"The Man" Always Knows

I think it's great how the more the internet and wireless technology advances it becomes easier and easier to have information at our fingertips. However you have to wonder when too much is too much. Or maybe I've just scene to many sci-fi movies.

Yahoo! Search Blog » Blog Archive » Yahoo! oneSearch Tops Mobile Search Experience Study

In just the past few months, we have rolled out an auto-locate feature that uses cell tower triangulation and Wi-Fi to detect the user’s location, an enhanced Search Assist that incorporates the user’s recent search history, and a Windows Mobile client. In the two and a half years since we introduced Yahoo! oneSearch, we have sought to continuously innovate and deliver a great mobile search experience for our Yahoo! oneSearch users worldwide. Yahoo! oneSearch powers the search experience on more than 70 of the leading carrier portals around the globe, including most recently, new co-branded oneSearch experiences with Comcel and Movistar in several more Latin American countries.

Technorati Tags: wi-fi, cell phones, mobile client, the man

Firefox 3.5 Beta

Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 Now Available

The latest Firefox (Firefox reviews) beta is called 3.5 beta 4, and although it sounds like a major change from the current stable version, it’s really just a successor to ye olde 3.1 beta. Thus, expect improvements, but don’t expect wonders. However, the good news is that this should be the last beta before the final version of Firefox 3.5 is out.

Technorati Tags: firefox, beta

BookArmy... !!!

Anyone who knows me, knows I hoard books and when I can't find the room to buy any more books I just add them to lists upon lists at Amazon, on Facebook, etc. I am reading no less than two books at any given time. I am a book fiend and now there is a social network for bookworms like me! Authors have their own page and avid readers can connect with them. Sounds great!

BookArmy

Technorati Tags: bookarmy, books, authors, social networking

Solar Tree Powers Vehicles

Green Tech - CNET News

What's more environmentally responsible than an electric vehicle? An EV that's recharged by the sun.

The city of Chicago recently installed the Solar Plug-in Station, a tree-shaped structure topped by solar panels that can recharge up to two electric vehicles at a time. The "solar tree" is manufactured by Chicago-based Carbon Day Automotive and operates as part of the ChargePoint Network. ChargePoint Network is a smart EV-recharging infrastructure operated by Coulumb Technologies.

The treelike structure provides an emissions-free source of electricity to power the already zero-tailpipe-emissions vehicles, offering an answer to the argument that EVs aren't environmentally responsible because the electricity to power the vehicles is generated by "dirty" electrical plants.

The stations also can act as storm water management. Captured runoff water from the roof can be recycled through the structure's gray water filtration systems and be used for irrigation or other purposes.

Without any tax incentives, grants, or subsidies, Carbon Day Automotive's solar plug-in station costs between $40,000-50,000. But enough incentives and grants exist out there to bring the cost down to approximately $15,000-20,000, the company says.

Technorati Tags: solar power, chicago, electric cars, plugin station

Strike Fighter Project Hacked

Computer Spies Breach Fighter-Jet Project - WSJ.com

WASHINGTON -- Computer spies have broken into the Pentagon's $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project -- the Defense Department's costliest weapons program ever -- according to current and former government officials familiar with the attacks.

Similar incidents have also breached the Air Force's air-traffic-control system in recent months, these people say. In the case of the fighter-jet program, the intruders were able to copy and siphon off several terabytes of data related to design and electronics systems, officials say, potentially making it easier to defend against the craft.

The latest intrusions provide new evidence that a battle is heating up between the U.S. and potential adversaries over the data networks that tie the world together. The revelations follow a recent Wall Street Journal report that computers used to control the U.S. electrical-distribution system, as well as other infrastructure, have also been infiltrated by spies abroad.

Attacks like these -- or U.S. awareness of them -- appear to have escalated in the past six months, said one former official briefed on the matter. "There's never been anything like it," this person said, adding that other military and civilian agencies as well as private companies are affected. "It's everything that keeps this country going."

Technorati Tags: u.s., spies, hacking, computer, strike fighter, pentagon

Great New Vacation Rental Site

International Travel Blog: For Vacation Rental Owners: Getlostrentals.com

Of all of the web sites I've ever used to book a vacation rental, Get Lost Rentals is by far the best. Why? The main reason has got to be their patented Multiple Inquiry feature. As you browse through Vacation Rentals you can add the properties you are interested in to your Multiple Inquiry list. Like a shopping cart, this list is saved as you continue to browse and once you're ready to make an inquiry to all of the properties in your list at once, all you have to do is click "Make Inquiry". This saves you ample time.

Technorati Tags: new site, vacation rentals, travel

PSP vs iPhone

This seems like a pretty lame comparison to me. Unless Sony is planning on integrating a phone into the new PSP how would it even be on the same playing field as the iPhone? This new PSP sounds cool, but maybe they should be setting the bar next to the iTouch, just a thought.

New PSP to take on iPhone this Christmas? | Crave - CNET

Thanks to a chatty developer, we recently heard and relayed rumors that the next-generation PSP will have a sliding screen. Well, a second mystery developer, who's allegedly "working with the new hardware," has upped the ante: he or she claims Sony's next-gen portable gaming console will actually have a sliding touch screen along with the much-requested, dual-analog thumbsticks.

This all comes from Pocket Gamer, which doesn't name its "insider" source but says, "The new handheld will arrive before Christmas and will be far more similar to the iPhone than the current device." It also claims the new PSP will be announced in June at E3.

Take the rumor for what it's worth, but all the chatter seems to suggest that a new PSP will be a true PSP 2 and not just another incremental upgrade. Pocket Gamer speculates that Sony accelerated development on the new device after the success of the iPhone and the arrival of the Nintendo DSi. There's also continued talk that the new PSP will forgo UMD and instead rely on an expanded PlayStation Store that rivals Apple's App Store (at least in terms of games).

If this all pans out the way the rumors are pointing, I don't think there's any doubt that the PSP will be a better gaming device than the iPhone. The question is, what else will it be capable of doing? As I've said before, if Sony can integrate some of the features found in its Mylo Communicator, things get very interesting. If not, Pocket Gamer probably won't be able to go around calling the new PSP an "iPhone beater."

What do you think?

Technorati Tags: iphone, psp, sony, gamers, aps store

Namechk - Your user name on social sites

A great review on Mashable about Namechk, which checks if your user name is available on social sites.

With more and more social sites popping up on the Web, your preferred username is becoming directly entangled with your social identify. The reality is that it’s becoming a priority to claim your username everywhere.

So how do you know if your username is available on most social sites? You could try each site individually, or you could check 76 of them all at the same site with Namechk.

Is Your Username Taken on Social Sites? Find Out With Namechk

Technorati Tags: namechk, social media

The Sun's improved complexion

The Associated Press: Sun has fewest sunspots since 1913, better GPS

WASHINGTON (AP) — The sun has been unusually quiet lately, with fewer sunspots and weaker magnetic fields than in nearly a century. A quiet sun is good for Earth: GPS systems are more accurate, satellites stay in orbit longer; even the effects of manmade global warming are marginally reduced, though just by three-tenths of a degree at most.

It's all a normal part of the strange but regular cycles of the sun's activity. Scientists don't know why it happens, but "for humankind it's probably a good thing," said David Hathaway, chief solar physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

This lower activity is shrinking our atmosphere a bit, too. Again, not a problem. The sun isn't bombarding the Earth with the usual amount of short-wave radiation that expands the atmosphere. Researchers at the University of Texas in Dallas found the Earth's upper atmospheric boundary at the lowest in the history of the space age. It's about 125 miles lower than normal.

For centuries, people have been counting sunspots, which are cooler, darker areas of intense magnetic fields that form on the sun's surface. The number of sunspots in recent months has been the lowest since 1913, according to NASA. Scientists are looking as far back as the early 1800s for similar quiet periods. They generally last about five years. This quiet spell, which started in 2007, may follow suit.

Technorati Tags: the sun, earth, spots, nasa

Super Cool Sun Glasses!

TriSpecs

With summer just around the corner you will be thinking about holidays and sun. Well if you’re looking for a great pair of gadget all in one sunglasses this summer then look no further than the TriSpecs.

TriSpecs are stylish, unique and will certainly get heads turning. Not only do these have the style look going on but they also possess some great bits of technology. The great thing about the TriSpecs they don’t just act as a pair of sunglasses you also have the ability to wirelessly play MP3 music and answer mobile phone calls through Bluetooth technology.

The TriSpecs also have retractable ear buds which mean you can easily wear them while doing different activities. These also allow you to easily answer and disconnect phone calls with the one touch button which is located easily on the side of the sunglasses. The TriSpecs wirelessly receive high quality music from your phone or MP3 player, which allows you to listen to your favourite music without anyone else knowing.
trispecs
Another great factor which I believe sets the TriSpecs apart is that they possess noise reduction software. This works by distinguishing between your voice and ambient background sounds, this then filters the noise out so your voice is much clearer to the caller. This is great if you’re in situations where places can be noisy and we’ve all had this happen to us before.

If you’re looking for a great pair of versatile sunglasses which you can listen to music on then the TriSpecs are perfect for your summer holidays. If you would like to buy the TriSpecs you can now for $199.

Moontoast

Moontoast Offers a Better Way to Give Lessons Online

You may already know Bucky Baxter from his days playing guitar with the likes of Bob Dylan, R.E.M, and Ryan Adams, but the multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist is now bringing his creative vision to the Web with Moontoast, which launches today at SXSW.

Baxter and his team of 25 are trying to transform the way people share knowledge online with Nashville-based Moontoast. The privately funded site is essentially a marketplace of human knowledge allowing experts in any field to teach online sessions to knowledge or talent seekers, making it simple for even Baxter himself to give online guitar lessons to anyone in the world.

Technorati Tags: knowledge, moontoast, online lessons