Talk about some serious work, and forget shooting video and photos from your phone. This Italian guy wrote a 384-page science fiction novel on his mobile phone while commuting back and forth to work over 17 weeks. Robert Bernocco wrote it in short paragraphs on his Nokia 6630, using T9 of course, and saved them on the phone. Then he downloaded the text to his computer to proofread and edit. It’s just proof of what you can do when you use your time wisely. His book is called Compagni di Viaggo (or Fellow Travelers *how appropriate* in English), and is now self-published on Lulu.com.

According to a study by Sega and iShare, over 40% of Japanese women in their 20s or 30s have regular conversation with their computers. “I chat incessantly to my computer when I’m working,” said one woman.

Some of these girls even give names to their personal computers. Ok, wait a second. My girlfriend did this, her MacBook is named ‘Pearl’ apparently. So is my girlfriend secretly Japanese, OR do young American women do the same? Someone should do a study here.

More [MSN-Mainichi Daily News] via TokyoMango

The recent “Digg Spam Sucks” post on Gizmodo (much props) really got me to thinkin’ - what should everyone think about before submitting a solid Digg? Note: Some of these may be obvious to you, but they’re obviously not obvious to some people…

1. Pinpoint Originating Site
   This seems straightforward, but it’s not. A site linking to the originating site might have added some extra value to the topic like more pics, video, info, etc., so you’ll have to use your better judgement. But try your best to get as close as you can to the source site.
2. Quality Content
   Make sure what you are about to submit is sweet, unique, and up to beat - no one wants to hear about ‘non-sweetness’.
3. No Duplicate Submissions (!)
   If you see the same story you are about to submit and it has a bunch of Diggs, but think maybe your submission can make it to the top too - DON’T SUBMIT IT, it won’t make it. You’re just flooding the site at this point.
4. Pick Best Topic
   Again, seems very obvious that you will want to put your submission in the most appropriate topic category. But it’s not obvious to some people. Don’t put a story where Microsoft is the main point in ‘Industry News’ - put it in ‘Microsoft’.

Following these simple guidelines will create a cleaner and more enjoyable Digg experience for users from all walks of life.

This is hilarious, maybe this is what happens if you get it wrong the first time. Don’t wanna piss off the CAPTCHA, a warning to people everywhere.
via

This is not a new concept and its a very simple one. However, this is the first time this is within the grasp of the everyday consumer. The Plasmariser hides and reveals your display at your convenience, a great way to protect your investment during a crazy party. Extras include an infra-red remote or voice control, LED illumination, a weatherproof transportation cover, and thin internal speakers. Get it in black or white for $2,500.

Via Gizmodo

Laurie McGuinness has created four spoofs of the popular ‘Mac/PC’ ads. In the parodies, McGuinness shows ‘PC’ as the smooth talker and portrays  ‘Mac’ as the not-so-cool counterpart. Brilliantly hilarious, check ‘em out at LaurieMcGuiness.com.

Vending machines in Japan will soon offer free coffee in return for watching 30 second adverts. Apex Corps run 35,000 vending machines across Japan, some of which will be outfitted to play an advertisement during the 30 seconds it takes to make the drink. Not only will customers have to watch that one, but the cup will also feature an advert too.

‘We will select the locations of vending machines which would best suit the customers targeted by advertisers,’ said an Apex official. I wouldn’t be sure where to place these, there seems to be a paradox with this kind of advertising which should also worry the marketing agencies placing ads with Apex.

The more affluent an area, the more disposable income is available, which is obviously a good point for advertisers. However, the more affluent an area, the less likely people are to watch ads in order to get a free cup of coffee that would normally only cost 60 cents. If there is an option; to get a free drink or to avoid the advert, then I see a problem. Perhaps initially the novelty will be enough to encourage lots of users, but I would personally rather pay for my coffee, especially considering that vending machine coffee normally tastes of mud.

Read [Kahleej Times]

Matthew Sparkes is a contributing author for MoT.

This article lists some of the best nano-scale artworks. It includes a 15 micron wide badger (shown right), a ten micron long guitar (which was actually played) and a 120 micron long New
Scientist logo.

As the article says though, these are the images that got released to the press. I have to wonder if any NSFW nano-art has yet been made. Knowing what research students are like, I think it’s a safe bet that it has.