2006 June

Jimmy Daniels of RealTechNews writes:
Microsoft will soon be pulling the download link for the latest beta of Windows Vista, beta 2; it is scheduled to end today.
In case you weren’t aware, we are only providing a limited number of copies of Windows Vista Beta 2 - either download or physical copies - and we’re fast […]

Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes:
You may recall my earlier story about a proposed complete cell phone ban in Lawrence, Kansas. Well, strengthening that proposal, a study by the University of Utah has determined that people who use cell phones while driving, even with a hands-free setup, are as impaired as drivers who are intoxicated.
They studied […]

Jimmy Daniels of RealTechNews writes:
Microsoft is continuing to improve the ability to handle feeds with IE7 beta 3, including updating all functions, more ways to mark a feed as read, and even posting some keyboard shortcuts. And with some features such as the easy feed discovery, I think feeds are going to become a bigger […]

Recent investment by the University of Leicester in the Virtual Microscopy Centre and the Nanoscale Interfaces Centre has put the University in a key position to take a lead in Casimir force measurements in novel geometries.
The Casimir force is a mysterious interaction between objects that arises directly from the quantum properties of the so-called ‘void’. […]

Every so often, I amaze myself at what I find when I am searching for sites to feature and share with you. Every so often I find that I am at a total loss for words on how to describe a site that is so in resonance with what this site is all about, that […]

On a table in a small meeting room at Sandia National Laboratories rested a picture of the deceased - a row of identical cabinets that formed part of the entity known as ASCI Red, the world’s first teraflop supercomputer.
Still one of the world’s 500 fastest supercomputers after all these years - nine - ASCI Red […]

Jimmy Daniels of RealTechNews writes:
A lawsuit that is seeking class action status is claiming that Windows Genuine Advantage anti-piracy tool is spyware, saying that it violates laws against spyware.
The suit by Los Angeles resident Brian Johnson, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Seattle, seeks class-action status for claims that Microsoft didn’t adequately disclose […]

Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes:
In what I originally labeled “hilarious” and “ironic,” the Virgin chain of stores in France has been fined for illegal downloading and selling of a Madonna song, Hung Up.
The store’s online portal, virginmega.fr, was ordered by the Paris Tribunal de Commerce to pay 600,000 euros, or $754,000, in damages for downloading […]

Tom Bihn, a designer, manufacturer, and retailer of laptop bags, backpacks, messenger bags and briefcases, has introduced the Imago, a new small messenger-style bag available in two distinct styles and six unique color combinations, featuring an optional laptop insert for the 13″ MacBook.

Recently we have featured sites that showed the world’s largest rubber band ball, and another ball with more coats of paint on it than anything else in the world. What could we find that would rival or even make those sites pale by comparison? It took a little looking, but today’s Warped site may just […]

Hockey players, rejoice! A team of University of Alberta researchers has created technology to regrow teeth - the first time scientists have been able to reform human dental tissue.
Using low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS), Dr. Tarak El-Bialy from the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and Dr. Jie Chen and Dr. Ying Tsui from the Faculty of […]

Biotechnology company Biosignal Ltd and the Institute for Eye Research have received ethics approval for the first human clinical trial of an antibacterial extended-wear contact lens.
The ASX-listed company commercialises a novel anti-bacterial technology identified by UNSW researchers at the Centre for Marine Biofouling and Bioinnovation.
The trial beginning on June 29 will compare the safety performance […]

Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes:
Responding to criticism of its new WGA Notifications program, Microsoft has made some changes to the software and released a new version. The updated software no longer checks in every time the PC boots. It has also given guidelines to remove the application, which had previously been uninstallable and led to […]

Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes:
Some cell phones combine GPS with the phone… so you can tell where you are. In Japan, new specialized phones allow you to point the phone at a landmark and get a readout of just what you’re looking at. And yes, once again I’m wondering why the U.S. is always so […]

Growing up, my parents purchased my brothers and myself ID bracelets, so if we ever got lost, at least anyone who found us would know who we were. That concept still continues today, and is more important given the times we live in. But have you ever given any thought about what you or your […]

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and industry collaborators have developed improved methods for accurately measuring very faint thermal “noise” - caused by random motion of electrons - in electronic circuits. The technique may help improve the signal range, data rate and battery life of cell phones and other wireless communications […]

Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes:
Well, I had to come up with a catchy title, but of course it’s not funny how many people are injured by accidental shootings every year. Password-protecting the ammo would not only keep the gun from firing, but keep stolen ammo from working in other guns.
The way to make firearms really […]

Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes:
How about releasing a CD without really releasing a CD? I mean, we all rip and burn them later anyway, right? With a gimmicky (or just plain wacky) release, the band The Residents have released a CD that consists totally of two blank CDs… for you to burn onto.
It contains two […]

Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes:
There have been many studies about the effects of cellular phone use on humans. Unfortunately, for as many that say there is no effect on humans, you could, if you tried, find an equal number that say there is an effect. Today Italian researchers added another study to the long list […]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So is good artwork. One man’s treasure is another man’s junk pile, and vice versa. What goes around comes around. All of these thoughts came into my mind today (and went right back out) when I found the Warped site today. It has some very interesting qualities.
The […]