Usually camping and showering are either/or activities, but for those of you who absolutely have to cart the body wash and loofah into the wild, the Pocket Shower from Sea to Summit could be for you.

The 2.6 gallon Pocket Shower sports a compact showerhead that operates with twisting on/off valve. Bathers can adjust the stream to produce a slow trickle, or open it up completely for a dousing 8-minute power shower. Want a warm shower for those cool, crisp camping mornings? Leave the black fabric out in the sun.

Alternatively, the Pocket Shower can also be used as a dry sack to transport clothes, a sleeping bag, or those aforementioned beauty products no self-respecting city slicker would be without on the open range. [Sea to Summit]

Far be it from me to tell you guys and gals how to drink your coffee in the morning, but I think this innovative glass mug from France is the future of drink. The mug eschews the standard practice of stirring milk into coffee or tea with a spoon, which must then be placed on the dirty, germ-ridden table of a guest, or worse, your cubicle desk. Instead, this mug uses a float that is supported by a ceramic ball. The tapered sides allow you to stir the drink by giving it a gentle shake, and then keep the float and ball at the bottom of the cup when you go to drink. Safety and design. An ironic twist from the makers of the Maginot Line, if I may so so myself. [Dame de Comer via The Design Blog]

Last time I was in a store, I was like, "Why is there no creepy animatronic sea captain here to tell me today's specials?" Apparently that's what the founders of Characters Unlimited thought too, because they've come up with a vast array of Hall of Presidents-style robotic people—and a few animals, too, like the ever-popular dog in overalls, or the smoking buffalo—aimed specifically at retailers who want to jazz up their stores, maybe after striking out with Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Men. The things can move and talk, their lips synched to either live or pre-recorded messages. (Was that a tape recorder I saw?) The company president told Aving they'll do custom jobs, can even clone you if you want, but from the look of their lineup, it helps if you're old and/or disfigured. There's a video after the jump if you're not already properly skeeved out. [Aving USA]

Remember when it was cool to joke about how the vibrating Wii remote looked, felt and behaved pretty much like a vibrator? No? Well, too bad, because it turns out that the two were more similar than the light-hearted humor suggested. In fact, both tools of pleasure employ technology built from a patent from the same company, Immersion.
Sure, Immersion uses an alter ego, "Internet Services, LLC," as an alias for when it licenses the rights to its "teledildonic gaming devices" patent to pleasure seekers of the flesh variety, but it's still the same tech at heart. Next up: A DIY project that turns the Wii Fit balance board into a customized Tantric sit-and-spin BMI calculator. Who's with me? [Boing Boing Gadgets]

When I look at the classic Nintendo Zapper I think of my younger days as a screaming, hot-headed 8-bit gamer, but not Fluffypants. No siree. The enterprising DIY lamp artist looked at the orange and gray plastic and saw a lamp. A few hours and one fabricated cardboard NES cartridge stand later, that laughing dog was back in action, ready to haunt my dreams once again. If this model played the level intro music I'd be tempted to break out the glue gun, but for now I'll just marvel at its brilliance from afar. [Craftster via Boing Boing Gadgets]

How many concept products have we shown featuring some form of curved or oddly shaped E-Ink display? A pillion?* Thankfully, the good people at E-Ink have seen fit to make these dreams come true: New "ultra-moldable" E-Ink cells are 40% thinner, can be cut into unique shapes, and even curved. This doesn't mean they're bendy, but it does mean you will be one step closer to achieving that bionic soldier-of-fortune look you'd like to cultivate to woo the ladies. The first product to be demonstrated is this humble but high functioning Delphi keychain. In the world of novelty keychains alone, the possibilities seem limitless. [Electronista]
*I am not entirely sure there is such a quantity as a "pillion," but there should be.

The iPhone's recently released firmware 2.0 Beta 5 has a 3G on off switch for users. Underneath, there's a warning that 3G browsing will kill your battery faster. While that's more proof of the upgraded hardware we already expect, what I find most interesting is the manual control. It's not too late to change it, but I was hoping that Apple would approach the 3G/2G power consumption and speed tradeoffs by having an automatic toggle for 2G and 3G:

It could have a smart mode that would turn 3G off to save battery for background email downloading, weather checking and standby; and then turn it on for YouTube, maps, web browsing and iTunes music store downloading. Wouldn't that make a lot of sense? P.S. Apple, you can have this idea for free in trade for some copy and paste action in the next beta. [Chronic Dev via Apple Insider]

David Pogue has a quick video review of Livescribe's Pulse Smartpen that does a very good job of illustrating the concept. Worth watching on top of our own review. [Pogue's Livescribe Pulse Smartpen Video review]

The vanity-saturated life of a Gizmodo writer means no scars, visible or otherwise, so this breakthrough procedure for appendicitis is a godsend for those among us who still have the vestigial organ. According to doctors who performed the operation in San Diego, a flexible tube is used to thread miniature surgical instruments down the patient's throat into their stomach. At that point, the fun begins—unless you're an appendix, of course.



Once the tools are safely inserted into the patient's gut, a tiny incision is made in the stomach wall to get at the appendix. The inflamed appendix is cut away, grabbed by one of the mini-tools, and bagged in a special mesh pouch. The organ is then pulled back into the stomach and out of the mouth.
The benefits of this new procedure go beyond aesthetic, as pioneering patient and ex-Marine Jeff Scholtz confirmed in a post-op interview. "They told me to take it easy but I felt great. I was eating pizza and doing situps three days later," Scholtz said.
That's right, no week-long downtime or months of low-intensity activity, and no more huge scars from huge incisions. No hernias or infection either, said Santiago Horgan, of the University of San Diego Medical Center. Doctors say this is the way forward for other procedures, and I'm inclined to agree, so long as we keep the colonoscopy relegated to the rear where it belongs. [Daily Mail]

An alert AVS forum member posted a cryptic note entitled "Samsung first to lower prices!" I wondered if maybe the member wasn't referring to the Dealzmodo-tastic flat-panel price war that HD Guru Gary Merson predicted. Sure enough, when I cross checked Samsung's most recent MAP pricing on the 5 Series LCDs (a.k.a. 550) with their list prices on Best Buy's website, I could totally spot the $200 price drops that were discussed on AVS. But if the price war is really on, other prices will be dropping. I am only one man, while you, dear readers, are the Giz army—if you spot any other noteworthy MAP or MSRP price drops on TVs now or in the coming days, comment here, or send a note to our tips line. I smell blood, but unlike on Alien Vs. Predator, no matter who wins this war, humanity wins too. [AVS Forum; Best Buy]

Macgruber, Saturday Night Live's Macgyver parody, defuses bomb after bomb while dealing with some family issues. This clip is from last night's episode with guest Shia LaBeuof. Bonus points for naming that gadget that falls out of the backpack? Looks like some sort of pink...oh God. Video:


[Saturday Night Live]

Forget those GPS graves in the jungle we brought you a few weeks ago, because in the future what we're really going to do is pour—yes pour—our loved ones down the drain with the help of some lye and an iron coffin contraption from BioSafe Engineering. The last hurdle, as always, will be to overcome the yuck factor many people experience when they realize this really does mean turning mom and pops into coffee syrup.
The lye (alkaline hydrolysis) process is as old as dirt, and until the enterprising chaps at BioSafe molded it into a human-sized coffin, farmers used it to dissolve dead animals like Charlotte the spider to save on burial, cremation or other environmentally unsound disposal costs. It was only recently engineers got the stones to apply the technique to humans.The process [...] uses lye, 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch to destroy bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders that are similar to pressure cookers.Before you break out the checkbook, remember that the option isn't on Funeral Home checklists just yet, and US lawmakers are predictably against legalizing the practice in all 50 states (Minnesota and New Hampshire are the only states where lye burials are technically legal).

Even so, the mortuary pubs are already singing lye's praises. "It's not often that a truly game-changing technology comes along in the funeral service," said a source in the newsletter Funeral Service Insider. "But we might have gotten a hold of one."

On an editorial note, I'm pretty sure the geeky jokes will write themselves in regard to this new way of dealing with death, but I'll get things started anyway. SLURM! [The Associated Press]

A San Francisco start-up called Airship Ventures has raised $8 million to launch its first Zeppelin this fall, for the purposes of tourism and research. The "flightseeing," as they're calling it, will cost a $250 to $500 for a spin around the Bay Area in a bonafide don't-call-it-a-blimp Zeppelin. What's the difference, you ask? Blimps are basically helium filled baloons with little cockpits attached. Zeppelins are usually rigid structures, larger and faster, achieving higher altitudes with better maneuverability. Before you airship nerds get all uppity, I will join you in saying that not all Zeppelins are Zeppelins (wha?)—it all boils down to the rigidity of your dirigible. Here's a rundown of this particular model, plus an actual photo of it:


The new Zeppelin NT—yes, capital Z because it's made by the Zeppelin company—is about 20% larger than a blimp, but it's still small by Zep standards, with just room for 12 passengers and a crew. It's "semi-rigid," meaning that it's got an internal framework but not a totally solid hull like the Zeppelins of old. It's also got a single gas chamber, rather than multiple cells. They also achieve lift with helium, which may make your voice sound funny, but won't go "boom" to the horror of radio announcers everywhere.
NTs have been in action since the 1990s, all over Europe and Japan. Fun fact: When a Japanese firm bought one in 2004, they wanted to re-enact a historic (pre-Axis) flight of the Graf Zeppelin, from Germany to Japan, but Russia said "Ix nay." [The Standard via Slashdot; More great pics from official Zeppelin site]

Sorry, Johnny Depp. You were great in the original Edward Scissorhands, but this real life maestro of the blades from Israel puts your whole emo trip through suburbia to shame. And while hairdresser Danny Bargil lacks the hotness of a sidekick like Winona Ryder, and he can't kill a man with his bare feet a la Adam Sandler as the Israeli commando hairdresser Zohan, he makes up for it with the fact that he's flinging 10 sharp things at a person's head and they leave with both ears. Reuters got some video of the man in action, after the jump.

At 10 blades, Bargil's attempt is a world record, and bests the best of what the Japanese had to offer in 2006 with an all-in-one 9-blade pair of scissors. Finally, just for kicks (pun totally intended), here's Zohan, that other kick ass Israeli hairdresser.

[Reuters]

At a party once, Jesus was asked if he were a leg man or a tit man. The answer is neither. He's a LEGO man. Well, to be honest, he's all three, but rather like faith, hope and charity, the greatest of my husband's loves is LEGO. I'm not bitter. The colorful, benippled bricks have just been around rather longer than I have. That's not to say LEGO has never caused problems in our relationship. When it did, though, I came up with the following 10-point solution to cope.
To tell the truth, I was once as bewitched by the bricks as he is. We had a massive box at home, a hangover from when my brother, older than me by 11 years, was the snot-nosed kid of the house. (Well, I say massive, but it was barely Yoda-sized compared to J's Millennium Falcon box of LucasTricks.) When I inherited the snot-nosed kid mantle, my brother having moved on to smoking dope and listening to Pink Floyd, I also inherited the LEGO.
And I loved it, back in the days when I was too small to see my father's eyes roll when I begged him to help me make a LEGO pony. How fickle I was back then, however, and eventually lost interest—after all, there are only so many minimalist box-shaped houses you can make with a handful of hereditary LEGO. (I abandoned it for an Eagle-Eye Action Man I'd found, but even that obsession only lasted a few months, once I realized I couldn't get his plastic shorts off with my teeth, a knife or even the help of the dog.)
Point is, I was not fully unaware of the issues when I married a LEGO maniac. I wouldn't go as far as Lady Di did when she said there were three people in her marriage, but there was a point over Christmas when the whole LEGO thing became a bit of a nightmare. (It might have had something to do with the fact that we had become obsessive 24 watchers, and so, unconsciously, every time we saw the Millennium Falcon box, we could hear that bloody clock ticking down.) The pressure was unspeakable, from colleagues and commenters alike. Reader, I must confess that I threw one of the boxes on the floor, mixing up piles of bricks that he had spent hours sorting out.
The look in Jesus' eyes. You may say baleful, but I see your baleful and I raise you pure, unadulterated, naked hurt. A lot of humble pie was eaten that night. I vowed to change, so I came up with a ten-point plan with which to sink my irrational plastic jealousy. Here it is:
1. Have a Spare Room
A man needs a shed—a place his tools can call home, and where he can potter about in undisturbed for hours and hours. Since we're still waiting for LEGO to bring out its life-sized LEGO Shed kit (estimated completion time 4-6 weeks), J keeps the bricks to his Millennium Falcon in the spare room. If we have friends to stay, the boxes are placed reverently on the floor of the office, until the room is vacant again. Blam can attest to this, as he found some LEGO under his pillow when he came to stay in February.
2. Keep the Dog in Plastic Chew Toys
I haven't yet noticed primary colored bricks in the dog's poop, but when I do, I know that we need to go to the pet store again. And if Jesus notices, it'll be time to get a new dog. Joke.
3. Never Hoover
Now, this rule I absolutely love. I have also glued LEGO bricks and mini-figs to the ironing board, the washing-up gloves and the family silver.
4. Always Wear Shoes In the House
Have you ever stepped on a LEGO brick? I know a guy who had to go to hospital to have one of those little one-row brickettes removed from the ball of his foot after he stood on it by mistake. I think you know him too—he writes for Gizmodo.
5. Vote Denmark During Eurovision
I believe there is a trip to the LEGO factory in Denmark coming up in June. Did I want to accompany him, he asked me tenderly months ago? What, and stand in the way of a man and his first love? Feel like a gooseberry as he fingers and fondles the bricks in the factory? No, no, no, no, nonononononononono. No. NO. But do I tell him I don't want to go and get nipple marks on my fingers from obsessive brickplay? Of course not. Anyway, someone has to look after the dog.
6. Regular Visits to the Local Toy Shop
"Have you got that one? Thought so. And that one. Oh look! It's a singing Freddie Mercury doll. Now why don't they do a Freddie Mercury LEGO? Or Bowie? Yeah, come on then, let's go inside."
7. Never Write a LEGO Post for Giz
I value my marriage above all things.
8. Laugh Every Time He Makes You Watch the "Death By Tray" LEGO Skit
This is not exactly a hardship, as Eddie Izzard is funny as fuck. Jesus did actually manage to recite the whole skit when he was drunk in a taxi a few weeks ago. The long, 4am journey home was, believe it or not, alleviated by a slurred version of "Jeff Vader? Runs the Death Star?"


9. Agree That the World Would Be Better If Totally Made of LEGO
How simple life would be. A couple of tiles came off your roof? Buy them from the LEGO store, then go up a ladder and clip them back on again. Kids, we're going to build a swimming pool this weekend. A leaky one, but still, a swimming pool. No, honestly. Imagine, if the world was made out of LEGO you would just be able to unclip rogue states from the globe and dismantle them before putting them back in the cupboard, and then the world would just be a safer place. And what if everyone's hands were shaped like those of the LEGO figures? Well, you wouldn't get any work done, for a start.
10. Try to Relate and Even Join In
Just after his Millennium Falcon arrived, J bought a TIE Fighter LEGO set. "It's for you," he said. "You can do that while I assemble the Falcon." A month later, I had to go back to Britain for a long weekend, and when I came back, I found the TIE Fighter sitting, assembled on his desk. "Oy, I was meant to do that," I said. Jesus shrugged. "I missed you. And I was bored," he replied.
So, there you have it. While it may not be as life-changing as AA or NA's 12-Point Plan, my LEGO-acceptance program keeps us on the straight and narrow. And I know you're all wondering when Jesus is going to present his newly-clicked Millennium Falcon to the world, well, hell, so am I. However, I think he needs an incentive. Any ideas?

Train operators-in-training will no longer have to deal with plain, unrealistic, standard-definition simulations thanks to a new system that uses full HD video. Jointly developed by Fujitsu and video game maker Ongakukan, the world's most advanced train simulator uses variable-speed playback technology and HD video that was shot on actual train lines.

The simulator delivers an unprecedented level of realism that gives trainees a better and more accurate learning experience. Never again will a train operator not know what to do when he or she encounters something on the tracks (here's a hint: 'stop'). The system just became available commercially for three million yen ($29,000), so extremely rich Thomas the Tank Engine fans, it's time to make your train-operating dreams come true! [Fareastgizmos]

Hey, Justin Timberlake here. Just checking to see if you senoritas are n*sync with my plans to bring sexy back to reality television. Next season, MTV's going to rock your body with a new reality game show called "The Phone," to be executive-produced by yours truly. Here's the premise:
Each episode will begin with two hidden cell phones ringing at opposite ends of a major city. Contestants who answer the phones will get to go on a timed mission for a cash prize. While they're racing through the city, a helicopter will track their every move. Kind of like that scene in the Bourne Ultimatum where Matt Damon's trying to get that journalist dude to follow his instructions—but sexy. Also nobody's going to get their heads blown off.
What? You think this sounds unbelievably lame? You're not lovin' it? Well buddy, cry me a river, because last time I checked, I was Justin Timberlake and you weren't. I get to do things like make out with Scarlett Johansson and have four cellphone channels devoted to my life. I think I would be the king of knowing what's lame and what's not. Where is the love, man? God, you guys are such dicks (in a box). [Reuters]

Ultra low-cost PCs such as OLPC's XO laptop could end up bundled with copies of Windows OS after all, if Microsoft's most recent scheme to grab market share works. The company is giving computer manufacturers Windows XP Home Edition at a steep discount to put on ULPCs, in hopes of luring them away from Linux.
In order to be eligible for the price cut, tech firms need to be making low-cost PCs that limit their screen sizes to 10.2 inches and hard drives to 80GB and under. The computers must also not have more than 1GB RAM or a 1.0 GHz single-core processor, and come without touch-screen technology. These limitations help ensure that the ultra cheap laptops won't eat into the market for mainstream PCs running Windows Vista.
Microsoft will charge $26 for XP in emerging markets such as China and India, and $32 for developed markets like the United States. What do you guys think—will the price cut destroy the inroads Linux has been making into the consumer market? [ ComputerworldUK]

John Nilsson is the man behind the jDome, an invention that will give gamers a massive 180-degree field of vision instead of the usual 15 to 20 degrees they get from their monitors. All you do is put the jDome in front of a projector, mirror the image in the projector, change the Field of View and you're good to go. Nilsson's already patented his idea, and he's looking for donations to get the jDome into production—he reckons it will cost between $125 and $200. [jDome]

The cops in Canada seem to be getting the hang of the Taser business. Mounties summoned to a British Columbia hospital tased an octogenarian patient after he pulled a knife from his pocket. Eighty-two-year-old Frank Lasser, who was suffering from pneumonia and had been admitted to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, claimed that sometimes he got delusional when he got short of breath. Did that, however, make it right for the police to tase him, bro?Mounties corporal Scott Wilson defended his colleague's grandad-bashing actions. "Whether the person is 80 or 20, we are dealing with a person who had a deadly weapon in their hand. We could not deploy our ... pepper spray, because we could potentially contaminate the entire hospital."

Lasser, a former prison guard, reckons they overdid it, claiming that, with three Mounties in the room, they could have overpowered him without using a Taser. Lasser said there were three RCMP officers in his hospital room and believes they could have easily handled him without the use of a Taser. "I was laying on the bed by then and the corporal came in, or the sergeant, and said to the guys, 'OK, get him because we got more important work to do on the street tonight,'" he said.

"And then, bang, bang, bang, three times with the laser, and I tell you, I never want that again." That'll teach him to bring a knife to hospital, then. [CBC News via Dvorak]

Japanese semiconductor maker Rohm is looking to vanquish vampire power, the energy wasted by tech on stand-by, with its new LSI circuits. The circuits consume no electricity even when in stand-by mode, allowing for a quick power up without the power drain. Considering that roughly 10% of a house's energy bill goes to these silent suckers, Rohm's circuits could save money and the planet at the same time.
Rohm estimates that around 15 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, roughly the output capacity of two nuclear reactors, are consumed every year in Japan by devices on standby. In the U.S., vampire power is estimated to cost consumers $3 billion annually.
Experiments have already shown that an average game console could cut its power use by roughly 70% if it adopts circuits incorporating the new technology—exciting news for people like me, who tend to forget to power off their Wiis at night. Rohm says it'll start producing the circuits on a commercial basis within a year or so. [Japan Today]

The U.S. Military has spent millions of dollars on counterfeit computer components over the years, according to an FBI report. This not only screws over businesses, but it also makes it easier for cyber-terrorists to hack into our systems by putting trojans and viruses in fake circuitry. An anti-counterfeit initiative by the FBI, led to 15 criminal cases and over $3.5 million worth of seized products.
The FBI op, named Cisco Raider, was a two-year-old operation that targeted illegal distributors of fake network hardware, mostly manufactured in China. With the help of their Chinese counterparts and Cisco Systems, the FBI has so far executed 39 search warrants and confiscated roughly 3,500 network components.
The FBI is still not sure whether the counterfeit goods were distributed for profit or for reasons more insidious. Though Cisco says none of the counterfeited goods contained spyware, the threat of hackers infiltrating our systems is very real.
Modern circuits have billions of parts, so it's incredibly hard to detect the tweaked bits that could help nefarious foes take over our military infrastructure. And once the cyber-terrorists take over, who're we going to call? John McClane? [New York Times]

The iPhone is "currently unavailable" at the AppleStore US, following the dry-out in the UK. Does this mean they are waiting for the shipment of the next version? If so, this is a brilliant and rare move for Apple.
We won't know for sure until next month, but knowing Apple's tight command of their stock levels, it looks like this may be the reason. But considering we're almost exactly 30 days from the WWDC keynote, it could mean the 3G iphone is coming sooner than we think. Let's assume this is what is happening. If so, this move is brilliantly kind and uncharacteristic of Apple. What they're doing is trading off secrecy to protect people from buying the first-gen iPhone in its last days before its successor is unveiled. I mean, if you'd bought an iPhone and it was upgraded to v.2 days after your purchase, wouldn't you be pissed? Maybe they'd rather short the sales for a month and not have to deal with thousands of pissed off customers. [Apple Store—thanks, Erik]

Emergency communications kits destined to help the clear-up of the Burmese cyclone have been held up by the Asian country's military junta. A five-man team from NGO Telecoms Sans Frontieres has been waiting all week for its entry visas from the turds powers that be of the brutal regime. And, until the visas are issued, over 175 pounds of vital equipment will stay right where it is, in a Thai warehouse.


As well as printers, PCs, scanners, cellphones and laptops, the kits contain a large VSAT satellite dish, two satellite phones, including a mobile device, routers and access points, wireless relays, GPS, power packs that include car batteries and solar panels. Primary connection is provided by an AsBGan satellite link, with a Gan M4 giving back-up.
The gear will be used by both aid workers and any locals affected by the disaster who need to get in touch with friends or family. However, despite continuing diplomatic efforts, the generals are refusing to allow foreign aid workers into the country to help the estimated 1.5 million Burmese caught up in the tragedy. "There is a lot of frustration among aid workers," says a TSF spokesman. "We want to help the people of Burma but the authorities aren't letting us do our job." [BBC News and NY Times]

A company called Lextech has created an application that lets you control surveillance devices via your iPhone. As well as watching the action on the phone, the app also lets you control the cameras via its touchscreen. See the system in action in a couple of videos after the jump.








I guess this means no more security guards numbing their arses as they sit, bored, behind banks of monitors. [Lextech via Nowhere Else 2.0]

TiVo has officially confirmed that Amazon Unbox will get HD content in the near future, but execs at the company say a few kinks need to be ironed out first. The current version of Unbox can't process HD content, and availability is limited by bandwidth constraints—something cable companies are in the process of solving. If a previous customer survey is to be trusted, an HD movie rental will cost $4.99, the same as iTunes. [Zatz Not Funny! - Thanks Dave]

The LA Times has written a sweet little feature about Livermore Fire House's lightbulb that has been burning for 107 years without a break—unless you count the 22 minutes it took to transport the bulb from Fire Department HQ to Station No. 6 in 1979. That's almost a million hours' worth of low-wattage, you know. Unofficial keeper of the bulb, retired firefighter Tom Bramell reckons its longevity is down to old-fashioned craftsmanship. "I believe the bulb has stayed alive so many years because the makers gave it a perfect seal, so no air gets inside the bulb to help disintegrate the carbon filament. This bulb operates in a vacuum and it doesn't burn hot. That's the secret." [LA Times via Boing Boing]

Not only is Gizmondo coming back, Carl Freer says you can expect to see a new version of the handheld console by the end of the year—this time without the whole defrauding investors and crashing Ferraris schtick, supposedly.
In an interview in the Gizmondo forums, Freer claimed that, "There is still incredible value in the Gizmondo. And with the enhancements we're adding... we feel it's only the beginning of where we can go with the product."
Gizmondo version 2.0 will include a new graphics chip, Windows CE 6.0 (which comes with "a lot of 'new' goodies," Freer says), and a bunch of original content to be downloaded off the gizmondo.com website. It'll be ready by Winter 2008, and the developer community can expect more announcements soon.
Left unanswered by the interview was why Freer thinks anybody is going to trust him with anything a second time around. Maybe he hasn't heard the adage: "Fool me once, your CEO gets sent to jail for three years and your company gets liquidated. Fool me twice... well, you ain't ever gonna fool me twice." [Gizmondo Forum]

And Lo, it came to pass that, after the blessed angel RIM announced the arrival of the BlackBerry 9000, pointing its followers to a May 12 launch, there came a tumultous cacophony of sound from the masses, who wanted to know if the smartphone was going to get a catchier name, like its sisters, Pearl, and Curve. And the angel RIM paused for a moment and said, "Verily, I say unto you that, from henceforth it shall be known as Bold." And with wailing and gnashing of teeth, the followers rent their garments and, smiting their breasts, said, "Bloody Norah, that sounds more like a washing detergent." [Crackberry]

All AT&T's flip-flopping between offering free wireless at Starbucks and then taking it away—turns out it was some peon screwing up after all. An spokesperson for the company told the New York Times that the confusion was due to a "human error." But the day when iPhone users can definitively access the internet while sipping on frappuccinos will come, the PR flack assures, AT&T is just refusing to say when. Oh, come off it, AT&T. The cat's out of the bag already, you might as well roll out the service now. I'm sure there will be plenty of secrets you can accidentally release before deadline in the future. [New York Times]