Japanese scientists from Hitachi have developed a "cap" which reads the wearers brain activity, which then in turn controls a toy train and moves it around a track.

The cap measureas the flow of blood in the brain and translates this via computer to make the train move!

up there for thnking mate!

Australian net pirate Hew Raymond Griffiths was extradited to the US and given 4 years jail for software piracy and distribution worth more than $59.11 million

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21956733-11869,00.html

you gamers out there have probably heard of the game Manhunt 2 by now... and you've also probably heard that it is currently banned in several countries...

people may say it's only a game but after looking at the site and reading the game synopsis i personally reckon that it SHOULD be banned or at least modified to remove the violent "overtones" depicted in the game...

this is something i wouldn't personally play and felt more "uneasy" after reading about the game on the site and what it's all about... even looking at the screen shots made me feel uneasy...

take a look and let me know what you think!

the Safari web browser does display better colours but Firefox is only a few steps behind in the new "colour war" and will be releasing it's Firefox 3 beta in July to improve the colours of images in it's own browser.

it has been said that Apple made the trip across to Windows in order to get more developers onboard to support it's Safari browser, reason being that the iPhone obviously uses Safari and needs more web pages to be compatible with it... BUT rumour has it that another reason is the revenue they get from Google for each search that is done through Safari using the Google search in the top right corner of the browser!

i personally find Safari to be a bit "buggy" at the moment but remember, it is a beta! i think it DOES run quicker than Firefox (and of course, IE 7 is the slowest)

The Federal Government is planning to spend $2 billion on high speed broadband for Australians by 2009 but it looks like the poor buggers in the country will have to rely on wireless

"TELSTRA has received the second setback in two days in its growing
range of court battles, when a Federal Court judge said that Optus
provided better value on a mobile phone service."
 http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,21739529%5E15320%5E%5...

3 have upgraded their network to HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet
Access)

if you have an HSDPA enabled mobile, Mobile Broadband Card or Mobile
Broadband USB modem, you can now surf the web roughtly 5 times faster
in 3's Broadband Zone!

i like the usb modem seeing as some laptops dont have a pc card slot
and even the oldest of laptops have a usb port

from the 3 website www.three.com.au - "fantastic downlink speeds
ranging from 600kbps to 1.5Mbps (with a theoretical maximum of
3.6Mbps) and an uplink speed of up to 384kbps"
it's good to see they mention the theoretical speeds as most isp's
dont even tell you this!

for all you (and me included!) geeks out there Tesltra has introduced
the HipTop 3 device built by Sharp.

the HipTop is an all in one instant messaging (Yahoo and Hotmail),
email (ISP or Hotmail through the web browser plus your own "HipTop"
email address), web browsing, text and mms device with calendar also!

the thing which rocks about this product is that as you add a contact,
take a picture with the built in camera or add something to a calendar
it AUTOMATICALLY syncs "over the air" with your personal HipTop
account, which you can then access online. Imagine it, you add a
contact and a few seconds later it appears in your HipTop account
which you can access from any pc with a net connection! totally cool!

Telstra ain't famous for their pricing plans but I think this is worth
it - $30 per month for 24 months for ALL the IM chat, email, text and
mms you can send, calls are charged at 30c per 30c which is
compareable with Vodafone call rates...

you can view the HipTop 3 on the Telstra site at http://www.telstra.com.au/hiptop/index.htm
or go to telstra.com.au, click on mobile (under personal) then the
HipTop link is about the 8th down, also under personal...
I have uploaded the PDF guide for the hiptop so take a look under
Files in this group

just stumbled upon a part of google called GooSync which allows you to
sync your Google Calendar with your mobile phone or your PDA...

I'm in the process of setting it up now so I'll let you know how I go!

either do a Google search for "goosync" or follow the link below
http://www.goosync.com/ 

for anyone out there with Optus and thinking of using Gmail here is a
"quicker" way to do it (and use less time/data on your bill)

go to your phones browser, enter a new address, type http://gmail.com

after you enter your user name and password it will log you into your
Gmail account BUT before you start reading your emails take a look at
the top of the screen.

there should be a link saying something like "access Gmail faster" or
something similar... click this and it will download the Gmail
application for your mobile.
install the application, log in once more and you are greeted with a
"flashy" looking Gmail app right on your handset without having to go
through your mobile browser, saving you time, data and money!

Telstra seems to have lost one or two of their Next G phones from
their Next G range!

The Telstra branded F850 and F851 phones (made by Chinese manufacturer
ZTE) have mysteriously been removed from the Telstra site after it was
reported that ZTE was having an abnormaly high number of returns for
these models.

ZTE claim the returns for these models is normal but it has been
claimed that it is as high as 35% above returns for phones from other
manufacturers.

These phones either turn themselves off or drop completely off the
network.
As a result you "should" be able to return these phones to your store
of purchase for an immediate replacement.

just sitting here thinking about Telstra's Next G network...

should one move to Next G? i'm personaly not so sure. The other
networks all offer 3G services and some such as 3 currently deliver
their services in a "better" manner and seem to offer better value
plans for their customers...

what confuses me the most is Telstra currently offer Next G and 3G
phones for sale. Is Telstra's Next G network built to win the
customers that were previously on CDMA and before that, analogue?

Is the standard 3G a better network? I do know the original roll out
of the Next G network saw customers experiencing even poorer coverage
than their counterparts on CDMA (at least where I live in the bush)
your thoughts? experiences?

here is a run down of the features of the 3 "X-Series" mobiles compared to other web based features...

Orb - this excellent feature let's you securely access your pc from your mobile!!!!! you can access your mp3's, photo, files and even movies stored on your pc and play/view them on your phone!!!

Mobile Web - this rocks!!! you get access to Google so you can do an online search, check your Gmail or access Google Maps to find directions!!!! Search for anything you normally would at home. It also comes with some favourites optimized for mobiles such as Ninemsn Hotmail and Yahoo!7 so you can check your accounts from your phone also.

Skype - we all know what Skype is... VOIP... on a phone!!!! woo hoo!!! with 3 you get "Skype" minutes per month (which are charged by the second)... any ideas on how much you are charged afterwards? if so drop me a line!

eBay - buy and sell, check your "watched items", never miss a bid again

MSN Messenger & Yahoo Messenger - chat without being tied to your desktop, if you've got coverage you've got messenger
Email - Webmail such as Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo done via the mobile web
            ISP email, Bigpond, TPG, Optus etc
           3 Email - when you activate your phone you are given a 3 email address also