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The Market Crash as Double-Entendre Dating AdThe finance sector's foibles inspired the NYRB to create a contest asking readers to submit double-entendre finance-centric personals ads. Here is Emanuel Derman's entry:FANNIE MAE with troubled assets,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jun 2010 | 3:54 am Weekend Open ForumBusy week it was, wasn't it?Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jun 2010 | 3:30 am Microwave Pain Ray Keeps Frost From Killing CropsAn anonymous reader writes "Philip K. Dick's novella Project Plowshare was set in a world where deadly new weapons are 'plowshared' into consumer products. A few years after that book was set, defense giant Raytheon is spinning its raygun-like Active Denial System from a weapon into an agricultural tool to prevent frost from damaging citrus and grape crops."
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Jun 2010 | 3:09 am June 26 lunar eclipse heightens the 'moon illusion' effect - The Money Times
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 27 Jun 2010 | 2:54 am Staying Credulous: On Not Letting Being 40 Get In The Way
But one thing I am very aware of is my growing skepticism of some of the crazy startup ideas I see. Five years ago when I started TechCrunch I still had real enthusiasm for any entrepreneur trying to build a company. I know from experience that starting companies is psychologically hard, even in the U.S. There are always lots of critics to tear you down. Sometimes all an entrepreneur needs is a few credulous people willing to say that they have a chance. That gives them the psychological boost they need to fight on for another day. I have always been that guy, looking for the positive in any startup situation. Even if you fail you’ve just had the best on the job training possible. Paul Graham says it best: “So, paradoxically, if you’re too inexperienced to start a startup, what you should do is start one. That’s a way more efficient cure for inexperience than a normal job. In fact, getting a normal job may actually make you less able to start a startup, by turning you into a tame animal who thinks he needs an office to work in and a product manager to tell him what software to write.” There is some evidence that the most successful entrepreneurs are 40 or older. I don’t believe that. Or rather, it may be that statistically a startup founded by someone over 40 will be more likely to “win” financially than one started by a 20 year old. But nearly everything that is really disruptive is created by someone too young to know that they never had a chance of winning. So they blindly charge ahead, and they win. The companies that shape our culture – Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, etc. – are almost always started in a dorm room. These are the companies that matter in the long run. It’s so easy to look at a startup and think of the ten startups before that tried to solve the same problem and failed. In fact, most startups look sort of dumb in the really early stages, mostly because if they were so obviously going to win then someone would have likely jumped in already. Like I said, you have to stay credulous to believe. The wisdom that comes with experience seems like such a valuable asset to have. You have advice that people should listen to, you think, as you smirk condescendingly at the kid with the big idea and no clue what terrible obstacles stand between her and success. I sometimes feel that skepticism creeping into my thinking when I look at a new idea being presented by an eager and innocent young entrepreneur. It’s a relatively recent thing, and I want to stamp it out like a cancer. There’s no room in my world for that kind of nonsense. Who am I to tell someone that they can’t change the world? I say fight on. And if you fail I’ll give you a solid fist bump and tell you to get back on the horse, or whatever the saying is, and try again. Because you’re going to get it right, whether it’s this startup or another one. So please call me on it if you see me starting to act my age. I don’t mind being 40 at all – life definitely gets better as you get older and you figure out what’s really important. But I want to look at startups with the same eager and innocent anticipation that I did when I was 25. Even when I’m 80.      
Source: TechCrunch | 27 Jun 2010 | 2:46 am Air Filter Fashion - The W/Air is a Wearable Necklace that Filters Out Pollution (VIDEO)(TrendHunter.com) The W/Air breathing necklace is one funny-looking piece of jewelry. Two Brazililan designers, Martina Pagura and Pedro Nakazato, have created the W/Air as a glimpse into the potential...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jun 2010 | 2:40 am The Web isn't Brought to You By the Letter "T"Mostly because I had too much time this week on planes, plus I had some data, I got to thinking about domain name frequency. Does the first-letter frequency among the top 1,000,000 web domains by traffic...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jun 2010 | 2:28 am Justin Bieber Proves that Core Gamers Won't be Alienated by the Kinect - RipTen
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 27 Jun 2010 | 2:21 am Tweety Bird Lighting - The Birdcage Hanging Lamp Will Make Your Guests Chirp (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) This Birdcage Hanging Lamp may not satisfy your desire to have a chirping pet, but it would definitely still make a great piece of decoration for your room. With its cage exterior,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jun 2010 | 1:50 am Ironic Ashtrays - The Cigarette Ashtray Puts Your Burned Cigarette Ashes Back Where They Started (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) This Cigarette Ashtray is an ironic twist to the classic ashtray on which you'd place cigarette butts and ashes. Shaped like a cigarette case, it'd appear that you are essentially putting...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jun 2010 | 1:20 am Industry Veteran Joins INKSURE Technologies BoardSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 27 Jun 2010 | 1:06 am Papercraft Post-Its - Origami Sticky Notes are a Fun Way to Remind Yourself to Take Out the Trash (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) These Origami Sticky Notes are an artful and fun way to remind yourself to do simple tasks. These notes can be used as regular sticky notes, or they can be folded in awesome origami...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jun 2010 | 1:00 am mobile advertising could make up 10% of Apple's revenue by 2012According to The Age, mobile advertising could make up 10% of Apple's revenue by 2012. In its first eight weeks of selling iAds, Apple garnered $US60 million ($73 million) worth of commitments for mobile...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jun 2010 | 12:51 am FCC issues advice on traveling with mobile phonesAs the U.S. enters the summer vacation season, the FCC has launched an educational program to remind mobile-phone customers traveling internationally how to avoid high-cost calls. At Wireless World Travel,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jun 2010 | 12:40 am [T] The World Cup as Communicable Disease VectorIf you're anything like me, and heaven help you if you are, you're enjoying the World Cup, but wondering about its economic implications in terms of developed vs developing countries' performance, and,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 27 Jun 2010 | 12:39 am Partial lunar eclipse visible in western skiesSkygazers got a treat Saturday when a portion of the moon crossed into the Earth's shadow during a partial lunar eclipse visible in the western United States and Canada, the Pacific and...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 27 Jun 2010 | 12:38 am Boeing Releases Details On New Crew CapsuleFleaPlus writes "Boeing has released a number of new details on its CST-100 manned space capsule, being developed in collaboration with commercial space station builder Bigelow Aerospace. Competing with SpaceX's Dragon capsule, the vehicle is designed to be compatible with existing Atlas V, Delta IV, and Falcon 9 rockets, and is planned to carry seven people in a capsule 'a little smaller than Orion, but a little bigger than Apollo.' Funding was jump-started this year with $18M of fixed-price Commercial Crew Development money from NASA, which requires completion of several fabrication and demonstration milestones this year (heat shield, escape system, landing tests, etc.) in order to get the full payment."
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Jun 2010 | 12:02 am Reliance Ind. close to selling Mumbai plot-reportMUMBAI, June 27 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd , India's largest listed company, is close to selling a 2.5 acre (1 ha) commercial plot at Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex to property developer Wadhwa...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 10:45 pm When Social Media Becomes The Message: The Gulf Oil Spill And @BPGlobalPR
Nearly everyone has something to say about BP’s oil spill, and from a public relations perspective, the company is floundering. Both its stock price and brand value have taken a deepwater dive, and it is struggling to make its own voice heard. When you Google “BP PR” or “BP public relations,” the top organic result is @BPGlobalPR, a parody account on Twitter with more than 175,000 followers. In contrast, BP’s official account, @BP_America, has only 15,000 followers. The satirical @BPGlobalPR is dominating the online conversation. It is an object lesson in how social media can shape and control a company’s message during a crisis. The fake account has gone viral for its scathing impersonations of the company with tweets like:
Some people think it is real. BP initially wanted to shut down the sardonic account, but Twitter’s policy allows for parody accounts, so long as they don’t mislead or deceive. BP demanded the impostor rewrite his bio, and he did, but not without commentary: “We are not associated with Beyond Petroleum, the company that has been destroying the Gulf of Mexico for 52 days.” It’s since reverted to the original “This page exists to get BP’s message and mission statement out into the twitterverse!” While BP tried assuaging public anger with a video featuring CEO Tony Hayward apologizing into the camera and promising “we’ll make this right,” it was mostly seen as a failed public relations stunt. It was probably a good idea for Hayward to try to address the public directly, but his presentation felt forced. The video itself was highly produced and likely expensive, as were the TV commercial slots in which it aired.
Meanwhile, anybody can start a Twitter account. Companies can no longer rely on buying media time to spread their message though well-produced commercials, especially when the disaster your company is responsible for is ongoing. It doesn’t help when more candid comments like Hayward’s “I’d like my life back” cast doubt on the polished message’s sincerity. Someone on Twitter or elsewhere on the Web will find ways to challenge the message, as @BPGlobalPR is doing. Even mainstream news organizations that are watched by non-tweeters have reported the buzz around the satire account. Of course, BP’s attempts to bolster its image go well beyond TV spots. BP also bought paid search terms on several search engines to promote their official site. All of these PR efforts, totalling $50 million by some estimates, are predictable moves to stay engaged in the social media services where BP is being most criticized. The company is using many tools, including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube to spread their message. Satire aside, independent groups have set up their own sites, like BP Complaints, which chronicles oil spill news and activism. The problem isn’t a lack of involvement, it’s a lack of credibility. No amount of PR can help it at this point until it stops the leak and starts cleaning up the ocean. But while BP struggles to find its story, others are telling it for them.
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 26 Jun 2010 | 10:43 pm Star Wars meets high fashion
Fashion illustrator John Woo created this "He Wears It" series of drawings depicting Star Wars characters wearing the styles of famous designers. Jango Fett rocks Comme des Garcons, a Stormtrooper wears Thom Browne, New York, etc. Above, Vader wears Band of Outsiders and a Scout Trooper models Victor & Rolf. You can see them at Woo's heavy Flash site Wooszoo.com or a selection at Colt-Rane.com. (Thanks, Mathias Crawford!)  Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jun 2010 | 10:41 pm Help underwrite Kal Spelletich's robot art show
 We've posted on BB before about San Francisco machine artist Kal Spelletich, who has made dozens of elegant, menacing, and incredible robots and kinetic sculptures over several decades. Kal is a veteran of Survival Research Laboratories, Seemen, and a former artist-in-residence at the Exploratorium. He's managed to secure a gallery show in New York City on August 6, 2010. The rub is that he can't afford to finish the new pieces and, even more challenging and expensive, ship all this heavy metal and sensitive electronics, and himself, across the country. And back. So he's hoping to raise $3,000 via Kickstarter. If you donate $1,000, you even get a tabletop kinetic version of the giant tree robot (robot tree?) that will be the centerpiece of the show. Kal Spelletich: Cosmicism & Contemporary Forestry Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jun 2010 | 10:36 pm White House releases identity-security plan - ModernHealthcare.com
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 26 Jun 2010 | 10:15 pm Author Nicholas Carr: The Web Shatters Focus, Rewires BrainsThe internet's scattered bits of information seize our brain then scramble it, Nicholas Carr explains in The Shallows. The result: We skim and multitask better than we read and think deeply.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 26 Jun 2010 | 10:00 pm Texas GOP comes out against oral sex, the UN, and the Supreme CourtThe Texas Republican Party has passed its new election platform, including a ban on pornography, oral sex, gay marriage, sodomy, strip clubs -- they also want to ditch the Federal Reserve, "withhold Supreme Court jurisdiction in cases involving abortion, religious freedom, and the Bill of Rights," "oppose the implementation of one world currency" (why was I not informed of this One World Currency? It would sure make travel simpler!), and get the US out of the UN. The platform itself seems to be down (Ah yes, the "no blowjobs party" -- that'll bring out the vote! Texas GOP platform: criminalize gay marriage and ban sodomy, outlaw strip clubs and pornography (Thanks, @greatdismal!) (Image: wingnut, a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from genista's photostream)
Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jun 2010 | 9:29 pm Top 10 Gamertell posts for the week of June 20, 2010FROM GAMERTELL - Haven’t caught all of the Gamertell 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 | 26 Jun 2010 | 9:19 pm US Fears Loss of ICQ HoneypotAHuxley writes "US law enforcement bodies view the sale of instant messaging service ICQ to a Russian company as a threat to homeland security. In spring 2010, Russia's largest Internet investment company, Digital Sky Technologies, agreed to purchase the service for $187 million from AOL. The US is sure that most criminals use ICQ and, therefore, constant access to the ICQ servers is needed to track them down. As the system is based in Israel, American security service have had access. The article concludes, 'Lawyers [of unspecified nationality] say that to block the deal the US Committee on Foreign Investment needed to cancel it no later than within 30 days after the deal has been announced — so unless the rules are broken, nothing can be changed.'"
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Source: Slashdot | 26 Jun 2010 | 8:55 pm Adventurer's Club from Walt Disney World recreated in painstaking detail with Half-Life engineWalt Disney World's Adventurer's Club was a nightclub in the now-shuttered Pleasure Island area, where live players and animatronic trophies voiced by actors behind the scenes (who monitored the action with hidden cameras). It was one of my absolute favorite places at the park, and it shut along with the otherwise lacklustre Pleasure Island in 2008. Many Club fans have mourned its passing, but Brerben, didn't just mourn, he re-created the Club in astonishing detail using the Half-Life engine and the Garry's Mod tool. From the Inside the Magic blog: Throughout the time spent working on it, Brerben kept his focus on including as much detail as possible while encountering a few technical hurdles. He told me, "The interactive parts of the map were the most difficult to do, because, for example, I would search YouTube for segments where Babylonia would say something, and try to record the audio to put in my map, but I really couldn't do it correctly because there was always some guest in the video laughing hysterically which made it difficult to separate Babylonia's voice from the guest's laughter."Walt Disney World's Adventurers Club virtually recreated for fans to once again explore (Thanks, Ricky!) Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jun 2010 | 8:41 pm PRESS DIGEST - British Sunday Busines Press - June 27Although private equity firms are pressing publisher and information provider Reed Elsevier to sell its exhibitions division, Reed's chief executive Erik Engstrom has made it clear that the division is...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 8:25 pm 2010 Locus Award winners!The 2010 Locus Magazine Awards for science fiction were handed out today -- many of the winners were reviewed here as well (links below). You'd be hard pressed to find a better reading list of great contemporary SF:2010 Locus Awards Winners Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jun 2010 | 8:14 pm Gadget Gauntlet (BBG revisit!)
Before Boing Boing Gadgets and Offworld were reabsorbed by the mother entity, we used to put up pointless, bizarre flash game parodies now and again. I just chanced across the preliminary work for Gadget Gauntlet, one such project that we never completed. The idea would have been the classic game Gauntlet II, but instead of being a Wizard, Warrior, Valkyrie or Elf mindlessly emptying a dungeon of treasure, you would have been one of four types of shopper wandering a zombie-infested mall to loot consumer durables. I thought you may enjoy the concept art and theme tune.
Listen: Gadget Gauntlet
Facebook movie trailer: The Social NetworkSection: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking  “You can’t make 500 million friends without making a few enemies.” It is in this statement alone that I have any shred of respect left for Zuckerberg. Seriously though, with all of the negative publicity this young man has been receiving, I couldn’t imagine being in his shoes trying to keep over a billion users happy. Just last week I couldn’t imagine Facebook getting anymore popular and boy was I was wrong. The new Facebook movie movie, entitled The Social Network, will star Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland) and former teenage heartthrob Justin Timberlake. The screenplay was written by Aaron Sorkin who is the man behind The West Wing which could possibly mean that the movie can’t be all bad. The Social Network will be in theaters in October.
Via [Reddit] Full Story » | Written by Tarun Kunwar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jun 2010 | 8:00 pm UPDATE 1-Shell begins pulling U.S. Gulf workers due storm* Exxon, Chevron say offshore production unaffected (Adds BP spill containment, other offshore operations)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 6:57 pm Dexia, GIMV launch follow-on infrastructure fundAMSTERDAM, June 27 (Reuters) - Franco-Belgian financial services group Dexia SA and Belgian investment firm GIMV NV said on Saturday they were launching a second Benelux infrastructure fund for private...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 6:55 pm Leaked Images: Is this the Nokia N9 or Nokia N8-01?Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  Some images of a new Nokia handset have recently hit the web. And unfortunately it seems no one is really sure of just what this handset is called. It could be the Nokia N9, but then again it does not appear to be running MeeGo. The image is not much help in that aspect either, simply listing the model as N00. Otherwise, some are speculating that this could be a follow up to the N8 in the form of the N8-01. Then again, given that large display and full QWERTY keyboard it may just as likely be a successor to the N900. Either way, the other details that we can confirm right now include that this mystery device has an 8 megapixel camera and support for North American 3G bands including 850 and 1900. Of course that means good news for Nokia fans in the US and Canada who are with AT&T, Rogers, Bell and Telus. And just like that, we are left waiting for more leaks. Read [Negri Electronics Blog] Via [unwired view]   Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jun 2010 | 6:55 pm 3D Displays May Be Hazardous To Young ChildrenSchlimpyChicken writes "Turns out 3D television can be inherently dangerous to developing children, and perhaps to adults as well. There's a malaise in children that can prevent full stereopsis (depth perception) from developing, called strabismus or lazy-eye. It is an abnormal alignment of the eyes in which the eyes do not focus on the same object — kind of like when you watch a 3D movie. As a result, depth perception is compromised. Acting on a hunch, the guys over at Audioholics contacted Mark Pesce, who worked with Sega on its VR Headset over 15 years ago — you know, the headset that never made it to market. As it turns out, back then Sega uncovered serious health risks involved with children consuming 3D and quickly buried the reports, and the project. Unfortunately, the same dangers exist in today's 3D, and the electronics, movie, and gaming industries seem to be ignoring the issue. If fully realized, 3D just might affect the vision of millions of children and, according to the latest research, many adults, across the country." The Audioholics article is a good candidate for perusing with Readability — the pseudo-link popups are blinding.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 26 Jun 2010 | 6:31 pm Hot gaming news for the week of 6-20-2010Section:  No need to scour the interwebs for hot gaming news, Gamertell‘s already done that for you! Here’s a look at this week’s top stories…
Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jun 2010 | 5:41 pm Ariane rocket puts two satellites into orbitCAYENNE, French Guiana (Reuters) - An Ariane rocket has put two satellites into orbit after a launch from French Guiana on Saturday, space officials said.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 5:28 pm Man microwaves an iPhone 4Sigh. But thanks anyway, Daniel.
Source: CrunchGear | 26 Jun 2010 | 5:01 pm Concierge Auctions Successfully Sells Felicity Farm, an Exquisite 15.8-Acre Estate in Wawa, Pennsylvania, During a Live, On-site AuctionWAWA, Pa., June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Felicity Farm, a pristine estate with grand residence in Wawa, Pennsylvania, was successfully sold during a live, on-site auction today, marking Concierge Auctions' third success within the Northeast market in recent months, announced George Graham, CEO of the NYC-based luxury real estate auction firm.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 26 Jun 2010 | 4:56 pm Concierge Auctions Successfully Sells Felicity Farm, an Exquisite 15.8-Acre Estate in Wawa, Pennsylvania, During a Live, On-site AuctionSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 4:56 pm BlackBerry Curve 9300 prototype spends some time in front of the camera [Images & Video]Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Nothing like a little prototype BlackBerry video to spice up your weekend. The latest BlackBerry handset to make an appearance is the Curve 9300 which is currently showing itself with support for European 3G bands as well as running OS 5. Plus the other goodies including W-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth are noted as available. That aside though, the Curve 9300 appears to be a pretty nice offering including such goodies as an optical trackpad, a new back casing, flush control buttons on the front and three media control buttons on the top. With that, its the weekend and you likely have a few minutes time to waste, so go ahead hit play on the above video and spend 3:47 checking out the Curve 9300. Read [TechnoBuffalo] Via [CrackBerry]   Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jun 2010 | 4:33 pm Fedor’s Strikeforce fight tonight has Internet pay-per-view choose-your-own-camera-angle featureStrikeforce, the mixed martial arts promotion that’s the focus of the upcoming EA Sports MMA video game, has an event tonight headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum. Normally I wouldn’t mention that here on CG, but there’s a fairly neat tech angle that’s worth mentioning. Not only is there an Internet pay-per-view option at $24.95 (the event otherwise airs on Showtime here in the U.S.), which, in and of itself isn’t exactly breaking news (WWE, the world’s most technophobic company, has been running Internet pay-per-views for some time now, and even smaller promotions like Ring of Honor have jumped aboard the iPPV bandwagon), but there’s a clever “choose you own camera angle” gimmick that may interest you. Throughout the event, iPPV viewers will able to choose the camera angle from which to view the action. There’s the standard camera angle that viewers on Showtime see, as chosen by the fancy-pants director in the production studio, but there’s also camera angles from each fighter’s corner, an overhead camera, a roaming camera, and something called CageCam. I believe that’s the referee-mounted camera: what he sees you see. Very much reminds me of PRIDE FC… those were the days. How nice it is to see major sports promotions (if you’ll allow me to call Strikeforce a major sports promotion) actually embrace the Internet, rather than fighting it like Grim Death. Give people the option to view something like a Fedor fight, which are increasingly rare these days, nice and legally, and maybe they’ll bite—though my gut tells me that the $24.95 asking price is about $10 too high for what amounts to a one-fight (well, two-fight, if you include the Cyborg bout) show. And if you’re feeling bold, bookmaker.com has Fabricio Werdum at +400 tonight, which means if you bet the maximum amount ($2,000) and Werdum wins you’ll have won yourself a hell of a vacation—plus, think of all the Steam games you could buy! Then again, you could be out two-large, so whatever. UPDATE~! Well, Fedor lost. Hope you took advantage of that +400 while you had the chance!
Source: CrunchGear | 26 Jun 2010 | 4:15 pm USPTO Grants Bezos Patent On '60s-Era Chargebackstheodp writes "Chargebacks on computing resources are certainly nothing new, dating to the '60s. But five decades later, the USPTO has deemed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' invention — Dynamic Pricing of Web Services Utilization — worthy of a new patent. From the patent: 'Utilization of a storage resource may be measured in terms of a quantity of data stored (e.g., bytes, megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB), etc.) per unit of time (e.g., second, day, month, etc.). Similarly, communication bandwidth utilization may be measured in terms of a quantity of data transmitted per unit of time (e.g., megabits per second). Processing resource utilization may be measured as an aggregate number of units of processing effort (e.g., central processing unit (CPU) cycles, transactions, etc.) utilized, or as a rate of processing effort utilization per unit of time (e.g., CPU cycles or transactions per second).' Sound familiar, Greyglers? Another example of why it's not wise to grant software patents when people don't know much about computer history."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 26 Jun 2010 | 4:08 pm Rumor: Firmware Update to Alleviate iPhone "Death Grip" - PC Magazine
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 26 Jun 2010 | 3:44 pm Can Nokia's MeeGo take on iOS4 and Android? - TG Daily
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 26 Jun 2010 | 3:31 pm BOOM! Top Apple news for the week of 6-20-2010Section:  We may not cover Apple 24x7… but we know someone who does! Here’s a few of this week’s hottest from Appletell to get you started…
Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jun 2010 | 3:28 pm 'Telecommuting' In Formula 1flewp writes "This New York Times article on Formula 1 racing gives some insight into the workings of one of the most high-tech sports on the planet — consider that a few years ago, Sauber's supercomputer ranked toward the top of all the supercomputers in Europe. The teams bring to each race dozens of mechanics, support personnel, etc.; but back at their home bases, perhaps thousands of miles away, countless more engineers work (with the help of gobs of computing power) to give each team that extra edge."
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Source: Slashdot | 26 Jun 2010 | 3:00 pm 4 Easy Answers to iPhone 4 Problems (PC World)PC World - So what if some iPhones lose reception when the hand covers the antenna? That's your problem, not Apple's. "Non issue," Apple chief executive Steve Jobs told a MacRumors forumgoer via e-mail. "Just avoid holding it in that way."Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Jun 2010 | 2:33 pm Decoding Microsoft’s Fantastic Passive-Agressive Numbers Post
That said, I wish Shaw would just come out and say what he really means, rather than literally letting the numbers speak for themselves. Sure, most major company executives will never directly call out their rivals in such a public forum. But as we’ve seen recently with things like Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ Thought On Flash, speaking more directly about an issue can rally your base. (And, to be clear, Jobs wasn’t as straightforward and frank as he could have been either.) But again, most execs will only be passive-aggressively confrontational. So let’s decode what Shaw really means with his numbers:
What he really means: While our rivals are getting all the hype in the press, and people keep blogging about us “dying”, we’re selling 7 copies of our OS every second. Keep this number in mind when you read the next group of stats.
What he really means: Remember that 150 million number? Yeah, the iPad can suck it. And about the iPad and netbooks killing the PC — I have 355 million reasons why that’s not happening anytime soon. Did I mention we’ve sold 150 million licenses for those PCs?
What he really means: And if netbooks do kill the PC, we’re set there too. Chrome OS? That’s vaporware so far. Come talk to me when they have one tenth of our 96% share. Or any share, for that matter.
What he really means: Google and Salesforce get all the cloud hype, but look what we’ve done in a short amount of time. And and all those stats you read about Google making inroads in school with their cloud office stuff? We’re the ones gettin lucky in Kentucky.
What he really means: Netflix is great, people love them and we love them too (CEO Reed Hastings is our favorite Board member) — but we’re bigger. Sure, these are two totally different things, but who cares? And while everyone is busy talking about the death of newspapers, we’re actually bigger than they are — combined. Again, that doesn’t really mean anything, but still: bigger.
What he really means: Office dying? Yeah…
What he really means: We took a risk jumping into a business dominated by one player and have grabbed a lot of people over to our side. Sure, what we were doing before wasn’t working, but this is proof we can pivot. Percentages, schmurcentages: 21.4 million. One year.
What he really means: Remember when everyone was saying Linux was going to take over the market? They’re going the wrong way.
What he really means: iPhone this, iPhone that — shut up. That phone has a small percentage of the overall market. Why don’t you yap about Nokia?At least they’re big time. I don’t even have anything to say here about Microsoft, just shut up about the iPhone already.
What he really means: Salesforce talks more shit about us than anyone. With all that shit-talking, you’d think they were kicking our ass, right? Not exactly. It took us much less time to build up a massive user base doing what they do. Benioff is obsessed with us, but we’re not losing any sleep over him.
What he really means: Gmail? Oh, that online email service with half the users that we have? Yeah, I think I’ve heard of that. We have more Live Messenger users than they have email users. And here’s a Yahoo stat too just so you don’t think I only care about comparing us to Google.
What he really means: Sure, Apple passed us in market cap. That means nothing. You know what matters? Making money. You know what matter even more than that? The money you can keep. Income. Apple and Google are doing great — we have more income than they do combined. That’s not 5 years ago, that’s not 10 years ago. That’s right now. And you know how everyone is bashing our CEO, saying that he has to go? Look at the numbers when he started versus where we are now. Yep, he’s more than doubled revenue. Other companies can only dream of being so “stagnant.”      
Source: TechCrunch | 26 Jun 2010 | 2:20 pm WarMouse Meta, the $79.99 18-button mouse will begin shipping June 28thSection: Peripherals, Mice / Keyboards  This one seems to have been on the back burner for a while—it began as the OpenOfficeMouse (in white) and later transformed into the WarMouse Meta (in black) and then disappeared. After all, this was all happening in late last year. That said, those who may have been waiting for the WarMouse Meta—good news is that its about to begin shipping. Yup, that 18-button monster of a mouse is almost available. And in addition to 18-buttons, all of which are programmable, you will also get a 5600-CPI laser sensor and analog joystick. Of course all of that fanciness comes with a price tag, and in this case its not the cheapest mouse around—expect to pay $79.99. However if you order between now and July 4th you will save 20% which means you will be paying only $64. Product [WarMouse] Via [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jun 2010 | 2:19 pm Senator's concern may complicate Wall St bill voteWASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's efforts to win final approval of a historic financial regulatory reform bill looked more complicated on Saturday after a Republican senator threatened...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 2:00 pm Women Dropping Out of ITWomen's eNews has an interesting look at women in tech, with numbers showing that women are bailing out of the IT field at a rapid pace. "Technology jobs are predicted to grow at a faster rate than all other jobs in the professional sector, up to 22% over the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compensation is also good. In 2008, women in tech made an average salary of $70,370. ... But women's stake in that rosy outlook is questionable. For starters, men's pay during the same time period was $80,357. A study by the National Center for Women and Information Technology ... also finds that women are leaving computer careers in staggering numbers. 'Fifty-six percent of women in technology companies leave their organizations at the mid-level point, 10-20 years in their careers,' said Catherine Ashcraft, the senior research scientist who authored the report. In 2008, women held only 25% of all professional IT-related jobs, down from 36% in 1991, according to the group's report, 'Women in IT: The Facts.'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 26 Jun 2010 | 1:48 pm FCC Endorses Skype, Tweets That People Should Use It
Skype continues to get lots of love from random sources. Last week Google was dropping Skype into translations about free calling, although they later said it was an error. But there’s no question about this endorsement of Skype by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. They suggest people use VoIP providers like Skype when traveling to avoid heavy mobile fees: “Use VoIP, like @skype, to avoid excess international charges on your cell phone bill. For more http://bit.ly/bDXABN #FCCworldtravel” In the linked blog post the FCC also spreads the love around a little, adding links to Fring and Truephone. Appropriate? Nope. But why stop there? We think the FCC should give people handy tips on free news services to avoid those outrageous print media subscription fees as well. And heck, we’re even a U.S. company paying U.S. taxes. How about a Twitter message from the FCC that endorses TechCrunch? /sarcasm Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 26 Jun 2010 | 1:37 pm Shell begins pulling workers from U.S. Gulf due stormHOUSTON, June 26 (Reuters) - Shell Oil Co said on Saturday non-essential workers from production platforms and drilling rigs in U.S.-regulated areas of the Gulf of Mexico oilfields were being evacuated...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Jun 2010 | 1:33 pm Get part of Verizon’s Droid X today - keyboard with multitouchSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile
Lusting after the Droid X? Have a 2.1 device and want to experience the new soft keyboard everyone is talking about? Look no further, we’ve got instructions below. The keyboard will install on Android 2.1 devices with one exception: you’ll loose the haptic feedback for this keyboard. However, if you’re like me, you can do with out the gimmicky buzzing every time you tap something. If you’re not like me, think this over. The keyboard allows two keys to be hit at once via multitouch. This allows you to hit a shift key with one thumb and a letter with the other. The addition should make you a faster typer, potentially. From PhoneArena:
Let us know how it works for you.
Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jun 2010 | 1:07 pm Answers to your iPhone 4 questions: Odds and ends (Macworld.com)Macworld.com - In this round of reader questions about the iPhone 4, we take on a grab bag issues, from hardware to software to just getting your hands on the darn phone.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Jun 2010 | 1:00 pm FBI Failed To Break Encryption of Hard Drivesbenoliver writes to let us know that the FBI has failed to decrypt files of a Brazilian banker accused of financial crimes by Brazilian law enforcement, after a year of attempts. Five hard drives were seized by federal police at the apartment of banker Daniel Dantas, in Rio de Janeiro, during Operation Satyagraha in July 2008. (The link is to a Google translation of the original article in Portuguese.) The article in English mentions two encryption programs, one Truecrypt and the other unnamed. 256-bit AES was used, and apparently both the Brazilian police and the FBI tried dictionary attacks against it. No Brazilian law exists to force Dantas to produce the password(s).
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 26 Jun 2010 | 12:37 pm Google Moves its Encrypted Search (PC World)PC World - If you're paranoid about snoops discovering your Web search terms and results, you'll have to start pointing your browser to another URL to use Google encrypted search.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Jun 2010 | 12:01 pm T-Mobile gives up Samsung Vibrant details, may launch with Kindle appSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile
T-Mobile was playing a nice little game last week in regards to the upcoming Samsung Vibrant release. That game came in the form of a nice puzzle, which was actually a pretty unique way to reveal the name of a phone. That said, it seems to have been solved rather quickly, but still fun nonetheless. Anyway, that phone was the Samsung Vibrant, or what some will recognize as the Samsung Galaxy S. But for T-Mobile they are calling it the Vibrant, just like AT&T is calling it the Captivate. With that out of the way, it looks like T-Mobile has now offered up some official details on the Vibrant. They are coming by way of the T-Mobile user forums and being called an “early FAQ.” What they are calling it aside, they have given up goodies such as the version of Android, display size and more. Overall, nothing really shocking or surprising, but confirmation is always nice.
Of course, they did still leave some teasers, one of which included;
Interestingly enough, there are some apps that appear to be pre-loaded on the Vibrant—some of which have not even been released yet such as the Kindle. Otherwise, I can also see my personal favorite—Slacker, as well as others including MobiTV, Facebook, Gogo and SIMS. Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jun 2010 | 11:51 am The Fastest ISPs In the USadeelarshad82 writes "PCMag recently put Internet browsing speeds to the test to see which ISP was the fastest. The results were based on a quarter million tests run between May 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010, by more than 6,000 users. The tests were carried out using SurfSpeed, which takes into account the complete, real-world download time of a web page to a browser. According to the results, Verizon's FiOS took the top spot as the nation's fastest ISP, with a SurfSpeed score of 1.23 Mbps. Interestingly though, of all the regions where Verizon's FiOS is available, its dominance is only seen in the northeast and the west, whereas cable service from Cox and Comcast won out in the southern region. Moreover, cable through Cox and Optimum Online beat AT&T's fiber optic service in the nationwide results, with SurfSpeeds of 1.14Mbps, 1.12Mbps, and 1.06Mbps respectively. The worst results mostly consisted of DSL providers, bottoming out at 544 Kbps from Frontier and going up to 882Kbps by Earthlink. Other interesting facts noted in the test were that broadband penetration was highest in Rhode Island and lowest in Mississippi, while the average Internet bill was highest in Delaware and lowest in Arkansas."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 26 Jun 2010 | 11:27 am First Impressions: Viliv N5 Ultra Mini Mobile PC
Viliv is at it again. This time around the Korean manufacturer is going after the clamshell market with the N5. The self-described Ultra Mini Mobile PC is really just that -- a truly mobile PC. This form factor isn't exactly new as I just looked at the main competitor, the UMID mbook bz, just a few months back so I'm actually curious if the N5 brings anything novel to the niche market.
I've only had the handheld for a few hours now so what follows are simply my first impressions. I'll post a full review once I put some serious time in with the device. These type of devices sometimes take a while to appreciate and understand so it's not exactly fair to judge its potential right out of the box. Anywho, click through for a few pros, cons, and pics -- including comparisons against the mbook bz.
Source: TechCrunch | 26 Jun 2010 | 11:15 am Growing lungs in a lab: researchers move closer to goal - Los Angeles Times
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 26 Jun 2010 | 11:12 am iOS 4 drawing complaints about poor battery life from iPod Touch usersSection: Apple, Audio, Portable Audio
I am an iPod Touch owner myself and I can confirm that this issue is real. Before I upgraded to iOS 4 my battery life was excellent. I could go several days between charging. After I upgraded I set my fully charged Touch on my desk and 8 hours later it was down to less than 20%. Some are speculating that the poor battery life is the result of the new OS’s persistent WiFi feature. Previously the WiFi was turned off whenever the Touch went into standby/sleep mode. Why Apple chose to change this is unknown. I’ve started turning the WiFi off when I’m not using it and my battery life has improved significantly. Really though, we should have to do this-it defeats the purpose of having push notifications and email. Apple has not yet commented on the issue but hopefully they will issue a patch or update that will revert the WiFi connection back to turning off in standby mode. If you’ve upgraded to iOS have you found your battery life suffering? Let us know! Read [Apple]
Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 26 Jun 2010 | 10:47 am Reporters Without Borders Fight Web Censorshipeldavojohn writes "Yesterday Reporters Without Borders (RSF) launched a new initiative called 'Anti-Censorship Shelter' that aims to provide shelter for bloggers and Internet journalists in foreign countries who risk persecution or censorship from their local governments. RSF stated, 'At a time when online filtering and surveillance is becoming more and more widespread, we are making an active commitment to an Internet that is unrestricted and accessible to all by providing the victims of censorship with the means of protecting their online information. Never before have there been so many netizens in prison in countries such as China, Vietnam, and Iran for expressing their views freely online. Anonymity is becoming more and more important for those who handle sensitive data.' Working with Xerobank, RSF has a high-speed, devoted VPN that users can connect to that sounds like an onion router. While RSF admitted this masked address service is not foolproof, it's impressive to see an organization proactively seeking out individuals and offering them a digital shelter to protect themselves from a fate similar to that of the estimated 120 imprisoned bloggers around the world."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 26 Jun 2010 | 10:24 am First impressions: Viliv N5 Ultra Mini Mobile PC
Viliv is at it again. This time around the Korean manufacturer is going after the clamshell market with the N5. The self-described Ultra Mini Mobile PC is really just that — a truly mobile PC. This form factor isn’t exactly new as I just looked at the main competitor, the UMID mbook bz, just a few months back so I’m actually curious if the N5 brings anything novel to the niche market. I’ve only had the handheld for a few hours now so what follows are simply my first impressions. I’ll post a full review once I put some serious time in with the device. These type of devices sometimes take a while to appreciate and understand so it’s not exactly fair to judge its potential right out of the box. Anywho, click through for a few pros, cons, and pics — including comparisons against the mbook bz. ProsScreen Build quality Graphic power Cons The mouse Touchscreen Keyboard Glossy screen Full review coming shortly
Source: CrunchGear | 26 Jun 2010 | 10:12 am The search for 16With the group round of the World Cup coming to a close and the round of 16 under way, it’s the perfect time to see what’s piqued searchers’ interest since our pre-tournament search trends kick-off.Understandably, searches for [world cup standings] climbed steadily during the first week of play as fans around the globe watched the various teams jockey within their groups to qualify for the next round. Upsets in the group round have been particularly effective at driving increased search volume. Switzerland’s win over Spain on June 16 (one of the tournament’s earliest upsets) drove its share of search traffic, and New Zealand’s unexpectedly good performance against Italy, the 2006 tournament champion, inspired people to look for information about the “All Whites” (the Kiwi team’s nickname). Until England’s keeper let in a “soft” goal in the game against the U.S., [striker] was a more popular term than [fullback], [goalkeeper] or [midfielder]—but since then, searches for [goalkeeper] have largely outpaced the other positions. Searches for [england keeper] and [rob green] also spiked on the day of that game. One of the rising—and controversial—stars of the World Cup’s initial days was the ubiquitous vuvuzela, which, at its peak on June 15, nearly overtook searches for [waka waka], the official song of the 2010 World Cup sung by Shakira. Viewers—and listeners—around the world searched for information about the South African horn, although after the initial spike it seems people have become accustomed to this unofficial match soundtrack, or perhaps purchased their own (listen for the German fans in the round of 16!). But the vuvuzela is certainly not the only aspect of this year’s World Cup under scrutiny. Controversies have cropped up throughout the tournament, and a rise in search volume was never far behind. Interest in the much-debated 2010 World Cup ball, or [jabulani], has remained high throughout the first two weeks, and searches for [world cup referees] reflect the growing awareness that an official’s decision can make or break the fate of a team. Search volume for this topic peaked on June 18, the day a potentially tie-breaking U.S. goal against Slovenia was disallowed by a controversial offsides call. Searches for [offsides] also spiked on June 18, as well as on June 11 following an offsides call during the opening game between Mexico and South Africa, and June 23 after a call in the U.S. game against Algeria. Among English-speaking countries, most of these searches came from the U.S., a country relatively less familiar with “the beautiful game.” Participating teams and individual players have also done their part to spark controversy. The French team has been in the spotlight for a variety of reasons: qualification for the tournament in a win over Ireland credited to a Thierry Henry handball, refusal to train after Nicolas Anelka was sent home for insulting the team’s coach (searches for [anelka] spiked following his departure), and their eventual elimination from the tournament. In another newsworthy twist, searches for Algerian player Rafik Saifi have skyrocketed in the last days after his altercation with an Algerian journalist. As the stakes climb even higher in the elimination rounds, we’re all on the look-out for more exciting (and controversial) moments and emerging stars. So stay tuned—we’ll be back with more search trends as the World Cup action continues. Posted by Emily Wood, Editor, Google Blog team    
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 26 Jun 2010 | 9:14 am Monkey-Pirate-Robot-Ninja-Zombie: Rock Paper Scissors 9.0 Bored of the same tired old rock-paper-scissors (lizard-Spock)? Try Mark Rayner's variant: "Monkey-Pirate-Robot-Ninja-Zombie!" MonkeyHow to Play Monkey-Pirate-Robot-Ninja-Zombie (Thanks, Mark!) Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jun 2010 | 9:11 am Quotable quotes from Government 1.0 -- in binary The Code for America project is celebrating July 4 in style, with a set of posters quoting the founders of the USA Government 1.0 in handy binary form. Print and display with pride! Some Fourth of July Decorations (Thanks, Tim!) Source: Boing Boing | 26 Jun 2010 | 9:06 am FIFA says it will investigate the Jabulani ball after the World Cup. Maybe it should investigate itself while it’s at it?
Sitting here watching Uruguay’s Luís Suárez bury the ball (his second goal = !!!) into the back of the net, I’m thinking to myself: “Boy, he sure didn’t seem to have any problem controlling the Jabulani.” But never mind, for FIFA, world soccer’s generally inept governing body—remember, this is the same body that refuses to allow goal line technology!—has finally come out and said it: “FIFA is not unreceptive about what has been said about the ball.” The organization now plans to talk to players, team officials, and the ball’s manufacturer, Adidas, after the tournament. The question is: is the ball crocked? The funny thing is, if there’s anyone “to blame” about the Jabulani, it’s FIFA itself! Adidas can’t sit in its laboratories and create a ball out of think air. FIFA sets standards and regulations and the various manufacturers meet these standards. The Jabulani meets FIFA regulations, so to blame Adidas for the ball would be like blaming a French Press from making too delicious coffee: that’s what it’s designed to do! And it’s not like the Jabulani is new, having been used in Germany’s Bundesliga since last December. (There’s even been a Pro Evolution Soccer Bundesliga Jabulani patch since March!) Granted, I don’t read Kicker every day, but I don’t recall any big controversy coming out of Germany because of the ball. I don’t want it to sound like I’m defending Adidas—I patently don’t care one way or the other. It’s not like I’m a stock holder or anything. If the ball is crocked it’s crocked, so be it. I merely think that complaining about the ball is a time-honored tradition. And if the Jabulani has been in use since December, then the onus is on FIFA to explain why it allowed the “flawed” ball in the World Cup in the first place. Perhaps there’s a failure somewhere in this mess, but I’m not exactly sure blame lies with the Jabulani itself.
Source: CrunchGear | 26 Jun 2010 | 8:55 am Biggest Tech Industry Apologies of 2010 (So Far)While apologies from BP to the world regarding its environmental disaster and even from a U.S. Congressman to BP have stolen headlines of late, the tech industry has not been without its fair share of apologies during the first half of 2010 either.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 26 Jun 2010 | 8:35 am Digital Image Founder Smooths Out PixelsFifty years later, creator of the first digital image aims to smooth out the pixel.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 26 Jun 2010 | 7:45 am Can Meena Build An Indian Google?
Sana Azmi too lives in a Delhi slum. She is determined to become a lawyer. Sana has long had this ambition, but her unemployed father had made the decision to withdraw her from school this year, when she turns 16. His plan was to get her married as soon as possible, and he believed that if Sana received too much education, it would be difficult to find a suitable groom in their socioeconomic community. Moreover, they simply couldn’t afford to educate her. Sana begged her Dad to find a way; she told him that without higher education she would be like an “empty room”. Meena’s father has now stopped drinking and is working long hours to save money for her education. He considers Meena to be the pride of the family, and is hopeful that she will lift the family out of poverty. And Sana’s parents are no longer on the lookout for potential grooms for their daughter. Instead, they are supporting and encouraging her efforts to complete high school and continue on to university.
The Roshni formula is simple: empower smart girls with self confidence, critical thinking skills, basic social skills, and life skills—and make them realize that they can succeed by working hard and taking risks. Roshni girls, all of whom live below the poverty line yet maintain top academic standing, undergo intensive education through three training modules over a six-month period. The curriculum covers 25 subjects, ranging from public speaking to conflict management to hygiene. Students are also taught computer and internet basics. At the end of each training season, 60 top-performing students are granted scholarships by the Nurul Hasan Foundation to pursue their secondary and higher education.
Conditions for the poor in India are dire, and people live at the extremes; but, sadly, things aren’t always that much better in some parts of the U.S. and in other parts of the world. You don’t have to go as far as Harlem, NY, or Durham, NC, to see poverty and disfranchised youth. In Silicon Valley, you can just visit schools in East Palo Alto or Oakland. In fact, Saima Hasan says that she got the idea for developing the Roshni program while tutoring students in East Palo Alto. That’s where she hopes to pilot, next year, an American version of her program. My conclusion: if Roshni girls can rise above poverty, alcoholism, gender bias, domestic violence, marriage pressures, religious oppression, and a wide range of complex social and economic obstacles through pure hard work and determination, so can underprivileged communities in the U.S. There is nothing to stop us from lifting our minorities out of poverty and fixing the societal problems such as those that I’ve previously written about—American girls being left out of the tech world. Editor’s note: Guest writer Vivek Wadhwa is an entrepreneur turned academic. He is a Visiting Scholar at UC-Berkeley, Senior Research Associate at Harvard Law School and Director of Research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at Duke University. You can follow him on Twitter at @vwadhwa and find his research at www.wadhwa.com.
     
Source: TechCrunch | 26 Jun 2010 | 7:20 am Salesforce Files Suit Against MicrosoftMicrosoft Corp is being sued by software maker Salesforce.com for alleged patent violations, which comes a month after Salesforce was accused by Microsoft for stealing its intellectual property.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 26 Jun 2010 | 6:45 am High Toxin Levels Found In WhalesAccording to American scientists, sperm whales feeding even in the most remote reaches of Earth's oceans have built up stunningly high levels of toxic and heavy metals.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jun 2010 | 6:41 am 112 Year-Old Sunken Steamship Found in Lake MichiganA wooden steamship that sank in Lake Michigan over 112 years ago has been discovered off the Milwaukee-area shoreline, and divers say the vessel appears to have been perfectly preserved by the cold, fresh waters.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jun 2010 | 6:30 am Bing iOS4 update brings new features, but isn’t optimized for iPhone 4 (Appolicious)Appolicious - Microsoft’s Bing is holding its own alongside search engine giants Yahoo! and Google, and is now included as default option in mobile Safari. However, the free Bing app, despite its recent update for iOS4, is still sitting in middle-of-the-road territory—not much of an overall change since I reviewed the product back in December.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Jun 2010 | 6:20 am Whalewatching Industry BoomingAccording to a new study, whalewatching revenue topped $2 billion in 2009 and is set to grow 10 percent this year. The researchers said that the findings boost arguments that whales are worth more alive than dead.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 26 Jun 2010 | 5:30 am Hackers Target ATM Security FlawsA design flaw found in some automated teller machines may make them vulnerable to hackers, who could make cash dispensing machines everywhere spit out their cash holdings, according to a security expert who discovered the defect.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 26 Jun 2010 | 5:20 am 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 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 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 Jackson: A tribute from fans, a lawsuit from dad (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Jun 2010 | 2:26 am
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I turned 40 in March. I didn’t think of it much, and I don’t plan on buying a convertible sports car or otherwise engaging in a mid life crisis. These age milestones just aren’t as meaningful for most men as they are for some women. Besides, I still have the maturity level of an average teenager.
The GOP there has voted on a platform that would ban oral and anal sex. It also would give jail sentences to anyone who issues a marriage license to a same-sex couple (even though such licenses are already invalid in the state).
Best SF Novel:
Yesterday, Microsoft communications head 
The recent release of iOS 4 was eagerly awaited by iPod Touch owners, so much so that the update server was overwhelmed. However those who’ve completed the upgrade are complaining that their battery life is horrible. The Apple Support forum is full of complaints that the iPod Touch battery drains quickly even with little to no use. 
Meena wants to become a computer engineer. She believes that if she works hard enough, she can build her own “big business”—maybe a Google. So she is determined to complete her schooling and earn an engineering degree. Young girls like Meena, just 16 years old but with the ambition and confidence to enter the tech world, are a 
I was blown away by the energy and enthusiasm of the Roshni students I met on my recent trip to New Delhi. They were as confident as the students I teach at Duke and Berkeley. They bombarded me with great questions—they had a deep hunger to learn. And they were amazingly optimistic. Like the techies I know, they believed they could change the world. What surprised me the most was that that each of them claimed to have learned English through the Roshni program. This didn’t make sense given the short duration of the course. It turns out that even though they had studied English in school, these girls had never had the opportunity or confidence to speak it. Watch the video below of 15-year-old Roshni student Bazla Ambareen (and the other videos) to understand what I mean.
