Wired is reporting that Google has a launched a new music download service in China to better compete with the leading search company there, Baidu.com. Offering some 350,000 songs, a number set to rise to somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.1 million in the coming months, the library includes both Chinese and foreign artists signed by Sony Music, EMI, and Universal Music. Proponents of the new service are also hoping it will combat illegal music downloads simply by offering higher quality songs for download. There are no immediate plans to expand this service beyond China.

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Barence writes “Mozilla has revealed how it plans to integrate plain text commands directly into future versions of Firefox. Dubbed Taskfox, the move sees Mozilla’s Ubiquity project become part of the browser itself, allowing users to type commands directly into the address bar. You can, for example, type ‘map cleveland street london’ to bring up a Google Map of that location, or ‘amazon-search the great gatsby’ to find that book on Amazon, without visiting the website directly. ‘The basic idea behind Taskfox is simple: take the time-saving ideas behind Ubiquity, and put them into Firefox,’ the Taskfox wiki claims. ‘That means allowing users to quickly access information and perform tasks that would normally take several steps to complete.’”

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We’ve been working hard on the new dynamic Slashdot project (logged in users can enable this by enabling the beta index in their user preferences). I just wanted to quickly mention that there are keybindings on the index. The WASD and VI movement keys do stuff that we like, and the faq has the complete list. Also, if you are using Firefox or have Index2 beta enabled, you can click ‘More’ in the footer at the end of the page to load the next block of stories in-line without a page refresh. We’re experimenting now with page sizes to balance load times against the likelihood that you’ll click. More features will be coming soon, but the main thing on our agenda now is optimization. The beta index2 is sloooow and that’s gotta change. We’re aiming for 2 major optimizations this week (CSS Sprites, and removing an old YUI library) that I’m hoping will put the beta page render time into the “Sane” time frame (which, in case you are wondering, is several seconds faster than that “Insane” time frame we’re currently seeing).

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Frequent Slashdot contributor Bennett Haselton writes ” Amid the latest ’sexting’ controversy, here is a proposal for a scientifically objective method to determine whether a picture constitutes child pornography. This is a harder problem than it seems, but not for the reasons you’d think. And it raises questions about how the same scientific principles could be applied to other matters of law.” Hit the link below to read the sextiest story on Slashdot today.

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Keith found a New Scientist story about fractals and quantum theory. The article says “Take the mathematics of fractals into account, says Palmer, and the long-standing puzzles of quantum theory may be much easier to understand. They might even dissolve away.”

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The vast majority of full-power television stations that have not yet converted to all-digital broadcasting plan to keep their traditional analog signals on the air until June 12.

Of the 1,058 stations that now offer analog broadcasts, 927 say they will keep sending out analog signals until June 12, the final cutoff date recently set by Congress. (The Federal Communications Commission lists those remaining analog TV stations here: http://www.fcc.gov/DA-09-589A3.xls. Please note that you’ll need Microsoft Office or other Excel-compatible software to view the file.) That buys consumers who have not yet gotten DTV converter boxes or digital TVs time to get ready.

The other 131 stations will switch off analog broadcasts sooner, most on April 16, an interim deadline set by the FCC. Some two dozen PBS stations that would suffer financial hardship by waiting until then will be allowed to go all-digital between March 30 and April 16.

Earlybirds also include 33 major-network affiliates in smaller markets (seven ABC stations, seven CBS stations, 11 Fox stations, and eight NBC stations) along with ABC and CBS affiliates in Denver and a Fox affiliate in Philadelphia. (The FCC lists those TV stations turning off analog broadcasts here: http://www.fcc.gov/DA-09-589A2.xls. Please note that you’ll need Microsoft Office or other Excel-compatible software to view the file.)

Commercial stations that want to turn off their analog signals before June 12 must comply with stiff consumer education rules recently announced by the FCC.

Digital broadcasts are already available in virtually all areas, so we recommend that households switch to digital reception before the analog cutoff, allowing time to iron out any wrinkles in the new setup.

—Bob Williams

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Here are some of the consumer electronics and computer technology news headlines that caught our eyes this morning:

Reactions to iPhone 3.0
The new operating system for Apple’s iPhone, unveiled yesterday, is generating a lot of buzz online. Apple fans can find a comprehensive list of the upcoming features and fixes for the iPhone over at MacWorld. We focused on some of the more interesting iPhone 3.0 features—and what was still lacking from our Monday wishlist of iPhone fixes.
The take away: Like you, the average consumer, we’ll have to wait until Apple officially releases the new iPhone software (sometime this summer) before we can fully evaluate the new features and fixes. (The upgrade will be free for iPhone owners, but iPod Touch owners will have to pay $10.) But what do you think? Were there other features you wished Apple would have included in iPhone 3.0? Weigh in below.

Acer enters the smart phone market
Acer, a name (slightly) better known for computers, is getting into the smart phone arena says PC World. The official Acer press release (from February 2009) is light on the details, but PC World has some hands-on details of Acer’s F900 and M900.
The take away: Since there’s been no announcement on which wireless service provider will offer the Acer phones, we’ll keep an eye out for the Acer phones. In the meantime, don’t be surprised if more computer brands jump in to the cell phone business, according to the New York Times. What do you think? Will Acer or anybody else be able to build a smart phone that will knock the iPhone down?

A colorful competitor to the Kindle?
Both Engadget and Gizmodo bring news of an electronic book called FLEPia. Developed by Fujitsu, it’s similar in many respects to the Amazon Kindle we reviewed earlier. The biggest difference: The FLEPia’s display can reproduce over 260,000 colors to Kindle’s 16 shades of gray. Oh, and let’s not forget the price tag: 99,750 Yen—or just over $1,000 (U.S.)
The take away: The FLEPia is available only in Japan at the moment and its unlikely it’ll make its way to U.S. shores. (And at for its four-figure price tag, gadget hounds would probably be better off buying two netbooks anyway.) Still, we can’t help but wonder: Would a color-capable e-book device be just the ticket to spark the paper-less book revolution? (On a related note, Discovery Communications—the parent company of cable TV’s Discovery Channel—has filed a complaint against Amazon, stating the Kindle violates its patents on security and copy-protection for e-books.)

Panasonic’s plans for LCD TVs
And finally, in case you missed it, Jim Willcox posted an entry earlier today that highlights what the TV-maker has in store for those still shopping for an LCD HDTV this year. Check out his post, Panasonic’s 2009 LCD HDTVs add 120Hz technology, iPod docks.

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Although Panasonic may be better known for its highly rated plasma TVs, its LCD models also earn high marks in our Ratings of LCD TVs (available to subscribers), especially for offering the widest viewing angles we've ever seen from an LCD TV. Last week, Panasonic showed its 2009 lineup, which includes three new LCD series as well as a new plasma line. (See our previous post, Panasonic's plasma TV plans for 2009, for more details.)

Among the highlights: one line that includes iPod docking stations, and others that use 120Hz technology and/or flashing backlights to help reduce motion blur. While all include an SD card reader for viewing photos and stand-by power-save and auto power stand-by "eco" modes, other features, such as Panasonic's Viera Cast IPTV service, remain exclusive to step-up plasma models. As with its current line, the new models come in 26- to 37-inch screen sizes, a niche where plasma doesn't compete. Here's the breakdown of the newest models.

X1 series
The X1 models, offered in 26-, 32- and 37-inch models, replace LX85-series sets. Prices for these 720p sets range from $600 to $800. There will also be a 19-inch model later in the summer. The most notable feature is the included universal iPod dock, which lets you view iPod audio and video content on the TV, operated via the TV's remote. (Click on the image above for a closer look.)

S1 series
Offered in 32- ($850) and 37-inch ($900) versions, this step-up 1080p series, which replaced last year's LZ85/LZ800 models, gets you Panasonic's better "Alpha IPS" panel, which we've found offers some of the best off-angle viewing of any LCDs available, with little or no loss of colors or contrast as move off-axis. You also get Panasonic's Motion Focus technology, which uses a blinking backlight to reduce blurring during fast-moving scenes.

G1 series
Also available in 32- and 37-inch screen sizes, this is Panasonic's new flagship LCD series. These sets have all the S1 features, plus they add 120Hz Motion Picture Pro 3 anti-blurring technology, which combines a 120Hz refresh rate with a blinking backlight. Some competitors, such as Toshiba, are calling this "240Hz-like" performance, while others, including Sony and Samsung, actually quadruple the TV's frame rate to achieve a 240Hz refresh rate. The 37-inch set is priced at $1,100, and a 32-inch model is slated for late spring at $800. Both come with swivel stands.

A lower-cost 720p LX14 series, in 26- and 32-inch screen sizes, will be available later in the year.

—James K. Willcox

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The Texas Board of Education — as discussed here last week — has voted on the guidelines for textbooks in that state, which represents a large enough market to have influence nationwide. The good news is that the board dropped a 20-year-old requirement that both “strengths and weaknesses” of all scientific theories be taught; score one for the teaching of evolution. The not-so-good news is that in a “compromise,” the board also voted to require that students “in all fields of science, analyze, evaluate and critique scientific explanations… including examining all sides of scientific evidence of those scientific explanations, so as to encourage critical thinking by the student.” Score one for the Discovery Institute. A Republican board member explained that the words “strengths and weaknesses” have become “code for creationism and [the similar theory of] intelligent design. So by being more clear in the language and using words that aren’t seen as code words, we were able to get all of the 15 board members to agree that this is how we’ll teach all sides of scientific explanation, using scientific evidence.” Reporting on the Texas vote is all over the map, as a US Today blog summarizes. Some reports claim that an amendment was passed that preserves a requirement that students study the “sufficiency or insufficiency” of common ancestry and natural selection. Other reports claim that the board also adopted language that would have students study the “different views on the existence of global warming.”

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Ponca City, We love you writes “According to a new study, people who played fighting games on their PCs became up to a 58 percent better at perceiving fine contrast differences, an important aspect of eyesight. The breakthrough is significant because it was previously thought that the ability to notice even very small changes in shades of grey against a uniform background could not be improved. Contrast sensitivity is the primary limiting factor in how well one sees. Volunteers in the study played intensively for 50 hours over nine weeks with either Unreal Tournament 2004 and Call of Duty 2, and the results were compared with another group who played The Sims 2, which is richly visual but does not require as much hand-eye coordination. The improvements lasted for months after game play stopped. The new finding suggests action video games could be used as training devices as a useful complement to eye-correction techniques, since gaming may teach the brain’s visual cortex to make better use of the information it receives.”

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