FocuSoft Tech Blog

Toshiba’s 10-inch Dynabook UX netbook gets hands-on treatment Posted: 26 Apr 2009 06:36 AM PDT Toshiba’s Dynabook UX (or NB200, if you prefer) just popped on our radar last week, and already we’re seeing netbook craving individuals in Japan get their paws on ‘em. The 10-inch machine ain’t too different than the other alternatives out there — save for the N280 processor, which will never show its true potential without a GN40 chipset riding shotgun. At any rate, early impressions of the machine have been rather positive, with onlookers digging the design and the chiclet-style keyboard. Personally, we’re a bit bored from afar, but hit the read link to have a look and make a judgment of your own. Read more here: Toshiba’s 10-inch Dynabook UX netbook gets hands-on treatment

World’s Crappiest Projector (As Reviewed By Gizmodo) On Sale Now At Woot [Worstmodo] Posted: 26 Apr 2009 06:17 AM PDT If you want in on a projector that Gizmodo once dubbed the “world’s crappiest projector,” head over to Woot right now. It’s been marked down considerably, and is still the worst ever. [Woot Thanks, Akif] Here is the original: World’s Crappiest Projector (As Reviewed By Gizmodo) On Sale Now At Woot [Worstmodo]

Herd of oversized concrete computer mice seen rushing for the shore — do they know something we don’t? Posted: 26 Apr 2009 03:32 AM PDT As a perfect complement to Shenzhen’s scattered keyboard keys we spotted the other day, tipster Riley G. spotted this charging herd of giant mice statues in Xiamen, China. Two whole tactile, usable buttons? How quaint! Another shot is after the break. [Thanks, Riley G.] Go here to see the original: Herd of oversized concrete computer mice seen rushing for the shore — do they know something we don’t?

Fix the Kindle 2’s light text display Posted: 26 Apr 2009 02:20 AM PDT If you can't read your Kindle 2 because it's too light, fear not. This thread shows you how to add darker, non-aliased fonts to your 16-shades-of-gray beauty. All the hack does is replace the standard fonts with new, darker fonts but many are complaining so this might be just the thing for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Generally, the issue has to do with font smoothing. While on-screen fonts against a contrasting background look great with with font smoothing but on what is essentially a gray background, the fonts look gray. And, most importantly, the blacks are washed out as well, resulting in light text. Read more here: Fix the Kindle 2's light text display

Oklahoma City Tea Party Protestor Arrested for Threatening Bloodbath On TwitterTea Posted: 26 Apr 2009 12:53 AM PDT An Oklahoma City man named Daniel Knight Hayden, 52, posted threats against the government on Twitter under the name CitizenQuasar including the suggestion that he would kill police if they approached his home. The FBI has arrested him around April 15 in response to the threats, including a final tweet describing himself as “locked and loaded” and ready to “see what happens.” Oh, and he has a MySpace page, too. Wired paints the picture of a zealot who might not have all of his screws tight. “START THE KILLING NOW! I am willing to be the FIRST DEATH!,” read a tweet at 8:01 PM that day. “After I am killed on the Capitol Steps, like a REAL man, the rest of you will REMEMBER ME!!!,” he added five minutes later. Then: “Send the cops around. I will cut their heads off the heads and throw the[m] on the State Capitol steps.” See original here: Oklahoma City Tea Party Protestor Arrested for Threatening Bloodbath On TwitterTea

Oklahoma City Tea Party protestor arrested for threatening bloodbath on Twitter Posted: 26 Apr 2009 12:48 AM PDT An Oklahoma City man named Daniel Knight Hayden, 52, posted threats against the government on Twitter under the name CitizenQuasar including the suggestion that he would kill police if they approached his home. The FBI has arrested him around April 15 in response to the threats, including a final tweet describing himself as "locked and loaded" and ready to "see what happens." Oh, and he has a MySpace page, too. Wired paints the picture of a zealot who might not have all of his screws tight. UPDATE - In deference to the non-crazy protesters, I changed the headline. "START THE KILLING NOW! I am willing to be the FIRST DEATH!," read a tweet at 8:01 PM that day. "After I am killed on the Capitol Steps, like a REAL man, the rest of you will REMEMBER ME!!!," he added five minutes later. Then: "Send the cops around. I will cut their heads off the heads and throw the[m] on the State Capitol steps." Sadly, he's doing this in Oklahoma City, which many of you will remember solely for the bombings last decade by similarly enthusiastic anti-government zealots. Hayden is apparently out at a halfway house right now, pending trial, and there is seemingly little proof that he would have made good on his threats. Here's an interesting video from his MySpace page. CrunchBase Information Twitter Information provided by CrunchBase See the original post here: Oklahoma City Tea Party protestor arrested for threatening bloodbath on Twitter

World of Warcraft Comes to iPhone Posted: 26 Apr 2009 12:22 AM PDT Well, we had a good run. The Renaissance, going to the Moon, inventing the Snuggie… but all that’s done now. World of Warcraft is no longer restricted to home and laptop use. Its grip on humanity will be total. Penny Arcade was remarkably prescient in this case; I wonder who Satan (who is the devil) is working for right now? Could be Apple, could be Blizzard, or maybe he’s just freelancing. Now there will be no reason to log off for the poor souls whose evenings are already consumed in questing and raiding. The rest is here: World of Warcraft Comes to iPhone

Skytone’s Android-powered netbook to cost around $250 Posted: 26 Apr 2009 12:18 AM PDT Guangzhou Skytone Transmission Technologies Company, which we will absolutely never call by its full name again, has just dropped a juicy nugget about its forthcoming netbook. See original here: Skytone’s Android-powered netbook to cost around $250

Google Earth Helps Solve A Plane Crash Mystery Posted: 25 Apr 2009 10:04 PM PDT The idea behind Google Earth has always been a powerful one: It allows users to explore places that they either can't or won't go. But with its vast amount of maps and topographical data, it also is a very powerful tool for combing the Earth — and that can be very useful when you're searching for something. Which is exactly how it helped a grieving family find a plane that crashed, and took the lives of loved ones, that had been missing for over two years. Despite countless time spent searching all the areas in Arizona that authorities and the family thought the plane might have gone down, there had been no luck all this time in finding the plane. Then, something rather incredible happened. A person who had also been involved in the attempts to find millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, found a picture of a forest fire that had been taken the same day as the crash and in what was thought to be a similar area. He alerted the family, which had set up a website to aid in the search. Remarkably, they were able to find the exact area in the picture using the different viewing angles and topographical data of Google Earth. The family and some volunteers then set out to the area they had pinpointed in the program, using its coordinates. Sure enough, they found the wreckage. While it's not exactly a happy ending for the families of the two people lost in the crash, Marcy Randolph and William Westover, it does provide closure, Randolph's family says. And now the family is hoping to help others do similar types of search and rescue using Google Earth. The family has set up a system called MARSI, which stands for Mapped Archive of Rescue & Search Information. On the website they set up for it, they detail exactly how they were able to use Google Earth's data to find the missing plane. It's very interesting stuff. And MAST (The Missing Aircraft Search Team), a team which contributed to the Fossett search, apparently wants to use MARSI for future searches, Liz Johannesen, Marcy Randolph's cousin, tells us. These types of stories remind us that while projects like Google Earth may not be the most important to a company's bottom line, they can provide something much more valuable to a lot of people. Last week, we heard about the woman who got her stolen purse back thanks to Google Latitude. And this week we have this much more important story involving Google Earth. It is nice to see that the technology we sometimes take for granted in a quickly evolving space, actually can help people in a meaningful way. Below, find some images detailing the search area from Google Maps. CrunchBase Information Google Earth Information provided by CrunchBase Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it's time for you to find a new Job2.0 See the rest here: Google Earth Helps Solve A Plane Crash Mystery

Boeing’s Airborne Laser begins flight tests, future uncertain Posted: 25 Apr 2009 09:28 PM PDT Boeing was pretty bullish about its aircraft-mounted laser system only a few short months ago, but it looks the program’s future is now considerably more uncertain, even as the sole aircraft to be equipped with the rig begins its first flight tests. Apparently, everything with the tests themselves has been going according to plan, with both the high-energy laser itself and the “beam control / fire control apparatus” along for the ride, and Boeing is even reportedly still on track for a missile-intercept demonstration later this year. The recent funding shakeup at the Pentagon, however, has thrown Boeing and its partners in the project for a bit of a loop, with the department now apparently intending to keep only one of the planes in service (instead of the proposed seven) as it transitions the rest of the program towards a purely R&D effort. See the original post: Boeing’s Airborne Laser begins flight tests, future uncertain

You are subscribed to email updates from FocuSoft Tech Blog To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Inbox too full? Subscribe to the feed version of FocuSoft Tech Blog in a feed reader.
If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: FocuSoft Tech Blog, c/o Google, 20 W Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610