Microsoft Employees Drink Vista Kool-Aid, Er, Soda

A local newspaper reporter spotted cans of LEMON LIME WINDOWS VISTA in a Microsoft employee free-drinks fridge. Cans of Talking Rain sparkling water have been modified to internally promote the Windows Vista web site in an apparent effort to get random employees to eat the Vista dog food and drink the Microsoft Kool-aid (download and try the Windows Vista beta).

How to Pimp a 1955 Ride

It's a vision of the future from the past, but you can buy it now. RM Auctions will be offering the Beatnik -- a custom-pimped BUBBLETOP 1955 FORD from designer Gary "Chopit" Fioto -- in Monterey, California, August 18. The car took four years to modify, and includes Cadillac and Lincoln components. The car's estimated value is $350,000 - $450,000. I want one.

'Sea Monkeys' Animated Feature In the Works

Only in America: Brine shrimp will form the basis for an animated, big-budget blockbuster movie, according to the movie rags. Empire Pictures and Transcience Corp. are working on an animated feature film called "THE AMAZING SEA MONKEYS," possibly followed by a TV series.

Personal, Rechargeble Submarines Hit

Oh, man, this is cool. The Dutch company U-Boat Worx is selling one-man and two-man C-Quester SUBMARINES. The C-Quester keeps you totally dry inside, and dives to a maximum depth of 150 feet -- 50 percent deeper than the recreational scuba diving limit -- and has a safety system that won't let you go any deeper. Best of all, the air pressure inside remains constant (the surface pressure), so you don't need to worry about decompression (or decompression sickness). You can stay underwater for 2.5 hours, although the subs contain enough air for 36 hours underwater. You can recharge the batteries in 12 hours. I want one. (props to Engadget and bornrich.org)

Rinspeed CEO Breaks Record In Amphib Car

Rinspeed CEO Frank Rinderknecht drove his custom "Splash" AMPHIBIOUS SPORTS CAR across the English Channel yesterday in 3 hours, 14 minutes, to break the world record time for a hydrofoil car. I want one. (props to Autoblog)

Israel In Full-Scale Online Propaganda Effort

Israel has launched a large-scale effort to SPIN WORLD PUBLIC OPINION in its favor over the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Thousands of pro-Israeli students are using "megaphone" software that alerts them whenever someone blames Israel in online chat rooms and message boards for the violence, so they can log in and deliver a counter-argument. The problem with this approach is that, once word gets out about the program, all pro-Israel comments will be dismissed as centrally controlled propaganda.

Another Dell Laptop Goes Up In Flames

Another Dell laptop has CAUGHT FIRE and produced (along with more PR headaches for the world's largest PC company) more spectacular photos. (props to Engadget)

How to Play With Your Cat

Guys like to hold hamburgers. Cats like to chase mice. A new remote control unit that looks like a burger controls a fast and agile mouse. The system will keep two simple-minded mammals OCCUPIED FOR HOURS. Bonus: the remote control unit's charger is built into the device. You access it by sliding some cheese out of the way to reveal a secret compartment.

Pool Skimmer Is Remote-Control Toy Boat

The Remote-Control Jet Ski is a convergence device that combines a pool skimmer and a REMOTE-CONTROL BOAT. It works from 100 feet away, so junior doesn't even have to leave his bedroom to clean the pool.

Classical Composers' New Venue: Video Games

Classical music composers have found a new venue and a new audience: VIDEO GAMES AND VIDEO GAMERS. It turns out that, when combined with violent, first-person shooter action, kids actually like classical music. And every classical music composer dreams of one day having a hit as big as the theme to "Super Mario Brothers."

Worst USB Gadget Yet: Duck Themed Memory

A new USB drive by Solid Alliance sports a tiny silhouette depicting ANOTHER USB DRIVE -- the ducky drive covered here and elsewhere extensively. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first USB memory drive product in history with a picture of another USB memory drive product printed on its case. Weird.

The Myth of the 'Flying Car'

From today's Personal Tech Pipeline blog: "It's the fantasy of every frustrated driver who's ever been caught in traffic: to push a button, take off, and soar above the gridlock like an airplane. But don't hold your breath. YOU'LL NEVER DRIVE A FLYING CAR."

Monopoly Game Adds VISA Debit Cards

Game maker Parker Brothers has added VISA DEBIT CARDS to the classic board game Monopoly (and got rid of the paper money).

Worst USB Gadget Yet -- By Far: Verballs

Verballs are HIDEOUS PLASTIC CHARACTERS with no necks and giant hands designed to sit on your desktop and facilitate Skype calls. When the phone "rings," they wave their freakish hands. When you're talking, their mouths move in sync with the caller's voice. Somebody stop this! (props to The Red Ferret Journal)

Paris Hilton Hacks Lindsay Lohan's BlackBerry?

You just can't make this stuff up. Paris Hilton has been accused of HACKING Lindsay Lohan's BlackBerry and sending "disgusting and very mean" messages from Lohan's account to random people.

Another Teen Struck By Lightning - Via Mouse

I told you July 6 about a teenager who got electrocuted by an iPod that attracted lightning. Now it appears that 17-year-old Floridian Eddie Wilkerson was zapped by lightning that traveled through his his PC and through the MOUSE CABLE, jolting his right arm. Let this be a warning to all teens who watch Internet porn.

New York Park Being Redesigned In VR Game

A Queens, New York, planning board is getting socially networked feedback and ideas for a park redesign using the VIRTUAL REALITY GAME Second Life. New York Law School created an experimental island within Second Life called Democracy Island. A designer working for the board recreated a park called Landing Lights Park on Democracy Island, plus an unlimited supply of shrubs, trees, lawns, fountains and other park elements for people to play with while coming up with their own designs for the park. The planning board then gets to look at all the designs and choose which one or combination of ideas, it will use for the actual park. Next up: Virtual New Orleans. Here comes the VIDEO!

'Tourist Remover' Eliminates Unsightly Humans

...from your photos. This free online service from FutureLAB can remove people who wander into frame while you're trying to take the ultimate snapshot. The idea is that when people are milling about, you just take multiple pictures. Later, feed them into "TOURIST REMOVER," and the online software figures out what doesn't belong and builds a composite shot, minus any elements that were in a specific location in only one of the pictures. Tourist Remover is part of the online photo manager Snapmania.

Conceptual Gadget Lets You Google the World

UK designer Callum Peden has come up with a product idea for Google. The idea, called GOOGLE VISION, is a gadget about the size of a cell phone with built-in GPS that scrolls out to reveal a flexible screen. Its purpose is to use image recognition and GPS data to tell you what you're looking at. In other words, it enables an automated Google search of physical reality. Most importantly, however, it looks really cool.

Giant Praying Mantis Robot Terrorizes Tokyo

There's a GIANT PRAYING MANTIS ROBOT on display in Tokyo right now. I want one. (Does anyone have info on this?) (props to Gizmo Watch)

Christopher Reeve, Bruce Lee to be Resurrected

Dead actors Christopher Reeve and Bruce Lee may be digitally RESURRECTED by Korean Science-Technology Minister Kim Woo-sik, who has been granted some $15.7 million by the Korean government to create life-like digital versions of famous actors that can replace real actors in future movies. The idea is that movies of the future will star totally CGI "actors" that will be indistinguishable from the real thing. Already computer-generated versions of living actors replace their flesh-and-blood counterparts in movies such as "The Matrix" and "Superman Returns." Life imitates "Simone."

The Ultimate Gadget Bag Hits

The $255 e-Anchorage, from a company called Pacific Outdoor Equipment, offers a waterproof man bag (sounds weird, I know, but it sounds better than "man sack") that features a SOLAR PANEL for charging your gadgets. Best of all, you can plug in and charge with a USB connector (as well as a 12v car connector). I want one.

Camera Phone Add-On Sees Through Clothes

A company called Yamada Denshi offers an add-on to Vodafone handsets designed to take infrared night-vision pictures. But when you use the filter during the day with a better camera (not a camera phone), it's possible in some circumstances to SEE THROUGH CLOTHES. (props to picturephoning.com)

Your Car Wants a Windows XP PC

A new PC called the Kaputer is designed to fit into the DASHBOARD of your car. It sports a touchscreen and supports Satnav, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It does everything your desktop PC can do, plus it does everything a high-end GPS can do.

Chinese Create Model Of Sino-Indian Border

Google Earth enthusiasts have discovered a BIZZARE SCALE MODEL in China of a disputed Indian border region that is very detailed. Look at the comparison above. The top reddish-brown version is a man-made model. The bottom, greener version is the real thing.

Sudden Rise In Comment Spam Hits Blogs

I get occaisional attempts by spammers to post spam as comments on The Raw Feed -- typically I get an average of maybe one per day. I "moderate" all comments -- I have to approve them before they're posted -- so I catch and delete them all. However, in the past two days, the average has gone from one to 20 or so. I thought it was just me, but John Dvorak POSTED on his blog that he got a sudden influx of comment spam slipping through his devenses. Bloggers, is this happening to you, too? UPDATE: Check the comments. This is clearly a trend. Anyone know what -- or who -- is causing it?

Wal-Mart Launches Lame MySpace Competitor

Retail giant Wal-Mart wants to get into every business on earth, it seems -- including the social networking business. The company launched a COMPETITOR TO MYSPACE called "The Hub" -- a social networking site for teens. Unlike MySpace, however, the site notifies parents when their kids join and doesn't let teens e-mail each other (doesn't sound like a very social network to me). Wal-Mart censors any video posted deemed "profane, disruptive, unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, vulgar, obscene, hateful, or racially or ethnically-motivated, or otherwise objectionable" -- which is the stuff MySpace is made of. Everything posted on the site is shown to parents, who have the option of deleting it. Wal-Mart fully reveals its delusions about who might use the site and how they might use it with four sample posts -- obviously designed by middle-aged people who have never seen a teenager before. The URL is incredibly lame, too: http://walmart.com/schoolyourway

Lose Weight With the 'Yahoo Diet'

Yahoo has been redesigned, and wants you to get a new look, too. The Web portal is partnering with the LeDiet people to offer an online weight-loss program everyone will inevitably call THE YAHOO DIET. It starts with an evaluation (height, weight, gender, etc.) and leads you through a program of evaluating your food and excercise program to help you meet your weight-loss goals.

Water-Powered Cell Phone Under Development

Japan's NTT DoCoMo and Aquafairy -- Aquafairy? -- announced today that they plan to create a tiny WATER-BASED FUEL CELL specifically for mobile phones. The fuel cell, when invented, will be the smallest in the world, they say.

How to Build a Solar Death Ray (For Hot Dogs)

The SOLAR DEATH RAY 3000 is a giant dish that focuses the awesome rays of the sun, which can then be harnessed for cooking processed meat products. (props to igargoyle)

PAC-MAN Wristwatch Gobbles Up the Time

clubNAMCO is selling a limited edition (only 500 units) PAC-MAN WRISTWATCH. Our little yellow friend gobbles up the seconds as he rotates around the dial. (props to Kotaku)

One-Man Airplane Powered By AA Batteries

The world's first manned airplane powered by batteries -- AA BATTERIES, mind you -- flew today in a demonstration in Japan. The one-man airplane has a wingspan of 102 feet and is powered by 160 AA Matsushita "Oxyride" batteries.

Company 'Rents' Keywords - $5 Per Month

I thought I'd seen everything in the world of online marketing, but a search engine nobody's heard of called Ir8 Search.com has surprised me with a new service whereby they RENT KEYWORDS to companies for $5 per word, per month. So for your five bills you get exclusive use of the keyword of your choice -- but only for a maximum of three months in a row. Then it's to the back of the line. (Yes, they actually imagine companies will be lining up for this...)

Handmade African USB Memory Drives Hit

The tiny African country Sao Tome is getting into the business of creating wooden HAND-MADE USB MEMORY DRIVES as part of SEED 2006, a Design and Social Economy project funded by the Portuguese Cooperation and developed by designer Pedro Alegria. (props to CORE77)

Oriental Rug Inspired By Space Invaders Game

Polish artist Janek Simon has created an oriental rug based on the arcade classic, SPACE INVADERS! I want one. (props to BoingBoing)

Kick It Old School With Retro Brick Cell Phone

If you long for the cell phones of yesteryear, check out the Retro Brick Mobile Phone Micro-T M689. Like the Motorla BRICK PHONE series, it's gigantic and clumsey, and sports a huge antenna. But unlike that old phone, it has a color screen, SMS and multiple ringtones.

Worst USB Gadget Yet: Keyboard Tablecloth

Tonia Welter, the German designer who brought us the USB cufflinks, has invented a KEYBOARD TABLECLOTH concept -- a tablecloth with a built-in keyboard called the Tidy Tipist #2. (props to Neatorama)

Cheap New Webcam Features Telescopic Lens

A new, $26 USB webcam from Brando features a removable, 7x TELESCOPIC LENS. UPDATE: Unfortunately, according to this review, the cam sucks.

Creepy Japanese Eyeball Robot Hits

The Muu Socia 3.0 robot, created by ATR and Systec Akazawa, is being shown at the International Modern Hospital Show 2006 in Tokyo this week. The CYBER CYCLOPS is designed, ugly enough, to serve as an ice-breaker between doctors and patients (in other words, they created it "because they could" and came up with an application later...). The robot interacts using voice recognition, speech and even face recognition. It's best trick: It freaks out if you put your hand in front of its eyeball. Here comes the VIDEO!

Super Peripherals For Sale

The Geeks.com web site has gone nuts with the SUPERMAN ACCESSORIES, including USB mice, USB hubs, and memory card readers. They go great with your Superman mousepad, keyboard, laptop or PC!

Real Ridable Robots for Sale

A Korean company called Robot3 builds robots designed for purely for FUN -- including for entertainment at parties and other events. The coolest of the lot is a $5,250 four-legged beast of burden called R7, which has a plush seat you can sit in while it walks around under your control. The company also makes robotic animals, including ridable horses, a raptor, and a bartender. They even appear to sell a robot woman!

University of California Adds Video Game Major

The "Fighting Banana Slugs" of the University of California at Santa Cruz will be given the opportunity to major in and graduate with a DEGREE IN VIDEO GAME DESIGN. The major combines computer science, visual design and story telling.

New Cheesecake Calendar Features IT Pros

A new calendar called the Screen Goddess IT Calendar features female IT professionals provocatively POSING in recreations of famous Hollywood movie scenes.

Microsoft to Show Vista At Hacker Conference

Microsoft plans to detail the security features of its upcoming Windows Vista operating system at the Hack In The Box HACKER CONFERENCE in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in September.

20 Inspectors Refuse GPS Phones, Get Fired

The Massachusetts public safety commissioner yesterday SUSPENDED 20 building and engineering inspectors who refused to carry GPS tracking phones, saying the phones would invade their privacy. Only two inspectors accepted the phones.

10,000 Chinese Gamers Protest - Inside Game

Some Chinese player of the game "The Fantasy of the Journey West" Noticed that on the wall of an online rendition of a city government office it looks like a Chinese painting of a red sun, similar to the JAPANESE FLAG, complete with imperial rays coming out of it (as was the flag's design when Japan was trying to take over China in the 1930's). Long story short: Word got out, and the next day some 10,000 avatars controlled by Chinese players showed up to the government office inside the game to protest.

Girl Gamers Get Voice Changer, Sound Like Boys

Or, "Now, on the Internet, nobody knows you're a bitch." Audio4Fun is offering software that changes the voice of a girl gamer into a voice that sounds like a MALE VOICE. The idea is to prevent girls from being singled out, harrassed and belittled by guys during online interactive game play. The company is offering a free trial.

New Desk Is Also a PC

Michiel van der Kley has designed a PC desk. No, not a desk designed to be used with a PC -- the DESK IS THE PC. The monitor sprouts from nowhere. Speakers are build into the top and are flush with the surface. The bad news is that upgrading is a bitch. The good news, however, is that there are no wires anywhere. (props to BornRich.org)

Artists Paints Portraits of PCs, Gadgets

Some say technology is rendering traditional painting obsolete. But Artist Gautam Rao still paints the old-fashioned way: with paint and brush on canvas. However, his subject matter is a little less traditional: He PAINTS THE COMPUTER AND GADGETS on his desk, such as his iPod, his Mac screen and closeups of icons. He even did a self-portrait (his image as it appears on his web cam). And then he BLOGS the lot and sells them on eBay.

RFID Lets Parents Tag, Release Kids At Parks

A new RFID-and-kiosk system called SafeTzone lets overprotective parents TAG AND RELEASE their children at amusement parks. The system also serves as an on-site debit card, so parents can give their kids money without, you know, giving them money. Here's how it works: Each member of the family gets a smart card attached to a wrist band. Parents use their credit card to determine how much money is loaded onto each cards. Then the kids are set free. Sensors all over the park track everyone at all times. When any member of the family swipes their card, they're showed the current location of all other family members.

iPod Attracts Lightning; Teen Zapped

It's true. Listening to an iPod can damage your hearing -- especially when it's STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. Colorado 17-year-old Jason Bunch was mowing the lawn and listening to his iPod when the gadget was struck by a bolt of lightning. It appears that the current traveled up the earbud wires, fried his face and ears and lit his shirt on fire. Although he's still alive, his hearing was damaged. And he's probably going to "Think Different" for awhile.

Paramount 'Transforms' Movie's Fans Into Haters

Paramount a) is totally clueless about the Internet; b) hates the few remaining people who still love going to movie theaters; c) doesn't mind horrible publicity; or d) all of the above. If you answered "d," then you may have already heard that Paramount SHUT DOWN THE MOVIE BLOG for 7-8 hours (by filing a complaint with the site's host) because the site posted a few pictures showing four actors standing around off camera posing for a picture together on the set of the upcoming "Transformers" movie. The blog owners were never contacted. As the natural and inevitable result of this heavy-handed violence against a former fan of the upcoming "Transformers" movie -- and its million or so monthly visitors -- the site is canceling all future mention of the movie. Paramount "transformed" a year of priceless free publicity into very bad press for the movie. UPDATE: After the uproar over all this, Paramount went into major-league spin control.

Worst USB Gadget Yet: The Body Mouse

A UK catalog called Fabstuff.net is selling a lingerie-clad FEMALE TORSO MOUSE. It works with both Windows and Macs and is a two "button" mouse, of course.

Black-and-White Catfight Ad In New Controversy

A new ad campaign by Sony showcasing a new white Sony PlayStation Portable, depicts a black woman, wearing all black, and a white woman, wearing all white, in a claws-out CATFIGHT. Reeeer! Let the scandal begin! (Sony knows that in consumer electronics, as in Hollywood, there's no such thing as bad publicity.)

New Sensors Can Smell Money (So Can Inventors)

A new nanotech sensor can SMELL the ink used on paper money. The technology was developed by the University of Michigan and sponsored by U.S. border security officials.

Flying Car Is Fast On Road and In Air

LaBiche Aerospace plans to unveil at the huge EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2006 airshow July 24 its LaBiche Aerospace FSC-1TM FLYING SPORTS CAR. Unlike a lot of "flying cars," this one is actually a car. The wings and rear propeller fold up and disappear inside the car when driving on the street. In the air, it flies 275 mph -- which is fast, even for a regular personal airplane. The company plans to sell the car as a build-it-yourself kit and costs $175,000. How real is it? Well, they're already willing to take your money.

Worst USB Gadget Yet: USB Keyboard Costume

What do you get when you cross a French maid costume, with a cat costume with a USB keyboard. What else? You get another wacky product from Japan. It's the $140 Angel Kitty USB Keyboard costume. The fully functional USB keyboard is BUILT INTO THE CHEST of the outfit. The company even claims the keyboard relieves carpal tunnel syndrome because the keyboard takes the shape of the wearer's breasts, which is ergonomically beneficial. (Rest assured, The Raw Feed labs will investigate this dubious claim.) (props to Akihabara News)

Latest Job Taken By Robots: Sk8tr

Plen is a Japanese robot that skates. It even does tricks, and rollerskates! Here comes the VIDEO! (props to The Red Ferret Journal)

Death of Zarqawi - The Video Game

Just two weeks after the head of "Al Qaeda In Iraq" leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. airstrike on his hideout June 7th, Kuma Reality Games has created a PC GAME based entirely on the REAL-LIFE KILLING. In the game, you, the player, are part of the team of special forces tracking Zarqawi, and get to call in the airstrike that blows away the house. You can also play an alternative scenario where you storm the house and try to take him alive.

Floating Magnetically Levitating Bed Invented

A crazy Dutch inventor has created a spectacularly expensive and impractical floaing MAGLEV BED. I want one.

Gangsta Mickey Doll Hits; Punk Mickey Coming

After years of neglect by its parent company, Mickey Mouse has apparently joined a gang -- specifically the Salvadoran gang Mara-13, from the looks of Mickey's new colors. Disney is partnering with Tomy in Japan to market a Mickey Mouse doll in Japan sporting full GANG-BANGER REGALIA, including doo-rag, tilted cap and neck ice. Are accessory crack pipes and guns sold separately? Will a bee-atch version of Minnie Mouse come out so Mickey has a ho to slap around? No word yet from Disney. The partnership also plans Punk Rock Mickey and Surfer Mickey.

UV Monitor Bikini Tells You When You're 'Done'

The $190 Solestrom SmartSwim UV Meter Bikini sports a built in waterproof UV meter that monitors the amount of skin-damaging rays you're exposed to, letting you know when you're MEDIUM RARE.

Frisbee Cam: Aerial Photography On The Cheap

The FRISBEE CAM -- a camera integrated with a Frisbee, complete with a fin on top to keep the camera pointed forward -- is a design student's project, but one he intends to market as a real product. Here comes the VIDEO!