Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

hu

Craigslist sting: How a photographer got his stolen camera back

Boy meets camera. Boy loses camera. Boy launches undercover sting to recover camera. Photographer Jeff Hu became the star of his own version of the classic cop show "The Streets of San Francisco" when he took on the task of recovering his stolen Canon Rebel T2i camera.

Hu details his adventure in an article for PetaPixel that should act as a training manual for anyone who ever finds a stolen item on Craigslist.

The story begins innocently enough with a party that got a little out of hand. A group of close friends soon expanded to include some strangers. The next morning, the party-goers were gone, and so was Hu's dSLR.… Read more

Lark's silent alarm wakes you, not your bunkmate

Alarm clocks are so primitive. At the appointed time, your device shrieks to life, rudely startling you awake--along with whoever is next to you.

Entrepreneur Julia Hu wants to bring modern sleep science into your bedroom with Lark, a vibrating, silent alarm buzzer you wear on your wrist. The device doesn't just buzz at the appropriate hour, though. It also beams data over Bluetooth to an iPhone app about how well you're sleeping, based on how much your arm moves. An Android version is coming soon.

The device will be sold in Apple stores starting June 14, and its available now on Lark's Web site for $129, plus an additional $60 to get the feature that shows you a seven-day personal sleep assessment based on the data the wristband collects. The sleep analysis is based on algorithms developed with the help of Harvard University sleep expert Dr. Jo Solet and professional sleep coach Cheri Mah.

"Sleep is the under-appreciated third pillar of health next to a healthy diet and regular exercise," Hu said.

In my own trial of the "Silent Un-alarm Clock" a few nights ago, Lark told me I got 6 hours and 28 minutes of sleep. It also said that it took me 32 minutes to go to sleep and that I woke up 5 times--none of which I remember. Yet apparently this level of nighttime activity is pretty good. It was worth an 8.9 out of 10 on the Lark scale of sleep efficiency. … Read more

Huawei rebuts 'misperceptions' of U.S. authorities

Huawei has hit back at various allegations against the company, including those over supposed links with the Chinese military, financial support from the Chinese government, and threats to U.S. national security.

In a lengthy open letter released yesterday, Huawei USA chairman Ken Hu said these "falsehoods have had a significant and negative impact on our business activity and, as such, they must be addressed as part of our effort to correct the record." He invited U.S. authorities to investigate Huawei and its security.

Hu's letter was prompted by the U.S. administration's opposition to … Read more

Rock Band is breaking up

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook plans an announcement for Monday in which it may announce a "Gmail killer"

Viacom is selling off Harmonix, maker of Rock Band

Apple teams up with Twitter to promote its music social network, Ping

YouTube claims to have 35 hours of video uploaded to the site every minute

Walmart.com will ship for free this holiday season with no minimum purchase

Microsoft receives a patent for foot computing

Hustler releases an app for Android

Chinese military site to show off 'good image'

"We feel your pain" is one of the first messages on the newly inaugurated Chinese Defense Ministry's Web site aimed at assuaging international concern over a spurt in that country's military buildup.

"The aim of the Defense Ministry's Web site is to let the outside world know about China's defense policies...and show off the good image of the military's powerful, cultured and peaceful forces," explains an introductory message.

China's military, the world's largest, has recently increased its spending by almost 18 percent, far outpacing that of its neighbors, … Read more

The buzz on Acer's business monitors

The 16:9 monitor revolution (or is that resolution? ha ha...ahem!) has begun. I reported last week that most monitor vendors were moving their lines from a 16:10 aspect ratio to 16:9, since 16:9 is what HDTVs use and monitor vendors would like HD content to fit more nicely on their monitors. Now the first related post-CES news is that Acer is joining the fray.

Last week, Acer announced its Business (B) Series of monitors, the 23-inch B233HU bmidhz and 27-inch B273HU bmidhz. According to Acer, each monitor features a dark gray bezel and a black … Read more

China chip an Intel rival?

China's Godson-3 chip is ambitious if anything. It proposes to be everything a world-class processor should be--and then some.

Developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it also has a larger goal: microprocessor independence for China. "Their motivation is pretty clear. They don't want to be totally dependent on the outside world for something as important as microprocessors," said Tom Halfhill, an analyst at In-Stat.

But its singular head-turning feature is the proposed Intel "x86" compatibility mode.

"The most interesting part of the chip is that they're adding about 200 new instructions … Read more

A new definition for color TVs

For some reason, the only TV cabinets that aren't black or silver are often limited editions that come at a premium price even when they're just white. And more often than not, they come only in pink.

That makes no sense when there are outfits that will do custom paint jobs on just about anything for a fraction of the cost. A service called "Hu" from the Home Technology Store is trying to fill that need not just for custom-color TV sets but all their home theater accessories, including speakers, amps, and even brackets, according to … Read more