Man gets 5,000 calls for YouTube posting

SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. -- Ryan Fitzgerald is unemployed, lives with his father and has a little bit of time on his hands.

So, he decided to offer his ear, to anyone who wants to call. After posting a video with his cell phone number on YouTube on Friday, the 20-year-old told The Boston Globe he has received more than 5,000 calls and text messages.

Fitzgerald said he wanted to "be there," for anyone who needed to talk. "I never met you, but I do care," a spiky-haired Fitzgerald said into the camera on his YouTube posting.

He planned to take and return as many calls he could, but on Monday at 5 a.m., his T-Mobile cell phone payment will begin charging him for his generosity when he is no longer eligible for free weekend minutes.

"I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do about it," he said. "Come Monday, no way I'm going to just hang up on people and say, 'I don't have the minutes.'"

Fitzgerald, who said people consider him "easy to talk to," was inspired by Juan Mann. YouTube video clips of Mann offering "Free Hugs" to strangers became wildly popular on the user-controlled Internet site.

"Some people's own mothers won't take the time to sit down and talk with them and have a conversation," Fitzgerald said. "But some stranger on YouTube will. After six seconds, you're not a stranger anymore, you're a new kid I just met."

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Google to Lose the First Place Soon

Google, the leader of the online search engines, is more and more challenged by other Internet companies that are aiming to build similar solutions with the ones developed by the search giant.
In the recent period, the most threatened product is surely YouTube, the online video sharing service, acquired in October 2006 for $1.6 billion. Microsoft and News Corporation announced their plans to build a solution similar with the one powered by Google, aiming to lure the same segment of users. GodTube is also a YouTube competitor that was created to attract Christians and offer them church-related content. As a reply, Google created a special YouTube channel for bishops that will offer the same type of clips.

The most powerful news service on the Internet, Google News, is now challenged by MySpace News a similar solution that receives news from numerous sources. Just like the Google product, MySpace received headlines from several publications and organizes them on categories, offering a Digg-like functionality that enables users to vote the news. Although the solution was launched yesterday, it's obvious the company will have a new rival for the news service.

Some days ago, the Checkout solution offered by Google received a new rival after Yahoo announced a deal with PayPal to allow users to buy products straight from the SERP. Using the new deal, the giant portal will include a product link on the search engine result page, offering a small checkout sign, enabling the visitors to buy stuff. As a reply, Google renamed it Froogle, the old shopping service to Product Search.

Only one thing is sure: Google has numerous competitors in multiple domains but, this is surely a good thing especially for us, the users. The competition promotes better solution and better performance, creating new solutions.

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intel shows off metro notebook concept

It looks like Intel has more than just wearable computers and newfangled UMPCs in mind for our future, with the company also recently showing off this slightly less far fetched "metro notebook," apparently aimed primarily at women. One of the most most conceptey elements here is the SideShow-esque e-ink display embedded in the laptop's lid, which promises to let you view your email, calendar, and other information even when the laptop's powered down. What's more, Intel also sees the entire laptop acting as a charging pad for your other gadgets, though it seems you'll still have to charge the laptop itself the old fashioned way. Even without those less-than-imminent additions, however, the laptop appears to be a pretty decent unit, measuing just 0.7 inches thick and packing a Core 2 Duo processor, along with Bluetooth, WiFi, and WiMAX connectivity.

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the running robot

Humanoids Are Faster and More Agile than Ever


Japanese firms continue to set the pace in the development of multifunctional, interactive robots. The work to improve ASIMO, the world's most advanced autonomous bipedal humanoid robot, continues at Honda Motor Co. The newest model, released in December 2005, boasts a high level of communication skills and suggests that it may not be long before there are real robots similar to fictional robot heroes like Astro Boy and C-3PO of the Star Wars films.

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Cell Phone Bracelet

Never miss another phone call because you couldn't hear your phone!!!! Cell Phone Bracelet are equipped with two flashing LED lights that flash whenever your phone receives/sends a signal (must be within 0-3 feet of your phone).


Cell Phone Bracelet are designed to operate on GSM, TDMA or IDEN networks. Phone carriers in the USA include: AT&T Wireless, Boost Mobile, Cellular One, Cingular, Nextel, T-Mobile and Triton PCS.

May Not work properly with phones on a CDMA network.

Cell Phone Bracelet Requires 1 3 volt Lithium Battery (included)

Cylo 3Style 3D Mouse Prototype

It’s time to say goodbye to your familiar mouse because you have a 3D mouse now. Cylotech has dropped a new demo video of its forthcoming 3Style 3D mouse that has been designed to let you work in 3D environments. Like a rotary phone, you can twist left or right with its jog dial. It’s good that they are conducting some more tests with the new device before they actually get it into the production. Video after the jump.

Seagate , Worlds fastest hardrive

Seagate's new Savvio 15K boasts a 2.9-millisecond seek time and a spindle speed of 15,000 RPM, but perhaps the coolest feature of the new drive is what it doesn't do -- suck up a lot of energy. According to Seagate, the Savvio 15K uses 30 percent less power than any other 15K drive.



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