Why iPhone and Kindle Will Continue to Rule

The Apple iPhone rules the smart phone landscape, and the Amazon Kindle dominates eBooks. But the future of their leadership was called into question this week. Today's leaders will become tomorrow's losers, according to forecasters. Here's why they're wrong.

NOTE: Thank you for the avalanche of positive e-mail about the resurrection of Mike's List! This is the list's 100th issue! Thanks for hanging in there, and please send me your links, suggestions and ideas!


 

Do You Have 'Offline Stress Disorder'?

You hear a lot about Internet addiction, or Internet Addiction Disorder. I've noticed a related malady -- it has no established name; let's call it Offline Stress Disorder -- which is a mental or emotional state of anxiety caused by not using the Internet, or the knowledge that an Internet connection is not available. Do you have Offline Stress Disorder?

How to Fly Anywhere Cheap

To the casual observer, airline pricing is insane. On any given flight, each passenger has paid a different price than the others. If movie tickets were sold like airplane tickets, it might cost you $2 to see Paranormal Activity and sit next to a person who paid $25 per ticket. Here's how to get the cheapest seats always.  

In Search of the Ultimate Temporary Office

I'm looking for the ultimate getaway office -- the one place in the world that's better than all others for getting your work done. What makes for a great temporary office?

Smile when you talk to research legend Gordon Bell. You're on candid camera. Bell wears two cameras around his neck all his waking hours. One of them he calls a SenseCam. It takes a digital photograph every 20 seconds or so -- all day, every day, year after year. Soon you'll be able to buy a SenseCam of your own. (I'll tell you where - follow the link.)

Found Video: Dungeons & Dragons for Microsoft Surface

This is just a proof-of-concept built by Carnegie-Mellon University, but you can see how cool video games will be on multi-touch PCs of the future.

Best Halloween costume yet: It's Balloon Boy!

A company that sells RC airplanes and other fun things that fly has seized the moment, and decided to sell the ultimate Balloon Boy costume. Basically, it's a helium balloon on a string, plus a cardboard box that says "As Seen On CNN" for $20. Brilliant. They'll sell out for sure, so order now...

'Condom'-covered fingers showing up in Google scans

Fingers covered with tiny condoms called "finger gloves" are showing up in a few Google Books book scans. Some of the people who operating the scanning equipment wear them to prevent smudging while handling books, and in rare cases those workers don't get their hands out of the scanner before the scan is taken.

News You Can Lose

Volunteers wanted for simulated 520-day trip to Mars. 

Japanese man mis-diagnosed, gets artificial rectum installed unnecessarily.

Judge punished for Facebook (and for other reasons). Updated status -- even posted pix of courtroom -- from bench. 

Twitter and Facebook are the new post-coital cigarette: 36% of people under 35 often use Facebook or Twitter after sex.

Worst mug-shot T-shirts ever. 

Yahoo brings in lap dancers for software engineering event.

Scientists implant false memories into flies. 

Bad Robots

The Pentagon has unveiled a new robot that's most a blob of goo. Called the "chemical robot," or ChemBot, it moves by changing its shape, by inflating and deflating different areas. Researchers say the research could lead to robots that can seep through cracks, and help rescue people trapped in collapsed buildings.

Don't Try This At Home

When gamer geeks are in love: This guy hacked his Super Mario Bros game to add a marriage proposal to it. Incredibly, she said yes.

Crazy Car

Bullet-proof Russian super SUV has seats covered in whale, uh, parts. 

Cell Phone Follies

Saudi woman seeks divorce after discovering her husband nicknamed her "Guantanamo" on his cell phone. 

Found Photo

"Is your name 'Dave'"? 

Gotta-Get-It Gadgets

Scuba and snorkeling mask that records high-def video now available. 

Mystery Pic o' the Week

What is it? Post your guess in the comments section of this Posterous page. If you're first with the right answer, you'll earn the dubious honor of getting your name in the next issue of Mike's List!


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STEAL THIS NEWSLETTER!: You have permission to post, e-mail, copy, print or reproduce this newsletter as many times as you like, but please do not modify it. Mike's List is written and published from deep inside the black heart of Silicon Valley by Mike Elgan. The Mike's List newsletter is totally independent, and does not accept advertising, sponsorships or depraved junkets to sunny resorts. Mike writes and speaks about technology culture, smart phones, smart people, random gadgets, bad ideas, weird computers, painful implants, malicious robots and the Internet.