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There's a load of great tech news happening out there every day, and, unfortunately, we just can't cover it all. Here are a few of the other noteworthy things we saw today on our never-ending journey through the wild, wild Web.

• LOLCat of the day. Oh, it never gets tired.
• In case your imagination is as weak as your biceps, check out these dumbell add-ons to pump up your Wii-Fit workout (and four other weird WiiMote accessories). [NewLaunches]
• Wandering adventurer Christoph Rehage took a year to walk across China, documenting his travels and stunning facial hair growth in our favorite video of the day. [Vimeo]
• As if advertising isn't ubiquitous enough, it can now chase you down and force you to touch it. Thanks, Japan. [DesignBoom]
• While you were innocently sleeping, Apple was updating the mystery device living in your iPhone. [NetworkWorld]

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Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....

• According to the Inquirer, Microsoft accidentally let slip yesterday that it will be changing the name of its mobile operating system, from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone. Although that's not much of a change, Windows Mobile is definitely due for a revamp. [From: The Inquirer]
• Nintendo's years-long joyride of improbably good sales had to end someday: today, the company announced significant drops in sales and profits for the last quarter. Don't expect the dour days to last though, with the recent release of 'Wii Sports Resort' and the forthcoming 'Super Mario Brothers Wii,' it won't be long before Nintendo is back in the driver's seat. [From: Venturebeat]
• We're not surprised that there's a lawsuit pending in the case of an EMT posting a photo of a murdered woman at a crime scene onto Facebook -- but it boggles the mind that the litigating attorney wants to implicate Facebook enough to "shut it down." [From: Fox News]
• A joint experiment between the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems and the European Space Agency to simulate a trip to Mars packed a group of six volunteers into a mock spacecraft for more than three months. Not surprisingly, the crew had issues with boredom. A similar, 520-day simulation is set to begin next year. [From: New Scientist]
• A number of West African nations have been almost completely cut off from the Internet, thanks to an unknown problem with an undersea data line from Europe. Mobile phone service, broadband, and banking have been crippled by nearly 70-percent in the worst-hit areas. [From: BBC]
• PriceGrabber.com recently surveyed consumers about how they back up their digital data -- surprisingly, 28-percent said they had never backed up their music. Not so surprising: younger people back up photos to the Web more than twice as often as older generations. [From: PriceGrabber]
• Yesterday Kodak showed off the new HD-shooting (1080p) Zi8 camcorder. The pocket cam comes with gyroscopic image stabilization, a line-in jack for hooking up high quality mics, and the usual SD card slot, supporting up to 32GB of storage. The Zi8 features a unique variation on the "USB arm" (standard on these microcamcorders); the USB plug is bendable, making it easier to hook into your computer. [From: Kodak]
  

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....

• In case you don't closely follow the politics of intrasolar astronomy, you should know that Pluto's demotion from planetary status may not be permanent. The debate of Pluto's fate has been reignited, thanks to an international snub and one very pissed-off governor. [From: New Scientist]
• What happens when your big budget, movie-adaptation of 'Halo' gets dropped by the studios? You give 'em the middle finger with your own indie-alien flick. Wired has the story of the birth of 'District 9' -- we knew those aliens in the trailer looked vaguely like Covenant Elites. [From: Wired]
• The next generation of computers may be powered by super-intelligent bacteria. Will antivirus software come in a syringe? [From: The Guardian]
• AdAge reports that Bing and Yahoo! may soon be joining forces to take on the Google search hegemony. A new deal is in the works that could see a Microsoft takeover of the search number two. [From: Ad Age]
• If you're in the UK, you can soon look forward to government officials filling up your Twitter stream -- the British government has published a guide to Tweeting for its ministers, urging them to be "human" and "informal." Smashing! [From: Yahoo! Tech]

The world would be a far less connected place without those ignorant but honorable souls with unsecured wireless networks named "linksys." It never fails that whenever we are stranded at a foreign apartment bereft of Internet access, someone living nearby has left their Wi-Fi on the default setting. E-mail, surfing, messaging? And how.

On some of our more Web adroit days, we'll admit we've been tempted to string together a "192.168.1.1" in our browser, access the modem, and change the name of the wide-open network. Nothing mean-spirited, of course; just a silent 'thank you' for the momentary connection. Imagine coming home from work and clicking that little wireless antenna logo to see your network name has been changed to "linksys_gave_me_20_minutes_of_unadulterated_joy_thanks."

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Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....

• Actor Kevin Spacey talks to MTV News about 'The Social Network,' a new film he's producing based on the creation of Facebook. He wouldn't mention who might be cast as college-aged founder Mark Zuckerberg, but if it's Shia Lebeouf, we swear we're quitting movies. [From: MTV News]
• So what if Microsoft's 'Laptop Hunters' ads claim that Apple's computers are too expensive? Market research firm NPD has announced that Apple now has a 91-percent market share in premium computers costing more than $1,000. [From: Betanews]
• Last month, Facebook allowed its users to register vanity URLs for their profiles. In case you regret your choice, Facebook's giving you a do-over, but make it good -- you only get one. [From: Download Squad]
• Despite Microsoft executive Kevin Turner bragging about how Apple demanded the company pull its 'Laptop Hunters' ads since Apple had lowered its prices, Microsoft has given in and adjusted one of its spots. The ad in question has been pulled from YouTube and replaced with a reedited version. [From: Business Insider]
• In time for the 40th anniversary of Comic-con, Google released a slew of new comic themes for its iGoogle homepage. Rock your page with heroes like Iron Man and Batman, or take things back a few years with a Peanuts-themed page. [From: Google Blog]

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....

• Google is inviting 100,000 people to test out its new Google Wave service (which aims to revolutionize Web communication). We're baking them a cake to improve our odds of getting an early look. How are you getting your invite? [From: Mashable]
• Billboard is revamping its Web site, partnering with everyone under the sun to combine interactive chart rankings, ticketing, and streaming/downloadable music. [From: USA Today]
• Last we heard, Pirate Bay was ready to be purchased by Global Gaming Factory (GGF). Now GGF is backing off, claiming that the buyout will only happen if it can turn Pirate Bay into a "legitimate business." Sure, good luck with that. [From: SF Gate]
• Facebook is releasing promo videos (with behind-the-scenes clips) about how certain features of the social-networking site came to be. Here's one about the birth of Facebook Video -- a service which, incidentally, is seeing more than 1 billion (yes, that's a 'b') video views per month. [From: TechCrunch]
• E-reader maker Plastic Logic can add AT&T to its list of partners (which already includes Barnes and Noble). Today, AT&T announced it will provide the 3G connectivity for Plastic Logic's upcoming reader device. We said it before: Look out, Kindle. [From: Wall Street Journal]
• Paid Content is reporting that MySpace is set to launch its own Web-mail service. Get ready, Internet, for an onslaught of blinged-out, emo-tastic, Fall Out Boy-pumping e-messages filling up your inboxes. [From: Paid Content]

In case you didn't catch his special on 'Comedy Central Presents,' you might know Gary Valentine from TV's 'King of Queens,' or from his slew of appearances on the big screen, including 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' and 'Stuck on You.' Now, the older brother of Kevin James is taking his comedy to the Web with a new series on Crackle called 'Dusty Peacock.' We recently caught up with the actor and comedian to chat about his new show, and to discuss the ups and downs of filming for the Web. Ever the gadget hounds, we also took the opportunity to find out just which devices Gary can't live without on set -- and to hear a little bit about his wishes for an iPhone cuddle app. Check out the video above for our sit down with the New York-born funny man.

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Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....

• Barnes & Noble is jumping headlong into the e-book market with a new digital store and an e-book reader app for Mac, PC, and iPhone. Word on the street says the favorite haunt of suburbanites may soon be launching a hardware reader, too. Look out, Kindle. [From: TUAW]
• In honor of the lunar landing's 40th anniversary, neckerchief purveyor and suitcaserist Louis Vuitton has created a giant space trunk, called the Malle Mars, that promises to transport your wares through the cosmos in style. Although it resembles something from a derelict ship on a tiny, myst-filled planetoid somewhere between Thedus and Earth, this egg contains something much nicer -- namely, luxury goodies like fine china and a sweet folding chair. Fire up the Nostromo, Ripley, and fly us to the beach. [From: DVICE]
• If you think all those mix CDs you burned back in 2001 are going to last forever, think again. TechArp recently found that 10-percent of disks seven- to nine-years-old fail. Could be bad news for your Dashboard Confessional/TLC mix. [From: Slashdot]
• Link-sharing site Digg made waves in April when it launched its controversial DiggBar service. The DiggBar is making headlines again, thanks to a change that redirects all linked URLs back to the Digg homepage before sending clickers to the original linked article. To put things lightly, people are pissed -- and it looks like Digg founder Kevin Rose is none too happy with the change, either. [From: TechCrunch]
• Kid-journal Pediatrics recently released a report claiming that kids can get as much exercise playing video games like 'Dance Dance Revolution' and 'Wii Sports' as they can from moderate to intense walking. Take that, mom. [From: Joystiq]

For being one of the wealthiest and most-powerful companies of all time, Google sure likes to play things with a lighthearted touch. Make no mistake about it, Google lords over Internet search today every bit as menacingly as Microsoft did with operating systems in the '90s, but instead of monopolizing an industry with a frown and a furrowed brow, Google is all high-fives and nerdy smiles.

If Microsoft were a famous actor, it would be Christian Bale on a bad day -- you don't really mind that he's invading all of our popular movie franchises, but you're not going to want to hang out with him... plus he kind of scares you. Google is more like Seth Rogen -- he's in every single movie ever released, but you don't care because he's completely non-threatening and he'd probably offer to share his lunch with you.

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Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....

• India plans to issue unique numbers and biometric ID cards to every one of its 1.2 billion citizens, many of whom have no documented proof of existence. Officials hope to store all the data online in what's intended to be the Fort Knox of all databases. [From: The Times UK]
• Bouquet tosses at weddings can get scrappy, but one at a recent Italian wedding turned into a scramble to avoid fiery death when the bride's bouquet was sucked into a small plane's engine, causing it to crash into a hostel. [From: Neatorama]
• Woah now! Bill Gates is saying that Microsoft's motion-sensing Natal game controller will be available for PCs and support office-related gestures. Wave your hand to reboot Word when it crashes! [From: DVICE]
• Pizza Hut has become the first pizza chain with an iPhone app. Aside from letting you place orders, the free app comes with games to play while you wait for your cheesy-calorie-injection-in-a-box. Details are slim, but we're hoping it prompts you to jog in place if you order the Philly Meatball Double Cheese Stuf'd Crust Supreme. [From: Ad Age]
• After a mysterious tweet from a Twitter client called Penguin FB, the rumor mill is grinding that Facebook may be developing a Twitter app. [From: Mashable]
• There's all kinds of speculation about the iPhone leaving AT&T next year, but nothing official yet. The most likely carrier to take over the wunder-phone would be Verizon, but what would this mean for AT&T? [From: LA Times]