Thanks to Chad for putting this together.

Technology Round-Up

Discussion topic

Microsoft has agreed to adopt the EU's demands of a browser selection screen at startup. Is this a fair compromise and should Microsoft even have to compromise?

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Internet-related

Amazon's CEO has apologized for the e-book deleting incident mentioned last week, calling it "stupid" and "thoughless." The Inquirer has published an interesting article about how Amazon actually did the right thing.

Researchers at the University of Washington are working on a way to post material on social networks that self-destructs to protect your privacy.

Would you marry someone with the exact same name as you? Two people who met on Facebook did.

Much to the chagrin of some Facebook app developers, Facebook is protecting its users' privacy after users complained about their pictures being used in advertisements (reported last week).

Facebook will allow users to change their nickname once.

Trent Reznor has quit Twitter. As an internet mogul, is his departure a sign of the site's flaws? Also, the White House has banned Twitter from their computers.

TwttrPoop is quintessential proof that Twitter should be put out of its fail whale-ing misery.

Amazon has bought Zappos as it moves closer to owning all e-commerce.

YouTube now offers 3D videos for people with the always-stylish red and blue glasses.

Gmail now offers an auto-unsubscribe feature.

Google Maps now allows the addition of addition of convenient stops to your trip.

Check out a review of the developer's preview of Google Wave.

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Electronics-related

The FDA has ruled that electronic cigarettes are as bad if not worse than regular cigarettes.

A completely street-legal flying car (that also has a 0-60 on the ground of 4.2 seconds) now has a pre-order available that's not as expensive as you might expect. Expected to ship next year.

Coca-Cola is working on a vending machine that can dispense 100 different soda drinks.

An Orthodox Jewish family is suing the complex of their vacation home for motion-activated lights.

Microsoft Stores will imitate/mock Apple stores with a "Guru Bar." The company is also using a former Apple retail executive to help the store launches go successfully.

A plot on The Big Bang Theory has come to life as one of the space shuttle toilets has broken.

Japanese researchers have developed two robots that play baseball with each other.

Toyota is "planting" 18-foot solar-powered fake flowers that provide power and WiFi.

A carbon fiber electric bicycle sounds like a great buy until the price tag of $6,700 rears its ugly head.

For people who really like Transformers, Chevrolet is offering Bumblebee-styled Camaros.

The Kindle may have some serious competition from Plastic Logic, who has teamed up with AT&T and Barnes & Noble for its e-book reader.

Check out the new Walkman.

Even the RIAA admits that DRM is dead.

Touchscreens may soon be able to track 10 inputs at once.

802.11n will finally get set specifications in September.

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Mobile-related

A Chinese man has committed suicide after discovering one of the prototype iPhones under his care went missing. See his final text messages to his girlfriend.

Researchers are working on cell phones that can be used to detect diseases.

Find a person's social networking sites using that person's face and an iPhone (don't worry, you have to set up an account first).

AT&T's CEO admits that other carriers will get the iPhone someday. Meanwhile, Verizon has announced they are limiting the length of their exclusive phone contracts as a gesture of good will.

People in Japan have slower 3G speed because they're downloading too much porn.

iPhone augmented reality apps will come with OS 3.1.

Verizon is reportedly trying to get its 4G network up and running for Apple device(s).

The iPhone 3GS's encryption has been laughed at by hackers who call it "worthless."

The Palm Pre syncs with iTunes once again. This is going to be a fun cat-and-mouse game...though Palm is tattling to mommy and daddy.

Two carriers in Dubai sent out spyware as an automatic Blackberry update. RIM has released a solution.

Have a look at a video of the Blackberry Storm 2.

The final specifications and pictures of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 have been released.

Blackberry people who own a Mac will get proper sync abilities in September.

One of Samsung's upcoming phones will feature the Nvidia Tegra chip designed for netbooks.

Check out the rumored Windows Mobile-powered HTC Leo/Firestone.

Engadget has reviewed the HTC Hero. So has Gizmodo.

The next version of Android will feature system-wide multitouch, better performance, and more.

Sprint users will be getting at least one Android-based phone this year.

For somewhat daring G1 users, add Hero's interface to your phone now.

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Computer-related

If you've seen ESPN reporter Erin Andrews naked, you probably have a virus (computer virus that is).

Following Apple's complaints last week about the Laptop Hunter ads, Microsoft has modified two of them.

Windows 7 is ready for retail release and predictably available for torrent download.

Microsoft has actually released drivers for Linux.

While Apple's computer market share still pales in comparison to Microsoft, Apple dominates the high-end computer market (which is where all the money is at). Apple is actually doing very well despite the current slow market.

Rumor has it that Apple will have a netbook out in 2010 priced between an iPhone and a Macbook.

If your AVG Anti Virus started flagging two iTunes files as infected, no worries Just update your virus definitions and the mistake will be fixed.

KaZaA is back and legal. Goes anyone care?

Some computer repair people are not at all trustworthy.

Studies show that 10% of CD-R's fail within 7-9 years of being burned.

Google Chrome is getting hardware 3D acceleration.

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Miscellaneous

We may be only 10 years away from functioning artificial brains.

Swimsuits used to set 138 records have now been banned from competition.

With the right cameras, people glow in the dark.

Police in Idaho have made news for sodomizing a man with a taser.

A 14-year-old boy has killed a lot of brain cells by drinking gasoline to be like Optimus Prime.

Getting fired sucks, but deleting your former employer's computer data, especially when you were employed by an organ donation company, is not the way to handle it.

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Game-related

Screenshots: Halo: ODST | Hello Kitty Online | Left 4 Dead 2 |Lost Planet 2 | Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

Trailers/Clips: Alpha Protocol | Assassins Creed | Borderlands | Brutal Legend| Command and Conquer 4 | DiRT 2 | Gran Turismo (PSP) | Guitar Hero 5 | Halo: ODST | Iron Man 2 | Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 | Rage | Ratchet & Clank: Crack in Time | Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles | Scribblenauts | Splinter Cell Conviction | Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll |Uncharted 2 | Wolfenstein

DLC: Fallout 3 | Gears of War 2 | Killing Floor | Killzone 2 | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | WipEout HD |World at War

Sony rejected the idea of dual analog sticks for the PSPgo to ensure compatibility with the PSP.

Project Natal will be supplementing, not replacing, current Xbox 360's.

Bungie has reported that they do not foresee Halo's controls working well with Natal. Also, Halo Reach (follows Halo: ODST) will be the last Halo game.

MySpace may be transforming into a gaming network.

Some medical students are being trained using Second Life hospitals.

Chuck E. Cheese's may lose their video game license due to fears of the impact of violent games on children.

Yankees pitcher, C. C. Sabathia, chooses old school baseball games over modern ones.

The popularity of Rock Band and Guitar Hero is on the decline.

blink-182 (The Rock Show, Down, Feeling This), Weezer (My Name is Jonas, Pork and Beans, Undone (The Sweater Song)), and KISS are in Rock Band DLC this week.

More tracks from Beatles Rock Band have been revealed.

Two dozen more tracks have been announced for Guitar Hero 5.

Five Jackson 5 songs will be in Karaoke Revolution.

A new Alice in Wonderland game based on the upcoming movie is on the way.

Gamers' choices in Mass Effect will affect their experience in Mass Effect 2.

Left 4 Dead 2 features zombies that are bullet-proof from the front.

An iPhone game did over $1 million in sales its opening week.

There is no need for Grand Theft Auto fans to fear a bad movie adaptation.

Apple banned an iPhone game which involved shooting zombies in a school.

Check out the Drum Grip for Band Hero (DS).

Supreme SuperGamer is a free Linux distribution which comes with a bunch of great games (Doom 3, Quake Wars, etc.). It's a live DVD (dual-layer), so no installation is necessary.

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Tips/Tricks

Discover your life's purpose. (I haven't tried it. I'm afraid I'll find out I have no purpose.)

Here is the trick to finally getting "Don't Stop Believing" out of your head (sorry if it wasn't already in your head, as I'm sure it is now).

For anyone quitting their job soon, please read this guide first.

Recycle your old electronics conveniently and maybe even make some cash with MyBoneYard.

Add mouse gestures to Google Chrome.

For a different view of Gmail, check out the Integrated Gmail addon for Firefox.

Use these keyboard shortcuts to make typing that much easier (though your round-up author is disappointed if you didn't know at least half of them already).

Our overseas readers can access US-only content with IP Hider.

Avoid stupid purchases using the "stranger test."

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Written by: CyberInferno

Articles found via Digg, Download Squad, Engadget, hackinthebox, The Inquirer, Lifehacker, HardOCP, Gizmodo, or Slashdot if not directly linked.

Thanks for checking out the technology roundup!

Please direct any comments or suggestions to cyberinferno@gmail.com (or post them in the replies).

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I CAN'T WAIT.





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A 14-year-old boy has killed a lot of brain cells by drinking gasoline to be like Optimus Prime.

Hahahahahahahaha

solid round up

This had some interesting ones! I love checking this out every week .

I'm liking that stranger test.

I used to use kazaa back in the day. forgot about that!!

also, I'm going to be angry if Verizon gets the iPhone anytime in the next year or so, since I just paid $100 to drop out of my Verizon contract and get the iPhone 3GS. Oh well, that phone is so good to me.

Awesome Round Up! Definitely helped get me through the drive from south carolina to georgia.

A joy to read, as always.

Nice round up. Always a delightful read.

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Trent Reznor has quit Twitter. As an internet mogul, is his departure a sign of the site's flaws? Also, the White House has banned Twitter from their computers.

TwttrPoop is quintessential proof that Twitter should be put out of its fail whale-ing misery.

Looks like Twitter is slowly going the way of the obsolete buffalo. Some are about to rejoice, and some have already expected it to head this direction.

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A completely street-legal flying car (that also has a 0-60 on the ground of 4.2 seconds) now has a pre-order available that's not as expensive as you might expect. Expected to ship next year.

Welcome to the world of tomorrow.

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A Chinese man has committed suicide after discovering one of the prototype iPhones under his care went missing. See his final text messages to his girlfriend.

The whole thing (the suicide, his last words, Foxconn) just sounds terrible.

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Studies show that 10% of CD-R's fail within 7-9 years of being burned.

Well, there goes 10% of mixes I've burned onto CD-Rs in the last 8 years.

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We may be only 10 years away from functioning artificial brains.

Speaking of a similar article on last week's Tech Round-Up, it seems like we're not that far away from having brains that hackers could control against our will.

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A 14-year-old boy has killed a lot of brain cells by drinking gasoline to be like Optimus Prime.

Did this kid had that much brain cells to begin with, if he thought drinking gasoline would be a neat idea?

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Discover your life's purpose. (I haven't tried it. I'm afraid I'll find out I have no purpose.)

I wonder how many shed tears after writing down an answer similar to "I have no purpose"/"Life is meaningless."

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For anyone quitting their job soon, please read this guide first.

Sounds better than doing this:

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Getting fired sucks, but deleting your former employer's computer data, especially when you were employed by an organ donation company, is not the way to handle it.

As always, sweet round up.

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Japanese researchers have developed two robots that play baseball with each other.

Because, AIDs and cancer are cured, and 'poverty' is an archaic word.

Originally Posted by denissuxx

Because, AIDs and cancer are cured, and 'poverty' is an archaic word.

Dude. The ROBOTS are playing BASEBALL. Nothing else matters.