The Perfect Gift

MIKE'S LIST IS THE GIFT that keeps on giving. If you're a hopeless cheapskate, why not give all your loved ones a free subscription to Mike's List this holiday season? They'll never forget -- or forgive.

'It Don't Matter If You're Black or White...'

Michael Jackson was digitally darkened on videotape using a high-tech process for a CBS concert filmed in September. The reason is that he performed with his brothers but looked incredibly pale compared to the rest of the "Jackson 5." Jackson says he has a disease called vitiligo, which whitened his skin (and presumably straightened his hair and made his nose pointy). 

Global Pirate Olympics Heats Up

China hopes to do well in the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. But the country already wins the gold in one event: stealing software. The National Statistics Bureau found that fewer than 10% of residents of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou use legitimate software -- just 8.5 percent. The rest buy pirated. Though 97 percent of those surveyed agreed that using illegal software harms the industry, 78 percent said they don't hesitate to buy purloined code. Not to be outdone, Britain is going for the speed record. Two days before being premiered in London, "The Lord of the Rings" was available on video in stores. Police confiscated 100 copies of the movie December 8 in Bridgenorth, Shropshire. The movie premiered yesterday, and opens to the U.K. public December 19.

How Do You Say 'Quidditch' In Latin?

The Harry Potter books were written in English, then translated into American and other foreign languages -- most recently, Latin! That shouldn't surprise people who have bought the Latin versions of How the Grinch Stole Christmas or Winnie the Pooh. 

Deep Communication

France Telecom has invented a phone that works underwater. The system includes a GSM phone and keyboard. The user bites on the mouthpiece, then talks. Vibrations in the skull create the sound. The phone was first used by divers searching for Cleopatra's palace near Alexandria. Meanwhile, researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have invented an underwater mouse. In a totally unrelated story, here's a hobbyist web site that proves Bluetooth's efficacy in a jar of water. 

Hackers, Crackers and Outlaws

A new hacker school called "Zi Hackacademy" opened recently in Paris, France. Tuition costs 450 francs for a course of nine lessons. 

Raven Software's Rick Johnson said Sunday that an e-mail flying around the Internet falsely claims to have a demo of Quake 4 attached. The file is W32.Eira.57344@mm virus, which can erase files if launched. 

And while most viruses and hacker tools affect PCs, there are signs that trouble is coming to your phone. Job de Haas, an Information Technology Security Experts researcher, has created a PC program that simply sends an SMS message with a "broken" User Data Header. The effect is that it crashes the phone that receives the message -- and the user can't turn the phone back on. (This is a great way to cut down on your spouse's cell phone bill.)

Proof You Can Buy Anything on the Web

Everyone has a watch, but not everyone has a watch with a built-in catapult! This $59 timepiece lobs a BB or spitball across the office and into another cubicle. It comes with a free supply of BBs.

Cell Phone Follies

The Social Issues Research Centre in the U.K. says blabbing on cell phones is the high-tech equivalent of social grooming by apes (but without all that nibbling on head lice). 

Ring tones have evolved from simple annoyances, to annoyances that promote upcoming Music CDs. Wu-Tang Clan and Mobb Deep are releasing songs this week as cell phone rings, then later as CD-bound songs available at music stores. 

New Software lets you create your own ring tones (and you thought Mozart's ring tones were annoying!)  

Shameless Self-Promotion

Listen to Mike's List every week on the Radio! Now Craig Crossman's Computer America features Mike's List content on every show (and I join Craig live on the first broadcast Sunday of every month). You can hear Computer America on your local Business TalkRadio station or over the Internet each Sunday from 1pm to 3pm Silicon Valley Time. Don't miss Computer America!

Hollywood Spy

"The Matrix" pioneered many cool digital special effects. But the makers of the sequel (to be called "'Matrix Reloaded") know that you can't fake a good high-speed car chase. So Warner Brothers built a two-mile long freeway in Alameda, Calif., to film Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) in a high-speed chase. It's the first time ever that a freeway was built for a movie. After the shooting, the faux freeway was destroyed. The materials will be used for a housing development in Mexico. 

Reader Web Site o' the Week

If you're interested in wireless technology, mobile computing and gadgets, check out reader Barry Zellen's wonderful WirelessReport.net. It's technology content with humanity, humor and insight into the technologies and companies behind the wireless revolution. Go here and get unplugged!

Get YOUR web site on the high-traffic Mike's List Reader Links page. HERE'S HOW! 

Gotta-Get-It Gadgets

Unlike a lot of cynical observers, I actually think the Segway is pretty cool. But since everyone from the New York Times to c|net has already written about it, I'll tell you about another expensive gadget that keeps you from having to walk: The Airboard personal hovercraft floats on a cushion of air at up to 15 mph. It's made by the Australian company Arbortech Industries Ltd.

Have you seen an amazing new toy? Let me know! 

Wacky Web Sites

The Unreliable Facts web site is an index of information for the gullible. Why does it exist? Well, the site's tag line says it all: "Because everything you read on the Internet is true." 

If you find those executive motivational posters inspirational, then you'll hate Demotivators. The site sells calendars and other anti-inspirational products. Here's an example from the 2002 calendar: "Consulting: If you're not a part of the solution, there's good money to be made in prolonging the problem." Get demotivated!

If you visit Greece, make sure you don't do the "OK" sign. To Greeks, it signifies a, well, a specific body part. Visit the Web of Culture site to find out what various hand gestures mean in different countries before traveling and you'll be OK -- er, I mean you'll be fine...

If you find yourself in Australia, and have to go to the bathroom, make sure you have access to the Internet. The National Public Toilet Map points to every public john Down Under. But take heed of the web site's warning: "Please be patient. Using the map for the first time will require a number of files to be downloaded. They will take approximately one minute to load when connected at 56k." Plan ahead.

Learn the true history of Star Wars' R2-D2 in "Beneath the Dome."

Cell Phone Manners is a web site "devoted to promoting civility between cell phone users and the people around them." Nice idea. The trouble is, rude cell phone users don't care!

 If you see a really crazy web site: Let me know! 

Last Week's Mystery Pic

No, it's not "the guts of a new internet ready pencil sharpener," "a scale model of the set for the movie 'Tron,'" or "the inside of Mike's brain" as suggested by some readers. It's the insides of a Microsoft XBox, as shown on TechTV. (Other sites, such as Icrontic and Van's Hardware featured similar photos.) Congratulations to John L. Sousa for being first with the right answer. 

 Have you seen an amazing, hard-to-identify picture? Let me know!

Mystery Pic o' the Week

What is it? Send YOUR guess to mysterypic@mikeslist.com. I'll publish the name of the person who gets it right first in the next issue of Mike's List.