Inside a Modern Malware Distribution System

eWeek reports: "SecureWorks anti-malware guru Joe Stewart is not one to be intimidated by advances in online crime activity. ... But, when he reversed the backend code associated with the Pushdo Trojan downloader, he discovered a modern malware distribution system fitted with complex tracking mechanisms and hiding techniques—another clear sign that virus fighters are up against a clever and sophisticated enemy."

Its almost shocking how sophisticated malware developers are getting. Some of the tracking systems are very complex.

Detroit Auto Show: Mazda Furai, Revealed

Jalopnik reports: "'Furai takes Mazda's unique Nagare (Japanese for 'flow') design language a step further as it is translated into a concept car based on an American Le Mans Series (ALMS) racing car. The car utilizes the Courage C65 chassis the company campaigned in the ALMS series only two seasons ago, and the 450-hp three-rotor rotary engine that distinguishes it from anything else on the track.'"

The Mazda Furai (concept car) is absolutely beautiful.

Detroit Auto Show: Exploding the 2009 Corvette ZR1's Brilliantly Beautiful LS9 Engine

jalopnik reports: "If you'll remember, we were the first to show you the unofficial shots of the new 2009 Chevy Corvette ZR1's beautiful 620 HP LS9 engine. Next we brought you the in-cockpit camera footage of the ZR1 taking a lap at Laguna. Then we had the opportunity to show off all of the pictures and details on the new up-powered Corvette ZR1. Now we're going to go a little bit more in-depth, showing off all the little bits n' pieces of the supercharged small-block V8 engine under the hood of Zee-Really fast One."

If you're a Corvette, then you want to check out this page.

What song is this?

Starts out very slowly, but worth watching until the end.

Nanosolar’s Breakthrough - Solar Now Cheaper than Coal

Celsias reports: "Their PowerSheet (Nanosolar) cells contrast the current solar technology systems by reducing the cost of production from $3 a watt to a mere 30 cents per watt. This makes, for the first time in history, solar power cheaper than burning coal."



Go solar power...

The Bureau of Communication

Excerpt from the site: "Everyday, there are millions of thoughts that go unspoken. To promote better understanding between the peoples of the world, the Bureau of Communication is pleased to present a selection of fill-in-the-blank stationery for everyday correspondence. Whether you need to communicate a problem, send an invitation to an event, or simply apologize for a transgression, our easy-to-use forms will ensure that your message is clearly conveyed."

Try out some of their forms they are really funny...

Why 2008 Will Be An Awesome Year For Movies

FirstShowing.net reports: "Now that 2007 has nearly come and gone and almost all of those 43 movies have been released, it's time to look ahead at 2008. The last 12 months have played a major part in building the hype for most of the movies mentioned and I can now say that 2008 looks way more appealing at this moment than 2007 did at the same time last year. This could be the year that we see revolutionary new changes in Hollywood, not only as the Writers Strike ends but as we encounter films like Cloverfield, Speed Racer, and The Dark Knight. Let's take look at 54 reasons why 2008 will be an awesome year for movies and an even better year than 2007."

I love movies, but I am not sure I agree with the title of the article. I have read through the list and I am not impressed with everything that I see. Although it seem like there should be a few good ones in there.

Homemade HD Video Projectors: Projectors Made From Trash Deliver HD Video and Stereoscopic Movies

Gizmodo reports: "Projector prices are low now, but it looks like some crazy people like to make their own from scrapped parts: modified 8' LCD screens from cheap DVD players, chunky power converters, circuitry salvaged from dead AV equipment and hundreds of LEDs put together to create powerful lamps. The result are high-definition ghetto machines capable of delivering good images out of, literally, trash."

I really admire those people who make this stuff. One of these days I am going to get around to making one myself.

Scissors is the 'psychological winner' out of rock and paper in playground game, scientists say

The Daily Mail reports: "Most of us know that stone blunts scissors, scissors cut paper and paper covers stone. What is less well-known, however, is how to win the popular playground game. Now stalwart players have come up with a strategy: Start with scissors."

There is an interesting story in the article about Christie's and Sotheby's auction houses being forced to play this game to get a wealthy Japanese client's business.

11 "Don't-Tell-the-Wife" Secrets All Men Keep

WebMD reports: "There comes a time in every man's life when he discovers the value of hiding the grosser parts of his nature. He starts reciting the sweet nothings you long to hear: "No, honey, I play golf for the exercise." "No, honey, I think you're a great driver." "No, honey, I wasn't looking at that coed washing the car in the rain.""

An interesting article about men's relationships with women, it includes some broad generalizations (so it doesn't apply to all men). So you have to take the information with 'a grain of salt'.

New Nanowire Battery Holds 10 Times The Charge Of Existing Ones

ScienceDaily reports: "Stanford researchers have found a way to use silicon nanowires to reinvent the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power laptops, iPods, video cameras, cell phones, and countless other devices."

Smaller, better, faster, more affordable, efficient, and reliable portable batteries are one of the single most fundamentally important advances to the future of portable electronics. Although this has to go hand-in-hand with more power efficient components (such as: screens, ICs, storage devices)

Yves Behar talks about the OLPC

Yves Behar talks about the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC). The OLPC is pretty incredible for what it is technologically. I think its designed well for its market. The real question how well will it do over time. We will have to wait 5-10 years to understand the impact that it will have.

Hardware: How to Upgrade a Graphics Card

PC Magazine reports: "Windows Vista is the most graphically intensive operating system ever, and DirectX 10, its multimedia and gaming component, has computer users all over the world considering upgrading their PCs. With its 3D-driven Aero graphical user interface (GUI), Vista requires more graphics-card muscle than XP does. And because DirectX 10 isn't backward-compatible, gamers who are captivated by its powerful specs are being forced to upgrade their hardware in order to enjoy it."

This article explains how to buy a graphic card for your Windows Vista computer to take full advantage of the Areo interface.

The Year's 10 Craziest Ways to Hack the Earth

Wired reports: "Scientists have come up with extreme -- some might say crazy -- schemes to counteract global warming. This year saw the most radical geo-engineering ideas yet: man-made volcanoes, orbiting mirror fleets and ocean re-engineering to cool the planet and absorb carbon dioxide.

Some say the extreme temperatures predicted for the near future call for extreme measures. Others say the solutions could be worse than the problem. In increasing order of unorthodoxy, here are the 10 craziest geo-engineering schemes of 2007."

There are some interesting and scary ideas being proposed to save the planet. The questions is the possible cure worse then the problem?

Top ten evil computers

Crave reports: "Ah, computers. They make our lives so easy... but we should fear them, for they may yet turn on us. We've collected together ten of the most ee-vil computers to not only achieve sentience, but decide that those pesky, squishy hu-mans just have to go."

Some of these machines you may have heard of, and others you may have not. Some of them were even a trip down memory lane for me. For example, I forgot how good '2001 : A Space Odyssey (1868)" was for its time.

New law aims to majorly cut oil dependency

MSNBC.com reports: "Gas guzzlers could become relics of the past and farmers may rival oil companies in producing motor fuels under a new energy law. Consumers also will save electricity — and money — from more efficient refrigerators, furnaces and dishwashers."

I think this law is taking a lot of steps in the right direction. Although, sometimes what these laws propose to do on the surface, sometimes have alternate agendas or perks for special interests buried in them. We will see what happens.

That online chat 'assistant' may not be real

CNN Money reports: "Every year, hoards of online shoppers bolt when they're just a click or two away from finishing the checkout process. Maybe it's a security concern, or what if returning the item turns out to be too much of a hassle? Whatever the reason, one study found that as many as 60 percent of online shoppers flee, making shopping cart abandonment a huge and costly problem for any business selling on the Web. The great frustration for online businesses is that a salesperson can't just walk over to you and offer help."

Pretty interesting article if you're interested in chatbot technologies, or for people wanting to find new ways to reach out to their customers from their web site.

2007 Cool Yule Tools: Holiday Gift Guide

Network World reports: "Welcome to the 8th annual technology holiday gift guide, where we do all of the heavy lifting of wading through hundreds of submitted technology products to find the very best holiday gift ideas. With more than 80 products to choose from, we're sure there's something on our list that will make your holiday list."

There is some stuff you would expect in a list like this, and maybe some new things that you have never seen before.

Photos: Art of the printer cartridge refill

TechRepublic reports: "The printer supply business is lucrative: it's estimated that companies that produce hardware, paper, ink, and cartridges make $70 billion in sales each year. Now, what was once a niche segment of the market--printer cartridge refilling--is rapidly becoming an indispensible part of the industry. As businesses and consumers find out about the less expensive and often more environmentally friendly option of getting cartridges refilled by third-party companies instead of going to the printer manufacturer, refillers are gaining ground. Currently they do about $15 billion in business annually."

Watch how an old ink cartridge is brought back to life.

FireWire speeds set to quadruple

ZDNet reports: "The speed of FireWire is set to quadruple next year after the group behind it announced a new specification for the networking interface. FireWire is the best-known brand name for the 1394 standard, which is also known as i.Link. The technology is used as a high-speed data interface for linking devices such as external hard drives and camcorders to PCs."

Its pretty amazing the speeds that they're reaching with the next generation USB and FireWire technologies.

An Amazing New Car Door Design

Sukhoi Su-30 Demo

This looks like an amazing plane...

Surrogate Mothers: Womb for Rent

MSN Reports: "Customer service, tech support...these days we outsource everything to India. So why not pregnancy? Here is a report on the growing number of Indian women willing to carry an American child."

I think this is taking outsourcing to a new extreme (for good or bad its here).

Photos: Autographs via LongPen

CNET News.com reports: "Toronto-based Unotchit has developed a special videoconferencing system that allows authors and celebrities at one location to interact with and send personalized autographs to fans at another. A key feature of the system, called the LongPen Network, is the LongPen kiosk, the video and signature-replication 'autopen' that can be placed at bookstores and other retail locations. An author at home, for example, can write comments and his or her signature on a special touchpad connected to the network; those are then replicated by the autopen."

It seems as the world becomes more advanced, things become less personable. This technology is a prefect example.

The Hypersonic Age is Near

Popular Science reports: "Last March, engineers from Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) gathered in the control room of a high-temperature tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. After a countdown, a jet of blue flame fueled by methane gas roared down the 12-foot length of the tunnel. A low rumble crept into the control room. It sounded like a rocket firing, which actually wasn't far from the truth."

These are truly amazing engines, with scary future prospects (such as missiles that can hit a target anywhere in the world really, really fast)...

Cracking open the Microsoft Zune (2nd generation)

TechRepublic reports: "The second generation Microsoft Zune media player is that company's answer to the various iPods Apple has put on the market with at least video and MP3 capability. As a general purpose media player, the Zune is more than serviceable. It is not spectacular, but the Zune does just what you expect -- play music and videos, display pictures, and manage your media library. But the question remains -- what the heck is inside. In this TechRepublic Cracking Open Photo Gallery we examine what is actually in a Microsoft Zune."

TechRepublic shows you inside a 2nd generation Zune. There are lots of pictures.

21 Things You Didn't Know You Can Recycle

Co-op America reports: "Garbage. Americans produce more and more of it every year, when we need to be producing less. Even the most waste-conscious among us can feel overwhelmed by the amount of household waste that goes beyond what municipal recyclers and compost bins can handle. That’s why our editors have spent the summer investigating the state of waste management in our country, and putting together information for you, our Co-op America members, explaining how we can get serious about the three R’s – reducing, reusing, and recycling."

This site has some great idea for recycling that stuff that you want to get rid of.

Unboxing Rock Band | TechRepublic Photo Gallery

TechRepublic has a photo gallery of the unboxing of the very popular 'Rock Band' game. This gallery allows you to see all the equipment comes with the game.

Body Odor Called Key Romantic Attraction

WCVB Boston reports: "A new dating service that says it's the first to use DNA matching to find that 'perfect someone' is scheduled to launch in Boston Tuesday. ScientificMatch.com promises its technology will use DNA to find a date with 'a natural odor you'll love, with whom you'd have healthier children and a more satisfying sex life.'"

IMHO: Personally I will take my chances with less scientific methods.

Site of the Week: Pageflakes

PC Magazine reports: "This incredibly versatile Web start-page builder takes personal portals up a notch. Pageflakes even surpasses the new My Yahoo!, Windows Live personal page, and iGoogle, which it resembles. Pageflakes is all about the widgets, which it calls 'flakes.' And though there aren't as many different ones as there are actual snowflakes, there are already nearly 240,000 of them! Flakes let you add just about any Web content you can think of—video, picture, news feeds, e-mail, maps, online storage—or you can create your own custom flakes. Once you've chosen (via the slick interface) which flakes to add to your start page, a fluid, breathtakingly intuitive AJAX interface lets you customize to your heart's content. If you like the idea of a personal portal, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it. If you've never tried building one, it's time."

Best (and Worst) of 2007

PC Magazine reports: "In a year dominated by hype, it's nice when products can live up to it. You'll come across a couple of well-publicized items in the following pages, plus some gems that may have escaped your attention. Luckily, they didn't get by our crack crew of analysts. We'll even point you in the direction of the full reviews at PCMag.com."

If you're still looking for the perfect gift for yourself or someone else, here is an article that can give you some more ideas.

New Batman and Joker Images

The Movie Blog: "Nothing really special, but here ya go. AICN got their hands on new Batman and Joker images. Personally, I’m starting to dislike the new Batman look. The design of the suit is fine… but Bale IS SO MUCH SKINNIER in this one than he was in the last one. I figure he’s about 20-25 pounds lighter and I do NOT like the look. I don’t hate it or anything… it’s just that the more I see of the thinner Batman, the less I like it."

IMHO: The characters don't look as good as the original Batman (Keaton) and the Joker (Nicholas). I know Adam West was the original movie Batman, but Keaton was the best.

Star Wars actors then and now - after 30 years

Are you curious what the favorite Star Wars character looks like 30 years later? Check out this page, I am not sure but I think some of them might already be dead.

Here Comes Another Bubble (Music Video)

Great music video...

Photos: Coal addiction

CNET News.com reports: "Who uses coal? You do, close to half of the time. This pie chart from the Energy Information Administration breaks down where our power comes from. Actual consumption varies by state---California, for instance, doesn't use a lot of coal."

Find out where your energy is coming from you might be surprised.

Champion cardstacker builds capitol with 22,000 cards

Using 22,000 cards over 3 days, record-holding card stacker Bryan Berg builds the Rhode Island State House, home of Brotherhood, Sundays at 10PM ET/PT only on Showtime. Visit www.sho.com for more about Brotherhood.

Sanity check: The 10 biggest technology belly flops of 2007

TechRepublic.com reports: "While 2007 gave us some fantastic technological innovations, it also brought the usual spate of bungles, miscues, and faux pas. Since I believe that you learn more from your mistakes than your successes, it’s important to look at some of the most glaring errors that were made manifest in the business technology sector during 2007. There were a lot of opportunities for learning this year. "

I find this article mildly interesting, but you might want to read it.

Wachovia Bank Tells Man He Owes $211 Trillion

WSB Atlanta reports: "Martins said he recently closed an account at Wachovia Bank and made good on an outstanding check. He just got a letter about the closure and his negative balance -- $211,010,028,257,303.00. That’s $211 trillion."

That is one amazing error...

Amazon Kindle Disassembly and Take-Apart Guide

RapidRepair has completed the new Amazon Kindle disassembly guide. With the slicing and dicing complete, you need only look down to see the internals of the new Kindle from Amazon.

Photos: A brief history of stealth aircraft

TechRepublic reports: "Just a generation ago, it was a hush-hush military project, a futuristic aircraft that fit right into the shadowy cloak-and-dagger atmosphere of the Cold War. Nowadays the F-117A Nighthawk stealth aircraft--the first of its kind--is making a high-profile circuit of the world's air shows, from New Mexico to Dubai, as it heads into retirement. But even today, the plane is still as startling a sight as it was in the late 1980s when the Pentagon first revealed it to the public, all triangles and trapezoids. Those long edges and slopes, along with smaller serrations spread across the airframe, are key elements of how the F-117A hides in plain sight--they scatter and redirect radar signals away from the radar detector that sent them skyward."

See some pictures of some pretty amazing planes. Some of them I have never seen before.

Family Holiday Survival Kit

ATG Javelin - Personal Jet

Excerpt from the Wikipedia: "The Javelin is a small high-speed personal jet being developed by the Aviation Technology Group (ATG). Planned for FAA certification under 14 CFR part 23, the Javelin has a design resembling a fighter aircraft, an unusual concept for civilian jets. The Javelin MK-20 derivative, being developed in cooperation between ATG and Israel Aerospace Industries, is expected to fill the jet trainer role for various air forces. The Javelin is designed to look and perform like a fighter jet. Pre-orders are being sold for approximately US$ 2.995 million in the civil market."

Majority of Internet bandwidth consumed by P2P services

TechRepublic.com reports: "New research from German deep packet inspection gear maker Ipoque shows that P2P traffic consumes anywhere between 49 and 89 percent of all Internet traffic in the day. At night, it can spike up to an astonishing 95 percent. Ipoque gathered over three petabytes of information with the permission of ISPs and universities in Europe, the Middle East, and Australia between August and September this year."

The question is, will P2P kill the Internet? Or, will ISPs learn how to exploit it in some way to their advantage?

Remember: When the life gives you lemons, learn to make lemonade...

The 12 Pains of Christmas (Disney Version)

World Faces 'Cyber Cold War' Threat: Report

PC Magazine: "A 'cyber cold war' waged over the world's computers threatens to become one of the biggest threats to security in the next decade, according to a report published on Thursday. About 120 countries are developing ways to use the Internet as a weapon to target financial markets, government computer systems and utilities, Internet security company McAfee said in an annual report."

Really makes you want to hook up to the Internet...

How to deal with an asteroid threat

MSNBC reports: "When it comes to 22-million-ton asteroids, the small stuff, it turns out, can make a huge difference in a potentially disastrous path toward Earth. Using limited observations and lots of high-end computer modeling, astronomers have gotten a better handle on the limitations of asteroid-track forecasting in a new study of a potentially threatening asteroid called Apophis. In this high-stakes game of Whack-a-Cosmic-Mole, just knowing exactly what it is you don't know can be useful."

We appear to be safe past 2029, the real worry is for now is 2036...

Google’s GDrive may be more than just rumors

TechRepublic reports: "If this sounds familiar it is. Rumors of Gdrive have been around for months. Gdrive went from a dead project in August to being a part of Google Apps in September to losing a key developer to Facebook. Google is serious though since it secured a bunch of name servers."

I just found this blog post of someone else thinks the samething that GDrive is just a few months away.

Getting cash for crashed gadgets

Webware reports: "Tech recycling services traditionally are either free or charge you a fee for trying to keep old gear out of landfills. But as long as you're cleaning out closets to make room for another season of gifts, you could finance some of your holiday shopping by sending tired tech toys to a service that will pay for them."

When you have to get rid of those old gadgets, you should do it responsibly. Here are some great solutions for disposing of them.

Can baking soda curb global warming?

CNET News.com reports: "Some scientists have proposed compressing carbon dioxide and sticking it in underground caves as a way to cut down on greenhouse gases. Joe David Jones wants to make baking soda out of it. Jones, the founder and CEO of Skyonic, has come up with an industrial process called SkyMine that captures 90 percent of the carbon dioxide coming out of smoke stacks and mixes it with sodium hydroxide to make sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda. The energy required for the reaction to turn the chemicals into baking soda comes from the waste heat from the factory."

This sounds like a great idea, but I would be uncomfortable using the baking soda extracted from the process.

Google to Offer Personal Storage?

"NEW YORK (Reuters)—Google Inc is preparing a service that would enable users to store data from their personal hard drives on its computers, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday in its online edition."

Could this be the 'G-Drive', that was being talked about a long time ago (okay, it may might have been several months at the very most)?

Our 56 Top Holiday Picks - Holiday Gift Guide by PC Magazine

PC Magazine reports: "Ready, set, shop! Yes, the holiday shopping season has begun, and there's no time to waste. That's OK, though, because we're here to save you tons of time. Don't bother making lists or doing research (unless you do it here); we've polled our expert analysts and asked them for their gift recommendations in each of the major categories. So, take a deep breath and get that credit card ready."

Looking for something special for that special person for a special occasion, then check out this special article. ;-)

Nvidia Commercial (Overclocking)

U.K. government reveals its 'biggest privacy disaster'

ZDNet reports: "Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs has admitted to losing the details of 25 million individuals, with 7.25 million U.K. families potentially affected. In a speech to Parliament on Tuesday, the chancellor of the exchequer, Alistair Darling, told of the loss of two discs containing the details of everybody in the U.K. who claims and receives child benefits."

Intel Considering Portable Data Centers

Data Center Knowledge reports: "The cost of building a new data center is extremely high — between $40 million and $60 million. As an alternative, we are considering placing high-density servers on racks in a container similar to those you see on container ships and trucks. We estimate that the same server capacity in this container solution will reduce facility costs by 30 percent to 50 percent versus a brick-and-mortar installation. Because it’s a small, contained environment, cooling costs are far less than for traditional data centers. Even if we build a warehouse-like structure to house the containers (thus addressing security and environmental concerns), the cost is dramatically less per square foot. In fact, the difference is so great that with this solution, brick-and-mortar data centers may become a thing of the past."

I have been following this technology for a few years, when on November 17, 2005 Robert X. Cringely reported: "in one of Google's underground parking garages in Mountain View. There, in a secret area off-limits even to regular GoogleFolk, is a shipping container. But it isn't just any shipping container. This shipping container is a prototype data center."

I got even more excited about the technology when Sun introduced 'Project Blackbox', because they really showed the potential of this technology. Check out the site for more information.

Quote of the day...

"People buy solutions to a problem, they don't buy technology" --Unknown

Google Testing Own Wireless Network

Google Watch reports: "Google is testing its own wireless network to prepare for the Federal Communication Commission's 700 MHz spectrum auction in January, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. Using a test license from the FCC, the search company is running mobile phones with its Android software on the network. The idea is that if the company bids on and secures wireless spectrum, it will have an idea of how to use it."

Seagate Launches Data Recovery Service at Staples

eWeek reports: "Seagate Technolovery Service at Staplesgy's Recovery Services division is offering a new set of data recovery services for consumers and businesses at 1,400 Staples stores in North America and Hawaii. Staples, the world's largest office products company, is fronting the services through its in-store EasyTech services staff. The chain began offering the services Nov. 20."

It looks like Seagate and Staples are commoditizing data recovery services. Repairs will run anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

So backup your data now. You can save yourself a lot of money in the long run just in case you lose your hard drive.

Discount Electronics Site Called a Scam

PC Magazine reports: "Would you be suspicious of an American e-commerce site that required a $500 minimum purchase, didn't accept credit cards, and asked you to send a money order to an address in Italy? Jeff Garstecki, a PC Magazine reader, was. But the design of YourDigitalElectronics.com was sophisticated, well-organized, and offered prices low enough to come up on the Google Products shopping page—too good to be true, Garstecki believed. His suspicions and those of others were borne out when Garstecki and others started checking out the site using conventional methods, such as a call to the police, as well as newer tools like Google Street View, which can be used to assist citizen sleuths."

Unboxing Amazon's Kindle

If you wanted a Amazon Kindle, but were not able to get your hands on one. TechRepublic unboxes one so you can see what you would would have gotten if you were able to get your hands on one. I can image that one of these devices would a commuter's best friend if you got to take public transit to work everyday.

What is the big deal about 802.11n?

TechRepublic.com reports: "802.11n is being touted as the networking standard that will unwire the network world. Most people are not convinced, yet curious to see how one defends such a claim. The 802.11n standard has two top-level mandates (unwiring the world not being one of them): Achieve higher data rates and retain backward compatibility with legacy 802.11a/b/g devices. The significance of requiring backward compatibility shouldn’t be taken lightly since it complicates the development process exponentially. Yet the 802.11n group has come up with a soon-to-be-ratified standard that meets both objectives."

This is probably the best article that I have read to date on the 802.11n standard. It appears to be most complex and featured pack of all the 802.11 specifications released so far.

10 Things You Should Know About 802.11n - Dual-Band

eWeek reports: "Now that a few enterprise-class wireless LAN vendors are selling devices based on Draft 2.0 of the 802.11n WLAN specification, enterprise wireless implementers should keep the following in mind as they consider the technology."

If you don't know a lot about 802.11n, you might want to check out this technical slide show.

The Grinches of Online Holiday Shopping

eWeek reports: "The Grinch was right when he thought, "Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store." More than 30 percent of it will actually come from online retail this year, according to the National Retail Federation. Retail Editor Evan Schuman and Security Editor Lisa Vaas scope out some of the Grinches you may encounter while shopping online - and offer some tips on avoiding them."

Here is some great advice on how to protect yourself online.

10 Great Snake-Oil Gadgets

Wired.com reports: "Some gadgets change the world. Others don't. These ones, however, are very effective at one thing in particular: teleporting money out of customers' pockets."

All this stuff is obliviously fake, or useless but people still buy it.

USB 3.0 -- 10 Times Faster -- In the Works for 2009

Yahoo! Tech reports: "USB, that little rectangular plug that can be found on just about every computer peripheral cable you come across, is one of the biggest success stories in the history of computing. Ditching the slow serial and parallel cables of yore and replacing them with a fast, universal standard that could draw power and allowed connecting of dozens of peripherals without rebooting... well, it was genius. When USB 2.0 arrived, with much faster performance, it got even better. It's not hyperbole to say that USB, despite its humble status as a mere connector, is one of the most important computer technologies to ever be invented."

I want it now, 2009 is too far away...

Finding Nintendo Wiis

Finding Nintendo Wiis can be a very difficult thing to buy these days. It's the only device that I can think of that has stayed in short supply for such a long time. There are units available to buy, but they sell out very fast.

One piece of advice for finding a Wii, is to check with your local retailer who sells them and find out when they receive their weekly shipments. Call or show up at the store on those days and see if they have received any new units.

Sometimes Wiis that are sold in a bundle package of games and accessories tend to have better availability because of there higher cost, then the console only systems. If you like the stuff that is included in the bundle then this might be a good deal, otherwise you're just buying stuff that you don't need.

To help in your search for the game console, I have included the links below to Wii Trackers. These sites can help you find a system of your very own.

• http://wiitracker.com/
• http://www.nowinstock.net/wii/
• http://wii.clambert.org/

Opinion: Why Amazon's Kindle is revolutionary

Mike Elgan reports: "Last April, I wrote a column titled, 'Why e-books are bound to fail.' My reasons: cost, the availability of better alternatives and, most importantly, book lovers love paper books. I was wrong. This week, I set out this week to deflate the hype about Amazon's new Kindle e-book reader and to tell you why it will fail. But while researching this column, I became convinced of the opposite: Kindle is revolutionary and will succeed in the market. Some percentage of book lovers, including me, will buy one to replace their beloved paper books, magazines and newspapers."

I agree with Mike Elgan on a lot of his opinions in this article. It is a pretty amazing device. Although, what makes it really amazing is its wireless connection, it opens up a whole new worlds of content and features for the reader.

Hats off to Amazon for making a great ebook device.

Finding the Best Deal on Travel

Are you looking for some easy ways to save money on your travel. Well in my experience it takes work and luck to save any real money. There is no magic web site, phone number to call, or person to talk to. Its all the above, and its all about research.

General advice for getting the best discounts

• Reserve your ticket as earlier as you can (about 4-6 weeks) to get the best price and seat availability.
• Indirect flights are generally cheaper then direct flights, but varies from destination to destination.
• Be flexible about the dates you travel, traveling during the week can be cheaper then the weekend. Also being willing to stay over on a Saturday night might help reduce the cost.
• If you're older then 55 or have a child under 12, check for senior or child discounts.
• If you fly a lot leverage your frequent flyer miles when you purchase your tickets.
• Sometimes choosing a different airport depending on the destination can save you some money.
  

Below are sites that you can use for finding the best deals related to air travel:

• Farecast: General airline price comparison site.
  
• Kayak: General airline price comparison site.
• Mobissimo: General airline price comparison site.
• Wegolo: Airline price comparison site for low-cost European carriers.
• Priceline: Bid on your tickets and hotel. (General rules of advice for using this site, bid close to the date that you want to go to your destination. Also search the lowest price and then bid 30%-40% below that.)
  

Below are some additional travel related sites that may help you to prepare to get to your destination:

• FlightAware: Get free live flight tracking.
  
• Wikitravel: A free worldwide travel guide.
• National Traffic and Road Closure Information: The title says it all, but only applies to US.
  
• TripAdvisor: Provides recommendations for hotels, travel guides and more.
  
• VirtualTourist: A travel community where travelers and locals share travel advice.
• EuroCheapo: Reviews of cheap hotels in Europe.
  

10 Best Black Friday Sites

PC Magazine: "Each year, shoppers brave the frigid temperatures and feisty crowds, racing through stores in the wee hours of one particular morning to shop for the season's most-coveted gifts. Yes, folks Black Friday is almost here—that crazy day after Thanksgiving when the holiday shopping season unofficially begins."

Let the shopping begin... Personally, I find it too much trouble to try to go these sales to try to save a few dollars on something.

'Geoengineering': Space mirror over Greenland?

CNET News.com repots: "Scientists are starting to consider planet-scale engineering projects to slow the pace of climate change--anything from causing massive plankton growth in the ocean to putting a giant mirror in space above Greenland to stop ice from melting. These ideas to alter the earth's environment at large scale, called 'geoengineering,' are increasingly being articulated and seriously evaluated even though they are likely to be controversial."

Some of the ideas proposed in this article sound scarier then the problem itself. The best idea is still just to reduce the emissions we are creating...

Cover Your Tracks Online

PC Magazine reports: "When, in August 2006, a vendor for AOL released search records on 657,000 AOL users, it was easy to look at the queries associated with specific users and determine what kinds of people they were and ultimately who they were. Your online activities could —do—end up in a database somewhere. Read the privacy policy of your favorite search engine, and you'll see what methods it employs to collect valuable data about its users. Then consider how many times you've read about security breaches that result in data leaks."

The article's title is deceptive, but it does contain useful information. It tells you how to erase your search history stored at Google created from your everyday searches. Some people are concerned about this information being analyzed, and being used against them some how.

Scottish Star Trek

WikipediaVision (Watch Wikipedia Updates as they Happen)

WikipediaVision allows you to see the locations of the people updating the Wikipedia on a global map in semi-real-time. The creator of this site got the idea for it from projects like flickervision and twittervision, both created by David Troy.

10 Black Friday Secrets Retailers Don't Want You To Know

Mike Elgan reports: "They don't call the day after Thanksgiving 'Black Friday' for nothing. It's all about launching the megastores “into the black” – into profitability. They profit not by offering goods at a loss, but by using ultra-low prices to lure you into their stores, where they can employ dirty tricks to make money."

There is some really great advice in this article if you want to take advantage of those 'Black Friday' sales here in the US.

Star Trek TNG Episode Guide Song

An hilarious video naming all 178 episodes from Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST:TNG) in one song.

Cartesian Diver (home science experiment)

Here is another great experiment for kids that you can do with stuff around the house. In this video you will learn how to create a Cartesian diver. This will help you to explore why things float.

The Charge of the Ultra - Capacitors

IEEE Spectrum reports: "Because no chemical reaction is involved, ultracapacitors—also known as supercapacitors and double-layer capacitors—are much more effective at rapid, regenerative energy storage than chemical batteries are. What's more, rechargeable batteries usually degrade within a few thousand charge-discharge cycles. In a given year, a light-rail vehicle might go through as many as 300 000 charging cycles, which is far more than a battery can handle. (Although flywheel energy-storage systems can be used to get around that difficulty, a heavy and complicated transmission system is needed to transfer the energy.)"

Every year I expect better battery technology to be developed for all the new electronics. And every year I am pretty consistently disappointed. The ultra-capacitors are where I would be putting my money, rather then on the older chemical based battery technologies.

Steampunk’s Twist on Tech

Newsweek.com reports: "If you've ever owned a laptop for more than a couple of years, you've probably marveled at how ancient and clunky it looks next to the latest models. That once-sleek Dell Latitude LM, boasting a Pentium processor, is the size of a VCR, feels as if it weighs 20 pounds and seems about as cutting edge as a Betamax. But its antiquated feel has got nothing on Richard Nagy's Hewlett Packard."

Some of these are really cool computer caase mods if you like the Steampunk style. Check it out...

Zune (second generation, 80GB, black) MP3 player reviews

CNET reports: "The 80GB Microsoft Zune MP3 player features a 3.2-inch glass LCD; a user-friendly interface; exceptional navigation control; audio and video podcast support; a superlative FM radio with RBDS information; wireless syncing and sharing; high-quality earphones; revamped Zune Marketplace PC software; Zune Pass subscription music support; good audio quality; and a built-in composite-video output."

Check out the video review of the new Zune. It makes me want to go out and get one...

Quantum Mechanics in 90 Seconds

Wikipedia states: "In physics, quantum mechanics is the study of the relationship between energy quanta (radiation) and matter, in particular that between valence shell electrons and photons. Quantum mechanics is a fundamental branch of physics with wide applications in both experimental and theoretical physics. The effects of quantum mechanics are typically not observable on macroscopic scales, but become evident at the atomic and subatomic level. Quantum theory generalizes all classical theories, including mechanics and electromagnetism (except general relativity), and provides accurate descriptions for many previously unexplained phenomena such as black body radiation and stable electron orbits. Confused, watched the video more information.

Open Handset Alliance

You might of heard all the rumors about Google's Gphone. Almost everyone thought it was going to be a real phone. Although it turned out to be an open source development platform for mobile phones based on Linux and Java, and its called 'Android'. Google also announced the formation of the Open Handset Alliance a consortium of 34 software, hardware, and telecoms companies devoted to supporting this platform.

Guinness's 'Tipping Point' Commercial

Guinness's 'Tipping Point' commercial from what I read this is the most expensive TV commercial ever produced, with a production cost of £10 million. Its really pretty incredible to watch.

PCs Losing Their Relevance in Japan

Yahoo! Finance reports: "The PC's role in Japanese homes is diminishing, as its once-awesome monopoly on processing power is encroached by gadgets such as smart phones that act like pocket-size computers, advanced Internet-connected game consoles, and digital video recorders with terabytes of memory."

The article makes one good point that recent computer advances are only evolutionary and not revolutionary. So business and people don't need the latest and greatest PCs they can buy. Their old computers are working for them just fine for right now.

IMHO: Personally I believe this will be a short term trend, but that is only based on my own speculation. Surfing the web from a phone no matter how advanced is a pretty awful experience when compared to a PC.

Images: NASA builds Orion mock-up

CNET News.com: "Researchers at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Southern California have built the first stage of the Orion manned spacecraft--a full-scale model. The mock-up craft, which looks like a flying saucer from a 1950s sci-fi movie, is part of a test of the launch abort system."

The technology doesn't look that different from what was used in the original Apollo program. Still interesting enough to check out.

Beam me up: Just how close are we to teleportation?

CNN.com reports: "Admit it -- at one point or another we've all dreamed of being able to teleport. How much easier and less stressful life would be if, at the flick of a switch, we could whisk ourselves direct from home to work without the intervening two hours crushed onto public transport, face wedged into the armpit of a man with a sweat gland problem."

Tomy I-SOBOT Robot

The new i-SOBOT humanoid robot from TOMY will go on sale in the US and Japan this October. Below is a list of some of its features:

• Robot packed with over 200 words and phrases, and 200 pre-programmed movements
• Operates with remote control, programmable memory, and voice activation
• 17 custom designed actuators and gyro-sensor for balance and freely moving joints
• Includes remote control, hexagon wrench, action chart, operation manual and 3 AAA batteries
• Recommended for ages 10 and up

Simple Magnet Motor

This seems like a cool project to do with you kids to teach them the fundamental principals of electric motors.

Ninja Parade Slips Through Town Unnoticed Once Again

Ninja Parade Slips Through Town Unnoticed Once Again

Modesto, CA residents turned out for the city's annual Ninja Parade, where no ninjas were seen for the 30th year in a row.

Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash

Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash

Officials confirm that all online data has been lost after the Internet crashed and was forced to restart.

Batman vs. Alien vs. Predator

I was expecting this to be a comedy before I watched it. Although the production value is really good when compared to a lot of the stuff that is available on the Internet.

Genetically Engineered Super Mice

This new breed of genetically engineered super mice can run four miles (six kilometers) at a speed of 20 yards (meters) per minute for up to six hours without stopping.

New Daylight Saving Time Standard

As you probably know the move from Daylight Saving Time (DST) back to Standard Time generally happens on the last Sunday in October. Although, from now on it will be the first Sunday in November.

Your computer and older electronics that are designed to automatically handle DST using the older standard might have already set themselves back and an hour last Sunday morning. This means you will have to reset them twice.

This is all part of the Energy Conservation Act of 2005, which is designed to save energy (there is an estimated savings of about 1% because of the change). Its also worth noting that the 'spring forward' part of the DST also gets changed next year to March 9th.

To find out how your Microsoft operating system or applications might be effected by the new DST, go to the following web site. There is a web based questionnaire, that will direct you right updates for your software.

Deep-Sixing CAPTCHA

PC Magazine reports: "Recently, RMG Technologies made big news when a judge barred the company from producing and distributing software that, apparently, enables ticket brokers to buy tons of tickets for resale. The software uses 'bots' to find and purchase ticket blocks at sites like Ticketmaster, despite the fact that the site uses varied online safeguards designed to block this kind of activity. The judges took action after parents across the U.S. started complaining that they were getting boxed out of coveted Hannah Montana tickets."

Wikipedia explains a CAPTCHA as "a type of challenge-response test used in computing to determine whether the user is human. "CAPTCHA" is a contrived acronym for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart".

If you still don't know what a CAPTCHA is. Have you ever been asked to transcribe distorted letters and numbers from a graphic on web site? Well that's it. According to the article, they now have a program that can read that mess displayed in the graphic.

Top Gear: Peel P50

There are a lot of great Top Gear episodes, but this is definitely one of the better of them. Jeremy Clarkson drives Peel P50 literally in and around the BBC Television Center.

The Day The Routers Died...

A song performed by the secret-wg in the closing plenary of the RIPE 55 conference.

Tokyo Dance Trooper in Shibuya

Finite Simple Group (of Order Two)

Listen to five students sing A love song that only an college math graduate student can completely understand.

World-first technology combines payment card and authentication in a single device - gizmag Article

gizmag reports: "Appearing in the standard form of a payment card, the Credit Card Embedded Authentication Device has a number of authentication ‘modes’ for use in online, phone, or ATM transactions. For example, a user can enter his or her secret PIN into the card’s keypad to receive a numeric passcode for one-time use. To authorize a banking transaction, the passcode is entered into an interface and instantly validated by an authentication server. This process removes the need to enter a PIN into an unsecure device such as a web browser and provides a user-friendly defense against electronic banking fraud - a problem that costs financial institutions an estimated $4 billion annually."

Here is a brief article including some pictures of a possible next-generation credit card that incorporates a alphanumeric display, 12-button keyboard, and an embedded microprocessor.

Fight For Kisses (Wilkinson Ad)

Wilkinson France launched a very funny ad campaign to promote their line of Wilkinson Quattro Premium shavers. The concept is called 'Fight for Kisses', where dad and baby fight for the attention of the wife/mom. Just watch it, its funny...

File sharers may risk identity theft

Reuters reports: "Computer users log on to popular file sharing, or peer-to-peer, websites to share music may inadvertently be sharing files that could lead to identity theft. ... Experts say some P2P users are being tripped up by a default setting in file-sharing software, which if not turned off when downloaded, may open up one's entire hard drive to prying eyes. Sites such as LimeWire say they have taken steps to alert users to the risks of inadvertently sharing confidential information."

Beware the dangers of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, you can be exposing yourself to identity theft.

Multi-Touch Display

Jefferson Han of Perceptive Pixel presents his amazing new human-machine interface at TED 2007. The multi-touch concept is not new, and has been done by a lot of companies. Although this is one of the best demos of the technology that I have seen.

We Didnt Start The Viral

A very well done compilation of all the popular viral videos over the last couple years. I recognized several of them video framents, but there were also several that I didn't know where they were from.

Are you a True Geek?

If you understand and laugh at the jokes below, then you are a true geek:

Q. Where does a sysadmin go after work?
A. 127.0.0.1

------

There are only 10 types of people in the world:
Those who understand binary, and those who don't

OptoutPrescreen.com (Real or Fake)

Tired of all those unsolicited 'prescreened' credit card offers that you get in your mailbox. Many companies use these offers to sell you credit cards and insurance policies that you didn't request. The prescreened offers are from information that is pull from your credit report based on a criteria a company sets for an offer.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the consumer credit reporting agencies (i.e.: Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and TransUnion) are permitted to sell your information to credit and insurance companies to make offers for credit or insurance that you didn't request. The FCRA also provides you the right to 'Opt-Out' of these offers, which prevents consumer credit reporting agencies from providing your credit file information to these companies.

To opt-out of these offers go to the following web site called OptoutPrescreen.com. If you're worried if this web site is legitimate, I found a reference to it on the US Federal Trade Commission's web site.

Related Information:

• Free Credit Report (This is not a scam...)
• How to Reduce Telemarketing Calls
• Put Your Cell Phone On 'The Do Not Call List'
• Catalogchoice.org
  

Catalogchoice.org

Go to the Catalogchoice.org web site that helps you get your name taken off the lists of people who receive these catalogs. Use this site to help reduce your mailbox clutter, while helping save natural resources.

Companies mailed 19 billion catalogs in the U.S. every year. So you can help make a difference by stopping them from coming to your house.

Evolution of a Wikipedia Article

Jon Udell show the evolution of a Wikipedia article using the "Heavy metal umlaut" page. It very interesting to watch how the article matures over time.

All I can say is 'Wikipedia rocks', and 'long live Wikipedia'.

Video Games Timeline

A timeline of almost every video game system ever made, starting with Spacewar, in the order that they were released. The first video game ever made was Tennis for Two by William Higginbotham in 1958. It was played on an oscilloscope. I made this video around 2 years ago, so the Nintendo Revolution should be named Nintendo Wii, and there should be a Nintendo DS Lite after the Xbox 360.

How Not To Interview

One Semester of Spanish Spanish - Love Song

Learn how to romance a girl with one semester of spanish put to a catchy song. Download the exclusive mp3 at http://www.runawaybox.com

Internet Pioneer Explains Web Philosophy

The inventor of the Web Tim Brenners Lee elaborates on the origins and philosophy involved in the birth of internet as we know it.

The 1 Second Film Intro Video

An introduction to The 1 Second Film and our Road to Oprah tour. With Stephen Colbert, Kevin Bacon, Chad Hurley, and thousands more.

5,000 years of religion in 90 seconds

This map show brief history of the world's most well-known religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. It also shows how these religions have spread through out the world over the millennia.

Bedroom 747: Man Builds $30,000 Jumbo Jet Simulator in his Bedroom

Gizmodo reports: "John Davis spent eight years and £15,000 building a Boeing 747 flight simulator in a room in his house. And now the 47-year-old's hobby has turned into such a full-time occupation that he has jacked in his job as a graphic designer to run a full-time flight simulation business from his home in Coventry, UK."

One man dedicated to his passion...

One Laptop Per Child (Review)

David Pogue reviews the $100 laptop (which really cost $188). They will be available for sales in the US for two weeks starting Nov 12th for $400. When you buy one, another one will be given to a child in a poor country (although this will be tax deductible).

Personally I would love to play with one of these for a little while.

Amazing Basejumper Wingsuit Flying

Dedicated Web Hosting (Funny Video)

Todd brings home a surprise for Janet.

Sony Confirms Cheaper PS3 Headed for U.S.

PC Magazine reports: "Sony Corp will launch a cheaper model of its PlayStation 3 in the United States, hoping to attract more buyers as it goes up against rival game consoles from Microsoft and Nintendo this holiday. The company also cut the price of its highest-capacity model by about 17 percent."

It seems like the game console business is a cut-throat business. Sony was already losing money on the console, now they're going to be losing more. They're hoping to makeup the lost from the console through the licensing of the games.

Images: Future Firefox fitting in

CNET News.com reports: "Firefox developers are working to make the upcoming version 3, code-named Gran Paradiso, adopt the look of the operating system on which it's running. User interface designer Alex Faaborg has published a number of mock-ups that illustrate this conformity."

Our Favorite Music Services, Part 1

PC Magazine reports: "We all remember the wild and wooly early days of online music trading, when Napster and its imitators turned millions of otherwise upright, law-abiding folk into instant criminals on a scale that previously would have been hard to imagine. Suddenly, a music collection that represented hundreds if not thousands of CDs was within the grasp of everyone with a reasonably reliable connection to the Internet and the moral flexibility to ignore the fact that it was all stolen. Yes, it was a carefree time of all the free (stolen) crappy 32 or 64 Kbps rips of songs you could stand to download. Alas, those heady days of carefree larceny are mostly gone, unless you're willing to dare the (mostly impotent) wrath of RIAA and the risk of unbridled spyware infections that often goes hand in hand with P2P file-sharing."

Here is an excerpt from part 2 of the article: "Things haven't been looking good lately for Internet radio sites. The Copyright Royalty Board decided to modify current webcast radio royalties, imposing heavier fees that could put sites like Pandora and Last.fm out of businesses. The Internet radio community has fought back hard, getting Congress to introduce the Internet Radio Equality Act that would lighten their financial burden."

Best Buy Stops Selling Analog TVs

PC Magazine reports: "Big-box retailer Best Buy said Wednesday that they had pulled all analog TVs from its store shelves, jumping on board with the digital TV transition. ... The company also announced that they will participate in the NTIA DTV Converter Box Coupon Program to help people purchase digital converter boxes for their analog televisions. Coupon-eligible converter boxes will be available in Best Buy stores beginning in early 2008, in time with the phase-out of American terrestrial analog TV broadcasts, which will happen on Feb. 17, 2008."

One more nail in the coffin of standard definition television (SDTV). Expect HDTV prices to keep coming down (hopefully).

Microsoft Live Updates Target Mobile, Maps

PC Magazine reports: "Microsoft unveiled a host of updates to its Live suite of services, focusing on mobile improvements and enhancements to its mapping technologies. In total, the company said it made seven new enhancements to Windows Live Search and its VirtualEarth services. The rollouts follow improvements to Microsoft's basic search capabilities released late last month."

It really sounds cool, I can't wait to check out some of the features.

Palm Centro: At A Glance

PC Magazine reports: "To understand the Centro, you have to understand who it's for. There's nothing here for existing Treo owners, and there's little to entice other smartphone users to switch. Rather, the Centro exists to put more power into the hands of folks who are considering devices such as the T-Mobile Sidekick ID or LG's enV—inexpensive sub-smartphones with e-mail, text messaging, and media options."

This looks like a pretty impressive little device. Read the article for a complete review.

Fit PC—A Tiny Linux PC that Fits Anywhere

ExtremeTech reports: "What if you really wanted a small PC just for web and email? Here at the Case House, we often have a need for a communal system to quickly check email or browse web sites for shopping or homework. Most of the real work gets done on personal PCs, while important files are stored on a RAID 5 NAS server. So a small PC that fits into a small space would be ideal."

This is a cool little PC that you can give someone doesn't need a fast and/or expensive computer. They would probably make great terminal devices too.

10 Wacky Wii Accessories

PC Magazine reports: "Since the release of the Nintendo Wii in November 2006, the company has sold over 9 million consoles worldwide, according to the NPD Group. Would you believe that the Wii is the second most desired gift on Amazon's wedding registry? Its popularity should come as no surprise, given that it's very interactive, promotes exercise, and welcomes friendly competition."

Great article for people who want to accessorize their Wii.

Trevor Baylis Eco Media Player Reviews. MP3 players Reviews by CNET.

CNET reports: "The Trevor Baylis Eco Media Player is a wind-up MP3 player that features video playback, a photo viewer, an FM radio, a voice recorder, a line input recorder, a text reader, expandable memory, and a flashlight. You can even use it to charge your cell phone."

This $350 media player comes with a crank so that you can wind it to power the device. Watch the video to see how it works and for the full review.

Photos: Airbus delivers the A380, finally

CNET News.com reports: "It's been a long time coming. The much ballyhooed Airbus A380 jumbo jet has endured months of delays, but the world's largest passenger plane is now in the fleet of its first customer. Singapore Airlines took delivery of the jet on Monday at a ceremony in Toulouse, France."

It's going to be interesting to see what happens between Airbus and Boeing. Either both planes are going to be popular, or one of them will win out over the other.

For Sale: Titan Missile Base Central Washington

For US $1,500,000.00 you can own the former Larson Air Force Base Complex 1A Titan ICBM Facility (eBay item 190132455924). It's located in Central Washington between Moses Lake and Ritzville. The property includes about 57 acres, and 16 underground buildings.

If you're looking for something like this check out the follow eBay auction.

Free and Easy Web Conferencing

eWeek reports: "And while Web conferencing has improved since its early days, it can still be a hassle for many. For those workers who have to deal with multiple meetings hosted on multiple platforms, it often means having to install several different applications on the desktop just to attend these meetings. And businesses that run multiple meetings a week through one of the leading providers can find that the cost of these Web conferences can quickly add up."

This sounds like an interesting service to check. When you read the article you will find out its called DimDim.com.

Microsoft's Social Events Planning Service Goes Live

eWeek reports: "Organizing an event? Microsoft is hoping that customers will use its latest free online service, Windows Live Events. ... This new social events planning service was unveiled Oct. 11 and will be rolled out over the next few days. ... Windows Live Events is designed to make it easy for users to create personalized event Web sites using a range of customized templates, to which they can add photographs, videos and stories via blog posts after the party is over."

Google Commands 60% of Global Searches

eWeek reports: "Google captured roughly 60 percent of the searches conducted worldwide in August, blowing away the field with 37.1 billion of 61 billion queries, according to new statistics from comScore. Five billion of Google's August searches came from the Mountain View, Calif., company's video property YouTube.com."

61 billion queries a month, that mean that almost 2 billion queries are made per day. That is a lot of searching...

Windows Home Server Hits Store Shelves

PC Magazine reports: "Microsoft's Windows Home Server, which we've been tracking , through its limitations, and through to its final review. As we previously reported, the price should have been about $189, and that's exactly where it is, according to this list of online vendors who have the operating system on their store shelves."

I have been reading a lot of good reviews about the Windows Home Server. Although PC Magazine didn't say much about it in this article.

Microsoft's Social Events Planning Service Launches

PC Magazine reports: "After months of new feature launches and beta rollouts, the reinvented Windows Live suite is finally starting to coming together. The latest introduction to the service is Windows Live Events. Introduced yesterday, the service looks to be an eVite/MyPunchbook competitor, giving users the ability to send out event invitations, stay in touch with friends and family, and share photos of the event, after it's over."

Read the article for a little more inforamtion.

Guys Start Bon Fire With Jet Engine

These guys build a huge stack of wood and other debris and then uses in a large jet engine to start the fire.


Guys Start Bon Fire With Jet Engine - Watch more free videos

Asteroid heads for Earth, Russian astronomer claims

PhysOrg.com reports: "An asteroid discovered three years ago could be a threat in 2029 when it crosses Earth's orbit, a Russian astronomer said Monday."

There is not much to the article, but its still interesting.

Jedi order establishes a new temple in lower Manhattan

Wired reports: "In the Star Wars universe, a Jedi fashions a lightsaber by packing Adegan crystals into a handle with a power cell. In the New York Jedi galaxy, knights order them for $150 to $700 a pop from a guy upstate."

May the Farce be with you...

The Miniature Earth

Microsoft Unveils New Zune Players

Microsoft Unveils New Zune Players - News and Analysis by PC Magazine: "The new Zune 80GB ($249.99) will offer much more hard drive space for your tunes and videos than the original model. Another improvement is the player's slightly larger 3.2-inch screen (compared with the 30GB model's 3-inch display). Though we have no word on actual dimensions yet, it appears that this Zune will have a trimmer profile despite its pumped-up storage capacity."

Images: Observatories at the top of the world

TechRepublic reports: "A dormant volcano in the Hawaiian islands called Mauna Kea is the unlikely home of the most important collection of astronomical observatories in the world. At least it might seem unlikely: the big island of Hawaii is better known for cattle ranches, macadamia nuts and black sand beaches. But because the Mauna Kea summit, at 13,796 feet, is so high in the atmosphere, because it's far from light pollution, and because it's usually free of clouds, it's the best place on the planet for atmospheric and astronomical observations."

ConsumerReports.org - Car Crash Test

Find out how well your car can protect you in the event of of crash. ConsumerReports.org has posted several video from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on several different makes, models, and years of cars.

Mars Is Amazing

Yes this is a joke...

Microwave Experiments

Warning: Under no circumstances should you try to reproduce any of these experiments, none of them are safe. Just watch the video to see what happens.

Does-Nothing-o-Matic

Photos: Converting from analog to digital TV

CNET News.com reports: "February 17, 2009, is the day when analog broadcasts shut down, and government agencies are planning ahead for the transition. The U.S. Department of Commerce staged a public meeting and expo on Tuesday devoted to the upcoming digital television transition. Parked in front of its Washington headquarters was this TV-shaped truck, which National Association of Broadcasters representatives plan to use for a 'road show' later this fall."

It looks like standard definition television (SDTV) is going the way of the dodo. Come February 17, 2009 broadcasters are suppose to cease broadcasting the SDTV signal.

For those who still have a regular TV that can only receive the
older signal, will be eligible to recieve a $40 credit to buy a special converter. The converter allows older TVs to utilize the newer HDTV signal.

LED-Backlit Laptops

PC Magazine reports: "It's hard to distinguish one laptop display from another, let alone the technology behind it, but not all screens are the same. There's been an influx of laptop screens that use LED backlighting in place of conventional CCFL or fluorescent backlighting. This is the future of laptop screens. ... The advantages of an LED screen can be enormous if you have a keen eye for detail and knack for judging colors on the fly. ... Best of all, they consume less power, so they can save significant battery life."

Most modern laptops have an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen. One of the problems with this technology is that it uses a CCFL or fluorescent backlighting which can drain your laptop's battery. LED (Light Emitting Diode) screens produce a better pictures vs. LCD, and consume less power.

Microsoft Revamps Windows Live Search

PC Magazine reports: "The Windows Live Search rollouts continued Thursday with the release of several updates intended to improve search results, core technology and presentation."

I have to admit I really like the interface changes that Microsoft has made to their Live.com site. I also find the search results to be much more accurate then it was before.

To take another excerpt from the article: "Microsoft said it has quadrupled the size of its search index. Improvements have also been made to better predict query intent, enhance core algorithms, and extract information across the web for search returns"

Photos: iRobot phones home, cleans gutters

CNET News.com reports: "iRobot CEO Colin Angle introduces the Looj gutter-cleaning robot at DigitalLife 2007 in New York on Thursday. The Looj, whose photos were accidentally leaked earlier by the Federal Communications Commission's Web site, is a robot for cleaning gutters on the outside of the home. While it looks neat, the robot is more or less a home-helping tool that works by remote control."

These are some pretty cool new toys, ummm... I mean robots for the home. The 'ConnectR' was the coolest robot I have seen in a long time.

Microsoft: 'Halo 3' nets biggest day in entertainment history

CNet reports: "Halo 3, the much-anticipated Xbox 360 game that launched Tuesday, set the all-time record for most revenue earned in a single day by any entertainment property, Microsoft said Wednesday. ... The company said that Halo 3, the third and final episode in the hugely popular franchise, netted $170 million in sales in the U.S. in its first day. If true, that would top previous records set by the motion pictures Spider Man 3 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

All I can say is "cool"...

The Canadian Press: Health Canada approves first human trial for experimental cancer drug

The Canadian Press reports: "Health Canada has approved the first human trial of an experimental cancer drug called dichloroacetate, or DCA, in people with an advanced form of an aggressive brain cancer. The molecule has drawn international attention after the University of Alberta's Dr. Evangelos Michelakis published promising results in January showing it significantly shrunk tumours in rats. This new trial will give doctors a clue as to whether the research's impressive results will make the jump into human subjects."

I have recently been following articles about Dichloroacetate (DCA) because it MIGHT be a promising cure for cancer. We will know more after the human trials have been completed.

Halo 3 Xbox 360 Review

1UP reports: "Master Chief just wouldn't shut up. For a few years now, the sci-fi action hero has been going on and on about 'finishing the fight' whenever video trailers and Microsoft marketing materials would allow him. But now the time's come -- Halo 3, the finale to the epic first-person-shooter trilogy, is here, and we finally get to see whether Mr. Green (and his somewhat confusing story from Halo 2) gets to finish the fight that a few evil alien races started. (Don't worry, spoiler-free review ahead....)"

Halo 3 was released today, and here is a review of the game incase your interested in it.

The four trends that will change PCs and computing over the next two years

TechRepublic.com reports: "If there’s one thing you can count on from the annual Intel Developer Forum, it’s that you won’t be bombarded with the kind of pipe dreams and vaporware you get at most of the events that cover “emerging technologies.” In the 10 years since IDF began in 1997, the conference has been a regular harbinger of what’s to come in computing, from the emergence of Wi-Fi to hyper-threading and dual-core processors."

I was a little skeptical about reading this article based on the title, but it does make some interesting points.

Images: Lincoln's on the lookout on new $5 bill

CNET News.com reports: "The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing is preparing the image of President Lincoln to scare away would-be counterfeiters in a new $5 bill that will be released in early 2008."

Check out the new security features of the new US currency.

How The Lord Of The Rings should have ended

MC Frontalot - It Is Pitch Dark

It's a video about Zork from the nerdcore rapper MC Fontalot.

First U.S. GPL lawsuit filed

Linux-Watch reports: "For the first time in the U.S., a company and software vendor, Monsoon Multimedia, is being taken to court for a GPL violation. Previously, alleged GPL violations have all been settled by letters from the FSF (Free Software Foundation) or other open-source organizations, pointing out the violation. ... The SFLC (Software Freedom Law Center) announced on Sept. 20 that it had just filed the first ever U.S. copyright infringement lawsuit based on a violation of the GNU General Public License (GPL) on behalf of its clients. The group's clients are the two principal developers of BusyBox."

I think this is going to be the first real test of the GPL in U.S. court. I believe this case could possibly set a precedent for future GPL cases.

How to Buy a GPS

PC Magazine reports: "The portable GPS market has virtually exploded in the last year or two. On the one hand, it means more choices for consumers, one the other hand it means that shopping for a GPS device can be quite an overwhelming experience. In order to get your money's worth, you should consider how often and for what purpose you will use the device. Do you want a multipurpose system that will play your music and display your photos in addition to getting you to your destination? Or do you just want an inexpensive, basic device that will just keep you from getting lost? You also need to think about the types of trips you'll use a GPS for—whether you're looking to avoid traffic on the way to work or find the shortest route to grandma's house or both, choosing the GPS with the right feature set is key. We help you wade through the options by breaking down the specs and sharing some of our favorite GPS devices. Be sure to read our guide before you buy."

I am always keeping my eye out for the ultimate affordable (i.e.: best features for a great price) portable GPS for my car. Although, I have to admit I am still looking.

Glider vs Soul Flyers

Loic Jean Albert using a wingsuit catches up with a glider airplane in flight. The wingsuit is a special jumpsuit that shapes the human body into an airfoil which can create lift. It does this by using fabric sewn between the legs and under the arms.

7 reasons why Linux won't succeed on the desktop

itnews.com.au reports: "There are at least seven solid reasons, which I'll detail below, why Linux hasn't moved the needle beyond a single-digit desktop market share since it hit the scene in 1991, and never will. Desktop Linux's failure to launch is all the more mystifying when you consider that it's hard to think of any technology which has been backed by such an enthusiastic and committed group of supporters. Unfortunately, that boost has largely backfired."

Personally I like and respect the Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems. I use Windows as my primary OS, but I could easily use OS X or Linux if I choose to. Windows is a great OS for me. Although I will admit I enjoy dabbling in the other OSs once in while.

My biggest problem with the Mac or Linux operating systems, are the OS zealots. I get really tired of the all anti-Windows/Microsoft rhetoric. Each OS has its own pros and cons. Finally, there is no such thing as the perfect OS. My suggestion is just pick one, and use it.

The article makes some good points about why Linux will won't become the predominant desktop OS.

Hottest Sauces in the World

You have heard of Web 2.0, well this page is Web .02. The list attempts to summarize the hottest sauces in the world. The page starts with Tabasco sauce which is rated at 2,140 scoville units (a measurement of heat for hot sauces), to another one that is 16,000,000 units.

I love spicy food, but 16,000,000 scoville units sounds deadly.

Digital 'smiley face' turns 25

Yahoo! News: "It was a serious contribution to the electronic lexicon. :-) Twenty-five years ago, Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman says, he was the first to use three keystrokes — a colon followed by a hyphen and a parenthesis — as a horizontal 'smiley face' in a computer message."

Happy anniversary Smiley. :-)

New Phoenix BIOS Can Snap Thieves in the Act

PC Magazine reports: "In mid-October, Phoenix Technologies is expected to announce FailSafe, a new BIOS solution with lockdown, tracking, data retrieval and other capabilities – even remote Webcam operation to snap a picture of a laptop thief. The solution won't be available directly to consumers; unlike rival Absolute Software, Phoenix sells its BIOS software directly to OEMs, which can implement the features they want to add. However, as one of the major BIOS vendors, there's a good chance that this will turn up on a next-generation business PC."

This is great technology, but it also scares me how this technology can be used against you. Somebody could make your laptop spy on you if they wanted.

Weird Al Yankovic - Another One Rides the Bus

This is Weird Al Yankovic first appearance on television was on 'The Tomorrow Show' with Tom Snyder. He does his parody of Queen's 'Another One Bites the Dust'. Click here to watch the video.

The Most Amazing Tetris Player

This guy has to be the most amazing Tetris player I have ever seen, or he has some type of system. If he has figured out a pattern that the game follows that would partially explain his speed. Although, its still an interesting video to watch.

Japan says NoPoPo, please pee pee

The Boy Genius Report: "This has to be one of the strangest pieces of technology to come out of Japan in a while, which is quite a statement given their predilection towards bizarre inventions. These new batteries, somewhat aptly named NoPoPo, look tame enough, until you peer just a little bit closer. When the charge runs out, owners are encouraged to urinate on the batteries to juice ‘em up."

I would hate recharging these batteries. I certainly hope this is not a joke.

Iron Man (Trailers)

The new Iron Man movie trailer is now available. It's scheduled to be released 05/02/08. The movie stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Samuel L. Jackson and Hilary Swank.

Eudora E-mail Program Reborn as Open Source - News and Analysis by PC Magazine

PC Magazine reports: "Eudora, a pioneering e-mail program named after author Eudora Welty, is rising from a technical grave as an open source program after owner Qualcomm Inc quit selling the product in May. ... Eudora routinely got strong reviews from computer magazines and had a loyal user base, but commercially it was overshadowed by software that Microsoft Corp included with new personal computers, International Business Machine's Lotus software and Web e-mail programs."

If you're a Eudora user, and you love the program this is good news for you.

Firefox 3: A look at its new security features | IT Security | TechRepublic.com

TechRepublic.com reports: "Mozilla Firefox is one of the most popular Web browsers around today. But what does the Mozilla team have in store for us along security lines? To find out, let’s take a look at the pre-release version of Firefox 3"

This update is very evolutionary and not revolutionary...

Internet People! - The Meth Minute 39

Very funny. See how many references you recognize.

Cheap GPS Cell Phones

PC Magazine reports: "Dedicated navigation systems can be pricey, but these GPS-capable phones can help you stay on track for less than $100."

Its amazing what you can do with a cellphone these days. So here is one more trick, that you can teach your phone.

How to be the Perfect Girlfriend

There are a lot of truths about males in this video. The same people who created this video have to produce one for men about women. The only problem is that we (males) might not have a long enough attention span to watch it. ;-)

The Simpsons Intro (Star Wars Version)

This is the introduction to The Simpsons TV show with a Star Wars twist. An original cartoon parody by animator Rich Cando.

Googlephone on the Way?

Google Watch reports: "A few weeks ago, rumors of a Google browser captured the public's imagination, but that's a rumor that's been going around for a few years. The latest rekindled rumor, propagated yesterday in a blog post by Engadget's Ryan Block, is that Google is inching ever so closely to announcing the alleged Googlephone."

This product will be interesting to see (if it's real)...

Front Fell Off

IMHO: I don't know the background story, but I think this was real. Its still very funny...

Job Interview Brainteasers

CNN Money reports: "Dream of landing a coding job at an A-list tech company? It might be a good idea to prep for your interviews by pondering how many golf balls can fit inside a school bus. Or how much you would charge for washing all the windows in Seattle. Or why, exactly, manhole covers are round and not, say, square."

The first rule to solving these brain teasers is don't be afraid to ask lots of questions (in fact most of the time the interviewers want you to ask questions). Second rule is sometimes the answers is just obvious, and other times they can be very vague.

Clark, the Canadian Hockey Goalie

A 3-time MVP of the Saskatchewan Moose Lodge Hockey League (SMLHL), Clark wanted to try something new for the off-season.

Speed Racer the Movie (2008)

For all those who grew up watching the cartoon Speed Racer, I just found out today that they're creating a live action movie that will be release in 2008. I can hardly wait to watch the trailer when it becomes available. The movie is also being shot using a new type of 'revolutionary camera' that is suppose to keep the foreground and background in focus at the same and make it look more like a cartoon.

Below is excerpt from the plot summary on IMDB: "Hurtling down the track, careening around, over and through the competition, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a natural behind the wheel. Born to race cars, Speed is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized-the legendary Rex Racer-whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill. Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), the designer of Speed's thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company's maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret-some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. ..." You can read the rest at the IMDB site.