BPS Research Digest - Rare counting ability induced by temporarily switching off brain region

BPS Research Digest - Rare counting ability induced by temporarily switching off brain region:
"A minority of people with autism have one or more extraordinary intellectual talents, such as the rapid ability to calculate the day of the week for a given date, or to count large numbers of discrete objects almost instantaneously - they're often called 'autistic savants' or 'idiot savants'. Now Allan Snyder and colleagues have shown that by placing a pulsing magnet over a specific area of the brain, these kind of abilities can, to some extent, be induced in people who aren’t autistic."
Via KurzweilAI.net

BizReport - Early peer-to-peer music site gets back in game

BizReport - Early peer-to-peer music site gets back in game:
"Like Napster and BitTorrent before it, LTDnetwork's Qtrax is a brand from the early days of peer-to-peer music piracy that is relaunching as a completely legal service."
LINKS: Qtrax

Gearlog - Portal Player's Secondary Display On Acer Notebooks

Gearlog - Portal Player's Secondary Display On Acer Notebooks:
"It started out with a partnership with Asus notebooks that placed a secondary display on the outer lid of their notebooks, and now Portal Player will partner up with Acer to do the same thing on their notebooks. The idea here is to have a smaller display where a user can access information within seconds. A key enabler of this technology is a new feature supported by Windows Vista and a component called Windows SideShow, which enables email, calendar information, music, photos, and other entertainment features to be selected and viewed on a secondary device."
LINKS: PortalPlayer Preface

Popular Science - Limbs of Steel

Popular Science - Limbs of Steel:
"Today’s most driven disabled athletes are revolutionizing prosthetics by turning their limbs into sport-specific power tools. From hands shaped like ice axes to blade runners for feet, these prostheses are smarter, lighter, stronger and sexier than ever before. And talk about extreme athletes—the men and women using them have overcome enormous physical challenges to climb the world’s tallest mountains, cross finish lines with record speeds, and change the world’s perception of what’s possible."

GamesIndustry.biz - Valve boss slams movies based on videogames

GamesIndustry.biz - Valve boss slams movies based on videogames:
"In an exclusive interview with Eurogamer, Newell said he makes a point of going to see videogame movies, although not through personal choice: I have to put on my professional 'I'm doing this for the company' hat, not the 'I'm a movie go-er whose soul is going to be crushed by another unbelievably crappy game adaptation' one."

Popular Science - In 2011 You'll Never Have to Clean Your House Again

Popular Science - In 2011 You'll Never Have to Clean Your House Again:
"Not so long ago, chemical engineers discovered how to use titanium dioxide to keep buildings free of discoloring pollution. Landmarks such as the virgin-white Dives in Misericordia Church in Rome and the Marunouchi Building in Tokyo were among the first to be coated with the semiconductor, which breaks down organic molecules—including those in grime and pollution—when exposed to light and water and then releases them into the air. Soon after, TiO2-based self-cleaning products, like SunClean windows from PPG Industries, hit the home market."
LINKS: Institute for Nanoscale Technology

TWICE - Networked Media-Server Mix To Change

TWICE - Networked Media-Server Mix To Change:
"The number of home media servers sold in the U.S. will quintuple from about 10 million in 2006 to almost 50 million in 2010, and the market will move slightly away from media-server PCs, Parks Associates said in a new report."

TWICE - Sharp Bows ‘True HD’ Effort

TWICE - Sharp Bows ‘True HD’ Effort:
"Taking a path similar to one just announced by Sony, Sharp executives told members of the press here that their company continues to augment its presence in large-screen LCD with the introduction of new 1,080p capable models, and will soon offer those sets a 1,080p signal source with the delivery of its first Blu-ray Disc player, this fall."
LINKS: SHARP - AQUOS

Engadget - ATI announces CrossFire physics platform

Engadget - ATI announces CrossFire physics platform:
"Today ATI says Ageia's PhysX engine be damned, as they're about to spit some new competition in the burgeoning hardware physics engine market. When you take that newish Radeon X1900 XTX physics adapter and combine it all Voltron-like with twin SLI graphics adapters -- and then throw in Havok Physics API support, which they announced today at Computex -- you get what they're calling CrossFire, a 2+1 graphics configuration bent on pushing more pixels and polygons than any of us sad little Engadget editors would ever know what to do with."
LINKS: ATI Press Release - ATI CrossFire™ Introduces 'Boundless Gaming' to the World

contract Magazine - Lamm

contract Magazine - Lamm:
"The Runner is a continuous fixed system of seats and tables for higher education and corporate environments, designed and created by the Italian design team of Roberto Lucci and Paolo Orlandini using new-concept structural layouts."LINKS: Lamm

ExtremeTech - Nvidia Launches Dual-GPU GeForce 7950 GX2 Card

ExtremeTech - Nvidia Launches Dual-GPU GeForce 7950 GX2 Card:
"Seeking to gain a bit of cachet at the Computex trade show this week, Nvidia announced the GeForce 7950 GX2 dual-GPU graphics card on Monday. By placing two GPUs on a single card, a pair of GeForce 7950 GX2s can effectively place four GPUs within the system, a nice complement to the AMD 4x4 system the company announced last week."
LINKS: NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2

CNET News - Google Spreadsheets turns up heat on Excel

CNET News - Google Spreadsheets turns up heat on Excel:
"Google is set to launch on Tuesday a Web-based spreadsheet program that will allow people to view and simultaneously edit data while conducting "in-document" chat, a company product manager said Monday."
RELATED: New York Times
LINKS: Google Spreadsheets

Wired News - GNU Radio Opens an Unseen World

Wired News - GNU Radio Opens an Unseen World:
"Matt Ettus has the sly smile of someone who sees the invisible. His hands fly over the boards of his Universal Software Radio Peripheral, or USRP, snapping them together with an antenna like Lego bricks. Then he plugs in the naked boards to a USB 2 cable snaking to his Linux laptop."
Via Engadget
LINKS: GNU Radio
LINKS: SDR Forum
LINKS: FlexRadio Systems
LINKS: Altera

New York Times - Software to Look for Experts Among Your Friends

New York Times - Software to Look for Experts Among Your Friends:
"For anyone who has hesitated before making a purchase on a Web site, uncertain which brand is preferable, Tacit Software is preparing to introduce an online service that will make it simple to pick the brains of friends and colleagues for opinions and expertise."
Via KurzweilAI.net
LINKS: Illumio

TWICE - Sony Bows ‘Full HDTV’ Push, More BRAVIA, SXRD TVs

TWICE - Sony Bows ‘Full HDTV’ Push, More BRAVIA, SXRD TVs:
"Sony Electronics used the Home Entertainment Show, here, to unveil six new BRAVIA LCD TVs and five SXRD-based rear-projection sets featuring resolution and HDMI inputs capable of full 1,920 by 1,080p resolution."
LINKS: Sony - HDTV

Turbolinux to Launch Fuji OS Worldwide

Turbolinux to Launch Fuji OS Worldwide:
"Turbolinux, Inc., a global leader of Linux-based solutions, today announced the international sales release of Turbolinux FUJI Version 11 (FUJI). Designed for optimum desktop and laptop computer performance, Turbolinux's FUJI operating system platform features several tools to facilitate the migration from Windows, including OpenOffice.org, Microsoft Office compatible software, Active Directory Authentication, file sharing, and other communications tools. Beginning today, U.S. customers can purchase the FUJI OS for $39."
LINKS: Turbolinux

Forbes - AMD-ATI Merger Looks Likely

Forbes - AMD-ATI Merger Looks Likely:
"Advanced Micro Devices may be looking to buy graphics company ATI Technologies, a move that would benefit the overall graphics industry, according to RBC Capital Markets."

PC Magazine - Time to Rescue Old Code

PC Magazine - Time to Rescue Old Code:
"Recently, I suggested in my online column (go.pcmag.com/opensourceosx) that if Apple ­ever switches to the Microsoft Windows OS, it should put the Mac OS X code in the public domain as open-source. This would keep its usefulness alive and provide good coding ideas that can be used elsewhere. It's time that we stopped reinventing the wheel. It's killing us."

informitv - Telco television changes channels of distribution

informitv - Telco television changes channels of distribution:
"Telecommunications giant AT&T is reported to be spending $4.6 billion to provide television over broadband in up to 20 American markets by the end of 2006, reaching up to 19 million homes in over 40 markets by the end of 2008. Can it compete with cable and satellite or does it offer more of the same?"

TWICE - Appeals Court Ruling Goes Against EchoStar

TWICE - Appeals Court Ruling Goes Against EchoStar:
"'While consumers are free to choose to read the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle or any other newspaper regardless of where in the United States they live, broadcasters successfully orchestrated passage of special interest legislation which prohibits consumers from watching network channels originating in other markets, except in limited circumstances,' the company said in a statement."

BizReport - Yahoo, eBay Join Forces in Partnership

BizReport - Yahoo, eBay Join Forces in Partnership:
"Internet powerhouses Yahoo and eBay are joining forces in an alliance that further defines the battle lines in an online brawl with rivals Google, Microsoft and AOL."

PC Magazine - Startup Pitches Free, Nationwide Wireless Broadband

PC Magazine - Startup Pitches Free, Nationwide Wireless Broadband:
"Startup M2Z Networks on May 5 submitted a request to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a license to a vacant 20-megahertz band in order to broadcast free high-speed broadband Internet across the country."
LINKS: M2Z Networks

The American Prospect - The Oregon Voting Revolution

The American Prospect - The Oregon Voting Revolution:
"Oregon’s vote-by-mail system came of age on a cold, drizzly night in January 1996. It was the night of the special election to replace the disgraced Bob Packwood in the U.S. Senate with Gordon Smith, the charismatic Republican vegetable farmer from eastern Oregon, facing Ron Wyden, the wonkish Democratic congressman from Portland. It was a classic match up of the two men who, as it turned out, would both represent Oregon in the Senate for the next decade after Smith won the state’s other seat in November 1996."

PC Magazine - Life, At A Gigabit Per Second

PC Magazine - Life, At A Gigabit Per Second:
"At the new CalIT2 Center at UC San Diego, their mission, according to Smarr, the center's director, is to "live in the future". Smarr addressed the Future in Review 2006 conference this week, and explained exactly what that means."
LINKS: Calit2

New Scientist - 'Cloaked' carbon nanotubes become non-toxic

New Scientist - 'Cloaked' carbon nanotubes become non-toxic:
"A way to cloak carbon nanotubes, making them both non-toxic and highly customisable, has been revealed. It marks a step towards using nanotubes in biological research and medicine."
Via KurzweilAI.net

ITS Results - Searching for the soul in the machine

ITS Results - Searching for the soul in the machine:
"If computers could create a society, what kind of world would they make? Thanks to the work of an ambitious project that adds a whole new meaning to the phrase, ‘computer society’, in which millions of software agents will potentially evolve their own culture, we could be about to find out."
Via KurzweilAI.net
LINKS: New Ties

KurzweilAI.net - Are We Guardians, Or Are We Apes Designing Humans?

KurzweilAI.net - Are We Guardians, Or Are We Apes Designing Humans?:
"Thanks in part to molecular manufacturing, accelerated developments in AI and brain reverse-engineering could lead to the emergence of superintelligence in just 18 years. Are we ready for the implications -- like possible annihilation of Homo sapiens? And will we seem to superintelligence what our ape-like ancestors seem to us: primitive?"

BizReport - MTV Launches Online Music, Video Store

BizReport - MTV Launches Online Music, Video Store:
"For years, MTV Networks Inc. sat on the sidelines while Apple Computer Inc., RealNetworks Inc. and others racked up sales of music downloads. Now the cable network group that helped popularize music videos two decades ago is entering the online music fray with URGE, a new service that makes its public beta debut on Wednesday."
LINKS: URGE

BizReport - Customers Turn to Virtual Banks

BizReport - Customers Turn to Virtual Banks:
"Higher interest rates initially drove Nick Sayers to the Bank of Internet. But he soon realized it's more convenient, too."
LINKS: Bank of Internet
LINKS: VirtualBank
LINKS: HBSC Direct
LINKS: ING Direct
LINKS: Citibank

BizReport - Skype launches free call promotion

BizReport - Skype launches free call promotion:
"Skype, the Web telephone company, said on Monday it would allow consumers in the United States and Canada to make free phone calls, a promotional move that marks a new blow to conventional voice calling services."
RELATED: VNUnet - Skype talks up on-the-fly call translation
LINKS: Skype

New York Times - In Tokyo, the New Trend Is 'Media Immersion Pods'

New York Times - In Tokyo, the New Trend Is 'Media Immersion Pods':
"ALL cities takes a toll, and at times all city dwellers have to take their leave. When life in Istanbul gets too stressful, people can head to the baths. In Rio there's the beach. In Tokyo, though, the antidote to urban overload is more of the same. In the world's most media-saturated city, people take a break by checking themselves into media immersion pods: warrens cluttered with computers, TV's, video games and every other entertainment of the electronic age."
Via KurzweilAI.net

CBS World - Putin Strikes Back After U.S. Slam

CBS World - Putin Strikes Back After U.S. Slam:
"Russian President Vladimir Putin struck back at recent U.S. criticism of his policies Wednesday, suggesting that Washington puts its political interest above democratic ideals and emphasizing that Russia must increase its military and economic clout to resist foreign pressure."

Gearlog - Attack of the Transparent Tech

Gearlog - Attack of the Transparent Tech:
"First, there's the SGG Thermovit Elegance glass radiator. Designed by Prefit, a distributor of architectural ironmongery for glass, it is 100% energy-efficient, which means any unused energy is automatically converted into heat. It operates by 60% to 70% infrared radiation and 30% to 40% convection, and is available in various sizes, from 23in. by 15in. up to 59in. by 27in. It can go anywhere in the house, even the bathroom since it's splash-resistant."
LINKS: Prefit
LINKS: Inventables

Popular Science - In 2021 You'll Grow a New Heart

Popular Science - In 2021 You'll Grow a New Heart:
"The protein-based drug molecules penetrate heart-muscle cells and suppress production of an enzyme called p38 that ordinarily limits tissue growth. With p38 turned off, mature heart-muscle cells de-differentiate, which allows them to multiply rapidly and mature into new heart muscle."

PC Magazine - Keeping Up with the Jetsons

PC Magazine - Keeping Up with the Jetsons:
"We asked the industry's top design experts to reveal their most innovative ideas for future products. Some of these concepts will become commercial products in the near future. For others, we'll have to wait until the technology catches up with the imagination. Freeing themselves from the real-life limitations of bandwidth, processing power, battery life, and screen resolution, our designers imagined a fascinating array of inventions, including a snowboard that displays messages, a video postcard, a personal projection necklace, and a networking pen. Here are some of their most inspired concepts."

BizReport - Warner Bros. to Distribute Films on Web

BizReport - Warner Bros. to Distribute Films on Web:
"Warner Bros. will become the first major studio to distribute its films and TV shows over the Internet using peer-to-peer technology developed by BitTorrent Inc., the home of a popular tool for trading pirated copies of movies."
LINKS: BitTorrent

Technology Review - The Times Emulates Print on the Web

Technology Review - The Times Emulates Print on the Web:
"The Web has fostered an explosion of new ideas about information design -- the art of arranging text, graphics, and data to make reading more pleasurable or advertising more diverting. Not all of these ideas have been good ones, as anyone who has been assaulted by blinking pop-up ads knows."
Via KurzweilAI.net

Guardian Unlimited - Now you see it, now you don't: cloaking device is not just sci-fi

Guardian Unlimited - Now you see it, now you don't: cloaking device is not just sci-fi:
"It's been the curse of the USS Enterprise and the Klingons' favoured weapon. But back on Earth, mathematicians claim to have worked out how to make a cloaking device to render objects invisible."
Via KurzweilAI.net

ScienceDaily - No-mow Grass May Be Coming To Your Yard Soon

ScienceDaily - No-mow Grass May Be Coming To Your Yard Soon:
"In a paper published in the May 4, 2006, issue of the journal Nature, Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists report they have deciphered the signaling pathway for a key class of steroid hormones that regulates growth and development in plants."

Pocket-lint.co.uk - Vaude Aracanda 30 - waterproof!

Pocket-lint.co.uk - Vaude Aracanda 30 - waterproof!:
"Vaude launches the first backpack to be manufactured using the innovative processing standard Ultra Seam Tech: the Aracanda 30. It is manufactured using the latest thermal seam closure methods instead of standard needle and thread stitching. Completely welded, waterproof and with a cutting-edge design, the hiking pack "Aracanda 30" stands out above the rest on the market and is now available in stores."
LINKS: Vaude

Smart Economy - New High efficiency flat light source OLEDs

Smart Economy - New High efficiency flat light source OLEDs:
"Almost any surface in a home, whether flat or curved, could become a light source: walls, curtains, ceilings, cabinets or tables."

SCI-TECH TODAY - Nokia Partners with ATI on Mobile Multimedia

SCI-TECH TODAY - Nokia Partners with ATI on Mobile Multimedia:
"With a 'shared vision' of how multimedia impacts the wireless world, Nokia and ATI hope to provide 'much-needed direction and a framework to move the whole industry forward,' said Paul Dal Santo, vice president of handheld products at ATI."

Wired News - Ultimate Guide to Online Video

Wired News - Ultimate Guide to Online Video:
"What do you want to watch? The answer used to depend on limits -- what day it was, what time it was, what channels you got. A handy little thing called TV Guide laid it all out. Television was a one-way medium - big broadcasters pushing content into our living rooms at a specific time and place."

IEEE Spectrum - Borrowing from biology makes for low — power computing

IEEE Spectrum - Borrowing from biology makes for low — power computing:
"Read this aloud and your inner ear, by itself, will be carrying out at least the equivalent of a billion floating-point operations per second, about the workload of a typical game console. The inner ear together with the brain can distinguish sounds that have intensities ranging over 120 decibels, from the roar of a jet engine to the rustle of a leaf, and it can pick out one conversation from among dozens in a crowded room. It is a feat no artificial system comes close to matching."

New York Times - AOL to Add Free Phone to Instant Messaging Feature

New York Times - AOL to Add Free Phone to Instant Messaging Feature:
"AOL is preparing to offer the 41 million users of its instant messaging system a free phone number that will allow people to call them from regular phones while they are online."

InformationWeek - Blue Security Shifted Attack, Brought Down Blogs

InformationWeek - Blue Security Shifted Attack, Brought Down Blogs:
"The denial-of-service attack that crashed TypePad and LiveJournal this week was caused by anti-spam company Blue Security, which pinned the target on the blog in an attempt to save its own servers, analysts said Thursday. Blue Security denied that it knew the attack would crash its blog host."
LINKS: Blue Security
LINKS: Blue Frog (Firefox extension)

GamesIndustry.biz - Alone in the Dark to feature episodic structure

GamesIndustry.biz - Alone in the Dark to feature episodic structure:
"Atari has announced a new episodic-based structure for the latest instalment in its survival horror series Alone in the Dark, offering distinct chapters with cinematic cliff-hanger endings."

GamesIndustry.biz - MGM awards Activision the rights to James Bond films

GamesIndustry.biz - MGM awards Activision the rights to James Bond films:
"MGM Interactive and EON Productions have awarded Activision the rights to develop and publish games based on the James Bond film licence until 2014."

BizReport - CBS Announces Broadband Channel

BizReport - CBS Announces Broadband Channel:
"CBS Corp. on Thursday launched a new broadband channel called 'innertube,' an ad-supported outlet that will include specially created Web series and some use of material that has already run on CBS."
LINKS: CBS - innertube
LINKS: CBS - ondemand

Popular Science - The Warp Drive

Popular Science - The Warp Drive:
"In a rush to flee the solar system? Scientists have an interstellar travel plan, but it entails a brief stint outside the known universe."

Forbes - Blank Slate

Forbes - Blank Slate:
"What if you could pick one thing and start over from scratch? What would you change? Would you choose another career, a different home, a new spouse? Or would you choose to remake the world around you? Why not fix America's prison system, make schools more efficient, or make your political leaders more intelligent?"
Via KurzweilAI.net

New Scientist Tech - Nanowires and water are a memorable mix

New Scientist Tech - Nanowires and water are a memorable mix:
"Adding water to nanowires could create computer memory devices capable of storing 10 million times more information in the same physical space as existing drives."
Via KurzweilAI.net

news@nature - Wrinkled cell nuclei may make us age

news@nature - Wrinkled cell nuclei may make us age:
"In the continued quest to pinpoint the molecules that turn us wrinkly and grey, some scientists are beginning to think that the walls of the cell nucleus might play an important role."

BizReport - Napster offers free music to beat iTunes

BizReport - Napster offers free music to beat iTunes:
"Napster Inc., the one-time renegade music download service, has returned to its roots with a new Web service which offers fans the chance to listen to over 2 million tracks for free."
LINKS: Napster

BizReport - Yahoo Introduces New Technology Section

BizReport - Yahoo Introduces New Technology Section:
"Yahoo Inc. on Monday unveiled a new section aimed at helping consumers cope with the onslaught of new technology that's reshaping modern life."
LINKS: Yahoo! Tech

Ajaxian - AjaxLaunch Readies their AjaxOS

Ajaxian - AjaxLaunch Readies their AjaxOS:
"From the group that brought AjaxWite and AjaxSketch to the web, AjaxLaunch, comes a seak peak at their latest project - the AjaxOS, a complete Ajax-enabled operating system (based on Linspire)."LINKS: ajaxOS

TechCrunch - Eye-Fi to Combine Wifi, Flash Memory

TechCrunch - Eye-Fi to Combine Wifi, Flash Memory:
"Eye-Fi is tackling the problem from a different perspective. They’re building wifi directly into the flash storage. Their first product will be a 1GB SD card with built in Wifi. For about the same price as a 1 GB flash card sells for today - $100. You’ll be able to upload photos, or whatever, directly from your device to a computer using the built in storage wifi capabilities."Via Engadget
LINKS: Eye-Fi

I4U News - TCC Kitchen Center

I4U News - TCC Kitchen Center:
"The TCC Kitchen Center is a built-in food processing system that eliminates the need for multiple appliances."LINKS: TCC Kitchen Center

I4U News - Just In Case You Need a Bar

I4U News - Just In Case You Need a Bar:
"The portable bar-case element weighs approx. 27kg and each leg approx. 5kg. You can setup the bar and be ready to serve Vodkatinis in 3 minutes."LINKS: Justin Case

TWICE - Senate Bill Would Limit Satellite-Radio Recording

TWICE - Senate Bill Would Limit Satellite-Radio Recording:
"Proposed legislation before the Senate Judiciary Committee would force satellite radio broadcasters XM and Sirius to limit consumers’ ability to record satellite radio programming, and it would raise the royalties that the broadcasters pay to copyright holders."

PhysOrg - Towards the magnetic fridge

PhysOrg - Towards the magnetic fridge:
"Researchers at the University of Cambridge have discovered a material that gives a whole new complexion to the term 'fridge magnet'. When this alloy is placed in a magnetic field, it gets colder. Karl Sandeman and his co-workers think that their material - a blend of cobalt, manganese, silicon and germanium - could help to usher in a new type of refrigerator that is up to 40 percent more energy-efficient than conventional models."
Via Treehugger
LINKS: Camfridge

I4U News - CARVER ONE - First Tilting Three-Wheeler on the Market

I4U News - CARVER ONE - First Tilting Three-Wheeler on the Market:
"Yesterday we reported about the BMW CLEVER Concept tilting three-wheeler, which is still far away from becoming commercial. A UK company is actually already on the market with a tilting three-wheeled vehicle dubbed CARVER ONE."LINKS: Carver One
RELATED: I4U - BMW CLEVER
RELATED: I4U - Volkswagen GX3 - A Futuristic Three-Wheeler

PC Magazine - Nokia To Open Store and Bring High-End Phones to US

PC Magazine - Nokia To Open Store and Bring High-End Phones to US:
"Nokia plans to open a 'flagship store' in Chicago on June 21, with a New York store in the 'Fifth Avenue region' opening before the end of 2006, Nokia Director of Multimedia Computers David Watkins told PC Magazine today. Both stores will sell phones not available directly through US carriers, he said."

GamesIndustry.biz - UK teams working on PlayStation HUB, PS3 back-compatibility

GamesIndustry.biz - UK teams working on PlayStation HUB, PS3 back-compatibility:
"Key elements of the technology for PlayStation 3 - including the PlayStation Network Platform and the software to enable back-compatibility with PS and PS2 games - are being worked on at Sony's UK studios, GamesIndustry.biz has learned."
RELATED: GamesIndustry.biz - Sony trialling PlayStation online payments with RBS

BizReport - BBC Revamping of Web Site Draws Criticism (From a Total Idiot)

BizReport - BBC Revamping of Web Site Draws Criticism (From a Total Idiot):
"The British Broadcasting Corp. is revamping its Web site to incorporate more user-generated content such as blogs and video, features already available through the popular social networking site MySpace. The broadcaster also has long-term plans to create broadband portals in such areas as sports, music, health and science."
LINKS: BBC - OpenSource
LINKS: BBC - BackStage

CNET News - Nintendo Revolution renamed 'Wii'

CNET News - Nintendo Revolution renamed 'Wii':
"For more than a year, Nintendo's forthcoming next-generation video game console has been known by its code name, Revolution. But on Thursday, the company unveiled the machine's real name, 'Wii.'"

Yahoo! News - Sci Fi Plans 'Galactica' Spinoff, Online Network

Yahoo! News - Sci Fi Plans 'Galactica' Spinoff, Online Network:
"Pulse will premiere next month with a mix of recycled original series and movies, as well as behind-the-scenes footage and other video extras. Exclusive original content including 'webisode' spinoffs of primetime series and a weekly news show will be added in the summer. Sci Fi will go as far as testing potential series pilots online for viewer feedback."

LinuxDevices - Chinese $150 Linux mini-PC races OLPC to market

LinuxDevices - Chinese $150 Linux mini-PC races OLPC to market:
"A Chinese company is touting an inexpensive Linux-based computer as a way to close the 'digital divide.' YellowSheepRiver's $150 'Municator' appears to be available now, with a three-month leadtime, suggesting it could reach market well ahead of MIT's $100 'One Laptop Per Child' (OLPC) device."
LINKS: YellowSheepRiver

MarketingVOX - WSJ: Microsoft to Buy Massive

MarketingVOX - WSJ: Microsoft to Buy Massive:
"The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Microsoft is planning to acquire in-game advertising firm Massive Inc. for anywhere between $200 and $400 million, with the official announcement to come next week, writes Gamasutra. Microsoft is apparently interested in controlling how advertising is placed within games and wants to try using ads to subsidize users' costs for massively multiplayer online games."
RELATED: Gamasutra - Report: WSJ Claims Microsoft Buyout of Massive Imminent
LINKS: Massive Inc.

Yenra - 2007 Jeep Wrangler

Yenra - 2007 Jeep Wrangler:
"With a four-door open-air design, the all-new 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited has room for five adult passengers and the most cargo space ever offered in a Wrangler."

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Will you stand for less room on flights?

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Will you stand for less room on flights?:
"Airbus has been quietly pitching the standing-room-only option to Asian carriers, though none has agreed to it yet. Passengers in the standing section would be propped against a padded backboard, held in place with a harness, according to experts who have seen a proposal."
Via PSFK

BizReport - EBay Launches Online Store to Sell Items

BizReport - EBay Launches Online Store to Sell Items:
"To attract more shoppers, online auctioneer eBay Inc. on Monday launched 'eBay Express,' an online store to sell new items ranging from cookware and books to electronics -- all with no bidding involved."
LINKS: eBay Express

BizReport - Amazon.com Subsidiary to Sell TV DVDs

BizReport - Amazon.com Subsidiary to Sell TV DVDs:
"CustomFlix is hoping to appeal to broadcasters because it promises to hold the content and only create a DVD when a customer orders it, rather than forcing a network to risk producing thousands of DVDs that go unsold. He said the technology also could allow users to download or stream the shows over the Internet, although he had no announcements about such plans right now."
LINKS: CustomFlix

AlterNet - Asexuals Unite

AlterNet - Asexuals Unite:
"Asexuality is not celibacy, abstinence or escapism, Jay says. 'Whatever sexual orientation is, it works like that. It's not something we choose. It's something we intrinsically feel.'"
Via Cyborg Democracy
LINKS: Asexuality Visibility and Education Network
LINKS: The Official Nonlibidoism Society

Reuters - Gates said Microsoft had to beat RealNetworks

Reuters - Gates said Microsoft had to beat RealNetworks:
"'It does not compete with Windows. The fact that Apple moved away from competing with Microsoft head-to-head into the music service business does not contradict foreclosure; it confirms it,' he said."

Reuters - US TV stations seek share of networks' new revenue

Reuters - US TV stations seek share of networks' new revenue:
"The networks and the affiliates have had a sometimes rocky relationship over the years, disagreeing over a variety of issues such as when the local stations can preempt national programming."

Reuters - UPDATE 2-Sun Micro founder McNealy steps down as CEO

Reuters - UPDATE 2-Sun Micro founder McNealy steps down as CEO:
"High-end computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday that founder and Silicon Valley legend Scott McNealy would step down as chief executive, and protege Jonathan Schwartz would take his place."

M-Dollar - Windows Live Drive: store everything

M-Dollar - Windows Live Drive: store everything:
"Microsoft Watch is reporting that Microsoft is looking to create a new Windows Live service which will act as a virtual hard drive for users. Live Drive, as the service is known, will be in competition with Google's GDrive."

New Scientist Tech - Paint-on laser brings optical computing closer

New Scientist Tech - Paint-on laser brings optical computing closer:
"A laser created by simply painting a solution of crystals onto glass could be used to make super-fast computers that use light instead of electricity. The technology could also provide cheap sensors for biomedical and motoring applications."
Via KurzweilAI.net

M-Dollar - Welcome to college, here's your Windows Live account

M-Dollar - Welcome to college, here's your Windows Live account:
"Microsoft, in an attempt to spread the word about Windows Live, has struck a deal with 72 colleges all across the world. And what is this said deal? The colleges have agreed to let Microsoft host their student's e-mail accounts."

OpEd News - Bush Impeachment

OpEd News - Bush Impeachment:
"Detailing five specific charges against President Bush including one that is specified to be a felony, the complete text of HJR0125 is copied below at the end of this article. One of the interesting points is that one of the items, the one specified as a felony, that the NSA was directed by the President to spy on American citizens without warrant, is not in dispute. That fact should prove an interesting dilemma for a Republican controlled US House that clearly is not only loathe to initiate impeachment proceedings, but does not even want to thoroughly investigate any of the five items brought up by the Illinois Assembly as high crimes and/or misdemeanors. Should HJR0125 be passed by the Illinois General Assembly, the US House will be forced by House Rules to take up the issue of impeachment as a privileged bill, meaning it will take precedence over other House business."
RELATED: OpEd News - California Becomes Second State to Introduce Bush Impeachment
LINKS: ImpeachBush.org

BetaNews - Intel Unveils vPro Business Branding

BetaNews - Intel Unveils vPro Business Branding:
"Intel on Monday introduced a new brand for business PCs dubbed vPro, which serves as a chip platform much like Intel's Centrino for mobile computers and Viiv for entertainment systems. vPro brings to the table the second generation of Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) and built-in virtualization."
LINKS: Intel - vPro

New Scientist Tech - Superconducting memory flip-flops in an instant

New Scientist Tech - Superconducting memory flip-flops in an instant:
"An exotic form of electronic memory made using superconductors could someday be used to make computers that work at unprecedented speeds, say researchers."
Via KurzweilAI.net

Military.com - Dragon Skin or Interceptor Body Armor?

Military.com - Dragon Skin or Interceptor Body Armor?:
"Defense Review has confirmed it. Just as we expected, Pinnacle Armor SOV-2000 (Level III/III+) and SOV-3000 (Level IV) Dragon Skin body armor appears to be significantly superior in every combat-relavant way to U.S. Army PEO Soldier's and U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center (NSC)/Soldier Systems Center's Interceptor Body Armor, which is comprised of the following components: USMC Interceptor Multi-threat Body Armor System Small Arms Protective Insert (SAPI) Level III plate or Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert (ESAPI) Level IV plate, and the USMC Interceptor Multi-threat Body Armor System Outer Tactical Vest (OTV)."
LINKS: Pinnacle Armor - Dragon Skin

New Scientist Tech - Solar-powered implant could restore vision

New Scientist Tech - Solar-powered implant could restore vision:
"An implant that squirts chemicals into the back of your eye may not sound like much fun. But a solar-powered chip that stimulates retinal cells by spraying them with neurotransmitters could restore sight to blind people."
Via KurzweilAI.net

Los Angeles Times - Chronic Fatigue Is in the Genes, Study Finds

Los Angeles Times - Chronic Fatigue Is in the Genes, Study Finds:
"Chronic fatigue syndrome, often dismissed as the imaginings of depressed and whiny people, is caused by genetic mutations that impair the central nervous system's ability to adapt to stressful situations, according to a major new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

BizReport - eBay in talks to fend off Google threat

BizReport - eBay in talks to fend off Google threat:
"eBay Inc has had talks with both Yahoo Inc and Microsoft Corp to determine whether one of them might be a suitable ally against common threats from Google Inc, the Wall Street Journal said on Friday."

The Inquirer - Apple book comes with Windows pre-loaded

The Inquirer - Apple book comes with Windows pre-loaded:
"Expercom.com, here, is offering to pre-load punters' MacBook Pros with a licensed copy of Windows XP and a 20GB Fat32 partition, pre-loaded with Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2."

Gadgetell - TiVo pulls Blockbuster out of their back pocket

Gadgetell - TiVo pulls Blockbuster out of their back pocket:
"The TiVo expert, David Zatz, was playing around on the TiVo store last night and found some really interesting stuff. We have all heard the rumors that TiVo and Netflix had a partnership going, then didn’t, and maybe did again. Well Dave found a Blockbuster partnership within TiVo."

CIO Tech Informer - Opera Debuts Public Beta of New Web Browser

CIO Tech Informer - Opera Debuts Public Beta of New Web Browser:
"Opera 9 includes a feature called 'widgets,' which are small Web applications such as newsfeeds or games that reside in a window on a user’s desktop. It also comes with the BitTorrent file-downloading software built in, meaning users don’t have to start that software as a separate application."
LINKS: Opera 9 Beta

LinuxDevices - Handheld Linux gaming gadget goes stateside

LinuxDevices - Handheld Linux gaming gadget goes stateside:
"A Linux-based handheld gaming platform that runs native and emulated games is shipping in the US. Gamepark's GP2X is powered by a pair of ARM9 processors, has an 'open-source' API and development tools, and can run thousands of classic console video games, online retailer Dynamism says."LINKS: Gamepark Holdings
BUY: Gamepark GP2X

BizReport - CNET launches video-on-demand network

BizReport - CNET launches video-on-demand network:
"CNET Networks on Monday said it will launch 'CNET TV,' a new video on demand network over cable, on digital video recorders made by TiVo and on the Internet as it broadens its reach to viewers."

Popular Science - John Koza Has Built an Invention Machine

Popular Science - John Koza Has Built an Invention Machine:
"As a high-school student in the 1950s, John Koza yearned for a personal computer. That was a tall order back then, as mass-produced data processors such as the IBM 704 were mainframes several times the size of his bedroom. So the cocksure young man went rummaging for broken jukeboxes and pinball machines, repurposing relays and switches and lightbulbs to make a computer of his own design."

Yahoo! News - Sony Ericsson sees market for TV on phones soon

Yahoo! News - Sony Ericsson sees market for TV on phones soon:
"Proponents of DVB-H and DMB say they allow an unlimited number of handsets to receive broadcast television, which could make it effective for a mass market in which users pay a flat monthly fee."

KurzweilAI.net - Nature paper shows that cell division is reversible

KurzweilAI.net - Nature paper shows that cell division is reversible:
"Gary J. Gorbsky, Ph.D., a scientist with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, has found a way to reverse the process of cell division."

Scientific American - Ultra-efficient Organic LED Outshines Lightbulb

Scientific American - Ultra-efficient Organic LED Outshines Lightbulb:
"The incandescent lightbulb is a miracle of modern engineering. It requires a vacuum inside, blown glass and special filaments to work. Yet despite more than a century of refinements, an average bulb emits just 15 lumens of light for every watt of electricity it consumes. As a result, simple lighting accounts for 22 percent of the electricity used by buildings in the U.S. Now a team of engineers and chemists has created a carbon-based series of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that operate at the pinnacle of efficiency while emitting a strong white light."
Via PSFK

Financial Times - Oracle considers new Linux venture

Financial Times - Oracle considers new Linux venture:
"Oracle is studying whether to launch its own version of the Linux operating system and has looked at buying one of the two companies currently dominating the Linux world, according to Larry Ellison, the software company's chief executive officer."
RELATED: CNET News - Oracle looking to Linux
RELATED: Wired News - Oracle Eyes Novell Acquisition
RELATED: eWeek - Oracle's Linux Push: Mozilla Browser to Front Oracle Apps

New York Times - At LucasArts, No Playing Around in Quest to Be No. 1

New York Times - At LucasArts, No Playing Around in Quest to Be No. 1:
"In September 2004, Jim Ward met with the director George Lucas at his office at Skywalker Ranch near here. At the time, LucasArts, the video game company created by Mr. Lucas in 1982 and run by Mr. Ward, was in disarray. The division was making too many mediocre 'Star Wars' games, it was rife with internal rivalries and it was in such lackluster financial shape that bonuses for employees were scrapped that year."
LINKS: LucasArts

InformationWeek - Microsoft Launches Specialized Search Engine

InformationWeek - Microsoft Launches Specialized Search Engine:
"The software company launched a new search engine for academic journals last week, and while it's yet another example of Microsoft trailing Google in online software (digital maps and desktop searches also come to mind), Microsoft is showing what looks like a new willingness to take some chances and loosen up its release schedules."
LINKS: Windows Live Academic

BusinessWeek - Microsoft Gets Social

BusinessWeek - Microsoft Gets Social:
"Software giant Microsoft is taking its MSN Search division on a comeback tour. The next stop: Social search, a way of making Web search more relevant by incorporating the preferences of like-minded Net surfers."
LINKS: Eurekster

GamesIndustry.biz - Microsoft expands Xbox Live movie content

GamesIndustry.biz - Microsoft expands Xbox Live movie content:
"Significantly expanding the range of content available through Xbox Live and creating a unique cross-marketing initiative, Microsoft and Paramount Pictures have unveiled the new Xbox Movie Showcase service."

BizReport - Brands take buzz to bank through free TV placement

BizReport - Brands take buzz to bank through free TV placement:
"Entertainment marketers say that despite efforts by the networks and studios to crack down on free placements, they are still happening for a variety of reasons: Many integration decisions are still being driven creatively rather than financially; production companies still want to save money by getting free product on the set; branded entertainment deals do not come close to covering the amount of product that is needed to dress a set; many changes in props or sets are made during filming, long after product integration deals are sealed; and producers don't always want to spend the time and money required to satisfy the demands of brands willing to pay for integration."

BizReport - Microsoft signs on as World Cyber Games sponsor

BizReport - Microsoft signs on as World Cyber Games sponsor:
"Under the terms of the alliance, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Games for Windows business units will provide hardware, games and marketing support for all World Cyber Game events -- including three multi-region championships, the Korean and U.S. championships, and the grand finals in Monza, Italy, in October."
LINKS: World Cyber Games

BizReport - MetroFi selected to operate Portland Wi-Fi network

BizReport - MetroFi selected to operate Portland Wi-Fi network:
"MetroFi Inc. said on Wednesday it was selected by the city of Portland, Oregon, to design and operate a citywide Wi-Fi network that will provide free wireless Internet access and improved public services."
LINKS: MetroFi

Reuters - Google offers free Web calendar service

Reuters - Google offers free Web calendar service:
"Google Inc. is introducing on Thursday a free Web calendar service for consumers to schedule events and share them with others, opening a new level of competition with rivals such as Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp."
RELATED: BizReport - Google offers free Web calendar service
LINKS: Google Calendar

JupiterResearch - Disney/ABC to "Broadcast" Online; This Is Big

JupiterResearch - Disney/ABC to "Broadcast" Online; This Is Big:
"'On April 30, ABC will unveil a revamped Web site that will include a 'theater' where people with broadband connections can watch free episodes of 'Desperate Housewives,' 'Lost' and other hit shows on their computers. Episodes will be available the morning after they air and will be archived so people can eventually view a whole season. A Disney Channel version with five shows will start in June, and an ABC Family version is also planned. Disney's Soapnet cable channel will start offering programs free on its Web site, Soapnetic, on April 17.'"
LINKS: ABC - Video

BizReport - Google Earth to Get Discovery Video

BizReport - Google Earth to Get Discovery Video:
"Discovery Communications Inc. is teaming up with Google to offer video clips of historic sites and other spots around the world through Google Earth software, one of several new ways the Silver Spring cable programmer is distributing its content beyond television."

Forbes - Google Music Store Would Provide New Revenue Stream

Forbes - Google Music Store Would Provide New Revenue Stream:
"Google is preparing to launch a music downloading service, according to research firm Caris & Company."

GamesIndustry.biz - Eurogamer plans E3 TV coverage; Minkley joins as TV editor

GamesIndustry.biz - Eurogamer plans E3 TV coverage; Minkley joins as TV editor:
"Britain's top videogames website publisher, Eurogamer Network, has announced its plans for extensive video coverage of the E3 show in May, with the initiative being spearheaded by new hire Johnny Minkley."
LINKS: Eurogamer TV

KurzweilAI.net - Strategic Sustainable Brain

KurzweilAI.net - Strategic Sustainable Brain:
"The human brain faces a challenging future. To cope with accelerating nanotech- and biotech-based developments in an increasingly complex world, compete with emerging superintelligence, and maintain its performance and sustainability as people live longer, the fragile human brain will need major enhancements: a backup system, eliminating degenerative processes, direct mind-linkup to ubiquitous computing networks, error-correction for memory, and a global Net connection with remote neural access."

KurzweilAI.net - Is AI Near a Takeoff Point?

KurzweilAI.net - Is AI Near a Takeoff Point?:
"Computers built by nanofactories may be millions of times more powerful than anything we have today, capable of creating world-changing AI in the coming decades. But to avoid a dystopia, the nature (and particularly intelligence) of government (a giant computer program -- with guns) will have to change."

BizReport - Offbeat shows turn Web into world wide TV network

BizReport - Offbeat shows turn Web into world wide TV network:
"From independent producers like Mondo Media to big media companies like MTV, and even kids who post videos on community sites like YouTube.com, the World Wide Web is becoming a sort of worldwide TV network for audiences seeking offbeat entertainment not shown on mainstream television."
LINKS: Mondo Mini Shows
LINKS: YouTube

eWeek - LinuxWorld: Virtualization Bake-In Off and Running

eWeek - LinuxWorld: Virtualization Bake-In Off and Running:
"Amid a growing cacophony of demand, the two largest Linux vendors, Red Hat and Novell, plan to bake virtualization into their enterprise products slated to ship later this year. But technology managers are mixed on the approach."
LINKS: Xen Source

PC Magazine - Philips Downsizes Mobile TV

PC Magazine - Philips Downsizes Mobile TV:
"Mobile TV is a big topic at CTIA, with much of the buzz around DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handhelds), a European-driven standard for broadcasting digital TV channels to phones. While companies such as MobiTV and SmartVideo already bring live TV to some phones and PDAs, they stream the shows over Internet connections, with a separate stream going to each user who demands it. Direct television broadcasts, on their own chunk of radio spectrum, are much cheaper to deliver to a mass audience because they don't clog up Internet pipes or a bunch of individual cellular connections."
LINKS: MobiTV
LINKS: SmartVideo

Metropolis Magazine - Smart City 2020

Metropolis Magazine - Smart City 2020:
"These days computers are mostly devices in drag. The gadgets that surround us wear the distinctive gear and play the varied roles of telephones, MP3 players, digital cameras, watches, and date books. Under the surface, microchips and software are what make these otherwise inert lumps of metal and plastic useful. The same goes for domestic appliances, automobiles, laboratory equipment, prostheses, and the electrical and mechanical systems of buildings. Our cities are fast transforming into artificial ecosystems of interconnected, interdependent intelligent digital organisms. This is the fundamentally new technological condition confronting architects and product designers in the twenty-first century. At the MIT Design Laboratory, my colleagues and I work with teams of students to explore the emerging opportunities this condition provides."
LINKS: SENSEable City

New York Times - At Last, Movies to Keep Arrive on the Internet

New York Times - At Last, Movies to Keep Arrive on the Internet:
"Until now, the only downloads the studios have offered have been online rentals, which can be watched only for a 24-hour period — an idea that has not caught on with consumers. But the high prices and technological limits of the new permanent downloads suggest that they may not be an instant hit."
LINKS: Movielink
LINKS: CinemaNow

informitv - Cablevision RS-DVR tests remote control storage case

informitv - Cablevision RS-DVR tests remote control storage case:
"Comcast and Time Warner executives are welcoming an initiative by New York cable operator Cablevision Systems to offer a network video recorder that removes the need for set-top box storage."

Engadget - XG will ship first xMAX VoIP handsets before end of year

Engadget - XG will ship first xMAX VoIP handsets before end of year:
"XG Technology just took one baby-step closer to reality by announcing that their first consumer VoIP handset will be delivered before the end of the year. These dual-mode handsets will feature XG’s own proprietary xMAX chips, the ol’ tried-n-true WiFi, and a bit of old fashioned Ethernet jacks for straight-up tethered VoIP calling. No, not WiMax son, xMAX -- XG's high-data-rate wireless solution which recently pumped a 3.67Mbps signal some 18 miles using a mere 35 milliwatts of power on FCC approved equipment."
LINKS: xG Technology

Gear Live - New Cray Supercomputer Uses 24,000 Opterons

Gear Live - New Cray Supercomputer Uses 24,000 Opterons:
"On a fairly regular basis, some research lab or government institution needs computing power on a massive scale. In this case it’s the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. They’re having Cray, an old hat at supercomputers, build them a system that should break the 1 petaflop barrier (that’s 1 quadrillion floating-point operations per second). The next closest system currently in operation is IBM’s Blue Gene/L which turns out a quite respectable 350 teraflops."
LINKS: Cray - The Supercomputer Company

Reg Hardware - Toshiba pre-announces next-gen Nvidia mobile GPU

Reg Hardware - Toshiba pre-announces next-gen Nvidia mobile GPU:
"Nvidia hasn't announced its GeForce Go 7900 GS mobile GPU yet, but Toshiba yesterday said it has begun shipping a gaming-oriented notebook which delivers 'state-of-the-art graphics' thanks to the new chip, 256MB of graphics memory and a 17in TruBrite display."Via Gear Live
LINKS: Toshiba - Satellite P105-S921

The Slatin Report - Coke thinks Coffee - and Retail

The Slatin Report - Coke thinks Coffee - and Retail:
"It's a small deal that could pack a big pop, or just a little fizz. Coca-Cola Inc. has quietly leased a 4,000-square-foot retail space in Toronto. While it's just a storefront, it foreshadows what insiders say is the beverage giant's dreams of dunking Starbucks in its own brew."
LINKS: Coca-Cola Blak

Gearlog - Mac Os X 10.5 Likely To Have Virtualization, Windows Support

Gearlog - Mac Os X 10.5 Likely To Have Virtualization, Windows Support:
"In a stunning move, BAPCo, the industry-standard Windows benchmarking consortium, announced that Apple Computer has joined up as a member. BAPCo is responsible for the SYSmark 2004SE and MobileMark benchmark suites we use at PC Magazine Labs for testing PCs. BAPCo also produces the webserver test WEBmark."
LINKS: BAPCo

BizReport - Google Expands America Online Alliance

BizReport = Google Expands America Online Alliance:
"Google Inc. said Wednesday that it has ironed out the final details of its expanded alliance with America Online, clearing the way for the online search engine leader to invest $1 billion in its biggest advertising partner."

Information Age - Executive tech: the Halo effect

Information Age - Executive tech: the Halo effect:
"The BlackBerry is now officially old hat. A new, rather more expensive executive toy is winning the hearts of tech-savvy CEOs: the Halo Collaboration Studio."LINKS: HP - Halo Collaboration

Wired News - Jell-O Fix for Spinal Cords

Wired News - Jell-O Fix for Spinal Cords:
"Stem cells embedded in futuristic materials may heal decades-old spinal cord injuries and rescue patients from paralysis, if recent experiments in rodents can be replicated in humans."

LinuxDevices - Please pass the Salton Pepper, I need to check my email

LinuxDevices - Please pass the Salton Pepper, I need to check my email:
"A major kitchen appliance vendor will add a Linux-based tablet PC to its futuristic 'connected home' product family. Salton, whose brands include George Foreman, Westinghouse, Toastmaster, Melitta, Russell Hobbs, Farberware, Ingraham, and Stiffel, will rebrand Pepper Computing's Pepper Pad for its 'Beyond Connected Home' product line."
LINKS: Salton - Beyon Connected Home
LINKS: Pepper Computer

PSFK - Scace As Scarcity: MicroApartments

PSFK - Scace As Scarcity: MicroApartments:
"These apartments sit on Vauxhall Bridge Road in London's Westminster. The artchitect has taken a small triangle of land to create high-designed micro-apartments for micro-living."
LINKS: Barratt - Apartments at the Tachbrook Triangle

ExtremeTech - GDC 2006 Wrap-Up

ExtremeTech - GDC 2006 Wrap-Up:
"This year's Game Developers Conference had its share of controversy, terrific sessions, competing parties and chance interactions. As happens every year, there's way too much to cover, and it all seems to end too soon."
LINKS: Game Developers Conference

PC Magazine - Oh, Those Crazy French!

PC Magazine - Oh, Those Crazy French!:
"While the world moans and groans about the French and their attitude of cultural superiority, you sometimes have to give them credit, often in hindsight, for their ability to see through all the BS out there."

Discovery Channel - Low-Cost Rocket Fails First Flight

Discovery Channel - Low-Cost Rocket Fails First Flight:
"The low-cost, built-from-scratch Falcon 1 rocket faltered a minute after liftoff on Friday, dashing the hopes of Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk that after four years and roughly $100 million, his creation would be spared the fate that awaits most debut rocket flights."
LINKS: SpaceX

The Motley Fool - Lycos Calls Back

The Motley Fool - Lycos Calls Back:
"Just days after Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) rattled the telcos by launching a public beta of an even cheaper Skype-like service, a somewhat forgotten competitor has thrown its hat into the ring by undercutting the undercutter."
LINKS: Lycos Phone

New Scientist - Laser chips could power petaflop computers

New Scientist - Laser chips could power petaflop computers:
"Laser communications chips capable of pumping data through the veins of gargantuan 'petaflop' supercomputers have been demonstrated by NEC in Japan."
Via KurzweilAI.net

news@nature - Stem cells found in adult mouse testes

news@nature - Stem cells found in adult mouse testes:
"Researchers in Germany have identified a potential source of reprogrammable cells in adults that could be used for regenerative therapy. The cells would be taken directly from the testis and cultured. No cloning or destruction of embryos would be necessary."

informitv - Universal movie giant launches digital downloads to own

informitv - Universal movie giant launches digital downloads to own:
"Universal Pictures, part of the NBC Universal media group, is for the first time releasing new movies as digital downloads to own, through a partnership with the Lovefilm online service in the UK."
LINKS: LoveFilm

I4U News - New Panasonic Plasma TVs with G9 Panels Deliver 10,000:1 Contrast Ratio

I4U News - New Panasonic Plasma TVs with G9 Panels Deliver 10,000:1 Contrast Ratio:
"Good thing it went for a HDTV projector for my home theater for now and held of on the Plasma TV purchase. Panasonics's new Plasma TV generation G9 raises the image quality by a big step with up to 10,000:1 contrast ratio (G8 had 3000:1)."
LINKS: Panasonic

Wired News - Satellite Radio Rocks Cell Phones

Wired News - Satellite Radio Rocks Cell Phones:
"Fans of U.S. satellite radio have been waiting eagerly for nearly a year to get XM or Sirius onto their cell phones."

Wired News - Island Wisdom, Coded in Java

Wired News - Island Wisdom, Coded in Java:
"Now Armstrong is readying a productivity tool that he hopes will put those precepts into action. Called Trampoline, the program will integrate with a company's existing desktop and enterprise server applications, sitting quietly on a company's network and vacuuming in e-mail, files, spreadsheets and anything else it can find."
LINKS: Trampoline Systems

Wired Magazine - When Virtual Worlds Collide

Wired Magazine - When Virtual Worlds Collide:
"Sometimes futurists get the future right. Millions of us now commute to mass­ively multiplayer online games in worlds much like the metaverse predicted by William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, and the Wachowski brothers. We live vicariously through our digital avatars in lushly rendered virtual environments, building and bartering, chatting and flirting, even falling in love. The population of the computer-generated universe is increasing at a rate that rivals email's growth 15 years ago. A decade hence, you'll drop a reference to your virtual doppelgängers just as casually as you give out your email address today."

Wired News - What You'll Wear in 10 Years

Wired News - What You'll Wear in 10 Years:
"Forget fancy camcorder phones and wireless internet routers; the future's most innovative gadgets come in a strapless size 4."

New York Times - The Bespoke Computer

New York Times - The Bespoke Computer:
"Major computer makers, including Dell and Hewlett-Packard, will build PC's to order, but their selection of components is limited and they offer only a few types of cases. And they certainly don't allow customers to send in used parts to reduce the cost of the final product."
LINKS: Krex

GamesIndustry.biz - Dell buys gaming PC specialist Alienware

GamesIndustry.biz - Dell buys gaming PC specialist Alienware:
"Leading PC manufacturer Dell has acquired Miami-based gaming PC specialist Alienware for an undisclosed sum, with the announcement reaffirming Dell's commitment to the sector only hours after firm unveiled its own new gaming PC range."
LINKS: Alienware

GamesIndustry.biz - GDC: Networks and real-time demos are the focus for Harrison

GamesIndustry.biz - GDC: Networks and real-time demos are the focus for Harrison:
"At GDC in San Jose today, Sony Worldwide Studios head Phil Harrison outlined plans for a versatile online gaming service with considerable potential for digital distribution of content, and demonstrated real-time game demos for PlayStation 3."
RELATED: GamesIndustry.biz - GDC: Final PS3 controller, launch line-up at E3

PSFK - Cool Vest Doesn't Give You The Chills

PSFK - Cool Vest Doesn't Give You The Chills:
"Remy Chevalier mailed us a tip off about this vest that keeps you a cool 15 degrees C (59F) and can recharge in 20 minutes just sitting in the ice cooler you've got your beers plonked in. You can even get one for your dog and, oh, the chemicals it uses are green."
LINKS: RPCM Vests

LinuxDevices - Sun GPLs Sparc design, multi-threading tech

LinuxDevices - Sun GPLs Sparc design, multi-threading tech:
"Sun released a 64-bit multicore, multi-threaded processor design under the GNU GPL today, at the Multicore Expo in Santa Clara. The OpenSparc T1 design supports eight cores, with four threads per core, and is based on Sun's UltraSparc T1 processor, which was touted as an energy-saving breakthrough when it shipped last November."
LINKS: OpenSPARC
LINKS: Multicore Expo

BizReport - Google launches financial news, data, blog site

BizReport - Google launches financial news, data, blog site:
"Google Inc. is introducing a financial news, stock quote and chat service that seeks to shake up the online finance information market now dominated by Internet media rivals and online brokers."
LINKS: Google Finance

New Scientist - Optic nerve regrown with a nanofibre scaffold

New Scientist - Optic nerve regrown with a nanofibre scaffold:
"Hamsters blinded following damage to their optic nerve have had their vision partially restored with the help of an implanted nanoscale scaffold that has encouraged nerve tissue to regrow."
Via KurzweilAI.net

Reuters.co.uk - Microsoft working on mobile game device

Reuters.co.uk - Microsoft working on mobile game device:
"Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) is working on a handheld gaming device that will also play music and movies in a challenge to rivals such as Sony and Apple, the San Jose Mercury News said on Monday."

RED HERRING - Cray Advances Supercomputing

RED HERRING - Cray Advances Supercomputing:
"Through the end of the decade, Cray plans to build supercomputers that combine standard microprocessors, which use scalar processing, with other types of chips that do vector processing, along with multithreading processors and hardware accelerators to create high-performance computing (HPC) platforms based on Linux."

informitv - AOL In2TV launches first broadband television network

informitv - AOL In2TV launches first broadband television network:
"AOL and Warner Bros have launched In2TV, promoted as the first broadband television network. It claims to offer the largest collection of free television shows on the web, featuring classic episodes from their archives in genre-themed channels, together with viral videos and interactive games."
LINKS: AOL Television: In2TV

TWICE - Samsung Readies Hybrid Hard Drive

TWICE - Samsung Readies Hybrid Hard Drive:
"Samsung’s hybrid hard drive was developed to take advantage of the company’s memory and hard drive businesses by combining the two; this will create both a new hard drive category and generate a need for more flash memory from other hard-drive makers that the company hopes will adopt the technology."

The World Health Network - World faces challenge as life expectancies lengthen, scientist says

World faces challenge as life expectancies lengthen, scientist says:
"In the 21st century, state-of-the-art anti-aging technologies may extend human lifespans at an unprecedented rate, bringing with them a host of social and economic challenges, says biologist Shripad Tuljapurkar of Stanford University."

The World Health Network - Transplanted cells regenerate muscles

The World Health Network - Transplanted cells regenerate muscles:
"Such biological engineering, which once excited the medical community, has been fraught with the difficulties of keeping transplanted cells alive and getting them to integrate with a host's body. Researchers at Harvard University's Department of Engineering and Applied Science may have solved these problems."

GamesIndustry.biz - In Detail: Sony's PlayStation 3 network service plans

GamesIndustry.biz - In Detail: Sony's PlayStation 3 network service plans:
"Further details of the PlayStation Network Platform announced by SCE boss Ken Kutaragi in Tokyo yesterday have emerged, including the fact that the ability to play games online will be included in the basic free service."
RELATED: GameIndustry.biz - PS3: Free online service from day one, hard drive to be a requirement

GameIndustry.biz - Sony promises global PS3 launch in November; six million units by March '07

GameIndustry.biz - Sony promises global PS3 launch in November; six million units by March '07:
"The PlayStation 3 is set to launch in North America, Asia and Europe in early November this year, Sony Computer Entertainment boss Ken Kutaragi has announced, with the firm committed to shipping six million units by the end of March 2007."

Popular Mechanics - Combating Avian Flu

Popular Mechanics - Combating Avian Flu:
"By recreating an extinct virus that killed as many as 50 million people, scientists race to defeat avian flu before it evolves into a deadlier form."

Fast Company - The Body: Bulletproof

Fast Company - The Body: Bulletproof:
"If you want to live forever, change your skin color, or just firm up those abs from the comfort of your own couch, you might be in luck: Gene therapy is on its way--and it's coming fast."

The Motley Fool - Give It Up to Google

The Motley Fool - Give It Up to Google:
"Foolish colleague Seth Jayson has told me more than once that Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is the new Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). You know what? He's right. The rumor mills attached to both firms are the envy of Hollywood wannabes. That's why, when Reuters reported yesterday that the search king is planning to provide users with infinite storage for files, email, bookmarks, and the like, a whole new round of mania set in."

LinuxDevices - Via aims 2-chip PC core at Ultra Mobile PC designs

LinuxDevices - Via aims 2-chip PC core at Ultra Mobile PC designs:
"Via Technology unveiled a new high-integration core-logic chip for low-power, PC-like handheld mobile devices Thursday at CeBIT in Hannover, Germany. The VX700 integrates Via's VN800 northbridge and VT8237 southbridge chip features, plus other mobile-oriented functions. It pairs up with Via's Via C7-M ULV processor to create a two-chip core for 'ultra mobile' designs, according to the company."
RELATED: LinuxDevices - Tiny Via ULV mobile processor targets UMPCs

BizReport - Blockbuster CEO Antioco sees digital future

BizReport - Blockbuster CEO Antioco sees digital future:
"Blockbuster Inc. Chief Executive John Antioco on Thursday said the No. 1 video rental chain has a digital future that may take it to a greater size than it achieved as a primarily store-based business."

ExtremeTech - Intel's Robson Boosts Hard Drive Performance

ExtremeTech - Intel's Robson Boosts Hard Drive Performance:
"Accessing a disk drive is hundreds of times slower than accessing main system memory. Flash memory is slower than the DRAM used for system memory, but it's still far speedier than pulling data from rotating magnetic media. If you've ever waited for a large game level to load, you'll know what we mean. There you sit, with the hard drive light flickering, staring at a progress bar on the screen. For this, you've paid $50?"

eWeek - Google to Offer Book Downloads

eWeek - Google to Offer Book Downloads:
"As to when books can be purchased, Google said, 'This is just a preliminary release to allow U.S. and U.K. publishers to set prices and to choose which books they want to include. This feature isn't yet available as an option for consumers.'"

Wired News - France May Force ITunes Open

Wired News - France May Force ITunes Open:
"France is pushing through a law that would force Apple Computer to open its iTunes online music store and enable consumers to download songs onto devices other than the computer maker's popular iPod player."
RELATED: eWeek - French Plan Would Open iTunes to Other Devices

Wired News - Man vs. Machine in Newsreader War

Wired News - Man vs. Machine in Newsreader War:
"Think back to John Henry racing a steam drill and forward to Garry Kasparov trying to outmaneuver IBM's Deep Blue in 1997 to the Onion tweaking the genre with its accountant battles Excel story."
LINKS: Tailrank
LINKS: Rojo
LINKS: Megite

Hotel Marketing - Six travel technology trends for 2006

Hotel Marketing - Six travel technology trends for 2006:
"2006 is already shaping up to be a productive year for travel technology. RSS feeds are popping up, venture capital is flowing in, IT departments are seeing projects large and small come to fruition ... and launching new ones. As anyone who has tried in the past to predict when mobile will really take off knows - it isn’t always easy to anticipate just when a public-facing technology will reach the much-discussed tipping point. Some technology trends develop at a steady - and predictable - pace, while others are hyped to near-extinction before they flourish."
Via PSFK

MobileMag - Intel to boot laptops with NAND flash

MobileMag - Intel to boot laptops with NAND flash:
"Intel plans to aid the transition of harddrive-less portable computers with a NAND flash integrated notebook solution next year. The NAND flash chips will be used to assist the system in quicker boot times and lowering power consumption, so those old platter drives are still kicking around, but who knows for how long."

MobileMag - Amazon.com starting digital movie download service

MobileMag - Amazon.com starting digital movie download service:
"Jeff Bezos must be jealous of the attention and success Steve Jobs is getting, because his company, Amazon, is looking to grab some of the market that Jobs and Apple are looking to dominate. According to the New York Times, Amazon is holding talks with three Hollywood studios. They’re goal is reportedly to develop a service that will allow customers to download movies and TV shows and burn them onto DVDs. The studios in question are supposedly Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios and Warner Brothers, so Amazon clearly isn’t aiming low with their new offering. This news comes on the heels of February reports that Amazon was negotiating with four major music labels to develop their own digital music service."
RELATED: BizReport - Amazon, Hollywood studios in talks for downloads

KurzweilAI.net - The Cosmic Landscape

KurzweilAI.net - The Cosmic Landscape:
"Leonard Susskind's new book, The Cosmic Landscape pits intelligent design against string theory and the megaverse.

Surprisingly, Autodesk founder John Walker sides with intelligent design, but not by a deity -- by post-Singularity intelligences creating a reality simulation: 'What would we expect to see if we inhabited a simulation? Well, there would probably be a discrete time step and granularity in position fixed by the time and position resolution of the simulation -- check, and check: the Planck time and distance appear to behave this way in our universe. There would probably be an absolute speed limit to constrain the extent we could directly explore and impose a locality constraint on propagating updates throughout the simulation -- check: speed of light. There would be a limit on the extent of the universe we could observe -- check: the Hubble radius is an absolute horizon we cannot penetrate, and the last scattering surface of the cosmic background radiation limits electromagnetic observation to a still smaller radius. There would be a limit on the accuracy of physical measurements due to the finite precision of the computation in the simulation -- check: Heisenberg uncertainty principle -- and, as in games, randomness would be used as a fudge when precision limits were hit—check: quantum mechanics.'"

New Scientist - Create your favourite website, automatically

New Scientist - Create your favourite website, automatically:
"A new tool offers to create websites on any subject, allowing web surfers to sit back, relax and watch a virtual space automatically fill up with relevant news stories, blog posts, maps and photos."
Via KurzweilAI.net
LINKS: Boxxet

KurzweilAI.net - The Longevity Dividend

KurzweilAI.net - The Longevity Dividend:
"Congress should invest $3 billion annually in understanding the biology of aging and how it predisposes us to a suite of costly diseases and disorders expressed at later ages, say a group of researchers led by S. Jay Olshansky, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Illinois."

New York Times - The New São Paulo

New York Times - The New São Paulo:
"It's a sultry January day in São Paulo, and dozens of people are dining beneath a gargantuan fig tree with dramatic horizontal limbs reminiscent of 'Jurassic Park.' An entire restaurant has been built around this 130-year-old tree, and the expansive glass-ceilinged patio is so ingeniously constructed that it's hard to tell whether they are sitting inside or out."

New York Times - The Future, Now Available in Stores

New York Times - The Future, Now Available in Stores:
"One way to grasp all the fuss about nanotechnology — the billions of dollars invested; the talk of potential breakthrough products in energy, computing and health care; the fears of novel hazards unleashed on an unsuspecting populace — is to plunge into the underlying science."
Via PSFK

Forbes - Hot Wheel

Forbes - Hot Wheel:
"We love reading about new products and designs from Bombardier, mostly because besides building things like airplanes and subway cars, the privately held, Quebec-based company also builds fun stuff like Rotax karts, Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Bombardier ATVs, Sea-Doo sport boats and Johnson and Evinrude outboard engines."Via PSFK
LINKS: IDSA - 2003 Gold Winners

The Independent - The Complete Guide To: European boutique hotels

The Independent - The Complete Guide To: European boutique hotels:
"Absolutely. Boutique hotels are generally understood to be chic little establishments characterised by their informal charm. Originally, though, the definition was rather tighter. The 'boutique' style was created in New York back in 1984. This was when the entrepreneur Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell opened Morgans on Madison Avenue. It was quirky and individual, unlike the big brand-name hotels that were dominant at the time."
Via PSFK

KurzweilAI.net - Reprogramming your Biochemistry for Immortality

KurzweilAI.net - Reprogramming your Biochemistry for Immortality:
"Scientists are now talking about people staying young and not aging. Ray Kurzweil is taking it a step further: 'In addition to radical life extension, we’ll also have radical life expansion. The nanobots will be able to go inside the brain and extend our mental functioning by interacting with our biological neurons.'"

Wired News - The Pirate Bay: Here to Stay?

Wired News - The Pirate Bay: Here to Stay?:
"Last month, the Motion Picture Association of America announced one of its boldest sorties yet against online piracy: a barrage of seven federal lawsuits against some of the highest-profile BitTorrent sites, Usenet hosts and peer-to-peer services. Among the targets: isoHunt, TorrentSpy and eDonkey."

New Scientist - 3D plasma shapes created in thin air

New Scientist - 3D plasma shapes created in thin air:
"The night sky could soon be lit up with gigantic three-dimensional adverts, thanks to a Japanese laser display that creates glowing images in thin air."
Via KurweilAI.net

Wired News - Faster Chips, Kill, Kill, Kill

Wired News - Faster Chips, Kill, Kill, Kill
"PCs with blazing-fast 5-GHz CPUs are not only feasible, they should soon be on store shelves, according to chipmakers at a conference in Silicon Valley this week."
Via KurzweilAI.net

American Institute of Physics - Atom Wires

American Institute of Physics - Atom Wires:
"The smallest wire width in mass produced electronic devices is about 50 nm, or about 500 atoms across. The ultimate limit of thinness would be wires only one atom wide. Such wires can be made now, although not for any working electronic device, and it is useful to know their properties for future reference."
Via KurzweilAI.net

BBC News - Guns and sunshades to rescue climate

BBC News - Guns and sunshades to rescue climate:
"While humans have a long history of wanting to control weather and climate - cloud seeding is an example - this incarnation of geoengineering is such a hot potato that scientists cannot even agree whether it should be discussed publicly.

'The knowledge that we maybe could engineer our way out of climate problems inevitably lessens the political will to begin reducing carbon dioxide emissions,' observes David Keith from the University of Calgary in Canada."

PSFK - Apple Does Video Subscription

PSFK - Apple Does Video Subscription:
"We talked recently about the prospect that iTunes will offer a subscription film-download service offering thousands of films each month. Yesterday, Apple launched a subscription service for TV shows. Reuters says that iTunes is launching the service in partnership with Viacom Inc.'s Comedy Central Network, which is rolling out 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' and 'The Colbert Report' on the service. Fans will be able to buy the next month's series of 16 new episodes via Multi-Pass for $9.99, or to pay $1.99 per episode."

LinuxDevices - Sleek Linux smartphone hits shelves in Beijing

LinuxDevices - Sleek Linux smartphone hits shelves in Beijing:
"Motorola's newest Linux-based smartphone reached electronics stores and online retailers in Beijing today. The A1200 is a triband GSM/EDGE phone with a stylish, ultra-slim design. It runs MontaVista Linux on an Intel PXA270 (Bulverde) processor, and has been approved by the FCC for US operation."

BizReport - NBC Universal to buy iVillage for $600 million

BizReport - NBC Universal to buy iVillage for $600 million:
"Media and entertainment conglomerate NBC Universal on Monday said it would acquire iVillage Inc., operator of a network of Web sites for women, for $600 million in a bid to bolster its Internet strategy."

BizReport - Google lets slip talk of online storage service

BizReport - Google lets slip talk of online storage service:
"Google Inc. is preparing to offer online storage to Web users, creating a mirror image of data stored on consumer hard drives, according to company documents that were mistakenly released on the Web."

T3 - Hands-on with the Samsung Q1

T3 - Hands-on with the Samsung Q1:
"Well, we waited with bated breath and in the end Microsoft’s fabled Origami product turned out to be… a miniature tablet PC! Okay, so it might not have been the Earth-shattering announcement we were hoping for, but having got a chance to get to grips with the Q1, we can safely say it’s a seriously smart piece of kit."
RELATED: T3 - Ultra-Mobile PC unveiled!

Techworld - Linux for desktop should 'catch fire' by 2008

Techworld - Linux for desktop should 'catch fire' by 2008:
"Novell has launched the next version of its desktop Linux OS, a release the company hopes will begin a 'viral' migration from Windows in the next several years, said Jeff Jaffe, chief technology officer for Novell."
LINKS: Novell SUSE Linux

Macworld News - CEBIT: Samsung shows 10 megapixel camera phone

Macworld News - CEBIT: Samsung shows 10 megapixel camera phone:
"Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is planning to launch in the second quarter a cell phone that boasts a 10 megapixel resolution digital camera, the company said at the Cebit IT show on Thursday."

Macworld News - Google acquires online word processing app provider

Macworld News - Google acquires online word processing app provider:
"Google, which late last year dodged rumors it was developing productivity applications, can no longer make that claim as Thursday it acquired Writely, an online word processing application."

eWeek - Sun's McNealy Stumps for Utility Computing

eWeek - Sun's McNealy Stumps for Utility Computing:
"Thumping the open-source bible before an audience of government IT professionals on March 8, Sun Microsystems Chairman and CEO Scott McNealy warned that ongoing adherence to a hodgepodge of proprietary architectures will leave the IT environment inefficient and insecure."

ExtremeTech - Intel to Boost Wireless Notebooks

ExtremeTech - Intel to Boost Wireless Notebooks:
"The chip maker will offer, later this year, a WiMax PC card that will allow notebooks to tap high-speed Internet connections, and during 2007 it aims to equip its notebooks with a new generation of higher-bandwidth Wi-Fi, dubbed 802.11n. It also showed off a combination Wi-Fi/WiMax chip, code-named Ofer."

ExtremeTech - Inside Intel's Conroe Architecture

ExtremeTech - Inside Intel's Conroe Architecture:
"At the 2006 Intel Developer Forum, Intel showed a Conroe system running existing generation PC games faster than an AMD system. And not only was the Intel system running at 2.66GHz—a slower clock rate than the top Pentium 4—it was outpacing an overclocked Athlon 64 FX-60. Wrap your brain around that idea for a bit while we dive into the architecture of Intel's new progeny."

PC Magazine - Microsoft, Samsung Launch "Origami" Ultra-Mobile PC

PC Magazine - Microsoft, Samsung Launch "Origami" Ultra-Mobile PC:
"Samsung will enter the US computer market in April as the launch partner for Microsoft's new UltraMobile PC or 'Origami' platform. Launched this morning at the CeBit technology show in Hannover Germany, this smaller tablet PC fits between hand-held Portable Media Centers and more traditional tablet/notebook computers."

CNET News - Manufacturers unwrap first ultramobile PCs

CNET News - Manufacturers unwrap first ultramobile PCs:
"Intel lifted the lid on Microsoft's Origami project on Thursday by showing off three ultramobile PC devices at the CeBit trade show here."

PSFK - Japan Is US Car Buyers' Favorite

PSFK: - Japan Is US Car Buyers' Favorite:
"Cars made by Japanese manufacturers fill the US Consumer Reports top 10 Best Cars Of 2006. In fact, every car in that top 10 is Japanese:

* Family sedan: Honda Accord
* Upscale sedan: Acura TL
* Luxury sedan: Infiniti M35
* Small SUV: Subaru Forester
* Mid-size SUV: Toyota Highlander
* Minivan: Honda Odyssey
* Green car: Toyota Prius
* Fun to drive: Subaru Impreza WRX/STi
* Pickup truck: Honda Ridgeline"