Samsung To Unveil Galaxy S III on May 3rd

Finally, after much rumour and speculation, a "new Samsung Galaxy" is officially coming. It'll be showing its presumably pretty face on the 3rd of May in London at a "Samsung Mobile Unpacked" event—if that doesn't scream Galaxy S III I don't know what does.

The event invite is a bit vague, of course; there's no mention of the Galaxy S III specifically, just a "come and meet the next Galaxy" strap line. There aren't many other Galaxy models Samsung would use an evening event in London to launch, apart from a flagship device.

If it's launching on May 3rd, we could expect it to hit the shops pretty soon after. It looks like those rumours of a late April launch weren't all that far off after all. More here.

Where Were You Hundreds Of Birthdays and Christmases Ago Tape Scissors?

It's obvious why these brilliant scissors with a built-in tape dispenser aren't available in every office supply store in the country. They want you to have to buy both products separately—increasing the store's profits while you sit at home fumbling your way through another botched attempt at wrapping gifts.

It's a bigger crime against consumers than Apple's alleged e-book price fixing. So just go buy a pair for $10 and be thankful the next time you need to wrap a present. And remember, sometimes you have to lose the occasional battle to win the war. More here.

Tiny Pies Are the Greatest Thing To Ever Be Jammed On a Stick

Candy apples? Your days are numbered. There's a new candidate for greatest treat-on-a-stick that doesn't try to sneak fresh fruit in with our calorie-laden snacks—the Babycakes Pie Pop maker.

You might want to sit a spell while your mind grapples what this machine is capable of, and what it can bring to your life. Namely, miniature pies you can eat off a stick. No plates, no forks, no napkins needed. In four minutes you can bake up six adorably miniature pies filled with whatever you want. Apples, cherries, or what the heck, even other smaller pies. It's obviously the best $25 investment you'll ever make. More here.

Take Notes While Saving Your iPhone’s Battery With This Nostalgic Case

Before touchscreens and tablets came along, Magna Doodle was the easiest way for a kid to draw without a pencil and paper. Which is why somewhere deep down we have a soft spot for what is otherwise a ridiculous iPhone case.

Its creators aren't trying to pull a fast one either. They realize the practical applications of this case are non-existant, and have dubbed it the iFoolish with hopes there's enough '80s nostalgia still in the world to bolster sales. And with a price tag of just $25 and an adorable mini magnetic stylus included. More here.

Heavily Armored iPhone Case Can Stop A .50 Caliber Round

It might add almost five pounds to the weight of your phone, but this armored iPhone case with one-inch of thick steel plating on the back is promised to stop a .50 caliber round. So what you're really paying $650 for is peace of mind.

Unfortunately you'll want to make sure any snipers are targeting the back of your phone when it's entombed in this case, because the front leaves your display exposed and is only protected by a thin aluminum facade. And even though the back is highly protected, there's still a hole bored out for the camera lens which means a particularly talented marksman could still take out your iPhone with a well placed shot. More here.

Thunderbolt Might Transfer to Windows by May

Ultra-fast, Apple-only Thunderbolt technology is about to get a little less exclusive. According to CNet reports, LaCie plans to unveil PC compatibility for the10gb/s Thunderbolt during the upcoming NAB 2012 trade show.

Reportedly, LaCie will debut PC-compatible versions of the Little Big Disk SSD and the 2big Thunderbolt mass storage devices. LaCie has recently helped to create the Thunderbolt Standard, which governs devices' interactions with the cables, which "can transfer a full-length HD movie in less than 30 seconds," according to Intel. Intel has reportedly already begun shipping its latest iteration of Thunderbolt controllers and is planning to roll out Cactus Ridge, a Windows-compatible Thunderbolt chip, when Ivy Bridge debuts in two weeks. More here and here.

Future Internets Will Be Powered by Quantum Particles

Like quantum physics? What about quantum computers? Or quantum computers in a diamond? Then you should know that researchers at the Max Planck Institute have appropriately devised a way to create a quantum network in which a photon is exchanged between two atoms. Future!

According to Time, the two atoms transmit the photon over a 60 meter fiber optic cable and is said to be the first to send, receive and store information without failure. More here.

Professor Ignacio Cirac, a director at MPQ, proposed the framework for the experiment. In his team's quantum network, individual rubidium atoms were lodged between two highly reflective mirrors placed less than a millimeter apart - a setup referred to as an "optical cavity." The team then fired a laser at one of the atoms, calibrated so as not to disturb it and instead cause it to emit a photon, which then traversed the 60-meter fiberoptic cable to be absorbed by the second atom, transferring the first atom's quantum information.

Solar Panel-In-a-Tube Generates Power and Hot Water At the Same Time

Solar photovoltaic cells and solar thermal collectors both capture the sun's rays. The first one turns the light into electricity, while the other turns it into hot water for heating. They usually battle for rooftop real estate, but Naked Energy has found a way to merge them both into a single solar solution.

The British company's Virtu tubes gain efficiency by operating in tandem—it's teamwork, just like you learned as a kid. Inside each vacuum-sealed tube is a power-producing photovoltaic wafer. Sunlight hitting the wafer generates extra heat, which then transfers to the tube's solar thermal collector using the company's patented thermosyphon technology.

The transfer keeps the photovoltaic cells close to their optimal operating temperature, with the shared benefit of a hot water supply that can be used to help heat a building on the cheap. In other words, the hybrid design makes a Virtu up to 46 percent more efficient at turning sunlight into energy than traditional solar panels.

At the moment, Naked Energy is still refining and improving the product's design. Developers are working with professors at the Imperial College in London to further increase their efficiency. The company intends to create a commercially available product once it's happy with the solar cell's performance. More here.

Don’t Forget To Pack This Highly-Detailed Moon Globe For Your Next Lunar Vacation

Space tourism is just getting under way, but before we know it spending a weekend on the moon will be commonplace. (If you have a kabillion dollars.) So in addition to warm socks, you'll want to make sure you pack Sky & Telescope's new detailed Moon Globe if you're planning to explore.

Previous moon globes have used airbrushed artistic renderings of the moon's surface, which aren't incredibly accurate. But Sky & Telescope used over 15,000 images snapped by Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter when creating the imagery for its new $100 globe.

Thanks to over 850 labels, you can also use the globe to easily find all the neat touristy locales, including craters, valleys, and even the Apollo landing sites. And remember, besides the globe you'll also want to pack your Visa card, because the moon doesn't take American Express. More here.

Lumia 900 Costs More to Build Than the iPhone 4S

The Lumia 900 is a hell of a phone. Plus, it's cheap: just $100 regularly, and temporarily FREE while Nokia works out some software issues. But it's not for lack of quality parts: iSuppli crunched the numbers and determined it costs $217 to build and manufacture. That's more than the iPhone.

For comparison's sake, the iPhone 4S's 16GB model costs an estimated $188 to build and retails for $200. The Lumia's component prices are about the same, but strangely, it shoots ahead with an expensive screen compared to the iPhone. The Lumia's screen is larger physically, but has a much lower pixel density than the iPhone's retina display.

Nokia—and its partner in crime Microsoft—desperately wants to get a foothold with the Lumia line of Windows Phones. That's why the Lumia 710 was just $50 on T-Mobile, and why the regular price for the 900 is just $100. Nokia's willing to subsidize hardware to gain market share. If this works, it'll be absolutely worth it. If not, well, that's a mighty big bill Nokia just stuck itself with. More here.

Google Chrome 19 Beta Brings Live Tab Synching to The Fold

You know the score. You've stepped away from your desktop, and then you think to yourself, "Damn. If only I could remember that website I'd just visited." Now, users of Google Chrome's latest beta will no longer have that worry. The latest incarnation of Google's web browser gives users immediate access to all of their tabs, across all devices, which can be found within the new tab window. 

Here, users will discover an "Other devices" menu that gives quick and easy access to all those sites you just visited -- yet for the life of you, can't seem to remember. According to Google, beta users will see this feature gradually roll out over the coming week. More here.

Ridiculous Sunglasses: Wear the U.S.A. on Your Face

In the shape of the contiguous United States, these shades by Jeremy Scott are perfect for the next haute couture stock car race you attend. And I mean, who needs two hundred bones for rent? Or food. Or utilities. Or just basic specs that sufficiently protect your eyes from the sun.

These frames, though? They cover a grand total of one and a half of your eyes, with the Great Lakes region really messing with UV protection on the left side. They also work well if you're trying to lose weight and/or are suffering from a cold, putting a guard over your entire nose and most of your mouth. More here.

A Coat Rack so Attractive, You Might Not Want to Hang a Coat on It at all

Having somewhere to hang a jacket when you walk in your front door is nice, but the problem with having a proper coat rack is that you end up with a critical mass of outerwear occupying your entryway. A very simple—but very nice-looking—piece like Florian Saul's Servus rack might just do the trick.

Consisting of a single loop of wood and a leather bag, the rack leans up against a wall, or as Minimalissimo explains, can be combined with a second Servus rack. A detachable leather bag, which can be used for scarves, gloves or anything else you so desire, adds a bit of substance, contrast and class to the frame. More here.

Why Woodpeckers Don’t Get Brain Damage From Pecking All Day

If a human tried chopping wood with his head, he'd lose at least one eye and sustain permanent brain damage. But woodpeckers do it all the live long day and sustain zero headular damage. How do they do it?

Theories have included: super powerful muscles, a special injury-preventing drilling technique, or a protective placement of the brain inside the skull. But no one has systematically analyzed the mechanics of a woodpecker's skull in as much detail as Fan Yubo and his team at the Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology at Beihang University in China, who published their work today in Science China Press.

They spent three years studying the mechanical properties, microstructure and composition of the cranial bone and beak of the woodpecker, and compared it to that of the lark. They found that woodpeckers have developed their own amazing nanofabrication and self assembly capabilities in their cranial bone structure over millions of years of evolution.

The strength of the two types of birds' beaks is actually similar. But the woodpecker's cranial bone is much stronger than the lark's, the researchers found. That's thanks to having more "plate-like spongy bone" in its cranium, which makes it resistant to deformation. Specifically, it has a larger volume of structures called trabeculae, which are tiny spaces in the bone that form a mesh filled with bone marrow. The woodpecker's trabeculae are also spaced very close together, which helps diffuse impact. In the image, the woodpecker cranium bone is A; the lark's is B. C is the woodpecker's beak, D is the lark's.

The researchers hope their work might inspire new protective headgear for humans. More here.

How to Export Your Instagram Photos Before Facebook Ruins Everything

So Facebook's buying Instagram. That might not be such a bad thing, but if you're one of those who can't stand any Facebook in her Instagram Cheerios, there's a solution.Instaport.Me will let you export all your photos right now, to wherever you want.

The service is incredibly easy: All you do is go to the site, log into your Instagram account, and authorize the app. Then you can customize which photos to export: all, the last X-number, between two dates, photos others liked, and by #tag. That's it. Click export and your photos are downloaded in .zip format here it is.

War On Your Diet With a Chocolate Grenade

Easter is one of those magical days in the year when diets don't exist. So today, in addition to a mountain of other sweet confections, you can enjoy Raphael Volkmer's chocolate 'Calories Bomb' grenade that explodes with even more delicious shrapnel.

Just think of it as an uneasy truce with your diet, although when you step on the scale you might discover that one side's actually gained quite a bit of ground, more here.

Coffee Table With Built-In Saucers Means No More Stressing Over Coasters

With Brandon Gore's Orson Coffee Table you don't have to worry about guests not using a coaster for their drinks. That's because it's got a row of saucers built-in providing plenty of safe spots to place a beverage.

And even if a guest failed to use one of the saucers it's no big deal. Instead of being made of a beautifully-finished wood that's prone to rings and stains, the table's actually cast from a composite concrete covered with a reactive sealer that will shrug off any liquids. And worse comes to worse, a small stain is nothing a rented industrial grinder couldn't deal with. More here.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin Spotted Wearing Project Glass Prototype IRL

Wondering what it might be like to sport Google's Project Glass augmented reality HUD in your daily life? It would appear company co-founder Sergey Brin already knows, as he was spotted by tech pundits Robert Scoble and Thomas Hawk rocking a prototype at a Dining in the Dark charity event for the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Scoble has already posted a couple of pictures with Brin on Google+, mentioning more photos would be forthcoming from Hawk after the event concluded and that he'd heard other people, including Google exec Vic Gundotra, have the devices already.

For now he mentions the glasses appeared to be "self contained" and that he could see a blueish light flashing on Brin's eyes. More here.

For SCIENCE!

Oh say what I see by the darks light at night,
A crime of pure evil is at hand in my sight!
With a punch and a kick I patriotically fight,
As the star spangled banner doth wave in the night.
For in my heart I will always be true;
Always and forever for the red white and blue.

This Camping Spork Will Come To the Rescue In Chopstick-Only Restaurants

The only thing more embarrassing than not knowing how to use a set of chopsticks is your secret being found out in a restaurant that doesn't provide an alternative. Which is where this emergency Kung Foon spork will be worth its weight in titanium.

It's primarily designed for camping, serving as your typical fork/spoon combo for dining out of a pouch. But its specially-engineered handle includes slots allowing you to insert a set of chopsticks, turning it into an elongated utensil for dining emergencies in a hoity-toity establishment. It's definitely worth the $10 for the stainless steel version, but I'd opt for the lighter and stronger $17 titanium model instead, more here.

Finally, A Multitool Designed to Help You Blow Stuff Up

Gerber's newest pocket toolbox has everything you'd expect from a pocket full of do-it-all—plus a little extra firepower, you know, just in case you need to blow a pass through a mountain or go to war with a gopher.

Beyond the standard knife, screwdriver, ruler, and file assortment, this stealthy Multiplier packsa spike for punching holes in C4 explosives, and the pliers are outfitted with a blasting cap crimp. And it's swathed in a matte-black reflect light. How convenient!

Chances are if you're up to all of this explosives setting, you are in the military and you don't want anyone to know what you're up to so the stainless steel tool comes in a non-reflective black finish. The Gerber Multi-Plier 600 DET is "coming soon" for an unspecified price. More here.

AT&T to Begin Unlocking off-Contract iPhones This Sunday, April 8th

On Easter,  customers with iPhones -- those off-contract with accounts in good standing -- will be able to request a carrier unlock for their device. Once freed, any micro-SIM can be used -- provided its carrier's frequencies are supported -- by the smartphone. An AT&T spokesperson was able to confirm that "a policy change concerning iPhones" would indeed be rolled-out on Sunday, but declined to elaborate further. That sound you hear? International Love, being quietly spun from the corner office of Ralph de la Vega.

Here's AT&T's official statement on the matter:

Beginning Sunday, April 8, we will offer qualifying customers the ability to unlock their AT&T iPhones. The only requirements are that a customer's account must be in good standing, their device cannot be associated with a current and active term commitment on an AT&T customer account, and they need to have fulfilled their contract term, upgraded under one of our upgrade policies or paid an early termination fee.

Now You Can Turn Yourself Into a Batman Action Figure

Most of our childhoods were spent alternatingly dressing up like superheroes and playing with action figures in their likeness. Now you can combine the two by actually getting your own head on the body of your favorite superhero, like Batman or Superman, on one of these custom action figures.

All you've got to do is send Personalised Superhero Action Figures two photos of yourself—one portrait and one profile—and the company will use them to make your noggin into an action figure. The head is shipped to you along with an actual action figure of your superhero of choice and tools to attach it, either permanently, or temporarily if you want to switch it out onto other bodies more here.

Wooden Floppy Disk Coasters Are Nostalgic Coffee Table Savers

Floppy disks might not be good for storing your data anymore, but they're still good for protecting your coffee table from pesky rings left by a sweaty can of beer.

These wooden floppy disk coasters are the perfect way to honor the memory of this now-obsolete piece of tech while you enjoy a cold beverage. And your living room furniture will remain unscathed!

Formed from birch wood, laser-engraved with all the vintage details, and covered with a matte finish, a set of four coasters will set you back $37, plus shipping. That price also includes you personalizing them with whatever message you choose.

You probably haven't laid eyes on a floppy disk in ages, and you definitely haven't used one for a long, long time. Now you've either moved all your data to the cloud or you're transporting documents on a thumb drive. But these cool coasters are a fun reminder of the way things used to be. And they're functional, too! More here.

New Apple Patent Hints at Wireless Charging for the iPhone and iPad

A new Apple patent discovered by AppleInsider shows plans for new product packaging and that's... pretty boring. What isinteresting about the new packaging though is that it may hint at future where iPhones and iPads would charge wirelessly.

The new packaging patent for the iPhone and iPad shows "unobtrusive packaging" which means the package would just show the actual product itself, not a picture. This sort of "unobtrusive packaging" isn't new of course (heck Apple uses it for the Magic Mouse) but they typically don't allow for charging to take place. In the patent, Apple shows an option of using an RF power transmitter where there's a base station that transmit power to the receivers (which would be the packaging itself) and charges everything back up. That means these iPhones and iPads could potentially have a home where they could be charged wirelessly.

Of course with patents being patents and iPhones and iPads selling as they do, who knows how useful this method of wireless charging inside the packaging will be. One thing for sure: it sure would be nice to charge your iPhone without any wires. More here.

These Nanostars Kill Cancer Without Ever Penetrating a Cell

Everyone can't stop talking about how nanotechnology is the future of healthcare, but so far we've not seen many useful applications. Finally, here's one: these nano-scale gold stars can kill cancer cells deadwithout ever entering them.

Well, these little bad boys have between five and ten points, and come coated in drug molecules which are attracted to a protein that all cancer cells produce in unusual quantities. That means that the points attach to the wall of cancerous cells. When blasted with light, those tiny points of contact offer up a massive concentration of the drug which pours into the cell and kills it, explain the researchers in ACS Nano. As Teri W. Odom, one of the scientists, explains to PhysOrg:

"Our drug-loaded gold nanostars are tiny hitchhikers. They are attracted to a protein on the cancer cell's surface that conveniently shuttles the nanostars to the cell's nucleus. Then, on the nucleus' doorstep, the nanostars release the drug, which continues into the nucleus to do its work."

Because the star never has to pass through the surface of a cell, it means that their size is unimportant—making their manufacture simpler and keeping costs down. The only snag is that, because they need to be triggered by light, the researchers envision them only being used in tumors close to the surface of the human body. Still, it's proof that nanotech can help save lives. More here.

Ultra Tiny Earbuds Let You Hear More Than Just Your Music

Earbud style headphones let you enjoy your music without the distraction of what's going on around you. But for safety's sake sometimes hearing distractions, like a honking horn, isn't a bad thing. So the ear Heros use a compact design that doesn't completely block your ears.

Each tiny speaker sits inside your ear canal, using a small wire extending into your outer ear to keep them in place. And because they're not crammed in there like a cork, other sounds can still be heard. The earHeros supposedly sound as good as a regular pair of earbuds, but also allow you to still hear conversations when they're being worn, or even talk on a phone.

They're particularly ideal for those who like to ride a bike and enjoy their music without being hit by a car. But the $150 earHero's subtle design means you can probably also get away with wearing them during boring college lectures, or long meetings with your boss about how you're always distracted. More here.

The Oldest Embryos Ever Discovered Show That Some Prehistoric Reptiles Were Viviparous

This is the oldest embryo ever discovered on Earth, found in Uruguay and Brazil. It is a baby mesosaur, a group of small aquatic reptiles from the early Permian. According to the researchers, it's the earliest known case of viviparity.

The study—published in the journal Historic Biology by Graciela Piñeiroa, Jorge Ferigolob, Melitta Meneghelc and Michel Laurind, from France's National Center for Research—is very important. Until now, scientists didn't have such an early record of viviparity, which is key to understand the evolution of vertebrates in our planet.

The unborn baby fossil—partially articulated and well-preserved—was discovered inside their mother and it had no recognizable eggshell. This discovery demonstrates that, instead of laying eggs in which the animals develop from the embryo stage, the embryo actually grew up inside the body of the mesosaur mother, eventually leading to live birth.

Mesosaurus were small alligator-like creatures that could go as long as 6.6 feet (2 metres) in length and probably fed on crustaceans. They lived in the early Permian period, the last of the Paleozoic Era, 299 to 270 million years ago. More here.

Instagram for Android

In what may be the most anticipated iOS-only app to cross platforms and come over to Andriod, Instagram is finally here for Android devices. And it's (nearly) every bit as good as the original.

Android becomes the first platform other than iOS supported by Instagram, the highly popular social network and photo sharing service that has some 25 million users, until now all on iPhones, iPods and iPads. The company had intentionally been methodical and, well, slow to release an app on additional platforms. But Instagram announced the new version in a blog post earlier today. And it's available to download right now.

The app will work with Android devices running versions 2.2 and higher that support OpenGL ES 2. It seems to have rough feature parity with the iOS versions (including sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Foursquare, with Flickr on the way), the familiar truckloads of filters, and Lux—a feature that automatically fixes your photo processing.

You can download it right now here.

There’s Absolutely No Shame In Wearing Pants With a Built-in Picnic Table

By adding a triangular patch of fabric to the crotch and a strategically oriented pocket on the side, the geniuses at Aquacalda have created these Pic Nic Pants—the perfect jeans for a complete dining experience wherever you choose to plop down.

When standing, the fabric is loose enough so you can still walk around. When sitting cross-legged, the gusset stretches taut, providing a stable place to put a plate full of food. And that side pocket is the perfect spot to hold a drink or cutlery.

Now if they could only integrate a Hibachi grill into the cuffs and a condiment dispenser in the fly. More here.

Microsoft Announces Special Edition Chrome Series Xbox 360 Controllers

There's no console to match, but Xbox 360 owners who prefer things a little shinier than your run-of-the-mill controller will soon have a trio of new options to consider courtesy of Microsoft. It's just announced three new Chrome Series special edition controllers that will be available in "mid-May" for $54.99 apiece. Those come in your choice of blue, red or silver, and each feature the so-called "transforming" D-pad along with everything else you'd expect from a wireless Xbox 360 controller.

Ashton Kutcher to Play Steve Jobs in Upcoming Movie

Since Steve Jobs' death, there's been some speculation as to who might play him in the inevitable string of biopics. Here's the first:according to Variety, Ashton Kutcher is set to play the role of Jobs in a new indie movie.

Over the weekend, Jeff Sneider wrote for Variety that Kutcher will appear in an indie flick directed by Joshua Michael Stern from a script by Matt Whiteley. Apparently, the movie already has funding and filming will commence in May. More here.

Lightweight Carbon Fiber Axe Is More Of an Artistic Masterpiece Than a Tool

Who says artists can only use paints and canvas, or musical instruments, to craft a masterpiece? The folks at Blue Ant Studio deserve a spot in the Louvre for its lightweight but strong Carbo Axe made from titanium and carbon fiber.

The axe was designed with help and input from the military's EOD—or explosive ordnance disposal—community and features a hardened titanium core and a carbide-tungsten cutting edge sandwiched between layers of carbon fiber. The rest of the axe, including the handle and fastening hardware, is a mix of carbon fiber and titanium as well, resulting in an incredibly light tool that's perfect for camping adventures when you have to carry all your gear. Or for just framing and mounting over a fireplace. More here.

Where Better To Store Your Earbuds Than On a Pair Of Ears?

Tired of spending ten minutes unraveling your headphones like they're a MENSA puzzle when you take them out of your pocket? Then you need a cable wrap, and what's more apropos for storing a set of earbuds than a disembodied set of ears?

They're made from soft silicone so you can actually stick the 'bud' end of your headphones inside each ear, and then wrap the remaining cable around the bridge that connects them ensuring they'll be untangled the next time you need them. More here.

Sinking Mugs Are a Functional April Fool’s Day Prank

You're probably not going to fool most adults into thinking these ceramic coffee mugs have actually sunk into a table. But kids are easy targets, and this sight gag is sure to blow their minds. Even if it's not April 1st.

For those who might be wondering how such sorcery is possible—don't worry—the mugs don't bend the laws physics or require the mastery of a portal gun. They were just moulded with the bottoms sheared off to create this effect.

Full sizeAt $15 each in brown or white it's definitely a pricey gag, but the mugs are still functional. And as an added bonus, their limited capacity could be an easy way to cut down on your caffeine consumption every morning. More here.

Apple's App Store Revenue Still Leading, but Amazon Appstore Close Behind

Flurry's latest round of analytics -- which measured revenue of 11 million daily active users from mid-January through the end of February 2012 -- shows Amazon's Appstore pulling in a shocking amount of revenue given the short life that it has lived. Apple's strength in sales has been well documented, but the latest report shows that for every $1 generated in the iTunes App Store, $0.89 is being spent in the Amazon Appstore. Looking more broadly, the numbers show that just $0.23 are generated in the Google Play halls for every $1 spent in the App Store, but that's hardly a new phenomenon; the ease of sideloading (amongst other factors) has raised complaints from Android developers for years now.

Flurry's conclusion is that Google's core strength simply isn't in running a store -- something it's about to do once more with Android slates -- while both Apple and Amazon excel in doing just that. Curiously, Windows Phone and BlackBerry were left off of this report, hoping to see those cats thrown in the next 'go round. After all, RIM sure seems certain that its developers are making out just fine. More here.

This Super Face-Scanning Software Thinks It Can Guess Your Age

Here's a pleasant first little look at Skynet—Face.com, which develops facial recognition software, now boasts that it can pinpoint your age based on your mug alone. Let's test it out.

The software is meant for developers to use in their apps—say, a browser extension that would block certain sites when kids were on the computer. Sure it's a little eery to think a computer can know us so well, but, God, get over it. And as it turns out, it's still pretty rough around the edges.

Explanation of Einstein’s Most Famous Equation: E=mc2

Most of us don't know much about Einstein. Minutephysics has spent the past month trying to beat a little context into our pea-sized dummy brains beyond, like, E=mc2. But it's about time we got to learning the big one.

How Many Explosions, How Much Duct Tape and How Many Myths Have the MythBusters Busted So Far?

Everyone's favorite iconoclastic show, Mythbusters, has been around for 9 years, 10 seasons and 187 episodes. Ever wonder what they've done with all that TV time? Well how about testing 833 myths, conducting 2,510 experiments and using 13.5 tons of explosives? More here.

Want more MythBusters numbers? According to executive producer Dan Tapster, who sends out biannual updates on these stats, this is what the MythBusters have done so far (episodes through June 2012):

• Total Numbers of Myths: 833
• Myths Busted: 461
• Myths Confirmed: 194
• Myths Plausible: 178
• Total Number of Experiments: 2,510
• Total Number of Explosions: 792
• Total Amount of Duct Tape Used: 33,500 yards
• Number of Vehicles Destroyed: 146
• Pounds of Explosives used: 13.5 tons
•  

Raspberry Pi Shipping Has Been Put on Hold

Bad news for those champing at the bit to get their mitts on the Raspberry Pi – both Element 14 and RS are waiting on CE markcertification before they ship their inventory of Pis to customers causing a further delayon orders.

The good news is that 2,000 boards arrived in Britain on Monday and the Foundation are working flat-out to get all the boards certified and marked, so hopefully it won't be too long before they ship. No firm dates for certification and therefore shipping are available at the moment. More here.

A Slim and Simple iPhone Money Clip

Merging their phone and wallet is the dream of those with limited pocket space. And now iPhone users in that same predicament don't have to settle for a chunky case with card slots thanks to this easy-to-install minimalist money clip.

There is some-assembly-required with the $33 Poddities clip, but all you need to do is use the included micro tool to remove the two screws from the bottom of the iPhone, place the clip over the dock connector, and then secure it with the longer screws included in the kit. More here.

Forget the Pharmacy: Thyme Might Be Your Best Pimple Cure

Growing up, you always assume you'll reach an age where you're pimple-free. Never happens. Don't fret! New research suggeststhat you can hit up your herb garden instead of shelling out bucks at the pharmacy. A little bit of thyme could clear your skin up better than any cream.

Researchers from Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK have been testing out herbal treatments on Propionibacterium acnes—the bacteria which infect pores to produce all sorts of spots, from innocent white heads through to puss-filled cysts. In the process, they've found that thyme is more effective than most acne creams and washes.

Most commercially available treatments rely on benzoyl peroxide to work as an antibacterial. Turns out, thyme contains the exact same active ingredient in high concentrations. Across the researchers' tests, a tincture made from thyme beat remedies you'd find at your pharmacy, hands down. The researchers are presenting their work this week at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference.

But what the hell is a tincture, and how do you make one? Dr Margarita Gomez-Escalada, one of the researchers, explains to EurekAlert:

"The plant material is steeped in alcohol for days or even weeks to prepare a tincture. This process draws out the active compounds from the plant."

Whether a DIY tincture made using vodka and homegrown thyme will be up to the job, I'm not entirely sure. Worth a shot, though. More here.

The Miracle Drug That Could Kill All Cancers

It sounds like science fiction, but researchers have discovered a single drug that they think can shrink, or even completely cure, all human tumors. But how does a drug like that work, and when will it be available?

An article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science explains that a new treatment—based on an antibody that blocks a "do not eat" signal normally displayed on tumor cells—helps persuade the immune system to destroy the cancer cells. To date, it's been shown to shrink or cure human breast, ovary, colon, bladder, brain, liver, and prostate tumors that have been transplanted into mice.

The treatment targets and blocks a protein called CD47, a marker that tells the immune system to not kill healthy blood cells. But cancers use the same protein to avoid being destroyed by the body, too—so by strategically blocking the protein, it's possible to use one antibody to kill all types of cancer tumors.

Over the past few years the technique has been applied to treating lymphomas and leukemias, but this latest research suggests it could be used on all types of cancers. Irving Weissman, one of the researchers, explains to Science:

"What we've shown is that CD47 isn't just important on leukemias and lymphomas. It's on every single human primary tumor that we tested... We showed that even after the tumor has taken hold, the antibody can either cure the tumor or slow its growth and prevent metastasis."

Even though some normal, healthy cells are attacked as a result of blocking CD47, the researchers found this was short-lived, and negligible compared to the effects on the tumor.

Sadly, it will be some time before such a drug makes it to clinical practice. But with the researchers having just received a $20 million grant to move the findings from mouse studies to human safety tests, you can expect progress to be as quick as possible. More here.

Microsoft Is Blocking Pirate Bay Links in Instant Messages

The Pirate Bay goes to great lengths to keep itself widely available, but here's something it can't stop: Microsoft is now blocking links to the site in instant messages across all its systems.

"We block instant messages if they contain malicious or spam URLs based on intelligence algorithms, third-party sources, and/or user complaints. Pirate Bay URLs were flagged by one or more of these and were consequently blocked," explained Microsoft in a statement to The Register.

The Pirate Bay doesn't have a reputation for pushing more malware than any other torrent site, though—but Microsoft has declined to comment further on their banning of the site's URLs. The move signals Microsoft's joining of ranks with an already burgeoning collection of anti-Pirate Bay organizations.

With a rumored police raid in the offing, this could be an interesting time for Pirate Bay.

New Pain-Free Needles Will Actually Stab You Twice

It's counter-intuitive, but a new syringe design could eliminate the pain when getting a shot by using two separate needles that work in quick succession. A technique that could be hard to accept for those who hate being pricked.

The first needle is actually considerably smaller than the second, and delivers a small amount of local anesthesia that numbs the skin around the entry point. Its inventor, Oliver Blackwell, claims the first injection feels akin to a fly landing on the palm of your hand. And by the time the second larger needle delivers its payload, the patient shouldn't feel a thing.

Not only does the new needle design cut down on the number of syringes needed if a patient does require an anesthetic before a shot, but it should also make life for those who have to perform their own injections—like diabetics—a little less agonizing. More here.

How Do Cats Survive Massive Falls?

Everyone knows that cats can somehow survive falling out of a tree, but last week a cat survived a 19-story fall in Boston. So just how the hell did it manage it?

Science, as usual, can help explain: it's mostly anatomy. But sadly, there is a lack of empirical evidence—scientists seem reluctant to throw cats out of windows in pursuit of their studies—but there has been plenty of research into way they fall.

In comparison to most mammals, they have a large surface area for their weight, which means their terminal velocity is low. In fact, according to a 1987 study by veterinarians Wayne Whitney and Cheryl Mehlhaff, an average-sized cat with its limbs extended achieves a terminal velocity of about 60mph, while an average-sized man reaches a terminal velocity of about 120mph. The result? When a cat hits the ground, it's subjected to smaller forces and suffers fewer injuries.

But there's more. Cats have also evolved a keen sense for knowing which way is up. Weirdly, given a big enough fall, that means that they're capable of righting themselves in mid-air by spinning their tails, to ensure they land feet-first. "Everything that lives in trees has what we call an aerial righting reflex," explains Robert Dudley, a biologist at the animal flight laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, to the BBC.

Finally, when they do hit the ground, they have legs designed to soak up the impact. "Cats have long, compliant legs," explains Jim Usherwood of the structure and motion lab at the Royal Veterinary College, again to the BBC. "They've got decent muscles. In that they're able to jump quite well, the same muscles divert energy into decelerating rather than breaking bones." And by stretching out the duration of the impact, the forces transmitted through their bodies are once again greatly reduced.


Sadly, not all domestic cats can survive a massive fall, and that's for one reason: they're often overweight because they get fed treats and snacks all day long. But if your cat is lean and agile, it should happily survive a modest drop. Just please don't treat that as an experimental challenge, though. More here.

How Apple Plans to Define the Industry Standard in SIM Cards

Last week Nokia, Motorola and RIM were squaring up to Apple over a disagreement about the future of nano-SIM cards. Now, Apple is proposing that its patented design could be used for free, by anyone—dependent on one, rather large, condition.

Currently there are two competing nano-SIM card designs, and Motorola, Nokia and RIM are nervous that Apple's design might win out and lumber them with expensive ongoing licensing costs. Apple's response to ETSI, the European Telecoms Standards Institute, is simple.

According to Foss Patents, Apple is happy "to grant royalty-free licenses to any Apple patents essential to nano-SIM, provided that Apple's proposal is adopted as a standard and that all other patent holders accept the same terms in accordance with the principle of reciprocity."

So, while Apple might be happy to make no profit from the concept, in return it demands an increased dominance and power over the market. More here.