Geekly Update Jun 08

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

Apple has announced that 2 million iPads have been sold in less than two months. I'm taking bets... how long before someone tiles their bathroom floor with iPads?

UCLA researchers have designed a traffic camera that captures video, analyzes the action, then turns the content into text. The prototype 12T uses a database of over 2 million images to evaluate the content. Let's hook this thing up to a voice synthesizer and point it at a baseball field... even automated play-by-play with a robotic voice would be better than listening to Joe Buck.

Google has announced that the Chrome OS will be released late this fall. Chrome is an operating system built to work exclusively with web-based applications, such as Gmail, Google Apps, Pandora, Hulu and Facebook.

Pinger has an iPhone app that gives you unlimited free texting, and it won't cost you anything.

Sanyo is releasing the latest version of their HD Xacti Camera soon in a waterproof model. The DMX-CA100 will be available in black, yellow or pink and can also shoot 14MP images, features a 12x zoom and has high-speed sequential shooting.

A recent survey illustrated by the online MBA shows that 25% of all searches are porn-related, and the average age at which kids first see porn online is age 11.

Stanford students Akshay Kothari and Ankit Gupta have launched an RSS-based news aggregator for the iPad. Pulse is available for $3.99 at the iTunes store.

BookRenter lets students rent expensive textbooks for very little, and can deliver with a day's notice. You simply find the book via its title or ISBN and specify the time needed.

AT&T is replacing its unlimited data plan with two new ones. New customers will have to choose between a $15 per month or $25 per month plan, while current customers can keep their old plan or switch without a contract extension.

Nokia has released 4 new C series handsets and bicycle recharger kit aimed at those who have limited electricity. Prices start at $35.00 and some of the standby batteries last up to 6 weeks.

Woohoo, the USA is Number One! Kaspersky Labs has issued a report that the US is the number one source of malware, replacing China. Russia came in second, followed by China.