News From Yellow Business Pages » Wired: Top Stories

Stay Juiced Anywhere in the World

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by How-To Wiki

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Electrical systems around the world are varied and mysterious. Learn which adapters you'll need to pack to keep your iPod rocking from Bangkok to Bucharest in Wired.com's How-To Wiki.

May 1, 1964: First Basic Program Runs

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Randy Alfred

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1964: In the predawn hours of May Day, two professors at Dartmouth College run the first program in their new language, Basic.

Mathematicians John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz had been trying to make computing more accessible to their undergraduate students. One problem was that available computing languages like Fortran and Algol were so complex that you really had to be a professional to use them.

So the two professors started writing easy-to-use programming languages in 1956. First came Dartmouth Simplified Code, or Darsimco. Next was the Dartmouth Oversimplified Programming Experiment, or Dope, which was too simple to be of much use. But Kemeny and Kurtz used what they learned to craft the Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, or Basic, starting in 1963.

The college's General Electric GE-225 mainframe started running a Basic compiler at 4 a.m. on May 1, 1964. The new language was simple enough to use, and powerful enough to make it desirable. Students weren't the only ones who liked Basic, Kurtz wrote: "It turned out that easy-to-learn-and-use was also a good idea for faculty members, staff members and everyone else."

And it's not just for mainframes. Paul Allen and Bill Gates adapted it for personal computers in 1975, and it's still widely used today to teach programming and as a, well, basic language. (Reacting to the proliferation of complex Basic variants, Kemeny and Kurtz formed a company in the 1980s to develop True BASIC, a lean version that meets ANSI and ISO standards.)

The other problem Kemeny and Kurtz attacked was batch-processing, which made for long waits between the successive runs of a debugging process. Building on work by Fernando Corbató, they completed the Dartmouth Time Sharing System, or DTSS, later in 1964. Like Basic, it revolutionized computing.

Ever the innovator, Kemeny served as president of Dartmouth, 1970-81, introducing coeducation to the school in 1972 after more than two centuries of all-male enrollment.

(Source: Dartmouth CIS alumni website)

Hans Reiser Clams Up in Jailhouse Interview

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 8:20pm EDT by Threat Level

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Hans Reiser couldn't stop talking in court, but he's much more taciturn now that he's been convicted of murdering his wife.

Websites Go Crazy Tracking Urban Eccentrics

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 8:00pm EDT by Brendan Spiegel

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Every city has its urban eccentrics -- those can't-miss characters who seem to make full-time jobs out of being seen (and sometimes heard) around town.

From bare-chested marvels to perpetual protesters with crazy signs, these colorful people are being turned into unlikely internet celebrities by a new breed of local websites that use social networks, citizen reporting, mapping mashups and a healthy dose of humor to chronicle their subjects' activities.

In Manhattan, the Find He-Man blog publishes readers' daily sightings of an outrageously muscular, consistently shirtless man who bears a distinct resemblance to the comic book hero.

"He's kind of a local celebrity," says Paul Briganti, a student at the School of Visual Arts who launched the blog with his comedy group, beast. "It started because I was at a bank talking to a friend about this guy and someone overheard me and knew who we were talking about. Then I started to realize that pretty much everyone knew who he was, so we decided to start this kind of fan community."

The sites track their respective urban eccentrics with a paparazzo-style intensity usually reserved for movie stars. It's a model similar to Gawker Stalker, a celebrity-mapping site that caused controversy when it launched in 2006. While Gawker Stalker uses a Google Maps mashup to track stars spotted on New York City streets in real time, tracking local color online is almost as old as the web itself. The Knowhere Guide, an alternative U.K. travel guide from the early 1990s, included user-contributed sightings of "local heroes" that frequently features street eccentrics.

The Find He-Man blog brings in an average of 10,000 to 15,000 visits a month and receives enough He-Man sightings to post frequent updates, which the editors plot on a Platial map mashup and embellish with a hefty dash of humor. A typical entry: "April 17 -- Jenn saw He-Man at a drum circle in Washington Square Park playing the bongos. The instant His hand made contact with the rawhide, a huge blast erupted that cleared out most of NYU's campus."

Lele McLeod says she modeled her Seattle Notables blog, which tracks local characters rather than Hollywood stars, on Gawker Stalker.

"We don't have many celebrities here," says McLeod, co-owner of Seattle's McLeod Residence art gallery.

Instead, Seattle Notables tracks local residents like Slats, aka "the Original Hipster," a quirky musician and nightclub aficionado noticeable for his Ramones-esque leather outfit and scraggly mop of brown hair hidden under a broad-brimmed black hat.

"You see him all over town, at every bar," says McLeod. "He's kind of like a Where's Waldo."

Readers submit sightings of Slats and other notables like Link the Zelda Hunter, a local resident with a fashion sense reminiscent of Nintendo's green-clad protagonist, and Juan the Frye Apartment Guy, who has spent the better part of the last two decades parked on a downtown street corner yelling that the Seattle Police, the local housing authority and Fidel Castro conspired to steal his apartment. The sightings are plotted on a Yahoo map mashup, and readers link to photos on Flickr.

Slats, who is also the subject of a Where's Slats? forum on the website of alternative weekly The Stranger, seems somewhat put off by the attention, but has developed a healthy, celebrity-style tolerance for his pesky fan base.

"It's kind of strange when I go in a bar and everyone's taking a picture of me, or I walk down the street and they're yelling my name," says Slats, whose real name is Chris. "I'm just living my life and all of a sudden it's like, 'Whoa, what's going on?'"

Unlike fame-seeking urban eccentrics such as New York's Naked Cowboy, the subjects of Seattle Notables seem confounded by, or oblivious to, their internet infamy.

"I don't think Juan the Frye Apartment Guy wants to be a celebrity in any way," says McLeod. "He just wants people to know the Seattle police stole his apartment, and he's kind of oblivious to all this attention."

Both Juan and Link have a presence on MySpace, which has become a popular gathering place for fans of other cities' urban eccentrics, such as Papa Smurf of Detroit and Robert "Pinky" Valentino of Santa Cruz, California.

Are we headed toward a Web 2.0-fueled world of microcelebrity where every semi-interesting human is worthy of fan clubs, rabid devotees and citizen paparazzi? To hear Slats explain his unlikely fame, he might as well already be Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears.

"It's amazing how much time people spend on this," says Slats. "I thought it was gonna die down by now, but it hasn't stopped. I get kind of mad when people write things that aren't true, but, you know, people are gonna write whatever they want to write and you just gotta roll with it. I try not to take it too seriously."

Review: 'Iron Man' a New High for Robert Downey Jr.

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 7:30pm EDT by Underwire

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The suit of armor is a heavy draw, but a soulful performance brings Marvel Comics' Golden Avenger to life in a soaring superhero flick.

MIT Class Calculates Carbon Footprint of 'The Man'

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT by Wired Science

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An MIT professor and his students have calculated the minimum energy usage and carbon footprint of Americans, effectively revealing how much energy is required by the current American way of life.

Scientology Shares Secrets on YouTube ... Sort Of

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 6:45pm EDT by Underwire

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The notoriously confrontational church launches a channel on the video-sharing site. Just don't expect to comment on the clips.

Group Accused of High-Tech Dirty Tricks to Suppress Black Vote

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 5:30pm EDT by Threat Level

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A D.C. advocacy group called Women's Voices, Women's Vote stands accused of waging an illegal voter-suppression campaign, after voters in predominantly black districts in North Carolina began receiving automated phone calls implying that they hadn't properly registered to vote in next Tuesday's Democratic primary.

GM Says We Won't Give Up SUVs, But We'll Plug Them In

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 5:30pm EDT

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General Motors' vice chairman Bob Lutz says big cars and trucks aren't going anywhere, but at least they'll be electric.

Home Tweet Home: Energy-Savvy House Broadcasts on Twitter

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 4:20pm EDT by Wired Science

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IT engineers with a bent for home improvement are taking their energy monitoring onto the Internet. One house Twitters about its energy usage while another broadcasts to its human overlords about what's in the fridge.

The Counterintuitive Evolutionary Lesson of Nutcracker Man

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 4:15pm EDT by Wired Science

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The big, burly teeth of an early branch on the human family tree turn out to have mostly nibbled on fruit, highlighting a lesson for biologists that the meaning of an adaptation isn't always obvious.

Video: 'Forever Drone' Contest Heats Up

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 3:00pm EDT by Danger Room

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DARPA chose three companies for the second phase of its competition to design a drone that can stay aloft for five years. Watch video of the contest entry from Aurora, one of the finalists.

Scientists Discover Missing Electronic 'Element'

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 3:00pm EDT by Gadget Lab

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Scientists have speculated on a new type of electronic circuit element, the "memristor," for 37 years -- but haven't been able to create one until today.

Giant Squid Can Really Keep an Eye on Things

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 10:25am EDT by Associated Press

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Scientists examining the largest specimen ever caught measure the squid's eye at 11 inches across, making it the biggest eyeball in the animal kingdom.

Judge Bucks Trend: Music Sharing Not Necessarily Infringement

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 10:16am EDT by Listening Post

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AT&T May Subsidize New 3-G iPhones

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 9:11am EDT by Gadget Lab

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Fortune magazine reports that AT&T will attempt to offset the almost certain high price of the 3-G iPhone, which many expect to be announced in the coming months. The catch? You'd have to sign up for two years.

Time Warner Q1 Net Falls 36 Percent; Bids Final 'Bye' to Cable

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 8:40am EDT by Associated Press

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Time Warner, the world's biggest media company, reports a 36% decline in Q1 profits and says it will spin off the rest of its cable business. The owner of AOL and CNN nets 21 cents per share in the first three months of the year, down from 31 cents, on revenues that rose 2% to $11.42 billion.

Microsoft's Next Move on Yahoo Imminent: WSJ

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 8:03am EDT by Epicenter

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Microsoft's next move in its takeover attempt of Yahoo is imminent -- perhaps even today -- the Wall Street Journal reports. Options are the usual suspects, it says: try to pack the Yahoo board or appeal directly to shareholders.

Recession? Not in the Advertising Business

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 12:15am EDT by Willow Duttge, Portfolio.com

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News from Portfolio.com

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You 2.0: Recreational DNA and Genetic Voyeurism

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Subscribe to Portfolio magazine

You don't need to be all doom and gloom about it.

Sure, the U.S. could be in a recession. Consumer confidence is declining. Food and gas are so expensive it's more cost-effective to stay home and diet.

But the advertising business (of all things!) is actually benefiting from the painful spectacle of the traditional media landscape fragmenting into shards. The internet is continuing to oust broadcast TV, print and radio from their once-secure position as the automatic repository for ad dollars, and the complex environment that’s been rattling the advertising and media industries could actually function as an economic buoy during these hard times.

Here's how it works. Advertisers and the companies that service them now need a multitude of ways to drill their messages into the public consciousness. That desperation plays right into the hands of the giant holding companies that now own everything from traditional ad agencies to media planning and buying businesses to PR firms to promotions specialists to digital advertising agencies with expertise in hot, new areas like search-engine optimization.

Clearly there's pain; but it's not being evenly distributed right now.

Just compare Google's results and those of The New York Times Co. Google recently reported a 42 percent jump in revenues in the first quarter of 2008 over the same period in 2007. Nearly half of the revenue came from the U.S. and the figures aren’t inflated by the acquisition of DoubleClick. Meanwhile, the Times saw revenue slip 4.9 percent and advertising revenues drop 9.2 percent.

Now looking ahead, Google and the rest of the digital-advertising world are expected to grow just a little slower this year than they would have otherwise. But for Google, a bodacious 42 percent rise in revenue appears lackluster compared with the 63 percent year-over-year pop it saw in 2006 and 2007.

A market-research company, eMarketer lowered its 2008 growth forecast for online ad spending from whopping 29 percent in October 2007 to measly 23 percent in March 2008. You get the gist.

Marketers are still spending online and will continue to, whether it's through paid search, banner ads, video, viral ads, email, or even coupons. Spending on online promotions, which includes tactics like contests, coupons and rebates, will triple over the next five years to $22.8 billion from $8 billion in 2007, reports a new study from research firm and consultancy Borrell Associates.

Online marketing and advertising also has a leg up in a stressed economic environment, because the return on investment is significantly easier to track and explain to the boss.

Meanwhile for the newspaper industry, the weakened economy and the rise of the internet is a perfect storm. A report from Deutsche Bank on Gannett said, "The ad trends remain weak, and there are no positive catalysts in sight."

U.S. newspaper circulation has been on a downward slide for the last 20 years and it drops more significantly in areas of higher broadband penetration, according to global ratings agency Fitch Ratings. Just Monday, a Reuters analysis of a new release from The Audit Bureau of Circulations shows that U.S. newspaper circulation fell 3.6 percent during the six months ending in March 2008 compared with the same period a year earlier.

Circling back to the ad industry: Those holding companies who have reported their first-quarter results all have shown good organic revenue growth in the United States, in part because of the diversity of their services, says Alexia Quadrani analyst at Bear Stearns.

Omnicom, the largest marketing-services holding company by annual revenue, just announced organic growth in the U.S. at 6.7 percent in 2007, just 1 percent lower than in 2006. Randall Weisenburger, Omnicom Group’s executive vice president and C.F.O., characterized Omnicom’s outlook for the year as "cautiously optimistic," in his February conference call announcing annual results to analysts. "We’ve been to this movie, and we’ll weather it very well, I think," he said.

Last Friday, WPP Group, Omnicom’s closest competitor, announced 5.1 percent like-for-like revenue growth for North America, as opposed to 3.9 percent in 2007. "North America remained relatively strong and better than last year, and global revenues were in line with budget," materials for its first-quarter trading update stated.

Most recently, holding company Publicis Groupe announced organic growth in North America to be 5.3 percent after registering just 3.1 percent last year.

Havas, another holding company, saw 6 percent organic growth in the U.S. compared with -0.8 percent in 2007 over 2006. "North America saw a significant increase in growth across all our businesses," the company announced.

Underlying the health of these companies is that the advertising market may be slow to grow, but it's not declining. And if there has been a flash freeze, it started closer to the beginning of 2007, says Jon Swallen, senior vice president of research at TNS Media Intelligence.

Both Nielsen Media Research and TNS have reported U.S. ad spending grew under 1 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, marketers are known to believe that cutting back advertising in a time of economic unrest only exacerbates their inability to sell product. When you throw in this year's Olympic Games and presidential election, the advertising market is likely to grow faster than it did in 2007.

In the media space, however, these special events are likely to benefit the few: NBC, which is airing the Olympics; specific local broadcast stations located in areas of the country where candidates need to fight for votes; and 24-hour news networks. Unlike advertising companies, who can easily diversify their services by acquisition to meet the newest demands of their clients, TV networks are still TV networks.

Anatomy of a Racer: Only Elite Athletes Can Vanquish Rivals at Triple-Digit Speeds

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Kristen Philipkoski

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Race car drivers put in long and grueling workouts to condition themselves to maneuver their speed machines. See what it takes to withstand 150-degree heat, 300 pounds' worth of brake resistance and inertial forces of up to 5 gs.

Declassified NSA Document Reveals the Secret History of TEMPEST

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Threat Level

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The secret history of how the nation's spies discovered that their ace equipment was leaking data into the ether has never been told before. But now a declassified NSA document tells how a Bell Telephone engineer stumbled onto a problem that vexes the agency to this day.

Gas Tax Holiday = Cheap Votes

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Autopia

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Hillary Clinton joined John McCain in shamelessly pandering for votes by calling for a suspension of the federal gas tax. If any of the candidates had any courage, they'd propose increasing the tax to wean us off oil.

$160 Billion Robotic Army Network Passes First Big Test. Kinda.

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by David Axe

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A van full of insurgents speeds through the desert. They do not notice a series of networked ground sensors that have begun tracking their every move.

Hovering somewhere overhead, a tiny robot points its camera at the van and takes note of its color scheme and markings. An even bigger drone, thousands of feet above its hovering kin, maintains a God’s-eye vigil on the whole hunt.

Everything these robots see is radioed to monitors thousands of miles away -- and into the targeting systems of a B-52 bomber winging, silent and nearly invisible, several miles overhead.

This scenario, played out at a remote Nevada facility last week, was the first major test of the Army’s $160-billion, 20-year plan to build a high-tech family of networked robots and hybrid-electric armored vehicles. The “Future Combat Systems” program, co-managed by Boeing and consultants SAIC, aims to equip roughly a third of the Army with 14 new vehicle types that are connected constantly to a vast communications net.

The theory behind the FCS is that dispersed, intelligent robotic systems plugged into a universal communications network can help small numbers of U.S. troops riding in new vehicles to control huge swaths of terrain. Any ship, airplane or tank fitted with the FCS network devices will be able to see everything the others see.

The SkyNet-like network and dynamic coordination “is the most important thing,” Brigadier General James Terry says.

This is “a big deal for joint fires,” Army spokesman Paul Mehney told Wired.com.

“Joint fires” is mil-speak for getting all the military services to share info and coordinate their attacks. That kind of teamwork is a big factor in the U.S. military’s combat prowess. And if FCS works out as planned, the five U.S. military branches will team up better than ever.

Did the test work? Kinda.

The robots spotted the van; their targeting data bounced to a nearby unit of specially-equipped Humvees, then across the network to an Air Force intelligence cell in Langley, Virginia, then back to the B-52 -- all in just seconds. The bomber simulated dropping a guided bomb to “destroy” the van.

The Nevada test proved it was possible, according to Mehney.

But one critic says the test essentially was rigged -- that the conditions were too easy.

“There is ‘works’ and then there is ‘works,’” John Pike, an analyst with Globalsecurity,org, told Wired.com.

“A considerable fraction of the FCS network hardware does not currently exist,” Pike said. And the integration of that hardware that does exist has been touch-and-go.

In February, when testers “flipped the switch” for the first time on the network radios, there was a collective sigh of relief that the radios even worked -- this according to one FCS insider who spoke on background.

Last week’s desert test comes at a critical time for Future Combat Systems. Mounting criticism from the GAO plus the growing cost of fixing and upgrading the Army’s current war-weary vehicle fleet -- $120 billion over 10 years, according to the GAO -– has put the squeeze on the futuristic program. “It is not yet clear if or when the Army and [its contractors] can develop, build, and demonstrate the … network,” the Government Accountability Office reported in March.

One powerful congressman, nominally a supporter of FCS, has proposed injecting extra money into the program in order to rescue some of its technologies before canceling the rest.

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), chair of the defense appropriations subcommittee, promised an extra $20 billion this year for FCS, provided the Army could use the money to wrap up the program quickly. “We need to accelerate FCS if we ever want to see anything accomplished,” Matt Mazonkey, a Murtha staffer, told Wired.com.

The Army is still preparing its response to Murtha’s query, Mehney said. Regardless, the service’s position on FCS has never wavered. The Army says that FCS is on-budget, on-schedule, and with continued funding will deliver on its promises to connect the ground service to itself and to all the other military branches.

And to ensure smooth progress despite a combined $900 million budget cut last year, the Army this month asked Congress to “re-appropriate” $250 million of other Army funds into FCS coffers.

Olympic-Torch Security Troops Block Everest Bloggers' Climb

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Alexis Madrigal

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Climbers on Mount Everest's south side are surreptitiously blogging a standoff with Nepalese soldiers ahead of China's Olympic torch run on the opposite side of the mountain next week.

With a news blackout in effect since Monday at the Everest base camp -- and no news media at camps farther up the mountain -- the situation is being chronicled only by a smattering of international climber/bloggers.

"We saw lots of military staff and one solider carrying a very sophisticated sniper type of gun," Jim Curtin wrote on his blog Monday.

Curtin has been blogging his ascent of Everest for several weeks but is now stuck at Camp 2, at 21,000 feet.

Over the last several days his blog has chronicled the frustrating wait as Nepalese soldiers block climbers from ascending the mountain.

Nepalese soldiers have closed the summit until the Chinese torch run is made, which is expected between May 1 and May 10, depending on the weather. Italian bloggers captured a picture of Nepalese soldiers on the 27th, seen above.

Soldiers have posted a hand-drawn sign, saying, "Dear Climbers. All of you are not allow to go forward from this point till 10 May 2008. Thank you for your cooperation," according to Curtin, who posted a picture). PeakFreaks also noted the existence of the sign.

"Should someone blow past the sign and start climbing the Lohtse face, the skilled sniper may come into play," Curtin wrote.

Mountain teams are supposed to be under a communications blackout, but a group called Climbers Without Borders have set up an anonymous information service that allows climbers to posts updates to MountEverest.net.

In addition, several climbers have their equipment stashed away, according to a climbing-equipment salesman who requested anonymity to protect clients in the field.

Nepalese soldiers arrived at the mountain on the 20th with the orders from Nepal's Home Ministry to stop pro-Tibet protests by "any means necessary" according to the Associated Press.

One young American climber, William Brant Holland, was found carrying a sign that read "Free Tibet, Fuck China" last Friday, and deported back to the United States. Despite the presence of soldiers, Holland said that he was not scared.

"The soldiers are just plainclothes. They're not carrying machine guns, maybe just have one side-arm," Holland told Wired.com by cellphone Tuesday. "They're not gonna shoot anybody."

A combination of small, high-tech gadgets powered by solar panels are enabling wired climbers to keep blogging and remain in touch with their loved ones.

Luis Benitez, a climber who has ascended Everest six times, said that all the technology necessary to run a blog could be stowed in a tiny bag.

"You need a satellite phone, a PDA, special compression software, one cable and a solar panel and that's it," Benitez said.

Benitez said that despite the blackout, he continues to receive phone calls from friends at Camp 1, where Nepalese authorities do not have a military presence.

"People are hiding sat phones in their socks," he said.

While the bloggers on the mountain have generally refrained from directly criticizing the Nepalese or Chinese governments, Benitez, who has previously run afoul of the Chinese government, was more open.

"The Chinese bribed the Nepalese to make the mountain a police state," Benitez said. "I've been a mountaineer my whole life and I've never seen anything like it."

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Lore Sjöberg's Alt Text: Iron Man Battles vs. Nefarious Ferrous Adversaries

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Lore Sjöberg

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The Iron Man movie will soon fly into a crowded, expensive theater near you. If you're not braving the fan horde to see it on opening night Thursday, you might be following my plan: See if your friends like it, and if they do, catch the flick on Blu-ray.

That leaves you with three to five months to fill while waiting for the Golden Avenger to soar into your living room and leave scorch marks on the wall-to-wall. But is Iron Man really the best use of your iron dollar? Might there be other, equally ferrous, folks who meet or exceed the quality standards over at Stark Industries? I think we should investigate.

Alt Text Podcast

Download audio files and subscribe to the Alt Text podcast.

Iron Sheik

Job: Professional wrestler
Powers: The Camel Clutch, the Iranian Drop, yelling at the camera
Challenge: Hell-in-a-Cell match
No contest here. Even if Iron Sheik fights dirty -- and he will -- folding chairs and trash cans aren't going to do anything against state-of-the-fictional-art powered armor. If the Sheik is lucky, Iron Man will pin him with one finger on each shoulder. If he's not, the second the ref's back is turned, out come the antitank missiles.
Winner: Iron Man.

The Iron Giant

Job: Giant robot and underappreciated animated film star
Powers: Flight, rockets, heavy-handed moralization
Challenge: Fight!
The Iron Giant is, in essence, a 30-foot-tall version of Iron Man with no human inside and defensive weaponry he can't control. I don't think many people have a chance against a bad-tempered, 20-ton version of themselves. Iron Man's only chance is to talk the robot down by appealing to his buried conscience. However, you can't make big, wet cartoon eyes from behind a mask, so it won't work. Iron Man is reduced to a red-and-gold pile of recyclables in about 15 seconds.
Winner: Iron Giant.

Iron Maiden

Job: Heavy-metal band
Powers: Screaming guitar solos, stage pyrotechnics, skeletal mascot
Challenge: Battle of the bands
Iron Man makes a surprisingly good showing here, recruiting fellow Avengers Thor, Hulk and Captain America on lead guitar, drums and bass respectively. Iron Man doubles as lead singer and the most badass amp you've ever heard. They have a respectable showing with covers of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla," but fall way behind in the second set when Hulk insists that they play "Brand New Key."
Winner: Iron Maiden.

Iron Chef Japanese

Job: Celebrity chef
Powers: Fusion cuisine, excellent knife technique, 3.98-average review on Yelp
Challenge: Battle Conger Eel
Tony Stark has people for this sort of thing. Iron Man sits back and sips a Full Throttle through a straw while his "assistants" -- actually top Japanese chefs flown in at great expense -- do the cooking. However, in a managerial screw-up, Iron Man doesn't realize that you can't expect two top chefs to work in harmony. His team falls into fisticuffs while chef Masaharu Morimoto presents an exquisite eel-kidney sorbet over hand-shaped nori crackers.
Winner: Iron Chef Japanese.

Iron Eyes Cody

Job: Anti-litter symbol, faux Cherokee
Powers: A single tear representing the pain and sorrow of indigenous peoples encountering '70s-era fast-food trash
Challenge: Impersonation
Tony Stark and Iron Eyes Cody are both men with a secret. Stark dresses up as a flying weapons platform, and Cody pretends to be a Native American to get acting roles. Who's better at putting up a front? Each is challenged to pose as a 14-year-old girl in a chat room to catch child molesters. Stark ends up trading stock tips instead, and Cody sheds a single tear every time anyone makes a LOLcat reference. However, the Recording Industry Association of America sues them both for illegal downloading.
Winner: Tie.

- - -

Born helpless, nude and unable to provide for himself, Lore Sjöberg eventually overcame these handicaps to become a magnate, a magnifico and a magnetar.

April 30, 1897: J.J. Thomson Announces the Electron ... Sort Of

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Randy Alfred

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1897: Physicist J.J. Thomson tells a startled scientific audience that he's discovered something smaller than an atom, a particle with a minuscule mass and a negative charge.

Some in the audience at the Royal Institution of Great Britain that Friday evening later told Thomson they thought he was "pulling their legs." The atom, after all, was known to be indivisible. That's what its name meant.

As director of Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University, Thomson was researching electrical currents inside cathode ray tubes. He observed that the rays are deflected by an electric field.

Researchers had been puzzled by cathode rays until Thomson theorized that the rays were in fact streams of small subatomic particles, the first known. He called them "corpuscles," the Latin for "small bodies."

Thomson figured his negatively charged corpuscles accounted for about one-thousandth of the mass of a hydrogen atom (1/1836 or 1/1837 is the accepted ratio today), matched by a positive charge elsewhere in the atom. Thomson was vague in 1897 but later theorized that the negative electrons swarmed around in a "sphere of uniform positive electrification." (Establishing the nuclear-orbital model of the atom would fall to Ernest Rutherford and Niels Bohr in later decades.)

In a commentary on the published version of Thomson's lecture, Irish physicist George F. FitzGerald suggested that the corpuscles were actually free electrons.

Other scientists had proposed that cathode rays were composed of particles and had attempted to establish their relative mass and charge. Thomson's great contribution was estimating that ratio and recognizing that the ratio was universal and didn't depend on the specific materials. That led him to postulate that the particles were one of the building blocks of the atom itself, even though he hadn't fully proved that at the time of his epochal lecture.

Thomson was awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize "in recognition of the great merits of his theoretical and experimental investigations on the conduction of electricity by gases." He was knighted in 1908.

His 1907 book was titled The Corpuscular Theory of Matter, and he continued to call his discovery "corpuscles" until 1913.

(Source: ChemTeam, others)

LSD Inventor Albert Hofmann Dies at 102

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 8:20pm EDT by Wired Science

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The Swiss scientist who synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide -- and accidentally took the first LSD trip -- departs for the great beyond.

Gas to Hit $7 a Gallon

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 5:40pm EDT by Autopia

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Oil could hit $200 a barrel, we might see gas at $7 a gallon and market forces seem to be going haywire. What's going on, and who's to blame?

In Pre-Olympics Rebuke of China, Congressman Pushes 'Global Online Freedom Act'

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 3:40pm EDT by Threat Level

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Chris Smith, a Republican congressman from New Jersey, wants the House to enact legislation before the summer Olympics in China that would ban US tech companies from complying with repressive regimes' censorship requests

Juror: Hans Reiser Planned the Murder, 'Thought It Out'

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 3:10pm EDT by Threat Level

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"After a while, we started to see how arrogant he was, how little sympathy he had for his wife," says a 61-year-old school teacher who sat on the jury. "He was thinking this out."

Five Failed 3-D Technologies

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 2:40pm EDT by Gadget Lab Blog

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From red-green specs to head-mounted virtual reality displays, Wired.com brings you five 3-D technologies that never really took off. In Gadget Lab.

Long-Awaited Windows XP Update Adds Features From Vista

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 2:30pm EDT by Compiler

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Microsoft will release the much-anticipated Service Pack 3 for its Windows XP operating system Tuesday. The update brings over 1,000 fixes and improvements to the aging Windows XP, including a few enhancements from Windows Vista.

A New Tactic Against HIV: T-Cell Tweaks

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 11:29am EDT by Brandon Keim

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'Grand Theft Auto IV' Hustles Songs Through Amazon MP3

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 11:00am EDT by Listening Post

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The hottest new game on the block gets tricked out to sell music online.

Microsoft Very Quiet, but Something Is Happening

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 10:55am EDT by Kevin Kelleher, Portfolio.com

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News from Portfolio.com

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Microsoft has been radio silent since Yahoo's doomsday clock struck midnight last weekend. No chariots-cum-pumpkins, no big bombs—just dead air.

Even employees say they're in the dark as to the company's next move. So as its stock slowly loses altitude, C.F.O. Chris Liddell offered the only clue available in an conference call with Microsoft employees late last week.

Liddell wouldn't make clear "the Yahoo situation." In the face of such uncertainty, the wheels of analysis spin furiously. One of the better insights came from Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney, who handicapped the outcomes of the Microsoft-Yahoo war.

Mahaney reckons there's a 45 percent chance Yahoo sells out at a higher offer; a 40 percent chance Microsoft goes hostile; a 10 percent chance Microsoft walks away; and a 5 percent chance they both agree to the current price.

Taking each of those options in turn, it's possible to at least handicap some winners and losers as this particular battle in the war for the web plays out.

Scenario: The higher offer

What happens next: The classic prisoner's dilemma: If Yahoo said early on it would take a higher bid, Microsoft would have paid it. If Microsoft had upped the bid early on, Yahoo would have taken it. Yet neither did so, because of two decades of Silicon Valley history when Microsoft sucked the lifeblood of many start-ups.

Today's Microsoft may be less vampiric, but the memories linger. It's like other reparations: Silicon Valley demands it be compensated via a Yahoo premium, but Microsoft's current shareholders don't understand why they must pay from their pockets for others' past sins.

Winner: Steve ("Give It Up to Me!") Ballmer. Yahoo, across the board.

Loser: Microsoft shareholders.

Wild card: Microsoft deliberately offered mediocre earnings knowing its stock would drift down—and with it, its bid for Yahoo. (Microsoft initially offered half cash and half stock for Yahoo, worth $44.5 billion in February but worth only $40.9 billion today.) If Microsoft offers all cash, it effectively pays a 10 percent premium to the current value without raising its initial bid.

Scenario: The hostile takeover

What happens next: With Saturday's deadline past, Microsoft has to be talking with key Yahoo shareholders behind the scenes. Last week's threat by C.E.O. Steve Ballmer that Microsoft may simply walk away was a bluff intended to weaken their resolve.

One shareholder, Capital Group, doubled its stake in Yahoo in the first quarter. If Capital bought those new shares after Microsoft made its offer, it may be in its financial interest to talk with Microsoft.

The catch here is the poison pill Yahoo created seven years ago. Once an aggressor owns more than 15 percent of Yahoo, the board can "make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us (or a significant percentage of our outstanding capital stock) without first negotiating with our board of directors." That means the board can issue 10 million new shares overnight, and existing investors can also buy new shares.

So Microsoft's ultimate tactic is a proxy fight—it can push an alternate board; all of Yahoo's directors are up for reelection this year.

Yahoo deserves a board that can help it find a way out of its slump. Some current board members, hailing from Skyrider and Northwest Airlines, seem irrelevant. But those pitched by Microsoft, with experience at Grey Global Group and Adelphia, are arguably worse.

So while hostile in name, this effort will remain tame. Microsoft remains as incapable of a knockout punch as it has been all along. And that means a long and costly proxy battle, with at best a Pyrrhic victory for Microsoft. And the slump in Microsoft's and Yahoo's stocks will likely continue.

Winners: No one, really.

Losers: Everyone else.

Wild card: Big Yahoo investors like Capital Group decide they're tired, and take Microsoft's offer.

Scenario: Microsoft walks away

What happens next: Yahoo's stock drops back below $20, and Microsoft's rallies above $30.

Then Yahoo turns its spin machine away from Microsoft and toward future growth. Yahoo has launched a few initiatives—improving its algorithms, opening its search to developers—that could potentially have a real impact. Its stock, usually volatile, could rise above $31 if it does everything right.

Microsoft has its own options. It could buy the AOL business that Time Warner is eager to sell. It could buy or exchange stakes with News Corp., taking an interest in MySpace and Fox Interactive Media. It could buy Ask.com if Barry Diller finally spins it off, or a neglected online-ad player like ValueClick.

Winners: Microsoft shareholders.

Losers: Yahoo shareholders, at least for several months.

Wild card: Microsoft bolts just so Yahoo's stock can plunge, then it walks back in a few months with a lower offer. An intriguing bet, but if Yahoo does turn around this year, Microsoft would regret taking such a risk.

Scenario: Microsoft sticks to its half-stock, half-cash bid

What happens next: Assuming Microsoft doesn't pay all cash, this isn't likely unless Yahoo's stock falls further.

Winners: Microsoft workers hoping for the cash Microsoft would need to pay for Yahoo.

Losers: Anyone who bought Yahoo on Microsoft's initial offer.

Wildcard: Yahoo's prospects grow unexpectedly dimmer in the next few months.

Man Who 'Found' Saddam's WMD Now Pushing Ray Gun Theory

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 10:46am EDT by Sharon Weinberger

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Confidence Booster: IBM Ups Dividend by 25 percent

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 10:04am EDT by Associate Press

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Drug Dealers Rejoice: The $10 Mobile Phone is Here

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 9:47am EDT

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Forget Psyster: Mac OS X Leopard Running On OQO

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 9:21am EDT by Charlie Sorrel

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Electric Airplanes Take Flight. Get Yours Now

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 7:00am EDT by Autopia

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Aeronautical engineers and airplane buffs say electric airplanes are the future of general aviation. A Slovenian company is already making them.

Is It Time to Fire Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer?

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 12:45am EDT by Epicenter

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Critics say Microsoft CEO SteveBallmer is responsible for the company's fumbled release of Windows Vista, its foundering web strategy and its quixotic pursuit of Yahoo.

Sorry, Absinthe Trippers: Scientists Say You're Just Really Drunk

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Wired Science

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German chemists turned their spectrometers and chromotagraphs on absinthe to bring you hard evidence that the liquor, famed for its hallucinogenic properties, is actually just very strong booze.

How to Miniaturize a Scene

Posted: April 28th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by How-To Wiki

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By performing a few simple actions in Photoshop, you can make that picture of your cul-de-sac look like a table-top model train set. Learn all about the tilt-shift effect in Wired.com's How-To Wiki.

Coachella: Pig Flies, and There's a $10,000 Reward

Posted: April 28th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Listening Post

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Roger Waters' iconic porker takes to the sky, and concert promoters offer cold cash -- and lifetime passes to the festival -- to anybody who finds the giant, inflatable prop.

April 29, 1964: Godzilla, Mothra Clash for First Time

Posted: April 28th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Tony Long

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1964: Mothra vs. Godzilla makes its screen debut in Japan. Or was it Mothra Against Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mothra or Godzilla vs. The Thing?

By whatever name you choose -- and it went by all of them at one time or another -- for those of us who grew up watching these entertaining romps, this is the quintessential Godzilla movie.

It had everything you could ask for: wonderfully cheesy special effects (acute halitosis never looked so good), great dubbing (in the English-language release, the talking went on after the Japanese actors had stopped moving their lips), a couple of hot Japanese twins (albeit a pair of faeries scarcely a foot tall), wanton, widespread destruction (Nagoya, rather than Tokyo, took the hit this time), and a monster to root for (the big moth).

The Godzilla-Mothra imbroglio wasn't the first time these two had courted trouble.

Godzilla had already been around for a decade, rising from the sea in the 1954 film, Godzilla, to ravage the Japanese mainland following a hydrogen-bomb test gone awry. Godzilla evolved over the years, his dinosaur-like appearance always changing, although he never lost the atomic breath that, along with his sheer bulk, served as his main weapon of destruction.

As for Mothra, she (yes, Mothra was all woman) made her original cinematic bow in the 1961 flick bearing her name. Maybe because Mothra, a fictional lepidopteran, originated in a novel before coming to the screen, she was more nuanced than her troglodytic antagonist. Unlike Godzilla, Mothra possessed an intellect, which she put to use in a series of films.

The plots for what are loosely called "Godzilla movies" follow the same simple formula: The monster -- usually our man Godzilla -- is awakened from its slumber, either by man's folly (nuclear testing) or man's greed (there always seems to be an evil capitalist lurking in the weeds, eager to exploit a lost culture or a slumbering monster). Fully awake now, the monster wreaks vengeance on the hapless Japanese, whose soldiery, never fully recovered from Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, lies prostrate before the rampaging beast.

The soldiers do know how to die dramatically, though, which makes for some entertaining cinematic moments.

In the end, the movie's alpha monster is finally overcome, either by a few plucky scientists who dream up some goofy formula that works, or by another hairy, scaly or wing-flapping opponent, who, for reasons never adequately explained, decides to temporarily ally itself with the perfidious two-legged mammals that stirred up this hornet's nest in the first place.

Simple and repetitive as the storylines may be, the '64 film began a complicated relationship between Godzilla and Mothra, who, over the course of several movies, died and were reborn, were alternately vanquished and victorious, and lined up both as friend and foe. Their relationship with humanity was equally complex: Mothra could be punishing but was ultimately benevolent, while Godzilla, usually the heavy, occasionally emerged as a kind of antihero, earning our sympathy in his role as avenging angel.

The Godzilla franchise was born in the Toho film studios in the 1950s but has been spun off so many times that it's impossible to chronicle the monster's lineage here. Suffice it to say, Godzilla has appeared on the screen -- both large and small -- in comic books, videogames, novels and in myriad other places as a pop culture icon.

OK, so maybe Mothra vs. Godzilla wasn't Kurosawa. But it was a fine way to kill a Saturday afternoon.

(Source: Various)

Microsoft Takes Its Sweet Time With Yahoo

Posted: April 28th, 2008, 7:20pm EDT by Epicenter

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Microsoft says it's in a hurry to reach an agreement with Yahoo -- its actions speak otherwise.

Video: Omega Pedal Adds Kick to 'Rock Band'

Posted: April 28th, 2008, 7:15pm EDT by Game | Life

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Work the skins like a pro with this honest-to-goodness drum pedal. Plus: Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII.

Schism Grows Between Obama and Liberal Bloggers

Posted: April 28th, 2008, 6:00pm EDT by Threat Level

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Liberal bloggers feel betrayed by Obama's appearance on Fox News on Sunday. He wears their scorn as a badge of honor.

Get Better Product Recommendations From Amazon

Posted: April 28th, 2008, 5:35pm EDT by how-to wiki

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Did you like that one movie starring that one guy? Then you'll love our guide to getting more accurate product picks from Amazon's recommendation engine. In Wired.com's How-To Wiki.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Shifts Into Media Overdrive

Posted: April 28th, 2008, 5:20pm EDT by Game|Life

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Wicked in-game TV shows, music and websites turn Liberty City into an unbelievably deep parallel universe. It's a great place to commit unconscionable crimes.

Review: Navigon GPS Provides Mediocre Guidance on the Cheap

Posted: April 28th, 2008, 4:00pm EDT by Gadget Lab

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Navigon's new 2100 Max GPS unit will get you were you need to go. Just get ready to haggle with an obtuse menu and scolding voice prompts first.

Coachella: Saturday Starts With Uffie, Kavinsky and Little Brother

Posted: April 26th, 2008, 8:30pm EDT by Listening Post

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Tens of thousands of music fans aren't fazed by temperatures in the triple digits Saturday at the Coachella music festival. Sunday will be even hotter. Over 40 bands will grace one of five stages today. Listening Post presents photos of Uffie, Kavinsky and Little Brother from Saturday afternoon for your viewing pleasure.

Coachella: Aphex Twin, Pendulum, Aesop Rock and More

Posted: April 26th, 2008, 8:00pm EDT by Listening Post

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Throngs of music lovers gather at the Coachella music festival, braving temperatures in the mid-90s to see their favorite musicians. The hot sun, far-flung stages and dense crowds don't stop Wired.com from catching photos of these eight bands.

Behind the Memes: JibJabbin' the Day Away

Posted: April 26th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT by Underwire

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Underwire introduces Adam Mutterperl and Andy Ochiltree, in-house producers for the online comedy network, JibJab. They have free range to lampoon almost anything in their animated shorts.

ROFLCon: Internet Meme Conference Gathers Steam

Posted: April 26th, 2008, 2:30pm EDT by Underwire

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Team Underwire is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to keep you apprised of the goings-on at ROFLCon, the all-out, no-holds-barred geekfest bringing together web celebs and the people who love them.

Despite Scorching Heat, Coachella Packs 'Em in With High-Energy Sets

Posted: April 26th, 2008, 2:00pm EDT by Listening Post

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Tens of thousands of concertgoers are at the overheated intersection of the Mojave and Colorado deserts to watch 134 bands rock out at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The bands, including Prince, Portishead and Kraftwerk, will perform Friday through Sunday on five stages spread out over a giant Polo field.

Review: Subtle Touches Enrich Banks' Matter

Posted: April 26th, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Geek Dad

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Iain M. Banks' dense, almost 600-page tome, Matter is set in a peaceful human-alien civilization, where trillions of citizens live in harmony, wars are a distant memory and science has progressed to godlike levels. The story starts quick and after 50 pages, reviewer John Baichtal is hooked.

D-Day: Still No Word From Microsoft

Posted: April 26th, 2008, 12:45am EDT by Epicenter

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It's been three weeks since Microsoft informed Yahoo's board that it would take its bid hostile if a deal was not sealed in three weeks' time, and there's still no agreement. But Microsoft hasn't gone hostile -- yet.

Study: Narwhals Are at Greater Risk Than Polar Bears

Posted: April 26th, 2008, 12:30am EDT by Associated Press

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The polar bear is an icon of global warming vulnerability, but a new study suggests the narwhal, a whale with a long spiral tusk that inspired the myth of the unicorn, is edging out the polar bear for the ranking of most potentially vulnerable in a climate change risk analysis of Arctic marine mammals.

Reviews: Personal Days, PBS' Iraq-Bound Carrier, Rapper Dizzee Rascal

Posted: April 26th, 2008, 12:00am EDT

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A hysterical novel about the modern-day workplace, a PBS reality show set aboard a Persian Gulf vessel and the spacey synth sounds of a UK hip-hop star are among the latest Wired picks.

Peak Water: Aquifers and Rivers Are Running Dry. How Three Regions Are Coping

Posted: April 26th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Matthew Power

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As the era of easy water ends, even the most economically advanced areas face scarcity of freshwater. See how three of these regions are coming to terms with to the peak water problem.

15th Anniversary: Tractors Turn Out as Smart as One Writer Predicted

Posted: April 26th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Amanda Griscom Little

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Writer William Booth predicted that tractors would soon evolve into high-tech geniuses, and John Deere's latest model proves he was right.

Go Go Curry Brings Japan's Authentic Comfort Food to NYC

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 8:40pm EDT by Underwire

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Brown goo for lunch? Give Japanese curry a try and you'll understand the addiction.

Fisker Says Tesla's Claim He Stole WhiteStar's Design Is 'Nonsense'

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 8:40pm EDT by Autopia

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Fisker Automotive says it is smart enough to build a plug-in hybrid without stealing the design from Tesla Motors, and Tesla's lawsuit to the contrary is "nonsense."

Which Gov Agency Should Be Your Computer's Firewall?

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 8:30pm EDT by Threat Level

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Citing the dire nature of internet security, government agencies in the United States say they need to be inside the net to prevent cyber-crime, child porn and cyber-terrorism. So which government agency should you choose to protect your home computer? Help decide with our interactive poll.

Microsoft CFO Explains Why the Stock Sucks: Yahoo

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 8:30pm EDT by Epicenter

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Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell said in an internal interview that the reason why shares have taken such a beating is fairly simple: Uncertainty surrounding Yahoo has dragged the stock down.

EPA Wants New Rules for Testing Bacteria Levels in Airplane Tap Water

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 6:40pm EDT

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Do you know anyone who drinks the water in airplane lavatories? We don't either. But that isn't stopping the federal government from proposing rules for testing the stuff.

War Games Sequel Goes Direct to DVD

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 6:20pm EDT by Threat Level

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Here's the trailer for the upcoming War Games: The Dead Code, a sequel too good to waste on theatergoers.

One-Woman Pixar's Animated Film, 'Sita Sings the Blues,' Premieres at Tribeca

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 6:10pm EDT by Patrick Di Justo

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Nina Paley's colorful, full-length feature blends an ancient Hindu story, playful modern animation and tunes by a 1920s jazz singer. But perhaps the most amazing part of this unlikely mashup is that she created it alone in her home office.

ROFLCon: Welcome to the Fame Revolution

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 6:00pm EDT by Underwire

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Web celebs live in a long tail of DIY semi-stardom that's peculiar and strangely fascinating.

Microsoft Ponders Next Move in Yahoo Chess Match

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 5:10pm EDT by Associated Press

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With Microsoft no closer to acquiring its longtime rival than it was three months ago, the Redmond brain trust feels the pressure to act. What it will do, however, remains unclear.

GPS Losing Its Bearings in the Marketplace

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 4:15pm EDT by Associated Press

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The prices of personal navigation devices continues falling and Europe's biggest GPS manufacturer is worried as analysts say the market may be saturated.

Why Microsoft Won't Extend Windows XP's Lifespan

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 3:40pm EDT by Compiler

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While Redmond continues to hint that it will extend support for its popular Windows XP operating system if customers demand it, Microsoft is still counting some copies of XP installed by PC manufacturers as a sale of Vista, effectively obscuring consumer dissatisfaction with the newer operating system.

Google, ComScore Trade Blows Over Clicks

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 3:40pm EDT

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Despite mounting criticism, ComScore is standing by research that suggests a sharp decline in Google's search-based advertising business.

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Review: LG enV2 Cellphone — Slim. Small. Sucky.

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 3:25pm EDT by Gadget Lab

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The LG enV2 may be an updated version of the enV1 but it's wrought with problems. A terrible UI, teensy keypad and horrid pricing structure scream "stay away!" to would-be buyers.

Coming Soon to All 50 States: VW's 60 mpg Jetta Diesel

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 3:15pm EDT by Autopia

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Sick of paying an arm and a leg for gas? Volkswagen's got you covered with its latest diesel, which gets 60 miles to the gallon and is so clean even Californians can drive it. Look for it in showrooms later this year.

State Attorneys General Propose Free Satellite Radio

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 3:00pm EDT by Listening Post

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If the proposed XM-Sirius merger can't be killed, states at least want an outside programmer to provide free service for nonsubscribers.

Toshiba's Big Hit for HD DVD Flop: Profits Fall 95 Percent

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 1:15pm EDT by Associated Press

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The Japanese electronics maker reports a disastrous first quarter, which it blames on its bruising, unsuccessful battle with Sony to lay claim to the high-definition DVD market. The news at Samsung, meanwhile, is good.

Swedish City Gears Up For Virgin Galactic Spaceport

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Autopia

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One of Richard Branson's spaceports is to be planted 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The Swedish city that lands the port aspires to become the hottest destination in space travel.

Ctrl-Alt-Ouch! How to Reset a Dislocated Shoulder

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by How-To Wiki

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Yeah, it's going to hurt -- a lot. But it will make that long wait in the emergency room much more comfortable. Learn to pop a bone back into place in Wired's How-To Wiki.

Behind the Memes: Kickin' It With the I Can Has Cheezburger? Kids

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 11:30am EDT by Underwire

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A lousy day at the office and a friend's sympathy leads to the creation of one of the web's most talked-about sites. As everyone knows, you can't go wrong with animal pictures.

ROFLCon: It's Not Easy Being Memes

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 9:00am EDT by Underwire

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Launching a viral bombshell is simpler than ever, but building an internet empire takes good old-fashioned hard work. The net's biggest microcelebrities gather in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to talk shop.

Nano Photos Rival Modern Art

Posted: April 25th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Aaron Rowe

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The best images discovered under microscopes give artists a run for their money.

What's Inside: For a Refreshing Hint of Tear Gas, Light Up a Cigarette

Posted: April 24th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Patrick di Justo

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Find out the delightful components that make up your typical cigarette: castoreum, culled from secretions in glands located near a beaver's genitals; acetophenone, a prime component of tear gas; and, gamma-heptalactone, which efficiently keeps nicotine in your bloodstream longer.

Sex Drive: 7 Reasons Your Boss Should Send You to Sex Conferences

Posted: April 24th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Regina Lynn

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Geek get-togethers like Web 2.0 Expo draw technologists in droves. But if you really want to get ahead of the curve when it comes to developing for Web 3.0, head to a sex conference.

How Good Lighting Can Make Digital Renders Look Real

Posted: April 24th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Sonia Zjawinski

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See how designers at Nokia, Ford, Apple and Microsoft create ultra-realistic 3-D models of their product concepts using HyperShot, developed by award-winning Henrik Wann Jensen.

Court: Government Must Reveal Watch-List Status to Constantly Detained Americans

Posted: April 24th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Threat Level

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Eight Americans suing the government over repeated stops at the border can see whether they have been put on the government's terror watch list, a court ruled last week. The court ruled against the government's invocation of national security and the plaintiffs will be the first to learn whether their names are on the 800,000-name list.

April 25, 1859: Big Dig Starts for Suez Canal

Posted: April 24th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Randy Alfred

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Dig like an Egyptian: The Suez Canal made the world significantly smaller.

Microsoft 3Q Profit Falls From Vista-Heavy '07 Quarter

Posted: April 24th, 2008, 5:27pm EDT by Associate Press

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Microsoft's Q3 falls 11 percent from a year earlier, when Vista pre-sales pushed up revenues. Net profit is 47 cents per share vs 50 cents; analysts had forecast 44 cents.

Poll: Is 'Okami' Worst Box Art Gaffe Ever?

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 3:30pm EDT by Game | Life

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Swiping watermarked images is never smart, and Capcom gets slapped down by an army of keen-eyed gamers. How does this compare to previous graphic goof-ups?

GPS Navigation Could Boost Fuel Efficiency on Oceanic Flights

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 1:45pm EDT by Autopia

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GPS can do more than lead you to that hot new Thai place across town. It can save the airline industry 260,000 pounds of fuel a day.

Video: How to Win an Internet Argument

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 1:30pm EDT by Underwire

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Learn how to pick apart logical fallacies and you'll become virtually invincible. Alt Text Video by Lore Sjöberg.

Bjork's Wanderlust in 2-D

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 1:15pm EDT by Wired.com

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For those of you lacking 3-D glasses....

If You Love Robots, Then This Is Your Kind of Conclave

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 11:40am EDT by GeekDad

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Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson dips his toe at the FIRST Robotics Championships, this one held in Atlanta. He was there to demo his own robot, but there was plenty of time to snoop around, too. Read his report.

Curbs Urged on Biofuel Subsidies as Food Costs Rise

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 11:10am EDT by Associated Press

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Paying farmers to grow crops for use as biofuel means they grow fewer food crops, causing prices for staples to rise, the Asian Development Bank says.

Compressed Signals Lead to 'High Dissatisfaction' TV

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 10:50am EDT by Associated Press

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Viewers want more high-definition programming but the bandwidth simply isn't there. The interim (and cheapest) solution, compressing the signal, is muddying the picture, making people wonder why they bought all that fancy equipment in the first place.

Will She Be Back? Rumors Fly for Sarah Connor Chronicles

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 10:30am EDT by Underwire

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Does TV's spinoff of the Terminator films have enough traction to bring it back for a second season? According to the editor of TV Guide, it does.

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The Making of Björk's 3-D Wanderlust Video

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Jenna Wortham

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San Francisco filmmaking duo Encyclopedia Pictura use tech gear and old-fashioned hard work to bring a beast-filled supernatural world to life.

Rupert Murdoch Firm Goes on Trial for Alleged Tech Sabotage

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Kim Zetter

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Did a Rupert Murdoch company go too far and hire hackers to sabotage rivals and gain the top spot in the global pay-TV war? This is the question a jury will be facing in a five-year-old civil lawsuit that is finally being tried this month in California.

Garbage In, Garden Out: Inside the Tech Trash Disassembly Line

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Sonia Zjawinski

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See how Global Renewables' tech approach to sorting a river of trash diverts 75 percent of waste that actually can be recycled.

April 21, 1878: Thinking Fast, Firefighter Slides Down a Pole

Posted: April 20th, 2008, 11:30pm EDT by Randy Alfred

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It was like a bell going off. In fact, it was a bell going off. "If I slide down that long pole standing there, I'll get to the fire engines faster." Birth of an idea.

Permalink for 'Wired__Top_Stories/2008/04/20/Wired.com_Exclusive__Watch_Bj__246_rk_s__Wanderlust__in_3_D'

Wired.com Exclusive: Watch Björk's 'Wanderlust' in 3-D

Posted: April 20th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Jenna Wortham

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Get a first look at Bjork's new 3-D music video, "Wanderlust," which takes you on a mystical, nomadic journey through a lush, primitive land.

Games Without Frontiers: Poetic 'Passage' Provokes Heavy Thoughts on Life, Death

Posted: April 20th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Clive Thompson

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A simple, five-minute game takes players through some heady psychological terrain. Play it if you dare to think, feel and embrace a powerfully artistic aesthetic. Commentary by Clive Thompson.

Galactica's Future as 'Allegory for the American Revolution'

Posted: April 20th, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Underwire

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After a Battlestar Galactica panel discussion at New York Comic Con, Underwire speaks to Mark Stern, executive vice president of original programming for the Sci Fi Channel, about the science of Galactica and the freedom science fiction offers creative types. Stern also drops some compelling hints about the future of the Galacticafranchise.

Green Funerals: An Eco-Friendly Way to Leave the Earth

Posted: April 20th, 2008, 11:30am EDT by Associated Press

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Britain has been a world leader in eco-friendly funerals for years and a source of green burial products. This weekend in London, those in the business showcase their products and services, from cardboard coffins, clothes sewn from natural fibers, to a burial plot in a natural setting. Green funerals attempt to be eco-friendly at every stage.

Study: Americans Are Happiest in Their Golden Years

Posted: April 20th, 2008, 12:45am EDT by Associated Press

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A new study finds the happiest Americans are the oldest, and older adults are more socially active than the stereotype of the lonely senior suggests. The two go hand-in-hand: Being social can help keep away the blues.

World Domination, or at Least a Couple of Bucks

Posted: April 20th, 2008, 12:15am EDT by Epicenter

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A crowd of 700 attend Startup School '08, a day-long conference at Stanford University for entrepreneurial wannabes hoping to be the next Sergey and Larry.

18 U.S. States Pledge Action at Climate Change Meeting

Posted: April 19th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Associated Press

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At a conference at Yale University, 18 states sign a declaration committing themselves to take action to fight climate change. In his speech at the meeting, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger predicts that an international deadlock over how to deal with global warming will end once President Bush leaves office.

ISPs' Error Page Ads Let Hackers Hijack Entire Web

Posted: April 19th, 2008, 6:00pm EDT by Threat Level

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ISPs, including Earthlink, that seek to make money from customers' mistyped URLs put the entire internet at risk from hackers that steal passwords, a security researcher reveals Saturday. While the immediate vulnerability is fixed, the practice of returning ads instead of error messages raises ongoing security, Net Neutrality and security concerns.

Facebook Harnesses Users' Translation Skills for Free

Posted: April 19th, 2008, 6:00pm EDT by Associated Press

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Facebook is getting a global boost from users around the world, who are translating its visible framework into nearly two dozen languages for free. The move is generating mounting criticism online, where some users question whether amateurs can produce good translations.

Google's Stock Rises 20 Percent for a Record 1-Day Gain

Posted: April 19th, 2008, 4:30pm EDT by Associated Press

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Google's stock soars 20 percent for a record one-day gain on Friday following news of its stellar first-quarter results.

Vitriolic Artists Send Visitors on a Sulfuric Acid Trip

Posted: April 19th, 2008, 2:00pm EDT by Eric Smillie

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The psychedelic images created by Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand are made by setting off dangerous chemical reactions.

Three Smart Things You Should Know About Helium

Posted: April 19th, 2008, 2:00pm EDT

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Helium is used for more than balloons and sounding like a chipmunk. Here are a few facts you should know about this noble gas.

Top 5 Reasons to Dislike Pre-Med Students

Posted: April 19th, 2008, 1:30pm EDT by wired science

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The mercenary tactics of pre-med students can be tremendously annoying, but these students may be victims of a broken system. The standards for medical school admissions are so stringent that scholars must nearly abandon their individuality and give up everything but ceaseless study.

Wired.com's Leander Kahney Knows the Mind of Steve Jobs

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 8:00pm EDT by Daniel Dumas

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Wired.com's Leander Kahney talks about his latest book, Inside Steve's Brain.

How to Back Up Your Flickr Photos on Linux With Flickrfs

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 6:30pm EDT

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It's never too early to back up your photos: Wired.com's How-To Wiki shows to you how to back 'em up using the slick Flickrfs.

A Bad, Bad Idea: The Anti-Hijacking Safety Bracelet

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 5:35pm EDT by Autopia

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A Canadian security firm says the TSA and federal air marshals are a joke and the only way to safeguard air travel is to make passengers wear bracelets capable of scrambling their central nervous system.

Sort Tons of Beach Trash With Wired's Spreadsheet

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 4:35pm EDT by Wired Science

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The Ocean Conservancy announced this week that their volunteers found six million pounds of trash on the world's beaches in a single day; now, they've released their data to Wired.com for your perusal.

Worlds Collide as 'Mortal Kombat' Meets DC Comics

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 4:20pm EDT by Game|Life

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Superheroes like Batman will square off against freaky, death-dealing ninjas like Scorpion in an upcoming installment of the videogame franchise.

Apple Eases Aggressive Software Update Tactics

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 3:20pm EDT by Compiler

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Responding to a user backlash, Apple has redesigned Mac OS X's Software Update system so that it no longer installs unwanted applications automatically. But some users have already ditched the auto-updater, a move which may affect future interoperability with Apple's consumer devices like the iPod and iPhone.

'Nerdic' Geek Speak Taking World by Storm?

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 2:45pm EDT by Underwire

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Technocentric terms like mashup and googling make up an essentially new language, according to a European retailer.

Inside Story of Galactica's Crazy Closers

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 2:15pm EDT by Sonia Zjawinski

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After the credits roll each week, animator Jerry Hultsch's short clips show Ronald D. Moore and David Eick mutilating each others' bodies in brutally ingenious ways. Blink and you'll miss Battlestar's funny bits.

Look Who's Beating Up on Google

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 2:10pm EDT by Sam Gustin, Portfolio.com

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Three lawmakers -- all members of the House telecommunications subcommittee -- have been doing some Google bashing lately. Coincidentally or not, all three have received campaign contributions from telephone and cable interests hostile to Google.

Video Blogger Kevin Sites Keeps One Foot in the War Zone

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 2:00pm EDT by Annaliza Savage

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Solo video journalist Kevin Sites talks about parachuting in to disaster sites and war zones. After years of filming in "Hot Zones," he's helping to set up a sewing circle in the Congo.

How Google Is Blowing It on Social Networking

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 2:00pm EDT by Epicenter

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The one sour note in Google's otherwise stellar Q1 report this week was its acknowledged failure in making money from social networking.

Judas Priest's 'Screaming for Vengeance' Becomes First Downloadable 'Rock Band' Album

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 1:45pm EDT by Game|Life

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Get ready to bang your head, as a British heavy metal classic comes to the game in all its twin-guitar glory. Next up? Records from The Pixies and The Cars.

FCC Gets an Earful From Open-Net Defenders at Stanford

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 1:20pm EDT by Threat Level

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The FCC holds its first West Coast hearing on net neutrality, and is flooded with supporters of an open internet.

'Infocom Drive' Turns Up Long-Lost 'Hitchhiker' Sequel

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Game|Life

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Source code and e-mails tell the sordid and compelling story behind the failed Milliways: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

NBC Universal Will Make Programs Tied to Sponsor Products

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 10:50am EDT by Associated Press

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Entertainment takes a back seat to commercialism as the studio partners with an ad agency to create programs around sponsors' products. The NBC entertainment chief says the content will be "compelling," and manages to say it with a straight face.

First Look: Speed Racer Zips in Candy-Colored World

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 10:25am EDT by Underwire

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The Wachowski brothers, makers of the technically accomplished Matrix pictures, outdo themselves with this visually stunning homage to the comic-book hero.

Cars Pollute, But Perhaps Not as Bad as We Thought

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 12:30am EDT by Autopia

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It turns out that cars aren't as culpable as you would think when it comes to global warming. A new study from Purdue University ranks the 20 worst cities for carbon emissions, and the list is full of surprises.

Review: 21st-Century Ghetto Blaster Makes Us Want to Do the Right Bling

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Gadget Lab

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A boombox with skins designed by Travis Barker is suited to play music from a variety of popular sources. The question is: Can it handle the rough-and-tumble of city streets?

April 18, 1906: Mother Nature 1, San Francisco 0

Posted: April 17th, 2008, 11:30pm EDT by Tony Long

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The leading city on the West Coast is destroyed by an enormous earthquake and the fire that follows it. We learn a lot of lessons from this disaster. Or do we?

Carl Zimmer's Dissection: The More We Know About Genes, the Less We Understand

Posted: April 17th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Carl Zimmer

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Scientists find that genes obey orders from a complicated chain of command, but now they need to figure out why genes function just fine -- and sometimes even better -- when the network is disrupted. Commentary by Carl Zimmer.

How to Soundproof a Room

Posted: April 17th, 2008, 6:30pm EDT

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Wife's drumming getting on your nerves? Imagine how your neighbors feel. Learn some techniques to dampen the bad vibes and restore a little peace and quiet in Wired.com's How-to Wiki.

Mile-High Skyscrapers and Floating Cities That Never Were

Posted: April 17th, 2008, 6:00pm EDT by Rob Beschizza

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Wired.com presents nine visions of architectural wonders that never came to pass.

Complete Darwin Papers Debut on Internet

Posted: April 17th, 2008, 6:00pm EDT by Wired Science

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Cambridge University has put the complete works of Charles Darwin online. The originator of one scientific revolution is paid tribute by the fruits of another.

Jargon Watch: Fatosphere, Cellphone Novel, Yo

Posted: April 17th, 2008, 5:30pm EDT by Jonathon Keats

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Yo, cut it with your cellphone novel and check out the fatosphere. Wired deciphers the latest in Jargon Watch.

Pioneering Disney Animator Ollie Johnston Dies

Posted: April 17th, 2008, 5:00pm EDT by GeekDad

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Ollie Johnston, the last of the pioneering Disney animators known as the "Nine Old Men," has died.

How-To: 4 Camera Hacks You Can Do Today

Posted: April 17th, 2008, 5:00pm EDT by Gadget Lab

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Push the boundaries of your photography with these four simple camera hacks you can pull off in less than an afternoon.

Feds Charge California Woman With Stealing IDs From the Dead

Posted: April 17th, 2008, 4:45pm EDT by Threat Level

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Prosecutors say a Southern California woman used a genealogy website to target the dearly departed in a ghoulish identity theft scheme.

Google Still Raking In the Billions

Posted: April 17th, 2008, 4:20pm EDT by Epicenter

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Google's Q1 earnings report shows the company's profits are up 30 percent over the previous year, despite nervousness about the economy and dropping paid-click rates. Find live coverage of the conference call in Wired.com's Epicenter blog.

Sci-Fi Shows Set to Dominate Fox's Fall Lineup

Posted: April 17th, 2008, 4:00pm EDT by Underwire

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New offerings from the creators of Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost get ready to storm the small screen.

Major-Label Money Could Taint Music Blogs

Posted: April 17th, 2008, 4:00pm EDT by Listening Post

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Will Universal's big investment ruin music blog Buzznet's reputation?

Show Us Your Most-Wanted Rare Gadgets

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 11:30pm EDT by Wired.com Photo Department

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Even in the age of the iPhone, gadgets can be collectors' items. What's your most sought-after tech treasure?

April 16, 1813: Specifying the Interchangeability Standard

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 11:30pm EDT by Randy Alfred

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A Connecticut gun manufacturer tells the government it should require interchangeable parts. The Army agrees, and he gets the first-ever contract with that spec.

Permalink for 'Wired__Top_Stories/2008/04/15/Lore_Sj__246_berg_s_Alt_Text__Flickr_Fans_Flustered_Over_Video_Posting'

Lore Sjöberg's Alt Text: Flickr Fans Flustered Over Video Posting

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Lore Sjöberg

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Why are Flickr denizens in such an uproar over being allowed to post videos? It's a cultural thing. Commentary by Lore Sjöberg.

McCain's Gas-Tax Holiday: Smart Politics, Stupid Policy

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT by Autopia

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Sen. John McCain's proposal to suspend the federal gas tax will save you about $28. But it will cost the government $9 billion and probably drive up fuel costs.

Permalink for 'Wired__Top_Stories/2008/04/15/Forget_the_Courts___151__Apple_May_Fight_Mac_Clones_With_Tech'

Forget the Courts — Apple May Fight Mac Clones With Tech

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT by Bryan Gardiner

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Patent experts, including an ex-Apple patent attorney, think the Cupertino company may have trouble shutting down a rival computer company selling a low-cost Mac clone.

How To Fight Splogs

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 6:30pm EDT

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What may at first glance seem like a regular blog is actually a splog -- a wretched hive of spam-driven scum and internet villainy. Learn how to tame the beast in Wired's How-To Wiki.

Programmers, DIY Types Embrace Soft, Hackable Chumby

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 6:15pm EDT by Bryan Gardiner

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The Chumby -- a soft, leather-covered internet device -- attracts many people interested in modifying its software as well as its hardware.

Lawmakers Proposing Millions for Elementary School Surveillance Cams

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 5:00pm EDT by Threat Level

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Federal lawmakers are considering a proposal to let public schools use millions in federal safety grants to install surveillance cameras. The measure, which would up funding to $50 million a year, will be debated in a key committee Thursday.

FBI Caused Delay in Terror Case Ahead of Senate Testimony

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 3:30pm EDT by Threat Level

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Officials at FBI headquarters held up a 2005 terrorism investigation by forcing a local agent to return records he'd lawfully subpoenaed from a university. Two weeks later, the head of the FBI cited a delay in the case as justification for more domestic spying powers, newly declassified documents show.

Cuba's Cellphone Era Opens With Long Lines

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 11:20am EDT by Associated Press

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With restrictions on mobile phone ownership lifted, ordinary Cubans eagerly embrace the new technology.

Banks May Be Screwing You, But Their Websites Rock

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 11:00am EDT by Associated Press

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Tougher mortgage standards and the lowering of interest rates on savings may upset customers, but they've got no kick with online banking.

For WiiWare, Ninento Summit Brings More Questions Than Answers

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 10:50am EDT by Game | Life

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A media summit does little to reveal Nintendo's plans for the May launch of its games-on-demand service. Even basic questions like availability and cost are left unanswered.

Delta, Northwest Merger May Be Only Tip of the Iceberg

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 10:35am EDT by Autopia

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The planned merger between two of the larger U.S. carriers may signal the start of a consolidation in the airline industry.

Image Editor GIMP, the 'Free-Software Photoshop,' Gets New Look

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 10:00am EDT by Compiler

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The new developer release of the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) incorporates many requested features. The release isn't ready for everyday use, but it signals one of the most robust updates yet to this open source alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

Videogames Keep Olympic Shot-Putter Reese Hoffa Busy

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Game | Life

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When Reese Hoffa isn't tossing a 16-pound metal ball through the air, he's mashing buttons. The Beijing 2008 cover athlete explains his love of games that don't involve torch runs.

Square Shooters: Four 5-Megapixel Camera Phones Judged and Rated

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Daniel Dumas and Steven Leckart

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Wired.com tests the latest in 5-megapixel camera phones.

Bad Karma? Tesla Sues Henrik Fisker Over Sedan Design

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Autopia

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Tesla Motors sues renowned auto designer Henrik Fisker, saying he agreed to design the White Star sedan then stole Tesla's technology to design his own car, the Karma. This could get ugly.

April 15, 1912: 'God Himself Could Not Sink This Ship'

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Tony Long

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But an iceberg could. The Titanic, the 20th century's ultimate metaphor for man's overweening pride, sinks like a stone after hitting one on its maiden voyage.

Japanese Schoolgirl Watch: Tobacco Vending Machines Block Underage Smokers

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 8:00pm EDT by Brian Ashcraft

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If you live in Japan, have a nicotine fix and want to purchase ciggies from a vending machine, be able to prove you're 20 by producing your age-verification card. These integrated circuit-embedded cards must be scanned at said machines prior to the dispensing of your choice cancer sticks.

Men's Little 500 Race Makes Its 58th Run

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 7:45pm EDT by Chris Howell

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The Cutters win the one-speed coaster-brake bike race at Indiana University, making them the team with the most wins in Little 500 history.

New Book Celebrates Singular Scientists and Their Beautiful Experiments

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 7:15pm EDT by Josie Glausiusz

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Devoted collector of electrical paraphernalia of yore, George Johnson's latest book, The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments, discusses some of the most important scientific experiments in history.

Yuri's Night: Bay Area 2008

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT by Wired Video

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Wired.com checks out the annual celebration for space pioneer Yuri Gagarin, who, on April 12, 1961, became the first human to travel into space.

Better Bass: Skip the Subwoofer, Hack Your Hearing?

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 6:30pm EDT by Wired Science

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Scientists have deduced the exact ratio in the curvature of the cochlea that is responsible for mammals' ability to hear the low-frequency sounds we call bass.

How to Lace Your Shoes

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 6:00pm EDT by How-To Wiki

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In search of the perfect pattern for lacing up your kickass kicks? Wired.com talks to Ian "Professor Shoelace" Fieggen for some lacing tips they don't teach you in kindergarten.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/04/deutsche-bank-l.html

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 5:40pm EDT

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Deutsche Bank says Project Better Place's plan to sell electric vehicles like cellphones could bring a "paradigm shift" to transportation and "massive disruption" for the auto industry. Oh, and it could cost consumers as little as 7 cents a mile to power their cars.

When Your Personal Life Is Your Business, Is Everything a Tax Write-off?

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 5:30pm EDT by Steve Friess

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When bloggers and podcasters make their personal lives their business, can they write off everything to the IRS?

After Delays, Rocket Racing Finally Coming to Air Shows

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 4:20pm EDT by Eliza Strickland

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After a long delay, the Rocket Racing League says it will hold the first rocket races later this year and league races in 2009. The company is also planning "vertical drag races" in partnership with game guru John Carmack's Armadillo Aerospace.

Blockbuster Wants Circuit City; Offers $1 Billion

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 10:45am EDT by Associated Press

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The movie-rental company says it will bypass Circuit City's board and take its bid directly to stockholders, but the struggling electronics retailer doubts the money is there.

U.S. Airlines Must Join EU Carbon Program -- Or Else

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 10:25am EDT by Autopia

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American carriers balk at the EU's insistence that they join European airlines in a carbon cap-and-trade program, arguing that this attempt to reduce emissions over the continent violates international treaties. Join, the Europeans say, or lose some lucrative routes.

What's Inside: Don't Let the Algae Sour You on Hostess's Lemon Pie

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Patrick di Justo

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Algae, trans fat and coagulants are just a few of the ingredients found in Hostess' pocket-shaped pie. See what's really inside this sweet snack.

Sabdes 50M Brings Hybrid Power to Megayachting

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Autopia

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Sabdes brings a touch of eco-consciousness to the world of high-end yachting with its diesel-electric 50M. Price? If you have to ask....

Free Municipal Wi-Fi Hits the Streets

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Cyrus Farivar

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Big muni Wi-Fi projects in San Francisco, Chicago and Atlanta have tanked. But dozens of smaller cities and counties launch government-sponsored networks.

Movie Industry Doubles Down on 3-D

Posted: April 13th, 2008, 11:00pm EDT by Betsy Schiffman

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Many filmmakers and movie studios place big bets on 3-D movies. For studios, the hope is that it will help increase revenue by boosting ticket prices.

Rage Against the Machines: Gallery of Gadget Revenge

Posted: April 13th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Wired.com Photo Department

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At Wired.com we love technology, but sometimes it just pisses us off. These readers feel the same way, and they did something about it.

April 14, 1932: Zounds! We've Split the Atomic Nucleus

Posted: April 13th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Randy Alfred

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Researchers at Cambridge University use a proton beam to turn lithium into helium. Progress on accelerators soon accelerates.

Fans Tout Windows XP's Superiority

Posted: April 13th, 2008, 3:30pm EDT by Associated Press

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Fans of Windows XP are reacting to Microsoft's plan to retire the six-year-old operating system by papering the internet with blog posts, cartoons and petitions. They trumpet Windows XP's superiority to Windows Vista, Microsoft's latest PC operating system, whose consumer launch received lukewarm reviews.

Govs to Attend Climate Change Meeting at Yale

Posted: April 13th, 2008, 3:00pm EDT by Associated Press

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Governors and leading experts on global warming will attend a conference this week at Yale University to review state programs and develop a strategy to combat global climate change.

Teen Creates Chemistry Trading Card Game

Posted: April 13th, 2008, 2:00pm EDT by Geek Dad

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A 14-year-old boy comes up with his own science-based fantasy card combat game, Elementeo, which is is based on a 121-card deck of chemical elements, compounds and catalysts. Each card has an explanation of the element or compound's uses and chemical properties.

Cops Can't Catch 'Em -- So Online Posses Nab Car Thieves

Posted: April 13th, 2008, 1:15pm EDT by Autopia

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These days, if your car is stolen, chances are you'll get it back, thanks to technology. And now bloggers are stepping into the action as well.

Cancer Therapy Without Side Effects Nearing Trials

Posted: April 13th, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Jennifer Laloup

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A promising new cancer treatment that appears to be 100 percent effective for many cancers — with no toxic side effects — is getting closer to human trials.

Brain Scanners Can See Your Decisions Before You Make Them

Posted: April 13th, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Brandon Keim

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Scientists using brain scanners prove a long-standing theory that your brain makes decisions long before you are aware of them -- as much as seven seconds before.

U.S. Government Seeks Input on Vaccine Policy

Posted: April 12th, 2008, 6:30pm EDT by Associated Press

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The government begins an unprecedented effort to give vaccine critics a say in shaping how the nation researches safety questions surrounding immunizations.

Feds Admit Accidents With Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Posted: April 12th, 2008, 5:00pm EDT by Associated Press

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The Bush administration acknowledges several accidents occurred at the only U.S. lab allowed to research the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease. The incidents are worrisome because an outbreak of the disease could devastate the livestock industry.

Skin-Breathing Frog Offers Insight Into Species Evolution

Posted: April 12th, 2008, 4:15pm EDT by Associated Press

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Scientists discover an aquatic frog that has no lungs and breathes through its skin in a remote area in Indonesia. The finding, which appears in this week's edition of the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology, could provide insight into what drives evolution in certain species.

TV Networks Take Risks on Web Viewers

Posted: April 12th, 2008, 4:00pm EDT by Associated Press

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Television networks, seeking new ways to tap into revenue through online ads, attract new viewers and keep loyal fans, are making bigger, riskier bets on Internet delivery of their shows.

Wired's Geekster Handbook, a Field Guide to the Nerd Underground

Posted: April 12th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Troy Brownfield

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From comics-crazed fanboys to fetishist otakus, here's our guide to spotting each species of geek out there in the wild.

On Location With an 'Obama in 30 Seconds' Crew

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 11:00pm EDT by Kat Wade, Kevin Poulsen. Photos by Kat Wade

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MoveOn.org is offering television exposure, and $20,000 in video equipment, for the best user-contributed 30-second ad promoting Barack Obama. With the deadline nearing, Wired.com tags along as one team shoots their video on the streets of Oakland.

Visualizing Viruses

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Ryan Singel

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Internet threats ruin hard drives and clog inboxes. But in the hands of an MIT graduate student, viruses and Trojans become menacing beauties. Art goes viral, really.

Reviews: M83 Ups the Tempo, X Saves the World, God of War Invades PSP

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT

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Wired.com runs down M83 new album Saturdays=Youth, God of War: Chains of Olympus and Jeff Gordinier manifesto X Saves the World.

How To Take Your Music Open Source With Ogg Vorbis

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 8:00pm EDT

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Unlike MP3 and AAC, the underdog Vorbis audio format is free of patent restrictions, and full support is only a few downloads away. Visit Wired.com’s How-To Wiki and start rockin’ in the free world.

Yuri's Night: The Complete World Space Party Users Guide

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT by Wired Science

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We present you with a guide to Yuri's Night, the world's largest party celebrating space and space culture, which is going down this Saturday.

Music Label's Eternal Ownership Argument is Rubbish

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 6:10pm EDT by Threat Level

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Music label claims it owns the eternal right to promotional CDs it gives away, and is suing a California man for selling promotional CDs on eBay. Digital rights groups say that is a distortion of copyright law.

Security Guru Gives Hackers a Taste of Their Own Medicine

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 6:00pm EDT by Threat Level

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A Swedish researcher discovers a way to hack a computer Trojan horse so that he can get inside the hacker's computer. The counter-hack comes just as the government and security industry warn of increasing danger of such targeted computer attacks.

Hurricane's Deep Ocean Roar Sounds Its Strength

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 5:00pm EDT by Wired Science

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Scientists determine that the acoustic signature of a hurricane heard through a "hydrophone" deep in the ocean is related to the strength of its winds. It could be a cheaper hurricane measurement system for developing countries.

That Blissfully Quiet Electric Car Might Just Kill You

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 3:15pm EDT by Autopia

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Congress thinks electric cars are too quiet and pose a threat to pedestrians and cyclists, not to mention all those people with iPods and cell phones surgically attached to their ears. Its solution? Have the Department of Transportation require hybrids and EVs to make more noise.

Show Us Your Hilarious Shrine to Science

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 2:30pm EDT by Wired Science

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Desperate scientists built a shockingly geeky shrine to lasers, but we want you to send Wired.com your even nerdier monuments to the science gods.

Scientists Flesh Out Plans to Grow (and Sell) Test Tube Meat

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 2:05pm EDT by Alexis Madrigal

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Biomedical engineers and food scientists join forces to take vat-grown meat from scientific curiosity to ethical meat consumer option.

Set-Top Box for BitTorrent to Simplify Downloads

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 2:00pm EDT by Gadget Lab

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Myka is a set-top box that will download and play BitTorrent files in a wide variety of formats. Company president Dan Lovy explains his plans in Gadget Lab.

Firefox Logo Spotted in Deep Space

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 1:40pm EDT by Gadget Lab

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The gas cloud surrounding a star that went nova in 2002 looks uncannily like the logo for the popular browser Firefox.

Ethics Be Hanged: Rupert Murdoch Is In It to Win

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 1:15pm EDT by Jeff Bercovici, Portfolio.com

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Observers puzzled by the media mogul's playing both sides of the street in the current battle between Yahoo and Microsoft shouldn't be surprised: Double-dealing and promise-breaking has been Murdoch's MO since Day One. From Portfolio.com.

Melting Ice Drains a Chilean Lake; Warming Blamed

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 11:25am EDT by Associated Press

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Melting ice causes a glacial lake to overflow, then abruptly empty, in a phenomenon scientists say is caused by rising temperatures.

Winner in Yahoo-Microsoft Battle? How About Google?

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 11:15am EDT by Associated Press

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The more drawn out Microsoft's pursuit of Yahoo becomes -- and all signs point to a protracted battle -- the better for Google, analysts say.

Targeted Ads, Corporate Snooping Offend Most Web Users

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 10:55am EDT

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Marketers may like targeted ads, and companies like Google and Microsoft certainly like tracking where people have been online, but 59 percent of their adoring public think it stinks.

Is the U.S. Army Reading Your Blog?

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 10:40am EDT by Danger Room

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The Army freely admits reading the things its soldiers have to say in their personal blogs. But there's also a chance the brass is having a look at what you post, too, Mr. Civilian, if you're blogging about their GIs.

High Hopes for Pratt & Whitney's New Jet Engine

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 10:35am EDT by Autopia

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The company's next-generation Geared Turbofan, the result of a $1 billion, 20-year project, promises to be both quieter and more efficient. Aircraft manufacturers like what they see.

Think You Can Design a Car? Prove It

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Autopia

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Think you've got what it takes to stand alongside Walter de'Silva and design a sweet car? There's an automotive startup in Massachusetts that wants to hear from you. Impress them and they might just build it.

NSFW Gallery: Sex Science From Da Vinci to MRIs

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Randy Dotinga

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A variety of bizarre theories and sex experiments appear in this not-safe-for-work gallery of images from Mary Roach's book Bonk.

Its Contagious: Quarantine, the Next Viral Movie Craze

Posted: April 11th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Underwire

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The first viral marketing video for Quarantine, the remake of a Spanish movie, picks up a million views the weekend it surfaces on YouTube. It's the latest in a string of movies to use MySpace and Facebook pages for promotion.

We've Been Changing the Climate for Eons, and That's Reason for Hope

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 11:00pm EDT by Peter Schwartz

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Some scientists believe that humans have been affecting the Earth's climate since as long ago as 6,000 BC. One argues that there's a positive implication in that, if true.

Sex Drive: Talk Dirty, Descriptively in Porn for the Blind

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Regina Lynn

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An open source erotic endeavor seeks play-by-play interpretations of onscreen video action, proving there's plenty of heat left in the spoken word.

April 11, 1984: Shuttle Makes House Call, Repairs Satellite

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Randy Alfred

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Two astronauts go EVA to grab the malfunctioning Solar Max satellite, fix it and send it happily back into orbit.

The Latest Trend in Microcars Positions the Engine as Backseat Driver

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 7:45pm EDT by John Voelcker

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Reminiscent of the first BMC Minis a half-century ago, today's tiny cars more and more are being built with rear motors.

Muni Wireless Is Dead. Here Comes a New Way to Connect

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT by Michael Fitzgerald

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Two nonprofits, the Knight Foundation and One Economy, have announced major new plans to bring internet access to low-income communities. Both hope to succeed where ambitious municipal WiFi projects have failed.

Do High-Tech Swimsuits Give Racers an Edge?

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 6:45pm EDT by Associated Press

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Some say the LZR Racer's ultra-lightweight technology gives competitors an unfair advantage. What do you think?

Espionage Against Pro-Tibet Groups, Others, Spurred Microsoft Patches

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 6:40pm EDT by Ryan Singel

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A previously unexplained spike in security patches issued for Microsoft Office in 2006 and 2007 was spurred by sophisticated hack attacks against pro-Tibet organizations and U.S. defense contractors, an insider claims.

How to Prevent Hearing Loss

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 5:45pm EDT by How-To Wiki

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Your MP3s sound extra crisp through those expensive ear buds. But living too much of the present in the digital music bubble will lead to a future of silence. Learn how to protect yourself from permanent hearing damage in Wired's How-To-Wiki.

Orbiter Captures High-Res Color Pics of Martian Moon

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 5:15pm EDT by Wired Science

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NASA has released new pictures of the Martian moon Phobos in glorious high-resolution and color.

Apple May Have Pulled Radiohead's "Nude" from Top Songs Chart

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 4:30pm EDT

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Apple appears to have pulled Radiohead's "Nude" from the Top Songs lists on iTunes, possibly due to the stem files for the song -- also available on iTunes -- artificially contributing to the song's download tally

'Homestar Runner' Episodic Game Coming to WiiWare

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 3:15pm EDT by Game|Life

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Brace yourself for five episodes of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People.

Feds Charge Porn Producer With Selling Adult Content ... to Adults

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 3:00pm EDT by Threat Level

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Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., level felony obscenity charges against a Los Angeles adult-movie producer for selling his skin flicks over the internet to paying adults. Your tax dollars at work.

Game Gets Tougher for Activision's Top Game Boy

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 1:45pm EDT by Kevin Maney, Portfolio.com

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CEO Bobby Kotick bought Guitar Hero and became a star. But will tough competition knock him on his ax? From Portfolio.com.

New Japanese Technology to Keep You Smiling

Posted: April 10th, 2008, 11:35am EDT by Associated Press

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A Japanese health-care company devises technology to measure the breadth of your smile. The practical applications sound a bit iffy -- can a smile really assess one's emotional state? -- but, hey, whatever.

High-Tech Olympic Torch Carries 5,000 Years of History

Posted: April 9th, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Bryan Gardiner

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The controversial Olympic torch was designed by Chinese computer-maker Lenovo, which shows off its design decisions in this gallery.

EMC Snaps Up Storage Also-Ran Iomega

Posted: April 9th, 2008, 11:22am EDT by Epicenter Blog

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Once the darling of the tech-stock boom, Zip drive maker Iomega is sold to big-business storage giant EMC for a paltry $213 million.

It's A-OK for Korea's First Astronaut; Mom Faints Anyway

Posted: April 9th, 2008, 11:20am EDT by Associated Press

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Yi So-yeon, a 29-year-old biochemist, becomes South Korea's first astronaut when she rockets into space with two Russian cosmonauts. Despite the flawless launch, it's too much for her mother.

Google Says, 'Sorry, You Search Like a Bot'

Posted: April 9th, 2008, 10:50am EDT by Compiler

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One surfer is continually hit with 403 Forbidden error prompts on Google searches, prompting him to ask, "Whaddup with that?"

Without a Central Core, Can Mass Transit Work in L.A.?

Posted: April 9th, 2008, 10:35am EDT by Autopia

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Southern California continues sprawling as its population grows, but that very sprawl may be what undermines the chance to operate an effective rapid transit system.

Is an 11-Year-Old Network Administrator a Good Idea?

Posted: April 9th, 2008, 12:45am EDT by GeekDads

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It's the GeekDads Episode 16: Pneumatic Koitapult. The GeekDads talk about their upcoming contest, plans for the Maker Faire and whether it's smart to trust all your IT to an 11-year-old sysadmin.

Trying to Design a Truly Entertaining Game Can Defeat Even a Certified Genius

Posted: April 9th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Chris Baker

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Make it fun, keep it simple: A social scientist shares the lessons learned from designing an Elizabethan-era videogame.

Permalink for 'Wired__Top_Stories/2008/04/09/Lore_Sj__246_berg_s_Alt_Text__Fat_Lady_Sings_for_Geeky_Time_Traveler'

Lore Sjöberg's Alt Text: Fat Lady Sings for Geeky Time Traveler

Posted: April 9th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Lore Sjöberg

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The Met hits the metroplex as La Bohème takes a futuristic trip to the past. Commentary by Lore Sjöberg.

15th Anniversary: Do You Speak Meme? Match the Buzz Phrase With Its Definition

Posted: April 9th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Erik Malinowski

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Radical transparency, crowdsourcing and more: Take our quiz to see how many of these trends you know.

The Mac Guru of Damascus in the Case of the Missing Laptops

Posted: April 9th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Eric Umansky

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Even though the police came out in droves, the key to finding the missing Macs was a single citizen of Damascus.

Texans Build World's Most Powerful Laser

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 11:30pm EDT by Wired Science

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Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have built the world's most powerful laser, a machine that produces one million billion watts of power for a tiny fraction of a second.

April 9, 1806: I.K. Brunel Is Born, a Giant Among Engineers

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 11:30pm EDT by Randy Alfred

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The greatest civil engineer of his day built railroads, bridges, tunnels, docks and ships ... at enormous scale.

Guitarati Sees a Rainbow Where Others See Music Genres

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 8:20pm EDT by Listening Post

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The mood-ring-style music site lets you pick tunes by your emotional hue.

Flickr Adds Video Sharing for 'Pro' Members

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 7:20pm EDT by Compiler

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Starting Tuesday, Yahoo's popular photo-sharing site is giving paid subscribers the ability to upload and share short, personal videos up to a minute and a half in length.

Avoid Paying Late Fees at the Video Store

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT by How-To Wiki

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Not yet a Netflix devotee? Still getting stung with late fees? Here's a simple trick that will save you a few bucks and the embarrassing stares of strangers. In Wired.com's How-To Wiki.

Clinton and Obama Talk Religion, Not Science

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 6:15pm EDT by Wired Science

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Church and state are supposed to be separate, but presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would still rather talk God than science.

TIME Magazine Wins Threat Level's Competition for Best Blog-Rating Story

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 6:15pm EDT by Threat Level

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Time.com's first annual list of Top 25 Blogs shows insight and taste. And we'd be saying that even if we weren't on the list. Did we mention we're on the list?

Space Startup Rocketplane Fails to Launch

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 4:00pm EDT by Eliza Strickland

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Originally scheduled to launch its first commercial spaceflight in 2007, Rocketplane now is battling missed deadlines and better-funded competitors.

Study: Editor-Reader Gap in News Sites

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 3:10pm EDT by Associated Press

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While newspaper editors and their readers agree on the basic principles of good journalism, they don't agree on how much direct reader participation there should be on news sites.

Google Guns for Amazon With App-Hosting Service

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 2:45pm EDT by Epicenter

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Google launched a web application-hosting business today, called Google App Engine, which is poised to give Amazon.com a run for its money.

Microsoft-Yahoo Proxy Fight Seems Likely

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 2:30pm EDT by Epicenter

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Now that Yahoo has again rebuffed Microsoft's acquisition offer, what's next? A proxy battle seems likely; we spell out the steps on that path in this post. In Epicenter.

Olympic Torch Emits 5,500 Tons of CO2

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 2:15pm EDT by Autopia

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The Olympic Torch will generate 5,500 tons -- yes, tons -- of carbon dioxide during its worldwide tour as Chinese officials shuttle it around the globe aboard a jet that burns 5.4 gallons of fuel per mile.

U.S. Cybersecurity Plans Take Center Stage at RSA

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 1:45pm EDT by Threat Level

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U.S. officials flock to the RSA Conference in San Francisco to sell the private sector on a plan to put the NSA in charge of cybersecurity for the federal government, and eventually, for the civilian internet too.

Olympic Torch Protesters Go Viral to Rally Support

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 1:35pm EDT by Underwire

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Video company RapOuts gives activists another tool for spreading the word as the relay reaches San Francisco.

Seat 2B: The Big Airlines Smell Blood ... Yours

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 1:15pm EDT by Joe Brancatelli, Portfolio.com

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In the wake of four airline shutdowns, the sky is falling -- on the heads of business travelers. From Portfolio.com.

Author Probes Sex-Obsessed Scientists in 'Bonk'

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 1:15pm EDT by Randy Dotinga

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In this interview, author Mary Roach discusses the sex researchers and odd sexual science discoveries profiled in her new book, Bonk.

U.S., European Physicists Race to Isolate 'God Particle'

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 11:20am EDT by Associated Press

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The father of the as-yet theoretical particle that underpins the atom says he expects confirmation of its existence by next year -- either from the Americans at the Fermi Accelerator or the Europeans at the new CERN lab.

Online Sales Expected to Rise, Defying Lousy Economy

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 11:05am EDT by Associated Press

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Analysts forecast a 17 percent rise in online sales -- stoked by purchases of cars, clothes and computers -- even as the overall economy continues to implode.

Enter Navigenics, Where Personal Genomics Gets More Medical

Posted: April 8th, 2008, 11:00am EDT by Wired Science

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Personal genomics company Navigenics has launched with a plan to move your genome from your cells onto your doctor's clipboard.

Microsoft Threatens to Go Hostile on Yahoo

Posted: April 5th, 2008, 3:00pm EDT by epicenter

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Microsoft says Yahoo has three weeks to negotiate a decent deal, after which time Microsoft is going to get medieval on its ass.

The Cost of E-Voting

Posted: April 5th, 2008, 2:30pm EDT by Threat Level

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One reason election officials around the country give for purchasing touch-screen voting machines is to save money. But a voting integrity group in Maryland find out the 19,000 touch-screen machines their state purchased are wildly more expensive than anyone anticipated.

Charles Manson Goes Creative Commons for Record

Posted: April 5th, 2008, 1:30pm EDT by Underwire

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Murderous psycho and wannabe musician Charles Manson releases a record under a Creative Commons license. Manson's record, One Mind, gives everybody a glimpse of his musical artistry (as well as his whack-job theories) -- and the Creative Commons license means you're free to share and remix Manson's mad tracks.

Top 5 Recreational Drug Experiments

Posted: April 5th, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by wired science

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Recreational drugs are a ridiculously fun topic for scientific research. They could also be the inspiration for powerful new medications. We are often amazed by the fascinating, and sometimes hilarious, stories that make their way into peer-reviewed journals. Here are some of our faves.

Federal Judges Disagree on Legality of Uploading

Posted: April 5th, 2008, 12:30am EDT by Associated Press

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A federal judge in a record industry lawsuit against college students finds in a pretrial ruling that leaving a copyrighted song where others can get at it with P2P software doesn't constitute a copyright violation until someone downloads it. The Boston judge's comments conflict with a New York federal judge's statements that leaving a copyrighted file accessible could be illegal, even if nobody downloads it.

15th Anniversary: The Cultural Legacy of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'

Posted: April 5th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Carl Gustav Horn

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Neon Genesis Evangelion's role as anime pioneer continues to this day. Check out its ever-expanding cultural influence.

ISP Contracts Curb Users' Rights

Posted: April 5th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Associated Press

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Internet Service Providers use subscriber contracts to explicitly absolve themselves of obligations that no one would imagine they had in the first place. Some of the fine print tries to ban nefarious practices like spamming and fraud with clauses so broad that it applies to a lot of legitimate activities.

Gallery: Celebrity D&D Characters, Rolled by Readers

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 11:30pm EDT by Aaron Rowe

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Wired.com readers roll the Dungeons & Dragons stats for celebrities from Steve Jobs to Paris Hilton and with a Stephen Hawking and a Dean Kamen.

Pitchfork.tv Takes a Stab at Music Videos

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Eliot Van Buskirk

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The site known for its music reviews turns its tastemakers' attention to video, serving up high-quality original interviews and performances by bands that matter. Wired.com gets an exclusive preview.

Sex and Financial Risk Linked in Brain

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 7:30pm EDT by Associated Press

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When young men are shown erotic pictures, they are more likely to make a larger financial gamble.

Researchers Cram 20 Seconds of Music Into Sub-Kilobyte File

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 6:50pm EDT by Listening Post

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A new compression scheme creates audio files 1,000 times smaller than a standard MP3, and makes quick work of a clarinet solo.

Review: 'Dark Sector' Defines Shallow Fun

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 6:45pm EDT by Game|Life

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Great graphics and action-packed gameplay trump a forgettable story every time.

Store Your Comics Properly

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 5:50pm EDT by How-to Wiki

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Still stacking your comics in a cardboard box in Uncle Joe’s attic? Get with the geek program. Learn the proper techniques for bagging, sorting and storing your four-color collectors items.

Officials: Overreaction to Bush Administration Complaint Prompted Block on 'Abortion' Searches

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 5:20pm EDT by Threat Level

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An administration complaint about two abortion articles indexed by a U.S.-funded health search engine led to the blocking of nearly 25,000 others, according to U.S. officials and the dean of the university that runs the site.

Airlines Try to Lighten Up ... Literally

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 5:20pm EDT

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Glassware and fancy silverware are out, plastic cups and cheap flatware are in as U.S. airlines shave every ounce of excess weight in a mad dash to cut fuel costs.

Couple Sues Google for Posting House Pix

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 4:15pm EDT by Associated Press

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A Pennsylvania couple sues Google Inc., saying pictures of their home on Street View violate their privacy and devalue their property. Their complaint says the street is marked "Private Road."

Five-Megapixel Camera Phones Invade the Market

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 3:45pm EDT by Daniel Dumas

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Phone manufacturers, eager to make their handsets stand out, are cranking up the megapixels on their camera phones.

Lawsuit Claim: Students' Lecture Notes Infringe on Professor's Copyright

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 3:30pm EDT by Threat Level

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University of Florida professor Michael Moulton and his e-textbook publisher are suing a company that repackages and sells student notes, arguing that copyright law protects the lectures he gives to his students.

Rolling Stones Kick Off Living Legends, YouTube's Video Q&A

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 3:15pm EDT by Underwire

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Fans can submit questions directly to Mick and the boys through the video site's new, monthly feature. Who should be next on the hot seat?

Can Automakers Build a 100-MPG Car?

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 3:00pm EDT by Autopia

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What would a 100-mpg car look like? Why, the Chevrolet Volt, of course, says General Motors. The General says we'll be using internal combustion for some time to come, and the only way to hit triple-digit fuel economy is to combine gas engines with electric motors. But does it have to cost $48,000?

New DNA Evidence of Early North Americans

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 2:00pm EDT by Associated Press

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A new study finds humans lived in North America more than 14,000 years ago, 1,000 years earlier than had previously been known. DNA derived from fossil feces found in a cave in Oregon shows these early residents were related to people living in Siberia and East Asia.

Europeans Show Off Possibly Useful, Definitely Bizarre Inventions

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 2:00pm EDT by Wired Science

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This mini-gallery showcases the inventions of the wacky mix of French tinkerers, Italian inventors and Spanish visionaries that the 36th International Exhibition of Inventions drew to Geneva this year.

Bacteria That Thrive on a Diet of Antibiotics

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Associated Press

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In a study published in Friday's edition of the journal Science, Harvard researchers discover hundreds of germs in soil that eat antibiotics and thrive with the potent drugs as their sole source of nutrition. These bacteria outwit antibiotics in a disturbingly novel way, and now the race is on to figure out just how they do it.

AT&T Wanted Unrestricted Spectrum

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 11:30am EDT by Associated Press

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As companies are able to talk about their spectrum buys this week, AT&T reveals it spent heavily for spectrum portions encumbered with fewer regulations in the recent FCC auction, avoiding the more heavily regulated "C block" of spectrum.

Feds Lift Ban on IBM Contracts

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 11:00am EDT by Associated Press

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A week-old ban preventing IBM from getting federal contracts is rescinded. The company has to drop a protest against a lost EPA contract to get the deal.

German Fans Craft Real 'World of Warcraft' Armor

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 10:00am EDT by Game|Life

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A painstaking replica of Paladin Tier 2 armor, aka the Judgement set, puts the "wow" in custom WoW gear.

DIY Battle Bot? All You Need Is $742 Million and No Sense of Reality!

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 7:00am EDT by Lisa Katayama

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The director of a Japanese robotics firm plans to build a six-story-tall rendition of the classic battle robot Gundam.

Scott Brown on Why 'Battlestar Galactica' Must Self-Destruct

Posted: April 4th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Scott Brown

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Scott Brown discusses what he considers to be inevitable for the upcoming fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica.

April 4, 1975: Bill Gates, Paul Allen Form a Little Partnership

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 11:30pm EDT by Randy Alfred

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Two pioneer geeks get in on the ground floor and make something big: Microsoft.

Cylon Mania Blazes Back in 'Battlestar Galactica'

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Hugh Hart

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"Skin jobs," resurrections and a Jesus complex: New questions arise (and precious few answers materialize) as the gritty sci-fi show makes its return to airwaves. Get a sneak peek at the first show of the final season.

Carl Zimmer's Dissection: Your Brain is a Mess, but It Knows How to Make Fixes

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Carl Zimmer

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The brain has a lot of work to do, but most of its signals get distorted by transmission errors. Luckily, it knows how to compensate. Commentary by Carl Zimmer.

Biologists Take Evolution Beyond Darwin -- Way Beyond

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Brandon Keim

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For some biologists, Darwinian evolution doesn't go nearly far enough: They want to apply evolutionary principles to populations, ecosystems and even the entire universe.

Supercharge Your Digital Camera With Open-Source Firmware

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 7:45pm EDT by How-to Wiki

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Your cheap digital camera is capable of a lot more than the user manual lets on. By using the free CHDK firmware package, you can take amazing high-speed photos, shoot better low-light pics and add support for high-definition formats. In Wired.com's How-To Wiki.

MetroLyrics Becomes First Lyrics Site to Go Legit

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 7:00pm EDT by Listening Post

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A new partnership with Gracenote means songwriters will get a cut of ad revenue generated by the popular site.

EBay Would Be Nuts to Sell Skype

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 6:30pm EDT by Epicenter Blog

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Rumors have been floating that eBay is about to sell its VoIP division, Skype, to Google. But the deal doesn't make sense to Silicon Valley insiders.

U.S.-Funded Health Search Engine Blocks 'Abortion'

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 5:50pm EDT by Threat Level

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Popline, the world's largest database on reproductive health, suddenly produces no search results for the word "abortion," apparently out of fear of Bush administration reprisal.

Lawless Gene-Testing Industry Needs a Sheriff

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 5:30pm EDT by Brandon Keim

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A growing number of companies say their genetic tests can help you decide which drugs to take -- but in many cases, there's no evidence to support those claims.

Internet Posse Busts 'The Claw,' Canada's Dumbest Car Thief

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 3:15pm EDT by Chuck Squatriglia

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Steal a car in Calgary and the city's internet posse of gearheads will bring you down. Just ask The Claw.

Scientists Find Another, More Reasonable Universe

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 3:10pm EDT by Wired Science

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String theorists have discovered an alternate universe where climate change is taken seriously, cheeseburgers are good for you, and April Fools' Day falls on April 3

MySpace, Major Labels Join Forces for Online Music Store

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 2:50pm EDT by Listening Post

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A deal between the popular site and all but one of the majors puts free streaming music on the plate. MySpace Music will also sell DRM-free downloads and other music merchandise.

Goodbye, U740; Hello, Alias: Phones Get Better Names

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 2:45pm EDT by Gadget Lab Blog

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Handset manufacturers are starting to replace their products' obscure, alphanumeric names with more memorable monikers, like "Alias," "Soul" and "Xperia."

Murakami Makes Manga Larger Than Life (NSFW)

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 2:30pm EDT by Underwire

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Get a sneak peek at the Japanese artist's anime-inspired sculptures and paintings, on display this weekend in a Brooklyn Museum retrospective.

Scientists Find Genetic Link to Smoking Addiction

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 11:00am EDT by Associated Press

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Researchers ID genetic variations that make people more likely to get hooked on cigarettes and more prone to develop lung cancer. The discovery by three separate teams of scientists shows how genetics and lifestyle join forces to cause cancer.

Intel Unveils New Classmate PCs

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 10:00am EDT by Associated Press

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The chipmaker stokes its rivalry with the One Laptop per Child organization, and shows off new features of its low-cost school laptops. Slated to go on sale in April for $300 to $500, the model is part of Intel's push for mobile "netbooks," aimed at millions of new consumers coming online in developing countries, as well as U.S. kids.

How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 12:30am EDT by Danger Room

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What happens when zombies try to take over the world? Here's what you should know.

MySpace Fields Online Music Venture

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Associated Press

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In a joint venture with three big recording companies (Universal, Sony, Warner), MySpace sets up to ply users with music and videos. Online denizens can listen and watch for free, or purchase music downloads.

Deal With Your Mild Autism

Posted: April 3rd, 2008, 12:00am EDT by How-To Wiki

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Asperger's syndrome has become the affliction du jour for geeks of all stripes. Known more commonly as mild autism, here are some tips for dealing with its symptoms, should you find yourself so stricken.

Death and Fanboys: Q&A With Sexy 'Galactica' Cylon Tricia Helfer

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 11:30pm EDT by Hugh Hart

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Take the role of a battle-hardened robot with a decidedly sensual side, and geeks at sci-fi conventions can get a mixed message. Tricia Helfer explains what it's like to play Six (and live to talk about it).

Trademark Dispute Pits Apple vs. The Big Apple

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Bryan Gardiner

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The apple logo for a New York environmental-awareness campaign provokes the ire of Apple, which says it infringes on the iPod maker's trademarks.

High-Tech Tomb Hunter Finds Unmarked Graves for a Living

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Marty Graham

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Tennessee-based cemetery-science investigator Elizabeth Agin has used ground penetrating radar, geospatial software and a kite with a camera attached to find hundreds of unmarked graves around the country.

Bruce Schneier's Security Matters: The Difference Between Feeling and Reality

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Bruce Schneier

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We use the same word, security, to describe a feeling, and a reality. Knowing the difference is key. Commentary by Bruce Schneier.

April 3, 1973: Motorola Calls AT&T ... by Cell

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Randy Alfred

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Hold the phone ... if you can. It weighs a few pounds, but it's the first cellphone.

Gallery: Shiny, Happy Cellphones From Your Future

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 7:15pm EDT by Danny Dumas & Isaac Brekken

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Wired.com brings you a gallery of the most beautiful, inspired and interesting handsets at CTIA Wireless 2008 in Las Vegas.

What's Wired This Month: Grand Theft Auto IV, Nick Cave's Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!, Indiana Jones Bullwhip

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 6:45pm EDT

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Get ready for Wired.com's latest visual roundup: The Black Keys, Nick Cave's Dig!!! Lazarus Digg!!! and Indiana Jones' bullwhip among others.

Algorithms Are Terrific. But to Search Smarter, Find a Person

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 6:40pm EDT by Brendan I. Koerner

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Wired.com profiles Jeremy Brosowsky, founder and creator of Brijit, a startup that produces 100-word abstracts of newspaper and magazine content both on and offline.

Remix Radiohead's 'Nude' and Win ... Something (Maybe)

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 6:00pm EDT by Listening Post

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The band that loves to turn the industry on its head launches a remix contest. There's a cool voting widget, but shockingly little info on what happens to the hottest tracks.

'Google Slap' Destroys Revenue, Advertisers Say

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 6:00pm EDT by Epicenter

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A major change made to its AdWords algorithm in March is having a dramatic, adverse effect on some advertisers.

VCs Adjust to Facing More Competitors for Fewer Companies.

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Josh McHugh

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Venture capitalists are vying against new sources of funding to woo internet startups but have found innovative ways to stay ahead of the competition.

Tooth Regeneration May Replace Drill-and-Fill

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Alexis Madrigal

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A dental researcher is working on a technique for regenerating the minerals in teeth -- which may eliminate the need for patching cavities with metal fillings.

Iron Man Inspires a Look at the Evolution of the Exoskeleton

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Neil Drumming

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We take a visual tour through movies of yore to examine the evolution of the high-tech body armor that protects and enhances the powers our favorite sci-fi characters.

15th Anniversary: Why the Future Still Needs Us a While Longer

Posted: April 2nd, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Lucas Graves

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We revisit internet pioneer Bill Joy’s predictions of technology taking over and threatening our survival. How close have we come to our own demise?

April 2, 1889: Aluminum Process Foils Steep Prices

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 11:30pm EDT by Randy Alfred

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A brilliant young chemist comes up with an efficient process to create a much-desired material, finds financial backing, and launches a startup that's lasted 120 years.

The Double-Decker Smart ForTwo: Twice the Space, Half the Handling

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Autopia

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Love Smart's adorable ForTwo but need something bigger? This double-decker ForTwo is just the ticket. Watch out for moose though.

Microsoft Promises Not to Hoard Crypto-Based ID Protection

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Alexander Gelfand

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Microsoft acquires the patents to a sophisticated identity-management system that allows users to exercise absolute control over the information they release online. Redmond insists it'll make the technology available to everyone ... eventually.

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Lore Sjöberg's Alt Text: Don't Tug on Superman's Copyright

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Lore Sjöberg

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Luckily for the Man of Steel, rights fights aren't the legal equivalent of kryptonite. Commentary by Lore Sjöberg.

Flying Spaghetti Monster Lands Outside Tennessee Courthouse

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Underwire

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A sculpture of the Pastafarian diety makes a statement about free speech and freedom of religion. Plus, it looks tasty.

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Wiretap Debate

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Ryan Singel

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Congress returned to Washington on Tuesday, and already the debate over wiretapping and telecom amnesty has started up again. Wired.com answers your questions on what's at stake and what's likely to happen.

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Octopuses Have Kinky — and Short — Sex Lives

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 8:45pm EDT by Associated Press

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University of California researchers say octopuses use gender deception and even murder to succeed in their once-in-a-lifetime sexual quest.

Scientists Stream Human-Free Antarctic Soundscape

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 6:35pm EDT by Wired Science

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German scientists have dropped a microphone under the Antarctic sea ice to learn how a human-free ocean sounds, and you can listen in live.

Fall Like a Pro Skater

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 6:15pm EDT by Adrienne So

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The next time you try to bust the sickest air of all time, take this advice from Australian pro skateboarder Jake Brown in Wired'.com's How-To Wiki.

Want to Drive in Manhattan? That'll Be $8, Please

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 6:00pm EDT by Autopia

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Following London's lead, the Big Apple decides the best way to address congestion and global warming is to charge people to drive in the city.

Want a Greener Tomorrow? Every 40-Ounce Counts

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 4:45pm EDT by Mary Catherine O'Connor

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A nonprofit called Carrotmob wants to help businesses become more eco-friendly by using online organizing and "flash mob" shopping tactics.

No Open Networks for You, FCC Chair Tells Skype

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 4:00pm EDT by Associated Press

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FCC Chairman Kevin Martin tells the crowd at the annual CTIA Wireless show that he would oppose Skype's petition to open up wireless carriers' networks.

Destroy Your Most Hated Gadget, Take Pictures

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 3:45pm EDT by Wired.com Photo Department

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Wired.com's photo department asks readers to submit photographs of gadgetry in the process of being beaten down and destroyed.

Nokia Unveils WiMax-Enabled Internet Tablet

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 3:25pm EDT by Gadget Lab Blog

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Nokia's N810 Internet Tablet will soon be available with support for long-range, high-bandwidth WiMax wireless networking.

Teen Involved in MySpace Suicide Hoax Says Adult Also Participated

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 3:15pm EDT by Threat Level

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Despite denials, 47-year-old Lori Drew actively participated in the MySpace hoax that led to the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier, according to a teenager who admits her own role in the tragedy.

Video: See New WiiWare Games in Action

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 3:00pm EDT by Game|Life

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Dr. Mario and Okiraku Ping-Pong are cool, but where's Punch-Out? Witness the winners and losers offered in the Japanese version of the service.

Sprint Bets the House on an iPhone-Like Touch-Screen

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 2:15pm EDT by Associated Press

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The Instinct appears to be the closest thing on the U.S. market to Apple's iPhone, and Sprint will spend a bundle to flog the new phone.

Confessions of a 'Grand Theft Auto' Virgin

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 2:15pm EDT by Game|Life

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The videogame series notorious for its violent content has won tons of fans eager to play the part of drug dealers and car thieves. With a new sequel on the way, a holdout wants a taste.

Hybrids Are All the Rage -- But Try Buying One

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 1:45pm EDT by Autopia

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Oh sure -- hybrids are selling like hot cakes. But finding one is only slightly easier than affording one.

Blogonomics: 'I Don't Know What My Salary Is'

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 1:45pm EDT by Felix Salmon, Portfolio.com

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What's the best way to figure a pay rate for a blogger? The current idea is to pay by the page-view rate, but that model is fraught with ups and downs. Literally. From Portfolio.com.

Modder Explains How He Fixed Creative's Broken Vista Drivers

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 1:20pm EDT by Gadget Lab

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The Creative Labs fan who fixed the company's sound card drivers so they would work with Windows Vista machines, only to be threatened by Creative's executives, explains how he did it.

YouTube 'Rickrolls' Everyone

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Underwire

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Try to watch a featured clip on the site, and you'll get a dose of Rick Astley's cheesy '80s music video. Happy April Fools' Day.

New Details Revealed of Music Industry Plan to OK P2P

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Frank Rose

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Wired.com has exclusive details of the music industry's controversial plan to charge a fee for unlimited music downloads using P2P networks.

Plaintiff Sues, Seeing Red Over Apple Color Claim

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 11:40am EDT by Associated Press

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Apple's claim that its 20-inch iMac desktop can display "millions of colors" draws a lawsuit from a disgruntled Mac user who claims the computer can only display 262,144 true colors.

IOC Tells China It Wants Unfettered Net for Olympics

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 11:20am EDT by Associated Press

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In the last official session between Olympic organizers and Beijing officials prior to the summer games, the IOC insists that the Chinese not block internet access to the foreign media.

Video: Surveying D&D's Entry-Level Spells

Posted: April 1st, 2008, 11:00am EDT by Underwire

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A wizard's gotta do what a wizard's gotta do, and for newbies that means a lot of less-than-magical incantations.

News From Yellow Business Pages » Wired: Top Stories » April 2008

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Wired: Top Stories (342 unread)

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by How-To Wiki

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Randy Alfred

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 8:20pm EDT by Threat Level

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 8:00pm EDT by Brendan Spiegel

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 7:30pm EDT by Underwire

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT by Wired Science

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 6:45pm EDT by Underwire

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 5:30pm EDT by Threat Level

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 5:30pm EDT

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 4:20pm EDT by Wired Science

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 4:15pm EDT by Wired Science

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 3:00pm EDT by Danger Room

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 3:00pm EDT by Gadget Lab

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 10:25am EDT by Associated Press

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 10:16am EDT by Listening Post

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 9:11am EDT by Gadget Lab

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 8:40am EDT by Associated Press

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 8:03am EDT by Epicenter

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 12:15am EDT by Willow Duttge, Portfolio.com

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Kristen Philipkoski

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Threat Level

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by Autopia

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Posted: April 30th, 2008, 12:00am EDT by David Axe

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Alexis Madrigal

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Lore Sjöberg

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT by Randy Alfred

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 8:20pm EDT by Wired Science

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 5:40pm EDT by Autopia

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 3:40pm EDT by Threat Level

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 3:10pm EDT by Threat Level

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 2:40pm EDT by Gadget Lab Blog

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 2:30pm EDT by Compiler

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 11:29am EDT by Brandon Keim

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 11:00am EDT by Listening Post

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 10:55am EDT by Kevin Kelleher, Portfolio.com

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 10:46am EDT by Sharon Weinberger

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 10:04am EDT by Associate Press

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 9:47am EDT

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Posted: April 29th, 2008, 9:21am EDT by Charlie Sorrel