Japan’s Geisha Tokyo Entertainment announced a product called “Dennoh Figure ARis,” or Cyber Figure Alice, that will hit stores in the fall. Here’s how it works. You plug an included “cube” and an included “stick” into your PC and run the software. An interactive 3D “maid” appears on screen standing on top of a software representation of the cube. By using the “stick,” you can affect what happens to the on-screen maid — for example, she reacts (presumably with horror) at the touch, and can even be undressed. (The product uses your webcam to figure out location.) Bloggers are calling it “augmented reality,” but it’s the opposite of that. With augmented reality, the real world is augmented with something virtual. In that, the virtual world is affected by something real. In other words, it’s just software for lonely nerds with a CREEPY POINTING DEVICE to go with it.

Original post by Mike

A survey by Direct Line insurance conducted on behalf of the Mirror found that some 300,000 accidents in the UK have been caused by RELIANCE ON GPS, 1.5 million have “suddenly veered dangerously or illegally in busy traffic,” while slavishly obeying the orders of their GPS devices, and a whopping 5 million have been sent the wrong way down one-way streets.

Original post by Mike

An advisor to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown lost his BlackBerry while in China on an official visit with the prime minister. Was it a Chinese government “honeytrap”? The unnamed advisor was seduced by a Chinese woman who approached him in a disco in Shanghai, spent the night with her, and in the wee hours, his BlackBerry was gone. Some speculate that Chinese government spies stole the gadget as part of its Thousand Grains of Sand approach to stealing the secrets of other countries. 10 Downing Street says defense wasn’t compromised. But that is just the latest example of a UK government official losing a mobile device packed with secrets. According to a recent report, the UK Ministry of Defense has lost 747 laptops
and 131 memory sticks since 2004 and the government as a whole has lost more than 1,500 laptops. Why can’t the UK government HANG ON TO ITS MOBILE GADGETS?

Original post by Mike

More than a dozen folks have been KILLED BY LIGHTNING in Russia in the past two weeks. But it’s not the high number of lightning storms, but the increased use of cell phones and other gadgets that’s causing the deaths, according to Russian officials. One weather guy there says the weak electromagnetic field produced by cell phones attracts lightning, but most experts say that’s very unlikely. (props to Gizmodo)

Original post by Mike

The Dark Knight, the most highly anticipated of the Batman series yet, hits theaters today.

Everybody likes Batman. He’s a superhero we can relate to. Unlike Superman or, say, the Incredible Hulk, Batman isn’t an alien or mutant. He’s just a regular guy who makes himself “super” using mobile gadgets.

Batman is in the crime-fighting racket. And he’s better than other crime fighters considering he’s got better devices, computers, cars and weapons — and has trained himself how to use them.

But most of us don’t fight crime. We’re IT professionals and lawyers and technology columnists. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be like Batman and TRANSFORM OURSELVES INTO SUPERHEROS in our own professions by buying and mastering extreme devices.

Original post by Mike

A site called GeekStuff4U.com is selling a varient of “Whack-A-Mole” powered by USB. When the light goes on, you try to press down on the man’s head. It’s called USB WHACK IT. Don’t bring that to work. I doubt any employer wants their staff playing “whack it” at their PCs.

Original post by Mike

Deutsche Bank analyst Mike Baker said recently that he believes RadioShack plans to “REPLICATE THE LOOK AND FEEL” OF APPLE STORES in ten new stores that will be built by the end of the year, followed by 550 new stores in the next three years. Baker says he believes the new stores will “not invoke the RadioShack grade.”

Original post by Mike