How To Access Wikipedia During Tomorrow’s Blackout Protest

Wikipedia may be going dark within the hour in protest of SOPA/PIPA but that doesn't mean it's going offline completely. With very little work, you'll be able to access the online encyclopedia tomorrow—even if that does mean going against the entire spirit of the protest.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a Wikimedia spokesman confirmed today that the mobile version of the website will remain online at en.m.wikipedia.org. Also, any API that pulls information from the Wikipedia servers will remain active as well. That means you'll also still be able to access Wiki content through Facebook.

The Best Features Required of Windows 8 Hardware

Microsoft dropped the hardware requirements for Windows 8 a month ago, but may of the choice bits were buried amongst the 1000-page sea of technical jargon and general obscura. The brave souls over at WithinWindows ostensibly just emerged from the depths with the choicest pearls of compatibility wisdom.

What can we expect from devices running Windows 8?

• Touch devices: all will be required to detect five points of touch, which is good for 99% of most multitouch uses.
• NFC devices: all will be required to have a designated (read: a visual) zone for functionality. That way, your father won't be rubbing his phone along the back of his laptop phone in search of a link.
• Tablets and convertible PCs: Allwill have five—and only five—hard buttons. Power, rotation lock, Windows button, volume up, volume down. Any devices without keyboards must support Windows key+power as the new Ctrl+Alt+Del. Oh, and all screens will be 1366x768!
• Intel-based devices: all must resume in under two seconds.
More here.

The Steve Jobs Action Figure Is Canceled

In Icons, the company responsible for thefreaky-awesome Steve Jobs action figure, is stopping production because of legal threats from Apple and Jobs' family.

In a statement, Tandy Cheung, the Hong Kong businessman behind the doll said:

"Though we still believe that we have not overstepped any legal boundaries, we have decided to completely stop the offer, production and sale of the Steve Jobs figurine out of our heartfelt sensitivity to the feelings of the Jobs family."

One thing is certain: these dolls are now going to be super expensive. One is already for sale on eBay for $2,500; expect that figure to grow in the future. More here.

Is the Nokia Lumia 900 Coming in March?

You'll be able to get your mitts on the gorgeous Nokia Lumia 900 in March according to a newsletter published on the Nokia Developer website. Details here.

This Magnetic Mount Is a Stylish Alternative To Soap On a Rope

Whether you're at home or stuck in prison, dropping the soap in the shower is something you'll want to avoid altogether. So once again magnets have improved the human condition with this soap holder that ditches the rope.

Now I will admit, it doesn't have quite the same alliteration as "soap on a rope", but this magnetic soap holder is far more aesthetically pleasing. And it won't look like your shower is frequented by lumber jacks.

One section of the holder attaches to the wall, while you simply jam the other into a bar of soap until it sticks. The two are connected via a magnet, and I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume they're made from stainless steel so they don't immediately rust after your first. At $40 it's unfortunately quite a bit more expensive than a short length of rope, but totally worth it for those of us with slippery hands. More here.

Adorable Tool Tank Totally Out-Cutes Your Swiss Army Knife

The term 'cute' and 'tool' aren't often associated, but I can't think of a better way to describe this tiny screwdriver designed to look like a miniature tank hanging from your keyring.

The Tool Tank's barrel accepts one of the three screwdriver bits stored in its tracks, which are held in place through the magic of magnets. The barrel also raises, letting you—you know—actually use the Tool Tank as a screwdriver, while its large base provides plenty of grip when you've really got to tighten something down.

It's unfortunately not as well equipped as a Swiss Army Knife, but it will also sell for just $15when it's available come February. More here.

Quirky’s Invisible Drawer Locks Only Open With a Magnetic Key

Unless you work at the Pentagon, the key locks on your desk drawers are probably easy to compromise. So with their new Covert, the folks at Quirky figured that a drawer lock can't be picked if it can't be found.

The sliding locking mechanism comes with adhesive tape for a temporary solution, but if you were hoping for any kind of real security you'll want to screw them in. Once installed on the inside of a drawer the mechanism is completely invisible, and the only way to open it is with an included magnetic key that lets you slide the latch across.

Of course it's not the perfect solution. The magnetic key is only going to work through a certain thickness of wood panel, and once the lock is discovered even a desktop toy can be used to access your drawer's contents. But until the gig is up, you'll have co-workers wondering what manner of sorcery is protecting your pens and sticky notes. More here.

WOWee and MicroVision offer 200-inch Viewing and 'booming sound' on your Mobile

Despite all the product rivalry at CES, a little romance was inevitable -- WOWee, purveyor of the ONE portable speaker, has paired up with MicroVision and its dashingPicoP laser projector technology (shown above) to create a "marriage of sight and sound." It looks like the two companies will start out by simply bundling their respective wares, which will be available together in 120 countries from this quarter, rather than rushing to announce a hybrid device straight away. A wise decision, no doubt. More here.

Are Those Laser Keyboards Finally Usable When Embedded In an iPhone Case?

Short answer: Nope, still not.

If you have even a passing interest in tech you've seen these types of contraptions before. A laser is used to project a virtual keyboard onto a flat surface, while a camera detects the position of the typist's fingers to register keystrokes.

If it worked as awesome as it sounds, laser keyboards would be a fantastic tool for doing long form writing on a portable device. Particularly when it's integrated into a $180-$190 iPhone case. But the sad reality is that they're almost unusable for any kind of real work.

Not only is the lack of tactile feedback a huge stumbling block for touch typists, but the hardware used to track your finger motions isn't accurate enough for any kind of real speed. 

Google Just Made Bing the Best Search Engine

I just switched the default search engine in my browser from Google to Bing. And if you care about working efficiently, or getting the right results when you search, then maybe you should too. Don't laugh!

Google changed the way search works this week. It deeply integrated Google+ into search results. It's ostensibly meant to deliver more personalized results. But it pulls those personalized results largely from Google services—Google+, Picasa, YouTube. Search for a restaurant, and instead of its Yelp page, the top result might be someone you know discussing it on Google Plus. Over at SearchEngineland, Danny Sullivan has compiled a series of damning examples of the ways Google's new interface promotes Plus over relevancy. Long story short: It's a huge step backwards.

A lot of people are crying foul, and even "anti-trust." Sure, it does seem pretty transparently designed to drive traffic and users to Google Plus, and to make Google Plus brand pages the go-to place for a company's social media presence. And it's true that results from Facebook and Twitter in particular have been noticeably kicked down.

But I didn't switch for political reasons, or as an act of protest. I don't care if Google hurts Twitter or Facebook—or even Friendster for that matter. Boo-hoo. I only care if it hurts me. And this does. Google broke itself.

For years, Google Search has been the highest quality web product I've ever used. It has remained consistently essential as an information-delivery mechanism. I typically hit it hundreds of times a day—on my phone, tablet, laptop and desktop. But with one update it wiped out all those years of loyalty and goodwill it had built up. Sure, I can opt out of social results with a click—but as with all things I don't want to have to opt out. I don't want to have to make that extra click. I want to enter a query, and have the most relevant results returned to me as quickly as possible. (And if Google genuinely doesn't think it's a big deal for people to take the extra step oft opting out, why has it focused so relentlessly on optimizing speed for so many years?)

The great thing is, of course, you can just switch. Hit up your browser preferences, and swap your default to Bing. I know, I know, but yes I'm serious. Sure, Bing had a rocky start. But if you haven't seen it recently it's worth another look. It has a super clean interface. It's fast. And operators work the way you expect them to. Best of all it's relevant.

In short, it's a lot like Google. Not the Google of today, but the Google you fell in love with, the one that put your search results above its financial ones. The Google that delivered.

Reddit is Having a Blackout on 18 January in Protest Against SOPA

The web's been grumbling and muttering about SOPA for a while now, but we've not really seen any big gestures made. That's changing: Reddit admins have announced a blackout to protest against the act.

On 18 January, visitors to Reddit's usual wonderfully chaotic home page will instead be greeted by "a simple message about how the PIPA/SOPA legislation would shut down sites like reddit", according to a blog post written by the Reddit team. The blackout will last 12 hours.

As well as that message, the page will link to resources where people can learn more about SOPA, and suggest ways in which people can take action. They'll also feature a live video stream of the House hearing where Internet entrepreneurs and technical experts will be testifying that day.

In the same blog post, the team said:

The freedom, innovation, and economic opportunity that the Internet enables is in jeopardy. Congress is considering legislation that will dramatically change your Internet experience and put an end to Reddit and many other sites you use everyday... There are powerful forces trying to censor the Internet, and a few months ago many people thought this legislation would surely pass. However, there's a new hope that we can defeat this dangerous legislation.

A blackout is a bold move on Reddit's part, and probably the biggest statement we've seen made against SOPA so far.

But I don't think it's enough. There's an element of preaching to the choir here: most Reddit users are tech-savvy and, probably, already oppose SOPA.

What's needed to make real impact is for some of the big boys, like Google or Facebook, which both oppose SOPA, to do something similar. The chances of that are very, very slim — but without it, the message just isn't loud enough.

Apple Has 250 Ninjas Spying the Competition At CES

Don't think Apple is not at CES. They are there, everywhere. You can't see them, but 250 stealth Apple employees are at CES 2012. They are not there to show things. They are there to voraciously analyze the competition.

Paid Content's Tom Krazit bumped into none other than Greg Joswiak, head of iOS product marketing for Apple:

Greg Joswiak, head of iOS product marketing for Apple, was just outside of Sony's booth. Joz, as he's known within the Apple community, grinned sheepishly upon being recognized by a reporter and stopped to chat for a few minutes.

 "A common misconception about Apple is that the company doesn't pay attention to the competition and remains aloof from what's happening in the rest of the industry." Sure, paying attention is one thing. All companies pay attention. All companies send scouts to other companies' booths and events. But sending a small army—according to Elgan, Apple registered 250 employees for the show—to comb the halls at CES is a lot more than just paying attention.

So yes, Apple may ignore CES for show and tell. But they are not ignoring what's cooking in Vegas. They are very interested in it. To see what's hot, what's wrong, where everyone else thinks things are going. If you are at CES, look into their badges.

Sony Now Makes a Portable Blu-ray Player. Why?

I'm sure there are 3.5 people out there who will put Sony's portable Blu-ray player to great use. It has a 9-inch screen, 4.5 hours of battery life, and 1080p output via HDMI. But for the rest of us, The Sony SX910 is an extremely niche-y, borderline unnecessary piece of tech.

99.99% of us would be better served with a tablet and a Netflix account, because Blu-ray's 1080p resolution is basically wasted on a screen so small. But I sort of get it. Hypothetically there is a Blu-ray enthusiast out there who also spends a lot of time on the road, and really doesn't want to waste their time obtaining digital or DVD copies of movies they already own.

The Portable Blu-ray player will be available this Spring.

The New Canon ELPH: Tiny and Cheap Just Got Faster

The ELPH 520 HS has a 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, and a 12x optical zoom lens packed into a skinny package. Those specs aren't anything mind-blowing for a $300 point-and-shoot camera, though. What's really exciting about this camera is that it's powered by Canon's new Digic 5 processor, which improves the camera's low-light performance and auto-white balance—all in addition to making the camera a generally faster, more responsive package. A scaled back Canon PowerShot ELPH 110 HS Digital Camera features 5X optical zoom, and 16-megapixel sensor. Both cameras shoot 1080p video.

Both units feature new additions to Canon's Smart AUTO, which detects 58 different types of scenes. The tech has a new parent-friendly face ID feature, which prioritizes between different people in the scene based on whether they are babies, children, or adults. When the feature is on, the camera will adjust to focus on and properly expose the youngest person in the scene.

The 500 HS will be available in March for $300, the 110 HS will be available in February for $250.

Ubuntu TV Will Be In Your Living Room This Year

The geekiest of the operating systems is branching out into entertainment. Ubuntu TV is the open-source answer to your living room set-up, and you could have a TV running the software by the end of the year.

Ubuntu TV is a TV-optimized version of the desktop OS, based around the Unity UI. It feature full-on media center and DVR features, including movie, TV and music stores, and a YouTube app. The idea is to make the OS free for manufacturers to package with their TVs, and Ubuntu says there will be TVs on shelves by the end of the year. There's a working Ubuntu TV at CES. More here.

People Flag Facebook Photos Because They Look Ugly, Not Because They’re Offensive

Oh my god! Is that a zit on my forehead? Where did that third chin come from? Why am I sweating so much? Was I that drunk? What is my boss going to think? What is my mom going to think? What do I think? I need to get rid of this photo on Facebook. NOW. Let's flag as offensive! Click. Unflattering picture, gone.

That's the internal monologue of most Facebook users when they click the Flag photo button on Facebook. Seriously, Facebook found out that the majority of photos that are reported as offensive weren't really offensive at all. In most cases, it was just people flagging pictures of themselves because the photo was taken at unflattering angles or compromising situations or just didn't make 'em look cool. We've all been there, right? How many times have you told your friend to pull down the picture of you half-naked, praising the toilet gods for mercy?

Facebook tweaked their flagging options last summer to accomodate these 'issues' people have with their photos. Which is to say, they included options to choose 'I don't like this photo of me', 'It's harassing me' or 'It's harassing a friend'. The complaints are meant to generate some sort of compassion in the poster to take down the ugly photo. I just say, make better friends.

Victorinox’s 1TB Flash Drive Makes It Easy To Lose a Thousand Gigabytes

You might think they only make knives, but Victorinox also makes some of the best flash drives on the market (they're certainly my favorite.) They're well-built, extremely fast, and in a few days might be available in one terabyte capacities.

Yeah, you read that right. One terabyte! In addition to more storage than you'll ever really need hanging on your keychain, the USB 2.0/eSATA II drives will include 256 bit AES hardware/software encryption, and what appears to be a built-in monochrome LCD display. Presumably providing details on the drive contents, and available capacity.

Of course what would a product from Victorinox be without some added functionality? So it looks like the drive will come in a version packing a knife and scissors, and one free of bladed tools so you don't have a terabyte of data confiscated by airport security. Availability should be unveiled once CES officially opens in a few days, including what will probably be a very hefty price tag.

Cook Anywhere You Please on This New Induction Range

Be it gas, electric, or induction, ranges have held onto a vestigial limb—a finite, unmovable set of areas to do the actual cooking. This new induction cooktop from Thermador, however, is smart enough to heat anywhere there's a pot.

The new Freedom cooktop bills itself as the first induction appliance whose entire surface acts as a heating element. Its "natural-mapping" interface allows users to add, remove, and shift pans around while they cook and should allow chefs a greater degree of flexibility in their meal preparation.

Induction cooking employs a copper wire running under the clear ceramic surface and a strong AC current to create a magnetic field which then transfers an electric current to the cookware. This heats the pot itself while keeping the range cool to the touch. It's more efficient than both gas and traditional electric methods.

The Freedom also includes a 6.3-inch display that recognizes the pot's shape and size, as well as controls the unit's power settings and cook time (begone, egg timer!). Its surface accommodates pans up to 21 x 13-inches and will retail for $5000 when it hits the market in July. More here.

Someone Is Paying $3,000 For This Computer With a 700MHz Processor and 128MB of RAM

What is this, the 1990s? No, not really. The computer in question is one of the first from Raspberry Pi. It's a tiny PC on a single circuit board – and the proceeds from its sale will help encourage kids to code.

The Raspberry Pi, not yet in full production, is supposed to sell for $25. It features a 700MHz ARM11 processor, 128MB of SDRAM, HDMI video output, a USB 2.0 port, and can run an OS like Ubuntu. It can even handle Quake III.

This $3,000 Pi, however, is one of the first ten pre-production units to be made, all of which are being auctioned on eBay in order to raise money for charity. The Raspberry Pi foundation plan to plough the money they raise into delivering the tiny computers to schools. The idea is to encourage kids to get to grips with coding and open-source software, which is an amazing idea. More here.

Instagram Now Integrates Even Deeper With Facebook

If you are a heavy user of Instagram and Facebook, good news! When you choose to share your Instagram snapshots on theSocial Network, photos now wedge themselves onto the site in better, more accessible, more meaningful ways than ever before.

Instagram photos will now appear in your Facebook news feed at full size, meaning your days of squinting are over. They'll also automatically pop up in your timeline, making the the new design that much more visually appealing. And finally, there's now a dedicated Facebook album for all your Instagram shares, which so that all your uploads can be viewed in one convenient spot.