Propeller.com Stories voted on by Jordan

Stone Age Art Caves May Have Been Concert Halls

Jordan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:36:58 EDT

Prehistoric peoples chose places of natural resonant sound to draw their famed cave sketches, according to new analyses of paleolithic caves in France. In at least ten locations, drawings of horses, bison, and mammoths seem to match locations that focus, amplify, and transform the sounds of human voices and musical instruments.

Channel: Science Tags: stone cave art music sound concert halls resonance

The Bond Dossier: What We Know About Quantum of Solace

okratter — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:29:04 EDT

Casino Royale pulled Bond out of fanboy hearts and made him relevant (and desirable) across all demographics. 500 bucks says you would've been hard-pressed to find more than five women in the opening night crowd for The World Is Not Enough. Here's what we know to date and our take on Quantum of Solace and what guys and gals will be lining up for.

Channel: Movies Tags: Bond Casino Royale fanboy Quantum

Google wins YouTube source code ruling against Viacom

Jordan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:03:06 EDT

Google won a legal ruling that allows it to keep secret from Viacom the source code central to search functions on YouTube. A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the search giant doesn't have to turn over the code to Viacom, which filed a $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit against Google in 2007.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: google verizon lawsuit youtube source code search

U.S. lifts block on solar applications for public land

jeremytoday — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:50:18 EDT

Companies seeking to install utility-scale solar plants on federal land in the sunny Southwest found one barrier removed on Wednesday.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: solar energy solar energy policy projects

The World's First Album Cover

Jordan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:37:05 EDT

Alex Steinwess, a then 23 years old designer, convinced Columbia's suits to create the first true album cover. Until then, 78s were sold in generic sleeves.

Channel: Music Tags: album cover history art first

It's Official: Firefox 3 Sets a Guinness World Record

brendoman — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:06:00 EDT

Ahh, the power of marketing. Mozilla has announced that they've officially been added to the Guinness World Records for most downloads in a 24-hour period. The final tally: 8,002,530 downloads of Firefox 3 back on June 18th.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: Firefox Guinness World Record web browser

Australians making odd choices for funeral songs

Jordan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:09:36 EDT

Australia - Hymns are being replaced at funerals in one Australian city by popular rock classics like Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," a cemetery manager said Wednesday. ... Leading the funeral chart is crooner Frank Sinatra's classic hit "My Way," followed by Louis Armstrong's version of "Wonderful World," a state

Channel: Music Tags: funeral australia

10 Things You Can Like About $4 Gas

JessicaLaurie — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:50:49 EDT

The world had long assumed that Americans were just unrepentant energy pigs. If gas prices went up, well, we kept our Explorers aimed at the horizon, and little changed.

Channel: Money Tags: gas money

HOWTO: Get Better Fireworks Photos This Fourth of July

Wil — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:51:25 EDT

When you snap pictures at the fireworks display on Friday, you'll either wind up with immensely rewarding photos or frustration that makes you wish you'd left your camera at home and just enjoyed the show. Before you go, arm yourself with a few tips and tricks that will prepare you to capture fireworks in all their brilliant glory.

Channel: Art & Design Tags: Photography Fireworks HOWTO Lifehacks Fourth of July

Supplies of Rare Earth Elements Exhausted By 2017

idyll — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:17:13 EDT

Oil is just an organic substance that was created by natural biological processes; we know that we have a lot of it, but we're using it up very rapidly, no more is being created, and someday it'll be gone. The disappearance of elements, though, that's a different matter.

Channel: News Tags: rare earth elements shortage propeller eco news

US contradicts itself over its own ID theft advice

MyWayOnNow — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:46:49 EDT

When it comes to the risks of identity theft, the U.S. government isn't taking its own advice. The nation's Medicare agency and the Pentagon compel at least 52 million Americans to carry their Social Security numbers in their wallets, contrary to warnings by the Federal Trade Commission that people should avoid doing so.

Channel: News Tags: medicare identity theft internet social security

Microsoft Seeks Partners For a New Run at Yahoo

newsarefree — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:15:03 EDT

Microsoft Corp., positioning itself for a new run for Yahoo Inc.'s search business, has approached other media companies in recent days about joining it in a deal that would effectively lead to Yahoo's breakup, say people familiar with the discussions.

Channel: Money Tags: microsoft yahoo internet search buyout

The King of Green Investing

Jordan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:23:46 EDT

Vinod Khosla is pouring his own millions into science experiments to counter global warming -- and to prove he's the smartest guy in the Valley.

Channel: Money Tags: investing green vinod khosla propeller eco news

Gitmo Torture Techniques Inspired by Communist China

Neophile — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:55:34 EDT

The military trainers who came to Guantanamo Bay in December 2002 based an entire interrogation class on a chart that had been copied verbatim from a 1957 Air Force study of Chinese Communist techniques used during the Korean War to obtain confessions, many of them false, from American prisoners.

Channel: News Tags: guantanamo bay gitmo torture interrogation china communism communist

Time Warner AOL Officially For Sale

Aidenag — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:49:05 EDT

At a meeting with about a dozen senior members of AOL's staff yesterday, Jeff Bewkes left at least one member of management with the impression that the company is for sale, a source close to the company says.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: Time Warner AOL For Sale America Online

Hands-free cellphone use isn't safer: Study

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:43:38 EDT

Scientists say that when mixing cellphones and driving, the number of hands available for the tasks is not the limiting factor. Instead, it's a driver's attention and processing capacity. These are often stretched beyond safe limits when someone juggles the complex tasks of negotiating traffic and conversing with another remotely.

Channel: Autos Tags: driving cell phone safety hands free mobile phone

Spectators see lion kill eagle at Greater Vancouver Zoo

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:42:38 EDT

A lion pounced on and killed a trained golden eagle in front of spectators at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. A zoo visitor who saw the incident, Pablo Su, said crows were harassing the eagle on Friday as it sat on a log. That attracted the attention of two approaching lions.

Channel: News Tags: lion eagle killed zoo vancouver

Truck hauling 12 million bees overturns

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:41:33 EDT

Beekeepers in New Brunswick had the unenviable task today of recovering 12 million honey bees from a truck that overturned on the Trans-Canada Highway in the northwest corner of the province. One beekeeper described the bees as "nasty" after their ordeal.

Channel: News Tags: truck accident bees

Dry times in venture-land: IPOs drop to zero in Q2

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:41:18 EDT

If you're wondering why we haven't been covering much IPO news recently, it's because there hasn't been any... This is the first quarter since 1978 that has gone by without a single venture-backed IPO, according to a new report from the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Reuters.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: ipo venture capital

Study Confirms: People Hate Fake Personalized Messages

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:08:24 EDT

A new study from the University of Illinois confirms what many of us may have suspected privately: "personalized" marketing communication online can often make us actively dislike the message's sender.

Channel: News Tags: marketing business personalized fake impersonal study

The Weirdest Examples of Mass Hysteria

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:55:22 EDT

Things supposedly started innocently enough. Kashasha, near Lake Victoria in Tanzania in 1962: One girl in a boarding school there told another girl a joke. But then things went dark, weird, and creepy: one girl laughed, but then so did another, and then another, and then another, and then another...

Channel: News Tags: mass hysteria history medicine laughter laughing

It's a Done Deal: Microsoft To Acquire Powerset

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:31:18 EDT

Microsoft will announce today that they have acquired San Francisco based semantic search engine Powerset. The acquisition price is not being disclosed, but our understanding from sources close to the deal is that the previously rumored $100 million is "roughly accurate."

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: microsoft search powerset acquired acquisition

No-Contract iPhone Sells For Same Price as a Tropical Vaca

newsblogger08 — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:15:48 EDT

NEW YORK--AT&T Inc. will sell the new version of the iPhone without a service contract for $400 more than the price with a two-year plan, a break from the rules set when Apple Inc.'s popular touch-screen gadget debuted last year.

Channel: News Tags:

National Outbreak of Grave Robbing in America

Neophile — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:39:57 EDT

Rising scrap metal prices, coupled with the lagging economy, have triggered a string of cemetery thefts both locally and across the nation.

Channel: News Tags: grave robbery economy cemetery theft scrap metal united states

Obama to expand Bush's faith-based programs

MyWayOnNow — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:21:25 EDT

Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans that would expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and - in a move sure to cause controversy - support their ability to hire and fire based on faith.

Channel: Politics Tags: barack obama bush

Jerry Yang And Sue Decker's Days Are Numbered At Yahoo

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:45:31 EDT

The board is considering replacing Jerry Yang and Sue Decker, who have lost the confidence of investors and employees. The "nice" way to do this (more likely) would be to allow Jerry to retire to non-executive Chairman. The harsh way (less likely) would be for the board to can him. Sue, meanwhile, is too linked to Jerry to survive.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: jerry yang yahoo sue decker

The Myth of Multitasking

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:44:57 EDT

In one of the many letters he wrote to his son in the 1740s, Lord Chesterfield offered the following advice: "There is time enough for everything in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once, but there is not time enough in the year, if you will do two things at a time."

Channel: Careers & Jobs Tags: multitasking myth productivity

Official Google Blog: Google learns to crawl Flash sites

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:43:00 EDT

Google has been developing a new algorithm for indexing textual content in Flash files of all kinds, from Flash menus, buttons and banners, to self-contained Flash websites.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: google flash crawler search seo

House Resolution Calls for Naval Blockade Against Iran

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:40:11 EDT

A US House of Representatives Resolution effectively requiring a naval blockade on Iran seems fast tracked for passage, gaining co-sponsors at a remarkable speed, but experts say the measures called for in the resolutions amount to an act of war.

Channel: Politics Tags: iran war house resolution

Gene Editing Could Make Anyone Immune to AIDS

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:45:17 EDT

Some people have a mutation that makes them amazingly resistant to HIV -- and now, scientists may have found a way to give that immunity to anyone.

Channel: Science Tags: aids resistance immunity gene genetics disease

McKellan and Caviezel captured for AMC's The Prisoner remake

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:41:10 EDT

[AMC has] managed to snag two big-time Hollywood names to join the cast of their remake of one of the smartest shows in television history. What started as rumor, that even we at TV Squad had a hard time believing, is now fact. Both Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellan have been cast in AMC's remake of The Prisoner.

Channel: Television Tags: the prisoner remake amc jim caviezel ian mckellan casting tv squad

Flaws in medical coding can kill

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:38:31 EDT

... The team's discovery - a flaw in a computer code that caused a drug pump to administer heavy overdoses - led to a recall, warnings and rewriting of the equipment's software. The discovery also illustrated a new threat behind some lifesaving medical devices.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: medicine coding

Slide And VH1 Team Up To Annoy The Hell Out Of You

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:36:50 EDT

Slide and Vh1 excel at making products geared towards America's lowest common denominator. The first makes SuperPoke, a popular social network app... The latter produces reality show classics like "Flavor of Love"... Next week, their powers will combine to bring you VH1's SuperPoke!Fest: a four day reality show marathon...

Channel: Television Tags: slide vh1 reality shows superpoke facebook social networking

Town Finds Drug Agent Is Really an Impostor

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:16:33 EDT

"Sergeant Bill" boasted that he did not need search warrants to enter their homes because he worked for the federal government. ... Sergeant Bill, it turned out, was no federal agent, but Bill A. Jakob, an unemployed former trucking company owner, a former security guard, a former minister, a former small-town cop from 23 miles down the r

Channel: Do No Evil Tags: sargeant bill impostor warrant

Netflix Hears Customer Outcry, OptsTo Keep Profiles

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:29:38 EDT

Today, Netflix users received this email: "You spoke and we listened. We are keeping Profiles. Thank you for all the calls and emails telling us how important Profiles are. We are sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused. We hope the next time you hear from us we will delight, and not disappoint you. -Your friends at Netflix"

Channel: Movies Tags: netflix profiles customers outcry

Can past nuclear explosions help detect forgeries?

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:52:25 EDT

Can nuclear explosions advance art history? A former curator from the State Russian Museum in St Petersburg believes they can. She has developed a new method for dating paintings in collaboration with Russian scientists which, she says, provides "indisputable" evidence of whether a painting was made before or after 1945.

Channel: Art & Design Tags: nuclear explosions history art forgeries painting authenticity

Face to Face: A Council of Eve Online Gamers

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:51:00 EDT

For the more than 200,000 players of the science-fiction game Eve Online; for the company here that created it, CCP; indeed for the broader concept of how companies relate to their customers, the inaugural meeting of the Council of Stellar Management was a watershed in the evolution of online democracy.

Channel: Video Games Tags: eve online mmorpg democracy meeting council

Yahoo's Yang to Shareholders: Please Dont Fire Me

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:38:54 EDT

As Yahoo's shareholder meeting looms and Yahoo's stock continues to drop, Yahoo management is pulling out all the stops to try to persuade you not to fire them. The pitch? This detailed slide show, filed with the SEC.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: yahoo jerry yang shareholders fire

Report: U.S. 'preparing the battlefield' in Iran

TheVisionary — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:32:56 EDT

The Bush administration has launched a "significant escalation" of covert operations in Iran, sending U.S. commandos to spy on the country's nuclear facilities and undermine the Islamic republic's government, journalist Seymour Hersh said Sunday.

Channel: Politics Tags: cnn iraq iran bush war

Web Pioneer Andreessen Joins Facebook Board Of Directors

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:22:16 EDT

Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape, Opsware and Ning and the former CTO of AOL, is adding a new notch in his belt: he has joined the board of directors of Facebook, two sources close to the company confirmed to us. The company should be announcing it shortly, perhaps this week.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: marc andreessen facebook board of directors