Players Blow Up American Ship In Iranian Game

A new PC game made in Iran called "Counter Strike" (no, not that Counter Strike) lets players plant TWO BOMBS on an American oil tanker in the Persian Gulf in a way that blocks the strait of Hormuz, thus cutting off some two-fifths of the world's oil supply. The game is the most recent of a string of games where Americans and Iranians conduct missions against each other blogged here previously.

BBC Coming to -- (Wait For it!) -- Xbox!

Near the bottom of a bland "Memorandum of Understanding" press release issued yesterday by the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) and Microsoft, was a line that almost made me spray my beverage. BBC Director of New Media and Technology Ashley Highfield was quoted as saying, "Microsoft is... a key gateway to audiences that the BBC needs to reach through... hardware such as Xbox..." WTF?

MP3 Player Wristwatch Holds 1 GB, Plays Radio

A rugged new wristwatch from Japan's Thanko plays MP3s and FM radio, which you listen to via included earbuds. The watch recharges and enables song transfers via a USB connector. The concept isn't new, but the ruggedized styling and 1 GB STORAGE CAPACITY are unprecedented. Americans can BUY IT HERE. (props to Akihabara News)

GPS Fails On Police 'Bait Car' -- Still Missing

The GPS unit on a Dallas, Texas, "bait car" failed. The car was stolen, and now police have NO IDEA where it is.

Worst USB Gadget Yet: Roll-Up Piano

Why buy a real piano when you can buy a USB-POWERED ROLL-UP PIANO for a fraction of the price ($45). This 49-key instrument records your playing, and does all kinds of sounds beyond "piano," including percussion and 128 non-percussion instruments. Best of all, you can roll it up and stuff it in your pocket after practice.

Canadian Car Gets 3,145 Miles Per Gallon

University of British Columbia propellerheads have created a car that can travel some 3,145 MILES ON A SINGLE GALLON OF GAS (Boston to San Diego on a single gallon -- Road Trip!!). The super mileage results from a combination of aerodynamics, light weight construction, a small displacement engine and "conservative driving habits." It's a one-seater, and the driver has to lie down.

Another Robot Suit Rises From Slab

Japanese scientists unveiled another ROBOT SUIT PROJECT -- actually a second generation of its Stand-Alone Power Assist Suit (SAPAS) -- designed to give the wearer SUPER STRENGTH. The battery-operated garment uses tiny body sensors to detect when the wearer's muscles are flexing and air pumps to augment the work of the wearer. SAPAS is envisioned as something nurses would wear to carry old people from one place to another. Other robotic exoskeleton projects include the Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton (BLEEX), the Yobotics project, Robotics and Energetic Systems Group's "Human-Amplifying Machines," University of Tsukuba's Cyberdyne, Inc. Cybernetics projects, and the University of Michigan's pneumatically powered lower limb exoskeletons,

Why Microsoft's Zune Scares Apple to the Core

(Computerworld article by The Raw Feed Editor, Mike Elgan) "Apple fans point and laugh at Microsoft's futile entry into a market totally dominated by the iPod and its transcendent design. Apple's media players are so good they have transformed consumer electronics, inspired a massive gadget "ecosystem" and spawned a thousand imitators. Every pretender to the media player throne -- and there have been hundreds -- has been thoroughly smacked down by Apple and its untouchable iPod. The secrets of iPod's success appear obvious: beauty, simplicity and "extreme coolness" -- three characteristics Microsoft has never achieved in any product. So why is Apple so scared? For GOOD REASON, it turns out..." (Go HERE to Digg it!) UPDATE: This article has been SLASHDOTTED! UPDATE 2: Gizmodo posted some beauty shots of the Zune here.

E-Mail -- Without Internet Or PC

Hammacher Schlemmer is selling a $149.95 printer-and-service combination that prints e-mail -- without the user needing a PC or Internet connection. The printer itself is an HP color inject that connects to a standard phone line. The printer calls a toll-free number once per day, and downloads and prints any messages sent to a dedicated e-mail address. Picture attachments are printed on their own sheets of paper. The subscription service costs $9.99 per month. It's the perfect thing for that NEO-LUDDITE in your life who hates computers, but wants to stay in the loop.

Mercedes to Unveil Fugly Recyclable Roadster

Mercedes plans to unveil this fugly "ECO ROADSTER" at the LA Autoshow November 29. Called "Recy," the open-top death trap is made from 100% recyclable wood, alloys, glass and rubber. The car is not a convertible -- it has no top. If ever there was a car in perfect tune with Los Angeles, this is it. The "Recy" is one of NINE ECO-FRIENDLY CARS participating in the L.A. Auto Show's third annual Design Challenge contest.

New Gun Barrel Computer IDs, 'Tags' Terrorists

Eggheads from the University of Maryland and ACAGI Inc. have developed a mobile computer system for soldiers that helps them FIND, IDENTIFY AND KILL TERRORISTS. This Image Acquisition and Exploitation Camera System (IAECS) is worn on a belt or backpack and looks down the barrel of the user's rifle. The system carries a database of terrorists, and instantly compares what it sees through the scope with the database images, looking for matches. In addition, it also captures the face of anyone a soldier aims at, a practice the Pentagon calls "marking and tagging." If a person keeps showing up in trouble spots, the system will say so, and the soldier can just go ahead and PULL THE TRIGGER. It also has a three-dimensional sound system that tells the user the source of shots fired. But wait! There's more! Soldiers can use the system's pattern recognition engine to take snapshots of surrounding buildings and, combined with a built-in GPS, figure out their location. Prototypes should be finished by the end of the year. I want one.

Country Club Security Goes Commando

Frenchman's Creek Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, has deployed the first of many customized golf carts modified with infra-red Thermal Imaging and GPS Tracking Systems. "We believe this is the first time that a country club has ever integrated mobile 'night vision' technology into TACTICAL OPERATIONS AND PERIMETER SECURITY," said Frenchman's Creek Executive Director Achal Goswami. (Dude, it's a golf cart...) The cart's Thermal-Eye 4000M infrared camera can see in the dark up to 1500 feet away. "Marine patrols," which cruise the ponds and man-made creeks at the club also have "night vision systems." This is what happens when you hire former special forces commandos as security guards. (Note: The picture above has nothing to do with actual Frenchman's Creek Country Club security golf cart.)

Original 'Vanessa' Fembot For Sale On eBay

Proof you can buy anything online. The artist who created the VANESSA KENSINGTON FEMBOT from "Austin Powers 2, The Spy Who Shagged Me," is selling the original on eBay. Vanessa has silicon skin, and comes with removable face plate, lights inside eyes and mouth (powered by a 9-volt battery), the original dress used in the movie and -- best of all -- gun ports where you can rig your own machine gun jubblies! (props to Random Good Stuff)

Intel Is Bringing Sexy Back

Intel is offering $1 million in prizes to PC designers and OEMs worldwide in a contest to see who can create, as the BBC puts it, the "SEXIEST PC." The PC must be based on Intel's Viiv technology. Winners will be announced at the Intel Developer Forum in March.

Stealth Clock Camera Connects Over Powerlines

The $329.99 LukWerks Spy Camera has got to be the SNEAKIEST SPY GADGET YET. It's built into a standard-looking alarm clock, and has a motion-detector. Here's the unique part: It connects to your PC over your home powerline through the alarm clock's plug. I'm sure there are legitimate, ethical uses for an undetectable bedroom spy camera. It's just that I can't think of any.(props to Gizmodo)

New Airport Scanner Auto-Finds Weapons

A new airport security scanner uses software, rather than UNDERPAID IMMIGRANTS, to scan passengers and luggage for weapons. The software very quickly scans images, and uses pattern recognition to detect guns, knives and toenail clippers. The system enables the use of the best scanners -- which basically see through clothes -- without the embarrassment of having humans looking at them. It can also detect non-metal weapons. Best of all, it should speed the security process.

Hacker Cracks ATM with Google's Help

A hacker REPROGRAMMED a gas-station ATM in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to spit out $20 bills instead of $5 bills. He used a debit card along with knowledge he reportedly found through a Google search (a feat replicated later by a security researcher). The cracker found master passwords to the Tranax Mini-Bank ATM -- and instructions -- in a PDF version of a 102-page manual posted on the Web site of a Tranax reseller. For nine days after the ATM was re-programmed, everyone got 400% more cash than requested (it took the nine days for an ATM user to tell someone she got more money). Here comes the VIDEO!

'Digital Graffiti' Helps Pilots Navigate Taxiways

"DIGITAL GRAFFITI" is helping pilots navigate airport taxiways in a trial taking place at Hanover Airport. Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH and Siemens have successfully tested virtual navigation aids -- they look like signs or symbols hanging in mid-air, but in fact are computer-generated, and placed by "hanging mobile radio messages."

'Space Tourist' Calls Google From Space Station

The world's first female Muslim in space, and the first female "space tourist," Texas entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari, placed a call yesterday from the International Space Station to the GOOGLEPLEX in Silicon Valley to chat with co-founder Larry Page. Highlights from the call were posted on the Google Blog.

Sugar-Cube Size Projector Coming to Cell Phones

Researchers at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena have invented a projector for giving PowerPoint presentations FROM YOUR CELL PHONE. The projector will use a single mirror and tiny diode lasers. Red and blue lasers are small enough, and as soon as they can figure out how to shrink the green ones, we'll get our phone-projector.

'Smart Pants' Emerging In Lab

Computer scientists at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg are working on weaving electronics into normal clothing, resulting in SMART PANTS AND CELL PHONE SHIRTS -- basically miniaturizing gadgets into thread, then weaving that thread throughout normal-looking clothing. These clothes can monitor movement, make phone calls (you talk into your sleeve), and monitor your health.

Worst USB Gadget Yet: LED Birthday Kit

Surprise! Brando is now selling a complete USB-powered BIRTHDAY KIT for decorating a PC. LED lights, tinsel, a goofy paper hat and a special "Happy Birthday" mousepad assure that your co-worker's special day will be ruined from the get-go.

'Roomba' Robot Vacuum Price Sucks In Japan

The same Roomba vacuum cleaner robot that costs about $150 in the U.S., costs MORE THAN $400 in Japan. Now THAT sucks!

New GeoTagger Fits Into Camera's Flash Shoe

The new $283 Jelbert GeoTagger attaches to your camera's flash shoe. Thereafter, when you take a picture, the GeoTagger captures the EXACT LOCATION (via GPS), exact direction of the shot (via internal compass) and exact time and date. Later, you can use third-party software to merge all that data with the picture files themselves. It also requires that you buy a Geko 301 GPS receiver from Garmin.

New Mouse Kills Germs

IOGEAR announced today a GERM-FREE wireless mouse for obsessive-compulsive germaphobes. The mouse is coated with a Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) and Silver (Ag) nano-particle compound, which, according to the company, "prevent a wide spectrum of bacteria, virus, fungi, and algae from surviving on the surface of the mouse."

VR Gear Makes RC Airplane the Coolest Toy Ever

A Canadian RC airplane enthusiast shows us some sweet unanticipated convergence between a model RC airplane and virtual reality gear. It works like this: The airplane is a conventional one, controlled by a wireless remote control. On the airplane is a pan-and-tilt camera, controlled also wirelessly. Here's the cool part. The video is viewable through virtual reality goggles, which have a gyroscope built in to sense the movement of the goggles. When the wearer moves his head, the camera moves. Tragically, this is not a product you can buy, but a DIY project. (props to Gizmodo)

Emulator Lets You Run DOS, Windows On Treo

A new DOS emulator (still in development) lets you run REAL DOS APPLICATIONS on your Palm OS device, including your Treo smart phone. Because the emulator simulates both an x86 CPU and DOS, you can even install Windows 3.1 and possibly Windows 95 or Windows 98 (if anyone actually does this, let me know and I'll post the pics!). (props to TamsPalm)

Sympathetic Robot Feels, Expresses, Your Pain

Korean Ph.D. Student Kwak So-na won first place in the 2006 Robot Companion Design Contest for Students run by the IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, held this year at the University of Hertfordshire in England. Her prize was for a robot that perceives the user's emotions, then emulates them with BODY LANGUAGE and FACIAL EXPRESSION. Called Hamie (Korean for "hamster"), the robot is still in the design stage, but when completed will droop or perk up based on your mood, and possibly even change color. (Note, the picture above has nothing to do with Hamie.)

Cell Phone So Small You Could Swallow It

When you absolutely, positively have to have the SMALLEST CELL PHONE IN THE ROOM, nothing beats the new Xun Chi 138. Just 2.64 inches long and less than two ounces in weight, the phone features a 260k color LCD, a 1.3 megapixel camera, music playing, USB connectivity and even build-in handwriting recognition. It has no numeric keypad (you peck numbers from the screen or use the auto-dial button). (props to iTech News Net)

Best USB Gadget Yet: The Rechargeable Battery

We all know we should be using rechargeable batteries. But who can manage yet another charger? Enter USB-powered rechargeable batteries from Moixa Energy. Called the USBCELL line, the batteries are shaped like ordinary AA batteries. The top FLIPS OPEN to reveal a USB connector. Just plop it into any computer, and it recharges -- no external charger required! The company promises to soon come out with a full line of USB-powered rechargeable batteries, including AAA, C, D, 9-volt and a range of gadget batteries! The web site features pictures and info on these future batteries, the most impressive of which is the AAA line. Check out how they're going to make skinny batteries fit into a standard USB port! (props to Pocket-lint)

Weird Al's 'White & Nerdy' Hits Home (Pages)

Weird Al Yankovic's latest parody music video "White & Nerdy," (based on the music for Chamillionaire's and Krayzie Bone's racial proviling anthem, "Ridin'"), has become an instant classic online because the lyrics include a surprising number of very relevant computer-geek references, including MySpace, Minesweeper, "killer apps," JavaScript, Segways, ergonomic keyboards, Wikipedia, "ROTFLOL," and HTML. Here comes the (music) VIDEO!

What's Playing On the Radio In America?

Here's a weirdly fascinating yet TOTALLY POINTLESS site: yes.com has a page that pops up the name of any song that has started playing on any major radio station in the U.S.

Men's Ring Turns Up Heat (So Wives Don't Have To)

A concept "Remember Ring" GETS HOT 24 hours before your wedding anniversary or wife's birthday, starting with 120 degrees Fahrenheit, for ten seconds. Every hour thereafter for the rest of the day, the ring gets hot again, each time a little hotter. Miniature electronics keep track of the date and control the heater. Cleve Oines, who runs the Web site for Goldsmith Gallery, a jewelry store in Alaska, initially posted the ring concept as a joke. Oines has received so much interest that he's decided to make it happen for real and is reportedly "in talks" with an engineer -- wow, an engineer! -- to bring the ring to market next year for an estimated $800 or so. I'll believe it when I see it. For starters, Oines still hasn't explained what he's going to do about a battery, although hints that it might end up as a signet ring make the idea more realistic -- existing watch batteries might actually fit. (props to Coolest-Gadgets.com and Real Tech News)

New Linux Server Is Half the Size of a Cell Phone

Gumstix, Inc, a small company that makes tiny computers, shipped its $165 Netstix 200xm-cf Linux server. The system is TINY -- only 1.37" by 4" (about the length of a small cell phone and half the width). The server comes with 64 megabytes of Ram, 16 megabytes of flash memory, runs at 200MHz (an Intel XScale PXA255) and supports 10/100 Ethernet. The systems is designed for use as a file and print server, network server or any of a number of server types for, er, small businesses. (props to LinuxDevices.com)

Do-It-Yourself Laser Tattoo Remover Hits

A laser-based DIY PERSONAL TATTOO REMOVER from a Chinese company called Shanghai Spread, of all things, removes your shameful, drunken mistake painlessly without leaving a scar. (And if you believe that, I have a Chinese "iPod killer" I'd like to sell you.) What's next, do-it-yourself dentistry? (props to The Red Ferret)

The Raw Feed On 'Cranky Geeks' Again

The good people over at CRANKY GEEKS (an awesome Ziff Davis internet TV show hosted by Chief Crank, John C. Dvorak), were kind enough to have me on their show again (my first appearance was June 23). Click here to watch the show or subscribe to the iTunes videocast, podcast or site's RSS feed.

What Is the 'Web 2.0' Anyway

Everybody talks about "Web 2.0" but nobody agrees on what it is. HERE'S MY DEFINITION (written by Yours Truly for TechWeb).

Chinese Company Steals 'Zune' Already

The latest entry in my long-running series on Chinese companies making and selling blatant ripoffs of American, Japanese, Korean and European consumer electronics products involves a Chinese company called Oriphe Industrial Limited, which has actually beat Microsoft to market with a CLONE of Microsoft's Zune media player. (props to Engadget)

Swedish Lawmakers Get RFID Voting System

The Swedish parliament is getting a new voting system that will enable members to vote from ANY SEAT in the parliamentary chamber. The system, supplied by ACG Identification Technologies, involves the use of the contactless access control cards members already carry. Members can sit anywhere and simply vote at the desk where they're sitting. RFID will detect who's voting. The system is already installed, and goes into use October 3. All of which raises the 64 thousand krona question: Can it be HACKED? (props to RFID|WEBLOG)

Deliver PowerPoint From iPod, BlackBerry, Treo

Is it actually possible to deliver PowerPoint presentations through a standard business projector directly from an iPod, BlackBerry or Treo? The answer is a resounding, yes, according to an article in Computerworld today written by Yours Truly! HERE'S HOW TO DO IT. (And HERE'S where to Digg it... : )

French Newspaper Suckered By Fake iPhone

Future Apple product hoaxes, wishful-thinking mockups and fan Photoshop jobs abound online. On the day of the big Apple announcements this week, which took place in Paris, a French newspaper called "20 Minutes" published a full-page photo of a new Apple iPhone product they said Apple would announce that day. They thought they had a scoop, but it turns out to have been an iHOAX -- or, at least a mockup created by the design firm MDI Digital. (props to textually.org)

Computerized Mattress Helps You Sleep, Wake

Japan's Panasonic (a.k.a. Matsushita) plans to start selling October 10 a new, $2,200 COMPUTERIZED MATTRESS -- it's really a Japanese futon -- called the EU3002. The mattress is packed with eight programmable airbags, which adjust and change height and shape based on different phases of sleep. It also has heaters so you don't get cold, heating just feet or the whole mattress. When it's time to wake up, the airbags slowly lift the waist and shoulder.

JVC Invents 'Pulsating Sphere' Speaker

JVC has invented a new kind of speaker called a "PULSATING SPHERE" (I know... it sounds like a marital aid) that involves some 17 patents. The speaker has a 12-sided dodecahedral design that pushes out sound in every direction (like a human voice or musical instrument but unlike a regular speaker). When playing sound through the speaker, it "disappears" -- the sound appears to be coming from everywhere.

Canadian Killer Played 'Columbine' RPG

The Canadian gunman who opened fire on random strangers at Dawson College near Montreal yesterday was reportedly an enthusiastic player of Super Columbine Massacre, an online role-playing game based on the 1999 Columbine High School incident in Colorado. Kimveer Gill, 25, also imitated the BLACK TRENCHCOAT look of the Columbine killers. The developer of the Super Columbine Massacre game posted a statement on his web site about the attack.

Read Books Via E-Mail

Too busy sitting at your computer to read books? During the 19th century, novels used to be serialized in newspapers. People read them little by little every morning with their news. Now you can get books in small chunks every day VIA E-MAIL with a new service called Daily Lit. (props to Joshua Schachter)

Cell Phones Are A 'Drug' - Report

Your mobile phone is a DRUG as addictive as SMOKING or GAMBLING, according to Staffordshire University's David Sheffield. And it's STRESSING YOU OUT. You know it's true. (Admitting it is the first step...)

New Desks Hold 4 PCs and 12 Monitors

Australia's AME System has come out with a new series of modular, crescent-shaped control-room desks that use electric actuators to adjust the desk height so users can switch between standing and sitting. Also adjustable: Up to 12 FLAT-PANEL MONITORS per desk! The desks are designed to accommodate up to four PCs. I want one!

New Robot Vacuum Picks Up Nails, Sawdust

A new heavy-duty robotic vacuum cleaner is designed for the WORKSHOP. Called the iRobot Dirt Dog, the $129.99 robot goes on sale tomorrow from the same people who sell the Roomba home vacuum cleaner robot. The robot features counter-rotating bristle brushes and a 40 percent larger bin.

Just One Word About New Battery Tech: 'Plastics'

Brown engineers have invented a better battery that uses PLASTIC, not metal, to conduct electricity. In tests, the battery demonstrated twice the storage capacity of an electric double-layer capacitor and more than 100 times the power of a regular alkaline battery.

Latest Job Taken By Robots: Insurance Salesman

A UK company called HMC Marketing is testing and customizing an artificial intelligence (AI) software robot called Jabberwacky to sell insurance online. The bot can both be programmed with desirable behavior, and can also LEARN by simply interacting with customers. HMC says that the software salesman can learn which sales tactics are most likely to lead to sales, and will favor those. Here comes the creepy part. The bot's "avatar" -- the human-like characteristics of the on-screen persona -- will be customized to match the RACE, AGE AND GENDER of the prospective customer, and will even start mimicking the user's manners of speech.

Toyota's One-Legged Robot A Great Leap Forward

Toyota has developed a 3.3 feet high monopode robot (a robot with just one leg) that can JUMP LIKE A HUMAN (er, a human with one leg...) without the use of a motor using a special joint in its "toe." The robot was developed to prototype the jumping action required for running, which will presumably be put to use in future bipedal robots.

Robot Navigates Crowds Without Bumping

A robot I told you about in February (which at the time was working as a hotel clerk) from Hitachi and Tsukuba University, called the Excellent Mobility and Interactive Existence as Workmate (EMIEW) robot, has been upgraded with new electronics that enable it to move through crowds of people without MOWING THEM DOWN. EMIEW now has a laser beam on its fricken head to detect the location of obstacles so it can avoid them. The robot's new skills will be demonstrated in October.

Experimental Airliner Cannot Be Hijacked

Just in time for an era when terrorists don't hijack airplanes anymore, European scientists at BAE Systems are perfecting concepts for a passenger jet that CANNOT BE HIJACKED. Fingerprint systems allow only approved pilots -- or those carrying the severed fingers of approved pilots -- to fly the planes. Onboard systems override control to avoid crashing into buildings. A special computer system watches passengers and detects suspicious behavior. When all else fails, a computer can take control from whoever is flying it and land the airplane at the nearest airport.

'Nano Napkin' Detects Germs

Cornell University scientists have invented a nano-technology "napkin" that TURNS YELLOW when it wipes E. coli bacteria. The technology enables faster detection in hospitals, meat packing plants and on your mouse and keyboard. Future versions, they hope, will detect up to 100 toxins or pathogens.

New GPS Gadget Tracks Your Dog

A new GPS device helps you keep your dog from WANDERING OFF and, if he does, find him. Called RoamEO (the name implies that it's targeted at male dogs who wander off to find bitches, doesn't it?), the gadget includes a GPS collar for Fido, and a handheld unit with a display screen showing the dog's location for you. One cool feature is a "GPS Fence" -- you key in the virtual fence, and if the dog moves beyond it, you hear an alarm. Unfortunately, the unit only works if the dog is no more than one mile from the handheld -- with perfect line-of-site. Beyond that, and he's gone for good.

Earliest Christmas-Themed USB Gadget Yet

Japan's Solid Alliance has made available a CHRISTMAS-THEMED USB MEMORY DRIVE. Dudes, it's fricken early September! Adding insult to injury, the gadget itself is hideous -- a cheesy snowman with a nose that lights up blue when the drive is getting power.

Phone Software Turns English Into Japanese

A new camera phone application sold in Japan by MEDIASEEK called the Kamera Jiten ("Camera Dictionary") enables users to snap photos of English words, then TRANSLATES those words into Japanese, along with links to additional, online information such as pronunciation sound files and examples of how the word is used. Now the Japanese no longer have an excuse for bad Engrish!

Sprint Unveils Movie Pay-Per-View For Phones

Sprint launched today a new service called Sprint Movies, which is the first PAY-PER-VIEW service for mobile phones in the U.S. that streams full-length movies. Each movie costs between $3.99 and $5.99. (props to The Web. To Go.)

How to Hack a Voting Machine In 4 Minutes

Two women demonstrated recently how to hack a Diebold voting machine in FOUR MINUTES using $12 worth of tools. The hack involves removing the bogus seals that are suppose to protect the memory card on which the voting data is stored, replacing the memory card with one containing the election results of your choice, then replacing the seals. They then posted step-by-step instructions -- with photos -- telling exactly how to do it.

Hello Kitty Apple TV Hits

Sanrio has unveiled a HELLO KITTY TV made in the shape of an apple. (Gratuitous Hello Kitty trivia: the Kitty's favorite food is apple pie -- don't ask me how I know that.) I don't have any more information on the product and, truth be told, don't want any. (props to Akihabara News)

Spam Goes Subliminal

Spam and security blogs are buzzing with news of a goofy new SUBLIMINAL SPAM message flying around. Like so much of the spam these days, the words you see in the message are actually an image -- a picture of words that cannot be read by spam filters. But in this case, the image is an animated gif that flashes "Buy, Buy BUY!" for a split second before returning to the static image. The image shown above is the actual gif.

'Young Liberal' Hacks Opposing Party's Network

The 24-year-old elected press officer of Sweden's Young Liberals party, Per Jodenius, addmitted to ILLEGALLY HACKING the network of the Social Democrats' network -- with help from a still unidentified Social Democrats insider -- after police traced the hack back to an IP address associated with the Liberal Party. Jodenius was a candidate for the European parliament just two years ago.

SanDisk Forced To Remove MP3 Players

SanDisk was FORCED by German authorities today to remove all MP3 players from booth display at the Berlin consumer electronics show IFA. The crackdown results from a complaint by the Italian patent-management company Sisvel, which claims that Silicon Valley-based SanDisk violates their patents in some of its players. SanDisk says it does not use Sisvel technology. The PATENT WAR is currently being waged in multiple courts in Europe and the U.S.

Water Bottle Nags You To 'Optimal Hydration'

A new $29.99 water bottle from Sportline and HydraCoach monitors how much you drink and when, NAGGING YOU to drink more via built-in "Personal Hydration Calculator," "Drink Monitor," "Sip Tracker" and other electronic metrics designed to enable you to reach your "personal hydration goals" and achieve "optimal hydration." Or, you could just drink water when you're thirsty... (props to The Red Ferrett Journal)

Very Accurate Air Drops Possible With GPS

A new military product called the Joint Precision Air Drop System uses GPS and the ability to remotely steer parachuting cargo. It enables the U.S. Air Force to toss 2,000-pound bundles out of an airplane flying at 25,000 feet high and have it gently land within a few feet of a precise target MILES AWAY. I want one.

Indian Call Center Employee Goes Shopping

A 23-year-old Indian call center employee named Sulagna Roy went on a SHOPPING SPREE recently with the credit card numbers of at least 42 Americans that she had obtained while working at a Calcutta-based call center contracted by California-based Sys-soft Inc. Roy was busted after victims notified police in California, who contacted members of a special Cyber Crimes unit of the Calcuttta police department. Roy reportedly bought necessities like chocolate and an air conditioner.

Worst USB Gadget Yet: Device Moves Files

Maybe "Shuffle" would be a better name for this product than "Hitch. The device enables you to MOVE FILES from any storage USB device -- including hard drives, USB memory drives, music and video players, etc., -- to any other USB device, without the use of a PC. It also charges any rechargeable device connected to it.