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Gotta-Get-It
Gadgets
Sony introduced a tiny, 2-megapixel camera on Tuesday. The Qualia
016, which ships June 24, is just 2.7 inches by.9 inches by.7 inches and weighs only 1.8 ounces. Unlike all other tiny cameras, the Qualia 016 support the
Memory
Stick, sports an LCD
viewfinder, has high-quality optics and electronics, and comes with a
briefcase full of
attachable
lenses, external flash unit and other goodies. That's
the good news. Now the bad news: It costs
$3,220. The camera is one of the first four products released
under the Qualia
brand.
Hitachi and Sotec have come up with a new
PC form factor -- and it doesn't even violate Apple trademarks! The Afina 7160 PC is ideal for situations where space is limited, such as the kitchen, bathroom -- or Japan. The keyboard and flatpanel LCD are part of the same integrated unit. The
guts of the PC are tucked away behind the screen. The Afina supports USB 2.x, Memory Stick and sports both built-in Ethernet and modem. It started shipping in
Japan last week; I'll let you know when it goes on sale elsewhere.
Here
are
more
pictures.
Proof You Can Buy Anything on the
Web
You can buy your very own bullet-proof
Talon Riot Control
Vehicle, complete with crowd-dispersing water cannon, grenade
launcher and tear gas dispenser. It even has a bathroom.
How about a costume to humiliate your
cat?
Or why not buy an IBM S/390 mainframe
computer?
Cell Phone Follies
A Japanese company called Earth Beat has created software called GeneLock-Light for camera cell phones that uses face recognition for security. Just take a picture of yourself, and, unless you've been recently disfigured by a horrible accident, the software will (hopefully) recognize you and let you use your
phone.
Nextel Communications now offers a Motorola picture phone designed specifically for federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Cops can share photos of suspects and crime scenes instantly. The phones are ruggedized (able to withstand coffee spills and
donut crumbs), and feature voice-enabled e-mail and a walkie-talkie
function.
Mike's List on
the Radio
Craig Crossman's
Computer America features Mike Elgan every
Thursday night. The show runs from 7pm to 9pm SVT (Silicon Valley Time). Listen
to Computer America on your local Business TalkRadio station or
over
the Internet every weeknight. Don't miss Computer
America!
Wacky
Web Sites
If you like being surprised by the unexpected twists and turns of movies (The Sixth Sense, The Crying Game, etc.), then don't visit
Moviepooper, a cinema web site specializing in spoilers.
Comics have their own secret language of guttural moans, such as "Oof!", "Ugh!" and "Ayeeeiiii." Well, now there's a web site called -- what
else? -- The Unh!
Project, which catalogs and defines these special comic book
utterances. Aargh!
Let's face it: Soccer fans can get ugly. And now those ugly fans have their own
web
site.
Home English Home is a spoof web site that purports to teach English to Japanese
people.
Welcome to a worker's paradise where earnest proletarians labor
with cheerful resolve, road construction is considered an "achievement of the
revolution" and everyone is just a little overweight. Welcome to the fantasy world of Chinese communist propaganda at
Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages.
This "Microsimulation of road traffic with a time-continuous model" lets you play traffic engineer. Tweak variables to make traffic run smoothly, or create the
Mother of All Traffic
Jams.
Feast your eyes on these tricked out monster trucks built by Japanese enthusiasts and displayed on the
Air Brush Hirayama web site.
And here's a weird
clock.
Spam Complaints? Put Your Money
Where Your Mouth Is!
Pop-up ads and spam threaten to
wreck the Internet. But you can do something about it. Make a
small contribution to Mike's List and support ad-free,
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This exciting issue of Mike's List is sponsored by your fellow readers who sent money in the past week to support ad-free, spam-free content: Lawrence ($10), Richard ($10), Laura ($20), Joe ($10), Luther ($10), Rolf ($10), Christopher ($10), Davis ($10), Hans ($10), Cortlandt ($10), Chris ($10)
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Go here to sponsor Mike's List with a quick and easy
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Twisted
Games
Lob-a-Job
The Runaway Train
Tower 13
Rockface
Big Number o' the Week
1,000,000,000
(Total number of microprocessors shipped by Intel as of April, 2003)
Geek Trivia o' the Week
How many
closed-circuit security cameras are there in Britain? (Estimate)
Bonus points for how many cameras there are in the London
Tube.
Know the answer? Send
it to geektrivia@mikeslist.com (be sure to say where you live).
If you're first with the right answer, I'll print your name in the
next issue of Mike's List!
LAST WEEK'S GEEK TRIVIA ANSWER:
Last week I asked, "Why
do we use the phrase 'to boot up' when we mean to start
up a computer system?" Early geeks referred to the then long and arduous process of starting a computer as pulling itself up by its
bootstraps, an American idiom that means to bring oneself up using one's own effort. Early computers used code called a bootstrap loader, later called a bootstrap. The verb "boot" inevitably followed.
Congratulations to Ryk McDorman of Denver, Colorado, for being first with the right answer.
Mystery Pic o'
the Week
What is it? Send YOUR guess to mysterypic@mikeslist.com (be sure to say where you live).
If you're first with the right answer, I'll print your name in the
next issue of Mike's List!
 LAST WEEK'S
MYSTERY PIC:
No, it's not "the latest and greatest in paintball technology,
"a member of Microsoft's software auditing team" or even "Mrs. Tommy Franks" as suggested by some readers. In fact, it's a soldier wearing what Pentagon brass call "the
Scorpion Integrated Protection Analysis Combat
Ensemble." It's a system of military gear designed to make U.S. soldiers of the near future more protected, stealthy and
lethal. The ensemble even includes a wristwatch that fights battle
exhaustion. General Dynamics was awarded
a contract Thursday to begin construction of new Army
uniforms that embody some of the technologies in the Scorpion
Ensemble. Congratulations to Jeff Arvoy of Owosso, Michigan, for being the first with the right answer.
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