The folks over at Google have released a new version of Google Talk designed specifically for the iPhone and iPod Touch browsers in the US. No need to text message here because you can now chat on the go. No install or download required either, just go to google.com/talk, sign in and you’ll be on your way chatting it up with all your frienemies.

Now that the iPhone is becoming more and more like a computer everyday, who says you have to miss out on all the internet goodness when you’re away from your PC?

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Looks like the town of Raleigh, NC has a stick up its ass. After city officials, who have apparently been living in the past, discovered that the acronym “WTF” stands for “What The Fuck?” Yeah, old people strike again.

DMV officials got word of the plates last July when a 60-year-old technology teacher from Fayetteville complained about the plate after her teenage grandchildren clued her in.

I’m pretty sure you’re rolling your eyes at this point too. If you find yourself with one of the offending plates, you can visit your local DMV to exchange your license plate for a new one. Felons, take note!

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I’ve posted about the city-wide WiFi project in Philadelphia before but usually with bad news. This time around, I’m happy to report the project has been revived by a private group of investors. Boathouse Communications Partners LLC has big names from the area, including former mayoral candidate Tom Knox and a former Verizon executive.

Instead of using shitty bridges as I suggested, the plan is to revive the $17 million infrastructure that Earthlink built before pulling out of the Wireless Philadelphia project. No word has come out yet as to how the restructuring will work, but anything that helps the city out is good in my book. I’m sure fine folks over at City Hall would agree.

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You may recall from our Father’s Day guide that I recommended Firefox 3 for a download. After all, it’s free, safe and full of computational power. Now that it’s June 17th, it’s time to help set a Guinness World Record for most software downloads in a 24-hour period.

Head on over to SpreadFirefox.com and pledge to to download FF3 when it’s released. Speaking of which, it’s June 17th and I have yet to see the official release of Firefox 3 become available. What gives, Mozilla? Delaying the inevitable?

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Update: Stix points out that FF3 will be released at 10AM PST. Thanks!

Update #2: Hack a Day tells the world how you can get FF3 early!

Could Sony have gotten anymore simplistic than naming their new mouse with an integrated Internet phone Mouse Talk.  It has single-handedly inspired me to invent a toilet with an embedded radio I’m calling “Shit Listen.” If you’re gay for VoIP and you have no need for a comfortable mouse then Mouse Talk is for you.

It lets you make and receive high quality calls while you click away at minesweeper on your 800 DPI optical mouse. A conveniently placed button on the side of the mouse opens the phone to enable speakerphone functionality. As you probably guessed, it’s got a hefty price tag being that it comes from Sony. Ecost.com is letting it go for $84.99 making it one of the more pricey mice on the market.
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As part of the Scandinavian Furniture Fair, Kenneth Lylover entered his Surf Chair into the Internet Collection competition. It won “Best Product” and it’s easy to see why. This semi-circle-shaped chair comes with a built-in LCD on the front and a padded frame to allow for the most comfortable Internet browsing experience possible.

With a mouse and keyboard included, the only reason you’ll ever need to leave your inner circle is for chips and Mountain Dew. Using the bathroom? Ha! That’s for wimps. I shit my pants at least four times during a round of Snood.

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Like many of you, I fall victim to my Grandmother’s constant request for tech support for her 10-year-old computer. There are times where I cry, pull my hair out and I curse the person who told her to buy a computer. But, I digress, there is hope and it comes in the form of Jive.

Jive is a computer/social-networking concept for the elderly/retarded/disabled. When sold to the consumer, ISP information is automatically added at the store so that a true plug-and-play experience is created. Interaction occurs via a “Friend Pass” that resembles a picture key chain. Each Friend Pass is placed in a reader and the preloaded information is brought up. This eliminates the need for a mouse, helping maintain simplicity all around.

What do you think? Would you get one to get your grandparents off your back?

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Did I say pennies? What I meant was twenties. Yeah. Sorry about that.

But all humor aside, I am a bit ticked off about something here. I hail originally from Philadelphia and it will always be my home to an extent. About 3 years ago, I had a photo taken of me by an AP reporter. He explained that it was for a story he was doing on a new wireless Internet initiative going on in Philadelphia. I would later find out it was part of the now-defunct Wireless Philadelphia project.

It turns out that part of the reasoning behind the project’’s failure was concerns about cost and being able to broadcast an 802.11b/g signal across the entire city. Understandable, right? Seems like a genuine concern. (more…)

Nothing beats seeing the New York Giants take a huge shit on every team in the NFL and then watching Dan Marino freak out on ESPN. It’s just a wonderful thing. ESPN keeps a lot of us glued to the TV and now we have yet another reason not to buy our wives anniversary gifts: The Wi-Fi-enabled ESPN Ultimate Remote.

It has a screen with an Apple-esque menu system, built-in Wi-Fi, home theater management, control of IP-based equipment and one-touch access to Internet content. Oh, did I mention you can send text messages with this thing? Yeah, and you can browse the Internet and check your e-mail with it. Christ.

Now that every guy on the planet has a boner the size of Texas, you can rest soundly knowing that the Ultimate Remote will be available in time for Father’s Day. The only problem with this amazing device? The price: $300.

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Sprint and Samsung today announced that its joint-venture wireless infrastructure, better known as WiMAX, is ready for service. This comes after years of scrutiny against Sprint for basically fucking everything up along the way. Still, mistakes aside, WiMAX looks to bring a new generation of high-bandwidth web surfing to our laptops.

Have you missed out on WiMAX news in the past? Not sure what it is? This little bit from Wikipedia explains it wisely:

WiMAX, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances in a variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular type access. It is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, which is also called WirelessMAN. The name “WiMAX” was created by the WiMAX Forum, which was formed in June 2001 to promote conformance and interoperability of the standard. The forum describes WiMAX as “a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL” (and also to HSPA).

With speeds up to 70 Mbps and Siemens announcing the SE680 WiMAX Modem, 2008 and 2009 are gearing up to be the year for broadband access across multiple devices. It’s only a matter of time before someone starts sniffing out WiMAX networks and breaking their encryption.

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