Podcasts are the thing. So why not take an FM radio station and just make it pure Podcasts, that way you don’t need to pay the DJ? I’ll tell you why, cause it wasn’t your idea, it’s already in the making. KYOU Radio is going to launch in San Francisco and will be completely supported by Podcasts.

DJ’s could be out of a job. Then again, somebody has to sit around at the station to make sure it all runs smoothly. I for one applaud the idea, technology makes for an exciting time in music.

When I was 19 years old and in college, I procrastinated by watching TV, talking to dorm mates, playing sports, or just plain old napping. Our buddy Ben Horowitz is nothing like me. He breaks from research papers by creating a website. iProcrastinate is the name of his domain, and he’s assisted thousands of other college students in their quest to put off homework. MTV has taken note of the site and goes into depth about the features and functions of iProcrastinate. Ben had a different view of the phrase “procrastination is like masturbation, it feels good when you do it but in the end you’re just screwing yourself.”

Some games never do go out of style. Then again, after a quick revival, they get boring real fast. Atari, the first home video game maker is re-releasing a classic. Forty classics really. The refurbished game console will come with 40 of your favorite early 80’s crappy video games. It’s only $30 and in many ways its worth the nostalgia.

Personally, I want a new original Nintendo. You can still find people with them, but most are very moody, like cranky old retired men. The old blowing in the game cartridge trick doesn’t work like it used to. Please Nintendo, take a lesson from Atari and make some new classic units.

I am willing to wager that I was one of the first 1000 TiVo owners. I had an original Philips 14 hour unit when they first hit the shelves (although it was back in 1999 or 2000 when I was pretty much buying everything online using a bajillion free coupons the etailers were throwing around, courtesy of brilliant venture capitalists. But I digress), and I am definitely one of the ‘converted’. TiVo has changed my life.

Not necessarily for the better, mind you. I used to watch TV quite infrequently, I followed NO shows religiously, and didn’t really mind re-watching Days of Thunder on TNT every other weekend (it IS a new classic, after all). Fast forward to today (do-doo, do-doo, do-DOO!) and I have a couple of dozen Season Passes, and commercials cause me physical pain. I cannot (I will not!) watch TV without the ability to time-shift.

Now I want more. I want the handy little peanut-shaped TiVo remote to have some control over life events. I’d like a 30 minute buffer. Now of course the ideal would have me able to make changes once I’ve rewound, but I’m not greedy. With the buffer, I could plan to do a few things time-shifted. For example, I could skip through bus rides. Or waiting in line at the doctor’s office. Now I run the risk I might miss something interesting (for example: Apparently here in San Francisco, when a bus is driving through Chinatown, instead of the standard $1.25 fare, a can of pineapple juice works in lieu of payment. I would never have guessed such a thing, but it’s true!), but I’ll take my chances.
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Airbus, maker of regular airplanes, has just made it possible for potential purchasers of planes to supersize their order. That’s right, they’ve created the world’s largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380.

The A380, to summarize here, flew around for awhile and then landed in Toulouse, France. I found the entire procedure technologically impressive- they got 308 tons of plane off the ground, and back on the ground again. I’m sure it took a lot of work.

What concerned me about the article I read on the topic however, was the headline “‘Superjumbo’ A380 lands safely”. I’m of course, pleased the plane landed safely, BUT WHY ON GOD’S GREEN EARTH WAS THIS THE SPECIAL PART OF THE FLIGHT? It’s supposed to land safely! What’s next, “‘Oversized’ car with four wheels drives around in a circle without event”?!

I’m sorry, but if they want a pat on the back for landing a plane, which in general, is supposed to have the available feature of safe landing, then I want an article written about how fabulous it is that when I woke up this morning, I continued breathing as I had throughout the night. The plane lands safely really got me thinking though– do they make some planes that don’t land? Is this plane a marvel because Airbus made the biggest plane, or because long ago … perhaps when they designed the Airbus A330 prototype… engineers from the company decided they could save time and money by delaying the addition of the ‘plane is able to land’ feature to a later model?

Some cool features Airbus apparently isn’t going to delay much longer include passenger planes with cocktail bars, double beds and massage parlors. Ok I’m disappointed. Who makes a luxury plane with double beds?! Ca-learly that should be kingsize beds! It’s a superjumbo jet for chrissake. I want to speak to their designer immediately!

Crazier potential features include jacuzzis and mini-casinos. Because there’s nothing more entertaining than being next to a passenger who’s airsick AND having to share a jacuzzi with him at the same time. Except maybe being next to an airsick passenger in a mini-casino at a poker table…. “Um, I… bloorch!” … “The puking guy is bluffing, there’s NO WAY his hand could be that bad. I’m seeing his bet and raising…”

The most hilarious part of the article I read however, was the closing line, where the fuel efficiency of the superjumbo means, ha ha, that the tickets could be cheaper. Yes they COULD BE, except they went and added casinos and beds and other likely Austin Powers-esque features such as shag carpeting and whirling colored lights, which they’ll then have to charge us more for of course.

Want to complain/other? Email thetechdiva@gmail.com.

That saying “the best thing since sliced bread” is out the door. I have personally given it the boot because something that much better has come along and now deserves the spot. Free WiFi. Don’t be taken by surprise when you hear something along the lines of “Wow Michael, this new gadget is the best thing since free WiFi!”

Many places offer WiFi access, but it’s hardly free. Café’s in San Francisco primarily use the ZRNet internet access for a fee of $14.95/month. As Unjustjust noted, broadband is becoming a need more than a luxury. Think about how things were when running water was first implemented, I wonder if it was also $14.95/month. Running water must have been the best thing before sliced bread.

Where would we be without Post-its? I know it isn’t exactly high-tech, but I bet within 10 feet of most PC’s there lies a post-it. And it’s important to remember that sometimes it’s the additions to our technical lifestyle that makes it seem so natural. So, here at LiveDigitally, on your 25th birthday, we salute you Post-it. Thanks for always sticking around when we need you the most.

Verizon Wireless is launching broadband over the air. Anywhere you are you will be able to get DSL like speeds. This service was avaliable with a defunk company called Ricohet, but has resurfaced a few years later with better technology in place.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobileoptions/broadband/index.jsp

You’ll need the data-only Verizon Wireless PC 5220 card*
installed in your laptop
$79.99 monthly access gets you unlimited Verizon Wireless NationalAccess and BroadbandAccess service**

Speeds of 400-700 kbps, capable of reaching speeds up to 2 Mbps

In coverage areas, you can get up to 400-700k throughput, outside the service areas you can expect ISDN like speeds.

With the avaliablity of cafe internet connections like starbuck’s T mobile domination, airport hot spots, malls, stadiums, etc, this service might be a hard sell because of the high monthly service rates…

When I get sick, my roommate tells me to eat raw garlic. She must be a witchdoctor of sorts, cause it works, except that I smell like garlic all night.

But apparently smells can say a lot about your health. At a university in Scotland scientists are building an artificial nose that can diagnose you by smelling your breathe.

The “Spectral Nose” would use advanced chemistry to detect different odors, and then a computer screen would give the patient an all-clear or indicate which disease they could have.

Apparently our breathe says more than just how kissable we are. Scientists in the U.S. have been working on this same project too.

Where else can one go to purchase a soccer ball, hammer, socks, pet fish, the newest Lego set, and get their eyes examined for a new prescription? Wal-Mart –they have everything.

Wal-Mart has a new system in place for music lovers on the net. It’s Wal-Mart’s version of the iTunes music store. I gave it a whirl and started adding songs to my personal compilation when I came across a Tim McGraw title marked ‘Wal-Mart Exclusive’. I wonder if he recorded it inside an actual Wal-Mart?

The selection is 500,000 songs strong. Out of pocket you pay 4.62 for a CD shipped to your house with three songs on it, $0.88 additional will turn your three song CD into a Four (limit 20 songs: $19.58). Wal-Mart does have everything.

I didn’t believe this when I read it on FutureFeeder, but after tracing it back to the Molecular Media Project and other related sites I have to take it as truth.

Apparently they are using nanotechnology to alter CD’s ever so slightly, changing the sound and giving it more, lets call it richness. Your first thought is: I can grow mold on my CD and do the same thing, right.

Well yes, you can grow mold on your CD (I suggest spilling milk on them), but that would ruin the CD’s. What the Molecular Media Project is doing alters the CD’s at such a small scale the music itself stays in tack, with only slight changes that alter the sound in such a way that you might think you are on drugs. Check out a whole list of MP3’s or images that have been modified at the micro level with fungus spores and other nonmaterial to give them that extra hint of flavor.