Noticias de Blogs Asociados

December 29, 2007

SlashDot : Adobe Quietly Monitoring Software Use? henrypijames writes "For months, users of Adobe Creative Suite 3 have been wondering why some of the applications regularly connect to what looks like a private IP address but is actually a public domain address belonging to the web analytics company Omniture. Now allegations of user spying are getting louder, prompting Adobe Photoshop product manager John Nack to respond, though many remain unsatisfied with his explanation." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 09:39 PM

Engadget.com : German receives prototype Pleo, hacked up box Filed under: Robots After waiting for what seems like ages, we can imagine just how excited one would be to finally receive that beautiful brown shipping container with their very own Pleo tucked within. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on perspective) for one particular German, an unspecified retailer sent out what appears to be a prototype dino, complete with a pieced together box that once held a fax machine. Interestingly, it seems the lucky recipient is rather perturbed by the incident, but being the optimistic crew that we are, we'd actually hang on to this thing for bragging rights or discover its true value courtesy of eBay. Hit the read link for a few more shots. [Thanks, Jared C.]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 09:07 PM

Engadget.com : Reminder: win two round trip tickets on JetBlue + noise canceling headphones Filed under: Announcements, Transportation It's still not too late to win a pair of round trip tickets to any JetBlue destination, plus that pair of noise canceling headphones. You've got until New Years day to enter, but know we wouldn't trust ourselves with such a valuable task on that particular day, so just hit up the read link now for the contest rules and enter while you're still in possession of all your faculties.   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 09:06 PM

SlashDot : Linux And Unix Devices Popular On Amazon's 'Best of '07' List christian.einfeldt writes "Computers and handheld devices running default GNU Linux or Unix OSes have swept Amazon's 'best of' list for 2007, according BusinessWire.com for 28 December 2007. Best selling computer? The Nokia Internet Tablet PC, running Linux. Best reviewed computer? The Apple MacBook Pro notebook PC. Most wished for computer? Asus Eee 4G-Galaxy 7-inch PC mobile Internet device, which comes with Xandros Linux pre-installed. And last, but not least, the most frequently gifted computer: The Apple MacBook notebook PC." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 08:41 PM

Engadget.com : Nintendo's DS overtakes PlayStation 2 in lifetime Japanese sales Filed under: Gaming We already knew Nintendo's DS was quite the popular handheld, and while the PSP recently overtook it in Japanese hardware sales, the most recent numbers show that the Big N's famed DS has actually rocketed above the mighty PlayStation 2 in lifetime sales (in Japan). Notably, the numbers do combine DS and DS Lite units, but there's no mention of how the systems stack up worldwide. Nevertheless, the feat is a fairly impressive one when you consider how much longer the PS2 has been available compared to the DS, and unless Sony somehow lightens the PS2 load even further and starts bundling them in with cereals, we doubt it will reclaim the top spot anytime soon. [Via DSFanboy, thanks J]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 08:32 PM

Engadget.com : Slew of Penryn laptops shown off from Acer, Sony and Fujitsu-Siemens Filed under: Laptops We already saw the Amilo Xi 2550 from Fujitsu-Siemens, but if you thought that was the only mobile Penryn-based lappie you'd see prior to January 6th, you've got another a few more things coming. Spotted over at Notebook Italia, we've got five new Acer Aspires (2920, 4920, 5920, 7720 and 9920), a pair of new Acer Travelmates (6492 and 6592G), a couple of Fujitsu-Siemens (the aforementioned Amilo Pi Amilo Xi 2550 and the 2428) and four new Sony VAIOs (FZ31, SZ71, CR31 and AR61) -- all of which will be housing that Penryn goodness when they launch. As you can imagine, there's far too many specs between the 13 new machines to cover in this space, but feel free to tag the links below for all the details on each. Read - Fujitsu-Siemens Read - Acer Aspires Read - Acer Travelmates Read - Sony VAIOs   Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 08:05 PM

wired - tech news : Extreme Weather Is the Norm in 2007 Oddball weather is the norm in 2007. As the year draws to a close, it's shaping up to be the hottest year on record in the Northern Hemisphere. Most alarming to climate scientists, the Arctic, which serves as the world's refrigerator, dramatically warmed in 2007, shattering records for the amount of melting ice.

December 29, 2007 07:45 PM

wired - top news : Extreme Weather Is the Norm in 2007 Oddball weather is the norm in 2007. As the year draws to a close, it's shaping up to be the hottest year on record in the Northern Hemisphere. Most alarming to climate scientists, the Arctic, which serves as the world's refrigerator, dramatically warmed in 2007, shattering records for the amount of melting ice.

December 29, 2007 07:45 PM

SlashDot : Communities of Mutants Form as DNA Testing Grows GeneRegulator writes "The NY Times is running a story on communities that are forming around kids with rare genetic mutations. New technology that can scan chromosomes for small errors is being applied first to children with autism and other 'unexplained developmental delays.' It turns out that many of them have small deletions or duplications of DNA. Meanwhile, hundreds of little groups are forming around the banner of their children's shared mutations. As new research shows that many of us have small deletions and duplications of DNA that separate us from our parents, and that many of these "copy number variants" contribute to skills and senses, the families described in the story may presage the formation of all sorts of 'communities of the genetically rare' in the general population, not just amongst the developmentally delayed." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 07:31 PM

wired - top news : Ancient Baby Mammoth Lands in Japan The frozen carcass of a 37,000-year-old baby mammoth unearthed this summer in Siberia arrives in Japan for tests that researchers hope will shed new light on the internal structure of the ancient beasts.

December 29, 2007 07:30 PM

wired - tech news : Ancient Baby Mammoth Lands in Japan The frozen carcass of a 37,000-year-old baby mammoth unearthed this summer in Siberia arrives in Japan for tests that researchers hope will shed new light on the internal structure of the ancient beasts.

December 29, 2007 07:30 PM

News.com : New security rules for batteries on planes You might want to pack carefully for your next flight. Rules that take effect January 1 ban travelers from carrying loose lithium batteries in checked baggage.

December 29, 2007 07:24 PM

Engadget.com : Robotic artist does portraits, hoping to get into nudes Filed under: Robots A totally ingenious robotics researcher named Sylvain Calinon has created what might be the perfect storm of art and science -- a robot that can recognize and then draw portraits of human subjects. The bot, named HOAP-3, is able to distinguish a human face, take a still frame of that image, and then create a drawing by (robotic) hand based on what it sees. The demonstration is a part of designer Calinon's research into creating robots which can learn through imitation, or in scenarios where they must react to humans. Unfortunately for us fleshpiles, it's only a matter of time before this thing starts doing hilarious caricatures accentuating our worst features. Watch the robot work in the amazing video after the break, and check the read link for a lot more information on the HOAP-3 project. [Via technabob] Continue reading Robotic artist does portraits, hoping to get into nudes   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 07:02 PM

osdir : Netscape Navigator Project Dies Feb 1 2008 From the A Good Death dept.: Netscape Navigator, now owned by AOL, will no longer be supported after 1 February 2008, the company has said. In the mid-1990s the browser was used by more than 90% of the web population, but numbers have slipped to just 0.6%.

December 29, 2007 07:00 PM

wired - top news : Ivy League Universities Open Courses to All Online An MIT initiative called "OpenCourseWare" makes virtually all the school's courses available online for free, and more than 100 universities worldwide, including Johns Hopkins, Tufts and Notre Dame, are joining MIT in a consortium of schools promoting their own open courseware.

December 29, 2007 07:00 PM

wired - culture news : Ivy League Universities Open Courses to All Online An MIT initiative called "OpenCourseWare" makes virtually all the school's courses available online for free, and more than 100 universities worldwide, including Johns Hopkins, Tufts and Notre Dame, are joining MIT in a consortium of schools promoting their own open courseware.

December 29, 2007 07:00 PM

wired - tech news : Ivy League Universities Open Courses to All Online An MIT initiative called "OpenCourseWare" makes virtually all the school's courses available online for free, and more than 100 universities worldwide, including Johns Hopkins, Tufts and Notre Dame, are joining MIT in a consortium of schools promoting their own open courseware.

December 29, 2007 07:00 PM

SlashDot : Trekkie Sues Christie's for Fradulent Props Token_Internet_Girl passed us a link to an MSNBC article on a very disappointed Star Trek fan. Mr. Moustakis of NJ bought a poker visor he thought was worn by Data in Next Generation at a Christie's auction for some $6,000. When he brought it to a convention to have it signed, actor Brent Spiner explained that he'd already sold the well-known visor in a personal sale; like Senator Vreenak, Moustakis had been given a fake. "Christie's spokesman Rik Pike stood behind the authenticity of the auction and said the disgruntled buyer's case had no merit. The lawsuit, filed in state court in Manhattan, demands millions of dollars in punitive damages and a refund for the visor and two other items Moustakis bought at the 2006 auction." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 06:30 PM

Engadget.com : Images of Pentax's K200D DSLR surface? Filed under: Digital Cameras Just over a month ago, we got word that Pentax could be readying a pair of new DSLRs, and now it seems that we've been blessed with a plethora of shots of the K200D. 'Course, we suppose they could be doctored, but we just don't believe someone would spend that much time working up Pentax fakes, ya know? Regardless, feel free to hit the read link and check out what's probably the outfit's next shooter -- or some mighty fine 'shops, worst case scenario. [Via Photography Bay]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 06:05 PM

SlashDot : Writers Guild Members Look to Internet Distribution stevedcc writes "The Guardian is running an article about members of the Writer's Guild, still on strike, creating their own ventures to deliver content over the internet. The intention is to get their work to consumers while bypassing the movie studios. Their effort will include actors and directors, and it is not the first step they have taken to expand their interests during the strike. One particular project is said to include A-list talent, and will be released in roughly 50 daily segments before going to DVD. This is also relevant to the strike because, as the article states, 'at the core of the current dispute is the question of how to reimburse writers for work that is distributed on the internet.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 05:24 PM

Engadget.com : Venturer SHD7001 goes on sale in UK for 170 pounds Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment Right on cue, the Venturer SHD7001 HD DVD player has gone on sale via QVC UK, and while all the specs look exactly as we predicted they would, the price is a hair lower than we expected. Pegged at £169.92 ($338) -- or available for two easy payments of £84.96 -- this 1080i player comes packaged with Troy and Hulk, an HDMI cable and eligibility for five other free flicks. Notably, this is QVC's "Special Value" of the day, so there's a good chance that the price will increase after the unit's first 24 hours on sale, but at least those interested in a cheap HD DVD player (and located across the pond) can snap it up now and save a few pounds over the alternatives. [Via RegHardware]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 05:17 PM

Engadget.com : VidaBox's 10.4-inch vPad controls your home Filed under: Home Entertainment This one's been around the block for a bit, but it's just now managed to sneak up on us. The VidaBox vPad comes from the same firm offering up those swank CableCARD-equipped HTPCs, and this home controller shares that very same pizazz. The 10.4-inch tablet rocks a 1,024 x 768 resolution panel, integrated 802.11b WiFi, a built-in speaker and a rechargeable Li-ion good for around 2.5 hours. As expected, this unit enables owners to control multi-room audio, climate zones, security cameras, garage doors and WiFi-enabled toasters, we presume. 'Course, you'll need Mirage software for VidaBox control or your own home automation hardware to really take advantage of the vPad, and unfortunately, we've no pricing / release details to share just yet. [Thanks, JoeyChina]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 05:07 PM

SlashDot : Necessity of Dark Energy Questioned ttnuagmada points us to an article about scientist David Wiltshire's suggestion that theorized dark energy is not needed to describe the expansion of the universe. His work challenges assumptions made about the distribution of matter in the universe. Early solutions to general relativity were based on a "smooth distribution" of matter. Wiltshire's approach focuses on a "lumpy" dispersal, which more accurately fits data from modern studies. We have discussed other theories about dark energy in the past. Quoting: "Through observational projects like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the 2 Degree Field survey, we now have a much better picture of the large-scale structure of the universe and we know that galaxies are not uniformly distributed. 'Rather, they are in clusters sprinkled thinly in filaments and "bubble walls" surrounding huge voids hundreds of millions of light-years across,' Wiltshire says. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 04:21 PM

Engadget.com : Half of US households own a digital television Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment We already learned that some 28-percent of US households were rocking at least one HDTV back in March, but now the Consumer Electronics Association has come forward with new figures showing that over half of American abodes are home to a digital television. According to revamped CEA projections, around 32 million DTV units will ship out next year, with 79-percent of those being HD sets. 'Course, the downside of this is that a good chunk of America still isn't prepared for the DTV cutover in 2009, but thanks to all the advertising that will likely be taking place over the next year and change, we'd say they've got plenty of time to get on board.   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 04:09 PM

SlashDot : Jack Thompson Claiming Games Industry in Collusion with DoD mytrip brings us a Wired blog about Jack Thompson's recent press release, which claims an "unholy alliance" exists between the gaming industry and the U.S. Department of Defense. Game Politics also has a discussion of Thompson's main points. From Wired: "Jim Blank, the head of the modeling and simulation division of the U.S. Joint Forces Command, says that commercial games don't meet the demand of the military, adding, 'first-person shooter games really don't apply in this environment.' Blank's point is that game-like simulations are a valuable tool for training soldiers in situations that would be too expensive to simulate in reality." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 03:19 PM

Engadget.com : SNES CD development controller on eBay for a mint Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals Ah, eBay. Home to some of the rarest, most incredible devices known (and previously unknown) to man. On the docket today is a stupendously rare, unreleased development controller for use with the SNES CD dev kit. Yep, a unreleased controller for an unreleased system -- pretty much a collector's dream. Unfortunately, the controller alone won't do you very much good beyond hooking you up with unbelievable bragging rights, but unless you've got $2,999.99 (at least) to blow, the above picture is close as you'll get to this treasure. [Via NintendoWiiFanboy]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 03:03 PM

SlashDot : Solar Tree Bears Fruit Hugh Pickens writes "A prototype solar tree that recently went on display on a busy street in Vienna, Austria has passed a key test by providing light during the night-time even when the sun had been blocked by clouds for four days in a row. The branches of the solar tree were decorated with 10 solar lamps, each one powered by 36 solar cells. The tree included rechargeable batteries and electronic systems to measure the amount of light in the atmosphere and trigger the solar lamps to go on. 'Not just trees but other objects could be decorated with solar cells and so keep streets well lit at night time,' said Christina Werner from Cultural Project Management. Google uses a similar concept to light their parking lots with 3,000 solar panels that provide up to 10 percent of the Googleplex's power demand. We discussed Google's solar initiative last year." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 02:22 PM

Engadget.com : USB flash drive payment system hits South Korea Filed under: Misc. Gadgets We've definitely seen some outlandish attempts at improving or outright replacing the humble credit card, but South Koreans will soon be able pay for purchases using the most easy-to-lose system we've seen yet -- by inserting a special USB flash drive into a slot. The system, which is being rolled out by Shinhan Card and VIsa, also lets users pay for online purchases by sticking the drive into their computers' USB ports, and Shinhan is also rolling out new terminals that will enable contactless payments using the device as well. Of course, the drive itself is locked down tighter than a drum, but we still aren't convinced a bulky flash drive is a better option than phone-based or biometric payment systems. [Via The Raw Feed]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 01:56 PM

SlashDot : Florida Election Ballots to be Printed On-Demand davidwr writes "The St. Petersburg, FL, Times reports that Florida is going back to paper ballots, but with a twist. They are printing the ballots on-demand, right there at the polling booth. This isn't machine-assisted voting where a touch-screen fills in your printed ballot for you. It's just a way to save printing costs and reduce paper waste. 'Without ballot on demand, poll workers at 13 early Hillsborough voting sites would need to stockpile stacks of every possible ballot type. With ballot on demand, poll workers can print out a person's distinct ballot type when he or she arrives to vote.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 01:20 PM

Barrapunto : AOL da por finalizado el desarrollo de Netscape acortiz nos cuenta: «Leo en The Inquirer y en la BBC que AOL ha cancelado oficialmente el desarrollo de Netscape Navigator. Aunque todavía se podrán descargar versiones archivadas para nostálgicos, esto significa el punto final en la aventura de AOL para revivir a un viejo titán, el primer navegador web comercial, cuya vida en este súper cafeinado mundo TI ha alcanzado apenas 15 años.»

December 29, 2007 01:12 PM

Engadget.com : Sega Toys Brain Checker keeps you on your toes Filed under: Handhelds Though we don't believe this to be one of those "mind-controlled tech toys" Sega Toys was working on, it's pretty evident that it will give your mind a workout. From what we can tell, the Brain Checker is a standalone gizmo designed to stretch your mental muscles with a myriad puzzles, but most everything beyond that is lost in translation. We do know, however, that it can be had in Japan for around ¥5,775 ($51), but who knows if it'll make it's way to any other corners of the globe. [Via Technabob]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 12:15 PM

SlashDot : New Jersey Bars Sex Offenders From the Internet eldavojohn writes "New Jersey just passed legislation making it illegal for sex offenders to use the internet. NJ congresswoman Linda D. Greenstein said, 'When Megan's Law was enacted, few could envision a day when a sex offender hiding behind a fake screen name would be a mouse-click away from new and unwitting victims. Sex offenders cannot be given an opportunity to abuse the anonymity the Internet can provide as a means of opening a door to countless new potential victims.' While they still can search for jobs, this is a major expansion over the prior legislation which barred them from social networking sites like facebook or myspace." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 11:22 AM

Barrapunto : 50 años con Fortran Alginros nos cuenta: «Hace muchos años, cuando programar las máquinas que facilitaban el cálculo de científicos era un auténtico latazo, surgió la idea de crear un lenguaje que fuera más sencillo de comprender. De más alto nivel. Por ello,en 1954 un equipo de investigadores de IBM al frente de John Backus se lanzaron a la creación de Fortran y crearon el primer lenguaje de alto nivel. Con motivo de este 50 aniversario, he querido hacer un pequeño homenaje en mi blog que rememore este importante hecho para la computación. Supuso un antes y un después en los lenguajes de programación y por ello se merece todo nuesto respeto.» Recordemos que este año murió John Backus, su creador.

December 29, 2007 10:54 AM

Barrapunto : Publicada la LISI El Boletín Oficial del Estado publica hoy la Ley de Medidas de Impulso de la Sociedad de la Información (PDF), también conocida por LISI, que ha sido objeto de un amplio debate en la Red. La ley entrará en vigor de forma inmediata, salvo en lo relativo a: Las obligaciones de información sobre seguridad, que entrarán en vigor a los tres meses de la publicación en el BOE. La obligación de disponer de un medio de interlocución telemática para la prestación de servicios al público de especial trascendencia económica, que entrará en vigor a los doce meses. La posibilidad de sancionar con a arreglo a la LOPD determinados incumplimientos de la Ley de ordenación del comercio minorista.

December 29, 2007 10:28 AM

Engadget.com : Tata Motors' $2,500 1-Lakh car gets detailed Filed under: Transportation Remember that uber-cheap, almost entirely plastic car that India's Tata Motors was working up? Turns out, the still codenamed 1-Lakh automobile is expected to launch in mid-2008 and get around 15 miles-per-liter, which should give the Maruti 800 some serious competition in the budget car arena. According to R. A. Mashelkar, a nonexecutive director on Tata Motors' board, it should provide ample room in "both the front and rear" for a six-foot individual, and he also noted that a "new kind of welding" would be used instead of bolts in a variety of locations on the motorcar. Still, there's just something about the idea of riding in a brand new $2,500 vehicle that doesn't sit well with us -- probably something to do with the dearth of safety features, but who knows.   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 10:22 AM

SlashDot : The Death of High Fidelity Ponca City, We Love You writes "Rolling Stone has an interesting story on how record producers alter the way they mix albums to compensate for the limitations of MP3 sound. Much of the information left out during MP3 compression is at the very high and low ends, which is why some MP3s sound flat. Without enough low end, 'you don't get the punch anymore. It decreases the punch of the kick drum and how the speaker gets pushed when the guitarist plays a power chord.' The inner ear automatically compresses blasts of high volume to protect itself, so we associate compression with loudness. After a few minutes, constant loudness grows fatiguing to the brain. Though few listeners realize this consciously, many feel an urge to skip to another song." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 09:21 AM

Engadget.com : iPhone firmware 1.1.3 leaked? Filed under: Cellphones Looks like there may have been a possible leak of the next version of Apple's iPhone firmware, 1.1.3. According to Gear Live, it can now handle SMS to multiple recipients, the springboard (home screen) supports reordered icons and pagination (as well as web bookmarks), and Google maps gets hybrid view and that nifty cell-based location system. If this is all Steve plans to announce iPhone-wise at Macworld next month, we think there will be more than a few disappointed iPhone users out there. Then again, home screen pagination would kind of imply an SDK to make use of all those slots, so maybe the real news is under the hood. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 09:03 AM

Engadget.com : Netscape finally bows out, browsers no longer supported Filed under: Misc. Gadgets Although Netscape was once a mighty pioneer in the world of internet browsers, it didn't take long for Microsoft's Internet Explorer to overtake it and squash its dreams of market dominance. Granted, we highly (and we stress "highly") doubt any viewers reading this now are relying on Netscape Navigator as their primary browser, but seeing it finally bow out is a bit surreal. According to a post on the Netscape Blog, support (and subsequent updates) for it will no longer be provided by AOL (disclosure: AOL is our parent company's parent) after February 1, 2008. Sure, old versions will still be available for those who just hate to move on, but the team is suggesting that any remaining Netscape users (a show of hands, anyone?) make the leap to Firefox, and they even point you in the direction of a Netscape theme should you find yourself uncomfortable with change. Rest in peace, dear Netscape -- it's about time that last heap of dirt was finally flung. [Via BlogRunner]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 08:09 AM

SlashDot : Snortable Drug 'Replaces' Sleep For Monkeys In Trials sporkme writes "A DARPA-funded research project at UCLA has wrapped up a set of animal trials testing the effects of inhalation of the brain chemical orexin A, a deficiency of which is a characteristic of narcolepsy. Monkeys were deprived of sleep, and then given a shot of the compound. 'The study ... found orexin A not only restored monkeys' cognitive abilities but made their brains look "awake" in PET scans. Siegel said that orexin A is unique in that it only had an impact on sleepy monkeys, not alert ones, and that it is 'specific in reversing the effects of sleepiness' without other impacts on the brain.' Researchers seem cautious to bill the treatment as a replacement for sleep, as it is not clear that adjusting brain chemistry could have the same physical benefits of real sleep in the long run. The drug is aimed at replacing amphetamines used by drowsy long-haul military pilots, but there would no doubt be large demand for such a remedy thanks to its apparent lack of side-effects." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 07:43 AM

Engadget.com : Virtual doormen becoming more ubiquitous Filed under: Misc. Gadgets Amazingly enough, virtual doormen aren't exactly new, but it seems that they're becoming entirely more ubiquitous (and accepted) in today's society. Increasingly, more and more apartment dwellers are coming home to voices in the wall rather than a physical life form, but virtual doormen can still let tenants into their room, allow deliveries to be made and keep disgruntled in-laws out. As you'd expect, these firms rely primarily on an internet connection, a webcam and a couple of microphones, and while typical services can range from "$10,000 to $70,000 for installation and $6,000 to $30,000 in annual maintenance," that still beats the $250,000 or so it would purportedly take for a small building to be staffed with full-time, on-site doormen. The next evolutionary step? Androids answering the buzz, and subsequent hacks to gain entry into any room you please. [Via ChipChick]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 06:48 AM

SlashDot : Intelligent Software Agents - Are We Ready? Anti-Luddite writes In an article on the Internet Evolution site, analyst Tom Nolle discusses the potential of 'Intelligent Software Agent (ISA)' technology. He points to specific types such as 'search assistant ISAs,' which will inevitably flop before their potential is realized. He speaks favorably of the 'mobile ISA' which he says, 'involves dispatching mobile agents from one computer and delivering them to a remote computer for execution.' While hailing the potential of this new generation of agent technology, Nolle seems skeptical about our ability to prepare for and handle its emergence, particularly because of flaws in the agent research community." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 05:33 AM

Engadget.com : Crapgadget: USB donut, cube speakers, rose microphone, terrible PMPs Filed under: Misc. Gadgets The lull before the craptacular gadget storm that is CES continues this week, but nothing will ever stop our inbox from filling up with hastily-designed and poorly-implemented gadgets. That's right, it's another edition of our newest running series, Crapgadget, in which tedium is lightly battered and fried to a crisp, delicious rage. Enjoy the crap out of this, okay? We nearly gouged our eyes out in the making. Read - Strawberry Donut USB flash drive: Direct quote from the website: "everything you desire in the ear of customized flash storage solutions." Yep, anyone who pays $50 for this thing is definitely getting something in the ear. Read - Tiny USB cube speaker: How else to annoy everyone around you, while still remaining unable to hear anything? [Via Technabob] Read - Venus JXD305 PMP: Take one part iPhone, two parts HTC, and one part miniSD-only storage and stir -- voila, not quite KIRF enough. [Via PMP Today] Read - Rose USB Microphone: Too cheap to spring for a Jawbone and real roses? Why not go for the rare combined epic fail? Read - AMV-format only PMP: Finally, a generic Chinese PMP that allows us to watch all of our AMV-format video on the go. Our dreams are now reality. [Via PMP Today]   Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 04:33 AM

Engadget.com : Returned DAP gets resold with loads of porn Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video We've seen returned / resold DAPs (among other things) ruin celebrations before, but we're inclined to say that this episode is a tad more disheartening than receiving a couple of rock-filled iPod boxes. Reportedly, an unspecified MP3 player purchased in a Tennessee Wal-Mart was wrapped and given as a Christmas present to a 10-year old daughter, but upon connecting said player to a computer, heaps of pornographic material and explicit songs were discovered. According to a Wally World spokesperson, stores aren't supposed to "return opened packages to the sales floor," but given that it already happened, the matter will purportedly be "investigated." [Via TGDaily]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 03:31 AM

SlashDot : Microsoft Deprecating Some OOXML Functionality christian.einfeldt writes "According to open standards advocate Russell Ossendryver, Microsoft will be deprecating certain functionality in its Microsoft Office Open XML specification. Ossendryver says the move is an attempt to quiet critics of the specification in the run up to the crucial February ISO vote. The Microsoft-led industry standards group formally offering OOXML confirms in a 21 December 2007 announcement that issues related to the 'leap year bug', VML, compatibility settings such as 'AutoSpaceLikeWord95' and others will be 'extracted from the main specification and relocated to an independent annex in DIS 29500 for deprecated functionality.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 03:28 AM

Engadget.com : Sony offering free PlayStation 3 with HDTV purchase Filed under: Gaming, HDTV That's right, babies. We've seen Sony play this hand in other parts of our great big world, and now the S-gang is bringing this sweet bacon on home... er, to the States. According to a promotion we've caught wind of, if you get yourself approved for the Sony Visa, then promptly purchase a Sony HDTV at the Sony Rewards store (out of a pool of models from the BRAVIA and SXRD lines), the good folks at Sony will throw a free PlayStation 3 your way. Of course, there's a few hoops you have to jump through, the deal ends on December 31st, and obviously you'll need a half-decent credit score, but if the suits approve your transaction, this is a pretty solid deal. Hit the read link for all the info -- just make sure you read the fine print. [Thanks, Stephen]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 02:28 AM

Engadget.com : Marantz announces VP-11S2 1080p DLP projector Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment Marantz is jumping back into the display pool for 2008, announcing the new VP-11S2 model 1080p DLP projector. Compared to last year's VP-11S1H, this model adds a second HDMI 1.3 input, and Texas Instrument's DarkChip4 chipset, boosting it up to 800 lumens of brightness and a 12,000:1 contrast ratio. No price was released, but considering the previous models hover in the $15,000 price range, we expect no less quality -- or cost -- from this one either.   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 02:05 AM

osdir : Debian GNU/Linux Etch 4.0 Update From the Original Ubuntu dept.: The Debian project is pleased to announce the second update of its stable distribution Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 (codename etch). This update mainly adds corrections for security problems to the stable release, along with a few adjustment to serious problems.

December 29, 2007 02:00 AM

SlashDot : RIAA-fighting Maine Law Professor Speaks Out NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In an interview with Jon Newton of p2pnet, Prof. Deirdre Smith of the University of Maine says that 'our students are enthusiastic about being directly connected to a case with a national scope and significance'. The UM Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic is the first law school legal clinic in the U.S. to have taken on the RIAA, to have the opportunity for hands-on experience fighting the RIAA's effort to rewrite copyright law. Smith went on to say that the case is probably one of the first intellectual property cases the clinic has ever taken on, and that if it proceeds further, she expects to also 'draw on the considerable expertise in IP among members of our faculty and the Maine Center for Law and Innovation, another program of the Law School'. " Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 29, 2007 01:29 AM

Engadget.com : Arizona, New York, Washington, and Vermont all pledge to beef up ID security Filed under: Misc. Gadgets It's been a while since we've heard anything about the much-hated Real ID unified RFID national identification card, but that doesn't mean the Department of Homeland Security has been sitting still: New York, Arizona, Washington, and Vermont all agreed earlier this month to beef up the security of driver's licenses to comply with DHS' new Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. WHTI is the same fun law that requires US citizens carry a passport to travel to Canada and Mexico, and while it's not clear if it requires RFID licenses for states to comply, eWeek is reporting that both New York and Washington are headed towards including the tags anyway. Given the immense backlash Real ID came under for similar schemes, it'll be interesting to see how WHTI plays out -- but you can bet we're holding onto the janky laminated driver's license we got in college as long as we can. [Via Autoblog]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 29, 2007 01:02 AM

Barrapunto : China bloquea la entrada de películas estadounidenses Dicen en el Variety del 5 de diciembre que China está bloqueando deliberadamente la entrada de películas de Hollywood por razones diplomáticas y económicas hasta después del Año Nuevo chino en febrero o incluso mayo. China mantiene una cuota para la importación de 20 películas extranjeras. En el lucrativo mes de diciembre la China Films Group Corporation suele evitar que haya competencia para el producto nacional, pero parece que esto es más serio. Es difícil saber qué pasa exactamente porque no es necesario que el bloqueo sea publicado formalmente para que exista y puede levantarse súbitamente. Variety especula que la causa puede ser ofensas diplomáticas percibidas por los chinos o la presión de los estudios contra la piratería en China. Puede que el bloqueo se levante cuando las ediciones piratas hayan quitado espectadores o cuando la gente esté distraída con los juegos olímpicos de Pekín.

December 29, 2007 12:02 AM

December 28, 2007

Engadget.com : New Tesla CEO takes it upon himself to explain Roadster delays Filed under: Transportation We've already had a pretty good idea of the reasons for delays with Tesla Motors' all-electric Roadster vehicle, but it looks like the company's new CEO, Ze'ev Drori, is now trying to set the record straight himself, with him recently posting a fairly lengthy letter addressing the matter on the company's blog. That letter is apparently the very same one that was sent to buyers of the car earlier this month and, as you might have guessed if you've been following this thing as closely as we have, it pegs most of the blame on the car's transmission troubles. As we previously reported, that has forced Tesla to ship the roadster with a temporary transmission, which is apparently slower than the final version, but assuredly safe. Drori also confirms that the company will begin full production of the vehicle in the spring of 2008, and that while they plan to ramp up production throughout the year, he admits that some of the initial run of cars won't be in the hands of customers until early 2009. Among other things, he also attempted to clarify some of the confusion over those initial EPA range targets,saying that the lab that conducted the tests "made a small error in the testing procedure," resulting in an overstated range figure. According to Drori, the revised figures now stand at 221 miles per charge, although he says the real world figures are actually as high as 267 miles per charge in "slow city driving," or 165 miles in aggressive highway driving. Those looking for more details can get the full explanation from the man himself by hitting up the read link below. [Via CNET News.com]   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 28, 2007 11:59 PM

SlashDot : Apple Stores Demonstrate That Retail Still Lives WheezyJoe writes "Maybe OS X Leopard has its problems, but the New York Times seems to think Apple has designed the ideal techie retail store. A policy that encourages lingering, with dozens of fully functioning computers, iPods and iPhones for visitors to try, even for hours on end (one patron wrote a manuscript entirely at the store) has 'given some stores, especially those in urban neighborhoods, the feel of a community center ... Meanwhile, the Sony flagship store on West 56th Street, a few blocks from Apple's Fifth Avenue store, has the hush of a mausoleum. And being inside the long and narrow blue-toned Nokia store on 57th Street feels a bit like being inside an aquarium. The high-end Samsung Experience showroom, its nuevo tech music on full blast one recent morning, was nearly empty.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 28, 2007 11:41 PM

Engadget.com : How would you change the OLPC XO? Filed under: Features, Laptops Don't adjust your screens folks, as this actually isn't a year-end case of déjà vu. Rather, we're looking to give you an(other) imaginary shot at tweaking the OLPC XO now that it has moved beyond the initiative phase and been productized for the general consumer. In case you've been parked squarely under a rock for the last few months, you should know that the XO's journey through production has been quite a lengthy one, and while a few countries have made substantial bulk purchases to inject these machines into their respective school systems, we're interested in seeing how the average joe / jane located in a developed nation sees things. Needless to say, One Laptop Per Child's "Give One, Get One" program has been quite the success, and by now, we're confident that some of you have already received your own. 'Course, we're sure there's at least a few of you that chose this over that other low-cost laptop (and many that chose it over this), and we're curious to know how you'd improve the newly commercialized XO now that it actually has a rival. Yeah, we too would love an even skimpier price tag, but beyond that, what hardware / software changes would you like to see on the next version? Could you stand to have a few more megabytes of RAM? Still yearning for dual-boot capability out of the box? How's about a design scheme that doesn't involve opaque white and bright green? As stated, we're well aware that these things weren't designed with LAN partiers in mind, but now that NickNeg is offering 'em up to these very citizens -- not to mention every other type of user in North America -- why not toss out a few suggestions for making it more suitable for you?   Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 28, 2007 11:30 PM

Engadget.com : WiBrain's B1 UMPC hits the FCC, every branch on the ugly tree Filed under: Handhelds We're not sure what else there is to know about the WiBrain B1 UMPC -- we've seen it hands-on, unboxed, and even slightly redesigned -- but true gadget pr0n connoisseurs crave only the sweet nectar of FCC reports, and it looks like today is your special Friday. Yep, there it is, and there's not much of the way in details we didn't already have -- except now you can tear up over both the beautifully ugly lines of this thing and the massively boring RF test results.   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 28, 2007 11:17 PM

Engadget.com : Kodak and Matsushita settle patent dispute Filed under: Digital Cameras After just a few months of legal wrangling, Kodak and Matsushita have settled their patent lawsuit, originally brought by Kodak due to Matsushita's alleged infringement of a number of digital camera-related patents. The two companies have agreed to cross-license each other's patents, but it's not all sharing and cupcakes -- the agreement is "royalty-bearing to Kodak," according to documents filed with the SEC. That was fast -- guess Kodak's new strategy of aggressively enforcing its IP portfolio is working out after all.   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 28, 2007 10:48 PM

News.com : SCO Group gets the boot from Nasdaq The SCO Group shares are removed from the Nasdaq market after the company loses its appeal about the issue.

December 28, 2007 10:38 PM

SlashDot : CES Scorecard 2007 - What Came True; What Didn't narramissic writes "In the race for Consumer Electronics Show (CES) headlines, companies parade new, hot, and not-quite-ready-for-primetime products while keynote speakers rev things up with predictions for the year ahead. An ITworld article runs down the list of who stuck their necks out too far in 2007, starting with Sharp's monster 108-inch LCD. 'The set represented the biggest flat-panel TV developed -- a title it still holds today -- and came without a price but with the promise of availability during 2007. But wealthy consumers are still waiting. Sharp said recently that it is still working on plans for a commercial launch for the TV set.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

December 28, 2007 10:33 PM

Engadget.com : Xbox Live: still experiencing technical difficulties Filed under: Gaming We're starting to think Xbox Live's holiday strategy was modeled after Newtonian physics: what goes up must come down. Although the Live support site shows the service as being "up and running", apparently users are still experiencing intermittent issues, sometimes more dramatic than those officially listed. We don't know about you, but even though only some of us on we were able to get on, even they have been seeing a lot of stalling and freezing -- and the unlucky ones are just completely shut out of Live. How are things going out there? Any XBL issues of which to speak? P.S. -Microsoft, congrats on the great holiday season. You obviously sold a TON of Xbox 360s and Live service contracts. Now be a doll. Give everyone a week (or, say, a month) of free Live service for the ugliness over vacation, ok? These people paid for their service when the other guys offer it up for free. Read - Live support site: still having problems Read - Our post about problems from last weekend Read - Our other post about outages on Christmas day Update: Our broham Major Nelson says the Live engineers have identified a fix for the issues and things are on their way to being back on the up and up. Hopefully this time for good!   Permalink | Email this | Comments

December 28, 2007 10:31 PM

wired - tech news : Netscape Browser to Die a Quiet Death in February 2008 The original browser from the earliest days of the web will cease to be in February, AOL says. After playing second fiddle to Microsoft and being eclipsed by its offspring Firefox, the Netscape browser will be killed off by parent company AOL, which purchased the brand in 1999.

December 28, 2007 10:30 PM

wired - top news : Netscape Browser to Die a Quiet Death in February 2008 The original browser from the earliest days of the web will cease to be in February, AOL says. After playing second fiddle to Microsoft and being eclipsed by its offspring Firefox, the Netscape browser will be killed off by parent company AOL, which purchased the brand in 1999.

December 28, 2007 10:30 PM

Engadget.com : More info on Fusion's ioDrive, the PCIe card with massive flash storage Filed under: Storage You may remember the lovable yet rascally ioDrive PCIe card from Fusion which we told you about back in the sun-drenched, salad days of September. Well, we've gotten a few more details on the "SAN in the palm of your hand," and we thought we'd share. As you'll recall, the card is meant to deliver very high, sustained read / write speeds, allowing the ioDrive to perform "nearly a thousand times faster than any existing disk drive." Well, the good folks at Fusion have now given the system a price -- the card starts at $2,400 -- and offered up some fresh info, like that the ioDrive is NAND flash-based, will support multiple terabytes of virtual memory, and has access rates on par with DRAM. Which is real fast. Hit the link for a lot more info, and don't be afraid to peruse the company's .pdf data sheet.   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments