says, even OS 6.0 does little to differentiate itself from OS 5.0 in this video. But don’t let me stop you from watching the video: seeing this giant phone being handled is kinda… mesmerising. [image via Boy Genius Report]
Source: MobileCrunch | 11 May 2010 | 10:22 am Scientists Explain How Some Dinosaurs Grew So LargeScientists explain why the long neck dinosaurs were able to reach such gigantic proportionsThere is a simple rule of thumb. The larger an animal is, the more time it spends eating. This means an elephant hardly has time to sleep. It spends 18 hours every day satisfying its huge appetite. 'This led us to one of the many riddles that gigantism of dinosaurs puts before us,' Professor Martin Sander from the University of Bonn explains. 'They were just so large that a day would have had to have 30 hours so that they were able to meet their energy demands.'Martin Sander is a spokesman for an international research group which is looking for explanations for this and other paradoxes. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) has funded the project to date with three million euros. Now the scientists involved have presented the fruits of their work on more than 30 pages in the 'Biological Reviews'. For the first time, their research is offering a plausible answer to the question which the group sought to answer six years ago: why the giant long-neck dinosaurs were even able to exist. The researchers also explain why today's terrestrial animals are nowhere near reaching the Jurassic size record. One reason is that we chew. Giant dinosaurs gulped.Chewing helps to digest the food faster. By the grinding process it is broken down and at the same time its surface is enlarged. This way the digestive enzymes are able to attack the food more easily. 'Chewing is a property of prototheria which no large herbivorous terrestrial mammal has got rid of,' Martin Sander says. But chewing requires time – a resource that becomes scarce with increasing size. At the same time the following is true: the ones that chew need a large head, since molars and muscles have to be put somewhere. Not without reason elephants are quite big-headed.However, the herbivorous giant dinosaurs had relatively small, light skulls. Only this fact enabled them to grow extremely long necks. And these again helped them to make food intake as efficient as possible. So they did not constantly have to heave their 80-ton body over the Jurassic savanna while looking for their greens. They just remained on the spot and used their agile neck to browse their surroundings. This was particularly relevant for the heavy-weights. Smaller dinos simply had far smaller necks compared to their body length.New teeth every monthHorsetails were part of the sauropods' diet. For, according to research by the group, they are exceptionally nutritious. However, only a few animals feed off them today. A reason for this is presumably that horsetails are bad for the teeth. They contain a lot of silicate, which acts like sandpaper. But as long as you do not chew them but just pluck them and simply gulp them down, that is no big problem. Scientists from the US have recently discovered that sauropods renewed their teeth exceptionally often, some even in a monthly cycle.The digestion process itself probably took several days with the giant dinosaurs, due to the missing molars. However, their stomachs were so large that they still provided them with enough energy round the clock. Moreover, the metabolism of these giant animals was incredibly powerful. They possessed amazingly sophisticated lungs, which were far more effective than those of humans. The large number of air sacs which permeated the body cavity and vertebra of the dinosaurs played an important role in their function. Combined with a nifty system of valves they ensured that a gas exchange could take place while breathing in as well as while breathing out. A nice side effect was that the neck got significantly lighter this way. This was important for the statics of the animals.'In the history of species the lungs of today's birds and of the giant dinosaurs have the same origin,' Martin Sander says. 'This effective air exchange principle was invented about 230 million years ago.' This is consistent with the fact that the earth passed through an oxygen trough at the time. The concentration only 12 to 15 per cent, i.e. a third less than today. So being able to pick out the few oxygen molecules in the thin air as rapidly and well as possible was a huge advantage.In their article the scientists also deal in detail with further factors, without which the huge herbivores would not have existed. These are inter alia the high reproduction rate which enabled animals even to survive under adverse conditions. As Martin Sander says: '200 million years ago, an unparalleled combination developed of primitive traits, which were new in the history of evolution. This combination made these fascinating giants possible.' ---Image 1: Giant dinosaurs did not have any molars but gulped down their food like fast food. Only in this way did they have enough time to meet their intense energy demands, the research group led by Professor Martin Sander at the University of Bonn presumes. Credit: Frank Luerweg, University of BonnImage 2: Giant dinosaurs did not have any molars but gulped down their food like fast food. Only in this way did they have enough time to meet their intense energy demands, the research group led by Professor Martin Sander at the University of Bonn presumes. Credit: Frank Luerweg, University of BonnSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 May 2010 | 10:17 am Earth Could Be Too Hot For Humans By 2300Research released Tuesday revealed that climate change could make most of the world too hot for human habitation within just three centuries.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 May 2010 | 9:20 am Rainbow-Colored Pentax K-x Requires Sunglasses to Use
Look up there, at the photo at the top of this post. No, really look. What’s that? You feel nauseous? Don’t whine to me about it: tell Pentax (and stay away from Japan). The multi-colored monstrosity that just burned itself into your poor retinas is a special-edition Pentax K-x, available online only from Tower Records Japan. Thankfully, there will only be 1,000 made and sold for ¥74,800 ($800), or $150 more than the almost as hideous bright-red version. You even get a custom-designed, vomit-inducing rainbow image on the LCD when you start up, encouraging you never to power the camera up (and extending battery life to infinity). The 12.9MP, 720p-shooting DSLR is, apart from the Fisher Price colors, identical to the standard K-x, with its auto HDR and face detection functions. But that’s not what this is about. The rainbow scheme ties in with a summer campaign from Tower Records, and you should be able to find matching sunglasses, t-shirts and bags. Here’s a snippet from Google Translate for you to snicker at:
A drop-supplied woman? What? TOWER RECORDS X PENTAX Kx RAINBOW [Tower Records via Akihabara News] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 11 May 2010 | 8:54 am Android number two smartphone OS sold in Q1 2010Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile
The actually numbers come is with RIM’s BlackBerry with 36 percent of smartphones sold, Android with 28 percent and Apple with 21 percent. This marks the first time that Android has managed to outsell the iPhone. BlackBerrys, as always, outsell both platforms somewhat easily. Businesses seem to need BlackBerrys to function, and a lot of people seem to want physical keyboards. This drop in iPhone sales does go along with Apple’s recent earnings call saying that they sold less iPhones last quarter. Android coming in and selling more was a bit unexpected, however. The likely cause of the increase in Android sales in comparison to iPhone sales could be the shear number of Android devices. Every major carrier has at least one Android phone now, so carrier selection is not an issue. Not to mention the fact that a new, even better Android phone seems to come along every few weeks or so. In comparison, the iPhone is the same iPhone that’s been out since last June, and there is that whole lost/stolen next iPhone situation that may have convinced some to hold out until this coming June. Or maybe the Droid and Nexus One were just that enticing to people. Read [NPD] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 11 May 2010 | 8:41 am Battery Pack Boosts iPad Life to 99-Hours
HyperMac, the company that almost single-handedly silenced the handful of people who complained about the MacBook’s lack of a swappable battery, has updated its battery-bricks to juice the iPad. The HyperMacs are external batteries which can power your MacBook for up to 34 hours via a MagSafe adapter actually clipped from a real Apple power-brick (Apple doesn’t license the design). They also have USB ports to recharge other gadgets, and these have now been upgraded to supply the 10 watts needed by the iPad. This means that, if you go for the top-end, 4.7-pound, 222 watt-hour HyperMac then you can get a 99 hours of use from an iPad. That’ll cost you $500. For “just” $200, the far more sensible 60 watt-hour version - which weighs in at 0.8-pounds - will give you a total of 34 hours, more than enough for a weekend away. The HyperMacs are available now, with a wait of a couple of weeks for delivery. With any luck, if you order one today it should turn at the same time as your equally delayed iPad order. HyperMac batteries [HyperMac via MacWorld] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 11 May 2010 | 8:03 am Undocumented Primate 'Defies Classification'Previously unknown species complicates understanding of African evolutionIt's in the teeth. An odd mosaic of dental features recently unearthed in northern Egypt reveals a previously undocumented, highly-specialized primate called Nosmips aenigmaticus that lived in Africa nearly 37 million years ago.Because it is only known from its teeth, the paleontologists who discovered it don't know what its body looked like, but the find likely represents an ancient African lineage whose discovery makes early primate evolution on that continent more complicated."It comes as a bit of a shock to find a primate that defies classification," said lead researcher and assistant professor of Anatomical Sciences Erik Seiffert of New York's Stony Brook University.Seiffert says during the last 30 years or so, three major primate groups were established as being present in Africa some 55 to 34 million years ago: early monkeys, lemur-like primates, and an extinct group called adapiforms. But the newly discovered primate's teeth place Nosmips in Africa at the same time. What's more, its teeth suggest it could be an evolutionary oddity that is not closely related to any of these groups.Nosmips' discoverers report the finding in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Science Foundation supported the research."When you find the teeth of a fossil primate, it's usually pretty clear where it fits into the family tree," said Seiffert. "There are only a few species that nobody agrees about and that really can't be placed into any of the major primate groups. These mystery fossils must have something important to tell us about primate evolution."Right now Nosmips is one of those rare mystery fossils and so far is only known by 12 teeth, most of which were found in isolation at a site in the Fayum Depression about 40 miles outside Cairo, Egypt. The discoveries result from work during several field seasons over nine years.Paleontologists usually identify primate fossils by their teeth because teeth are the most durable parts of the body and are most likely to fossilize, and so are most likely to be recovered."We were lucky to find even two teeth of Nosmips in each field season over the course of the nine years," said Seiffert. "That amounts to over nine months of continuous work. Only through working over such a long time span were we able to piece together the arrangement of Nosmips' teeth."Analysis shows Nosmips had a rare combination of enlarged and elongated premolars with simple upper molars. It also had premolar teeth that had taken on the form of molars, instead of being relatively simple as in most other primates."Nosmips appears to be a highly specialized member of a previously undocumented and presumably quite ancient endemic African primate lineage" Seiffert said.The researchers note that Nosmips lived alongside another specialized primate named Afradapis, which the same team described last year in a paper in the journal Nature. Seiffert and colleagues compared the teeth of these extinct species with those of living primates, and determined that Afradapis had adaptations for eating leaves, whereas Nosmips probably ate more fruits and insects."As time goes on and more discoveries are made, it will be fascinating to see how different lineages contributed to primate diversity in the Eocene of Africa," Seiffert said.Researchers from the Duke Lemur Center, Midwestern University, Penn State University and University of Oxford also contributed to this research.---Image 1: Composite lower dentition of the 37 million-year-old primate Nosmips, from northern Egypt, is shown. Credit: Erik Seiffert, Stony Brook UniversityImage 2: A 3D reconstruction of the isolated upper and lower teeth of the 37 million-year-old primate Nosmips, from northern Egypt. Credit: Erik Seiffert, Stony Brook UniversityImage 3: Paleontologists excavating Birket Qarun Locality 2, the site within the Fayum Depression in northern Egypt that produced the Nosmips fossils. Credit: Erik Seiffert, Stony Brook UniversitySource: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 May 2010 | 7:35 am DustPan+Bin: A Convertible Trash Receptacle
DustPan+Bin: a name as ruthlessly descriptive as it is full of annoying designer-y typographic quirks. The concept product it refers to is a combo trashcan and dustpan, complete with a handsome matching broom. The idea seems to be that you would leave the triangular receptacle in the corner of the room, just like any other trashcan, but when a rubbish-strewn-on-floor emergency arises, you are merely ninety degrees and a good sharp kick away from cleaning up. I like it, but it is completely impractical. First, the kind of gunk I sweep off the floor is the kind of moist filth most people spill: coffee grounds, gore hacked from dead animals as I prepare them for the pot, and other garbage. Take a look at the dirty state of your current dustpan and you’ll remember why you hide it away when not in use. Second, that fat lip would make it impossible to get anything but the biggest chunks of junk into the bucket’s handsome maw. Sure, it may work with the artfully crumpled paper in the product shot, but that’s also the kind of accident I pick up with my hands. There is one unintentional function which saves it, though. When in trashcan orientation, there is a useful-looking backboard formed by the rear side. That backboard would make a perfect surface to toss those paper scrumples against and have them bounce into the can. Sweet office fun. DustPan+Bin [Lufdesign via Core77] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 11 May 2010 | 7:34 am How A Deadly Amphibian Disease Spreads And KillsDangerous Threshold"We found that mass frog die-offs only occur when the severity of the Chytrid infection reaches a critical threshold among the individual frogs," said Vance Vredenburg, assistant professor of biology at San Francisco State University. "Now that we know this limit, which is a specific number of fungal spores per frog, conservation efforts may be able to save susceptible frog species by preventing the disease from reaching this point."In the first of two separate studies, Vredenburg and colleagues tracked the invasion and spread of Chytrid among frogs in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains during a 13-year period, focusing on two species of the mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa and Rana sierrae). The study found that Chytrid is particularly destructive when it invades a previously unexposed population, similar to the smallpox epidemics that devastated human populations in the 17th and 18th centuries."When Chytrid hits naïve host populations, it grows so quickly that the usual checks and balances, which prevent a pathogen from causing extinction, don't have a chance to kick in," Vredenburg said. "We are living in a time when the global movement of people and goods is likely spreading this disease to areas where it wasn't present before, interrupting the natural equilibrium between the pathogen and its hosts."The authors observed no evidence of Chytrid prior to the die-offs, a finding that stands in contrast to previous studies, which have suggested that Chytrid may be ubiquitous in the environment and that frog hosts were simply becoming more susceptible to a common microbe.Chytrid is caused by a microscopic aquatic fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) that lodges into frogs' skin. Chytrid has already wiped out more than 200 frog species and poses the greatest threat to vertebrate biodiversity of any known disease.Extinction versus survivalA companion study used mathematical models and individual-based infection data to explore why the disease drives some frog populations to extinction, while others survive with the disease for years. This study compared frog populations in Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park, where a wave of disease has largely eliminated the mountain yellow-legged frog in the last five years, to frogs in Yosemite National Park, where Chytrid has been present for more than a decade and a smaller number of frogs have been living with the infection.Results of this study suggest that frogs' chances of survival depend on infection intensity, not simply the presence or absence of the infection. The adult frogs in Yosemite were infected with only low level infections and individuals were found to lose and regain the infection over time.An unusual feature of Chytrid, which makes it particularly virulent, is that it cannot replicate on a frog's body in the same way as cancer or a viral infection. A key part of the Chytrid growth lifecycle involves a swimming fungal spore that must either re-infect the same frog host after it is released outside the body or find a new host to continue growing.Suggested SolutionsBoth studies find that infection intensity, which escalates through frogs being re-infected, is central to understanding how to save amphibians from mass extinction caused by Chytrid. High population densities in naïve frog communities could promote re-infection, causing the infection to reach a dangerously high level. The importance of population density is supported by evidence from the surveys in Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park where patterns of infection spread was consistent with frog movement patterns, suggesting that frogs help re-infect each other through contact.The authors suggest that conservation efforts should focus on limiting the severity of the fungal infection on individuals during an outbreak of Chytrid. For example, treating individual frogs with anti-fungal compounds, or probiotics, temporarily removing tadpoles or reducing population density might lower infection intensity and allow some frogs to survive an epidemic. Such interventions could promote a stable relationship with the disease where the infection reaches an endemic steady state."These results are about more than just frogs," Vredenburg said. "They are about disease, how and why it spreads and how some populations can be wiped out by a disease while others survive. This is important to all of us considering that 60 percent of emerging diseases in humans come from wildlife. The models we have provided may be adapted by ecologists to better understand similar diseases that affect humans or cattle or corn, for example.""Dynamics of an emerging disease drive large-scale amphibian population extinctions" was authored by Vance T. Vredenburg, assistant professor of biology at San Francisco State University, in collaboration with Roland A. Knapp, Tate S. Tunstall and Cheryl J. Briggs."Enzootic and Epizootic Dynamics of the Chytrid Fungal Pathogen of Amphibians" was authored by Cheryl J. Briggs from University of California, Santa Barbara in collaboration with Roland A. Knapp and Vance T. Vredenburg.Both studies were published today in the Online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation.Vance T. Vredenburg is an assistant professor at San Francisco State University. He is also a Research Associate at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley and California Academy of Sciences. Vredenburg is the co-founder of AmphibiaWeb.org an online bioinformatics project promoting science and conservation of the world's amphibians. ---Image 1: A pile of southern mountain yellow-legged frogs in California's Sierra Nevada, where San Francisco State University Professor Vance Vredenburg and colleagues tracked the spread of the deadly amphibian disease Chytridiomycosis during a 13-year period. New research by Vredenburg and colleagues, published in PNAS, suggests that high population densities in frog communities could promote re-infection among frogs, causing the intensity of the disease to reach dangerously high levels. Reducing population density could be a way to limit infection intensity and allow some frogs to survive a Chytridiomycosis epidemic. Credit: Vance VredenburgImage 2: San Francisco State University Professor Vance Vredenburg collects a skin swab from a southern mountain yellow-legged frog in California's Sierra Nevada where he and colleagues tracked the spread of the deadly amphibian disease Chytridiomycosis during a 13-year period. New research by Vredenburg, published in PNAS, identifies a dangerous tipping point in infection intensity and suggests that mass frog deaths only tend to occur once infection intensity reaches an average of more than 10,000 fungal spores per skin swab. Chytridiomycosis is caused by an aquatic fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Credit: Natalie ReederSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 May 2010 | 7:10 am Canon Compact Shoots at 240fps, ISO 6400
Canon’s new high-end compact, the IXUS 300HS, does two things well: shoots in low-light, and shoots at high-speed. The stainless-steel bodied camera will take pictures at up to ISO 3200 (or ISO 6400 if you drop to a lower resolution) and capture video at either 720p, or switch down the resolution to 320×240 for movies at a ridiculous 240fps. There’s more. The lens, a 28-105mm equivalent zoom, will open up to a nice, bright ƒ2.0 when used at the wide-angle end (falling to ƒ5.3 at the telephoto end) and the 3-inch LCD has a wide, 16:9 aspect ratio (a little weird for stills, but great for video). Finally, the sensor is a sensible 10MP. The IXUS 300HS, which is priced at £380 (and which will doubtless be less than the $560 direct conversion when it gets a US price) looks to come somewhere below the excellent Canon S90 in terms of image quality (the sensor is smaller in the IXUS, for example) but above other compacts in the range, with both the neat slo-mo mode and the manual controls (program, shutter priority, aperture priority and manual are all choices). In fact, as a take anywhere, slide-in-the-pocket digicam, it looks ideal. Canon IXUS 300 HS [Canon UK] See Also: 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 11 May 2010 | 7:04 am Chemicals From Seaweed Can Damage Coral On ContactImage 1: The green seaweed Chlorodesmis fastigiati is shown growing on a reef. This seaweed damages the coral it contacts, as shown by the absence of corals immediately adjacent to it. Credit: Georgia Tech PhotoImage 2: Georgia Tech graduate student Doug Rasher is shown with a rack holding corals transplanted into concrete cones for experiments on reefs off the Fiji Islands. Credit: Georgia Tech PhotoImage 3: Photo shows an experimental coral that had been in contact with the green seaweed Chlorodemis. The white area of the coral is where contact with the seaweed has caused damage or death in the coral. Credit: Georgia Tech photoSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 May 2010 | 6:51 am Scientists Shine New Light On Green Plant SecretsImage 1: Through photosynthesis, green plants are able to capture energy from sunlight and convert it into chemical energy. By exploiting quantum mechanical effects, the plants transfer energy from sunlight with an efficiency of nearly 100-percent.Image 2: Mohan Sarovar (seated) and (from left) Akihito Ishizaki, Birgitta Whaley and Graham Fleming carried out the first observation and characterization of quantum entanglement in a real biological system. (Photo by Roy Kaltschmidt, Berkeley Lab Public Affairs)Image 3: The schematic on the left shows the absorption of light by a light harvesting complex and the transport of the resulting excitation energy to the reaction center through the FMO protein. On the right is a monomer of the FMO protein, showing its orientation relative to the antenna and the reaction center. The numbers label FMO’s seven pigment molecules. (Image from Mohan Sarovar)Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 May 2010 | 6:40 am Square mobile payment system now available for Android, the iPad & iPhoneSection: Communications, Accessories, Mobile, Gadgets / Other  The Square mobile payment system seems to available for a few platforms now. It was just recently added to the App Store and made available for the iPhone, iPod touch and the iPad. And while checking around the Square website for more information I noticed that there was an app available for Android as well. Some of the perks of using Square include the ability to take payments from anyone with a credit card just about anywhere you may be. The system also generates a receipt that can be delivered by email or SMS, comes with no contract or monthly fees and can possibly offer rewards at locations that you visit often. Anyway, the apps are available and you can download them from either the Apple App Store or the Android Market for free. Then once the app is downloaded and installed you can create an account with Square. Then after you have your account setup, you will receive a Square card reader and Square sticker in the mail so you can begin accepting payments. Check out the video below and then hit up the Read link below to check out a the Square website. Read [Square] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 11 May 2010 | 6:20 am Sony’s NEX Mirrorless Cameras Are the Smallest in the World
Sony has at last made good on its promise of mirrorless, interchangeable-lens compact cameras. We saw some mock-ups of the slab-like cameras back in February, and now Sony’s answer to the Micro Four Thirds and Samsung’s NX1 is here. First, the NEX-3 and NEX-5 are small. Sony says that these cameras are the “world’s smallest, lightest interchangeable-lens cameras,” and they might be right: Both measure about 4.5 x 2.5 x 1.5 inches and weigh about half a pound (sans lens), making them slightly more trim than the Panasonic GF1 (4.7 x 2.8 x 1.4 inches). Their diminutive sizes makes the bodies look rather comical when the larger lenses are affixed. Sony is aiming at compact-camera owners who want to upgrade, and the pocket-sized design is ideal for this. The cameras contain Sony’s Exmor APS-C sized sensor, the same size that you find in most DSLRs. The differences between the two models are small. The NEX-3 has 720p video and the NEX-5 1080i. The NEX-5 has a somewhat smaller, magnesium body, and an extra twist button on the top plate. Otherwise, the specs are the same. Sony seems to have concentrated on making a solid, fairly gimmick-free offering. The 14.6-MP sensor is backlit (the image-sensing circuitry is on the front rather than the back of the chip) for good low-light performance (up to ISO 12,800). The LCD is a 3-inch 900,000-pixel monster, and the processor is Sony’s Bionz (Bionic Fonz) chip found in its DSLRs. Amazingly for such small cameras, the LCDs flip out and twist. Because of the tiny bodies, neither camera has a built-in flash, but you do get one in the box which is powered by the camera’s own battery. There is no standard hot-shoe for a proper flash, however (typical Sony nonsense). Sony has created a new lens mount for the NEX-series, called the E-mount. You can still use many A-mount Alpha lenses with an adapter, and also older lenses if you’re willing to focus manually. And there are some nice, if obvious, lenses. Made from metal, not plastic, you can choose from a 16mm (24mm equivalent) ƒ2.8 pancake, an 18-to-55mm ƒ3.5-to-5.6 stabilized zoom and an 18-to-200mm ƒ3.5-to-6.3 stabilized zoom (to be released later). These are fine, but lack the great wide-open maximum aperture of Panasonic and Olympus’ pancakes, at ƒ1.7 and ƒ1.8 respectively. There are a few software gimmicks. Sony’s Sweep Panorama makes the cut. You hold down the shutter and swoosh the camera across the scene before you. The images are then stitched in camera. It works pretty well. Auto-HDR is also in. This snaps a few pictures at different exposures and combines them to give better detail in both highlights and shadows. With these cameras success will come down to handling. Those wanting to move up from a compact get some rather nifty software, with an interface that relies on soft-buttons on the back which change function depending on context. You can, for instance, press them and get a live preview of how the aperture will affect depth of field. The lack of manual control dial and buttons may put off those who are used to SLR-style controls, and to you we say take a look at the Micro Four Thirds cameras already out there. If the handling is good, though, it looks like Sony might have struck just the right balance among size, convenience and power. Not bad. You can even use a proper SD card in them (although Memory Sticks work too). Available this summer. The NX-3 will be $550 with pancake lens, $600 with 18-55mm zoom; the NX-5 $650 with pancake, $700 with zoom. NEX cameras [Sony] See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 11 May 2010 | 6:18 am Cradle, a Spinning Lap-Tray for the iPad
I know nothing about the American version of rounders that you call baseball, but if I did I would say that the crowd-sourcing company Quirky just keeps hitting balls out of the park. This time the committee-designed product is a handsome lap-tray for the iPad, called the Cradle. The Cradle, which would actually be a pretty great work-in-bed laptop stand, is a bent-wood design which wraps over the lap to support the iPad in front of you. The underside is padded with a fabric covered cushion and the top surface has a plastic lazy-susan which grips the iPad and lets you spin between landscape and portrait orientations. The tray itself deserves a special mention. It’s made from bamboo plywood, which is not only strong, light and sustainable, but is named “plyboo”. If that doesn’t sound like one of the brain-dead names that George Lucas came up with for the laughable Star Wars prequels, then nothing does. As always, if you order something from Quirky, you’ll only be charged when enough others have done the same and the production lines will start to roll. The cost is a reasonable $58, a proportion of which is divided amongst those who helped design the Cradle. I might order me one of these. Not for my still-not-arrived iPad, but for breakfast-in-bed. That spinning platter is ideal for keeping all the croissants on my side of the plate. Cradle [Quirky. Thanks, Tiffany!] See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 11 May 2010 | 5:06 am
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It found that women in developing countries, and people of both sexes with low incomes or poor education, were most influenced emotionally by their access to technology.
There’s a saying I love: “a camel is a horse designed by committee.” A variation is “a volvo is a porsche designed by committee.” Some of the best product advice I’ve ever heard goes something like “damn what the users want, charge towards your dream.” All of these statements are, of course, saying the same thing. When there are too many cooks in the kitchen all you get is a mess. And when too many people have product input, you’ve got lots of features but no soul.
Rose’s nature is to be an affable and loquacious guy. People love him, and Kevin loves to be loved. That’s great if you’re thinking of starting a religion or putting on self help seminars. But as soon as you start being a product dictator all those adoring fans start to 
Stop me if this sounds familiar. Last night, we 
Most 3D imaging requires cameras with multiple lenses, but an Italian firm has discovered a way to allow a single lens to see three dimensional images using pulsed laser energy.
Along with all the laptops that Dell accidentally leaked today, they also announced an update to the Latitude E5410 and E5510 models. These two refreshed systems are based off of the ever popular E-series of laptops, and feature the latest Intel processors and chipsets.
Let’s break it down; the E5410 supports everything from the Intel P4500 up to the i7 620m. You’ll be looking at a 14.1 inch screen, with support for up to 8GB of RAM. Prices change based on configuration, but the base unit has an MSRP of $759.
Google has tended to stay away from the gaming world for the most part. The search giant did have 
Did Apple and AT&T sign a 5 -year exclusive deal for the iPhone back in 2008? And if so, have either party breached terms that would nullify the contract? That is the thrust of the case being made as we learn that USA Today reported on court documents did reveal a 5-year contract. All eyes are on the two companies to watch if either tips its hand on the status.
While it may not be the 
It looks like Android has finally overtaken the iPhone, if only for the moment. According to market research group NPD, Android was the number two top selling smartphone OS in the US for the first quarter of 2010. Apple’s iPhone came in third.
