Tech Love: WISE, Cursed Phone#, Cyborg, HTC Evo

WISE

What's wise? NASA's new Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. And what's id doing? Already taking images like this:



They call that the Heart and Soul Nebulae.


Cursed Phone Number?

Bulgaria - no one will be issued the cell phone number 0888 888 888. Why? The last 3 people who had that number have died under suspicious circumstances.

Also noted: bad business, mob boss, and coke dealer might have had something to do with those deaths. Spooky?


Infected Wit teh Tech

After having the brilliant idea that he needed to implant an RFID microchip in his hand, Dr. Mark Gasson thought it would be interesting if he purposefully infected that chip with a malicious virus.

He says he apologizes in advance should this result in the simultaneous creation of a true biomechanical and the rise of the machines as our new masters. He also claims "safe" as their Adam.


HTC EVO!

I'm kind of a tech whore. In articles and blogs, we call ourselves early-adopters. There's an art to it, measurement of risk, etc. that lets many jump on the newest iPhone while still running Windows XP at home.

You'll remember me about a year ago fawning over and reveling in the release date capture of my Palm Pre. And not 12 months later, the joints are a little loose, I've gained a small crack, and, well, since I saw this one thing...our relationship hasn't been the same.

What I saw was the HTC EVO.



Android-running, 4.3 inch touchscreen, streams HD video on the new 4G network, dual cameras (8MP back, 1.3 front-facing), 1GB Snapdragon processor.

Nom, nom, nom.

I've got about a 20% chance of getting one soon. Sprint's "eligible upgrade" time period is 2 years, not one, so I'd pay a mint for the phone. But I will continue to drool. And hope.

Sidenote: Palm's guru Matias Duarte has moved to Google.

Not-so-Useful Tech Gadget: Pasta n More

Hey kids! It's Pasta N More, your microwave, no-muss, no-fuss pasta-cookin' machine!

We got one as a gift a while back and just opened it yesterday.

But only if you've got the time. I don't know about you, but I can have a pot of water boiling in about 10 minutes or less (salt it, cover it, set on high) and pasta will cook in about 5-7 minutes. That's on the stove. In a pot of water.

Looking at the instructions of Pasta N More, I find it strange that towards the higher end of servings, the time to pop the pasta in the microwave is equal to or greater than 18 minutes, my estimated stove time. Actually, all the way up to 27 minutes for some pastas!

Isn't the microwave built for convenience? This seems like the opposite of that.

Second problem: You're going to get not-so-great pasta. Why? Cooking 8 servings of pasta only calls for 4 cups of water. 4 cups? Alton Brown would smack you silly! That's not nearly enough for all the starches to properly release, to give the pasta that swimmy goodness that it loves, that water breathing room!

So, in summary, stay away from Pasta N More. You're going to get poorer quality pasta in a longer cooking time than just tossing a pot on the stove.

Thursday Technology: Wii Think, WiFi Sensitivity, Dante Fail, 3D-TV

What do Wii Think?


This is not a joke.

Wii has a new one, reports Dvice. Concept peripheral that is. The reported use is that by getting older folks to think really, really hard, they'll ward off teh Alzheimer's. Yay! Right? Well, not really. See, there's not much scientific evidence saying that thinking real hard prevents Alzheimer's.

However, they have succeeded in creating the equivalent of the Nintendo Power Glove that our parents and grandparents can wear on their heads.

(sidenote: they spent so much on materials for this concept and the photog that they couldn't actually get a real Wii and used a cardboard mock-up instead.)


Dang Kids and Their Wifi - Spiders!

Now the Santa Fe New Mexican reports that one [man] has sued his neighbor for refusing to turn off their cellphone and Wi-Fi hotspot. Arthur Firstenberg claims he was made homeless by the neighbor, who apparently didn't appreciate his unique ailment. Firstenberg's legal argument is a bit of a treat, suggesting he's been forced to live in his car

I was going to put something in here about being crazy, but DSL reports already pointed out that "the science that does exist strongly suggests that those claiming to be suffering from "electromagnetic sensitivity" are simply suffering from psychosomatic disorders, and might be helped by therapy and/or medication."

If you're looking for a handout, collect unemployment like everyone else and stay home, crazy. Oh, wait. You can't. Alien death ray neighbors and all that. Sorry.


The Smack Dante so Hard Virgil Feels It Dept.



The folks behind the fun and enthralling demon-killing reimagining of one third of Dante's La Divina Commedia have sold the art so that Del Rey Books can release Longfellow's translation to coincide with the game release.

This, also, is not a joke.

Aside from the mix of zombie apocalypse and romance novel and "holy crap did he stitch a fabric cross to his chest?" and the fact that Dante does not - at any point in The Divine Comedy - wield a spine-mounted scythe, anything stick out for you?

If they'd sexed up any of Jane Austen's novel covers, I might have been a little more receptive in my Single Author class back in college. Then again, I'd have been even more disappointed by the contents. No, thank you. I'll stick to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (which is apparently starring and being produced by Natalie Portman!?)

But I digress. Message: stop pillaging classic literature with a file and wax. You're messing up the patina. And then it's worth nothing.


A Note on 3D-TV

With CES behind us for 2010, let's make one thing pretty clear: 3D-TV is the new generation's LaserDisc.

Companies see a new, cutting-edge technology, see James Cameron's "Avatar" blowing the sides off the movie industry and they want to stick their fingers into that honeypot. No! Stop! You're wasting your money!

There are people without TV's. There are people with TV's that don't use them because they haven't figured out or gone through the trouble of getting a digital tuner. There are people without cable. There are people - like me - who have a TV and cable but have not upgraded to HDTV (or even a flat panel) because of the cost.

Is anyone going to take one more step and purchase a television with a 3D badge so they can sit on their couch with glasses on? Well, yes. And those people are wealthy early-adopters.

But for the rest of us, it's silly. I loved going to see the 3D IMAX version of "Avatar" a couple weeks ago. But a really expensive television in the living room that makes me put on glasses that will probably get lost or crushed or the dog chewed them up so I can watch an occasional 3D show or movie? (Note: the tech to film "Avatar" was just invented by Cameron and most shows/broadcasts aren't even filmed in HDTV yet.)

I just don't see it.

But maybe I'm not wearing the right glasses.


That's your tech wrap for this week! What are your thoughts?

Googling Out Tech Thursday

I'm a Google addict. I admit it. I use Gmail, Google Apps for my website email, Google Voice for my local number, and I've got a Google Wave invite coming from a friend as soon as Google gets on the stick and plops it in my inbox. I even occasionally drop Firefox for some Chrome browser time. So today we'll just talk a little about Google.

I just mentioned Google Chrome. How about a Google Chrome OS? "What's that?" you ask.



That's what that is. And today they open sourced Chromium OS a year before the OS is targeted for release. Sheesh!


If image search and vision technology are your thing, check out this info on Swirl, Google's new Labs pet that groups visually similar images. Sweet.


And while I could write thousands of words on Google stuff I'd like to close today that those of you waffling between iPhone and Android (Palm Pre's pretty sweet too, guys!), hold on to your panties. Reports this week reignite the hopes we all had what seems so long ago and it appears Google and HTC are Wonder Twin Powers activating a Google Phone. For reals. But what does that mean for the Droid?

Thursday Tech Fetish: Military Tweel, Palm Pixi

I know my past two Thursdays have fallen by the wayside, so it's time to step it up and get cracking. I'm also working on a Palm Pre Homebrew Review post that'll be out tomorrow or for Saturday Gravy. But on to the tech!

A Military Tweel



As soon as I saw this post on a new, airless military tire, I *gasp*ed and said "OMG: Tweel!"

What's a Tweel you ask? It's a combination of tire and wheel that I heard about over a year ago on Discovery or something. The original (that you can see at the above link) is a wonderful "why didn't anyone think of that sooner; is there a tire lobby in Washington?" invention.

A tire without air does not get popped. Simple as that. The good news is that if the military is testing it, then it's probably getting the funding it would need to bring itself to the masses. And that means no more highway berm tire changin'.


Pixi!



If you've been reading my posts for a while, you might note my affinity for my lovely phone, the Palm Pre. And now the Pre has a little brother, the Pixi! Awww...how cute. Just enjoy the wonder for a minute.

Looks like 1/2" shorter screen and no wifi are the only changes to this adorable little candybar lovely. Yum. Good show Palm.

Tech Fetish Thursday: Wordy Clock, Skinny-Mini PS3

QLOCKTWO



The QLOCKTWO caught my eye immediately, probably because I have a deep thing for timekeeping devices that rivals only my fascination with cartography. But this clock, created by German company Biergert & Funk is unique in that it eschews those concise, simple numbers and goes for the linguistic version of time.

It also goes for the expensive version of price at about $1600. Many colors. Collect them all!


The Skinny PS3



This skinny-mini version of the 120GB PS3 came with a $299 pricetag this week. Not a huge surprise since Sony did this to the PS2 back when.

PS3's still come with some pretty high-end Blu-ray action ...and are still not compatible with my library of PS2 games. For now I'll stick with my PS2, Wii, and 360, though I'll probably be waiting a while if I hold out for an Atari-esque drop in price ("The fun is back, oh yessiree!"):

Thursday Tech: Cameras, Books, and Hubble

This week in technology, we're hitting some serious issues on cameras, books, and a sweet treat on Hubble.

Front LCD
After years of MySpace angle shots, camera phone trial-and-fail, chrome convex lens companion and even the Pre mirror, someone grew a brain on this one: why doesn't anyone put an LCD in the front of the camera? Dur.



Brilliant!

I now expect much more savvy MySpace/Facebook angles.


Book Scanning
If you wanted to scan a book, what would current technology lead you to do? Well, you'd have to open, flatten, and scan each page.

But not any more! Engadget is reporting on a new book-scanning proof-of-concept.

Basically, flip through an entire book - fast - and the 1,000 fps camera will adjust for light and digitize the work. As long as the character recognition is up to par, we've got a winner!


Hubble 3D
I hope you got your helmet on, 'cause your mind's about to get blown!

"Over the course of 10 full days, photons that had been traveling for over 13 billion years finally ended their journey on the detector of humanity's most powerful telescope."



Seriously, if a grain of sand at arm's length revealing 100,000,000 galaxies, each with billions of stars doesn't set your armhairs on end, doesn't drop you into a sense of stunned awe, I'd be surprised. I don't know what else, what other idea or thought, can humble a person that thoroughly.

Tech Thursday: DSi and Absurd Watch

In today's Tech Thursday report, I was left in gaping wonder at a wonderful, warranty-voiding mod of Nintendo's DSi case for $26. Plant your peeps:



I guess I'd need a DSi first.

(boingboing gadgets)

The other wonder upon my person is the sick and crazy watch running at $265K. Worth it? You decide:



(via DVICE)