Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM PST Cisco Systems will be making an announcement which will "forever change the Internet." This means we've got a nearly all night to speculate, make bets, and daydream of life changing technologies. [ZDNet]

It's still far, far too early to call WiMAX a dead technology, but with the second major infrastructure supplier moving away from it in as many months, that's a pretty damning sign, isn't it? After Alcatel Lucent's announcement that it would be scaling back WiMAX investment last month, Cisco has now pulled the plug on its own efforts, citing a desire to stay as "radio-agnostic" as possible in the 4G race. That makes sense for a company that hasn't traditionally played in the wireless game the same way stalwarts like Ericsson and Nokia Siemens have, but the move still lies in stark contrast to Cisco's 2007 acquisition of Navini Networks that brought a host of WiMAX-focused equipment into the fold. Of course, CDMA has managed just fine in the shadow of GSM's global domination over the past decade, so these early warning signs could amount a fat load of nothing by the time we've reached a 4G steady state.

Another one bites the dust: Cisco steps out of the WiMAX game originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Computerworld  | Email this | Comments

According to Microsoft, Pivot's "a new way to browse and arrange massive amounts of images and data online," enabling "spectacular zooms in and out of web databases, and the discovery of [invisible] patterns and links." According to me, it's awesome.

Pivot allows you to create and access data collections made from massive amounts of web information in a visual way. It keeps the same interface independently of the content of the collection, allowing you to dive in the data with ease, zoom out, reorder the collection in any way you want, filter data with one click, and establish relationships between different data sets with ease.

To do this, it uses meta-information within an open XML structure to make those collections—which vary in complexity. Then it allows the user to manipulate the data view using Seadragon, a display technology specifically designed to move around titanic amounts of data and graphics in real time.

Like Windows Phone 7 or Natal, Pivot shows that Microsoft is using those research doublons in creating truly amazing stuff these days. Download and try it in your PC now. Unfortunately, there's no Mac OS X version yet. [Microsoft Pivot]

What, you've got a broken, old computer, but what you really want is a shiny, new hookah? Well, with a little bit of effort you can turn that old gadget into some peculiar-looking smoking paraphernalia. [Instructables via Nerd Approved]

Spring Design Alex still not available for pre-order, 'early spring' ship date still planned originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Spring Design Alex  | Email this | Comments

This is a pair of squirrels playing outerspace in the park with a couple of coconut helmets on their heads. YOU TWO ARE CRACKING ME UP!!

Miss Roberts, 46, leaves out two coconuts a week and suspends them on pieces of string from her washing line and watches her furry friends dig in. She said: "The first time I saw them feeding I nearly died laughing, they looked like a pair of astronauts and even now I can not stop chuckling every time I see them. "I make a large hole in the coconut so they can get to the flesh. They cannot get enough of them.

Is that not the cutest thing? Sure squirrels are glorified tree-rats and love to dive in front of my car, but they also play space. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Maybe primates aren't our closest relatives after all! 'Astro-squirrels' use coconut shells as helmets [telegraph] Thanks Spikey DaPikey, bring two rolls of aluminum foil and we'll get this space party started right.

Readers offer their best tips for quickly showing and hiding file extensions, charging devices with your computer turned off, and using a cellphone as a long-term stopwatch.

Don't like the gallery layout? Click here to view everything on one page.

About the Tips Box: Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they're a bit too niche, maybe we couldn't find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn't fit it in—the tip didn't make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments, share it here, or email it to tips at lifehacker.com.

Show File Extensions With a Hotkey

PlatypusMan shares an AutoHotkey script that makes it easier to show and hide file extensions:

I've noticed that, in Windows, a lot of people set it to show file extensions for known file types so that it is easier to edit things, but I prefer it to be easier to look at. However, I don't like going through the Tools menu and all that (which took me forever to find in Windows 7 — just hit the Alt key in explorer for the menu bar to show up), so I wrote a small script in #Autohotkey that I find to be very helpful.

This sets Windows+X to toggle whether or not known file types are shown:
#x::
RegRead, Extension_Status, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced, HideFileExt
If Extension_Status = 0
RegWrite, REG_DWORD, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced, HideFileExt, 1
Else
RegWrite, REG_DWORD, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced, HideFileExt, 0
WinGetClass, eh_Class,A
send, {F5}
Return

As far as I can tell, it works seamlessly. I adapted it from a different script I found that does basically the same thing, but with the option for showing or hiding hidden files, but I don't remember where I got it from (probably here).

Charge USB Devices Without Turning on Your Computer

TechnoGeek shows us how he keeps his devices charged at his workspace:

If your monitor has USB ports, you can charge your iPod/iPhone even when your computer is off. Just plug it into your monitor and leave the monitor on. Once you turn off your computer, your monitor should time-out. But don't turn off the power. Your device will continue to charge.

Use Cellphone Timestamps as a Long-Term Stopwatch

Photo by Oracio Alvarado.

Micah Tanis shows us a reliable, easy method of time tracking:

Create a START and END contact on your phone to keep track of timed tasks.
Dial and end a call to START or END to create timestamps for time tracking.

Create Custom File Paths in the Quick Launch Bar for Easy Access

Jake712 shows us how he utilizes Quick Launch shortcuts:

This is something I've been doing since XP came out but I've never seen anyone else doing it and I don't see it mentioned much:

I keep Windows Explorer shortcuts with customized file locations on my quick launch bar. If I want to get to my web server folders or my folder with my Nikon photos I just click the customized explorer icon that will take me right there. The image shows my right-most quick launch item which is my most accessed as well.

To make them go through the Start menu to Programs/Accessories, right click Windows Explorer and pick Copy. Now go to your desktop, right click on it, and choose Paste Shortcut and the icon will appear. To customize it, right click the icon and choose Properties. You can change the destination by editing the Target field, for instance my photos are in C:\DATA\Photos and Home Video\photos\Nikon D90. You can rename the shortcut in the same window but under the General tab, this is the name that shows up if you hover over the icon.

When you're done just drag it to your quick launch bar and you're all set. You can get pretty fancy with the Target location including options to expand folders, etc. For a list of the various options here is Microsoft's reference: [support.microsoft.com]

This works up to Vista 64 but I haven't tried it on Windows 7, in fact I don't even know if 7 has a quick launch bar.

Well, here's a bit of an interesting surprise -- Dell's Inspiron One 19 all-in-one desktop, previously only announced for Japan and still not on Dell's US website, kicking back at a Walmart in the US of A. From the looks of it, the specs are more or less in line with what we've heard before, including an 18.5-inch widescreen display, a Pentium Dual Core E5400 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 640GB hard drive, along with a price said to be "around $600." Unfortunately, there's no indication of how widespread availability is right now, but feel free to let us know in comments if you happen to spot one.

[Thanks, Steve]

Dell Inspiron One 19 all-in-one turns up at Walmart originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/eDU7Xoju4LM&hl=en&fs=1&fmt=22","customParams":[],"width":500,"height":412,"ratio":0.824,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"youtube"} ); There have been allegations that someone's been supplying online retailer Newegg with fake Intel Core i7 processors and then proceeding to threaten anyone who reports on the issue. Here's what Newegg has to say:

Newegg is currently conducting a thorough investigation surrounding recent shipments of questionable Intel Core i7-920 CPUs purchased from Newegg.com.

Initial information we received from our supplier, IPEX, stated that they had mistakenly shipped us "demo units." We have since come to discover the CPUs were counterfeit and are terminating our relationship with this supplier. Contrary to any speculation, D&H Distributing is not the vendor that supplied us with the Intel Core i7-920 CPUs in question.

Newegg's top priority is to proactively reach out to all customers who may have been affected to ensure their absolute satisfaction. We have already sent out a number of replacement units and are doing everything in our power to resolve the matter promptly and with the least amount of inconvenience to our customers.

We have always taken pride in providing an exceptional experience for each customer, and we apologize for any inconvenience to our valued customers. We take matters like this extremely seriously, and are working in close cooperation with Intel and the appropriate law enforcement authorities to thoroughly investigate this incident.

Kudos to Newegg for handling the entire matter so well and apparently taking good care of the customers affected.

Business cards have long been the networking tool that kept your business-contact list growing, but in a digital age, they seem a little outdated. Weblog WebWorkerDaily argues that we still need them; we're not so sure. What do you think?

WebWorkerDaily's take:

There are times when even the most web-oriented among us have to meet with people face-to-face. Being able to hand out a business card does more than guarantee that they have your contact information and even goes beyond making it easy to pass it along. It can help establish your professionalism. Depending on the type of work you do, there can be some difficulty in reminding your contacts that you're a professional — after all, you spend most of your day at home or the coffee shop. But little touches like a professional business card can really help remind clients and colleagues that you are a professional, no matter where you're working at.

This editor just begrudgingly re-ordered a fresh batch of dead-tree business cards in preparation for a trip to SXSW, which, frankly, is the only place I ever hand them out. So I'm curious:

Do You Still Carry Business Cards?answers

Obviously it depends a lot on what kind of work you do and the culture of that work, but let's hear specifics for why you do or don't keep business cards on hand in the comments.