No BitTorrent? No Problem! BitLet To The Rescue!

Too lazy to download a 2MB BitTorrent client? Or maybe wanting to download a file onto a friends computer without installing crap he/she will probably never use again? Well BitLet, a new startup, allows you to download any torrent via web-based java client. Just paste the torrent's URL and select a download destination, and BitLet does the rest. A very spiffy-looking page, as well.

[BitLet: A Cute Web-Based BitTorrent Client] TorrentFreak

An Etch-A-Sketch GAME?! Hell, no!

Hell yes, angry title man! A game developer in India has partnered with a California publisher to create an ETCH-A-SKETCH game. It's rumored to be web-based, for the PC, and MAC. There's also a chance of console versions being produced.

Despite the awesomeness, I don't think I would pay for a digital version of a product I already suck at using. I can barely make lines, much less shapes.

[Finally, Etch A Sketch The Game] Kotaku

Find a Job While Losing Another: Jobster on Facebook

Tired of your old 9 to 5? Want to make both your boss and sysadmin mad? Well, chug-a-lug on over to Facebook and add the Jobster application. Jobster seems to really know what they're doing. How it works is that you add the app, pick a "talent network," which is a job sector you'd like to connect with, and employers' hiring managers have the ability to directly connect to you. A great concept. Next time I'm in the job market, I'll give this a shot.

[Jobster Launches Advanced Job Search for Facebook] Mashable

HP Finally Releases Pricey, Big-Ass Laptop

Louie Anderson has been recreated in laptop form. Behold the HP HDX entertainment laptop. I'm not much of a HP fan, but this is pretty sweet. Although friggin' huge, the feature set makes up for it.

The base model, ringing up at around $2,750, includes a 20-inch HD screen, 2GB of RAM, a 512MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT, and a full keyboard. That's right. This puppy is so big that it's got a 10-key pad. The weight, you ask? 15.5 powerful pounds. This is a big 'un.

WTF?! Microsoft now Digg's Ad Company

Kevin Rose and the rest of the gang at Digg have scored a somewhat surprising deal with Microsoft to sell their ads. It's odd, but hey, whatever pays the bills, right? Here's a quote from Rose on the Digg blog:

This move gives us an advertising partner with a larger organization and a more scalable technology platform to keep pace with Digg’s growth. Best of all, it lets the Digg team completely focus on new feature development. Federated Media, which has been an awesome partner for the last year and a half, will continue working with Digg focusing on integrated sponsorships and custom programs like the Arc project in labs.

This should make no difference whatsoever to your digging experience, hopefully. I just thought everyone would like to know.

The Great Vista Skip

Last week at Microsoft's Global Exchange (MGX) annual sales conference, a little info was shared concerning the next Microsoft OS. "Windows Seven," as it is internally called at Microsoft, seems like it might come out sooner than some may have believed, however there could of course be several problems that cause a delay in it's release. ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, an attendee of the conference, writes, "Last time anyone got Microsoft to talk dates about Windows Seven, the next big Windows client release, a Windows exec slipped up and said something about 2009."

So, if the next Windows client is supposed to be released somewhere between 2009 and 2010, how will that information impact a user's decision to make the switch from XP to Vista? Also, since there seems to be more and more delays on SP1 for Vista, how will those two pieces of information combined impact such a decision?

As for me, I can wait. I tried Vista and found it irritating almost instantly. I converted back to XP and have been livin' it up ever since. My opinion (not that it counts for much) is that this era shall become known as "The Great Vista Skip." No use in switching now if Microsoft already has bigger and better in the making...

Thanks to Zoomba and ZDNet for the inspiration and info for this article.

No Vista SP1 'Till '09?

Rumor has it that MS has notified their execs that a service pack for Vista may not be released until 2009.

Microsoft didn't need this to leak out, since they've already pissed off most major PC makers already. The CEO of Acer was quoted saying that "the entire industry is disappointed by Vista." Sales of PC's haven't skyrocketed with Vista either. Past versions of Windows have brought lots of happy faces to PC makers, but not this time around. I mean, we all know the vast numbers of PC's Acer sells, right? Tens of people across the world every day line up for the chance of snagging one of those beauties. Right?

The Weekender: Don Johnson Sings!

Hey, remember Miami Vice? Of course you do. Don Johnson? Hell, yes! He was friggin' Sonny Crockett for God's sake! Did you know he could sing? Ummmmmm...

Don Johnson's runaway hit single is served piping hot just for you on this week's weekender.



Circa 1986, this cheesy gem of a video is just one of Johnson's smash hits on his debut album, Heartbeat. It sold like hotcakes, and it seemed that Sonny was headed to quite a career in music...until his second album. What's he up to now? Commentating last year's Super Bowl and raking in royalties from Nash Bridges!

SATURDAY CHALLENGE: Can you spot Paul Shaffer from David Letterman fame in this video?

Apple, Dell, HP Release Earnings Reports; Gateway Still Sucks

Apple's 2nd Quarter 2007 U.S. market share was up to 5.6% of U.S. shipments. This tied Apple in 3rd place with Gateway for U.S. market share for this quarter. Dell and HP were well ahead at 28.4% and 23.6%.

read more | digg story

Camera Made for YouTubers: Sony Net-Sharing Cam

YouTube cinematographers now have a camera all they're own. Sony is whipping up a sweet looking entry-level camera specially designed for those who frequently publish videos on the internet. The built-in memory can hold up to five hours of video. It even comes with software that makes it easier to upload vids to the web.

Although it looks cool both by design and on paper, Crave says that the specs on this little shooter are lackluster, at best. Even though it can shoot at both 15fps or 30fps, it has no zoom feature whatsoever and costs $200. A little pricey for the few features included. If I were an avid YouTube director, I'd either pay for a good camera with movie mode or splurge and go for an actual camcorder. With this puppy, you're pretty much buying the name.

Stupid As Hell: Custom-Made Action Figures

Just stick with me on this. There's this company, called HeroBuilders, that will make a tiny version of your likeness for a cool $425. You send a picture, pick the clothes and props, and they will proceed to immortalize you in plastic. The initial $425 is for the first action figure, and the price for extra figures is $39.95 for non-talking and $49.95 for a custom talking mini-you. Talk about being conceited! Visit the link below to see example photos and more information.

[HeroBuilders]
[You Too Can Be an Action Figure] Gizmodo

BREAKING: Peter Moore Leaves Xbox

Can't tell if this is good news or bad news. The daddy of the Xbox 360 is leaving his post today as president of the Xbox division of Microsoft. This comes right after the end of the now shrunken E3 convention and massive Xbox hardware and warranty problems. It couldn't have anything to do with Microsoft losing gobs and gobs of money on each Xbox the sell, could it? Naaaaah.

Powered by ScribeFire.

RIM Unveils Blackberry 8820, Stays Badass.

Research In Motion has rolled out another perfect cellular device to satiate the demands of Blackberry addicts around the globe.

The Blackberry 8820 has a buttload, for lack of a better word, amount of features, including Wi-Fi capability, compatibility on GSM, GPRS, and EDGE networks, noise cancellation, and a GPS system. Oh there's more, but I only have so much time in a day, and I have to dream about getting one myself, since my current phone is much crappier.

[RIM Announces the Blackberry 8820 Smartphone] Marketwire

Touch 'n Go

Bill's not leaving without a bang! One of Microsoft's latest toys is to be released in November of this year and is going to absolutely take your breath away.

Project "Milan" a.k.a. Microsoft Surface is a fun, new way to get the job done for an amazing computing experience. This little table/PC uses a multitouch screen to recognize natural motions, common gestures, and even electronic devices.

These babies are pretty fancy and come with a pretty price tag to match--Microsoft says that pricing will be around $5,000 to $10,000 per unit. For a closer look you can go to the Surface website. Better start savin'!

Crap I Love: Chumby

I've been gawking at this ever since I stumbled across it on TechCrunch about a year ago.

Chumby is a little stuffed ball with a touch sensitive screen that acts basically as an interactive, web-connected alarm clock. Imagine! Waking up in bed to a custom playlist, then picking up your alarm clock and checking weather, email, even RSS feeds and flickr photos, FROM YOUR BED. A dream come true? You better believe it. It's also hackable and completely customizable. They even encourage writing new programs, decorating it to your every whim, and pretty much anything else you can think of doing with a stuffed computer.

They're getting ready to start selling these puppies by the end of the summer at about $150 a pop.

OMG! Bowling!!!!! On The WII!!!!1!!!

If Wii Sports bowling wasn't enough for ya, then the ultimate bowling game for the Wii is on its way. Brunswick branded, no less.

Brunswick Pro Bowling is the bowling addicts dream. It even looks like and old, greasy, overused Brunswick bowling alley! Much of the mechanics are like that of Wii Sports, but in this flavor you can play to unlock special balls each with their own unique design and trajectory. Any way you slice it, it's better than spending a few hours choking on smoke and the smell of sweat at the Varsity Bowl.

More info and screens from the great folks at Kotaku.

Super Geeky: Learn Python Fast

Some people want to find the perfect reference. The ONLY book they'll ever need to learn a programming language in the shortest time possible. Well, that book doesn't exist. Even though the perfect Python book is an impossible dream, we can still get a pretty darn good article that claims it can teach you Python in as little as 10 minutes!

Now it's not the definitive guide for Python by any means. It's just a little starter guide to get you happily on your way to learning one of the best programming languages ever made.

[Learn Python in 10 Minutes] dzone.com

Freakin' Sweet: Xbox360 Chatpad To Be Released

Oh, joy! Now you can actually chat on Xbox Live with a miniature QWERTY keyboard that connects to your controller!

The Chatpad has been given to a few high-profile bloggers and gaming sites to try out, with much fanfare. Now the gadget gets a set price and release date. The Chatpad will be sold bundled with a 360 head set for the low price of $29.99, and is to be released on September 4th.

Open Source Cell Phone Hits Online Shelves

For those who hate the iPhone and/or AT&T, there is a solution in the flavor of open source. At 300 buckaroonies, the Neo1973 by OpenMoko is usable on all GSM networks, and it's completely, 100% hackable and open. Many of its features are the same than that of the iPhone. Here's the specs from OpenMoko, since they're website has been getting pounded by diggers. (Take it easy, Digg.)

• 2.8" VGA TFT color display
  
• Touchscreen, usable with stylus or fingers
  
• 266MHz Samsung System on a Chip (SOC)
  
• USB 1.1, switchable between Client and Host (unpowered)
  
• Integrated AGPS
  
• 2.5G GSM – quad band, voice, CSD, GPRS
  
• Bluetooth 2.0
  
• Micro SD slot
  
• High Quality audio codec
  

Sweet? Yes.

Teens Desire iPhone Over New Car, Teens Growing Increasingly Stupid.

Okay. Think about this. You're 16, and a shiny new car (your favorite kind of car) is sitting next to an iPhone. Which one would you pick for a gift? Well, according to one recent report, teens would pick the phone. THE PHONE. I fear for my generation. Sure they may be saving on gas, but maybe you could ask for a hybrid? But noooooooo, kids want their flashy-ass phones to flaunt down the street, or sidewalk, rather, since you WON'T HAVE A CAR.

read more | digg story

Chess is Cool, Right?

Oh yeah, it is. Although I'm an embarrassment to the game, the people who make it look easy now have a place all to their selves at Chess.com. Fellow players can socialize and play chess with one another, read chess related articles and download chess programs for PC to Palm. They even have lessons, so maybe I should get in on this.

[Chess.com: A Social Networking Site For...Well You Could Probably Guess] TechCrunch

Goodies for Your iPhone

Oh, come now! You didn't think you were going to get away with finding a new blog that didn't cover the iPhone, did you? We can't be a decent tech blog without the obligatory iPhone blabber.

For those of you that actually have the shiny, glassy, pricy gem of a phone, you may be looking for some apps to outfit you're already near-perfect cellular experience. There aren't many out at the moment, but these should be pretty good once released.

Trillian Astra for iPhone: Chattin' on the iPhone will soon be much easier with Cerulean Studios' new version of their Trillian messenger client. It's not open to the public just yet, but you can sign up as an alpha user and it will be available to download soon. [Engadget article]

OneTrip Shopping List: A yet-to-be-developed web app to turn your $500 phone into a $500 grocery list! Hooray! All joking aside, it actually looks quite useful, and pretty, as well.

Gas.app: A super cool gas price search engine, giving you the price, name of station, and a link to a Google map to the station. You can also actually use it! Just visit gasapp.com on your iPhone.

Telekinesis: Control your Mac remotely with your iPhone with this nifty app. Stream video and music from your desktop, take iSight pictures, run remote Applescript, and much more. [iPhone Application List]

For more apps, these lists should be a big help.

[iPhone Application List]

[Top 10 iPhone Applications] Lifehacker

Let’s Get Started: Gaming Machine Under $600

Ever dreamed of having the best gaming PC in your town? Want your friend's jaws to drop when they see your silicon beast breeze through the most sophisticated of first-person shooters? Have you ever crashed back down to reality when you open up the wallet? Well, the folks at TechReport have whipped up one heckuva system for the paltry price of $538.44. A rundown of the specs and more configurations up to $3,000 await when you click below.

TR's July 2007 System Guide [TechReport.com]

Under Construction

We're workin' on it, mmmkay? More to come...much more.

Techoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!