2003 February

A new Windows utility called the Homeland Security Threat Monitor places a user-configurable icon in the system tray that displays the current “threat level” color. When it goes up, the icon blinks the new color, so you know it’s time to break out the duct tape and plastic.

The internet grapevine is buzzing about a photograph apparently showing a USB toothbrush on a Japanese web site. Information is sketchy on this “product,” but it appears that a store in Japan retrofit a battery powered electric toothbrush to run on electricity supplied through a PC via the USB port. Wait! There’s more of these […]

“Online DVD rental service Netflix Inc. surpassed 1 million subscribers Wednesday, providing another measure of the fast-growing company’s impact on the home entertainment business. Netflix reached the milestone 3 1/2 years after it first came up with what seemed like another quirky dot-com idea — sending out DVD rentals through the mail after customers placed […]

“That pocketknife you surrendered to airport security screeners might now be tucked away in someone else’s pocket — someone who bought it on EBay. Under the handle CaliforniaGold2000, the state is using the Internet auction house to convert scores of confiscated items to cash. So far, $16,281 has been made selling objects taken from passengers […]

“The way a person taps a number into a cash machine or mobile phone could be used as a means of identification according to scientists at the UK’s university of Southampton. When a person taps on an object a unique set of waveforms are produced, which can be programmed and used to verify the person’s […]

“Hundreds of thousands of antiwar activists flooded Senate phone lines yesterday as part of a ‘Virtual March’ on Washington aimed at heading off a U.S. invasion of Iraq.”
“Protesters called and faxed senators in an innovative action, billed as a way to influence policy ‘without leaving your living room.’ Senators enlisted extra staffers to answer […]

For many, Google has become synonymous with Web search, resulting in such phrases as, “I Googled your address on the Net.” The Word Spy, a site devoted to such newly coined words, made note of the linguistic trend. Rather than being flattered, however, Google called in the lawyers. Word Spy’s definition, which is the site’s […]

In Windows Daily, we wrote, “Looks like The Matrix hype is slowly picking up steam with the sequel coming out within a few months. The latest hype with ties to The Matrix Reloaded is Samsung’s planned Matrix-themed cell phone. There’s more mystery than information on the phone or where it would be sold. The movie […]

Dell released the Inspiron 5100, the company’s first ‘desknote,’ in Europe this week, with expectations to be in the United States shortly. The notebook is loaded with a Pentium 4 processor ranging from 2.4 GHz to 2.8 GHz, a 14-inch screen, and built in wireless networking. By using the ‘desknote’ theme, Dell will […]

“A telemarketing tool that penetrates home privacy defenses is upping the ante in a technology battle between sales callers and consumers seeking shelter from unsolicited calls. Castel Inc., a maker of automated dialing technology, boasts that its DirectQuest software is immune to the TeleZapper, a $40 gadget designed to thwart sales calls by faking the […]

“In November 1981, a music critic from The New York Times traveled to Philadelphia to test a local physician’s amazing ability to recognize any piece of classical music merely by looking at the pattern of grooves on a vinyl LP. The critic handed Dr. Arthur Lintgen several label-less LPs, and was delighted to see him […]

‘Auto insurer Progressive Corporation has announced what it’s calling “the first-ever insurance policy” for owners of Segway motorized scooters. ‘
‘Progressive said owners of the Segway Human Transporter have a choice of three insurance packages: full coverage; liability only; or liability and comprehensive.’
I thought these things were safe. Why would you need insurance then?

Tying in with the forthcoming Matrix sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, Samsung is coming out with a Matrix-themed cellphone. Like the sequel itself, Samsung is keeping the phone shrouded in mystery, and so far hasn’t released any info about the phone or when or where it might be sold. If the phone is a hit (and […]

The latest trend in the increasingly popular Web log–a personal or professional online diary–is audioblogging, the posting of audio clips instead of or alongside text entries. In addition to providing a new means of keeping bloggers’ fans up to date, the audioblog is inspiring software developers and start-ups to raise a whole new crop of […]

Researchers at Penn State University have found a method to use a wireless microphone and transmitter inside of a baseball to find survivors in a collapsed building. The current method is to run expensive, heavy mics down into the wreckage, which is impossible to do in complex wreckage (like the WTC, where the reasearch was […]

I’ve been searching for a new laptop for a while, and as I was talking to my friend Jed (I feel it’s only fair to give him some of the credit), he referred me to the new Lindows “portable PC.” This thing is neat! For just $799 you get a 2.9 lb. notebook […]

The Japanese experience with i-mode showed that it is possible to make WAP browsing profitable, and more advanced hardware and software has made it easier for commercial services to be launched. Companies are discovering ways to make the much-maligned Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) mobile technology pay its way. WAP was one of the hyped technologies […]

The meteoric rise of weblogging is one of the most unexpected technology stories of the past year, and much like the commentary that populates these ever-changing digital diaries, the story of blogging keeps evolving. One recent trend is “moblogging,” or mobile weblogging. New tools like Manywhere Moblogger, Wapblog and FoneBlog allow bloggers to post information […]

” The Department of Homeland Defense kicked off a $100 million campaign in the form of print, radio, direct mail and outdoor advertisements that will feature the ready.gov. The site, whose motto is “Don’t be afraid. Be ready,” offers information, tutorials and checklists on how to protect oneself in the event of biological, chemical or […]

” More than 1.3 billion devices in the market have ports for USB, which became a widely used connectivity technology when Intel integrated it into its chipsets in 1998. TransDimension is looking to make USB On-the-Go as prevalent in mobile devices as USB is in PCs and PC peripherals by striking licensing deals with manufacturers […]