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Common Sense Junction
Technology Blog Headlines

  1. OCZ introduces 32GB Onyx SSD in the sub-$100 category

    → ZDNet Blogs | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:45 am MST

    OCZ has unleashed a bargain-basement priced 32GB solid state drive in their Onyx series, still maintaining decent read and write speeds.

  2. 15 Strange and Awesome Facts About Outer Space

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:40 am MST

    As those who have kept in touch with the cosmos will tell you, space is one damn interesting place, chock-full of wacky phenomena.

  3. (Wonderful, Awesome) Study Says Porn is Socially Beneficial

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:40 am MST

    "And in every region investigated, researchers have found that as pornography has increased in availability, sex crimes have either decreased or not increased."

  4. Western Digital debuts My Passport AV portable media drive; starts at $109.99

    → ZDNet Blogs | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:34 am MST

    Western Digital has introduced the My Passport AV, a new 320GB portable media drive dedicated to storing video content and compatibility with multiple types of media players.

  5. Through app stores, SMBs customize tools and pave way for enterprise

    → ZDNet Blogs | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:30 am MST

    As apps targeted at small businesses start to grow in online marketplaces, it could help bring businesses into the cloud.

  6. Motorola Replacing Google Search With Bing On Chinese Android Phones [Google]

    → Gizmodo | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:21 am MST

    Cynics will likely say China's forcing Motorola to include Bing search instead of Google in Chinese Android phones, due to the ongoing war o' censorship with Google. Me? Well, Bing is the better search engine. Kidding! More »


  7. Verizon announces it will debut a 4G handset by mid-2011

    → ZDNet Blogs | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:20 am MST

    Verizon Wireless has announced that they will issue their first LTE handset for the 4G network by the middle of 2011. But with the good news, there's a bit of bad news: unlimited data plans will probably be eliminated.

  8. Google Launches Google Reader Play for Apple's iPad

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:20 am MST

    Google Reader Play is a full-screen treatment that shows you an image, video, or text from websites that are popular on Google Reader. You can navigate from page to page with right and left arrows at the sides of the screen, or by selecting a site from the assorted options below. You don't even have to be signed in to use it.




  9. Bicycling Directions, Trails Comes to Google Maps

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:10 am MST

    There's nothing worse for a bicyclist than finding yourself a mile in to a two-mile stretch of shoulder-less, busy, highway-speed traffic with no alternative route. Before today, this was a common occurrence if you went to trusty Google Maps to get bicycling directions, but starting today, that has all changed.




  10. Smart Planet: Busting hurricanes with ocean cooling pumps

    → ZDNet Blogs | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:10 am MST

    A climate scientist at Stanford University's Carnegie Institute is trying to cool the seas to weaken hurricanes and minimize the death and destruction they bring.

  11. Sony PlayStation Move motion controllers to launch this fall

    → ZDNet Blogs | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:03 am MST

    Sony has announced details and the upcoming release of the PlayStation Move motion controllers at the GDC 2010 in San Francisco this week, declaring the controllers will deliver "a motion-based, high-definition gaming experience unlike anything on the market." That's a pretty big promise.

  12. News to know: FTC; Comscore; CA-Nimsoft; Google-China; iPad; Walmart

    → ZDNet Blogs | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:00 am MST

    The FTC's inquiry into the Google-AdMob deal and an update on Google's future in China top today's headlines.

  13. Tracking When, Where and How People Have Sex in Real-Time

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:00 am MST

    Part Twitter, part Google Maps, IJustMadeLove.com is the brainchild of Cyprian Cieÿkiewicz, a 26-year-old programmer in Poland who got the idea for the site in May. While driving home one night, he started wondering what it would take to create a Web site with flashing notifications representing where people have exchanged bodily fluids.




  14. Bar Rafaeli Should Dump Leo and Date a Nice Jewish Boy, Says Bubbe Mafia [The Chosen]

    → Gawker | 11 Mar 2010 | 2:53 am MST

    Israeli nationalist organization Lehava "provides assistance to Jewish girls in relationships with non-Jews," helping "extricate" them from goyim relationships. Their latest target: Israeli supermodel and Leonardo DiCaprio girlfriend Bar Rafaeli. More »


  15. EFF: Ending the EU Data Retention Directive

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 11 Mar 2010 | 2:50 am MST

    The German Constitutional Court issued a much-anticipated decision, striking down its data retention law as violating human rights. It was an important victory for Europe’s Freedom Not Fear movement, which was formed to oppose the EU Data Retention Directive. But it was also a reminder of the political work which remains to be done to defeat it.




  16. Opera Mini 5 Browser Beta Out Now For Android [Browsers]

    → Gizmodo | 11 Mar 2010 | 2:49 am MST

    The latest beta version of Opera Mini for Androids is now out as of today, with a new interface and multi-tabs support thrown in. It's not entirely dissimilar to Opera Mobile 10 on Symbian and WinMo, though. More »


  17. Motorola partnering with Microsoft for maps, search services; will launch on smartphones in China

    → ZDNet Blogs | 11 Mar 2010 | 2:48 am MST

    Since Google might be moving out of China, it looks like there is more room for other companies to fill the void. And Motorola and Microsoft plan to do just that, announcing a new partnership that will be evident on smartphones launching in China soon.

  18. Google tries to make its RSS reader fun, too

    → CNET News.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 2:18 am MST

    The Net giant unveils Google Reader Play, an attempt to put an easy-to-use, entertaining interface on its feed-reader Web application

  19. Why Digg Digs Cassandra

    → GigaOM | 11 Mar 2010 | 1:00 am MST

    Digg, the San Francisco-based social media company, is dropping MySQL and instead betting its future on Cassandra, an open-source data store. It’s just the latest sign of the growing popularity of the software, which was developed (and open sourced) by Facebook to search through its inbox.

  20. Android phones get Opera Mini 5 beta

    → CNET News.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 1:00 am MST

    Opera adds Android to its updated browser lineup.

  21. Madonna and Lourdes to Outfit Teens, Possibly in Ed Hardy [Fashion]

    → Gawker | 11 Mar 2010 | 12:49 am MST

    You're never too young to have a personal brand. Madonna and her precociously stylish 13-year-old daughter are co-designing Material Girl, a teen clothing line that will hopefully resist the urge to stamp "Material Girl" on the seats of gym shorts. More »


  22. LGBT researcher calls for action to combat cyberbullying (podcast)

    → CNET News.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 12:40 am MST

    The co-author of a study on cyberbullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth says more than half of LGBT youth had experienced cyberbulling within the past 30 days.

  23. Proof That Your Parents Totally Still Have Sex [Boning]

    → Gawker | 11 Mar 2010 | 12:24 am MST

    The average sex life ends at the age of 70. So, for every 30-year-old who can't get laid, there is a 110-year-old getting it on. That's how averages work, right? [Bloomberg] More »


  24. Innovation Brings New Amazing Gadgets to the Poor

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 11 Mar 2010 | 12:10 am MST

    A nonprofit called Kopernik hopes to connect the creators of the low-cost, innovative and life-saving inventions with the people who need them most.




  25. Dakota Fanning Writhes in Lingerie for 'Cherry Bomb' Video, Other Teen Starlets So Way Jealous [VideUhOh]

    → Gawker | 11 Mar 2010 | 12:06 am MST

    Little Dakota Fanning is all grown up and making everyone feel like a pedophile. Alongside Kristen Stewart, Dakota shakes her distressingly young chest in this music video for Joan Jett biopic The Runaways. Somewhere, Taylor Momsen is seething with envy. More »


  26. 'Doomsday' Seed Vault Stores 500,000 Crops

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 11 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am MST

    A global seed vault dug out of an arctic mountainside has just reached its half-million mark of seed varieties.

  27. New Method to Turn Wood And Straw Into Liquid Biofuels

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 11:40 pm MST

    British scientists say they've discovered a mechanism that might lead to a new way of converting wood and straw into liquid biofuels.

  28. Intel's Core i7-980X Launches with a Bang

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 11:32 pm MST

    The new Core i7-980X Extreme Edition (codenamed "Gulftown") is a six-core CPU that promises a whole new level of performance.




  29. Top free troubleshooting tools for Windows

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 11:30 pm MST

    No computer runs perfectly forever. Somewhere along the line, something will go wrong. While each successive version of Windows has been that much more reliable and self-healing, that's never been an argument to forgo a good collection of software tools.




  30. Pioneer's DJM-2000 Shows Why Every Digital Mixer Should Come With Multitouch [Music]

    → Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 11:20 pm MST

    Pioneer is known to make digital mixers that leave us drooling and wishing for some DJ skills. First they gave us the CDJ-2000 with its beautiful LCD screen, and now they've given us the DJM-2000, a multitouch screen-having per-frequency-mixing beauty. More »


  31. National Educational Technology Plan - Part 2 (Enter, Microsoft)

    → ZDNet Blogs | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:42 pm MST

    Regular readers will never classify me as a Microsoft shill. One of my major goals in this blog is to look at highly effective cost-saving tools for educators, whether they are open source or free/low-cost web-based resources. However, I absolutely have to give Microsoft credit in terms of the National Educational Technology Plan. While any number of companies and vendors provide solutions very appropriate to education, Mary Cullinane (Microsoft’s Director of Innovation for Education) very aptly noted that the plan is deep enough that it often leaves schools asking, "So what do you want me to do?" Her Innovation in Education group has put a lot of time into answering that question. Microsoft has actually developed plans around the areas...

  32. National Educational Technology Plan - Part 1

    → ZDNet Blogs | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:42 pm MST

    The US Department of Education just released its National Educational Technology Plan, entitled Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology. The executive summary is a little easier read and is available here. I had a great discussion Tuesday with Microsoft’s Director of Innovation for Education, Mary Cullinane about the plan in general and Microsoft's strategy to help schools address it in particular. The plan itself is actually far more focused on modern educational pedagogy than it is on technological specifics. As Dr. Culinane points out, "this isn't just another unfunded mandate." Rather, it provides some useful guides and goals for realistically using technology in standards-based education, both for direct instructional purposes and data analysis that can inform instruction. In many...

  33. When Heavy Machines Crash They Make a Terrible Noise [Heavy Hardware]

    → Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:40 pm MST

    It doesn't matter if the machine you are using is a massive crane or a tiny smartphone: You will always curse in the same way when it crashes. The deafening noise, however, won't be the same. More »


  34. Intel debuts six-core gaming chip

    → CNET News.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:30 pm MST

    Chipmaker introduces its first desktop chip packing that many processing cores for gaming boxes.

  35. feature: Why new hard disks might not be much fun for XP users

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:30 pm MST

    A rather surprising article hit the front page of the BBC on Tuesday: the next generation of hard disks could cause slowdowns for XP users. Not normally the kind of thing you'd expect to be placed so prominently, but the warning it gives is a worthy one, if timed a bit oddly. The world of hard disks is set to change, and the impact could be severe. In the remarkably conservative world of PC hardware, it's not often that a 30-year-old convention gets discarded. Even this change has been almost a decade in the making.

    The problem is hard disk sectors. A sector is the smallest unit of a hard disk that software can read or write. Even though a file might only be a single byte long, the operating system has to read or write at least 512 bytes to read or write that file.

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  36. Pentagon trains workers to hack Defense computers

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:27 pm MST

    The Pentagon is training people to hack into its own computer networks.

  37. Report: Time for next stage of sustainable business

    → CNET News.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:05 pm MST

    Activist investor group urges companies to track their use of energy and resources as closely as it does its hiring and cash flow.

  38. Fashion as Futurism [Image Cache]

    → Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:59 pm MST

    It's hard for a lot of us to relate to what goes on in fashion, but Alexander McQueen, recently deceased, strode across some familiar territory in his final works. Shots like this are as sci-fi as they are high-fashion. [BoingBoing] More »


  39. Big Media or Big SEO Spammers?

    → GigaOM | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:30 pm MST

    Faced with declining revenues and increasingly dismal prospects, some mainstream media outlets are adopting questionable tactics. A liberally funded LA startup is only too quick to help them. The story starts with San Francisco-based sex writer Violet Blue.

  40. Controversial Amazon 1-Click patent survives review

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:23 pm MST

    Amazon's patent on one-click shopping has survived the scrutiny of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In an official notice published this month, the USPTO declared its intent to issue a reexamination certificate affirming the validity of Amazon's amended version of the patent.

    The patent, which was filed in 1997, describes a method of enabling consumers to purchase goods without having to provide credit card and shipping information during every shopping session. Amazon enforced the patent against competitor Barnes and Noble almost immediately after it was granted in 1999. The patentability of one-click Internet shopping is broadly disputed. It has become the textbook example of how a broad patent on a trivially obvious software concept can have a profoundly anti-competitive impact on a wide segment of the industry.

    Peter Calveley, an actor and patent law enthusiast from New Zealand, launched a campaign against the one-click patent in 2006 and filed for a reexamination with funding that he collected from his supporters. A year later, the USPTO issued a decision rejecting 21 of the patent's 26 claims, largely due to the broad availability of well-documented prior art. Amazon decided to amend the patent in order to address some of the specific issues raised by the reexamination.

    The amended version has a slightly smaller scope, limiting the patent's coverage to online shopping cart systems rather than all one-click e-commerce. In its statement today, the USPTO declared that the new version of the patent is valid, despite the fact that it has no functional difference from the original version. This outcome, which took years four years to reach, reflects the deficiencies of the reexamination process.

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  41. Girl Recognizes Lego Star Wars Minifigs by Sucking on Them [Lego]

    → Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:20 pm MST

    You really have to suck a whole lot of Lego Star Wars minifigs to do what this girl is doing: Identify the characters by putting them inside your mouth. Somehow, I find all this strangely arousing. [Youtube via Boing Boing] More »


  42. Sony announces Playstation Move

    → CNET News.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:18 pm MST

    Sony unveils their first motion controller for the Playstation 3.

  43. Dear Howard Stern, Stop Pretending Like You Care About Gabourey Sidibe's Health [Bullshit]

    → Gawker | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:18 pm MST

    Howard Stern defended yesterday's rant about "enormous as a planet" Gabourey Sidibe. "Obesity in this country is out of control," and he just wants everyone to be healthy. Since when does acknowledging a fat person constitute "tacitly" promoting obesity? More »


  44. IBM Develops Infinitely Recyclable Plant-Based Plastic [Plastics]

    → Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:00 pm MST

    Earlier this week, IBM researchers announced a discovery that could lead to plastics made from plants instead of petroleum. The new plastics will be more energy efficient, more versatile, and infinitely recyclable (until we move to our space colony). More »


  45. Greatest Decal Ever? (PIC)

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:40 pm MST

    Just click through and check it out.




  46. Rock-Paper-Scissors Playing Glove Learns Your Weaknesses [DIY]

    → Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:40 pm MST

    Once upon a time being alone meant you were unable to play a decent game of rock-paper-scissors, but now you can finally amuse yourself with just your own hand. Granted you'll have to actually make a glove like this first. More »


  47. 11 Things You Didn't Know You Could Watch on Webcam

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:30 pm MST

    It's a fact that everyone loves the PuppyCam, except for those few people with an abnormal hatred of puppies. (And, frankly, we don't speak to those people.)




  48. GDC 2010: Scaling the summits of gameplay

    → CNET News.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:29 pm MST

    roundup This week's Game Developers Conference brings together designers, programmers, publishers, and others for the latest from the world of video play.

  49. GDC: What's next for video game AI?

    → CNET News.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:29 pm MST

    Game AI, when done right, means it's closer to acting and reacting like humans. Find out what some developers are doing to shake things up.

  50. Power Gig: it's a rhythm game... with a real guitar

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:20 pm MST

    There is a point when playing rhythm games such as Rock Band or Guitar Hero where you hit a kind of wall; there is only so much to learn hitting buttons as notes flow down the screen. Power Gig: Rise of the Six String—in addition to having a terrible title—wants to break that wall by teaching you actual guitar skills if you choose to move past what the tradition rhythm game has offered. The guitar peripheral is an actual six-string electric guitar, although we're promised that the full band bundle of guitar, drums, and microphone will be priced competitively with other rhythm bundles on the market.

    We had a chance to see the game being played in front of us, although hands-on testing was forbidden. The notes came down the screen, connected by a pulsing ribbon, showing the player what button to hit on the guitar's neck. Any number of strings hit will register as a correct hit. In this mode, you will be able to use your existing rhythm game guitars. The real meat of the game happens when you move to the higher difficulty levels, where the dots are replaced by numbers, showing you what strings to play. A green two means you'll be pressing down on the second string down from the top of the neck, in the green section. Tutorials will show you how to hold your hands and fingers to create power chords.

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  51. TurboTax announces Glenn Beck ad pull via Twitter

    → CNET News.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:05 pm MST

    After feedback from its Twitter followers, the tax-preparation software company decides to remove its advertising from the show hosted by Fox's most entertaining presenter.

  52. Staring Directly At the Artificial Sun [Image Cache]

    → Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:00 pm MST

    That's not the sun. But for a brief period, in a small Arctic town in Canada, in the dead of winter, it was the next-best thing. More »


  53. We Think Google Reader Play Is Perfect For Tablets, But What About TVs? [Google]

    → Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:51 pm MST

    We thought that Google's Reader Play is perfect for tablet computers, but the New York Times' Nick Bilton has other ideas. He thinks that the feature is perfect for TVs and other larger screens. [NYT] More »


  54. It Only Gives You 32GB, But the OCZ Onyx Is Still An SSD Under $100 [Ssds]

    → Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:44 pm MST

    32GB, 64MB cache, and read and write speeds of 25MB/s and 70MB/s aren't terribly exciting when it comes to a solid state drive, but the OCZ Onyx still caught our eye because it's among the first SSDs to slip below $100. [Hot Hardware via CrunchGear] More »


  55. Code library gives homebrew iPod remotes chance for awesome

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:33 pm MST

    Not too long ago, David Finland built a device capable of communicating with just about any model of iPod via the dock connector using an Arduino Nano, PodGizmo breakout board, an old USB iPod connector, and a momentary switch. While it may not sound like a big deal, there is more to it than one might think: namely programming a device (in this case the Arduino Nano) to be able to receive, interpret, and respond to messages sent from an iPod. 

    This means teaching it to speak Apple Accessory Protocol and, although proprietary in nature, it has been fairly well documented around the Internet. Finland slung some code so that his iPod touch was hooked up to one of the famous Staples Easy buttons in his car. Now he could easily play and pause his iPod touch without having to fiddle with the on-screen controls.

    Fast-forward several months and Finland had all but forgotten about the project when he was asked by the folks that run Make magazine to talk about it. In particular, they wanted him to talk about the library he created for communicating with Apple’s portable audio players. He said yes, and decided to dive back into the project and attempt to add additional functionality to the project. 

    Finland's first go around only involved tackling the the Simple Remote portion of the Apple Remote Protocol, which handles things like mute, next playlist, skip, and turning the device on and off. With newfound interest, however, he has now tackled the Advanced Remote portion, which opens up a bevy of new functionality, including getting names of songs, albums, artists, and track time; toggling shuffle and repeat mode; and all the other neat functionality that iPods have.

    This newly released library of code will surely appeal to the do-it-yourself hackers who love tinkering, soldering, and programming. Someone could theoretically even build his or her own iPod speaker solution with a plethora of different options and feedback. The more daring could hard-wire a solution to a car’s in-wheel audio controls. Personally, I envision some sort of bicycle solution that docks the iPod on the handlebars but allows riders to control the device without taking their hands off the handlebars. An even more enterprising individual could rig something like this up to a sudden motion sensor so that when someone enters a room, the iPod begins to play.

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  56. iPhone Developer Ngmoco Justifies the Freemium Model

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:20 pm MST

    While Ngmoco has emerged as one of the iPhone's top original developers, they've also lost a lot of fans by sticking with a model they call "freemium," even to the detriment of some of their most popular games.




  57. In This Horror Movie, the Call Comes From Inside the Theater [Interactivity]

    → Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:20 pm MST

    What's more terrifying than a call coming from inside the house? The call coming from inside the theater. That's the thought behind Last Call, an interactive horror film in which the main character calls a random audience member for help. More »


  58. WTF? SNOW ON THE PALM TREES! Snow hits Mediterranean coast!

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:00 pm MST

    Blizzards have hit the French Mediterranean coast amid warnings of up to 20 inches of snow in Northern Spain on Tuesday.

  59. Dirty Old Man Update: Ensign's Water Gets Hotter [Dirty Old Men]

    → Gawker | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:00 pm MST

    New emails tie John Ensign even closer to his cuckolded, hush-moneyed staffer. More »


  60. The Faces That Belong To Famous Hands [Hands]

    → Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:40 pm MST

    Hand models have it pretty good, don't they? Show up, hold something for a few hours, collect checks, repeat. It's such a sweet gig, there's gotta be something wrong with them, right? Wait... they're all attractive, too? Well nuts. More »


  61. Sony Motion Controller is Called PlayStation Move, Launches Fall 2010 (Hands On!) [Playstation Move]

    → Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:23 pm MST

    Sony's finally put a name to their motion controller, and it's called PlayStation Move. Updated with hands on. More »


  62. Rob Glaser Defines the Superphone and Predicts the Mobile Future

    → GigaOM | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:08 pm MST

    Future media will be consumed on the go, said Rob Glaser, former CEO of RealNetworks, in a speech today. He also forecast that by 2013 the installed base of smart and superphones will exceed the installed base of PCs.

  63. Springpad bookmarks the world

    → CNET News.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:06 pm MST

    Neat little clipping and saving service works on Web and iPhone.

  64. Hands-on with Sony's new PlayStation Move motion controller

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:00 pm MST

    SAN FRANCISCO — At a GDC event today, Sony showed off its new PlayStation Move controller, along with a number of games. The audience response was positive, but the demos shown, including sports games and sword-and-shield-style battles, seemed both inspired and informed by what the Wii has done before. We got a quick hands-on with the controller, and have posted some impressions and pictures, below.

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  65. Government No-Fly List Includes the Dead

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:00 pm MST

    You may be dying, figuratively, to get off the government's no-fly list, but death won't guarantee removal. The government's no-fly list includes the names of dead suspects, according to government officials who spoke with the Associated Press, to help catch people who may try to assume the suspect’s identity...




  66. Sex, Blood, and Post-Its: A Short Film Shot Entirely On a Scanner [Film]

    → Gizmodo | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:00 pm MST

    It's one thing to shoot an entire short film on a Canon flatbed computer scanner. It's another to do it well. With Memoirs of a Scanner, Mindfruit Films pretty much nailed it. More »


  67. From the Tips Box: Application Shortcuts, Dry-Erase Planners, and Odor-Free Garbage [From The Tips Box]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:00 pm MST

    Readers offer their best tips for making global application shortcuts in OS X, making easy, dry-erase weekly planners, and eliminating odor from your garbage can. More »


  68. LimeWire enlists AVG for user protection

    → CNET News.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 5:53 pm MST

    Notorious as a malware ghetto, LimeWire takes its first steps to integrate authoritative threat protection by signing on AVG to provide premium users with download scanning and blocking.

  69. Windows Phone 7 won't kill Zune HD

    → CNET News.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 5:36 pm MST

    But Microsoft is telling game developers to concentrate on the phones.

  70. Pentagon trains workers to hack Defense computers

    → CNN.com - Technology | 10 Mar 2010 | 5:27 pm MST

    The Pentagon is training people to hack into its own computer networks.


  71. Sony unveils Move--its PS3 motion controller

    → CNET News.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 5:25 pm MST

    The PlayStation maker gives those gathered at a press conference during the Game Developers Conference a sneak peek at its motion-sensitive controller.

  72. McQueen for a Day [Pic Of The Day]

    → Gawker | 10 Mar 2010 | 5:20 pm MST

    [Alexander McQueen's final collection, completed a few weeks before his suicide last month, was revealed in Paris yesterday and today. The 16 outfits featured his trademark tailoring, attention to detail, and glamorous outlandishness.] More »


  73. Net oversight board to consider .xxx domains

    → CNET News.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 5:20 pm MST

    ICM Registry is again urging ICANN to allow adult sites to add .xxx to their names, creating what some have called a red-light district in cyberspace.

  74. Twitter Co-Founder Would Like You To Think He's Turning 30 [Twitterati]

    → Gawker | 10 Mar 2010 | 5:16 pm MST

    Biz Stone used an age-shortener to fit his birthday onto Twitter; Julia Allison tried doing math with her brain; and Ana Marie Cox attempted to flirt with Rahm Emanuel over basic cable. The Twitterati turned to tools of last resort. More »


  75. Next Conversation: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski

    → CNET News.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 5:16 pm MST

    In our next interview for CNET Conversations, we'll ask FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski about everything from free broadband to exclusive wireless agreements to the NBC-Comcast deal. What's your question?

  76. Cisco unveils ultra-fast Internet technology

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 10 Mar 2010 | 5:15 pm MST

    Cisco unveiled a new Internet technology Tuesday that it says will provide the ultra-fast data speeds necessary to stay ahead of users' rapidly growing online video demands.

  77. Remains of the Day: The Best Jobs in America Edition [For What It's Worth]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 5:00 pm MST

    Step inside for lessons from the life of Albert Einstein, more snazzy HTML5 demos, and an infographic look at the best jobs in America. More »


  78. New York Times Savior Is Now the Richest Man on Earth [Billionaires]

    → Gawker | 10 Mar 2010 | 4:58 pm MST

    Despite the millions and millions he's poured into the struggling New York Times, shady Mexican mogul Carlos Slim managed to bypass Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to nab the No. 1 spot on Forbes' 2010 list of world billionaires. [Forbes] More »


  79. MRI's successes put the brain on trial

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 4:50 pm MST

    As we obtain a finer-grained understanding of the brain structures that perform specific functions, the use of MRI to probe an individual's mental capacity may be ready to take a starring turn in the courtroom.

  80. Digg: Saying Yes to NoSQL; Going Steady with Cassandra

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 4:40 pm MST

    Digg is committed to the use & development of open source software & we're keen to avoid the cost of proprietary large-scale storage solutions. We were inspired by Google & Amazon's broad use of their non-relational BigTable and Dynamo systems. We evaluated all the usual open source NoSQL suspects. After considerable debate, we decided to go with




  81. Facebook Search Queries Jump 10% in February

    → GigaOM | 10 Mar 2010 | 4:32 pm MST

    Facebook redesigned at the beginning of February, moving its search box from the right side to the top middle of its home page, and it seems to have paid off, with the company's U.S. search queries growing 10 percent in February, according to comScore.

  82. Bad employee! 12% knowingly violate company IT policies

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 4:17 pm MST

    By now, it's practically a mantra that the biggest problem with corporate IT security is the employees themselves. However, we usually assume that's due to ignorant users or poorly enforced policies. Not so for a chunk of the US working population—according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive, 12 percent admitted to knowingly violating IT policy in order to get work done.

    The survey of 1,347 employed adults was conducted on behalf of Fiberlink, a company that hawks services that "help enterprises connect, control and secure laptops and mobile devices." Needless to say, the survey results fit perfectly into the company's agenda, but they are hardly surprising. After all, how many of us know someone who has left a work laptop in an unattended vehicle, sent unencrypted e-mails without permission, or reused the same three passwords over and over instead of choosing new ones every 90 days?

    Fiberlink CEO Jim Sheward warned of the obvious. "IT departments nationwide spend a lot of time and money on their compliance, usage, and access policies, but they only work if people follow the rules," he said in an e-mailed statement. [C]ompanies could face dangerous breaches that include the loss of sensitive data, competitive intelligence, or customers’ private information."

    Harris' findings are supported by previous reports saying that leaky employees are a bigger threat than malware, that employees (not hackers) cause the most corporate data loss, and that employees' online activities pose the greatest threat to IT security. With 12 percent of those people actively working outside of stated IT policy (and plenty more who do so out of ignorance), IT admins certainly have their work cut out for them if they want to maintain a tight ship.

    Read the comments on this post




  83. NASA space shuttle gearing up for big phase-out

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 4:10 pm MST

    NASA is working to finish out the space shuttle program with some key missions. First, the next space shuttle, Discovery, currently is sitting on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

  84. Google, Facebook Sued Over Mobile Sign-up Patent

    → GigaOM | 10 Mar 2010 | 4:00 pm MST

    A little-known white-label mobile social network company is suing Google and Facebook for patent infringement. Wireless Ink, maker of Winksite, says it owns the intellectual property for enabling users to join social networks from their mobile phones through a patent awarded in October 2009.

  85. Deep Water Bath Fills Your Tub to the Brim [Stuff We Like]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 4:00 pm MST

    A luxurious soak in the bathtub is that much better when you can sink all the way up to your chin. Use Deep Water Bath to override the overflow valve and get extra inches of water in the tub. More »


  86. Fur Returns to Popularity, Creative Protests Don't Work [Fashion Kills]

    → Gawker | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:58 pm MST

    For the first time in awhile more designers are showing fur than not. No matter how many sit-ins PETA stages, how much red paint it throws, or how many naked celebrities it puts on billboards, our animalistic tendencies live on! More »


  87. Comments of the Day: We Love You Corey [We Read You]

    → Gawker | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:55 pm MST

    Today a sad thing happened, in Hollywood, in the world of celebrity, so we posted about it. And so did you! Lots and lots of comments — remembrances, odd little details, various other ephemera. Here are some samples. More »


  88. Super Mario Gets Real Pixelated in DIY Arduino 8x8 Version

    → Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:45 pm MST

    Mamma mia, I'm the ultimate science project!

    Nintendo's Mario has long been beloved by geeks and scientists everywhere, as evidenced by a fluorescent bacterial version (seizure warning!) and a Mario "multiverse" that acts as a better guide to parallel universes than "Lost." Now a Carnegie Mellon University student has concocted a playable pixel tribute on an 8x8 LED matrix.

    The lady known only as Chloe concocted the project as homework by using an Arduino Nano, an open-source electronics prototyping platform intended for artists, designers and hobbyists. She simply added two buttons for the forward or jump input, and a piezo sensor that connects to a separate Arduino platform for the classic Mario theme song. Just don't go backward lest your square Mario meet with death!

    Ah, Mario -- what can't a fat little Italian plumber teach us about science and technology? Even the computers want to play your game.


    [via Crunchgear]



  89. Water discovered in Apollo moon rocks

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:40 pm MST

    Scientists have discovered tiny amounts of water in some of the famous moon rocks brought back to Earth by Apollo astronauts.Recently NASA crashed two spacecraft into the moon and orbiters scanned the lunar surface for telltale light signatures.

  90. Today In Drugs: Everything About Drugs Is Illegal [Taking A Hit]

    → Gawker | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:34 pm MST

    Bad news guys. There's just been a huge marijuana bust in New Jersey, the biggest of its kind in the state's history. Also? The police are onto your whole "drugged driving" thing. More »


  91. Former FCC Chair Lays Out the Limits on the Agency’s Authority

    → GigaOM | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:30 pm MST

    Big consumer issues such as the availability of internet apps on mobile devices and metered broadband are outside FCC authority said Kevin Martin, the former FCC chairman speaking today in Seattle. He also expressed doubt that adding spectrum alone would solve the mobile bandwidth crunch.

  92. Through The Lens Of A Space Shuttle Photographer (Pics)

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:30 pm MST

    Ben Cooper combines photography with rocket science.

  93. Gran on the Street [Oscars]

    → Gawker | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:30 pm MST

    Here are some very old ladies weighing in on Oscar night fashion. More »


  94. Researchers get plastic to act totally metal

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:27 pm MST

    Plastics became ubiquitous during the 20th century. They were hot topics of industrial and academic research, and saw innumerable consumer applications. While plastics can have a wide variety of mechanical properties, they are almost universally good insulators, both of heat and electricity. But a paper out of the Pappalardo Micro and Nano Engineering Laboratories reports on a novel processing technique that aligns the polymer chains of polyethylene, which results in a material that has both a high thermal capacitance and a high electrical resistance.

    The researchers forced the polyethylene to form into this aligned morphology by slowly drawing the fiber out of solution using the tip of an atomic force microscope. The new fibrous form of polyethylene conducts heat well along the direction of the fibers—so well, it beats out many pure metals, including iron and platinum.The resulting fiber was about 300 times more thermally conductive than normal polyethylene. This surprising ability to move heat could find uses in any number of technologies that currently rely on metal as a heat transfer medium.

    This new method differs from previous attempts at creating a more heat-conductive plastic in that it transforms the morphology of the underlying material instead of using an additive. These prior attempts, while scalable, resulted in only modest gains, since there was high thermal resistance at the interface between the plastic and additive. 

    It's not currently known how well, if at all, the process will be able to scale up to production. So far, the team has only produced single fibers in the laboratory, but they hope to be able to scale up to macro-scale production of entire sheets of this material.

    Nature Nanotechnology, 2010. DOI: 10.1038/NNANO.2010.27  (About DOIs).

    Read the comments on this post




  95. Bloomberg Crowns Henry Blodget 'King of the Blogosphere' [Blogging For Dollars]

    → Gawker | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:20 pm MST

    Bloomberg TV proclaims that, just as Amazon.com reinvented itself as a megamart, former Amazon.com bull Henry Blodget has reinvented himself as Blogger King. Hey, if Blodget's blogs do as well as his Amazon.com call, Perez Hilton should watch his tiara. More »


  96. Free wireless broadband plan is déjà vu all over again

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:20 pm MST

    The NBP will ask the government to "consider use of spectrum for a free or very low cost wireless broadband service.'' That's odd, we thought, since the FCC and Congress have been considering such an idea for years.




  97. Facebook Announces Plans To Take Over The Internet w/Pages

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:10 pm MST

    The Open Graph API will allow any page on the Web to have all the features of a Facebook Page – users will be able to become a Fan of the page, it will show up on that user’s profile and in search results, and that page will be able to publish stories to the stream of its fans.




  98. CA Continues Cloud-focused Buying Spree, Acquires Nimsoft

    → GigaOM | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:03 pm MST

    CA today announced that it is acquiring privately held Nimsoft, which makes performance and availability monitoring software, in an all cash transaction valued at $350 million. According to CA, Nimsoft will help it better serve "emerging enterprises" (read smaller businesses) adopting cloud computing solutions.

  99. HDD Makers Adopt Improved Storage Format, Windows XP Users Beware

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:01 pm MST

    Windows 7, Vista users will be fine, but by 2011 XP users will take a performance hit on new drives

  100. Six Lies Princeton Kids Tell About Why They're Becoming Investment Bankers [Shut Up, College]

    → Gawker | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:00 pm MST

    Oh neato, the Daily Princetonian has interviewed a bunch of Princeton kids who are going into investment banking. Marvel at the wide variety of lies they tell about their motivations! More »


  101. Twice-Monthly Half Mortgage Payments Might Save You Money [Personal Finance]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 3:00 pm MST

    Some financial planners advise making two half payments on your mortgage each month instead of one full sum. The idea is that homeowners will save thousands of dollars over the years in interest payments. Does this idea hold water? More »


  102. Oldest Known Flying Car is Up for Sale

    → Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:59 pm MST

    Just don't try to fly this 1934 contraption before reading all the fine print

    Flying cars may seem to keep receding into that deliciously-imagined future, but this, one of the earliest prototypes, hails from 1934. It is now slated to go up on the auction block in Atlanta this coming weekend, according to Wired's Autopia.

    Inventor Frank Skroback designed the 21-foot-long plane that includes six wings with seven-foot spans. As Autopia points out, that sounds a bit lacking when it comes to producing the necessary lift to get the beast off the ground. Maneuvering the plane … car … in the air might also present a problem with the relatively tiny vertical control surfaces.

    The winning bidder would receive documentation on the invention from Red Baron's Antiques, such as the 1921 design patent and letters showing previous attempts to sell the contraption.

    We previously covered a more modern "roadable aircraft" in the form of Terrafugia's Transition, which made its first successful flight back in March 2009. The four-wheeled, folding wing vehicle can fit in a garage while it's not roaming the roads or skies, and may represent one of the most practical, engineering-based attempts to bring a flying car -- I mean roadable aircraft -- to life.

    That's not to say we don't enjoy our pie-in-the-sky visions, such as a DIY flying motorcycle that would put those kids from ET to shame. And perhaps the Pentagon's DARPA might spark someone's imagination by proposing a transforming VTOL vehicle. But here's our advice for the winning bidder on the Skroback invention -- consider keeping it on the ground.

    [via Wired's Autopia]



  103. AT&T tries to avoid outages at SXSW conference

    → CNN.com - Technology | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:56 pm MST

    On Friday, the major movers in the tech industry will gather in Austin, Texas, for the annual South by Southwest Interactive Conference.


  104. Pushing the speed limits of quantum memory

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:39 pm MST

    It feels like quantum computers have barely been invented, and scientists are already testing how extensible the current technology is. A paper published in Nature Photonics this week describes how researchers are beginning to push the bandwidth limits of quantum memory. Using photon pulses and cesium vapor has provided bandwidths on par with broadband connections, rates 100 times those of other quantum memory systems currently being tested. However, the system's efficiency is still very low, and advances will have to be made in other fields before it can be improved.

    Since many quantum computing implementations operate on photons, a quantum memory that doesn’t involve converting photons into other media, like electrical pulses, would be ideal. Unfortunately, current photon-based media suffers from problems with storage time, retrieval efficiency, and bandwidth. The paper tackles the last issue, as current quantum systems are limited to a data rate of a few megahertz at most.

    Read the rest of this article...

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  105. Battlestar Galactica To Get Its Own MMO

    → digg.com: Stories / Technology / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:30 pm MST

    The game is going to be browser based and developed with the Unity3D engine. Call me skeptic, but this sounds like a bad idea to me.




  106. Google Reader Play: Fullscreen Playback of Popular/Recommended Reader Items [Google Reader]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:20 pm MST

    Google Reader Play is a new Reader feature that plays a slideshow of cool items from around the web based on the stories you star. It's like a 10-foot viewing experience for your newsreader. More »


  107. The Light from Your Desk Lamp Could Carry Broadband Signals

    → Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:19 pm MST

    The future of wireless: illumination as information

    A bright idea coming out of Germany's Fraunhofer Institute could change the way we connect to the Internet in the future, as well as drive the nascent market for interior LED lighting. Researchers there have found a way to encode a visible-frequency wireless signal in the light coming from lamps and fixtures, turning the light that surrounds us into a high-speed broadband source.

    That's not to say there's anything particularly wrong with radio-frequency wi-fi, but its limited bandwidth restricts it to a certain spectrum within an already crowded field of signals. It also leaks through walls -- a benefit for signal pirates but a detriment for those who want a signal that is both secure and free of interference.

    Visible-frequency wireless works by flickering all the lights in a room ever so slightly -- so slightly, in fact, that the human eye could never detect it. Incandescent and fluorescent bulbs can't flicker fast enough, so the scheme does require LED lighting, but the connection doesn't require any kind of specialized fixture, just commercial LEDs. And, though standard LEDs also have a limited bandwidth, the researchers were able to expand that bandwidth drastically by filtering out all but the blue light.

    In the lab the Fraunhofer team has downloaded data at a rate of 230 megabits per second, a record for visible wireless using commercial LEDs and comparable to high-end radio wireless connections. With a better modulation signal the team thinks they can double that data speed. Meaning that in the future, in-room only secure, super-fast wireless connections may be just a flip of the switch away.

    [Science Daily]



  108. Infoporn: Cellphones and the Environment

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:10 pm MST

    Few people consider that these small gadgets in our pockets could be causing a lot of damage to the environment. The negative impact of cellphones on the environment can be reduced in some ways, but some of the serious environmental damage cellphones may be causing will be more difficult to fix.

  109. Venture Capital’s Data Side Story

    → GigaOM | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:00 pm MST

    From new data stores to large-scale databases to cloud-based storage services, it seems VC dollars these days are primarily flowing into two important (if somewhat unsexy) technology sectors: storage and big data. Here are some of the recent fundings that bring this trend into focus.

  110. How to Skip Commercials in Windows 7 Media Center [Windows Media Center]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:00 pm MST

    If you use Windows 7 Media Center to record TV, you'd probably prefer skipping commercials. After all, a big reason you record programs is to avoid commercials, right? Here's a fairly simple and free way to start skipping commercials in no time. More »


  111. The top 10 geek anthems of all time

    → CNN.com - Technology | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:52 pm MST

    Geeks rock! In honor of the South by Southwest festival's convergence of techie and music culture, we rank the top 10 geek-rock tunes of all time, from "She Blinded Me with Science" to "Particle Man."


  112. Gray Matter: DIY LEDs

    → Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:51 pm MST

    Although we've long seen LEDs glow, we haven't always known why it happens

    Editor's note: A big congratulations today to Theo Gray, whose Gray Matter column was nominated for a 2010 ASME award in the Columns and Commentary category. Great to see Theo's excellent work being recognized. Here, his latest column from the March issue:

    The first light-emitting diodes went on sale in 1962, and you could have any kind you wanted as long as it was dim and red. Green, yellow and orange came next, but blue LEDs didn't debut until 1989. So it may surprise you that the first LEDs, discovered in 1907, included blue-and were made of sandpaper.

    Well, not exactly sandpaper, but the same material as a lot of sandpaper uses, synthetic silicon carbide (carborundum). If you touch two needles to the surface of a crystal of silicon carbide and run electricity through them, you will sometimes see a very faint colored glow. Silicon carbide is a semiconductor, and the needles on the surface create a diode, a device that allows electricity to flow in only one direction, so it really is a light-emitting diode.

    When radio-development pioneer Henry Joseph Round noticed this glow in 1907, he published a short paper asking if anyone else had seen this and could explain it. No one had a clue.

    The first commercially practical LEDs didn't arrive until a quantum-mechanical model for semiconductors allowed engineer Nick Holonyak, Jr., to design one with just the right electrical properties to create usable light.

    Science is full of things you can see with your own eyes yet for which, even today, there is no satisfactory explanation. For instance, a compass needle always points north. You might know this happens because the Earth's magnetic field is oriented roughly along its axis of spin. But why does the Earth have a magnetic field, and why does it point north? No one knows. We can see it, describe it, and measure it, but we can't explain it.

    Achtung! Do not connect multiple batteries together to create a higher voltage. Also, the battery can overheat if you short it out by touching the two needles together for too long.



  113. Donkey-politician vid keeps two Azerbaijani bloggers in jail

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:41 pm MST

    Two Azerbaijani bloggers will remain in jail after using a donkey to represent their government in a satirical YouTube video. Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli lost an appeal Wednesday asking for them to be released from their respective 2 and and 2.5 year sentences. Their lawyer vowed to continue appealing all the way up to the Azerbaijan's Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.

    Hajizade and Milli had posted the video on YouTube in 2009, which made fun of Azerbaijan's government and what they portrayed to be the country's softball press. Featured was an actor dressed up as a donkey holding a press conference—the donkey, of course, representing the government. As noted by the AFP, the two were charged with hooliganism immediately after the video appeared online and have been in jail ever since.

    The bloggers' lawyer Isakhan Ashurov told the AFP that they had appealed the ruling because they have not committed any crimes in Azerbaijan, though authorities claim that their arrest mysteriously has nothing to do with the satirical video. Ashurov plans to press on with the appeal. "The European Court of Human Rights has already accepted two complaints from us regarding infringements of the bloggers' rights during detention," he said. "If the Supreme Court also upholds the decision we will send a third complaint."

    Like many former USSR countries, Azerbaijan is often criticized for its heavy hand in silencing criticism and free speech. Reporters Without Borders in particular has hammered on the government for treating these two bloggers (and jailed journalists/critics in general) as dangerous criminals and for dancing around the true reasons for their arrest. If the government continues to reject Hajizade and Milli's appeals, though, their jail sentences might come to an end before the legal system gets around to dealing with them.

    Read the comments on this post




  114. Transgenic Musclebound Trout with Six-Pack Abs Could Arrive Soon on Your Dinner Plate

    → Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:33 pm MST

    A 10-year effort has finally created pumped-up fish for commercial aquaculture

    Rainbow trout with six-pack abs and burly shoulders have emerged from a University of Rhode Island laboratory, and could someday find their way to humans' dinner tables. That's assuming diners don't panic at the sight of the muscular ichthyoid awaiting their knives and forks.

    The bodybuilder stature of the trout comes from turning off myostatin, a protein that normally slows muscle growth. Researchers had known of a natural myostatin mutation that allowed for 20 to 25 percent more muscle growth in Belgian blue cattle, but did not know if the same would apply to the different mechanism of muscle growth in fish.

    Terry Bradley, a fisheries and aquaculture expert at the University of Rhode Island, worked with a group of grad students for 500 hours to inject 20,000 rainbow trout eggs with different DNA snippets designed to block myostatin.

    About 300 eggs ended up carrying the gene for more muscle growth, and eventually produced fish that mostly have the six-pack ab appearance -- even though the fish don't have standard abdominal muscles. A big dorsal hump adds the appearance of muscular shoulders.

    The offspring of these muscular trout also carry the gene in their muscle cells. Bradley's group hopes to see if the fish grow faster, besides having 15 to 25 times more muscle without eating more food.

    If the transgenic trout meet FDA approval, they could join the 1,000 trout farms that churn out about $80 million worth of trout each year. Such fish also appear to display normal behavior for now, despite a faint resemblance to the Street Sharks.



  115. Google Adds 'Bike There' Feature to Google Maps

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:10 pm MST

    They've been plugging away for awhile now on ways to get directions for cyclists that avoids hills, excessive traffic, and points you in the best directions for pedaling to your destination. Now it's live!

  116. Set Google Calendar Alerts to Gentle Reminder Mode for Less Intrusive Reminders [Google Calendar]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:00 pm MST

    If you like calendar reminders but you'd like them a little less in-your-face, you can enable gentle reminders in Google Calendar to replace the reminder pop up. More »


  117. How It Works: Upscaling 2-D Video to 3-D

    → Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now | 10 Mar 2010 | 12:45 pm MST

    3-D TVs are finally going on sale--sans content. So some sets are claiming the ability to add a third dimension to your 2-D broadcasts

    More than a year after the first consumer 3-D-ready HDTVs were demoed at CES, the next generation of sets are going on sale this week. But, aside from the new TVs, glasses, and Blu-ray players, the question of content remains. While there are already brand partnerships with networks like Discovery and ESPN, that's just the tip of the iceberg. As an alternative, the two companies with 3-D TVs but without major brand-name cable partners (Samsung and Toshiba) showed off sets that could convert 2-D video to 3-D in real time.

    The converter chip on Toshiba's Cell TV is part of their own platform co-created with Sony and IBM (yes, it's the same brain inside the PS3). Other HDTV makers, though, can go to a third party to upgrade their sets to upconvert 2-D content to 3-D.

    One such third party is chipmaker Quartics, who provides the graphics processing brains behind everything from netbooks to HDTVs and set-top boxes. And this year at CES they demoed their own 2-D to 3-D upconversion chip technology.

    Quartics CTO Mohammed Usman gave us a look at the guts behind converting 2-D video to 3-D. In essence, a series of algorithms on Quartics' chip is watching the video along with you, and analyzing it on the fly. With virtually no delay, it can distinguish foreground from background and identify the subject of the shot as the object that needs added depth. The process is very similar to face recognition algorithms used by digital cameras and camcorders to autofocus on faces, and sometimes know whether or not they're smiling.

    To upgrade 2-D to 3-D, the software thinks of the colors it sees at the bottom of the screen as what's closest to your eye, and what's at the top as the farthest. This is how it establishes what the background of the scene looks like.

    But what about the subject? The chip tracks the pixel color and light intensity of groups of pixels together; when it senses a sudden shift in light or color, it knows it's encountered a new object. The chip also knows that moving clusters of color or light are likely to be the subject of the shot. Once it's identified the objects, it finds a central point from which to draw lines of perspective--the same way we learned vanishing points and two-point perspective in elementary school art classes.

    With on-the-fly conversions, however, you won't see many effects that jump off the screen. Currently the algorithms are not fine-tuned enough to re-create the immersive depth needed without being distracting or gimmicky like old-school movie-theater 3-D.

    Once the chip knows what objects on the screen to assign depth to, it can start the process of converting the image. The chip creates two separate images, one for each eye, which is flips back and forth at high frequency to trick your eyes into thinking you're seeing both angles at once.

    When paired with a set of 3-D glasses that isolate the left and right images from each other at the same frequency, the effect is impressive, but not as realistic as video shot with a two-lensed stereoscopic 3-D camera (or animated originally in 3-D).

    At CES Quartics demoed nature videos and the trailer for Appoloosa, but Usman is confident their technique will work with just about any genre. Film with a lot of movement, though, is trickier and may require more sophisticated algorithms--or maybe you'll have to wait for native 3-D footage before the Super Bowl in 3-D will be livable.

    Samsung's in-booth demo, for one, showed an upscaled football game. And, while the holographic effect did come across, a wide receiver dashing across the screen had a bit of a ghost trailing behind him--as predicted. Still, upconverting existing content to 3-D is better than waiting around for the first wave of Blu-ray discs or cable broadcasts. And, since the chips are no more costly than those on other 3-D sets, it's the perfect stop-gap.



  118. LifeLock fined $12 million over lack of life-locking ability

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 12:37 pm MST

    Identity theft prevention service LifeLock is not as pristine as its reputation claims after all. The company agreed to pay out $12 million to settle charges with the Federal Trade Commission and 35 states, which had said that LifeLock's identity-theft-prevention claims were false and that the company actually made its own customer data available and unsecured from theft. As it turns out, there is no way to fully guarantee that identity theft won't happen, no matter what someone puts on the side of a truck.

    LifeLock has made a name for itself as the go-to service if you never want to have any part of your identity stolen, ever. The company claims to proactively protect your information against fraud, alert you to any kind of shady activity, and reduce credit card offers for $10-15 per month. Those who have seen LifeLock's trucks driving around their cities know that the company used to slap its CEO Todd Davis' social security number on the side of the vehicle along with a number of claims guaranteeing that its customers won't fall victim. (As an aside, Davis' identity allegedly ended up getting stolen in 2007.)

    Read the rest of this article...

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  119. Kiwi Monitors Your Running Apps, Performs Actions Based on Their Status [Downloads]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 12:30 pm MST

    Windows: Kiwi is a free utility that monitors any application and springs into action when that application meets any user-defined criteria within a set of basic rules—like restarting an application or emailing you when its memory use exceeds a pre-defined level. More »


  120. Why Apple Should Buy Adobe

    → GigaOM | 10 Mar 2010 | 12:17 pm MST

    The rumors of Adobe being bought by Apple come up every so often. Apple could easily afford such a purchase and the results would be interesting. I would love to see Adobe restructured by a company like Apple. Adobe has many applications that are the gold [...]

  121. U.S. Looking Into Continued China Internet Censorship

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 10 Mar 2010 | 12:11 pm MST

    Nothing significant has happened so far, but lawmakers are working with the private sector to see what can be done

  122. Keep Your Daily Momentum Going With a 10/15 Split [Work]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 12:00 pm MST

    One of the toughest aspects of staying productive is overcoming the ups and downs of motivation. Spending 10 minutes getting organized in the morning, then 15 minutes again in the evening, can help even out your daily go-get-'em energy. More »


  123. Japanese Cellphone Collects Precise Data on Your Every Move, Reports Back To Your Boss

    → Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now | 10 Mar 2010 | 11:58 am MST

    Chalk up another technological victory for Big Brother. Japanese phone maker KDDI has developed a mobile phone that analyzes users' movements, beaming that information back to the corporate office/Party headquarters/the Ministry of Love for review. Specialized software can identify several distinct movements, including walking, stair-climbing, and even cleaning. On-the-job slackers, the jig is up.

    The system employs the accelerometers that are now standard in many mobile handsets to determine what sort of tasks workers are performing. And it doesn't just identify broad categories of movements; the software can identify if a cleaning worker is scrubbing, sweeping, or even bending and lifting to empty a trash bin.

    KDDI intends to sell the technology to employment agencies and corporate clients that want to keep a better watch on employee efficiency. But naturally, the idea has met resistance from those who feel a mobile phone that reports on its user is decidedly Orwellian.

    The company claims it could be a boon for telemedicine and similar services that users opt into, and KDDI encourages companies using the tech to enter into strict agreements with workers regarding its usage. Japanese culture is certainly more open to such intrusions: since GPS was introduced in phones there nearly a decade ago, employers have kept tabs on company drivers and sales people via mobile handsets.

    Whether or not that kind of acceptance of the boss looking over every shoulder will catch on elsewhere -- well, we're skeptical about that. A cell phone that monitors employees' every move seems like too much of a technological intrusion, even for people very comfortable with high-tech gadgetry pervading their day-to-day lives. Besides, don't most people use their cell phones to distract themselves while at work? Perhaps rather than giving people mobile phones to keep tabs on their progress we'd get better results by taking the mobile phones away.

    [BBC]



  124. Cellcos hoping to cash in on iPad with 3G/4G mobile hotspots

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 11:55 am MST

    Though the 3G-equipped version of the iPad will only be able to get data services from AT&T, Verizon apparently sees the introduction of Apple's tablet device as "an opportunity" for the company to sell data services. A supposed internal sales memo published by Engadget reveals Verizon's plan to push its MiFi mobile hotspot for the WiFi-only version of the iPad, which will be available April 3.

    The memo points out that the WiFi + 3G iPad won't go on sale for at least a few weeks after the WiFi model, costs $130 more, and can only get service through AT&T, which the memo describes as "an overloaded network with limited coverage." Ouch.

    To be fair, the extra $130 includes GPS hardware in addition to the 3G radios, and AT&T continues to make improvements to its network. But, if you don't want to wait, don't want to pay extra, or just don't want to use AT&T service, Verizon has a point—a mobile hotspot like the MiFi (which can connect up to 5 devices at once) can make a good alternative.

    A MiFi 2200 from Verizon will run you $50 with current promotions and a two-year contract; without a contract expect to pay about $250. However, Verizon's plans aren't as generous or affordable as the data options AT&T offers for the iPad. Through AT&T, you'll pay $15 per month for up to 250MB of data or $30 per month for unlimited via AT&T, and those plans don't require a contract. With Verizon, you'll pay $40 per month for up to 250MB, or $60 per month with a 5GB cap. Prepaid, non-contract options start at $15 per day with a 75MB limit. Like AT&T, however, your plan also includes free access to Verizon WiFi hotspots.

    Sprint offers a branded MiFi 2200 as well, though you can get it free after a $50 mail-in rebate. The company only offers one data plan, though: $60 per month with a 5GB cap (and a 300MB cap on roaming). Sprint also offers the Sierra Wireless Overdrive 4G/3G hotspot for those in an area with WiMAX coverage. Though it costs $100 after rebate, for the same $60 a month you'd get unlimited 4G data and 5GB of 3G data.

    For a 4G-only option, you can go directly through Clear to get a 4G USB modem and a Clear Spot WiFi adapter that works with up to eight devices for under $200 total. Data plans start at $40 per month for 4G-only access, though bundles with home service or 3G fall-back are also available.

    Other combinations of mobile data modems and/or mobile hotspots are also possible, and it's probably worth it to check with the provider in your area to see what options are available. Despite the extra cost of the WiFi + 3G iPad and the associated data plans, you're not likely to find a cheaper alternative. But going this route means you'll have data access for other devices, such as a laptop, iPod touch, or Nintendo DSi, and can serve data to multiple devices at the same time. The extra flexibility may fit your particular needs and justify the extra cost.

    Read the comments on this post




  125. HTML5 vs. Flash: HTML5 Isn't Always Better [Flash]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 11:40 am MST

    Flash has taken quite a beating lately by everyone from Apple (no Flash on iPad or iPhones) to YouTube (transitioning to HTML5 video) to users sick of security exploits and sluggish browsers. Everyone's looking for the silver bullet that kills Flash, but is HTML5 it? More »


  126. DARPA Plans Lightning-Based GPS for Underground Warfighters

    → Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now | 10 Mar 2010 | 11:17 am MST

    DARPA envisions a future in which U.S. Special Forces or spooks have to assault underground bases. And the Pentagon agency wants to give those warriors an underground navigation system that works on lightning bolts, The Register reports.

    The Global Positioning System (GPS) has transformed how both the military and civilians get around, courtesy of a satellite network that can triangulate a person's position on an interactive navigation map. But such a system only works on the Earth's surface, and so it's useless for military or intelligence operatives who need to infiltrate underground lairs.

    That dilemma prompted DARPA to launch its "Sferics-Based Underground Geolocation" project, known more colloquially as S-BUG. The idea involves harnessing low-frequency radio signals or pulses created naturally by lightning strikes, because such signals can penetrate deep underground.

    An underground receiver carried by warfighters or spooks might receive info on lightning strikes from a surface base station, and then calculate its own position based on strikes coming from several directions. Maybe it's just pure coincidence that DARPA also started a separate initiative recently aimed at controlling lightning.

    A U.S. teen inventor applied the same idea to create a cave radio capable of communicating with the surface from deep underground. That sort of device might also prove handy for underground special ops.

    DARPA began the S-BUG investigation last year, and now plans to hold a secretive conference with tech firms interested in tackling the project. Given that the U.S. Air Force has also recently voiced an urgent need for GPS alternatives, we wouldn't be surprised if some Air Force brass at least show up to take notes.

    [via The Register]



  127. Free wireless broadband plan is déjà vu all over again

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 11:13 am MST

    As part of the grand hoopla-fest building up to the release of the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan this month, the agency hosted a Digital Inclusion Summit at Washington, DC's Newseum on Tuesday. Co-sponsored with the Knight Foundation, during the course of the event the FCC disclosed more components of The Plan. These include recommending the creation of a Digital Literacy Corps "to conduct skills training and outreach in communities with low rates of adoption," and tapping into the agency's Universal Service Fund to subsidize broadband for low income people.

    But what really got our attention was this: the NBP will ask the government to "consider use of spectrum for a free or very low cost wireless broadband service.''

    That's odd, we thought, since the FCC and Congress have been considering such an idea for years.

    Read the rest of this article...

    Read the comments on this post




  128. Google adds bike routes to online maps

    → CNN.com - Technology | 10 Mar 2010 | 11:10 am MST

    Peter Smith was riding his bike down a particularly busy road in Austin, Texas, when, amid a frightening blur of big-truck traffic, a thought hit him:


  129. Headmagnet Generates Intelligent Flash Cards [Flashcards]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 11:00 am MST

    If you've been underwhelmed by the flash card and study aid sites you've found online, you'll definitely want to check out Headmagnet. Headmagnet records what you remember and quizzes you in the most efficient way. More »


  130. Thing Labs Acquires Birdfeed, Wikirank to Add to Brizzly

    → GigaOM | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:44 am MST

    Thing Labs has acquired two "passion projects" from former Apple and Google developers to expand social web aggregator Brizzly. Birdfeed, a premium Twitter app, will become the free Brizzly for iPhone app; and Wikirank, a visualization for Wikipedia data from Small Batch, will help illustrate data.

  131. The Power of MiFi in the Tablet Era

    → GigaOM | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:30 am MST

    Verizon is coaching sales staffers to encourage consumers to pick up Apple's iPad and connect it to its network via a MiFi. It's an expensive proposition for users, but it's a reminder that the MiFi will be a powerful tool as more tablets come to market.

  132. Street Fighter IV: as good as you can expect on the iPhone

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:30 am MST

    Street Fighter IV is now available on Apple's App Store; you can pick it up right now for $10 if you'd like to see what Capcom can do with Apple's hardware. Capcom also threw quite the party at GDC, allowing the press and community some hands-on time with the game. After playing for about 15 minutes, the verdict is in: this is about as good as you can expect from a fighting game on the iPhone.

    It looks great, but you'll still be fighting the controls

    As a tech demo it's amazing. The characters are large and detailed, and they move fluidly with grace. Many people enjoyed simply watching others play the game; this is one of the prettiest portable fighting games out there. The problem is simple: the iPhone doesn't have any actual buttons. Many gamers are snobs about the input for their Street Fighter experience, playing with only arcade-quality parts. Going from my home set-up to virtual buttons on the iPhone screen took a while to get used to.

    I was able to pull off the dragon punches and fireballs after a while, but the game never felt good to me. It never felt like a game I could sit down and play for hours. The iPhone just isn't set up for this kind of game, and Street Fighter IV felt like someone trying to prove that it could be done. The question they should have asked was should it be done. A good iPhone game takes advantage of what the hardware can do well and works around what it does poorly. Street Fighter IV is simply a graphical curiosity.

    Read the comments on this post




  133. DARPA Wants Chips For Ultra-Low-Power Computing Using Magnetic States

    → Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:24 am MST

    Never content to let a paradigm remain a paradigm, DARPA has issued a broad agency announcement seeking the development of super-low-power, non-volatile logic integrated circuits that retain their computational states as well as their data even after their power supplies have been removed. Focusing on magnetic-moment-based approaches, the agency wants a new breed of portable electronics, sensors and UAVs that can compute even when the lights go out.

    What DARPA is really seeking is better "digital/computation throughput per watt dissipated" (read: better power efficiency) to a degree that current technologies just can't accommodate. Conventional semiconductor circuits move an electrical charge through chips under the influence of electric fields, and while we're constantly tinkering with transistor gate materials and the geometry of our silicon chips, DARPA wants efficiency beyond the physical limitations of that technology.

    To get more out of each watt, the agency wants a whole new kind of computational state that doesn't rely on free electric charge, and it's even offering up an idea on how prospective bidders can pull this off. DARPA wants logic devices that compute via magnetic moment rather than standard electron charge; such ferromagnetic devices offer distinct advantages in that they are non-volatile - that is, they maintain their computational state even after power is removed - and they are, by nature, hardened against radiation.

    Sensors, electronics, weapons systems and UAVs operating on guts made of such non-volatile logic would not only consume much less power when hooked into a power source, but they would retain their data and computational states should they lose power. And should we find ourselves operating in high radiation environments, our sensors and devices would be radiation-resistant.

    Of course, as with all things DARPA, the agency doesn't see this as simply a defense matter; rather, they're looking to change the way we think about computing:

    At the conclusion of the program, it is anticipated that the technology will have matured enough that the major risks inherent in the technology will have been mitigated and that a viable circuit technology will be available to enable new computational processing paradigms.

    Of course, if you have a better idea that ferromagnetic logic to produce self-contained, low-power, non-volatile computing devices that require no external components and have better computational density than existing state-of-the-art circuits, DARPA is all ears.

    [FedBizOpps via Military and Aerospace Electronics]



  134. NASA Prepares for Remaining Manned Shuttle Flights

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:22 am MST

    President Obama continues to receive harsh criticism, with NASA preparing for four manned shuttle launches

  135. Get Satisfaction Now Customer Support Tool for Brands Using Facebook, Google

    → GigaOM | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:07 am MST

    Get Satisfaction, which offers web-based community support tools, this week became the recipient of a couple of influential integrations. While not official endorsements per se, both Facebook and Google brought on the company to help their own customers offer social CRM.

  136. Get the Most from Your Point-and-Shoot Camera [Photography]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:00 am MST

    Just because you've got a relatively inexpensive point-and-shoot camera and not a $1500+ DSLR rig doesn't mean you can't take awesome photos. Here's a look at how you can elevate your regular old point-and-shoot shots to greatness. More »


  137. LHC fault forces 2011 shutdown

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:56 am MST

    The Large Hadron Collider must be shut down for a year starting in late 2011 to address design flaws, the BBC has learned.

  138. Nanotubes help create thermopower waves

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:48 am MST

    A paper published in Nature Materials this week details a new method for using nanotubes to generate significant amounts of power, at least for their size. When multi-walled carbon nanotubes are covered with a material that produces an exothermic reaction, the nanotubes help conduct the heat in one focused direction. To the apparent surprise of the researchers, this created an electrical pulse, a quick surge of power, that could be put to a number of uses.

    When you couple a heat-activated material with exothermically-reactive chemicals, it's theoretically possible to create self-propagating waves of heat. However, there are a couple of problems with implementing systems like these. The waves generally propagate in all directions, which is not terribly efficient for heat- or power-generating purposes. Furthermore, materials that both prevent the wave of the pulse from scattering and can stand up to a large amount of heat are fairly rare.

    Read the rest of this article...

    Read the comments on this post




  139. Fuel-injection System That Delivers 64 Miles Per Gallon

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:40 am MST

    The best hybrid cars of today can only deliver about 48 miles per gallon. By using this newly developed fuel injection system a test vehicle was measured at achieving 64 miles per gallon in highway driving. This is approximately a 50% increase in fuel efficiency in a gasoline engine.

  140. Better Than Apollo: The Space Program We Almost Had

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:40 am MST

    SAN FRANCISCO — In the late 1950s, American space companies jumped into a headlong race to build an aerospace industry that could launch missiles across the world and rockets above.

  141. China's Moon Rocket May Take a Cue From the Saturn V

    → Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:32 am MST

    My rocket is almost as big as your rocket

    China's new moon rocket design is in the class of the old Saturn V that once launched U.S. Apollo astronauts to the moon. The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology says that the proposed rocket would have a thrust of 3,000 metric tons, just shy of the 3,470 metric tons of thrust generated by the Saturn V's first stage, Aviation Week reports.

    The announcements through Xinhua and the China Daily come barely a month after the Obama administration decided to cancel NASA's Constellation program and the Ares rockets that represented NASA's successors to the mighty Saturn V -- the proposed Ares V might have had a thrust of more than 4,000 metric tons. The Constellation program had long been criticized for being unrealistic in its goal and over-budget given NASA's existing funding levels.

    The U.S. space agency has since focused on developing technologies such as inflatable space stations, orbital refueling and new robotic missions. It has also reached out a hand to help the growing U.S. commercial space industry.

    China's latest rocket development was first reported by the Xinhua news agency and the China Daily. Besides the giant moon rocket in the class of the Saturn V, China is also working on a medium-lift Long March 7 rocket that will join the Long March 5 and 6 rockets.

    Such lift power will help China launch its own full-fledged space station before 2020, as well as the first of perhaps several "Tiangong" space labs next year, Aviation Week notes.

    Chinese officials also recently announced China's second batch of astronauts that includes the first two women taikonauts, Xinhua reports. The candidates mainly come from a pool of fighter pilots and must undergo stringent health checks. You can't have bad breath on the moon, you know.

    [Aviation Week]



  142. Use the Stock Theory of Decluttering to Clean Your House [Clutter]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:30 am MST

    We become invested in our junk, through the price we paid when we bought it and brought it home, and we're loathe to look at that as wasted money. Use the "Stock Theory of Decluttering" to help purge your junk. More »


  143. The Disconnect Between Subscriber Growth & Revenues in Broadband and Mobile

    → GigaOM | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:07 am MST

    Providers of both fixed-line broadband and mobile services saw modest worldwide growth in 2009, according to new figures from TeleGeography, but revenues failed to keep pace. Plenty of opportunities still exist in emerging markets, but mobile carriers elsewhere must find better ways to monetize data services.

  144. Getting chopped: why True Crime loves bladed weapons

    → Ars Technica | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:05 am MST

    Jeff O'Connell is the lead producer of the new True Crime game, and he's showing off the game's hand-to-hand fighting. The part of the game we saw was low on gunplay, but it looked great, with some cinematic-looking moves and kills. The game takes place in Hong Kong, and we're told the art team took 27,000 reference photos of the city. They wanted a bright, saturated look that showed the difference between night and day; a stark contrast in the city.

    There were very few guns, and a good amount of slicing with meat cleavers. We asked O'Connell about this strange aspect of the game.

    "Hong Kong is not as much an action movie as you'd think, to even possess a single bullet will put you in jail. The triads rely on fists and feet and chopping weapons. In the real Hong Kong these Muay Thai gyms are triad owned and operated. They teach their guys how to do Muay Thai because it's an extremely effective street-fighting mechanic. It's really brutal—it's knees and elbows and things that will brutalize you and put you down." That's why they focused on martial arts, with brutal stomps to knees and vicious kicks and punches... not to mention those slicing weapons.

    "The cleaver aspect... guns are hard to come by. There's even a line in the cut scene where a character says 'he brought guns into this,' there's an escalation into guns, it doesn't start in a world where there are guns."

    Being sliced up is simply a part of organized crime in Hong Kong. "They call it being 'chopped' by the triads," he explains. "They target you, mutilate you, and often leave you alive. He talks about a recent story of a radio personality who said the wrong thing about a man with triad connections, and he was hacked up with cleavers. The game will feature many chopping weapons; there is not an emphasis on firearms. The hand-to-hand fighting mechanics are impressive, with environmental kills and a free-flowing action movie aspect to the game.

    When I told people I was going to see the new True Crime, they had one question: will there be a fight against a dragon? The last game featured a somewhat infamous section where you fought a dragon, and gamers do not remember it fondly.

    O'Connell places both hands in the air, as if taking a solemn oath. "You will not, at any point in the game, fight any type of mystical beast, including a dragon." We're sold. True Crime is coming fall of this year, for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

    Read the comments on this post




  145. Korea Shows Electric Trams Which Receive Power from Buried Recharging Strips

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:01 am MST

    Charge strips are placed under blue line the tram follows

  146. Google Maps Adds Bike-Friendly Directions and Trails [Google Maps]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:00 am MST

    It's long been one of Google Map's most requested features, and now it's here. Recreational cyclists and bike commuters alike can plot cycle-friendly routes, find trails, and avoid snarling traffic with Google Maps' Bicycle layer. More »


  147. 3/10/2010 Daily Hardware Reviews

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:30 am MST

    DailyTech's roundup of hardware reviews from around the web for Wednesday

  148. Completely Erase Storage Drives for Security [Security]

    → Lifehacker | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:30 am MST

    No matter how you're getting rid of a computer or external drive, you want all your data removed from it, because identity thieves love laziness. MaximumPC details the best ways to wipe down a hard drive, SSD, or USB drive. More »


  149. Bing Gobbles Up Some of Yahoo's Search Market Share

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:23 am MST

    Google still more than twice as big as Yahoo and Bing combined

  150. Scientists tease DNA from eggshell of extinct birds

    → digg.com: Stories / Science / Popular | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:50 am MST

    In a world first, scientists in Australia announced on Wednesday they had extracted DNA from the fossilised eggshells of extinct birds, including iconic giants such as the moa and elephant bird.

  151. Porsche Will Build 918 Spyder Hybrid if Financially Viable

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:33 am MST

    Porsche really wants to build the 918, however, the company insists that it doesn't want to lose money on the vehicle.

  152. FCC Battles Telecoms to Deliver Cheap National Broadband to Citizens

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:55 am MST

    Telecoms are refusing to sell their wireless airwaves to the government

  153. Hal Varian Is Right: Newspapers Need to Engage

    → GigaOM | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:41 am MST

    Google's chief economist Hal Varian told the Federal Trade Commission in a presentation on the future of journalism that newspapers have been in decline since before the Internet, and that one of the ways they can improve their web operations is to engage more with readers.

  154. Anti-candidate Web site asks public for dirt

    → CNN.com - Technology | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:19 am MST

    Democrats opposed to Meg Whitman's gubernatorial campaign are hoping to get an assist from the public in their latest bid to push voters away from the Republican candidate.


  155. Apple Tried to Bully Sun With Lawsuit Threats in 2003

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:05 am MST

    Apple CEO Steven P. Jobs : "I’ll just sue you."

  156. Environmentalist: It's becoming a plastic world

    → CNN.com - Technology | 10 Mar 2010 | 1:35 am MST

    Every bit of fully synthetic plastic that's ever been produced over the past 100 years is somewhere on our planet, a leading environmentalist, David de Rothschild, said Tuesday.


  157. Google Maps Adds Biking Directions

    → GigaOM | 9 Mar 2010 | 10:00 pm MST

    Did you know that Google Maps' most-requested feature addition is biking directions, in large part due to a vocal 50,000-signature-strong group of "Bike There" petitioners? The petitioners' wish is being granted tonight, with bike directions for 150 U.S. cities and 12,000 miles of trails going live.

  158. 2008 Prius Takes Another Unlucky Driver on a Wild Ride

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 9 Mar 2010 | 3:00 pm MST

    California Police have to assist hapless motorist in attempts to decelerate

  159. Sex.com domain goes up for grabs

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 9 Mar 2010 | 2:59 pm MST

    Sex.com, one of the most valuable Internet domain names, will go up for auction next week after the previous owner defaulted on its debts.

  160. Just shot this clip (#qik) htt…

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 9 Mar 2010 | 1:48 pm MST

    Just shot this clip (#qik) http://qik.ly/BBFLG

  161. Will NASA ever return to the moon?

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 9 Mar 2010 | 12:32 pm MST

    Will U.S. astronauts ever return to the moon?

  162. U.S. Power Companies Fight the Wind

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 9 Mar 2010 | 12:17 pm MST

    Companies aren't happy with the success of the alternative energy offering

  163. Space shuttle Endeavour lands

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:44 am MST

    The space shuttle Endeavour landed Sunday night at Kennedy Space Center after a two-week mission to the international space station.

  164. Cisco Releases Next-Gen Super-High-Speed 322 Tbps Routing System

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:22 am MST

    New network technology should be able to power an incredible online future

  165. Steve Ballmer Offers a Few Kind Words for Apple's Highly Successful App Store

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:09 am MST

    Ballmer throws Apple a bone

  166. Northrop Pulls Out of Tanker Bidding Process

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 9 Mar 2010 | 8:01 am MST

    EADS will not submit a European only bid leaving Boeing as the sole bidder

  167. Newegg Counterfeit CPU Mess Finally Resolved

    → DailyTech Main News Feed | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:14 am MST

    Guilty party is revealed; customers will get their refunds

  168. Driver: My Prius took me for a scary ride

    → CNN.com - Technology | 9 Mar 2010 | 5:32 am MST

    The driver of a Toyota Prius says he was taken on a wild ride Monday after the car's accelerator became stuck, reaching speeds in excess of 90 mph on a winding, hilly portion of a southern California interstate.


  169. Social media at work -- bane or boon?

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 8 Mar 2010 | 11:30 pm MST

    Social media are, by definition, supposed to be a social experience. Make a profile and start connecting. Reach out to friends, old and new. Post a profile picture, and while you're at it upload a photo album of your trip to Greece so others can see and comment.

  170. Social media at work -- ban or boon?

    → CNN.com - Technology | 8 Mar 2010 | 6:30 pm MST

    Social media are, by definition, supposed to be a social experience. Make a profile and start connecting. Reach out to friends, old and new. Post a profile picture, and while you're at it upload a photo album of your trip to Greece so others can see and comment.


  171. Residents use social media to fight organized crime in Mexico

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 8 Mar 2010 | 4:25 pm MST

    Renewed violence in Mexican cities bordering Texas has ignited fear among nearby residents, some of whom have turned to social media despite cartels' efforts to limit information.

  172. Manage Comments From Your Windows or Linux Desktop

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 8 Mar 2010 | 4:13 pm MST

    WP Comments Notifier is a open source application written in QT/C++ for Linux and Windows, which will allow you to manage new comments and reply to them from your desktop. In addition to that, it will also allow you to edit, spam or delete the comments.

  173. WordPress Theme Releases for 03/07

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 8 Mar 2010 | 1:30 pm MST

    Turquoise The Turquoise Theme is a simple free WordPress Theme 980px wide with 3 Sidebars and an Option Page to populate the Footer. One Sidebar is on the right side optimized for Adsense 250px Ads. Two Sidebars are on top of the postings and below the Posting. Good for 468px Ads. Greener Side Smell the fresh cut grass

  174. Residents use social media to fight crime in Mexico

    → CNN.com - Technology | 8 Mar 2010 | 11:25 am MST

    Renewed violence in Mexican cities bordering Texas has ignited fear among nearby residents, some of whom have turned to social media despite cartels' efforts to limit information.


  175. Happy International Women’s Da…

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 8 Mar 2010 | 7:54 am MST

    Happy International Women’s Day everyone

  176. Just shot this clip (#qik) htt…

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 8 Mar 2010 | 7:52 am MST

    Just shot this clip (#qik) http://qik.ly/BAzvm

  177. Just shot this clip (#qik) htt…

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 7 Mar 2010 | 9:42 am MST

    Just shot this clip (#qik) http://qik.ly/BAnv9

  178. Qik – Anna by Chris Merriman h…

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 7 Mar 2010 | 7:54 am MST

    Qik – Anna by Chris Merriman http://qik.ly/BAmt6

  179. Just shot this clip (#qik) htt…

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 7 Mar 2010 | 7:51 am MST

    Just shot this clip (#qik) http://qik.ly/BAmsn

  180. Just shot this clip (#qik) htt…

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 7 Mar 2010 | 6:37 am MST

    Just shot this clip (#qik) http://qik.ly/BAmFv

  181. Police: Couple raised virtual child, ignored real one

    → CNN.com - Technology | 7 Mar 2010 | 6:21 am MST

    Police have arrested a South Korean couple whose toddler starved to death while they were raising a virtual child online, authorities said.


  182. Trying2get2grips with Qik app….

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 6 Mar 2010 | 3:28 pm MST

    Trying2get2grips with Qik app. Live streaming/sessions recorded, like Lucky’s blogtv setup, but 320×240 from my mobiles camera&3G connection

  183. Notify Unconfirmed Subscribers Updated

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 6 Mar 2010 | 11:08 am MST

    NUS has been updated to v1.3.0 to fix issues with unconfirmed subscribers not being fetched.

  184. Sisters of Mercy being played …

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 6 Mar 2010 | 7:35 am MST

    Sisters of Mercy being played by Dale Winton on Radio 2. Did I take the wrong colour pills?

  185. Obama ramps up push for energy-efficiency program

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 5 Mar 2010 | 3:42 pm MST

    President Obama ratcheted up his administration's push for a clean energy agenda Friday, emphasizing the prospects for an economic recovery fueled by so-called green jobs.

  186. 'Funeral' held for aging Web browser

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:03 pm MST

    More than 100 people, many of them dressed in black, were expected to gather around a coffin Thursday night to say goodbye to an old friend.

  187. WordPress Plugin Releases for 03/05

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:00 pm MST

    New Plugins Wordpress External Cron Allows you to setup a cron to fetch any page on the server PuSHPress This plugin adds PubSubHubbub ( PuSH ) support to your WordPress powered site. The main difference between this plugin and others is that it includes the hub features of PuSH, built right in. This means the updates will be

  188. Is chasing cybercrooks worth it?

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 5 Mar 2010 | 11:49 am MST

    This week's arrests of three men in connection with one of the world's largest computer-virus networks may seem like great news -- perhaps even a sign authorities are starting to win the war against cyberthieves.

  189. The next tech goldmine: Medical records

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 5 Mar 2010 | 7:12 am MST

    When Dr. Bradley Block, a family physician in Florida, began to investigate electronic medical record systems for his four-doctor practice, he discovered that many of the largest firms in the field were not particularly interested in his business.

  190. U.S. military OKs use of online social media

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 10:03 pm MST

    U.S. military personnel are officially allowed to tweet.

  191. Google vs. Apple: An epic battle

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 2:14 pm MST

    Let the smartphone smackdown begin.

  192. Apparently Abergavenny is in b…

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 9:23 am MST

    Apparently Abergavenny is in bloom? http://twitpic.com/16kj93

  193. Glasses, Clothes And Insurance

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 3:19 am MST

    Yesterday saw Irina pop into town (Swansea) to look for some new work clothes, and get her glasses sorted. This left John and I at home with Anna. Despite initial concerns, free life insurance quotes would have turned out to be un-necessary, as she behaved very well, and didn’t start playing up once she realised [...]

  194. Google testing super-fast broadband network

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 3 Mar 2010 | 4:44 pm MST

    Google said Wednesday that it will start testing a new broadband network that will deliver speeds of more than 100 times faster than traditional broadband.

  195. Cord blood stem cells help meet minority marrow needs

    → Science and Technology: News & Videos about Science and Technology - CNN.com | 3 Mar 2010 | 3:39 pm MST

    Diana Tirpak was so sure her leukemia was going to kill her, she bought a suit for her husband, Jake, to wear at her funeral.

  196. WordPress Theme Releases for 03/03

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 3 Mar 2010 | 12:00 pm MST

    Light Folio Light Folio is a clean clean and light theme with a combination black and white color. CleanTech CleanTech is a clean, two column and elegant theme with support for threaded comments designed to focus your content. Ultima This is a 2-column, soft-colored, rounded theme that totally aims at content and nothing else.

  197. In Clarks for Anna’s first fee…

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 2 Mar 2010 | 9:53 am MST

    In Clarks for Anna’s first feet measurement. ( 3 G for all the trivia fans out there. ) http://twitpic.com/1686f0 Make that 3.5G, must have mis-typed on my phone.

  198. Bookmarklet to Quickly Access WordPress Admin Menu

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 1 Mar 2010 | 9:11 pm MST

    A bookmarklet to access the admin menu of WordPress from your browser's bookmark bar.

  199. WordPress Plugin Releases for 03/01

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 1 Mar 2010 | 12:00 pm MST

    New Plugins 123 Flash Chat 123 Flash Chat WordPress Plugin can be used to create your own chat room in WordPress. It allows you to insert chat room to your sidebar, with either a lite chat client or a link to standard chat client in popup mod. And you can define the width and height of 123

  200. WordPress Theme Releases for 02/27

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 27 Feb 2010 | 10:58 am MST

    DarkMood The DarkMood Theme is a free dark greenish theme 980px wide with two Sidebars and an Option Page to populate the Footer. Expressivo Expressivo is a three-column theme with two righthand sidebars – going to a single sidebar on single posts and pages. With Cufon embedded fonts for post titles, threaded and paged comments – you can

  201. BuddyPress anyone?

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 27 Feb 2010 | 7:54 am MST

    By now you have surely read the news of the release of BudyPress 1.2 (which now will work with single WordPress.org blogs, previously limited to WordPress MU) and this dev blog announcement from Jane last evening about another plugin Andy wrote that lets you use your present theme with BuddyPress. I have always been of the

  202. Passing Parameters as Variables vs Passing Parameters as An Array

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 25 Feb 2010 | 12:14 pm MST

    Improvisation is the name of the game, and we tend to do a lot of it with plugins and themes. In that process we tend to modify functions by adding more variables to incorporate changes in them. However, unlike most of the other languages, PHP allows users to set default values for variables passed to

  203. WordPress Plugin Releases for 02/25

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 25 Feb 2010 | 11:00 am MST

    New Plugins Flickr Digest A simple to use WordPress plugin based on Flickr API which digests all your photos posted in last X days in a single post periodically. Feed Thumbnails This plugin simply adds your post thumbnails to your RSS feed as enclosures. Nothing else to it. Simple Twitter Connect Simple Twitter Connect makes it easy to integrate your site

  204. Hmmm, can I answer directly to…

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 25 Feb 2010 | 4:18 am MST

    Hmmm, can I answer directly to these? Rugby world cup has England, Wales and Scotland. Where is the American team? ChrisM

  205. WordPress Theme Releases for 02/23

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 23 Feb 2010 | 12:42 pm MST

    Presenter Presenter is a child theme for the Hybrid theme framework. Presenter gives you a quick way to show your portfolio or services with few elements and easy customization from the back-end. Neat Theme Two column, gravatar ready theme with a featured section and theme options. Widget Ready, with four position widget. 42k All major components are user changeable, be

  206. WordPress Plugin Developer Day, March 1st

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 23 Feb 2010 | 6:26 am MST

    About a month ago I was augmenting a client site with some added functionality that, while technically out of scope, I was able to add quickly thanks to a plugin. For whatever reason on this particular instance, I was really struck by how much value I was able to add to a client site thanks

  207. Back on Swansea beach. With Se…

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 22 Feb 2010 | 8:18 am MST

    Back on Swansea beach. With Seb, Anna & Irina + Gwen. Both phones now fixed. Google Latitude position updated. http://twitpic.com/14qhm4

  208. WordPress Plugin Releases for 02/21

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 21 Feb 2010 | 10:33 am MST

    New Plugins Mloovi Translate Widget The Mloovi widget allows you to easily add links to 52 different language versions of your blog and RSS feeds. Online Backup The plugin allows online backup as well as email backups both on demand and scheduled. Put your backups on auto pilot with 50 MiB of free space and encryption. Save time and

  209. Footer Stuff Allows You To Seamlessly Add Content to Themes

    → Weblog Tools Collection | 20 Feb 2010 | 5:41 pm MST

    The biggest reason many of us require to edit themes is to add JavaScript libraries, CSS codes or analytics tracking code. However, the problem with editing themes is that you will lose all your customization when you decide to change your theme or redesign it.

  210. Fruit Moving

    → ChrisMerriman.com | 20 Feb 2010 | 5:38 pm MST

    Following on from the earlier Apple A Day post, we have three videos shot around the same time that the phot was taken, back on the 6th February. And still no one has poked me to re-insert the embed code for Anna’s videos over on her blog – AnnaMerriman.com! Anyway, I’ll need to leave the [...]

  211. New Claim - Technorati

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 10 Feb 2010 | 8:12 am MST



  212. Musical Perceptions: Top Classical Blogs, brought to you by Invesp.com

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 10 Feb 2010 | 7:43 am MST



  213. Top 150 General Travel Blogs according to Invesp – The ultimate Ranking ...

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 10 Feb 2010 | 7:41 am MST



  214. Top 50 SEO Blogs from Invesp Blogrank | Search Engine Journal

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 10 Feb 2010 | 7:40 am MST



  215. Invesp for the win :) | SEO Book.com

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 10 Feb 2010 | 7:39 am MST



  216. Invesp Launches BlogRank

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 10 Feb 2010 | 7:37 am MST



  217. Technorati

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 10 Feb 2010 | 5:18 am MST



  218. Small Business Blogs - Technorati

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 9 Feb 2010 | 10:35 pm MST



  219. samccoy-n2teaching.blogspot.com site details - Technorati

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 9 Feb 2010 | 1:57 pm MST



  220. Join - Technorati

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 9 Feb 2010 | 9:29 am MST



  221. Blog reader

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 9 Feb 2010 | 2:48 am MST



  222. Elizabeth Tanner's Profile on Technorati - Subhadra Bellord

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 8 Feb 2010 | 9:17 pm MST

    Elizabeth Tanner's Profile on Technorati - Subhadra Bellord

  223. Technorati

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 8 Feb 2010 | 7:32 pm MST



  224. Technorati

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 8 Feb 2010 | 7:06 pm MST



  225. Supporting Women for ArabNet 2010 « Nadine Moawad

    → Delicious/tag/technorati | 8 Feb 2010 | 7:04 pm MST

    RT @nmoawad Supporting Women for ArabNet 2010 http://bit.ly/crZHlq [from http://twitter.com/jilliancyork/statuses/8813461772]

  226. Toys R Us Invites You To Save -$10 [Sale Fail]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 2:53 pm MST

    We love when Toys R Us does this. Ah, yes. "While supplies last." Hurry, people. Hurry.

    (Thanks, Keith!)



  227. Sushi "Tuna" Might Be Endangered, Dangerous, Or Fake [Busted]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm MST

    Biologists testing DNA code identification technology discovered that the tuna they ordered at sushi restaurants was actually hazardous or fake fish, or even an endangered species.

    According to Wired, the biologists visited 31 restaurants in Denver and Manhattan to evaluate technology that analyzes the DNA code of fish, and upload the info to a fish database called FISH-BOL.

    Instead of tuna, they got escloar, a fish that causes "bizarre episodes of diarrhea, accompanied by a waxy intestinal discharge." Other restaurants misrepresented what fish they were serving, and a few even served endangered southern bluefin.

    Sushi DNA Tests Reveal Fraud [Wired]
    For the nerd-inclined, you can read their scientific report here.
    (Photo: LC1331)

    RELATED:
    Fishy Selling Practices At Kansas City Restaurants: 85% Of The Fish On The Menu Is Not The Fish On The Menu
    You Red Snapper Sushi Is Likely Fake



  228. CPSC Links Chinese Drywall To Home Corrosion [Smells Like A Rotten Egg]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 1:55 pm MST

    The CPSC announced findings linking Chinese drywall to reports of home corrosion, and a possible link between the sulfuric gas emitting from them and health problems.

    Chinese Drywall Linked to Corrosion in Homes [NYT]
    Drywall Information Center [CPSC] (Photo: yugenro)



  229. Animated Map Of Rising US Unemployment Since 2007 [Graphics]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 1:46 pm MST

    It's like watching a slow-motion video of cirrhosis of the lung.

    The Decline: Geography of a Recession, by Latoya Egwuekwe [American Observer via Boing Boing]



  230. Watch Out For Changes To Your Flight Itinerary [Travel Plans]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 1:38 pm MST

    Alexandros received an update from Orbitz about his trip and realized that United had changed the time of his flight. For various reasons he couldn't make the new time, so he was lucky to have caught it—not to mention he could have missed the flight entirely had he not seen the change.

    Orbitz sent me an email to remind me of an upcoming trip. What they and United Airlines failed to mention was that the flight had been rescheduled. It now departed 40 minutes prior to the originally scheduled time. I immediately called Orbitz to find my rights with United as far as getting to the airport in time.

    I live outside of DC and do not have a car. As such, I booked the flight so I could take public transportation, rather than take a $50+ taxi ride. The 9:00 flight would the the very latest I could leave and still make it to the airport. Thus, those 40 minutes made the world of difference.

    Orbitz said they could contact the airline for me to see what could happen. After being on hold for a few minutes, Orbitz informed me they could rebook me on another flight. This is where United decided to continue to make everything worse. They tried to book me on a flight that would change my air travel time from 2.5 hours (direct) to 6.5 hours (1 connection). I then suggested they give me a flight that leaves from the other airport in DC that would drop the time down to 5.5 hours. I will be carrying food so time is of the essence. It was a different initial flight, but the connecting flight would be the same. United said this change was not available to me. I kept insisting for a further explanation. After they refused to give it to me a few times, they finally caved in.

    While in the process of trying to book me on the flight, the Orbitz representative kept coming back on the line saying they were still in the process. After being on the phone for 53 minutes, I asked her to just call me back. Oribtz was wonderful in calling me back promptly. The only problem is she came back saying United wanted $33 to change the flight since it would be leaving in a different airport. The reasoning was based on the change in the ticket price. I refused and suggested they pay for my taxi instead. Orbitz is still having trouble negotiating with United to even pay for the taxi. I will send an update as it becomes available.

    In this whole ordeal, Carmela from Orbitz has been very patient and courteous. She has also been wonderful at calling me back. I hope she can help me work everything out.

    A little while later, Alexandros wrote back in with an update:

    United decided not to charge me the fee and gave me the flight. It is very strange to me that they would have tried in the first place. I was very patient with Orbitz in the whole process and was even willing to more than double my travel time. It would have been much easier for me if United just paid for my taxi. I was trying to be flexible to ensure I reached my destination. United made the whole process difficult and stressful.

    The moral of this story: stay up-to-date on your flight information, and be prepared to spend some time fixing any problems the carrier might cause; with any luck, and a helpful CSR, your perseverance will pay off.

    (Photo: Simon_sees)



  231. Buzzword: Teeth Bleachorexia "Can a person ... []

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 1:03 pm MST

    Buzzword: Teeth Bleachorexia "Can a person overdo it by wearing teeth whitening strips or trays too often? The American Dental Association thinks so." [Consumer Reports Health]



  232. Police Drop Theft Charges Against Pub Non-Tippers [Good News]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 12:51 pm MST

    Police in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, are withdrawing charges against the two college students who refused to tip at a pub last month, says The Morning Call.

    The Northampton County District Attorney, John Morganelli, first found out about the arrests in the news, and made a recommendation last week that the charges be dropped. "I had recommended that the case be withdrawn, but that ultimately was a decision of the Bethlehem Police Department," he told the paper.

    The manager of the pub sounded a bit surprised at the news:

    Lehigh Pub manager William Sheehan said Monday it was "news to him" that the charges were being withdrawn.

    He read a comment he said was written by the pub's attorney.

    "We do not agree with the facts as presented in the press last week," Sheehan said. "This is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Bethlehem Police Department, not Lehigh Pub, and we will defer to them as the legal process plays out."

    One issue that was brought up last week, and is mentioned in this article again, is that the gratuity worked out to about 22% of the bill, and not the 18% that the pub claimed. Whether that's explained by error, greed, or some detail that hasn't yet been revealed, it's a good example of why you should always calculate the tip yourself and make sure it matches what's on the final bill.

    "DA: Police to withdraw theft charges against non-tippers" [The Morning Call] (Thanks to Jason!)

    RELATED
    "College Students Arrested For Refusing To Pay Tip"
    (Photo: [puamelia])



  233. Are You Cutting Back On Tips This Season? [Saying Thanks]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 12:49 pm MST

    The end of the year is usually when you tip service providers, but if you're on a reduced budget then you're probably going to want to scale back this year. Here are some suggestions from etiquette experts contacted by Reuters.

    • If you've got the money, it's pretty rotten to scale back your tips simply because times are tough. Etiquette author Mary Mitchell says, "Don't use it as an excuse to save money then buy some Prada boots."
    • Mitchell also says to focus first on those you don't regularly tip, like housekeepers, personal trainers, babysitters, tutors, and doormen.
    • If you're not sure, try to find out whether the person can accept cash; some teachers can't, for example, and postal workers can accept gift cards of $20 or less. In cases where cash is a bad idea, try something hand made or a gift of some sort.
    • Don't go into debt to tip; set aside your total tipping amount before hand, then divide it up as necessary.
    • Try tipping earlier in the season, since your recipients may also be worrying about who to tip.
    • Try to pool your resources with others. For example, if you and your neighbors pitch in, you can give your doorman or building super a nicer tip.

    "Cutting holiday tips seen as chance to really say thank you" [Reuters]
    (Photo: caseywest)



  234. Don't Trust Best Buy Just Because The Open Box Item Is "Geek Squad Inspected" [Boxes Of Crap]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 12:35 pm MST

    Reader Adam bought an open box Blu-Ray player from Best Buy and didn't notice for 10 months that it was the wrong model. When he mentioned it to Best Buy they told him it was too late and there was nothing they could do because Adam might be just making it up.

    Adam says:

    On February 3, 2009 for 264.79 I purchased an open box Sony Blu-Ray S550 and have been more than satisfied with the player for over 10 months now. This past weekend I was making some adjustments to the sound settings and went to resync the player my TV when I noticed that the front of the player says S350. I checked the original box from the purchase and it says S550, I then checked the manual for the item and it too said S550. I was unable to check the original receipt since I could not locate it, but am willing to bet that it said S550 as well.

    I went to the store to speak with them about the issue and see if there was anything that could be done, I fully realize it has been 10 months but figured it was worth a shot. The manager of the home electronics department told me that there is nothing he can or will do about this since so much time has passed. I explained to him that I have no problem with returning the item and using the money towards towards the player I thought I was buying originally and paying the difference along with any discount he would be willing to give me.
    He again stated that there is no way for him to look into the matter because of the amount of time.

    I then asked him since he is unwilling to do anything about it, how something like this could have happened. He told me that although it is possible for the mistake to have occurred each open box sale is inspected by the Geek Squad and things like this do not occur very often and he is not going to be able to check what happened. I stated to him that this is somewhat of a common occurrence from the Geek Squad and that in the consumer world they do not have a very high confidence rating from people. He disagreed with me and said that the Geek Squad is in fact well regarded and has the highest marks in the industry for the work they perform.

    Realizing this was not going to go anywhere I asked him once more if there is anything that he can do, he once again said no. I finally told him there is something he can do, he can believe his customer and use some rational thought that since it was this long after I obviously did not become aware of the situation till now and I also did not take the player out and bring it with me, I only wanted to talk with them about what might be possible and that this is why Best Buy is losing customers to other stores because whether it is 1 day, 1 month, or 1 year after the fact, Best Buy should try to work with their customers to be sure they are fully satisfied with any purchase.

    His final words to me were "if we believed every person that came into the store with stories like this we would be out of business, because I have no way of looking into it and am not going to do anything about it."

    With that I left the store vowing to never purchase anything other than a DVD from Best Buy or a low cost item.

    Should I have checked the purchase at the time, absolutely, but I had never run in to an issue like this before and had purchased many items open box. I also refuse to believe that Best Buy could not scan the barcode on the box and see its history of original purchase and then return dates to check if it was done in a matter of days before I purchased it but he refused to investigate the issue at all.

    I ended up paying more for a used Blu-Ray than it was selling for new at the time.

    The lesson as always, check what you buy from them open box or anytime it says it was inspected by Geek Squad. Just to make myself feel better I sent off an EECB to Best Buy because if nothing else I wanted them to be aware that the store was having problems with its inspection of open box items.

    In all fairness, there's probably a limit to what they can do for you, but the idea that nothing can be done is a little silly. Our readers have gotten $50 gift certificates because someone at Best Buy was rude to them — so we're certain that they could have offered you something in order to keep your business.

    At this point, however, so many months down the road, your best bet might be to discuss this with your credit card company. We're not sure what they'll tell you, but it's worth a shot.

    Adam is absolutely right of course, that the moral of this story is to always carefully check your packages when shopping at Best Buy. Here's a post that will help keep this from happening to you.

    (Photo:epicharmus)



  235. Senator Wants Investigation Of Frequent Flyer Programs [Airlines]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 12:23 pm MST

    Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) is calling for a probe of frequent flyer programs to determine whether they deliver the value that they promise. In particular, he wants the Department of Transportation to look into the issue of evaporating miles, a relatively new phenomenon brought introduced via expiration dates in recent years.

    "As the holiday travel season approaches, we cannot let airlines and credit card companies continue to fly off with hard-earned frequent flier miles," Schumer said in an announcement scheduled for Sunday. "When a consumer accumulates valuable frequent flier miles, they should not have to constantly worry that they are going to expire with little or no notification from the airline."

    [...]

    Frequent flier model programs began 20 years ago, most with no expiration dates for the benefits. In the last decade, airlines have created three-year windows for consumers to use the miles, Schumer said.

    The Air Transport Group, a industry trade group, defended its member companies by pointing out that "the system hasn't been targeted by regulators." Well, yeah. That's probably why Senator Schumer is raising the issue.

    "It's time to probe frequent-flier accounts, senator says" [USA Today]
    (Photo: Kossy@FINEDAYS)



  236. No Rebooking For People With H1N1 , So, You Know, Good Luck Flying [H1N1]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 11:59 am MST

    When I look at flight attendants I do not see mere mortals. I see heroic flying immune systems. When the zombificating superflu does eventually strike, those who survive will no doubt be ruled by former flight attendants and elementary school teachers. In the meantime, they'll somehow continue working in a "flying petri dish" as some airlines continue to refuse H1N1 as an excuse to rebook.

    People are reluctant to pay a fee to keep others healthy. From CNN:

    "When people come together, germs can come together too," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

    "There are not that many studies about flu spreading on airplanes and trains, but anytime people are close together, there's a possibility of germs spreading."

    So it may be unsettling to discover that 51 percent of respondents in a recent online poll by TripAdvisor.com would fly while sick with the flu rather than pay a flight rebooking fee. About 2,300 people took part in the survey.

    Frequent fliers say the results are disturbing, but not surprising.

    "I do think that's an unfortunate attitude, because the airplane is like a petri dish in the sky," said Rene Foss, a flight attendant for 25 years and the spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants.

    "[But] people really are resistant to paying any extra fees."

    Of the airlines CNN looked into, only Delta let people rebook non-changeable fares with a doctor's note.

    Flying with the flu? Some may be tempted [CNN]
    (Photo:The Consumerist)



  237. Cheap Package Design Tricks People Into Dropping Motorola Droid On Floor [Cutting Corners]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 11:48 am MST

    The Motorola Droid is a sweet phone, but the box it comes in is a case study in bad package design. Where every other gadget these days comes in boxes with lids, or boxes designed to be opened in a specific manner, the Droid box can easily be opened so that the brand new phone falls to the floor.

    C.R. writes,

    I got my new Verizon Motorola Droid last week. But when I opened the box, the Droid fell to the floor. Apparently I had the box turned the wrong way. There is now a dent in my phone. It's not a major dent. The phone still works. But it's still not cool that because of a design flaw, I have to live with a damaged phone right from the get-go. I called Verizon to see if they would help, but they wouldn't do a thing. Since the phone is still in working condition, they would not replace it. I then inquired about that 30 day period where I could return the phone if I don't like it. She said that I could do that, but if the phone is physically damaged, I would be billed the full amount for the phone!!!


    He also sent us a link to a Droid owners' forum, where he posted his story and found others who had experienced the same. Here are some sample comments from that thread.

    This happened [to me] when the rep at the store opened it and I refused that one made him get me another.

    *
    This happened to me but the Verizon salesperson did it! It was Friday morning, her first droid sale ever and she opened the box upside down and the droid slammed into the side of the desk leaving little dents on each side of the screen.
    *
    This happened to me at the store when I bought it (actually before I bought it), and it hit the counter from about 2 inches high and proceeded towards the floor.
    *
    This happened to me too, but only 1-2" to my desk. Whoever put the box together is an idiot.
    *
    The customer rep did the same thing on mine!! luckily it just dropped on his keyboard

    "WARNING for new Motorola Droid users!" [DroidForums.net]



  238. Comments Off At 4pm [PSAs]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 11:10 am MST

    Comments will be shut off at 4pm eastern today for maintenance.



  239. Customer Finds Sears' Free Delivery Isn't So Free [Now You Sears, Now You Don'ts]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 9:30 am MST

    Intrigued by a free delivery deal, Danielle ordered a dishwasher from Sears, but the retailer only reimbursed her $75 of the $81.19 fee.

    She explains:

    Just wondering if you've heard of this.

    I bought a dishwasher from Sears. They agreed to reimburse the $75 delivery fee since the item was over a certain amount. They charged me $75 plus $6.19 tax. I received the $75 but not the tax. Where does this "tax" money go? Shouldn't I be reimbursed for the total amount?

    Hope you can assist. I would like to escalate but I don't know how much time I can give this for $6.

    Danielle should contact Sears customer service and straighten this out. Has anyone else been overcharged for a so-called free service?

    (Photo: Meg Marco)



  240. Customer Finds Dead Mouse In Toyota [Stuart Little, Noooooo]

    → Consumerist | 23 Nov 2009 | 9:12 am MST

    Greg was replacing the speakers in his 2003 Camry and uncovered a stinky little tomb in the rear of the car. He thinks it must have happened at the plant, but I can't tell. Who wants to weigh in on whether the mouse tried to build a nest, or whether Toyota used mouse-enhanced stuffing on the assembly line? Oh, there are pics after the jump, but I made one of them less disturbing by adding a little sweater.

    About a month ago I decided to upgrade my Toyota Camry 03 Speakers from stock to JBL speakers. To go about this was no easy task. After disconnecting and fitting the new tweeters (the speakers closest to the front windshield) and the door speakers. I go about taking out the back seats, rear sidings, and carpeting in order to reach the speakers in the rear. At first, I wonder about a strong mildew smell lingering back there as I go about this task.

    As I reach for the harness on the right side I try to feel into some sort of insulation or stuffing in between the carpeting in the rear and plastic. Pulling out a chunk of stuffing to scour through feeling something like a harness, it made me question what I was holding. I see a dead mouse that I literally touched. I instantly dropped what I was holding and stood there in shock for a few minutes. You could say my heart raced and skipped as I grasp hold of what I just saw.

    A dead mouse was the last thing I would expect to find in the rear of my car. The area the mouse was in could not be easily accessed and I believe there was no way it would have gotten in the years I have owned this car. The mouse was perfectly preserved, dried out, and hollow like one of those museum animals, yet it stunk. The area the mouse was in was more or less perfectly enclosed as no air circulation enters the area. Enclosed, I have images that are not for the faint of heart.

    The odd thing is that the stuffing is only on the right side, there was none on the left side. I did remove all of the stuffing on the right side as it did not seem necessary to leave a putrid, foul pile of string and foam there. I still love my car despite this unfortunately find, the only explanation is from the Toyota factory in 2003 on the Toyota manufacturing line, a worker must have just grabbed a handful of insulation and stuck it in there not knowing there is a dead mouse among the stuffing. This has brought about the question whether in the future I should buy another Toyota Camry.

    The fact that the stuffing is only on one side makes me wonder whether the mouse tried to build a nest, but the way the mouse is packed into the stuffing makes it look like they came pre-assembled. But then, why stuff only one side of the car?

    Maybe you can ask Toyota to explain why the rear section would be stuffed that way, which will then at least help you determine whether the mouse was a factory add-on or an uninvited guest at some later point. Here's some contact info for Toyota:

    Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America
    25 Broadway, New York, NY
    (212) 785-2447‎

    Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc
    19001 S Western Ave Torrance, CA 90501-1196
    (310) 468-4000












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