Government: Tasers Are Totally Safe! (Unless You’re Drunk, Crazy, or Stressed Out)

Bad news for anyone who might be thinking about committing a crime anytime soon: the National Institute of Justice, a division of the Department of Justice, just put out a report saying tasering is A-OK. With a few important caveats.

The study found that "There is no conclusive medical evidence in the current body of research literature that indicates a high risk of serious injury or death to humans from the direct or indirect cardiovascular or metabolic effects of short-term CED exposure in healthy, normal, nonstressed, nonintoxicated persons." That's great! So incapacitating most people via shock is a great police tool.

But a quick thought: aren't a large number of criminals intoxicated, stressed, or mentally ill? This is the exact group that was found to be an exception to the it's all good study. Which is troubling. Drunk, disturbed, and strung-out people tend to be the ones who need to be tasered the most. And just because they're drunk, disturbed, or strung-out doesn't mean they should be at an increased chance of dying. 

  

 

Mad Catz' Exclusive Xbox 360 Wireless Headphones With Integrated Voice Chat, 5.8GHz Base Station

According to IGN, the new Mad Catz Warhead 7.1 will get everything it needs from a base station connected to your console. String USB and optical cables directly from the Xbox 360 to that tiny tower above, and you'll reportedly get enough 5.8GHz bandwidth to deliver virtual Dolby surround sound to four pairs of headphones at once -- plus wireless Xbox LIVE audio chat thanks to some native support from Microsoft. What's more, the USB base station will also give you an on-screen battery readout, and if the Warhead runs out of juice, you'll find a second swappable battery pack sitting in the base station's charger. 

If that sounds too rich for your blood, the Devastator will ditch the surround sound and rechargeable batteries while retaining the same connectivity and 50mm drivers of its premium brother. How much that'll cost you is still to be determined, though Mad Catz told IGN they'll all ring up under $300.

 

 

Froyo Is Still Leading the Android Race, But Gingerbread’s Gaining

Hey, look at that—Gingerbread is gaining in popularity after more phones are either shipping with it, or receiving the OTA update. From 3 per cent last monthto 8.1 per cent now, a Cupcake is weeping somewhere.

Fujitsu Fingerprint/Palm Reader Does Large-Scale Biometric Identification, Won't Tell Fortunes

So it can't predict the future, but the latest biometric reader from Fujitsu can tell that you're one in a million -- quite literally. Looking something to the love child of Simon and a Polaroid camera, this as-of-yet unnamed device is apparently the "world's first biometric authentication technology that combines data on palm vein patterns with fingerprint data from three fingers." 

That's a mouthful, but Fujitsu says the combination of these two biometric authentication techniques allows for accurate identification of an individual in a pool of one million in just two seconds. What's more, it expects to up that capacity to groups of ten million by the end of 2011. For professional evildoers rocking three fingers and a palm, maybe now's a good time to start rethinking your career path.

 

 

An External Battery for Your iPhone that Doesn’t Quite Look Stupid

If you want extra juice for your iPhone, there aren't that many options out there that don't look rather goofy. They're bulky, corded, or just plain ugly. But the PhoneSuit battery is a nice cange—only 17 mm thick.

The PhoneSuit Elite claims it'll double your iPhone 4's life with its 2100mah lithium-ion polymer, and charges to the top in less than two hours. Not too bad, if true! Still, any phone purist will scoff at the notion of adding any extra flesh to their cell.

 

 

Microsoft Sells 55 Million Xbox 360 Consoles

If you work for Sony you might want go watch TV right now -- there's something on Discovery about ostriches and sand. Meanwhile, Microsoft just said that they sold 55 million Xbox 360s globally, which is very probably enough to maintain its lead over the PS3.

 Moreover, 360 sales in the US are still accelerating six years into its life-cycle, thanks largely to updates like Kinect -- and Microsoft boasts that "no other console in history can make that claim." What's more, neither the Wii nor the PS3 has yet reached its sixth birthday, so the story isn't over. 

 

 

New Apple Camera Patent

Apple is always filing patents for strange and fantastic things that never seem to find their way into actual products. But an application published today details some interesting tech that we could actually see getting jammed into a future iPhone (for better or worse). By pairing an infrared sensor with the camera already on board, portable devices could receive data from transmitters placed, well, wherever. Beyond simply blasting out text and opening links like a glorified QR code, transmitters could disable certain features, such as the camera, to prevent recording at movie theaters and music venues.

If completely shutting off the cam seems a bit heavy-handed, watermarks can also be applied to photos identifying businesses or copyrighted content. Some potential uses are a little less Big Brother, like museums beaming information about exhibits to a user's or launching an audio tour. Obviously third parties would have to get behind the IR push and there's no guarantee that Apple will put this in a future iProduct. 

Crux Loaded Case Almost Turns Your iPad Into a Laptop for $250

Plenty of people are happy using the iPad as Apple intended -- as a tablet -- but some of you have been searching for a way to add a sleek keyboard and trackpad to the device since day one. The Crux Loaded clamshell case brings both input devices to the mix, and even packs an external battery within its base, adding 7.5 hours of juice. Sound good? Unfortunately, you'll need to wait until fall to shell out a whopping $249 for the case.

You'll also need to hand over $30 for a remote desktop app if you plan to use the combo to control your computer (no, Crux hasn't found a way to run OS X natively on the iPad, as the image above might imply). With its netbook-like price, however, we'd rather keep our wallets Loaded than pay $249 for a case -- but if you've been dying for a way to make your tablet slightly more functional, you may be in luck later this year.

 

 

Texas Instruments Announces Multi-core, 1.8GHz OMAP4470 ARM Processor for Windows 8

The company has just announced a new addition to its OMAP 4 family of ARM SoCs, with the 1.8GHz OMAP4470. TI's new chip is powered by a pair of 1.0GHz ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore engines, as well as two, 266MHz ARM Cortex-M3 cores that handle multimedia duties. According to the company, this multi-core structure will enable faster web browsing and more frugal power usage, while putting the OMAP4470 in square competition with quad-core chips like NVIDIA's Kal-El and Intel's latest Sandy Bridge line.

The SoC was designed for tablets, netbooks and smartphones running Android, Linux, or the next version of Windows, and can support a max QXGA resolution of 2048 x 1536, and up to three HD displays. There's also a single-core PowerVR SGX544 GPU capable of running Direct X 9, OpenGL ES 2.0, OpenVG 1.1, and OpenCL 1.1. T

 

 

Microsoft Unveils Windows 8

Reportedly, there'll be two kinds of applications for Windows 8, one that runs in a traditional desktop, and the other pseudo-mobile apps based on HTML5 and Javascript, but both environments -- rather, the entire OS -- has apparently been designed from the ground up for touchscreen use, though keyboard and mouse are also options for both sets of programs.  "Windows 8" is just a codename for what we're seeing here.

 

 

Turtle Beach Announces PX3 and Z6A Gaming Headsets

The Xbox-friendly, surround sound Z6A rocks eight amplified speakers (including two subwoofers) and is juiced by a 5.1 channel amp that promises to bathe your head with booming bass. The USB-powered device may leave you tethered to your console, but at least it will house your ears in an oversized mesh cushion, which may make those late-night gaming marathons a little more bearable. The PX3 will retail for about $150, with the Z6A set at around $100.

 

 

Printed Keys for Any Lock

Apple software engineer Nirav Patel wanted to create something useful with his 3D printer, so he designed a system that generates any key from any lock from any manufacturer using just the lock code.
Using a specialized CAD program and the manufacturers' various pin depth specifications, he was able to generate functioning keys for the two most common American cylinder types, the Kwikset KW1 and the Schlage SC1.

To make a key, Patel first fashions an appropriate-sized blank, then generates a model of the key in a specialized CAD program using the manufacturer's lock code to determine the correct bitting and then hits Print.

 

 

Toshiba Announces Oak Trail-based WT310/C Windows Tablet for Japan

The company has just officially announced its new Oak Trail-based WT310/C tablet for the country, which packs an 11.6-inch 1,366 x 768 display and runs Windows 7 Professional. 

In addition to that Atom Z670 processor, you can expect to get 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, an SD card slot for expansion, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera and a 3 megapixel 'round back, and an optional cradle that adds some extra ports. No word on a price, but this one should be available in Japan sometime next month.

 

 

SanDisk Outs Faster U100 And i100 SSDs for Ultra-Portables and Tablets

SanDisk has been pumping out press releases all day. The biggest news is the U100 range of tiny SSDs for ultraportables, which crank data in and out at twice the speed of SanDisk's previous generation P4 drives. We're talking 450MB/s reads and 340MB/s writes thanks to the latest SATA III interface, plus a max capacity of 256GB -- specs which have already enticed ASUS to use the U100 in its lightweight UX-series notebooks. Mass production is expected in Q3 of this year.

Meanwhile, SanDisk hasn't forgotten about our desperate need for faster tablets. The company has doubled the speed of its existing iNAND embedded flash modules, and is also releasing a brand new SATA III drive, the i100, specifically for this form factor. The i100 maxes out at 128GB and achieves a significantly slower write speed (160MB/s) than the U100, but it has same impressive read speed (450MB/s) -- which should mean nippier tablets in the not-too-distant future.

 

 

Caffeine-Eating Bacteria May Fix Your Broken Heart

Everyone loves a good cup of joe, including our friendly neighborhood bacteria Pseudomonas putida CBB5. This microbe can consume caffeine with the best of us, a talent that could help heart arrhythmia and asthma patients.

This caffeine fiend takes a molecule of the stimulant and uses an enzyme to break it down into carbon dioxide and ammonia. A team of researchers from University of Iowa isolated the gene responsible for this caffeine-digesting protein and have cloned it into E.Coli.

Now that it's in E. Coli, this enzyme can be produced mass produced for pharmaceuticals or other industries. It could be used in medicines to increase blood flow, treat heart arrhythmia, or help patients with asthma. It could also be used by coffee manufacturers to clean up excess caffeine left over from the decaffeination process. All this from an itty bitty microbe found in a flowerbed.

 

 

LG V300 Does Multitouch, 3D, All-In-One

With the high-end configuration you'll get a second generation Intel Core i7 processor, AMD Radeon HD 6650M graphics, a 750GB hard drive, 8GB of RAM, and a Blu-ray player all packed inside the system's slender 1.8-inch thick frame. The V300's multitouch 23-inch Film-type Patterned Retarder (FPR)-enabled display offers up 3D with the aid of polarized glasses. 

The AIW is set for a Korean launch in July, followed by trips to Europe, the Middle East, and other parts of Asia. No word on if or when it'll hit desks in the States, but at least you won't have to find much room on your desk when it does.

ASUS Announces The Padfone

If pads and phones are the fastest growing categories in consumer tech, surely a Padfone would be the ultimate combo? That's what ASUS thinks, and it's just introduced an Android smartphone device that comes with a tablet it can dock into. Display switching is done dynamically, so that reading emails or browsing the web on the phone portion expands itself seamlessly once it's connected into the pad. Also expanded will be battery life, with an extra cell included in the slate. The mockup ASUS is showing the world today includes a 4.3-inch smarpthone and a 10.1-inch tablet dock, but the company says it hasn't yet settled on the final dimensions of the eventual retail product. 

 

 

TomTom Working on its Own Street View-Like Service?

TomTom's already seen Google muscle in on its turf in a big way, and it looks like it might now be trying to return the favor. If camera-toting vans like the one above are any indication, it would appear that the company is currently working to bolster its navigation options with its own Street View-like service. So far, all of the van sightings seem to be confined to Europe (France and Belgium, specifically), and they of course don't necessarily confirm that TomTom is indeed working on a Street View competitor.

This is What 43,000 Galaxies Look Like On a Map

The image above is the most complete map of our local universe to date. It took more that ten years to create, has 43,000 galaxies and extends out 380 million light years from the earth. The 3D coordinates of each galaxy was recorded so the raw data could potentially be used to build a realistic 3D model of the universe. Throw in some holographic technology and you have something straight from Star Trek.

And if you're wondering where we are in all these dots? Our galaxy, the Milky Way, runs horizontally through the center of the image. 

 

 

Apple Testing A5-packing MacBook Air?

Could Apple really be considering putting its mobile-minded A5 processor in a MacBook Air? According to Japanese website, Macotakara, a trial of the ARM chip is already underway. Apple's reportedly been experimenting with a Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Air with the A5 on board, and "according to someone who has seen a model running with [Apple's] A5 processor, the performance is better than had been thought." 

Of course, this information has trickled a ways down the grapevine, and the presence of an A5-packing test vehicle doesn't mean much anyway.

 

 

Mosquitoes Bite Because of Your Smelly Feet

According to the research of one Remco Suer, mosquitoes might somehow be attracted to the bacteria in your sweat-soaked feet. That means finding a way to isolate these odors could reduce their nuisance and even slow the spread of disease.

Suer worked with the African mosquito Anopheles gambiae, one of the primary vectors for the spread malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, and tested them against the smells in his lab:

Suer tested their sense of smell in the labratory by pumping additional CO2 into a container to simulate human breath, then added a high concentration of five different foot odors and found that the mosquitoes were unable to react to the CO2 for several seconds. The sole-ful odors actually stopped mosquitoes from sensing CO2 from breathing — which could be a reason why malarial mosquitoes divert when honing in on a person and move instead to the feet at close ranges.

Did You Know Microsoft Makes Five Times More Money From Android than From Windows Phone?

According to Citi analyst Walter Pritchard's lastest big report on Microsoft, the Redmond company makes five times more income from Android than from Windows Phone. You may pick up your jaws now.

Here's how it's happening: Back in April 2010 Microsoft settled an intellectual property infringement case against HTC. In the agreement, HTC agreed to pay Ballmer and his cronies $5 per shipped Android set. Citi says that HTC has sold 30 million sets, adding $150 million of fresh greens to Microsoft's piggy bank.

Now, Microsoft sold two million Windows Phone licenses over the same period, which accounts for $30 million dollars using an estimated license fee of $15 for each Windows Phone shipped.

But there's more. That's not the only way they are going to be getting money from the Android handsets: Microsoft has sued other Android phone makers. And if HTC gave up, you can be sure that those are lawsuits that are also likely going to be settled too. To the tune of $7.50 to $12.50 per handset sold.

So no matter what, they are winning. And on top of that, Windows Phone 7 Mango is only going to make things better for them.

 

 

PlayStation Announces Official Wireless Cans for PS3

Perhaps Sony deemed the Ultimate Weapon too powerful (or too expensive) for PlayStation 3 owners, but these new wireless cans ought to keep your ears warm, at the very least. The new official PS3 Wireless Stereo Headset features 7.1 virtual surround sound, a retractable, mutable microphone, and standard embedded volume controls.

 These proprietary sound-muffs connect via USB dongle, and push headset related status updates (that's your battery status) directly to your TV screen; if you're into that sort of thing. Sony-approved hearing will set you back $100 starting this September.

ASUS Eee Pad Slider Going on Sale 'soon'

ASUS' Eee Pad Transformer might still be difficult to track down, but at least all systems are go for the company's other Honeycomb tablet, the Eee Pad Slider. The company confirmed today that the 10.1-inch tablet, originally slated for May, is "coming soon" -- no word, of course, on whether it will ditch Tegra 2 for an Atom Z670 CPU, as rumored. Next up, ASUS, give us a price, capiche? Last time the company was estimating it would cost between $500 and $800.

 

 

Lenovo IdeaPad K1 Tablet

Lenovo still hasn't officially confirmed it, but all signs are pointing to an imminent US launch of its Android-based IdeaPad K1 tablet. The specs include a 10.1-inch display, a Tegra 2 processor, 32GB of storage, dual cameras (5 megapixel rear and 2 megapixel front-facing), a microSD card slot, a micro HDMI out, and even a SIM card slot -- somewhat notably it's also listed as coming with Netflix pre-installed. While most of those specs seem like a safe bet, others apparently aren't quite set in stone, the listing alternatively mentions both Android 3.0 and Android 3.1, for instance, and both a 1280 x 720 and 1280 x 800 resolution (though the latter seems likely). What's more, while Buy.com isn't providing a price just yet, the tablet has also hit Krex Computers of all places, where it's listed at $510. 

 

 

The Everlasting Deliciousness of the Candwich Sandwich

The world was denied a breakthrough in food-in-a-can technology and deliciousness when a petty thing like money kept Candwich, the sandwich in a can, off of store shelves. But now it's here.

Peanut butter & grape jelly to start, with BBQ chicken (oh sweet christ) and PB & strawberry jelly on the way. These undying sandwiches run $12 for a 4-pack or $72 for a 24-pack. Pricey! But how many foods are "perfect for emergency food storage needs in the event of natural disasters" and totally delicious? Not very many.

 

 

Windows tablet OS preview coming next week?

It was heard an awful lot about a Windows tablet OS this past year, with stirrings of a 2012 launch -- heck, even Steve Ballmer's fanned the flames of speculation -- and now the rumor mill's been set in motion with word of an impending preview expected next week. According to Bloomberg, three sources have confirmed Microsoft's plan to flaunt the much-anticipated UI.

The showcase is supposedly set to run the touchscreen-enabled software on a Tegra-equipped machine. 

 

 

Japanese Emergency Toilet

When disaster strikes and society comes to a halt, the necessity to relieve yourself doesn't. If anything, you'll be more inclined to crap your pants. But it needs to be clean, or else disease spreads. Enter, the Japanese emergency crapper.

It's definitely a low-tech approach to pooping in the field. But hey, what do you expect? This is an emergency—anything to keep you from having to just do it behind a tree or something. Still, it's essentially just a big black plastic bag that you wear and squat down in. There are also some strange pellets that seem to absorb liquids and re-solidify. Not sure how that helps you when you've gotta go number two, but that's a scenario I'll leave for your imaginations.

 

 

Hasselblad's 200 mmegapixel H4D-200MS Camera

This latest piece of kit is nearly identical to the 50 megapixel H4D-50MS externally, but internally adds an astonishing 150 more megapixels to the mix -- yes, that's an astounding 200 megapixels! Don't feel forgotten just yet if you have the older model, though, as Hasselblad can upgrade your sensor for €7,000 (roughly $10,000) -- a great deal considering the full kit costs €32,000 (about $45,000). With that said, the details are null on the medium-format sensor's native resolution -- similar to the multi-shot feature on the 50MS, the new 200MS combines six shots to create ridiculously detailed 200 megapixel still images, and it handles less intensive photos with a four-shot 50 megapixel still mode. Should you dare to venture outside the studio, there's a 50 megapixel single-shot live mode for quick shots as well.  

Kingmax Flaunts World's First 64GB MicroSD Card

Kingmax used to have a thing for setting small records -- even if it meant one-upping itself. Four years later, the king is back and he brought a 64GB microSDXC card with him. If history repeats itself, we can expect similarly sized storage from SanDisk and other manufacturers soon. But don't get too excited: only a handful of devices currently have the architecture to support microSD cards bigger than 32GB, so make sure you have a compatible device before you empty your wallet. Don't have one? Don't sweat it; there's no word yet when the new cards will be available, so you have plenty of time to upgrade. 

 

 

A Wrench Necklace

The makers of this necklace say it's a "Honeycomb pendant with cord." But we all know what we're looking at: a set of four wrenches that hangs around your neck. It fits 8, 10, 12, and 14mm bolts. And in my opinion, $55 for a set of four wrenches and a necklace is a pretty good bargain. You can find them here.

Xperia Play First in Line for Mobile Minecraft

If you want to be the first in your hood to take Minecraft with you wherever you go, you'll have to pick up an Xperia Play. The block-building game where cubed avatars hide from creepers and create virtual CPUs will land on the so-called PlayStation Phone before coming to other Android devices and iOS later this year. The Play version will have customized controls that take advantage of the gamepad and button layout found on the Sony Ericsson handheld, though when exactly it will launch or how much it will cost is still unknown.

 It's also unclear how long the title will be exclusive to the gamer-centric smartphone. Now is the time to wrap up any loose ends in your life before what little free time you have left gets buried beneath a pile of bricks and mobs -- even when your PC isn't handy.

 

 

Ford Car Seat Keeps Its Sensors on Your Heart

Chevy had the whole "Heartbeat of America" thing cornered in the 80s, but now its Ford's turn to get in on the action. The car maker's European research team unveiled a prototype car seat capable of monitoring a driver's heart courtesy of six embedded electrodes, which can take measurements without coming in direct contact with skin.

 The technology, the latest in a recent string of health-related in-vehicle concepts from the company, can detect whether the driver is having a heart attack and transmit that information to the vehicle's safety system. According to the researchers, the system is already highly accurate in its prototype state, making correct readings for 98 percent of drive time with 95 percent of the drivers tested.

 

 

Gigabyte's ECO600 Mouse Boasts 12-month Battery Life

Gigabyte's ECO600 wireless laser mouse just landed at the FCC, which means it and its tiny 2.4GHz adapter should be in the hands of consumers very soon. As far as mice go, the ECO600 is actually pretty interesting -- two buttons on top allow you to quickly cycle between resolutions of 800, 1200, and 1600 DPI for either more accuracy or better battery life which, the company claims, is up to a year on a single pair of (generously included) AAs.

 

 

Windows Phone 'Mango' Will Be Used On first Nokia WP Devices

Nokia has noted Microsoft's announcement of the new Windows Phone 7 (aka Mango) with word that the software being demonstrated today will be the one we'll see on the first Nokia with Windows Phone device. It also slightly contracts the roadmap for the first handset born from the Microkia partnership, though Nokia's statement makes sure not to make any promises about when said device will show up. Finally, the "Nokia with Windows Phone" phrasing somewhat peculiar, don't be surprised if you see it turn into a branding strategy for Nokia's smartphones going forward. Here's the relevant statement, straight out of Finland:

"Today Microsoft has announced the key new ingredients of the latest 'Mango' release of the Windows Phone operating system. This is the software that will be used on the first Nokia with Windows Phone device, and so should be of keen interest to Nokia-watchers everywhere."

 

 

MF Doom Sneaker Speakers

The professional sneaker customizer has significantly stepped up his game after being commissioned by Sneaker Freaker Magazine, creating two pairs of speakers from some giant suede Pumas.

The finished Sneaker Speaker Doomsday Edition models have mic inputs and red, green, and blue lights with eight effects, like speed control and a dim function. They've got plenty of power and can only be fired up by someone with the key.

 

 

Ballmer: 'Next Generation of Windows Systems' Coming Next Year

The name "Windows 8" may have been tossed around a lot as of late, but Steve Ballmer himself has only just now uttered the name for the first time in public at the company's developer forum in Japan. What's more, while he didn't divulge a ton of specifics, he did say that the "next generation of Windows systems" will be coming out next year, and that "there's a whole lot more coming," including "slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors." As ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley notes, the distinction between "slates" and "tablets" as two separate form factors is certainly an interesting one, as is the fact that he curiously didn't use the name Windows 8 in connection with those next generation Windows systems. 

What does it all mean? Perhaps Microsoft's Windows chief, Steven Sinofsky, will have more to say during his appearance the D9 conference next week.

 

 

Kogeto Dot Brings Bite-Size Panoramic Video Recording to iPhone 4

The Kogeto Dot snaps onto an iPhone 4 in your choice of pastel colors, and catches 360-degree video when placed face down. It's got an accompanying iOS app that will un-distort the video for sharing, or even broadcast it on the net in real time. 

This implementation requires your iPhone be held perpendicular rather than upright, making previewing a capture virtually impossible until after you've stopped the recording, which seems unnatural. Combine that with a minimum Kickstarter pledge of $98 to secure one of your own, and suddenly the less-portable and lower-degree alternatives start sounding a little more attractive.

iPhone 5 may Feature Curved Glass Screen Like the iPod Nano

Steve Jobs' team are said to have purchased between 200 and 300 glass-cutting machines, specifically in order to use them to slice up curved glass display covers for the iPhone 5. This move has apparently been in an effort to accelerate production, with glass makers reportedly showing a reluctance to buy the machinery themselves due to its prohibitive cost. Lest you think this sense of urgency might accelerate the iPhone 5 from its earlier-rumored September launch, DigiTimes also reports that yields of curved glass are not yet good enough to start using said fancy machines. 

At least those Cupertino designers have a couple of generations of curved iPod nano screens under their belt, giving them a good idea of how to handle the atypical glass frontage.

 

 

Lady Gaga uses Chrome OS

One of the world's most (in)famous names has picked a side in the browser battles -- last night saw the debut of a new Google Chrome commercial, starring Lady Gaga and her "little monsters." Spanning a minute and a half of Gaga and her fans singing and gyrating their way through her latest single, the ad is intended to illustrate the power of the web and its creative new modes of interaction.

To be fair, said interaction is mostly Lady Gaga saying "jump" and a crowd of YouTubers doing it without bothering to ask how high, but hey, the result is fun to watch.

Apple to Customer Service: Don’t Help Our Customers with Malware

You'd like to think that customer service is out to serve the customers (you), right? Not exactly! After an unusually broad spread of Mac Defender, a piece of OS X malware, Apple is telling customers they're on their own.The order, straight from an internal memo to Apple's customer support reps, states the following "Not our problem, sucker" rules:

AppleCare does not provide support for removal of the malware. You should not confirm or deny whether the customer's Mac is infected or not.

Should not confirm or deny? Intentionally leaving a customer in the dark as to whether their computer has a virus seems pretty low. But is this next part lower? Hmm:

Do not attempt to remove or uninstall any malware software.
Do not send any escalations or contact Tier 2 for support about removing the software, or provide impact data.
Do not refer customers to the Apple Retail Store. The ARS does not provide any additional support for malware.

So even if a customer is sure their computer's infected, Apple wants nothing to do with these malware lepers. Keep 'em off the support lines, keep 'em out of the stores. This doesn't seem like a great precedent to set for malicious code landing on Macs.

The ChromiumPC from Xi3 Is the First Desktop Ready to Run ChromeOS

The ChromiumPC modular computer, first unveiled by Xi3 last year, is ready to ship this summer, with an architecture designed specifically for Chrome.

Xi3 has been working on their concept for awhile, and even got some praise back during CES for it. The computer is housed in an aluminum chassis that hold three boards or "modules" that determine the functionality of the machine. These modules are interchangeable, allowing the ChromiumPC to run other operating systems. However, Xi3 designed the system with the cloud especially in mind, and the out-of-the-box set-up will be made to get you online as fast as possible. It's their hope that, as people move to the cloud in greater numbers, they can follow them there with the help of Google and Chrome.

Pricing for the ChromiumPC hasn't been announced yet, but Xi3 has it slated for release in the second half of this year.

 

 

Sharp Aquos Android Clamshell

Looking for a handset that harkens back to simpler, pre-smartphone era, without losing the Googley luster of Android? This is the perfect phone for you, and all you've got to do is move to Japan and get a Softbank Mobile account. Sharp, one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in its native country, rolled out the retro-future Gingerbread-packing Aquos Phone Hybrid 007SH, an Android 2.3 flip phone with a 180-degree swiveling touchscreen above the hinge and a numeric dial pad below that all the cool kids in Shibuya crave. 

It's also got some pretty solid specs, so far are clamshell phones go, including a 16MP camera and a 3D-capable display. The handset will hit Softbank in mid-June followed shortly by Sharp's rotary Honeycomb tablet.

HTC Evo 3D, View 4G Available for Pre-Order at Sprint

Sprint customers holding out for the HTC Evo 3D can now inch slightly closer to that glasses-free display. The carrier has confirmed that you can reserve the WiMAX handset by visiting a Sprint-owned retail store and plunking down $50 for a gift card. 

There's still no word on when you'll be able to get the device in-hand (and the 3D's exclusive carrier is mum on pricing), but, if you don't mind reserving a phone without any hint as to how much you'll eventually need to pay, then Sprint seems happy enough to swap your Grant for a spot on the list. It's also taking names for the Evo View 4G tablet and, like the 3D, that $50 deposit can be used to take a bite out of a 2D handset. You know, in case you decide that a third dimension is too hot to handle.

 

 

Zuckerberg Wants Kids Under 13 on Facebook

Facebook's already pretty inane. The only thing that could make it worse is, oh I dunno, having 10 year-olds running wild on it. Luckily, it's against the law for sub-13 year-olds to join data-collecting sites. Unless The Zuck changes that.

At a recent symposium on education reform, Zuckerberg argued that Facebook could, and should, play an important role, CNN reports. Doing... what exactly? Facebook doesn't know! ""Because of the restrictions we haven't even begun this learning process," Zuckerberg said. "If they're lifted then we'd start to learn what works." Pretty convincing stuff.

The restriction he's talking about is the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which bars kids under 13 from the site. Zuckerberg wants this changed.

 

 

NEC's Dual-Screen LifeTouch W tablet Shipping in Japan This June

Under the hood nothing has changed -- it's the same pair of 7-inch, 800 x 600 resistive touchscreens, 384MB of RAM, and Cortex A8 CPU of unspecified speed. Sadly, that also means we're looking at the same dated Android 2.2 OS and paltry five hour battery life. No word on cost or whether this will ever appear outside of Japan.

 

 

Dutchman Integrates a 4.5GHz Water-Cooled Rig Into His Desk

Peter from the Netherlands has managed to fit a pretty bombastic set of components -- 4.5GHz Core i7-980X, two ASUS GeForce GTX 580 graphics cards in SLI, over 12TB of storage with an SSD boot disk, and two PSUs providing 1,500W of power in total -- together with a water-cooling setup and the inevitable glowing lights inside one enclosure, which just so happens to also serve as his desk. The three-piece monitor setup is also a custom arrangement, with a 27-inch U2711 IPS panel being flanked by two 17-inchers. 

 

 

Is Fanboyism a Religion? Neuroscience Says Maybe

Ever wonder why Apple fans stand in line for hours end just to buy a phone? According to the BBC's Alex RIley, it's because Apple is their religion. Neuroscience suggests he may be right.

For his documentary Secrets of the Superbrands, Riley talked to fans, industry executive, and even porn stars to find the reason behind such brand fanaticism. But it wasn't until he met the Bishop of Buckingham that he stumbled upon his answer. While talking to the Bishop, he realized the extreme dedication people have for Apple mimics the devotion religious people have for their faith. He found his proof in an MRI study of Apple fans. The same part of the brain that responds to religious images also responds to Apple products.

So the next time you are feeling a bit snarky, find a fanboy stroking his MacBook air, and call him a religious zealot. If he protests, point him to Riley's film.

 

 

Adobe Dominates Kaspersky Lab's top ten PC Vulnerabilites List

Being number one is usually an honor, but not when it comes toKaspersky Lab's top ten PC vulnerabilities list. Unfortunately for the software giant, Adobe took top dishonors for Q1 this year, pulling in five total spots on the list, including the top three. According to the security firm, all of the vulnerabilities appearing on the list allowed cyber-criminals to control computers at the system level. 

The number one spot was occupied by a vulnerability in Acrobat Reader that was reportedly detected on 40 percent of machines running the application, while Flash Player flaws took second and third. Other dishonorees included the Java Virtual Machine, coming in at fourth and fifth place, Apple QuickTime, Winamp, and Microsoft Office. That ain't bad, considering Microsoft ruled the vulnerabilities roost in 2010.

Kingston Refreshes DataTraveler Ultimate USB 3.0

Sick and tired of the Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0's slow-as-molasses 80MB/sec read speeds? Good news, the flash drive has been souped up for a second generation, offering up 100MB/sec read and 70 MB/sec write speeds when plugged into a USB 3.0 port -- plugging into a 2.0 port should give you in the neighborhood of 30MB/s for both read and write. That speed ain't cheap, however -- the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB drives will run you $77, $116, and $213, respectively.

 

 

Sharp Shows off the World's First Super Hi-Vision LCD With 16x More Detail Than 1080p

While Japan's NHK has been working on the successor to HDTV, Super Hi-Vision, for years, there haven't been any direct-view HDTVs capable of showing its full 7,680 x 4,320 pixel resolution until this prototype unveiled today by Sharp. Its 103 pixels per inch, but that's still far more than the 36ppi of a 60-inch 1080p HDTV. If estimates are correct, we'll still be waiting until around 2020 for that 33MP video and 22.2 channel sound to actually be broadcast, although there's a possibility of some demonstrations happening during the 2012 Olympics. Just head over to the NHK's Science & Technology Research Laboratories in Tokyo between the 26th and 29th of this month to see it live.