Warning: This may shock you if you love dogs and cats. In this highly disturbing video report, CNN's Emily Chang goes to a dog and cat meat market in Guanghzhou, China. There, dogs and cats are kept in cages and sold to restaurants and street vendors that specialize in things like cat stew and frozen dog leg. The Chinese government has taken the first steps in banning the consumption of dog and cat meat, but this report says it may take a decade for actual changes to be implemented.
It was hard to be anything but disappointed when Intel's dual-core Atom D510 processor started hitting nettops and was found to be no better performing than the earlier D330. Sure, it was more frugal, but most users were hoping for a bit more oomph not a bit less consumption. Soon, netbook users will seemingly get a taste of the same bitter pill, with talk that a netbook version of the D510 is in the works, likely called the N500. This is a rather less than shocking development and while it surely won't mean you'll finally get Crysis running on your Eee it could make for future netbooks that offer slightly better performance than their earlier brethren and yet deliver even longer battery life. Because, you know, if there's one thing netbooks need today it's greater longevity.Intel bringing dual-core Atom D510 processors to netbooks as the N500? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Just one month ago we brought innuendo-laden news of the Korean sausage, a meaty snack that was being used by commuters to control their iPhones whilst still wearing gloves. It turned out that the meat-sticks worked just like a human finger, even while still inside their plastic covers.
Now, you too can join those innovative cold-weather commuters with the iPhone Sausage Screen Stylus from Case Crown. The $1 wiener can be gently stroked across the capacitive screen to control, well, anything you like. The gold-wrapped sausage is marked on the product page as “not for consumption”, but we have a feeling that this is just a legal matter, or because the folks at Case Crown maybe don’t have the refrigerator space to store all those meaty snacks. What’s not to like? A iPhone stylus and a tasty emergency snack, all for a dollar!
If you’re a vegetarian, don’t worry. In the interests of science, I just went to the kitchen and grabbed a chunk of Cheddar cheese. Even in its tastefully rustic, paper-mimicking plastic-wrap, it managed to unlock my iPod Touch. You’re welcome.
iPhone Sausage Screen Stylus [Case Crown via Cult of Mac]
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image: Carnegie Institution
We've written about the phenomenon of outsourced carbon emissions a number of times, with the example of perhaps up to one third of China's emissions coming from manufacturing goods destined for consumption abroad being most prominent. Well, a new study by scientists at the Carnegie Institution adds some more data to our our understanding of this issue:...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Readers offer their best tips for quickly showing and hiding file extensions, charging devices with your computer turned off, and using a cellphone as a long-term stopwatch.
Don't like the gallery layout? Click here to view everything on one page.
About the Tips Box: Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they're a bit too niche, maybe we couldn't find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn't fit it in—the tip didn't make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments, share it here, or email it to tips at lifehacker.com.
PlatypusMan shares an AutoHotkey script that makes it easier to show and hide file extensions:
I've noticed that, in Windows, a lot of people set it to show file extensions for known file types so that it is easier to edit things, but I prefer it to be easier to look at. However, I don't like going through the Tools menu and all that (which took me forever to find in Windows 7 — just hit the Alt key in explorer for the menu bar to show up), so I wrote a small script in #Autohotkey that I find to be very helpful.
This sets Windows+X to toggle whether or not known file types are shown:
#x::
RegRead, Extension_Status, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced, HideFileExt
If Extension_Status = 0
RegWrite, REG_DWORD, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced, HideFileExt, 1
Else
RegWrite, REG_DWORD, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced, HideFileExt, 0
WinGetClass, eh_Class,A
send, {F5}
ReturnAs far as I can tell, it works seamlessly. I adapted it from a different script I found that does basically the same thing, but with the option for showing or hiding hidden files, but I don't remember where I got it from (probably here).
TechnoGeek shows us how he keeps his devices charged at his workspace:
If your monitor has USB ports, you can charge your iPod/iPhone even when your computer is off. Just plug it into your monitor and leave the monitor on. Once you turn off your computer, your monitor should time-out. But don't turn off the power. Your device will continue to charge.
Photo by Oracio Alvarado.
Micah Tanis shows us a reliable, easy method of time tracking:
Create a START and END contact on your phone to keep track of timed tasks.
Dial and end a call to START or END to create timestamps for time tracking.
Jake712 shows us how he utilizes Quick Launch shortcuts:
This is something I've been doing since XP came out but I've never seen anyone else doing it and I don't see it mentioned much:
I keep Windows Explorer shortcuts with customized file locations on my quick launch bar. If I want to get to my web server folders or my folder with my Nikon photos I just click the customized explorer icon that will take me right there. The image shows my right-most quick launch item which is my most accessed as well.
To make them go through the Start menu to Programs/Accessories, right click Windows Explorer and pick Copy. Now go to your desktop, right click on it, and choose Paste Shortcut and the icon will appear. To customize it, right click the icon and choose Properties. You can change the destination by editing the Target field, for instance my photos are in C:\DATA\Photos and Home Video\photos\Nikon D90. You can rename the shortcut in the same window but under the General tab, this is the name that shows up if you hover over the icon.
When you're done just drag it to your quick launch bar and you're all set. You can get pretty fancy with the Target location including options to expand folders, etc. For a list of the various options here is Microsoft's reference: [support.microsoft.com]
This works up to Vista 64 but I haven't tried it on Windows 7, in fact I don't even know if 7 has a quick launch bar.
Sausage stylus for the iPhone now on sale in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkCrunch Gear | Case Crown | Email this | CommentsSausage stylus for the iPhone now on sale in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) version of the HTC HD2 “media monster” is expected to drop on US soil later this month, possibly on March 24th. So, it’s not surprising that we’re seeing pics of the Magenta-branded HD2 strutting its stuff out in the wild. New pics have hit the web, showing off the HD2 and some customized apps/services that help it make the most of its gigantic, high-resolution 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen.
The HD2 you see here seems to be flaunting its Blockbuster integration. Clicking on the icon takes you to Blockbuster’s On Deman movie download service, allowing HD2 users to quickly and easily pull down movies. To help get you started T-Mo’s HD2 will apparently come to market with both the Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen movie titles pre-loaded onto the device. And, for all you mobile TV buffs out there, you can expect to see MoviTV services bundled with the device. The HD2 is just about the only smartphone out there with the hardware chops (read: massive high-res display) to actually make mobile TV consumption enjoyable, and we can’t wait to try it out.
As for the rest of the phone, we’re not seeing anything that we haven’t seen before. The 4.3-inch display sits atop a 1Ghz Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) Snapdragon processor, 5-megapixel camera, 3G data, WiFi, GPS, microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It’s going to launch with Windows Mobile 6.5 in tow – thankfully skinned with HTC’s impressive TouchFLO 3D UI – but don’t bank on seeing a Windows Phone 7 update being made available for the handset.
As for pricing, T-Mobile isn’t yet saying. We’re expecting it to be offered at $199.99 with a 2-year contract or about $449.99 as a fully unlocked and contract-free version. For the decimal-disabled out there, that’s $200 or $450, depending on your willingness to be tied to a carrier for a couple years. Keep in mind, T-Mobile will also allow you to pay for the handset in installments. Launch is expected for March 24th.
Check out our HD2 unboxing after the break!
Hands-on the HTC HD2 and its gigantic 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen! from IntoMobile on Vimeo.
[Via: TmoNews]
Related News from IntoMobile:
You may have seen the “Sausage Finger” iPhone photos making the rounds early last month. I could have sworn we posted it but I can’t seem to find it. Anyhoo, it was a photo of two guys on a South Korean subway car using little sausages to manipulate their iPhones while wearing gloves. Everyone had a chuckle and then we all moved on—UNTIL NOW!
You can get your very own “iPhone Sausage Screen Stylus” for 99 cents, plus around five bucks for shipping. The product is “not for consumption” but is compatible with all versions of the iPhone and, therefore, the iPod Touch as well.
You could also pick up some sausages at your local grocery store every week to avoid the shipping charges and the whole “not for consumption” rule.
iPhone Sausage Screen Stylus [CaseCrown.com via OhGizmo!]
China is now the largest emitter of CO2 on the planet, as it powers a large industrial base primarily through the use of coal-fired power plants. However, many of those goods are immediately shipped overseas, often to the US and EU, which generate and use power far more efficiently. A new paper, which will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, now takes a look at the impact of outsourcing these carbon emissions by tracking CO2 based on a product's point of use. For some Western European economies, the result is enormous: anywhere from 20 to 50 percent of their emissions come in the form of imported goods.
The calculation was performed by Stanford's Steven Davis and Ken Caldeira, who built a database of national energy production and tracked international trade of both raw materials (including fossil fuels) and finished goods. The most recent year for which all that data was available was 2004, which means the figures don't cover some of the changes that have accompanied the recent economic downturn. The basic calculation involves taking the CO2 emissions for various nations and regions, subtracting those associated with exported goods, and then adding back emissions associated with imports. The result, termed consumption emissions, was then analyzed on a per-capita and per-GDP basis.
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As Governor Paterson returns to Albany today to headline a symposium about a revived penny-per-ounce soda tax, he's picked up some more support from Mayor Bloomberg, who's always up for taxing vice. "In these tough economic times, easy fixes to our problems are hard to come by," said Bloomberg during his radio address yesterday. "But the soda tax is a fix that just makes sense. It would save lives. It would cut rising health care costs. And it would keep thousands of teachers and nurses where they belong: in the classrooms and clinics." Bloomberg had supported a tax on sugary soft drinks last year, but backed away after an "enormous outcry." Now, it seems, the time has come.
"What I think you’re seeing is really a momentum shift in favor of doing it," Dr. Richard F. Daines, the state health commissioner, tells the Times. According to Daines, the new tax "differs from the one proposed last year in that it would be levied directly on soda producers and the estimated $1 billion in annual revenue would be dedicated to the health care budget, rather than to the general fund." Bloomberg says tax revenue would also benefit education. According to experts, a 10 percent soda tax would cut consumption by 8 percent and make $14.9 billion for the state in its first year.
Here are some interesting posts from around the ‘Net to catch up with over the weekend:
What are you reading this weekend?
Continue reading 'Foodspotting' App Crowdsources Delicious Dishes From Around the Globe
Filed under: Cell Phones, iPhone
'Foodspotting' App Crowdsources Delicious Dishes From Around the Globe originally appeared on Switched on Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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In NY state, Big Gulps are poised to become the new cigarettes. Health officials say they’re ready to instate a tax on fizzy drinks that contribute to obesity rates; they want to charge an extra cent for every ounce of sugary soda (diet sodas are exempt since they contain no calories). On Monday the city and state health commissioners will meet with Gov. Paterson, who’s previously supported such a tax, to hash out a plan. "This is one good thing we could do during a miserable year in Albany," State Health Commissioner Richard Daines told the Daily News.
According to experts, a 10 percent soda tax would cut consumption by 8 percent and make $14.9 billion for the state in its first year. "It's a triple play. We would reduce obesity, earn revenue to support health care and, in the long run, cut health care costs," said Daines. Last year a similar tax failed to pass the legislature, reports Crain’s NY Business, largely because of pressure from the soda biz, but in sight of state’s fiscal problems, Daines is confident that this time it will succeed. Public support for the initiative is high too: a Quinnipiac study found that 76 percent of voters are in favor of the tax.
Adoption of LED backlighting has been on a rapid rise over the past few years and iSupply predicts a very high chance that the LED industry won't be able to keep up with demand in 2010. In 2009, LED consumption reached 63 billion, up from the 57 million in 2008. This is very close to the actual current maximum capacity of the LED industry itself (7... (read more)
LED manufacturers are having a tough time keeping up with demand, says market research iSuppli, who warns that the market might be on the verge of a shortage.
"It is clear that demand is outstripping supply," said Jagdish Rebello, senior director and principal analyst for wireless research at iSuppli. "With LED market growth forecasted to rise by double-digit percentages for at least the next three years, including 2010, a drastic undersupply situation could occur this year unless additional capacity is brought online to meet the increased demand."
The shortage mostly applies to LED LCD TVs, which employ anywhere from 300 to 500 LEDs per panel. Notebooks use about 50 LEDS, while monitors require about 100 LEDs.
"On the demand side, the shortage is being spurred by strong consumer desire, given the growing popularity of LED-backlit LCD TVs due to their super-slim form factors and improvements in pictures quality," said Sweta Dash, senior director for LCD research at iSuppli.
Still, LED manufacturers have a little bit of wiggle room, but not much. Total consumption of LEDs climbed to 63 billion units in 2009, up from 57 billion in 2008, while the industry's total capacity sits at about 75 billion.
STYLE GUIDE: CaseCrown is selling their own wacky brand of sausage stylus fingers to iPhone users in the U.S. for the price of a single app. Koreans caused a whirlwind of interest over a makeshift iPhone stylus that's actually a popular mystery sausage meat product in South Korea. The mini meat stick was being used in the cold winter weather to avoid removing gloves for navigating iPhone's touch screen.
Now a clone of the wildly popular sausage fingers product can be yours for just one dollar, dropped from the regular price of $3.99 each. The meat stylus is advertised to be compact and slim to fit in any pocket and it's compatible with all iPhone models.
Most importantly it's definitely not for consumption. I can't wait to get my hands on one. So beer me that sausage finger bro.
Chief executive John Ridding reports strong subscription figures at the website that's helping the FT stay profitable
The chief executive of the Financial Times, John Ridding, is remarkably upbeat about the future of newspapers which charge for content.
The main reason may be that he can report a 43% year-on-year rise in subscription revenues for FT.com and a 15% increase in digital subscribers, to 126,000. This has helped the FT to be profitable in 2009, he says.
But beyond the raw subscriber numbers – after all, it is frequently pointed out that financial websites are more likely to be able to charge for this sort of information – Ridding highlights the further opportunities created by this subscriber list.
Speaking after the FT's parent company, Pearson, unveiled a 13% profit rise, Ridding focuses on the engagement and advertising benefits that subscriptions bring.
"Advertising alone is not going to sustain scale of newsrooms," he says. But growing a subscription base allows advertisers to know exactly who it is that they are selling to, which increases its value. "If you have an audience that is paying for your journalism they are engaged and that is an important message for advertisers."
"The nature and consumption of journalism [on the web] is different to newspapers," he says. The FT does not have an immediate paywall, but instead allows readers a certain number of clickthroughs before they are asked to register or pay. "People come in for one story. You hope they will become a registered user or a subscriber. They may not all become subscribers."
The FT is now working on a micropayments project and further niche publications.
Remember how some Koreans were using sausages to control their iPhones? Well, good news! You too can now have your very own iPhone Sausage Stylus for the low price of one dollar*! Just one dollar*! But wait! There's more!
Not only will you be able to keep your gloves on during cold weather and use a sausage as a stylus, not only is this product compatible with any iPhone on the market, NOT ONLY is this stylus not fit for consumption, NO! It is also going to be tested by yours truly.
And I must shamefully admit that I'm excited about a small package of these sausages being on its way to my home so that I can test the special sausages against regular sausages, hot dogs, bacon, and cheese sticks. In the meantime, you can order your very own iPhone Sausage Stylus for a buck a pop*.
*Shipping and handling not included on this limited time offer. [CaseCrown]
Readers offer their best tips for playing just the audio of video files on the iPhone, cushioned sleeves for external hard drives, and making sure your alarm clock wakes you up in the morning.
Don't like the gallery layout? Click here to view everything on one page.
About the Tips Box: Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they're a bit too niche, maybe we couldn't find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn't fit it in—the tip didn't make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments, share it here, or email it to tips at lifehacker.com.
Photo by Dan Taylor.
Rick Betita shows us how to stop the video from playing and draining battery on iPhones:
One of the most annoying things about the iPhone is that you can't listen to the audio of a video file unless the video is playing. Let's say I'm watching a TEDTalk video podcast where the visuals don't add much to the content: if I lock my phone or press the home button, playback will stop (rather than continue underneath like an audio file).
To get around it, I lock my phone while I'm watching the video (stopping the playback) and double-tap the home button to bring up playback controls on the locked screen. From there, I can press play and lock the phone again, allowing me to listen to my video file with the screen locked.
If I want to do something else on my iPhone while the audio of the video plays in the background, I press the home button during video playback and lock the screen immediately afterwards. Then I double-tap the home screen as before, hit play, and unlock the phone. It brings me to my home screen while the audio continues to play.
kamosaurus gives us a nice clever use for our portable external hard drives:
I have found that the collapsible koozies are perfect cheap sleeves for portable external hard drives. They fit snug and they give you a little "bump" protection without you having to go buy an expensive portable hard drive case. I've never had a case where the hard drive got too hot from being in the koozie but it's more about the transport anyways.
The best part of all is that they are cheap and customizable!
Photo by Bernt Rostad.
virtourist shares his tips for waking up in the morning:
The problem with my alarm clock is that I've gotten so used to the 'off' button that I can turn off the first alarm and cancel the second in my sleep. I have a roommate, so I can't do something ridiculous like put the alarm clock on the other side of the room.
My solution: Wrap the alarm clock in a t shirt and always place the clock in a different orientation/location on the nightstand. That way, I have to be awake and coherent enough to do some searching for the off button without just using muscle memory.
grewal12 adds his solution to the mix:
I have the same thing going on...kind of. I have two alarm clocks. One is the regular kind, right next to my night stand. The other one is my phone which is on the other side of the room. They both go off at the same time. BUT, I have another alarm on my phone that goes off 15 minutes later. So I have to go through the menus and stuff to turn it off. Because if I don't, it goes off while I'm in the shower and wakes everyone else up.
Photo by Russell J. Smith.
fisher.seth lets us know how he keeps from feeling lethargic at work:
To get my heart rate up multiple times during my otherwise very sedentary working day, I only take restroom breaks on the ground floor of a five-story building (of which I'm located on the 5th floor). I take five flights of stairs down, use the restroom, then back up the stairs, two-at-a-time, as quick as possible. After a quick stop at the top to catch my breath, I'm back at my desk within 3 minutes.
If you’re like me, you use your wireless phone for everything. My iPhone never leaves my grasp, and even at home I find myself using it read e-mail on the sofa, or browse the TV guide. While this is good for my information consumption it’s very bad for my iPhone’s battery life, and as a result I find myself constantly having to recharge my phone.
Thanks to Motorola, I’ll soon be able to leave my iPhone alone — yet still stay in hand’s reach of my telephone calls.
Related posts:
The Filter, a white-label provider of recommendation systems created by Peter Gabriel has cut a deal with popular video web site Dailymotion. The Filter will deliver video-to-video recommendation services to Dailymotion's 66 million monthly users designed to increase video consumption and user engagement.
This partnership follows a successful trial during which The Filter captured over 5 billion video views and delivered 1 billion recommendations globally to Dailymotion users. Even with the vast amount of data, The Filter was able to rebuild its recommendations every two hours leading to increases in views per session and time spent.
Other Filter clients include Sony Music Entertainment, thePlatform, We7 (of which Gabriel is a founding partner) and a collaboration with Nokia. Overall The Filter serves over 85 million unique users a month, delivering close to 1 billion API recommendation calls per month.
From the press release:
