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Violent Comic iPhone App Murderdrome Banned From App Store, Authors Want a Rating System
Posted by John Mahoney at 11:45 PM on August 27, 2008
When the guys at Infurious Comics created Murderdrome (Death Race without the cars, looks like) and submitted it to the App Store as a free download, Apple told them that it did not "satisfy their 'community standards.'" Apparently, a super-cartoony depiction of someone getting decapitated and having his head used as a handball was enough to ban the app from the store for being too "adult." And now, the comic's creators want something that makes a lot sense--a content rating system for iPhone apps.
For the first time in history, an unmanned machine has engaged and destroyed another unmanned machine in real combat. It sounds like science fiction, but it happened a week ago in Iraq, when a MQ-9 Reaper killed a remote controlled vehicle carrying a bomb.
While Apple's been playing their trademark guy-with-the-finger iPhone commercials overseas, one has contained the simple slogan "all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone." It's kinda cute. And it's very Apple. But the UK's Advertising Standards Authority has also decided that it's very untrue and banned the commercial from airing in its current state.
It was way back in 
Our friend Andrew Becraft at 
Microsoft has a teaser up on their hardware site with the tagline "Say Goodbye to Laser." Most likely a hint regarding the upcoming Sept. 9 Microsoft event, we can only assume that Microsoft has developed an alternative to the near-perfect laser mouse or maybe made a breakthrough in "optical" media. (Well, one of those choices, or they've developed an advanced rail gun/microwave/nuclear technology that the Navy and DARPA will pursue instead of high powered beams of light.)
I don't know how many times people have to sell other people's personal information on eBay for everyone to learn about security, but apparently it's not enough yet: an ex-employee sold his company-provided computer on the auction site for US$65, carrying banking data belonging to more than a million people. The new twist this time: these people are dirty rich, high-street bank customers of companies like American Express. Thankfully for them, the guy who bought the computer was not Robin Hood.
Sandisk previously popped new Extreme III versions of its 
Epson's just added to its 
Brando's new extra-juice supply for the iPhone (both gens) sets itself apart from 
Ages ago we showed you a 
Samsung came up with news that it was going to make 
The Draganfly series of heli cams have been impressive, but the just announced X6 is freaking amazing. The triple-tipped carbon fibre body has two carbon rotors on each end. The design allows it to move in all directions rapidly, provide enough control to zip around indoors yet resist up to 29 kilometres per hour of wind. 
Laptop reviewed the 
Maclife reviewed the Apple Cafeteria, perhaps under the guidance of the 
There are only four acceptable reasons I can think of for buying this US$30 dollar Crayola EZ Type keyboard: 1) You're a little slow. 2) You're under the age of five (and still maybe a little slow). 3) You have a kid under the age of five (and you're both a little slow). 4) You really, reeeeally hate the offset alignment of standard keyboards. If you're not buying for any of the above reasons, you're probably a pedophile who knows no child can resist a bunch of bright colours and the Comic Sans font. Shame on you, and may God have mercy on your soul. [
Jason Wells got to toy around with a few blocks of Aerogel, the fantastically light (
Psystar, prominent makers of "Hackintosh" PCs running Mac OS X, is set to respond to Apple's copyright infringement suit on Tuesday and file a countersuit of their own, 
MJF at ZDNet reports that Microsoft is slowly rolling out a new version of Windows Genuine Advantage for Windows XP Professional in the next few months that's going to change the way it nags about using pirated versions. Instead of the kill switch, which was in Vista, the XP versions that WGA decides are "non-genuine" will pop up a message that looks like the one above. On the one hand, this is annoying, but on the other hand, it's just nagware and not a kill switch. If you're smart enough to pirate XP, you're smart enough to figure out how to find a crack to disable this. [
Leave it to the Japanese to come up with the crazy Mini Clear Sound System DT-SA101. It has a rated output of 4W (x2), but the only thing that really matters here is the design. In addition to looking like a couple of wine glasses and a barrel, the DT-SA101 also features LEDs in the glass that apparently give the wine/champagne a carbonated look. At any rate, even if you were willing to waste US$240 on this unit, you probably won't get a chance to since it is a Japan only release. [
Do kids nowadays even know what TV test screens look like? In the world of 24 hour broadcasting, how often do stations prefer to put these up instead of some Everybody Loves Raymond rerun? Not very often, but if you want to re-live those glory days of annoyingly bright colours in felt form, there's this TV Cozy. The standard one costs US$25, but you'll have to pay more if you own a larger sized set. Putting these on when you're not watching TV should make the set last a few more weeks between dustings, plus also protects against errant baby spit. [
You know how you have that friend--for simplicity's sake, we'll call him Aaron Froucho--that you're never quite sure is gay or straight? What better way to answer the question for all eternity than with a US$14 keychain? The thing has three readouts, "gay," "straight" and "maybe," so if you get "maybe," keep asking until it decides one way or the other. Or, if you're feeling lonely, just go with it. Aaron will. [
Crashing 
That Windows Mobile 
The guys over at