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Pretty sure balloon space photography takes a little more doing than a case mod.

Probably not. At least, not a good one. I feel fairly confident in my ability to send up a balloon with a camera in it. But I would have trouble making even a simple looking case like this, this, or this.

This article, from 2007, suggests that 82% of Americans have a mobile phone. Have we reached a tipping point where an employer might expect you to provide your own mobile phone? Exceptions will be made for those jobs that require frequent, daily usage, but what about the tech support guy with takes two or three 30 minute calls after hours every month? Odds are he already has a phone. Should your employer (in this case the State of CA) be expected to pay the base price of the phone and calling plan? I am not passing judgment on anyone with a company issued phone, just posing some academic questions.

Plus potential advertisers will be able to try to sell you what they know you don't own!

Better picture...showing its awesome gumdrop buttons: http://www.gearlog.com/2010/10/android_gingerbread_gets_its_o.php

No, it's not just one store. Best Buy recently announced that they're doing this everywhere.

What are iPad's sales figures like? I haven't seen any. I can see a use for the iPad for certain people, but I'm on the side of the fence that says it won't do particularly amazing.

Apple announced 300,000 iPads sold on launch day (including pre-orders) -- April 3
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/05/apple-sells-over-300-000-ipad-tablets-on-us-launch-day/

Apple announced 450,000 sold the following Thursday -- April 8
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2362390,00.asp

They announced 500,000 sold today.
http://www.gearlog.com/2010/04/apple_breaks_500000_ipad_barri.php

You're likely right, people who can't afford healthcare in the US (15% are uninsured) probably don't buy cellphone plans (82% have plans).

AT&T's 2G (called EDGE, 2-300kbps) is as fast as Verizon's 3G. And AT&T has EDGE coverage across it's whole area.

I'm pretty certain that's wrong.
According to Wikipedia, EDGE hits around 240 Kbps.
EVDO Rev A, on the other hand (which is what Verizon and Sprint use) can hit 3.1 Mbps. Which means EDGE is off by about a factor of ten for speed.
ATT is meanwhile in the process of rolling out 7.2 Mbps HSDPA - previously they'd been using 3.6 Mbps, which is pretty darn close to EVDO Rev A for speed.
To make things worse, it seems like real world testing shows wildly varying download speeds on ATT's 3.6 HSDPA, depending on the user load, etc. Which seems to be a common complaint amongst iPhone users.
For references, see http://www.gearlog.com/2009/05/att_rolling_out_hsdpa_72_faste.php or any of the various Gizmodo / Engadget articles about ATT's 3G rollout. You can also check Wikipedia's articles on EDGE and EVDO for bonus points.

(Anecdotally, I've noticed significantly faster browsing on my Spring HTC Hero compared to my HTC ADP1 running on both T-Mobile and ATT's EDGE networks.)

I call shenanigans.

I have a BB Storm (one of the phones from TFA), it came with a verizon/vodaphone SIM card installed.
It works on ATT and T-Mobile networks (roaming), I have the phone unlocked (only had to call VZ and ask) and can slap in another carrier's SIM card without issue.

Also, all my search providers appear to be intact and "G" is still the default...

Like I said... vaporware that has no real connection with reality. It is just something that Windows Lemming trolls like to bring up in some sort of vain attempt to knock down any non-Microsoft alternative.

You can buy actual tuners right now and use them on any Win7 machine that fits the requirements (dual core CPU, 2GB RAM, HDCP-compliant GPU). The old requirement of a special bias is now gone, as I said, and the market for these tuners is spinning up. So yeah, sounds like vaporware to me ...

I can (and have) connected an HD-PVR to a $200 ION box.

Not anywhere near the same. HD-PVR is just a component video capture system and requires re-encoding the video, and still requires a STB with IR blaster. A CableCard tuner skips all of that, avoids re-encoding, and can have multiple tuners in a single package (see the Ceton card using M-card CableCards). And external USB CableCard tuners will work just fine on an ION box like the Aspire Revo 3600 (dual-core Atom, 2GB RAM).

Of course a device that has hoops that NO ONE wants to jump through won't be terribly interesting.

Those hoops are now gone. That's why other companies are starting to get into that market.

If CableCard PC devices were out there in the wild in significant numbers than they might get hacked for all sorts of reasons (the least of which is Linux support).

Back that up? ATI CableCard tuners are easily available. Buy one. Hack it. Make it work with Linux.

If you actually check Verizon's plans, you will see that the $45 charge for "Exchange" is only on corporate accounts and is the same no matter what phone you get. (See http://www.gearlog.com/2009/11/personal_droid_data_will_cost.php)
If you are not on a corporate plan, you will only pay $30.

You know, that it what I have always wondered about this whole "touch control" idea-who exactly out there is screaming "Hey I WANT to put big honking greasy fingerprints on my screen

There are coatings to somewhat alleviate that problem. Some newer mobile phones, which rely heavily on a touch screen interface, have this coating. It repels the natural grease from your hands and makes the display look less smudgy.

For a bit of fun (well...), check out this link: iPhone 3G S Oleophobic Screen Passes the Ear Grease Test. Utterly disgusting.

Note I don't disagree with your other points.

This kind of thing is why in Texas they may require a PI License for computer techs.

Cricket is offering (in a very few select markets) $40 unlimited usage wireless data service. The interviews/marketing they have done for it say they are truly meaning unlimited (though they do say that continuous non-stop use is not permitted, they specifically say there is no secret hidden limit). They discount it $5/mo if you also have wireless phone service with them.

From the articlewhere I found out about it:

"We expect our customers will be heavy, heavy data users, and we've never thought limits were a good idea," said Cricket senior manager for corporate communications Greg Lund.

http://www.gearlog.com/2006/12/wow_wee_readying_flying_toy_bu.php
Could it have been one of these (rc) flying dragonfly toys?

Apple doesn't oppose native application development...Rather, Apple takes a neutral stance - they're not going to stop anyone from writing apps, and they're not going to maliciously design software updates to break the native apps, but they're not going to care if their software updates accidentally break the native apps either.

The posting talks about "Steve Jobs' recent announcement of his intention to fight off the independent iPhone developers..."

This is incorrect. Jobs only said they have to fight the unlock. The actual quote of what he said is,

Q: What are you going to do about iPhone unlocking?

Steve: This is a constant cat and mouse game. We play it on iPods with DRM. We promised music companies to stay ahead of this problem. We try to stay a step ahead. It's going to be the same way here with the iPhone. It's our job to keep them from breaking in. That's job security.

He said Apple doesn't oppose native application development, which was new to me. Rather, Apple takes a neutral stance - they're not going to stop anyone from writing apps, and they're not going to maliciously design software updates to break the native apps, but they're not going to care if their software updates accidentally break the native apps either. He very carefully left the door open to a further change in this policy, too, saying that Apple is always re-examining its perspective on these sorts of things.

Meanwhile, Jobs acknowledged that third-party developers have started to produce several intriguing, yet unofficial iPhone applications. He said Apple is looking at some of them closely, especially those that don't require a connection to the Internet. It's likely that those applications would be the first of any to receive an official endorsement from Apple, according to Jobs' comments, as those that require Internet access could threaten the 'high standard' of experience customers have come to expect with the iPhone.

Part 2 Continued here:

http://www.gearlog.com/2007/08/interview_they_migh t_be_giants_1.php/

An other robbot Nabaztag www.nabazatg.com has also done something fur the USA ! http://www.gearlog.com/2007/06/paris_hilton_gets_a _cellmate_i.php

Random Pics: HTC Touch iPHONE

I must have missed numerous articles, but what exactly has Sony done that has pissed so many people off? I have always liked Sony as a company. They make lots of things, some very well like some of the worlds best TVs, some not so well, like there entry level audio components and a LOT of stuff in between. I like there position backing Blu-Ray, the PS and PS2 and PS3 (still the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market). What have I missed?

"Understand that [Blu-Ray] is the last physical format there will ever be." - Bill Gates, Oct 2005

You know, this isn't a Designer Shoe vs. no-name generic brand issue, this is a Expensive, Long-lasting shoe vs. A shoe that will explode

Wow. What a horribly sad little straw man you've constructed to support your interpretation of Apple's non-disclosure. You clearly don't understand how this company works. There has been zero substantiation of whether they will close the source or not. The analysts are speculating, which is what they do.

Apple has been known, on many occasions, to not reveal free improvements to hardware until it was in their customers hands. Which is just as unimportant as your argument.

Patience is a virtue my friend. Have some...

Wait for the conformation or denial of the rumor. Rumors are what they are. Until they are corroborated, they are just rumors. Take the recent Sony Blu-ray report as an example and wait for the facts rather than jumping to unsupported conclusions.

"recently faked a Blu-Ray demo by purposely recompressing the DVD comparison movie to make Blu-Ray"

If you would have followed up with the story instead of reading the tabloids, the story was faked to bring people to the blog site. The CD the took a picture of was in the left Notebook. This was the notebook they were running a DVD movie in to compare the difference. the one on the right had the BluRay.
http://gearlog.com/blogs/gearlog/archive/2006/05/1 7/11993.aspx

"Sony ran all their PS3 demos off of rack-mounted PCs"

And they openly admitted to running them on Dev machines. They even put the machines in a glass case to show everyone that the hardware was not the actual PS3 in case. Nintendo did a "bad" by hiding it.

"Along the lines of Loopymonkeys post... HD-DVD and Bluray drives do play advanced content (iHD and BDJ) from Red Laser media. This is simply a case of Sony demo'ing Bluray content before the title ships, so they asked their Bluray pre-mastering house to burn them a demo of the functionality for the press event. Not unusual or illegal, although I do agree that its amusing that they didn't use Sony DVD+R media and don't yet have a working demo and Bluray recordable media in their developers hands. Personally I think it's cool they are showing off Bluray functionality on a laptop regardless of what optical format they burned on."

Gearlog very clearly faked the story. Very subtly.

Exhibit 1) The two laptops are DIFFERENT:
Take a look at the first photo and notice the blue on the side of the laptop. The left laptop's side has a thinner blue stripe--with the top half being black and bottom half being blue. The right laptop has a much thicker blue stripe.

Exhibit 2) Blu-ray laptop is on the RIGHT:
Photo two shows the blu-ray logo. Look at the laptop side, the blue stripe is thick! The blue stripe includes the drive cover. It's the laptop on the right.

Exhibit 3) DVD+R laptop is on the LEFT:
The last photo shows the DVD+R disc. Notice that the blue stripe is missing near the front of the laptop (just like the laptop on the left). Also the drive cover is black. In Exhibit 2, the drive cover is blue.

Therefore, Gearlog faked the story. Or just an idiot that can't remember which laptop was which when he pressed the button.

Gearlog very clearly faked the story. Very subtly.

Exhibit 1) The two laptops are DIFFERENT:
Take a look at the first photo and notice the blue on the side of the laptop. The left laptop's side has a thinner blue stripe--with the top half being black and bottom half being blue. The right laptop has a much thicker blue stripe.

Exhibit 2) Blu-ray laptop is on the RIGHT:
Photo two shows the blu-ray logo. Look at the laptop side, the blue stripe is thick! The blue stripe includes the drive cover. It's the laptop on the right.

Exhibit 3) DVD+R laptop is on the LEFT:
The last photo shows the DVD+R disc. Notice that the blue stripe is missing near the front of the laptop (just like the laptop on the left). Also the drive cover is black. In Exhibit 2, the drive cover is blue.

Therefore, Gearlog faked the story. Or just an idiot that can't remember which laptop was which when he pressed the button.

Gearlog very clearly faked the story. Very subtly.

Exhibit 1) The two laptops are DIFFERENT:
Take a look at the first photo and notice the blue on the side of the laptop. The left laptop's side has a thinner blue stripe--with the top half being black and bottom half being blue. The right laptop has a much thicker blue stripe.

Exhibit 2) Blu-ray laptop is on the RIGHT:
Photo two shows the blu-ray logo. Look at the laptop side, the blue stripe is thick! The blue stripe includes the drive cover. It's the laptop on the right.

Exhibit 3) DVD+R laptop is on the LEFT:
The last photo shows the DVD+R disc. Notice that the blue stripe is missing near the front of the laptop (just like the laptop on the left). Also the drive cover is black. In Exhibit 2, the drive cover is blue.

Therefore, Gearlog faked the story. Or just an idiot that can't remember which laptop was which when he pressed the button.

I agree the story is a fake, but I think I missed something... Lance Ulanoff did not write that article. Nor can I find and article from Lance Ulanoff reporting on this. The only article linked is from a two-bit reporter Jennifer DeLeo who claims this is what Lance Ulanoff said. Moreover, read the post made by the ACTUAL AUTHOR in the comments section of Gearlog, several posts down:

"We're sorry!
Posted by: Jennifer DeLeo
Tuesday, May 16, 2006 5:41 PM

Ok. We admit it. We were trying to come up with ways to get hits to our website. We knew if we somehow could make it look like Sony was caught in a wb of lies, every gaming and electronics site would link to us. We would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!"

Link

There are countless other reasons it is obviouosly faked too; shame on all of you gullible idiots.

For the third year in a row, Urgo's list of April Fool's Jokes on Websites contains the most complete list of April Fool's Day pranks websites have created. Featured by news.com.com.com.. and Microsoft, the site strives to list EVERY joke site, and is updated every few minutes with new verified jokes.

Here is a sample, the twenty most popular ones:
blog.outer-court.com - Google Rooms
thinkgeek.com - USB Tanning Center, RFID Blocking T-shirt, Grow Your mymsnsearch.com - fake (but hilariously accurate) search results gtachicago.com - gta chicago does not exist, (*hint check the whois info*)
tveps.net - Isaac 'Chef' Hayes not leaving southpark after all. Comes clean that it was a publicity stunt.
iwantoneofthose.com - tiny device that downloads your brain's memory to a 2GB USB Flash Drive
blizzard.com - BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT® PRESENTS BURGERCRAFT(TM)
bolloxcomics.co.uk - Myspace parody
figuiere.net - int is_computer_on(void)
wiebetech.com - 5 TB iPod
googlesystem.blogspot.com - Google Browser is finally launched. Installer 1.68MB
steampowered.com - VALVe purchased by Apple
slashdot.org - OMG!!! PONIES!!! (and pink layout)
ogrish.com - (NSFW) Bizarre Baby Born In Nepal
worldofwarcraft.com - Blizzard to put Wisps as a playable race for World of Warcraft.
gearlog.com - Laptop Lingerie: Bringing Tech & Pleasure Together
2600.com - 200600 google spoof
bungie.net - Bungie's next game, Pimps At Sea, progessing nicely for the Xbox360
forums.worldofwarcraft.com - World of Warcraft 1.11 patch notes leaked
theregister.co.uk - customise The Register to suit your needs - from blocking ads, to selecting the kind of stories you really want to read.

For the third year in a row, Urgo's list of April Fool's Jokes on Websites contains the most complete list of April Fool's Day pranks websites have created. Featured by news.com.com.com.. and Microsoft, the site strives to list EVERY joke site, and is updated every few minutes with new verified jokes.

Here is a sample, the twenty most popular ones:
mymsnsearch.com - fake (but hilariously accurate) search results
thinkgeek.com - USB Tanning Center, RFID Blocking T-shirt, Grow Your Own 1up Mushroom Kit, Caffeine Inhaler, and more
blog.outer-court.com - Google Rooms
gtachicago.com - gta chicago does not exist, (*hint check the whois info*)
tveps.net - Isaac 'Chef' Hayes not leaving southpark after all. Comes clean that it was a publicity stunt.
blizzard.com - BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT® PRESENTS BURGERCRAFT(TM)
iwantoneofthose.com - tiny device that downloads your brain's memory to a 2GB USB Flash Drive
bolloxcomics.co.uk - Myspace parody
wiebetech.com - 5 TB iPod
googlesystem.blogspot.com - Google Browser is finally launched. Installer 1.68MB
figuiere.net - int is_computer_on(void)
steampowered.com - VALVe purchased by Apple
slashdot.org - OMG!!! PONIES!!! (and pink layout)
ogrish.com - (NSFW) Bizarre Baby Born In Nepal
worldofwarcraft.com - Blizzard to put Wisps as a playable race for World of Warcraft.
gearlog.com - Laptop Lingerie: Bringing Tech & Pleasure Together
2600.com - 200600 google spoof
bungie.net - Bungie's next game, Pimps At Sea, progessing nicely for the Xbox360
forums.worldofwarcraft.com - World of Warcraft 1.11 patch notes leaked
theregister.co.uk - customise The Register to suit your needs - from blocking ads, to selecting the kind of stories you really want to read.

For the third year in a row, Urgo's list of April Fool's Jokes on Websites contains the most complete list of April Fool's Day pranks websites have created. Featured by news.com.com.com.. and Microsoft, the site strives to list EVERY joke site, and is updated every few minutes with new verified jokes. wikipedia also contains a sizeable list.

Sample:

tveps.net - Isaac 'Chef' Hayes not leaving southpark after all. Comes clean that it was a publicity stunt.

thinkgeek.com - USB Tanning Center, RFID Blocking T-shirt, Grow Your Own 1up Mushroom Kit, Caffeine Inhaler, and more

theregister.co.uk - customise The Register to suit your needs - from blocking ads, to selecting the kind of stories you really want to read.

worldofwarcraft.com - Blizzard to put Wisps as a playable race for World of Warcraft.

tvpredictions.com - Ready for X-ray TV? New TV picture technology even clearer than HDTV; you can actually see through people's clothing on TV.

blizzard.com - BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT® PRESENTS BURGERCRAFT(TM)

bolloxcomics.co.uk - Myspace parody

bolloxcomics.co.uk - YTMND parody

wiebetech.com - 5 TB iPod

sideshowtoy.com - Half a Darth Maul Figure Exclusive?

slashdot.org - OMG!!! PONIES!!! (and pink layout)

whirlpool.net.au - Telstra will only release 2mbit ADSL2+ in Australia.

forums.worldofwarcraft.com - World of Warcraft 1.11 patch notes leaked

mymsnsearch.com - fake (but hilariously accurate) search results

gearlog.com - Laptop Lingerie: Bringing Tech & Pleasure Together

googlesystem.blogspot.com - Google Browser is finally launched. Installer 1.68MB

sordeo.com - mirror image and the title says, 'Now optimized for those afflicted with Dyslexia'

eternal-lands.com - Free Software Foundation buys Eternal Lands

For the third year in a row, Urgo's list of April Fool's Jokes on Websites contains the most complete list of April Fool's Day pranks websites have created. Featured by news.com.com.com.. and Microsoft, the site strives to list EVERY joke site, and is updated every few minutes with new verified jokes. wikipedia also contains a sizeable list.

Sample
tveps.net - Isaac 'Chef' Hayes not leaving southpark after all. Comes clean that it was a publicity stunt.
thinkgeek.com - USB Tanning Center, RFID Blocking T-shirt, Grow Your Own 1up Mushroom Kit, Caffeine Inhaler, and more
theregister.co.uk - customise The Register to suit your needs - from blocking ads, to selecting the kind of stories you really want to read.
worldofwarcraft.com - Blizzard to put Wisps as a playable race for World of Warcraft.
tvpredictions.com - Ready for X-ray TV? New TV picture technology even clearer than HDTV; you can actually see through people's clothing on TV.
blizzard.com - BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT® PRESENTS BURGERCRAFT(TM)
bolloxcomics.co.uk - Myspace parody
bolloxcomics.co.uk - YTMND parody
wiebetech.com - 5 TB iPod
sideshowtoy.com - Half a Darth Maul Figure Exclusive?
slashdot.org - OMG!!! PONIES!!! (and pink layout)
whirlpool.net.au - Telstra will only release 2mbit ADSL2+ in Australia.
forums.worldofwarcraft.com - World of Warcraft 1.11 patch notes leaked
mymsnsearch.com - fake (but hilariously accurate) search results
gearlog.com - Laptop Lingerie: Bringing Tech & Pleasure Together
googlesystem.blogspot.com - Google Browser is finally launched. Installer 1.68MB
sordeo.com - mirror image and the title says, 'Now optimized for those afflicted with Dyslexia'
eternal-lands.com - Free Software Foundation buys Eternal Lands

Over here at PC Mag/Gearlog (it's the same thing - Gearlog is the blog of PC Mag) we like to say that our tests show Apple makes a "fast" Windows machine, not "the fastest." As somebody else pointed out, while the MacBook squeaked out a win on the Photoshop test, it came in behind other Core Duo laptops on the Windows Media Encoder test. But the news in my mind isn't a one-second difference in this or that. It's that Apple's machines run Windows comparably to the best designed-for-Windows machines. That bodes very well for folks who want to have the best of both worlds by running both OSes natively.

We couldn't run 3DMark, Sysmark, etc. because of the missing video drivers - wouldn't have been fair. The Photoshop and Windows Media tests were the only ones of our standard benchmark suite we thought would generate results that made any proper sense, because they hit processor/disk/RAM rather than video.

Also, for the AMD fanboys, we haven't tested any AMD dual core notebooks yet, so we didn't have the data to compare those.

If you haven't already, read our original story: http://gearlog.com/blogs/gearlog/archive/2006/03/2 1/8212.aspx

check this out! BTW - they actually encourage hacking their product... http://gearlog.com/blogs/gearlog/archive/2006/01/0 5/4006.aspx

I know my money is on Austin Robot Technology. Vehicle "(Not Available)" sounds like it'll be a real winner. lol!

-robyn