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What a difference a day makes. As of yesterday, the biggest recent news from the webOS Internals global team was the launch of Doom and a video of a non-playable version of Quake. Today, there are three new announcements from webOS Internals:

First, Quake is now playable, with keymaps developed with help from user Jack87. As with the updated Doom, Quake launches through an icon rather than needing any typed commands in Terminal. The more complicated movements make Quake a bit more challenging to maneuver, but movement and sound work quite well. Both Quake and Doom are available via Preware.

Second, on the webOSInternals YouTube channel, the team has posted a video of a demo OpenGL application (a triangle containing moving concentric circles) by bpadalino, further proof that Palm has enabled this graphic functionality in webOS 1.3.5, and hinting at upcoming gaming possibilities that are even further confirmed by…

The third announcement, via Rod Whitby’s PreCentral forum post this morning where he details his discovery of a method for installing and running native Linux applications without the need for add-on services like webOSInternals’ own Upstart Manager Service. Rod points out that the ability to launch native Linux apps within webOS has implications well beyond gaming, in terms of advanced homebrew application development beyond that enabled by Palm’s current SDK. (PalmInfocenter posted a simpler explanation of what Rod and his colleagues discovered here.)

Palm’s CES 2010 event is scheduled for this coming Thursday, and based on what the webOSInternals folks are discovering literally every day, 2010 looks to be a very exciting time both for webOS developers and for the users who have benefitted from their innovation.

“We have a target to complete it by…early [this] year, around April,” Pedro H. Maniego, Jr., chairman of the technical working group on the feed-in tariff (FIT) and the renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) of the National Renewable Energy …

Techie people who’ve been right about Apple rumors in the past have been busy this past week. While there’s nothing concrete in either of these posts, their track records speak for themselves, and Apple conjecture is always fun, for some.

John Gruber of Daring Fireball takes the prize for most dedicated. While I was out saying things I could never take back during an uproarious Boston waterfront New Year’s Eve party, he was pounding out a thousand or so words about the Tablet, Apple, and why this thing won’t be something you just take into the shitter to pass the time with a few graphic novels and TIME Magazine with movies.

Again, conjecture abound, but at the end of it Gruber opines grandly, “I say they’re swinging big – redefining the experience of personal computing.” I’m forced to agree, not because of some deep, primal urge to support anything and everything Apple does, but because I’m still having a hard time envisioning what a tablet will do that demands people’s attention like the iPhone did. Gruber seems to think it’s the apps, stupid, and on that point I agree wholeheartedly: Software will define this thing, just as it did the iPhone.

It’s on the software front that a far more grounded wave of tablet predictions arrive from ars technica and John Siracusa. Calling his column “cold water” he bats down haptic touchscreens, folding dual screens, and 3D goggles, preferring the software route. And why not? There are already 100 million iTunes customers in place that prove the model works, and they in turn are fed by more than 125,000 App Store developers who currently sell more than 100,000 apps. It’s a proven model, and one Siracusa says Apple will rely heavily upon when this thing arrives. For his part, Gruber says “don’t bet against” anything Siracusa says. We have an accord!

Siracusa also calls his column an “antacid tablet.” As I am unable to traverse the Internet these days without stepping on, consuming, or producing a steaming pile of Apple Tablet news, I am inclined to agree with him. [Daring Fireball, ars technica]

In an ironic twist of fate for 2009, Fox’s IGN Entertainment, a company known for its game reviews of products like Zombie Apocalypse acquired What They Play. The newest member of Fox Interactive is touted as the “family guide to video games” and offers reviews, warnings and suggested products. Under the umbrella company of What They Like, What They Play uses the “Entertainment Software Rating Board” (ESRB) to warn parents of games containing explicit lyrics, cartoon violence and drug references.

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Editor’s note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we’ll re-publish some of our best posts of 2009. As we look back at the year – and ahead to what next year holds – we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It’s not just a best-of list, it’s also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we look forward to bringing you more Web products and trends analysis in 2010. Happy holidays from Team ReadWriteWeb!

In an age when gross-out sites like goatse are just a click away, a number of services offer parents the information they need to find quality online entertainment. While past generations were raised on unfiltered television and video games, today’s parent take a more active role in the process of media consumption.

AOL’s PlaySavvy: PlaySavvy is another site that offers parents a chance to check out age-appropriate kids games. Similar to What They Play, this site lists the ESRB ratings next to games and information is categorized by topic and gaming system. Products for console favorites like Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii are often featured on the site. AOL also offers parents daily articles and a section to view the most popular games.

Parents’ Choice: Established in 1978, this site is run by the Parents’ Choice Foundation – a nonprofit organization that offers awards to the top children’s media and toys. Some of the award categories include websites, video games, DVDs, software, television programming and toys. This site definitely skews towards narrative-based educational materials. If your kid has a shorter attention span, you might want to visit PBS Kids instead.

Common Sense Media: Common Sense media is a nonprofit organizations dedicated to offering parents reviews and suggestions on appropriate content. The group produces movie, website, TV, game, book and music ratings as well as a number of educational tools for classroom use. The site can be personalized for kids between the ages of 2-17 years old and it’s available in English and Spanish. This site tends to weigh the benefits of mainstream media sites.

PBS KIDS Island: This site offers parents reading resources, videos and games in English and Spanish. While the majority of the content is best queued up by a parent or teacher, the videos are of particularly high quality and completely commercial free.

National Geographic for Kids: This site offers kid-friendly games, videos, stories and activities for nature lovers. The same photography that has made National Geographic a hit with grownups is likely to please kids. Not surprisingly, the video content is equally compelling. Discovery Kids offers a similar experience and is a great site for visual learners.

Totlol: Totlol is a parent-moderated version of YouTube. The site offers video options specifically designed for children and even offers “age optimized interfaces” to ensure that kids of different ages get the most appropriate content. In 2008, ReadWriteWeb covered Totlol’s beta launch. As of today the site charges a $3 per month subscription fee or $54 until your child grows up.

Photo Credit:Swaminathan

Discuss

We have an awesome giveaway to kick off 2010! Neko Habitat is offering a beautiful acrylic Cradle cat bed for one lucky winner! This sleek modern bed is raised slightly off the floor with stainless steel legs and the shape of the bed is sure to attract kitty for a comfy afternoon nap.

To enter the monthly giveaway, make sure you’re signed-up to receive Moderncat updates via email. The drawing will take place on January 31. International winners are eligible to win if they would like to pay the extra shipping. Complete details on the monthly giveaway here.

EXTRA CHANCE TO WIN!

Neko Habitat wants to hear from you! For an extra chance to win the monthly giveaway, please leave a comment on this post and tell us what products you’d like to see next from Neko Habitat. One extra entry per person.

Ricky is quickly becoming one of my favorite comedians…

In other news, Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church, had a $1M gap to close in their funding and put out a request for help to the flock. What happens? He collects $2.4M over the course of a weekend from the congregation. Why was the gap there in the first place? Poor economy causing donations to drop from the same congregation. So, he decides he’ll put some godly pressure on the faithful, and lo and behold, a miracle happens. I say the flock got fleeced.

I-mate was one of the pioneers of the smartphone world, and for much of the last few years also one of the most troubled.  The company always credited itself as the creator of the first Windows Mobile phone, something that was disputed by most that saw the company as simply a trumped up middle man trying to take credit for the work of others, principally HTC.

When HTC decided to strike out on its own and sever ties to I-mate the company floundered, promising many great handsets and delivering only very few.  Most recently the company, after disputes with its ODM’s and claimed internal fraud, shut doors completely, ad we thought we heard the last of them.

However a bit like the villain in a summer movie the company simply refuses to die, with Phonenews.com claiming the troubled company has been bought by a pretty vigorous HTC.

This role reversal apparently came about due to I-mate owning some useful patents and rugged designs which could give HTC a step-up in an area where they have never really done well.

The rumour is far from confirmed, but it is of note that HTC will now be honouring I-mate warranties.

Do you think this is a good deal? Do any of our readers have more information about this?  Let us know in the comments below.

Medical statistics are often misunderstood (perhaps up to 72.381672 percent of the time).

Sometimes they’re consciously spun. More often they’re just phrased in an opaque way.

Given all the stories in recent weeks on cancer screening (mammograms, psa tests, pap tests), the effectiveness of medicines, drugs and supplements (statins, tamoxifen, vitamin D), not to mention the focus on the health care bill, it is a good time to briefly discuss a few better ways to present medical results.
Relative Risk vs. Absolute Risk

To make my points general, I’ll refer to an abstract cancer X rather than any particular real cancer, which is anything but abstract.

That being said, imagine that a headline announces that screening for cancer X reduces deaths from it by 25 percent. Imagine as well that another headline announces that screening cuts deaths from cancer X by about 1 in 1,000, reducing the rate from 4 in 1,000 to 3 in 1,000. Read more…

This week’s contribution to The Science of Kissing Gallery comes from a particularly gorgeous woman I adore in the science blogosphere. Thanks to her for contributing what can only be described as the steamiest image so far. Submit your original photo or artwork here.

Se acaba de filtrar un vídeo que da a conocer las líneas del nuevo modelo de Toyota, una berlina de bajo coste para el mercado indio cuyo nombre será Toyota Etios. Será mostrada de manera oficial en el Salón de Nueva Delhi que se celebrará entre el 5 y el 11 de este mes.

Tal y como podemos deducir tras ver el vídeo, el modelo contará con un tamaño compacto pero con un diseño muy moderno y estilizado. También se puede apreciar un morro con un cierto toque agresivo y una parrilla alargada y fina.

El Toyota Etios comenzará su comercialización en tres variantes de volúmenes. Su precio rondará los 10.000$ . A continuación os dejo con el vídeo publicado:

Related posts:

1. Toyota 4Runner
2. Toyota Auris 2010, nuevo restyling
3. Toyota mostrará un nuevo híbrido en el Salón de Detroit

from some anarchists, 1 January 2010: “Its been over two months now that two anarchists – Alfredo Bonnano and Christos Stratigopoulos had been arrested in Greece following bank robbery. Needless to say those anarchist comrades need our solidarity and support now. Especially 72 years old Bonnano is in grave danger due to his health problems and extremely bad conditions he is kept in Amfissa prison…” more

As nice as Windows 7 is to use let’s face it — we always want total control over the computing environment. What we really want is to have total control in an easy-to-use form that puts everything at our fingertips. Enter the super secret Windows 7 God Mode.

God Mode is a simple folder that brings all aspects of Windows 7 control in a single place. It collects all of the Control Panel functions, interface customization, accessibility options, just about every aspect of controlling Windows 7 into a single place.

God Mode is easy to set up too, just do this:

• Create a new folder anywhere.
• Rename the folder by pasting this name exactly as it appears (copy it first):
• GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

That’s it, you now have a folder with the Control Panel icon (pictured above) that has all the controls in one place:

(Windows 7 Themes via Dwight Silverman on Twitter)

El actual campeón del mundo de la fórmula 1, Jenson Button, ha aprovechado para publicar una foto a través de su Twitter en la que posa con su nueva equipación de McLaren-Mercedes. Por otra parte, también ha querido felicitar estas fiestas a todos sus seguidores.

Finalmente, Jenson Button podrá acabar la temporada 2010 vestido de gris/plateado y con la estrella de Mercedes. Después del culebron de finales de 2009, y a pesar de su fichaje por McLaren, resulta irónico que el color vaya a ser, cuanto menos, parecido, o que compita con el logo de la marca de Stuttgart en su monoplaza.

En lo que respecta a la escudería McLaren, la temporada 2010 la afrontará con el monoplaza MP/25.

Related posts:

1. Jenson Button fichará por McLaren
2. Norbert Haug desmiente los rumores sobre el posible fichaje de Jenson Button
3. Jenson Button se proclama Campeón del Mundo de la Fórmula 1 2009 en el GP de Brasil

Know The Upsides –And Downsides Of Your Adoption Behavior
Individuals and companies should be deliberate in their adoption strategy, there are benefits and risks to each category. It’s been interesting watching different group adopt social technologies over the past few years, I can see who benefits from being first –and the pains to be a thought leader of both individuals and companies.  

Above, this is the standard Rogers Adoption Curve, it’s important to point out that my matrix below only is in context of social technologies, it will vary from technology to technology.  I found this take on the adoption stages of social technologies helpful in framing how I thought about the following matrix. I built this following matrix in the context of social technologies and adoption by both individuals and mixed in with organizations and industries.

Matrix: Be Deliberate In Your Adoption Strategy
Each category has specific benefits and risks, but rather than just behaving in a way that comes natural, I encourage you in your personal and work adoption to be deliberate in your actions.

1. Examine your organizations adoption patterns. First, define how quickly your organization responds and adopts to technologies, and factor into your considerations.
2. Be a Category Ahead Of Your Company. If you’re responsible for new technologies at your company, your personal adoption should be a level or two ahead of the organizations adoption, as you cannot effectively deploy for your company if you don’t personally understand the impacts of the new technologies.
3. Track The Category Ahead Of You. Find an individual that’s above your adoption category (the early adopter watches the innovator) and be sure to watch their behaviors and learn from them. Adopters are often blazing their own trail, and may not ever follow anyone.

My Strategy: Early Adopter –But Not Innovator
One thing is clear, being first doesn’t mean you’re right, in fact, the Innovators have a difficult time dealing with early and late majority, paving roads of opportunity for analysis, agencies, and consultants. As a result, I make a distinct effort to be an early adopter of new social technologies, but not the innovator, as I find I’d rather be more often right, and expend less energy trying to be first.

Leave a Comment. Share Your Adoption Strategy
Let’s learn from each other, I’d like to know about your adoption behavior and that of your company. Were you deliberate in choosing your adoption strategy? How does it hurt or help your company?

from friends, 1 January 2010: “Police tactics are currently in flux post-London G20 – this change is very important, so please feedback any new things they are doing on the ground, anything you’ve tried, whether they’ve worked or not.  Feedback contact details are at the end of this guide.   The aim of this guide is not to show you how to conduct a riot. Neither is it intended as a critique on the pros and cons of fighting with the police…” more