The Information Node Desktop - Lifehacker

http://m.lifehacker.com/5828188/the-information-node-desktop

Cisco's recently published graphical representation of the size and reach of the internet is extremely cool. When can I get an alarm clock that talks to my car?

Google's Photovine is launching later this month and it offers an interesting and unique way to share photos. In the brief demo on Photovine's website, they show how a  shared picture of a dog that is "warm and fuzzy" is shared and, through some modernized version of the old Telephone game (sorry, best analogy I could come up with on short notice), the "warm and fuzzy" becomes a picture of a burly and bearded man who, shall we say, lacks modesty? I thought this looked interesting, especially for those who already share photos that often are the start of long interactive threads on sites like Facebook or Twitter.

It will be interesting to see how this is integrated into the new Google+. I will be giving an in-depth review of Google+ very soon, along with any extensions related to it (as they strike my fancy).

Does This Mean My Xbox Will Finally Know How I Feel?

Insiders are saying that an update to Kinect will allow it to recognize finger gestures. So that means I can really let it know how I feel when I get frustrated after the 100th time trying to get past that pesky boss fight? Will it shut down if I flip it off? I look forward to grabbing my crotch and yelling "F#@* you!" at my Xbox and it replying: "Well f#@* you too. No more games for you!" and then shutting down. You can find an article with more detail about this update on CNet's UK site by clicking here.

Come With Me If You Want to Live...

DARPA has come out with yet another freakishly futuristic technology for our troops. To put it simply, the pictured device (presumably being modeled by one of the scientists. At least I hope), will give a soldier super vision. Among some of its features are a 360-degree 1-kilometer wide view of their surroundings rendered real time in 3D in the soldier's eyepiece. It can also detect things like muzzle flash, helping them locate enemy fire. You can read the full article on Gizmodo here. 

We Must Act Now to Preserve Net Neutrality: Opinion

We are getting closer and closer to losing the freedom that the Internet gives all of us on a daily basis. For those of you who are still a little unfamiliar with what net neutrality is and how is affects you, there's a great article here from wisegeek.com that explains this topic very well. Basically, if the Internet were open and neutral, ISP's, serarch providers (like Google or Yahoo) and telecommunications companies (like Time Warner, Verizon, AT&T, etc.) would not be allowed to restrict or filter a user's access to specific sites. This will make it possible for, let's say, a small online auction company to have the same access to customers as Ebay. Also, it won't let the same companies to unfairly restrict access to rival companies, like AOL not letting you subscribe to Yahoo mail because you have an account with AOL.

AT&T: Supporting Our Troops...for $16k Each!

I grew sick to my stomach as I read this. I won't go into detail (you can read the entire article at CNET's website by clicking here ), but just know that AT&T is charging a soldier in Afghanistan a $16,000 cell phone bill. AT&T claims they are going to credit his entire bill, so we'll see what happens, stay tuned...