PC WORLD

Xcelsius: How to Ruin a Great Application
5 Sep 2008 at 4:30pm
A really, really, really cool application gets sidelined in a swirl and flurry of filthy lucre.



Aspyr Sets Ship Date for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
5 Sep 2008 at 4:20pm
Aspyr Media announced Friday that it will ship its Macintosh conversion of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on September 15...



Common Gripes About Apple's IPhone 3G
5 Sep 2008 at 4:20pm
Dropped calls, slow data and MobileMe follies.

WIRED

Jargon Watch: Voggy, Admixed Embryo, Memristors
by Jonathon Keats
4 Sep 2008 at 12:00am

Voggy adj. Smoggy weather caused when volcanoes, like Hawaii's active Kilauea, release sulfur dioxide that combines with dust and sunlight.

Admixed embryo n. Legalese for any early-stage embryo combining human and nonhuman genes or tissue. Encompassing both cybrids and chimeras yet sounding less apocalyptic than either, these hybrids are now approved in England for stem cell research.

Memristors n. pl. Resistors with memory — meaning that the resistance changes with fluctuations in electrical charge. If the charge is turned off, the element will remember the last resistance. Hypothesized in 1971 as the fourth basic circuit element (in addition to the resistor, inductor, and capacitor), memristors could make brainlike computing possible. A nanoscale version has finally been built by Hewlett-Packard.

Deep carbon n. Greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, stored deep beneath Earth's surface and underwater naturally. It could be released in catastrophic quantities as global warming raises sea temperatures. Typically ignored in climate-change prediction models, deep carbon may have a far bigger impact on our survival than driving SUVs or eating red meat.

— Jonathon Keats jargon@wired.com

Wired.com Readers' Best Geek Tattoos
by Wired.com Photo Department
3 Sep 2008 at 12:00am
:

From DNA to 80 digits (and counting) of pi, Wired.com readers take their geek tattoos pretty seriously.

We asked you to flash your decorated flesh, and you obliged with pictures of some pretty wild skin art. Now it's time for the rest of the world to bask in your dermatological commitment to geekery.

Click through the gallery to see more ink inspired by science, computers and other geek obsessions.

Left:

Ctrl+Alt+Del
Submitted by Shahar

Photographer's comment:

"Comes to show it's that easy to reboot and start over.?

:

The Other Half of Rock
Submitted by Aaron Sarazan

Photographer's comment:

"My brother and I got matching tattoos. He has a Guitar, with binary that says 'Rock' -- I've got a D20 with 'Roll.'?

:

Extra-Large DNA
Submitted by Brandon

Photographer's comment:

"Seven years I've been working on this. Phase 1 is complete."

:

Geek 4 Life
Submitted by Christopher Holmok

Photographer's comment:

"I am a GEEK 4 LIFE, SUCKA!!!"

:

Pi Tattoo
Submitted by Drew

Photographer's comment:

"Since tattoos were illegal in Oklahoma until only a couple of years ago, my friends and I made a tradition out of annual road trips for tattoos. Every time I can't think of something new, I add some more digits to pi. It's up to 80 digits."

:

No More Hunting for Tape Measures
Submitted by Dave Selden

Photographer's comment:

"As a woodworker-graphic designer, I use a tape measure or ruler almost every day. Now I have one always within arm's reach. I use it for my work, but also my play. I measured some trout for length with it on a fishing trip to Mount Hood this weekend."

:

Louder!
Submitted by Ben Casey

Photographer's comment:

"I always wanted a musical tattoo, and the audio-out icon on my 266-Mhz G3 seemed more appropriate than a G clef.?

:

Bassoon Keywork on My Leg
Submitted by Matthew S.

Photographer's comment:

"I was a bassoon major in college, and still play as a hobby. This gets a lot of interest, and many wrong guesses. The only people who have correctly identified it as a bassoon have all been players themselves. John at The Chameleon in Cambridge, Massachusetts, did a fantastic job on the artwork."

:

Seattle, Third Avenue, 2004
Submitted by mooargyle

Photographer's comment:

"Taken with Nikkormat FT2 (film)."

Expired-Tired-Wired
3 Sep 2008 at 12:00am

Expired Tired Wired Waldorf The Whole Child Reggio Emilia Cray-2 Deep Blue Roadrunner Dracula and Mina Angel and Buffy Bill and Sookie Sweet 'n Low Splenda Truvia  

THE INQUIRER

Report reckons luxury cars turn women on
by Sylvie Barak
5 Sep 2008 at 2:55pm

Sylvie Barak , Friday 5 September 2008. 16:49:00

Gutterwatch Hot under the bonnet

AN INSURANCE COMPANY has managed to scientifically prove that women get turned on and excited by luxury cars. A British insurance agency, aptly named Hiscox, commissioned a study carried out by David Moxon, and which subjected 40 men and women to the roars of various different car engines, three luxury...

O2 owner to help out Chinese go 3G
by Tony Dennis
5 Sep 2008 at 2:55pm

Tony Dennis , Friday 5 September 2008. 17:40:00

Telefonica takes strategic chunk of Unicom

THE PARENT of UK mobile operator O2 (affectionately known as Oh Dos now that it is run by Spain's Telefonica) has bought a strategic chunk of China Netcom. But that will end up as a stake in China Unicom....

Beeb to release Iplayer on N96
by Tony Dennis
5 Sep 2008 at 2:55pm

Tony Dennis , Friday 5 September 2008. 17:40:00

Beta version no longer there

REPORTS ARE circulating that the Beeb has got into bed with Finnish firm, Nokia, and enabled the world's leading handset manufacturer to build its Iplayer technology into an N96 handset. The rumours follow extensive trials of a mobile version of its Iplayer downloader which was previously available as a beta...

COMPUTER WORLD

Report: Dell looking to sell off manufacturing plants
5 Sep 2008 at 9:00am
Dell is looking to sell its manufacturing plants, according to a report in today's Wall Street Journal.



Microsoft explains Seinfeld-Windows TV ad: just a 'teaser'
5 Sep 2008 at 9:00am
Microsoft's new Windows TV commercial featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates had viewers scratching their heads, but that's what it was supposed to do, the company said.



Elgan: Got a subnotebook? Get Ubiquity
5 Sep 2008 at 9:00am
Mozilla Corp., the company that makes the popular Firefox browser, announced a software plug-in for Firefox called Ubiquity, which does some surprising and useful things.