The first Nvidia Ion 2 netbook has been benchmarked, and the early results are disappointing: the Acer Aspire One 532G's next-gen GPU managed to underperform the older Ion LE.

The benchmarking was done by Netbook News while at MWC, who managed to run a 3DMark03 graphics benchmark test during their hands-on time. The resulting score of 3,049 is lower than some Ion LE netbooks achieve; the Samsung N510, for example, scores a 3,593.

There are possible explanations, of course, and we won't know for sure how the Ion 2 stacks up until we're able to test a production-ready unit. As Netbook Choice points out, it's possible that Acer and Nvidia purposefully hamstrung the machine to keep it stable during demonstrations. Then again, it's also possible that Nvidia has had a difficult time working with the Aspire One 532G's Pine Trail processor. Let's hope it's the former: the last thing netbooks need is even more limited graphics capabilities.

[Netbook News via Netbook Choice]

There is nothing about this old Dead Kennedys cassette single I don't love. [SB1 via HypeMachine]

108 bricks. 4 wheels. 2 taillights. Questionable plastics that are sure to contain countless carcinogens. Yes, the BlockCar looks to be a fantastic toy.

While not an official Lego product, the BlockCar offers the same general idea. You carefully stack bricks onto a motorized platform, crafting the multicolored car of your deepest imagination. Admire it for a few moments. Then smash it at full speed against the wall to watch your work crumble. (Repeat as necessary.)

I really wish the BlockCar were an official, Lego-compatible add-on because a 4-wheel R/C platform (with taillights!) could make pretty much any Lego creation that much more menacing. Luckily, it's a pretty attainable one-off at $22. [Strapya World via technabob]

I like knowing that I live in a world where someone can create a crazy-jawed pig pull toy only to have someone else say, "Yup, mechanical swine is exactly what my life has been missing."

Meme at will. [Extreme Craft via boingboing]

NASA has released their first iPhone game. It's called the NASA Lunar Electric Rover Simulator and, instead of making me happierer than a kid in a candy store wearing a Batman cape, reading the description makes me sad:

Welcome to the NASA Lunar Electric Rover (LER) Simulator. You don't need a driver's license, but you still need to buckle up as the LER Simulator gives you a glimpse of what it might be like to support the activities of a functioning Lunar Outpost. Get busy. You never know if your skills here will become a major part of the NASA Astronaut application process in the future.

Sadly, and since there are not going to be any NASA mission to the moon, we know that these skills would be useless. Unless that, by "NASA Lunar Electric Rover Simulator" they really mean "Soyuz Spacecraft Push Some Russian Buttons Simulator."

In any case, go to the App Store and enjoy the free game, because the real thing is not going to happen. [iTunes via Krapps]

I've knitted a few scarves in my lifetime, and have a cupboard full of cables, so I'm thinking of whipping up a few winter-warmers like Japanese fashion designer Kosuke Tsumura. Though it doesn't look nearly as soft as merino wool...

He used anything from iPods to LAN cables, power boards and fabrics to create sculptures for his 'MODE less CODE' exhibition at the Nanzuka gallery in Shirokane, Tokyo. But can he do the Kitchener Stitch? [Japan Trends via Katiesol]

Looking like an English hedgehog with over 60,000 7.5m-long transparent acrylic rods shooting out of the building, the United Kingdom Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo is costing the equivalent of $38.6m to construct. [MSN]

It failed to materialize on the 15th, but now PreCentral's claiming the 25th will see the webOS 1.4 update come good. This is a firmware update worth writing in your diary about, bringing video recording and Flash 10.1 compatibility.

It'll also make the Pre and Pixi slightly faster, and have a few other minor changes not worth explaining. Here's hoping you've got something interesting to film come Thursday, even if it's just of an iPhone user struggling with their meager non-flash 3.0-megapixel camera. [PreCentral]

There's a million and one Twitter apps available for the iPhone, but do any let you do a poo on tweets you dislike? Surprisingly, yes—and here I was thinking teenage roughnecks couldn't afford an iPhone contract.

Bird Turd turns Twitter into a game, with the official bio of the app explaining

"In Bird Turd, YOU are the bird. And when you see a tweet you don‘t like, YOU CAN POOP RIGHT ON IT."

Anything that lets me express some rage against the "SEO gurus" who follow me wins my vote, and 99 cents is a lot cheaper than a therapy session. Sold! [Bird Turd on the App Store via Mobile-Ent]

I'm sure someone at Apple has scars on their hands from the major wrist-slapping that's occurred over their video cock-up of the iPad running Flash—but how could they make the same mistake again?

When Apple announced the iPad, you may remember some of their promotional videos showed the tablet running Flash on the NY Times website. They quickly rectified the problem—which was never explained fully, so we still don't know if they were filming a prototype that did actually have Flash, or if they deliberately added it in to stir hype—but according to a Macrumors reader, the video showing Flash has returned. The original video caused the FTC to receive complaints about the false advertising, which isn't the first time they've been hit with that criticism.

Watching the video now, it's reverted back to the non-Flash enabled version, which just shows broken plug-in icons on the NY Times site. I wouldn't suggest reading anything into this video, but it's pretty surprising they could somehow accidentally switch the videos around again. What's going on, Apple? And how can I get my eight minutes back, spent re-watching that bloody promo video again? [Macrumors]

Google may be aware they should've spent longer testing Buzz, but according to their VP of product management, it doesn't pose a threat to Twitter and Facebook. Instead, "it's filling a niche, which is not currently met in the market."

Bradley Horowitz from Google told eWeek that in addition to not wanting to replace Twitter or Facebook, they're also pretty chuffed with how many people have been using Buzz since the launch in early February. Apparently "tens of millions" people made over 9 million posts and comments on Buzz, with 200 posts a minute being made on their phones.

How many of those are from Google employees trying to keep the momentum going, though? [eWeek via TechRadar]

Answering the age-old question of what to buy a Mac fanboy who has everything, eBay user heylookitskibbe has put a stolen, broken step from the 5th Avenue Apple store up for sale with a buy-it-now price of $2,500.

The eBay seller says:

"They replaced it with a new one after a customer dropped a snapple bottle on it and cracked it. I picked it up before it could be thrown out over a year ago, figuring it's a collectible.

When these are new, they cost 10K to buy from the German glass-makers. So, since it's cracked I figure it's worth at least $2500, considering the steps are all custom ordered.

You could use it as a coffee table on top of some cinder blocks, or just keep it for the sake of keeping it.

Unfortunately, I can't deliver it. You'll need to come pick it up in Brooklyn, NY, and I recommend you bring a car and a friend or two. It weighs about 250 lbs. It's about 10 layers of very thick glass.

If you're a collector of Apple memorabilia, you've got to have this. I know for a fact that only three of them exist outside of the retail stores' circulation, and this is one of them. So, needless to say, it's rare. I doubt it if you'll ever see something like this again."

Two thousand and five hundred dollars. Needless to say, the opening bid stands at $700 with no takers yet. Or, now you know it takes a fallen Snapple bottle to bring down the mighty stairs of Apple. [eBay via 9 to 5 Mac]

I've always thought that even robots secretly have active sex lives, but this shirt shows just how dirty those piles of metal and screws can be after the kiddies go to bed.

The shirt is appropriately named "While the Kids Are in Standby Mode" and you can have one for $18. Just don't expect to ever look at plugs and outlets the same way again. [Go Ape Shirts via Fashionably Geek via Technabob]

Your iPhone's specs explain that it should survive through temperatures from -20 to 45 C just fine. Good news? That appears to be true. Bad news? Cold temperatures may cause your iPhone's moisture indicator to imply liquid damage.

Polish website Moje Jabluszko decided to run a few tests on iPhones to see just how winter temperatures affected the devices. They were particularly interested in whether the moisture indicator—or liquid sensor—located in the headphone jack of an iPhone would turn red—indicating moisture—due to temperature changes.

While their testing may not be entirely without flaws and doesn't account for air humidity in the first place, it does suggest that the liquid sensors are a bit inaccurate and may change color at -11 C instead of the -20 C indicated by the device's specs. Of course, one must keep in mind that condensation may play a large role in all of this.

Entirely scientific testing or not, the point remains that the liquid sensor is intended to indicate spills or dives into water, not a simple winter outing. [Moje Jabluszko via Slashdot]

This is a lovely painting—except that it's a photo. Of a person. In front of a set. It's an amazing blend of photography, body paint, and modeling. And it makes me so thankful that Photoshop exists.

The picture was snapped by University of Hawaii art professor Peter Kun Frary, who noticed the display outside of a MAC cosmetics store. The amount of time and effort that went into this must have been staggering, and I'm duly impressed. But it's also a reminder that I can make equally amazing effects with a few key strokes and mouse clicks any time I want, thanks to a program that turns 20 today. Thanks, Photoshop. No mostly naked body-painted model in a shopping mall display could ever take your place. [Peter Kun Frary via Neatorama]

Just a friendly reminder not to hookah and drive this weekend. Not because you'll get in an accident. Because it looks suggestive. [Black and WTF]

Ever struggle to find a free outlet while waiting around at an airport? I bet it would be far easier to get a quick charge if everyone had to work to get some electricity like with these concept rocking chairs.

The Empower rocking chairs take advantage of kinetic energy to generate power and prolong your gadgets' lives, but you actually have to sit there and rock back-and-forth-and-back-and-forth-and-back-and-oh-my-God-just-let-me-be-lazy-and-charge-something! [Inhabitat]

It's the 20 year anniversary of Adobe Photoshop and we're feeling nostalgic about images that have made us laugh and cry. We're also curious about what your favorite (and work safe!) photoshopped images are.

I'll confess that some of my favorite images come from Fark.com and our Photoshop contests, but sometimes there are these random gems that keep you giggling or staring in awe. Let's see those and please keep things safe for work.

To add an image to a comment, all you have to do is hit the little photo button on the entry box:

From there you can select whether to upload an image or add it from a URL. I recommend just uploading images as it's a bit rude to hotlink someone's images and it doesn't really take you any longer to select an image file from your computer.

Image by Pierre Beteille

Well, if you're sent by Getty Images, the standard issue kit contains: two Nikon D3ses, 24-70mm lens, 400mm lens, 500/600mm lens, 1.4x teleconverter, batteries and memory cards. And you get to haul all that up a mountain!

Basically, all of this stuff, plus two of those giant cameras up there. But on top of all the layers of clothing you have to wear, and you have to stand in place for hours and hours. What a blast! [Pocket Lint]

Back at E3 last summer, Hideo Kojima announced Metal Gear Arcade, an arcade version of his tactical shooter. And now we're getting our first peek of its crazy head-tracking 3D glasses. This is gonna be some arcade game.

If you're unfamiliar with head tracking, you'll want to watch this video. Then get excited, because this is one of the first games to use the technology, and it should be amazing. And in 3D no less!

The game should hit Japanese arcades first, but god-willing it'll make its way to the States soon enough. [Konami via Joystiq]