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When gamers die, their instructions can live on

There are some things that never cross my mind. The recipe for chicken cacciatora, for example. Or the name of George Stephanopoulos' hairdresser.

And, until my wandering eye caught this remarkable story on Yahoo News, I had never thought about what happens when gamers die.

Do their fellow gamers wonder where they've gone? Do they try and contact them? Or do they just assume that they have given up gaming and checked into a halfway house, either on Earth or in the sky?

Here is the example of Robert Bryan's father. Last year, he died. But he's … Read more

Blink to control your iPod

Think it's rude to make faces at people? Well, you better start rethinking that stereotype if you intend to use the Mimi Switch.

Forget fingers. Created by Osaka University researcher Kazuhiro Taniguchi, the Mimi Switch (aka Ear Switch) is a set of unassuming earphones containing infrared sensors. This lets the earpiece sense tiny movements inside the ear caused by facial expressions and transmit the readings to an attached micro-computer that then translates them into commands for a music device.

In fact, this gadget isn't limited to just audio pleasure as it can be programmed to control other electronic … Read more

Report: Google partners with TrueSwitch to streamline Gmail import

Correction at 7:55 a.m. PST: Googlesystem is not an official Google blog.

Google has inked a deal with online account migration tool provider TrueSwitch in an attempt to streamline the process of moving to Gmail from competing e-mail services, according to Googlesystem, a third-party blog that tracks the search giant's efforts.

Gmail has previously offered tools that let people import contacts and messages from other e-mail services, but the company apparently believed it was making it too hard on new users to import data and wanted to find a way to make account migration more straightforward.

According … Read more

PCNation has the Impact Acoustics 3x5 Component Video Matrix Selector Switch for $162.68, after $187.31 savings, plus free shipping.

Save $187.31 on the Impact Acoustics 3x5 Component Video Matrix Selector Switch from PCNation >> Regular price is $349.99 >> Sale price is $162.68 >> Savings $187.31 (53.52%) >> Click here for deal

Attention Vista users

Simple and straightforward is how we like it, and this free utility delivers. It gives Vista users the ability to easily manage their UAC.

WinCleaner UAC Switch's interface consists of two UAC options, but really, you have three options: to run the UAC in normal mode, to run it in quiet mode, and, finally, to turn off the UAC altogether. No matter your selection, you have to restart your computer for it to take effect. After switching our UAC to quiet mode, we noticed a big difference in the number of administrator permission requests when we tried uninstalling and … Read more

Alarm systems at risk: UL establishes a higher security requirement for magnetic switches

The U.S. product safety testing organization Underwriters Laboratories has redefined the security requirements for magnetic switches used in many alarm systems because some of these devices can be easily defeated. If your facility employs reed switches or Balanced Magnetic Switches (the high-security version of these devices) you may wish to review the requirements of the new standard. UL 634 has established a second security level (2) to define more stringent requirements to protect against covert attack. Current BMS switches are covered under Level 1.

It appears that only one switch can currently meet the new Level 2 section of … Read more

Switcher's lament: The case against Mac

Think moving from a Windows PC to a Mac is easy? My experience, and my wife's, may encourage you to think differently. Here's the story:

When my latest Thinkpad began to get unreasonably slow, as Windows laptops often do after a year or so of use, I thought it'd be a good time to jump to the Mac platform for a while to see what the fuss was about. My wife's three-year-old laptop was running out of gas as well, so I thought she and I could make the change together. I was looking forward to an interesting period of learning a new platform, and I thought my wife, a heavy e-mail and Internet user but not someone who enjoys tinkering, would appreciate the fit and finish of products in the Apple ecosystem. I didn't think we'd have to give up much.

I bought a matched pair of MacBooks for us, and, over the holidays, we went cold turkey, leaving the Windows machines at home while we traveled to my wife Jennifer's parents for a 10-day-long holiday stay.

Technologically, it was not the happiest of vacations.

Before I get into the things that have been driving us batty, let me just say that the Apple hardware we moved to is gorgeous, and has been reliable. I'm enjoying the stability of OS X and the genius of the multitouch trackpad. And I love that fact that after I put the MacBook to sleep by closing the lid I don't have to worry about it not starting again when I open it.

But when it comes to the different applications my wife and I use, and to moving data from the Windows realm to the Mac, and to accessing hardware we already have, the process of switching continues to be rocky. Not all of the issues we have are with Apple products, and that's rather the point: No platform exists in a vacuum. People use other apps, and have their own training and preexisting hardware. Switching means overcoming a lot of technological inertia. … Read more

Google's Android also comes with a 'kill switch'

The world was up in arms when it was discovered that Apple's iPhone comes with a "kill switch" that "allows Apple to remotely delete malicious or inappropriate applications stored on the device." That terrible, proprietary, all-controlling Apple!

Well, as it turns out, Google's open-source Android comes with a similar feature, as reported by Computerworld:

In the Android Market terms of service, Google expressly says that it might remotely remove an application from user phones. "Google may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement...in such an instance, Google retains the right … Read more