1) Big, Ugly Bezel.
2) No Multitasking.
3) No Cameras.
4) Touch Keyboard.
5) No HDMI Out.
6) The Name iPad.
7) No Flash.
and) Adapters, Adapters, Adapters?.
Update: Why stop at 8? Here are more things we are discovering that suck about the iPad.
9) It’s Not Widescreen.
10) Doesn’t Support T-Mobile 3G.
11) A Closed App Ecosystem.
12) And more…
More information [Gizmodo]
Forget PowerMats and wireless charging and the like, because the Airnergy wi-fi signal harvester is my new front runner for the future of gadget charging.
It’s not exactly new tech, as ohGizmo notes, but it’s the first application that’s of any real use to consumers. Put simply, Airnergy takes the energy created by wi-fi signals and stores it in a rechargeable battery. At CES, the device’s battery, which I believe was precharged with Wi-Fi power, was able to charge a BlackBerry from 30% power to full power in about 90 minutes.
Pretty handy, and supposedly available this summer for $40. Not too shabby, and very appealing considering how ubiquitous wi-fi hotspots are these days. Very simple, somewhat cheap and incredibly useful if it works are advertised—by far one of the coolest things I’ve seen come out of CES this year.
More information [OhGizmo!]
Pong is such a classic game, what could possibly be done to make it feel fresh and creative? How about using browser windows as game elements? This version of Pong by Stewdio launches three pop-up windows when you press the P (for play) button — two paddles and a “ball”.
You can play against the computer using the arrow keys to move your paddle up and down, or you can choose to play against another human who can use the A and Z keys to move their paddle up and down.
Given the unorthodox way the game was implemented, the gameplay is quite faithful, and the graphics refresh fast enough for it to feel snappy. Rather than the typical smooth movement of the paddles you might expect, this version of Pong uses 5 positions from top to bottom on the screen, and each tap of a direction key moves one space in the chosen direction. This allows you to move very quickly when necessary using multiple taps.
While Stewdio’s Pong was obviously done as a sort of proof of concept, it’s a completely playable version of the game. For some reason the game doesn’t seem to keep score, but that’s really the only thing that is missing.
More information [uneasysilence]
Got some web space you rent for a personal site? Good, then you can likely get around any restrictions your employer, school, or other eye-shielding authority have wrongly put in your way with a quick PHProxy installation.
There are, of course, plenty of newer and more tech-savvy—and likely more private and secure—means of working your way around a web filter that seems unfair. PHProxy just happens to be one that is darned easy to install on any web space that can run PHP scripts, which these days is most of them.
Grab the ZIP download from SourceForge, extract the folder inside, then copy it into a folder on YourPersonalSite.com, filling in your actual site name. Head to, for example, YourPersonalSite.com/phproxy, and you’re greeted with a little address bar, and lots of data retention and privacy-enhancing options to determine what kind of traffic you’ll generate when you head to your chosen site.
Should you use this to look at very bad stuff that your boss would instantly fire you for glimpsing, should he discover your tracks? No, you should not, for many reasons. Can it be a quick little experiment in anonymizing your browsing records and getting past lockdown for the occasional sports score or Facebook check? You make the call.
PHProxy is a free download, works on any hosted storage space (or home server) that can run PHP scripts. We’ve previously rounded up our readers’ recommendations for cheap and reliable web hosts, if you’re looking for one. Need to password protect your PHProxy directory so the whole world isn’t trying to fit through your privacy gate? Try the previously mentioned Htaccess Editor, or try out Webmonkey’s resources for htaccess editing.
More information [PHProxy]
Digital Inspiration is an oft-linked blog here at Lifehacker, and its author is a very savvy digital worker. That said, Amit Agarwal learned a lot about safety precautions when both his Gmail and Google Apps accounts were hacked into.
Agarwal’s not entirely sure about how his accounts were broken into, given that he had strong passwords on them. After a few moments’ panic and some back-and-forth with the Google team, he regained control over his accounts. If he had to go through it again, he’d wish he had a whole bunch of backup and verification procedures on hand. Here’s one item that jumped out at us, despite having gone through a similar experience, as something neither we nor most Google/Gmail users probably have ready:
#3. Take a paper and write down the following information about your Google Account. You will need this to verify your identify to Google in case someone else takes over your Google Account and the secondary email address associated with your account.
* The month and year when your created your Gmail / Google Account.
* If you created a Gmail account by invitation, write the email address of the person who first sent you that invite for Gmail.
* The email addresses of your most frequently emailed contacts (the top 5).
* The names of any custom labels that you may have created in your Gmail account.
* The day/month/year when you started using various other Google services (like AdSense, Orkut, Blogger, etc.) that are associated with the Google account that you are trying to recover. If you’re not certain about some of the dates, provide your closest estimate.
Be sure to read the full Digital Inspiration post for more tips and advice on preparing for, and recovering from, hacked Google accounts, and share your own hack/spam recovery experiences in the comments.
More information [Digital Inspiration]
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