Evan Shamoon
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Scientologists Advertising With Alias Web Sites
Web and animation designer Reese Leysen is inundated with Google Adsense and YouTube ads on a daily basis, much like the rest of us Internet dwellers.
One day he decided to poke around a bit and noticed that the site for "Foundation for a Drug-Free World" was chock-full of top-dollar production, the sort that would be far out of the reach of a typical non-profit organization on a limited budget. This left him scratching his head.
Later on, however, he stumbled across "The Way To Happiness Foundation," and noticed more than a few parallels. "The site had the exact same technical design style and mentioned how the teachings behind its 'way to happiness' principles are based on a book written by L. Ron Hubbard," writes Leysen on his blog. A bit of searching turned up official references proving that the other sites were also run by the Church of Scientology. In other words, the Scientology folks are funding these sites, despite no official indications that they are connected.
Dustbot Is Coming for Your Garbage
If you're lazy, have no friends, and live in Italy, you may have just met your all-in-one solution. The Italian-designed Dustbot is a 4-foot tall robot built to collect your garbage with a smile on its face.
The idea is that using your cell phone, you'll be able to call Dustbot to come by whenever you have trash that needs to be disposed of. You select the type of trash you've got -- glass, organic matter, other robots named Dustbot -- and the robot takes it away for drop-off at a specified location. The invention is particularly convenient in the narrow, cobblestone streets of Italy, where garbage trucks don't really fit. It's also more effective, as forgetting to take the trash out doesn't mean waiting a full week to have it picked up again.
Truck Plus Jet Engine Equals Fastest Pickup Truck Ever
For those in the firm grip of a midlife crisis but unable to forego the practical requirements of hauling stuff around town, there is perhaps no better way to satiate your need for speed than a fast pickup truck. And when we say fast, we mean 2700 HP fast.
Just ask Chris Lentz, who strapped an M-701 turbojet to his Ford F-150 pickup to create such a monster for himself.
Best of the Week: Michael Jackson Web Scams, Texting Hall of Shame
Amidst the ongoing post-election chaos in Iran and the sudden death of Michael Jackson, it's been another strange week in technology news. Author Ray Bradbury and White Stripes frontman Jack White hated on the Web and 'Guitar Hero,' respectively, while a new claim by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) wants you to pay up when your artist-licensed ringtone goes off in public. It's not all bad, though: new machines help paralyzed golfers hit the links, and Facebook is making status updates public in a very Twitter-esque way. Here's what else you might have missed:
- Our very own text messaging Hall of Shame, which (dis)honors all those whose SMS gaffes have changed their lives forever.
- Stay alert, Webmailers! A group of Net grifters have been breaking into browser-based accounts. It can be defended against, however: see how.
- Residents of Lancaster, PA may have noticed the community-wide program that has closed-circuit cameras set up on nearly every street, giving it the most surveillance per capita of any US city. Agree or disagree?
- And last but not least, T-Mobile announced the followup to the G1, the Android-powered myTouch 3G smartphone. The summer smartphone war is in full swing.
'Green' May Not Be as Green as You Think
Well, maybe not all of them. But, there is currently very little U.S. regulation to ensure the veracity of green marketing -- companies' promotion of products with claims of eco-friendliness. There is so little regulation (or, at least, enforcement of it), in fact, USA Today reports that the Federal Trade Commission has taken legal action against only three companies for their transgressions against the federal 'Green Guides' since their inception in 1992.
28 Days Later: Nintendo DSi
It's one thing to do a tech review the day a product comes out. But it can take a while to learn the ins and outs -- and discover the all the bugs -- in a new gadget. With that in mind, we're launching a new series called '28 Days Later,' wherein we'll put tech of all types through four weeks of abuse to see if that new gizmo lives up to its early hype. We kick it off with a long-term view of ...Is the Pacemaker DJ Machine Worth the Hype?
What it is: The Pacemaker is a palm-sized DJ mixing station for digital music that provides an easy way to combine two stereo tracks, add effects, and generally get partygoers to work up a sweat. Why it's different: Like the love child of an iPod and a traditional DJ setup, the Pacemaker is a first of its kind, to be sure. You load it with tracks from your computer in pretty much any format, ...Wii 'Vitality Sensor' Aims to Analyze and Reduce Stress of Gamers
One of the announcements at Nintendo's E3 press conference last week concerned what the company is calling the Wii Vitality Sensor. The device attaches to the tip of the player's forefinger, measuring their vital signs and working them into gameplay (either alone or in conjunction with the Wii remote or other peripherals). Nintendo prez Satoru Iwata explained that the new device will let ...Man Steals Neighbor's Identity for $2,175.06 Worth of Online Porn
When you talk about "classy", it's hard not to bring up Port Richey, Florida resident Brett Becker, who was recently profiled on TampaBay.com.
One day back in 2006, Mr. Becker found that some of his neighbor's mail had accidentally arrived in his mailbox. But rather than return the mail to his 86-year-old female neighbor (and the mail's rightful recipient), Becker allegedly used her identity to ...Nerd Tattoos Physics Equation -- Onto His Back
For those interested in getting their asses kicked by one or perhaps even many dumb jocks, here's a three-part tattoo you might consider getting: the Born Oppenheimer Approximation, its equivalent in the form of a 3-D Schrödinger Equation, and the solution to the equation itself in the form of a Schrödinger Equation. It's here modeled by a dude named Joe, who recently had the trifecta ...
