Soccer may not be the most popular sport in the US--but don't tell that to millions of minivan-driving suburban mothers. Chances are, the kids they are constantly hauling back and forth to practice would love this soccer ball remote. Not only will it handle your TV, DVD and satellite controls, it is also a full-size, functional ball. So you can kick it around, do headers and let the TV channels fall where they may. I just hope you are a fan of English soccer. Available for around $41. [Product Page]

There seems to be a defect with the screens of certain iMacs, says MacNN. More and more users are reporting an issue where weird pink lines appear on the LCD and get progressively worse as time goes on.

From MacNN:

"It started out a 1 pink line, Then about 2 weeks later another 2 lines appeared. Every now and then when I start up they are gone but seem to fade in after about 5 minutes."

Sadly for these owners, the issues seem to start just after the 1 year warranty expires. Some of the affected users have started a petition. It reads:

We, the undersigned, request that Apple Inc. officially acknowledge and address the defect in their LCD Displays. The defect causes vertical lines (cyan/yellow/pink) to appear cutting through the screen and multiplying as time goes by. Unfortunately, the problem starts to appear right after the end of the one year warranty. This problem has been filling up the Apple's online discussion forum and with no possible solution. We are the loyal Apple fans and would love to see Apple show its appreciation by stepping up to this issue.

Customers with this issue who consult an Apple are being quoted prices of "more than $700," says MacNN.

If this happens to you, the first thing you should do is check to see if the credit card you used to purchase the computer has extended warranty protection. If it does, you may not have to wait around for Jobs to read this blog.

iMac LCD screens failing en masse [MacNN](Thanks, Mike!)

This is not the first time we have come across a wristband that alerts you to incoming calls. Some of you may recall the BlueQ from earlier this year. It worked--but not all that well. Could this device, dubbed the LM957, be a better alternative? According to the product site, the LM957 will not only discreetly alert you to an incoming call, it will also let you know when you have wandered more than 15 feet away from your phone.

We are not sure how it compares to the BlueQ in terms of functionality, but it sure as hell looks better. Even if it does work, I wouldn't be all that interested unless there was a watch involved. Available for £23.50 or $48. [Product Page]

So many Lifehacker posts, so little time. Subscribe to only the cream of the crop with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

• Ensure a Fast Internet Connection When You Need It
  "Your internet connection is an indispensable part of your life, but between BitTorrent, Xbox Live, web browsing, and VoIP, sometimes there's not enough bandwidth to go around."
• Hot Image Your PC's Hard Drive with DriveImage XML
  "You don't need a complicated boot CD or expensive software to create a restorable system disk image for your PC: free utility DriveImage XML can save a full, working snapshot of your Windows hard drive while you work on it."
• Top 10 Food and Drink Hacks
  "You may not be able to power an iPod with an onion, but there are plenty of neat tricks and techniques that actually do work with everyday foods."
• Use Your iPhone's Internet Connection On Your Laptop
  "It's great that your iPhone has a data plan and a killer mobile browser, but when you're sitting at the airport waiting to catch a plane with your laptop right next to you, wouldn't it be nice to use your full-on desktop browser?"
• Get to Sleep Faster by Tensing Up and Repeating "The"
  "It's not news that many of us aren't getting enough sleep, but BBC News offers several tips from a director of Clinical Sleep Research for getting to sleep when your head hits the pillow that you may not have heard before."
• Start Meaningful Conversations
  "Learning how to initiate that first conversation can be tough, but it doesn't have to be."
• Find Critically-Acclaimed Torrents at PickyPirate
  "BitTorrent search sites like The Pirate Bay can help you find recently-released tunes, flicks and video games, but deciding which are worth the hefty downloads usually involves digging in more mainstream channels."

The FTC's figure for identity theft in 2005 was 8.3 million Americans over the age of 18, a drop of about 16% from the 9.9 million it measured in 2003. (2005 is the most recent year for which they have data.) However, not only are consumer groups saying that these numbers are faulty, even the FTC admits in a footnote that "its conclusion is not 'statistically significant' because the sample size was too small."

A spokeswoman for the National Consumers League says, "These surveys are helpful but may not show what's really happening." For instance, if consumers are unaware that their identities have been stolen, it's highly unlikely they'll be able to respond accurately to survey questions. On the other side of the fence, since corporations aren't required to disclose fraud losses, there's no way to rely on them for accurate data either.

Another report from Javelin Strategy & Research backs up the FTC's claim and also says that ID theft has continued to drop, down to 8.4 million in 2007. But then a Gartner study says there were 15 million victims of the crime from August 2005 to August 2006. Javelin says Gartner's results are skewed because they used a web-based survey that automatically biases the data against the poor who don't have web access. We say just protect your damned networks, retailers, and stop saving all of our data for years longer than is necessary.

"Government Report Says ID Theft Down" [Associated Press]
(Photo: Getty)

Filed under: Cellphones

Barely a fortnight after Apple began talking with China Mobile about getting the iPhone into the ginormous Chinese market, it seems that negotiations are off -- or still on, or something. Yesterday, Nanfang Daily reported that China Mobile's CEO felt that the "iPhone model was not suitable for China," but unnamed reporters suggested that the real reason behind the call-off was the inability for both entities to agree on -- surprise, surprise -- a revenue sharing model. Today, however, a report over at Bloomberg notes that Apple has in fact not ended discussions with China Mobile, and moreover, it was said to have "denied newspaper reports" claiming otherwise. 'Course, we've got two sides of the story here, and while Apple may feel that there's still room to negotiate, China Mobile may see things quite differently. Time will tell, we guess.

[Via Macworld]
Read - Nanfang Daily report
Read - Bloomberg report

 

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

Comcast is pissed. Per the FCC's latest vote, it can't provide cable to more than 30 percent of the country. It has a 27 percent market share right now with 26.2 million subscribers. With the FCC's 30 percent market cap, it can add fewer than 3 million new subscribers before it hits the wall, pretty much ruling out acquisitions of other cable companies or any major growth.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's proposal to limit the growth of cable providers had been floating around for a bit and was sort of expected not to fly, but two of the four other commissioners have thrown in with him on the vote. It's possible--if not probable--that the courts could get involved and throw out the decision, which Reuters points out they did six years ago.

The final vote's expected to go down sometime before Dec. 18--so the two commissioners have time to change their mind--but Comcast will probably start rabble-rousing long before then. They're probably already in the vicinity anyway, going on about the FCC's decision a few weeks ago killing apartment-exclusive contracts. All in all, quite a beating for cable from the FCC this month. [WSJ, Reuters, Flickr]

It has now become common for store to offer, in addition to their regular store-brand credit card, a co-branded Visa, Amex or Mastercard.

But which should you chose? Bankrate breaks it down:

Private label:

Easier to qualify.
One high APR for all.
Low credit limit.
Use only in one store.
Rewards for shopping in store.

Co-branded cards:

APR depends on credit rating.
Variable APR, lower than private label.
Credit limit depends on rating.
Use anywhere.
Rewards for shopping anywhere.

Generally speaking the co-branded cards are a better deal, but some people prefer the store cards because they have low limits and are easier to get. We've never felt the need for a branded credit card aside from the occasional no interest deal (that we paid off within the interest free period.) Do you find that the deals are worth it?

Target card or Target Visa? Which is better? [Bankrate]
(Photo:Jeremy Brooks)

According to the Health Care System Foundation, a lack of diet and exercise combined with a sedentary lifestyle (that includes playing an upside-down Xbox 360) leads to childhood obesity and an untimely death. Yeah, the kid is definitely fat --but if I were his parents I would be more worried about the fact that he is playing games with a controller that isn't plugged in. Could it be that an abundance of fat and Xbox 360 playing leads to insanity? [Kotaku]

The PS3's still got a long ways to go to catch up to the Xbox 360 in the online space, and their next step toward it with an HD VOD service seems kind of lackluster. It's launching next year in Japan only. And the launch content seems pretty anemic unless you're into cars and racing: "motor-racing vids" and a BBC car documentary. Sony's hoping it'll get people's motors running for Gran Turismo 5. Uh, vroom vroom? [Variety via Game|Life]