michael favia

A first look at iOS 4.1 Gold Master, the latest release of Apple's mobile operating system due out next week. A developer sent me a copy and I have it installed on my iPhone 4. Major new features are the HDR photo mode and Game Center.

Just say "no" to be being an iClone. Get a device with an open OS, lightning-fast data connectivity and a network that won't drop calls every five minutes.

Don't hit the books without getting the right gear. We've got all the kit you need from taking scrupulous notes, to working off campus, to being the most popular kid in your dorm.

If you're even thinking of working off-campus without taking this Wi-Fi-spewing wonder card, you'll need to be fitted for a straight jacket.

The sparkle of starlight off water could be the clincher for finding oceans on extrasolar planets. And it could be observable with the tech that will be deployed in the next generation of space telescopes.

Unless you're majoring in spandex and minoring in too-cool-for-school at Steephill State, you may not need a road, fixed-gear or a mountain bike. Consider REI's Novara Fusion commuter. Sure this hybrid 8-speed won't get you anywhere in a mega-hurry, but you'll likely enjoy getting there.

Don't you wish there was a way to take notes with a pen and upload them to your computer? And don't you wish that pen had an infrared camera, a built-in speaker and mic? There is such a thing, and it's called the Livescribe Echo Smartpen.

As we go backstage at the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma, we ponder what's more important to fans -- the drivers' skill, or the cars' technology?

Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that Consumer Watchdog is running a 540-square-foot video billboard advertisement in Times Square, New York that shows Google CEO Eric Schmidt as an ingratiating ice cream truck driver who knows everything about everyone and happily offers free ice cream in exchange for full body scans. The group says its goal is to push Congress and the Federal Trade Commission to create a Do Not Track Me list, similar to the Do Not Call list developed to prevent telemarketers from aggressively calling consumers. 'Do you want Google or any other online company looking over your shoulder and tracking your every move online just so it can increase its profits?' writes the group's president, Jamie Curtis, at the group's web site. 'Consumers have a right to privacy. They should control how their information is gathered and what it is used for.' The FTC's consumer affairs group had no comment on whether the agency is considering creating a Do Not Track Me list."

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By losing 30 pounds in less than a year, tennis pro Mardy Fish has quickly become one of the top Americans to advance at this year’s US Open in New York. Fish opens up on how he pulled it off and revitalized his career.

Samantha PitchelGot a not-so-secret crush on “Dashing” Cody Rhodes but hate tuning into two hours of droning commentary and Nickelback-inspired theme music? There’s a solution: McMahon. The New Movement Theater, a group of comedians with a serious passion for the WWE empire, has introduced a show that combines the mesmerizing imagery of a high-octane wrestling match with the wit of a brilliant comedy routine.

Pro wrestling is often mocked for the same characteristics that make it a visually compelling show: flamboyant costumes, improbable storylines, headache-inducing pyrotechnics. But sometimes the silliest things are the most satisfying, and WWE’s weekly RAW brawl attracts viewers who follow the action like it’s a well-scripted soap opera (which, of course, it is).

So how could live wresting possibly get any funnier? With The New Movement’s Chris Trew, Tami Nelson and Mikey Felton teaming up to provide blow-by-blow commentary and fascinating “stats” while local improv troupes Spirit Desire, Ghost Prom and The Control Group take over to narrate commercials. The result? Instant insanity.

With a live stream of RAW broadcast on the big screen at The ND (at 501 Studios), Trew, Nelson and Felton provided their own account of the action, starting things off by setting up an elaborate backstory for the Kane / Bret “The Hitman” Hart rivalry dominating this week’s show. Did you know that Hart’s bitter hatred of Kane stems from a cruel prank involving stolen shampoo? Or that dry bagels can drive a leggings-clad man to madness? Neither did we, but we’re glad The New Movement was there to clear things up. From the Diva match to the closing 5 on 5 Elimination Tag Team bout (re-dubbed “White Trash vs. Nerds”), the commentary took wild turns, in perfect sync with the on-screen action. Commercial breaks, usually the low point of any show, became storylines and devices for games in the hands of expert improv crews. The audience completely lost it when Milo Smith, as CM Punk, gave an impassioned speech about his pent-up sexual frustration, culminating in a flashback shot of a shirtless Santino getting blased by a beer hose.

While wrestling events tend to bring out certain audiences, McMahon succeeded in making RAW accessible to haters and hardcore fans alike, presenting the action in a way that made it easy for first-time viewers to get in on the action without worrying about catching up. Stay tuned to The New Movement for info on the next McMahon RAW event, and check them out at Fun Fun Fun Fest this November.

jamie writes "A grassroots campaign has begun to get Stephen Colbert to hold a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to counter Glenn Beck's recent 'Restoring Honor' event. The would-be rally has been dubbed 'Restoring Truthiness' and was inspired by a recent post on Reddit, where a young woman wondered if the only way to point out the absurdity of the Tea Party's rally would be if Colbert mirrored it with his own Colbert Nation.'"

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While winding down from Wednesday’s iPod announcements, Apple CEO Steve Jobs appears to have taken some time to respond to an e-mail criticizing the new look of the iTunes icon.

image from Stereogum Joanna Newsom with Special Guest TBA
Thursday, November 11
Paramount Theater (713 Congress Avenue)
$31.50/34.50
[info] | [tickets]

By now, you're probably either with Joanna Newsom or you're against her, but one thing can be said for sure: there's no one else quite like her. The super-skilled fashion aficionada, music video star, world-class pop harpist, and crush for boys and girls around the world is touring in support of her maniacally ambitious triple-LP Have One On Me, which is such a complex work people are still trying to entangle its many threads nearly seven months after its release. Good news is that she'll be putting on a display of its sounds, and surely some of her earlier (and still delightful) work, in Austin, and in the not-too-distant future. For those who caught her intimate and astonishing performance a couple years back at The Riverbend Center, this'll be another chance to see a show unlike any other, and with a certainly intriguing "Special Guest TBA" tag attached to the bill. Hmm, who it could be?

But all that's not even the good part. The good part is that we're giving a way a pair of tickets. Put your name in the boxes after the jump and clear that November 11 date on the calendar!

Joanna Newsom [Drag City]

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An anonymous reader writes "'Always bet on Duke.' It seems he was right about himself, at least. The longest, most storied in-development game in history seems like it's finally going to be released by Gearbox Software sometime within the next year. 'According to Pitchford, Gearbox began finishing Duke Nukem Forever in late 2009. "Clearly the game hadn't been finished at 3D Realms but a lot of content had been created," he says. "The approach and investment and process at 3D Realms didn't quite make it, and it cracked at the end. With Gearbox Software we brought all those pieces together. It's the game it was meant to be." The game is currently expected to ship in 2010 although given its history Pitchford is understandably reluctant to be more specific.'"

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Wired.com contributor Jeremy Hart is driving around the world in a Ford Fiesta. Along the way, he'll be testing gadgets from some of the most extreme — and amazing — locations.

Joe Sylvester wants to set a new record for longest jump by a monster truck. Clearly he's still got some work to do.

In addition to the usual cadre of satellites, NASA is using a small fleet of unmanned aircraft into, over and around the hurricane as it tracks north from the Caribbean. While flying into a hurricane is nothing new, Earl is the first hurricane that NASA has observed using their unmanned Global Hawk observation aircraft.

Jake writes with this excerpt from Ars: "Microsoft is warning about a new piece of malware, Rogue:MSIL/Zeven, that auto-detects a user's browser and then imitates the relevant malware warning pages from Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Chrome. The fake warning pages are very similar to the real thing; you have to look closely to realize they aren't the real thing. The ploy is a basic social engineering scheme, but in this case the malware authors are relying on the user's trust in their browser, a tactic that hasn't been seen before. Beyond the warning pages, the actual malware looks like the real deal: it allows you to scan files, tells you when you're behind on your updates, and enables you to change your security and privacy settings. Performing a scan results in the product finding malicious files, but of course it cannot delete them unless you update, which requires paying for the full version. Attempting to buy the product will open an HTML window that provides a useless 'Safe Browsing Mode' with high-strength encryption. To top it all off, the rogue antivirus webpage looks awfully similar to the Microsoft Security Essentials webpage; even the awards received by MSE and a link to the Microsoft Malware Protection Center have been copied."

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EA Sports, publisher of the Madden NFL videogame franchise, has taken its latest game iteration, Madden NFL 11, and run through the upcoming 2010 NFL season, offering at least a simulated insight into who’ll be celebrating in Arlington, Texas, after Super Bowl XLV.