Whooo's going to see 'Star Trek' tonight? If you didn't answer... well, I honestly don't know what to say to you. JJ Abrahms' 'Star Trek' has even the borderline geeks wigging out over the special effects and possible hidden clues -- not to mention the beautiful and perfectly cast actors.Here are a round-up of some cool Trekkie stories to check out:

-CNet.com has a webisode based entirely on a behind-the-scenes peek at the film.
-The New Yorker has a review of the film -- but watch out for spoilers.
-USAToday seems to like it -- and it's garnering extra attention from non-trekkies, too.

In other, non-'Star Trek' news...
Looks like all you smartphone addicts out there have spoken: The BlackBerry Curve has surpassed the iPhone in models sold, followed by the Storm and the Pearl.

I've written a few times to you about the current scientific efforts behind making an invisibility cloak -- and it's getting closer! I know, I know... same old news on this front -- 'Just tell me when it happens, Amber!' -- but I think it's exciting, and this is my blog, so there :-P

Holy Robert Downey Jr. Check out this pic of him on the set of Iron Man 2. Wowza.

See you all Monday!

Labels: BlackBerry Curve, invisibility, Iron Man 2, Star Trek

Morning everyone! Thanks for tuning in to your tri-weekly dose of Byte-Sized!

(After a discussion between editors, we have determined that tri-weekly denotes 3 times a week, not once every three weeks -- just wanted you all to know that there was rhetoric.)

Before we get to it -- let me make a bold preface: I've been awake since 3:45 a.m. scraping 2+ feet of snow off my hybrid after waking up to a 2.5-year-old who walked up 2 flights of stairs at 2 a.m. to stand right next to my sleeping face and announce to the room that he pooped, which, upon inspection, he did not.

Thus, I'm a bit tired and in a mood not even hot coffee can fix. Please take this into consideration when reading more...

Are they ever going to let this go? Gah... Microsoft has been brought up on anti-trust charges by the EU for bundling its IE browser with its operating system. Could someone please call the EU and explain to them what year it is and what the current state of technology is? With companies giving away browsers for free online, like Firefox and Chrome, people certainly have a choice whether to adopt IE. Give it an effing rest and let the top be the top. Seriously.

A couple months back, we talked here about invisibility cloaks getting closer to reality -- well, they're even closer. No wait, don't whip our your HP spellbooks looking for a deathly hallow -- 'Researchers at Duke University, who developed a material that can "cloak" an item from detection by microwaves, report that they have expanded the number of wavelengths they can block.' See? pretty cool technology from some incredibly brilliant minds. Seriously.

Trouble on the fruity front: Reports are suggesting that Apple shareholders may bring up lawsuits over loss money in the wake of CEO Steve Jobs announcing his leave of absence. Apparently, people are kinda pissed that he went public a week before assuring them that he was fine, nary a problem save for a hormone imbalance, just to u-turn. Why can't people just tell the truth anymore? Seriously.

And, now there are reports that Jobs is considering a liver transplant as part of his treatment for pancreatic cancer, which the CEO suffered in 2004. Says Jobs to reporters questioning him on the rumor: "Why don't you guys leave me alone -- why is this important?"

Hey Steve, when your high-profile company is on the tongues of every world citizen ages 5 through 100, plus you've been lying to your shareholders (see above) about an illness that will affect their stock prices and nest eggs, it's important. Welcome to celebrity -- or do you not want your big paycheck or sucessful business anymore? I am pulling for you, bud, but please -- don't be dumb.

I humbly apologize for my ranting today. But, apparently Congress has proposed giving *more* money to the digital TV crossover fund! Excuse me? This has to be the biggest... I mean, what a waste... Such a debacle... I have not other words for this.

OK, more coffe. And maybe some chocolate. yeah, that'll help make this snowy holiday that I'm working on a bit more comfortable. See you all on Wednesday!

Labels: Digital TV conversion, EU, invisibility, liver transplant, Microsoft, Steve Jobs

A group of researchers is actually perfecting a way to make a human being invisible -- it's nowhere near being ready for action, but it's a lot closer than you'd think our technology was capable of right now. The concept for its use is military, obviously, but let your imagination wander...

Whether its an embarrassing moment (like asking a not-pregnant woman when her baby's due), a sneaky moment (stealing someone's lunch out of the office fridge because you forgot yours) or a bashful moment (wearing your yucky sweats to the mall 'just for a minute,' then running into your ex), we've all wanted to simply disappear every once in a while. Heck, Southwest has built an entire ad campaign around it.

I'm not sure I can wrap my head around the technology being used by the researchers, but it's heavy-duty physics mixed with some biology and chemistry, and the science is getting closer to the cloaking devices seen in science fiction for almost a century -- most recently in Star Trek as a way to hide the Enterprise and in Harry Potter as one of the famed Deathly Hallows.

I know I've had a fair few moments when I've just wanted to just pull a sheet over my head and disappear for a few hours ... There was an incident in a parking lot just before a long road trip a few years back where I changed into a pair of PJs in the car only to find that I was in very plain view -- we're talking dashboard to dashboard -- of someone on a cell phone staring open-mouthed at me from another car. I crawled behind the driver's seat and hid on the floor until the car drove off, and have barely spoken of the moment since, such was the extent of my embarrassment.

Ah, what a way to start the week -- have any stories you want to share that involves a sudden need to disappear?

Labels: cloaking devices, invisibility