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AP - Barry Diller is feeling very lucky right now.

Source: AP

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AP - Could playing computer games enhance mental agility enough to turn people over 50 into better drivers? Allstate Corp. wants to find out, and if the answer is yes, it might offer insurance discounts to people who play the games.

Source: AP

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Filed under: Portable Audio

“Sonoro” and “absurdly expensive” have always gone hand-in-hand, but even we’re a bit taken aback by the sticker on this one. The company’s latest example of extravagance is the elements stardust, an “exclusive” AM / FM / MP3 clock radio that’s smothered from one end to the other in Swarovski crystals. This thing’s not all looks, though — it’s got a LED-illuminated metal ring for quick-touch control of tuning and volume, a full-range speaker, and an integrated bass reflex tube. Too bad you’ll have to sashay down to Saks Fifth Avenue with $2,500 and an evil grin in order to take one home.

[Via Blast]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Cellphones

Apple’s insistence on locking down iPhone developers with a restrictive NDA has been controversial from the start, and it looks like the company’s seen the light — it’s just posted up a tersely-worded letter saying that the NDA is being dropped. It’s a strange little note, actually — the first paragraph comes off as a little defensive and whiny, if you ask us — but we’re not going to complain about anything that makes developing apps easier and faster for devs. Now let’s work on not capriciously rejecting and deleting apps from the App Store, and maybe we can go back to focusing on the iPhone platform’s actual merits instead of all these paperwork shenanigans — we’ve got some suggestions if you’re having a hard time figuring this out on your own.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Source: Nilay Patel

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For five years, Apple’s iTunes Music Store has been the Internet’s most successful music store. But as music publishers have sought a higher share of its proceeds, Apple has threatened to shutter iTunes.

Source: Digg / Technology

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Home Entertainment

We’ve seen home automation touchpanels used for some — shall we say, unorthodox — activities, but this is taking things to another level galaxy. Franklin, NC-based Dan Quigley has whipped up a way for his WiFi-enabled Crestron TMPC8X to actually control a giant telescope. Rather than manually getting the ’scope into the right position, he simply touches a button and watches it automatically check to see “if and when that object is viewable.” While he’s at it, he can dim the lights around him and check the local weather, and once a celestial body is in view, he can snap a photograph or have the system channel the image to any computer / TV. Suddenly, astronomy has become entirely more attractive.

[Thanks, Chuck]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Slide signed a deal with major media companies to distribute video content on Facebook, capitalizing on the success of social networking.

Source: By REUTERS

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

Panasonic is looking to reinvent the remote control with its EZ Touch Remote prototype that it is showing off here at CEATEC. Rather than rely on a touch-screen interface that forces one to look down at a remote (and away from the object of one’s entertainment), the concept puts the visual feedback where it belongs: on the screen. The remote can sense left- or right-handed users and adjust the interface appropriately, moving important triggers around based on where one’s thumb may (or may not) be. Dual touch pads allow for multitouch data entry and zoom manipulation, while gestures allow for quick scrolls, making this one of the most intuitive and drool-worthy remote controls we’ve seen in a while, or ever. We’re so into it that we’ve provided a full gallery and three videos after the break.

Continue reading Panasonic’s EZ Touch multitouch remote control concept hands-on and video

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Source: Joshua Fruhlinger

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