ITwhirled

Take a break from workday drudgery with ITwhirled. Each weekly installment covers the best in weird news, humor, gadgets, and all manner of offbeat items from the world of IT and beyond.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

CES: Take DVR content with you on Motorola device

Motorola introduced a portable broadcast TV player that will also let users take recorded programs with them on the go. ...continue reading 'CES: Take DVR content with you on Motorola device'

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New device lets you talk out your ear

7 unwritten rules of the Internet for 2007
Reflecting on the stories of 2007, one thing becomes abundantly clear: A lot of people have very bad ideas that subsequently get played out on the Internet. So, in the spirit of learning from our mistakes, here are 7 rules that will keep you out of trouble in 2008. ...continue reading 'http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2987/unwritten-rules-for-2007-071228/index.html'

New phone device allows you to 'speak' through your ear
Tired of repeating yourself as you try to make yourself heard over your cell phone in noisy environments? A new Japanese invention allows you to "speak" through your ear, as your voice causes your skull to vibrate in ways that the gadget can pick up.

Iowa judge: Workers have the right to enjoy Dilbert
David Steward was fired from his job at an Iowa casino after he hung up a Dilbert comic that compared managerial decision-makers to "drunken lemurs." But a judge says that this was "a good-faith error in judgment," not intentional misbehavior, and that he was thus eligible for unemployment benefits. Dilbert artist Scott Adams thinks it might be the first confirmed instance of someone being fired for posting his comic in the workplace.

Hey kids! You can own the Knight Rider car!
If you were a child in the early '80s, chances are you dreamed of riding in KITT, the wise-cracking black Trans Am in David Hasselhof's Knight Rider TV series. Thanks to the magic of eBay, you can buy the original car used in the series, though (and we hate to break this to you) it doesn't talk or drive by itself or really have turbo boost.

Does the Wii attract cockroaches?
Cockroaches can't hear, but they do feel vibrations, and rumor on a Japanese-language gaming site has it that the Wii emits a hum that's music to everyone's least favorite creepy pest. There's no proof, but maybe it's best to keep the area around your Wii clean.

Canadian nerds determined to prove they have no life
Most of us are relaxing at home on January 1, unwinding after an evening of revelry. But a group of Edmonton bloggers plan to spend the afternoon setting a world record for the most simultaneous blog posts. It's possible that there's nothing better to do up there this time of year, but we doubt it.

Eco-boat powered by human fat looks to set record
The Earthrace is the fastest boat on the planet powered entirely by biodiesel. Normally such fuel is made from vegetable oil, but the ship's skipper and some volunteers have gone the extra mile, all undergoing liposuction so they could contribute 10 liters of their own fat to the cause -- enough to propel the boat a bit less than a mile.

Geek comic of the week: Ctrl-Alt-Delete
Gaming geekery abounds in this comic. Find out why you shouldn't necessarily play a MMORPG when you're sitting right next to a fellow player you might annoy, and how a robot might feel playing a human character.

Vaporware 2007
The year's top promises that never saw the light of day include the bizarre (a perpetual motion machine), the mundane (a final 802.11n spec) and the traditional (Duke Nuke 'Em Forever, again).

Top 10 tech traumas of 2007
Sure, we all love high tech, but every year it brings a share of pain into our lives. This list collects 2007's offerings, including yet more viruses and Bubble 2.0.


POLL: Coolest fictional vehicle?

- KITT
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
- A-Team van
- James Bond's Aston Martin
- Batmobile
- Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet
- Starship Enterprise

Vote now!


LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

What was your dream job as a kid?

Astronaut - 39.7%
Train engineer - 10.3%
Ballerina - 10.3%
Cowboy/girl - 2.9%
Army guy/gal - 7.4%
Doctor - 14.7%
Why, exactly what I'm doing now! - 14.7%

Answer another poll

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7 unwritten rules of the Internet for 2007

Reflecting on the stories of 2007, one thing becomes abundantly clear: A lot of people have very bad ideas that subsequently get played out on the Internet. So, in the spirit of learning from our mistakes, here are 7 rules that will keep you out of trouble in 2008. ...continue reading '7 unwritten rules of the Internet for 2007'

Labels: