Holiday Shopping Guide - Wired Style

Wondering what to get your geek for Christmas? Wired has put together the ultimate geek shopping guide. Regardless of where your geek's interest lays or what your budget is the "Wish List 2008" has you covered. Looking for practical? Go for the iRobot Dirt Dog Workshop Robot. Money is no object? How about the Lamborghini Murciélago LP640. Looking to buy Great Big Geek a gift? You'll never go wrong with Mimoco Star Wars Mimobot 1GB USB Flash Drive ;) Seriously though, check out the Wish List, if they don't have it there your geek doesn't need it!

Wired Poll Finds Rogers 3G Network Amoung Fastest Globally

Canadians might not like the terms of their iPhone agreement with Rogers but a poll conducted by Wired Magazine suggests that Rogers 3G network is one of the fastest world wide. According to the CBC "Wired.com found that Rogers and Fido customers in Canada had an average download speed of 1,330 kilobits per second on their device. That ranked just behind the 1,822 kilobits experienced by T-Mobile subscribers in several European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands." iPhone users in the U.S. averaged speeds of 990 kilobits on AT&T's cellphone network, while the worst speeds were reported by Australians on the Optus and Virgin networks, coming in around 390 kilobits. "In our view, this data is a strong indicator that performance of the mobile carrier's network is affecting the iPhone 3G more than the handset itself," wrote Wired's Brian X. Chen. "Altogether, this furthers our thesis that it's highly unlikely that Apple is going to wave a magic wand and say, '3G problems, be gone,' with a software update."

China's City of the Future, Today!

Wired describes Beijing's Skywalk-Linked Megacomplex as a City Within a City. The objective is to limit it's inhabitants foray into the real world of polution and uncontrollable climate swings by offering everything they need within a ring of eight 21-story towers, all interconnected and providing for nearly all of its residents' needs. "Galleries, cafés, bars, and shops will line these public passages. With its 82-floor hotel, the project boasts a total interior space of 2.4 million square feet, and the 15-acre grounds feature everything from a skateboard park to tai chi platforms." The project is the design of architects Steven Holl and Li Hu and is expected to be complete this summer.

Is it the end of business for Business 2.0?

There are two magazines that I read religiously, Wired and Business 2.0, and I like to think that I have my finger, at least faintly, on the pulse of the tech industry with all of the reading that I do. I had of course heard the rumours in July that Business 2.0 was in danger but I guess it never really occurred to me that it would actually happen. When I received my mail (postal) today I was pleasantly surprised to find an offer to renew my subscription early and receive a second year for the price of one, I immediately put it in my todo list. Imagine my disappointment when I was visiting my usual list of sites this evening and read "Business 2.0 RIP" in a New York Times Bits article. According to the article "employees of Business 2.0 magazine were told today that the monthly publication will close next week, after they finish the October issue." The Times promise more news in tomorrows edition, I'll be waiting anxiously, and I guess I'll be holding on to my cheque for a little while longer. Sad news indeed, if it is true.

When Bots Attack - from the pages of Wired

Wired magazine walks us through an interesting denial of service scenario in their article "When Bots Attack". The hypothetical scenario sets up how a country's information infrastructure could be brought to it's knees for hours or even days through a distributed denial of service attack. "Using rented botnets, you can launch hundreds of thousands — even millions — of infobombs at a target, all while maintaining total deniability." It's a short read but an interesting one.

What's in Red Bull anyway?

July's issue of Wired examines Red Bull and gives us a glimpse into what goes into the trendy little can of pick me up! Personally, I prefer Hype, Full Throttle, or dare I say it, Bawls (spare me the off hand remarks). Regardless of what your choice is, it's interesting the science that goes into the can. I'm interested in finding out a little more about inositol, which according to the article "is turning out to be a wonder drug that significantly reduces depression, panic attacks, agoraphobia, and obsessive- compulsive disorder".

Wired list of 8 great geek vacations

Since you are reading this blog you probably fit into the category of folk who might find at least one of these vacation destinations interesting, I do! Check out Wired Magazine's "The Best Geek Vacations: The South Pole, Chernobyl, Tatooine" Not too sure about Chernobyl, but Tokyo sounds fun!