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Negroponte Says $75 Prototype Tablet Coming in 2010 - PC World
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 29 May 2010 | 4:01 am SOFIA Sees Jupiter's Ancient HeatThe aircraft-based telescope has opened its infrared eyes for the first time, peering into the guts of a galaxy and peeking through Jupiter's clouds.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 29 May 2010 | 3:38 am Ofcom Unveils Anti-Piracy Policy For UK ISPskrou writes "Under plans drawn up by Ofcom, UK ISPs are going to draw up a list of those who infringe copyright, logging names and the number of times infringement took place. Music and film companies will then be allowed access to the list, and be able to decide whether or not to take legal action. '"It is imperative that a system that accuses people of illegal online activity is fair and clear," said Anna Bradley, chair of the Communications Consumer Panel.' The Panel, in partnership with Consumer Focus, Which, Citizens Advice and the advocacy body the Open Rights Group, has released a set of principles it believes should govern the code of practice. The principles say sound evidence is needed before any action is taken, consumers must have the right to defend themselves, and the appeals process must be free to pursue. The code shall come into practice by 2011, and only initially applies to ISPs with 400,000 customers or more." Update: 05/29 09:11 GMT by T : As an anonymous reader points out below, that's 400,000 users, rather than 40,000 as originally rendered.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 29 May 2010 | 3:01 am Retro Hitchhikers - Vogue Russia June 2010 Shows Vintage-Inspired Ensembles (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Fashion editor Simon Robins goes all out inside the pages of Vogue Russia June 2010. This stylish spread shot by photographer KT Auleta features model Ranya Mordanova in retro pieces...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 29 May 2010 | 1:37 am Weekend Bender Lookbooks - Zanerobe Spring/Summer 2010 is About the Fun Side of Fashion (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Photographer David Roemer is at the helm of this fun-filled photoshoot for the Zanerobe Spring/Summer 2010 collection. If the lookbook is any indication of what wearing Zanerobe will...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 29 May 2010 | 1:20 am Top 20 Trends of the Day (May 28) - From Lacy Swimsuit Editorials to Insectified Caravans (COUNTDOWN)(TrendHunter.com) For the day of May 28th, these are the Top 20 trends, which include Lacy Swimsuit Editorials, Vamping Fashiontography and Chain-Smoking Tots. The rankings are based on hundreds of thousands...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 29 May 2010 | 1:06 am $434,000 iPads - The Goldstriker Platinum iPad is so Luxurious it Hurts(TrendHunter.com) The Goldstriker platinum iPad is here, and you had better get yours before the other billionaires get their hands on them. Seriously, the solid platinum iPad weighs in at a ridiculous...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 29 May 2010 | 12:55 am Oil spill's latest developments - Washington Post
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 29 May 2010 | 12:43 am Turquoise Trainers - The Lacoste Stealth Chevel Hi Sneaks Drop in Neon Pastel Shades (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) The Lacoste Stealth Chevel Hi sneaker is set to drop for the Lacoste Fall/Winter collection, and it may be the only thing about the cold season that I am looking forward to. Coming...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 29 May 2010 | 12:41 am Cutout Monokinis - Flare June 2010 Shows Sexy Swimsuits & Chic Coverups (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Brazilian bombshell Jeisa Chiminazzo looks ultra-chic in her latest spread inside Flare June 2010. Shot by photographer Matthias Vriens-McGrath, the editorial features looks from famed...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 29 May 2010 | 12:26 am Haute Rasta Hair - 'Modernist Moment' in W Korea June 2010 Shows Futuristic Fashion (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Photographer Jeffrey Graetsch makes magic behind his lens in his latest work, 'Modernist Moment' in W Korea June 2010. The spread features model Valentina Zelyaeva in drop-dead gorgeous...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 29 May 2010 | 12:11 am How Google Can Make Android Truly Tablet-WorthyWith an Android armada on the horizon (or at least expected), reader androidtablet plugs this piece on ways Android could be truly tablet-friendly. Armchair engineering may be easy to knock, but I like the ideas presented here, like aggressively using the inactive (locked) screen state to display useful information.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 29 May 2010 | 12:02 am Earthy Military Style - 'Army Daze' in Harper's Bazaar Singapore June 2010 (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Military fashions are all the rage this year, and Harper's Bazaar Singapore June 2010 is mixing it up with an editorial titled 'Army Daze.' The spread features platinum blonde model...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 May 2010 | 11:55 pm Online bidders hot for Napa Valley wines (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 May 2010 | 11:44 pm Aztec Bikinis - 'Endless Summer' in Flare June 2010 Shows Vibrant Geometric Patterns (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Brunette beauty Nika Lauraitis looks as hot as the tropical sun in her latest spread, 'Endless Summer,' in Flare June 2010. The editorial was shot by photographer Max Abadian and features...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 May 2010 | 11:41 pm Sushi Push Pops - The Pre-Rolled Sushi Popper is Like a Savory Push-Up Popsicle(TrendHunter.com) When asked what the Sushi Popper is, my first instinct is to respond with "a bad idea." My journalistic integrity, however, commends me to answer that it is a portable container of...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 May 2010 | 11:21 pm Netbooks vs. Tablets: How to Decide - PC Magazine
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 10:59 pm Amazon.com Is Said to Be Introducing Thinner Kindle in August - BusinessWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 10:17 pm What You Don't Know about Your Online Reputation Can Hurt You (PC World)PC World - Social networking, and the broader concept of online privacy, have been under some rather intense scrutiny over the past couple of weeks.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 May 2010 | 10:16 pm Apple inquiry focuses on price fixing (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 May 2010 | 10:15 pm Thousands flee Ecuador, Guatemala volcanosThousands of people were evacuated and airports were closed as two volcanos erupted in Guatemala and Ecuador Friday, choking major cities with ash, and leaving two dead, officials said. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 May 2010 | 9:32 pm UPDATE 8-UK's Prudential wants to pay less to save AIA deal(Adds U.S. Treasury statement, also adds source comment on AIG reaction to $30 bln price and stock price)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 May 2010 | 9:17 pm Alaska sues feds over predator controlThe state of Alaska sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Friday, seeking a court order allowing it to go ahead with a controversial predator control program. At issue is the state's...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 May 2010 | 9:01 pm How Viruses Evolve Into All-Purpose MalwareKingofGnG writes "Computer threats are continuously evolving, and some malicious codes are a problem difficult to tackle because of their inherent complexity and an intelligent design capable of constantly putting under pressure security companies. A remarkable 'intelligent' threat is for instance Sality, the 'new generation' file virus that according to Symantec has practically turned into an 'all-in-one' malware incorporating botnet-like functionalities as well."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 May 2010 | 8:55 pm Clarion sf writing workshop Write-a-Thon
The Clarion Writing Workshop at UCSD La Jolla is having its annual write-a-thon, in combination with Seattle's Clarion West and Australia's Clarion South: "From June 27 to August 7, 2010, Clarion supporters can tap into the creative energy of the renowned six-week Clarion workshop, encourage this year's Clarion students, and help secure the financial future of Clarion, all without leaving home. The first annual Clarion UCSD Write-a-Thon will take place at the same time as this year's Clarion Workshop. Write-a-Thon participants embark on a six-week writing journey alongside the 2010 students-in-residence, supported by friends, family and fans."
I'm in. I'm writing 1,000 words a day, five days a week, on Pirate Cinema, the YA novel I've got due next Christmas. You can pledge to support me and my $500 fundraising goal for Clarion. Clarion helped make me into a better writer -- and it's done the same for hundreds of others. Fundraising is an increasingly important part of Clarion's viability. With major cutbacks from our host organization -- the bankrupt UC system -- it's fundraise or die. I hope that you'll participate in the Clarion Write-a-Thon, either as a writer or a donor (or both!). Participate in Clarion 2010 without Leaving Home! (Disclosure: I am proud to volunteer as a board-member for The Clarion Foundation, a 501(c)3 charity that supports the Clarion workshop at UCSD)
 Source: Boing Boing | 28 May 2010 | 8:49 pm Google Reader losing offline modeSection: Web, Web Apps, Google  Google is getting really serious about killing off Gears. The company recently abandoned Gears on Google Docs, making the offline version HTML5 version the only way to use Google Docs while not online. On Tuesday June 1, Google will slay the offline mode of another one of it’s popular web apps. On June 1, Google Reader will officially be online only, with no more support for Gears. The move brings Google Reader to an updated HTML 5 version, which means it will also stop supporting older browsers. Those using Internet Explorer 6, Firefox 2.0 or lower, Safari 3.0 or lower and Google Chrome 3.0 or below will no long be able to use Google Reader. So this time Google isn’t just taking at Microsoft and it’s browser, but those who just use older browsers in general with the update. Unlike the Google Docs change earlier, Google Reader will be losing all offline access. According to Google, there were never many people who actually used the offline feature. Google is suggesting that those few users that want offline access use a desktop application that syncs to Google Reader. The are plenty of them available for all platforms, though none will offer the same experience of Google Reader itself. The update to Reader will allow Google to take more advantage of HTML 5 and CSS 3. There’s no details yet of what those features entail. Read [WebMonkey] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 28 May 2010 | 8:39 pm AIG sees $30 bln for Asian unit too low - sourceNEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) - American International Group Inc believes $30 billion for its Asian unit, AIA is too low, and the U.S. insurer is not in a rush to do a deal, a source familiar with the matter...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 May 2010 | 8:30 pm 'iPhone Killer' is Finally Here: It's Not Quite What You Think (PC World)PC World - A new open-source device that will kill any past, current, or even future iPhones may soon make its way to the market. It is also compatible with all iPads...and any Apple product for that matter. Ronen Kadushin presents to you, the iPhonekiller!Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 May 2010 | 7:52 pm The iPad DODOcase wins our hearts and money
The $50 price tag even seems just about right. Any more and we would have called it nice, but expensive. Any less and we would have questioned its quality. The perfect iPad case? Kevin Rose likes it. Too bad there’s a little wait for one right now.
Source: CrunchGear | 28 May 2010 | 7:47 pm Ok Seriously, What Is Yahoo?
The video above shows how two public company CEOs – Yahoo’s Carol Bartz and AOL’s Tim Armstrong – answered the first question I asked each of them during our interviews at TechCrunch Disrupt earlier this week: “What is Yahoo/AOL?” The contrast in coherence is staggering. Bartz:
Armstrong:
The one thing that everyone remembers from my interview with Bartz was when she told me to fuck off near the end of the talk. I’ll talk more on that in a post next week, but that was completely overblown – neither of us took it seriously on stage and after the talk there was no ill will at all. The parts most people haven’t watched yet were what fascinated me. I want to understand what Yahoo is. What their core goals are. What they think they can win at. And how they can accomplish that via their product organization. I’ve wanted to know this for two years. And I still don’t know.
Nearly every public interview with CEO Carol Bartz, and before her Jerry Yang, has started with the same question – “What is Yahoo?” And the company has been criticized for being unable to answer that question coherently in any of those interviews: May 2008 – CEO Jerry Yang: Yang was not prepared for perhaps the one question that every CEO should be ready to answer at all times: “What is the business of Yahoo?” He was all over the place. He said their core focus included “home page, mail, search, and mobile.” He also said “We can’t be all things to all people. We have become much more focused,” before taking about other areas of focus at Yahoo, including advertising, social networking and their new open strategy. November 2008 – CEO Jerry Yang: A CEO that still can’t clearly state the core goals. Yang, slouched on stage and devoid of energy, alternated between calling Yahoo a platform company and a destination site. But he also said that Yahoo intends to remain competitive with Google in search, despite the vast differences in resources that the two companies can put towards research. May 2009 – New CEO Carol Bartz: What is Yahoo? That’s easy, says Bartz. We’re the place that everyone comes to every day. “We’re the place where people find relevant contextual information about things they care about.” We have a global reach with a local feel, says Bartz, noting that Yahoo is increasingly more focused on local. “People should see their high school game Flip videos on Yahoo Sports.” May 2010 – CEO Carol Bartz: “What is Yahoo?…Listen Yahoo is a great company that is very, very strong in content for its users, uses amazing technology to serve up what increasingly we think is going to be the web of one. For instance, on our today module in the front page, every 5 minutes we have 32,000 different variations of that module. So you don’t even know what I’m seeing in fact we serve a million different front page modules a day and that’s just through content optimization. And that’s just the beginning…Customized because we know the things you’re interested in. Maybe you don’t like light entertainment maybe you like a certain sports team, etc., etc. And our click thru rate went up twice. So the point is, people come to us to find out what is going on with the world in a very nice quick fashion to do their communications, email, messanger, check-in on their teens. We all know about Yahoo finance. It’s a places where you can just get it together. “ Remember that Bartz was paid $47.2 million by Yahoo in 2009 – top among all Standard & Poor’s 500 companies. She’s being paid very well for her job. This is a question that she must be ready to answer, to the press, to shareholders, to the world and, most importantly, to her employees. Right now Yahoo doesn’t know what they are or where they’re going. And until they do, they can’t become whatever it is that they want to be. The New York Times’ editorial on the interview was fascinating as well (see second half of article), although they too focus too much on the swearing incident in my opinion. So tell me below in the comments. What is Yahoo?      
Source: TechCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 7:09 pm Midway Games’ final liquidation plan approvedFROM GAMERTELL - The company that gave us Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam is no more as creditors pick over the scraps of Midway Games for the final time… Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 28 May 2010 | 6:52 pm Low-Level Format For a USB Flash Drive?Luyseyal writes "I unwittingly bought one of these terrible flash cards at Fry's and have managed to nuke two of them, successively. I have a USB flash card reader that will read/write the current one at USB 1.0 speed, but it locks up every Ubuntu and XP machine I've come across in high-speed access mode. I have read that if I low-level format it that it could be fixed, though my current one doesn't support it. My Google-fu must be weak because I cannot seem to find a USB flash reader that specifies that it will do low-level formatting." Can anyone offer advice for resurrecting such drives?
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 May 2010 | 6:51 pm UPDATE 1-Alaska pipeline restarts, oil flow expected soon* Major owners are BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil (Updates with approval to reopen pipeline)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 May 2010 | 6:49 pm BillShrink CEO Peter Pham Leaves To Become An EIR At Trinity Ventures
BillShrink’s co-founder Schwark Satyavolu will assume the role of CEO (he was previously the CTO). Before starting BillShrink, Pham was the Vice President of Business Development at Photobucket.com, which was acquired by Fox Interactive Media in 2007. He’s also an advisor to Docsctoc, Scrapblog, Ustream, and a number of other startups. BillShrink has seen considerable success under Pham’s leadership. Launched in 2008, BillShrink is a free online service to help consumers make better purchase decisions for complex product categories. The site has launched a number of verticals including TV, savings accounts, gas stations, credit cards, and phone bills. The site, which had grown to one million members as of last Fall, also recently scored a deal with Walmart, which features Billshrink on its in-store cell phone kiosks. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 6:38 pm Who likes carbon fiber tablet PCs?
- Atom Z530 Processor (1.6GHz) – GMA 500 A bit heavy, but if you got a nice little stand for it, it would make a really solid portable media tablet. [via HardOCP]
Source: CrunchGear | 28 May 2010 | 6:30 pm Facebook’s new privacy tools go too far for some usersSection: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Features
Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 28 May 2010 | 6:12 pm Mars Attacks wall graphics in Boing Boing Bazaar
These fantastic Mars Attacks wall graphics are in the Makers Market / Boing Boing Bazaar. I have Card # 21 (Prize Captive) on my office wall now (child included for size reference). The graphics come in your choice of sizes ranging from 1-foot to 6-feet in length. LTL PRINTS has been working with Topps for the last six months, and we have launched giant wall graphics featuring a number of their classic brands, including Wacky Packages, Garbage Pail Kids, and Hollywood Zombies, along with several collections of sportscard wrapper wall graphics (Baseball, Football, Basketball, and Hockey, from the 1950s to the present). Our most recent wall graphics launch with Topps, Mars Attacks, is my personal favorite. Originally released in 1962, the Mars Attacks trading cards were drawn by renowned comic book artists Wally Wood and Bob Powell, and painted by legendary pulp artist Norman Saunders. Kids loved them, but the cards prompted parental concerns due to the sensational storyline and over-the-top graphics.Mars Attacks graphics in Boing Boing Bazaar Source: Boing Boing | 28 May 2010 | 6:08 pm UPDATE 2-BP won't appeal fines at Wash. refinery* BP also agrees to fix safety problems (Adds BP comment, paragraph 3, details)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 May 2010 | 6:04 pm Earthlink Announces It Must Honor Comcast CapLostCluster writes "For those in Comcast territory, a popular way to get around Comcast's 250 GB monthly cap was to sign up for EarthLink Powered by Comcast Service, where there was no cap. Forget about that.... Earthlink just posted an FAQ explaining that Comcast will enforce the cap against Earthlink customers starting July 1."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 May 2010 | 6:04 pm What should Ballmer do with Zune? - CNET
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 6:00 pm Microsoft Talking to Apple About Being a Search Option on the iPhone, Not Google Replacement [BoomTown]
Correcting yet another too-early rumor, sources tell BoomTown that–as has been previously reported many times in many places–Microsoft and Apple are in long-term talks about adding the Bing search service as a prominent option on the iPhone and not as a replacement of Google. Currently, Google (GOOG) is the default search on the popular mobile device, although you can easily go into its settings and switch the search option to Yahoo (YHOO). Few consumers do, though. Microsoft (MSFT) has been angling to be added to the search options for a long time, but has wanted to do so in a way that makes the choice more visible. And it is probably a good idea to give users of the iPhone more choice in a wide range of services. But, whether Apple would make Microsoft’s Bing the default or whether it would simply allow iPhone users more of a choice among search services is unclear. In addition, Microsoft wants to make its Bing mapping more integrated with the Apple (AAPL) iPhone. “Being an option is what’s on the table,” said one source briefed on the talks. “That’s all for now, although who knows where it could lead?” But, cautioned several sources, talks are not complete, even though the software giant is eager to be able to announce such a deal at Apple’s upcoming developers conference on June 7. Microsoft execs have been nervous about completing such a deal, especially because Apple is notoriously secretive and is known to end talks due to leaks. That said, relations between Apple and Google have become increasingly tense, as their product offerings–especially in the mobile arena–have become competitive. Google was one of Apple’s principal partners on the iPhone upon its launch and its services are prominent on the device. But, as the device has evolved, sources say Apple has been considering a number of search options, as well as mapping, for the iPhone. Google execs have been anticipating this, of course, especially as the search giant has pushed development of its Android mobile operating system. In fact, a recent developers conference that Google had in San Francisco, its top execs spent a lot of time publicly attacking Apple. Thus, it is likely that its top-level placement on the iPhone and other Apple products will diminish. While being an option is not the same as completely replacing Google, it would give Bing a well-known platform to show off its technology to consumers. Microsoft would like to hip-check Google off of the iPhone, of course. But like rumors that it would pay News Corp. (NWS) to “de-index” its content from Google and display it prominently on Bing, the notion is premature. Source: All Things Digital | 28 May 2010 | 5:52 pm Lindsay Lohan prohibited from installing Linux on court-ordered alcohol monitoring gadget A Los Angeles judge this week ordered Lindsay Lohan to wear an alcohol-detection ankle bracelet at all times, after the actress was convicted for driving under the influence. Last night, Ms. Lohan tweeted that she wished to bedazzle her Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM). The device isn't pretty. Neither is alcoholism. Snip from the Los Angeles Times: "Can CHANEL please help me out by getting me some stickers to put on my scram bracelet so that I can at least wear a chic dress?! maybe!? x," Lohan wrote. Guess that means you can't install Ubuntu on it, either. Bummer.
Here's more about the bracelet, which wirelessly sends data on transdermal booze detection by RF.
And here's a "how it works" page from the device manufacturer which shows all the parts in the system. Wonder if it sniffs coke, too? I ask about the gadget, not Lohan. Gamertell Review: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time movie reviewFROM GAMERTELL - Another game amde into a movie? Yep. Does it suck as much as most? Click through to Gamertell’s review of the Disney’ Prince of Persia movie to find out… Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 28 May 2010 | 5:40 pm Body of Evidence: Artist works with silver nanoparticles dispersed in hexane
(PHOTO: Artist Kate Nichols, with her nanoparticle art / Kristen Philipkoski) When Kate Nichols traded her paintbrush for a pipette, she had to accept a few changes in the way she created art. First, control and predictability went out the window. Sometimes her new medium -- nanoparticles dispersed in hexane -- behaved, sometimes it didn't. "It is docile and containable at times, unruly and given to bursting uncontrollably from my pipette at others," Nichols said. In science, such unpredictability leads to failed experiments. Reproducibility is king in science; it's vital if a researcher wants to prove what he or she is seeing isn't just a fluke. Scientific journals require many repeated identical results before they'll publish a scientist's work. But in art, it's just the opposite. Uniqueness is most important. Reproducing art only devalues it, so Nichols' inability to predict what her materials might do next only made the work more compelling.
In just such an unpredictable moment, the 2010 TED fellow happened upon a method of creating mirrors. While trying to create a dark background for her silver nanoparticles on glass, she inserted microscope slides that had been rendered black by a layer of silver-gelatin photographic emulsions.
Previous post: TED fellow using nanoparticle paint Source: Boing Boing | 28 May 2010 | 5:38 pm Beautiful ALPA 12 TC camera does large-format digital or film
Source: CrunchGear | 28 May 2010 | 5:30 pm Rumor: Droid 2 shows up in Verizon’s inventory system
Hey, what do you know? Speaking of the Droid 2, Droid-Life just got the above inventory screen cap seemingly listing the previously top-secret handset. Read the rest at MobileCrunch >>
Source: CrunchGear | 28 May 2010 | 5:21 pm Pic: Is this the Droid 2’s keyboard?
Some cool cat over in Engadget’s comments claims to have gotten a bit of hands on time with the totally not-yet-announced Droid 2, and was kind enough to bring back a pic to back up their story. Read the rest at MobileCrunch>>
Source: CrunchGear | 28 May 2010 | 5:21 pm Leaked Pics: Samsung’s Android-powered i897 confirmed for AT&T, looks pretty great
Waaay back in April, a handset with strikingly similar specs to the beastly Samsung Galaxy S showed up in the Bluetooth certification database. The big difference here, though, was the model number: SGH-i897. Through good ol’ fashion science (and by that, I mean looking at the model number), we deduced that this guy was headed for AT&T — and we were right. Read the rest at MobileCrunch >>
Source: CrunchGear | 28 May 2010 | 5:20 pm Picplz Hits The Android Marketplace
Yesterday we wrote about the imminent release of picplz, the new location-centric photo streaming service being being developed by imeem execs Dalton Caldwell and Bryan Berg. The service is still in closed early testing, but early adopter types can now download it from the Android Marketplace and create an account. Once you have an account you’ll get access to the web version as well. Note that it’s only available for U.S. Android users right now though. I’ve been testing it for a day now. There’s something compelling about it even in this rough stage. Fourquare fanatics are definitely going to want to try it out.      
Source: TechCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 5:18 pm Rumor: Droid 2 shows up in Verizon’s inventory system
Hey, what do you know? Speaking of the Droid 2, Droid-Life just got the above inventory screen cap seemingly listing the previously top-secret handset. As usual, this initial inventory spotting lacks stuff like pricing and shipping dates. No one cares about stuff like that, right? You do? Oh. Well. You’ll have to come back later for that, I suppose.
Source: MobileCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 5:16 pm STIX Project Releases v1.0 of Its Scientific Fonts Setstarseeker writes "The Scientific and Technical Information Exchange (STIX) font creation project has released version 1.0 of its font set. This release is the product of almost 15 years of work, with the goal of creating a comprehensive set of fonts for scientific and engineering manuscript creation. The fonts have been released under the SIL Open Font License, and can be downloaded here. Among the many potential applications is proper universal support for MathML in web browsers." If you want a peek, here's "a page for viewing the thousands of glyphs (as a first approximation, think of a glyph as an individual character)."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 May 2010 | 5:16 pm New Bacterial Signaling Molecule Could Lead To Improved VaccinesMany disease-causing microbes carry pumps that expel antibiotics, making the bugs hard to kill with standard drugs.Ironically, these same pumps could be the bugs' Achilles heel.University of California, Berkeley, scientists have found that the molecular pumps in Listeria bacteria, and perhaps in other pathogens, also expel small signaling molecules that stimulate a strong immune response in the cells they infect.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 May 2010 | 5:15 pm Marty McFly’s hoverboard in real life
HOVERBOARD – NILS GUADAGNIN from nils guadagnin on Vimeo. Yes, it really hovers. (But only in one place and over an electromagnetic system) via Geeologie.
Source: CrunchGear | 28 May 2010 | 5:11 pm Put More Nitrogen Into Milk, Not ManureThe more efficient dairy farmers are in managing nitrogen, the more milk their cows will produce and the less nitrogen will be wasted in manure and urine, according a study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and cooperators.ARS soil scientist J. Mark Powell at the U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 May 2010 | 5:07 pm Lawmaker seeks cooperation from Google, Facebook (AP)AP - The head of the House Judiciary Committee is asking Google Inc. and Facebook to cooperate with any government inquiries into privacy practices at both companies.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 May 2010 | 5:05 pm UCLA Biologists Report How Whales Have Changed Over 35 Million YearsWhales are remarkably diverse, with 84 living species of dramatically different sizes and more than 400 other species that have gone extinct, including some that lived partly on land.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 May 2010 | 5:02 pm Is this the Droid 2’s keyboard?
Some cool cat over in Engadget’s comments claims to have gotten a bit of hands on time with the totally not-yet-announced Droid 2, and was kind enough to bring back a pic to back up their story. The pic only shows the keyboard — but if it’s real, what a difference. They’ve dropped the mostly-useless D-Pad to increase the size of each key, while also bumping up the depth of the keys — which, given that the Droid 1’s keyboard was almost perfectly flat, is a massive upgrade.
Source: MobileCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 5:02 pm Report: Bing search for iPhone deal in place - CNET
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 5:01 pm Study Finds Reforestation May Lower The Climate Change Mitigation Potential Of ForestsScientists at the University of Oklahoma and the Fudan University in Shanghai, China, have found that reforestation and afforestation -- the creation of new forests -- may lower the potential of forests for climate change lessening.Yiqi Luo, professor of ecology in the OU College of Arts and Sciences Department of Botany and Microbiology, and Changzhang Liao, Bo Li and Changming Fang, professors of ecology in the Fudon University Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, examined whether plantations have the same ecosystem carbon stock as natural forests.By synthesizing 86 experimental studies between plantations and their natural forest counterparts, Luo and colleagues found plantations substantially reduce carbon stock in ecosystems in comparison with natural forests."That decrease in ecosystem carbon stock should be accounted for, together with other forest products such as the harvested wood, when the total mitigation of reforestation is evaluated," said Luo.This study challenges the idea that planting non-native or native-improved growth species on historical forest land yields greater carbon accumulations rates.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 May 2010 | 5:00 pm Materials Design And Texas Instruments At VLSI SymposiaPresentation illustrates the power of applying atomistic simulation to microelectronicsMaterials Design (www.materialsdesign.com) announces a joint presentation with University of Texas at Dallas, KAUST, and Texas Instruments at the 2010 Symposia on VLSI Technology and Circuits on June 17th in Honolulu, Hawaii.The presentation will describe the results of a close collaboration including experiment and atomistic simulation, and illustrates the power of this complementarity in guiding the development of materials and processes for microelectronic applications."This is one more impressive example of how atomistic simulation can help resolve important industrial issues in fields such as microelectronics.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 May 2010 | 4:58 pm Consent Forms For Research: Have They Improved In 25 Years?The consent forms that people sign before participating in research are widely considered difficult to understand and sometimes inaccurate.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 May 2010 | 4:56 pm Rutgers Cell Biologist Pinpoints How RNA Viruses Copy ThemselvesRNA viruses hijack cellular enzyme to create viral replication factories on cell membranesNihal Altan-Bonnet, assistant professor of cell biology, Rutgers University in Newark, and her research team have made a significant new discovery about RNA (Ribonucleic acid) viruses and how they replicate themselves.Certain RNA viruses – Poliovirus, Hepatitis C virus and Coxsackievirus – and possibly many other families of viruses copy themselves by seizing an enzyme from their host cell to create replication factories enriched in a specific lipid, explains Altan-Bonnet.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 May 2010 | 4:53 pm Lawmakers oppose FCC plan to reassert Net authority - CNET
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 4:51 pm Researchers Find Papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma Unresponsive To SunitinibSmall but decisive study highlights differences in clear- and non-clear cell subtypesOf the more than 38,000 Americans diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) each year, approximately 20 percent have non-clear cell forms of the disease.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 May 2010 | 4:51 pm CSN Stores' CEO Niraj Shah Named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award Finalist in New EnglandBOSTON, May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- CSN Stores, the No. 3 online retailer of home goods in the U.S., today announced that CEO and Co-Founder Niraj Shah has been selected as a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010 Award in the New England region.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 May 2010 | 4:48 pm CSN Stores' CEO Niraj Shah Named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award Finalist in New EnglandSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 May 2010 | 4:48 pm Newly uncovered dinosaur had longest horns of allA group of US paleontologists said Friday it has unearthed a new species of dinosaurs standing some six feet tall and weighing up to 4.5 tonnes, with the longest horns of all. The...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 May 2010 | 4:46 pm UPDATE 1-U.S. DoJ questions Oracle's Phase Forward buy* Phase Forward says gov't wants more data on $685 mln dealSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 May 2010 | 4:45 pm Blacksmith Brands recalls 4 children's medicinesLOS ANGELES, May 28 (Reuters) - Blacksmith Brands Inc recalled on Friday four of its children's cough and cold medicines made at a Johnson & Johnson plant which was temporarily closed after U.S. regulators...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 May 2010 | 4:37 pm The Complete Guide To TechCrunch Disrupt
Off & Away: Five Star Hotels At Motel Prices: Off & Away Is Swoopo For Hotel Rooms (link) Fluidinfo FluidDB Aims To Become The Wikipedia Of Databases (link) Soluto Soluto Figures Out What’s Bogging Down Your PC (And Tells You How To Fix It) (link) Betterment Betterment Wants To Be Your New, Higher-Yield Savings Account (link)
Appbistro Appbistro Is Building An Application Marketplace For Facebook Pages (link) Audioo: A “Blippy For Voicemail,” Audioo Is A Fun Privacy Disaster Waiting To Happen (link) Textingly: Textingly Lets Companies Manage Their Text Messaging Efforts (link) VideoGenie: VideoGenie Aims To Help Brands And Consumers Connect Through Video (link) Publish2: Publish2 Wants To Disrupt The Associated Press With An Online News Exchange (link) Audience Choice: Live Intent: LiveIntent Turns Static Social Media Sharing Buttons Into Dynamic Ones (link)
Geotoko: Geotoko Allows Businesses To Set Up Location-Based Marketing Campaigns (link) ChompOn: ChompOn Is A White-Label Platform For Groupon-Like Deals (link) Tickreel: Tickreel Aims To Add A Powerful Filter To The Realtime Web (link) keenkong: Keenkong Manages The Social Media Overload For Marketers (link) WeReward: WeReward’s iPhone App Lets You Earn Cash For Check-Ins (link) Compass Labs Compass Labs Tries To Pinpoint Purchase Intent On Twitter (link)
NoiseToys: Jai Ho! A Rockstar Team Brings Social Gaming To Music With NoiseToys (link) Live Matrix: The Entire Web Gets A TV Guide With Live Matrix (like) MOVIECLIPS: Movieclips Wants To Drink Other Movie Clips Sites’ Milkshake With Mashups (like) Art.sy: Screw The Gallery, Discover The Next Great Picasso At Art.sy (like) Audience Choice: Plantly: “Plantly Is An Investment Tool That Aims Not To Suck” (like) Panels and Presentations: The Hackathon: Over 300 Battle At Disrupt Hackathon (link), Inside Disrupt Hackathon [Video] (link), Future Mario, Twitter Demographics And Worst Phone Ever Win The #TCDisrupt Hackathon (link)
The Big Picture: Tectonic Shifts in Technology, Special Series with Charlie Rose TweetUp (link) Hollywood-Flavored Fireside: Funny or Die Disrupts (link) Evolve or Die: The Evolution of Music, TV, Games and Publishing (link) Tunerfish (link) Fireside Chat With Carol Bartz (link), Carol Bartz To Michael Arrington: “F*ck Off!” (link), Video (link) Fireside: Social Networks & Online Content: Where’s it Going? (link) Does The IPad Change Everything For News, Or Is It Still All About The Web? (link)
Scribd HTML5 Presentation (link) The Mobile Disruption–What’s Next? (link), Google’s Gundotra On Apple, The Fight For Developers’ Hearts [Video] (link), Facebook, It’s OK To Want To Make Money [Video] (link) Social & Local Demo by Yext (link) Mayor Bloomberg Calls For More NYC Startups At TechCrunch Disrupt (link) Fireside: Local Content, Local Ads, and Everything in Between. How is AOL Changing? (link), AOL Now Employs 4,000 Journalists (But Only 500 Are Full-Time) (link) The Lean vs Fat Startup Debate (link) Fireside Chat With Steve Case (link), Steve Case Recalls When AOL Almost Bought Yahoo For $2 Million (link) Digital Crowds into Dollars (link), Help GE “Avoid The Lame” For Their Next Digital Advertising Campaign (link) Exits: The 2010 Outlook (link)
Success Strategies for Musicians in the Digital Era (link) Mobile & Commerce Demo of Square by Jack Dorsey (link), Video: Jack Dorsey Shakes Down Arrington, Calacanis, And Google In Seconds (link) Social Advertising Demo of Clickable (link) Fireside Chat: Online Advertising (link) Social Networking & Social Change (link) Getting it Built (link) Venture Capitalists Get Grilled (And Pitched At Urinals) At #TCDisrupt (link) The Facebook Effect (link), Wirehog, Zuckerberg’s Side Project That Almost Killed Facebook (link), Sean Parker: Credits Poised To Make Up 1/3 Of Facebook’s Income In The Next 12 Months (link)
Measurement Demo: ComScore (link) Hack Day Finalists (link) Art.sy Wins The TechCrunch Rookie Disruptor Award (link) Startup Battlefield Finale (link) The Winner: Soluto (link) Checkout all the photos from the conference here. And in case you missed it, you can also watch videos from the event here.      
Source: TechCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 4:35 pm Rumor: Natal may be renamed WaveFROM GAMERTELL - Rumors point to Project Natal being dubbed Wave at E3 2010. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 28 May 2010 | 4:32 pm The Hurt Locker Producers Sue First 5,000 File-SharersVoltage Pictures, the production company behind 2008's Oscar-winning Iraq war film The Hurt Locker, today sued 5,000 people who illegally downloaded the movie over BitTorrent. Quoting CNET: "Attorneys for Voltage wrote in the complaint that unless the court stops the people who pirate The Hurt Locker then Voltage will suffer 'great and irreparable injury that cannot fully be compensated or measured in money.' Voltage has asked the court to prevent those who downloaded the movie without paying for it from downloading its movies ever again, and order them to destroy all copies of The Hurt Locker from their computers and any other electronic devices they may have transferred the film to. As for monetary damages, the movie's producers want those found to have pilfered the movie to pay actual or statutory damages and cover the costs that went into filing the suits." According to the complaint (PDF), the 5,000 infringers are known only by their IP addresses at this time.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 May 2010 | 4:31 pm Moxi pushes 2-tuner DVRs out, goes with only 3-tuner models across the board
The word is that customers have spoken and the response to the 3-tuner option has been so “favorable” that Arris is going with that option for every model. The cost will remain the same with the 3-tuner model going for $599, $100 more than the lesser model but it of course doesn’t require a monthly subscription plan. Amazon still has some of the 2-tuner models in stock, however, if you’re looking to join the Moxi party for a bit less.
Source: CrunchGear | 28 May 2010 | 4:30 pm US Navy Considering Wii Fit and DDR For Boot Campalmehdaaol writes "New military recruits are coming in physically heavier and out of shape, so the US Navy has decided to take an interesting course of action by creating a new training regimen inspired by the fitness-centric Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution." This comes alongside a report confirming some of the BS we told our parents when we were growing up: "Bavelier said playing the kill-or-be-killed games can improve peripheral vision and the ability to see objects at dusk, and the games can even be used to treat amblyopia, or lazy eye, a disorder characterized by indistinct vision in one eye. She said she believes the games can improve math performance and other brain tasks."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 May 2010 | 4:19 pm Hon Hai Gives Workers a Raise [Voices]By Ting-I Tsai, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. has decided to increase wages for its factory workers in China by an average of 20 percent, but the manufacturing giant emphasized the raise isn’t related to a recent spate of employee suicides. Discussions about a wage increase arose because of concerns about a tight supply of workers in the southern industrial city of Shenzhen where Hon Hai employs more than 400,000 staff, and predate the wave of suicides at the company’s giant Longhau factory there, said Hon Hai spokesman Edmund Ding. “It is not because of the suicides,” said Mr. Ding. “The discussion has been going on for a long time.” The company has authorized managers in different Chinese provinces to determine the size of wage increases. “It would be an average 20 percent increase, which means some areas will be more than 20 percent,” Mr. Ding said. The company hasn’t finalized the date to carry out the wage increases, but “it should be very soon,” he added. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 28 May 2010 | 4:15 pm Source: Microsoft Bing Taking Over iPhone Search
There’s been speculation around Google’s future on the iPhone since last year when the first public spat broke out between the companies over the Google Voice app for the iPhone. Android’s continued gains in market share only highlight Google’s direct competition with Apple, and the fact that so many core iPhone apps, including search and maps, are controlled by Google, has been a sore point with Apple. From that post:
But Google was rumored to be paying Apple $100 million a year for the search rights to iPhone, along with the ability to serve search ads. Apple would likely have stuck with them unless Microsoft was willing to pay as well, and it certainly wasn’t a lock that Google Search would be removed from the iPhone. There were rumors yesterday that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer would attend the WWDC event on June 7 to announce Visual Studio development for the iPhone, although they were quickly retracted. Our sources on this are independent of that story. Update: Interesting – new sources are saying “It’s more complicated than this” and not to expect Google search to be removed from the iPhone next month. Also hearing that Google isn’t paying anything like $100 million/year to Apple for the search rights to the iPhone.      
Source: TechCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 4:05 pm So Hot Right Now: Top 10 Gadgetell posts for the week of May 23, 2010Section: Haven’t caught all of the Gadgetell news this week? Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!
Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 28 May 2010 | 4:00 pm 'Quit Facebook Day' Looks Like A Hard Sell - PC World
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 4:00 pm Pseudo-science and airport security
The Pomona College student who was detained by airport security after they found Arabic flashcards in his carry-on luggage was originally pulled aside for questioning because of Screening Passengers by Observation Technique (SPOT), a pseudo-scientific program that's supposed to teach TSA employees how to identify deceptive or hostile behavior in travelers. Or, rather, SPOT is supposed to help pick out people who are trying to hide their cruel intentions. The pushy, cranky guy behind you in line who's yelling at his kid = no. Sneaky terrorists trying to look innocent = yes. The problem, of course, is that there's no evidence this system works any better than a lie detector. Which, just to be perfectly clear, means it doesn't work.
I'm in favor of reasonable security measures at airports. But, from my perspective, a big part of defining "reasonable" is providing objective evidence that the measure actually does any good. Nature: Airport security: Intent to deceive? Image courtesy Flickr user nedrichards, via CC Source: Boing Boing | 28 May 2010 | 3:53 pm Gulf of Mexico Gets Wave-Powered Desalination Plantblair1q writes "The US Army Corps of Engineers has issued the first permit for a wave-powered desalination plant in American territory to a company called Independent Natural Resources. Waves will operate 'Seadog' pumps, which will lift water into the plant and onto a water wheel connected to a generator, which will create electricity to operate a reverse-osmosis desalination system. The permit runs for four years. Let's hope they don't harm the environment, permanently impact drilling operations, or give Rube Goldberg any crazy ideas..."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 May 2010 | 3:53 pm Lenovo kills off the U1, switches internal OS out for Android in future devices
RIP, U1. I guess you were too weird to live. We were all sort of suspicious about the U1’s workability when we heard about it, and indeed it was rather sluggish in person — a combination of an overambitious interface, a slow processor, and an unimpressive resistive touchscreen. But as it was a prototype, we gave it the benefit of the doubt, and the nearly instant switching between tablet and laptop mode was pretty great. Maybe we’ll live to see it in another form. Until then, farewell, sweet hybrid.
Source: CrunchGear | 28 May 2010 | 3:40 pm Obama Arrives in Gulf; Oil Leak OngoingBP is still working to try its "top kill" method of sealing the undersea well, but oil continues to leak into the Gulf.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 3:38 pm What happens when you let smart teenagers play with their passions
Love this: Two and a half years ago, a high school freshman called up a cell biologist and asked him to "give her a try in his lab.' This month, Raina Jain of Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, won the International BioGENEius Challenge—a sort-of mega science fair—with a project to test which type of surfaces are best for growing the precursor cells that could one day be used to create bone implants. Kudos to Dr. Matthias Falk, of Lehigh University, for giving Jain that proverbial try. I wish more high schoolers had the opportunity to poke their noses around laboratories and learn about the things they think are cool in a way that allows them to go as far as their brains can reach. This is just simply something you can't get in a high school class that has to teach the basics to everybody. The fact that Jain's folks are a doctor and a materials scientist probably helped a lot on cluing her into potential opportunities. It's not something that would have ever occurred to me as a possibility when I was that age. Hopefully, this post will inspire other young brains to reach out to older ones—and vice versa. Image provided by Flickr user x_ray_delta_one Source: Boing Boing | 28 May 2010 | 3:36 pm Apple Needs to Jump on TV Opportunity, Analysts Say (PC World)PC World - Apple's success in mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad could spill over into the TV segment if the company decides to make a push for devices with larger screens, analysts said on Friday.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 May 2010 | 3:30 pm PictureShow adds more ways to trick out your iPhone pics (Macworld.com)Macworld.com - PictureShow, a mobile photo-editing app by Graf, has been updated to version 2.0. The new version adds new photo styles, a randomize mode in which you can mix various frame styles, light effects and noise effects to create wild and zany results, and the ability to share photos via Flickr in app.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 May 2010 | 3:30 pm Gary Coleman, 1968-2010Dead at 42, following a brain hemorrhage. [Washington Post]Source: Boing Boing | 28 May 2010 | 3:24 pm Google expands mobile advertising horizon, acquires AdMobSection: Business News, Communications, Smartphones, Mobile, Web, Google
Read [Google] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 28 May 2010 | 3:20 pm The Hobbit On HoldFlea of Pain writes "Director Guillermo Del Toro has confirmed upcoming Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit has been put on hold indefinitely because the movie has been caught in a 'tangled negotiation' over the future of the MGM movie studio. The film, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's first book in the fantasy series, was reportedly due to begin shooting this summer, but has been mired in delays. Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, who will act as producer on the new film, recently dismissed rumors of trouble with the picture, insisting, 'It's not really been delayed, because we've never announced the date.'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 May 2010 | 3:14 pm Scientists disagree. You should not be surprised.Ardipithecus ramidus—the skeletal proto-human also known as Ardi—was discovered almost 18 years ago. The first scientific reporters were published last year. And now, other researchers are coming forward to challenge the way Ardi's discoverers interpreted the evidence about her habitat and place in the human family tree. But here's the kicker—these challenges aren't a scandal. In fact, this is the normal way that science, of all sorts, happens. I point this out, because I think it's a basic fact that the public doesn't really understand, and that we—the science reporters—often forget to clarify. Science works because scientists disagree. They challenge each other's ideas, find better ways to interpreting the data and eventually come to conclusions that bring us closer to truth. (Story via Cort Sims) Source: Boing Boing | 28 May 2010 | 3:10 pm Exclusive Video And Screenshots Of Digg Version 4
The video above, which we believe will be shown to publishers to promote the new Digg, gives a never before seen look at the new version of Digg, version 4, that the company has been working on for over a year – founder Kevin Rose first spoke about it in April 2009. The new version of the service is designed to get publishers, currently enamored with the viral spread of content on Twitter and Facebook, to start focusing on Digg again. As Rose says in the interview, only the top headlines on Digg – 100 or so stories a day – actually get much traffic. So publishers, including us, have focused more on promoting sharing on Twitter and Facebook, where it isn’t an all or nothing outcome. Key changes:
Users will only see links to stories that are popular and that their friends are promoting, says Digg, and there’s no clutter from status updates and other content you see on Twitter and Facebook. It’s a pure place for linked content that people and entities you follow are promoting.
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 3:10 pm Apple iPad Likely to Outsell Mac Internationally, Too [Digital Daily]
Noting that the nine countries in which the iPad debuted today are among Apple’s strongest international markets, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky said he expects the company to sell more iPads than Macs internationally–600,000 to 700,000 or more in the third quarter of fiscal 2010. Abramsky figures international Mac sales will come in at around 500,000. Makes sense. As I noted here last week, iPad sales in the United States are believed to be outpacing those of the Mac and closing in on the iPhone 3GS. “Industry contact feedback and previously published surveys point to strong International demand, supported by media reports of long lineups at Apple stores, and strong demand for iPads,” Abramsky wrote in a note to clients today. “iPads appear to be stocked out already at some stores and resellers, particularly in countries like Japan, Australia, and UK.” With that in mind, Abramsky reiterates his earlier estimates for iPad sales. He believes Apple (AAPL) will sell 2.5 million iPads in Q3 and 8.1 million in calendar year 2010, adding, “Early healthy sell-through and rampant PR buzz–as it has been doing in North America–is expected to further raise demand and accelerate sell-through beyond early adopters….Over the upcoming months, we believe Apple will further ramp production to overcome initial supply shortages.” (Click on table below to enlarge.)
[Image credit: Gizmodo commenter modestmouse and RBC Capital Markets] Source: All Things Digital | 28 May 2010 | 3:01 pm Stupidity Should Die [Voices]By Nitrozac and Snaggy
Source: All Things Digital | 28 May 2010 | 3:00 pm Texas Instruments Showcases Interactive Math Tools at 'Destination ImagiNation'KNOXVILLE, Tenn., May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- As tens of thousands of high school students gather here this week at Destination ImagiNation, they're getting a chance to compete head-to-head in a fun challenge of speed and trivia, while seeing first-hand the future of interactive math education.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 May 2010 | 3:00 pm Gallery: The Tragic Race to Be First to the South PoleTake a behind-the-scenes tour of artifacts, photographs, replicas and models that give life to the international rivalry that riveted the world's attention 100 years ago.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 3:00 pm Via reveals four sub-$150 Android tablets you won’t buyVia’s cheap Android tablets have been supposedly been found. Via Gallery has a 16-pic spread showing different angles for each. Call us underwhelmed. Also, call us right for predicting this garbage. Anyway, click through for a shot of each product. The Eken M001 Eken M003 FirstView PC707 G-Link A8 The hardware specs aren’t listed but for $150 or less, you can’t expect much. [Via Gallery via SlashGear]
Source: CrunchGear | 28 May 2010 | 2:58 pm Fitch raises Oracle outlook to 'positive' (AP)AP - Fitch Ratings on Friday raised Oracle Corp.'s rating outlook as the business software giant continues to rake in cash from operations.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 May 2010 | 2:57 pm Tortured Veggies Better For You?Stressed carrots can give you a big boost of healthy compounds, according to one Texas A&M researcher. He's looking into the vegetable's response to stress in the hopes of producing more antioxidants than normal.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 2:54 pm Report: "Junk shot" fails to plug leak in Gulf
Videos and stills posted by Pas au-Delà appear to show spectacular events going on in the operation to cut off the flow of oily gunge in the gulf -- possibly a 'junk shot,' where rubber and other materials are forced into the failed blowout preventer in an attempt to plug it.
As you can see, the junk appears not to have remained in place. More from the New York Times. BP's CEO says they'll give the strategy another 48 hours: the next plan is to cut the pipe and cap it with another pipe; and failing that, to place a second blowout preventer atop the failed one. Source: Boing Boing | 28 May 2010 | 2:42 pm Video: Evernote CEO Phil Libin Shares Revenue Stats (And How To Make Freemium Work)
Evernote, for those who haven’t used it, is a great service for quickly storing and organizing ideas, photos, documents and other information that you encounter both online and in the real world. This is actually one of the secrets to the service’s success — as people add more of their content to the site over time, it becomes increasingly valuable to them. Libin has previously shared similar information during his mentorship at Ressi’s incubator The Founder Institute
Here are some of the main points Libin covered during his talk:
We should note that Libin has previously discussed similar information, though the video provides more detail.      
Source: TechCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 2:28 pm The world's tallest Internet entrepreneur
World Record: Most Party Hats Worn At Once (Elna Baker) Photo: Emily Wilson Yesterday, the Air Force announced that its Waverider aircraft set the record for hypersonic flight -- it reached Mach 6. Which is impressive. But some other world records were also broken yesterday: Fastest Time to Name All James Bond Movies in Chronological Order (9.9 seconds). And Most Beer Bottles Balanced on Chin (12 bottles). These records were featured on one of my favorite websites, the Universal Record Database . If you're not familiar, it's a Youtube-like version of world records, where anyone can upload their feats of human achievement -- no matter whether they're inspiring or absurd, athletic or intellectual. I thought I'd take this historic opportunity to do a short Q&A with my friend Dan Rollman, who, along with his colleagues, launched the site about a year ago. (It started as a project at Burning Man in 2004).
Here's Rollman - who I believe holds the unofficial record for tallest internet entrepreneur (6-foot-7). And who also beat my record for longest hand coo, about which I am only moderately bitter. What is the most unbreakable record? What was the first world record set on URDB? Three months later, a San Diego radio station offered a free tattoo to anyone who would come in and beat Fowler's record. A guy named Mike McDonald got three shoulder giraffes inked live on-air. A couple of weeks after that, Daniel Fowler got three more giraffe tattoos on his shoulder and reclaimed his record. That was the exact moment I knew we were onto something. What is your most watched world record?
You also get a lot of traffic for the Deepest Toe Cameltoe. Tell me how that happened? Somehow, over the past year, this record page has risen extremely high in search ratings for "cameltoe." The title alone has driven tens of thousands of people to our site. We've pondered changing it to avoid confusion, but, you know, we, um, haven't come up with a better title yet. Speaking of which, you must get people who submit X-rated world records? Like most people in an orgy?
What about getting seven billion people to do something? Human beings are radical.
Source: Boing Boing | 28 May 2010 | 2:27 pm With Extension Desktop Notifications, Chrome Now Even More Awesome
One of the best things about Chrome is extension support. There are already nearly 5,000 of them despite only launching this past December. And the extensions continue to get more powerful. Today, on the Chromium Blog, Google has announced that desktop notifications are now available to third-party extension developers. Previously, the only way to notify Chrome users of an update by way of extension was to do so by badging an extension icon itself. Now, full messages can pop-up on the desktop (assuming you allow them, of course). A great example is the Gmail Notifier extension, which gives you Growl-like notifications of new emails as they come in. As of Chrome 5 (the latest stable version), these desktop notifications are available to all extension developers. And Google says they’ll be looking for the best ones to feature in the Extension Gallery.
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 2:21 pm PostRank Creates A ‘FriendFeed For Content’ With Activity Streams Feature
As PostRank says, the activity streams feature similar in theory to a FriendFeed, but for a blog or site’s content. Previously, PostRank aggregated and reported activity events but the new feature aggregates Tweets, votes, distributed comments and more in a single view. Publishers simply have to insert their RSS feed into PostRank Analytics and the startup will aggregate and filter activity into a dashboard. PostRank analytics is free for the first thirty days and only costs $9 per month after that. PostRank aggregates over 10 million daily activities from over 20 different social hubs, so it’s fair to assume that you’ll get a healthy snapshot of the different types of interactions that are taking place with your content.
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 2:20 pm Redbox begins testing game rentals in select marketsFROM GAMERTELL - Automated kiosk rental service Redbox is slowly but surely working its way into the world of video game rentals, with test markets in a few US cities. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 28 May 2010 | 2:18 pm Obama Addresses Nation’s Concern Over Oil SpillPresident Barack Obama addressed the nation today regarding the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Obama gave his pledge that the federal government will keep helping until the disaster is ended.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 May 2010 | 2:14 pm First 4G Android Phone Feels Like the FutureIt manages to be both a blazing fast internet machine and a frustrating battery-draining succubus. Meet The first 4G Android phone.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 28 May 2010 | 2:00 pm First 4G Android Phone Feels Like the FutureIt manages to be both a blazing fast internet machine and a frustrating battery-draining succubus. Meet The first 4G Android phone.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 2:00 pm GoodTherapy.org and the Google Adwords Catapult: Google Features GoodTherapy.org in Their Economic ReportANCHORAGE, Alaska, May 28 /PRNewswire/ --Despite events that have changed and hardened the American economy, businesses around the country are finding innovative ways to thrive off of newly developed resources to bolster American business.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 May 2010 | 2:00 pm Iceland's volcanic ash is electricThe infamous volcano in Iceland, Eyjafjallajokull, might be more harmful to airplanes than initially thought. Scientists discovered the ash plume is buzzing with electric energy.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 1:57 pm Leaked Pics: Samsung’s Android-powered i897 confirmed for AT&T, looks pretty great
Waaay back in April, a handset with strikingly similar specs to the beastly Samsung Galaxy S showed up in the Bluetooth certification database. The big difference here, though, was the model number: SGH-i897. Through good ol’ fashion science (and by that, I mean looking at the model number), we deduced that this guy was headed for AT&T — and we were right. The titular guys over at AndroidGuys managed to unearth themselves some shots of the i897, and the branding couldn’t be any clearer. Along with the shots came some new details:
This, in addition to the specs we already knew (Bluetooth, a 4.0″ AMOLED display) are chalking this up into what could very well be AT&T’s first worthwhile foray into Android. (There’s a reason I didn’t review their first Android phone, the Motorola Backflip. My mom always told me: “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.) Check out a few more shots at AndroidGuys.
Source: MobileCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 1:55 pm Google “Evaluating” A Native Latitude App For iPhone 4.0 OS — But Will Apple Allow It?
I asked Google senior product manager Steve Lee (who is in charge of Latitude) whether Google would build a native app for the iPhone now that it includes background location. “From the start, we’ve made Latitude available across platforms. Supporting iPhone with a great Latitude user experience is extremely important to us, and we’re evaluating the best way to deliver that on iPhone OS 4.0 now, so we don’t have anything to announce just yet,” Lee answer (emphasis his). Latitude has been available for the iPhone since July of last year — but it is only available as an HTML5 app, not a native app. This makes it pretty useless since you would have to have your web browser open to this page at all times for Latitude to work the web it should — which is all the time. So why didn’t Google release it as a native app? Well, the obvious answer would be that there wasn’t the ability to update location in the background on the iPhone previously, so it didn’t really matter if it was a native app or a web app. But actually it’s more complicated than that. Back in July, Google actually noted why it was doing Latitude as a web app vs. a native app:
At the time, that sounded a little odd to me. After all, there are plenty of other apps that use maps. I wondered if it really meant that Apple was planning on baking this feature into their own Maps app on the iPhone (which was built with the help of Google). But looking back now, it’s likely much more complicated. This was right before it was revealed that Apple rejected the Google Voice app on the grounds that it would confuse iPhone users, or access information on the phone, or something. The Latitude situation was just the first shot in what is now a full-fledged war between the two companies. Long story short, even if Google wants to build a native Latitude app for the iPhone (as they said they did before), Apple may or may not allow it. Let’s hope they do. Because with the new Location History features, and APIs, it could be awesome. And it could push passive location into the spotlight.      
Source: TechCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 1:43 pm Era of anonymous prepaid cell phones may end (Christopher Null)Christopher Null - Prepaid cell phones with plans that can be purchased with cash and sans identification have long been the communication medium of choice for criminals and such, and for obvious reasons. Without a known cell phone number to tie a crook to, getting a wiretap becomes almost impossible, and such villains can generally operate with complete impunity, gabbing away in plain sight with no one able to listen in.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 May 2010 | 1:41 pm Editor's Picks: Invisible Sharks, Dinos with Big Horns, and MoreIf you only have time to read five stories this week, let them be these five: 5. Mesoamericans Invented Rubber Not only did Mesoamericans use natural latex to create rubber, they figured out how to manufacture different kinds of rubber ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 1:35 pm Mining the Air for Carbon DioxideWhen I tell molecular biophysicist Deane Little that I'm extremely skeptical about carbon capture and sequestration, he looks up from the solar-powered chemical reactor he's just set up in the window and responds, "We are, too." For Little and his ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 1:31 pm Are standalone e-book readers doomed? (Christopher Null)Christopher Null - Devices like the iPad that let you read books and much more are likely to dominate the market so fully that standalone e-book readers have little hope of hanging on to much market share, new research suggests.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 May 2010 | 1:25 pm Weekend Movie Roundup: 'Prince of Persia' Leads Memorial Day ParadeWe have sex in a different city, swashbuckling swordsters and a limited-release zombie flick for your Memorial Day weekend pleasure.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 1:20 pm Canadian Research Examines Effects Of Scientific Claims On OilA University of Alberta researcher says people generally do not act on information about the effects fossil fuel-based products are having on the environment.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 28 May 2010 | 1:07 pm Almost Famous: Ben Zotto of Cocoa Box Design [Voices]By Drake Martinet, Intern, All Things Digital This week, we coffee’d at Coupa Cafe on the Stanford University campus to interview Ben Zotto. He’s the mind behind Cocoa Box Design, the app company responsible for Penultimate, a sleeper hit at the iPad App Store. Who: Ben Zotto, lead everything (it’s a one-man shop). Ben was at Microsoft and worked for Xoopit, the email-enhancement start-up acquired by Yahoo (YHOO).
What: Ben’s Penultimate brings a Moleskine notebook-style user interface to the iPad. He just released an update that allows you to rest your palm on the screen while writing, the same way you might with a pad and paper. Why: It has been in the top tier of the Apple (AAPL) App Store for weeks. Where: cocoabox.com (Web site); @cocoabox (Twitter); San Francisco (analog place) Who Else: Apps like PaperDesk and Idea Boards use the pen-and-surface interface. Penultimate does drawing a little differently, though. Ben says it’s about the ink. Five Stats You Won’t Find in His Facebook Profile:Worst Job: I’ve been pretty privileged. I was a short-term photocopy runner for the Junior World Ice Hockey Championships in Geneva when I was in my teens. It wasn’t bad, but I don’t suppose it played to all of my strengths. School Days: I grew up in Boston, but we moved to Switzerland during my high school days. I left eighth grade in Massachusetts, maybe never before having left the state. And within a month of arriving in Geneva, we were on a history class trip to Florence. It was awesome. Geek Crush: There are a lot of guys from my Microsoft (MSFT) days who are my programming heroes. Guys like Tracy Sharpe and Dinarte Morais. I’m also a big fan of Wil Shipley. It’s something about his combination of making beautiful and functional software and being fiercely independent–you know, a coffee shop denizen–that I’m attracted to. I actually found the designer I worked with on Penultimate through him. Gadget Freak: I don’t carry a lot of gadgets. I am pretty picky about my work set-up, though. I use an Apple extended keyboard from the 1980s with the heavy-duty key switches that I rescued off eBay (EBAY) and the Microsoft optical IntelliMouse, which is, for my money, the best mouse developed so far. Early Internet Memory: Right after I moved to Switzerland, I had a friend back in Boston who would email me. It was probably 1992, so it wasn’t really email. He found some dial-up number at MIT that had an open gateway. It wasn’t obvious then how you would send an email to an internal address where my dad worked. It was one of those early u-u gateway/bang-this/bang-that things. He finally figured out how to get it to work, and my dad’s secretary would print out these letters from my friend Micah back in Boston. That was how I heard the news from Massachusetts for a little while. Micah is a recent recipient of a Ph.D in computer science from UPenn. Not a fool. Bio in 140 CharactersBen had an international childhood. He has worked at Microsoft, Xoopit and Yahoo. He writes software that he hopes is beautiful and useful. The Five QuestionsHow long have you been developing Penultimate? Why is it a killer app when so many others don’t seem to be? Originally, I developed an app called Handwriting for the iPhone. There was potential there, with the touchscreen, to give a personal touch to messages through handwriting that wasn’t there before. For that reason, I spent a lot of time working on the graphics math for the ink. I wanted the input to really resemble the handwriting of the user. It turns out that getting digital ink to look real is a really subtle thing. I spent a lot of time getting it to move right, getting it to feel smooth and whatnot. I finally got it where I was happy with it. I released the app and basically, nobody bought it.
People responded well, but I realized that anyone who used the app would only use the surface that they could see within the bounds of the iPhone screen, even though I made it so that you could scroll around easily to get a bigger surface for writing. Size was clearly an issue. The iPad coming out meant that all of a sudden something that was just more of a single tool like handwriting could be scaled up into an app with real uses, and all it took was more screen real estate. Steve Jobs, in his iPad release presentation, said that if they’d added a stylus, they’d have gotten it wrong. Does the success of your app fly in the face of that vision? It’s funny, I’d never heard that until now. I didn’t watch that speech.
When the iPad came out, I got this vision of doctors walking around making notes, and it looked like there would be lots of use cases where a keyboard just wasn’t ideal. People would need to input info standing up, while moving and in portrait mode. From the pictures, it wasn’t clear the keyboard would be great for that. I developed Handwriting and Penultimate to be used with your finger, and that’s how I use them most. And I think Apple has good reasons for not pushing that. They could have developed handwriting recognition, but for them, that draws away from what they are really trying to sell. Handwriting recognition is really hard, and as soon as you do that and say you are going to do it with a finger, you have people saying, “Why doesn’t this thing recognize my handwriting better?”–instead of marveling at all the amazing things you can do with the platform. Have you faced issues from Apple, developing a popular app that goes a little against the grain? I’ve heard complaints about the App Store, but I’ve had a pretty good experience so far. It usually takes them about 48 hours to approve updates for my stuff. That said, there are some hardware things I’ve run into. A big one is trying to get palm rejection in my app so that you can place your hand on the screen to write and not have it register as a touch. On the iPad, Apple doesn’t expose those drivers to developers. On the MacBook, for instance, you can hook in the driver and get all the data–the width of the touch, rotation, everything. All that is closed off for the iPad, so getting the natural handwriting position has been really challenging. I’m playing with that right now because it’s been one of the loudest requests. You are embracing this use case that Apple seems to wish wasn’t there. What other requests are you getting from users who want to be able to write on their iPads? I think form-filling is a big one. There are apps that do that, but their ink technology isn’t as good as mine, which is why I think I get those requests even though there are other apps in the field. I got this great email from the head of a police department, who said that out in the field there are all these forms he has to fill, and he wants to take them with him and not have to bring paper. There are all kinds. I got mail from a roofing contractor who wants to be able to snap his drawn lines to a grid to draw quick plans. I’ve got friends who are doctors who think it’s a great idea, but say they could never use it because of HIPAA. There seems to really be a lot of uses for being able to write by hand and make notes in this very natural way. You worked in regular software before you did this. What is fundamentally different about developing for this platform? What are people missing about that? I think a big difference today is that people expect updates much faster than before. It’s fundamentally different than shrink-wrapped software world, where you would spend lots of time making and refining a product, packaging it and shipping it out. Today, people expect to see some kind of update or fix every couple of weeks and they expect them to be free. If you don’t issue an update for a while, people might begin to think you are dead. Because the mobile platform apps are these single-use things, there is a perception that they are smaller or more simple and that therefore there is an entitlement to future updates. It’s great for users but really hard for developers. There’s this ever-present question: “How much software is ‘three dollars worth’?” The In Living Color Interview[ See post to watch video ] Source: All Things Digital | 28 May 2010 | 1:05 pm Google Buzz finally comes to all mobile platformsSection: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile, Web, Google
Now, finally, Google Buzz is available for all major smartphones. This extends use to all Android versions. WebOS, BlackBerry, Symbian S60 and Windows Mobile. The site is done in XHTML, which on a myTouch 3G running Android 1.6 make the site load quickly, though it is not as good looking as the mobile app version. Those running on Android can choose between the XHTML and web app versions. The web apps looks better, and can load all comments on the same page unlike the XHTML version. The XHTML version of the site allow for posting, commenting, and liking posts, so just the basic features. Only in the BlackBerry browser will users be able to enable geolocation and add location to the posts. Finally being able to post on Buzz on all mobile platforms is a good idea, but it seems a bit late. Buzz isn’t exactly the most popular service out there at the moment especially with all the privacy concerns at the start. Maybe this can help with those diehard users who want to use other smartphones, or those who like Buzz but are stuck on Android phones without on version 1.5 or 1.6. Or, more likely, most people will continue to ignore the service. Read [Electronista] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 28 May 2010 | 1:05 pm /C O R R E C T I O N -- AT&T Inc./In the news release, Attorney General Cooper, Community Leaders Join AT&T to Remind Tennessee Consumers that Texting 'Can Wait', issued 28-May-2010 by AT&T Inc. over PR Newswire, we are advised by the company that the second and tenth paragraphs should read "Rep.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 May 2010 | 12:55 pm SureWest Announces Departure of Bill DeMuthROSEVILLE, Calif., May 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SureWest Communications (Nasdaq: SURW) today announced that Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Bill DeMuth will be leaving SureWest as of June 30, 2010.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 May 2010 | 12:38 pm Facebook Obliterates Rivals in Google List of Top Sites - PC Magazine
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 12:35 pm Google Ordered To Turn Over Wireless Data CollectedA federal judge has ordered Google to turn over its copies of U.S. private wireless data it captured while taking photos from a vehicle during its "Street View" mapping service.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 May 2010 | 12:30 pm Don't expect Verizon iPhone at June Apple event - msnbc.com
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 12:23 pm Flash Finds Support From Nokia and Time Warner
Three months ago, it seemed Flash was as good as dead. Now, with a new Flash player for the Android platform and some big companies throwing their support behind the format, the technology looks like it won’t become history just yet. Following the partnership with Google for Android OS, Adobe is finding more supporters for its video format. Nokia, and Opera, the browser maker, have announced they’ll be sticking with Flash. “It is the only proprietary part of the Web we support,” Opera co-founder von Tetzchner stated at the recent Open Mobile conference in London, PC Mag reports. Nokia will also continue its support for Flash, says Alberto Torres, Nokia’s vice-president for business solutions. In addition, reports claim media giants Time Warner and NBC Universal won’t be replacing Flash with HTML5 anytime soon. Time Warner has been especially opposed to the subscription model allegedly promoted by Apple. No surprise there, as Time Warner announced a big deal with Adobe last year to bring online properties such as Warner Bros. Entertainment, Turner Broadcasting System, and Home Box office. The war for the future of online video started when in 2007, iPhone appeared and surprised the world (and its future users) by completely nixing support for Flash. Apple stepped up the anti-Flash campaign by not allowing any Flash-developed applications on the iPhone and iPad, with Jobs himself leading the PR effort. Recent months have seen major websites like YouTub, Vimeo and The New York Times embrace the HTML5 format which the iPhone and iPad can run. Disney, in which Jobs is the largest individual shareholder, launched an iPad app that includes all ABC shows for free. Other networks such as CNN and Fox have also started using HTML5 on their sites. Meanwhile, Adobe is trying to fight back. Last week, it showed a beta version of Flash Player 10.1 for Google’s Android OS. Flash would require Android version 2.2 aka ‘FroYo’. Android 2.2 will be the the first mobile platform that fully supports Flash, instead of the stripped-down Flash Lite version. The launch of Flash Player 10.1 for Android, along with support from big players like Nokia and Time Warner, points to a vigorous effort by Adobe to push back against Apple’s criticism. This trench warfare is bound to continue for a while. See Also:
Photo: Flash Player 10.1 on Nexus One (Keith Axline/Wired.com) 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 28 May 2010 | 12:21 pm Acer Debuts New E-Reader, Android Phone
For those who feel there’s not enough choice in e-readers or smartphones, here are some new options. Acer is showing a new e-reader and smartphone that more than anything else add clutter to the category. The two devices will be shown at Computex, one of the largest trade shows for PC makers held every year in Tapei, Taiwan. Acer’s new e -reader called LumiRead will have a 6-inch E Ink display, 2 GB flash memory (good for about 1500 books) with the option to add a MicroSD card, and a QWERTY keyboard. There’s also an ISBN scanner built into the device so users can scan ISBN codes on the books to create their own wish list or search online libraries and book stores. Like the Alex e-reader or Amazon’s Kindle, Acer’s LumiRead will have a internet browser and connect wirelessly using 3G or Wi-Fi. Acer has signed agreements with Barnes & Noble and Libri.de, a German internet book retailer to offer e-books. The device will launch in the U.S. in the third quarter and be available in China and Germany towards the end of the year. Acer isn’t talking price, which will be key to the device’s success. The e-reader market is flooded with Kindle clones and the arrival of yet another device is hardly likely to get consumers’ attention. The ISBN code-scanning feature aside, the LumiRead feels rather pedestrian and unless Acer can beat Sony’s $170 Pocket Edition e-reader, it is difficult to see how LumiRead can get ahead. Separately, Acer also announced a new smartphone called Stream. The Android-powered phone will have a3.7-inch touchscreen OLED display, 3G, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capability, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor, 512 MB RA and 2 GB of internal memory. “Acer Stream is a high-end multimedia smartphone, optimized for watching movies, listening to music and enjoying web browsing like at home,” says Acer in a statement. “Perfect for most demanding users who look for the best in entertainment.” That means HD video recording up to 720p, 5-megapixel camera, a GPS system that allows photos and videos to be geotagged and a HDMI port. The phone will run Android version 2.1 aka ‘Éclair.’ Based on the specs, the Stream sounds a lot like the Nexus One. It’s likely that Acer will launch the device in Asia and Europe only. After all, the Nexus One and the HTC EVO 4G blow the Stream out of the competition in the U.S. Acer hasn’t announced telecom carriers or pricing for the Stream. See Also:
Photo: Acer LumiRead/Acer 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 28 May 2010 | 12:14 pm Equifax to Present at UBS Business Services ConferenceATLANTA, May 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced that its Senior Vice President of Investor Relations, Jeff Dodge, will present at the UBS Business Services Conference on Tuesday, June 1. The Conference will be held at the UBS Offices in New York City.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 May 2010 | 12:11 pm Globalization Executive Offers Goodwill Through CommerceNEW YORK, May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- As a Jewish businessman visiting the war-torn nation of Palestine, David Ross was uneasy as his two Israeli guides steered off the dusty road and exited the vehicle.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 May 2010 | 12:00 pm 30 Million Windows Phone 7 Units in 2011? Sure You Didn't Mean Windows Mobile OS Phones? [Digital Daily]
Of course, Apple (AAPL) did just that, hitting its 10-million objective by the end of its 2008 September quarter. And now Microsoft (MSFT) claims it will exceed Apple’s iPhone goal three times over with the launch of Windows Phone 7. According to a Microsoft presentation made at ReMIX France and spotted by MobileTech World, Redmond hopes to sell 30 million Windows Phone 7 devices by the end of 2011. And it cites some IDC data to back that goal. Now, during his Consumer Electronics Show keynote in 2009, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer claimed sales of 20 million Windows Mobile devices. “We have delivered 11 different mobile phones that have each sold a million units each, and in the past year,” Ballmer said. “We’ve brought to market over 30 new Windows Mobile phones, or more than any other mobile platform in the market…and our partners have sold more than 20 million Windows Phones in the past 12 months.” So perhaps it’s not unreasonable to think the company could sell 30 million devices running Windows Phone 7, which seems a far, far more compelling operating system than its predecessor. That said, there’s one very important point to make here: The IDC data on which Microsoft bases its claims include all versions of the Windows Mobile OS, not just Windows Phone 7. In other words, the IDC data do not support Microsoft’s claims. “The figures cited include both Windows Phone 7 and Windows Mobile 6.x,” IDC told me. “To say that they are purely Windows Phone 7 units is a misnomer; it’s not an accurate representation of our data.” The research house added that the slide at issue here wasn’t created or approved by IDC. That’s unfortunate, because Microsoft’s slide very clearly reads, “30 Million Windows 7 Devices” and the bar graph that’s featured on it reads, “Prévisions IDC”–French for “IDC Forecasts.” A bit of a cock-up here, then. Though there is one bit of good news: Microsoft got that 30 million number wrong too. According to IDC, the real number is 32 million–and that’s for 2011 sales of devices running all versions of Windows Mobile OS. And, as Mary Jo Foley notes over at ZDnet, “… who in his/her right mind is still going to buy a WM 6.x phone (which is not backward-compatible with WP7) as of this fall?” UPDATE: Here’s Microsoft’s comment on the matter:
[Image Credit: MobileTech World] Source: All Things Digital | 28 May 2010 | 11:58 am Fring brings video calling to AndroidSection: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile
Fring is a company founded with the objective of changing the way people communicate. It seems that they have definitely achieved this goal with the Fring Android application. This application works perfectly if used on an Evo because of the bandwidth, and because of the front-facing camera. This could be a major selling feature not only for the Evo, but for the Android OS. At least until the iPhone 4G comes out. Read [Fring Blog via AndroidTapp]
Full Story » | Written by Hunter Clarke for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 28 May 2010 | 11:50 am Motorola Bets Big on Google, Verizon [Voices]By Sara Silver, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal Motorola Inc. (MOT) has reached a deal with Verizon Wireless (VZ) to ensure some of its upcoming smartphones will be heavily promoted by the largest U.S. carrier, a big boost as Motorola tries to turn around its struggling handset business. The new phones are a key test for Motorola co-Chief Executive Sanjay Jha, who needs to demonstrate he can deliver a string of winners and reverse losses as he tries to prove his mobile devices division can be a stand-alone business. Verizon Wireless, which plans to add two Motorola smartphones in July, spent $100 million marketing the original Droid, helping to boost Motorola’s sales in the first quarter. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 28 May 2010 | 11:50 am Exclusive: Yahoo Front Page Head Tapan Bhat Leaves Company [BoomTown]
Another longtime Yahoo exec is departing–this time Tapan Bhat (pictured here), who had purview over the Internet giant’s important front page. News of the departure came from new Chief Product Officer Blake Irving in an internal email titled “Busy Week” that highlighted the Yahoo (YHOO) investor day that took place yesterday. Buried at the end of the memo was a paragraph noting that “there’s always a downside to a productive week” and that Bhat had decided to leave the company. Bhat’s team will report to Yahoo exec Jeff Kinder until a replacement is found. It is not clear what Bhat’s plans are. Bhat joins a number of top execs who have recently clocked out of Yahoo of late, such as U.S. advertising head Joanne Bradford. Bhat was in charge of a range of products at Yahoo, most importantly, the most recent redesign of its powerful homepage a year ago. Yahoo has since confirmed the departure. “Tapan Bhat, SVP, Integrated Consumer Experiences, has decided to leave Yahoo!. Tapan has been an integral leader within the Products organization since joining Yahoo! more than five years ago and we value his many contributions and wish him well. His last day will be June 15.” And from Bhat: “Leaving Yahoo! has been a difficult decision to make because I’m incredibly proud of the work that’s been accomplished by my teams over the last five years, particularly related to the Yahoo! homepage, My Yahoo!, our content optimization engine and most recently, our Mobile and iPad apps. I’m looking forward to new challenges that lie ahead and am confident that I’m leaving Yahoo! on the right path, and with the right leadership in place.” According to some sources inside and outside of Yahoo, Bhat has clashed with CEO Carol Bartz at times and has long been considering a new move. Source: All Things Digital | 28 May 2010 | 11:43 am Opera Mini for iPhone gets 2.6 million users in 2 weeks
Safari on the iPhone is by no means a bad mobile browser — in fact, it’s arguably the best one out there. Just because people have something good doesn’t mean they don’t want to peek at what else is out there, though. Even if someone’s dating the finest supermodel in all the lands, they’ll still sneak casual glances at other potential mates. Its just human nature. People like having options. For quite some time, Apple blocked third-party apps that challenged those that came on the handset out of the box, citing “duplication of functionality”. When Opera submitted the Opera Mini browser to the App Store, much ado was made over whether or not it would be approved. It was — and naturally, people looked. 2.6 million of them, in just 2 weeks.
This morning, Opera announced that 2.6 million people used Opera Mini on the iPhone from its April 13th launch until April 30th. The iPhone immediately rocketed up to claim the crown as their most popular device (in the US), followed by the Blackberry 8330 (Curve), LG Lotus, and the Instinct S30. Of course, a pretty big chunk of the credit for Opera’s success has to be given to the fact that it was, in some sense, considered “contraband”. Tons of outlets (including ours) made a bit of a fuss when it finally got greenlit, which presumably gave the app a pretty unnatural push. The real indication of the app’s success on the platform will be in whether it maintains growth after the post-launch rush, and whether or not people actually use it after downloading it. We’ll have to wait a few more months for those numbers to come out. A few more interesting bits from Opera’s announcement today:
Source: MobileCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 11:39 am Zuck Likes NYU Facebook Rival: 'I Donated'Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg explains why he donated to four students setting out to dismantle Facebook In an interview with Wired.com. He talks about why faces are so important and where Facebook is headed.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 11:20 am Sprint stores opening early on June 4th for EVO launch
The EVO 4G is coming on June 4th, and you’re all prepped for your pre-launch camp out. Your lawn chairs are in the truck, you’ve got your windbreaker and beanie at the ready, and your alarm is set to have you at the front of the line by the time the doors open at 10 a.m. Go ahead and roll back the alarm a few hours.
Engadget just got a heads up as to the EVO 4G launch day plans, and it looks like all (or at least most) Sprint locations will be opening up a few hours early next Friday in order to get their shiny new toy into the hands of gadget-hungry customers ASAP.
Source: MobileCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 11:05 am Ichiban: Sirius XM Android App now available
Well well well! Sirius XM just released its Android App. As you can see here, I’ve downloaded it and it works. Channel 202 = the only channel that matters. If you’re familiar with the satellite radio company’s iPhone or BlackBerry Apps, then you’ll feel right at home with the Android one. You simply tell Sirius XM to send you an e-mail with the link to the App, you click said link, it downloads, then you launch. Or you can just go to siriusxm.com/android on your phone’s browser. When you start it up you’re greeted with a login screen. Put in your username and password and off you go. Remember that not all of Sirius XM’s channels are available for mobile streaming because of contractual issues. But again, so long as 202 is there I’m happy. Frankly, that could be the only channel Sirius XM offers and I’d still be happy. Even though it’s not on the list of supported phones, that right there is the Motorola Devour. Your Droids and Nexus Ones and Droid Incredibles will work just fine with the App. I think that’s about it. Any questions?
Source: MobileCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 10:45 am Big Baby Stars Found in Milky Way PocketsThese massive stars will eventually die as supernovae, ejecting material, impacting our galaxy's evolution.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 10:36 am iPad Finally Hits International MarketsThousands of international die-hard Apple fans finally got their hands on an iPad after its launch on Friday. Customers waited in line before Apple stores opened in Australia, Canada, Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland to be the first to snag the device.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 May 2010 | 10:20 am Creepy Crawlies Aren't So NumerousScientists once thought as many as 30 million insects crawled the Earth. But new estimates say the number may only be 10 percent of that.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 10:13 am Rumor: New $100 Apple TV Takes Aim at the Cloud
For its next Apple TV, Apple may ditch the set-top box form factor and instead cram a media player into a tiny device running the iPhone OS, according to Engadget. The blog cites an anonymous tipster who claims the next Apple TV has been described as “an iPhone without a screen,” containing only two ports — the power socket and the video-out — and the same internal architecture as an iPhone (A4 CPU). The next Apple TV is also rumored to feature 16GB of Flash storage and support for 1080P HD. The device will cost only $100, according to the tipster — significantly lower than the current $230 system. Engadget did not provide a time frame of when to expect the device. Most interestingly, Engadget claims the device will have a strong focus on cloud-based media, meaning most video you view will be streamed from the internet. That’s plausible, given that Apple is building a gigantic data center and the company recently acquired streaming-music service Lala. Some sources have also said that Apple is planning to reboot iTunes into a streaming media center. In conference calls with investors, Apple has repeatedly referred to its Apple TV as a “hobby,” implying it’s still a niche product that has yet to be a blockbuster hit. If the rumor turns out to be true (and we find it to be very plausible), then this certainly sounds like a compelling revamp of the Apple TV. Engadget’s rumor follows Google’s announcement of Google TV, a web TV platform based on the Android operating system. Recent moves reveal that Apple and Google are becoming fierce rivals, competing in the mobility space, maps, and advertising. The next battle could be for streaming media. See Also:
Image of a current Apple TV menu: Apple 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 28 May 2010 | 10:13 am Happy 1st birthday, Google Wave!Last week, we opened sign-ups for Google Wave to everyone as part of Google Labs and made it available for all Google Apps domains. Here is the quick (seven minute) update on the state of the product from this year's Google IO conference:Today, it's been a full year since the Wave team first got on stage at the Moscone Center and demoed a new vision for communication and collaboration to a crowd of developers. In a guest article on the Huffington Post last week, Lars described innovation and working on Google Wave as a rollercoaster—and this year has certainly been a fascinating ride. For the past year, I've had the pleasure and the challenge of explaining why this new technology is useful. Unlike some other products that I have also been lucky enough to work on, Wave is not a more advanced approach to a known application like webmail or the browser. It's actually a new category, which can be kind of hard to wrap your head around. I work in Wave every day, and we have identified a number of clear use cases for getting things done in groups at businesses and at schools I wave with my family—with my mom, who is across the country, and with my sister who is a graduate student. We're all on different schedules and very rarely all online at the same time. In one wave, we decided what to wear for a friend's wedding—adding suggestions for each other with links and pictures, updating the wave as we had side conversations and made decisions. My mom and I chatted about my dress choice when we were both online, and then my sister was easily able to catch up later, adding her ideas. It kept all three of us up to speed in one place, rather than having several phone conversations, emails and chats. Sharing these small personal projects in a wave removes the little bits of friction to make the discussions more dynamic and productive.  From talking to other people who use Google Wave, I know I'm not alone. I've been struck by the really personal nature of communicating and working together in Wave, and the emotional response people have to their first uniquely wavey experience, what we call the "Wave a-ha moment." For many people it's the live typing that does it; for others it's the first time they create an in-line reply, embed a YouTube video or edit someone else's text. You really do have to try it to believe it, though—so if you checked out Google Wave six months ago and found yourself at a bit of a loss, take another look. The product is much faster and more stable and we have templates and tutorials to help you get started. Next time you find yourself taking notes while you are on the phone, do it in a wave and add your colleagues, or pull a couple friends or family members onto a wave for a small project... like going to the movies. So head to wave.google.com and sign in. You can get more updates on our blog and even share your stories (ordinary or otherwise) with wave.stories@googlewave.com. Wave on! Posted by Anna-Christina Douglas, Product Marketing, Google Wave    
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 28 May 2010 | 10:08 am Workplace Excellence Seal of Approval Awarded to Verizon Wireless for Eighth Consecutive YearLAUREL, Md., May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless has received double honors from the Alliance for Workplace Excellence, a nonprofit group dedicated to building and recognizing outstanding workplaces.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 May 2010 | 10:04 am New Dinosaur Had Record-Sized HornsThe 72-million-year-old herbivore found in Mexico used its 4-foot-long horns mainly to attract mates.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 10:00 am London's Apple iPad launch Was Crazy8am, Regent Street, London. Hundreds of shoppers, photographers, journalists, security staff, police and curious onlookers crowd Apple’s flagship UK store as part of the British iPad launch. Stephen Fry makes a surprise appearance to cheers and claps from the crowds of queuers and Apple staff. He already had an iPad of course, but showed up to be a part of the madness.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 9:21 am Android Emerges as Big Rival to iPad [Voices]By Don Clark and Justin Scheck, Reporters, The Wall Street Journal In the high-stakes race to catch Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) hit iPad, the Android operating system that Google Inc. (GOOG) popularized in cellphones is emerging as an early front-runner. Tablet-style computers–a moribund hardware category until the iPad started generating buzz earlier this year–are expected to be a big topic at next week’s Computex trade show, a major forum for product announcements by manufacturers of personal computers. Acer Inc. and Dell Inc. (DELL) unveiled plans for tablet-style machines in advance of the Taipei event, and other companies, such as Asustek Computer Inc., are expected to provide details on similar devices. Makers of semiconductors and other components are also scrambling for a position in the market. But when it comes to tablets, operating systems and applications may become even more important differentiators–just as software became a huge advantage for Apple with the iPhone. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 28 May 2010 | 8:53 am Altek Leo, a 14 Megapixel, HD-Shooting Camera Phone
Next month, the world will be shaken by the ultimate in camera-phones. The Leo, from camera OEM Altek, will sport an almost scary 14 megapixels. That, for comparison, is two more than I have in my full-frame Nikon D700 SLR. The news comes via GSM Arena, who also supplied these pictures. Pictures which are, as you can see, just CGI renderings. Still, they’re enough to get the idea: the Leo looks to be more of a camera with a phone tucked inside than the usual phones we see, which have the camera added as an afterthought.
A little extra snooping of the pictures reveals the lettering around the lens, which shows that it will be a 6.5-19.5mm zoom with apertures running from ƒ3.1 – ƒ5.6. Not too bad for a cellphone. The design of this beast gives us some hope that this is a real camera with a decent-sized CCD inside: the dedicated zoom-buttons, for instance. We’ll also be interested to see whether this will be sold under the Altek brand, in which case we’ll probably never see it in the West, or sold as OEM gear normally is: with somebody else’s logo slapped on it. Altek Leo – 14MP cameraphone with HD video and optical zoom [GSM Arena] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 28 May 2010 | 8:18 am Cyber Command: We Don't Wanna Defend the Internet (We Just Might Have To)Members of the military's new Cyber Command insist that they've got no interest in taking over civilian Internet security. But they're drawing up plans, just in case.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 8:10 am San Andreas-Like Fault Found in Eastern U.S.The fault stretches from N.Y. to Alabama and could cause an earthquake with the right mix of ingredients.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 28 May 2010 | 7:58 am At Last, the Open-Source iPhone-Killer
Here at last is proof that open-source design can indeed kill the iPhone. The iPhonekiller is a mallet designed to smash the iPhone up good. Made from an inch-thick slab of stainless-steel, the head weighs in at a screen-crushing 3.5-pounds and the handle is made of beautifully carved wood. Open source? Yes. Designer Ronen Kadushin says that the “iPhonekiller is an Open Design, meaning, its design CAD files can be freely downloaded, copied, modified and produced by anyone, without special tooling, under a Creative Commons license.” In fact, the iPhonekiller is more ambitious than you first thought. The killing machine is not only compatible with the all iPhones today, but “also the future ones, and with iPads.” iPhonekiller by Ronen Kadushin [DeZeen] iPhonekiller (prototype) [Ronen Kadushin] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 28 May 2010 | 7:23 am Apple to Debut iTunes.com, Mac Pro and MacBook Air Refreshes at WWDC? [Digital Daily]
In an inspired bit of entrail reading this morning, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu says Apple (AAPL) may have a libretto of big WWDC announcements. “Other announcements we are picking up that could potentially be made are iTunes.com, a web-based version of its iTunes client, and new Mac refreshes with faster processors and graphics, namely the Mac Pro and MacBook Air, which were last refreshed in March and June 2009, respectively,” he wrote in a note to clients this morning. An interesting bit of speculation. Certainly, it’s conceivable that the Mac Pro and MacBook Air get updated. As Wu notes, it has been quite a while since the last one. But iTunes.com, the online music service Apple is believed to be building on its Lala.com acquisition? That might be a bit of a stretch, as my colleague Peter Kafka reported in late April. “Sources tell me that in the past few weeks, Apple has started signaling to the labels that it’s interested in a Web-based version of iTunes, its dominant music retail platform,” Kafka wrote on April 30. “But those conversations are preliminary at best. So if you’re expecting to hear about an ‘iTunes.com’ offering in the near future–like during Apple’s June 7 developer conference–you’re likely to be disappointed.” PREVIOUSLY: Source: All Things Digital | 28 May 2010 | 7:15 am Motorola releasing two new Droids, “leaks” notwithstanding
Source: MobileCrunch | 28 May 2010 | 6:46 am T’Light Gadget-Charging Desk Lamp: Bad Name, Great Idea
The t’Light, short for “The Most Talented Light” might be the worst gadget name ever, but the product it describes promises to sweep all the cables off your desk, and provide a low-powered work-light at the same time. Well, it promises to shorten your cables at least. The t’Light has a 3 watt LED lamp up top, which should last for around 50,000 hours, but the action is down on the base. Just by snaking one cord off the desk and into the wall, you can power a host of desktop machines. The t’Light has a USB port, an iPhone dock and a jack which puts out enough power for a laptop. Ironically, given the Apple-centric feature set and marketing, there is no adapter available for a MacBook, thanks to Apple not allowing anyone else to make them. The lamps are fashioned from “metal-alloy”, and can be had in any of eight colors, including the natural shiny metal finish seen above. They cost $90 each. 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 28 May 2010 | 6:33 am Bobino Cable-Tidy is Cute, Cheap
The Bobino Cable Buddy certainly isn’t the only cable-holder you can buy, but it is the only one which has been added to the Gadget Lab Flickr Group. The Bobino is a soft, bendy spool onto which you wrap a cable. It comes in three sizes, the smallest and lightest for thin earbud wired and the biggest for hefty power and ethernet cables or, as suggested on the site, “baby phones” (whatever they may be). The design has also won an iF design award, and its easy to see why. Although simple and brightly colored, the integrated cable-clamp and easy-in, not-coming-out slots look to be perfect for keeping the cable where it should be. The prices run from €3 to €4 ($3.70 to $5) depending on size, and can be ordered now. Bobino [Mybobino. Thanks, StarfishAndStella!] Design Cable Gadget [Gadget Lab on Flickr] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 28 May 2010 | 6:02 am Kobo Beats iBooks with International iPad Bookstore, App
If you’re one of the people around the world buying an iPad today, you might want to check out Apple’s iBooks e-reading app (you might also want to call in sick to work, as you won’t be getting much done today). But when you flip the virtual bookcase to enter the store, you’ll be disappointed: Launch-day is here, but all you can buy in the store outside the US is a pile of dusty public-domain titles. It seems that no deals have been inked with international publishers. UPDATE: The premium iBook Store has gone live in the UK. Spain is still down. There is an alternative. Kobo, an e-reader app, is now iPad-ready and has stores in UK, Canada, Australia and (coming soon) New Zealand. Those of you outside those countries can still sign up and buy books: Unlike iTunes, Kindle or Barnes & Noble, there are no geographical restrictions. I bought a book from the US store back when Kobo was called ShortCovers and it still works fine. The reader itself isn’t as glitzy (some might say chintzy) as iBooks, but it is good-looking, clean and functional. Versions are also available for Blackberry, iPhones, Android and even the Palm Pre. Using Adobe Digital editions you can read on the desktop, and using a browser you can even read on the Kobo website. Once the reader software is taken care of (and Kobo is completely distraction-free, just like it should be) than catalog is the next most important thing. Kobo has a catalog of two million titles. Many of these are free public-domain titles, but there are plenty of new bestsellers and back-catalog books, too, at prices similar to those of Amazon. Best of all, it’s free, so you can try it out as soon as you realize that iBooks is a big disappointment. It comes with five free books to start you off, too. Oh, and if you really have to, you can customize the bookshelf to use the same glitzy (chintzy) wood-effect you’ll find in iBooks. Kobo [Kobobooks. Thanks, Sam!] See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 28 May 2010 | 5:08 am Armadillo-Like Armor for Scooters
Equip your scooter with Marc Graells Ballvé’s anti-theft armor and you’ll give a thief two-things to steal: your scooter and its armadillo-like cover. I kid. Called Protect 486, Ballvé’s device is indeed inspired by the armadillo’s shell. The overlapping plates offer weather-protection and also stop thieves from getting physical access to the scooter within. Ballvé says that this is better than the usual padlock or alarm as thieves already know how to get around those, although I imagine that if every scooter were so equipped then there’d soon be a way to defeat this, too. It is rather cool-looking, if a little awkward to carry on the bike all the time, and you certainly wouldn’t lose your ride in a busy parking lot. We also have to assume that Ballvé knows what he’s talking about. He’s from Barcelona, which as we have seen before is a great place to get your bike stolen. Protect 486 [Themarcswork (Flash) via Oh Gizmo] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 28 May 2010 | 4:04 am
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At different times over the last few years Yahoo has described itself as a platform company, a content company or an advertising company. Sometimes they talk about how important social is to the Yahoo experience. Other times they don’t. “Local” is another term that’s often included in their core definition.
Last night while on Facebook I noticed my newsfeed, which is usually buzzing, was nearly dead. I’ve got well over 300 friends, run 4 Facebook Fan pages and am a member of countless more so this was decidedly NOT normal. I couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong until a friend told me to check the padlock on my “What’s on your mind” box. Ordinarily its set to “Friends” to allow all of my friends to see my status updates, links, etc. Sure enough it was set to “Only me” turning my wall into a private journal. Nothing I posted could be seen by anyone but me! As this information spread among my friends I discovered many of them had the same thing happen to their profiles. To make matters worse changing the setting back to friends didn’t stick-it went right back to “Only me” This didn’t seem to affect all my friends, only some of us so I have to assume it was a glitch associated with the gradual roll out of the new “simple” privacy tools Facebook has promised. Thankfully today things are working fine again. For awhile there it had me wondering if Facebook was playing a mean prank on us users for being so unhappy with the privacy. “They don’t think things are private enough? We’ll show them private!”
The first 
Session One: Disruptive Ideas & Marketplaces
Session Two: Disruptive Apps & Services
Session 3: Disruptive Streams
Session 4: Disruptive Entertainment
Day One:
Day Two:
Day Three
The TechCrunch Disrupt Final Five: Betterment, MOVIECLIPS, Publish2, Soluto And UJAM (
[See Update below] Microsoft Bing will replace Google in the next version of the iPhone operating system to be released in June, we’ve heard from mulitple sources, including a high level source who claims to have been briefed on the matter. We’re not calling this more than a rumor yet, but one thing is sure – our sources close to Google in particular are speaking freely about this as fact. In January Business Week 
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About a week ago, the FTC approved Google’s request to acquire AdMob and today Google announced they have officially acquired AdMob. CEO Omar Hamoui and his team are set to join Google in expanding the AdMob network. AdMob has been integral in bringing prospective advertisers to the mobile department by making text-link-ads practical on a smartphone, especially on the Android and iPhone platforms. It is no surprise that Google wants to capitalize on an ever expanding market and acquiring one of the leading pioneers in such a market is definitely the way to go. Since Google already operates AdSense (an advertising network for websites) it will be interesting to see how they pool together their own resources with AdMob’s resources to increase the mobile advertising experience. 
After a false start, 
Last week at the 
Google Chrome has been my primary browser for a few months now. And since it became fully stable, it’s the only browser I use. It’s fast, lightweight, and awesome. And it keeps getting more awesome.
The ability to multitask got a lot of press when iPhone 4.0 OS was first announced. But less attention was given to some of the more subtle things this will allow, such as always-on location for third-party apps. This feature could actually make a service like 
Remember Buzz? That Google-made social network that lots of people said could put a dent in Twitter, then had all those privacy issues? There are a lot of people who have Buzz, everyone with a Gmail account who didn’t deactivate it does, though not many use it. When it first launched, Buzz mobile was only available to a small selection of smartphones: Android 2.0+ and iPhone.
Video calling has long been a feature that consumers and cell phone manufacturers have wanted, but could not due to technological limits. Well now, Android has officially brought this feature to you.
All we know of the Leo, to be launched next month at the CommunicAsia exhibition in Singapore, is that it will feature this overcrowded sensor, shoot HD video and (barely) contain a 3x optical zoom lens. There will also be a Xenon flash, a touch-screen, Wi-Fi and 3G.
The big news coming out of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2010 in early June will almost certainly be a next-generation iPhone, a device with specs much like those leaked earlier this spring. But there may be a few other announcements as well. The next version of the Mac OS X, perhaps. And beyond that, some news about the Mac and iTunes.
