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TaeKwonDood writes "Is it reptile, bird or mammal? Some of each. Does it have venom, lay eggs and lactate? Yes. Upon discovery in 1798, fellow scientists thought it was for an episode of 'Thou hast been Punk'd,' but this Australia native, on home on land and in water, is real and, finally, it gets its own decoded genome. It's no surprise the DNA is as messed up as the critter itself."

palegray.net writes "Wired News brings us an article about brain scanning systems that can accurately tell what you're looking at by analyzing your brain's electrical activity. Using a database constructed of readings taken on test subjects who were shown thousands of photographs, the system works in real time to decipher what you're seeing. Naturally, there are some ethical concerns over some potential applications for this technology. Definitely a new twist on "input devices.""

Small hive beetles - known bee killers - have been found to hack hive security by using the bees' own alarm chemical against them

http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=5d8ae5e2d0b9c14c7a8c7fb5d4e95cb4

Filed under: Peripherals, Tablet PCs

Finally, something useful to do with these heaps of ballpoint pens that either don't conform to our writing style, or worse, show up with ink that refuses to leave the cartridge. LSN Global is making sure we do something other than pick locks with our leftover pens, and furthermore, will probably save us a bit of cash by avoiding those overpriced replacement styli. The ECOPLUS can purportedly fit within the confines of a given writing instrument, clip onto one's pocket, and on a whim, can be whipped out and used to jot down notes in a lecture or throw down your digital John Hancock at a retail checkout counter. Not a lot of details beyond that, but be sure to click through for a few more shots of the creation in case you're feelin' a little DIY action rather than waiting it out.

Continue reading LSN Global's ECOPLUS converts unwanted pens into styli

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/114734522/

Anonymous Coward writes "http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/86623/index.h tml

  REDMOND, Wash. and WALTHAM, Mass., May 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Novell Inc. today announced that Dell Inc. is the first major systems provider to join the business collaboration that was formed by Microsoft and Novell in response to customer demand for greater interoperability and intellectual property (IP) assurance. As part of the agreement, Dell will purchase SUSE Linux* Enterprise Server certificates from Microsoft and establish a services and marketing program to migrate existing Linux users who are not Dell Linux customers to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

"We're focused on delivering solutions that help simplify customers' IT operations," said Rick Becker, vice president of solutions at Dell Product Group. "Our customers have told us they want interoperability and expect technology vendors to work better together. Dell is the first major systems provider to align with Microsoft and Novell in this collaboration, and we intend to lead in this space. This move is a huge success for the industry and, more specifically, for customers who haven't purchased Linux through Dell and who want to migrate to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for the IP assurance and interoperability benefits."

Under the agreement, Dell will establish a customer marketing team for migrating Linux users who are not Dell Linux customers to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. The marketing effort will focus on three areas: Interoperability Workshops, Migration Proof of Concepts and Migration Services.

"Dell's embrace of the Novell-Microsoft agreement reflects a growing market reality: The two platforms of the future are Linux and Windows(R), and customers want them to work better together," said Susan Heystee, vice president and general manager of global strategic alliances at Novell. "Novell continues to grow our SUSE Linux Enterprise business because we are addressing customer needs. Dell recognizes this, and we are proud to have them as a customer and marketing partner to help spur continued adoption of SUSE Linux Enterprise."

"The Microsoft-Novell agreement was a result of our customers demanding more of our industry in interoperability and IP protection," said Susan Hauser, general manager of strategic partnerships and licensing at Microsoft. "Customer response to our agreement with Novell has been overwhelmingly positive. Dell has recognized this demand, and it is the first mover in its space to provide these benefits to its customers.""

Jack Schitt writes "$15,000 and 9 months of designing/building get you your very own Spider Car.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=4f5_1177816318"