dead

The 'dead zone': iPhone screen fails

You would think the iPhone's touch screen--the hallmark of the whole dang thing--would last for more than five months. Well, think again.

After a particularly wet bike ride on Saturday here in the Bay Area, my iPhone got somewhat damp. (You know, the type of rain that soaks through a coat but doesn't ruin anything.) After the ride, I wanted to text people and noticed the top row of the text keyboard was not responding. I had to press, no squish, down to get a letter. And the cursor would flip out. And the screen looked bad when … Read more

Wave power prototype sinks in the sea

Finavera's AquaBuoy prototype is asleep in the deep.

The company placed a 72-foot-long buoy in the waters off of Oregon in September as part of an ongoing effort to assess the commercial potential for wave power. The buoy, however, sunk in 115 feet of water on October 27, according to a report on RenewableEnergyAccess.com.

"It seems to have something to do with the float section of the device," Myke Clark, a Finavera employee, told the Web site. After water started coming in, the bilge pump couldn't get rid of the water fast enough.

T'is … Read more

Zombie update: Invasion plagues the Inter-Webs

This just in: zombies overrun just about everywhere. Videos and other documentation of the brain-eating reanimated corpses are flooding the Web.

Once upon a time, the invasion was contained within the confines of Hollywood and, uh, Haiti. Now they've spread to other places. They're drinking Bloody Marys in Manhattan, Toronto, and all over the civilized world.

Mobs of the recently undemised are involved in politics and technology in the Bay Area and practicing yoga in Brooklyn. Undead legions are staggering through Second Life, playing Halo 3, and getting recruited for innumerable other games.

You already know about another … Read more

CD review: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970

Rhino's compilation CD box sets are are not only amazingly consistent; their creative packaging and superb music programming satisfy neophytes and seasoned collectors. Their latest offering from the ever popular Nuggets series, "Love is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-- 1970 " is a trip through the era's psychedelic and ragged glories. You get a healthy dose of greatest hits, gems like the Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit," and Santana's "Evil Ways" mixed with less heralded but truly stellar tunes like Kak's "Lemonaide Kid." I swear I'… Read more

AM-DeadLink: Cure bookmark overload

If it takes you longer to locate a particular browser bookmark than it does to search for that same Web page, it may be time to rev up AM-DeadLink. This nifty freeware utility for managing browser bookmarks becomes increasingly useful as your favorites list grows more congested.

With one button, AM-DeadLink produces a list of bookmarks on the browser you select, pointing out broken or unlisted links. Another button bumps problem bookmarks to the top of the list, saving you from hunting and pecking among the thickets of text. A button identified by an image of cloned human figures reveals any duplicate bookmarks that may have been tucked away in multiple subfolders. Unwanted links are easily disposed of with a click on the recycle bin. For a quick reminder of what leads to what, users can preview bookmark destinations within the app. Backing up the bookmark list serves as a more long-term reminder.… Read more

World Cyber Games U.S. Open kicks off in New York City

Do you think you're good at video games? Compared to these guys, you probably aren't.

The World Cyber Games is the world's largest professional gaming league, and it's kicking off its U.S. Open tournament series this weekend in New York. Pros from all across gamerdom are competing in this weekend's tournament for over $20,000 in cash and prices and a berth in the USA National Final tournament. Among the competitors in the U.S. Open are professional Starcraft gamer "Red_ScorpiO" (Ralph Geunhwa), professional Dead or Alive 4 gamer "Master" (… Read more

How many iPods are iLemons?

The Apple iPod is, far and away, the most popular MP3 player on the market--less a product and more a way of life for many people. But just how reliable a product is it? That's the question posed by Nick Wingfield's article in today's Wall Street Journal. "When iPods Die" (which, like most WSJ content, is locked behind the paper's subscriber firewall) compiles some compelling iPod war stories. Among the frustrated 'Pod users chronicled is Tom Westrup of Austin, Texas, who--after suffering from repeated freeze-ups during playback--is currently awaiting his fifth replacement iPod. There'… Read more

Aliens save a Phantom from vapor

We're not sure if Alienware's decision to offer Phantom Entertainment's Lapboard gives the home theater PC input mash-up any credibility, but it definitely means that Phantom Entertainment, nee Infinium Labs, has remarkable staying power.

In brief, way back in 2004, Phantom Entertainment/Infinium Labs announced a Phantom Console designed to bring PC gaming to the living room by pairing it with an online delivery service. Infinium even got so far as to lure former Xbox co-creator Kevin Bachus into its ranks as CEO. Then reports surfaced questioning the legitimacy of the company. The console never materialized, Bachus quit, … Read more