I'm not sure if I'm ready to believe this story, but apparently Toshiba has developed a new lithium-ion battery that recharges in one minute and loses just 1% of its recharge capacity for every 1,000 recharges. It really is the battery that will be guaranteed to outlive you.

Another great feature of this battery is that it is not as degraded by temperatures as current batteries. Even at 40 below zero centigrade, the battery was still able to discharge 80% of capacity.

Like I said, this story is a little hard to believe. The implications of this kind of product would be huge, and no one else seems to be covering it as of yet, so let's take a wait-and-see approach with this.
Toshiba’s new rechargeable lithium-ion battery recharges in only one minute

Hewlett Packard is at the forefront of buzz creation with their latest idea: giving out free gear to bloggers who demonstrate creative ways to use it.

In conjunction with PayPerPost, HP has started what is being called a "Postie Patrol" contest. They select participants from the blogosphere and have them perform certain tasks with one of their products. In the video below, you'll see a woman braving sub-zero temperatures in Chicago to complete a a high-tech scavenger hunt using an HP digital camera. She had to find certain things and photograph them or use the camera's video function to capture a short clip of something. Will she perform enough tasks to win free stuff from HP? I can't really tell, because the video restarts about halfway through. I've contacted Google, and they should be getting the clog out of the YouTubes shortly.

Note to other advertisers looking for ideas:
The is a great way to create buzz about your product or services, and if you crunch the numbers you'll find it's actually much less expensive than magazine ads or TV commercials. Just throwing ideas out there for y'all.

This post is sponsored by HP.

I've been using a network hard drive in my home and at the office for well over a year now. They provide an elegant solution to the problem many people encounter all the time: moving files from one computer to a central location that can be accessed by other computers.

Many people don't think they need a network hard drive, because they could always just make a folder on each computer and share it over the network. That does work, but what happens when the computer you want a file from is turned off? What if you don't have the password to start that computer up? Now you've got a problem that could have easily been solved by a network hard drive.

Aside from being easy to install, network hard drives are also great for home use because they expand your storage capacity. I share several gigabytes of music and movie files with other people in my house, and I have access to gigabytes of data that they are sharing. It's a heck of a lot easier than having them turn on their computer to share something over the network or making them load it on one of those usb thumb drives.

My only gripe with network hard drives is finding a good spot to put them. Although they are small, some of them tend to vibrate. Surprisingly, this vibration does not create a lot of noise, but if you've got one on your desktop it can make the whole desk feel like it's got a small electric current running through it. This can be solved by just placing it on some other surface, such as a spot on the floor in a corner where no one will ever step on it. It's really not that big a problem, I'm just being very picky.

The XBox 360 is getting a CPU change. The new 60nm chip will replace the 90nm chip in current 360s. The chip will run cooler and use less electricity than the old chip, which also means the system will run quieter. That's too bad, because I was using my Xbox 360 as a heater and to provide ambient noise to block out the sound coming from the train tracks next to my house.
GAF - News - Xbox 360 to get a CPU change

Trainsignal, a leader in IT-related training programs, has released their training program for Microsoft Virtual PC and Virtual Server.

With 12 hours of video training, even a novice can become an expert with this training program. The teacher is an MCSE with real world experience using a virtual environment. These training programs are great for people looking for a job in the IT industry. Being able to say you've taken a training course for Virtual PC and Virtual Server will give you a leg up on the competition.

In addition, these training courses are great for employers looking to improve the expertise of their workers. It's less expensive and way more effective than buying half a dozen books on the subject and hoping they can find the time to read them.

Pandora is one of my favorite sites for finding new music. They have a huge selection of music that you can listen to from their web-based flash player, and they recommend other music based on your selections.

Now Pandora has added an enhanced social feature to their site, essentially allowing you to create collections of music that other people can view. For instance, I might learn that someone who listens to a lot of Joy Division is also into Echo & the Bunnymen. It's a great way to get introduced to new music without having to pay an Apple $1 to buy a song.
Pandora Internet Radio - Find New Music, Listen to Free Web Radio

Although this is a paid review through PayPerPost, I have actually been a reader of John Chow's blog for a long time. I should also make it clear that I am NOT required to give a positive review, but in this case I am going to, because it's a site that every aspiring work-at-home web publisher needs to read.

I first noticed John Chow's blog about 6 months ago. It seemed to have the most interesting articles; so interesting that they were constantly getting linked to from Digg, Reddit, and other social bookmarking sites that I read. John Chow is on the "dot com beat," especially when it comes to topics like advertising with Adsense and optimizing a site for search engines.

One recent post on the site, Google Lays Down The Ad & Image Placement Law, covered the changes Google has made in their Adsense TOC. They no longer allow images aligned next to Adsense ads, a popular strategy used by many publishers to increase their click through rate (CTR). I can't say I was happy to read that post, but I'm glad I was informed.

The only complaint I have about the site is hardly a negative at all. I feel that the Corvette picture at the top misrepresents the content of the site. I guess that would only matter to first time visitors who might think they landed on the wrong site with a focus on cars. That said, the picture does look pretty sweet, and it encourages me to try to earn more money. He recently changed the color of the car to blue from red, apparently to match the color scheme change on the site. I think I liked it better in red.

As you can tell from that last paragraph, I had to be very picky to find something wrong with the site. I will likely never say this about a paid review ever again: bookmark John Chow's site, and visit it often.

If you've got a huge mp3 playlist - and everyone who's cool does - then you really should be using a tag editor to keep those files in order. Wired has reviewed some of the most popular programs.

Zortam ID3 Tag Editor and MediaMonkey come out on top, with 8 out of 10... blue dots (crazy Wired rating system). I like MediaMonkey because it has a great interface and uses freedb and Amazon to "look up" information about your music files, such as album name, year of release, etc.
Wired News: Get Your MP3 Tags in Order

Despite many rumors in the past year, FaceBook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the site is not for sale, and they are working on an IPO. Those running the site claim it is worth at least $8 billion.

I think this is a clear sign that the internet bubble 2.0 is definately in the inflation stage, soon to be followed by the big burst. People have said MySpace is worth $15 billion, and I still don't buy it. FaceBook does not have the huge numbers of MySpace, and I know use of the site has dropped dramatically in my inner circle. These sites are going out of fashion, and quickly. FaceBook should have taken the confirmed $1 billion offer they received earlier this year. A year from now they're going to be kicking themselves for not taking a cool billion for a site whose only revenue source is from advertising, which has a tendency to be very fickle, especially when it's aimed at college kids.
Techcrunch » Blog Archive » Like YouTube, FaceBook Isn’t For Sale

I love writing about various tech gadgets and computers, but I've virtually ignored a very important tech item that many of you own or should own: a security system.

Security systems that were once considered top-of-the-line are now about as dated as a Commodore 64. LaserShield sells security devices with some very sleek technology.


One of my favorite offerings from LaserShield is the wireless detection unit. It uses motion sensor technology to alarm the appropriate people when a person passes in front of it.

Some of the newest security devices can truly be considered "gadgets". LaserShield sells portable security devices such as the Instant Security System. Wit the keychain remote you can activate or disarm the portable alarm system from a distance.

These security items are great for protecting a home or a business. If you don't have a business of your own, I suggest using some of these products to protect the cubicle. Sure, you might get fired when the alarm frightens the whole office, but at least Jimmy from HR will never try stealing your Pepsi again.

LaserShield security products are sold at Costco, KMart, Home Depot, Sears, and several other national chains.

It's no surprise that James Kim likely used an online map service to give him directions for his trip home to San Francisco from Oregon. He did work for CNET, a tech news service. Unfortunately for Kim, those online map services are not always right.

If Kim used Google Maps, he very well could have ended up on the desolate road with his family, many miles away from any other human being with no way to keep going forward. Yahoo Maps would have been better for the Kim family, as it would have taken them down a different route towards the safer highways on the Pacific coast.

It is not clear at this point if Kim actually did any route planning using an online mapping site. There were two maps in the car; one showed the correct route to take, but the Rand McNally map made no mention of the dangerous roads that were not plowed during late fall and winter. So maybe we shouldn't be blaming Google for this tragedy, but it should at least open their eyes to the importance of accuracy in their mapping service, even if they don't charge us anything to use it.
BOGUS: Google takes flak for James Kim's death - Valleywag

If you've ever bought a Dell computer without a coupon or some other sale that gave you a huge discount... you are an idiot! The exception is their high-end brands, such as the XPS series and Alienware, although they do sometimes go on sale.

I've found a site that tracks all these Dell deals, so there is no reason to pay full price for a Dell computer every again:
cheapstingybargains.com/

I don't know of any other computer manufacturer that discounts their computers as often as Dell. You literally need to check their latest sales and coupons daily, because they are constantly adding new discounts. With cheapstingybargains.com (linked above), that task becomes a lot easier.

Think you're wasting too much time on the internet? Well, you're probably right, but PC World has given us a list of the top 15 time wasting sites anyway.

To no one's surprise, YouTube takes the top spot. I might be the only person in the free world who doesn't use Craigslist on a daily basis, as it takes #2. I've been using #3 Fark long before it became the center of the net-geek universe. Some of the newer sites on the list include Reddit and What Would Tyler Durden Do?, a site that focuses on celebrity missteps, such as that recent Britney thing which I won't mention in detail.
PC World - The 15 Best Places to Waste Time on the Web

Just about all the spam that makes it past my email filter and into my inbox in the past year has been image spam. You've probably seen plenty of them yourself. Most of them try to get you to buy a certain stock. These stocks are usually over the counter (OTC) stocks that are unregulated and usually scam stocks. That is, the company does not actually exist.

These emails are annoying because it is hard for filters to catch them. Most filters are based on words, and filters cannot read images that just happen to have words on them.

There is a possible solution to this problem:
http://www.borderware.com/products/mxtreme/email_security/imagespam.php

Because image spam uses various methods to avoid being detected by even the most advanced email filtering systems (some can read text off an image), it takes some very various advanced technology to find it. The BorderWare software knows the methods spammers use, and has software that can figure out if the image in an email is spam or if it's just a picture of your grandmother's cat.

BorderWare also uses many other methods, such as word filtering and URL blocklists. Using this combination of methods, their software is able to eliminate the only type of spam that still manages to make it past my customized email filtering system.

For reasons that I cannot comprehend, Google decided to make a little splash page advertising the new Internet Explorer 7 browser and note that Google is optimized for it. It's strange because Google has been promoting IE rival Firefox for over a year. It's even stranger because Google seems to have copied the page directly from Yahoo.

There are a couple possible explanations for this. Perhaps it's just a coincidence that both search engine companies came up with the same design and text to promote IE7. I'll say the odds of that are about 1 billion to 1. Look at the pics:



Another explanation is that Microsoft, who made IE7, gave out the same promotion template to both companies. The odds of that are about 3 to 2, even though Yahoo reps claim that isn't the case, because THEY MADE the page themselves.

It will be interesting to see if anything comes of this, especially because Google is perhaps the most respected internet company, and their internal motto is "don't be evil."
Google Blatantly Copies Yahoo!? (by Jeremy Zawodny)

Most people never even think about their NIC. It's the network card that comes with just about every computer on the market. If you wanted to upgrade your NIC, there really were no options. It was just a part of the computer that nobody bothered to make an upgrade for. Until now.

The Killer NIC from Bigfoot promises to reduce lag, and it does just that. That may mean little to the average internet user, but to the online gamer the Killer NIC could be a lifesaver. By reducing ping, a gamer will notice improved framerate during online games, and fewer instances of temporary freezing. Those instances occur when a gamer's computer and the game server cannot communicate quick enough.

$280 is a lot to pay for a network card. If you were to buy a network card for some ancient PC that didn't come with one, they usually cost around $20. Of course, gamers are outside the normal realm of PC component buyers. The best equipment is a must for them, and the Bigfoot Killer NIC is the card many of them are going to get in their stocking for Christmas.
[H] Enthusiast - Gaming with the Killer NIC

The lifespan of Wi-Fi technology could be jeopardized by the approval of 802.11n wireless standards. WAN will be the next LAN, according to many industry experts. Customers want the bandwidth capabilities of a cable modem connection wirelessly. While that day may be far off, they can get much closer with 802.11n than with standard Wi-Fi, which users are realizing easily gets bogged down when downloading multimedia, and we all know how much people love their music and videos.
Is Wi-Fi Headed to an Early Grave?

If you hate having to carry chargers for your cell phone, laptop, digital video camera, and all the other electronic crap you have to take everywhere, there's a product that is just the thing for you. Unfortunately, it will not be out by this Christmas, so don't bother putting it on your list.

Instead of plugging a device into a charger, this new device is basically like a hotplate. You plug it in, and you just put your electronics on the plate. Your electronics will need a special kind of faceplate, because the induction will not work through plastic. I would imagine as this device gains popularity they'll add a variety of "connective skins" for all sorts of electronics. It just has to be something that can connect the plate surface the metal part of the battery.

These electronics charging plates will be available in the next few months, and should be small enough to tuck away in one of those unused pockets in your laptop carrying case. I would imagine a solar powered version with a foldout solar panel sheet within a year or so, because you know the next thing people will want is the ability to charge their devices without having to be anywhere near an outlet.
CrunchGear » Blog Archive » WildCharge Makes Tesla Proud

As if the Microsoft Zune launch couldn't get any worse, some marketing genius at M$ found a way to really piss off customers. Instead of making a special edition pink Zune player and giving the profits to a breast cancer charity, Microsoft decided to just randomly stick some pink Zunes in regular Zune boxes.

You may have thought you bought a manly-looking brown Zune player, but when you get home you'll find out that Microsoft has randomly selected you to be a girlie-man. That sissified pink Zune player means you are a "winner"... of a special pink Zune player!

Can Microsoft please just cut the cord on this whole Zune thing? Clean off the shelves, buy back all the unsold product, and fire everyone who contributed to the project. Keeping it on store shelves will do more damage than good. The Apple Newton is still the butt of jokes... more than ten years after the product was sold, and at this point I'd rather have a Newton than a Zune.
How to Crap All Over a Product Launch, by Microsoft Corp. « Graceful Flavor

You may have heard that several media companies, including 20th Century Fox and Paramount, signed a distribution deal with Bittorrent.com. That seems like a big deal, considering bittorrent uses about 40% of internet bandwidth and is the number 1 source of DVD piracy. But what the movie industry does not understand is that this deal will have no impact on piracy.

Bittorrent.com is a website. It was started by Bittorrent Inc., a company started by the same man who made the bittorrent protocal. Bittorrent.com is not the bittorrent protocol, IT IS a website. If Bittorrent.com ceased operations tomorrow, bittorrent the protocol would not notice it. They are as unrelated as Tom Cruise and his alleged daughter Suri.

What likely happened is that movie execs, who are very old men who do not know jack-squat about technology, asked their young assistants where movie piracy was happening. The answer the received was "bittorrent," so they got on their computer and typed in bittorrent.com. "Ah ha! Those bastards have a website, and they're stealing our movies right out in the open! They're considered cool, so we can't just shut them down. We'll join forces and sell movies through their site, and then we'll be cool," some old fogey executive probably said.

Of course, the bittorrent protocol does not use or need bittorrent.com to stay alive. There are literally thousands of trackers that support the protocol, and shutting them all down is not feasible. So bittorrent will continue to be the easiest form of piracy, and the movie industry might sell a couple movies through bittorrent.com, but not nearly enough to make up for the cost of the distribution deal. Next year they'll complain about all the money they lost, and continue to blame piracy.

A local movie theater shut down recently, and the owner blamed poor quality movies coming from Hollywood studios. He's been working at movie theaters for over 40 years, and now he's going to take a job in a lumber yard. If the MPAA had a shred of intelligence, they'd hire that man as their president.
She's got a boyfriend and she doesn't like you