Palm releases the webOS PDK public beta

Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile

In what can only be seen as a good move for future game development on the webOS platform, Palm has recently released the public beta of the webOS PDK. The news was announced during the Game Developers Conference and promises to let “developers use C and C++ alongside the web technologies that power the SDK and mix them seamlessly within a single app.”

Keep reading to check out the full press release…

Read [Palm Developer Center] Via [Business Wire]

Palm webOS PDK Public Beta Now Available

Palm Demonstrates New Games at Game Developers Conference

Game Developers Conference 2010
SAN FRANCISCO—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Game Developers Conference (GDC) – Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) today announced that a public beta version of the Palm® webOS™ Plug-in Development Kit (PDK) is now available at the Palm Developer Center (developer.palm.com). Palm is demonstrating new games from early PDK developers in its booth at GDC (No. 2016).

“It’s quite difficult to make a great phone that’s also an outstanding gaming platform; Palm has been successful delivering both.”
The PDK complements the Palm webOS Software Development Kit (SDK), letting developers use C and C++ alongside the web technologies that power the SDK and mix them seamlessly within a single app. The PDK enables new functionality, including immersive 3D graphics, and gives developers who have built games for other platforms an easy way to bring their titles to the webOS platform. Developers can download the beta PDK and start developing today, but distribution of games built with the beta PDK will require functionality provided in an upcoming Palm webOS update.

“Palm webOS is the go-to platform for great games on two of the three leading carrier networks,” said Katie Mitic, senior vice president, Product Marketing, Palm, Inc. “We have both the developer tools and the hardware necessary for a world-class gaming experience, and an impressive portfolio of webOS game titles from top-notch developers to show for it.”

At CES in January, Palm introduced 12 games built by four leading developers with early access to the PDK:

“Asphalt 5” (Gameloft)
“Brain Challenge®” (Gameloft)
“Glyder 2” (Glu Mobile)
“Let’s Golf!” (Gameloft)
“MONOPOLY” (EA Mobile™)
“Need for Speed™ Undercover” (EA Mobile)
“SCRABBLE” (EA Mobile)
“Sudoku” (EA Mobile)
“Tetris®” (EA Mobile)
“The Oregon Trail” (Gameloft)
“The Sims™ 3” (EA Mobile)
“X-Plane” (Laminar Research)

Since then, more than 20 exciting webOS titles have been launched by these early-access developers:

“Apollo” (Laminar Research)
“Assassin’s Creed™ – Altair’s Chronicles” (Gameloft)
“Brothers In Arms®: Hour of Heroes” (Gameloft)
“Castle of Magic” (Gameloft)
“Deer Hunter 3D” (Glu Mobile)
“Dungeon Hunter” (Gameloft)
“Earthworm Jim” (Gameloft)
“Gangstar: West Coast Hustle” (Gameloft)
“Giant Fighting Robots” (Laminar Research)
“Guitar Hero 5 Mobile” (Glu Mobile)
“Hero of Sparta” (Gameloft)
“Real Soccer 2010” (Gameloft)
“Real Tennis” (Gameloft)
“World Series of Poker: Hold’em Legend” (Glu Mobile)
“X-Plane Airliner” (Laminar Research)
“X-Plane Carrier” (Laminar Research)
“X-Plane Extreme” (Laminar Research)
“X-Plane Glider” (Laminar Research)
“X-Plane Helicopter” (Laminar Research)
“X-Plane Racing” (Laminar Research)
“X-Plane Space Shuttle” (Laminar Research)

“The Palm webOS PDK is extremely powerful and far-reaching, as evidenced by the number of titles we’ve been able to bring to the webOS platform in a very short time,” said Baudouin Corman, vice president of publishing, Americas, Gameloft. “It’s quite difficult to make a great phone that’s also an outstanding gaming platform; Palm has been successful delivering both.”

More information about the beta PDK is available at the Palm Developer Center (developer.palm.com). More information about games for Palm webOS is available at www.palm.com/applications.

About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. creates intuitive and powerful mobile experiences that enable consumers and businesses to connect to their information in more useful and usable ways. The company’s groundbreaking Palm® webOS™ platform, designed exclusively for mobile application, introduces true multitasking and Palm Synergy™, which brings your information from the many places it resides into a single, more comprehensive view of your life.

Palm products are sold through select Internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator channels, and at the Palm online store (www.palm.com/store).

More information about Palm, Inc. is available at www.palm.com.

Palm, Synergy, and webOS are trademarks of Palm, Inc. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:56 am

US 'JihadJane' charged for Europe, Asia terror recruiting (AFP)

AFP - A US woman operating online under the name "JihadJane" has been indicted for recruiting jihadist fighters in the United States, Europe and Asia in a bid to carry out terror plots.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:49 am

Xplore offers rugged iX104C4CR tablet PC for clean rooms

Tablet computers are big on the market right now for consumers, and the machines have been on the market for commercial users in specific industries for a while. A company called Xplore has unveiled a new tablet PC that is rugged and aimed at use in clean rooms and other environment that have demanding no contamination needs.

The tablet computer is called the Clean Room iX104C4 and features an optional AllVue Xtreme display that is 10.4-inches and has a 1024 x 768 resolution. The screen can also be fitted with an optional resistive touch digitizer. Graphics for the machine are Intel integrated.

The CPU is a dual core Intel U2500 at 1.2GHz. Other features include Bluetooth, WiFi, optional HSPA mobile broadband and more. The battery in the tablet is an 8-cell li-ion unit with up to 4.5 hours of run time. The rig can be ordered with up to 2GB of RAM and stores data to a 32GB SSD.

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Source: SlashGear | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:47 am

Seatbelt Cutter and Window Smasher for Paranoid Drivers

If you have watched too many episodes of Criminal Minds, you probably already have a panic room in your home, ready for when golf-club and baseball-bat wielding psychopaths invade your house. But what of the other place where you spend so much of your time? What if you car plunges down a steep ravine into the rushing waters below, or you flip your ride on its roof and hang, dangling helplessly from the seatbelt while the gasoline drips ever closer to the broken mirror focusing burning sunlight onto the hot asphalt? What then?

You will need the ExiTool, billed as a “seat belt cutter, window breaker, LED flashlight tool”. The ExiTool clips onto your seatbelt and there it stays, holding its steel blade, tungsten window-smashing nubbin and button-cell powered flashlight just where you’ll need it in case of hugely unlikely emergency. Not convinced? This awful video certainly won’t help, but it will make you laugh. It appears almost as a parody, as if a real informercial had been “sweded“:

The ExiTool will be available “soon” for “just” $27.

ExiTool [CRKT]

Blocks of Life Bubbling in the Orion Nebula [Image Cache]

It's confirmed: Space is bubbling with the potential for life. The Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared—on board the Herschel Space Observatory—has sent a high resolution analysis of the Orion Nebula's chemistry. It has scientists very excited.

It is astonishing to see how well HIFI works. We obtained this spectrum in a few hours and it already beats any other spectrum, at any other wavelength, ever taken of Orion. Organics are everywhere in this spectrum, even at the lowest levels, which hints at the fidelity of HIFI. The development of HIFI took eight years but it was really worth waiting for.

That's Frank Helmich, HIFI principal investigator of SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, getting his pants wet over his new toy. The Orion spectrum—capture back in January—contains all the molecules needed for the creation of life, "water, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, methanol, dimethyl ether, hydrogen cyanide, sulphur oxide, sulphur dioxide and their isotope analogues."

I just hope those molecules are just not sitting around, twiddling around, without actually recombining to create five-eyed aliens with purple tentacles. [ESA via Wired]

Robots dance the Nutcracker Suite

Jenise sez, "I work for Kiva Systems, a small robotics company in Woburn, MA, and the bots are amazingly fun to watch. A few years ago, one of our interns shot this video of the bots dancing to the Nutcracker Suite, and I thought it would tickle your ample sense of whimsy."

Ample whimsy: tickled.

(Aside: Whenever I hear the Nutcracker Suite, my stupid brain insists on supplying the lyrics from the "Smurfberry Crunch" breakfast cereal ad: "Smurfberry Crunch is fun to eat/A Smurfy fruity breakfast treat/Made with crunchy strawberries/They taste so sweet and [garbled]/Very fresh and very true/And very very Smurfy blue!")

(Bloody Smurfs.)

The Nutcracker performed by Dancing Kiva Order Fulfillment Robots (Thanks, Jenise!)

Samsung offers price and ship date for R1 and R0 PMPs

I mentioned the Samsung R1 PMP last summer when it landed in Europe. We expected the player to come to the US soon, but that never happened. Samsung has finally announced availability and pricing information for the R1 and its sibling the R0 PMPs.

The R1 will come in 16GB and 8GB versions that will both ship in April for $149.99 and $179.99 respectively. The R0 PMP will also be offered in 8GB and 16GB versions shipping in April for $99.99 and $129.99 respectively.

The R1 features a 2.4-inch TFT LCD touchscreen with drag and drop media loading. The R1’s battery is good for up to 50 hours of audio playback and four hours of video per charge. It also features a FM tuner and recorder along with support for Bluetooth headsets. The R0 has a 2.6-inch LCD and has enough juice for six hours of video and 30 hours of audio along with a microSD card slot for storage expansion.

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Entourage eDGe electronic reader adds PressDisplay newspapers: Read Marca from wherever!

Another day, another electronic book reader not called the nookor Kindlegets a content deal. The Entourage eDGe has signed a deal with Newspapers Direct, giving it access to papers like The Daily Mail, Marca(!), and The Washington Post. This is a great day for people who were waiting to read Real Madrid gossip on the eDGe.

The deal works via the Web site PressDisplay.com, which used to have a sponsorship deal with World Football Daily (well, World Soccer Daily at the time), a fine podcast based here in the good ol’ USA. You go to the site, and you get to pick and choose from among 1,500 titles. The way it was sold on World Football Daily was, read the sports papers from your favorite leagues around the world! It was pretty neat, actually, but a $30 monthly subscription to anything online almost seems excessive.

That’s pretty much it. I do think the hard reality of electronic book readers these days is, unless you’re the nook or Kindle, you might as well not exist. Not that they’re the end-all, be-all, but because they’re backed by book-selling giants.

via Shiny Shiny

Critical Reception: Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII - Gamasutra

Telegraph.co.uk

Critical Reception: Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII Gamasutra This week's edition of Critical Reception examines online reaction to Square Enix's RPG sequel Final Fantasy XIII, which reviews describe as "the most technically impressive title in Final Fantasy history." Final Fantasy XIII currently ... Review: `Final Fantasy XIII' falls flatSan Francisco Chronicle Final Fantasy XIII ships 5 million copiesGame Daily Lavish Party Thrown by Square Enix for Final Fantasy XIII LaunchTopNews United States Grassland Online -1UP.com -CNET all 331 news articles »

Amy Rigby, "Balls" (Greatest Song of All Time of the Day)

Paper Calendar Tears Off Its Pages Automagically [Gadgets]

This daily calendar mixes analog, digital, nature, and poetry all in one: Every autumn day, each of its pages will fall off automatically, teared by a clever mechanism at its top. As this video shows, it works great. But why?

Because in autumn, leaf falls, that's why. And because it was commissioned as a promotional tool for clients by leaf blower manufacturer Stihl. [Direct Daily]

Samsung offers pricing and availability on new Blu-ray home theater systems

Samsung is into home theater in a big way with all sorts of products including some of the most popular HDTVs around. Samsung is set to start selling its 3D TVs and will offer product demos in Sears stores this summer. Samsung has unveiled the pricing and availability on some of its new home theater systems that were on display at CES to go along with its new TVs.

Among the new home theater systems is the HT-C6930W shipping in April for $899 supporting 3D surround sound. The system also has wireless rear speakers. The HT-C7530W is a 5.1 surround sound system with wireless rear speakers, WiFi, 1GB of embedded storage and more for $999 with shipping starting in May.

The HT-C5500 and HT-C6500 home theater systems are for small spaces with 5.1 surround sound, advanced calibration options, and iPod docks. The C5500 will ship in March for $499 and the C6500 will ship in March for $649. The difference is that the C6500 will have 1GB of storage and dual HDMI inputs along with upgraded speakers.

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GDC: Ngmoco hopes to rule with new mobile games (Macworld.com)

Windows 7 SP1 due this year - bit-tech.net

Telegraph.co.uk

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Radian6 Launches Powerful Social Media Engagement and Monitoring Console For Brands And Agencies

Brands are engaging in the conversations that are taking place on social media sites now more than ever. But in order to tap into the social conversations that are taking place on the web, brands and agencies need to have a powerful tool to track, measure and engage sites such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and others. One of the leaders in the social media tracking space, Radian6, is launching a new Engagement Console to streamline this process.

A desktop client built on Adobe AIR, the engagement console lets your both track and engage in the conversation taking place on blogs, videos, forums, boards, Twitter, Flickr, Google Buzz, LinkedIn, Facebook fan pages, public discussion groups, and mainstream news sites. The site also allows for assigning of tasks from within the platform, enabling users to access workflow from within the client.

You can customize a tracking grid of social media sites by breaking out your conversation into stacks by broad or specific topics, tagged customer lists, or even user assignment. Stacks can also be separated out by media type.

Th workflow feature allows you to tag, assign, and route posts to team members, and track the status of the assignments. Any conversations a user engages in, whether it be on Twitter, Facebook or with a co-worker, will be recorded for both the user and the administrator. And of course, the console allows you to Tweet, reply, retweet, and send direct messages, shuffle through user profiles, and follow new contacts right from the platform. Similar to many of the consumer focused social media clients out there, Radian6 allows for unlimited accounts and includes a URL shortener.

With respect to Facebook, the client allows users to respond to status updates, wall posts, comments, and “likes”. Users can also view news feeds for Facebook friends, and see new photos or videos that have been uploaded from within the console. The dashboard also provides analytics from within the console, such as post volume, and engagement stats.

Radian6 has had considerable success in terms of serving big-name clients. The company is currently helping over 10,000 brands track social media sites, including Comcast, MTV, Dell, UPS, GE and Microsoft. And this engagement console has all the bells and whistles to make any brand marketer content. The console, we are told, will be in private beta until April. That being said, there are plenty of other offerings for companies and agencies to track social media and this is a competitive space. Radian6 faces competition from a number of startups including Scout Labs, Visible Measures, Viralheat, HootSuite and PeopleBrowsr.

Review: Acoustica Mixcraft 5

Acoustica’s Mixcraft 5.0 is a multi-track recording studio that allows you to record audio, use pre-defined loops, create videos, and more. They like to call it a kind of “Garage Band for Windows”, and it certainly does let you do a lot. Anyone familiar with multi-track editing won’t be intimidated by this, but even if you’re new to the party, you should find the learning curve to be reasonable.

The musician in me wanted to delve into a new song right away. Fortunately, this was not a problem. The Library tab at the bottom contains about 2000 sounds, ranging from your typical acoustic guitar, bells, and strings, to vinyl, vocals, and even bagpipes. You can preview each one without adding it to your project, while a double-click will create a single track with a single beat for your sound. There is also a mixer where you can set the lows, mids, and highs of each track, as well as a nice set of effects that you can use , like compression, distortion, reverb, and a set of DirectX effects.

Since the sample sounds won’t always match the pitch or tempo of your project, it’s actually quite simple to set each one to match the settings for your project. You can record directly to a track, either with a microphone or other input device. This works well, and it’s nice to be able to start editing and adding effects as soon as you’re done recording.

The only real problem I had with managing my project was with the scrollbar that spans the length of the tracks. Unlike Acid 7.0, there is no way to click the edge of the scrollbar and expand or compress it, which would allow you to get a more detailed look. You can use the plus or minus signs on your keyboard, which technically does the trick, but there’s a little less flexibility here.

While you can add video tracks to your projects, and mix projects down to create AVI or WMV files, there didn’t seem to be a lot of things you can actually do with the videos, other than adding a soundtrack. An assortment of video effects would have been nice.

Product Page

SAIC receives Navy contract worth up to $625M (AP)

Pioneer DJM-2000 pro DJ mixer debuts

I once won some tickets to an event from a radio station and when I went to to pick them up the number of knobs and buttons in the studio was impressive. I could never be a DJ, I have a tendency to push buttons to figure out what they do rather than read instructions. Pioneer has a new pro DJ controller it is unveiling today for those that know what all the buttons and knobs are for called the DJM-2000.

The device has the industry’s first 5.8-inch multitouch screen effects, Evolved Beat Effects, Pro DJ Link, and MIDI controls. The color LCD also lets the DJ set up seven different dynamic audio effects with touches and movements on the screen.

Other features include Pro DJ Link to link the Pioneer CDJ-2000 or CDJ-900 turntables to the mixer and a Live Sampler for taking sounds from as mic or master output to use in the mix. A 3-band EQ is built-in and the Cross fader function can be assigned and adjusted. The DJM-2000 will ship in June for $2,999.

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That TiVo Series 3 on Woot isn’t a bad deal

The TiVo Premiere will be here real soon so it isn’t much of a surprise to see a Series 3 on Woot. You might want to consider it, too. The Series 3 might be old, but it’s still a great DVR. It even has a few advantages over the TiVoHD line and upcoming Series4.

The big downside to the deal is that this Woot model only comes with a 250GB hard drive. But it’s also the only TiVo model features an open eSATA port that doesn’t require a special TiVo-approved drive or hacking. You can plug any ol’ eSATA hard drive into this model to instantly add storage. Note: eSATA RAID enclosures do not work as it’s not a eSATA port multiplier.

The Series 3 also ships with the fancy backlit remote and sports a nice OLED screen on the front panel. You’ll still need to pay for the TiVo service charge and two CableCARDS as this model doesn’t support the multistream M-Cards.

Keep in mind though, that while the Series 3 can still stream movies from Netflix, BlockBuster, Amazon, YouTube, and other random video podcasts, it will not get the fancy new menu system found on the Premiere. Sorry. TiVo doesn’t love you that much.

Leave No Trace: How to Completely Erase Your Hard Drives, SSDs and Thumb Drives [Security]

With stories abounding of identity theft aided by information lifted from discarded storage devices, you want devices you no longer plan to use to have no usable information when they head out the door. Here's how to wipe them clean.

Why Erasing Files Is Not Enough

Sure, you could erase the contents of the drive, but keep this in mind: the act of erasing a file does not remove it from a storage device.

When you erase/delete a file from your computer, it's not really gone until the areas of the disk it used are overwritten by new information. If you use the normal Windows delete function, the "deleted" file is sent to the Recycle Bin until the space it uses is required by other files. If you use Shift-Delete to bypass the Recycle Bin, the space occupied by the file is marked as available for other files. However, the file could be recovered days or even weeks later with third-party data recovery software. As long as the operating system does not reuse the space occupied by a file with another file, the "deleted" file can be recovered.

With SSDs, the erased file situation is even more complex. SSDs store data in blocks rather than in sectors as with magnetic storage. Overwriting a block was previously used involves copying the contents of the block to cache, wiping the block's contents, delete the block to be overwritten from cache, writing the new data to cache, and rewriting the block with the new data. As an SSD is used with files that are deleted or changed frequently, the performance can drop unless the drive (and operating system) support a technology called TRIM that wipes out deleted data blocks as soon as the file using the blocks is deleted. TRIM is supported by Windows 7 and by some late model SSDs, but not by older Windows versions. So, disk wiping can be both a security feature and a performance improvement strategy.

Data Wiping Versus File Erasure

While erasing files simply marks file space as available for reuse, data wiping overwrites all data space on a storage device, replacing useful data with garbage data. Depending upon the method used, the overwrite data could be zeros (also known as "zero-fill") or could be various random patterns.

Products that can be used for wiping hard disks might not be suitable for wiping other types of drives. In this article, we will look at methods for securely wiping hard disks, USB flash memory devices, flash memory cards, and SSDs.

Zero-Fill a Hard Disk

Time Needed: several hours (varies with size and speed of drive)
Software: Hard disk utility software from your drive vendor
Media: blank CD or floppy disk

Although writing zeroes across the entire hard disk surface (aka "zero-filling") is not sufficient to meet government data sanitation (disk wiping) standards such as DoD 5220.22-M or the more comprehensive Standards and Technologies (NIST) Special Publication 800-88, overwriting the entire hard disk prevents most types of data recovery from being successful.

Here's where to get zero-fill software from hard disk vendors:

Hitachi
Drive Fitness Test (see website for specific models supported)
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT
Select the Erase Drive feature to zero-fill your hard disk

Samsung
HUtil (see website for specific models supported)
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/support/utilities/Support_HUTIL.html
Use Tool, Erase HDD to zero-fill your hard disk

Seagate (including Maxtor)
SeaTools for DOS (see website for specific models supported)
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatools
Use Full Erase to zero-fill your hard disk

Western Digital
Data Lifeguard Diagnostics (select drive model for specific version recommended)
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?lang=en
Use Write Zeros to drive to zero-fill your hard disk


1. Determine the brand and model of hard disk you want to overwrite.
2. Download a CD ISO image or a floppy disk image (depending upon your equipment) and use the image to create bootable media. The floppy disk image is self-contained: run it, insert a blank floppy disk when prompted, and the image is created on the disk. You will need to use a CD burning program that works with ISO images to convert the ISO image into a bootable CD.
3. Restart your computer with the bootable media you created in Step 2.
4. Select the hard disk to zero-fill when prompted.
5. Choose the option to zero-fill the hard disk.


6. When the program is finished, follow the on-screen instructions to shut down or restart your computer.
7. Remove the wiped hard disk; you can now reuse or recycle the hard disk.

Secure Wiping a Hard Disk

Secure wiping goes beyond zero-fill operations, and provides an extra level of security. Most secure wiping programs are designed to meet DoD 5220 standards, which require three passes of overwriting with a special numeric pattern and verification. More information about this and other secure standards are available from the DataErasure website.

(Note that the 2007 revision of the Defense Security Service, Updated DSS Clearing and Sanitization Matrix (June 28, 2007) (PDF) now recommends degaussing or drive destruction for maximum protection.


Stanford University's Disk and Data Sanitization Policy and Guidelines, a must-read for understanding data wiping issues, recommends Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) for secure hard disk wiping.

Secure Wiping a Hard Disk with DBAN

Time Needed: several hours (varies with size and speed of drive)
Software: Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN); available from http://www.dban.org/
Media: blank CD (all versions) or floppy disk (version 1.0.7 and older versions)

1. Download the DBAN boot image ZIP file (we used version 1.0.7 and beta version 2.0 for this article); we downloaded the ISO image for CD burning, but a floppy disk builder is also available
2. Extract the contents of the compressed file.
3. Burn the ISO image file extracted in Step 2 to CD; see our article on how to do this, or use the built-in ISO CD image burning support in Windows 7. If you downloaded the floppy image builder, run the program to create a bootable floppy disk.
4. Restart the computer using the CD or floppy disk created in Step 3.
5. Press Enter to run DBAN in interactive mode.
6. Use up and down arrow keys to highlight the drive to wipe.
7. Press the space bar to select the drive.
8. Press M to select the wiping method.
9. Press F10 to begin the wipe process.


10. At the end of the process, shut down the system. You can reuse or recycle the wiped hard disk.

Note: if DBAN is unable to recognize your SATA hard disks, configure your system BIOS to use IDE mode rather than AHCI mode.

Wiping Flash Memory Cards and USB Drives

Programs such as DBAN or vendor-supplied hard disk utilities are limited in the devices they support: they are designed to work with internal ATA/IDE or SATA hard disks only. Programs that work with flash memory cards and USB flash drives often support hard disks as well, enabling you to use a single program for all disk wiping processes. Roadkil's DataWipe can be used with any hard disk, floppy disk, or flash drive that has a drive letter.

Wiping Flash Memory Cards with Roadkil's DiskWipe

Time Needed: Varies; from a few minutes to several hours, depending upon size and speed of drive and computer
Software: Roadkil's DiskWipe, available from http://www.roadkil.net/
Media: Can be run from Windows desktop

1. Download Roadkil's DiskWipe.
2. Extract the contents of the compressed file.
3. Open DiskWipe. If you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7, right-click the program icon and select Run as Administrator.
4. Select the drive to wipe.
5. Select the type of wipe to perform; DiskWipe can zero-fill the disk or write random data.
6. Enter the number of passes.
7. Click Erase to start the process.

8. At the end of the process, close the program. You can reuse the wiped disk.

Wiping SSDs

To solve write performance problems on drives that don't support TRIM (check with your drive vendor for firmware upgrades) is to use wiper.exe (included with some SSDs) or to run the Secure Erase feature supported in most recent ATA/IDE and SATA drives. The Secure Erase feature can be activated on many systems by running Secure Erase 4.0 (HDDerase.exe), available from http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase.shtml. Version 4.0 works with most recent ATA/IDE and SATA hard disks and SSDs, but if you use an Intel X-25M, X-25E, or X-18M SSD, follow this link to download Secure Erase 3.3 http://www.iishacks.com/index.php/2009/06/30/how-to-secure-erase-reset-an-intel-solid-state-drive-ssd/. Note that it is no longer being developed, and we were unable to use it on a system running an AMD 690 chipset.

Wiping Drives and Free Space with SDelete

SDelete is a free program from Microsoft's TechNet Sysinternals collection. It runs from the command line, and can be used to wipe drives, wipe files, or wipe free space.

Time Needed: Varies; from a few minutes to several hours, depending upon size and speed of drive and computer
Software: TechNet Sysinternal's SDelete, available from http://technet.microsoft.com

Media: Can be run from Windows desktop

1. Download SDelete.
2. Extract the contents of the compressed file.
3. Copy sdelete.exe to c:\windows\system32\ (this will enable you to run it from any location)
4. Open a command prompt session with Administrator rights.
5. To wipe all files on drive X: and its subdirectories and to wipe free space, enter Sdelete -p 2 –s -z X:\*.* (to see all command-line switches, enter Sdelete with no options)
6. Wait; the program displays status messages as it runs. When the program is finished, you can reuse or dispose of the drive.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Disk Wiping Programs

We used demo versions of two popular data recovery programs to evaluate some of the disk wiping programs discussed in this article. To determine whether a typical data recovery program could recover files on a SD card wipe with Roadkil's DiskWipe, we first of all formatted the card using a card reader. Ontrack's EasyRecovery Data Recovery (available from http://www.ontrack.com) had no difficulty finding folders and files to retrieve.

However, when we used DiskWipe to wipe the drive using a one-pass blank disk (zero fill) operation, EasyRecovery DataRecovery was unable to find the file system, let alone any files or folders.

After reformatting the card, taking a few photos, and deleting the photos, EasyRecovery Data Recovery was able to find the new photos, but the contents of the card before running WipeDisk were unrecoverable.

To evaluate SDelete, we used SDelete to wipe all of the files on a hard disk, but omitted the –z switch; when –z is not used, SDelete deletes files and renames them, but does not clear free space. To determine what might be visible, we used a demo version of Disk Doctors NTFS Data Recovery software, available from http://www.diskdoctors.net.

Disk Doctors were able to locate the deleted folder and Outlook Express message folders, but SDelete had renamed them from their original names and DBX extensions (Outlook Express message folders). If you use SDelete, it's very important that you take time to use the –z switch to clear free space on the disk (once a file is deleted, the space it occupies is free space).

We also used Disk Doctors to evaluate the effectiveness of a freeware program called Eraser, which can delete and overwrite files and folders from the right-click menu. We created a documents folder with a subfolder called Figures and used Eraser to overwrite the folder and subfolder using its default settings.

Disk Doctors was able to locate the folders, but the contents are files with garbage names and are zero bytes in size – except for leftover word processing temporary files (files that begin with $). These filenames were not changed, which could enable a snooper to figure out the names of the files in the folder – although the files themselves were destroyed. By using more overwrites or different methods available with Eraser, a more thorough wiping may be possible.

Conclusion

We've highlighted a variety of free ways to protect data on castoff drives from being retrieved. As you can see, your best bet is to overwrite data directly, but you also might want to consider using a program such as SDelete to scramble filenames first and then use a disk wiper such as Eraser or WipeDisk to finish the job.

Use demo versions of data recovery programs such as Ontrack Easy Recovery Data Recovery, Disk Doctors Data Recovery (various editions for NTFS, FAT, and flash media), and others to evaluate the effectiveness of your data wiping procedures. Remember, the full versions of these and other data recovery programs can save your data if you accidentally format or partition a disk because, until the data is overwritten, it's still there.

Maximum PC brings you the latest in PC news, reviews, and how-tos.

Google CEO: mobile computing reshaping Internet (AP)

OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini quad interface storage solution revealed

OWC has a big range of external storage solutions and other gear that is typically aimed at Mac users, but often work with Windows machines as well. The latest OWC offering is a new external storage solution called the Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini. The storage solution is hailed as the industry’s first quad interface 2.5-inch 1TB HDD.

The mini is available to order now with ten different models ranging in storage capacity from 250GB to 1TB. All of the models have FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0, and eSATA interfaces with data speeds up to 300MB/s depending on the interface used.

The drives are all housed in an aluminum enclosure. Some versions of the external device have 5400 rpm drive; some have 7200 rpm drives, and SSD versions are offered as well. Prices range from $119.99 to $299.99 for the 5200/5400 rpm drives, 7200 rpm versions are $144 for 320GB and $189 for 500GB. SSD versions are $299 to $849 depending on capacity. All versions are powered by the USB bus.

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Pentax 645D: 40 Megapixels, $10,000

Pentax has gone large with the new 645D medium-format DSLR. The 40MP monster has a 33×44mm sensor to fit all those pixels comfortably, and round the back has the DSLR standard-sized screen, a three-inch, 921,000 dot LCD. For a camera of this type the 645D is cheap, at ¥850,000, or $9,400.

Pentax has traditionally offered good cameras at low prices, and the original Pentax 645 film cameras were good entry level bodies for medium-format shooters (although second-hand TLRs were the cheapest way to go). The new 645D looks a lot like the old film body, a cube-shaped box with the protruding handle. In fact, all your old 645 lenses should work.

This camera is about studio work, and you won’t find fancy face-recognition gimmicks. There are still some unusual features, though. Built-in HDR, the choice of SD cards (dual slots) over Compact Flash and an in-camera HDR mode which will combine three images into one.

A size comparison of the 645D sensor next to a full-frame 35mm sensor

The exposure modes are great, and I want them in my camera. Alongside the usual shutter and aperture-priority modes, you get sensitivity-priority mode, which lets you set the ISO and the camera picks shutter speed and aperture. Also included is a shutter/aperture-priority mode, which lets you pick the shutter and aperture settings and tweaks the ISO to fit. Pentax is finally treating ISO as the third exposure variable, something impossible with film but obvious in digital. A gold star for Pentax.

Otherwise, things are conservative but smart. Both the top and rear screens have a tempered glass cover, the viewfinder is big enough to use (and covers 89% o the image), and the body has dust reduction. Sure, $10,000 will buy you an entire DSLR system, complete with multiple bodies, lenses and strobes. Compared to the competition, like Mamiya’s new $20,000 studio camera, it starts to look cheap. Available in Japan in May.

Pentax unveils 40MP 645D medium format DSLR [DP Review]

HP Slate vs. iPad: Focus on Flash - PC World

Times Online

HP Slate vs. iPad: Focus on Flash PC World With the iPad presale beginning in just a few days, and the clock ticking down to the much-anticipated Apple tablet finally hitting the streets, HP launched a renewed campaign for its Slate tablet PC debuted at the 2010 CES by Microsoft ... HP Offers iPad AlternativeInformationWeek Stock Picks: Apple, Intel, Aetna, H&R BlockBusinessWeek UK Mobile Providers Expected to Fight for iPad DealI4U CNET -Wired News -ZDNet (blog) all 678 news articles »

MSI Wind12 U230 notebook now shipping

Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Laptops, Netbooks

MSI has recently introduced yet another notebook/netbook, it is the Wind12 U230 and is powered by an AMD processor and available in two versions—the U230-033 and U230-040. To begin with, this gets that notebook/netbook description because it falls right in the middle with a 12.1-inch WXGA (1,366 x 768) display.

But whether or not this is technically a netbook is not the issue because the U230 seems to be a capable little device.

Feature wise you can expect 2GB of RAM, Wi-Fi 8022.11 b/g/n, a 6-cell battery, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, built-in card reader and an ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics card. Additionally, the U230 comes sporting Windows 7 Home Premium.

In terms of the different models, they U230-033US comes with an AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor with a 250GB hard drive, and the U230-040US comes with an Athlon X2 L335 processor and a 320GB hard drive.

In terms of pricing, the U230-033US is up for $429.99 while the U230-040US is priced $50 higher at $479.99. Finally, both models of the MSI Wind12 U230 can be found with Newegg.

Read [MSI] Product (via Newegg) [Wind U230-033US] and [Wind U230-040US]

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

iKat Augmented Reality App Works Without Real-World Prompt [Apps]

Apart from the name—which I personally approve of very much—Zenitum's iKat app has another cool edge to it. It's (we think) the first augmented reality phone app to work without a marker, or real-world prompt.

The app itself is pretty basic, just a cartoon-like pet running around on whatever surface you aim the phone at. Zenitum, the South Korean company behind iKat, says the app has to recognize an environment to work:

"Based on Zenitum's D-Track engine, we are working on markerless mobile augmented reality application, iKat. You are breeding a virtual kitten on the phone. The kitten can be mixed into real world using AR. Since no markers or image targets are needed, you need to recognize the space in front of the camera for creating the appropriate space for your kitten."

Here's the app working:

It's all built using Zenitum's D-Track software, which is explained in this video below:

iKat is a neat stepping stone for augmented reality, and while the app itself doesn't do much, I'm sure Zenitum will be expanding their technology for further use. [Zenitum via Recombu]

Quirky unveils crowd designed Cloak Undercover case for iPad

I think many of the products Quirky produces are cool and I like the fact the company lets visitors to its website help design the product. The latest product for sale at Quirky is a cool case for the iPad called the Cloak Undercover.

Quirky is taking pre-orders on the Cloak Undercover now for $36 each and only 620 will be made. The Cloak is a case with a lid that flips back to protect the screen of the iPad. The iPad is held inside the case with a friction grip after it is slid into the case.

The Cloak has a stand that will hold the iPad up in portrait mode and the lid can be used to hold the tablet up in landscape mode. The case is cool and you can pre-order yours right now.

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Bike Directions Added to Google Maps - PC World

New York Times (blog)

Bike Directions Added to Google Maps PC World Google on Wednesday launched bicycle directions for Google Maps making it easier for cyclists to plan routes in 150 US cities including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Portland and Washington, DC. You can use Google Maps to find ... Google Maps Adds Bike DirectionsWired News Google gets bike-friendlyChicago Tribune Google Adds Bicycling Features To Its Online MapsWall Street Journal TG Daily -CNET -DVICE all 257 news articles »

MSI debuts new Wind12 U230-033 and U230-040 notebooks

MSI pulled the cover off its Wind12 line of AMD powered ultraportables a few months ago. We saw the original U230 on video back in November of 2009. MSI has unveiled a couple new models for the Wind12 line called the U230-033 and the U230-040.

The new models for the line weigh 3.3 pounds each and have 2GB of RAM along with a 6-cell battery. The operating system for both models is Windows 7 Home Premium and both have 12.1-inch 1366 x 768 HD resolution screens. Graphics on both models are via Radeon HD 3200 GPUs.

The keyboards use keys 51% larger than those on standard keyboards do for typing comfort and pack in a 1.3MP webcam, HDMI out, USB 2.0 ports, and a memory card reader. The difference in the two models comes in storage and CPU. The U230-033 has an Athlon Neo MV-40 processor and 250GB of storage with the U230-040 getting an Athlon X2 L335 processor and 320GB of storage. The 033 sells for $429 and the 040 sells for $479 with both at Newegg now.

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The Russian Mr. Wizard would like you to suck on his fumes

As far as I can tell this is some begelled Russian Mr. Wizard showing off the production of mist from a melting piece of dry ice. While the mist is essentially carbon dioxide it’s probably not the best thing to give to kids. However, he does say “Nie boj sie,” meaning “Don’t be afraid,” when he shoots a stream of it into everyone’s faces, which suggests he’s been huffing this stuff for years with no ill-effects. Why? Триглав only knows.

Anyone speak enough Russian to tell us why this guy is offering CO2 facials?

Thanks, Alex!

Video Tour of Redesign: Back to the Future at MySpace? Or Just Another Retread? [BoomTown]

Earlier this week, BoomTown visited MySpace HQ in Beverly Hills, Calif. to interview its new co-presidents, Michael Jones and Jason Hirschhorn, and get a look-see at its evolving revival plans to stop the social networking ship from sinking further.

Thus, I got a tour of a storyboard-like room at MySpace, where the team is trying to formulate the “discover and be discovered” motto it is now using, which is pretty much its old motto restated.

Can the old become new again?

In fact, a lot of the plan does sound a lot like shades of the past at MySpace, focusing on a younger, artistic demo with a heavy dose of pop culture.

Jazzed up, of course, with the latest social networking hooks, a cleaner user page redesign, topics pages, a focus on sharing content of all kinds, especially music, games and entertainment, and more.

That includes a new Today on MySpace, or TOM, to greet new users, rather than the famous analog Tom Anderson, co-founder and former first friend to all. Get it?

It is all part of a very slow-moving effort to turn MySpace into a socially-charged entertainment hub, which is now being led by Hirschhorn and Jones.

They took over management immediately after News Corp. (NWS) execs suddenly fired CEO Owen Van Natta last month.

The pair reported to Van Natta and now they essentially share his job to revive MySpace, which has lost ground to fast-growing and more innovative sites such as Facebook.

Still, it is not a small enterprise, with upwards of 100 million monthly visitors and just above $350 million in annual revenue.

Here’s a video of the tour I did, in which the pair describe some what they have been up to, which seems to center, most of all, on turning back the clock and returning to MySpace’s roots.

Is a proper retread enough to stem the losses–which is completely dependent on keeping talent and executing well–if there are enough newfangled features to make it all feel fresh?

Or not?

Time will tell, but here’s a sneak peek:

Brazil: Copy Cats? What Copy Cats?

I’ll say this about Brazilian startups—they’re certainly not dominated by Web copycats. Perhaps it’s because there aren’t a huge number of Brazilians who’ve made it big in the Valley transmuting the local way of doing things back home or because there’s not a lot of US venture capital flooding into the country. Perhaps it’s the country’s noted isolationist streak, or perhaps it was just the startups I lucked into meeting.

But whatever the reason I saw fewer “We’re-the-fill-in-the-blank-Web-company-of-Brazil” ventures than I have in any other market to which I’ve traveled in the last few years. Many Brazilians I spoke with said it’s just part of their nature, that they’re not competitive (tell that to fans of opposing soccer teams), and that they’d rather chase “green field” – or, as they say, “blue ocean” – opportunities. See, they don’t even use the same color to describe opportunities.

No matter the reason, after nearly 30 weeks of emerging market travel it was refreshing to go to a country and see things that are unequivocally new, even if risky and a bit, well, wacky. To make the point, here are three of my favorites: Companies that make bugs, houses and diamonds.

The World’s Ickiest Factory: Bug is one of most aptly-named companies in the world. This company makes bugs. No really, I saw the factory: Millions of eggs, and jars and jars of larvae and cocoons. There’s a “cook” on staff who makes up the peanut-buttery solution these bugs feed on and each room is kept at an optimal temperature for that stage of bug development. Like something out of a sci-fi movie, the company is growing natural predators for common agricultural pests, so that farmers can move away from pesticides in accordance with a growing wave of worldwide safety regulations and the organic food movement. It’s combating a caterpillar with a wasp—like nature intended– but rather than selling live wasps, it sells wasp-infected caterpillar eggs and cocoons. Think of them like thousands of little Trojan horses being dropped into Brazil’s sugar cane, tomato, and soybean fields.

Brazil is the second largest agricultural country in terms of exports and the largest pesticide user in the world, recently overtaking the United States. The company is only doing a few million in revenues but is hugely profitable. That’s the good thing about growing something found in nature—it’s pretty cheap once you figure out the optimal way to do it.

But even without all that, I would love this story because Heraldo Negri, one of the co-founders, is just obsessed with bugs. Since he was 19-years-old he’s photographed pictures of bugs in every stage of life. He has albums and albums of them and even started a niche publishing house to produce his bug books for the masses. He doesn’t seem to think this is weird at all. When he handed me a stack of his books on bugs he exclaimed, “Your husband will love these!” (Note: My husband has a horrible fear of spiders.) That’s Negri above, standing on the left. What you can’t see from the picture is that he’s holding two fistfuls of larvae. Here’s a close-up….

Negri—a former college professor who lives several hours outside of Sao Paulo— always wanted to be an entrepreneur but says he never quite had the guts to take the plunge. But the sheer obsession with the idea and technology drove him to take a sabbatical (which he intends to be permanent) from his university teaching job to run this company full-time.

Bug is funded by Fundo Criatec, a government-sponsored venture fund. It’s one of its hottest companies and Francisco Jardim (standing to the right in the main photo), who’s in charge of the fund’s deals throughout the state of Sao Paulo, drives out to Piracicaba meet with them several times a month.

Bug was a risky investment deal in a country that doesn’t take a ton of venture risk. The technology was there, but several VCs walked from negotiations because the company didn’t yet have local certification to sell to farmers. Now, it is one of the only ones that does, and its biggest problem is meeting demand, so it’s investing in better, larger bug-growing facilities. (Right now they’re largely using a series of houses and an old supermarket.) Certification is a process that takes several years, and tellingly, some big multinationals and other upstarts recently applied for certification, Jardim says.

How to Build a House in One Day: It doesn’t take much travel to see that millions of people in the emerging world need better housing—hell, you could just watch “City of God,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” or earthquake footage from Haiti. Or just visit 16th and Mission in San Francisco. Much of the emerging world is living in makeshift structures that are missing walls, doors or decent ceilings. That’s what makes BS Construtora so potentially exciting not only for Brazil but the entire emerging world.

BS Construtora was started 14 years ago and for many years was just a small business known in agriculture sectors for its ability to build structures such as silos faster than the competition. 2006 was a bad year for agriculture in Brazil, and the company had to look around for other customers. The founder Sidnei Borges dos Santos, a former brick layer, was looking at a shoebox when he had the idea for how to build a prefab house quicker than the competition. Rather than pre-make parts and assemble them wall-by-wall and beam-by-bean, what if he made a mold that could lay the concrete for the whole room in one big piece, add the shutters, paint it and throw it on a truck? The molds leave room for plumbing and lighting and plop the houses on the ground just like the inspiration–an upside-down shoebox.

Today the company can build a house in 24 hours. It’s currently building a whole city complete with 1,600 houses, electricity, phone lines, Internet access, schools, a hospital, a police station, a fire station and a shopping mall in the Amazon for a crew building a hydroelectric dam. The photo of the village I saw looked eerily like where “The Others” live in Lost, but a house built on the cheap in 24 hours isn’t for show—it’s for necessity and speed. And there’s a ton of need in the world for this product. The company is meeting with governments of South Africa, Ghana, other parts of Latin America and Asia to talk about expansion.

The problem is thin margins. So far BS Construtora has been financing itself mostly through working capital while trying to dramatically increase capacity. It can build 20,000 houses in a year and CEO Marcelo Miranda wants that up to 30,000. In another year, the company will start looking at raising some funding to help grow faster, he says. For now, he wants to give the valuation some time to build, given all the growth the company is seeing. The houses go for between $15,000 and $140,000, for nicer-non-Lost-like models. The company is also developing some new four-story models to get farther into the commercial market.

BS Construtora gets a few big corporate or government funded projects like the village described above—a $120 million-plus project—but the bulk are developed and sold on the real estate market. The former is likely lower margin but less volatile, and the latter is the opposite. Between the two, though, the company generated an impressive $100 million in revenues last year – made all the more impressive by the fact that this is a startup that hasn’t received any external funding, operating in an emerging market.

In a decline-of-America-side-note, Miranda is a recent Stanford MBA grad who got 13 other job offers upon graduation, including some impressive ones to head up multi-national divisions in Brazil. (He asked me not to disclose specifics.) He gutsily chose to take this rather uncertain post at BS Construtora last year—at nearly half the pay he was offered elsewhere– despite the fact it was mostly an idea with little execution.

Why’d Miranda go back to Brazil? Part of it was a desire to build something in his homeland. Part of it was when he interviewed at companies in the US they intimated that there was pressure to hire only Americans. “It was the wrong time to be there,” he says. “The feelings were not good for a foreigner like me.” Looks like that brain drain isn’t limited to India and China.

Drilling Your Teeth the P-Diddy Way: Another Fundo Criatec investment is CVD. (I know, it’s not nearly as well named as Bug.) This company makes man-made, multi-crystal diamonds, with technology spun-off from the Brazilian equivalent of NASA, INPE. Aeronautics was big during the dictator days and there was a need for super-hard materials that were durable and wouldn’t corrode, so it started experimenting with growing diamonds and using them in space. Much like the early days of NASA gave American things like the EKG and Tang, Vladimir Airoldi (left) is working to make this diamond technology applicable to everyday life.

The key to CVD’s edge isn’t so much the diamond itself, it’s the way it preps the diamond to be adhered to another surface. The first product is tips of dentist drills. Diamond powder is already used on drills, but it doesn’t stay on well. Because CVD’s adhesives are so much stronger it can drill with an ultra-sonic, not rotational motion, which means no pain, no bleeding and no anesthetic, the company says. Early adoption has been a challenge. Dentists are trained a certain way and don’t like to deviate. So far just 5,000 dentists in Brazil have tried it and 3,000 are still using it. Another early use is drilling into the earth. CVD did a pilot-sale of some diamond-adhered drill tips to Petrobras a few months ago.

The hope is to turn CVD into a platform company that can spin out lots of these ideas, and partner with others to take them to market. Obviously, the challenge here will be the latter. The technology is there, and Airoldi, a CalPoly grad who got his ideas about tech transfer from his experience in California, can come up with dozens of use cases of the top of his head. Focus is going to be a key for this company.

But, like Bug and BS Construtora, CVD is trying to introduce new technology into industries that many other entrepreneurs have forgotten about. If that’s going to be the new green field – or blue ocean—opportunity, Brazil is a good place to bet.

Dear Foursquare: BoomTown Is Mayor of "Gossip Girl" (and You're Not!) [BoomTown]

On Monday night, Foursquare Founder Dennis Crowley posted a Flickr photo of a BlackBerry screenshot featured on the latest episode of the red-hot television potboiler “Gossip Girl.”

The text message on the screen (which I took a picture of here) read: “Elizabeth Fisher just checked in at the Algonquin Hotel.”

Wrote Crowley in the image title, which he also posted on Twitter: “Checkins on Gossip Girl? No mention of foursquare, but hey, still pretty hot.”

Not hot at all, actually, because there have been zero checkins on Foursquare in scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite as yet!

If you watched the show, you also would know they are too busy hooking up in an endless round robin, with an occasional Belgian prince drug dealer thrown into the mix, to claim domain mastery of Geisha or Henri Bendel.

(If you don’t believe me, see a clip from this episode, titled “The Hurt Locket,” below, in which Blair Waldorf is dressed up like porn version of “Anna Karenina.”)

But way to try to ride Serena van der Woodsen’s hip Prada coattails, Dennis.

In fact, the note–which was sent to billionaire playboy Chuck Bass, who is searching for his possibly-not-dead-in-childbirth-for-which-he-has-blamed-himself-mercilessly mother, after running into a suspicious lady at his father’s gravesite on the first anniversary of his tragic car-accident death, who was carrying with flowers and then dropped a locket with a “E” engraved for Elizabeth, which was also his mother’s name…you get the idea–was from Bass’ private investigator, simply telling him she had checked into the hotel.

As in, “Gimme a key and extra towels.” And not as in: Trying to be Mayor of the Algonquin Hotel.

No character on “Gossip Girl” would try to be mayor of anything, since they own the town.

Which is also pretty clear if you watched the show–which just returned from a painfully long hiatus–as closely as BoomTown does.

And who am I, besides an keeper of the “Gossip Girl” integrity?

That’s a secret I’ll never tell.

You know you love me.

XOXO

Enjoy:

DNA Barcoding Reveals Habits And Movements Of Insect Pests

Facebook, Twitter Ready Location-Based Features - PC World

Fast Company

Facebook, Twitter Ready Location-Based Features PC World Facebook and Twitter are preparing to flip the switch on features that will allow you to share your location with your friends at any time. Facebook is reportedly revving up to introduce the feature, while Twitter is ready to enable the changes on its ... Foursquare gets down to businessCNET Location-aware Facebook could hurt local ad revenuesPoynter.org Next Month, Facebook Will Know Where You AreFOXNews Mediapost.com -VentureBeat -ABH News all 92 news articles »

Smart Kid baby furniture is useful once the kid can climb

I have two kids and both are years outside the baby bed today. I can remember putting the beds for them both together only to toss them out in a few years when they learned to scale the side of the bed. Andensen Furniture has a new design concept that is perfect for the new parents looking to get some mileage out of their furniture.

The Smart Kid furniture starts out as your average crib with drawers under and beside the crib. You need lots of storage for diapers and maybe extra clothes for you until you learn to dodge the urine stream if you have a boy. My son always held a bit back to use the instant the wiener hit air.

Once the baby is too old for a crib, the whole thing can be transformed into a variety of other useful devices for an older kid’s room. The setup can turn into a toddler bed with a desk and a green thingy that appears to be Velcro. It can also turn into one of those baby jail cells for when you need some time without chasing a toddler. Kid Smart has to be the coolest baby furniture ever.

[Via Yanko Design]

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Review: `Final Fantasy XIII' falls flat (AP)

AP - During the 1990s, the Square brand was synonymous with the role-playing video game. A generation of gamers got hooked on the challenging quests, quirky characters and sweeping story lines of Square RPGs like "Chrono Trigger," "The Secret of Mana" and, of course, the "Final Fantasy" series.

HP MediaSmart Windows Home Servers gets a TiVo companion app

HP keeps the fun rolling with its MediaSmart Windows Home Servers. It’s called the HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo, but don’t let the name fool you, it doesn’t directly increase your TiVo’s storage. The app, however, still has some nice features and might be a worthy replacement for the TiVo Desktop program.

The new companion program allows MediaSmart owners to transfer recorded programs between the network-attached TiVo and a MediaSmart server. Recordings can also be managed to some degree as well. Sounds like the free TiVo Desktop program, right?

But the new app also always any computer on the network to watch the programs stored on the MediaSmart server. Chances are those computers will also have to have the WHS app installed as well to circumvent  TiVo’s DRM. Truth be told, this can be done as well with the TiVo Desktop program, but each computer will need to have it installed as well, while the WHS app takes the solution to the server rather than each individual client. Makes sense.

Best of all, the app is free and currently available for all EX MediaSmart servers.

pics via MSWHS

Consumers Can Now Manage TiVo DVR Recordings
from HP MediaSmart Servers

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 10, 2010 – HP today made available HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo®, a new software application that lets TiVo DVR(1) owners manage video content from an HP MediaSmart Server.(2)

With a high-definition (HD) DVR from TiVo,(3) consumers can record, pause and rewind live TV, and access the world’s largest on-demand video library(4) to watch hit movies, TV shows, music videos and popular web videos.

With the new software application, which is offered at no charge to MediaSmart server owners, TiVo owners can:

— transfer shows from a TiVo DVR to a HP MediaSmart Server and back to a TiVo DVR

— manage TiVo recordings stored on a HP MediaSmart Server

— watch TiVo DVR recordings that are stored on a HP MediaSmart Server on any PC in the home

Based on the Microsoft Windows® Home Server platform, the HP MediaSmart Server is a central repository for automatically backing up and accessing digital music, videos, photos and documents from multiple computers on a home network.(5)

The HP MediaSmart Server automatically organizes files across all Windows and Mac computers, streams media across a home network and the Internet,(4) and publishes photos to popular social networking and photo sharing sites.

“The HP MediaSmart Server is the ideal companion for TiVo users. With the HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo, consumers can record more high-definition programs and not worry about filling their DVR since they can transfer their movies and shows on the HP MediaSmart Server and watch them on their PC,” said Jason Zajac, vice president of Attach, Personal Systems Group, HP. “Plus, consumers will benefit from all of the additional features the HP MediaSmart Server provides, such as backing up all Windows and Mac computers.”

Pricing and availability

The free HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo application can be accessed through the Windows Home Server Console of the HP MediaSmart Server EX490/EX495 and HP Data Vault.

Manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the HP MediaSmart Server EX490 with 1 terabyte of hard disk storage is $549, while the HP MediaSmart Server EX495 with 1.5 terabytes is $699.(6)

Google Maps Adds Bike Directions

Great news for bikers: the nerds at Google have added bicycling directions to Google Maps. It appears right alongside the other options, walking, car or public transit. It doesn’t work everywhere yet - I tried to find a way from my apartment to the local bike-polo court and Google Maps just told me it couldn’t calculate a route.

In San Francisco, though, everything is fine. I plugged in Wired HQ and the nearby Moscone center and got a straight three-block route. Too easy? Fine, what about Wired to Pier 39, tourist central (and home of a surprisingly good crab restaurant)? This, too, shows the same route for bikes and cars, but the alternative routes presented below are different. I guess that you get the most efficient route first, which is usually the same as you’d take in a car, with slightly more pleasant alternatives.

The service is, of course, in beta, and Google is soliciting feedback on the suitability of roads for biking. You can of course still do it the old-fashioned (and somewhat quicker) way: use the walking directions, which ignore road-rules and one-way streets.

Google Maps [Google]

Japanese Otaku Update: Now They're Indulging In "Factory Night Jungle Cruises" [Japan]

When planning your next Japan visit, better put aside a night for a "factory night jungle cruise" if you want to be right up there with the latest Japanese otaku craze. They literally visit factories, at night.

According to Japan Trends, which brought the fad to our attention, the "factory love" is popular among photographers—which I can understand, as lit-up factories can be quite scenic—but also families and couples too. A cruise around Panasonic's factory doesn't seem quite as romantic to me as cocktails at the top of the Park Hyatt Hotel, but then the 4,500 Yen ($50) cruise ticket price is probably cheaper than a few sake cocktails anyway. [Tabism via Japan Trends]

Norwest: Starting to Put $1.2 Billion to Work [Voices]

By Pui-Wing Tam, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Norwest Venture Partners late last year closed a huge new venture-capital fund of $1.2 billion, nearly double the size of the Silicon Valley venture firm’s last fund in 2006 that was $650 million. Now NVP is starting to put a chunk of that money to work.

NVP is investing $35 million into New York-based data warehousing and business intelligence firm 1010data, making it the first growth equity investment out of NVP’s new fund. Jon Kossow, who joined NVP as a partner last year to grow its growth equity practice — which essentially means the firm will be investing in mature companies that already have products and customers, instead of just young start-ups — will join 1010data’s board.

The 1010data investment is NVP’s first growth equity deal in a U.S. company since late 2007; in some previous U.S. growth equity deals, NVP was a passive investor and didn’t join the companies’ boards. The deal is just the latest sign of how NVP is diversifying its investment strategy and becoming more stage-independent. Last year, NVP also did a flurry of growth equity deals in India, for instance.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Kyte Now Offering Broadcast-Quality Live Video Streaming Backpack

Live video streaming on the web is becoming more and more popular, and for news organizations and brands who don’t want to shell out thousands of dollars a day for a satellite truck there is another option. At SXSW, Kyte is going to release a new product called Kyte LivePro Unwired with Spin magazine.

LivePro is a computer in a backpack connected to six data cards all uploading live video at the same time, balancing the load across three different carriers (Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon). It is made by LiveU and Kyte will be reselling it to its larger customers. (LiveStream uses the same technology in its Livepack).

Kyte CEO Daniel Graf came by my office the other day to show me the technology (see video below). It is incredible that a backpack can now replace a satellite truck. You won’t get HD quality, but you can get broadcast-TV quality, and it is certainly better than uploading video from your mobile phone, which Kyte also allows. He says that typical livestreaming rates with the backpack are 700 kilobits to 1 megabit per second.

Some customers using Kyte’s online video platform include Fox News, MTV, and Calvin Klein. Graf says Kyte is now streaming 100 million videos a month across its network, up from 50 million last summer.

Biking directions added to Google Maps

• Dark green indicates a dedicated bike-only trail;
• Light green indicates a dedicated bike lane along a road;
• Dashed green indicates roads that are designated as preferred for bicycling, but without dedicated lanes

Sceptre X240CC-FHD 1080p TV is clad in chrome

If Bender and his shiny metal butt ever decided to buy a new HDTV, this full chrome set from Sceptre would be what he would get. The frame, stand, and surfaces of the TV are all clad in shiny chrome. The upside is that you can always see who is walking up behind you. The downside is any sunlight hitting the thing might set your eyebrows on fire like a magnifying glass to an ant.

Underneath that shiny chrome surface sits a pretty darn good HDTV/PC display. The set has a 16:9 aspect ratio and supports full 1080p video. When used as a PC display the screen supports a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 and measures 24-inches. It can show 16.7 million colors and has a 4000:1 contrast ratio.

Brightness for the screen is 300 cd/m2 and it has 3W speakers built-in and sports S/PDIF output along with USB 2.0 input. Connectivity includes a pair of HDMI ports, composite, component, DVI, and VGA. HDCP is supported for Blu-ray playback as well. The chrome TV is available on Newegg and at retail locations like Target and Sears for $399. If you don’t like the product, you can bite my shiny metal butt.

Relevant Entries on SlashGear

• Sceptre 46-inch 1080p HDTV For $1299
• Google Chrome Gets Out of Beta Really Soon
• Turn your Xbox 360 to chrome
• Chrome OS Makes Another Appearance
• Google Chrome beta for Mac and Linux arrives plus new browser Extensions

Google opens Web store for business applications (AP)

Casttoo makes it cool to have a broken bone

I have never broken a bone despite the fact that I frequently jumped off the roof of my house as a kid and ran wild on a three-wheeler with no parental supervision at an early age. My cousin on the other hand could break a bone if he farted too hard. We are sort of like Mr. Glass and David Dunn from Unbreakable.

If you or someone you know has broken a bone recently we have the coolest cast covers ever from a company called Casttoo. The things are available in several styles including several different pre-designed styles that go on casts of all sorts and sizes with drawn bones with breaks for decoration.

The coolest cover is certainly the custom one where you send the company a digital version of your actual x-ray and they print your break on a cover. Just think of all the time you could save by not having to explain what’s broken, you could just point to the cast picture. The custom cast covers cost as much as $40 depending on the size needed.

[Via BoingBoing]

Relevant Entries on SlashGear

• Bone Wrist Support – proof people will buy anything
• Bone Calculator
• Audio Bone 1.0 Headphones are waterproof; better for ears
• Sound Leaf+ bone conduction Bluetooth headset from NTT DoCoMo
• Pantech add bone conduction to silent cellphone

South Korea Testing "Recharging Roads" For Its Public Transport [Transport]

South Korea has overhauled its public transport network with recharging roads, where the vehicles use power from buried electric strips in the road. It was invented at the University of California, before South Korea adopted it for an amusement park.

The system is being tested at an amusement park in Seoul, but if all goes well, the country hopes to expand it to the whole city's bus route—helping minimize unsightly overhead power lines and obviously doing a good turn for the environment. Dubbed the Online Electric Vehicle system, or OLEV, the magnetic electrical charging strips are buried in four different areas along the 2.2km bus route, with the buses sucking power which can be used to drive or just filling up the battery storage.

When visiting cities like San Francisco that rely heavily on trams, which run on ugly overhead lines, I've often thought there should be a better way of networking public transport. This could be the answer—and help a little way towards reducing carbon emissions, too. [PhysOrg]

Gowalla now available on Palm Pre and Pixi devices

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile, Trade Shows, SxSW

The annual South by Southwest Festival is kicking off this weekend, and Gowalla has taken that as an opportunity to debut its service on multiple smartphone operating systems. The location check-in service released an Android application last week and followed suit today with a new webOS app for Palm Pre and Pixi users.

Gowalla is a location-based social network/game. Members visit locations like parks, restaurants, and entertainment venues, then “check-in” to announce their location or activity. It’s a way to share activities with friends and discover new locations to visit through the game. Gowalla members using a Palm Pre or Pixi were previously unable to use the Gowalla web app because webOS phones don’t support its location-awareness feature in the browser. The new app addresses that problem, allowing Gowalla members to finally check-in from their phone.

The design of the Gowalla app is beautiful, but will that be enough to attract users away from popular rival Foursquare? Only time will tell, but SXSW will be a good testing ground for this Check-in Competition.

Read [Gowalla Palm App Catalog Entry] Via [Download Squad]

Full Story » | Written by Andrew Kameka for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Trees Use Neighbors In Fight Against Herbivores

Warpia Wireless Notebook Dock Cuts Cable Clutter

Warpia’s new Easy Dock could do with a new name and a prettier box, but the promise of the product is an enticing one: rid yourself of (almost) all cable-clutter. The wireless-USB kit consists of a USB stick that plugs into your notebook and a base station that plugs into everything else: your monitor, speakers, keyboard and mouse. Apart from hooking your laptop up to the mains once in a while, you never need to snake cables across your clean desk again.

The Easy Dock will be $150 when it ships in a few weeks (we will be testing one out). I’m pretty excited as I have been looking for something like this for a while. Once the drivers are installed (for OS X and Windows), the OS should just see the peripherals as USB devices. But how well does the display work? The specs say that it supports monitors of up to 1400×1050 and will display HD video up to 720p, at a color depth of 32-bits.

We wonder if hard drives can be hooked up, (we’ll test that one out) and just how the display copes with movies and fast-moving games. If it all works as promised, the dock could be great for keeping your desk clear, or it could let you stream movies direct from your laptop to the big screen and speakers. One day, we hope, this tech will just come standard inside every USB device.

Easy Dock [Warpia. thanks, Natalia!]

See Also:

• Imation Ships First Wireless USB Hard Drive
• WiGig Tempts With High-Speed Wireless Data Transfer
• Iogear Announces Wireless Kit for Monitors and Projectors
• WUSB
• Cheap, Home Made Wi-Fi Tether
• Review: Kensington Docking Station Makes Mobile Computing Almost …

Sources Of Pollution In Waterways

EFF dubs Apple a 'jealous feudal lord' over iPhone dev contract - Computerworld

Sydney Morning Herald

EFF dubs Apple a 'jealous feudal lord' over iPhone dev contract Computerworld Computerworld - Apple's agreement with iPhone developers contains several "troubling" clauses that paint the company as a "jealous and arbitrary feudal lord," the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said yesterday. ... The Top 10 Free Travel AppsPC Magazine Home Buyers Check Out AppsWall Street Journal EFF knocks iPhone developer license agreementCNET VentureBeat -Apple Insider -eWeek all 373 news articles »

Need an Extra Terabyte for Your TiVo? New App Lets You Link to an HP MediaSmart Server (PC World)

40MP Pentax 645D Camera Will Be Japan's In May, And Ours Soon After [Cameras]

It's not a micro four thirds, but Pentax has lifted the lid on the 645D medium format camera, which will be available this May for close to $10,000. Why so expensive, you ask? There's that 40MP Kodak sensor for starters.

It's also got a SAFOX IX+ autofocus system with 11 sensor points, a Pentax original Real Image Engine, 14 bit A/D converter, and is the ultimate kick-around camera, with 70 seals making it dustproof, weather resistant and cold-proof. There's also a dust removal II system, just in case. It takes SD/SDHC memory cards, and while that May release is scheduled for Japan, the rest of the world should be getting some Pentax love soon after. [Photography Blog]

Full (UK) release below:

The PENTAX Imaging Systems Division of HOYA Corporation in Japan will announce on 10th March 2AM CET (1AM GMT) a new digital medium-format camera, the 645D, and its 55mm lens, which will be launched in Japan only.

Here are the main features of the 645D.

PENTAX 645D
- 40 Megapixels sensor (44 x 33mm), designed by Kodak
- PENTAX original Real Image Engine
- 14 bit A/D converter
- Dustproof, weather-resistant and coldproof body (70 seals)
- Dual SD/SDHC card slots
- New SAFOX IX+ autofocus system, with 11 sensor points
- Dust Removal II mechanism
- Trapezoid-shaped glass prism viewfinder
- Weight: 1480g loaded and ready with battery and 2 SD cards

PENTAX D-FA 645 55mm F2.8 AL [IF] SDM AW
- Equivalent to 43.5mm in the 35 format
- Dustproof, weatherproof
- Aero Bright coating
- First PENTAX completely rounded diaphragm
- SDM focus mechanism
- Weight: 416g

Planned launch date in Japan: May 2010.

The 645D does not have a RRP in Japan but is expected to sell for ¥850,000 while the lens is expected to have a street price around ¥100,000.

It is not yet decided whether this camera will be available in other markets.

Pentax Press Release

HOYA CORPORATION PENTAX Imaging Systems Division is pleased to announce the launch of the PENTAX 645D lens-interchangeable, medium-format digital SLR camera. Thanks to the incorporation of a large image sensor, equal in performance to professional-standard digital camera backs, this high-performance model delivers super-high-resolution images with approximately 40 effective megapixels. It also offers outstanding dependability and superb operability and maneuverability to make outdoor shooting effortless and comfortable for demanding photographers.

The PENTAX 645D has been developed to provide super-high-resolution images produced by large image sensors - something previously available only on professional models - to serious landscape and outdoor photographers. It combines exceptional image quality with excellent maneuverability and outstanding reliability to simplify professional-level outdoor shooting. Thanks to the incorporation of a large, high-performance image sensor (measuring 44mm by 33mm) and PENTAX-original image-processing technology, it produces extra-sharp, super-high-resolution images with approximately 40 effective megapixels. It features remarkable durability and dependability, thanks to its lightweight but solidly built body featuring a magnesium-steel-alloy frame, reinforced glass LCD panel protectors and a reliable dustproof, weather-resistant construction. In addition, it is designed to be compatible with the majority of the existing PENTAX 645 system, so that current PENTAX 645-series camera users can take advantage of their valuable assets, including high-performance smc PENTAX 645 interchangeable lenses.

Major Features

1. Unprecedented image quality
1. Super-high-resolution images made possible by approximately 40 effective megapixels
The PENTAX 645D incorporates a high-performance CCD image sensor produced by Kodak. It measures 44mm by 33mm, and is approximately 1.7 times larger than its 35mm-format counterparts. Thanks to approximately 40 effective megapixels, it assures a wide dynamic range to faithfully reproduce the prevailing ambience and the sense of depth in super-high-resolution images that are rich in gradation and truthful in texture description. In order to bring out the full potential of the lens and the image sensor and assure the highest level of image-resolving power, the CCD unit is designed with no low-pass filters.
2. High-performance, high-speed PRIME II imaging engine
The PENTAX 645D features the acclaimed, PENTAX-original PRIME (PENTAX Real Image Engine) II as its imaging engine. Thanks to its high-speed data-processing capacity and new algorithm exclusively programmed for medium-format digital SLR cameras, this high-performance imaging engine produces super-high-quality images rich in gradation and faithful in color reproduction, while allowing speedy data transmission of large-volume image data - even RAW-format images as large as some 50MB per file.
3. 14-bit A/D converter for faithful conversion of image data to digital signals
The PENTAX 645D features a high-performance A/D converter, which faithfully converts the large volume of analog image data output by the large CCD image sensor to digital signals carrying an extensive amount of image data, including resolution and gradation.

2. Solid, maneuverable body
The PENTAX 645D's main frame is made of lightweight but strong magnesium-steel alloy, while the chassis is made of diecast aluminum to minimize the expansion and extension caused by heat and also to optimize kinematic accuracy and thermal stability. The LCD panels - one on the camera's top panel, another on the back panel - are covered with tempered glass plates for extra protection. The PENTAX 645D's body is also designed to be a compact and highly maneuverable medium-format camera, despite the incorporation of such dependable features as a dust-proof, weather-resistant construction with 70 special seals, outstanding cold-resistant performance to assure solid operation at a temperature as low as –10°C, and a newly designed shutter unit with a top shutter speed of 1/4000 second that can withstand as many as 50,000 shutter releases.

3. Dual SD/SDHC memory card slots
The PENTAX 645D has a pair of memory card slots for the recording of images on both SD and SDHC memory cards. This dual-slot design gives the photographer extra data-storage options: for instance, recorded images can be assigned to different cards according to recording format (such as RAW or JPEG), or one of the cards can be used as the backup of the other. The settings for each memory card slot can be easily made by dedicated button.

4. Dependable DR II mechanism to minimize dust spots
The PENTAX 645D comes equipped with the highly dependable DR (Dust Removal) II mechanism, which effectively minimizes annoying dust spots on recorded images, even when the lenses are changed in dust-prone outdoor settings. By shifting UV/IR-cut filters placed in front of the CCD image sensor at supersonic speed using a piezoelectric element, this mechanism effectively and efficiently shakes dust off the image sensor. Thanks to the user-friendly dust-alert system, the photographer can check at a quick glance for dust adhering to the image sensor prior to the actual shooting.

5. Newly designed, high-precision 11-point wide-frame AF sensor
The PENTAX 645D's new SAFOX IX + wide-frame autofocus system features 11 sensor points (with nine cross-type sensors positioned in the middle) to assure the extra-high-precision focusing demanded of medium-format digital SLR cameras. To develop this sophisticated AF system, the entire optical system was redesigned, at the same time with the addition of the new functionality to analyze and make use of the light sources data in the field of view.

6. Advanced 77-segment multi-pattern metering
The PENTAX 645D employs a state-of-the-art, 77-segment multi-pattern metering system to assure super-high-accuracy light metering. The exposure accuracy is further enhanced by collecting such additional data as image orientation (horizontal or vertical) and the distance to and magnification of the subject using the sensors installed inside the camera body, with the obtained data incorporated into exposure calculations.

7. Large, easy-to-see optical viewfinder
Incorporated in the PENTAX 645D's finder unit, a trapezoid-shaped glass prism not only assures an approximately 98% field of view, but also greatly contributes to the downsizing of the camera body. Coupled with a bright, easy-to-focus Natural-Bright-Matte focusing screen, the PENTAX 645D's viewfinder offers a large, clear view of the subject.

8. Custom Image function to create desired visual effects with ease
The PENTAX 645D's Custom Image function lets the user easily control an image's finishing touches to more precisely reflect the user's creative intentions, or to more faithfully reproduce the ambience of the scene. The user can select one of eight modes, including the new Reversal Film mode designed to create images with the colors that are typical of reversal film. In addition, all parameters - such as saturation, hue, contrast, sharpness, key, and highlight/shadow contrast - can be easily adjusted to desired levels, so that the photographer can shoot images with great ease.

9. Versatile, multi-mode exposure system for faithful reproduction of creative intentions
1. Hyper Program function
The PENTAX 645D's Hyper Program function allows the user to instantly switch from Programmed AE mode to Shutter- or Aperture-Priority AE mode with a simple turn of the electric dials positioned around the grip. A single push of the green button shifts the exposure mode back to the original Programmed AE mode.
2. Hyper Manual function
When shooting in the Metered Manual mode, the PENTAX 645D's Hyper Manual mode lets the user to instantly set the proper exposure for the subject with a single push of the green button.
3. Sensitivity-Priority mode
The unique Sensitivity-Priority (Sv) mode automatically selects the optimum combination of aperture and shutter speed for the user-selected sensitivity. The sensitivity can be shifted swiftly by electronic dial on the back panel. The variable amount of the ISO could be configured to either 1/2 or 1/3 steps per click.
4. Shutter/Aperture-Priority mode
Taking full advantage of the unique capability of digital cameras for the automatic shifting of sensitivity at any time, the Shutter/Aperture-Priority (TAv) mode automatically selects the most appropriate sensitivity for the user-selected aperture/shutter-speed combination. It allows the user to effortlessly experiment with a greater range of photographic expressions.

10. Large, easy-to-view 3.0-inch LCD monitor with approximately 921,000 dots
Positioned on the camera's back panel, a large 3.0-inch color LCD monitor with approximately 921,000 dots provides a clear, bright view of onscreen images and menus. Since its wide-view design allows quick, effortless confirmation of the monitor image from approximately 170 degrees both horizontally and vertically, the photographer has little difficulty shooting images from low and high angles. The LCD monitor is also treated with exclusive AR (Anti-Reflection) coating to minimize reflections on the screen, even in the outdoor locations under bright sunshine.

11. Long battery life
The PENTAX 645D is powered by a large-capacity, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which can capture approximately 800 images* when fully charged.

* Under testing conditions prescribed by PENTAX, when using a rechargeable D-LI90 lithium-ion battery with no flash.

12,. Other features
1. HDR (high dynamic range) function to create one composite image with an extra-wide gradation range from three images with different exposures
2. Dynamic-Range Expansion function to compensate for both whitewashed (excessively overexposed) and blacked-out (excessively underexposed) areas
3. Digital Level function for easy checking of the image's levels
4. Automatic compensation of distortion and lateral chromatic aberration (available in combination with the D FA 645- and FA 645- series lenses)
5. Versatile white-balance control system, including the CTE mode designed to emphasize the dominant color components of the captured images, which works especially well with such scene like sunset.
6. Mirror shock/operation-noise reduction function to assure smooth, quiet operation of the mirror during shooting
7. Attachment of copyright credits on recorded images
8. Compatible with the SDM (Supersonic Direct-drive Motor) autofocus mechanism, designed to assure smooth, quiet operation using the supersonic motor installed inside SDM lenses
9. HDMI terminal (for type C mini connectors) for high-resolution image data output
10. User-friendly, color-classified control buttons/switches, based on the color universal design concept
11. PENTAX Digital Camera Utility 4 software package, including a RAW-data processing application (based on the popular SILKYPIX RAW-data processing engine developed by Ichikawa Soft Laboratory) and browser application

HOYA CORPORATION PENTAX Imaging Systems Division is pleased to announce the launch of the smc PENTAX-D FA 645 55mm F2.8 AL[IF] SDM AW. Developed as the first model of the PENTAX-D FA 645 lens series, it not only features new optics optimized for high-quality digital photography to assure exceptional image-description performance, but also provides an image circle covering the image area of existing 645-format film SLR cameras. This unifocal standard lens also comes with a dependable, dust-proof, weather-resistant construction for active outdoor photography.

Major Features

1. State-of-the-art optics to accommodate the requirements for super-high-resolution photography using medium-format digital SLR cameras
Incorporating high-performance, hybrid aspherical optical element in its optics, this new standard lens offers exceptional image-resolving power with outstanding brightness levels even at the edges, while compensating various aberrations to a minimum. All lens characteristics are optimized for digital photography: for instance, flare and ghost images are minimized by applying exclusive lens coatings to optical elements and employing anti-reflection materials for the interior of the lens barrel. As the result, this lens can bring out the full potential of the PENTAX 645D medium-format digital SLR camera.

2. Versatile standard lens
When mounted on the PENTAX 645D camera body, this standard lens offers a focal length of 43.5mm (in the 35mm format), which produces an angle of view close to that of the human eye. As the result, it can be used for many different kinds of subjects and applications, including landscapes and portraits.

3. Dependable dustproof, weather-resistant construction
Using seven special seals, the lens' dustproof, weather-resistant construction effectively prevents the intrusion of dust and water to the lens interior. By coupling this lens with the PENTAX 645D camera body, the user is assured of a durable, reliable digital SLR camera system that performs superbly in outdoor settings, even in rain or mist or at locations prone to water splashes or spray. PENTAX plans to use the "AW" (All Weather) designation in the product name of all dustproof, weather-resistant medium-format interchangeable lenses to be marketed in the future.

4. Aero Bright coating to dramatically improve image description in backlight
The lens is treated with PENTAX-original Aero Bright coating, which delivers brilliant, high-quality images by preventing annoying flare and ghost images more effectively than ever before. Born as the fruit of PENTAX's advanced nanotechnology, this exclusive coating effectively reduces lens reflectance and greatly increases light transmittance by forming a silica aerogel layer with uniform pores on the surface of optical element.

5. Rounded diaphragm to produce a beautiful bokeh
This is the first PENTAX medium-format interchangeable lens to features a completely rounded diaphragm. It creates a natural, beautiful "bokeh" (out-of-focus rendition), while minimizing the streaking effect of point light sources.

6. Smooth, quiet SDM autofocus mechanism
The SDM (Supersonic Direct-drive Motor) autofocus mechanism operates smoothly and quietly using the supersonic motor installed inside the lens barrel.*

* Only manual-focus operation is available when this lens is mounted on the PENTAX 645N or PENTAX 645N II camera body.

7. SP coating to block dust and dirt
The front surface of the lens is treated with PENTAX-original SP (Special Protect) coating, which applies an exclusive fluorine compound to the lens surface through a vapor deposition process. This SP coating not only effectively repels dust, water and grease, but also makes it easy to wipe off fingerprints and cosmetics.

8. Other features
1. Image circle covering the image area of 645-format film SLR cameras
2. Functional, simplified design, with no aperture ring
3. Quick-Shift Focus system for instant switching to manual-focus operation, after the subject is captured in focus by the AF system
4. PL filter window for easy installation of a polarizing filter without removing the lens hood
5. PH-SA67 Square Plastic Hood (optional)** for more effective prevention of flare and ghost images when mounted on the PENTAX 645D camera body

** This hood cannot be used with a 645-format film SLR camera body, as it causes vignetting.

New emergency robot is wearable, opens doors at disaster sites

A Japanese robot manufacturer called BL Autotec has developed a remote-controlled robot hand [JP, PDF] that’s able to grip and turn doorknobs. Once connected to a emergency robot, it can safely open doors at disaster sites, for example in collapsed buildings without putting humans in danger.

Autotec says the robot can be used in the case of nuclear, biological and chemical disasters.

The hand has a built-in CCD camera and an LED light so a human can operate it remotely in dark areas. Using a total of four shafts, the hand can move up to 1m. It’s also able to move hazardous materials to some extent, for example rubble. BL Autotec says the hand can also be used for industrial applications.

The company plans to sell complete sets consisting of its hand and a special, self-developed emergency robot to Japanese and foreign buyers for $110,000. As you can see in the picture above, rescue workers can actually carry the robot on their back (it weighs 34kg though).

Sales are expected to start in 2013, with BL Autotec hoping to sell 25 sets in the first year.

Linux.com store adds more clothing options for your geek lifestyle

The Linux.com store is open for business! Nice looking shirts, hats, and onesies are available for Linux users of all ages. Also available are mugs for the all-important coffee, and stickers. All proceeds benefit the Linux Foundation’s various programs.

All revenue generated from the Linux.com Store will go directly towards Linux Foundation activities, events and strategic initiatives. The Linux Foundation uses funds from a variety of revenue streams to support the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and to sustain important services such as technical events; travel grants for open source community members; a vendor-neutral forum for projects such as MeeGo; and free training resources direct from the kernel community; among others.

There’s also a t-shirt design contest underway! The Linux.com community will select the winning entry, and the winner will get a free trip to LinuxCon!

A digital renaissance: partnering with the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage

Supermarket Lights Supercharge Vegetables' Nutrition Value

Quirky’s iPad Case With Two-Way Kick-Stand

Quirky’s new crowd-sourced widget, the Cloak, is a rather clever and good-looking iPad case. The rubber and plastic construction goes with the already established book-cover metaphor, and adds a few twists.

We predict a huge market for iPad cases. That may seem obvious, given the amount of protective sheathes out there for iPods and iPhones, but the iPad seem to need a little more coddling than these smaller machines. I’m a strictly commando kind of guy: I slip my gadgets bareback into my pocket, but even I will be buying or making an iPad case. First, it’s bigger, and you can’t reserve a key-free jeans pocket for it. Second, this device begs to be propped up, either for watching movies, typing or just listening to podcasts in the kitchen.

The Cloak’s front cover flips around to the back to prop the iPad up in landscape mode, and when upright, the inside of the same front-cover has a u-shaped plastic kick stand that flips out. The main hinge actually has click-stops, controlled by a button on the spine, which lets you set an angle without the iPad slipping and falling flat.

That’s quite a lot to pack into one case, and the price isn’t bad, either, at $36. As always, you commit to order, the productions lines spin-up when the minimum order is reached and you are charged when the product ships. Hopefully you’ll have yours in time for the April 3rd iPad release.

Cloak [Quirky. Thanks, Tiffany!]

See Also:

• First iPad Stand Steps into View
• Kickster Adds Stand, Handle and Case to iPod Nano
• Powercurl Cord-Winder Makes Magsafe Heatsafe

Decoding The Long Calls Of The Orangutan

EMI Gets A New Boss. When Does it Get a New Owner? [MediaMemo]

Terra Firma, the private equity fund that owns EMI Music Group, has brought in a new CEO for the music label. Elio Leoni-Sceti is out; Charles Allen, the former CEO of British broadcaster ITV replaces him.

Leoni-Sceti came to the company in July 2008, a move that raised plenty of eyebrows since he had zero experience in the music business — his background was marketing packaged goods like Woolite and French’s Mustard.

But in retrospect it doesn’t really matter who Terra Firma brought in to run the company — the investment group’s big mistake was paying too much for EMI, using too much debt, in 2007.

At this point the real question for EMI isn’t who runs it, but who owns it. There’s a decent chance that Terra Firma will breach a banking covenant in the coming months and that control of EMI will go to Citigroup (C), which owns most of the label’s debt.

The conventional wisdom is that part or all of  EMI will end up in the hands of longtime Warner Music Group (WMG) sooner or later.

Release:

CHARLES ALLEN BECOMES EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF EMI MUSIC LONDON, 10 MARCH 2010 — EMI Music announces the appointment of Charles Allen as its Executive Chairman.

Charles has been non-executive Chairman of EMI Music since January 2009, chairing its Board and supporting the transformation of the business. Elio Leoni-Sceti, EMI Music’s Chief Executive, who has successfully led EMI Music through the first phase of its operational turnaround, will be leaving the company on March 31st 2010.

Over the past two and a half years, EMI Music has become a stronger and growing company, with a talented senior team, significant creative success and a more rigorous approach to marketing and operations. This has resulted in increased sales, improved market share and industry-leading EBITDA margins.

Charles said: “Elio has done a great job. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with him; he is a very talented executive and we all wish him well in the future. Our goals for EMI Music remain the same. I will support and guide the group’s strong team, keep EMI’s focus on creativity and superb A&R, and deliver a digital platform. This is a great business – our task is to ensure it has a great future.”

Elio added: “EMI is a wonderful business with a great team and new creative and operational momentum. My job here is now done and it is time for me to move on. It has been a pleasure to work with Charles and so many other talented and committed people. I look forward to seeing the company go on to further success in the future.”

Underwear Made From Bananas Hits Australian Shops [Science]

We often speak of material being used to conduct electricity, but what if underwear makers AussieBum—who've created underpants made from banana fiber—used carbon nanotubes as well? Think of the possibilities banana-derived electricity-conducting pants could bring you. [KoreaHerald]

IBM, universities target easy-to-use cellphones

IBM, universities target easy-to-use cellphones (Reuters)

Reuters - IBM has started a two-year research program that aims to make cellphones easier to use for groups including the elderly and the illiterate.

Designer Delicatessens - The Victor Churchill Butcher Shop Makes Meat Products Galmorous (GALLERY)

Move over Humping USB Dogs. Here comes the Dodobongo USB Dog.

The Humping USB Dogs became so popular 2 or 3 years ago that the maker, Japan-based Cube, not only started selling the silly things internationally but also added a plethora of other animals to the line-up. And now, the same company has another USB-powered gadget ready, the so-called Dodobongo USB dog.

The Dodobongo isn’t quite as silly as its humping counterpart, as it actually starts barking and blushing once it detects a person approaching you PC. Just like the other Cube gadgets, it doesn’t offer any kind of memory. And it works with Windows PCs only.

If you’re interested but live outside Japan (Cube currently offers the Dodobongo in this country only), head over to Geek Stuff 4 U. The Tokyo-based import/export specialists list the gadget for $73.90.

Via Akihabara News

Ribbed Geometric Fashions - The Angular Sandra Backlund AW10 Line (GALLERY)

Greaser Menswear - The Retro Bruuns Bazaar Autumn 2010 Collection (GALLERY)

Most adulterous professions

Most adulterous professions

For Women:
1. Teachers
2. Stay-at-home Moms
3. Nurses
4. Administrative Assistants
5. Real Estate Agents

For Men:
1. Physicians
2. Police Officers
3. Lawyers
4. Real Estate Agents
5. Engineers

(Image: The Seventh Commandment, a Creative Commons Attribution photo from pasukaru76's photostream)

The Yahoo Cycling Team Is Going To Love This New Google Maps Feature

Yahoo is backing a cycling team. I don’t know why — but they’re doing it. And today their passion got a little boost: from Google.

Google is announcing tomorrow at the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC that Google Maps will now include biking directions in the U.S. Apparently, this was the most-requested feature for the service, as some 57 million Americans ride bikes.

Thousands of miles of bike trails have been added to the maps. And there is also step-by-step directions, much like you can see for driving or public transportation directions in the maps. There is also a new layer that shows bike trails and bike-friendly areas on roads. Yes, it’s a bike-lover’s dream.

To make this new feature happen, Google partnered with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a nonprofit group that converts old rail lines into bike trails. The group have given Google information on some 12,000 miles worth of trails in the U.S.

To coincide with the launch, Google also has a cycling contest. To enter, you simply have to tweet with the hashtag #bikewithgoogle. The randomly selected winner will get a voucher for $2,500 to be used at American Cyclery.

I fully expect that hashtag to be dominated by members of Yahoo’s cycling team tomorrow.

Find out more about the new feature in the video below.

Latest in FINAL FANTASY Series - FINAL FANTASY XIII Achieves Over 5 Million Unit Shipments Worldwide

How to Look Like a Gadget Lover Without Buying Any Real Electronics [Wtf]

12 Full Color Printed VHS Video Boxes: $9. Full Scale Plastic Washer and Dryer Set: $139. 2 Piece 20" Wide Screen LCD Style Computer Package: $49. Outfitting your entire home with prop gadgets: Probably a bad idea.

If you're like me and ever looked at one of those prop TVs in a store and wondered how much they go for, then the mystery is finally over. You can seek out Props By IDM, a company who sells such fake gadgets, and price check. [Props by IDM via Boing Boing]

Viral Video: Nip and Yucks? [BoomTown]

Here is a new Funny or Die comedy video of reality TV show star Heidi Montag spoofing her plastic surgery-addled obsession with silicone.

It is sort of funny and sort of creepy and even a little sad. Nonetheless, Montag and her even odder husband, Spencer Pratt, are certainly game to make themselves the subject of mockery.

Here’s the video:

Sapiens Reports Strong Q4 Net Profit in 2009; Non GAAP 2009 Annual Operating Profit of $6.53 Million

Quote Of The Day: MySpace Co-President? “Hell, Yeah”

Jon [Miller] came to us and said, `Would you like to be co-presidents?’ We said, `Hell yeah.’ We didn’t have to move our desks,”

– Former MySpace Chief Product Officer Jason Hirschhorn’s reaction to the abrupt firing of his boss and his promotion to co-president of MySpace.

Once-Casual Gamers Go 'Social' [Voices]

By Mike Shields, Senior Editor, MediaWeek

The audience for casual games appears to have bought, well, the farm.

Traditional gaming sites are bleeding users, as millions of Web gamers shift their time to social games, such as the massively popular FarmVille. That, coupled with an increasing desire among advertisers to move beyond old-school banner ads, has put the advertising market for online gaming very much in play, said analysts and buyers.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Newspapers Over-Dependent on Advertising, Says Publicis Boss [Voices]

By Jane Martinson, Reporter, guardian.co.uk

Maurice Levy, the head of one of the world’s biggest marketing groups, Publicis, said today that newspapers must wean themselves from an over-dependence on advertising to survive the digital age.

Speaking to MediaGuardian.co.uk at the start of the inaugural Abu Dhabi media summit, Levy, Publicis’s chairman and chief executive, added that it is “not enough to have a big audience on the internet”, with media companies needing to find a mix between free and paid-for online content to survive in the digital era.

“The future of analogue media will not be supported by advertising alone.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

How Ars Technica’s "Experiment" With Ad-Blocking Readers Built On Its Community’s Affection For the Site [Voices]

By Laura McGann, Assistant Editor, Nieman Journalism Lab

Even on the web, sometimes actions really do speak louder than words.

The technology site Ars Technica has a tech-savvy group of readers, of which about 40 percent have installed ad-blocking software in their web browsers. That’s a plugin that allows you to avoid seeing most ads on a site.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

NASA space shuttle gearing up for big phase out - BusinessWeek

MiamiHerald.com

NASA space shuttle gearing up for big phase out BusinessWeek While politicians banter about NASA's budget and the future of manned space flight, the space agency is prepping the critical technology its remaining four space shuttle missions will deliver to complete the International Space ... Obama's plans for NASA changes met with harsh criticismWashington Post Obama's New Mission for NASA Sets Off Intense CriticismFOXNews Analysts point to politics over Obama's NASA conferenceHouston Chronicle TopNews United States -The Associated Press -Space.com all 756 news articles »

Microsoft researcher wins Turing Award - BusinessWeek

New Zealand Herald

Microsoft researcher wins Turing Award BusinessWeek The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has awarded the 2009 AM Turing Award to Charles P. Thacker, for his work in pioneering the networked personal computer. In 1974, while at the Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center), ... Charles Thacker wins Turing AwardComputerworld (blog) Microsoft researcher wins Turing AwardCNET Microsoft researcher lands Turing AwardV3.co.uk The Associated Press -RT -TopNews New Zealand all 192 news articles »

Web Standards for E-books [Voices]

By Joe Clark, Contributor, A List Apart

The internet did not replace television, which did not replace cinema, which did not replace books. E-books aren’t going to replace books either. E-books are books, merely with a different form.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Publisher Profits Dive 1.7x Faster Than Sales [Voices]

By Alan Mutter, Managing Partner, Tapit Partners

While sales have fallen an average of 27.4% at newspaper companies in the last two years, profits have plunged 1.7 times faster, according to an analysis of the financial statements of the publicly held publishers.

The average 45.9% dive in profitability at the publicly traded newspaper companies since 2007 represents not only serious financial challenges for the companies but also threatens the quality of the journalism that such major publishers as Gannett (GCI), McClatchy (MNI) and the New York Times Co. (NYT) may be able to produce in the future.

News staffs and news holes already have undergone significant contraction as publishers sought to preserve profits since advertising sales began shrinking in 2006.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Daily Crunch: Down Below the Ocean Edition

Inverted, ocean-bound “seascrapers”: aqua-communes for the future?
Did you know there was a Last Starfighter video game?
Energizer battery charger contains a trojan
SNES cartridge plays ROMs loaded from your computer
Sony reminds us of the high-cost of first generation 3D TV

Ness Technologies Wins Strategic Contract at Raiffeisenbank a.s. for Document Management System

Novel Games Launches 3D E-Cards with Games

Latest in FINAL FANTASY Series - FINAL FANTASY XIII Achieves Over 5 Million Unit Shipments Worldwide

Malaysian turtles face extinction: WWF

Arm Sees Over 50 New IPad-like Devices out This Year (PC World)

More Talent Walks Out The Door At MySpace: Three Key Employees Go To Gravity

More bad news for an already bullet-riddled MySpace: three key employees have left the company to join Gravity, a cross-town startup founded by former MySpace COO Amit Kapur, SVP Steve Pearman and SVP Jim Benedetto.

We covered Gravity’s launch in December 2009.

The three MySpacer’s are Chief Software Architect Chris Bissell (we previously reported Bissell’s resignation), Chief Systems Architect Dan Farino and Development Manager Robbie Coleman.

All of these employees approached Gravity on their own, says our source. But MySpace’s somewhat zealous legal department isn’t shy about engaging in the occasionally ridiculous turf war. We’ve also heard that the best MySpace employees continue to head for the door, and companies that know which employees actually get things done aren’t going to turn away good people.

MySpace declined to comment on this story, other than to confirm that the three employees are no longer with the company. Gravity also declined to comment.

Energizer Battery Charger Hides Trojan For 3 Years

What Would You Stick Under A Scanning Electron Microscope? [Qotd]

Here's some tasty-looking hard candy. And here's that same tasty-looking hard candy scanned by an SEM. Tuns out that there's a company offering to stick almost anything under an electron microscope and we can't help but wonder: What to pick?

SEM Elemental Analysis company ASPEX is offering this great service where people can submit their own samples to be viewed under a scanning electron microscope. They even post results—like these—on the site:

Now, back to the big question: What would you want to see scanned by an SEM? [Aspex via Maria Popova]

Ness Technologies Wins Strategic Contract at Raiffeisenbank a.s. for Document Management System

BGAN from Stratos Provides Connectivity for Adventurers Running Siberia's Frozen Lake Baikal

MACH Reconfirms Strong Growth Forecast for 2010

Chinese group files complaint over "faulty" HP laptops

Chinese group files complaint over 'faulty' HP laptops

UPDATE 1-Idemitsu to halt CDU ops, curb crude runs

Comscore Study: Social Gamers Want Marketing Offers For Currency

A new study by Comscore will be released on Wednesday that may give hope to social gaming startups trying to monetize users. 35% of the survey respondents said that they engage in “marketing actions” to earn virtual currency (such as watching a video, filling out a survey, etc.), and 53% said they be willing to consider marketing action for currency if given the choice.

The study was conducted by Comscore, sponsored by Offerpal, and included responses from 799 Comscore panelists who play games on social networks at least once per month. 54% of panelists play games at least daily.

This is good news for game developers who’ve had their monetization choices somewhat fenced in over the last few months. Gamers 25-34 are the most likely to earn virtual currency for marketing actions, according to the study – 71% of panelists in that age group said they are “very likely” to consider this.

The study also showed that about 30% of panelists don’t have the ability to pay cash for virtual currency. But more than half of all panelists, including a majority of those that can pay cash and a majority of those that cannot pay cash, were willing to consider marketing actions.

The bottom line of the study is that even users who have the ability to pull out their wallet want options when it comes to social games. And as long as they don’t get scammed along the way, we’re just fine with it. Watch a video in exchange for Zynga points? That’s a better deal than the credit card.

Christopher Barazak and Karen Joy Fowler readings in Seattle

Christopher Barazak and Karen Joy Fowler readings in Seattle

Looking back at the dotcom boom, ten years later

Looking back at the dotcom boom, ten years later

I moved to San Francisco in 1999, and remember the feverish absurdity of it all -- and how hard it was not to feel like all these people must know something if they were pouring all this money and energy into all the odd and improbable ideas (a recurring theme I remember was people explaining how they were going to build shopping malls for the web, which, I guess, is basically what Amazon's Z-shops are).

10 Years After: A Look Back at the Dotcom Boom and Bust

Cast-art depicting broken-bone X-rays

Cast-art depicting broken-bone X-rays

(via JWZ)

Movie funded by asking for pocket change on Twitter: "At Home By Myself... With You"

Movie funded by asking for pocket change on Twitter: "At Home By Myself... With You"

Raj Panikkar sez, "We're screening a film called 'At Home By Myself... With You' (directed by Kris Booth, starring Kristin Booth - no relation) at The Royal in Toronto this week. The unique thing about the film is how we raised the financing to shoot. Quite literally, we campaigned for people to contribute their loose pocket change. The strategy took off, partly through an active Facebook and Twitter presence and also frequent video blogs detailing the contributions. By the time we shot the film, we had raised $42,000 (admittedly, one person's pocket change is occasionally another's small fortune - but it did really begin with 15 cents, 43 cents, a dollar 12, etc.) One might be led to assume that with a limited budget, there'd be a matching limitation on production quality. But the film looks gorgeous (Telefilm Canada came on board at the very end to help fund a pro finish), and reviews and comments have been great. We were reviewed by all the major papers in Toronto: The Sun, NOW, The Star, The Post, etc. The film plays at The Royal for the rest of the week, and then gets its TV debut right away on TMN and Movie Central, plus a DVD release on April 6th."

Pocket Change Film (Thanks, Raj!)

(Disclosure: Raj's mother, Bev, taught me to read)

Best jobs in America infographic

Best jobs in America infographic

I like that they've color-coded for "low-stress," "benefit to society" and "satisfaction." However, on these three counts, I'm unsurprised to see that "science fiction writer" didn't make the cut. When I was 17, the school guidance counsellor got in some software that would help you figure out what career to set your sights on. I completed its questionnaire and hit return, and an instant later was advised to become a "geriatric nutritionist" (that is, someone who prepares meals in an old folks' home). Even today, I sometimes feel like I missed my calling. ("Science fiction writer" wasn't on that list either).

Best Jobs in America (Thanks, Paul!)

BGAN from Stratos Provides Connectivity for Adventurers Running Siberia's Frozen Lake Baikal

Turn a quarter of Detroit into "semi-rural" farms?

And yes, this entire thing was predicted by David Byrne in 1988 in the song "(Nothing But) Flowers" on the final Talking Heads album Naked.

Operating on a scale never before attempted in this country, the city would demolish houses in some of the most desolate sections of Detroit and move residents into stronger neighborhoods. Roughly a quarter of the 139-square-mile city could go from urban to semi-rural.

Near downtown, fruit trees and vegetable farms would replace neighborhoods that are an eerie landscape of empty buildings and vacant lots. Suburban commuters heading into the city center might pass through what looks like the countryside to get there. Surviving neighborhoods in the birthplace of the auto industry would become pockets in expanses of green.

Detroit looks at downsizing to save city (Thanks, Rigel!)

(Image: Garden grows, a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike image from Payton Chung's photostream)

The iTable continues to develop and show gaming potential

We’ve told you about the iTable before, and PQ Labs. They showed off their latest stage in the development process at CeBIT this year, by installing the screen into a coffee table. The newest version can register up to 32 touch points and actually determine the shape of the object being placed on the screen.

But to me, that’s not the real story. The real story is that they installed a game that’s near and dear to my heart, Warcraft III. To me, this is the true future of the touchscreen interface, and the part of the technology that I’m excited about. It’s definitely worth your time to watch the video and see how far they’ve come in the development process, and how they are stacking up against their competitors.

[via Gizmag]

In The SXSW Location War, Loopt Hopes The Correct Weapon Is Events

With SXSW starting Friday in Austin, Texas, every location-based service out there is right now finalizing updates that they hope will be the one that gets them used more than all the others. Loopt, is betting on events integration.

The latest version of the app, due to hit the App Store tomorrow will feature a new Pulse tab. Here you’ll find events populated from a ton of sources including the live music tracker SonicLiving (SXSW is first and foremost a music event, after all) and most notably, Facebook. This pre-population is important, because it means the events will already be in the system so users won’t have to do anything other than share it with friends, or check-in if they’re going. The feature also uses you current location to show which events are happening around you at any given moment that a lot of people are at.

As you might expect, you also also tell who is already at the event, and which of your friend is supposed to be going. The later feature works with Facebook Connect. You can RSVP to an event right from within Loopt and see who else is scheduled to go.

Calling it the “best event ever from an app,” Loopt founder Sam Altman believes they’ll have every single event taking place at SXSW in their system. A newer startup, the recently funded Plancast (started by TechCrunch alum Mark Hendrickson), may have something to say about that statement as they’ll be debuting their own events-based iPhone app at the festival as well. And like this new Loopt feature, a key Plancast component is Facebook event integration.

Gowalla, meanwhile, has a full list of events straight from SXSW itself — which is highlighting the app on it’s main site. Gowalla is Austin-based.

Loopt was one of the original hot players in the location space, launching an iPhone app alongside the App Store launch in 2008. However, their initial bet was on always-on location updates, which the iPhone cannot do because it will not allow third-party apps to run in the background. Loopt found a loophole (see what I did there?) to that through AT&T, but by then the momentum has already swung to the check-in based location services like Foursquare and Gowalla. Last year, Loopt pivoted its app to be more predicated around check-ins.

Look for the latest Loopt app tomorrow in the App Store.

Disclosure: Loopt offers a TechCrunch branded version of the service here .

Google adds bike lane with latest mapping feature (AP)

Google Maps Finally Adds Bike Routes

March 10, 2000: Pop Goes the Nasdaq!

Samsung's 3D TVs: Bold and Bright - PC World

CBC.ca

Samsung's 3D TVs: Bold and Bright PC World If you watched the Oscars on Sunday, you knew a new wave of Samsung 3D TVs were coming thanks to the commercial that aired, but you didn't know what you'd have to pay for them. On Tuesday Samsung tore open the envelope and rolled out a raft of ... Samsung UNC7000 series LED-based LCDCNET Panasonic ties with Best Buy for 3D TV promotionReuters Panasonic, Best Buy To Launch 3-D PushWall Street Journal USA Today -PC Magazine -The Associated Press all 1,190 news articles »

Verizon Business Networking Solution Helps iYogi Deliver Superior Global Technical Support

Expedia Media Solutions Grows Marketing Partnerships With Destinations Worldwide

Alexander McQueen's final collection

Many images here, all from his 2010 collection and released today. The iconic fashion designer's work incorporated fantasy and futurist themes familiar to Boing Boing readers. He died earlier this year.


Source: Boing Boing | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:29 pm

The LHC to Shut Down... Again?

A Sweet Deal Soured

Open for business: the Google Apps Marketplace

Google Apps Marketplace: Instantly Connect Your App To 25 Million Users, Profit.

Business to business software can be a tough sell. Online B2B can be even a harder sell. While there is certainly money to be made, unless you’re one of the big players, the likelihood you’re going to succeed is pretty small. Starting today, Google is taking their roll as one of the big players and extending a platform to boost some smaller players.

Tonight, Google has unveiled their Google Apps Marketplace. This is an app store for enterprise apps in the cloud. Using a set of APIs, these third-party apps can deeply integrate their products within Google Apps, which already some 25 million people are using. And that also includes over 2 million businesses ranging from startups, to small businesses, to Fortune 500 companies.

For customers, this means a one-stop shop for a variety of applications that their business or organization can use. And it’s extremely simple to get started with apps in the marketplace — it just takes 4 clicks, Google says (though that initial click will have to come from your domain admin to approve the use of the app). For developers, particularly small startup developers, it means instant access to more users than they can likely imagine. It also potentially means something more important: money.

Like the popular mobile app stores (Apple’s App Store and Google’s own Android Market), Google is allowing developers to sell their apps through this Marketplace. And they’re actually offering a better deal: Google will keep just 20% of the revenue, while the developers keep the other 80% (compared to a 30/70 split with the Android Market). The reason for this better split is that Google believes the B2B market is a bit different, and they want to entice developers to join on board. And instead of Apple’s App Store, which charges a $100 yearly fee to developers, Google is charging a one-time fee of $100 to enroll in the program — and that’s for as many apps as you want to create.

As for what Google will do with their 20% share, they’re not entirely sure. “We don’t know what will happen with the revenue, but we think it’s a very fair rev share for the value we’re providing,” Google Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra says.

As you might expect, in the Marketplace, Google will feature certain apps on a rotating basis. And each will have a star rating system and reviews written by people who have used the app. Apps will be grouped into different categories to make it easier for customers to find exactly what they’re looking for. Once they do, the four steps alluded to above are:

1. Click “Add it now”
2. Agree to the vendor’s Terms of Service
3. Grant access to the data that the app is requesting.  Some apps require data access, some don’t – only grant access to apps you trust.
4. Turn it on and start enjoying your increased productivity

So how does this all work? Google connection points for integration into Apps are actually done through open protocols such as OAuth. And while signing-in may seem like a pain across different apps, Google has streamlined that as well thanks to another open protocol: OpenID.

Once an app is hooked in to Google Apps, it will appear on your main Apps Dashboard alongside the other Google-made apps you use. It will even appear in the “more” drop down that Google uses in the toolbar across its properties. And because these apps are so tightly woven into Google Apps, they can take advantage of the built-in Google Apps such as Gmail and Gtalk to easily communicate within the third-party apps.

And there’s more. While it’s not quite ready to launch just yet, in the second half of 2010, Google plans to launch flexible billing options for third-parties using their services. Basically, this will allow companies to use Google Checkout to handle complicated billings, such as subscriptions. This could mean trouble for startups specifically in this space, such as Recurly. Also coming later will be detailed analytics for transactions, we’re told. For now, developers are free to hook up their data to their own analytic programs to run their numbers.

While Google’s options for this Marketplace sound nice and open, there’s actually something even better: you don’t have to build your apps on their platform. Whereas a big player like Salesforce wants to keep the apps it works with in the Force.com ecosystem, Google doesn’t care where you build it — it can be on App Engine, or on anything else. You simply hook your app up to the APIs and you’re ready to go. It’s a model so enticing that even a big Google competitor in this space, Zoho, is ready to work with them, and is launching as an initial partner. All told, there are more than 50 companies partnering up at launch, including a winner of the audience award at this year’s TechCrunch50, Socialwok.

As to whether Google could eventually roll this app store model out to the more consumer facing apps they offer, Gundotra gave me the old, “We have nothing to announce at this time.” That reads suspiciously to me like a “yes,” provided this is the hit it seems like it should be.

Web-Based Productivity Suite Zoho Finds A Place In The Google Apps Marketplace

Zoho, a web-based productivity suite that was called a “fake Office” by a Microsoft VP, is announcing a significant partnership with Google today. The startup will be a launch partner for Google’s recently launched Google Apps Marketplace, which allows vendors to sell applications that compliment Google Apps. Here are our notes from the announcement. Zoho will be integrating two of its over 20 business applications – Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects with Google Apps.

So starting today, Google Apps users will be able to add on-demand CRM app Zoho CRM and project management software Zoho Projects into Google Apps. While Zoho has previously rolled out the ability log-in to its applications via your Google Apps IDs, the two applications have been specially formatted for further immersion into Google Apps with App’s extended APIs. IT admins will now have an option to add Zoho Apps to their domains through Google Apps Marketplace. Once the IT admin adds a Zoho application to their domain, all users within the domain will have access to the Zoho Application through Google universal navigation.

In the version of Zoho CRM for Google Apps, Zoho will allow Google Apps domain admins choose the users he or she wants to provide access to Zoho CRM and can import users from Google Apps contacts. And if you have Mail Add-on enabled in Zoho CRM, you can POP your email from Google Apps to Zoho CRM. These emails will show up in the CRM system automatically for each contact. Emails sent from Zoho CRM will also show up in Gmail in Google Apps.

Zoho CRM and Projects will also be integrated with Google Apps Calendar. Google Apps users will now be able to subscribe and view their CRM and Projects events right within Google Calendar. Additionally, Zoho Projects and Zoho CRM allows you to attach documents directly from Google Apps.

The fact that Zoho was chosen as a pilot partner for this program isn’t surprising. Although some of Zoho’s applications compete with Google apps products, the startup has consistently pushed interoperability with Google Apps. Over the past two years, the startup launched a deeper integration with Google Docs; and the ability to log-in with Google and Yahoo IDs. And according to our latest stats, Zoho has definitely reached over 2 million users, and has a loyal follower base.

Test-Firing of SpaceX Falcon Rocket Aborted

Google unveils its cloud-based Apps Marketplace, wants 20% revenue share

By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews

Tuesday evening, during an event televised over YouTube called Google Campfire One, Google executives lifted the curtain on its cloud-based Apps Marketplace for PC-based applications, with the promise of opening its online store with 50 charter vendors later in the evening. The Marketplace is designed to feature applications that integrate with the company's existing Google Apps, Gmail, and other cloud-based services.

Google Vice President of Engineering Vic Gondotra told attendees at the company's headquarters that the company plans to utilize very simple terms of service. Think of a garden, but more with clearly marked paths as opposed to walls. Extending the concept of the Android Marketplace from handsets to computing devices, the company is inviting developers to build applications using its Studio tool, then deploy those apps by way of the Marketplace. Each developer is asked to pay a $100 sign-up fee, and then give Google a 20% revenue share for sales, at whatever price the developer charges. (We have not seen yet whether there will be a price cap.)

11:10 pm EST March 9, 2010 · "The Google Apps Marketplace...[is] a great way to discover, to find, and install applications into your business. But not just any applications -- applications that are deeply integrated with Google Apps...that enable a single sign-on, that enable different kinds of cloud-based software to share data," explained Vice President of Engineering Vic Gondotra to the Campfire One attendees. "Applications that integrate with the navigation, integrate with the user interface of the tools that your employees already know and love and use every day."

The integration Gondotra spoke of will take place through a relatively simple XML-based manifest, the typical length of which is promised to be not very long. An actual Google Apps manifest (not the abbreviated version used in Google's slides) is pictured below.

Each category in this manifest represents a point of integration with the Google Apps environment -- actually, with any online service that Google Apps is capable of reaching. Gmail is one of these places; tonight, the company's director of engineering, David Glaser, promised a theoretical level of integration with Gmail that would enable business apps developers to create Gmail plug-ins that would appear to match, or maybe rival, the functionality available in Microsoft Outlook.

Glaser demonstrated the creation of an app manifest, which would also contain the "pages" (actually resources identified with URLs) that link to Google Apps' various points of integration. Perhaps the one that will be most often used is single sign-on, which will enable the identity of the Google Apps user to be shared with that of the custom app. Through the OAuth-based authentication protocol Google will use, developers will be able to deploy databases for their cloud apps using their own clouds, if you will, and then let Google's authentication pass through to the developers' clouds to validate users and enable the granting of permissions.

Glaser outlined another point of connection: "If you've ever used Google Apps, you've noticed at the top left of the screen, right above your mail or your calendar, there's a nav bar. That means you're a click or two away from getting at any of the other apps in the Google Apps suite...Well, if you have an application, you probably want it to be a part of the same navigation model, part of the same nav bar, so your users are a click or two away from not only the built-in Google Apps, but also from your app. How do you do that? You put an entry in the manifest -- a few lines of XML, you tell us, 'Here's the string that I want to have show up in the menu, and here's the link that it should go to when somebody clicks on it.'"

The keyword here again from Google is "simple," which is what will distinguish its cloud-based apps ecosystem from Microsoft Windows Azure in almost every respect. An app in Google's environment would appear to be leveraged on an existing Google App or service. As Glaser explained, a custom app will have its own home page, if you will; but as Gondotra explained, what makes the app usable in the first place is its connectivity with the existing hub that Google has in place. So the development studio for such apps (itself a Web application, pictured above running in Firefox on Google's favorite PC operating system, Windows XP) is specifically geared to generate this manifest and plug apps into the existing hub.

That's not to say apps won't or can't stand alone on their own, or even pre-exist, as Gondotra told the audience: "We're not mandating that you have to build on a particular platform. You don't have to use App Engine, although we'd be delighted to see that. You may already have an existing app built on your own infrastructure, your own tools, your own hosting environment...It's very easy to integrate even that existing app into Google Apps."

The ability for apps to stand on their own was exemplified this evening by charter partner Intuit's first entry into the Marketplace. It showed an online payroll application for small business that enables office managers to keep track of employees' payrolls, using tools that are also integrated into Google Calendar. (It's hard not to notice that Google's app development platform runs on Firefox, while it prefers to run the apps themselves on Chrome.)

Among Google's list of 50 charter developers, we noted, was Zoho -- a company whose existing cloud-based apps had actually competed against Google Apps, while using many deployment resources actually created by Google.

The exact terms and conditions that apply to Google's developers' agreement -- a $100 one-time up-front fee to enroll per developer (not per app), and a 20% cut of the revenue -- are not known as of this evening. Vic Gondotra did say, however, that Google will enable online resellers to promote and sell apps from the Marketplace, with 20% of the cut from resold apps also going to Google and the rest to their developers.

"Remember, with that rev share, you not only get to reach the 25 million customers, but you also get to take advantage of over 1,000 resellers who are not only going to be able to resell Google Apps, but may, in fact, be able to drive business directly to you," stated Gondotra. He did not say whether this resale operation would actually take place as part of Google's existing advertising platform, which may be why the early number of resellers (one thousand) is so high.

A few years ago when Google premiered its online apps on a mostly free business model (with some subscription revenue attached for upper-level apps more recently), folks wondered how Google would turn this into a revenue center. Now we know the answer: The company wants to earn its cut not from its core apps, but from a substantial slice of your apps.

Alliance for Digital Equality Statement on Cisco's CRS-3 Carrier Routing System (CRS)

Samsung launches its eReader, connects with Barnes & Noble

By Jacqueline Emigh, Betanews

After showing a prototype of its first electronic reader at CES in January, Samsung on Tuesday officially rolled out the new device, spilling all the details about the final feature set while also unveiling a new partnership with Barnes & Noble.

Unlike other gadgets in the increasingly crowded field, the Samsung eReader lets people make notes in the margins of e-book pages, pointed out Vickie Cullen, a Samsung spokesperson, at a press event in New York City where the company launched a number of CE products including this device, 3D TVs, and a 3D Blu-ray player.

Users of Samsung's eReader can modify the electronic pages by underlining words, for example, and they can use built-in voice recording functionality to produce audio memos and annotations. It's also able to read text aloud, but only with electronic books that support text-to-speech (TTS) technology.

A reader can make notes in the margins through the use of a special electromagnetic resonance (EMR) stylus pen. In a demo at the event, we saw how you can easily make the brushstrokes wider or narrower or even turn the pen into an "eraser" by touching the tip of the pen to icons at the bottom of the screen.

The eReader comes in a slider form factor with a six-inch E-ink screen displaying at 600x800 resolution in eight shades of grey.

Cullen said that you can import drawings and photos in JPEG and BMP formats as well as other files downloaded from the Internet to a PC, using the eReader's mini-USB port. Other supported file formats include e-pub, PDF/a, and TXT.

Slated to ship this spring for $299. Samsung's new device offers 26 GB of internal memory, plus an external Micro SD slot capable of increasing storage by another 16 GB.

The product also comes with built-in speakers and Bluetooth technology for playing back music or TTS translation, she said.

Readers can use the gadget's built-in Wi-Fi, together with Samsung's proprietary EmoLink technology, for sharing content -- including notes jotted in e-book margins, for instance -- between two devices.

Samsung has also joined the growing list of e-reader makers now partnering with Barnes & Noble -- the arch rival of Amazon.com, the pioneer of the field. Through a new deal between Samsung and Barnes & Noble, users of Samsung's new eReader can use either a Wi-Fi or PC connection to browse, sample, and download content from B&N.

Get your glasses ready: Samsung soars into the third dimension

By Jacqueline Emigh, Betanews

At a press conference in New York City on Tuesday, Samsung unveiled new 3D products that include six HDTV series, a Shrek 3D movie, and a DVD player designed to handle 3D along with regular Blu-ray and standard DVD disks.

Samsung's initial 3D TV line-up -- which requires 3D glasses for viewing - ranges from the LED 7000/8000/9000 Series to the LCD 750 Series and the Plasma 7000/8000 Series.

Samsung also debuted the 3D-capable BD-C6900 Blu-ray player, a 3D-enabled release of Dreamworks' Monsters vs. Aliens along with the entire Shrek series, and a large set of Internet-downloadable applications for the 3D Blu-ray player and some of Samsung's 3D TVs.

Kicked off by an ad campaign broadcast during Sunday's Academy Awards show, the first two 3D TV models from Samsung -- the 46" and 55" editions of the LED C7000 -- are already available in stores, said Dave R. Das, director, Visual Display Marketing, in an interview with Betanews at the event.

So, too, are the first 12 apps for Samsung's 3D gear, with others slated for completion by the end of March, said Jason Han, senior manager, content partnership, CE Division.

The remaining 3D TVs -- and the 3D Blu-ray drive, priced at $399 -- are expected to roll out over the next few months.

The widget-enabled 3D apps will run not just with the new Blu-ray drive, but also the LED TVs, all of which are IP-capable. The first dozen apps include Rovi TV Listings, Yahoo, and streaming video movie apps from Netflix, Blockbuster, and Vudu, along with several games. One of the applications due out later this month is a Skype video conferencing app that will use a custom camera. The camera is slated to sit on top of a Samsung TV and to be sold by Skype.

Although all of the apps released in March will be offered free of charge, Samsung plans to start selling "premium" apps over this summer, Betanews was told.

Samsung dubbed the press conference "3D Wonder," and the name turned out to be apt for more reasons than one. Many of the journalists did marvel at the quality of the Samsung-supplied 3D experience, particularly during an airing at the event of a 3D Dreamworks' Shrek movie displayed on a huge "cube" of LCD panels.

Yet some also wondered aloud whether, during the current deep recession, all that many consumers will be willing to invest in the 3D ware, which Samsung is pricing at the rate of $150 for a pair of 3D glasses and about $1,599.99 to $6,999.99 for a 3D TV.

XNA 4.0 games on Windows Phone 7 Series look awesome (but won’t be for Zune HD)

A bundle of screenshots just hit the net showing off the latest Direct3D-based mobile games running on a WinPho7 device, adn they look pretty hot. We knew that the Tegra chipset in the Zune HD and likely in several upcoming WinPho handsets (Tegra 2, to be precise) is capable of some nice 3D, but these are better than anything I’ve seen yet. The game shown is The Harvest, a dungeon crawler which, if indicative of the general quality of WinPho7 games, portends good times to be had.

In slightly less-enthralling news, it seems that the Zune HD will be sticking with XNA 3.1. Hmm. So basically the Zune HD is being abandoned as far as game development — bad news for Zune owners, since it means less value for their device and suggests an upcoming Zune HD 2 or Super HD or HDX or whatever name they come up with. Zune HD 7 Series?

[via Engadget]

Shark Zone: A Refuge Where Predators and Tourists Mix

GDC 2010: PS3 motion controller will feature “nunchuk” attachment

FROM GAMERTELL - Sony may release an attachment to its motion controller that is similar to the Wii’s nunchuk.
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eFax Integrated App Now Available Through the Google Apps Marketplace

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Power Gig: Rise of the SixString uses an electric guitar as a controller

FROM GAMERTELL - Seven45’s forthcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 game, Power Gig: Rise of the SixString, will actually use a six-string electric guitar as a controller.
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Outside science academies to review warming panel - The Associated Press

FOXNews

Outside science academies to review warming panel The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The beleaguered global warming panel has found an outside group to review how it writes its reports. An international group, the InterAcademy Council, will be given complete control to review the rules, procedures and reports of the ... UN to Announce Review of Climate PanelWall Street Journal UK academy aids study to regain climate data trustReuters UK CLIMATE CHANGE: Politics and global warmingRochester City Newspaper Washington Post (blog) -Discovery News -CBC.ca all 186 news articles »

Fossilized Eggshells Yield DNA

More and more states considering Internet sales taxes

Section: Web, Websites

Amazon affiliates in Colorado were informed yesterday that they were no longer welcome in the e-tailing giants program, which paid them a small fee for referring customers. Why? Blame the states new law which demands Amazon charge sales tax on every purchase made by a Colorado resident. Previously online retailers were only required to collect sales taxes in states they had a physical, brick and mortar presence in, but that has been changing rapidly. 16 states have considered instating internet sales taxes, and 4 have already signed them into law.

“I see this as a trend moving along—a lot of states are considering doing it,” said Joseph Henchman, director of state projects at the non-partisan Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C. But, Henchman says, the laws “won’t solve short-term budget problems, they signal business-unfriendliness, and they’re probably unconstitutional.”

The states that have put these sales tax laws in place insist they are being unfairly deprived of revenue and that online businesses have an unfair advantage over local businesses that collect sales taxes. A 1992 Supreme Court ruling however says that retailers can’t be forced to collect such taxes unless they have an office in those states.

New York, Rhode Island, and North Carolina’s laws say that if a retailer affiliate program it’s enough to required tax collection, hence the reason such programs have been shut down in those states by Amazon and others.

California, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, New Mexico, Vermont, and Virginia have internet sales tax bills under consideration. Amazon is currently involved in a lawsuit against the state of New York saying an affiliate program does not and should not be considered a presence in the state. It lost and is appealing.

While New York, Rhode Island, and North Carolina’s laws are attempting to force Amazon to collect taxes directly, Colorado’s bill had the affiliate clause removed, prompting the Governor to tell angry residents who were dropped as associates that he is not to blame, Amazon is for attempting to “avoid compliance”.

An emergency repeal measure has been introduced but is not likely to pass.

Read [CNet]

Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

American cities fight for Google's attention

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

One month ago, Google put the word out that it was looking to build and test its own fiber-to-the-home networks in a couple of cities. The speeds would be up to 1 Gbps and the reach would initially be about 50,000 homes.

Immediately, hundreds of cities began making pitches to attract Google's attention, some earnest, some outlandish.

Topeka, Kansas unofficially renamed itself "Google" for the month and garnered a considerable amount of attention; Sarasota, Florida quickly followed suit and re-named its City Island "Google Island".

Duluth, Minnesota's mayor Don Ness jumped into a 35 degree Lake Superior as a dual-purpose media event for Google Fiber and the Special Olympics; and 1,000 Morgantown, West Virginia residents last week held up signs saying "We Want a Gig" at the WVU-Georgetown basketball game.

But the majority of the cities interested in getting Google Fiber haven't resorted to cheap publicity stunts, and are hoping that their answers to Google's Request for Information will be much more convincing.

"I think we're going to draw the line at silly stunts," Madison, Wisconsin alderman Mark Clear said today. City officials there are hosting a public meeting to gather ideas for their pitch and show the community's interest in the project.

Juneau, Alaska has made the case that its isolated, mountainous location will serve as an ideal testing ground since it is both environmentally challenging and populous.

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley reminded us of Baltimore's historical significance as "that place from which our nation's railroads emanated, and the place that was the source of the first telegraph message ever sent."

Kalamazoo, Michigan is using health care as its wager. The Kalamazoo Gazette's Editorial board argues that its modern health care facilities and its major medical corporations Pfizer and Stryker could benefit greatly from the fiber network.

In just under three weeks, we will be able to see which approach worked. March 26 is the last day Google will accept submissions for its fiber optic trial, and it will announce which cities it has chosen shortly after.

Almost #3 now: Dell's decline is Acer's gain

By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews

With the economic sinkhole of 2008-09 now a figment of many technology companies' past, most PC manufacturers are back on their regularly scheduled growth curve. Last month, Dell had indicated to investors that it was returning to that curve as well, reporting "product shipments...up at double-digit rates year-over-year" during its end-of-fiscal year 2010 earnings report.

According to iSuppli, which tracks worldwide PC unit shipments, that Dell claim -- which not a single analyst even questioned at the time, according to Seeking Alpha's transcript of Dell's February 18 earnings conference -- gives "plus or minus" a whole new meaning. The market analyst firm's statistics on full-year unit shipments, published today, show Dell's numbers declining by 9.946% during calendar year 2009. Dell's fiscal 2010 began in February 2009, so iSuppli's numbers cover most of that period plus January 2010 -- in a quarter where Dell actually recovered slightly.

Dell shipped just under 39 million PCs, which is beneath the psychological benchmark of 10 million units per quarter. In the last quarter, Acer topped Dell for the first time in quarterly units shipped; and this last quarter, put some distance between itself and Dell, gaining 1.5% of worldwide market share in the last quarter of 2009. Acer shipped 11.86 million PCs during that quarter -- almost 29% more units than for the previous year's final quarter -- and 38.48 million for the full year.

What's Acer's secret? According to the breakdown by iSuppli principal analyst Matthew Wilkins, Acer doesn't waste its time selling desktop PCs in markets that don't want them. As a result, four out of every five units Acer ships are notebook PCs, and it can concentrate on selling those notebooks in heavier volume in markets such as North America.

Dell's breakdown is a little fuzzier, with iSuppli only being able to ascertain that its mix of desktop PCs to notebook PCs has declined at a lesser rate than the rest of the industry. (Again, nobody asked.) Last February, Dell executives credited higher shipment rates in the storage systems segment (a non-consumer division) as contributing to the company's generally better revenue numbers. Perhaps that's the double-digit gain Dell was referring to. But the second quarter report credits the Mobility division with 31% of net revenue for fiscal year 2010, versus 25% for desktop PCs. Gross margin for Dell in its last fiscal year slipped to a minuscule 16.6%.

Use Twitter to stop zombies in Tweet Defense

FROM GAMERTELL -  Promethium Marketing and GrinLock Limited’s Tweet Defense, a tower defense game where you defeat zombies using your Twitter account stats, is now up at the iTunes store.
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Review: Science Trips Out on Music in 'The Heart Is a Drum Machine'

Broadcast Video From Your Mobile

Broadcast Video From Your Mobile

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Just How Fast Is Cisco’s New Router? Really Freaking Fast

Cisco Tuesday announced a new router, the CRS-3, that it says is capable of delivering 322 terabits per second.

Now, we don’t usually cover routers and similar enterprise hardware here in Gadget Lab, but this one’s worth a brief mention. Let’s leave aside Cisco’s breathless hype (it will “forever change the internet” — yeah, we’ll believe that when we see it). And nevermind the fact that, actually, there are only a handful of people with the technical skills and the equipment necessary to put Cisco’s speed claims to the test, so they might as well claim it delivers 322 kajillion bits per second, because who would know the difference?

Those caveats aside, 322 Tbps is insanely fast. Just how fast? About a million times faster than your typical cable modem (literally). Or, as Silicon Valley Insider puts it, “fast enough to allow every man, woman, and child in China to make a video call at the same time.”

That’s fast.

You could also use speed like that to download the entire Library of Congress in about a second, fill up your iTunes library with over 4 billion MP3 files in about a minute, or download every movie ever made in 4 minutes, SVI says.

There’s more: see SVI’s article for a clever, quick presentation.

Cisco’s New Router Could Let Everyone in China Make a Video Call at Once (Silicon Valley Insider)

Photo: Conan the Librarian/Flickr

Just How Fast Is Cisco's New Router? Really Freaking Fast

Apple’s iPad ad reveals new details

FROM APPLETELL - Apple’s iPad ad offers some real information about the iBookstore, how documents may be stored on the iPhone, and a little more about the rumor that just won’t die, a front facing camera.
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That wasn't supposed to happen: IE usage share steady since choice screen

By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews

The window of opportunity may be closing for the first test of government mandated fairness and equal choice among Web browsers, with neutral results. There are a number of studies recently that say computer users in general have a tendency to automatically distrust notices that pop up on their screen. More attention was paid to those studies since last March, after Microsoft's deployment of Internet Explorer 8 over Windows Update was followed by a general downtrend in IE usage, interrupted by a brief respite in early October, according to global tracking data from analytics vendor StatCounter.

If what Microsoft's security representatives have said is true -- that the key window for adoption of an update or patch usually comes a few days after Patch Tuesday -- then StatCounter's tracking data for IE usage in Europe could count as sweet revenge. Since Microsoft deployed its browser choice screen for European users, in compliance with European Commission directives, on March 1, StatCounter reports European usage share for all versions of Internet Explorer has stayed steady at about 46.6%, with negligible gains since the beginning of the month.

This while Mozilla Firefox continues an unusual decline of about two points of European usage share since the first of the year, and relative newcomer Google Chrome ticks up at about one point per month.

So far, Internet Explorer 6 usage remains rock solid at 6.37% as of yesterday, tied with Chrome 4 in usage share for Europe. This as the adoption rate of Firefox 3.6 among former users of version 3.5 has tapered off somewhat. Worldwide usage share of IE6 continues to decline at the almost invisible rate of a tenth of a point per week.

Thus far, there's no indication from StatCounter's charts that the browser screen has impacted the usage rate of any browser on the continent, one way or the other. The trends that had been in place, including the tapering off of Firefox 3.6 adoption, appear to be continuing.

Anyone looking for a technical reason for this lack of a trend may not be able to point to faulty algorithms anymore. In recent days, Microsoft implemented a fix to the randomization of browser choices on its browserchoice.eu Web site, in response to a discovery that was validated last week by IBM's Rob Weir, that the JavaScript function Math.random used by IE wasn't shuffling browsers' positions fairly. The revised code now clearly employs a random shuffling algorithm, which creates arrays of pointers that exchange places with one another like shuffling cards -- an alternative that Weir and others had suggested.

As Weir posted on Saturday, Microsoft's revised code is now about as fair as it gets, with each of the top five browsers getting 20% placement, plus or minus only a few thousandths of a point. As a suggestion for the future, Weir pointed out the irony of searching for proper programming methodologies using, ironically, Google Search.

"Several commenters mentioned that if you search Google for 'javascript random array sort,' the first link returned will be a JavaScript tutorial that has the same offending code as Microsoft's algorithm. This is not surprising," Weir wrote. "As I said in my original post, this is a well-known mistake. But it is no less a mistake. If you use Google Code Search for the query "0.5 - Math.random()" lang:javascript you will find 50 or so other instances of the faulty algorithm. So if anyone else is using this same algorithm, they should evaluate whether it is really sufficiently random for their needs. In some case, such as a children's game, it might be fine. But know that there are better and faster algorithms available that are not much more complicated to code."

Want to sleep with Android? Now you can.

Do you love Android? Like, really love Android? So much so that those Android action figures just don’t seem like enough? Well, now there’s a way for you to show the world how much you really care about your favorite OS: by bringing it to bed with you.

Now, now, get your mind out of the gutter (There are no intentional innuendos anywhere in this post. Honest!). Etsy seller Craftsquatch has just started churning out the Android-themed throw pillows you see above for $19.99 a pop. If you want one of these, you may want to act fast for two reasons: A) it’s Etsy, so its handmade, thus inherently being limited edition and B) we’re guessing that, unlike the aforementioned Android toys, this use of the Android logo isn’t exactly licensed.

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Video: Samsung explains why their Super AMOLED screen is better than your normal AMOLED screen

Samsung’s pretty proud of their Super AMOLED technology – and why shouldn’t they be? With next to no fanfare, they managed to knock out the readability issues that plagued AMOLED handsets any time they were within view of the sun. And if vastly improved readability wasn’t enough, they went and slimmed the whole thing down into a package considerably tighter than the competition’s not-so-sun friendly offerings.

Samsung’s compiled a nifty little video showing off all the reason why their Super AMOLED displays deserve their name.

Interestingly, they left out any sort of audio track. Come on, Samsung – this is 2010. We’ve been nursed by booming bass, and embraced by endless loops. If it doesn’t have a crazy techno soundtrack, how do you expect to keep our attention? Don’t worry, dear reader; I’ve got your back. Press play on the provided track below, then start the video.

[via Engadget]

Gamertell Review: Alice in Wonderland (the movie)

FROM GAMERTELL - Tim Burton and Disney’s latest adaptation of Alice in Wonderland is a delight. It leaves a definite impression on viewers, with strong characters and an engaging story that stumbles only once. It leaves you wanting more.
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Tropical Cyclone Formation Likely Near Madagascar

Sony proves PS3 is still a movie machine with HD content from all major studios

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Sales of Sony's PlayStation 3 have lagged behind Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360 for most of this generation, and the PSP and PSP Go now face a serious threat from Apple's iPhone OS-based handhelds. Despite these factors, though, Sony has managed to set up one of the strongest Web-based storefronts for digital content distribution to its consoles. Offering full downloadable games, add-ons, XMB customizations, game trailers, and HD Hollywood feature films and television episodes for rent or purchase, the PlayStation Network is an attractive and easily navigable repository for media on Sony game machines.

It's a shame that setting up and hosting online games for the PS3 isn't as simple as its store.

Today, Sony announced the "Movies" section of the PlayStation Network has finally been completed, and HD content from all six major US movie studios (20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros.) is now available.

"PlayStation Network is the first and only service to deliver high definition home entertainment from all six major studios, directly to consumers for download," said Peter Dille, SCEA senior vice president of marketing and PlayStation Network.

Sony did not give a number today of how many titles are available from these studios, but instead listed 19 releases that hit the US PlayStation store in High Definition today.

The "completed" store will launch next in the UK, France, Germany, and Spain.

Sprint Touch Pro 2 to finally get Windows Mobile 6.5 later this month?

Given that the HTC Touch Pro 2 saw upgrades to Windows Mobile 6.5 on just about every other carrier months ago, Sprint Touch Pro 2 owners might be feeling a wee bit rebuffed right now. On the brightside, chances are good that the upgrade is coming eventually, right?

Well, it looks like “eventually” might be sooner than later.

PPCGeeks forumgoer Platin465 scanned in the above table from a Sprint Small Business Catalog which indicates that the Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade will be coming down the pipes some time in March.

Also worth noting: whoever made that table sucks terribly at making tables. Why the heck would you list “Windows Mobile 6.5″, “Android Market”, and “BlackBerry App World” as separate comparison items? No phone is ever going to have more than one. Just list what operating system they have and call it a day.

[via WMpoweruser]

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MacHeist Packs Killer Mac Apps Into $20 ‘NanoBundle’

MacHeist, an annual Mac software promotion, is nearing the end of its NanoBundle sale. At the last minute, the bundle just added our favorite Twitter app Tweetie.

Other apps in the MacHeist NanoBundle include Flow, an FTP app, Tales of Monkey Island, a five-episode adventure game, and RipIt, a DVD ripping utility, among others. With the retail prices of the eight apps added together, the collection is worth $280 but will cost you $20 as a bundle. A percentage of your purchase goes toward charity.

The standout app to us, of course, is Tweetie, a hugely popular Twitter app that’s normally priced at $20. What’s more, buying the NanoBundle will ensure you a free upgrade to Tweetie 2, due for launch in the next few months. MacHeist customers will also get access to Tweetie 2 beta next month.

Wired.com last year profiled MacHeist, an annual software sale that helps third-party Mac developers gain exposure. The promotion was originally conceived by software developer John Casasanta (above, left), entrepreneur Phillip Ryu and software developer Scott Meinzer. A team of roughly 30 people help create missions, videos and web puzzles to generate buzz for the software promotion.

Developers participating in the sale have the option to take a percentage of the bundle’s overall sales or to accept a flat payment.

“What MacHeist has accomplished is amazing,” Ambrosia president Andrew Welch told Wired.com in 2009. “They’ve created their own national [shopping] holiday for Mac users … like Black Friday.”

As its name implies, the NanoBundle is a mini sale leading to the bigger MacHeist event, which is scheduled for later this year. The NanoBundle sale ends Wednesday.

NanoBundle Page [MacHeist]

See Also:

• MacHeist’s League of Extraordinary Dropouts Reinvents Software …
• MacHeist Is a Bundle of Joy
• Macworld: MacHeist’s Shareware Sales Soar Once Again
• Slideshow: MacHeist Is a Bundle of Joy

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

BlackBerry App World bumped up to version 1.1.0.33

If you’ve been messing with the App World on your favorite BlackBerry device lately only to be plagued by some nasty glitch, you might want to check out the brand-spankin’-new App World update that just went live — it might have fixed it.

I say “might” here because, well, we’re not really sure whats changed. RIM didn’t release a changelog, and the only thing people have noticed so far is that it runs “smoother”, which may very well be a subconscious side effect of having just updated something.

We’ll update you if we get any positive confirmation about any changes – in the mean while, feel free to go dig through the new build and let us know if you find anything. It’s like an Easter egg hunt!

[Via CrackBerry]

Adobe fires against iPad: HP Slate is where it is at

Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Netbooks, Software / Applications, Wireless

Adobe has come out swinging in support of the HP Slate, that other tablet we’ve been seeing since January.  The HP Slate runs Windows 7 and handles Flash, a common slag against Apple’s tablet, the iPad.  In a new video by Adobe, the HP Slate is shown off doing some cooling things, all the time stressing that you’re getting the whole web, not a closed off, hacked together, 2-bit version of what one company (and an army of loyal fans) want you to get.  Adobe is eager to lift up the HP Slate as a worthy competitor.

Adobe uses some quick stats:  85% of Alexa top 100 sites run Flash and 75% of all video on the web is Flash, to drive their message home.  Emphasizing Flash and Adobe Air as the platform developers bring you their vision, Adobe makes the case for developers to keep on using Flash and how Adobe is going to help power the open innovation that these devices will bring.  The future, Adobe suggests, is not closed.

For its part, the Slate looks very slick in the demos.  Check out the two videos below.

Read: [Engadget]

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Apple's Secret iPhone Developer Agreement Goes Public

Apple’s Secret iPhone Developer Agreement Goes Public

The first rule of the iPhone developer program is: You do not talk about the iPhone developer program.

Before you create software for the iPhone, Apple demands that you sign away a laundry list of rights, including the ability to sell rejected apps through other channels, the ability to sue Apple for more than $50, and the ability to reverse-engineer or modify the iPhone or its SDK — and even the right to talk about your agreement with Apple.

The iPhone Developer Program License Agreement (.pdf) spells out all these requirements and more. Previously secret, the agreement has been acquired and published with the help of the Freedom of Information Act.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation reported Monday evening that it gained access to a March 2009 version of the agreement. EFF noticed that NASA had developed an iPhone app, so the cyber-rights foundation then used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the agreement from NASA. The space agency judged that the FOIA trumps the Apple agreement, so they turned the Apple document over to EFF.

The contents of the agreement are hardly surprising, The EFF’s Fred von Lohmann summed up the highlights:

• A ban on public statements, forbidding developers to speak about the agreement.
• Apps made with the iPhone software development kit can only be distributed through the App Store, meaning rejected apps can’t be served through the underground app store Cydia, for instance.
• Apple indemnifies itself against developer liability surpassing $50, meaning if developers get sued, Apple will be liable for no more than $50 in damages.
• No reverse engineering, or enabling others to reverse-engineer, the iPhone SDK.
• No messing with Apple products. That means no apps that enable modifying or hacking Apple products are allowed.
• Apple can “revoke digital certification of any of Your Applications at any time.” No surprise there: Your app can be pulled even if it’s already been approved, which we’ve already seen happen a number of times.

“If Apple’s mobile devices are the future of computing, you can expect that future to be one with more limits on innovation and competition … than the PC era that came before,” von Lohmann wrote. “It’s frustrating to see Apple, the original pioneer in generative computing, putting shackles on the market it (for now) leads.”

Though the agreement may appear one-sided, Apple’s nondisclosure agreement for developers was more strict when the App Store first opened. Apple imposed a nondisclosure agreement in 2008 forbidding developers to discuss developing for iPhone OS 2.0. Developers were turned off by the NDA, because it stifled them from discussing programming tips with one another. Apple later dropped this part of the nondisclosure agreement, saying its purpose was to protect its intellectual property.

iPhone Developer Program License Agreement (.pdf)

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Palm launches PDK beta, brings C and C++ development to webOS

Good news, everyone! We’ve got another acronym for you to remember! Back at CES 2010, Palm announced that they’d be launching a “PDK” at some point in the future – and, well, it’s here, and it’s time to pay some attention to it.

You see, “PDK” stands for “Plug-in Development Kit” (as opposed to “SDK”, or Software Development Kit). Being that webOS is built on various web technologies, its been tough for them to get any boastable number of games into their app store — it’s tough to design a killer 3D game in HTML and Javascript, you know? That’s where the PDK comes in.

The PDK allows programmers to execute native C and C++ code in webOS apps. Ran through the geek translator, that means that game developers can make radically more intensive games in a programming language they’re long accustomed to working with. Even better, it helps folks who have already designed games on other platforms (coughiPhonecough) port their games over to webOS with considerably less effort, as they can use code they’ve already written. It’s still not a matter of pressing a button and flipping a switch, but it’s less mind-blowingly-difficult now.

Be sure to check out Palm’s FAQ on the topic here. It seems like Palm actually fielded questions from developers , like this gem:

Q: Does the webOS PDK amount to an admission that your original SDK was not robust enough to produce compelling applications?

Not at all! Palm remains fully committed to the web as a mobile development platform, and the App Catalog today features thousands of compelling applications built using the current webOS SDK. The webOS PDK complements the webOS SDK by allowing developers to use C and C++ code in their webOS apps when it makes sense for business reasons (like leveraging existing code) or technical reasons (like implementing functionality not currently achievable using web technology alone). 3D games are one category where the PDK is a great fit for both business and technical reasons.

Ode to AdWords

Samsung reveals just how expensive 3D in the home is going to be

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

At CES this year, every major consumer electronics company involved in the HDTV market had floorspace dedicated to 3D TVs. They were convinced that 3D in the home is ready for widespread adoption, and the popularity of James Cameron's Avatar would kickstart adoption.

Samsung today announced its full 2010 3D TV lineup, which shows just how expensive it's going to be to upgrade your home theater to the third dimension.

The 3D TV lineup includes the LED 7000/8000/9000 Series (starting at $1,999.99, about halfway down the chart), the LCD 750 Series, and the Plasma 7000/8000 Series. The 46" and 55" LED C7000 will be available this month, and the rest will roll out at different points during the spring.

But the TV is only one part of the whole setup. You will need at least a 3D-capable Blu-ray player, one pair of active shutter glasses for every viewer, and, of course, the 3D discs. Samsung will be selling its 3D Blu-ray player for $399.99, and its Blu-Ray home theater system for $899.99 this April.

With the immediate point of entry at $2,400, Samsung could at least throw in some stitches to close the wound to your bank account. So the company announced a promotion program where customers who buy a 3D TV and 3D Blu-ray player will get two pairs of active shutter glasses and a 3D Blu-ray copy of Monsters vs. Aliens for free.

Tomorrow, Panasonic is expected to unveil its 3D offerings for the year with a similar promotional tie-in with Best Buy.

California Sushi Bar Caught Selling Whale Meat

Welcome back to the big leagues: Opera denies severity of 10.5 exploit

By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews

12:02 pm EST March 9, 2010 · A spokesperson for Opera Software provided Betanews this morning with a summary of a complete blog post on the alleged exploit of Opera 10.5, published moments ago:

"The original report about the Windows-only malformed Content-length header problem is not a security issue, but a variant of the issue, brought to our attention by Secunia, has a theoretical possibility of allowing arbitrary code to run. We have developed a fix for the problem, which is being tested, and are planning to release an update of Opera soon. Until then, if Opera crashes on an untrusted site, you should avoid visiting that site again."

11:52 am EST March 9, 2010 · Though Opera, like all Web browsers, has never been immune to exploits, the news of the first serious exploit to affect its new and groundbreaking version 10.5 now has the company's representatives taking time away from shoring up the final Mac version of 10.5, to respond to what security firm Secunia is calling a "highly critical" exploit in the new product.

Last Wednesday, purported PHP server-side exploit code for Opera appeared on a "gray-hat" Web site where such exploits are commonly found. The author's name is credited as Marcin Ressel -- who, contrary to blog reports, does not appear to be an engineer either with Secunia or Vupen Security (it could just be a made-up identity, for all anyone knows). In his code listing, Ressel left contact information for an e-mail address using the Polish .PL domain, along with a playlist of favorite music from a Polish streaming site.

In the comments section of the code, Ressel describes the exploit as, "Integer overflow leading to out of bounds array access R/W [read/write]." The overflow is apparently triggered by a maliciously malformed HTTP response header; specifically, the Content-Length property is replaced with a bunch of '9's.

An examination of the code indicates, by the author's own admission, it may not be very sophisticated. For example, the statement that generates the malformed header is capped with the comment, /*Generated by my own fuzzer*/ -- which could mean that he wrote a fuzzer, or that he happens to own an effective fuzzer. The code does appear to try to establish a stealth socket connection with the client, which the code presumes is Opera (it does test for operating system, but does not appear to test for browser brand).

So the question is whether the exploit code, after generating an exception, delivers a malicious payload to the Opera browser. In a statement last Friday, Opera Communications Director Tor Odland told the Norweigian tech news service Digi.no all of one sentence: that Opera had confirmed the exploit was not harmful. And in a follow-up statement this morning on Twitter, Opera engineer Haavard wrote, "Our security guys are working on proper public information on Secunia advisory 38820." This after having tweeted earlier that no one on Opera's development team has been able to actually deliver a malicious payload using the exploit.

The Secunia advisory, published last Thursday, states, "Successful exploitation may allow execution of arbitrary code." The keyword here could be "may," as opposed to "does" or "will."

Ressel's comments indicated that while the exploit affected Opera version 10.5 for sure, he felt confident that it probably affected version 10.1 or earlier. The Secunia advisory made the same claim, effectively that older versions were possibly impacted. And while Vupen's advisory claimed its team had confirmed only that 10.5 was vulnerable, the term "prior" was used under "Affected Products." It might, or may, or will be nice for someone to actually try that out and see.

Pain Sensitivity Tied to Gene

Safe and Affordable Jetpack: Just $90,000

Ants Smell The Scenery In Stereo

Safe and Affordable Jetpack: Just $90,000

For years, man has been trying to build a jetpack which would actually be safe and cheap enough to be used by anyone other than Lee Majors on the title sequence of The Fall Guy. It turns out that we’ve been doing it wrong. Instead of starting with a pack and adding on the jet, we should have torn the giant engines from a plane and strapped them to some poor schmuck. This is what the New Zealand Martin Aircraft Company did, resulting in the Martin Jetpack.

The jetpack is made from carbon fiber, with a touch of kevlar in the rotors, and generates 600 pounds of thrust. Because the center of gravity is below the “center of thrust” (a notional point between the engines), it is self-righting: If the pilot lets go of the controls, he hovers steadily in one spot. Unlike other sci-fi vehicles, the jetpack doesn’t require plutonium or even garbage for power. Instead, it runs on ordinary gasoline, chugging down around 10 gallons per hour (a full tank of five gallons will give you half an hour of flight time, enough to get you to the office).

Martin’s jetpack is classed as an ultralight aircraft, so you don’t need a pilot’s license fly it. Martin will force buyers to undergo training first, though. As its FAQ so rightly points out: “to attempt to fly any aircraft without professional instruction is extremely foolhardy.” There are some safety features, though. If the engine dies, a parachute pops out like an airbag in a car, so the only thing you need worry about is crashing into passing planes.

Want one? Of course you do. Right now you’re looking at a 12-month wait, and you’ll have to pay 10 percent upfront, but at just shy of $90,000 — the same as a fancy sports car — it’s actually a pretty good deal. And just imagine landing this thing on the forecourt of the local gas station.

The Martin Jetpack [Martin]

The Future Is Here: Jetpacks Now Commercially Available [Wired: Geek Dad]

Alpine Marmot Spreading Into The Catalan Pyrenees

It’s Beer O’Clock! Watch Has Built-In Bottle Opener

The only way to be truly prepared for every alcoholic emergency is to always carry a bottle opener with you, but this is, of course, impractical and easy to forget. So what about building an opener into something that you do always carry with you? That’s exactly what the Happy Hour Watch is for.

The quartz timepiece has a bottle opener in the buckle, keeping spraying beer away from the watch itself, which is fashioned from alloy with a stainless-steel back. The watch has two faces, one LCD and the other with traditional hands, and only marked with one hour (beer O’clock).

This only takes care of beer bottles (and if you have two bottles of beer, you have a beer opener anyway), so it’s more suited to tailgating than to romantic picnics. On the other hand, you should be buying screw-top wine anyway: no cork-taint and no corkscrew required. The Happy Hour Watch is $50.

Happy Hour Watch [Happy Hour Timepieces via Uncrate]

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