All About Hi-Tech From Around The Worldhttp://hitech.1smartsolution.com/ newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/WUDpGpEr1g4&hl=en&fs=1&hd=1","customParams":[],"width":500,"height":332.5,"ratio":0.615,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"youtube","wrap":true,"agegate":false} ); Northrop Grumman's X-47B is ready. On Friday it completed a 29 minute test flight over Edwards Air Force Base, managing to land "right on the centerline" of the runway. Without having a pilot onboard. [YouTube via http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13861/Video-X47B-Unmanned-Stealth-Bomber-Completes-First-Test-Flight-Video Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:04:06 +200 newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/WUDpGpEr1g4&hl=en&fs=1&hd=1","customParams":[],"width":500,"height":332.5,"ratio":0.615,"flashData":"","embedName":nul The UK's foreign secretary has revealed that the Zeus data-stealing trojan was found installed on computers belonging to government employees, after they clicked on links contained within fake emails from the White House. Mr Hague said that "a large number of emails bypassed some of our filters" allowing the trojan to install itself, although the government "experts" were subsequently able to clean the infection. No mention is made of any actual data theft—or what the White House http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13860/Fake-Emails-From-The-White-House-Tricked-UK-Government-Staff-Data Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:04:05 +200 The UK's foreign secretary has revealed that the Zeus data-stealing trojan was found installed on computers belonging to government employees, after they clicked on links contained within fa Optical specialist Carl Zeiss is joining the Micro Four Thirds revolution. The German lens maker, which produces everything from cheap bits for cell phones to medical equipment, says its first compatible product will be ZEISS HD Video lenses. The announcement, which came via M43 backer Olympus, doesn't go into any more details regarding on sale dates—and the Zeiss optics are yet to be added to the consortium's lenses database. [Olympus via Engadget] http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13859/Carl-Zeiss-Wants-A-Smaller-CameramdashMicro-Four-Thirds-Lenses-On-The-Way-Photography Mon, 07 Feb 2011 13:04:04 +200 Optical specialist Carl Zeiss is joining the Micro Four Thirds revolution. The German lens maker, which produces everything from cheap bits for cell phones to medical equipment, says its fir Following initial revelations last week, NASDAQ has today confirmed reports that one of its systems has been accessed by outsiders. The hackers gained access to the company's web-based Directors Desk tool, which is a custom solution for allowing the boards of businesses to communicate in a supposedly secure manner. So if you're on more than $250k a year you might want to change your password from "lunch4wimps" to something else. [WSJ] http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13858/NASDAQ-Confirms-HackmdashCompany-Director-Chat-Service-Compromised-Security Mon, 07 Feb 2011 13:04:03 +200 Following initial revelations last week, NASDAQ has today confirmed reports that one of its systems has been accessed by outsiders. The hackers gained access to the company's web-based Direc Skive is a British word. It means to knowingly and willingly evade work. To call in sick. To hide when someone wants you to do something. To skive off. New Android app Skiver lets you automate the difficult skiving process. Coming with a variety of pre-loaded scenarios and the ability to automatically generate an email to your boss, Skive also includes explanations of the common symptoms of your chosen illness—just in case there's an awkward follow-up disciplinary hearing upon yo http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13857/Make-Every-Day-A-Sick-Day-Wiith-Skiver-Apps Mon, 07 Feb 2011 13:04:02 +200 Skive is a British word. It means to knowingly and willingly evade work. To call in sick. To hide when someone wants you to do something. To skive off. New Android app Skiver lets you automa We will never see official LEGO versions of Resident Evil, Modern Warfare, Max Payne, Gears of War, Final Fantasy or Killzone. That being the case, we'll have to make do with Andy Pescovitz's customised renditions instead. Pescovitz has amassed an impressive collection of figures that he's both painted and in many cases scultped to look like miniature versions of some video game favourites. There's a selection of some of the better figures here, including those from Halo: Reach and Unc http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13856/LEGO-Uncharted-LEGO-Call-Of-Duty-LEGO-Halo-Art Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:03:04 +200 We will never see official LEGO versions of Resident Evil, Modern Warfare, Max Payne, Gears of War, Final Fantasy or Killzone. That being the case, we'll have to make do with Andy Pescovitz' By virtue of the fact they're old, game cartridges are normally filthy as hell. Which means sometimes they won't work! Not to fear. If blowing on them won't get them up and running, a chemical fix probably will. This handy instructional vid shows that all you need — provided the problem is dirt and not something more technical — is a little rubbing alcohol and some cotton swabs to get those filthy, grubby old game cartridges good as new. I've actually done this before with http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13855/How-To-Clean-Your-Cartridges-When-Blowing-Doesnt-Work-Video Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:03:03 +200 By virtue of the fact they're old, game cartridges are normally filthy as hell. Which means sometimes they won't work! Not to fear. If blowing on them won't get them up and running, a chemic This year's edition of the GT Academy, a long-running competition that has now been turned into a TV show, is in a bit of a mess after so many people were caught cheating the last round was called off. First picked up last week, there was a "loophole" which users had discovered which allowed them to cut corners on the competition's chosen track. When organisers discovered this, another track was chosen instead, only...the same problem returned. People found that cutting corners was giv http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13854/Cheaters-Are-Messing-Up-The-Gran-Turismo-Academy-Video Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:03:02 +200 This year's edition of the GT Academy, a long-running competition that has now been turned into a TV show, is in a bit of a mess after so many people were caught cheating the last round was Wonder Festival is a bi-annual event for figurines and cosplay. It's one of the biggest of its kind, with D.I.Y. hobby figure-makers showing off their pieces as well as companies that specialize in turning resin into bookshelf sculptures. newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.viddler.com\/player\/24d152dd\/","customParams":{"flashVars":"fake=1"},"width":500,"height":301.25,"ratio":0.5625,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"viddle http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13853/Some-Of-These-Plastic-Figures-Might-Not-Be-Work-Safe-Video Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:03:02 +200 Wonder Festival is a bi-annual event for figurines and cosplay. It's one of the biggest of its kind, with D.I.Y. hobby figure-makers showing off their pieces as well as companies that speci Japan is a polite country, sometimes alarmingly so. People are bombarded with signs and announcements that constantly remind them of one thing: think of others. The above sign shows a woman using a cell phone and a guy playing a Nintendo DSi, and it asks, "Are you too engrossed in your activity?" The notice is to ensure "smooth" exiting and boarding of the Osaka Monorail. There is nothing wrong with playing a DSi while waiting for a train — though, it might be incredibly dangero http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13852/A-Nintendo-DSi-Isnt-Always-Good-Manners-Culture-Smash Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:03:01 +200 Japan is a polite country, sometimes alarmingly so. People are bombarded with signs and announcements that constantly remind them of one thing: think of others. The above sign shows a woman Last night we got official confirmation of the Xperia Play, today another new Sony Ericsson Android phone has been taken apart on the internet—the Android 2.3 powered Xperia Neo. A woman with very nice fingernails models the Xperia Neo on the suspiciously (and specifically?) recently created blog My Android Life, with other pictures showing the Neo running Android 2.3 inside a case that offers a pleasingly slimmer take on the company's massive original X10. As usual, Sony Ericsso http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13851/Can-Xperia-Neo-Continue-Sony-Ericssons-Android-Comeback-Smartphones Mon, 07 Feb 2011 11:04:02 +200 Last night we got official confirmation of the Xperia Play, today another new Sony Ericsson Android phone has been taken apart on the internet—the Android 2.3 powered Xperia Neo. A wom Inch by inch, model by model, Canon is slowly dragging the DSLR toward its destiny: a full-fledged photo-video hybrid camera. We're not there yet, but the $800 T3i brings shooters a bit closer with a video-centric swivel out screen. First thing's first: If you have a T2i, don't freak out. You've still got a killer camera. The T3i has the same blood & guts as its predecessor, just in a spiffier, more video-oriented package that pulls in the swivel screen from the slightly more upper le http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13850/Canon-Rebel-T3i-The-DSLR-Revolution-Will-Still-Be-Video-Video Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:04:08 +200 Inch by inch, model by model, Canon is slowly dragging the DSLR toward its destiny: a full-fledged photo-video hybrid camera. We're not there yet, but the $800 T3i brings shooters a bit clos You've got pockets, Canon's got cameras for 'em. The PowerShot ELPH 500 HS is the touchscreen-sporting successor to the affordable low-light champ SD4000 IS, and the SX230 HS has 14x optical zoom and GPS to keep you all orientated. The 12.1MP PowerShot Elph 500 HS picks up on the promise of the SD4000 IS: respectable low-light shooting on the cheap. Relatively cheap, anyway. It'll be $300, fifty bucks cheaper than the SD4000 was when it came out. It's got a brighter, F2.0 lens, and it http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13849/Canons-New-Elphs-The-Touchscreend-Night-Shootin-500-HS-and-Zoomy-GPSEquipped-230-HS-DigitalCameras Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:04:07 +200 You've got pockets, Canon's got cameras for 'em. The PowerShot ELPH 500 HS is the touchscreen-sporting successor to the affordable low-light champ SD4000 IS, and the SX230 HS has 14x optical Media mergers and acquisitions are usually not our bag. (Booooorrring.) But AOL just swallowed the Huffington Post for $315 million. I just wanted to warn you guys. You could be next! [HuffPo, NYT] http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13848/AOL-Just-Ate-the-Huffington-Post-and-Oh-God-Whats-Going-to-Be-Left-Gaping-Maws Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:04:05 +200 Media mergers and acquisitions are usually not our bag. (Booooorrring.) But AOL just swallowed the Huffington Post for $315 million. I just wanted to warn you guys. You could be next! [HuffP The Motorola Xoom sure has a lot of whizbang stuff inside: Crazy dual-core processors! Nvidia graphics! HD camcorder! 1GB RAM! Front camera! 3G that's somehow magically upgradeable to 4G! But, uh, it's eight hundred dollars. And it gets worse. The worse being fine print in the leaked Best Buy ad that says: To activate WiFi functionality on this device, a minimum of one month data subscription is required. Like Engadget, we can't figure out any other way to translate that besides the http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13847/The-First-Good-Android-Tablet-Has-Locked-Down-WiFi-and-Costs-800-Ughhhh-Unconfirmed Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:04:04 +200 The Motorola Xoom sure has a lot of whizbang stuff inside: Crazy dual-core processors! Nvidia graphics! HD camcorder! 1GB RAM! Front camera! 3G that's somehow magically upgradeable to 4G! Bu That strangely off-putting Android ad with the human thumbs was trying to tell us something after all, people. Mainly, that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play phone is arriving soon. Soon, as in February 13th. OK, so maybe it's actually the company's Facebook page that told me this. But the ad ran again this evening during the Super Bowl with a date at the end so, uh, watch it again and don't puke: newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/M4lxuoGgbxs&hl=en&fs http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13846/Sony-Ericsson-Xperia-Play-Lifts-Off-February-13-Video Mon, 07 Feb 2011 07:04:07 +200 That strangely off-putting Android ad with the human thumbs was trying to tell us something after all, people. Mainly, that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play phone is arriving soon. Soon, as in First it was there and then it was gone: The mysterious white iPhone 4, seemingly as rare as a completed Green Bay Packers 2nd half pass, was spotted in placard form at a Houston Best Buy. The link has long since been taken down, but the images remain, courtesy a tipster over at Engadget. Price? To borrow an Apple marketing trick, "just" $599.99 off contract. The white version is all but confirmed to be launching within the next few weeks, but it still has to be comforting to white iP http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13845/Best-Buy-Placard-Hints-White-Off-Contract-iPhone-Coming-Soon-IPhone Mon, 07 Feb 2011 07:04:06 +200 First it was there and then it was gone: The mysterious white iPhone 4, seemingly as rare as a completed Green Bay Packers 2nd half pass, was spotted in placard form at a Houston Best Buy. 13-12. Punch that in, Angry Birds fans. (Actually, go to that level). The code was hidden in the Super Bowl commercial for Rio. If you want to know how to use this precious info, watch the video below. newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/YJrnh5wyAYs&hl=en&fs=1&hd=1","customParams":[],"width":500,"height":332.5,"ratio":0.615,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"youtube","wrap":true,"agegate":false} ); Angry Birds http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13844/The-Angry-Birds-Super-Bowl-Code-is-Video Mon, 07 Feb 2011 06:03:02 +200 13-12. Punch that in, Angry Birds fans. (Actually, go to that level). The code was hidden in the Super Bowl commercial for Rio. If you want to know how to use this precious info, watch the v newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.viddler.com\/player\/28391c49\/","customParams":{"flashVars":"fake=1"},"width":500,"height":301.25,"ratio":0.5625,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"viddler","wrap":true,"agegate":false} ); Over the course of 15 years, award-winning photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand crafted the most beautiful view of the Earth I've ever seen on the silver screen: Home is an exquisite vision of our world, ful http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13843/This-Is-the-Most-Beautiful-and-Terrifying-Portrait-of-Earth-Ive-Seen-Video Mon, 07 Feb 2011 05:04:04 +200 newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.viddler.com\/player\/28391c49\/","customParams":{"flashVars":"fake=1"},"width":500,"height":301.25,"ratio":0.5625,"flashData":"","embe Sony's Playstation Phone, aka the Xperia Play, will be officially unveiled next week on Facebook. Sony Ericcson's Facebook even has a count down timer and a very familiar, very disturbing video. Announce is dated for Feb. 13, 18:00 GMT. What do you think? Too little, too late, or exactly what you've been waiting for? http://hitech.1smartsolution.com//index.cfm/action:posts.entry/id:13842/The-Playstation-Phone-is-Finally-FINALLY-Official-Xperia-Play Mon, 07 Feb 2011 04:03:04 +200 Sony's Playstation Phone, aka the Xperia Play, will be officially unveiled next week on Facebook. Sony Ericcson's Facebook even has a count down timer and a very familiar, very disturbing v