The Handphone: Possibly The Worst Cellphone Concept Ever

I always wondered just why people bother with a wired cellphone headset. You've seen them: one hand to hold the phone, one hand to cram the earpiece into their waxy canal and then the other hand to hold the microphone...

OLPC Will Ship With Windows XP

The $100 Linux Laptop is now a $200 Windows XP box. The XO (or OLPC) will eventually come as a dual boot machine, loaded with both XP and the weird icon-only XO flavor of Linux, called Sugar. First though, an...

Screenshot: Solid Snake Uses A 5G iPod

Metal Gear Solid 4 is taking so long that maybe the 5G iPod was current when it was time to render Solid Snake's MP3 player. Or maybe Snake just likes to keep things old school. Either way, these screenshots from...

Hellboy II Online Game Hints at Prize

The viral build-up for Hellboy II: The Golden Army that began with the faux activist site Humans for the Ethical Treatment of Fairies, Elves, and Trolls has taken a potentially materialistic tone with a prize hinted for the campaign's ongoing...

Sony Names Phil Harrison's Successor

Following the departure of Sony worldwide game development studios head Phil Harrison, the company has named a successor to the job: Shuhei Yoshida. As a senior vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, Yoshida was in charge of all game...

Sarah Lacy's Hot Book-Signing Party

One thing's for sure about the publication party for Sarah Lacy's new book, Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: It was hot. As in, around 100 degrees. Lacy's debut attracted over 100 Silicon Valley insiders to the cramped confines of...

Jack's Back: 24 Returns in November

Now that Kiefer Sutherland has put his jail time behind him, 24 is gearing up for a new season with a two-hour prequel special airing Nov. 23. Shot on location in South Africa, the episode sees Sutherland's Jack Bauer outwitting...

Intel Science Fair Brings Smart Kids Together From All Over

Imagine yourself in a room with 1,500 kids, and every one of them smarter than you. That's the 2008 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Started in 1950, the Intel ISEF is bringing together pre-college students from all 50...

Photo: Is This Too Much Packaging Material?

When a chemical that I have been waiting for arrives at my lab, it feels a bit like Christmas for two reasons: Getting shiny new toys is exciting, and there will be a ton of stuff strewn across the floor....

Intel ISEF2008: Personal Automated Fermenter/Distiller

Another report from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta. This video shows Eric Hodenfield and Devin Bezdicek with her project titled "Personal Automated Ethanol Fermenter and Distiller." Take a look in the Extended Post.

Experts Say MySpace Suicide Indictment Sets 'Scary' Legal Precedent

In their eagerness to visit justice on a 49-year-old woman involved in the Megan Meier MySpace suicide tragedy, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are resorting to a novel and dangerous interpretation of a decades-old computer crime law -- potentially making a felon out of anybody...

Thievery Corporation Teams With U.N. To Feed Hungry Stomachs, Ears

What's in a name? Ask the Washington, D.C.-based chill-out champions of Thievery Corporation, who are neither thieves nor part of an actual corporation. But they are conscientious producers, which is why they have decided to take their music to the...

Whedon's Dolls Fight, Seduce and Speak Spanish

Welcome to the Dollhouse. A two-minute trailer for Joss Whedon's sci-fi show was posted to YouTube late Thursday. The action-packed preview (embedded right) gives us a first look at the dolls in their The Island-like habitat, working out, getting their...

Handful of CNETers Got the Axe on Monday

We've heard that CNET gave the old heave ho to a handful of music writers at the beginning of the week, a few days before the company agreed to be acquired by CBS in a $1.8 billion deal. There were...

NPD Spin: First To 10 Million Loses

Is Don Mattrick nuts? The Microsoft vice president who succeeded Peter Moore as head of the Xbox business hasn't said much since taking office last year, but yesterday, getting an early start on spinning April's sales, he broke the silence...

Judge Recommending Legal Fees in RIAA v. Andersen

A federal magistrate is recommending that Tanya Andersen, who defeated the Recording Industry Association of America's file sharing lawsuit, be awarded $108,000 in legal fees. The recommendation by Magistrate John Acosta, if upheld by an Oregon federal judge, would mark the second time that a...

One Lap of America with the Latest Tech On Board

Go-fast parts give participants in the One Lap of America, one of the world's most demanding road rallies, a competitive edge. But with contestants scrambling on public roads to make it to time trials at tracks scattered across the country,...

Intel ISEF2008: Transparent Encryption

Another report from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta. This video shows John "Billy" Dorminy with his project titled "Creating a Better Transparent Encryption Device." Take a look in the Extended Post.

April NPD: Despite GTA, Wii Outsells PS3, 360 Combined

Not even Grand Theft Auto IV's release can stop the Wii steamroller, it seems. The NPD Group's game industry sales results for the month of April are in, and the best-selling games, as expected, are Grand Theft Auto IV and...

Teen Issues Teary YouTube Plea for Justice in Rape Case

In a video posted earlier this month, 16-year-old Crystal looks like any other teary YouTuber, except for one small detail -- she's pleading for help in getting Florida to prosecute her alleged rapist. Crystal lists media outlets she's solicited for...

Review: Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good

The timing for Sarah Lacy's book couldn't have been luckier. It was published today, the same day that a host of acquisitions confirm the book's central points: It's better to sell out than IPO, and the ties between web 1.0...

Gnarls Barkley Celebrates MySpace Secret Show's 150th Party

MySpace may still be the ugliest social-networking site on the internet, but it shows no signs of slowing down -- and free concerts help. The Rupert Murdoch-owned property has thrown more than 100 free shows since February 2006, seven months...

Rolling Suitcases Turn Floor into Music

You know that rhythmic sound that results from rolling a suitcase down a sidewalk as the wheels encounter each crack? Jose Angel Olivares and Matthew Young tapped that same concept to create Picture Me Rollin', "a manufactured surface designed to...

Iraqi Extremists Claim Killer Drone Takeover

Oh, those nutty Iraqi extremists. One day, they're claiming American troops used chemical weapons in Fallujah. The next, they're claiming that "resistance engineering units have successfully 'decoded' U.S. military robots designed for urban combat and turned them against U.S. soldiers."...

Amazon's MP3 Clips Widget Is Cool, but Not Cool Enough

Amazon.com took one step closer to our shared online music future Thursday by launching a rather cool MP3 clips widget that lets users build song lists and embed them on sites of their choice. I say rather cool, because it's...

Intel ISEF2008: Neural Net Data Glove

Another report from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta. This video shows Colby Wilkason with her project titled "Application of Real Time Neural Networks for Use with Data Gloves." Take a look in the Extended Post.

The Reviews Are Back on Craig Newmark's Speech: It Sucked

We were impressed when we heard that Craig Newmark, the endearingly bumbling co-founder of Craiglist, said he planned to "wing" a commencement speech at the University of California Berkeley on Tuesday. Granted, he had a topic in mind (the power...

Woo-hoo! Simpsons' Krusty Gets His Own Roller Coasters

"Twice the cost, same cheap fun!" So says The Simpsons brain trust as it mock-hypes The Simpsons Ride, a new amusement park attraction inspired by Krusty, the series' animated huckster clown. Expanding the Krusty "brand" beyond appearances on the show...

Chevrolet Volt Hits the Road With Li-Ion Batteries And 40-Mile Range

General Motors says it's nailed the lithium-ion battery technology at the heart of the Chevrolet Volt and is consistently achieving a range of 40 miles in road tests, thereby clearing a big hurdle to getting the car built by 2010....

TASER: Now with Video and Audio

YouTube videos of TASER incidents could soon become a lot more plentiful. TASER International now has a patent that would provide its weapons with "recorded audio and/or video information for the period, for example, extending a while before and after...

Music Industry Gurus' Five Point Plan to Save their Business

Researchers at The Leading Question and experts from Music Ally have determined that fewer people are regularly paying for downloads, while the percentage of the population that regularly downloads music from a P2P network is holding steady. They concluded, like...

Science Building Iron Man, Super Soldier

I guess we can't enjoy our spectacular, glorified comic book violence at the multiplex without the eggheads getting all "research-y" and "science-like." Now, they're taking movie heroes and making them real. A gold/titanium flying costume is still out of reach,...

Intel ISEF2008: Bionic Arm

Another report from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta. This video shows Morgan Walti with his project titled "Bionic Arm: An Application of Electromagnetics." Take a look in the Extended Post.

Woohoo! It's Like Irrational Exuberance All Over Again

CBS buys CNET. Comcast buys Plaxo. Ask.com buys Dictionary.com. There is something happening here, and what it is ain't exactly clear. But those of us with memories that extend to the previous millennium do detect a bit of irrational exuberance....

McCain, Obama Now Agree on Iraq! (Kinda, Sorta)

Did John McCain just endorse the Obama plan for Iraq? In a speech given earlier today in Columbus, Ohio, McCain laid out what he "would hope to have achieved at the end of my first term as President." First on...

Judge Says First-Ever RIAA Piracy Trial May Need a Do-Over

The federal judge who oversaw the Recording Industry Association of America's lawsuit against Jammie Thomas said Thursday he might have erred with one of his instructions to the jury, and is considering granting a new trial. In response, an RIAA spokeswoman said, "if we have...

Senators Ask FBI to Explain Flawed 'National Security Letter' to Internet Archive

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is asking FBI head Robert Mueller to explain why the feds sought records from the Internet Archive, a digital library, using a controversial administrative subpoena known as a National Security Letter, which is intended for a communications service providers....

Tributes to O'Reilly's Meltdown Surface Online

Several parodies of Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly's on-air meltdown are making their way around the web. One, embedded right and slightly NSFW, features satirical pundit and Wired fave Stephen Colbert mocking the spectacle on The Colbert Report. Another parody...

Intel ISEF2008: Electromagnetic Levitation

Another report from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta. This video shows Chris King with his project titled "Electromagnetic Levitation." Take a look in the Extended Post.

Prius Sales Top 1 Million. Want One? Better Move Fast

The Prius has become damn-near ubiquitous in the decade since Toyota introduced it, and now there are more than 1 million of them on the road. You can bet that number will keep rising right along with fuel prices. Toyota...

Street Fighter Comic Creators Unveil Tribute Book

Udon Entertainment has unveiled Street Fighter Tribute, a gorgeous book compiling art from the company, as well as numerous guest artists, that pays homage to Capcom's seminal fighting series. The book, which goes on sale August 31, will set fans...

CloudTrade: Free, Legal Music Sharing on Your Smartphone

CloudTrade has announced that music from its first two label deals is now available for trading on its mobile file-sharing network. Users can trade about 250 songs from CloudTrade's label partners: ATO Records (Radiohead's U.S. CD distributor) and the jam-band-friendly...

Foreign Policy: The List: The World’s Most Dangerous Gangs

(((They only list four gangs, but I've never heard of two of them.))) http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4310 Link: Foreign Policy: The List: The World’s Most Dangerous Gangs. "The Mungiki, Kenya "Membership: as many as 100,000 men from the Kikuyu, Kenya’s largest ethnic group...

Funcom Responds to Early Access Closure Rage

Funcom has released an official statement on the closure of Age of Conan's Early Access program, presumably in an effort to quell the anger of all those people who felt slighted by the company's decision. The statement reiterates that Funcom...

Lori Drew Indicted in MySpace Suicide Case -- Updated

A federal grand jury issued an indictment against a woman in Missouri accused of creating a fake MySpace page to bully a 13-year-old girl. The girl committed suicide as a result of the bullying. Lori Drew was indicted this morning in Los Angeles on federal...

Konami's Back In Music Game With Rock Revolution

I suppose it was inevitable. At their Gamer's Night media event last night, Konami announced that they too will jump into the music game wars with Rock Revolution, a music game with guitars and drums, but no vocals. Sporting a...

Intel ISEF2008: Modular Generic Robot Controller

Another report from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta. This video shows sisters Tesca and Taytlyn Fitzgerald with their project titled "Make a Robot Spectacular in a Generic Way." Take a look in the Extended Post.

Shuttleworth Proposes Synchronized Linux Releases

Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu honcho, has a post on his blog discussing "The Art of Release." He applauds the team and community that got version 8.04 out the door precisely on schedule. He diagrams (above) how, by design, some Ubuntu releases...

Beyond Good & Evil Sequel Exists, Still A Ways Off

French designer Michel Ancel has revealed that a sequel to critical (if not financial) darling Beyond Good & Evil has been in pre-production for the past year, according to a videogaming247's translation of a JeuxFrance interview. The sequel is still...

Twitterverse Overjoyed as Gay Marriage Ban Is Overturned

California's top court overturned a ban on gay marriage Thursday, and Twitter users quickly celebrated the ruling. "Gay Marriage in CA FTW! Woot!" tweeted worthyadvisor, one of hundreds of Twitter users who expressed joy at the court's 4-3 decision. The...

The End of an Email Era?

Dear Newsline Subscriber: (((Yo!))) The weakening U.S. dollar is placing our company, which broadcasts in 28 languages to 21 countries, under enormous budgetary pressure. Recently, I was faced with the difficult choice of scaling back RFE/RL's broadcasting efforts or making...

Big Payday for Web 2.0

So what if the IPO window is closed? Web companies still have plenty of options, as illustrated by a spate of big-dollar dot-com acquisitions announced over the last 24 hours. The biggest web deal announced today was CBS' plan to...

Animation Advertisements Light Up in the Subway

For the Los Angeles Metro, the system can boost its annual revenue by $240,000 either by having 192,000 additional yearly riders, or by placing one advertisement inside the subway tunnel. The two year pilot program installed between Hollywood/Highland and Universal...

Report: Government's Cyber Security Plan Is Riddled With New Spying Programs

Major elements of the Bush administration's proposed $17 billion "cyber security" initiative have little to do with protecting government networks, and a lot to do with spying, according to a budget report released by the Senate Armed Services Committee this week. The so-called National Cyber...

Reactive Nitrogen: The Next Big Pollution Problem

Without nitrogen to fertilize crops, the world couldn't feed itself. But if humanity doesn't cut back on the nitrogen it pumps into the environment, we could choke the oceans and ourselves. That's the troubling takeaway of two articles published today...

First Peek at Whedon's Killer Dolls

The first photo from geek maestro Joss Whedon's highly anticipated Dollhouse reveals the killer cast behind the upcoming sci-fi drama. The seven-episode series, which follows a group of highly skilled men- and women-for-hire known as "dolls," launches in January on...

CBS Buys GameSpot Parent CNET

The CBS Corporation has entered into an agreement to buy internet media bastion CNET for $1.8 billion, according to a press release earlier today. "There are very few opportunities to acquire a profitable, growing, well-managed Internet company like CNET Networks,"...

Intel ISEF2008: R/C Aerial Reconnaissance

So much brain power under one (cavernous) roof! This is my first report from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta, and I've already seen some great projects from some really bright kids. This first video shows Alexander...

Back and Forward Buttons Are a Bad Paradigm

Jacob Sheehy has written an interesting blog post called "Browsing the Web with a Tree." He makes the point that multiple backs and forths, clicks and submits, creates a complex, two-dimensional browsing history. Trying, as browsers do, to represent this...

Guitar Tutorials Rocket Up iTunes Podcast Charts

Modern guitarists have a new option when it comes to learning their instrument. Chord books and music lessons still sell, but for visual learners, the best option is probably the video tutorial. There are several online options, but we really...

Verdict Expected in Murdoch Hacker Trial this Morning

A Santa Ana jury has reached a verdict in the trial accusing a Rupert Murdoch company of hiring hackers to sabotage competitors and gain the top place in the lucrative pay-TV market. The jury deliberated only one day after a month of proceedings and reached...

New Airport Security Concept: Bowling Ball Returns

When I was in Israel earlier this year for a tour of the country's counter-terrorism strategy, the head of security for Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport politely mocked the U.S. approach to security. We have a strange obsession with liquids, shoes...

Nintendo: No Such Thing As 'Casual' Gaming

The Wii may have earned a reputation as being the console of choice for casual gamers, but as Nintendo Europe's Laurent Fischer sees it, there's really no such thing. As he sees it, there are simply those people who play...

Indictment Expected This Morning in Megan Meier Cyberbullying Case -- Updated

The U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles is expected to make an announcement this morning about a grand jury indictment in the cyberbullying case that resulted in a young Missouri teenager killing herself. Authorities won't say who the indictment might target, but the likely suspect...

Nintendo Loses Patent Infringement Case

A federal jury has found Nintendo guilty of patent infringement and ordered the company to pay $21 million in damages. The suit, filed by Anascape Ltd. in 2006, claims that the designs of the Wii Classic, WaveBird, and GameCube controllers...

In a Flash (10), Adobe Adds Dynamic Audio Support

Wow, that was fast. Wasn't it only yesterday that we picked up on a plea from a bunch of software developers to Adobe for better dynamic audio support, including the ability to send processed audio directly to a computer's sound...

Sega, Platinum Games Partner Up

Yeah, this already leaked onto the Internet well in advance of the official announcement, but Sega made it official last night: The publisher is partnering with the newly-independent game creators at Platinum Games for a four-title deal. Platinum Games is...

What To Expect From Apple At WWDC

Darpa Aims to Snuff Flames with Electricity, Sound

Darpa, the Pentagon's far-out research arm, typically works on morphing airplanes, thinking robots, and "kill-proof" soldiers. Now, the agency wants to help build a better fire extinguisher -- by using electromagnetic fields or sonic waves, naturally. Darpa announced today its...

US 'Sonic Blasters' Sold To China

There was a surprising piece of gear at last month's China International Police Forum, held in Beijing. There, among the rows of law enforcement tech, was an American machine, the Long Range Acoustic Device. It's not something you'd expect to...

FlyTunes Adds Videos and Podcasts to IPhone Streaming Service

FlyTunes has expanded its its free iPhone and iPod Touch service to include news and entertainment videos from Comedy Central, NBC, CBS and others, plus podcasts from various sources. Since its January launch FlyTunes has allowed allowed iPhone and iPod...

Japan Sales: Wii Continues Top 10 Domination

The Japan sales numbers for the week of May 5-11 are out and, well, remember yesterday's news about the Wii selling six million units in Japan? That means a lot of Wii owners are hungry for games, and the chart...

10 Million Xbox 360 Units Sold in U.S.

Maybe trying to steal a bit of thunder from yesterday's announcement of six million Wii consoles sold in Japan, Microsoft announced today the Xbox 360 was the first of the current generation of consoles to sell ten million units in...

Kojima's Policenauts Out on PlayStation Store in Japan

Those of you who are hyped for the upcoming release of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots may be interested to know that an earlier game from creator Hideo Kojima, Policenauts, is now available on the Japanese PlayStation...

Squeak EToys (Say It Out Loud)

I love to program, and I very much hope my kids will love to program, too. I'm starting to teach my seven-year-old the basics of logic, and have been looking for a more modern version of Logo. Last year I...

New Pokémon Game Announced

Time to catch a few more: A new Pokémon game has been announced, Pokémon Platinum. Last month's issue of Japanese kid's comics magazine CoroCoro teased that a big Pokémon announcement would be forthcoming in the next issue. That new issue...

Five for Fighting 5/15/08

* Gates: start talks with Iran * McMaster gets his star * Sat shoot-down price tag: $112 million * China sues Russia over stolen sub designs * Jet man soars above alps * Extra punch: Defend your homes (High five:...

Flight of the Conchords Skate Into Ladies' Hearts

New Zealand's rap-funk-comedy folk duo Flight of the Conchords do a lot of fretting over the womenfolk on their HBO series, but watching this video (right) it seems as though if they strutted their roller-skating skills more they'd have more...

Don't Panic: Towel Day is May 25th

Fans of the late Douglas Adams pay tribute to him each year by celebrating Towel Day on May 25th. (This date is also Nerd Pride Day but these two events are completely unrelated.) The annual Towel Day tradition was started...

Google Doctype: An Open Web Reference Guide

Google has rolled out a new service for web developers looking to get a better understanding of open web tools like HTML, JavaScript and CSS. Doctype, as the new service is known, is one part reference encyclopedia and one part...

Google Maps Adds Flash API, Photos, Wikipedia Entries and More

Google Maps has been cranking out the updates fast and furious lately. In the last week the site has incorporated photos and Wikipedia entries, added the ability to pan upward in street views and this morning it announced a new...

Legacy Of The Force Minis Storm Onto The Scene

This spring, D&D; publisher Wizards of the Coast announced the release of Legacy of the Force, a 60-figure miniatures set based on the popular Star Wars: Legacy Dark Horse Comics series. With this set, players act out epic battles from...

Sprint Runs Out Of Ammuntion In Instinct vs IPhone Battle

You know when you read a Top 5 list and the writer runs out of ideas after just four items? Well, the same thing seems to have happened to Sprint in it's $100 million War on iPhone ad campaign. After...

In Some Small Towns, Airline Service is Dwindling Away to Nothing

For travelers in some small towns, it's time to Go Greyhound. It could be their only option. Desperate to deal with rising fuel prices that just won't quit, airlines are aggressively slashing flights to smaller cities. They're cutting deep, and...

"Star Wars" Makes Everything Better, Even Weddings

When my wife and I used the "End Title" theme from Star Wars (if the IMDb can call it that still, so can I) as the recessional in our wedding, I thought that was pretty geeky. We had nothing on...

Tamron Unveils Motor Driven Lens For Nikon

Way back in 1987, Canon ditched its FD lens mount for the all-electronic EF bayonet fixing. At the same time, it introduced the first usable autofocus for SLR cameras, with a fast and quiet motor inside the lens itself, and...

RC Lawnmower Will Have You Hammock-Bound

What do you get when you cross an electric wheelchair, an RC controller and an standard gasoline-powered push lawnmower?

Intel Germany 'Confirms' Apple Tablet

If we take a statement from Intel Germany's CEO, mix in a little internet rumor and season with a salty sprinkling of speculation, we come up with an Apple Internet Tablet. Here's the first ingredient, machine translated from ZDNET, Germany:...

Canon Announces A Printer In A Bucket

Canon's new Selphy CP770 is a dye sublimation printer in a bucket. It will output 6"x4" prints at the rate of one per minute. Did we say it comes in a bucket? The unusual design starts to make sense when...

Jet Man Flies at 186mph 'To Impress The Girls'

Yesterday Yves Rossy, former fighter pilot and proud owner of the biggest cojones on the planet, strapped a wing and four jets to his back and jumped out of a plane. When the engines kicked in, he shot off at...

BBC Not Toying Around With Doctor Who Licenses

It hasn't been the best week for the BBC's licensing department, with battles raging on multiple fronts. First, the BBC balled up legal threats on a British woman who posted knitting patterns of popular Doctor Who aliens on her website....

Drink in Freedom with Camo-Covered Soda Machines

You may think you're supporting the troops. But you're not really giving our men and women in uniform the respect they deserve, until you're drinking Cokes or beers from a military-themed soda machine. "No matter your branch of service, a...

Review: Jawbone's Latest Headset is Smaller Skinnier Sexier

Aliph “New” Jawbone When the original Jawbone hit the market at the end of 2006, it was the best sounding Bluetooth headset in the world, with noise-cancellation that made all our calls clearer and easier to understand. Unfortunately, many folks...

Tom Cruise: Nazis = No, MI4 = Maybe

Who could look at this stirring photo of Tom Cruise in Nazi garb and not think, "Box office gold!"? Evidently, most people in Hollywood can manage precisely that, as the release date for the Tom Cruise "Nazis killing Hitler" epic...

Hobbit Watch: Jackson, del Toro to Chat With Fans

On May 24, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro will host an "unexpected party" to answer questions from fans about their upcoming collaboration on The Hobbit. In an open e-mail sent to Wired.com and others, Jackson (pictured) writes: "Several years...

In Atlanta for ISEF08 - There's Excitement in the Air

So, as I've mentioned, Intel decided to send this lowly GeekDad to their 2008 International Science and Engineering Fair, being held in Atlanta this week. Due to travel time from California and the time zone change, I'm sitting down for...

Danger, NPR! (Updated)

I'll be on NPR's "The Bryant Park Project" tomorrow, around 8:20 in the morning. UPDATE: Here's the audio.

Flash Player 10: Dazzling Effects, Better Performance, Runs on Linux

The next generation of the Flash Player is here. Adobe has released a beta version of Flash Player 10, which promises better performance, improved text handling, custom photo effects filters and native 3D animations. It's available as a free download...

Timing Traffic Lights Would Save Billions in Fuel, Emissions and Wasted Time

It would also save countless lives. So says a new study from the National Transportation Operatons Council, an alliance of national associations and private sector groups that seek to improve the country's transportation infrastructure. The impact isn't trivial. Even changing...

Can Strobe Weapons Really Make You Puke?

Can so-called "flashlight" weapons really make you vomit? Or send you into an epileptic fit? I have a feature in New Scientist on non-lethal strobe devices -- new arms, relying on flashing lights, like the "LED Incapacitator," Peak Beam's searchlight-based...