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We were just beginning to get accustomed to Firefox 2, when we started getting advisories that Firefox 3.0.1 is going into its fourth beta cycle, with one more to come. Among the improvements is a better layout with a large back button, better drop down, security info about sites, faster JavaScript, and more support. We found a dandy little slide show if you are as hesitant as we are to try out the new version. After seeing it, we just might give it a shot. Let us know what you think.
Read More 
| Network World
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Sharp Releases Softbank Phone
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Internet,
Sharp has unveiled its Softbank 922SH smartphone. It features a full QWERTY keyboard, a 3.5-inch display with VGA res and a 2,000:1 contrast ratio, an external 1.2-inch OLED display, a business card scanner, and a microSD card slot. Shipping today in Japan, it also does e-mail and surfs with a 3G connection. Contact Sharp if you are impressed enough to want to be one of the first to get a Softbank.
Read More | coolest-gadgets
Woot Features Daily Hot Deals
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Hot Deals, Internet, Misc. Tech,
We admit it. We dig Woot, the Big Lots of the Internet. It’s hard to ignore a site that plays “Let’s Make a Deal” daily and offers electronic gadgets that we never knew we needed until we stumbled onto the site. The catch is that you cannot return the merchandise and when you sober up, you realize that with about 10 dictionaries hanging around the house, you could have done without Franklin’s Dictionary & MP3 Player for about $17.00, even if that cost is less than half its $40.00 retail price. Still, it is worth your time checking it out, as they offer some fun stuff at amazing mark-downs.
Read More | Woot
Latest Gear Live Videos
Here’s another quiz to help you
find your age, at least in terms of the Internet. After answering a series of questions that concern your activities on and off the Web, the site will analyze your Internet Age. Some of us cannot even remember B.I. (Before Internet,) much less what year we started playing around with it, but our result came pretty close to what we think is our I.A.
Note that if you are aware of sites that you never use, i.e. digg or Google, your score will reflect that and they will suggest that you frequent them. The results of the answers will assist the Orange folk in coming up with a safe module for use in schools and you might win a gift for your efforts.
Read More | Orange Internet Age
If you are unfamiliar with an area that you are trekking around, Wikinear is a new service that will tell you about its environs. Utilizing Yahoo’s Fire Eagle, APIs will find your location and display the 5 nearest interest points on a Google map courtesy of Wikipedia. The service is currently in beta, so you are required to sign up for Fire Eagle and there are only a limited amount of invitations available. Still, we like what we see since we love traveling, and hope that by the time it is officially open it will have more info for the rest of us.
Read More | Mashable
LG Touch Web Phone Unveiled
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Internet, Portable Audio / Video, Wireless / WiFi,
It seems that everyone is trying to compete with the big Apple. Korean company LG has released its LG-LH2300 Touch Web Phone. It features a 3-inch touchscreen LCD (800 x 480) with a WVGA res. It has a 3 megapixel camera with auto-focus, Internet browsing, a microSD memory card slot, and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity. With its hot key, jog wheel, and T-DMB, multi-media activities will be super-simple. The smartphone will cost ~$650.00 and become available sometime in early April.
Read More | Techfresh
Next time you have a problem and your mom isn’t available, consider the services of MindMentor. The site walks you through a series of steps to help you psychoanalyze yourself. First, it asks what your problem is, then shows you pictures to figure out what you are thinking and feeling. The virtual dude asks you about specific situations and responds with such questions as “What do you say to yourself?”
Once your problem has been defined, your RoboCoach looks for counterexamples and has you analyze those feelings as well, then checks for negative side effects. Finally, you go through some mental RoboRorschach. A session will cost you EU 4.95 (~$7.60) for a session or EU 40 (~$62.00) for ten of them. Let us know your problem and we will do it for half the price.
Read More | MindMentor
Think you know what’s in your drink? We have found a short quiz that will see if you know your alcoholic stuff. The Booze Test gives you plenty of chances to rate your bar acumen. It will then let you know if you are a lightweight or an outright alcoholic. We were slightly surprised that we rated as high as we did, so don’t tell anybody. Let your friends know about it and then start thinking about an intervention for all of you.
Read More | The Booze Test
Here’s an example of someone who took the idea of dispensing with your past on eBay to the extreme. Ian Usher will be auctioning his life on the site beginning June 22. His reason for doing so is that he wants to leave everything and begin again. The sale will include his house and all contents, as well as his car, motorcycle, and jet ski. He will even give you a one-time introduction to his friends and a chance to take over his job. That’s taking a break-up very seriously to go to such extremes, but since the man is a filmmaker he should get a fairly decent documentary out of the experience.
Read More | MSNBC
Sure and begorra! If you are looking for a place to hang out to get your green brew today, go over to Google Maps and get a pleasant surprise. To get into the St. Paddy’s spirit, Google has brought in a leprechaun as a traveling companion. Move him around and he leaves a rainbow trail. We don’t know if he will lead you to that pot o’ gold, but he will help you to find some places to celebrate the holiday. It sure beats MSN’s green home page although Yahoo’s header is a decent effort.
(Have a great holiday, folks!)
Read More | ZD Net
