Switched Summer Fun Guide

At long last, Internet access is finally becoming consistently available on flights around the country (and the world). While most technophiles like us are completely jazzed at the prospect of surfing while jet-setting, other folks aren't so sure. As you can see from the above video, many parents and other porn-averse folks are concerned that mile-high-Wi-Fi will just open the door to some shady fliers surfing illicit porn sites as they cross the country. They might be right -- US Air is indicating it won't filter 'Net access, but will instead rely on its stewardesses to maintain the peace and handle any complaints.

This, too, has people up in arms, particularly the stewardesses who say they already have enough to do without having to worry about looking for smut (it sure is a long way from the days of 'Coffee, Tea, or Me.'). But we're inclined to think this is being blown way out of proportion. People have been watching R-rated DVDs and videos on laptops mid-flight for years now and we haven't exactly heard a flood of complaints yet.

What do you think? Should in-flight Internet be censored? [From: CNN]

So, Nikon finally fessed up to its new D90 prosumer DSLR, which means all that's left for us is to do is to pick through the spec sheets, drool on the product shots and imagine ourselves taking the film industry by storm with that D90-shot indie flick we're plotting.

INT. SUBURBAN HOME - DAY

BLOGGER sits at his computer typing. He looks inspired, witty, unkempt. The camera's short depth of field captures the writer in his element.

Oh, right, the tech specs:

• New 12.3 megapixel Nikon DX-format CMOS image sensor with Integrated Dust Reduction System.
• Low-noise from ISO 200 to 3200, ISO 6400 available.
• D-Movie mode records in 320 x 216, 640 x 424 or 1,280 x 720 in AVI format.
• Scene Recognition System based on 420 pixel RGB sensor for improved autofocus, autofocus and auto white balance, in addition to Face Detection.
• Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus with 11 AF points.
• 3-inch, VGA Live View LCD.
• 4.5 fps continuous shooting, 0.15 second startup, 65ms shutter release lag.
• SD / SDHC storage.
• HDMI output
• 5.2 x 4.1 x 3.0-inches.
• 1 pound 6 ounces without battery.
• $1,299 kit price.

Read - Nikon D90
Read - D90's "D-Movie" samples
Read - D90 tested out by Chase Jarvis

We're sure that at least some of you have dreams of swimming like a fish, kicking a giant fin, hitting inhuman top speeds, and breaching the surface of the water only to dive back in like a dolphin. And now, for the absurd price of $1,250 (at a minimum), you can.

The Lunocet is a fin-like hydrofoil that attaches to your feet and flexes as you kick your legs (in unison), generating lift and pushing you twice as fast as even an Olympic swimmer like Michael Phelps can move. The manufacturer claims you can even build up enough speed in top gear to leap out of the water dolphin style.

Now all you have to do is learn to talk to the fish and you can become a real life Aquaman. Though if we were you, we'd choose a cooler superhero to emulate. [From: Wired]

If dragging your laptop out of your bag at the airport and throwing it on the conveyor makes you a bit nervous, or waiting for the guy in front of you to fumble around and do the same makes you a bit impatient, then you now have reason to rejoice. You see, all that stress ends tomorrow when the TSA's new laptop scanning policies go into effect.

The new rules are fairly simple: Whatever bag your laptop is in must give the X-Ray scanners an unobstructed view of the device. So, if your bag has an AC adapter, 50 pens of various colors, two in-flight magazines, and a flattened danish all thrown together, you're still going to have to take it out for separate scanning. But, if you have a sleeve-style case, or something that puts all the accessories off to one side, you can just run the bag right through.

There are a wide range of TSA-approved bags. Some simply won't carry your accessories (like a sleeve), and others are designed to hold the laptop in some sort of removable or folding compartment that sits flat on the scanner. We don't expect that many travelers will have these bags at first, but they should become standard fare before the year is out, hopefully cutting down on those atrocious LAX security lines! [Source: USA Today]

Apparently, the issue stems from the coding on an Infineon chip in the phone. According to reports, the dropped calls happen when the iPhone switches from faster to slower wireless networks (for example, switching from an EDGE network to 3G), which disrupts 2 to 3% of traffic. Sure, it doesn't sound like much, but think about how much some iPhone owners use them and you can see why they're angry.

Blame for the problem went back and forth between Infineon, AT&T, and Apple, but hopefully this software solution will let users avoid a product recall. After September, we should know if we can scratch off at least one reason to not buy the 3G version. [From: BusinessWeek]

We all know there's no such thing as a free meal, but these days even an included meal on a flight is hard to come by. If you're not willing to cough up a couple of bucks for a box of individually packaged semi-edibles, you're going to go hungry on that coast-to-coast flight. So, more and more people are packing meals, and if you're one of those frugal brown baggers, keep this in mind: Leave the BLT at home, lest you be forced to eat it in a bomb-proof room.

One German man was attempting to get through security for a flight when his suitcase set off the bomb detector alarm. He was a bit nervous as his wife had packed his lunch and apparently they'd had a bit of a spat before he left, so he wasn't sure just what was actually in the lunch bag. As it turns out, it was just a bacon sandwich, and bacon apparently has the same density as common explosives, setting off the alarm and causing all sorts of commotion.

So, while bacon may be the ultimate sandwich topping, it's not a particularly good travel companion -- not just because of what it does to your arteries. [From: Boing Boing Gadgets]

We've written about mini-microwaves before, but here's a microwave that's not only mini, it's actually designed to work in your car, so you can heat up pop-tarts or nuke some links while you drive to work (theoretically, at least -- let's hope you do this cooking while parked).

Maplin, a UK electronics retailer (think Radio Shack), is selling a microwave that runs on 12 Volt DC power -- yes, it's meant to be plugged into your car's cigarette lighter, which means you'll be able to heat up your burritos, cold pizza, or even ramen noodles while you careen down the highway at 80-miles-per-hour. Just in case your lighter socket is malfunctioning or you're in need of a little extra juice to nuke that frozen TV dinner, Maplin built in the ability to hook this baby up directly to your car battery. How much will a mobile microwave run you? $180, though it's currently only sold by Maplin, which means you'll pay a hefty overseas shipping premium to get it sent to you Stateside. (Another option for US-in-car-gourmets: the Wave Box portable microwave, which came about about six months ago.)

We've been plugging our Nintendo Game Boys into the cigarette lighter since the early '90s, but we've only recently been noticing appliances originally designed for the home popping up in car-ready forms (Ford Flex's built-in refrigerator, for example, or Chrysler's in-car Wi-Fi router). Check out the gallery below to see some auto innovations (if you want to call them that) that range from said mobile wireless Internet hotspots to in-car refrigerators. [From: Maplin via OhGizmo]



Related Links:

• Chrysler Launches In-Car Wireless Internet This Month
• Lotus Adds Fake "Vroom" Sounds to Electric Cars
• Motocyclist Reclines to Text While Riding (video)
• Teenager Hacks Hardware to Control Your Car Via Phone

On the list of "video games for whose non-existence there better be good a reason for or somebody's getting fired," the absence of a 'Dark Knight' game is particularly puzzling. In an industry that butters its bread with the creative fallout from cinematic endeavors, are we to believe that the biggest movie of the year simply doesn't have a game to accompany its release?

No. No we're not.

Electronic Arts owns rights to make a Dark Knight game, and EA-owned developer Pandemic Studios was apparently working on it, according to an EA manager who spoke anonymously to CNN about the matter. Likewise, Gary Oldman, who plays Gotham City police officer James Gordon, mentioned to G4 that he had seen a "tiny little piece" of the game, and described a sequence with Batman realistically gliding across rooftops. Oldman also said the game is supposed to feel like it "doesn't stop and start," which sounds promising, if vague.

And, according to Wedbush Morgan game industry analyst Michael Pachter, a Dark Knight game released along with the film last month could have sold 4 million units and grossed $100 million. In other words, don't be surprised if more news on the game doesn't surface soon.

Stay tuned: same Bat-time, same Bat-channel. [Source: CNN]

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Like so many other devices made in China, we're convinced this Bird's Nest Stadium, um, "inspired" device is totally, completely authorized and legit. And hey, unlike Chinese bird's nest soup, it not only comes in capacities up to 4GB, but doesn't even appear to be assembled with avian saliva. Difficulty: 1.2, execution: 3.55.

If you don't live near mountains, hate the rock wall at your gym, or are terrified of heights, you've had few options if, for some reason, you've still wanted the challenge and exercise from climbing. With the invention of the Treadwall, a hybrid climbing wall and treadmill, climbers can keep going continuously from any location they want.

Rather than work with a motor, the Treadwall moves when the user chooses, and the speed is adjustable. Since you're only one to two feet off the ground, you don't have to attach any straps or harnesses and you can start and stop at your convenience. The climbing angle and knob placement can also be changed, allowing you to change the difficulty and simulate different conditions.

Unless you have a few grand to spend, though, you'll be more likely to use a Treadwall at your gym or arcade. The product is available in different sizes and models, including a galvanized, weather-proof version for outdoor use, and they can cost up to the neighborhood of $10,000. Beats falling off a mountain, right?

After all the drama leading up to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the Tibetan demonstrations, the censorship, and the bogus tickets, it seems some news organizations couldn't let the amazing opening ceremonies themselves pass without trying to stir up a little more drama. The show went off without a hitch on Friday night, but some are complaining now that one particularly impressive portion of the evening's entertainment, the firework footsteps walking toward the stadium, was digitally faked.

The sequence was deemed to have been "prohibitive to have tried to film it live," and so the 55-seconds of the footsteps spanning the city were done digitally. In the American broadcast, NBC did indeed indicate that particular sequence was done digitally, but other broadcasters worldwide apparently did not, leading to the controversy. So, good on NBC for that, but it too is being called out for some digital hijinx, which consisted of re-arranging the sequence of the parade of nations and omitting some entirely (apparently the US team came out earlier than was shown on the broadcast).

Both of these supposed controversies seem a bit silly to us. Given all the pressure and fears leading up to the games, we're just glad things went off without a hitch. [Source: The Telegraph, and The LA Times]


Related Posts

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Some genius has finally figured out how to take the business of selling pre-written reports to college kids and adapt it for adults. The new site, www.doctorsnotestore.com sells fake medical notes for about $38 that could then be used to excuse yourself from work.

The site says that the fake doctor's notes are sold as a novelty and therefore aren't breaking any laws -- they claim they can't do anything to stop customers from misusing its products. The site offers the notes throughout Europe, the U.S. and Canada. The next market it plans on entering is Australia and New Zealand, which has officials a little tweaked. In Australia, "chucking a sickie," as they call it, is a serious concern and is estimated to cost the Australian economy $10 billion in lost productivity.

That number sounds like a bit of an exaggeration, and regardless, we all know that having your doctor friend write up notes for you is cheaper and far more convenient. [Source: Reuters]

Here's a bit of information that probably isn't too shocking -- the louder the bar, the more people drink. Now there is hard scientific evidence to back up what to many probably just seemed like common sense.

According to a study being released in the journal 'Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research,' an increase in the decibel level of music within the bar directly correlates to an increase in alcohol consumption by its patrons. Researchers, with the permission of the bartenders of course, set up shop inside a couple of bars in the west of France and had the staff pump up the volume on a top 40 station to between 72 and 88 decibels, just shy of the 90 decibels at which hearing loss can be suffered.

As the volume increased the patrons drank greater amounts of booze, and more quickly. Why? Well, that's not entirely clear, but researchers believe it's either because loud music excites people, causing them to drink more, or because the loud volume makes conversation difficult, which causes bar goers to focus more on their beverage than on their fellow drinkers.

Next time you wake up with a splitting headache after a night of partying, you'll know it might not just be from the booze -- obscenely loud music might also be the culprit. [Source: Scientific American]

We may be talking Back-to-School already, but summer is still very much with us, at least if the hot and humid August weather is to be believed. And that means that the beaches are alive and well and just waiting to be pounced upn. Geeks that we are, we can't help but bring gadgets every with us, including the beach, which is exactly what we did in the above video. Check it out.

Like us, you're worried about the coming robot invasion. But who isn't? Well, certainly not the artist who recreated a Guantanamo Bay-style waterboarding torture scene with robots out in New York's Coney Island. He's got his 'bots under strict control.

The installation, just steps from the location of the famous annual July 4 hot dog eating contest and the Cyclone roller coaster, depicts robots – one as a guard, one as a detainee – in a scene not meant for the faint of heart.

At the "Waterboard Thrill Ride," visitors pay a buck to look through a barred window while a hooded robot pours water into the face of an orange jumpsuit-wearing robot, who goes into a series of violent convulsions for 15 seconds.

"Robot waterboarding became a way of exploring the issue without doing any harm," artist Steve Powers told the New York Times. "It's putting a unique experience on the table. And it doesn't take a great leap of the imagination to look in there and say: 'That's really what's going on? That's crazy.'"

But isn't Coney Island a place for family fun? No worry there, as a sign on the outside shows SpongeBob SquarePants saying "It don't GITMO better!"

Maybe don't take the kids.

[Source: Associated Press.]