This man, Jack Rossi, created a simulation proton pack + thrower so he can play the Wii version of Ghostbusters with as much realism as possible. This is the result.

I gotta admire him for his preference of playability over having this-gen graphics. And for finding a use for all that junk he had lying around his house. [GBFans via Destructoid via Nerd Aproved]

That's what this RBC/ChangeWave's surveys says. Back in April 2007, fewer people were interested in buying the original iPhone compared to those wanting to buy the iPad on February 2010. Does this mean the iPad would be a bigger success?

Not necessarily. It may mean that, but we don't really know for sure. First, back then the iPhone was completely unknown. A new, unproven product, with no user base whatsoever. Today, the iPhone and iPod are well known, so one could even argue that—given their massive popularity—a higher percentage of people would be interested in buying the iPad. In other words, who knows. Let's wait until Apple actually makes the iPad available on their site.

There are other interesting data points. One is the version people are most interested in: The lowest end and the highest end win, with 19% each. With the 64GB Wi-Fi getting only 8% and the 16GB Wi-Fi and 3G version getting 9% of the interest.

Another interesting one: 68% of the people interested in it want to surf the internet, 44% for email, 37% for eBooks, 28% for the reading magazines and other periodicals, and only 24% for watching video. [Digital Daily]

Ten 200 ton buoys—each measuring 150 feet by 40 feet—are being installed off the coast of Oregon to build America's first wave power farm. They'll power 400 homes by harnessing "the energy of wave motion." Worth $60 million?

Of course, of course. Clean, renewable energy is almost always worth it. The trouble with wave farms is that they haven't shown much success yet. They're currently about six times as costly as wind farms, are easily damaged by large waves, and the first ones didn't work out so well:

The world's first commercial wind wave farm opened in 2008 in Portugal, but power production was suspended due to financial difficulties. Moreover, two years ago, a Canadian-produced wave power device sank off Oregon's coast.

Yikes. I'm sure that in the long run we'll start seeing positive results, but it looks like the path there will be long and expensive. [USA Today via Good via Inhabitat—Thanks to GitEmSteveDave for catching the typo!]

Obama's anti-trust guy thinks Google has some monopoly in them, and now so does Europe. If you remember back just a few years, you'll recall that Europe was the big battleground that Microsoft had to fight in trying to prove that it wasn't a monopoly, so this could be the start of some legal bad-news for Google. Or, it could turn out to be nothing, as it's just a probe. [Business Insider]

Doing the right thing by exposing a company's shoddy product, customer service, or iffy privacy policy can have consequences. Our friends at Boing Boing just finished dealing with MagicJack and a groundless defamation suit because they were brutally honest.

You can read a full account of the events along with the post that started it all over at Boing Boing, but the ordeal boils down to this:

Boing Boing posted about MagicJack's "terms of service-which include the right to analyze customers' calls-and various iffy characteristics of its website" in April of 2008. According to Robert Beschizza:

The post was titled "MagicJack's EULA says it will spy on you and force you into arbitration." This EULA, or End-User Licensing Agreement, concerns what subscribers must agree to in order to use the service. I wrote that MagicJack's allows it to target ads at users based on their calls, was not linked to from its homepage or at sign-up, and has its users waive the right to sue in court. I also wrote that that MagicJack's website contained a visitor counter that incremented automatically; and that the website claimed to be able to detect MagicJacks, reporting that "Your MagicJack is functioning properly" even when none are present.

He also notes that "the post didn't criticize the service or the gadget itself, which works very well."

In March 2009, Boing Boing was notified that MagicJack was filing suit because "these statements were false, misleading, and had irreparably harmed MagicJack's reputation by exposing it to 'hate, ridicule and obloquy.'"

A great deal of back-and-forth followed until the suit was finally dismissed and MagicJack was ordered to pay Boing Boing "more than $50,000 in legal costs."

We may think that all's well that ends well and that the truth prevailed, but it took a great deal of time and legal costs. Perhaps a site smaller than Boing Boing could not have handled the effects of a defamation suit like this—justified or not—and would've given in to a company's demands. And that's more terrifying than some wonky EULA. [Boing Boing]

Everyone, including Apple, knows that the next logical step in making the Apple TV set-top product is embedding that technology into a TV. It'd be like all the Korean TV manufacturers putting Netflix in theirs. But Apple says no.

COO Tim Cook says:

Today, the go-to-market model for Apple TV is very difficult. Because it would seem that that go-to-market model would lead to the TV. And we have no interest in being in the TV market.

Which leaves them in a weird limbo, because they don't want to move forward, yet they don't want to discontinue the product.

...There's people — and I'm one of those — that they're avid Apple TV users, and so, because their gut says something there, we're continuing to invest in this. But today it's just a hobby.

Unfortunately in business, you've got the mindset that if you're not moving forward you're falling behind, so if they can't figure out what to do with the Apple TV brand, they might just kill it altogether rather than continue to support it without much new development. [Business Insider]

If you have a pair of hard-soled shoes, two pressure-sensitive LED tiles, and some baby mama drama from which you need to extricate yourself, let this Instructable be your guide and recreate the special-FX steps from Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."

Admittedly, I'm not sure how easy it would be to do any sort of dancing with a gigantic LED tile attached to each foot. But when you're standing still, and being viewed from the knee down, you will be the spitting image of the King of Pop.

The Instructable covers all the bases, from assembling the light-up squares to spray-painting the shoes just so. Be forewarned, though, these imitation shoes will make you just as irresistible to women as Jackson was (circa 1983):

You will get a lot of attention from people, people will dance around you on the dance floor, and you will feel a bit shallow, but you love it!

The best chat up line possible is to ask someone to join you on your dance floor so they stand/dance on your tiles, which puts them basically on top of you. Enjoy! Do not use these shoes for evil!

So there it is, plain and simple: don't go around breaking young girls' hearts. [Instructables]

Every time I see any Cylon-themed object, I get nostalgia of those perfect nights watching the series in bed, and I want to see it again. This Cylon Teddy Bear is the last straw. Starbuck, here I go. [Instructables]

During a Goldman Sachs tech conference today, Apple COO Tim Cook revealed Apple's secret to success: High standards, and a low tolerance for half-assed proposals. Except, that wasn't the question.

Tim was responding to a question about complacency and hubris—specifically, how a company that's been right on so many big issues can avoid it, and stay clearheaded. Said Tim:

Yeah, that is a great question. The executive team of the company spends a lot of time thinking and discussing how to retain and recruit the best talent in the world, because at the end of the day—I know it's a cliche—but people are our most important asset by far, and it's people that deliver innovation, which is key to us. And so what else do we do other than that? Well, we are the most focused company that I know of, or have read of, or have any knowledge of. We say no to good ideas every day; we say no to great ideas in order to keep the amount of things we focus on very small in number, so that we can put enormous energy behind the ones we do choose, so that we can deliver the best products in the world. In fact, the table that each of you are sitting at today, you could probably put every product on it that Apple makes, and yet Apple's revenue last year was over $40bn. I think the only other company that could say that is an oil company.

And that is not from just saying "yes" to the right product which gets a lot of focus—it's saying no to many products that are good ideas, but just not nearly as good as the other ones. I think that this is so ingrained in our company that this hubris that you talk about, that happens to companies that are successful but then decide that their sole role in life is to get bigger, and they start adding this and that and this and that, I can tell you the management team of Apple would never let that happen. That's not what we're about. So, focus on people, and ensuring that it's a small list of things to work on and putting all of our wood behind those things, that's the magic behind us.

Question: How do you avoid hubris, Apple?
Answer: WE'RE JUST THAT GOOD. [SAI]

This inflatable sleeping coat would be perfect for the millions of homeless people in the world—though as it's but a concept, the wearable sleeping bag won't be warming anyone up anytime soon, sadly. [Reddot via LikeCool]

The iPhone 3.2 Beta 3 SDK documentation confirmed that developing OpenGL ES on the iPad is the same as developing OpenGL ES on other iPhone devices, using the "same basic capabilities as other SGX devices." We've been saying that the iPad was going to use the same basic chip, a PowerVR SGX, for a while now, both for compatibility reasons and because it really is just a big iPod Touch. But, to be fair, the chip is going to be newer than the ones found in those other devices, so it'll be faster. Most likely. [Macrumors]

Some people thought I was unfair to Flash, calling it an unnecessary piece of power-sucking crap that has no real use beyond online video and advertising. So here's the question: Apart from video, what are exactly your top Flash sites?

Flash is not going to be used in Windows Phone 7, the iPod touch, the iPad, and many other mobile devices, but it is coming to Android and Pre.

Some people seem to be very upset about it because they think the lack of Flash on these devices is going to limit their enjoyment of the web. However, if you take out Flash-containered video players and advertising delivery (both dedicated promotional sites like Nike.com and banners) what are other web sites that you people can't live without? Remember that video sites like YouTube and Vimeo are already replacing Flash players with HTML5 and h.264. It's only a matter of time before the rest of the video sites—including the porn pages, which are already delivering all their content for iPhone and other personal media players—follow suit.

Are you talking about Flash-based games like FarmVille and poker, or is there something else? What non-video Flash-based site is so important that you can't live without?

Please name them in the comments, and explain why.

Apple released their 2010 update on Supplier Responsibility today. And hey! According to Apple, Apple's doing a great job! But given recent events, should they really have given themselves such high marks?

There's no doubt that some of what Apple's done with their supply chain is commendable. They've made efforts to protect juvenile workers, and are actively protecting foreign contract workers from falling into forced labor. All of this should be commended.

But recent headlines have painted a different picture about conditions at Apple suppliers. A reporter was attacked last month outside a Foxconn plant for taking photographs. Workers at a Foxconn factory in Mexico burned the place down over the weekend to protest forced overtime. And just yesterday reports surfaced that a worker at a Wintek plant died of N-hexane poisoning last year. To say nothing of the Foxconn employee who committed suicide over a leaked iPhone prototype last summer.

So while I'm sure the Supplier Responsibility Progress Report is going to go over great at Apple's shareholder meeting on Thursday, and while they've definitely done admirable things to improve the conditions of their workers, I can't help but think that there's still a whole lot of progress left to make. [Apple]

Actually, the Ampex VR-3000 backpack—only $42,000 for the basic recorder without accessories—with BC-300 BW Camera—just $12,685—was the only camcorder available. It changed TV forever, moving the entire broadcast television industry from film to video.

The video format—invented by Redwood City-based Ampex in 1965—was called 2-inch Quadruplex, and used four magnetic heads to record both PAL and NTSC standards using different speeds. [Wikipedia]

Here's something we can all get behind: levitating chairs for the elderly that scoot around like bumper cars. There is no way this can go badly.

Created by researchers at Japan's Kobe Gakuin University, the chairs work like an air hockey table, with high-powered air jets at the bottom of the chair creating a pocket of air beneath the chair for it to float on. Of course, it only works on smooth, solid surfaces. No tatami mats! But come on, fill a room with old people on these, push one into the middle and you've got yourself a party. [Robot.M via Crave via Dvice]

In today's Remainders: solutions! Solutions for distilling water vapor into drinkable water; keeping your lunch warm with only a USB port; beaming an entire Springsteen album to your phone in under 10 seconds, and more.

Wossy
Jonathan Ross, a UK television personality, isn't the first person you'd expect to deliver the latest news on Microsoft's Project Natal, but we'll take what we can get. Apparently he's had some time to play around with the system and likes what it has to offer:

OK. Before bed. Natal on X Box impressive. Not quite there yet i think but tye have til october and if they get it right...skys the limit.

Of course we've known that the sky is the limit with Natal, but the Tweet also serves to confirm what we've heard before in terms of release date—Microsoft is shooting for a Fall launch, sometime in October or shortly thereafter. Get ready to look silly. [Engadget]

Intel Intel
In an annual filing with the SEC, Intel revealed that they, too, were the target of advanced cyber attacks early this year. The relevant section of the report read:

We regularly face attempts by others to gain unauthorized access through the Internet to our information technology systems by, for example, masquerading as authorized users or surreptitious introduction of software. These attempts, which might be the result of industrial or other espionage, or actions by hackers seeking to harm the company, its products, or end users, are sometimes successful. One recent and sophisticated incident occurred in January 2010 around the same time as the recently publicized security incident reported by Google.

A NYTimes source confirmed that they were not only at the "same time" but were in fact part of the same wave of attacks that struck Google back in January. No need to feel sheepish, Intel, plenty of companies got attacked in that last go around. [NYTimes]

No Wires Nokia
Nokia's no stranger to concepts, and the newest video from their Nokia Research Center fits the usual bill: pretty exciting and only partially explained. The Explore and Share concept shows a system in which a portable device—in this case a Nokia N900—interacts with a retail kiosk wirelessly by being placed on a small "writer." Here's where the magic happens. The kiosk registers the n900 almost instantly, and, using a "new radio technology," is able to beam an entire Bruce Springsteen album to the device in under ten seconds. That's fast! Faster than NFC and Bluetooth 3.0, as Engadget points out. Concepts have the tendency to, you know, stay conceptual, but this type of snappy, functional wireless technology is something we'd be happy to see more of in the future. And the Boss? More of him in the future, too, please. [Engadget]

Net Some Water
Dropnet, a concept designed by Imke Hoehler, is a system of large polypropylene nets that snatch droplets from water vapor clouds and distill them into potable water. They not only provide low-infrastructure areas with drinkable water but also lend the hillsides on which they're installed an exotic Avataresque vibe, so they're doubly fine by me. [DesignBoom]

Lunchtime
Apparently Thanko's last USB-powered lunchbox was enough of a hit to warrant an upgrade—two, in fact—and today they've delivered, piping hot to our desks, two new "Hot Lunch Bag" devices. You have the compact model, which is basically a rehash of the older design, but now there is also the "super slim," a more space-efficient USB-powered hot lunch solution that looks like a pencil case and slips conveniently into your laptop bag. Because if there's any word I'd use to describe keeping my lunch plugged in to my laptop, it's convenient. [CrunchGear]

The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), also known as the Boneyard, is a four square mile site in Arizona housing 4,000 retired aircraft—or at least one of almost every US armed forces plane since WWII.

Google Earth has recently released this gorgeous (in a maudlin sort of way), 1.5MB satellite view of the facility. You can see the entire shot over on the BBC, and if you're annoyed by their tiny frame, just right click the magnified version to "view image" to see the entire thing. You can also just check it out through Google.

For those of you thinking the Boneyard is a rotting pile of our tax dollars, well, it sort of is. But the base claims that for every $1 invested here, $11 are returned through salvaged parts (and it's easier than dropping off a rusting B52 at the local recycling facility). [BBC]

Details continue to trickle out about Lower Merion School District, their MacBook loan program, and the unsavory security practices they used to keep those computers safe. The latest: the school-supplied MacBooks were required for classes and students could not use their own personal machines in their place. Worse yet, it was impossible to disable the laptops' iSight cameras and attempting to circumvent the school's security software was grounds for expulsion. Yeeps.

All of this information comes courtesy of two security researchers, "Stryde" and Aaron Rhodes, who have pored over the relevant LMSD materials and even gone so far as to reverse-engineer LANRev, the snooping software Lower Merion installed on its computers.

Of course, the people behind LANRev are now trying to distance themselves from the school district as much as possible—"We discourage any customer from taking theft recovery into their own hands," their head of marketing explained—even though Mike Perbix, Lower Merion's network technician, was featured prominently in a LANRev promotional video from 2008.

Of course, not everyone's taking the matter so darn seriously. A parody t-shirt, pictured above, is now making the rounds, which you can find on Zazzle. [StrydeHax via BoingBoing]

If you love movies, you love The Criterion Collection. It's as simple as that. So get excited, because the CC now has a channel on Hulu.

As of right now, it only has the first six features from the Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman series, but more should be coming in the near future. Of course, since it's Hulu, it's not available outside the US, which sucks. But come on, free streaming Criterion Collection films! It's tough to complain about that. Your lunch breaks just got a whole lot more sophisticated. [Criterion via Good]

Apple's making life simpler for developers with the iPhone 3.2 Beta 3 SDK which makes it easier to develop universal apps by allowing devs to easily update "existing iPhone projects to include the necessary files to support" iPads. [Apple] Updated again.

Update 1: Commenter apple1loop and others are reporting that Apple has pulled the SDK from their developer website. No word on why this happened just yet.

Update 2: Once again, apple1loop</a is reporting with an update, this time to let us know that the SDK is back up on the developer site.