With CableCARD enabled HDTVs being a complete bust and the crazy popular trend of mounting HDTVs on the wall, many wonder what they can do with their DVR or cable box. As you might expect, the crew over at Engadget HD is more than familiar with the options and lucky for you they actually wrote them down in an easy to digest format. So if you are the do-it-yourself type and are looking to relocate your HD DVR or noisy Xbox 360, then by all means what are you waiting for, click on through.
As if high-profile investment scandals and the economic downturn weren't bad enough here on Earth, now folks have to deal with it outside our galaxy. Virtually, at least.…
The US Justice Department has confirmed its antitrust probe into Google's $125m book-scanning settlement with American authors and publishers, indicating that the ongoing investigation is an important one.…
An anonymous reader writes "An HIV/AIDS vaccine developed in Ontario has applied for Phase 1 human trials. Safety and immunogenicity studies of the vaccine, dubbed SAV001-H, have already been completed on animals. Phase 1 human trials will check the safety of the vaccine on HIV positive volunteers. Phase 2 will then test immunogenicity."
Sure you could hide your maps on the edge of your notebooks, but if you want access to full maps but don't want to look like the tourist wrestling with an unwieldy map, then you need to learn some advanced map-folding techniques.
Web site Map Reading highlights two different map-folding methods that should improve your map cred; we like the protection method best. Not only does it provide you with a very small, easy to peruse map, but, as Merlin Mann points out at 43 Folders, it's also a smart way to make a 16-page mini-notebook from a sheet of printer paper.
Are you a master of the map? Let's hear your best methods in the comments.
Firefox 3.5 downloads skyrocket, Bing captures an impressive share of search in its first month, and your browser history may be less private than you thought.
Car designer Harsha Vardhan has a different vision of tomorrow. While his vehicle calls for an electric engine, just like we see in cars now like the Prius or Volt, that engine drives magnetic fields, not wheels.
(The magnetic fields, of course, do eventually drive the wheels forward when the energy is transferred from over superconducting fluid that touches the rims.)
The result is, theoretically, a very smooth and quiet ride with a low environmental impact. We just like the design for its neat, rear-entry cockpit and all of the potential we see in jousting of the future. [ecofriend]
Debian, the foundation of Ubuntu, has rejected claims that it's potentially holding Linux's future hostage to Microsoft by including an open-source implementation of .NET in its code.…
Click image to fire a volley of screens at your eyeballs
Eidos just fired off a press release, scoring a direct hit on our inbox, informing that Battlestations: Pacific will receive two resupply convoys in the form of the Mustang Pack and the Carrier Battle Map Pack. The first pack is available for download today and offers six new units (including the P-51 Mustang bomber, US Navy Alaska Class battleship, and Japanese Yamato Class battleship), along with 18 different pieces of nose art to be used online or off, and will set players back a cool 160 ($2). A more substantial DLC offering will come with the Carrier Battle Map Pack, a collection of four new maps that will be playable across all five multiplayer modes. These maps consist of locales such as the Philippine Islands, the Leyte Gulf, and Aleutian Islands, and will fetch a premium price of 800 ($10) when the pack releases on July 23.
MacRumors found three interesting patents that point to various new interaction techniques. The most interesting is the fingerprint ID directly on the screen so that the iPhone can see which finger you're using and accept gestures appropriately.
The fingerprint ID also, of course, can theoretically act as a security device so that only you can activate your phone. There's also haptic (physical) feedback when you're hitting things, as well as using the touchscreen as an RFID reader. None of the three are really mindblowing in themselves, on the surface, but if implemented intelligently might make for a big step forward in the iPhone product line. [Macrumors via Boy Genius]
A federal judge on Thursday tentatively overturned convictions against a mother accused of using MySpace to bully a 13-year-old girl who went on to hang herself to death.…
Valve isn't quite as against the idea of developing games for the PS3 as we previously thought. Speaking to Valve's Doug Lombardi at the Left 4 Dead 2 event in London today (look out for the full interview soon), we discovered that the company is still "up on the idea" of developing for the PS3 -- it's just waiting until it has hired some decent PS3 coders. "If you look at The Orange Box -- PC: 96 on Metacritic, 360: 96 on Metacritic, PS3 like... 84 or something. That's not even close to where we are right now with the 360 and PC and the reason is people."Lombardi went on to say that "we have to get people under our roof who are dedicated, talented PS3 guys and then all bets are off. We can take the same sort of strides and get the quality out of the box and offer the same support post-launch on that platform, as well." Sounds like Valve-developed PS3 games are more a case of "when" than "if," nowadays. When asked whether Valve is actively seeking to hire PS3 developers, he noted that "Valve is always looking to hire people. So yeah, definitely." Are you a dedicated PS3 coder who wants to make Left 4 Dead 3 for the system? You know what to do. We look forward to seeing your handiwork in late 2010.
iPhone/iPod Touch only: Remember previously mentioned RunPee.com, the ingenious website that tells you when to head for a bathroom break during a movie so you don't miss any good parts? The site has released its first mobile version for iPhone users.
Built on the same premise as the website, RunPee's iPhone app tells you the most opportune times to head out for a bathroom break (e.g., @ 35 mins.). Like the site, RunPee Mobile also lets you know how long each "PeeTime" lasts, and what happened while you were away.
The application also has a built-in timer (which you can start at the beginning of the movie) that will keep track of all RunPee times so you can decide whether to go then or, well, hold it until the next designated break time. It will also tell you which movies have extra scenes after the credits.
The creators are also working on more features that will be rolling out "every few weeks," including a friendly vibrate reminder to alert you a few minutes before a RunPee time.
RunPee Mobile's iPhone application is compatible with the iPhone (O.S. 2.2.1 or later) and iPod Touch, and costs 99 cents.
Splinter Cell: Conviction will take 12 hours to complete on normal says the game's creative director, Maxime Beland, in the latest issue of OXM. There will certainly be a harder difficultly level for folks that are into trial and error for 30 hours, but the "normal gamers" will get a well-sized adventure. Beland says this was done because he wants people to actually finish the game. That's quite a good idea.Also, at around 12 hours of gameplay, Badass: The Game won't wear out its welcome -- if it keeps the action going. Of course, there'll be multiplayer to extend the experience, but we likely won't be able to crack skulls in urinals there ... or maybe we will, which would then confirm Splinter Cell as game of the year.[Via 1UP]
If people can clean their hands with a simple name change, then why can't games? Paleo Entertainment recently re-dubbed its bargain-priced shooter, Merchants of Brooklyn, as "Drug Wars." Currently exclusive to Steam, Merchants of Brooklyn suffered an embarrassing release in mid-March when an alpha version was mistakenly sold in place of the final code and apparently failed to recover any credibility. Its Metacritic score of "36" ranks near the bottom of all 2009 games to date. "Drug Wars," on the other hand, ranks decidedly better with a "No Score Yet" rating.The new name wasn't exactly pulled from thin air (well, at least not this time), as "Drug Wars" was adopted from last month's free, beta-release multiplayer update by the same name. Paleo is clearly shifting focus away from the original single-player campaign -- which has since been "reworked" -- and toward the Drug Wars multiplayer mode. Of course, the fresh start also means building a player base from scratch. Currently, we count three -- and a fourth player who "can't find it to play it." Sounds like this is one of those cold kinda wars, eh?Keep that fire burning, Mr. Elite Neanderthal Fighter. Keep that fire burning.
Reader lina_zav wrote in to tell us how she keeps her to-do lists in easy view with a quick binder clip hack. A single binder clip and some silly putty is all you need to make this simple document holder. The gadget will stick to any upright surface and easily holds your to-do lists, recipes, or notes. Just stick the silly putty (or maybe some homemade playdough) on the flat end of a binder clip and you're done. This holder could be perfect for holding notes that you're copying on top of your monitor or on the side of your desk.
How do you keep notes, to-do lists, and other documents in easy view? Have your own document holder hacks? Tell us in the comments.
Sure you could 
Firefox 3.5 downloads skyrocket, Bing captures an impressive share of search in its first month, and your browser history may be less private than you thought.
Car designer Harsha Vardhan has a different vision of tomorrow. While his vehicle calls for an electric engine, just like we see in cars now like the Prius or Volt, that engine drives magnetic fields, not wheels.
($2). A more substantial DLC offering will come with the Carrier Battle Map Pack, a collection of four new maps that will be playable across all five multiplayer modes. These maps consist of locales such as the Philippine Islands, the Leyte Gulf, and Aleutian Islands, and will fetch a premium price of 800
MacRumors found three interesting patents that point to various new interaction techniques. The most interesting is the fingerprint ID directly on the screen so that the 
iPhone/
When we highlighted 
