Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden refuses to give details about the disappearance of a naval diver during a goodwill visit by the Soviet leadership.

Twelve Israeli soldiers disguised as maintenance staff have stormed a hijacked Sabena Boeing at Lod airport in Tel Aviv and released the 100 people on board.

Syria has hinted for the first time it may send in troops to halt the bloodshed in the slums of southern Beirut.

"When I draw something, the brain and the hands work together."

For those living in the UK, the BBC iPlayer is a pretty fantastic VOD service with one drawback: you have to watch shows in-browser. Now one philanthropist coder has written a Vista Media Center interface for the iPlayer. So you can view BBC content on your TV without the PS3 and Wii workarounds, or, at the very least, break free of your browser's annoying viewing restrictions. It's a free download, so all you Doctor Who fanatics should have plenty of cash left over for living-room-destroying merchandise. [Milliesoft via eHomeUpgrade]

A White Plains, NY woman who was the victim of burglary, including her MacBook, used the Back To My Mac screen sharing feature to turn on her webcam and capture images of the unwitting culprits using the computer. As a result, police were able to arrest the thieves and recover most of the stolen goods, which included two laptops, two flat-screen televisions, two iPods, gaming consoles, DVDs and computer games.

This plan first launched into action when a co-worker of the nameless woman at the Apple Store noticed her computer online and notified the woman. She was then able to log into her computer and the rest is history. So the moral of the story is this: If you steal a MacBook, please be sure to cover the iSight with some tape. Otherwise, you could also be charged with a second degree felony. [Iohud via TUAW]

Did you get stuck with weekend duty at work? Are you just plain bored at your job? Sitting in an office all day may not be the most exciting way to spend your time, but that does not mean that you can't make the most of it. And when I say "most of it" I am definitely not referring to increasing your productivity—the following gadgets will destroy any chance of that. However, they will certainly help keep you entertained until quittin' time—especially on a Friday afternoon.

Sleeping:

Generally, when things are slow at work, sleep is the first thing that comes to my mind. This compact Executive Hammock can help you indulge in a serious power nap. Available for $15.99. [1ofakindstuff]

Arts and Crafts:

You might find that downtime at work is a perfect time to indulge in your passions. Take building weapons out of common office supplies for example. It satisfies both your need to create and that stress-induced urge towards violence that is bubbling just underneath the surface. Here we have a lovely rubber band based projectile launcher and a stapler that doubles as a spiked club. [Office Guns and Strange Cosmos]

Desktop Toys/Games:

There are plenty of cool desktop games and toys out there, like the Gangster Shoot Shooting Gallery and the Rollerscape Roller Coaster Construction Set. The objective with Gangster Shoot is simple—you have three lives and a gun. Try and shoot the mobsters before they shoot you. The Rollerscape kit builds on a Tinkertoy theme allowing users to construct complex marble roller coasters. The shooting gallery and the roller coaster construction set are available for $34.95 and $29.99 respectively. [Gangster Shoot and Rollerscape]

Desktop curling? Eh...not so much. Available for around $20. [Alt-Gifts]

Fight Club:

The purpose of Fight Club is to use fighting as a form of psychotherapy. And if you are stuck at work chances are you could use a little stress relief. Pummel your way to happiness by challenging your co-workers to a karate throwdown using these inflatable karate hands and feet or go medieval with the lifesize foam latex warrior weapons set. Available for around $27 and $49-$59 respectively. [Inflatable Karate Set and Lifesize Warrior Weapons]

Throw a Party:

If you are going to throw a serious party in the office the first thing you are going to need is music, which you undoubtedly have stored on a computer or an MP3 player. The next thing you will need is some ambiance. This USB powered Disco Ball and Mirror Ball combo should do the trick nicely. Available for $11.99 and around $21 respectively. [Disco Ball and Mirror Ball]

After ambiance comes beer. The Avanti MBD5L Mini Pub is small enough to fit on a desktop, but it can dispense beer from a standard 5 liter keg and adjust the frostiness of your brew to a temperature of your choosing. Everything you need to get the party started is included for around $200. [Beverage Factory]

How about a little immature live entertainment to keep the party going? The H.E. Fartsalot Musical Butt Puppet plays "Old MacDonald," "Frere Jacques," or "London Bridge," when you insert your hand into his open torso cavity. Available for around $25. [Smutty Gifts]

Pranks:

When all else fails you can always resort to pulling pranks on your co-workers—and this Phantom Keystroker is one of the best by far. Just hook it up to your victim's computer via USB and laugh as it moves their mouse cursor around and types meaningless text at random intervals. If you are not getting anything done, no one is. Available for $24.99. [ThinkGeek via Link]

Did you know Daredevil's costume was supposed to be black, like the night, instead of bright flaming red? That's because Matt Murdoch is blind, and the bastard couldn't tell one material from another. Did you know I made this story up in order to introduce the Bright-F design, which scans clothing and speaks the color so you don't match lime green with puke brown. We have a hard enough time dressing ourselves at it is, so we could see this being a tremendous help to the visually impaired. You know, if it were real. [Yanko Design]

It's recently been revealed Toshiba is planning to use Sony PS3 technology in its upcoming TVs and Notebooks. The OC Register's Gadgetress got her hands on the Toshiba's Qosimo notebook (shown above), which will use the SpursEngine chip, jointly developed between Toshiba and Sony around the Cell. The processor will handle much of the video and multimedia processing, taking the load off the main CPU.

According to Toshiba, HD processing that once took an hour now only takes 10 minutes. And though the SpursEngine chip can handle graphics processing for games, no PC games are currently optimized for the chip, rendering it useless. But game development built around the processor is in the works. Tentatively, the Qosimo will also feature gesture based controls via webcam, but will lack the usual Blu-ray drive, 1080p resolution and TV tuner. But it will only run for $1700, shaving about $1300 off the price.

As for the TV, it will make use of Sony's Cell microprocessor for realtime HD upscaling, recording of multiple channels, and "displaying video as if it is being viewed through opera glasses" (whatever that means). The notebook is planned for a 2008 release while the TV will hit stores in Fall 2009. [Electronista and Gadgetress]

The Touch Diamond, HTC's 2008 flagship phone, just hit the FCC. This means that it's well on its way to one of the four carriers, most likely either AT&T or Sprint first, judging from the way the original HTC Touch played out. As Addy said in the hands-on, it's the most iPhoney of Windows Mobile phones yet, and feels much like a tiny iPhone for people who have small hands. [FCC]

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.It's tough to keep track of the iPhone's slow global release, so one Apple fan assembled all the data into one easy to read map. If the country is red, then they either have the iPhone or will be getting it this summer. (Note: Switzerland, Spain and Poland are still just rumored, not official).

It's like one of those pandemic maps from the movies. You see the military general plotting two little red dots. Then four. Then eight. And then, all of the sudden, the dots have covered the general's body, spewing puss across the room in all directions. [Apple 2.0]

A group of electrical engineering students at West Virginia University has built the most insane beer pong table ever. It's got lights all around that react to the music playing as well as a pair of built-in swirling ball washers. It's incredible. They're taking orders for them now if you want one of your own, but be warned: this first one cost them $1,000 and 400 hours of work to complete, so it won't be cheap. Hit the jump for a video of it in action, and be sure to skip to 2:30 unless you think still photos of electrical engineering majors and circuit boards are suddenly cool when set to Linkin Park.

[Geekologie]

There's plenty of room left to build in the world's major cities; we just have to be MacGyver about it. Because when one group of architects looked at an alley, they saw the perfect lot for a five-story building that's less then eight feet wide.

Built on a steel frame, this home office took only a few weeks to construct. It's particularly eco-friendly (as it can piggyback off heat from adjacent buildings otherwise lost to the alley's air), and while each level is absurdly small, the floor to ceiling windows do wonders to cut through the jail syndrome (evoking more of a caged hamster vibe). Really though, it all makes sense...other than the bathtub on the roof.

For more images from the project, hit the link. Next up: sewers. [Archinect via Treehugger] [Images by Luc Roymans]

Yesterday on Capitol Hill, two Democratic representatives introduced a House bill that would require broadband ISPs to "interconnect with the facilities of other network providers on a reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis." It also requires them to treat all content, applications and services as the same, with "equal opportunity to reach consumers," says an IDG story in the New York Times. Any ISPs who start messing around with packets could be subject to antitrust enforcement. Republicans weren't so happy with the bill.

The Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act is sponsored by Michigan Democratic Representative John Conyers (who happens to be chairman of the House Judiciary Committee) along with Silicon Valley Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren. Conyers' premise:

"The Internet was designed without centralized control, without gatekeepers for content and services. If we allow companies with monopoly or duopoly power to control how the Internet operates, network providers could have the power to choose what content is available."

It seems like one of those standup routines: Democrats are like "Lalalala" while Republicans are like "Grrrrrrr." In this case, the "Grrrrrrr" comes from the bill's apparent threat to investment in ISPs. Yes, I cry for you, poor downtrodden multibillion-dollar multinationals with borderline monopoly arrangements for persistent and constantly increasing revenues.

The opponents specifically argue that new competition in broadband networks is what keeps ISPs honest in their dealings with consumers. Michigan Republican Representative Fred Upton is quoted as saying, "Our hands-off policy is working." From what we've seen there, Fred, you are either all wrong, mostly wrong or at least partially wrong. [IDG in NY Times via Slashdot]

Here's how you take money from Microsoft's pockets and put it into your own. First, you need to want to buy Microsoft Office Ultimate. Second, you need a .edu email address. It doesn't matter that you graduated in 1994 and the last time you stepped foot in a classroom was 1993, all you need is an .edu address. That'll cut down the atrocious $680 price tag to a more manageable $60. You have until May 16, a week from now. After that you'll have to go back to BitTorrenting it like you always do. [The Ultimate Steal via NYT via Lifehacker]

ABSTRACT - CTZ-PHOTOGRAPHY

2 min - 9 May 2008

Citeezen Photographies <br /><br />-> <a class="link" rel="nofollow" href="http://ctzphotography.free.fr/">http://ctzphotography.free.fr/</a> <br /><br />Abstract : Photos abstraites, et diverses créations visuelles. <br /><br />Disponible sur -> <a class="link" rel="nofollow" href="http://ctzphotography.free.fr/products/phase1/phase1.htm">http://ctzphotography.free.fr/products/phase1/phase1.htm</a> <br /><br />Musique : Moby - Porcelain

Video Bayou Road Morning - Florida, photography, swamp, bayou

Unknown length - 26 Jan 2008

Watch Bayou Road Morning on Dailymotion Share Your Videos.

Move over iBuddy and Availbot, the masters of robo-companionship toys have arrived on scene. This is a WowWee Chatterbot, a USB-powered desktop companion that reacts with some motion and a bit of chattering to "trigger" words typed into emails, IM, calendar entries and the like. It's not as smart as Robosapien, of course: basically it just spouts out jokes and bits of commentary. Because we all like hellish dogs with eerie eyes responding to our typing, don't we? The video reveals the toy in action.

If the doggy version is a touch too scary for you there's also an Angel and Devil, and a Fairy Godfather version, and I'm hoping they're somewhat friendlier. The little guys were apparently shown at CES earlier this year, but we've only just caught sight of them now, in this Slashgear review. It does look like their sensitivity is a bit off, since they seem to miss some trigger words, but that's the sort of thing that may be addressed in a software update at a later date.

At least these animated toys have another function besides annoying you as you type: they have a speaker and battery-powered action so you can plug in an MP3 player and use them standalone. They're PC and Mac compatible, and are available for $49.99. [Chatterbots Online via Slashgear]

AT&T has flip-flopped yet again on the issue of iPhone customers getting free access to AT&T hotspots. While yesterday the iPhone plans page clearly stated that access to the hotspots was included with all plans, that statement is now gone again. Hey, AT&T: why don't you make up your minds and be clear about this? This is ridiculous. [AT&T via I4U]

A laptop microphone can be pretty handy, but not all computers have them built in. Narae Inter's Recorder Mini is a tiny microphone that will fit in any standard mini jack microphone port and pick up sounds within a 30-foot radius. Released only in Korea at the moment, we're not certain about the price, but the magic of the internet could surely make the product part of your mobile arsenal. Like your USB hub. And your gun. [AVING via TechFresh]

Modder Ben Heckendorn is more than a little obsessed with playing games one-handed (giggle, chuckle, milk through the nose, etc) and his latest creation takes aim at Guitar Hero. It's a pedal that plugs into a modded guitar and replaces the controller's strum and whammy bars, requiring hand use only for the chords.

While stomping your way around DragonForce's Through the Fire and Flames doesn't sound anatomically correct, the pedal actually allows you to, for lack of a better term, foot-double-strum (both the up and down motions count as a string pluck).

To activate the whammy, the user lifts up on their heel to release the spring-loaded rear of the pedal. Yeah, it sounds a bit confusing, but Heckendorn makes it look pretty normal in this example video. Well, as normal as geeking out to Guitar Hero will ever look, at least. [Ben Heck]

A new biometric face scanner from the Japanese company Sagawa Advance has taken the technology to the next level, able to differentiate between identical twins with no problems at all. It does this by using an infrared scanner to analyze a whopping 40,000 data points on your face.

This is a good thing, because Sagawa Advance's scanner is used as access to high-security areas such as power plants and medical factories where they've got to make sure that it's really the plant supervisor entering and not his evil twin bent on the destruction of the human race. That's always the worst. [Digital World Tokyo]

When it comes to laptop bags and cases, there are traditional-style ones, modern ones and downright unusual ones... we can't decide which to put the new BUILT Laptop Backpack into. It's almost a traditional rucksack, made out of fancy water- and stain-resistant neoprene, but it's shaped to hug your back like a half a bulletproof vest. An image helped by the fact that it's available in Police black or Army green. It does look kinda comfy, and it's got three pockets: for 12-inch to 17-inch laptops, accessories, and whatever fits in the shoulder one. Available now, in two sizes, for $80. [BUILT via Be Sportier]

Though it's not such a familiar phenomenon in the US, the UK is now awash with closed-circuit TV cameras, one for every 14 or so people— hell, even the Lollipop Lady crossing guards are getting them. You could choose to see this as good for public safety, or as an Orwellian invasion of privacy...or even an opportunity to get your music video filmed for free. Which is exactly what unsigned Manchester-based band The Get Out Clause did, by performing their single in public in 80 locations in front of CCTV cameras. How did they get the footage, though?

Luckily the UK has the Data Protection Act (1998) and Freedom of Information Act (2000), which are a little like the US Freedom of Information Act, allowing anyone the right to view the data that an organization holds about them. Usually that's things like personal information, but in this case it was video footage of their performances on surveillance CCTV systems, both privately and publicly owned. Not all of the organizations the band approached using these laws came up with the goods, but many of them did: enough to make the video.

Now, you may be thinking "no, I don't believe it... all that CCTV stuff is just Hollywood, Bourne Identity nonsense," but sadly, you'd be wrong. Sure, there's no central collection office where The Man can choose among millions of camera streams at will, but the cams really are everywhere. Some cameras are black and white, some infrared, some color, some are fixed, some can even be panned and zoomed in real-time by local police, and some are in taxis.

In their final compiled video, The Get Out Clause can be seen performing in shopping malls, on the street, on a type of pedestrian crossing where cars have to wait for you, on a bus and tram and in the back of a Hackney Carriage taxi. Sure, there's a bit of personal camcorder action in there, but mostly the video is CCTV, and for that bit of lateral thinking I applaud you, chaps. Clever. [The Telegraph via Boing Boing]

The BlackBerry 9000 will be officially announced on May 12 at WES 2008, according to the Boy Genius. The reviews have been glowing so far, so if you've been waiting for the 9000, time to start getting excited. [BGR via Unwired View]

I love when life imitates art. A few weeks after a South Park episode where indignant Canadians go on strike and are rewarded with Bennigan's coupons, indignant Canadian iPod owners go to court and win roughly the equivalent of a meal at Bennigan's: $44. Why? Because the 1G, 2G and 3G iPods that were supposed to have battery life of up to 8 hours instead delivered a paltry 3 hours, according to two separate rulings in Canadian court. Still up for settlement: the lawsuit by the Canadian gentleman who discovered that his 8GB nano only has 7.45GB of storage. He wants $220, but he'll take $92. [InformationWeek]

As excited as we are about Casio's Exilim EX-F1 camera with slow-mo and high-def video modes, we're even more thrilled to see actual competition in this category. Samsung announced its HMX20C (or HMX20) at CES, and is now officially shipping it, at least in Korea, for a price around $850. That's about $150 less than Casio's Hiro Nakamura supercam. Here's what's similar about the two models:

• Both can do full high-def shooting—Casio at 1080i but Samsung beats it, with 1080p
• The Samsung can do slow-mo at 300 frames per second (presumably in standard def, but maybe in HD; Casio can do 300fps, 600fps and 1200fps
• Both can take still pictures while shooting video—very helpful indeed
• Although the Samsung is positioned as a camcorder and the Casio is called a camera, they both have 6-megapixel CMOS sensors

Given the CES announcement and the Korea launch, we can only assume that the HMX20 will be one of the items in Samsung's summer line show lineup. That's good news for everybody—except maybe Casio. [Samsung Press Release via PC World]

This admittedly isn't the newest military tech on the block, but The History Channel in us just couldn't help writing it up. Russia makes the world's largest military hovercraft dubbed the "Zubr." It displaces 621 tons and can haul twice the payload of similar boats from the US Navy (somewhere around 150 tons).

With production dating back to 1988, the last Zubr looks to have launched in 2004. Capable of carrying multiple tanks and a nice mix of 140mm rocket pods, 30mm cannons and air defense missiles, the Zubr can cruise for 300 miles before rapidly deploying troops and equipment close to shore. Scratch that. Directly on shore. In other words, it's just like that R/C vehicle you lusted after in the '90s, but it's way bigger and actually good for something. Or, in this case, potentially very, very bad. [English Russia, Naval Technology and Defense Industry Daily]

Bless Skymall and its world of wonderful and strangely fascinating gizmos for bringing us this: the portable neck traction device, supposed to help relieve tight muscles and "joint and nerve pressure." Simply place around your neck (that's a worrying start, if you ask me) and "pump the inflation bulb until you feel a comfortable stretch." That'll be somewhere short of popping your head off like an unfortunate Legoman, I guess. Available now, for all you crick-necked blog readers who don't sit at your PC properly, in three neck sizes for $69.98. [Skymall via Random Good Stuff]

This retro-styled rocket lamp is more than the absolutely most perfect accessory to complete any room, it's the absolutely most perfect accessory to complete any room that's built from the igniter cap of a freakin' jet engine. One-of-a-kind and shamelessly worth its $2,100 sticker price, we want to push each and every one of its glowing jewels...even though we know that they don't actually do anything...and that they probably aren't even buttons in the first place. [Moto Art via Bornrich]

QStarz has just announced the BT-Q818 eXtreme—the self-proclaimed world's most powerful Bluetooth GPS receiver. The 51-channel chipset and 32 hours of use time are impressive, but it's the adjustable update rate that's their claim to fame. The user can choose between 1 and 5Hz updates, with each Hz good for one update per second. In other words, the QStarz eXtreme can sync your position an impressive five times a second, which should be more than enough to placate the most dedicated of car racers and anvil droppers. No word on price or release date at this time. [product via Navigadget]

The Tech Report has assembled a very straightforward bang-for-your-buck video card graph. Plotting performance on Crysis' high quality setting, you can see the simple facts laid out very clearly—like that the GeForce 9600 GT is probably worth its $5 pricetag over the Radeon HD 3850. These metrics always vary by game, and Crysis' highest settings don't demonstrate these cards at their best (the top performer can't even break 40 frames per second). But it's a quick tool to tip the scales on your next purchase. [Tech Report]

Wedding Photography In St. Lucia

2 min - 8 May 2008

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Forget touchscreen, solar powered or even self-destructing coffee tables... Kyle Downes has modded the coffee table into its best version ever: a retro-tastic NES controller. Just look at the sleek lines, the high quality finish and classy glass top. And then giggle at the fact that it actually works. Don't believe it? Check out the video after the gallery.

Kyle spent months putting this together, starting with a scanned image of his original NES control. This he then simply scaled up, carefully crafting each piece out of MDF and hacking his own wiring onto a broken old controller board. The glass top was the final touch, to protect those giant buttons, and inside there's plenty of storage. I guess if you're up for some giant 8-bit game-controlling action you'd probably need someone else on hand.

So, it's not exactly the highest of tech, but, like all the best ideas, it's a simple one. And I love it. [UltraAwesome via Tech Digest]

NASA wants to get you in bed, and if that wasn't luring enough, she wants to pay you $17,000 for 90 days. Sadly, there is no french lingerie involved: their Bed Rest Project wants to study the effect of long-term microgravity in humans, putting you in a sightly-tilted bed, with your head down and feet up:

Participants will live in a special research unit for the entire study and be fed a carefully controlled diet. After the first 11-15-day period, participants will spend 90 days lying in bed, (except for limited times for specific tests) with their body slightly tilted downward (head down, feet up). Every day, they will be awake for 16 hours and lights out (asleep) for 8 hours. During the bed rest time they will also take part in a number of tests to find out changes in the state of their bone, muscle, heart and circulatory system, and nervous system, as well as their nutritional condition and their ability to fight off infections.

In other words: like blogging, but even more boring.

And yes, knowing that this is the closer I will get to the space program, I've already signed in. [