ocean

Let's be clear: we don't know how to cook a Mammoth. But Natali would like to know, because apparently she eats her pets. That is not true at all. But what is true is Google turned the whole Internet into malware this weekend. And that we can tell you why. And will. So listen in.

Google flags whole Internet as malware http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/31/google-flags-whole-internet-as-malware/ http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2009/01/google-broke-the-internet-malware-detector-went-haywire.ars http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10153942-92.html

Gmail spam filters broken http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/this-mornings-spam-filter-issue.html… Read more

Remember that Helio Ocean 2 we mentioned last week? Well, we got our hands on it and reviewed it.

It has the same dual-slider form factor as the original and, of course, the same bulky shape, but it has a couple of improvements over the first Ocean. First, it now has a unique optical-sensor touch pad, which makes scrolling through menus and long Web pages a lot easier. Second, the keypad and keyboard buttons are improved: they're a lot more tactile and easier to press now.

But perhaps more interesting are its features: it has all of the EV-DO … Read more

It appears that the much-awaited sequel to the Helio Ocean has finally surfaced...or at least its photos have, anyway.

MobileCrunch posted some pics of the Ocean 2's unboxing, and Engadget Mobile mentioned that Virgin has released a press release stating that the Ocean 2 will be making an appearance in Britney's big comeback tour.

Looks like a sleek little device. We'll definitely have more information about the Ocean 2 for you soon.

Helio, the "virtual" wireless operator that was bought by Virgin Mobile USA last year, is about to launch the next rendition of its flagship smartphone called the Ocean 2, Silicon Alley Insider reported Friday.

The Web site cited a company representative who said that the new phone could go on sale as early as next month.

Several blogs mentioned the existence of the new phone back in May. At the time, Engadget reported the device

Hard to believe there are still enough novice computer users still out there that a company would develop a whole line of computers specifically geared to them. Hard for me to believe, I should say, because BenQ sees things differently.

At CES, BenQ unveiled its first ever PC, the nScreen. The nScreen is being tailored for novice computer users, specifically senior citizens and children. The company is offering three nScreen models in its first Blue Ocean series: 18.5-inch wide screen i91, 21.5-inch wide screen i221, and the 18.5-inch wide-format i92. All three will be in the sub-$… Read more

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--The fledgling ocean energy industry is awash in ideas for making electricity from moving water but it is still reaching for a toehold in the commercial world.

Greentech Media last week released a summary of an ocean energy report that forecasts great potential for wave and tidal energy.

Ocean power--a resource often located near large population centers--could ultimately generate 25 percent of today's total electricity usage, said report co-author Travis Bradford, president of the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development.

In the next six years, electricity production from the ocean could swell from just 10 megawatts now to … Read more

Correction: This story reported that Fossett would have been the first person to dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. In fact, a team of two men did the dive in 1960, aboard a bathyscaphe--a "deep boat"--called the Trieste. Had Fossett made the trip, he would have been the first to do it solo.

Steve Fossett was known for many things, but perhaps the millionaire entrepreneur was best known for the many world records he set in a variety of different adventure sports.

And were it not for what seems certain to be his untimely and … Read more

Roz Savage, the Brit who aims to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific, is back on land for the first time in nearly 100 days and is marking a milestone.

She arrived in Hawaii on Monday morning, completing the first of three legs of her journey across the Pacific Ocean. That's after setting off from San Francisco in her 24-foot rowboat known as the "Brocade" just before midnight on May 24. In all, she rowed about 2,600 miles.

Savage was met by family, friends, other well-wishers, and the media. After she landed … Read more

Ask Roz Savage what her favorite gadgets are aboard her rowboat and she's quick to answer.

"The ones that are still working."

The 40-year-old Brit has set out to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean, and she passed a milestone recently: She's now halfway to Hawaii. That's after setting off from San Francisco in her 24-foot rowboat just before midnight on May 24.

With under 1,000 miles left to go on the first leg of her voyage, she took time out late last week to talk via satellite phone. Her location? Somewhere in the Pacific. More precisely, around 140 degrees west.

So what's still working?

"The TomTom GPS is working. I consult that six times a day," said Savage, adding that she's been using it to update the ship's log. She got the TomTom GO 720 last year for her car. (Savage wrote in a photo caption on her blog: "The TomTom GPS from my car is rather confused to find itself in the middle of the Pacific.")

She also has a handful of iPods onboard, but she said she's only used one so far: the one that TWiT.tv's Leo Laporte loaded up with more than 300 audio books. (Laporte checks in with Savage a couple of times a week for the podcast series "Roz Rows the Pacific.") A few of the titles that have stood out so far include the fantasy novel A Game of Thrones and the nonfiction work A Crack in the Edge of the World, which covers the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

She has two laptops onboard, a MacBook and Panasonic Toughbook. Savage sends updates for her Web site via her satellite phone. (She also has a spare phone this time. When Savage rowed across the Atlantic Ocean in a race a few years ago, her satellite phone went dead about a month before she arrived at the finish.)

What's not working? Her energy-efficient Spectra desalinator that was capable of producing 25 liters of water an hour. "It's totally corroded." But she has reserve water supplies and a hand-pump water maker. Her onboard chart plotter also isn't working, so that's where the TomTom comes in. (In a blog posting Monday, Savage wrote: "The death toll on electronic components continues." Over the weekend it seems chargers for her satellite phone and iPod conked out. Luckily, she's got backups.)

Even so, as Savage has said, her boat is a little model of self-sufficiency. She has solar panels and a wind generator providing the power for her electronics. She is growing her own bean sprouts. So what could this mean for the world at large?

"Sustainability is rather limitless," said Savage. While she doesn't currently have a home, Savage knows what she would do if she did. "I would very much want to make it energy-efficient, self-sufficient." She said she finds value in being an example to people in different ways, and one aspect of that is embracing green energy. … Read more