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YouTube might be best known for videos of cute animals and teens dancing with light sabers. But one nonprofit wants to use it as an idea factory.

The X Prize Foundation, the same organization behind the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize to send private vehicles to the moon, said Tuesday that it has put together an eco challenge for YouTubers called "What's your crazy green idea?" Dream up a world-changing idea to stop global warming, post a two-minute YouTube video about it, and it could be worth $25,000.

That's a paltry sum compared to … Read more

Why? Why must you tease, Sony Ericsson? On Wednesday, the cell phone manufacturer announced an official launch date for the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, but only for certain markets. Naturally, North America is not one of the lucky ones. No, only the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden will be able to get their hands on the hot Xperia X1 come September 30, while the rest of us admire from afar and continue to wait it out.

Sony Ericsson did say that the Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone will make its way to other markets across Europe, Asia, and Latin America … Read more

Well this is paranoia-inducing.

Yes, that is a photo of a camera attached to a miniature helicopter. It's called the DraganFlyer X6. It's a remotely operated device designed to carry wireless video or still cameras.

Measuring about 3 feet in diameter with the rotor, the X6 has three motors to spin its carbon fiber blades and is capable of carrying a maximum weight of 1.1 pounds. This means your typical point-and-shoot camera, budget dSLR or camcorder should be able to fit properly on the bird. It comes with an anti-vibration camera mount which minimizes shaky videos or … Read more

Apple on Tuesday released Bonjour for Windows 1.0.5., patching the DNS vulnerabilities first reported by Dan Kaminsky of IOActive in July. Bonjour for Windows can be found within iTunes. Earlier on Tuesday, Apple released DNS patches for iPod Touch. Bonjour for Windows 1.0.5 may be obtained downloading iTunes 8.0 or from Apple Software Downloads.

mDNSResponder 1 This patch affects users of Windows Vista, XP SP2, SP3, 2003, and 2000. The update addresses null pointer reference issue in CVE-2008-2326. Apple says the problem within Bonjour Namespace Provider lies in resolving a maliciously crafted ".local" … Read more

Photo enthusiasts take note. This morning Lexar announced that its Professional UDMA 300x CompactFlash Card will be available in late September in a 16GB version for $349.99 MSRP. By comparison, B&H has the 8GB card for $154.95 with an $80 mail-in rebate, which means buying two of those would be the better deal at this point. Of course, you can expect the 16GB card to street for less than its list price.

Here's what Lexar's marketing team has to say in its press release:

Designed for professional photographers and photo enthusiasts, this lightning-fast card … Read more

Less than a month ago, Intel announced its line of solid-state hard drives. We didn't have much information at the time, other than a model number and a few benchmarks provided by Intel, but we're pleased to officially announce the X25-M, or the Intel Mainstream SATA Solid-State Drive.

The drive uses NAND flash technology specifically built for computing with 10 parallel channels and optimized firmware. As stated previously, the drive will come in both 2.5 inch (X25-M) and 1.8 inch (X18-M) sizes that will fit in both desktops and laptops with the same performance specifications.

The … Read more

These days, people are managing so much information on a daily basis that being able to find it quickly and efficiently is becoming crucial.

With its Spotlight desktop search tool--part of Mac OS X--Apple made it possible to search not just text-based files like Word documents, but also things like PDF files that don't have modifiable text.

Windows users, too, have choices for desktop search, like offerings from Google and Microsoft.

But now, Windows users will have a more powerful tool at their disposal, Rebus Technology's Recollect Desktop, a search tool that, according to Rebus, can find just … Read more

Intel is shipping new server processors that consume as little as 12.5 watts per core.

Cumulatively, the racks and racks of servers in large data centers can require power rivaling that consumed by entire city blocks. So, getting power consumption as low as possible while delivering adequate performance has become a delicate balancing act for Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.

New additions to the Xeon 5000 Series include the L5430 and X5270 processors, the fastest of which boasts a clock speed of 3.5GHz, Intel said.

The low-voltage L5430 uses only 50 watts of power or just 12.5 … Read more

Over the weekend two new open-source startups caught my eye (and my inbox): OrecX and Transverse. The first is notable for its demonstration that open source is ready for niche applications. The second? Well, the second is notable because after reading through its website I still have no idea what it does.

OrecX is a Chicago-based company that has created the first open-source call recording software company, targeting small businesses. According to the company, "Voice recording is high in demand to create an element of professionalism and quality customer service but because of its cost, it's been out of reach for many businesses."

Fair enough. So, OrecX aims to use open source to lower the cost of tailored voice recording solutions, which are normally priced at $1,000 to $4,000. I doubt many companies will actually customize OrecX's solution, preferring instead to tap into the cost savings, but that is one valid way to leverage open-source software.

Another way is that which Transverse, an Austin-based company, has chosen. Transverse is focused on expanding revenue opportunities for telecom providers with its Customer Asset Management solution and blee(p) platform

Hmm...what does that mean? From the company's website:… Read more