And I was starting to feel unfulfilled by the stuff coming out of Google's labs. Its senior policy director, Richard Whitt, says that they're cooking up software that'll tell you if your ISP is screwing with or slowing down your connection because you're hogging too much bandwidth, and what exactly they're doing to it. (There's already some available, BTW, since Whitt didn't mention a release date.) But it's not necessarily because they believe willy nilly in net neutrality.

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The Germans who hacked a Wii Balance Board from Wii Fit to surf Google Earth have found a much more fun use for the peripheral - running around World of Warcraft. In this follow up video, Simon and Mattieu control a low level gnome exploring Ironforge, avoiding wolves and slamming into tree trunks. Now all they need to do is hack the Wiimote and Nunchuck to understand macros and I will be the fittest WoW player EVER. [Technabob]

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Microsoft has released its second version of the Origami Experience, making it available as a free download for Ultra-Mobile PC users with Windows Vista. The OE 2.0 software includes Picture Password, Weather, RSS functionality, an e-mail client, calender and other web features - basically what you get with Vista, but more touch screen friendly. OE 1.0 was barely used, partially because UMPCs had yet to really catch on in January 2007, but also because it made them slow down to a crawl. Hopefully, they've rectified that problem this time around. [JKontherun]

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In a move that will cheer up lovers of vehicles that can travel on both water and (very flat) land, students at a German engineering university have built a one-person hovercraft that uses an air thrust system to move and steer.

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Even if it's not keeping up with other types of LCD technology, Westinghouse is at least throwing its support behind a solution for an age old problem. The budget electronics maker said that it had committed to using a "universal adapter" made by start-up Green Plug that will power everything from cell phones to television sets.

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Japan loves Astro Boy even more than we love Mickey Mouse, so it's not too surprising that the little robot boy's visage is still everywhere, even though his show and manga series ended decades ago. The most recent Astro Boy art installation is a 10 by 7 foot mural that consists of 138,000 recycled Tokyo Metro tickets. The pixel art, made to mark the opening of Tokyo's new Fukutoshin subway line, depicts Astro Boy, Uran, Professor Ochanomizu and Higeoyaji traipsing around Shinjuku along with the new Fukutoshin train. Created by volunteers from around the area, the mural can be found at the Shinjuku Takashimaya Department Store. [Pink Tentacle]

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Here's something you didn't know about the MacBook Air's infamously tiny CPU: The shrinkage tech behind it had been collecting dust on Intel's shelf for a couple years since no PC manufacturer was interested in it. When Apple put in the call for a dwarven chip, Intel originally thought what Apple wanted was years away on their roadmap before re-discovering the concept--a year later they had it refreshed and ready to go. Which is the usual breakneck speed Apple moves, Intel's CTO Justin Rattner told Fortune. He also dished that they're collaborating on more breakthrough stuff that's "equally aggressive."

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One of the most harrowing experiences of owning a dog, I've found, is the act of bathing it. For some reason, dogs that were happy to jump in a pond or pool suddenly find themselves allergic to water come bath time. If shampoo getting into Rover's eyes is the problem, IDEC Corp.'s Wan Love Yu ("Dog Love Bath") dog shower system ensures that you can clean your pup with just water and micro bubbles.

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I've always thought that a good char on a burger made it exponentially more delicious, but in case you're worried about carcinogens, Wellbas' water-cooled barbecue grill promises that your slab of meat will come out tender, juicy and completely char-free. Water is pumped from a reservoir through small pipes on the actual grill to keep it cool even as you cook.

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We suspected this when Apple didn't mention tethering and AT&T told us after repeated prodding that all device features were up to the manufacturer--i.e., the tethering ball is in Apple's court--but iPhone Atlas says they've learned that there won't be any tethering for the iPhone 3G.

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For those of us that saw footage of the drunken Darth Vader attack and found ourselves slightly disappointed by the... well... un-Star Wars-like nature of the Sith Lord's weapon, Instructables has a DIY kit to ensure that our next drunken rampage is truly worthy of the Dark Side.

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