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Despite Massive AT&T Fail, iPhone 4 is Sold Out - PC World
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 16 Jun 2010 | 4:08 am Android Team “Laser Focused” On The User Experience For Next Release
Google’s Android team has been pushing new versions of the operating system at a furious pace since the first Android device hit the market in 2008. Lots of features have been added over the last couple of years. But the user experience hasn’t evolved much. That’s all going to change in the next version, we’ve heard from multiple sources close to Google. The team more or less has the core features they want at this point, say our sources, although more tweaks are certainly coming. But Google wants to put an end to the desire of handset manufacturers and carriers to add their own UI layer on top of Google – things like Sense, Motoblur, Ninjablur, etc. Most of the time their shells aren’t all that great anyway (see HTC EVO), and they tend to slow down the device. Google is focusing the bulk of its efforts on the user experience for the upcoming Gingerbread release to counter this. And they want to get the Android experience closer to the iPhone. It’s unlikely that third parties will ever completely resist the temptation to meddle to differentiate their products and to get more control over the user. But Google’s goal is to make those “skins” as pointless as possible. That’s a big goal, particularly since Android is a flexible operating system that is designed to handle a variety of hardware options. When you don’t lock down the hardware it’s very hard to make the UI perfect. Which is why Apple’s Macs, with locked down hardware, have always been a better experience than the hugely hardware-flexible Windows operating system. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jun 2010 | 4:01 am Solar-Powered Ultralight To Try 24-Hour Flightblair1q writes "When the solar aircraft Solar Impulse lifts off from an airfield in Switzerland on a sunny day at the end of June, it will begin the first ever manned night flight on a plane propelled exclusively by power it collects from the sun. Former Swiss Air Force pilot Andre Borschberg and round-the-world balloonist Bertrand Piccard developed the aircraft, and Borschberg will be the pilot for this mission. 'The flight will require a lot of attention and concentration — the plane doesn't have an auto-pilot, it has to be flown for 24 hours straight.' For him, the most exciting part of the venture is 'being on the plane during the day and seeing the amount of energy increasing instead of decreasing as on a normal aircraft.'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 16 Jun 2010 | 3:23 am Sony shows off PlayStation in 3D - BBC News
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 16 Jun 2010 | 3:16 am New crew pursue ISS - Register
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 16 Jun 2010 | 3:14 am Sweet Tooth: gripping, post-apocalyptic graphic novel off to a killer start
Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth Vol. 1: Out of the Woods is a great post-apocalyptic graphic novel in the tradition of The Walking Dead and Y: The Last Man, featuring likable innocents walking a blasted, ruined America, helped and hindered by good people gone bad, and bad people gone worse.
In Sweet Tooth, we meet Gus, a 9-year-old boy living in a shack in the woods with his dying, deeply (and crazily) religious father. Gus isn't like other boys: he lives in the woods and has never seen a living soul apart from his father (and his mother, who died when he was an infant). Oh, and Gus has antlers. Some sort of plague has destroyed the world; a plague that made some children born part animal, a plague that is killing Gus's father. All Gus's father wants from his boy is for him to stay hidden once he is alone, to stay in the woods and avoid the fires of hell that burn outside their woods. But when his father finally dies, Gus is hunted by evil men from beyond, and then rescued by a strange, dour fellow who promises to take him to The Reservation, where other children like Gus are kept. So begins the road trip, spattered with violence and slow revelations about the hell that has been visited on the earth. This first volume only gets the story started, gets us to a place of extreme and intense suspense, and then cuts off. If you can't wait to find out what happened next, you can try your local comic-shop for the singles that follow, but I'm going to wait for next December, and volume 2 of the bound graphic novels. Sweet Tooth Vol. 1: Out of the Woods
 Source: Boing Boing | 16 Jun 2010 | 3:12 am Sweet Tooth: gripping, post-apocalyptic graphic novel off to a killer startJeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth Vol. 1: Out of the Woods is a great post-apocalyptic graphic novel in the tradition of The Walking Dead and Y: The Last Man, featuring likable innocents walking a blasted,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jun 2010 | 3:12 am Matt’s Hole vs. Mel’s HoleBack in 1997 I was on a long-distance, late-night car trip and on the radio I heard reference to this thing called "Mel's Hole". It was a deep and mysterious hole somewhere in Washington state, according...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jun 2010 | 3:08 am Spring Blossom Chocolates - The Green Tea Cherry Kit Kat Bar Says Goodbye to Winter(TrendHunter.com) In Japan and other places around the world, the blossoming of cherry trees marks the beginning of Spring. With that in mind, it's no wonder that in Japan a green tea cherry Kit Kat...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jun 2010 | 3:00 am Chickens, Salmonella, Vasectomies and the Gulf LeakThe following table is at least food for thought about hazard ratios in various activities in modern life. But as author Michael Cembalest of JP Morgan says in a new report, it's not an altogether convincing...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jun 2010 | 2:33 am Anti-Smoker Alarms - The No-Smoking Alarm Reminds People to Snuff Out Their Smokes (VIDEO)(TrendHunter.com) The No-Smoking Alarm from Jin Ho Kim is designed to help keep public areas that are labeled as no-smoking smoke-free. These alarms sound when enough smoke is detected, which should...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jun 2010 | 2:31 am Indian Startup InMobi May Be The Big Winner In Apple-Google Ad Brawl
Most of InMobi’s ad impressions are outside of the U.S. The bulk – 10 billion – are in Asia where the company first launched. 2 billion are in the U.S., where the company has had limited operations since January 2010. Africa takes 2.3 billion, Europe 1.6 billion and the Middle East .5 billion. A full U.S. launch took place last week, and a Japan launch is coming soon. How well will InMobi do in the U.S.? They were bullish before the recent news about Apple taking steps to make it nearly impossible for non-independent advertising networks like AdMob to work on the the iPhone and iPad. Now, with the market in disarray and the FTC looking into the situation they think they can grab a lot of market share really fast. That’s because they’re hitting the ground running with a self serve platform and a human sales team. Apple’s own iAds is actually going to have to catch up to InMobi in some respects. InMobi isn’t just some random Asian focused ad network. They’re backed in part by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures and revenues, we’ve heard, are in the $35 million range already. The company is targeting $75 million in 2010, say our sources. Leena Rao rightly points out that while the new rules, if they stand, both help and hurt independent ad networks. They can grab market share but they probably can’t get acquired, for example. But InMobi doesn’t seem too concerned. Who knows how long Apple can keep these rules in place. And there are lots of other mobile platforms out there, particularly the exploding Android ecosystem. And while chaos reigns the smart guys will grab everything they can. We interviewed InMobi CEO Naveen Tewari last week to talk about his business. The video is below: Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jun 2010 | 2:30 am Migration Maps: The Real Social Networks (II)Earlier this week I wrote about U.S. mobility at the city and county level, calling it a proxy for a kind of social network in economic, innovation and physical terms. Here is another slice of that sort...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jun 2010 | 2:27 am Flock Switches From Mozilla To Chromium For New Browser, But Is That Enough?
Flock, the social Web browser company, has released a new and completely different version of its desktop browser client after nearly a year of silence. The news comes about a week after Apple released Safari 5 and around the same time Opera launched a beta version of its upcoming Opera 10.60 browser. In a perhaps surprising twist, Flock is moving away from Mozilla technology after 6 years and making the switch to Chromium. Google will also become the default search engine. Note: it’s only available for Windows today – a Mac version will be available later this summer. As a former user and fan, I’ve been pondering doing a post on Flock to question its whole reason for being but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. This release gives me the perfect excuse to ask the big question: is Flock fast becoming immensely irrelevant? When Flock got started (and funded), it was easy to defend the need for a Web browser that incorporated tons of functionalities that catered to a new breed of online services and applications (remember Web 2.0?) and their power users. Personally, I loved it, despite the annoying persistent bugs and crash issues that would eventually make me switch to Mozilla Firefox (now replaced with Google Chrome). Back then, the Web was just the Web, and users of social networks weren’t as plentiful and demanding as they are today. The Web has now turned into the Social, Realtime Web, and that is a trend that will likely continue to manifest in the coming years. So now that there’s this proliferation in potent social Web services, applications and increasingly, browser extensions, that enable users to communicate and share with other people using whatever browser they prefer, is there really a need for a product like Flock? Don’t think they’re not asking themselves that very question. Read Flock VP of Engineering Clayton Stark’s blog post on the switch to Chromium, and you’ll notice they aren’t blind for the issues at hand. He writes (among many other things):
And he’s right. And I fear that what makes Flock still unique today (integrated social search, the ability to create Groups that let you ‘channel surf’ the Web, extensive sharing options, and so on) may not be enough to make its userbase grow much larger than it already is. I will download and install the new version, and I’ll try it, and I’ll do a review if time permits (check CNET if you want one now). But even if I fall completely in love with it, the $28.3 million question still remains: is Flock increasingly becoming a solution in search of a problem? (Thanks to Atul for the heads up)
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jun 2010 | 2:03 am Stove-Shaped Cooking Clocks - The Doneright Kitchen Timer Lets You Time Five Dishes at Once (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) The Doneright Kitchen Timer is perfect for super chefs who just aren't content with cooking one to two dishes at a time. This timer can time five dishes for you, letting you cook and...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jun 2010 | 2:01 am Apple, AT&T hit with glitches on new iPhone orders (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 16 Jun 2010 | 2:00 am Trailer Park: 'Portal 2' - USA Today
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:53 am San Francisco Passes Cellphone Radiation LawSan Francisco voted on Tuesday to require all retailers to display the amount of radiation each phone emits, reports The New York Times. The law believed to be the first of its kind in the nation came...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:51 am PlayStation Move set for September release (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:44 am Game on: Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft wage war (Reuters)Reuters - Electronics hardware makers on Tuesday showed off snazzy new devices enabling motion-sensing play and 3D effects, intensifying a battle to introduce video-gaming to a new generation of casual users.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:43 am Shocking Soccer Tees - An Inappropriate Spain World Cup T-Shirt From Target(TrendHunter.com) Under fascist ruler Francisco Franco Spain's flag looked different for their current one. Out of respect for the tens (some speculate hundreds) of thousands murdered and imprisoned...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:11 am Facebook Doesn’t Have Privacy Problems. It Has Positioning Risks. [Voices]By Jonathan Glick, CEO, TLISTS The recent brouhaha around Facebook’s privacy policies — the complications, the simplifications, the push, and the push-back — is a side-story. The real issue is positioning. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:01 am Daily Crunch: Facility Edition
The CHOBI CAM WP is a cute, waterproof, and (very) small camera
Source: CrunchGear | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:00 am Let's Subsidize Open Broadband, Not Journalists [Voices]By Dan Gillmor, Director, Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship In 1791, James Madison penned a short essay that foretold a long, and ongoing, financial involvement by government in journalism. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:00 am Why Gadget Makers Should Target Late Adopters [Voices]By Clive Thompson, Contributing Writer, Wired If you believe the standard theory about how new gadgets like the iPad succeed, it’s all up to the early adopters. These are the die-hard gear hounds like me who buy anything new. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:00 am Hulu is Not a Threat to Netflix [Voices]By Dan Rayburn, Blogger, Business of Video For over a year we’ve been hearing about a premium based subscription service for Hulu. Yet in that time, Hulu has yet to roll out a pay service for any device. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:00 am Cloud-Based Gaming Startup OnLive Offers One Year Free Service [Voices]By Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron’s, Tech Trader Daily OnLive, a cloud-based gaming service, announced today that it will offer one year of free service to anyone who signs up to be a founding member before July 15. Members will have the option to sign up for a second year at $4.95 a month. The company will begin activating accounts to pre-registered users on Thursday. The free year is being offered with sponsorship from AT&T (T); ergo, you can sign up at www.onlive.com/att. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:00 am Why Investors Value Apple More Than Microsoft [Voices]By Adam Lashinsky, Editor at Large, Fortune Ever since Apple passed Microsoft in market value, I’ve been thinking about the vast disparity in their profits. The two companies have similar valuations ($231 billion for Apple, $223 billion for Microsoft), yet Microsoft is far more profitable. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:00 am Opera 10.60 Beta Lands, Brings More Speed, Geolocation And WebM Support
Fresh off the heels of the release of Safari 5, Norwegian software company Opera is today launching version 10.60 of its desktop browser. And yes, they promise it’s faster. Much faster. Like ’50% faster than its predecessor on selected JavaScript tests’ faster. Opera 10.60 (beta) also boasts a fresh UI, geolocation support and WebM support for HTML5 video, so it isn’t all about the need for speed. Although the company does place a lot of emphasis on the notion that it’s supposed to be lightning fast. Which calls for some high-level speed testing, if anyone is up for it. Performance aside, let’s look at the other features now integrated into the browser: Geolocation Opera can now detect your location based on your WiFi connection and ‘other factors’, which enables it to cater search results and whatnot to your area. Online video Opera 10.60 now boasts support for open video format WebM, built right into the browser. Not much of a surprise, since Opera – along with Google and Mozilla – is behind the royalty-free video codec project. And that’s not the only anti-Flash bet the company’s making: HTML5 Appcache and Web Workers Appcache lets you use different apps, such as word processor, image editor, spreadsheets and more, in your Web browser even when offline. Web developers can now also use HTML5 Web Workers for doing heavy calculations without slowing down the user’s browsing experience. Search suggestions Opera 10.60 beta makes search more efficient, introducing search suggestions for selected partners (e.g. Wikipedia) in the Speed Dial and search box. User interface changes Thumbnails for tabs have now been replaced with icons, and there are new graphics for Speed Dial, tab previews and the Opera menu button. According to the beta product landing page, the browser should be released for Windows, Mac and Linux simultaneously this Summer. As always, give it a whirl and tell us what you think. (Via press release)      
Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jun 2010 | 12:59 am Cell phone, texing laws by stateFrom The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a useful table of laws restricting hand-held cell phone use and texting by state. It also lists the places with hand-held cell phone bans. [via The...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jun 2010 | 12:57 am In Ukraine, IT Freelancing Under ThreatAn anonymous reader writes "According to the new tax law (Google translation; Russian original) that is being developed now and should take effect on January 1, 2011, it will not be possible for a private Ukrainian entrepreneur to provide any services to foreign companies without becoming a full-fledged company with a dedicated bookkeeper. Currently it is possible to perform such services and pay the equivalent of $25 in tax. Instead of raising the tax (which is overall welcomed by the community), the legislators plan to outlaw ISP, e-commerce, and Internet-based services — along with any services provided to foreign entities — for individual entrepreneurs. So starting in 2011, freelancers in Ukraine will have several choices: stop doing freelance work, start working illegally, become a full-fledged company subject to multiple cumbersome rules for taxation, or leave the country."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 16 Jun 2010 | 12:36 am AT&T Reportedly Bungles Handling of Private Data, Again (PC World)PC World - This hasn't been AT&T's month. First, security researchers found a loophole in the company's Web site that could be used to reveal e-mail addresses for tens of thousands of Apple iPad customers. Now, some users are reporting that when they log in to their AT&T accounts to pre-order the iPhone 4 they are apparently given access to the account information of other people.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 16 Jun 2010 | 12:30 am AT&T, Will You Please Sell Us Your Rip-Off Box To Fix Your Service That Doesn’t Work?
As you may have heard, TechCrunch recently moved into a new office. It’s a great spot in San Francisco; we love it. That said, it happens to reside on planet Earth which basically assures that we’ll have no reliable AT&T coverage. Sure enough, we don’t. I mean absolutely none — can’t place calls, don’t receive them. As an old pro in the SoMa area of San Francisco, I’m used to this. But some of my coworkers aren’t and would prefer to use their phones as actual phones from time to time. So we needed a solution. That solution, everyone has been telling us, is the AT&T 3G MicroCell (basically a mini cell tower that you put inside your office). I was against getting one because I’m still absolutely enraged that AT&T expects its customers with shitty service to pay for this thing — and $150, no less! We pay AT&T $100 (or more) a month for their service that doesn’t work and they want to charge us more to fix it. Brilliant. But whatever, I’m a team player. I’ll suck it up and swallow my pride so my coworkers can make calls. So we tried to buy one today. Guess what? AT&T won’t sell it to us. That’s right, not only does AT&T service not work in our office, but they won’t sell us their proposed solution. Why? Apparently it needs to be attached to an AT&T phone with a billing address that matches our office address. I would assume this has something to do with AT&T wanting to know where you’re using this thing (it also has GPS that you must activate) — because heaven forbid we bestow actual AT&T coverage to somewhere besides our office. It may also have something to do with emergency 911 rules — but that’s not what they told us, and I can’t find that anywhere on the site. AT&T: Will you please give us your damn rip-off fix-it box? Sorry, did I say “give us”? Silly me. I meant: Will you please sell us your damn rip-off fix-it box? We promise not to take the thing on a cross-country tour giving actual AT&T coverage to those already paying for it. We just want to make some damn calls. In our office. It’s actually kind of important for what we do. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 11:19 pm 1890 ad for "unrivalled" fairy cakes You'd think that fairy cakes would be nonrivalrous, as well.
Peek Frean Fairy Cakes - 1890
HOWTO silence vuvuzela drone on your TVIf watching the World Cup has you feeling like you live in a building filled with enraged, sleepless bees, you can try filtering out the vuvuzelas' distinctive dentist-drill whine, using a computer or a TV with a good equalizer:How to Silence Vuvuzela Horns in World Cup Broadcasts (via /.) Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jun 2010 | 11:05 pm Shortest-possible Monopoly gameHere's the Scatterplot blog's recipe for playing a complete game of Monopoly in 21 seconds. Which is about as long as anyone should have to endure a game of Monopoly. (What a dumb game: as someone pointed out at The Story event, it takes forever to play, there's virtually no skill involved, and you can tell who's going to win a long, long time before it's finally over).We went away to a rented country house last weekend for a friend's birthday and there was, of course, a Monopoly set. Which got me thinking: there are Monopoly sets everywhere: someone should figure out a Cheapass Games-style set of alternate rules for a really fun game that treats all that monoponalia as free infrastructure: a given that every household will have a box full of fake money, miniature houses and hotels, and so on. The Shortest Possible Game of Monopoly: 21 Seconds (via Kottke) Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jun 2010 | 11:02 pm The Parrot AR.Drone iPhone-controlled drone finally gets a price
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:59 pm Yugoslavian illustrated children's encyclopedia, 1960 Svijet oko Nas is a Soviet-era children's encyclopedia published in Yugoslavia in 1960. The artwork is fantastic, and Flickr user Sandra Eterovic is scanning some of the best examples. A book: Svijet oko Nas (Thanks, Zoran!)
Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:56 pm SF cell phone radiation law gets preliminary OK (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:56 pm Tableau Software Announces General Availability of Tableau 5.2SEATTLE, June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Tableau Software, the global leader in rapid-fire business intelligence software, today announced the general availability of Tableau 5.2 of the Tableau product suite.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:54 pm Book-tours with AndroidMy latest Guardian column, "The mobile revolution has arrived," describes the way that touring with a rooted NexusOne phone fundamentally changed the experience of being on a book-tour, delivering a touring author's two most precious commodities: better food and more sleep.Travelling with your own internet source is brilliant. At Atlanta airport, I was stuck for four hours while a monster storm hammered the building with barrages of lightning. Immediately, every one of the expensive Wi-Fi networks in the building went dead as thousands of stranded travellers tried to use them all at once. I found a corner with a mains outlet, plugged in the laptop, tethered my phone, and enjoyed my own private network connection. It wasn't fast, but it was free and it worked.The mobile revolution has arrived
Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:52 pm Portal 2: bigger, better, and definitely more insane
It was confirmed that Portal 2 is not being made for 3D or motion control and there are no plans at the moment. There will, however, be online and local multiplayer and as we knew before, a whole separate campaign (which Erik described as quite complicated) that fits within the story of the game. The game itself, Erik explained, is essentially like the first one in that you build up a set of gameplay tools and then use it. The main difference in Portal 2 is that the set is much bigger. Here are a few of the new gameplay items; some of them were mentioned briefly but he showed how they worked in motion. I’ll link to a video of the presentation as soon as I find one, but in the meantime please enjoy these pictures of the screen. I encourage you to open up the big version and read the text if you haven’t encountered these already.   
Your pal with the blue eye there is one of the personality spheres you’ll encounter. Lots of fun to be had here with different voices and characters. It was mentioned as being a major part of the story.
Propulsion (orange) and Repulsion (blue) Gel: these two substances drip or pour from tube structures, and the flow can of course be redirected with your portal gun. The Repulsion Gel acts like rubber, bouncing you up and away in the direction you were heading. Propulsion Gel accelerates you and can be used to fire yourself off surfaces much faster and farther than just by a running jump. That’s all there was. You can find videos of the demo on YouTube and the trailer is here, but I figured you guys might like a blow-by-blow and some shots of the frames with lots going on. I suppose it’s not really necessary to say so, but the game looks absolutely incredible (and despite their assurances, it also looked very hard). Their plan of expanding and reconfiguring your brain is definitely going to work. I’m just sad it’s not coming out till 2011.
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:49 pm Japan iPhone pre-orders trigger long linesJapan is already wild for Apple's latest iPhone. Pre-orders began Tuesday at 5 p.m., and the early rush for the iPhone 4 led to long lines around Tokyo and overwhelmed computer servers...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:33 pm Eucalyptus Expanded for Windows Use (PC World)PC World - Eucalyptus Systems has released an update to the commercial version of its private cloud software, Eucalyptus Enterprise Edition.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:30 pm T-Mobile USA says on track with mobile data upgradeNEW YORK (Reuters) - T-Mobile USA, the No. 4 U.S. mobile service, said that by the end of this month it would be less than half way through its 2010 network upgrade plan aimed at boosting...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:29 pm Painting: Kim Jong Il Launches Nuclear War
This appears to be a rendering of Kim Jong Il overseeing a Pikachu ICBM nuclear war. I have no idea who the artist is but I love it! Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:28 pm The top five unanswered questions about the Nintendo 3DS
1. PriceThis is the obvious one along with the release date. Nintendo conveniently didn’t mention anything about the 3DS’s price at today’s press conference. It doesn’t matter how great the 3DS works or how many publishers are already on board if the 3DS has a high starting price. The PSP is a great example. It was worlds past Nintendo’s offering when it launched a few years back. The graphics were amazing and it was a true portable media device with the capability to playback all sorts of media. But yet it came to market at $249 and had a rough start while the cheaper and less-capable Nintendo DS took off like a rocket. Nintendo has a slight advantage with the 3DS this time around as the major game publishers are fully backing the device. That’s important, but not as much as a the price. Hopefully Nintendo is targeting the $200 price point. $199 would be great, but something about how Nintendo didn’t mention it at all during the presser makes you wonder if it’s going to be more like $249 or even higher. 2. HardwareNintendo has never, ever been one to talk about hardware capability. It’s like they think the whole world doesn’t care, and while it might be a smart move right out of Apple’s playbook, some of us really do care. We might understand that the user experience is more important than getting into a pissing match over hardware numbers, but we still want to know what’s driving the graphics. It was clear within the first few second of playing with the 3DS that the system is more powerful than the current Nintendo portables. The graphics are nearly on par with early Wii games. That said, it doesn’t take much to best the DSi’s ARM9 133 MHz CPU and 16 MB of RAM. It would just be nice to know what’s pushing those nice graphics in the 3DS. 3. Battery LifeOkay, so, how long will the lithium-ion battery power the 3DS? The DSi is a champ in this department, easily getting more than 10 hours of life on a single charge. We would expect nothing less from the next-gen model. Nothing less, Nintendo. Did you get that? 4. Hollywood’s involvementThere’s a slight twist about the 3DS. It can playback 3D movies on its 3D glassless screen. The company mentioned a couple quick details like there is a few deals with a Hollywood studios in the works, but we wanna know more. How are we going to get these movies on the device? Is is going to be through a digital download to an SD card? Will it require a special cartridge in the name of anti-piracy? What type of cost is involved? What does James Cameron think of watching Avatar on a 3.52-inch screen? 5. What about the DSi and DSi XL?No matter how much we wish, chances are the 3DS isn’t going to be inexpensive at first. It will likely be a premium product for a while which means Nintendo will likely keep around both the $169 DSi and few months old $189 DSi XL. That said, the 3DS might not come out until 2011 meaning the DSi and DSi XL have plenty of time to increase their profit margin and drop in price. By that time one of the current models might be phased out. The 3DS media coverage is really just beginning. Nintendo carefully releases its products and times the media coverage to make the biggest impact. They knew what they were doing by announcing these items. Nintendo knows we would have baulked at the price, made fun of the CPU and battery life, talked-down the 3D movie stuff and then complained that the beloved DSi and DSi XL’s death. Maybe, just maybe, Nintendo wanted people to enjoy the 3DS for what it is and so only announced the strong points today.
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:27 pm Gregor MacDonald - Energy, transportation, and transitions
Gregor MacDonald is an independent energy analyst & investment consultant. He publishes public analysis to his website, Gregor.us and hosts the internet investment show, StockTwits.tv, with Howard Lindzon. He offers private consultancy and regular email newsletters on global energy trends & investment guidelines. I asked him some questions about his background, the state of global energy, the BP disaster, and California's dependency on oil... How did you end up as an energy investment analyst? Would you describe the work you do now? In 1995 I moved to London and found that living outside my own country enabled me to see the world with fresh eyes. In university I had studied cultural anthropology with an emphasis on markets and economies, and a number of the insights from those studies began to unfold the more time I spent in the UK, and Europe. I started to become interested in currencies as a cultural phenomenon, for example. I concluded there was very little logic in the purchasing power of the US Dollar, The British Pound, and continental currencies, and I started to form an early idea that perhaps in relation to oil, the US Dollar was overvalued. And that's how my interest in oil began. For it
Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:23 pm iPhone 4 Already Sold Out? FML
Well this comes as a surprise. After fighting all day to order the new iPhone, I gave up, and decided to wait until tomorrow. That is, until I read that the entire pre-order allocation was already sold out. How was anyone able to buy the phone much less buy up every single one? Either the supply was low due to the manufacturing of the retina display or the machining process of the stainless steel frame, or Apple sold a crap load of phones. Most likely the latter. If you’re like me, you just got owned by Apple and AT&T. Apple for not having enough supply and AT&T for not allowing my order to go through earlier. Now the wait is until July 2nd and I cannot wait that long. I guess I will have to stand in line at Walmart or try to get an order in at Best Buy as soon as possible. I guess its not that bad..I wanted white anyways.
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:10 pm Flock browser gets faster, friendlier with upgrade (AP)AP - Flock, a Web browser focused on the online social scene, is trying to make it quicker and easier to keep tabs on your friends and family.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:03 pm Flock browser gets faster, friendlier with upgradeFlock, a Web browser focused on the online social scene, is trying to make it quicker and easier to keep tabs on your friends and family. The upgrade scheduled to be released Wednesday...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:03 pm Even With Pre-Order Failures, iPhone 4 Sells Out In Under A Day
The fact that Apple blew through their entire first run of iPhone 4s in something like 20 hours is impressive any way you slice it. But it also begs the question: how fast would the device have sold out if the pre-order system actually worked today? I don’t think it’s a stretch to think the iPhone might have been gone twice as fast. As we covered last night, when the iPhone 4 first went up for pre-order on Apple’s website, there were massive failures in the system that prevented people from completing their orders. Those failures carried into this morning and even this afternoon and people still were having difficulty ordering the phone. Some were able to order it from AT&T’s site, others weren’t. Some were able to order from the new iPhone Apple Store app, others weren’t. The system seems to be running smoothly now, but again, if you place your order on Apple’s site, it will state that you phone will ship after launch. The July 2 date currently listed is just 8 days after the current June 24 launch — but that’s also the ship date, so it could arrive a few days after that. Right now, if you’re hoping for an iPhone 4 before July, your best bet may be to hope Apple releases the elusive white iPhone 4 (which didn’t go up for pre-sale last night) into the wild before then. Or hope that Apple saved a few to sell in stores to those that didn’t pre-order.      
Source: TechCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:01 pm Toolkit: A Look at the Gear That Experts Use to Spy on SpiesAre they on to you? Companies are sniffing out corporate espionage with thermal-imaging cameras and digital phone analyzers.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:00 pm Sensory Overloader: 3-D Tower Lets Researchers Climb Inside Their DataThe house-sized AlloSphere -- complete with catwalk, hi-def 3-D video projectors and 360-degree images -- puts researchers in the center of their science.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:00 pm Toolkit: A Look at the Gear That Experts Use to Spy on SpiesAre they on to you? Companies are sniffing out corporate espionage with thermal-imaging cameras and digital phone analyzers.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:00 pm First Responders in Asia Pacific Gain Portable Satcom Solution from Cobham and Australian Satellite Communications Using iDirect's VSAT TechnologySource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:00 pm June 16, 1922: Ich Bin ein Berliner HelicopterA father-and-son inventor team dazzle Navy brass with an aircraft that moves up, down and sideways.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:00 pm First Responders in Asia Pacific Gain Portable Satcom Solution from Cobham and Australian Satellite Communications Using iDirect's VSAT TechnologyComms Unit: four fly-away cases that house a complete communications system with an iDirect satellite modem, a telephony interface, VoIP ethernet switch and back-up power supply/conditioner. On the ground, users can connect directly to the unit or wirelessly via the built-in wireless access point, providing increased range for local area access and greater flexibility.ReadyCONNECT Quick deploy antenna: featuring single button activation and automatic satellite acquisition, without requiring a VSAT specialist to become operational. ReadyCONNECT service: immediate, reliable access to Ku-band satellite bandwidth, with complete coverage across the Pacific via the GE23 satellite. Included are two days per month standard use for training or short-term connectivity needs. Customers can choose between a dedicated or roaming service, enabling them to deploy the unit across different satellite beams. ReadyCONNECTSource: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:00 pm T-Mobile Rolls Out “4G Speed” Network In 15+ New Cities
4G is in the air! Or, at least for T-Mobile, 4G speeds are in the air. While T-Mobile isn’t technically allowed to pitch their HSPA+ network as 4G, its speeds can exceed that of the networks that some carriers (read: Sprint) have been toting as 4G for the last few months. This morning, T-Mobile is officially debuting their HSPA+ network in 15 new cities, from Los Angeles, CA to New Orleans, LA. Read the rest at MobileCrunch >>      
Source: TechCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:59 pm T-Mobile Rolls Out “4G Speed” Network In 15+ New Cities
4G is in the air! Or, at least for T-Mobile, 4G speeds are in the air. While T-Mobile isn’t technically allowed to pitch their HSPA+ network as 4G, its speeds can exceed that of the networks that some carriers (read: Sprint) have been toting as 4G for the last few months. This morning, T-Mobile is officially debuting their HSPA+ network in 15 new cities, from Los Angeles, CA to New Orleans, LA.
While a handful of places — New York, Philadelphia, Vegas, and Memphis, to name a few — are already blanketed in T-Mobile’s latest radio juice, the new roster is pretty impressive. If you’re in Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, Tampa, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, New Orleans, or Charleston, fire up your device and give it a speed test — chances are, you’re surrounded in 4G(ish) radiowaves right this second. Speaking of devices: only certain ones will play friendly with the new network. Your 5 year old, contract-free mostly-broken phone? Probably won’t work. To name a few that will: the Behold II, myTouch/myTouch Fender/myTouch Slide, Garminfone, G1, CLIQ, and HD2 should be good to go, along with the rest of the lot pictured above. With new coverage comes new toys, albeit not the most exciting ones. If you’re in one of the new-found HSPA+ areas listed above, T-Mobile is now offering their HSPA+-friendly USB dongle, the webConnect Rocket, in your local meatspace T-Mo spots. With all that said, I’m excited to know: if you’re in an HSPA+ area, are you seeing much of a speed increase? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:59 pm NEC Enhances its Business Structure for Middle East and African RegionsLONDON, June 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- - New Entity Established in Turkey for New Business Development NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) announced today the establishment of its new Middle East and Africa business operations in Turkey.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:58 pm NEC Enhances its Business Structure for Middle East and African RegionsSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:58 pm Why Lithium Can't Save AfghanistanThe country has been called "the Saudi Arabia of lithium," but the label is just plain wrong, for a number of reasons.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:53 pm DEALTALK-Australia IPO door inches open but hurdles remainSYDNEY, June 16 (Reuters) - German construction group Bilfinger Berger's decision to push ahead with its $1 billion Australian initial public offer has revived hopes the country's backlog of planned floats...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:44 pm FACTBOX-Australia's top IPOs in the last 12 monthsSYDNEY, June 16 (Reuters) - German construction group Bilfinger Berger is seeking to raise up to $1.1 billion through an Australian listing. It will be the country's largest IPO in eight months.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:44 pm Israeli Startup Claims SSD BreakthroughLucas123 writes "Anobit Technologies announced it has come to market with its first solid state drive using a proprietary processor intended to boost reliability in a big way. In addition to the usual hardware-based ECC already present on most non-volatile memory products, the new drive's processor will add an additional layer of error correction, boosting the reliability of consumer-class (multi-level cell) NAND to that of expensive, data center-class (single-level cell) NAND. 'Anobit is the first company to commercialize its signal-processing technology, which uses software in the controller to increase the signal-to-noise ratio, making it possible to continue reading data even as electrical interference increases.' The company claims its processor, which is already being used by other SSD manufacturers, can sustain up to 4TB worth of writes per day for five years, or more than 50,000 program/erase cycles — as contrasted with the 3,000 cycles typically achieved by MLC drives. The company is not revealing pricing yet."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:43 pm Nintendo woos gamers with classics, 3-D (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:20 pm ATCi's Hong Kong Backhaul Network Announces Live Mobile Video Streaming Service for iPhone and BlackBerrySINGAPORE, June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- CommunicAsia Expo -- ATCi a leading service provider of live and on-demand video, satellite, mobile GSM backhaul, corporate web communications and content management applications, today announced from the CommunicAsia Expo in Singapore the official launch of its high quality, live mobile video streaming service enabled for iPhone and BlackBerry users through its MeshTV technology and delivery service.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:20 pm Rumor: RIM testing a tablet to rival the iPadSection: Computers, Mobile Computers
The first upgrade is a touchscreen smartphone with a slideout keyboard. While this might not be revolutionary considering a touchscreen is pretty standard nowadays, Blackberry has another trick up its sleeve; a Blackberry Tablet. The Wall Street Journal had this to say about the tablet device:
What I found interesting was that this tablet will be reliant on tethering to power its mobile network. This means that so long as you have a Blackberry, it does not matter which network you are on. Then again, the fact that a Blackberry device is required to get a data connection is a bit of a downer. This will be Blackberry’s chance to own the business marketplace. What businessman wouldn’t want their Blackberry tablet on their desk or in their hands at all times? Read [The Wall Street Journal]
Full Story » | Written by Hunter Clarke for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:19 pm Supercute! video "Not To Write About Boys"I have a Facebook account but I hardly ever check it. I just took a peek at the hundreds of messages waiting for me, and saw that one of them was from Spike Priggen of Bedazzled!, who wrote in April, So you posting that Supercute video got them on a big tour opening for Kate Nash!Yippee! Here's a recent video by "New York City's teen-indie-bubblegum-pop sensation." Nintendo Rises After Introduction of 3-D Game Player - BusinessWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:07 pm Afghanistan: Is miraculous $1T mineral discovery just war PR ops? American news media was all aflutter yesterday over a story by James Risen in the New York Times about an Immaculate Detection of massive mineral wealth in US-occupied Afghanistan. Finally, some positive news from America's longest-running war in history! Afghanistan is suddenly poised to become "the Saudi Arabia of lithium." Let's occupy the place forever, and say farewell to our dependence on foreign lithium for iPhones and Blackberrys! A handful of essential follow-up reads: Armbinder in The Atlantic, a Christian Science Monitor post by Ben Arnoldy, Blake Hounshell in Foreign Policy, and this Wired Danger Room item by Katie Drummond, all of which point to documents on the "Afghan motherlode" dating back to 2007 and earlier. [T]he military (and observers of the military) have known about Afghanistan’s mineral riches for years. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Navy concluded in a 2007 report that "Afghanistan has significant amounts of undiscovered nonfuel mineral resources," including "large quantities of accessible iron and copper [and] abundant deposits of colored stones and gemstones, including emerald, ruby [and] sapphire."No, the U.S. Didn't Just 'Discover' a $1T Afghan Motherlode (Wired News) Oh, and the graphic above this piece is a US Geological Survey Geologic and Mineral Resource Map of Afghanistan from... 2006. Here's a PDF.
Update: James Risen was upset by critical reaction to the New York Times piece. In an interview with a Yahoo News blogger (heh), he said he thinks bloggers sit around "jerking off into their pajamas." The quote was edited to be more family-friendly. Risen later apologized for the outburst, saying he was taken aback by all the internet criticism. The Yahoo item is a good read, Risen is no slouch, and sometimes nuance is lost online. But as a blogger, I choose to remain personally and irreparably offended by the remark 'til the end of all time (or 'til we get out of Afghanistan, whatever comes first). Your Next Mac: Slim Unibody Mac Mini With HDMI - Wired News
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 15 Jun 2010 | 8:26 pm Official: Verizon Wireless to unveil “next generation of Droid” on June 23rdSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  And just like that, the rumor becomes official and it was almost correct. Anyway, it seems that Verizon is preparing to unveil what they are calling the “next generation of Droid” at an invitation only press event on June 23rd. Of course, most people believe this will be the Droid X, and we here at Gadgetell also think that to be the case. I guess now comes the other questions such as how much will it cost and when will it actually be available for purchase. Either way, with speakers such as John Stratton, Andy Rubin, Sanjay Jha and Shantanu Narayen this will be an interesting event to watch. Read [AndroidGuys]
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 15 Jun 2010 | 8:05 pm BRIEF-Thai Banpu raises stake in Australian coal minerBANGKOK, June 16 (Reuters) - Thailand's Banpu PCL :Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jun 2010 | 8:04 pm Twitter warns users to expect more outages (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 15 Jun 2010 | 8:03 pm Miscreants Exploit Google-Outed Windows XP Zero-DayCWmike writes "A compromised website is serving an exploit of the bug in Windows' Help and Support Center, identified by a Google engineer last week, to hijack PCs running Windows XP. Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at antivirus vendor Sophos, declined to identify the site, saying only that it was dedicated to open source software. 'It's a classic drive-by attack,' said Cluley. The tactic was one of two that Microsoft said last week were the likely attack avenues. (The other was convincing users to open malicious e-mail messages.) The vulnerability was disclosed last Thursday by Google security engineer Tavis Ormandy, who also posted proof-of-concept attack code. Ormandy defended his decision to reveal the flaw only five days after reporting it to Microsoft. Cluley called Ormandy's action 'utterly irresponsible,' and in a blog post asked, 'Tavis Ormandy — are you pleased with yourself?'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 15 Jun 2010 | 7:54 pm UPDATE 4-U.S. FDA releases risk summaries for newer drugs* Summaries look at risks seen 18 months after approvalSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jun 2010 | 7:34 pm E3 2010: Hands on with the Nintendo 3DS handheld 3D game systemFROM GAMERTELL - We got to touch the 3DS at the Nintnedo press conference. OK, more look at it and admire the amazing 3D top screen without any special glasses… Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 15 Jun 2010 | 7:33 pm Kepler Exoplanet Controversy EruptsAs excitement builds for an upcoming announcement about the discovery of hundreds more exoplanet candidates, why is the Kepler team holding back some data from other scientists?Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 7:07 pm Microsoft debuts slim Xbox, new games (video roundup) - CNET
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 15 Jun 2010 | 7:01 pm AT&T repeats the Backflip error, launches HTC Aria without non-Market appsSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  Just like what we saw with the launch of the Motorola Backflip on AT&T, the HTC Aria will not be able to install apps that are not in the official Android Market. Granted, for most average users this is not anything that will never cause any issue—but still, those who are a little more advanced will consider this a total turn off. And just for clarification, the screenshots above are showing the HTC Aria on the left and the Nexus One on the right. Given that, you can clearly see that the top setting, “Unknown sources” is not showing on the HTC Aria. Read [AndroidGuys] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 15 Jun 2010 | 6:59 pm Philippines - Market factors to watch - June 16MANILA, June 16 (Reuters) - Here are news stories and press reports which may influence local financial markets on Wednesday.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jun 2010 | 6:42 pm Clean out my junkbox day
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jun 2010 | 6:19 pm Hands-on: 3DS hardware and gaming impressions
We got our hands on the 3DS this morning at Nintendo’s press conference, but it wasn’t exactly a proper hands-on. It was just a simple demo to basically show that it works. Well, I just waited in a huge line that snaked around Nintendo’s E3 booth for over an hour to spend some quality time with the 3D gaming platform. Simply said, it works as advertised. Hardware impressions:
Gaming impressions
The last point is important. I sometimes have a hard time seeing 3D effects and I guess the 3DS’s screen isn’t any different. This was the only game/ demo where the 3D stereo image didn’t converge properly like a Magic Eye poster that doesn’t want to come into focus. Mark Wilson from Gizmodo apparently couldn’t see Star Fox in 3D. Our issues probably aren’t isolated incidents. It’s likely a common occurrence but hopefully the bugs will be worked out before launch — whenever that is. Overall though, I must say the 3DS is impressive. The view angle is great, the graphics are a lot better than on the current DSi, and the 3D works like Nintendo said it would. What more can you want?
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jun 2010 | 6:13 pm Fermilab Experiment Hints At Multiple Higgs Particleskrou writes "Recent results from the Dzero experiment at the Tevatron particle accelerator suggest that those looking for a single Higgs boson particle should be looking for five particles, and the data gathered may point to new laws beyond the Standard Model. 'The DZero results showed much more significant "asymmetry" of matter and anti-matter — beyond what could be explained by the Standard Model. Bogdan Dobrescu, Adam Martin and Patrick J Fox from Fermilab say this large asymmetry effect can be accounted for by the existence of multiple Higgs bosons. They say the data point to five Higgs bosons with similar masses but different electric charges. Three would have a neutral charge and one each would have a negative and positive electric charge. This is known as the two-Higgs doublet model.'" There's more detail in this writeup from Symmetry Magazine, a joint publication of SLAC and Fermilab. Here's the paper on the arXiv.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 15 Jun 2010 | 6:07 pm Gallery: Broke in Tokyo -- Scavenging 24 Old Games for $24Chris Kohler can't stop at 10 anymore. Turn him loose in Akihabara, and he'll scarf up two dozen gaming oddities.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 6:00 pm Videogames Head Into a World of 3-D [Voices]By Daisuke Wakabayashi and Yukari Iwatani Kane, Reporters, The Wall Street Journal Nintendo Co. unveiled a new hand-held game system that displays 3-D images without the need for glasses, while rival Sony Corp. (SNE) presented a lineup of new 3-D titles, underlining how the videogame industry is betting on new technologies to rev up its growth. Both Nintendo and Sony made 3-D a central element of their presentations at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo on Tuesday, with Nintendo taking the wraps off its 3DS handheld, an upgrade to its popular DS portable game machine. Sony showed off new 3-D games including the latest versions of blockbuster franchises such as car racing game “Gran Turismo” and shooting game “Killzone.” The 3-D products come as the videogame industry has struggled with continued slow growth despite an improving economy. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 15 Jun 2010 | 5:49 pm Samsung Galaxy S Pro images appear—complete with Sprint brandingSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  Assuming we can believe these images are the real deal, then it looks like Sprints second 4G phone is going to be the Samsung Galaxy S Pro. Of course, the Pro designation means that is will be sporting a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Otherwise, the features will include Android, a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, Super AMOLED display, 1GHz “Hummingbird” processor, 512MB RAM, 512MB ROM and 8GB of internal storage. As of now we are still waiting to hear something in terms of a release time frame. Not to mention which version of Android the Galaxy Pro S will be running. In the meantime, check out the images with this post and then hit the ‘read’ link below to see a few more. Read [Android Community]  Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 15 Jun 2010 | 5:48 pm http://www.wired.com/reviews/product/pr_lumix_g10If you're looking to graduate from point-and-shoot school and go to DSLR university, consider the Lumix G10.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 5:40 pm http://www.wired.com/reviews/product/pr_lumix_g10If you're looking to graduate from point-and-shoot school and go to DSLR university, consider the Lumix G10.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 15 Jun 2010 | 5:40 pm Zooming In On Newborn StarsUsing the Keck Observatory, astronomers have spotted the material falling onto a star a few hundred light years away.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 5:33 pm Wireless Oligopoly Is Smother of InventionYes, your iPhone is cool. But what if the nation's wireless networks worked like television or broadband internet, where you can use any device you like on any carrier. It's time to find out.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 5:30 pm Digitally Filtering Out the Drone of the World Cupqubezz writes "World Cup soccer fans may think a hornet's nest has infiltrated their TVs. However the buzz that is the background soundtrack of the South African-hosted games comes from tens of thousands of plastic horns called vuvuzelas, that are South Africa's version of ringing cowbells or throwing rats. It looks like the horns won't be banned anytime soon though. A savvy German hacker, 'Tube,' discovered that the horn sound can be effectively filtered out by applying a couple of digital notch filters to the audio at the frequencies the horn produces (another summary in English). Now it looks like even broadcasters like the the BBC and others are considering using such filters on their broadcasts."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 15 Jun 2010 | 5:23 pm Come Work In Our Beautiful New Office
So now that we have this big, amazing office in San Francisco, directly across from the Caltrain station (read: commuter friendly) and a stone’s throw away from AT&T Park (go SF Giants), we need to fill it with more great people. We’re hiring. Lots. Join us and our modest goal of world domination. We love what we do. You can too. Lots of other jobs around the world are listed on CrunchBoard. Here are the top roles we’re currently recruiting for TechCrunch:
     
Source: TechCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 5:05 pm Diarrhea-Like Whale Waste Cleans the EnvironmentWhale waste is rich in iron so it stimulates the growth of phytoplankton, which then serve as carbon traps.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 5:00 pm Japanese Gaming Company DeNA Sets Up $27.5 Million Investment Fund
DeNA says the main objective of the fund is to find and invest in companies that merge social media with game development. The fund will seek to invest in ventures that are at the seed level or higher stages. DeNA will also invest in game developers that can be included in their mobile gaming platform, Mobage-Town. A few months ago, DeNA also announced a strategic partnership with Yahoo Japan with plans to launch a PC-based social gaming platform, called Yahoo Mobage, later this year. While the new vehicle will surely make investments in Japan, the fund could be a way for DeNA to establish more of a presence in the U.S. gaming market as well. The company owns an 20 percent equity stake in gaming company Aurora Feint and is getting serious about expanding into the U.S. DeNA plans to launch a social gaming platform in a number of English-speaking countries, and develop games for Facebook and other social networks. And DeNa just launched a global mini-gaming social network for the iPhone. DeNA is seeing record revenue and impressive profits from its games in Japan, so a global expansion could make the company more of a global gaming giant. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 4:54 pm /C O R R E C T I O N -- GuestCentric Systems/In the news release, GuestCentric Systems Launches New Pricing Plans With Great Savings of Up to 31% For Integrated e-Commerce and Social Cloud Solutions for Hotels, issued 15-Jun-2010 by GuestCentric Systems over PR Newswire, we are advised by the company that the release contained the wrong fourth paragraph, as originally issued inadvertently.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jun 2010 | 4:41 pm The Summer to Go on a Power Diet [The Mossberg Solution]As temperatures climb to their highest levels, so, too, do the cost of home utilities bills. So how do you at least keep your energy-sucking electronics in check? [ See post to watch video ] Summer months are the most expensive electricity usage months of the year, according to a study from the U.S. Energy Information Association, a government agency. So whether you’re trying to save money or attempting to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, several technologies can make the task a bit easier. This week, I’ve prepared a run down of some of the many devices and websites that can help you to reduce power consumption. Intelligent Power StripsCall it standby power, vampire power or phantom power: When your appliances are plugged into the wall and not in use, they’re still sucking up energy. To solve this problem, some people go around their house unplugging electronics, but then they have to go around plugging these in again when they need to use them. And certain machines, like TiVos (TIVO), for example, will reboot every time they’re unplugged and plugged, which takes significantly more time than turning on a lamp after plugging it in again.  Smart strips like the HP Monster Digital PowerCenter let you choose which plugged-in devices stay on. A number of special power strips have come out within the year that are designed to simplify this process by ensuring devices don’t draw power while plugged in. The $40 Smart Strip Power Strip from Bits Ltd. (bitsltd.net) has either seven or 10 outlets, depending on the model. These include three red outlets for products you never want to turn off and one blue “control” outlet. Electronics plugged into the remaining white outlets stay on or shut down depending on what’s plugged into the blue outlet. So if your computer is plugged into a blue outlet and you shut it down, your speakers, scanner, printer and monitor would also turn off as long as they’re plugged into the Smart Strip’s white outlets. A similar product, in which plugged-in electronics take their cue from a control outlet, is the $50 HP (HPQ) Monster Digital PowerCenter with GreenPower (http://3.ly/3hXF). This strip, which has six three-pronged outlets, also includes two surge-protected phone connections for fax lines or modems.  The iGo Green Power Smart Tower. The $80 Power Smart Tower with iGo Green Technology (http://3.ly/C7ce) includes four outlets that are always on and four that power down when anything that’s plugged in turns off. It also has two built-in USB power ports for charging via USB. Track More, Waste LessWhen people go on diets, they’re often told to write down everything they eat so they’re more conscious of what they’re ingesting every day. A study by the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford showed a 5% to 15% reduction in power consumption just by providing energy information to consumers. One tool that could help you trace your electricity usage is the Consumer Electronics Association’s Energy Calculator (http://3.ly/gp2M). People fill in data on how much they use specific devices—like “digital television, 21 to 39 inches” or “notebook PC”— in their home per day or per month. The site calculates typical watts per device and figures out the energy-consumption costs for each over the period of a month and over a year, and then adds up the totals for each device. The idea is to let people see how small usage adjustments can have a big monetary impact over time. If you’d rather not do the work of inputting data on your power usage, the Google PowerMeter (google.com/powermeter) might be up your alley. It digitally tracks your usage patterns using meter data supplied by your utility company and its results can be accessed from any Web browser or your iGoogle homepage. A Google representative says this service is gradually rolling out in tests with utility companies. Currently, 10 utilities are partnered with PowerMeter in five countries, including the U.S. If your utility company isn’t one of the 10 that work with Google’s (GOOG) PowerMeter, you can buy a special gadget that monitors consumption, including some that physically hook into your fuse box. A list can be found here (http://3.ly/Un3h). One relatively less expensive device from Current Cost is $169. Before You BuyIf you’re buying new electronics soon, you may want to consider a product’s energy efficiency before buying it. The U.S. Department of Energy has a Web database of Energy Star compliant products, which meet requirements set by the DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (http://3.ly/SSsy). Information on the Consumer Electronics Association website (http://3.ly/4×9P) helps people decide whether to replace or repair a product, from an efficiency standpoint. Edited by Walter S. Mossberg Email Katherine Boehret at mossbergsolution@wsj.com. Source: All Things Digital | 15 Jun 2010 | 4:40 pm What RIM's New Smartphone Needs to Succeed - PC World
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 15 Jun 2010 | 4:40 pm Exoplanet Hunter's First Data Withholds the Good StuffOf 156,000 target stars in the Kepler Space Telescope's field of vision, 43 days of observations find 706 possible extrasolar planets from Earth size up to a bit bigger than Jupiter.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 4:40 pm Army Ousts Controversial Social Science ChiefThe Human Terrain System changed from an academic exercise to a chaotic military reality on Colonel Steve Fondacaro's watch, embedding anthropologists into combat units. Now, Fondacaro is gone.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 4:38 pm FBI's Facebook Monitoring Leads To Arrest In EnglandAn anonymous reader writes "The BBC reports that armed police were called to a UK school earlier today after being advised of a potential threat by the FBI. The school stated that the FBI 'raised the alarm after Internet scanning software picked up a suspicious combination of words,' strongly implying that they are carrying out routine, automated surveillance of social networking sites. While in this case it does appear that there may have been a genuine threat, the story nonetheless raises significant privacy concerns."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 15 Jun 2010 | 4:35 pm Microsoft Office 2010 went on sale today [Reminder Post]Section: Computers, Software / Applications
The suite is available in three varieties;
With that, you can also download a free trial which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote by hitting the ‘product’ link below. Product [Microsoft] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 15 Jun 2010 | 4:33 pm Video: Portal 2’s E3 2010 trailerDo you want to see the same Portal 2 trailer that Matt and I saw a few moments ago during Sony’s press conference? Of course you do! Also: the game’s official site isn’t live yet, but it’ll be here when it is.
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jun 2010 | 4:15 pm The Playstation Move Vs The Xbox Kinect, May The Best Motion Controller Win It's officially on. That is the motion control wars and, don't hate, but Nintendo isn't one of the combatants. Nope, this war is clearly between Microsoft and Sony. It's the Kinect vs the Move. Full body tracking vs 1-1 controller tracking. This is going to turn out great for you, me, and both Sony and Microsoft.
Source: TechCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 4:06 pm Apple woefully unprepared for iPhone 4 demandFROM APPLETELL - You can blame Apple or you can blame AT&T. Neither will do you much good, though, because neither company was at all ready for the iPhone 4 pre-order demand today. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 15 Jun 2010 | 4:02 pm The Playstation Move vs the Xbox Kinect, may the best motion controller win
It’s officially on. That is the motion control wars and, don’t hate, but Nintendo isn’t one of the combatants. Nope, this war is clearly between Microsoft and Sony. It’s the Kinect vs the Move. Full body tracking vs 1-1 controller tracking. This is going to turn out great for you, me, and both Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo really deserves some recognition here. They blazed the path in this field, educating and showing consumers why motion control deserves a spot in their living room. Millions and millions of people have used and feel in love with the Wii over the last few years and now both Microsoft and Sony are ready to steal a lot of consumers into their world. The two camps are radically different. Kinect touts full body control of up to two people at one time. Tracking is accurate and seemingly lag-free. But the games are virtual Wii-clones. It’s clear the market that Microsoft is primarily targeting even though there will be some more adult titles like Star Wars and Metal Gear Solid.
But there are no buttons. Games need buttons. That’s where Sony Move comes in. The Playstation Move controller is just like you would imagine how Sony would make a Wii Remote: dark, industrial, but solid and smart. There’s also a second smaller controller that helps complete the experience for some games. Yeah, it sounds like the Wii, right? It kind of is, but so much more powerful. There isn’t a cable connecting the two controllers, the controller doesn’t wobble on-screen, but more importantly it has 1-1 tracking in 3D space. That means you can move the controller side-to-side, forward and back and every which way. The Playstation 3’s powerful core allows the games to take full advantage of this system.
It’s important to note that Sony and Microsoft are distinctly different companies. Sony is a hardware company first where Microsoft has primarily been in only software. Sony wants to sell you your whole entertainment system from the TV to the speakers to the gaming system and media playback devices. Microsoft wants to connect your world with Windows, Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360. Both Sony and Microsoft have developed their motion control system with these goals in mind.
“I say we focus on what really matters, the games.” That pretty much sums it up in the end. Sony is about the gaming first where Microsoft isn’t. They are about the user experience. But the real winner in the end is, well, everyone. Both systems will provide awesome gaming experiences that Nintendo showed us could be possible. But there’s a problem. Gaming add-ons don’t sell. They never have. There has never been a blockbuster gaming add-on unless you count the Gamecube Wavebird controller. Sony and Microsoft will have the tough task from here on out convincing current system owners — and Wii owners — that they should drop some hard cash down for these systems. It’s going to take hit titles and heavy media coverage for them to even get off the ground. Don’t think for a minute that either of these systems will be an instant hit. Yeah, sure, fanboys and pundits will proclaim their system of choice, but it’s your parents, non-techie friends, and Wii owners that will decide this one. It’s going to get bloody and that’s awesome.
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:56 pm comScore Media Metrix Ranks Top 50 U.S. Web Properties for May 2010RESTON, Va., June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its monthly analysis of U.S. Web activity at the top online properties for May 2010 based on data from the comScore Media Metrix service.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:55 pm PS Move Launch Date and Price Announced, Portal 2 For the PS3Sony took the stage for the last major keynote of E3 this afternoon, splitting their attention evenly between hardware improvements and new games. First, they talked about 3D technology — Sony plans to try driving 3D adoption in a similar way to what they did with Blu-ray, with 20 titles planned for March 2011 or earlier. Headlining those will be Killzone 3 (coming February 2011), Gran Turismo 5 (coming November 2nd), Tron Evolution, Mortal Kombat, and Crysis 2. Sony also released launch details for their PS Move motion control system. It will be released on September 19th in the US, the motion controller will cost $50, and the navigation controller will cost $30. Several games will get retroactive Move support, such as Resident Evil 5, Heavy Rain, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11. An RPG called Sorcery was demonstrated; your character has a wand that's very similar to the controller, and you throw arcane bolts or draw walls of fire just as you'd expect. Read on for more about Sony's E3 announcements.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:51 pm Isohunt Not Dead Yet, Attorney SaysBitTorrent search engine Isohunt asks a federal appeals court to block enforcement of a Hollywood-backed legal injunction that might shutter the popular site. It's home to about 30 million unique monthly visitors.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:50 pm Amidst technical difficulties, Apple Store unveils new iPhone app (Appolicious)Appolicious - While consumers hoping to pre-order their new iPhone 4 on its first day of availability encountered technical problems with Apple and AT&T websites - and even at Apple's stores! - gadget enthusiasts today have one more way to satisfy their Apple jones. Fittingly, it is best accessed via an iPhone.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:49 pm Global Pulse Lets USAID, Participants Worldwide Collaborate on New Ideas, Solutions to Development ChallengesWASHINGTON, June 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ten thousand people around the globe took part in a recent on-line brainstorming event organized by the U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:49 pm Verizon to Debut Next-Gen Droid on Eve of iPhone 4 Launch [Digital Daily]
What an astonishing coincidence. Motorola and Verizon Wireless have set a date for the debut of their next-generation Droid device: Wednesday, June 23, one day prior to the street date for release of Apple’s iPhone 4. Presiding over the launch: Verizon Wireless marketing chief John Stratton, Google (GOOG) VP of engineering Andy Rubin, Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha, and–more interestingly–Adobe (ADBE) CEO Shantanu “Thoughts on Flash” Narayen (see invitation above; click to enlarge). A bold move. But a potentially foolish one as well. If this year’s iPhone launch week is anything like those of years past, Apple (AAPL) will be sucking so much air out of the news cycle there may be little left for Verizon (VZ) and Motorola (MOT), even if this latest Droid is as promising as it sounds. Source: All Things Digital | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:34 pm Overclocked HTC Evo Runs Almost 30 Percent Faster
The HTC Evo’s 1-GHz processor is one of the fastest in smartphones today, but there’s always room for improvement. An Android developer at the xda-developers forum has overclocked his Evo 4G phone to run at 1.267 GHz, nearly 30 percent faster than the standard issue. The developer Michael Huang, who posted the hack under the nickname ‘coolbho3000′, says he’ll try and push the processor to do even more. “Right now, it’s a proof of concept,” Huang told Wired.com. “I built a version of the kernel that’s running on the phone to overclock it and found it worked fine.” The hack is pretty technical but the idea is to let advanced Android users and programmers see the potential of the device. HTC introduced the Evo earlier this month as the first 4G Android phone. The Evo, available exclusively on Sprint, has a huge 4.3-inch touchscreen, a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor, a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video conferencing and a 8-megapixel camera for shooting photos and videos. It costs $200 with a two-year contract. The phone has become the bestselling device on the Sprint network and at Best Buy Mobile. Overclocking the HTC Evo is not the first such attempt developers have made with an Android device. Earlier, Huang says he has tried to overclock the Google Nexus One, which has the same 1-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor as the HTC. But that hack pushed the speed of the processor to only about 1.1 GHz. The HTC Evo overclocking has resulted in speeds of a little more than 1.2 GHz for most users on the forum who have tried it. But, a few words of warning for those who might attempt this at home: It isn’t a DIY project for just anyone. The files necessary to overclock the HTC Evo are posted online but you need to know what you are doing with it. “If you have a rooted phone, you can get an update.zip file to apply to that phone,” explains Huang. “What I have done is packaged the special overclocked kernel into the file.” Huang used an Android app called SetCPU available in the Android Market to adjust the overclock. Huang says he doesn’t have access to the full source code of the HTC Evo OS, which has limited some functions in the phone. That means the sensors and camera on the phone do not currently work with the hack. The overclocking also affects the phone’s battery life — despite Huang’s attempt to tweak the voltage piped to the processor. “If you put less voltage on the processor, then the phone will use less battery, so my Evo kernel is running at a lower voltage than normal,” he says. “But because the processor is at a higher speed, the battery life is lower than usual.” Once the overclocked device gets running, it also heats up a fair bit, say commenters on the forum. So, try this one at your own peril. If you don’t want to go through all that, just enjoy the video of the overclocked HTC Evo. See Also:
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com [via Android Guys] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:31 pm Overclocked HTC Evo Runs Almost 30 Percent FasterAn Android developer tweaks his HTC Evo phone so the processor can run at up to 30 percent faster speeds than a standard Evo phone.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:31 pm Overclocked HTC Evo Runs Almost 30 Percent FasterAn Android developer tweaks his HTC Evo phone so the processor can run at up to 30 percent faster speeds than a standard Evo phone.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:31 pm Florida State Researcher Uncovers Protein's Role In Cell DivisionA Florida State University researcher has identified the important role that a key protein plays in cell division, and that discovery could lead to a greater understanding of stem cells.Timothy L.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:27 pm CIBER Expands Existing European OperationsGREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CIBER, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:22 pm Nikon Camera lost at sea turns up 1,100 miles awaySection: Imaging, Digital Cameras  Coast Guard Investigator Paul Shultz came across a red Nikon L18 camera while he was walking along a Key West, Florida marina on May 16th. The camera, which was covered by a beat up underwater case, wound up being in superb condition. Shultz, with no luck identifying the owner with the pics on the memory card, turned to Scubaboard.com with some of the pics. It took only a matter of days until the pics were identified to be taken in Aruba approximately 1,100 miles from where the camera was located. Schultz would then go on to post the pics at Aruba.com which would be identified by a woman who recognized some of the children in the photos. As it turns out, the camera belonged to Dick de Bruin, a sergeant in the Royal Dutch Navy. Bruin was trying to salvage an anchor from the USS Powell for a WWII memorial when his camera floated away. It gets better. The craziest part of the story is that during the camera’s 1,100 mile journey, it happened to get caught in the hands (or shell) of a sea turtle as the camera was filming video. Who knows, maybe the sea turtle was a mutant teenager with opposable thumbs and had a knack for technology. Here’s some of the footage that was caught: Via [Petapixel] Full Story » | Written by Tarun Kunwar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:20 pm UM School Of Medicine Scientists Find Hormone Influences Sensitivity To SweetnessBlocking hormone lowers sensitivity to sugar, opening door for food additives or drugsA hormone that helps to regulate blood sugar levels may also influence a person's sensitivity to sweet-tasting foods, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:13 pm It’s now Sony’s 3D world
Sony’s future isn’t motion control, but yet the other current home entertainment gimmick, 3D. Oh sure, Sony is fully embracing motion control as well with the Move and it works great, but let’s not call these two flavor of the weeks anything more than they are. They’re not revolutionary, groundbreaking, or really innovative. Both are nothing more than gimmicks but only one is here to stay. However Sony might be in a better position than even Microsoft when it comes to marketing and selling consumers on their latest features. Unlike Microsoft’s $150 Kinect add-on, 3D is built directly into every single PS3. Many pundits talked down the expensive PS3 when it launched four years ago, but the system was and still is the most powerful gaming system on the market, which is how Sony is able get away with this. All this power is allowing Sony to build items like 3D gaming right into the system with nothing more than a firmware update. Of course users will need a 3D-ready TV and glasses and those aren’t cheap. Sony is looking to the future, though. The company has been touting the PS3’s 10 year life cycle all along and we’re just four years into it. 3D is being adapted by many TV manufacturers soon the system will be built-into most TVs, eliminating a consumer’s buying decision and making the PS3’s capabilities look so much more enticing.
Content is king, though, and there are some major titles headed for 3D on the PS3. Some are Move-enabled, but most use a tradition controller showing that Sony knows not everyone wants to get off their couch and swing a sword. Killzone 3 hits early next year, then there’s the new Mortal Kombat, NBA 2K11, Grand Turismo 5, Crysis 2 and Tron The Video Game to name just a few. It’s safe to say that most of the upcoming PS3 hits will be 3D-enabled. 3D is Sony’s next big thing. We saw it at CES 2010 and it’s just as big here at E3. Ready or not, 3D is the future of Sony.
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:13 pm Does Bankruptcy Counseling Help Debtors Establish A Fresh Start?With a struggling U.S. economy and a large number of employers downsizing their operations, many Americans are finding themselves in severe financial distress. In some cases, individuals decide their only solution is to file for bankruptcy.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:10 pm Airplanes Unexpectedly Modify Weatherreillymj writes "Commercial airliners have a strange ability to create rain and snow when they fly through certain clouds. Scientists have known for some time that planes can make outlandish 'hole-punch' and 'canal' features in clouds. A new study has found that these odd formations are in fact evidence that planes are seeding clouds and changing local weather patterns as they fly through. In one case, researchers noted that a plane triggered several inches of snowfall directly beneath its flight path."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:06 pm New Biomarker For Raw Milk Quality DetectionStrict milk quality tests had drawn a national attention throughout China in the wake of the baby formula milk powder contamination incident.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:03 pm PlayStation(R)Network Fuels the Next Evolution of Digital DistributionLOS ANGELES, June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) today unveiled new original programming and gaming content additions to PlayStation®Network's unmatched and ever-growing entertainment suite of new and exclusive content, services and community focused tools.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:00 pm Sony Computer Entertainment America Delivers Groundbreaking 3D Technology, Next Generation Motion Control Experiences, and an Unrivaled PlayStation(R)3 Game Line Up at E3 2010LOS ANGELES, June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) held its annual press conference today at the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles, Calif., announcing groundbreaking new products and services that further establish PlayStation's leadership and cutting edge position in home entertainment.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:00 pm Deal of the Day: Internal hard drives via BingFROM GAMERTELL - We’ve found two hard drive deal for you that require that you first log into your Bing account… Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:58 pm Tapping Into Sorghum's Weed-Fighting Capabilities To Give Growers More OptionsBy unlocking the genetic secrets of sorghum, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have found a way to make one of the world's most important cereal crops a better option for growers. Researchers at the ARS Natural Products Utilization Unit in Oxford, Miss.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:43 pm Microsoft Office 2010: Six Key Features You Should Know - PC Magazine
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:42 pm Faster Employees May Indirectly Motivate Colleagues To Increase ProductionYou wouldn't think that there would be much similarity between a hockey line and an automobile assembly line.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:38 pm Emory Study Shows Babies Grasp Number, Space And Time ConceptsEven before they learn to speak, babies are organizing information about numbers, space and time in more complex ways than previously realized, a study led by Emory University psychologist Stella Lourenco finds."We've shown that 9-month-olds are sensitive to 'more than' or 'less than' relations across the number, size and duration of objects.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:37 pm Net Media Are Increasingly StrongNordicom, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, conducts a yearly survey of Swedes' media use called Mediebarometern, which started in 1979.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:33 pm Guidance On Cross-Examination Improves Accuracy Of Witness TestimonyThe study, by researchers at the Universities of Liverpool and Leeds, showed that the construction and phrasing of 'lawyerese' questions can inhibit processes in the brain that impact on how a witness responds under cross-examination.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:31 pm Taptu announces new U.S. office to be lead by new President, Mitch Lazar
Some details are on the Taptu blog, along with the following press release:
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:30 pm Opportunities At Light Source And Neutron FacilitiesFindings released at the annual Goldschmidt Conference at the University of Tennessee, KnoxvilleNew intense sources of radiation at national facilities in Chicago, New York, and Tennessee coupled with the next generation of sensitive detectors are allowing geochemists like John Parise to gather images and data on minerals in one second that would take years of equivalent exposure on conventional laboratory x-ray facilities.John Parise, professor, mineralogist and solid-state chemist at Stony Brook University, New York, discussed this and other new light source systems available to geochemists today at this year's Goldschmidt Conference, hosted by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.The enhanced power of x-rays and pulsed neutrons -- especially at the new Spallation Neutron Source facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory -- give geochemists more sensitive tools to detect, characterize and understand the mineral components and the contaminants they absorb or release.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:25 pm 178 Arrested In US/EU Credit Card Cloning Opseldavojohn writes with this report from Brian Krebs: "Authorities have moved in on 178 people accused of working in credit card cloning labs across the USA and Europe, but with the bulk of the work apparently operating out of Spain. The source states that 'Police in 14 countries participated in a two-year investigation, initiated in Spain, where police have discovered 120,000 stolen credit card numbers and 5,000 cloned cards, and arrested 76 people and dismantled six cloning labs. The raids were made primarily in Romania, France, Italy, Germany, Ireland, and the United States, with arrests also made in Australia, Sweden, Greece, Finland, and Hungary. The detainees are also suspected of armed robbery, blackmail, sexual exploitation, and money-laundering, the police said.' Krebs notes a new credit card debuting at Turkish banks that appears to have a built-in LCD that has a random six-digit number associated with each transaction much like RSA SecurID keys used for computer logins."
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Source: Slashdot | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:19 pm Rumor: Verizon to launch the Motorola Droid X on July 19thSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  According to the latest rumor, Verizon is going to launch the Android-based Droid X on July 19th. Granted that is still over a month away from now, but in a little bit of a silver lining, its expected that Verizon is going to make the official announcement sometime next week. Read [Droid Life] Image via [Gadget University] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:15 pm Anti-Vuvuzela Software AppearsIf you've seen one minute of the World Cup matches, you know what a vuvuzela is. If you're watching without sound, the video below is a primer on what they are and why they'll eventually annoy you: Since vuvuzelas are ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:11 pm Lesson Not Learned: AT&T locks down the HTC Aria’s app selection
Almost immediately after AT&T launched their first Android phone, the Motorola Backflip, folks noticed something weird: the option to install applications from third-party, non-Google-approved sources had been removed. People around the Internets — including yours truly — were a bit appalled. The freedom to do whatever the hell you please sans any sort of hand holding is one of Android’s greatest strengths — why would you ever remove that? Surely, AT&T learned from their mistake. Surely, they didn’t lop out that same option from their second Android phone, the HTC Aria, right? Wrong.
We just got our hands on the Aria, and sure enough: the “Unknown Sources: Allow Install of Non-Market applications” option is missing. Clicking on an APK in the browser results in an error message. “You’ve got to change the setting!” it yells, offering a shortcut button which, on just about any other Android phone, leads to the setting in question. Here, it just leads to confusion. Pro-tip, AT&T: Leave Android alone, and let HTC/Google do their thing. In the grand scheme of things, the group that actually wants/needs the “Unknown Sources” option may be small — but they’re also one of the loudest groups you’ve got: the power users.
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:05 pm What Happened to the White iPhone 4? [Digital Daily]
Why? And when will folks who prefer the white version be able to buy it? Reached for comment, Apple (AAPL) didn’t provide much of an answer to either question. “There is tremendous excitement for the new iPhone 4 and we are working to get as many of them into the hands of customers as possible,” a spokesperson told me. “At launch, we have the black models available for purchase and we will be adding the white models as quickly as we can.” Presumably, then, Apple has run into some sort of production problem with the white iPhone 4, enough of one that it’s not willing to specify an availability date. Note that the company says it will have only black models available at launch, suggesting white models may not be available when the device officially goes on sale June 24. Source: All Things Digital | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:00 pm Rumor: Droid X launching on July 19th?
With the Droid, Droid Eris, and Droid Incredible all launching within the last year, is Verizon really ready for yet another addition to the Droid line? (Our say: Who cares? Keep’em coming!) Ready or not, here comes the Droid X.. According to whispers heard by Droid-Life, the Droid X (see all of our Droid X coverage here) should be launching on July 19th. Stores will start prepping for the launch with new window decor come July 18th, with stores opening early on the morning of the big day. No word yet on when the Droid X’s keyboarding-packing brother-in-Droidiness, the Droid 2, will show its face — but given how much leakage we’re seeing on that front, it seems like it could very well launch right around the same time.
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 1:38 pm Hands-on with the AT&T HTC Aria
June 20th. That’s when AT&T gets the HTC Aria — a phone which, at least in my mind, is AT&T’s first to be powered by Android. What’s that you say? The Motorola Backflip was the first Android phone on AT&T? Sorry, I guess my mind has a tendency to block out tragic events. With past sins forgiven, I was pretty anxious to check out AT&T’s second venture into Android territory. Our friends from HTC just so happened to be making a trip through my part of town. One quick jaunt over to their hotel lobby later, and I walked away with an Aria in tow. Expect a full review within a few days — but in the mean time, pop behind the jump for my first impressions.
The Looks: Take the HTC Incredible, and make it a bit shorter. Flatten out the funky back, turn the red accents silver, and slap an AT&T logo on it. Ta-da! It’s the HTC Aria. (Only on the outside, of course; on the inside, they’re entirely different phones.)
Honestly, they could’ve called this phone the Droid Incredible Mini, and no one would have bat an eye (well, except for Verizon. They’d probably be pretty pissed.) Is that a bad thing? Not at all. Is it a good thing? Not.. really. Outside of the little bit of surprise flavor under the battery cover (in the form of a ridiculously bright red inner casing), the Incredible’s aesthetics were pretty generic; making it stout doesn’t change that. With that said, there are just enough little touches here to boost the Aria’s visual appeal in places where its taller, Incredible-er brother falls short. The back is nearly identical to that of the HD Mini, complete with the intriguingly visible frame screws, and the handset’s silver accenting give it all a light touch of class. Like the Incredible’s hidden red inner-casing, the Aria features a blindingly bright yellow slab beneath its battery cover — which, unfortunately (or not, depending on how you feel about yellow), doesn’t show in the slightest when the cover is in place. In short: the Aria wouldn’t stand out in any crowds, for good or for bad. The OS: Like most HTC Android handsets these days, the Aria is running HTC’s custom UI, Sense, on top of Android 2.1. I’ve said it plenty of times before, but I’ll say it again for good measure: I love Sense. From a purely visual standpoint, it’s miles ahead of the default Android interface; toss in things like an improved touchscreen keyboard, fantastic HTC-built applications (like their Twitter app, Peep, and the custom-built media player), and (variably functional) Flash support in the browser, and it’s really just one of the best Android experiences you can have. AT&T preloads the handset with a handful of their own applications, like AT&T Navigator (which is silly, given that Android 2.1 has free [and amazing] navigation), AT&T Hotspots, and AT&T FamilyMap. Unfortunately (unfortunAT&Tely?), these damned things can’t be removed. Given that all carriers seem to be doing this now, I can’t knock them too hard — but as a note to all carriers: Stop doing this. It sucks. I haven’t spent enough time with the device to really declare how well it performs — but so far, so good. The Sense UI runs surprisingly silky on the 600 Mhz processor — something which, given the lagginess generally associated with the first software build of mid-range Android handsets, is nice to be able to say.
Other notes:
I’m off to run this thing through the proper paces for our full review. Got any questions about the Aria? Drop’em in the comments below, and I’ll try to answer them.
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 1:11 pm Why Belgians Can't Stand Other BelgiansIf Dutch speakers and francophones can't get along, what hope is there for the rest of us?Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 12:58 pm The White House takes your questions about the oil spill on YouTube(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog)Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, watch President Obama live on the White House YouTube channel as he addresses the nation about the Gulf oil spill. Then 15 minutes after the remarks, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will answer your questions. Starting right now, you can submit questions about the disaster on Google Moderator, and vote the best ones to the top. Hear more from Mr. Gibbs: Already, the conversation about the oil spill on the web has been lively. Earlier this month, thousands of you submitted your ideas on how to clean up the oil spill on YouTube, several of which were aired during the PBS NewsHour. And as more and more Americans are searching on Google to find information about the oil spill and cleanup efforts, we want to help you connect directly with the recovery process. Now’s your chance to hear the White House’s response to your questions about what many are calling the worst man-made environmental disaster in U.S. history. Submit questions now and vote on the ones you think are most important; then tune in tonight to watch the President’s address live on YouTube. Posted by Steve Grove, YouTube Head of News and Politics    
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 15 Jun 2010 | 11:50 am Samsung Enters Tablet Race With the Galaxy Tape
Samsung is jumping into the tablet fray with a device powered by Google’s Android operating system. Samsung’s tablet, with the unlikely name of ‘Galaxy Tape,’ is expected to launch in September. The device has a 7-inch OLED screen, runs a 1.2 GHz processor, and includes 16 GB of internal memory that can be boosted to 48 GB, according to a Vietnamese site Tinhte. The Galaxy Tape–also known as Galaxy Tab–will weigh about 13 ounces and ship with the latest version of the Android operating system, Android 2.2 ‘FroYo.’ News about the Samsung tablet comes on the heels of a report Monday that BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is also testing a tablet. RIM is trying to create a tablet that could act as “companion” to its BlackBerry phone. The tablet has become one of the hottest consumer electronics products of the year. PC makers and cellphone manufacturers are rushing to introduce a device that can be an alternative to Apple’s iPad. In less than 60 days since the iPad was launched, Apple said it sold more than two million of them. Earlier this month, Dell launched a tablet called ‘Streak’ in the U.K. The Streak has a 5-inch display, a SIM card to make phone calls and runs Google’s Android operating system. The Streak is expected to be available in the U.S. in July for $500. HP is also working on a tablet computer called the HP Slate. Details around pricing of the Samsung tablet or how it will be sold are not available yet but as the above photo (which was posted on on Samsung’s South African twitter feed and then deleted) shows the Galaxy Tape tablet is likely to have a user interface similar to the company’s Galaxy S phone. See Also:
Photo: (nDevilTV/Flickr) 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jun 2010 | 11:27 am Bringing sixteen more apps to the Google Apps MarketplaceWe created the Google Apps Marketplace to make it easier for businesses and universities to benefit from the rapidly growing ecosystem of apps in the cloud. Apps in the Marketplace come in many sizes, from bite-sized apps that focus on providing a single feature to larger standalone apps that run major business systems and processes—and they’re all conveniently integrated with Google apps.We believe it should be as easy to discover and purchase cloud apps for your organization as it is to get mobile apps for your smartphone. And, once you install and evaluate an app, it’s easy for your administrator to deploy them to users with just a few clicks. (Check out this video to see how it works). We’ve added some great new apps since we launched in March and today we’re bringing you 16 new apps to the Marketplace. They represent a cross-section of the innovation happening on the web around integrated applications, where information is shared between applications allowing people to get their work done, faster:
Posted by Scott McMullan, Google Apps Partner Lead, Google Enterprise   
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 15 Jun 2010 | 11:01 am Oil Dispersants' Effects on Wildlife Remain MurkySome studies suggest that creatures at the base of the food chain in the Gulf could be devastated by the oil-dispersing chemicals.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:35 am Finally! 3D Without the GlassesThose annoying 3D glasses will soon be obsolete, as you can watch 3D movies in your own living room without the glasses.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 10:26 am Twitter's 'Places' Feature Added Amid Site Outages - PC Magazine
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:44 am New Giant Horned Dinosaur A Triceratops RelativeA more than 30-year-long case of mistaken identity has just been resolved.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:25 am Your Next Mac: Slim Unibody Mac Mini With HDMIApple updates the little desktop Mac Mini, so if you were thinking about buying a new MacBook or iMac, you might think a little about grabbing this instead. If you have a monitor, you could buy a Mac Mini and an iPad for $1,200, same as you'd pay for the cheapest MacBook Pro.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:11 am Zap of UV Light May Have Triggered LifeHow guanine, one of the four building blocks of RNA, came to exist has long been a mystery. The answer may be ultraviolet light.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:02 am Ikea Hack: Plywood Stool Becomes Bedtime Laptop Movie Stand
Google IKEA’s bent-plywood Benjamin stool and the first couple pages of results are almost all hacks, from doggy dining tables to support for pin-boards for corporate brainstorming. This ingenious bed laptop stand may be the best of them all. The $20 Benjamin stool is simple and beautiful already, its flat top as suited to use as a table as it is to supporting lazy people’s rears. The plywood construction means that it is very easy to cut, and this is just what DIY blog ManMade did, shortening the legs to make the surface sit a few inches above the covers. ManMade also added an extension cable and a pair of cable-corralling towel hooks to the mix, but these are strictly optional. I currently use an upturned aluminum baking tray as my go-to stand when watching movies in bed, but I’m sold on the Benjamin for the extra height and way nicer looks. Better still, this mod itself could be reused as a convenient place to keep the coffee pot when starting work with the iPad in the morning. What, you don’t start work in bed? Sadly, it the Benjamin has been discontinued by Ikea, but the hack is still sound. How To: Make a Laptop Riser for Watching Movies and TV in Bed [ManMade via LifeHacker] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jun 2010 | 8:37 am Lens Adapters Put Leica, Nikon, Canon Lenses on Sony NEX
One of the biggest (and most overlooked) advantages of mirrorless cameras is that they can be adapted to work with almost any lens there is. The short distance between the throat of the lens-mount and the sensor means that there is a lot of space for an adapter. Rayqual, a Japanese manufacturer, has just announced a range of these adapters for the new Sony NEX-3 and NEX-5 cameras. Lens adapters for 35mm SLRs don’t really work well as the extra thickness pushes the lens forward and prevents it from focusing at infinity (you can still shoot close up, though. In fact, macro-extension tubes exploit this focus shift to do their job). But there is a good inch of room to play with on mirrorless cameras, so the adapters work well. I use one on a Panasonic GF1 to attach Nikon lenses. You lose auto-focus, but otherwise it works great. Rayqual’s new adapters let you mount Nikon, Canon FD, Pentax and Leica lenses onto the Sonys. If you are using modern lenses designed for crop-sensors, you will have minimal changes to the focal length, as the NEX cameras also have APS-C sized sensors. Shipping next month, the adapters will run from ¥19,950 to ¥25,200, or $220 to $275. NEX adapters [Rayqual via DP Review] See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jun 2010 | 7:57 am To round it all off, Samsung also announces two new Android Galaxy phones
The Galaxy 3 (seen on the left in the image above) will pack a 3.2″ 240×320 screen, a 3MP autofocus camera, WiFi b/g/n, and Bluetooth 3.0, accelerometer, proximity sensor, and can play DivX/XviD movies. It will be launched July 2010 in Europe and Asia. Despite its bigger model number, the Galaxy 5 (yes, it’s the one on the right) will have a teeny 2.8″ 240×400 display, making it one of the smallest Android devices yet. It packs a lesser 2MP fixed-focus camera, WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. It will also launch in July, but in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, China, Australia, South-East Asia, and (as the press release tells me) SWA (?). Both of the phones will run Samsung’s customised Android skin — TouchWiz 3.0 — and will have A-GPS, 170MB on-board storage, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Micro-SD slot. They also feature Samsung’s “All Share”, which allows you to “control, search, swap and play photos and music across a full range of DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) certified Samsung devices, including notebooks and TVs … You can even use the Galaxy 5 as a remote control for your Samsung TV or play video games through a laptop”, which I didn’t know. Just like all the other Samsung phones today, pricing is yet to be announced. Press release for the Galaxy 3:
Aaaand Press Release for the Galaxy 5:
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 7:37 am ‘Apple Store’ Application: Buy an iPhone with Your iPhone
Apple Store lets you shop in the online Apple Store, browsing and buying anything available to normal web-based shoppers, it will allow you to make appointments at the Genius Bar, locate bricks-and-mortar Apple Stores and sign up for in-store workshops and of course “[b]uy or reserve a new iPhone with just a few taps.” The app is free, and pretty much just bundles the web experience into an easy-to-use package. Ironically, it goes against Apple’s own insistence that the iPhone’s Mobile Safari is perfectly good for browsing full web pages. While many other sites serve iPhone-optimized versions of their sites for the small screen, Apple has kept things desktop-sized. This app is a departure. Apple Store is live in the US store right now, and will presumably be coming to other Apple Store containing countries too. Apple Store [iTunes] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jun 2010 | 7:18 am T-Mo: Every phone is free on June 19
In honor of dear old Dad, T-Mobile is offering every phone free-as-in-beer at their stores. Considering that iDay is only a week or so away, I’d worry about uptake on this offer but if your Dad is one of those weird types who doesn’t let you watch TV or use the Internet and instead is training you how to make chainsaw sculptures in your dusty back yard, scaring a set of mangy dogs into hiding every time he rolls out of bed and into the porch screaming “Who set my beers out and didn’t cool ‘em!” and then when you try to tell him that he bought the beers the night before and didn’t put them away and that you were doing homework he says “Go get the saw. We’re making a chipmunk. Where’s your momma?” and you tell him Momma’s been gone for three years now and he just shakes his head and mumbles something about the guy at the gym, then you probably won’t know about this deal – or any deal, really – anyway.
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 7:06 am Turning the excitement up to 11, Samsung announces *two* new WinMo 6.5 phones
Using mathemagics, scientists have proven that news of two half-interesting phones actually equals the news of one interesting phone. But I can’t say that I’m moved by Samsung’s announcement. I know there are a lot of corporate IT guys out there that need WinMo 6.5, and who are also entitled to a hardware bump every so often. I know that there will be a market for WinMo 6.5 for a little while yet, as WinPho 7 won’t be able to run the old WinMo apps that some businesses may rely on. And I also know that these phones are targeted at developing markets. But I’m still gonna call them boring. Actually, to all those WinMo 6.5 fans out there: if you disagree with me, tell me why in the comments. I’ve never owned a WinMo phone, and I want to know the virtues of this previous-gen OS. Why are you compelled to continue using it? Persuade me. Anyway, back to the news: Prices haven’t yet been announced, but the press release tells me “The Samsung Omnia Pro 4 will be available from July in European Countries, CIS and South Eastern Asia and Omnia Pro 5 will be available from August in SEA, MEA regions, India and Latin America.” Today, I learned about the Commonwealth of Independent States and that “MEA” stands for “Middle East and Asia”. (oh, and for the record, the Omnia Pro 4 is on the left in the photo above, and the Omnia Pro 5 on the right) Specs are here: Press release here:
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 6:28 am How To Hack Panasonic GH1 to Shoot Super High-Quality 24p Video and MoreCanon isn’t the only game in town when it comes to hacking camera firmware. The famous CHDK firmware hacks now have a rival, at least if you are shooting with a Panasonic GH1, and especially if you are using the Micro Four Thirds camera to shoot video. The hack, called PTool, doesn’t add nearly as many features as the Canon hacks, but what it does is startling. With PTool, you can up the video bitrate of the GH1 from a pedestrian 20Mbit to 32MBit in AVCHD. If you opt for Motion JPEG (MJPEG), you can shoot at an astonishing 50 Mbit/sec at a full 1080p. This, according to testers, offers better quality footage than you get from the EOS 5D MkII. Above you can see an example. To view it in its full HD glory, click through to the Vimeo page There’s more. You can choose to encode at a frame-rate of 24p (24 fps) for footage that looks like film. This works without “pulldown”, which is a way of finagling the amount of frames you have by doubling some of them to convert to different frame rates. You can also, if you are feeling brave, enable short shots to encode at a crazy 100Mbit/sec, which further decreases compression from the raw sensor data. And you will need to be brave. These hacks are still experimental and choosing settings is a balance between quality and stability. There are other tweaks to be made. The 30-minute limit on video shots has been removed (although this is probably moot as no movie has shots of more than a few minutes anyway), you can change the language of the camera interface and you can use third party batteries: the Panasonics actually perform a check to see if you have an official battery, forcing you into paying high prices (I paid €80, or almost $100, for a spare battery for my GF1). How do you perform this magic? Following the instructions on the GH1 hackers wiki, you download the Windows PTool software (which works on the Mac under emulation). Then you download the latest official firmware from Panasonic and load it into PTool. This gives a simple list of possible tweaks, and you just check the boxes next to the ones you want and then save the new firmware to an SD card. Next, the scary part begins. This is where PTool hack differs greatly from the Canon CHDK. With the CHDK, the custom firmware remains on the SD card ind is loaded in every time the camera starts up. If you decide you want to revert, you just format the card, or swap in another, and you’re back to normal. It is completely risk-free. With the Panasonic, you actually have to flash the firmware onto the camera, completely replacing the official firmware. You cannot revert to a clean, factory-fresh status, although you can re-apply the PTool firmware with all of the tweaks switched off. This has the side effect of giving you a non-standard firmware version number, a tell-tale sign that you have been up to no good. This may or may not invalidate your warranty. Good news for owners of the Panasonic GF1, too, the awesome little mirrorless compact that you and I both love. This hack will work on our camera, too, although with one difference. The GF1’s sensor is physically incapable of shooting at full 1080p resolution. Everything else should work, though. Beginners GH1 Custom Firmware Guide [EOS HD Wiki] PTool FAQ, including feature list [DVX User forum. Thanks to Paul Weber] The PTool Manual [DVX User forum] Why the (hacked) Panasonic GH1 is a better video camera than the Canon5DMk2 [Jay Shaffer] 3rd Party firmware transforms wimpy GH1 into Optimus Prime [Philip Bloom] Video [Andrew Reid/Vimeo] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jun 2010 | 5:33 am Samsung predictably announces the next Wave(s)
Targeting a more budget-concious market than their first Bada phone (the original Wave), the Wave 2 (and Pro) will both come with a 3.2″ 265k colour WQVGA touchscreen display (no Super-AMOLED here), EDGE data (no 3G), 3MP camera (no flash), Bluetooth 2.1 (no 3.0), WiFi b/g/n, A-GPS, accelerometer, MicroSD expansion (80MB on-board), FM radio, and 3.5mm headphone jack. Not only will you have the choice of a full QWERTY or not, you will also get to choose between “metallic black”, “pearl white” and (for the luvahs out there) “romantic pink”. There are no details on price just yet, but they’ll probably be cheap, given their “mass market” target. Both the Wave 2 and Wave 2 Pro will be available from August in Russia and South East Asia. Check out the gallery and the full press release, below. Press Release:
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jun 2010 | 5:29 am IPhone 4 Available for Pre-Order
For those of us outside the first-tier countries that get the new hardware on launch day, take comfort in the fact that we can download the iOS 4 update on June 21st (next Monday) and get many of the new features free. Sure, we won’t be able to run iMovie, or get some Face Time with other iPhone 4 owners, nor even experience the magical, revolutionary new rubber technology of iPhone Bumpers, but we will get multitasking, folders, iBooks and, erm, spell-checking. Rejoice. iPhone 4 pre-order [Apple] iOS4 [Apple] See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jun 2010 | 4:26 am Your Next Mac: Slim Unibody Mac Mini With HDMI
Apple has updated the little desktop Mac Mini, and if you were thinking about buying a new MacBook or iMac, you might think a little about grabbing this instead. The new Mini comes in a slim unibody case, 1.4-inches tall, shrinking from 2 inches, and gains an SD-card slot, an HDMI port for true media-center integration, faster NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics hardware (up from the old 9400M graphics). It also keeps FireWire 800, There are two models. One costs $700 and comes with a 2.4-GHz processor, 2 GB RAM and a 320-GB hard drive. The other is $1,000 and drops the optical drive in favor of 4 GB RAM, two 500-GB hard drives and a 2.66-GHz processor. This version runs OS X Server. Both have removable bottom panel for easy access to RAM. That Apple would release such a big update with nothing more than a short press release used to surprise us, but these days its pretty standard. With HDMI, this is clearly aimed at the home entertainment market, but it could also be a great new Mac for anyone who has an iPad already. In fact, if you already have a monitor in the house, you could buy a Mac Mini and an iPad for $1,200. That’s the same as you’d pay for the cheapest MacBook Pro. Mac Mini [Apple] See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:25 am
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