2007 Bloggies: Most Humorous Weblog [view: normal]

Cross promotions sometimes don't make much sense. I've got nothing against Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for agreeing to pitch NASA to youngsters, but really, there are better ways to capture youth attention.

The Rock just wants to make sure we remember that NASA's responsible for the rubber soles on our shoes, and the (apparently humorous) inclusion of freeze-dried fruit in cereal. But c'mon, NASA. W...

Anyone hoping to see the Sony Ericsson X10 on T-Mobile, look away now or you'll be sorely disappointed. Phandroid noticed that the American version of the X10 won't support the necessary frequencies to connect to T-Mobile's network.

Yup, even though the specs page lists support for UMTS/HSPA 800/850/900/1700/1900/2100, Sony Ericsson is going to be localizing the radios. From the source:

UMTS HSPA 800/850/1900 only available for phones sold in Americas (except Brazil) and Australia. UMTS HSPA 900/1700 not available for phones sold in Americas. UMTS HSPA 1900/2100 available worldwide.

So that means you'll still be able to find an X10 that works on T-Mobile, just not in this country. You'll still be able to import if you want to use your expensive handset with T-Mo's cheap Even More Plus plans. But if you want to have that huge $880 cost subsidized at all, looks like you'll be going with AT&T. [Phandroid via Engadget]

Anyone hoping to see the Sony Ericsson X10 on T-Mobile, look away now or you'll be sorely disappointed. Phandroid noticed that the American version of the X10 won't support the necessary frequencies to connect to T-Mobile's network.

Yup, even though the specs page lists support for UMTS/HSPA 800/850/900/1700/1900/2100, Sony Ericsson is going to be localizing the radios. From the source:

UMTS HSPA 800/850/1900 only available for phones sold in Americas (except Brazil) and Australia. UMTS HSPA 900/1700 not available for phones sold in Americas. UMTS HSPA 1900/2100 available worldwide.

So that means you'll still be able to find an X10 that works on T-Mobile, just not in this country. You'll still be able to import if you want to use your expensive handset with T-Mo's cheap Even More Plus plans.

This also doesn't mean that the X10 is definitely coming to AT&T. Sony Ericsson wants to have a carrier relationship, but it depends on if one works out. As it stands, if anyone will be subsidizing that huge $880 cost, it'll be AT&T. [Phandroid via Engadget]

Just when you thought you could forget about the elusive bugger, rumors about an iPod Touch with a built-in camera start up again. The latest report points to a Spring 2010 refresh that will finally include a video camera.

The latest rumor reads like it's August all over again, but it does have one particularly disappointing aspect. According to the source, the iPod touch camera will match the

If you really want to put video game controllers on your tree, please hang these up. They're a much better option than dangling your filthy old Saturn controller by its cord. [Ponoko via Technabob]

The Consumerist is reporting that two Mac users were denied AppleCare coverage because the owners were smokers. Not because the computers were damaged by second hand smoke, but because of OSHA regulations.

According to separate reports, Apple denied coverage for two users in 2008 based on the fact that OSHA lists cigarette smoke as a biohazard. Both techs refused service to the computers not becau...

Magic Mouse owners lusting for multi-finger gestures on a PC can stop wishing. Some good ol' fashioned hackery pulled Windows drivers from the latest Bootcamp update. You can grab them here, report back with results. [Uneasy Silence, thanks Dan!]

The new terminal at Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport is the world's largest earthquake-safe building. You're looking at the over two million square feet of scaffolding that support it, all resting on top of giant geological roller skates.

Instead of being built on top of the soil, the whole structure rests on over 300 isolators. These giant bearings let the building move laterally during an earthq...

Are you trying to find a gift for one of those crazies who's always going on about the superiority of vinyl, or who dresses like a character on Mad Men? Here are some ideas for the retrophile in your life.

BTW, if you hate the gallery format as much as the Grinch hated Christmas, click here.

Leica M7: DSLR schmeeSLR. Digital photography still can't match the old-school beauty of film, and Leica's...

We've seen cameras do all kinds of crazy things. DIY 3D photography, augmented reality, and now this demo by Qi Pan shows how an ordinary webcam can model objects in 3D.

I'm in no position to discuss the amount of technical wizardry in play here, but I do think the interface is really great. Look at how it overlays scanned textures on the person's hand to create a transparency effect. Neato!

I...

Instead of replacing the St. Louis Zoo's deceased polar bears with live ones, zoo officials put robots up in their place. This a slightly-better-than-average yard display will surely be remembered as the humble beginning of the robot bear uprising.

The robot polar bears are part of the zoo's holiday exhibit, and it's unclear if they'll be around after the season is over. Let's face it, though. The...

We still don't know what the fabled Apple Tablet actually looks like, or if it even exists, really, but this concept magazine reader from Condé Nast gives us a glimpse at what to expect from tablet apps.

Turn down your volume before hitting play, loud techno music awaits. Down? OK, good. Now let's look at what we've got here. It's about what you would expect from a tablet magazine reader. The bi...

Wired writer Evan Ratliff spent 27 days in constant fear of getting caught as a small army of amateur and professional investigators hunted him. He had a bounty on his head and the Internet nipping at his heels.

Vanish, a combination of a manhunt and an experiment, began at 5:38 pm on August 14, 2009 as a bold headline on Wired proclaimed "Author Evan Ratliff Is on the Lam. Locate Him and Win $5,0...

March, 2007: Windows Vista's initial sales are great, "more than doubling" those of its predecessor, Windows XP. Flash forward to November, 2009: Windows 7 initial sales are 234% higher than Vista's. Those numbers sound awfully similar...

What does this all mean? To be honest, not all that much—mostly, it means that there are just more computers out there every year. But what's kind of heartening,...

Apple Patent Describes iPod UI "Pushed" to Other Devices...Philips Announces Very Pretty Pro LCD Line...NYTimes Columnist Proposes Boycott of "Pro-Communist China" Bing...Ooma Adds New Handsets and International Plan...

Apple Patent Describes iPod UI "Pushed" to Other Devices

An Apple patent filed in May 2008 describes a way of pushing whatever UI Apple wants to non-Apple hardware, for consistenc...

Unlike T.S. Eliot, I can't measure life out in coffee spoons. I tend to lose the darn things. That's exactly why this self-stirring, self-heating, USB-chargeable coffee cup is the stuff my caffeine-deprived daydreams are made of.

Brando calls it the USB Whirl Wind Warmer Cup and it's all too lovely. It keeps your beverage at a comfortable 40°C and stirs everything up at the push of a button. You c...

This video shows Earth's weather from August 17 to August 26, 2009. It also shows how beautiful this planet is, and how insignificant we are. It was created at a 7-kilometer resolution with NASA's GEOS-5 atmospheric general circulation model.

The GEOS-5 atmospheric model was developed by NASA Goddard's scientists. It's based on the Earth System Modeling Framework, an open source project "for build...

I used to think that nothing would happen with the Large Hadron Collider. I even made fun of the nutters saying it's going to destroy the world. After reading CERN Director for Accelerators's latest statement, I'm not so sure:

The LHC is a far better understood machine than it was a year ago. We've learned from our experience, and engineered the technology that allows us to move on. That's how pr...

Some of NewEgg's Black Friday offers have surfaced and while we don't know everything yet, a few of the deals we're seeing, such as a 2TB HDD for $150, are looking pretty good.

According to Logic Buy, these deals are subject to change and there are more offers to come. We'll be keeping an eye out for changes and update as necessary.

Pre-Black Friday (Starts Midnight PST on Monday 11/23)

Canon DC410 DVD Camcorder $199.99 (list: $279.99)
Antec 300 PC Case $49.95 (list $69.95)
Seagate 2TB External Hard Drive $149.99 (list: $179.99)
Monster 16ft High Speed HDMI Cable $29.99 (list: $54.99)
Viewsonic 8" Digital Photo Frame $49.99 (list: $69.99)
Logitech RX1500 3-Button Laser Mouse $12.99 (list $27.99)
Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II Speakers $69.99 ($149.99)
Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard $43.99 (list $63.99)
Sparkle GeForce 8400GS PCI-E Low-Profile Video Card $19.99 (list $34.99)

Black Friday (starts 11/25 at 3PM PST)

10% Cash Back starts at 3PM PST on all products on NewEgg.com
7" Digital Photo Frame $29.99
HDMI Cable - 6 FEET $1.99 after MIR
46" 1080P 120Hz LCD TV $699.99
430W ATX 12V Power Supply $16.99

[Logic Buy]

Are idiot cops with tasers in some sort of competition with one another? I think the new record for stupidity belongs to Dustin Bradshaw, the Arkansas police officer who zapped and arrested a 10-year old girl for throwing a fit.

Get this: the mother called police because her child was throwing a fit about showering before going to bed. When the officer arrived the girl was kicking and screaming on...

Because the original switch on this model was busted. Of course, the modification looks like it would get in the way of a close, comfortable shave. [TIFI via Boing Boing]

If you picked up the new Fight Club Blu-ray edition, don't panic when you see the menu screen. Edward Norton HAS NOT been replaced with a Drew Barrymore character that makes out with her alter ego to vent sexual frustration.

Let me explain: the menu screen for Never Been Kissed appears momentarily when the disc is loaded, then reverts to the standard Fight Club menu. It's actually a brilliantly hi...

In this week's charmingly tawdry app roundup: Voices, creepily modulated! Annoying trips to Kinkos, averted! Cats, artfully superimposed! Photos, easily shared! iPhone speakers, blown! Call of Duty, iPhone'd! Google Maps, humiliated! Certifiably good games, discounted! And more...

To view as a single page, click here

Voices: There are a few voice modulation apps on the shelves of the App Store, bu...

If you were hanging out outside in Utah on Wednesday night, chances are good that you witnessed a pretty rare astronomic event: a friggin' huge meteor that lit up the entire sky.

Clark Planetarium Director Seth Jarvis said the stony meteorite was probably traveling 80,000 miles an hour when it hit our atmosphere. He said it happened 100 miles up in the air; so despite the brightness, Utah was n...

Meteorites, microscopes, or mixing things to go boom. Your science nerd loves it all. Here are a couple of gift ideas for that space explorer, mad scientist, or engineer in your life.

BTW, if you hate the gallery format as much as the Grinch hated Christmas, click here.

Lego: It's not really a secret that Lego building blocks are widely loved. They're perfect for any age, but a particularly fun gi...