Filed under: Celebrities, iPodAs the record industry scrambles to figure out how to stop the unstoppable tide of online music sharing, high-profile artists continue to side with those who really enjoy copying their music, thank you very much. Most recently, Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails spoke out against the anti-sharing movement (actually telling his fans to steal music), then Radiohead offered its album up for fans to download at whatever price they saw fit. Now Curtis Jackson, who you may know as 50 Cent, has spoken his mind as well. During an interview in Oslo, Norway, Mr. Cent said that "[file sharing] doesn't really hurt the artists," and contended that it only hurts the studios. Of course, not all musicians have their own record label, clothing line, or Vitamin Water flavor -- but we digress. Still, for all those record execs fighting what they perceive to be the "good fight," Jackson's comments must sting (even through those thick suits). From ValleywagRelated links:The New Weapon Against Online Music Theft?AT&T Admits Error in Censoring Pearl Jam SongPrince Sues Three Sites Over Piracy of His Music Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Audio/Video, Celebrities, TV If you're a fan of the film 'Lost in Translation', love movies that take place in tech-friendly Tokyo, or just enjoy any film in which you get to stare at Scarlet Johansson in her underwear, then this post is for you. As long as you don't mind sucking the mystery out of things. Through the magic of digital processing, some intrepid movie viewers have revealed the final whisper from the beautiful Sofia Coppola film. We won't tell you what Bill Murray is whispering here, we'll let you watch the video to find out. Though to be honest, we had a tough time picking out the words even with the digital processing.From FarkRelated links:New Jack Black Film 'Destroys' the InternetWilliam Shatner to Appear in the Next Star Trek MovieAction Movies Teach Kids Bad Physics Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Computers, Video GamesThe military loves its video games. Whether it is at the forefront of simulator technology, modding off-the-shelf games like 'Doom', or creating its own first-person shooter from the ground up like 'America's Army', the United States Army is no stranger to game development as away to train and recruit soldiers.No branch of the military has embraced the world of video games as much as the Army is about to. The Army has just created the Training and Doctrine Command's Project Office for Gaming (or TPO Gaming), an office dedicated completely to building and deploying video games.TPO Gaming is specifically looking into developing a toolkit that will allow soldiers to build their own training scenarios. But sadly, like many other US Military projects that can take a while, don't expect to see this toolkit until around 2015.From Slashdot and WiredRelated links:WWII Computer vs. Modern Tech in Decrypting ChallengeNew Pilot Helmet Allows Terminator Like X-Ray VisionBritish Army Testing Tech That Makes Tanks and Troops Invisible Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Computers, Gadget HeadIf you're old enough to remember the TV show Dallas in its heyday, then you might remember Commodore, the company that was the first to sell 1,000,000 PCs. It went under in 1994, but it might not have gone bankrupt had Apple co-founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs successfully convinced Commodore to sell the Apple II PC in 1982. Wozniak explained the potential even to a panel at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California:Broke and unable to manufacture the groundbreaking Apple II on a large scale, the two men pitched their product to Commodore. Fortunately for Jobs and Wozniak, Commodore opted to run with its own Commodore 64 PC, while the Apple prodigies went on to achieve success on their own. The panel discussion, part of festivities to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Commodore 64 PC, also featured Jack Tramiel, a former chairman of Commodore International. It seems that Commodore rejected the Apple makers' overture because it wanted to sell a machine "for the masses," deeming the Apple II too expensive to market to a wide audience. Indeed, the simpler black-and-white Commodore 64 eventually sold for $199 per unit, a jaw-dropping low price (and before that the Vic-20 broke into the market for way less than the Apple II). The more expensive Apple product, with its advanced color, graphics, sound and gaming features, surprised Commodore and eventually caught on with consumers. Tramiel suggested that part of Commodore's downfall may have been its failure to package software and hardware.Strolling down memory lane like this kind of reminds us of those old "What if...?" comic book story lines, where we see what would have happened had Flash Thompson rather than Peter Parker been bitten by the radioactive spider. Okay, maybe a stretch, but it is wild to think about the iconic Apple company having come this close to not existing. Do you think Commodore would have come up with the iPod? From MacworldRelated Links:Peeved Bill Gates Says Everyone Copies MicrosoftiPhone and AppleTV to Unite in January in New Apple Product? Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Audio/Video, Computers, iPhoneJust a few days ago we mused about one possible way to drive some interest in the lagging Apple TV device: turn the iPhone into a sort of glamorous, multimedia universal remote. But, that was idle speculation. Now we have something a little more concrete about updates to the Apple TV device, as well as possibly not one, but a pair of new iPhone models.It's all still rumor fodder and rather vague at this point, but those rumors are enticing. The new Apple TV "could include an LCD" and a new generation of the iPhone could feature a "different look and will probably include 3G capability." That iPhone is supposedly due sometime late 2008, but another update is due earlier in the year, likely just adding more memory to the current model's somewhat anemic eight gigabytes. So, scoop, or just speculation of likely hardware updates? An iPhone with more storage is all but guaranteed, though an Apple TV with a built-in LCD doesn't do much for us, honestly. We'd rather use the LCDs on our iPhones. We'll find out about the rest next year.From AppleInsiderRelated Links: iPhone and AppleTV to Unite in January in New Apple Product? Apple Sued over iPhone's Visual Voicemail AT&T Opens Network (But Not iPhone) Is There Hope for the Apple TV?  Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  They claim there is a scientific purpose for there experiments, but to be honest with you, we can't quite figure out what that purpose may be. The South Korean scientists who created this pair of fluorescent felines claim that this breakthrough will help them study diseases and stem cells. We might not be biologists, but we're not really sure what the connection between AIDS and a cat that looks like a jack-o-lantern is.This is far from the first time scientists have cloned animals and genetically altered them to glow unearthly colors. Mice, rabbits, pigs -- nothing is safe. A company even bred genetically altered fluorescent fish to sell as pets, called GloFish.%Gallery-11750%From The Daily MailRelated links:High School Sophomore Discovers Dinosaur MummyNew Super Mice Run for 5 Hours Without Stopping10 Most Bizarre Science Experiments Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Video Games, Green TechCalling all gamers: Greenpeace needs you. That is, if you care at all about your planet. Greenpeace, the militant pro-Earth, anti-pollution organization, wants gamers to help it pressure console makers in to making the gaming industry's manufacturing process and products less toxic to the environment.Greenpeace says that console makers are lagging far behind PC and cell phone makers in the race to clean up their operations. The organization released a 90-second video featuring the stars of the big three -- Microsoft's Master Chief (from Halo), Nintendo's Mario, and Sony's Kratos (From God of War) -- competing to become the greenest console.Greenpeace wasn't clear about what exactly it expected gamers to do, but we imagine letter writing and a YouTube video campaign could garner some level of success. So get to it, gamers. We already get lead poisoning from our children's toys -- lets keep it out of our PlayStations.From the BBCRelated links:Nintendo Ends Up On Bottom of Green Electronics ListiPhone Bad for Environment Says GreenpeaceRockefeller Center Christmas Tree Goes Green Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Cell Phones, iPhone, Gadget Head, Mac Software, Handheld Devices , CellphoneA report issued by network security firm Arbor Networks foreshadows what may be a year of increasing hacker attacks on the iPhone. According to the Arbor Network Security and Engineering Response Team (ASERT), hackers will focus their efforts in the form of drive by attacks against the new platform in 2008. These attacks are made up of malware -- corrupting programs -- that is embedded into data, images or other media and appeasr non-threatening, but in reality performs harmful actions when activated on the iPhone's Web browser. The ASERT team speculates that hackers will turn their attention to the iPhone in order to claim bragging rights by 'be[ing] the first' to hack a new platform. This latest news adds to the open debate between Mac and PC makers over the level of security their products provide. Apple suggests that its programs are relatively virus free, especially when compared to the constantly-attacked PC-based Windows operating system. Windows/PC proponents argue that this imbalance in hacker assaults does not reflect the quality of security offered, but instead is indicative of marketplace disparity between the two computing options. That is, the majority (about 90 percent)of computers bought and used are of the PC variety, so hackers have gone after the product that offered the most notoriety to corrupt -- security through obscurity.It seems, however, that one development in 2008 may clarify the whole matter. Next year, Apple will open up the iPhone to third party applications. Until now the iPhone has employed a closed system, which gave the impression of better security. When third party applications are given the go-ahead in the coming months, it will be easier to understand the level of security vulnerability in the iPhone, and by extension, other Apple products. Until now, the only way to install third-party software onto the iPhone was to do it illegally, with all of hacking's accompanying problems.It seems to us that in 2008 and beyond, iPhone lovers will have to treat their do-it-all device like their computer at home, with the same security precautions against downloading dubious programs and opening e-mails from suspicious sources. Whether Apple/Mac security is as good as advertised remains to be seen. From Newsvine Via iTnewsRelated Links:Teen Trades Hacked iPhone for CarHackers Set Their Sights on iPhoneiPhone's Web Browser Vulnerable to Hacker Attacks Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Computers, Gift News, Holiday Gift GuideJust a few weeks after its release, the Amazon Kindle has already had its DRM cracked. DRM is of course Digital Rights Management, the bane of many legal digital music download users. DRM is applied to the Kindle's files to keep users from simply sharing digital versions of books, magazine, and newspapers with friends. Surprisingly, the new DRM-breach doesn't enable enable users to subvert that DRM and share those files. Instead, the development has expanded the library of file types that are readeable on the Kindle. Currently, the Kindle uses a modified version of the MobiPocket file format, created by a French eBook company that was purchased by Amazon back in 2005 when the Kindle was just a twinkle in Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' eye.But Reverse Engineering's Igor Skochinsky, the developer behind the DRM-crack, has discovered is that it's possible to take existing MobiPocket files and modify them to be viewable on the Kindle, something that was previously not possible thanks to the MobiPocket DRM. This means that the already reasonably impressive library (90,000 titles) of Kindle titles is now even greater. This is good news for readers, but some of the steam of this discovery was let out with word that Fictionwise, a major e-tailer of MobiPocket eBooks, is also now letting you directly download files in Kindle format, even for books you've bought in the past!Anyhow, for other MobiPocket files that aren't going to be converted for you, Reverse Engineering provides a few scripts you can try to get them Kindle-readySo whatdoes all this tech-developer intrigue mean for you? More digital books for you early-adopting e-readers ou there -- -- assuming you managed to get one of the things to read them on.From Reverse EngineeringRelated Links: Amazon Kindle eBook Reader Sold Out Through Christmas Is the Amazon Kindle Really the iPod of Books? Amazon's New Kindle Displays eBooks and Newspapers  Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Video GamesYet another PSP firmware update is coming down the pipe. On December 18, Sony should be making Version 3.8 of the PSP firmware available to Japanese gamers, and soon to us on this side of the Pacific. Expect a number of great new features:Streaming Internet Radio playerVideo scene searchRSS now supports OPML (allows easy import and export of multiple feeds) and picturesPSP-2000 owners with 1Seg tuners can use an electronic program guide to schedule Japanese mobile television recordings (Japan only, we're guessing)PlayStation Spot now available at BB Mobile Point (Japan only) Not a bad gift for the holidays from Sony.From EngadgetRelated links:PlayStation 3 to Get a TV Tuner and DVR?New Sony PSP Plays Games and Movies on Your TVPSP Patch Finally Unlocks Remote Play Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Audio/Video, Video Junkie, $1000 and Under, Gift News, Home Video, holiday gift, Holiday Gift Guide LG Electronics announced it is putting its second-generation hybrid high definition disc player on retail shelves, making good on a promise made in September at the CEDIA trade show to have the new devices ready for the holidays.The LG Super Blu Player, officially known as the BH200, will carry a $999 price tag and is capable of reading high-definition discs in the two competing formats currently on the market, Blu-ray and HD-DVD. (Blu-ray is supported primarily by Sony and Panasonic while HD-DVD is the darling of Toshiba and Microsoft.) The player also works with standard DVDs.Until the consumer electronics industry can settle on a single high definition format for discs -- something we don't expect to happen anytime soon -- a dual format player is the only solution for movie aficionados who just have to have the latest movie in HD.While Samsung has announced its new hybrid player will be out soon for $200 less, during a visit to LG's headquarters in scenic Palisades, N.J., marketing vice president Allan Jason pointedly explained the value in LG's offering. "It's one thing to say you have a better price on a product. It's another to actually have product on store shelves," he said. LG says the BH200 is available at retailers nationwide, however a quick check of Best Buy's Web site shows product is sold out there and at its stores across the country -- even in Minneapolis, Best Buy's home town. Same goes for Circuit City online and at its retail locations, even in its Richmond, Va., backyard.Kudos to LG for having a popular product. Too bad for those of us not fast enough to the store to grab one.From BetaNews.Related Links: HD-DVD Players Drop to Sub-$200 Price Tag'Transformers' and Other Paramount Movies Won't Make It to Blu-rayTarget Selling Blu-Ray Instead of HD-DVD Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Cell Phones, Advice, Editor's Picks, Switched Video, Style Maven, Man / Woman Who Has Everything, $100 and Under, Holiday Gift Guide, CellphoneThis is the story of four cell phones that have two things in common: Each costs under $100, and each doesn't suck. Josh "Kung" Fruhlinger reports. Related Links:How to Send Text Messages for FreeHow to Watch TV Online for FreeSubscribe to our Podcast! Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Computers, Video GamesPostings on the job boards for Blizzard, the company behind 'Warcraft' and 'Diablo,' have given away a little secret. The boys at Blizzard are working on a next-generation Massively Multiplayer Online game (MMO). Blizzard didconfirm that it was working on an unannounced MMO, but would not divulge any further details. Of course, this leaves all of us to speculate what the game will be. Message board posts all assume the game will be based on preexisting universes. Will it be 'Diablo', 'Starcraft'?, or lesser-known titles like 'Blackthorne' and 'Lost Vikings'?Our take -- it'll either be 'Diablo' or, even more likely an update of 'World of Warcraft' which has been a gargantuan money-maker for the developer. 'Starcraft' isn't likely since 'Starcraft 2' is already under development. We figure 'WoW' is about due for an update as it is beginning to show its age at 3 years (an eternity in the gaming world). But Blizzard surely doesn't want to see the incredibly successful 'Diablo' franchise fade into the history books. What do you expect to see? A 'Diablo' online game? A new 'WoW'? Or perhaps something completely different.From Evil AvatarRelated links:Boy Saves Sister from Moose Attack with Skills Learned in Warcraft Video GameWilliam Shatner and Mr. T Team up for World of WarcraftActivision, Vivendi Announce Biggest Game Publishing Merger in History Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Audio/Video, iPodYoung people attempting to convince the parental units to buy them the latest iPod now have a compelling argument in their arsenal. And adults who would rather buy items with educational value for their children may be pleasantly surprised. It turns out that in addition to playing music and video clips, the iPod may be used to recast and display lectures and visuals from the classroom. The New York Times reports that at least two companies now offer software that aligns recorded auditory information with digital images. In practice, a professor's words and her PowerPoint slides are linked and then placed on a server from which students may download the lecture.One advantage of the new software is the ease with which students may search for particular parts of the lecture to review, rather than having to sit through the whole presentation all over again. Every word that appears on the lecture's accompanying digital images is indexed so that students can search for key words and open the lecture at any juncture. This technology is already in full swing at schools like the University of Central Florida, while others such as Purdue University are testing it out. We're guessing that the children might be winning a few bouts with the parents after this news gets out... From The New York Times (via geeksugar)Related Links:'Free iPod' Advertiser Fined $650,000iPod Classic 160-Gigabyte Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments