Continue reading Keepin' It Real Fake, part CCXIX: Gemsta's Vaino knock-off

Filed under: Laptops

Keepin' It Real Fake, part CCXIX: Gemsta's Vaino knock-off originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 06:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Australia has welcomed the first elephant ever born in the country with the arrival of a 100-kilogram (220.4-pound) male calf at a Sydney zoo, according to keepers.

The newest revolution in microbiology testing walks on four legs and says "baa."

Filed under: Cellphones

Researchers use Bluetooth to track festival goers, make fun of their 'hippie dancing' originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 04:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tiny car seen on Front street at Jarvis.

Five For Friday #171 -- List Five Things About Comics That Make You Feel Patriotic

1. Quality's Uncle Sam
2. Combat Veteran Jack Kirby Makes Great War Comics AND Great Anti-War Comics
3. Modern Industry Built By Dozens Upon Dozens of World War II Veterans
4. The JN Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge
5. Cartoonists Giving Their Strips Free To Military Publications

(I would also of course welcome lists of things that spark patriotic feelings for other countries)

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Retweeting, as we’ve mentioned before (see HOW TO: Retweet on Twitter), is an increasingly popular way to share content on the web.

Twitter is such a powerful tool for sharing media, in fact, that the former market leaders are racing to keep up. News sharing site Digg recently added short URLs and attempted to append a toolbar to those short URL clicks (Diggbar was later scaled back), while serendipitous sharing site StumbleUpon also got into the short URL game.

Both are under attack by new services like Tweetmeme, which provides blog buttons to help users retweet stories and provides a hub of the most shared content on Twitter. Earlier today the company announced a number of new features, all of which launch next week. The feature additions include:

- New image-based button: Use the retweet button in your RSS feeds, emails or on blog platforms that don’t support javascript (eg. WordPress.com)

- Retweet chicklets: Want to show off how many retweets you got this week? The new retweet chicklet will help you do just that, and post the numbers to your blog.

- Analytics package: Tweetmeme aims to launch more advanced analytics next week to help content providers understand their metrics better. It’s a development that might one day lead to a business model for Tweetmeme…if Twitter doesn’t get there first.

Tweetmeme has some tough competition: not only does it have multiple rivals, but bit.ly, the default short URL service on Twitter, has long been expected to launch something similar. In the meantime, you can catch up on everything retweet-related using the resources below.

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Retweeting Resources from Mashable

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1. HOW TO: Retweet on Twitter

2. The Science of ReTweets

3. Repeets Tracks Twitter’s Hottest Retweets

4. DailyRT Ranks Twitter Retweets

5. DMfail Fails, Reborn as Re-Twit’d

6. The Retweeting Movement Adds Some Powerful New Tools

7. Retweet iPhone App for Twitter

8. Facebook Needs Its Own Version of the Twitter Retweet

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Reviews: Twitter, WordPress

Summary:

Cal thinks Reiji looks like a wimp, so Reiji arranges to have Lizzie pose as Phantom and meet Cal.  Cal plans to stay with Reiji until then, but while Lizzie is chuckling on her cell phone about Reiji being bossed around by his own little lolita, Isaac and his muscle get the drop on Lizzie (who was investigating on Isaac’s turf).  Isaac then heads straight to Reiji’s place to make Cal talk.

This leads to a pretty tense stand-off between Isaac and Reiji, and Reiji goes so far as to pull a gun on Isaac to make Isaac back off.  Reiji knew all along that Cal was bluffing about seeing the murders, but Cal shocks him when she reveals that she stole the $5 million to hire a killer to avenge Judy.  Reiji is forced to meet with Claudia, Isaac, and Raymond and concoct a nonsensical story about how he saw that Cal the potential to be an awesome assassin and replace that n00b Lizzie.  Isaac doesn’t believe it for a second, but Raymond gives Reiji the green light to train Cal as his assistant.

Reaction:

This was a pretty entertaining episode, even if some of the moments were a bit silly.  Clearly Lizzie needs to stick to being a bodyguard, because her stealthiness is seriously lacking.  It was funny how she got upset that Reiji hung up on her, but there is no excuse for being caught by Isaac and his goon.  Meanwhile, the tension between Claudia and Isaac is getting interesting, and it’s gone farther than sexual harassment at the workplace.  Isaac definitely knows Claudia is planning something, and now she’s going to have a killer loli on her side, too.

I thought it was pretty cool that they showed Reiji’s scars from the incident with Scythe Master, and all in all I liked his solution to the Cal problem.  This protects Cal and gets Raymond off his back, plus now we get to see Reiji’s teaching skills.  Surely they can’t be as bad as his salesmanship skills.  It was so sweet listening to Reiji tell Raymond that as Phantom he can detect lies while Isaac was going out of his mind listening to the crap that Reiji was spewing.  Also, I don’t see how being able to fix a broken clock makes you an awesome assassin, but I’ll be careful around watchmakers from now on.

©2009 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Related posts:

1. Phantom -Requiem for the Phantom- 12
2. Phantom -Requiem for the Phantom- 11

More than 30 years after its last redesign, McDonald's is again undergoing a major facelift. What will the new design features...

In the celebration of all things great and American, we're proud to present the characters of inFamous and Prototype cross-dressing. YAY! (See inFamous' Cole after the break.)

Okay, so you're probably wondering where these images came from. Yahtzee presented a challenge to the development teams of these two games after he couldn't decide which game was better in a recent episode of Zero Punctuation. So, he jokingly said the "winner" would be whichever team sends in an image of the other game's protagonist cross-dressing.

And now the world is a much better place.

Continue reading Happy 4th of July! Here's Alex Mercer with boobs, Cole McGrath in a bikini

Happy 4th of July! Here's Alex Mercer with boobs, Cole McGrath in a bikini originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You knew it was on deck, and at long last, here it is. Your one and only shot (okay, so maybe that's a gentle stretch) to tell the world -- and Palm, since it's a part of the world -- exactly what you think about the Pre. Since going on sale to the general public just under a month ago, some analysts have suggested that some 300,000 or so units have been moved. We're quite confident that at least some of that bunch have their eyes peering at this here post, so we'd like to formally ask for your opinions in comments below. Is there anything you'd like to see changed on Palm's Pre? Is the build quality up to snuff? Is webOS everything you thought it'd be (and more)? Is the QWERTY keyboard doing it for you? Do you wish it supported something that it doesn't? Unleash your wrath below -- we'll keep your true identity a secret. Maybe.

Filed under: Cellphones

How would you change the Palm Pre? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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News In Photos

Concept and execution are two totally different worlds. Although the concept and initial presentation of Lionhead Studios' Milo blew everyone away at E3 2009, what does fate have in store for the little digital boy's longterm execution? IGN attempts to answer that question in a little sketch they put together. We all know Milo will lose his innocence once he's in the hands of normal people, but just how bad will it become? Check out the video after the break.

Continue reading IGN shows us Milo's future

IGN shows us Milo's future originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A few months ago, we reviewed a unique reminder app: Task.fm. In our assessment, we noted its Twitter-like approach to reminders and its ability to decipher human language – you can tell it Task.fm “I need to call mom at noon tomorrow” and expect a reminder the next day. We did note though that you couldn’t set reminders via email, SMS, or Twitter, which decreased its utility.

Since then, Task.fm has been busy adding new features to its app, culminating in the release of Task.fm 1.0 earlier today. Now not only is the interface much more elegant, but you can set and receive reminders via Twitter, SMS, and email.

The big feature in this release is Twitter integration. You can direct message @taskfm with your task and you can then set the reminder. This is on top of the recent additions of setting reminders via SMS and email.

In addition to Twitter integration, Task.fm sports a sleeker, curved design (look at their previous blocky design to see the difference), offers new pro accounts that replace the old credits system, and adds more natural language support. Task.fm 1.0 also improves its To-Do list functionality.

Three months ago, Task.fm was unique for its language parsing ability, but didn’t have the tools necessary to be truly useful. Today, the story is different – with the ability to set and receive reminders nearly everywhere, it can compete with the likes of RememberTheMilk, although there’s still plenty it can do.

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Reviews: Twitter

Tags: task.fm

I'm not going to pretend I can figure out this cascade of dates, but it seems that in some significant fashion the embers of what was once with early AOL (its eventual buyer, I think... maybe) one of the initial, commercial places on the Internet a lot of folks talked about comics have had water poured over them. I remember well the golden afternoons of 1994, when we crowded around our office's single linked-up computer to insult each others' children and to hash out which person tangential to comics was most dishonored by the Journal and in what way and why. Seriously, that old Comics and I think Animation forum was the least friendly place to alternative comics in the entire world. It was like going to a bar where within the first 30 seconds a bouncer would punch you square in the face. It was like a suggestion box people could poop in. This is sort of what it was like, except that you couldn't run away. Participation on the CompuServe forum led to at least TCJ's more general on-line presence, in the sense of Gilligan and the Skipper building a raft to get all the castaways off the island. It probably also drove a lot of other on-line efforts in a much more benign fashion. I will spend the waning hours of this getaway day thinking of Pat O'Neill and Don Labriola.

So this is kinda confusing, try to roll with us. Developer Reality Pump announced that it's working on Two Worlds II, due this winter. Only ... it had already announced a sequel to Oblivion-esque FPS RPG called Two Worlds: The Temptation. We're pretty sure the team just decided to go with the number instead of the subtitle, but we guess we'll never know. (Yeah, we've emailed them.)

Set two years after the original, TW II promises "completely overhauled AI and balancing standards, experienced authors, [an] active combat system and the brand-new engine." Here's hoping the changes can make the sequel not so ... you know ... wretched?

[Via Eurogamer]

Hey, someone's making Two Worlds II originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP, NJ—Veterinary assistant Lauren Millardi, 27, will eat any dish prefaced with the word "Tuscan," sources reported Monday....

You might have seen solar-powered planes before, but few of them come with as much world-changing ambition as the Solar Impulse. Launched in 2003, the project aims to demonstrate the viability of renewable energy sources by being the first to perform a manned flight around the globe using only solar power. The technology is nothing to scoff at, as the 200-feet wingspan features 12,000 photovoltaic solar cells bringing power to four electric motors. Captain Bertrand Piccard, one of the key men behind this project, is best known as one half of the first team to circumnavigate the world in a balloon in 1999. He hopes, together with partner André Borschberg, to repeat that achievement in Solar Impulse's next iteration, the HB-SIB, in 2012. Make it so, guys.

[Via Gizmag]

Filed under: Transportation

Captain Piccard unveils Solar Impulse HB-SIA solar-powered plane originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the 4th of July weekend just hours away, it’s time to wish our US readers a Happy Independence Day!

Hopefully you’ll be spending at least some of your weekend away from your computer and enjoying the festivities, but for those who have difficulty leaving the laptop at home, here’s a quick list of resources to help you spend less time online while getting more done.

1. A Guide to Better Web-Working From Your iPhone – One way to spend less time in front of a computer screen is to get more efficient at working from your phone. Elliott Kosmicki looks at applications to do more work on your phone, so you can do less when you get home.

2. HOW TO: Live Inside Twitter and Still Stay Productive – Addicted to Twitter? While the service is often thought of as a timewaster, this post explains numerous ways to get more done while you Tweet.

3. HOW TO: Make Firefox Your Productivity Machine – Firefox users have access to a wealth of add-ons that help you get more done during your time online. This article recommends the best picks.

4. 7 Productivity Tips, Plus Tools for Freelancers and Web Workers – So you want to get more work done on the web? You’ve come to the right place! This post provides top tips for freelancers and those who have made the web their workplace.

5. Top 30 iPhone Apps for Organization and Productivity – In this one-stop shop for iPhone productivity, Jennifer Van Grove tests 30 of the top iPhone apps to help you get more done on the go.

6. 9 Must-Try Adobe AIR Apps for Better Productivity – Adobe Air is known for running some of the most visually appealing apps on your desktop, but did you know some of these apps can make you more productive? We look into the unlikely candidates.

Have a great weekend!

[Image from Bitstrips via CenterNetworks]

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Reviews: Firefox, Twitter

Video Games Live continues touring with a few special shows during the month of July. On July 10, the National Symphony Orchestra (which did two sold-out shows at the Kennedy Center in DC) will perform at the WolfTrap Feline Center in Virginia. Sid Meier, Civilization IV vocalist Ron Ragin and game composer Grant Kirkhope (Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye, Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Pinata) will all be in attendance.

For Texans, Halo composer Mike Salvatori will make a "special guest appearance" at the Ft. Worth show on July 14. A few days later, The Houston Symphony will perform the show in its namesake city for two shows on July 18, in collaboration with MusiCON 09. The special afternoon show is entitled "Blizzard Live!" and will showcase songs from the Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo games. Five Blizzard composers will attend and participate in a Q&A panel.

There will also be a performance at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 23 at the outdoor Embarcadero Marina Park, which will include synchronized fireworks. Tickets are available at the Video Games Live site. Check out the full list of July tour stops after the break.

Continue reading Video Games Live to have several special shows in July

Video Games Live to have several special shows in July originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Go here, my little badgers of delight, and click on the bit that says MP3 JUKEBOX. And be enthralled by the spectral and uchronic sounds of the Moon Wiring Club, whom I have described before as "like a gang of mad people were put in charge of a time machine." It is very definitely night music. Especially if, like me, you spent your childhood staying up late on Friday nights to watch old horror films.

G’night.

Ubisoft trademarks 'Just Dance' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here is my classic tongue-in-cheek article from 2004.

Continue reading JBO: Joystiq Box Office, June 29 - July 3

JBO: Joystiq Box Office, June 29 - July 3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Sneak peek at Meizu M8's new user interface

Filed under: Cellphones

Sneak peek at Meizu M8's new user interface originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Three games to light up your 4th

Three games to light up your 4th originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As some of you may have already noticed, WIRED published a mocking “letter of acceptance” on Singularity University. This extends a long trend of WIRED simultaneously boosting and insulting Singularitarians and Transhumanists, a mighty confusing one.

For instance, the WIRED science blog is written by two people who seem pretty damn transhumanistic. They wrote about saving the “mind uploading” article on Wikipedia, which is so obscure and niche that even I decided not to bother posting about it. In contrast, here’s another anti-Singularity (anti-Kurzweil, specifically) article on WIRED from last year, presumably to counterbalance the article focused on Ray.

Adam Mann says <a href="that “the magazine has also long been a backer of the pro-Kurzweil, go Singularity movement”, then says:

I feel like the stance among the general staff may be changing. And this month they ran a humorous dig at Kurzweil’s Singularity University. Has even Wired adopted an anti-Singularity stance?

Probably not. I think it’s just the fact that Kurzweil and the Singularity are on an upswing in the media and his assumptions are being held out in the full light of day. Maybe Kurzweil is reaching the peak of his own public-attention-exponential-growth curve? As more people start to follow his movement, perhaps there will start to be larger skepticism for it as well. I can only hope.

But Mr. Mann, if WIRED were pro-Singularity all along, why would the upswing make any difference? They’ve been exposed to the ideas since day one. The fact of the matter is that WIRED is a lot of different people, some pro-Singularity, some anti. My conception of the Singularity is quite different than Ray’s anyway, so I am not tremendously concerned about skepticism or support — except when it comes to specific points. That is why I responded aggressively to Horgan’s criticism of the “Singularity”, but ignore other criticisms, like PZ Myers’.

I’ve been in this pro/anti-Singularity shtick for what seems like so long (since I was 17), that nowadays the communication here is mostly automatic. What I notice are little personality quirks and traits, for instance that Horgan is badass enough to insult Newsweek (”I didn’t think anyone read that anymore”) while being paid by then. The main thing I am concerned about is that Friendly AI projects are funded. A friendly seed, that’s all I want. Everything else is ultimately cultural.

“For just as every seed holds the power and magic of creation, so too do you, and every other creature in this world.” — Magi Lune, Fern Gully

Old Asia-Pacific maps from Japanese Imperial Army archives are going online for modern use, such as studying changes in forest cover or the growth of cities, a Japanese researcher said Friday.

My Dearest Felicity,

Prithee, I hope this letter finds thee well. Our distance makes my heart yearn for you, like an A misses Zed. I spend my days contemplating napkins and seeing the colour of your eyes in the tweed jackets of the commoners walking by. The hours are long here in The Colonies. Bennington tells me that, at Her Majesty's University of New Yorkshire, they are on the verge of perfecting a machine that allows one to play games through the telly. Imagine that! To have such a magnificent device in 2009 would be ever so pip-pip hooray in passing the time. I plan to put on my finest wig tomorrow and travel there to experience their first "video game" for this device. What sport are you participating in currently?

Humbly yours,
Sir Robin Woolcott Ellington Spencer of Covington Crossing, Virginia

Continue reading WRUP: If America hadn't gained independence edition

WRUP: If America hadn't gained independence edition originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BLOOMINGTON, MN—Witnesses report Eileen Rutherford, 78, was overwhelmed by the unusual aromas but appeared delighted when a recognizable pea rolled out of her samosa.

I went to Los Angeles, had a sort of a working holiday, came home, and am writing. Working out a lot with the trainer, got a new trampoline. The cherry tree is covered in cherries, and the wild raspberries (red and black) are out in the woods, and I find them when I walk the dog.
Hello Neil,

And finally, there are now more than 666,666 people following me on Twitter. So we had a party. It's still ongoing, the party, over at http://bit/ly/666party and to join in all you have to do is upload a photgraph of you and a Balloon. And once 600 people showed up at the party, the webgoblin made this: a mosaic.

Onion Radio News - with Doyle Redland

via Mr. Cagle, who holds the camera

This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.

Name: Launchly

Quick Pitch: Launchly showcases new websites to an audience to help site owners get the attention and feedback necessary to succeed.

Genius Idea: It’s hard to stand out and get attention for web applications and new websites. You can build a Twitter app over a weekend and get no traction because you don’t know where to promote it. Or maybe you need some feedback and advice on your newly launched website. Launchly does this, but instead of just showcasing a startup and letting it fall by the wayside, Launchly allows apps to resubmit new iterations and build on their ideas.

Essentially, Launchly is a Digg for startups. You submit your site to Launchly and include a short sentence description, a long description, the type of feedback you’re seeking, screenshots, related tags, and you can be up and running on the Launchly homepage. After that, it works a lot like Digg, in that users can rate your website up or down, comment on it, and share the webpage via Facebook, Twitter, and Digg. This can really affect how visible your web app is on the site.

The key to Launchly though is the iterations feature, which allows you to take the feedback you receive and submit a new version of your website to the service. This allows for a new round of feedback once you’ve made upgrades. You also receive some analytics on Launchly user engagement and social media buzz.

The catch, of course, is that this service isn’t free – the lowest-priced plan costs $40, with more expensive and feature-rich plans coming soon. The price is understandable, when you consider that valuable feedback can make or break a website. However, Launchly is very new itself and thus hasn’t hit the critical mass necessary to really get the community needed to justify the cost yet.

Launchly’s value is directly correlated with its community. As it grows, the value of a launch on the website will grow, but this also means that in its early stages, it is tough to shell out $40 for such little visibility. Launchly would do well to focus on building a strong community and offering promotions or discounts to startups to get the ball rolling. If it can gain enough momentum, there could be some real value.

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Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

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BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

Entrepreneurs can take advantage of the Azure Services platform for their website hosting and storage needs. Microsoft recently announced the “new CloudApp()” contest – use the Azure Services Platform for hosting your .NET or PHP app, and you could be the lucky winner of a USD 5000* (please see website for official rules and guidelines).”

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Reviews: Digg, Facebook, PHP, Twitter

Tags: launchly

EAST HANOVER, NJ—A new report released by the Food and Drug Administration Monday suggests that regular consumption of Oreo's Double Stuf...

Those lovable scamps from Mega64 are at it again, bringing their own brand of humor to everyone's favorite river-fording, axle-busting game, Oregon Trail. We won't try to break down the comedy of this latest vignette, but will instead offer that everyone in this video is crazy for not trading bacon. Seriously, who doesn't like bacon? Robots?

Head past the break to catch the troupe's latest.

[Thanks, Chris!]

Continue reading Mega64 dies of dysentery in Oregon Trail

Mega64 dies of dysentery in Oregon Trail originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We haven't heard a solitary peep out of IXI Mobile in a hot minute, even though its Ogo line -- once a member of Cingular's lineup -- had found some niche popularity among teens and the deaf community. We'd even thought they'd gone into R&D hibernation, actually, but apparently not -- they're innovating. They're innovating so much, in fact, that they've innovated themselves right out of the landscape clamshell form factor that made the Ogo famous. This Inventec-sourced CC-10 we just spotted in the FCC looks more Centro than Ogo, though all of the original's features -- notably strong IM and social networking support -- carry on through to the new model. At any rate, we can say that IXI doesn't intend to break back into the North American market -- at least not with this exact unit, anyway -- since GSM 1900 and Bluetooth are the only features it bothered testing.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Ogo CC-10 throws time-tested formula to the wind, goes portrait QWERTY originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There's only one of these this time out: an invitation related the Danish Cartoons Controversy is cited as one of the reasons for the departure of a director and staff from a high-profile journalist protection agency in Qatar. Longtime RSF head Robert Menard and his staff have left the Doha-based advocacy and funds-dispensing group after what they claim is increased pressure from the government of Qatar. Critics of Menard say he never quite understood how to function within the conservative nation, and cite Menards decision to let Muhammed cartoon publishers Jyllands-Posten send staffers to attend a World Press Freedom day sponsored by the center.

* Dan Kois writes the first enthusiastic major mainstream press review for David Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp.

* Bill Watterson's mid-'90s (I think) essay for one of the Krazy Kat collection is reprinted here. I was hoping when I saw the name it would be Watterson reading something, but I guess not.

* speaking of Watterson, who made his own comics masterpiece with Calvin & Hobbes, the writer Nevin Martell sento word that if you e-mail him through he won't use it to spam you or anything but will send you a chapter from his forthcoming Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip. I can't guarantee this isn't an offer from Satan himself, but it sounds genuine.

Okay, I'll admit it: this news story about a cartoon biography of Angela Merkel isn't much of a news story. I'm drawing your attention to it anyway because a) it sounds way more entertaining than that comic book about the Obama family's dog, and b) I made a solemn vow I would always provide blogging attention to any writer about comics that manages to employ the word "gormlessly."

Worried that those pesky digital shelves are going to put your local brick-and-mortar out of business in the next few weeks? Worry not, friends, as Valve's Doug Lombardi is here to put all your worries to bed. Talking to GamesIndustry.biz, Lombardi claimed that "free weekend" sales on Steam (among others) actually help to bolster sales at physical retail locations as well as online.

"Recently we've seen data that shows Left 4 Dead free weekends increase the sales of Left 4 Dead on Steam, at retail and on the Xbox 360, which we would never have guessed could have happened, but it's just that word of mouth," says Lombardi. Furthermore, he waves off talk of bad blood between Valve and GameStop over the developer's Steam service, saying, "We spent more money at GameStop in the US promoting Left 4 Dead than we did at any other chain ... we sold more copies of Left 4 Dead at Gamestop than we did at any other chain ... for us, whichever cash register you want to pay at, that's fine." Not that it matters to GameStop anyway, given the lack of a threat posed for at least another five years, right?

Valve: Steam sales even boost retail games originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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"Because happiness and babes are inseparably connected." -George Washington

· Adanna (kindgirls.com)
· Alex (nextbabes.com)
· Angelica Saint (badgirlsblog.com)
· Bailey (hq69.com)

· Camille Holbrooke (gorillamask.net)
· Emma (thousandbabes.com)
· Eve (babesdiary.com)
· Gemma Massey (asredas.com)

· Ira (poonmonkey.com)
· Jamie Huxley (dailyniner.com)
· Jayden (nextdoormania.com)
· Jodie (babesmachine.com)

· Kaera Uehara (yes-movies.com)
· Kali (labatidora.net)
· Kamilla (go-girls-go.com)
· Melany (babeupdate.com)

· Nadine (sexyandfunny.com)
· Rachel B (babesanatomy.com)
· Rhian Sugden (foxhq.com)
· Sandra & Claudie (lettherebeporn.com)

· Sandy Summers (amazingbimbos.com)
· Sindi (softcandies.com)
· Tori Black (glam0ur.com)
· Veronica De Souza (100bucksbabes.com)

And don't forget...

· Any
· Chrissie Concepcion
· Sonia
· Victoria Vonn

...and all the rest of the Fleshbot Babes!

*****

Previously: Best of Babelogs Archive

This week we ran a special Summer of Social Good charity promotion and many of you got involved. Mashable and the whole Summer of Social Good team would like to thank everyone who donated, tweeted, retweeted and showed their support. While the promotion might be over now, because of the great response we will be doing this every week rolled into our Monday announcement posts for donors over $20 and $100. Just make sure to read the rules and forward your receipt to SocialGood at Mashable.

On Monday we have a special fun week planned involving video and prizes, so make sure to stay tuned to @Mashable and @SocialGood for details.

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Our $100+ Donors:

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Shannon Raybold
Twitter: @skraybold
Facebook Causes: United Against Malaria
Facebook Causes: Nothing But Nets
Twitter: @uamalaria

Chris Bennett
Twitter: @chrisbennett
97th Floor: www.97thfloor.com
BlvdStatus: www.blvdstatus.com
Firefox Add-on: Social Media for Firefox

Steve Haweeli
Twitter: @SteveHaweeli
WordHampton: www.WordHampton.com
DishingOnDining: www.DishingOnDining.com
Chris Brogan: Shoutout to Chris Brogan

BuzzEdition
Twitter: @BuzzEdition
Twitter: @BCCF
Facebook Fan Page: BuzzEdition
Facebook Causes: Black Card Circle Foundation

Jeff Elder
Twitter: @JeffElder
About: Biz and Tech columnist at The Charlotte Observer
The Broprah Show: Broprahshow.com

Skafish
Twitter: @Skafish
Blog: Skafish Blog
Facebook: Facebook Profile

CollaborateMD
Twitter: @CollaborateMD
Facebook Fan Page: CollaborateMD
Blog: CollaborateMD Blog

Susan’s Soaps
Twitter: @SusanSoaps
Store: SusanSoaps.com
Blog: Susan’s Soaps Blog
Facebook Fan Page: Susan’s Soaps & More

B. Johansen Newman
Twitter: @JohansenNewman
Barbara Johansen Newman: johansennewman.com
“Thinking Out Loud” Blog: Cats and Jammers Studio
Design Blog: Design Rocket

Frank Barry
Twitter: @franswaa
Blog: NetWits Think Tank
Blog Post: Social Media For Nonprofits
Blog Post: Social Media Strategy: LIVESTRONG and the Summer of Social Good

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Our $20+ Donors:

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@nonprofitadvice

@globalmanners

@critiques4geeks

@NickMendoza

@kristinwolff

@wetoo

Michelle Farabough (Google Profile)

@LoriMoreno

@momsofamerica

@jupitersunrise

@jaycee419

@TweetFind

@btn

@Tinu

@orkaya

@jackiehonikman

@Lookaly

@robmuch

@moodtouch

@VisionaryAgents

@navi_ganancial

@jamahbags

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Thanks to the Summer of Social Good Sponsors

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Thanks to Zappos and MailChimp for sponsoring the Summer of Social Good. Their generous sponsorship covers the campaign and event costs, so that 100% of your donations and ticket sales go to the fund.

“Visit Zappos.com and outfit your life with a new head-to-toe wardrobe for men, women, and kids! Step into all the clothes, bags, shoes and more from all your favorite brand names! Plus, enjoy our 365-day return policy, fast & free shipping, free return shipping & 24-hour customer service!”

“MailChimp is a powerful, easy-to-use email marketing service. You design, me deliver.

We make it easy to send email newsletters to your customers, manage your subscriber lists, and track campaign performance. Unlike some of our competitors, we don’t ‘dumb things down.’ We take extremely powerful tools that sophisticated marketers use (like segmentation, a/b testing, and ROI tracking), and we make them accessible to anyone.”

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Thanks to our Summer of Social Good Partners

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Thanks to the following partners for lending their generous support to the Summer of Social Good.

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Reviews: Facebook, Mashable, Twitter

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