The World’s First Solar-Powered Waterproof Cell Phone – “Ever find yourself with a water-soaked low-battery phone? Sharp and Japanese network KDDI have a solution: the world’s first solar-powered waterproof cell phone…”

Ballmer, IBM reportedly surprised by Oracle-Sun deal – “I’m hearing that Ballmer wasn’t the only one surprised by Monday’s deal. According to a source of mine, IBM hadn’t given up on purchasing Sun and was blindsided by Oracle’s move…”

Pathological gaming: address the child, not just the games – “A new study by the director of research of the National Institute for Media and the Family found that one out of every ten children showed signs of addictive behavior when it comes to playing games. The results are troubling, although they do create a tricky “chicken-and-egg” problem when trying to deal with the challenges facing the children in the study…”

A Look Inside Facebook’s Data Center – “If your users are uploading 40 million photos a day, what does your data center look like? “

The Footprint of Air Pressure: CO2 Comparison – ” Since Tata Motors announced plans to build an air-powered car, the world has been buzzing about this environmentally friendly, innovative way to propel a vehicle. But is using the grid to compress air and, in turn, run an engine, any more efficient than, say, a hybrid’s gas-electric powertrain or even a conventional internal-combustion engine? We crunched the numbers on six vehicles that already have solid environmental bragging rights to find out…”

Why it is so hard to stay focused these days—and what to do about it – “Some people, she explains, are badly prone to distraction and need to be treated for attention deficit disorder. Others, like increasing numbers of us multitaskers, are merely plagued by bad habits and technology overload, darting from one mental activity to the next. So what can we do to recover the sustained focus that fosters creativity and quality?”

Designed to make the gas to electric motorcycle conversion easy – “No other hub motor on the market today is design exclusively for the motorcycle conversion market. The motor uses a higher voltage, lower current design to minimize losses from wire heating. It is able to achieve 10KW continuous and up to 30KW peak. The motor is thermally protected when using the recommended Kelly Controller to prevent overheating and burn out. The Hub motor is designed for motorcycles weighing less than 400 pounds with the batteries (dry weight, no rider)…”

The problem with Apple’s App Store – The developers perspective

Green and mean: The downside of clean energy – “YOU can understand the frustration on both sides. Environmentalists worldwide are clamouring for bold action to end the burning of fossil fuels and plug the world into renewables. Politicians throw their weight behind a $14 billion scheme that would replace the equivalent of eight coal-fired power stations with tidal power. What do they get for their pains? Green outrage…”

The Social Pulse of Human Connectivity On A Planetary Scale – “734pxsix_degrees_of_separation_2 Microsoft has studied a total of 30 billion instant messages sent by over 250 million people in June of 2006, and determined that we are in fact, all linked by only 6.6 degrees of separation…”

Sharp Mebius NJ70A Has Twice as Many Screens as a Typical Netbook – “On paper, the Mebius NJ70A looks just about the same as every other Atom netbook, except for one glaring, 854×480, 4-inch, multitouch LCD difference…”

Researcher use brain interface to post to Twitter – “In early April, Adam Wilson posted a status update on the social networking Web site Twitter – just by thinking about it…”

A Lawyer, Some Teens and a Fight Over ‘Sexting’ – “Photos of their semi-nude or scantily clad teenage daughters were stacked before him. Mr. Skumanick said the images had been discovered on cellphones confiscated at the local high school. They could either enlist their kids in an education program or have the teens face felony charges of child pornography. “We could have just arrested them but we didn’t,” said Mr. Skumanick in an interview…”

The Great Brazilian Sat-Hack Crackdown – “Ten days later, Brazilian Federal Police swooped in on 39 suspects in six states in the largest crackdown to date on a growing problem here: illegal hijacking of U.S. military satellite transponders…”

Apple’s New Weapon – “To help soldiers make sense of data from drones, satellites and ground sensors, the U.S. military now issues the iPod Touch…”

Facebook fatigue – “Maybe there is a reason your old friends and old girlfriends are old friends and old girlfriends. Maybe you’ve already told them everything you had to say — with the exception of what you just ate for breakfast…”

Streetfilms: Behind the Scenes at LA Traffic Control – “I have to admit: The thought of filming a control room designed to move vehicles more efficiently didn’t excite me at first. But once I met Senior Transportation Engineer Bill Shao and the friendly staff at Los Angeles’ Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control (ATSAC), I was full of curiosity…”

Recklessly Seeking Sex on Craigslist – “A recent divorcé who lacked the money and confidence for a conventional date, Melvin, 35, had been lured to a stranger’s apartment by the promise of anonymous sex. He had already done this at least a dozen times, using classified ads he had placed on the Casual Encounters section of Craigslist.com, with no problems…”

Panasonic Camcorder Packs Two Lenses for Full HD in 3D – “Most 3D recording systems require dual cameras mounted in close proximity, but Panasonic’s newest 3D camcorder combines these two systems into one…”

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SmartFaucet by iHouse recognizes faces to adjust temperature and flow – “Combining sophisticated design with high-end technology, the SmartFaucet by iHouse brings the utmost convenience. Using a facial screening application, the iHouse Smart Faucet recognizes the user and automatically turns on the water to the preferred temperature and flow…”

Caustic Graphics launches real-time ray tracing platform – “Caustic Graphics, a new startup that claims to have a solution for the hard problem of real-time ray-traced graphics, has launched its first product today. Ars talks to the founders and takes a look at the hardware, the platform, and the company’s prospects…”

Company creates more efficient ethanol – “Mukhopadhyay said because the enzyme yeast is different it can create ethanol from cellulosic biomass like wood chips, grasses and agricultural wastes like corn stalks and wheat straw. He said the ag products are hydrolyzed with a mild acid before it is processed. The result is twice the amount of ethanol produced with corn and normal yeast now…”

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