Shopping cart goes high-tech - Yahoo! News

It may still have a wiggly wheel, but new shopping carts might prove to be a lot smarter than they look. A shopping cart that tells you if you're buying too much junk food may soon be coming to a grocery store aisle near you.

Read more...

Link - Yahoo! News

When Your Most Significant Other is a Computer - Yahoo! News

Here is an interesting article that talks about how we tend to spend more time with our personal computer than we do with our "significant other." The article then takes the issue a step further by claiming that we spend more time on our "relationship" with our computer than we do with our significant other. Of course, this is a bit of equivocation--equating a relationship with a computer with a relationship with another human being. The two are obviously two distinct types of "relationships" (after all, you haven't heard of anyone marrying their computer, right?). But definitely some people do have a relationship with their computer that approaches a "relationship" in the human sense, so there is some validity to this argument in the article, and certainly many "significant others" feel the loss of companionship due to the constant beckon that their loved ones hear from a computer, especially a networked computer. Many of us are constantly wired in to the matrix, even when we are with our significant other.

Do you feel like people in general spend too much time at the computer and not enough time with their significant other? How would you rate your level of interaction with your computer and with your signicant other?

Read more...

Link - Yahoo! News

BlackBerry as a Weapon in the Fight to Commute - New York Times

Auto-generated text messages on your cell phone and auto-generated e-mail messages to alert you to specific events (notices of school closings because of snow, notices of overdue cell phone bills, or, in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, notices of emergency situations on campus) have become increasingly popular as a means of keeping up with events that may affect us in one way or another. A service in New York, Clever Commute, has taken things a step further by providing nearly live updates to commuters of traffic snarls, train delays, road closings, and other commuter headaches. The service differs from auto-generated messages that already provided by the transit authority in that it allows commuters, using their Blackberrys, to communicate with each other through the service in a "broadcast" method like an e-mail listserv, so commuters can update each other on delays, which enables the service to be more up-to-the-minute than official notices sent out by the transit authority.

In the New York Times article describing the service, an example of the value of the interactive nature of the service was provided by the following anecdote:

On Tuesday, one rider wrote that a Mini Cooper parked at the Bay Street station had its lights on. Barry Polen, who gets on at the station, saw the note and realized it was his car.

Already in his office in the Flatiron district, Mr. Polen called his wife, who drove to the station and turned the lights off.

“Otherwise, I would have gotten back to a car with a dead battery,” said Mr. Polen, one of the first people to sign up for the service. “When it boils down to it, it’s commuters and technology helping other commuters.”

Read more...

Link - New York Times

ABC News: To Catch Two Predators: Parents Who Prostitute Children Online

Further demonstrating how the Internet provides an outlet for sexual predators and other depraved minds, ABC News has issued a story about parents who pimp their own kids online to pedophiles.

To what extend do you think the Internet is to blame for crimes like this?

Follow the link for the complete story.

Link - ABC News

Police arrest registered sex offender suspected of luring teen online - CNN.com

Demonstrating the potential dangers of social networks like MySpace, here's a story about a 15-year-old girl who got lured away from home by a 46-year-old registered sex offender whom she met through MySpace and whom she thought was only 24 years old. The man has been arrested.

According to article, the girl's father had no idea his daughter had been communicating with the sex offender, and he urged parents to talk with their children about what they are doing online.

"We've had serious talks about [not putting] information of your own out there to the people," he said. "The Internet is for information. It's not a playground."

Frank said he is installing spy software on his computer to help him monitor what his daughter is doing. "We think our children are well-behaved," he said. "We have to watch them harder. We don't know everything."

Read more...

Link - CNN.com

Thou Shalt Not Kill, Except in a Popular Video Game at Church - New York Times

This week's sign that the apocalypse is upon us (as they used to say in Sports Illustrated): Some churches are now using the popular video game "Halo" to attract a particular demographic--adolescent males--so that they can hit them with a religious message after a couple of hours of shooting-em-up on the popular video game. If it wasn't enough of a mixed message that a violent video game would use a religiously evocative name like "Halo," churches are now using the game as a beacon, or a halo, to attract adolescent males so they can preach to them about Christian ideals, including "though shalt not kill."

How weird is that?

Read more...

Link - New York Times

Teens to parents: It's our Facebook - USATODAY.com

In the wake of Facebook opening up membership to the entire world, a growing number of parents are now creating Facebook accounts and checking up on their kids' behavior on Facebook--and they're finding that their kids resent it (surprise!).

Question: Can your Mom be your Mom and also your friend on Facebook?

Read more...

Link - USATODAY.com

Verizon Adds iPhone Lookalike In Challenge To Apple -- Mobile Phones -- InformationWeek

Verizon has announced a new line of phones that includes one that is intended rival the iPhone. Verizon's new Voyager phone not only has a touch screen like the Apple iPhone, but it also has a QWERTY keyboard that slides out from underneath. The phones were announced in time to take advantage of Christmas shoppers.



Read more...

Link -- InformationWeek

At Starbucks, Songs of Instant Gratification - NY Times

The age of convenience just got more convenient, with Apple and Starbucks joining forces to provide for instantaneous downloads of songs playing over the speakers at Starbucks stores. So now you can not only get your caffeine fix at Starbucks, but you can also take even more of the Starbucks experience with you by being able to capture many of the cools tunes that they play at Starbucks, and you're also maximizing your iPod/iPhone/iTunes experience by being able to do cool things with it while you're sipping a latte.

Starbucks customers can download any song they hear in the store by using their iPhone, their wireless touchscreen iPod, or a laptop computer that has iTunes installed on it. Cost per song is the same as iTunes' regular price--99 cents. So not only is the age of convenience getting more convenient, but the price is incredibly tempting--just like that crumb top coffee cake at Starbucks.

Can you possibly say no?

It's not clear yet what effect caffeine has on impulse purchasing.

Read more...

Link - New York Times

FT.com / Mergermarket - Sony wins ‘organic’ screen race

Sony has come up with a way of using the luminescent capabilities of certain organic chemicals to produce a television that is only as thick as three credit cards stacked together. According to the article

"Organic light-emitting diode technology, which is not exclusive Sony technology, is based on the ability of certain organic chemicals to emit their own light when an electric current is applied. This means that OLED screens require no backlight and can produce crystal-clear images."

Pretty amazing. Read more...

Link - FT.com:

Bringing smart phones to the masses | CNET News.com

Once thought of as productivity tools used primarily in the business world, smart phones are becoming increasingly popular among average cell phone users who want e-mail and web access on a smoother, less clunky interface but who dislike the bulk and cost of traditional smart phones like the Blackberry and Treo lines. Palm, which makes Palm Pilots (PDAs) and Treos, is planning to release a slimmer smart phone for under $100--way cheaper than the $500-$600 cost for Blackberries and Treos.

Link | CNET News.com

Technology has teenagers and parents talking - Yahoo! News

This article discusses the impact of technology on typical family life in the U.S. According to child psychologist Richard Woolfson, while the idea of sitting around the family table for dinner every night is becoming a thing of the past, the ability to stay in touch via technology has actually resulted in families communicating more with teach other than in the past. And, Woolfson argues, by communicating more via technology, families are more comfortable and open discussing things with each other when they do talk face to face. Even so, I can't help but feel oddly nostalgic for chewing with my mouth open to gross out my sisters, the soon-to-be-lost art of gargling your Jell-O at the table, laughing so hard at something that milk flew out my nose, being told not to sing or read at the table, or having to bear the guilt and the shame for starving kids in Africa if I didn't eat all my vegetables.

Link (Yahoo! News)

Backpacker turns Myanmar activist via Facebook - Yahoo! News

Another example of the power and influence that can be achieved by writing online, a 19-year-old student backpacking through Myanmar was so affected by the civil unrest in that country that he has started a MySpace to help draw international attention to the unrest. His site has gained wide popularity.

Link (Yahoo News)

43 Folders | Personal productivity, life hacks, and other cool stuff

43 Folders is one of the best blogs out there for improving our personal productivity through "life hacks" and a system of "Getting Things Done" (aka GTD). The site is the effort of Merlin Mann, a personal productivity guru and maven, and his staff of researchers and web site builders. The site also also spawned a podcast and video podcast (both hosted by the quirky Mann), and users can stay abreast of new postings through RSS feeds (as with any blog). Personal productivity is a big issue for many of us in this digital age, when we are constantly being distracted by incoming e-mails, or the schizophrenia of constant web surfing, the lure of the computer screen, instant messaging and texting and chatting, telephones, cell phones, PDAs, iPods, our frequent tendency to procrastinate, and the more traditional distractions/interruptions created by other people. People who are serious afficianados of personal productivity and the constant giving and sharing of tips and strategies for dealing with life's distractions in a technological age refer to their discourse back and forth as "productivity porn" or "pr0n" because it can be as addictive as Internet porn for some people as we constantly strive to find ways to enjoy the technology, resist the technology, deal with the overwork that this so-called modern convenience frequently creates and maintain our sanity while being constantly bombarded by distractions. I changed my system for dealing with e-mail after reading one of Mann's postings (in which he referenced another blog and credited the blog for the system--i.e., he didn't try to claim it as his own), and I do find much of this discourse fascinating. For instance, e-mail alone causes so much angst for some people that it has led to discussions of "declaring e-mail bankruptcy" (Lawrence Lessig) and trying to achieve "e-mail zero" (an empty inbox) on a daily basis. For those of you who have more than a hundred e-mails sitting in your inbox that you've read but haven't processed, you'll find much of this discussion to be worthwhile reading. Enjoy.

The Machine is Us/ing Us (Final Version)

This video provides a good (and fairly quick) overview of what "Web 2.0" is all about--linking people to each other with interactive sites that are user-friendly. Do you find this to be a revolutionary development in the Internet and the Web, or do you find it an example of technology creating a cacophony of voices?

How's that for irony? Bosnian couple have online affair ... with each other

This definitely belongs in "News of the Weird." A Bosnian couple who were unhappy in their marriage each went online to find true love and wound up finding each other. Now they're getting a divorce!

What does that have to say about technology and society?

News blogger Ben Greenman has the story.

Couple Divorce After Having an Online Affair... With Each Other

AppleInsider | Free iPhone unlocking solution released for download

A team of hackers attempting to unlock Apple Inc.'s iPhone for use with GSM-based wireless carriers other than AT&T appear to have finally succeeded in their efforts, and last night began distributing their solution as a free download via several websites.

Dubbed "iUnlock," the SIM unlocking tool represents the fruits of a multi-month effort on the part of the unofficial "iPhone Dev Team" -- a community of independent contributors who've banded together to discover and develop additional uses for the inaugural Apple handset.

Unlike commercial efforts from groups such as iPhoneSIMfree and UniquePhones, iUnlock was released Tuesday evening as a free download, and has since begun to spread rapidly across the web. Several iPhone owners and members of Apple online communities claim to have tested and verified the solution as genuine.

Steve Jobs: iCame, iSaw, iCaved - New York Times

Steve Jobs: iCame, iSaw, iCaved - New York Times

By DAVID CARR
Published: September 10, 2007

Let me get this straight: Steve Jobs insists that songs on iTunes cost 99 cents and television episodes cost $1.99 because consumers crave simple pricing.

Except, of course, when it comes to Apple’s own products.

On Thursday, I was at the massive Apple temple just off Central Park. From a pricing perspective, it was chaos — a very lucrative form of chaos. The day before, Mr. Jobs had dropped the price of the iPhone, introduced the iPod Touch, re-priced the original iPod, and introduced a new Nano with video capability.

The tables contained both new and old versions of the devices, but the signs listed the old prices.

“These signs are wrong,” said Bryan, a clerk in sort of general-announcement mode near the mob at the iPhone table late in the afternoon. “The price just dropped $200, and you should get ’em while the getting’s good.”

There were wrinkles created by all the dynamic pricing. Customers who paid $599 when the iPhone came out two months ago saw their status drop from early adopter to, well, sucker, after Mr. Jobs cut the price of the device by a third.

In 3 Months, iPhone Sales Top a Million - New York Times

In 3 Months, iPhone Sales Top a Million - New York Times

By BLOOMBERG NEWS
Published: September 11, 2007

Apple Inc. has sold its millionth iPhone less than three months after the device’s debut, allaying investor concerns that demand had slowed.

Last week, the company, which had set out to sell a million iPhones by the end of this month, cut the price of the handset, which doubles as an iPod music player, by a third, to $399.

It took almost two years for Apple to sell a million iPods, the chief executive, Steven P. Jobs, said in a statement yesterday.

Writing, Sharing And Protecting Your Life’s Story

Writing, Sharing And Protecting Your Life’s Story

A new class of startups is emerging that is part blogging, part genealogy and part something unique. They are focused on the very long term - getting and then keeping customers for decades, and encouraging friends and especially family members to join, too. Once they’re hooked, they’ve spent so much time building content that they are very unlikely to ever leave.

Apple Slashes iPhone Price And Dials Up An iPhone-Like iPod

Apple Slashes iPhone Price And Dials Up An iPhone-Like iPod: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Sep. 5, 2007 (Investor's Business Daily delivered by Newstex) --

With an eye on the holiday shopping season, Apple Wednesday refreshed its lineup of iPod portable media players and slashed the price of its iPhone by a third.

Apple's AAPL new slate of iPods includes a high-end model that borrows the looks and features of the i- Phone. That model, the iPod Touch, has the same widescreen display and touch-screen controls as the i- Phone, which debuted in late June.

Apple also introduced new models of the iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano and the original product, now called the iPod Classic.

Plus, it announced a new wireless music download service for the i- Phone and iPod Touch called the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. And it started selling customizable ring tones via the iTunes store.

"They have a very deep and complete lineup for the holiday at very aggressive price points that their competitors are going to have a hard time matching," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Jupiter Research. "It's looking like another very strong holiday for Apple."

Chief Executive Steve Jobs unveiled the new products at a press and analyst event Wednesday in San Francisco.

Apple's lineup of iPods covers all parts of the market, he says. From the low-cost iPod Shuffle, which sells for $79 for a 1-gigabyte model, to the feature-rich iPod Touch, which costs $299 for an 8 GB model and $399 for a 16 GB model.

The iPod Touch is basically a "phoneless iPhone," says Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research. It has Wi-Fi for wireless Web browsing and the same multi-touch interface and applications as the iPhone. But the iPod Touch is only 8 millimeters thin, compared with 11.6 mm for the iPhone.

"We think it's one of the Seven Wonders of the World," said Jobs, describing the iPod Touch.

God goes digital on new Christian version of YouTube

The Herald Bulletin - God goes digital on new Christian version of YouTube

On any Sunday morning, members of Faith Church in Anderson expect to sing several hymns and listen as Walt Weaver preaches. They also expect to watch some TV without leaving their pews.

Weaver has been sprinkling his services with multiple video clips for more than a year because he said they can add texture to a song or enhance his sermon.

“We incorporate them into just about everything we can,” he said. “It’s hard for people to live in this fast-paced culture and then come to this church and have nothing visual.”

More churches are turning to new technology in the hope that it will engage their congregations and stop the national decline in church attendance.

But Godtube.com, a new Christian video-sharing site, makes it possible for people to bypass the bricks and mortar and experience their faith in a completely digital format.

The site hosts more than 20,000 clips. They range from amateur home videos to professionally produced television segments, and they include sermons, music videos, sketch comedies and infomercials.

Like Youtube.com, Godtube allows anyone to post a video and share it via the Internet. The only difference is videos on Godtube must pertain to Christianity.

Many religious sites have copied nonreligious models. MyChurch.org is similar to the social networking site MySpace, and Conservapedia.com is the religious right’s response to Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia for which anyone can write.

That these religious sites exist at all is the latest example of churches using new technology to convey their message, said Merle Strege, a historian of Christianity and professor at Anderson University’s religious studies department.