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Orange UK Tells iPhone 4 Buyer Delivery Was Delayed Due To ‘Antenna Problems’
As you're no doubt aware by now, some iPhone 4 owners have been reporting poor reception and even dropped calls when holding the device by its metal frame, which doubles as the device's antenna.
Now TechCrunch reader Philip Gradwell checks in to tell us that Orange UK has delayed the delivery of the iPhone 4 he had ordered earlier this week because of the antenna problems.
It's just one call, one rep, and one user report, and we have a yet unanswered inquiry into Orange. But if it's true that Orange UK is holding back distribution of the new iPhone because of said issues, that could mean Apple has a larger liability on its hands than originally thought. 
Source: TechCrunch | 26 Jun 2010 | 4:16 am iMovie for iPhone - BusinessWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 26 Jun 2010 | 4:10 am US unveils plan to make online transactions safer (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Jun 2010 | 4:09 am China bans military from blogging (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Jun 2010 | 3:14 am If We Build 'Walkable' Neighborhoods, Will People Walk?Societal norms, consumer behaviors complicate neighborhood development designed to get people walkingEdmontonians love their cars. In fact, 77 percent of us make all our trips by car.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jun 2010 | 3:13 am Soil-Borne Pathogens Drive Tree Diversity In ForestsWhat determines plant diversity in a forest? It's a question even Charles Darwin wanted to unravel.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jun 2010 | 3:08 am Australia's Largest ISP Ditches Linux MirrorAn anonymous reader writes "Australia's largest ISP, BigPond, has decided to ditch its local mirrors of Linux and other open source operating systems, as well as various other open source software and Creative Commons media. BigPond posted a terse update on the service's website, citing reasons of low popularity and the existence of better services like download.com and Tucows. BigPond customers are not impressed by the move, given that the ISP is infamous in Australia for its high prices and relatively low monthly quotas of bandwidth (many users are on 10gb or 25gb per month plans) and all downloads from this service did not count towards their monthly limits."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 26 Jun 2010 | 3:07 am Scientific Expertise Lacking Among 'Doubters' Of Climate ChangeThe small number of scientists who are unconvinced that human beings have contributed significantly to climate change have far less expertise and prominence in climate research compared with scientists who are convinced, according to a study led by Stanford researchers.In a quantitative assessment – the first of its kind to address this issue – the team analyzed the number of research papers published by more than 900 climate researchers and the number of times their work was cited by other scientists."These are standard academic metrics used when universities are making hiring or tenure decisions," said William Anderegg, lead author of a paper published in the online Early Edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week.Expertise was evaluated by the number of papers on climate research written by each individual, with a minimum of 20 required to be included in the analysis.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jun 2010 | 3:06 am Glamorized Bedheads - The 'Black and Gold' Vogue Spain July 2010 Shoot is Spicing Things Up (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Model Natasha Poly looks absolutely stunning in the 'Black and Gold' Vogue Spain July 2010 shoot. Featuring black mini dresses, over-shirts and bikinis; it's all about black and gold...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 2:31 am Jackson: A tribute from fans, a lawsuit from dad (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Jun 2010 | 2:26 am US unveils plan to make online transactions saferIn the murky world of the Internet, how do you ever really know who you're talking to, who you're buying from or if your bank can actually tell it's you when you log in to pay a bill? ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 2:18 am Space-Savvy Hangers - Hangindicators from Adityaraj Dev Let You Know Which Hangers are Available (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Adityaraj Dev's Hangindicators are clothes hangers that no closet should be without. This innovative design lets you know whether a hanger is empty or free just by looking at its color...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 2:11 am Incredible Fan Costumes - Anthony Le's War-Machine Costume is Amazing (VIDEO)(TrendHunter.com) Anthony Le must really, really, love Iron Man. His War-Machine costume is simply epic. Any fan of Iron Man would kill to get their hands on one of these. Anthony Le's War-Machine costume...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 1:51 am Gross Campaign Catalysts - Interbest Outdoor Billboards Give You Good Reasons to Advertise (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) The Interbest Outdoor billboards created by advertising agency Y&R; Not Just Film represent a most brilliant method to get advertisers to create new ads. The ads from Interbest...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 1:31 am Motorola Droid X smartphone a win for Android - BusinessWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 26 Jun 2010 | 1:21 am Recycled Packaging Decor - Loll Designs Makes Furniture Out of Old Milk Jugs (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Loll Designs is a design firm that creates contemporary outdoor furniture out of recycled milk jugs. The furniture ranges from simple patio chairs to birdhouses. Loll Designs strives...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 1:11 am Drooling Drunken Baby Ads - Keep the Infants Away From L'universe de Chocolat (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) The L'universe de Chocolat company embarks into the world of yummy alcoholic-confections -- much to the detriment of the adorable baby faces featured in the ad campaign. Created by...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 12:51 am Gamer Wine Glasses - The Pac-Man Wineglass Set Celebrates 30 Years of the Classic Arcade Game (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Get your drink and game on with the Pac-Man Wineglass Set. This set of wine glasses celebrates the iconic yellow circle's 30th birthday. The Pac-Man Wineglass Set even comes with matching...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 12:31 am Intricately-Painted Foot Ads - The Sete Leguas Boots Campaign Wants to Protect Toes (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) The Sete Leguas Boot ad campaign was created by advertising agency Talent. This clever ad campaign that they've conjured up certainly has me more worried about my feet than I've ever...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 12:11 am Google Pulls an Apple by Yanking 2 Android Market Apps - eWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 26 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am US Shows Interest In Zombie Quarantine Codebennyboy64 writes "Barack Obama's cyber-security coordinator has shown interest in an e-security code of practice developed in Australia that aims to quarantine Internet users infected by malware, also known as zombie computers. He reportedly said it would be a useful role model for the US to adopt. One suggestion within the code is to put infected users into a 'walled garden', which limits Internet access to prevent further security problems until quarantined. Another is to throttle the speed of an infected users' Internet connection until their computer fixed. The code is also being considered by other Asia-Pacific countries, ZDNet reports."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 26 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Trippy Fungal Lights - The Great Mushrooming Creates Charming Mushroom Lamps (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Artist Great Mushrooming takes his title/nickname to the next level by creating these adorable mushroom lamps. Comprised of LED lights and pieces of discarded wood, these little lamps...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Jun 2010 | 11:51 pm Hybrid Fashion Statements - The Tie Skirt is a Brutal Bizarre Business Casual Fashion Combo (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) The tie skirt is an incredibly creative piece of clothing from Etsy's own MissDdesign. This skirt is made out of men's neckties and a whole lot of imagination. According to the designer,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Jun 2010 | 11:31 pm Lunar eclipse 'magnified' in US - BBC News
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Jun 2010 | 10:25 pm Salesforce.com sues Microsoft for patent infringement - BusinessWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Jun 2010 | 10:06 pm Verizon Wireless to change name and slogan, focuses on AndroidSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones  We have a big rumor unfolding regarding Verizon today. Many Verizon stores across America are set to close early on Sunday at 4PM. On the surface, early store closings doesn’t seem to be a big deal, especially on a Sunday. However, come Monday, Verizon is poised to drop the “Wireless” portion of their name probably to make the name Verizon more pronounced in advertising campaigns, but no official word on why Verizon is dropping the Wireless. In addition, Verizon is well known for the slogan “Can you hear me now?” but rumor has it that they will be changing it to “Verizon, Rule the Air.” Again, no reasons or justifications given for the slogan change, but I would guess it has something to do with a revamped advertising campaign for the new Android handset, namely the Motorola Droid X. Verizon is also rumored to announce that they are officially not interested in the iPhone 4, nor any iPhone, and will focus on Android related smartphones. As a Verizon customer, I hate getting teased with the prospect of the iPhone on the Verizon network, so I will be happy to hear once and for all that Verizon is done with trying to get the iPhone. Of course, we will have to wait and see what happens in the next couple of days but the rumor is looking pretty legit. Via [Droid-Life] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Jun 2010 | 9:37 pm Sharp and smart iPhone 4 offers even more -- along with the same old flaws - Washington Post
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Jun 2010 | 9:25 pm Google Has Android Remote App Install Power, TooTrailrunner7 writes "The remote-wipe capability that Google recently invoked to remove a harmless application from some Android phones isn't the only remote control feature that the company built into its mobile OS. It turns out that Android also includes a feature that enables Google to remotely install apps on users' phones as well. Jon Oberheide, the security researcher who developed the application that Google remotely removed from Android phones, noticed during his research that the Android OS includes a feature called INSTALL_ASSET that allows Google to remotely install applications on users' phones. 'I don't know what design decision they based that on. Maybe they just figured since they had the removal mechanism, it's easy to have the install mechanism too,' Oberheide said in an interview. 'I don't know if they've used it yet.'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Jun 2010 | 8:51 pm Cybercat
Wired's Priya Ganapati:
Oscar, a three-year old British cat, has joined the rarefied ranks of bionic animals. After a horrifying accident chopped off his hind legs, Oscar has gotten a second lease on life through two bionic leg implants.The provisional headline for this post was "Oscar Purrstorius" Bionic Cat Walks on Prosthetic Legs [Wired via Gizmodo]  Source: Boing Boing | 25 Jun 2010 | 8:33 pm Plastic Logic QUE pre-orders cancelled, delayed indefinitelySection: Gadgets / Other, ebooks 
Plastic Logic originally planned on releasing the QUE proReader back in April. That date was pushed back to June 24, which was yesterday. Those who pre-ordered the device heard nothing about the device until an ominous email appeared in their inboxes regarding the fate of the ultra-thin ebook reader. According to the email sent to those who pre-ordered the Plastic Logic QUE proReader, their pre-orders were cancelled because the company could not make the June 24 ship date. In the email, Plastic Logic said that it is “delaying the product a little bit longer,” and that the delay will result in a better product. However, the message failed to indicate another ship date. Perhaps the QUE will be ready soon, but Plastic Logic doesn’t want to commit to anything, which would be the positive side. Or, it could be that this is just the company’s way of letting the interest die down before ultimately canceling the product, which would be sad. Hopefully Plastic Logic is taking this time to make the QUE proReader cheaper than the current $800. For just over that price you can get a 64 GB iPad 3G + WiFi, which can do more than the QUE. The QUE was interesting and dare I say exciting when we saw it back at CES, but that was before Apple announced the iPad. Now it will likely be compared to Apple’s tablet whether it has similar features or not. We can only hope that Plastic Logic somehow end up shipping the QUE for those who might want a tablet-sized device that they can use outdoors, or who don’t want to be distracted by everything else the iPad offers. Read [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Jun 2010 | 8:21 pm PRESS DIGEST - Financial Times - June 26Only 19 percent of 83 company tax directors from FTSE 350 companies, polled by professional services firm PwC, said tax changes announced in the Budget would attract businesses to the UK. The poll found...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jun 2010 | 7:48 pm Unicorn
Furthermore, there is a limited edition poster.
Unicorn with David Mason - Styling by Slick It Up [Exterface. Mildly NSFW] Source: Boing Boing | 25 Jun 2010 | 7:47 pm Android-powered Samsung Vibrant to shine on T-Mobile (Ben Patterson)Ben Patterson - June has brought us an embarrassment of smartphone riches, starting with the jumbo-screened, WiMax-enabled HTC Evo 4G on Sprint, followed by the unveiling of the Samsung Captivate for AT&T, the eye-catching Motorola Droid X for Verizon, and the arrival of a little thing called the iPhone 4. Well, turns out we've got at least one more smartphone superstar ready for its close-up this month: the Samsung Vibrant.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Jun 2010 | 7:43 pm Old phone scam makes a comeback (Christopher Null)Christopher Null - The scam goes like this: Through some means, a telephone scammer gets enough information about you to steal your identity, particularly access to your bank account. The most common trick: You are persuaded into giving up financial details in order to facilitate some sort of monetary transaction, like a lottery payout.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Jun 2010 | 7:27 pm Sprint confirms Android 2.2 on HTC EVO 4G in the near futureSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones
Read [Sprint]
Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Jun 2010 | 7:10 pm Palm Loses Their Ex-Apple PR Head, Lynn Fox
HP’s buyout of Palm may have won them webOS, but it doesn’t seem to have won them many friends within the company. There are only so many names within Palm that are so oft-mentioned that I could name them off hand — and of those, the talent seems to be disappearing left and right. First to go was interface mastermind Matias Duarte, followed shortly thereafter by Rich Dellinger, best known for coming up with webOS’ incredible notifications system. And now, they’ve lost another; I’m hearing from an unshakably solid source that Lynn Fox, Vice President of Public Relations, left the company earlier this week. Read the rest at MobileCrunch >>      
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 7:09 pm Palm loses their Ex-Apple PR Head, Lynn Fox
HP’s buyout of Palm may have won them webOS, but it doesn’t seem to have won them many friends within the company. There are only so many names within Palm that are so oft-mentioned that I could name them off hand — and of those, the talent seems to be disappearing left and right. First to go was interface mastermind Matias Duarte, followed shortly thereafter by Rich Dellinger, best known for coming up with webOS’ incredible notifications system. And now, they’ve lost another; I’m hearing from an unshakably solid source that Lynn Fox, Vice President of Public Relations, left the company earlier this week. Does the name sound familiar? It ought to — she was one of the handful of major talents that Palm managed to snag from Apple prior to the launch of the Pre, having served as Apple’s Director of Mac PR from 2006 to 2008 (and their Director of Corporate PR from 2000 to 2004.) This is a pretty big loss for Palm, just days before their acquisition by HP is finalized. So, where’s Lynn headed next? No one’s quite sure — including Lynn, it seems. On her Facebook profile, her current employer is listed as “Consult Until-I-Find-Another-Job Consulting, LTD”, with a description reading:
Go get’er, talent scouts.
Source: MobileCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 7:05 pm BP adds $5 bln to available credit-WSJNEW YORK, June 25 (Reuters) - BP Plc has added $5 billion to its available credit to ensure it has enough money to meet the costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, according to a story on the Wall Street...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jun 2010 | 6:46 pm Viral Video: Scary Teaser Trailer Makes Upcoming Facebook Movie Sound Like a Slasher Film [BoomTown]
Here is the new teaser trailer for “The Social Network,” the upcoming movie about the early days of Facebook. Oddly enough, it makes the founding of the social networking company seem like a visit to that creepy house in “The Amityville Horror.” Using only portentous voices, big menacing words and doom-filled music, it gives a whole new meaning to poking. For example, the lines, “The site got 2,200 hits within two hours? No, 22,000…,” sounds like someone knew what Facebook did last summer–probably violated the privacy of the wrong hostel host–and is coming to take some body parts. The Columbia Pictures film, which is out in October, has the tag line: “You can’t make 500 million friends without making a few enemies.” More like an army of flash-eating zombies! Yipes: Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jun 2010 | 6:45 pm BN Media, LLC Announces Acquisition of BeliefnetSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jun 2010 | 6:44 pm BN Media, LLC Announces Acquisition of BeliefnetNORFOLK, Va., June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- BN Media, an entity that includes the investors behind Cross Bridge (http://www.crossbridge.com) and Affinity4 (http://www.affinity4.com), today announced that it has acquired Beliefnet (http://www.beliefnet.com), the Web's leading multi-faith inspiration and spirituality site, from News Corporation.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Jun 2010 | 6:44 pm UK Gov't To Review Hundreds of Websites, Axe Many of Themkrou writes "The UK government is to review all of its 820 websites after the Central Office of Information revealed that for 2009-2010, the government spent '£94m on website development and running costs and £32m on web staff,' which each site visitor representing a cost of £11.78 to the government. 'The UK Trade and Investment website averaged 28,000 users per month but cost over £4m ... 16% of government departments did not know how their own websites were being used by tax payers, and almost a quarter were not aware of the running costs.' There was also anecdotal evidence of departments bidding against each other for search terms on Google. The review is to be carried out by Cabinet Minister Francis Maude, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, and Digital Champion Martha Lane Fox."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Jun 2010 | 6:40 pm For X-Rated, a Domain of Their Own - New York Times
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Jun 2010 | 6:24 pm New Chrome installs now have pre-installed FlashSection: Web, Downloads, Web Browsers, Google
Google and Adobe promised we’d see Flash integrated into Chrome back in March, and two months later it’s here in the stable release. For those who don’t have Chrome or are installing Chrome on a new computer, it means that they don’t have to go out and install the Flash player separately. The biggest news, however, could be updating Flash. Like everything else in Google Chrome, Flash does not have to be checked for updates, or updated manually in anyway, the browser takes care of it for you. The biggest positive aspect of that feature is that there’s no longer the security issues that seem to come about when using an older version of Flash. It seems that every other day or so there’s a new exploit that someone has found in an older version of Flash (and sometimes the newer versions) that would be alleviated by automatic updates. This would also seem to mean that Chrome OS would have Flash pre-installed, which would be a nice feature to have. With that, Chrome OS would be even easier to use on the web straight out of the box. Paired with the fact that Android 2.2 will be the first mobile OS to support Flash 10.1, Google is really putting it’s weight behind Flash. It’s unclear, however, if Google wants Flash to stick around or if it just wants to make sure users have access to Flash since it is widely used. Google is heavily promoting HTML 5, which could potentially replace Flash in many instances, though isn’t fully there yet. Either way, better security with auto-updating Flash is certainly welcome. Read [TechCrunch] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Jun 2010 | 6:00 pm Geek 101: Multitasking and Your Smartphone (PC World)PC World - Multitasking is generally understood as the ability of an operating system to run several applications at once. While the definition is fairly simple, as we've seen with releases of Android OS and Apple iOS4, the reality can be significantly more complex.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Jun 2010 | 6:00 pm News Corp. sells Beliefnet (AP)AP - News Corp. has sold Beliefnet, a spirituality website, to an investment group.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:49 pm iOS update to ship next week, fix death grip issue?
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:48 pm News Corp. sells BeliefnetNews Corp. has sold Beliefnet, a spirituality Web site, to an investment group. Terms of the acquisition, which was announced Friday, weren't disclosed. The buyer, BN Media, is an...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:48 pm Stop 'Related Videos' From Appearing at the End of Your YouTube Vids - Washington Post
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:46 pm iOS update to ship early next week, fix death grip issue?
However, I’ve also heard that there may be a coating missing from some of the first batch that would have prevented shorting the antenna array. And I’ve also heard, from Steve Jobs, that this is a non issue and that we’re just holding it wrong — even though that’s the way he holds it. So. Let’s hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Apparently a bit of tape works nicely.
Source: MobileCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:43 pm Flying Cars Hop Slightly Closer With FAA Weight WaiverJimFive writes "For years we've been waiting for the flying car to arrive. The FAA has made an exemption that moves this one step closer to reality. Terrafugia has been granted a weight limit exemption for a 'Roadable Airplane.' Next up is passing the federal highway safety tests."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:43 pm ATM hack promises teller machine jackpot (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:39 pm New Apple iPhone hard to find, but not impossible (Reuters)Reuters - Apple Inc's newest iPhone flew off store shelves, but lucky shoppers still managed on Friday to get their hands on one at least a dozen stores across the United States.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:38 pm Going, Going, Almost Gone: Foursquare Poised to Get New VC Funding, After Being "One Inch" From Sale to Facebook [BoomTown]
According to numerous sources close to the situation, Foursquare is in the final stages of striking a funding deal with the very venture firm–Andreessen Horowitz–that had publicly dissed the hot social location site and walked away from earlier talks. The deal is likely completed and announced by early next week, at a valuation of about $80 million, barring any unusual hiccups. “Light at the end of a very long and very twisty tunnel,” joked one source familiar with the situation. Indeed, the wrapping-up of what has been a very convoluted funding process comes after a series of missteps and switchbacks over the next steps for the start-up that allows users to “check in” from various places. The last curve came with serious talks for Foursquare to be acquired by Facebook, which came very close to happening–”one inch to the end zone,” as one person close to the situation described it. But those discussions broke off largely due to price, strategy and control issues, sources said. In addition, Foursquare had also recently been in serious acquisition talks with Yahoo (YHOO) as well, along with endless rounds of chatter with a variety of prominent Silicon Valley VCs–including Khosla Ventures, Accel Partners and Institutional Venture Partners–over the last several months. The overhyped interest is because it and many others like it have seen strong growth and much innovation, although it is not clear yet if that will translate into solid businesses. Still, many location-based companies are girding up with investments in order to race ahead. That has also been the case with Foursquare, except its funding process has been unusually complicated, in part due to indecision and in part due to some very noisy dealmaking. In fact, that’s what initially scotched very advanced funding talks Foursquare had been having with Andreessen Horowitz. But, after a series of discussions with it and other firms were leaked to the media, the high-flying New York-based Foursquare was smacked back hard by the higher-profile Silicon Valley firm, which is helmed by Internet icon Marc Andreessen and his longtime partner, Ben Horowitz. In an exclusive interview with BoomTown in April, Horowitz took the unusual move of talking publicly about VC frustrations that are typical in deals around hot companies. At the time, Horowitz acted as if he were checking out of Foursquare:
A company run by VC-pampered young geek dudes centered on game-playing were playing silly, immature deal games? This comes as a complete shock to…well, no one!
Still, at the same time, Horowitz also left the door open. “If the process was changed, we still like the company,” he said then. “But since it has been long and undefined, it is prone to manipulation.” That sentiment obviously changed recently, a move that was reported by TechCrunch two weeks ago. And, indeed, it looks like Horowitz finally won that contest of hardball with Foursquare CEO and co-founder Dennis Crowley. But it was a very close call, said many, who noted that Foursquare thought acquisition talks with Facebook were almost in the bag, something many sources said Crowley had wanted most of all. And, in fact, Facebook would have been a natural fit for Foursquare, on paper. The only fit, really: Facebook’s users already get the status update concept, as well as the game play part of the service. And, as MediaMemo’s Peter Kafka previously wrote: “[Facebook] has something Foursquare won’t be able to boast of for a very long time: A sales team to match the location service up with big brands and a self-service ad platform that local businesses can plug into.” Nonetheless, sources close to the company said Foursquare is now saying it wanted more independence and more cash over stock in any deal with the social networking giant. Dictating terms to the powerful Facebook seems unlikely to be effective. And sources familiar with Facebook’s thinking said the company simply felt it could do its own location service better, as well as federate many others in the arena. Could that change? Sure, because when it comes to Foursquare, it seems like a wacky turn could be just around the corner! Still, sources said that while the term sheet Foursquare has from Andreessen Horowitz is not quite done, it is nearly complete, with some remaining back and forth about the exact valuation for the social location start-up, the funding number and other small issues. A spokeswoman for the firm declined comment. Foursquare’s current investors–who recently gave it a bridge investment–will also participate in the new round. Foursquare’s original $1.35 million funding was raised from Union Square Ventures and O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, as well as some well-known angel investors. And then, after all the papers are signed, hopefully, we’ll all see what Foursquare can do with a new pile of money. Of course, that is the greatest unknown of all. Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:32 pm Smartphone Smackdown on PCWorld Podcast #82 (PC World)PC World - It's a smartphone smackdown between Apple's iPhone 4 and the Android Army this week; listen in as your favorite PCWorld editors discuss the relative merits of the multiple new handsets available this summer.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:30 pm Fundraising Tool Piryx Projects $4B In Online Political Donations For 2010 Election Cycle
Piryx attributes the surge in online contributions to the strength of Barack Obama’s online campaign that first showed the power of online fundraising in 2008. Many of the current fundraising efforts are being driven by anti-establishment, insurgent candidacy led by tea party candidates. The startup deduced the $4 billion data point be evaluating how many political organizations have an online fundraising presence (600K organizations, candidates, political groups), the average donation size ($130) and the average number of donors that contribute to a campaign online (50 donors per campaign). Piryx declined to give us the exact amount its technology has helped raise for political candidates but did say that it was in the “double digit millions” for the 2010 elections. Piryx also estimates that the $4 billion raised in the 2010 election cycle will be twice the amount given in the previous election cycle in 2008. According to a Pew report, 8% of Americans gave to political organizations from August 2007 to August 2008. Of those donations, 15% were online. With an average online donation of $130, the amount given to political campaigns online during that time was $1.05 billion. Piryx estimates that another $1 billion was raised from August to November. It may be a stretch to assert that online fundraising to double at this point but it will certainly match what was raised in the 2008 cycle. Piryx has accumulated these estimates and data from its own market and other fundraising campaigns. The startup declined to give us an exact number but said “thousands of candidates in the US” are using the platform to raise money online. According to the report, some candidates are receiving nearly 30 donations a minute. Piryx is also also predicting that more than 30 million donors will make online contributions to political It’s not surprising that fundraising is surpassing the last cycle, considering the primaries that took place a few weeks ago and the upcoming fall elections that will take place this year. And the 2008 elections showed us the power of building an online presence when raising money. Plus with a residential election, I’m sure that the 2012 election cycle will prove to set higher online fundraising records. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:15 pm Smaller Planets Rule the GalaxyKepler is finding that smaller planets are more numerous than big planets, this bodes well for finding habitats for extraterrestrial life as we know it.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:10 pm UPDATE 3-Icahn critical of possible Lions Gate, MGM merger* Contends Lions Gate has "its own problems" (Adds Icahn view of Lions Gate overhead; his share position)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:53 pm UPDATE 3-Icahn critical of possible Lions Gate, MGM merger* Contends Lions Gate has "its own problems" (Adds Icahn view of Lions Gate overhead; his share position)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:53 pm US Cellular poised to launch four Android phones in 2010Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones  US Cellular is set to join the Android parade starting July 9 when they will launch the Samsung Acclaim. In addition to the Acclaim, US Cellular plans to launch the HTC Desire in early August with another unknown Samsung and LG phone coming in October. The Samsung Acclaim features a slideout QWERTY keyboard, 3MP camera, WiFi connectivity, and a 3.2 inch touch screen. The HTC Desire is a little more sophisticated than the Acclaim as it boasts a 3.7 inch touch screen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, WiFi connectivity, and 5MP camera. No word on pricing for either of these phones just yet, but it will probably be affordable with a two year contract. In terms of the LG phone they plan to launch, it will feature “a large touch screen and slide-out, ergonomically-designed QWERTY keyboard.” All four of these phones will be pre-loaded with US Cellular’s native apps including My Contacts Backup, City ID, Tone Room Deluxe and Your Navigator Deluxe. Since these are Android phones, users can download apps from the Market as well. It’s nice to see US Cellular begin to sell Android phones, a move which should help gain new customers. Read [PR Newswire] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:51 pm BP Robot Seriously Hampers Oil Spill ContainmentChiefMonkeyGrinder writes "A high-tech effort by BP to slow the oil gushing from its ruptured well head led to a large accident yesterday that forced the company to remove a vital containment cap for 10 hours. Robots, known as remote operated vehicles, were performing multiple operations at the disaster site when one bumped into the 'top hat' cap and damaged one of the vents that removes excess fluid, according to the US Coast Guard. The robots weigh around four tons, and are controlled from vessels on the surface using advanced IT systems with both manual and automated functions. BP removed the cap for nearly 10 hours ... in order to assess it after a discharge of liquids was noted from a key valve. The cap's removal left the oil gushing out of the wellhead, largely uninterrupted. Admiral Thad Allen, US National Incident Commander for the response, told the media that part of the problem was the number of robots conducting simultaneous operations at an immense depth. A dozen robots are circulating the wellhead." Another factor that may hinder containment even more is the increasing potential for tropical storms in that area of the Gulf.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:50 pm UPDATE 2-Kellogg recalls breakfast cereals over taste, smellNEW YORK, June 25 (Reuters) - Foul smells from some Kellogg Co breakfast cereals prompted the world's largest cereal maker to voluntarily pull millions of packages from store shelves around the United...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:46 pm Death Grip hysteria may end Monday with iOS 4.01 - Apple Insider
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:44 pm UPDATE 2-UAL, Continental pilot negotiations hit snag* Talks stall, but airlines confident deal can be reachedSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:42 pm Aviary For Education Gives Students A Safer Way To Get Creative
Cofounder Michael Galpert says that Aviary has been popular at schools for quite a while. The appeal of Aviary’s apps are obvious — they’re free, and they offer more than enough functionality for most common media creation tasks. But Aviary.com has a few features that aren’t ideal for students. For example, it offers a section for popular creations made with its products, and some of these user-submitted contributions aren’t exactly ‘G’ rated. Likewise, students will occasionally craft an image that contains their photo, which wouldn’t really be appropriate to share publically (the default option is ‘private’, but students could activate public sharing when they shouldn’t). That’s where Aviary for Education comes in. The new product allows teachers to create walled off Aviary ecosystems, where students can upload their projects and collaborate without worrying about having their work shared with the web at large (and they won’t be able to see Aviary projects that were done by users outside of the classroom). Teachers are given control over these virtual classrooms, and can use the system to assign projects, messages all students at once, and to introduce students to Aviary’s tutorials. Aviary for education gives students access to Aviary’s image, vector, audio, and music editors. The product is free for now and Aviary will be rolling out its pricing plans this fall (premium options will include the ability to manage multiple classes, and more advanced tutorials and lesson plans).
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:39 pm REFILE-UPDATE 1-Mullen nearly doubles stake in Logan IntlJune 25 (Reuters) - Canada's Mullen Group Ltd on Friday nearly doubled its stake in Logan International Inc to 12.5 percent.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:39 pm How To: Make one-atom thick layers of carbonThe tip of your pencil (you do remember pencils, right?) is made out of graphite. Break that stack of carbon down into one-atom thin sheets and you get graphene, a recently isolated material that's got all sorts of fun properties—including the ability to conduct electricity faster at room temperature than anything else known to humans. It's pretty nifty and you can make it—with the help of masking tape—using this handy step-by-step guide put together by Scientific American. (Via Mark Changizi) Source: Boing Boing | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:36 pm The full story on Google’s remote app detonation from yesterday
They’re noting at Reddit, where I found the link, that these commands only apply to apps downloaded through the marketplace. That’s refreshing! So if you sideload stuff, Google has no access to it.
Source: MobileCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:35 pm See a 'Huge' Lunar Eclipse Saturday MorningA gorgeous lunar eclipse will be visible for most of the continental United States, western Canada, Mexico, and most of Central and South America this Saturday morning.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:27 pm Apple iPhone 4 (AT&T) - PC Magazine
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:20 pm Why Do They Call It a Retina Display? [Voices]By Beth Callaghan
Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:15 pm Foursquare Expands Offices — Wonder How They’re Paying For It?
The answer, of course, is likely that they’ve either gotten or are about to get more funding. A couple weeks ago we heard that Andreessen Horowitz was the big winner in the race to put more money into the location-based service. With all these new employees coming on board, and the new office space, Foursquare simply has to have more money coming in, as they only raised a $1.35 million small round (back in September of last year) so far. Foursquare does have a number of deals with big brands, some of which bring in some revenue. But Foursquare is not yet profitable, from what we’ve heard. In recent months, both Yahoo and Facebook have looked closely at the company for a possible acquisition, based on what we’ve heard. Microsoft had been sniffing around as well. But ultimately, it looks like it will be more funding for the company as they charge forward. The company is growing quickly now, gaining almost 100,000 new users a week. I’ve asked Crowley if they’re paying for this new space with some free badges. No response yet. Update from Crowley: “ha. yes. we also send our engineers out at lunch to sell M&Ms on the subway.” Aha! Here are some pictures Crowley shared of the new space (which isn’t done yet):
[photos: flickr/dpstyles] Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:08 pm Experts Explain iPhone 4 Antenna ProblemCWmike writes "Reports of call and data signal strength problems in the new iPhone 4 have a basis in fact, a hardware expert said Thursday. Later in the day, Apple acknowledged that holding the iPhone 4 may result in a diminished signal that could make it difficult to make and maintain calls or retain a data connection. 'Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone,' Apple said in a statement issued to several media outlets, including PC Magazine, which had run tests earlier Thursday. 'If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.' Scores of new iPhone owners confirmed the reception problem in a string of more than 360 messages posted to a thread on Apple's iPhone 4 support forum." A blog post from an antenna design company explains that the reception problems are probably the direct result of phone design adapting to FCC requirements.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:08 pm So Hot Right Now: Top 10 Gadgetell posts for the week of June 20, 2010Section: Haven’t caught all of the Gadgetell news this week? Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!
Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:00 pm Cristiano Ronaldo now has a brand new Web site
It was only a few days ago that I mentioned that Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, now ready to face Spain in the next round of the World Cup, was about to re-launch his Web site, bringing together content from his various online, um, presences. Photos, video, and tweets from the likes of Facebook and Twitter, etc. Well, it’s now live! The site, cristianoronaldo.com, makes heavy use of Flash (sorry, iPad/iPhone users) and pulls in content from all over the place. Off to the sides are tweets that seemingly contain the phrase “cristiano ronaldo” or are directed at his account (twitter.com/cristiano). It doesn’t seem to be moderated, as you can see here. All of that being said, I’m not aware of another high-profile player who has so much… stuff out there.
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:00 pm Palm stockholders approve HP buyout, merger expected to close on July 1st
With all of the hubbub about HP buying Palm back in April, you may have thought the whole deal went down months ago. In actuality, there’s a fairly hefty, many-months-long legal process that has to be followed before all is said and done. During that time, HP’s not even allowed to hint at how Palm should be doing business. Said process, it seems, is just about over.
Palm has just filed a Form 8-K with the SEC indicating that the majority of their stockholders have approved the merger. With that obstacle out of the way, it’s mostly clear sailing — as long as there are no surprise hangups, Palm says the merger ought to be a done deal by July 1st, 2010. WebOS tablet, here we come!
Source: MobileCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:53 pm News Corp. Unloads Beliefnet [Digital Daily]News Corp. Unloads Beliefnet [Digital Daily] Looks like News Corp. (NWS) has found a buyer for Beliefnet, the spirituality site BoomTown reported the media giant was shopping around this spring. PaidContent reports that investment group BN Media has acquired the site for an undisclosed sum. News Corp. has since confirmed the sale. Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:47 pm Best Buy starts accepting Droid X pre-orders todaySection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones
Best Buy must be doing well since they have already sold the iPhone 4 and the Sprint HTC EVO 4G, both really popular phones - and now they will be able to sell the Droid X. Via [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:47 pm Hemisphere Games Reveals Osmos Linux Sales NumbersAn anonymous reader writes "Hemisphere Games analyzes the sales numbers for their Linux port of Osmos and ask themselves, 'Is it worth porting games to Linux?' The short, simple answer is 'yes.' Breakdown and details in the post." A few other interesting details: the port took them about two man-months of work, the day they released for Linux was their single best sales day ever, and they got a surprising amount of interest from Russia and Eastern Europe. Their data only reflects sales through their website, and they make the point that "the lack of a strong Linux portal makes it a much less 'competitive' OS for commercial development." Hopefully someday the rumored Steam Linux client will help to solve that.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:45 pm Doing my part for the iPhone 4 “death grip” meme
Source: MobileCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:40 pm New York City Residents 'Feel the Love' as Bermuda and Brides.com Launched the 'Love Truck' on Thursday, June 24NEW YORK, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of New Yorkers and visitors alike got to "Feel the Love" for Bermuda in midtown Manhattan as the Bermuda Department of Tourism (BDOT), partnered with Conde Nast's brides.com on Thursday, June 24 as part of a mobile "Love Truck" celebration.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:40 pm Ronin Recruits Protein 'Allies' To Sustain Embryonic Stem Cell GrowthRonin, crucial to the self-renewal of embryonic stem cells, and a co-regulator called Hcf-1, binds to a small strand of DNA called a hyperconserved enhancer element to control a gene "program" that stimulates growth of the stem cells and may even play a role in cancer, said a group of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in a current report in the journal Genes and Development.Dr.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:32 pm New ISHLT Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy Standardized NomenclatureA common international definition will benefit heart transplant patientsCardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV), the major limitation to long term survival after heart transplantation, occurs when blood vessels in a transplanted heart progressively narrow and lead to dysfunction of the heart muscle or sudden death.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:29 pm Hitler. iPhone 4 Antenna. You Know The Drill
Michael Ingram Jr. made the excellent video below. The choice lines in this one:
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:26 pm ASCAP Declares War On Free Culture, EFFAndorin writes "According to Drew Wilson at ZeroPaid and Cory Doctorow, the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), a US organization that aims to collect royalties for its members for the use of their copyrighted works, has begun soliciting donations to fight key organizations of the free culture movement, such as Creative Commons, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Public Knowledge. According to a letter received by ASCAP member Mike Rugnetta, 'Many forces including Creative Commons, Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation and technology companies with deep pockets are mobilizing to promote "Copyleft" in order to undermine our "Copyright." They say they are advocates of consumer rights, but the truth is these groups simply do not want to pay for the use of our music. Their mission is to spread the word that our music should be free.' (Part 1 and part 2 of the letter.) The collecting agency is asking that its professional members donate to its Legislative Fund for the Arts, which appears to be a lobbying campaign meant to convince Congress that artists should not have the choice of licensing their works under a copyleft license."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:23 pm New Research Questions Dominance Of Larger Charities In The Charity SectorThe University of Southampton has played a key role in a major new piece of research that challenges the belief that the biggest charities are becoming increasingly dominant in financial terms – a development sometimes known as 'Tescoisation'.The research was conducted by the Third Sector Research Centre, led by the Universities of Southampton and Birmingham, and the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy, a consortium which includes the University of Southampton.Over the past decade, the charity sector has grown substantially in terms of income and number of charities.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:22 pm Is Lake Michigan Being Invaded?An invasive Asian carp was found 6 miles away from Lake Michigan. Conservationists are worried the fish are close to entering and taking over the lake.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:22 pm Comcast Awards $79,000 in Scholarships to 70 Indiana StudentsINDIANAPOLIS, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast today recognized the Indiana recipients of its 2010 Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program, awarding 69 graduating high school seniors from across the state a $1,000 college scholarship in recognition of their academic achievement and commitment to community.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:22 pm Industry Fishing For Profits, Not PredatorsPeople who fish for a living pursue top profits, not necessarily top predators, according to the first-ever analysis of worldwide catch and economic data for the past 55 years.This differs from the observation raised 10 years ago that humans were "fishing down" the food web.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:17 pm "I have noticed that you failed to come into the lab on several weekends"
The stereotypes those little seventh graders had, of scientists who do nothing but work? Those come from somewhere. It's worth noting that Guido Koch is employed today, despite his youthful experimentation with the forbidden allure of the weekend. Chemistry Blog: Something Deeply Wrong With Chemistry (Thanks, Aaron Rowe!) Source: Boing Boing | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:17 pm Scientists Question EPA Estimates Of Greenhouse Gas EmissionsAnaerobic manure treatment lagoons may release more methane than current rules allowThe approach the U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:04 pm Does Your iPhone 4 Have Issues?
Screen yellowing. Wonky cameras. An antenna that hates left-handers. If you take even the most cursory of glances around the Internet, it makes it seem like every iPhone 4 to come off the production line has one issue or another — but are the problems really that widespread? Now that everyone has had at least 24 hours with the device (with an apologetic exception to all of the Best Buy/Walmart pre-orderers that left empty handed), I’m interested to know: are you having issues with your phone? Read the rest at MobileCrunch >>      
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:04 pm Poll: Does your iPhone 4 have issues?
Screen yellowing. Wonky cameras. An antenna that hates left-handers. If you take even the most cursory of glances around the Internet, it makes it seem like every iPhone 4 to come off the production line has one issue or another — but are the problems really that widespread? Now that everyone has had about 24 hours with the device (with an apologetic exception to all of the Best Buy/Walmart/Radio Shack pre-orderers that left empty handed yesterday), I’m interested to know: are you having issues with your phone? Read the rest at MobileCrunch >>
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:00 pm Bionic cat!
[via Doobybrain]
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Jun 2010 | 3:00 pm UD Prof Helps Discover New Chemical Method Important To Drug Design, AgrichemicalsUniversity of Delaware scientist Donald Watson is part of a research team that has discovered an easier method for incorporating fluorine into organic molecules, giving chemists an important new tool in developing materials ranging from new medicines to agricultural chemicals.The research, which is reported in the June 25 edition of Science, was led by Stephen Buchwald, the Camille Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Watson worked in Buchwald's lab at MIT as a postdoctoral research associate prior to joining the UD Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry as an assistant professor this past September.About 25 percent of pharmaceuticals contain fluorine, according to Watson, but it's difficult to incorporate the element into drug molecules.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:59 pm Poll: Does your iPhone 4 have issues?
Screen yellowing. Wonky cameras. An antenna that hates left-handers. If you take even the most cursory of glances around the Internet, it makes it seem like every iPhone 4 to come off the production line has one issue or another — but are the problems really that widespread? Now that everyone has had at least 24 hours with the device (with an apologetic exception to all of the Best Buy/Walmart/Radio Shack pre-orderers that left empty handed yesterday), I’m interested to know: are you having issues with your phone?
We’ve got at least a handful of iPhone 4s amongst the TechCrunch Network’s battalion of writers, and most of them seem to have at least one notable issue. My personal unit is a shining example of the left-handed antenna shorting problem; one finger across the left band, and my signal plummets from 5 bars down to 0. My screens never shown the slightest hint of yellow (an issue which is purportedly caused by the still-wet glue not having dried yet after its trip from the factory), and the camera/proximity sensors work like champs. It does, however, have a terribly hard time staying connected to WiFi networks running on certain channels.
Got any other issues? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: MobileCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:57 pm Progressive Women's Organization Makes DebutALTADENA, Calif., June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Sisters Across America, Inc., hereinafter referred to as SAA, is a 501c3 non profit organization, domiciled in the State of California and has introduced itself as an internet-based magazine for women of color.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:56 pm .xxx Domain, Approved by ICANN, is a Bad IdeaWASHINGTON, June 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which coordinates and oversees the creation of Web addresses, announced today that it has approved the creation of a .xxx suffix for websites with pornographic content.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:53 pm Canadian teens invited to pick their favorite reads
Canada's Indigo/Chapters books have launched a summerlong teen literacy promotion that invites readers to pick their favorite books and vote for them in a nationwide poll (you can vote every day, so no need to pick just one!). I'm delighted to learn that my latest YA novel, For the Win, is one of the titles featured. If you liked FTW (or any other recent teen novel), I hope you'll stop in at Teen Read Awards and cast your vote!
BEST CANADIAN READ NOMINEES
A Quantum Memory Storage Prototypeeldavojohn writes "An Australian National University project has completed a proof-of-concept storage unit that relies on bringing light to a standstill inside a crystal and then releasing it later for a read-once storage device. There are a few complexities to work out, such as the -270 degrees Celsius requirement to stop the light. And there is an interesting side effect noted by the team lead: 'We could entangle the quantum state of two memories, that is, two crystals. According to quantum mechanics, reading out one memory will instantly alter what is stored in the other, no matter how large the distance between them. According to relativity, the way time passes for one memory is affected by how it moves. With a good quantum memory, an experiment to measure how these fundamental effects interact could be as simple as putting one crystal in the back of my car and going for a drive.' Hopefully this will lead to a better understanding and simple testing of quantum entanglement."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:40 pm Tropical Depression Alex Imminent, Could Threaten Gulf Oil SpillForecasters now project an 80 percent chance that a storm system off Honduras will coalesce into the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:39 pm Toronto's secret ID law used to arrest G20 protestorAlan sez, "In Canada you're not required to show ID. Except if you're in the 'G20 Zone'. You see, the law allows an exemption to the 'show ID' principle for public works. These are usually things like power stations, dams, etc. Well, the government got clever and just declared the entire area a 'public work' so police can go around demanding ID. The best part of this? The law that made this happen won't even be PUBLISHED until after the G20 is over. So nobody knew about it until the cops arrested someone."And the guy they arrested? They put him in a cage. Vasey was arrested Thursday afternoon while exploring the G20 perimeter with his friend, Cameron Fenton. He said they were just "walking around" when they were stopped by police at York St. and Bremner Blvd.Man arrested and left in wire cage under new G20 law (Thanks, Alan!)
Source: Boing Boing | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:36 pm Rape In War 'A Deliberate Military Strategy' Argue ResearchersEditorial: Rape as a weapon of war in modern conflictsSince the second world war, the use of rape as a weapon of war has assumed strategic importance, and is now a deliberate military strategy, argue researchers in an editorial published on bmj.com today.The effects of rape and sexual violence during war also extend beyond individual victims and are economically, physically, psychologically, and culturally devastating for families and communities, say authors Coleen Kivlahan, volunteer forensic physician for HealthRight International, and Nate Ewigman from the University of Florida.For example, in recent conflicts, rape has been used as a reward for victory in battle, a boost to troop morale, as punishment and humiliation for both men and women, to incite revenge in opposing troops, to eliminate or "cleanse" religious or political groups, and to destabilise entire communities by creating terror.A study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo found that 16,000 rapes occurred in 2008 alone, and in South Kivu province, health centres estimate that 40 women were raped in the region daily.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:36 pm Gripping Antenna Drama Won't Hold iPhone 4 Back, Says Analyst [Digital Daily]
“We don’t think the antenna issue is that big of a deal where it would warrant a product recall,” he said in a note to clients today. “The reason is that most users have a case anyway to protect their iPhone and to customize to their personal preferences.” And if things do go downhill, there’s an easy solution: Apple (AAPL) offers a discount on its $29 iPhone 4 bumpers or includes one for free with every iPhone 4 purchase. [Image credit: Just avoid holding it in that way.] Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:34 pm Microsoft Comms Head Smacks Back by the Numbers (Plus a "Rocky"-Inspired Internal Email!) [BoomTown]
After what he considered weeks of unfair press coverage and running down of Microsoft (MSFT), the software giant’s Corporate VP of Corporate Communications, Frank Shaw, posted a pugnacious corporate blog entry today that trotted out some impressive numbers about Microsoft’s business. Of course, he also took the opportunity to put up some not-so-much figures about competitors such as Apple (AAPL), Netflix (NFLX), Salesforce.com (CRM) and, of course, Google (GOOG). My favorite dig is the stat on the “percent chance that Salesforce.com CEO [Marc Benioff] will mention Microsoft in a speech, panel, interview, or blog post.” The answer, natch: 100! As it turns out, that was a follow-up to a very sharply worded letter Shaw sent out to communications teams across Microsoft (MSFT) earlier this month, obtained by BoomTown, in which he noted at the start: “It has been a rough couple of weeks for us from a coverage standpoint. It seems like every time I turn on the computer, or talk to a reporter, or pick up a publication at home, or do a scan of my RSS feeds or Twitter client that I see more stories and opinions about the challenges we have, and how great some of our competitors are doing. iPad this, Droid that, sheesh.” Sheesh? Who says that anymore? Still, I like his gumption in using it! Thus, Shaw–who is an active blogger and Twitter poster–is apparently mad as heck and not going to take it anymore! Here’s the blog post below, followed by the internal email Shaw sent (apparently inspired by the landscape at our eighth D: All Things Digital conference earlier this month):
Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:33 pm Who’s on Crack in tech: 6.25.10Section: Audio, Video, Communications, Computers, Gadgets / Other, Features, Originals, Columns, Who's On Crack
Welcome to another week of moves in the tech world that seem obviously, to us anyway, fueled by drugs. Looking out our window this week, we see the phone world Bloggers need to get out more
Survival vs. just kinda hanging around outsideIn the gadget world, there are plenty of gadgets to help you survive the elements. Theres satellite transponders, GPS tracking units, SatNav programs and tons more. So when Gadgetell’s own Hunter Clarke wrote “Planning a survival trip? The Samsung XCover offers 67 days of life” I was hooked. Only, I am not so sure the Samsung Xcover E2370 would be the phone of choice for me, if I were planing a survival trip. Yes, battery life is astounding 66.6 (if we are being honest) days of stand-by time is fantastic. But that is when survival stops. This phone has no GPS, no apps, only a WAP browser and for the moment, is only available to the Swedes. To it’s credit it is water proof. So the only kind of “survival” I see this phone handling is if you are waiting for a radio station to call your number to win something. Otherwise, pack a phone with GPS and a map to get yourself out of “survival mode” or at least a HTML browser so you can identify which kind of snake just bit you and if you should be concerned or screaming for your mommy. Just sayin.
100 million BlackBerry usersMr. Clarke also reported on RIM, the company behind the BlackBerry, showcasing a very decent quarter. Clarke explains, “the largest smartphone manufacturer grew 24% over the same quarter last year to $4.24 billion, and grew there smartphone sales by 11.2 million. During this same time, they shipped their 100 millionth Blackberry, topping off a decent quarter.” Lower than expected profits are pushing the stock price down. A Reuters report on the same issue started with this, “Research in Motion investors want to know one thing above all when the BlackBerry maker reports quarterly results this week: when will RIM’s long-promised iPhone killer finally hit the market?” Yes, indeed, where is the iPhone killer? Wait, wasn’t that the Storm? Or the Storm 2? It definitely won’t be the slider (zzzz). What’s more, we’ve even less confidence in RIM pulling out something to rival the latest from Android or Apple than we did for Palm. Could RIM really have something brewing that would move the needle? Buried in the quarterly report is word that 2 phones will ship by August of this year - one expected to be the Slider. What is the other? The iPhone killer? Maybe even the iPhone first gen. killer? I am not sure RIM could even pull that off.
iPad sold out in NYCWell this is embarassing. I brought my father into NYC for Father’s Day and created a diversion plan to get him inside an Apple Temple, er store and pick up the iPad he’s been peppering me with questions about for weeks. We hit the West Side store and the place has what seem to be hundreds of iPads on display, we each grab one and start playing. That’s when the good times end. Seems we can’t buy one, explains a hipster Apple employee. No one can. They are at least 6 days out, but they are happy to take our money or reserve one for us. Great. Huge let down and one week in, Apple promises more are coming in to meet demand. They can’t make enough. Our Natesh Sood reports, “With great enthusiasm, Apple issued a press release proclaiming the mighty feat of 3 million iPads sold in the United States in its first 80 days of retail.” Really? This thing that we have to struggle to find a way to justify the purchase (it’s Father’s Day and the man needs nothing - an iPad? Genius!), seems be a golden egg for Apple. Why? What are you people doing with them? I’ve read the trusted reviews from folks over at JK on the run who say it can’t replace their mobile workstations. It’s nice to have but doesn’t cut the corporate mustard, sure it’s replaced a $180 Kindle (woohoo) but to use it as a 2nd monitor on trips? That’s it? I’ve got a $500 pet rock you can do almost all of that on I’d like to sell you. So what are the crack heads doing with all these iPads? Here are my theories:
Got any more for my list?
Hook, line and bumper.“Hey you, yeah you. You’re holding your phone wrong, idiot.” That’s my translation of Steve Job’s response to a common user complaint on iPhone reception being disturbed by users, you know, holding the thing. Here’s how he actually said it: “Just avoid holding it that way.” Duh, with Apple devices, you should hold them with one pinky held high, much like a tea cup. $5 says in the next 24 hours there will be a “how to hold your iPhone 4” app on the market. Idiots, they’ve probably been holding the iPhone wrong since the first generation. Can we call it a design fault? Probably not (without Apple fanboy whiplash), but I’ll bet Apple is advertising for left-handed product testers. FACT: the guy who was testing the iPhone 4 had it in a case and was right-handed - no wonder Apple didn’t find this out earlier. Maybe if Apple eased up on it’s security anal-retentiveness for just a bit and lost a bunch of phones at bars (especially lefty-centric bars like the Lefty Mug. Here’s a fun fact: “4 of the 5 original designers of the Macintosh computer were left-handed.” Oh-my-God, your lineage can’t even use the darn phone? Nice one guys. Seriously, the solution is not hold it different. This seems like a thinly veiled attempt by Apple to get us to buy accessories like a reception restoring Bumper. I thought it odd that Apple would push a case on stage, but it all seems to be coming clear. Apple just increased the price of the iPhone by $30, and we fell for it, hook, line and bumper.
Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:32 pm What the invention of Nicaraguan Sign Language teaches us about the human brain
Recently, I learned that signed languages don't necessarily have anything to do with the language spoken by the hearing people who live in the same country. American Sign Language isn't just English done with your hands. In fact, it's a completely different language from British Sign Language—a deaf American and a deaf Briton wouldn't be able to converse any better than an English speaker could with someone who speaks Japanese. Sign languages tend to spontaneously emerge when the deaf people of a country or region first start coming together to form a community, usually based around a school. It's happening right now in Nicaragua, where special education schools opened in the 1970s. Over the past 30 years, Nicaraguan Sign Language has evolved from simple gestures between friends, to a full and complete language. That recent evolution makes Nicaraguan Sign Language the enticing blue bug zapper to linguists' and cognitive scientists' curious moths. Case in point: The study of the way language and learning interact. The structure and composition of the language you speak has a big impact on how you think and perceive the world.
Not Exactly Rocket Science: New Nicaraguan Sign Language Shows How Language Affects Thought Image courtesy Flickr user Tambako the Jaguar, via CC. Source: Boing Boing | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:32 pm Doing my part for the iPhone 4 “death grip” meme
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:30 pm Iridium Patents Soar Anew in Licensing Deal [Voices]By Don Clark, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal A collection of satellites called Iridium became a symbol in the 1990s of overambitious engineering, and later a turnaround story. Now the network may also be linked to the imaginative financial engineering going on around patents. Intellectual Ventures, a Seattle firm known more for acquiring patents than dispensing with them, announced a deal this week to sell rights to a large portfolio of satellite communications patents to Thales Alenia Space, a Franco-Italian joint venture that recently won a contract to supply a new fleet of satellites to Iridium Communications. Where did the inventions come from? Mainly the original Iridium project. The man who can explain this circular-sounding process is Vincent Pluvinage, a veteran in patent-trading circles who runs a unit of Intellectual Ventures in Silicon Valley. His six-person team focuses on what he calls “strategic” acquisitions–pools of patents costing $10 million to $50 million or so–that can be repackaged and bring a return to the firm widely known as IV. A key focus for the group is large technology-development efforts that churned out a large number of patents, whether or not the companies developing the technologies were successful. “If we find a situation like that, what we ask ourselves is, what other assets could we assemble that would be synergistic–then where could we redeploy the assets and create a return,” he says. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:30 pm Automattic Buys Up Thing Labs’ Plinky To Help Bloggers Overcome Writer’s Block
Plinky’s technology prompts you with an intriguing question or challenge and (like a question, or a challenge) and you have to answer. Depending on the prompt, your answer could contain photos, maps, playlists and more. You can then share your Plinky answers on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and others. For example, a sample question prompted from Plinky is “What’s your favorite summer memory?” WordPress has already added Plinky as a feature of its blogging platform to help writers get their creative juices flowing. Thing Labs, which was founded by a former Googler who worked on WordPress rival Blogger, actually started as “Plinky” and then changed its name last summer after shifting focus to developing Brizzly.      
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:28 pm TeleNav Dreams Of GPS Navigation On Every Phone, But Must Contend With Google [Video]Sal Dhanani, one of the co-founders of mobile GPS navigation company TeleNav, wants to “bring GPS navigation to the masses through mobile phones.” His company has been pursuing that dream since 1999 when TeleNav was founded. Today, TeleNav is bundled into millions of Sprint phones, and is also available through AT&T (including as an iPhone app) and other carriers. The company just went public in May, it has 900 employees, and its revenues last quarter were $45 million (with healthy net profits of $12.5 million).
TeleNav is riding a trend of personal navigation devices becoming cheaper and cheaper, and, in fact, doing away with the standalone devices altogether by bundling the software into more than 500 different types of cell phones. It charges for its apps, and even after splitting revenues with the carriers, its revenues have grown at a 107 percent compound annual growth rate over the last three years. Everything finally seems to be clicking for TeleNav, especially as touchscreen smartphones take over. There is only one problem. As cheap as TeleNav’s GPS navigation service is compared to more expensive devices, it still has to increasingly compete with free. Google, Microsoft, and Nokia all offer free navigation systems on their smartphones. Google Maps Navigation on Android phones is particularly awesome, and disruptive. The day that Google announced the app, shares plunged of traditional GPS navigation device companies like Garmin and TomTom. Later on when TeleNav went public, it had to reduce its IPO price range from $11-$13 down to $8. Today, the stock is trading around $8.50.
When Dhanani came to my office recently, I asked him how does he compete with free (watch the video above). His answer was twofold. He combats free with free and with better features. For many consumers, the app is free since TeleNav comes bundled with their phone plans, such as Sprint’s “Simply Everything” plan which includes other services. TeleNav makes about $1 a month per subscriber on the bundled apps. Deutsche Bank analyst Jonathan Goldberg estimates that Sprint alone accounts for 12 or 13 million of TeleNav’s 14.5 million total subscribers. On the iPhone, however, consumers pay $10 a month, which TeleNav splits with AT&T 50/50. The TeleNav iPhone app, which initially is a free download, is one of the only subscription apps that bills directly through AT&T. In other words, Apple doesn’t see any of the subscription revenue. “Carriers don’t like third-party brands, especially powerful brands, coming in between them and their customer relationships,” says Dhanani. TeleNav gets an estimated 55 percent of its revenues from Sprint and 34 percent from AT&T. You know who they are batting for.
TeleNav tries to stay one step ahead of the free apps with better map data (licensed from Navteq and TeleAtlas), better routes, a driver-centric UI with big buttons and speech recognition, as well as special features like turning red when you go over the speed limit or showing traffic camera feeds. TeleNav is going through a growth spurt right now. Deutsche’s Goldberg estimates that revenues will go from $168 million this fiscal year (ending in June) to $215 million next year. It is insulated a bit by its carrier relationships (T-Mobile, China Mobile, Bell Canada, and Rogers are other partners—Verizon is partnered with competitor Networks in Motion). As long as the carriers think that bundling navigation into its phones gives them an edge, they will happily keep paying TeleNav. They also don’t like to change things around once something is working. But over time the free navigation apps from Google, Microsoft, and Nokia will become just as good or at least good enough that consumers will see no value in paying extra. Even where the apps are bundled for free, they might choose to go with the Google or another free apps instead if it offers a killer feature that TeleNav doesn’t. For instance, if one of the free apps included crowdsourced traffic data, a feature which TeleNav currently lacks, that could be enough to make people want to switch. Of course, Dhanani says TeleNav is also considering that feature. But it’s a downhill battle all the way to $0.      
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:19 pm Boston-Power Recharges With $60 Million Funding For Lithium-Ion Batteries
Better batteries may be on the way as lithium-ion battery producer Boston-Power ramps up its manufacturing and R&D with a $60M Series E round from Foundation Asset Management and Oak Investment Partners. Boston-Power produces Sonata, better known as Hewlett-Packard’s Long Life Battery, as well as Swing, which is used to power electric vehicles including the upcoming ZE Saab 9-3. The company plans to double its workforce, adding sales and marketing staff in Massachusetts and growing its manufacturing centers in Taiwan. Founder and CEO Dr. Christina Lampe-Önnerud said the funding will help Boston-Power meet global market demands. Currently, the company can’t produce batteries fast enough to compete with more established players like Sony and Panasonic. Venrock and Gabriel Venture Partners, who previously invested in the company, also contributed to this round, bringing Boston-Power’s fundraising to $185 million since 2005. Most recently, the company raised $55 million in January.      
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:14 pm Casual Friday: Casual game update for June 19-25, 2010FROM GAMERTELL - Gamertell’s casual game update for June 19-25, 2010 includes PuppetShow: Souls of the Innocent (Windows), Slingo Quest Egypt (Windows), Funny Miners (Windows) and quite a few other new games. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:00 pm CEO Jim Balsillie: BlackBerry Ready to Play Quantum Leapfrog [Digital Daily]
“Once you see the new platform…you’ll be all very surprised,” RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said during the company’s earnings call Thursday. “…I think you’ll just be amazed that how it’s a quantum leap over anything that’s out there….I just wish I could wind the clock forward a few weeks.” I’ll bet you do. How annoying it must have been to report softer sales and handset shipments than expected on a day when the newly launched iPhone 4 is selling out to massive crowds. Of course, RIM did sell its 100 millionth BlackBerry during the quarter. An impressive milestone, but one the company has already passed. The more pressing question now: How quickly will Research in Motion (RIMM) sell another 100 million in a market enamored of super-smartphones like the Droid, iPhone and Evo? Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:00 pm Baby Red Panda Born at National ZooFor the first time in 15 years, a baby red panda -- aka "firefox" -- was born at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 2:00 pm The Plastic Logic Que is not, in fact, shipping
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Jun 2010 | 1:56 pm Cue the Sad Trombone: Sprint Hero and Moment will not be getting an Android 2.2 upgrade
Are you toting a Sprint HTC Hero or Samsung Moment? You might wanna take a seat — and while you’re at it, have the ol’ Sad Trombone at the ready. Sprint has positively confirmed that neither of these phones will be updated to Android 2.2 (fire Sad Trombone now!). That means no drastic speed improvements as provided by the new compiler, no built-in Wi-Fi hotspot functionality, and no Flash. Well, unless you root your device and install Android 2.2 without Sprint’s guiding hand. Not that we’d ever tell you to do that. We’re just saying, you know, you On the upside, the EVO 4G will be getting 2.2 — but really, was there any doubt about that?
Source: MobileCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 1:43 pm Netflix Grabs a Yahoo to Help Run Its Web Video Business [MediaMemo]Yep, there are still people left to poach at Yahoo: Michael Spiegelman, who spent most of his 6.5-year tenure in and around the company’s music unit and most recently ran product for its entertainment group, is heading to Netflix (NFLX). His new gig: Product lead for the video company’s Web streaming business. Good move! That is a, very, very interesting place to be right now: Ask Apple (AAPL), Comcast (CMCSA), Hulu and everyone else paying attention to Web video who they spend time worrying about, and they’ll name Reed Hastings’s company. Via an email interview, Spiegelman dutifully praises Yahoo (YHOO), then explains why he’s leaving Santa Monica for Los Gatos:
Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jun 2010 | 1:38 pm ASCAP Assails Free Culture, Digital Rights GroupsThe association that collects royalties for 380,000 musicians blasts Creative Commons, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge, saying those groups oppose copyright.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 1:35 pm Bionic Cat Walks on Prosthetic Legs
Oscar, a three-year old British cat, has joined the rarefied ranks of bionic animals. After a horrifying accident chopped off his hind legs, Oscar has gotten a second lease on life through two bionic leg implants. Oscar lost his legs to a combine harvester last October. With heavy blood loss and bits of missing flesh, he needed to draw on his nine lives to make it. And he found help from veterinary surgeon Noel Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick and his colleagues drilled holes into what remained of Oscar’s legs and attached special metal implants, reports ABC’s Good Morning America. Eventually, Oscar’s skin is expected to over the implants so the prosthetic attachment will become a part of his body. Right now, Oscar has round pegs at the end of his hind legs. But if everything goes according to plan, those will be replaced by more real looking “paws.” So far, it seems to have worked great. As you can see in the video, Oscar is doing a great job walking with his prosthetic legs. His gait isn’t perfect but he seems to be working on it and compensating for the bionic legs. And Oscar even climbs on a pack of paper towels.
Oscar isn’t entirely out of the woods yet. He will be closely watched for the next six months to make sure he doesn’t develop sores or infection. See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 25 Jun 2010 | 1:33 pm Shields Up!: Man uses neighbor’s WiFi to threaten VPSection: Communications, Mobile, Computers, Networking, Security, Wireless, Features
Officials say Barry Vincent Ardolf, 45, of Blaine, Minnesota,hacked into the network, created Yahoo email accounts in his neighbor’s name and used them to send the threats. The accounts were also used to send sexually explicit emails and child porn to the neighbor’s co-workers and Ardolf also created a pornographic MySpace page. He was charged with with two counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of making threats to the president and successors to the presidency, one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of distribution of child pornography. Ardolf insists he is innocent and refused a plea deal. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Read [PCWorld] Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Jun 2010 | 1:28 pm Instant Soccer Fan? Why?It seemed like the instant Landon Donovan scored the last-minute, game-winning goal in the United States vs. Algeria World Cup match this week, rabid soccer fans started coming out of the woodwork, including friends I didn’t even know liked sports. ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 1:07 pm Motorola Droid X Gets Dissected
Motorola’s Droid X is not out in retail stores yet but one phone enthusiast had taken a screwdriver to the device already. Max Lee tore down the Droid X to expose its innards and show what’s inside the smartphone. It took Lee about 10 hours to figure out how to take the back cover off but he says it was well-worth the effort. “You can easily disassemble and assemble the Droid X once you figure it out,” he says. “This should be good for consumers to replace parts if they happen to drop the phone.” And you can see in the video, overall it’s a pretty easy process for those who may be inclined to do it. Just one tip from Lee: “It’s good to grow your fingernails before you do this. Makes it easy to take the things out.” It’s also fascinating to watch the camera module pop off and all the components come apart like they are just pieces in an elaborate electronic jigsaw puzzle. The $200 Droid X (after a $100 rebate and with a two-year Verizon contract) will be available starting July 15 on Verizon Wireless network. The phone has a 1 GHz processor, a 4.3-inch touchscreen and a 8-megapixel camera. Lee says once he took the phone apart, he found the bottom of the Droid X “has a lot of room to play.” “Motorola could have made the phone a bit shorter but there would be something sticking out,” he says. “They probably did that for the overall design of the phone.” Check out Lee’s teardown of the Droid X through step-by-step photos on his blog. See Also:
Photo: Droidx.net 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 25 Jun 2010 | 1:04 pm Visa starts family-friendly PayPal rival called payclickPayPal haters now have another option to pay for junk online. It’s called payclick (all lowercase = money), and it was developed by Visa. They’re marketing it to teens and their families—“Safe & Secure purchasing for the family.” Basically, instead of using PayPal or directly using your credit card, you set up a payclick account then go to town. You link your payclick account to a credit card or bank account (like PayPal), then select payclick at checkout. By far the biggest online store using the system is iTunes. The other ones are here, if you’re so inclined. It’s free to use for you and me, and sellers will have to pay “competitive” fees to participate. The big idea is that parents can give their kids a payclick account, then keep the account flush with funds as they see fit. Kids can’t go around adding funds to their account without parental authorization. Why did I just write a story about this? Oh, right: I’m killing time till the Spain-Chile game.
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Jun 2010 | 1:00 pm iPhone 4 Leads the Pack With Stunning Design, InterfaceApple's fourth-generation iPhone makes its predecessors look like toys. Heck, even the iPad looks sissy now.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 1:00 pm iPhone 4 Leads the Pack With Stunning Design, InterfaceApple's fourth-generation iPhone makes its predecessors look like toys. Heck, even the iPad looks sissy now.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 25 Jun 2010 | 1:00 pm Missing in Action: Top 10 Games That Didn't Make E3Whether due to sensible judgment call or serious production problem, failure to appear at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo is a red flag. A look at the highest-profile games that didn't make the scene at this E3 2010.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 1:00 pm Xtel Launches High-Tech Advances with New PartnershipMARLTON, N.J., June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Xtel Communications Inc. (xtel.net) announces a strategic partnership with Intellifiber Networks, one of the largest fiber network providers in the country.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Jun 2010 | 12:48 pm Pro Publica's Paul Steiger and Demand Media's Richard Rosenblatt at D8: The Full, Uncut Video [D8 Conference]In one of the most intriguing pairings of the D8 Conference, Kara Swisher interviewed former WSJ edit chief and current Pro Publica president, CEO and editor-in-chief Paul Steiger alongside Richard Rosenblatt of content engine Demand Media. Here’s the full video of the session: [ See post to watch video ] Want to see it bigger? Click here. Note: We’ll be posting full D8 videos on Mondays and Thursdays. Next up: Dreamworks Animation SKG (DWA) CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. Source: All Things Digital | 25 Jun 2010 | 12:41 pm Editor's Picks: Doctor Who, Dinosaur Graveyards and MoreAbove, you'll see some of the top images of the week. Click on each one to explore the story behind it. In case you were too busy watching the World Cup this week, here are the must-read Discovery News stories ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 12:33 pm Verizon Wireless Expands 3G Network Coverage in Jefferson CountyWATERTOWN, N.Y., June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless is investing in Jefferson County and expanding its local coverage with a new cell site in Watertown.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Jun 2010 | 12:32 pm Giant, Tilted Exoplanets Like It HotTwo new studies show that giant planets -- also known as "hot Jupiters" -- with wonky, wrong-way orbits tend to orbit very hot stars.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 12:30 pm Giant carapace made out of trash cans
One of the newer works by artist Brian Jungen is this giant tortoise shell made out of garbage bins.
Artist page [via NotCot] Source: Boing Boing | 25 Jun 2010 | 12:21 pm Plastic Logic Que E-Reader Turns Into Vaporware
Remember Que, Plastic Logic’s large screen e-reader that debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year? It’s increasingly looking like vaporware. Plastic Logic isn’t shipping the Que e-reader, though the company is officially calling it a “delay.” Plastic Logic has canceled all pre-oders and is no longer offering a date as to when we can see the Que in the real world. It has also stopped taking pre-orders for the device. “We need to let you know that since your unit will not ship on June 24 as planned, our automated ordering system has automatically canceled your order,” Plastic Logic sent in an e-mail to its customers. Billed as an e-reader for business users, the Que had an 8.5 x 11-inch touchscreen display and the ability to handle Microsoft Word files, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, digital books, PDFs, magazines and newspapers. The device could also synchronize with Microsoft Outlook to display e-mails and calendar. A 4-GB version of the Que with Wi-Fi and storage for about 35,000 documents was priced at $650. The company also announced a $800 8-GB version that includes Wi-Fi and 3G capability from AT&T. It was an ambitious move and one out-of-sync with the trend in the e-reader market. Amazon’s large screen Kindle DX is priced at$490. Meanwhile, Apple has launched its iPad tablet with iBooks, an iTunes-like book store. Starting at $500, the iPad offers readers access to e-mail and books with a large color touchscreen. So far, Apple has sold 3 million iPads. About 7 million e-readers are expected to sell this year, estimates Forrester Research. Not surprisingly, Plastic Logic has failed to get off the ground. A month before it promised to to ship the Que reader in April, the company announced to customers that it is delaying the launch to “sometime this summer.” In an e-mail then, Plastic Logic said it needed the time to “fine-tune features and enhance the overall product.” This time around, it is offering the same reason. “Plastic Logic wants to make sure that the product they deliver is the right one for their target business customers in the rapidly changing marketplace,” a spokesperson for Plastic Logic wrote in an e-mail to us. “They are continuing to refine the product, technology and features, and are anxious to get in the marketplace as soon as possible.” Unless Plastic Logic can bring the price of the Que down significantly and offer greater value than the iPad or the Kindle DX, it is likely to be a product that will be dead on arrival–if it ever makes it to market. See Also:
Photo: Que/Priya Ganapati 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 25 Jun 2010 | 12:20 pm Green Smoke's 2 Part E-Cigarette Designed to Meet Consumer DemandMIAMI, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the concept was first developed almost seven years ago, Green Smoke has capitalized on advances in technology to develop its patented design and catapult the electronic cigarette into the global market, as consumer awareness and demand increases.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Jun 2010 | 12:16 pm Steam’s summertime sale: Might as well just keep your credit card handy at all times
Friendly reminder: Steam has a killer summertime sale going on right now, and it runs through July 4. I bought The Witcher yesterday for something like $7, which is pretty ridiculous. A new batch of sales go live every day at 1:00pm ET. The only bad thing about the sale: it takes forever to download anything because everyone on the planet is slamming the servers.
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Jun 2010 | 12:15 pm DNA Nanodevices: No Assembly RequiredDouble and single strands of DNA are used like tent poles and spring open in response to a chemical or mechanical signal to open up a three-dimensional structure.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 12:11 pm Amelia Earhart May Have Survived Months as CastawayThe famous pilot and her navigator may have eaten turtles, fish and birds to survive on a remote island after making an emergency landing.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 11:53 am BusinessCashAdvance.com Offers Alternative Financing to SBA Business LoansCORAL SPRINGS, Fla., June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 15, President Barack Obama signed legislation to add $80 million to the Small Business Association (SBA) business loan programs, and effectively extend stimulus benefits through the end of May.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Jun 2010 | 11:46 am Review: Xbox 360 S gaming console
An exhaustive review is a bit of overkill for this update, so let’s just talk about what’s different. First, and most important, the processor (codenamed Valhalla ), eDRAM, and GPU are now on one 40nm die, which means that the problems associated with failing heatsinks should be negligible.
The expectation now, with a single die and a more robust cooling system, is that the Xbox Slim will survive a few months or years longer than its white-cased brethren. As someone who has thus far owned two broken Xboxes including a recased one clad in a Lian Li XB01 case, this is good news. This new device also runs 802.11n wireless which is sufficient for most gaming applications. I found that the wireless was a bit touchy on my AirPort Extreme and I eventually decided to use Ethernet, but your results may vary. This kit also includes a 250GB hard drive for movie and music downloads as well as for ripping games to disk. The console is also quieter. When on and not spinning up a disk, you can barely hear it running. Once a disk is in, however, it’s a different story. The sound is a bit loud at first but then levels off and nearly disappears. This thing is definitely not silent, but it’s quiet enough to warrant a bit of praise. The trade dress is also quite handsome. The piano black case will look great next to your black Wii and your NeXTcube while the “buttonless” buttons – really touch sensitive parts of the panel and not mechanical buttons – add a bit of futuristic geekery to an otherwise staid, featureless case. This model also features a prominent HDMI port and a less prominent set of component cables. This is definitely a game machine aimed at HD TVs. This is also Kinect ready, which means it has some USB ports – 5, to be exact, up from three on the previous versions – and one special port for Kinect. Your best bet, in terms of sound and video, is HDMI out with optical audio to a receiver. As for the on-screen interface, nothing major has changed. If you haven’t seen the Xbox lately, think of it as a melding of the Zune interface with scrolling menus that pop up a number of features including video and music playback as well as Twitter and Facebook feeds for social media lovers to a more media-savvy version of the Wii’s Mii interface. You can create an avatar of yourself and populate that avatar with clothing, achievements, and little doodads like a digital magpie. Netflix and Last.fm round out the offerings. So which console is the best console? Man, don’t even ask. The Wii is great for kids and the Xbox and the PS3 are fighting neck and next for supremacy in the coveted “kids who can stay up past 9pm” demographic. Which would I recommend? I’ve played Xbox for years now and love the games but PS3 fans would beg to differ. If you’re buying this for yourself, you already know what you want. If you’re buying this for your grandson, ask him. The obvious pain point here is Blu-Ray support on the PS3, which could be a deal-breaker for those on the fence. Sadly, Microsoft bet on the wrong horse a few years ago and released an HD-DVD drive for the Xbox. If you want one, my buddy Rick has one. He’d probably sell it to you cheap. Bottom Line
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Jun 2010 | 11:42 am Subscription Hulu: Beginning of the End for Cable/Satellite TV?Hulu edges ever closer to an service that will finally allow more TV viewers to stop paying for cable/satellite broadcasting. CBS, Viacom and Time Warner are in talks to join Hulu, just as reports surface of a $10/month 'Hulu Plus' that would offer a wider range of content.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 11:40 am Aries Announces New CSP Optical FA Test Sockets for EMMI or Optical Sensor ApplicationsBRISTOL, Pa., June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Aries Electronics, an international manufacturer of standard and custom interconnection products, now offers a CSP test socket with a window that optically exposes 100% of the top of the DUT (device under test) for FA (failure analysis) testing for EMMI (emission microscopy) or optical sensor applications.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Jun 2010 | 11:30 am BitBop brings mobile TV to your BlackBerry (and only your BlackBerry) Now that Android and the iPhone (when it works) are all over the place, you question the wisdom of someone developing a service that works with neither. I'm referring to Fox Mobile's new subscription service BitBop, which only works with BlackBerry. The BlackBerry is still probably the premier e-mail device out there, but I'm not sure I want to watch episodes of “24” on my Curve. Well, my imaginary curve, as it were.
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Jun 2010 | 11:15 am BitBop brings mobile TV to your BlackBerry (and only your BlackBerry)
Now that Android and the iPhone (when it works) are all over the place, you question the wisdom of someone developing a service that works with neither. I’m referring to Fox Mobile’s new subscription service BitBop, which only works with BlackBerry. The BlackBerry is still probably the premier e-mail device out there, but I’m not sure I want to watch episodes of “24” on my Curve. Well, my imaginary Curve, as it were. BitBop? It’s Fox’s new subscription entertainment service that… only works with BlackBerry. Well, so far. It’s not exactly written in the stars that BitBop, now and forever, will only work with BlackBerry. It’s exactly what you think it is. You pay $10 per month to watch full episodes from companies like Fox, Comedy Central, Bravo, and Spike TV. (The full list of content providers is here.) Again, the utility of such a service is somewhat limited if it only works with BlackBerry. Bring it to something with a little momentum, like Android, and then we’ll talk. And even then: $10 per month to watch TV on your phone? Don’t you already pay for cable/satellite? Do you really need to watch episodes of “Hell’s Kitchen” 24 hours a day? Meh, to each his own.
Source: MobileCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 11:00 am Apple’s Response to iPhone 4 Antenna Problem: You’re Holding It Wrong
There’s an old joke about a man who visits a doctor, complaining that his arm hurts whenever he moves it a certain way. The doctor’s response? “Stop moving it that way.” That pretty much sums up Apple’s response to the people who have complained that holding the iPhone 4 in their left hand can cause signal strength to fall, dropping calls and reducing bandwidth. For these people — over 40 of whom have contacted Wired.com — touching the lower left corner of the iPhone’s metal band is the source of the problem. Here’s Apple’s official response to the problem:
Despite numerous reports from Wired.com readers, we have been trying to replicate the problem without success. According to Wired.com writer Brian X. Chen, if he grips the iPhone 4 firmly in his left hand while downloading a web page, one or two bars disappear from the signal strength indicator. I haven’t been able to reproduce the problem at all. Sascha Segan on Gearlog.com said he was able to reproduce the problem using what he calls a “death grip,” holding it “in a slightly sweaty left hand, with my fingers covering the three black lines on the phone’s edge and the bottom left corner in my palm.” In that grip, he guesses, signal strength drops by about 3 to 5 dBm. Solution: Don’t hold your phone in a death grip, especially if you’re left-handed and inclined to have sweaty palms. And if you’re one of the people who sees this problem even when holding the phone gently, put your iPhone 4 in a protective case — or add a strip of black electrical tape to the lower left edge. Both break the electrical contact between the phone’s antenna and your skin, and prevent the signal-loss from happening. Photo courtesy Thomas Barnes See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 25 Jun 2010 | 10:55 am Whaling: So Now What?Negotiations between whaling and non-whaling countries have ended in a stalemate. Now what happens?Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 10:01 am Manage expense reports with ProOnGo
ProOnGo allows you to take pictures of your receipts which get sent back to their image processing servers for conversion into text. This saves you from having to manually key in all that data. Your expenses be exported into a number of common formats, which means you save time and effort. The ProOnGo Expense with Receipt Reader app is free in the app store, but you’ll need a subscription to actually use it for long. Subscriptions are as cheap as a dollar a month, but you don’t get to use the OCR features of the app at this price. To really benefit from the app you need the $3/month plan, which lets you image up to 30 receipts a month. ProOnGo can also use your phone’s GPS to automatically calculate milage reports for you. Bonus: this app is available for iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, and Android. That’s nice to see! ProOnGo also have a business card reader which works in a similar fashion: the image of the business card is sent back to an image processing server and the resultant text is transmitted to your phone. This is in contrast to ScanBizCards, which processes the image on the phone itself. The subscription for ProOnGo Expense allows you to utilize unused receipt scans for business card scans, making the subscription model a little more useful. The folks at ProOnGo have offered three free six-month subscriptions to us to pass on to you, dear readers! Simply leave a comment below explaining how tedious your expense reporting is and how helpful ProOnGo will be for you. We’ll pick three lucky winners on Monday who will each get six months subscriptions to the $4.99/month package!
Source: MobileCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 10:00 am Reusable Shopping Bags: Green But UncleanThose "green" reusable shopping bags may be contaminated.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 9:33 am Private
Keep out.
Source: Boing Boing | 25 Jun 2010 | 8:51 am To Reach Afghans, Pentagon Drafts Mimes, Storytellers, Wizard of OzThe Pentagon's ultimate team of technologists is looking to looking to breach the cultural divide in Afghanistan — with storytelling, pantomime, and the Wizard of Oz.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 8:46 am Apple’s callous response to iPhone 4 defect matched only by its fanboys’ blind dedication
What’s more sad: the very fact that the iPhone 4 is completely unusable if you’re left-handed—President Obama is left-handed!— or that Apple fanboys are doing everything in their power to divert attention away from the issue? Check MacRumors. It’s a fine site, yes, and one I read every day, but to call it an “Apple fan site” would be like calling the Sun hot. “Upset that your brand new iPhone 4 doesn’t work? Don’t be: other phones do this, too!” Because that’s what you want to hear: your phone may be a piece of junk, but so is the other guy’s phone, so it all works out. Um, no. It doesn’t work like that. The issue with the iPhone 4 isn’t that by merely picking it up you interfere with signal, it’s that holding the phone in a specific manner renders it all but useless. “A specific manner?” Holding it with your left hand, of course. So when Steve Jobs, who described the phone as “really cool engineering,” says “don’t hold it that way,” well, that’s a load of bunk. Why not, I don’t know, design a phone that works when held in your left hand? Because we’re Apple, and the normal rules don’t apply to us! And really, how unfeeling of Jobs to tell people not to “hold it that way.” There’s zero sympathy in that statement. It’s like he’s not even bothered—not even a little bit! Nothing like, “Yeah, that sucks. We’re working on a fix and I’ll get back to you. Sit tight.” Nope, just an uncaring shrug of the shoulder. It’s almost like he’s saying, “Hey, not my problem, dude. Go buy a case or something.” Maybe I should just take my business elsewhere? Clearly Apple has demonstrated that it doesn’t give a toss about the plight of its users right now. The very idea that some people are trying to say, “All phones lose a little bit of signal when you hold it, this isn’t a big deal at all.” What nonsense. Other phones don’t completely die when you hold it in your hand. That’s the whole point—it’s a serious design flaw, and it’s something that would ideally be addressed with a little more urgency than “don’t hold it that way. It’s a non-issue.” Pretty disappointed with both Apple’s reaction to this mess and the Apple apologists out there. It’s one thing to be a fan of a company, but it’s another thing to make excuses for said company when it’s so very clearly in the wrong.
Source: MobileCrunch | 25 Jun 2010 | 8:26 am Google Flips Remote Kill-Switch on Android Apps
The post on the Android Developers blog is written by Android Security Lead Rich Cannings. Cannings cites violations of the Android Market Terms of Service as the reasons behind the deletions. Far from being controversial, these terms were clearly stated as far back as October 2008, and only apply to apps from the Android Market itself. Back then I predicted the fuss that would come about if ever the switch was used in public:
This isn’t the first time Google has wiped apps from users’ phones, although its the first we remember that has an accompanying blog post. While it is reassuring to know that Google is patrolling its App Store, its a little disturbing to know that your favorite, non-malicious app could disappear without your permission. In this case Apple – ironically – wins, for users at least. Remember Netshare, the iPhone data tethering app that briefly made it into the App Store? It was soon pulled by Apple, presumably at AT&T’s request, but those people who downloaded it continue to use it to this day. Exercising Our Remote Application Removal Feature [Google / Android Developers Blog] See Also: Photo: laihiu/Flickr 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 25 Jun 2010 | 7:48 am Darpa Push: Solar Cells Tough Enough to Handle a WarFor years, the military has made on-again, off-again attempts to find eco-friendly ways to get power war-zones, bases and drones. And lately, they’ve seemed willing to try almost anything to do it. Now Darpa, usually the agency behind the Pentagon’s most out-there ideas, is putting their money into an old standby: solar power.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 7:45 am Sense of Touch Shapes Snap JudgementsSitting in a hard chair can literally turn someone into a hardass. Holding a heavy clipboard leads to weighty decisions. Rubbing rough surfaces makes us prickly. So found researchers studying the interaction between physical touch and social cognition.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 7:09 am A visit to Maximum Fun headquarters
Earlier this week I went to Jesse Thorn's in-home Los Angeles studio, where he does his interviews for The Sound of Young America, the most consistently interesting interview program on the planet. I like the fact that Jesse keeps his costs down by producing the show in a spare bedroom. That means every dollar he gets in donations goes as far as possible. I've been doing a lot of interviews for my book over the past month at plush public radio stations, and I'm sure the rent, equipment costs, and staff salaries to keep them running are enormous. Jesse's costs are a tiny fraction of a public radio station's, yet the sound quality of his shows are just fine. Jesse, you are the future. UPDATE: I asked Jesse to describe his set-up, which he kindly did. Here's what he said about it: I use Shure SM7 microphones. These are famous for being the mics that Michael Jackson used to record his vocals for Thriller, but they're really a great all-purpose microphone. They're also tough and cheap - at least compared to other studio vocal microphones. They cost about three hundred bucks, and the next step up is several thousand. They work great for my purposes because their pickup pattern really emphasizes the guest and de-emphasizes the guy outside my window with the leaf blower. Very forgiving.
Source: Boing Boing | 25 Jun 2010 | 7:08 am Bent Basket: The Fixed-Gear of Cargo-Carrying
Is it me, or are bike racks and baskets getting hotter and hotter? The latest example is the made-to-order Bent Basket by San Francisco designer Faris Elmasu. The plywood, nylon and aluminum construction sits over the front wheel where you can gaze upon its lovely curves as you ride. In practical terms, the Bent Basket looks to be top-notch. You may not be able to toss in small items and ride away, but the open design with those stretchy straps is more versatile than either a tall basket or a narrow rack. Strapping a MacBook Pro straight onto it when it is mounted on a bike with skinny hard tires and no suspension may not be the best idea, though, despite the picture showing this dubious practice on the product site. The maximum load is listed as a “12-pack of beer” and it is designed for the wheel-size of a 700c road bike, which pretty much means carrying Pabst Blue Ribbon on a fixed-gear bike. If you have a more utilitarian bicycle, there are less fancy-looking cargo-platforms available, for undoubtedly less cash. Talking of price, you’ll need to get in touch with Elmasu to work something out, as each “basket” is hand-built. So beautifully simple is the design, though, that a quick trip to your local kitchenware emporium (for the tray) followed by a stop at the hardware store (everything else) should equip you to make your own, something I’m now planning to do. If you do make one, post images to the Gadget Lab Flickr Group, or just mail them in. Bent Basket product page [Bent Basket via Design Boom] See Also: 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 25 Jun 2010 | 7:04 am Cute Hug-a-Plug Fits Into Nooks and Crannies
The Hug-A-Plug Dual Outlet Wall Adapter not only doubles the amount of sockets into which you can plug your appliances, it flips the outlets through 90-degrees so you can use them easily, even when hidden awkwardly away behind furniture. It’s also called Hug-A-Plug, which along with its surprised-looking Mario-cloud face, is just plain cute. The adapter is just $5, right about what it should be – I’ll admit to having a thing for plugs and adapters of all kinds, but anything over $5 takes them out of the useful category and into the “boutique power” category, a category which I just made up. Bonus feature: the rounded ridges up top make a great thumb-grip for when you need some purchase to yank out a cable. Sexy? No? Useful? Hell yes! Hug-A-Plug Dual Outlet Wall Adapter [Cyberguys via Coolest Gadgets] See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 25 Jun 2010 | 6:05 am Small Is the New Big At FordLong popular in Europe, small cars are catching on in the states. Ford rolls into Manhattan with a Fiesta as part of a strategy to show how cool small cars are.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 25 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am New, Vintage Polaroid Cameras Sell Out in Hours
When you think of Polaroid, you probably picture the SX-70 OneStep Land Camera above, once the best selling camera in the US. If you had been awake yesterday, you could have bought one. Not any old reproduction, but a factory original, put together from real Polaroid parts by the folks at the Impossible Project, who got bought up the ruins of the Polaroid empire and resurrected it. Or at least brought it coughing and spluttering into life for long enough to figure out its secrets. The Impossible Project already makes film for your Polaroid, but this SX-70, originally produced from 1977-1982, was a chance to buy history. It sold out within hours of appearing on Photojojo proving that, even at $210 and despite the attempted destruction of the Polaroid brand by its current owners, many of us still have a soft spot for the iconic camera. The limited edition consisted of 50 hand-numbered camera complete with two packs of PX 100 First Flush Film. Fortunately for those now desperate to do some instant shooting, this film can be had for $21 per pack of eight exposures: all you need to do is visit your local thrift store and grab an old camera. Impossible Project [Impossible] Vintage Polaroid SX-70 OneStep Land Camera [Photojojo via Uncrate] See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:44 am Kinetic Energy Generator Powers Gadgets with Magic
The nPower PEG is exactly the kind of thing that would have airport security asking you some rather awkward questions, and perhaps also earn you some childish snickers. The rather utilitarian phallus is in fact a kinetic energy generator which charges gadgets as it moves. The PEG (personal energy generator) makes electricity as you move, harvesting your expended energy like the Matrix harvests your battery-like human meat-bag. It is made from titanium, and outputs standard USB power, which can be piped through a variety of different cables into iOS devices, BlackBerries and other cellphones. And that is all we know. The FAQ, the spec page and even the compatibility pages are almost willfully free of real information. For instance, do you wonder how it works? I did, so I followed the treasure-trail of links to the penultimate teaser:
Excited, I clicked the read link and found:
Where’s the science? There is no mention of Einstein to be found. Now, I did some science in school, so I can guess that the PEG probably just has a magnet inside, bouncing up and down in a copper coil and generating a current which is then smoothed out to safely enter a UBS-powered device. But if you’re going to drop $150, the price of the PEG, on a mysterious metal tube, it would be nice to know what it has inside. Especially if you are taking it through airport security. How the nPower PEG “works” [nPower PEG. Thanks, Steve!] See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 25 Jun 2010 | 5:11 am Guitar Sidekick Puts Smartphones Right Where You Want Them
Thankfully Bob couldn’t see that the majority of his audience was happier watching him via a tiny LCD, but if he had cared, or wanted to join in, he could have used the Guitar Sidekick, a guitar headstock-mounted holder for smartphones. The Sidekick clamps onto the strings behind the nut (the bit the strings pass over before running down the fretboard) and your device slides in and can be twisted to sit where you want it. The specs say “smartphone”, the pictures show that it is clearly meant for an iPhone, but you could probably even squeeze an old-school tuner in there. Now, the Sidekick isn’t just for checking Twitter while you’re on stage trying to keep up with Bob’s creatively arrhythmic solos. It could also be used with any number of smartphone apps, whether for tuning, recording or even displaying musical notation or guitar tabs. You could even use it to remember lyrics, although if you are a 69 year-old with a voice that makes Tom Waits sound like a castrato, you probably don’t need to actually form real words anymore. The Guitar Sidekick costs $30, and will work with any guitar that has strings. It needs just one more, tiny, feature: an Eric Clapton (or God) attachment for holding burning cigarettes. Guitar Sidekick [Castiv via Macworld] 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 25 Jun 2010 | 4:09 am
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Just yesterday we reported the tentative dates for the 
On Thursday night Google pushed out a new stable version of Google Chrome. To those who were already using it the update, version 5.0.375.86 didn’t do much aside from fix a few security issues. For those without Chrome, however, the update comes complete with Flash.
If you want to make sure your 
It seems like everyone is up in arms about the iPhone 4 antenna issue. You know, the one Apple CEO Steve Jobs suggested you fix by avoiding “
Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu says 
WordPress developer Automattic has 
The long, stumbling game of catch-up Research in Motion has been playing in the smartphone market is nearing its end. And when the end is finally reached, RIM will emerge the victor, besting its Android rivals and Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone. Because the BlackBerry maker isn’t standing still–anymore. It will soon roll out its new BlackBerry 6 platform and new handsets. And when it does, global smartphone supremacy is assured…MUAHAHAHA.
If you’re one of the many who still don’t secure their wireless networks, let this act as a cautionary tale of why you should. Federal authorities announced that a Minnesota man has been indicted on federal charges after allegedly hacking into his neighbor’s WiFi network and using it to send threats to Vice President Joe Biden and Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty:
In a blog post, Google has described how it remotely removed two safe but “practically useless” applications from Android phones. The two free applications billed themselves as being for “security research” but because they “misrepresented their purpose in order to encourage user downloads”, the Android team nuked them from afar using its 
Last night I went to see Bob Dylan in concert. The audience for the rock legend has probably changed more than Bob himself. I saw a lot of Cuban cigars, dads with binoculars and mumsie types waddling what I expect was meant to be a sexy dance. I also saw a lot of cellphone and camera screens a-glowing in the wind.