This admittedly isn't the newest military tech on the block, but The History Channel in us just couldn't help writing it up. Russia makes the world's largest military hovercraft dubbed the "Zubr." It displaces 621 tons and can haul twice the payload of similar boats from the US Navy (somewhere around 150 tons).

With production dating back to 1988, the last Zubr looks to have launched in 2004. Capable of carrying multiple tanks and a nice mix of 140mm rocket pods, 30mm cannons and air defense missiles, the Zubr can cruise for 300 miles before rapidly deploying troops and equipment close to shore. Scratch that. Directly on shore. In other words, it's just like that R/C vehicle you lusted after in the '90s, but it's way bigger and actually good for something. Or, in this case, potentially very, very bad. [English Russia, Naval Technology and Defense Industry Daily]

Filed under: Networking

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video, Transportation

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

67 year old Illinois native, Bill Bramanti built his future coffin in the shape of a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer can because he just really loves the beer. Until he passes away, he's using the coffin as a beer cooler, but admits that he has actually gotten inside the coffin to test the size. He even threw a party where he used the coffin to store beers for his friends. We just hope none of his friends became mentally unstable after they found out it was his final resting place.

[via]

The iPhone’s ability to switch seamlessly between Wi-Fi networks and AT&T’s EDGE network with minimal mucking around by the user still remains unmatched. If you’re using one of Nokia’s increasing number of Wi-Fi enabled phones, the experience is the opposite: painful. Unless you permanently set a preference in each individual application, you’re annoyingly prompted to select a network whenever a program tries to access the Internet.

Nokia is still grappling with this problem. The good news is that there’s a fix: Psiloc Connect. Psiloc Connect works by creating a new Access Point on your S60 device. By pointing any application to the Psiloc AP, you can set your preferences so Psiloc will attempt to connect through Wi-Fi, then will try your cellular data connection next, whether it be 3G, EDGE or GPRS. In other words, with Psiloc, you can let the phone choose the fastest data network available. It will set you back about $16, which isn’t cheap — but I think it’s worth owning.

You can all Xohm now — and call it Clearwire. The much talked about WiMAX joint venture between Clearwire and Sprint Nextel is going to happen and the news is going to come as soon as tomorrow. The combined company is going to be worth $12 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports. Here are some facts:

Other details are sketchy, but here are my thoughts:

The elephant in the room:

This is a spaghetti-like mess of conflicts and self-interests. I wonder how open this network is going to be? Clearwire has a history of blocking other services such as VoIP carriers. Comcast is a known P2P offender. Will Google be our only search option?

The final word:

I told you so comes to mind :-)

If Ruckus Wireless wins a recently filed lawsuit against Netgear, the Wi-Fi tech developer might want to send a thank-you note to the Patent and Trademark Office. Ruckus sued Netgear and another wireless network developer, Rayspan, in federal court this week, claiming that Netgear infringed on two of its patents. The PTO issued Ruckus one of those patents last year; the second patent was issued just three weeks ago.

Ruckus says in a legal filing that both patents hold innovative technologies that helped make Ruckus “the success that it is today.” If the federal court finds that Netgear and Rayspan infringed on either one, the court could halt sales of a new Netgear wireless router. So the issuance of the second patent could really help Ruckus in court, the same way a second big gun could help a warrior on the battlefield.

Did the issuance of the second patent persuade Ruckus to take Netgear to court? Not according to one of Ruckus’ lawyers, Colby Springer. The timing was “pure coincidence,” he said. It just “happened to issue at a very convenient time.” Springer said he’s seen patents issued in as short as nine months and as long as seven years. This one took just under two years.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Ruckus is betting its smart Wi-Fi technology will deliver reliable signal quality over an extended range while automatically adapting to environmental changes in real time. With a more predictable Wi-Fi signal, the technology would support applications like streaming voice and multicast Internet Protocol video. In the suit, Ruckus says its distributors and resellers have shipped over half a million Wi-Fi systems to date.

Pursuant to a license agreement, Netgear has paid Ruckus royalties on sales of its WPN 824 line of RangeMax wireless routers. Ruckus claims it’s received royalties on nearly 2 million routers. Late last year, Ruckus discovered in an FCC filing that Netgear was developing a new RangeMax router.

In February, Ruckus’ president and CEO Selina Lo met with Netgear’s chairman and CEO, Patrick Lo, to discuss the new model. According to the suit, Netgear informed Ruckus it had begun selling the newest model in place of the ones that generated royalties for Ruckus. Netgear also indicated it would discontinue the manufacture and sale of its earlier RangeMax models by end of 2008, and Ruckus would not receive any licensing royalty revenue from sales of latest model.

Ruckus is seeking injunctions barring Netgear and Rayspan from infringing on its patents. It’s also seeking a “reasonable royalty” for existing patent infringements and other monetary damages.

What makes for an appealing workspace? The envelopes they leave in your mailbox every two weeks. But after that, it comes down to design and amenities. Also, we like windows and brick. Lots and lots of brick. After spending some time on Office Snapshots, we present the ten best-looking offices in tech, below.

They like right angles and clean surfaces at Austin-based interactive agency Tocquigny's offices. We do too. Photos by pierpont.communications

With high ceilings, lots of brick and a bicycle garage, Six Apart's offices never remind engineers that they're contributing to global warming by helping General Motors sell cars. (Photos by Stephen)

Pixar's Emeryville headquarters look like a set from one of their movies, except the humans look real. Photos by Moriarty at Ain't it Cool News

There's a movie theater at Netflix HQ. That and movie quotes from Dr. Strangelove will put you n this list every time. Photos by HackingNetflix

Most of the Googleplex is ugly — gray and corporate. But then there's the gym, swimming pools and vollyball courts. Photos by jyri, spanaut, FrameSniper and kikidonk

Google's Zürich offices also have a fireman's pole.

Nick Denton's new steampunk sweat shop on Elizabeth Street is the nicest in SoHo. (Full disclosure: I get to work there, and you don't.)

Etsy founder Rob Kalin's BFF Martha Stewart would never approve of this workplace. It's much too unkempt. But we do, for its handmade feel and the huge window onto Brooklyn. Photos by Amit Gupta and mmmfiber

Digg's headquarters are in an unremarkable corner of San Francisco — but dugg for the office signs that look like Digg badges. And the beer.

Frank Gehry designed IAC's New York offices for Barry Diller. He went for the classic so-ugly-it-looks-like-you-did-it-on-purpose look. And we think it works.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Filed under: Cellphones

Continue reading Philips' new 'Xenium 800' touchscreen phone leaks out

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Continue reading T-Mobile clears everything up: 3G rollout (with data) is on in NYC

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

We just saw the Wall-E toy in action, and its a pretty interesting toy (Although not $190 worth of interesting.) The best features include fully articulating tank treads, 10 motors, audio and vision sensors, remote control by both joystick and touchpad, individual shutters on each eye, and collision detection. Wall E also has a "follow me" mode that'll allow a Wall-E to stick to a kid or dog and track it around the house. (We would have tried it out, but it was far to noisy and crowded at Maker Faire for Wall-E to track anything or anyone reliably.) [Maker Faire and Wall-E]