Puzzle extension turns any Web image into a game

Here's a fun extension from the experimental section of Mozilla's Firefox add-ons site. It's called Puzzle, and once installed lets you turn any image from a page you're on into a sectional puzzle with pieces that can be moved around. Upon completion you have the option to ramp up the difficulty, which goes all the way up to a 15 x 15 grid. It's also able to resize larger images into smaller, laptop-friendly versions.

To toggle it on you simply right click on an image and select which difficulty you want. It then opens up the image (in puzzle form) in a new tab.

I didn't have any luck getting it to work with Firefox 3.1 beta 2, however it worked fine in the current public build of Firefox 3. As with all experimental add-ons, you'll need to be registered with Mozilla to download it.


Via CNET Crave

Files in Mac OS point to new iMacs, Mac Minis

A Mac fan with way too much time on his hands may have discovered evidence of new iMacs and Mac Minis coming soon.

A forum poster on InsanelyMac.com found code strings inside the version of Mac OS X running on the new MacBooks that point to a new version of the iMac and Mac Mini. MacRumors.com verified that the identifying marks uncovered by the poster (iMac9,1 and Macmini3,1) would indeed represent a new version beyond the marks used by the current iMac and MacMini (iMac8,1 and Macmini2,1).
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Makeover for Apple's Mighty Mouse?

Is it time for Apple's Mighty Mouse to get a tune-up?

That's the question many people on the Internet are asking as MacBlogz has published images of what it expects Apple to do with the multibutton mouse. Extrapolating from Apple's patents on multitouch, MacBlogz's prototype features a sleek profile and aluminum body.

The report notes that a 2007 patent application "arbitrary shaped grippable member" that would utilize positioning and multitouch detection to interpret a user's movement. Basically, it appears the button would be replaced by a multitouch trackpad. "In essence, it would act as one seamless area from which a user could scroll and pan by dragging a finger over the device's surface," the report says.
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Group seeks blinders on Google Street View in Japan

Citing privacy concerns, a group of Japanese lawyers and professors have asked Google to shut down its Street View feature of Google Maps in the country, according to a Reuters report.

"We strongly suspect that what Google has been doing deeply violates a basic right that humans have," said Yasuhiko Tajima, a professor of constitutional law at Sophia University in Tokyo and head of the Campaign Against Surveillance Society, in an interview with Reuters.

"It is necessary to warn society that an IT (information technology) giant is openly violating privacy rights, which are important rights that the citizens have, through this service," he said.

Google didn't immediately comment on its plans for Japan but directed attention to its Street View privacy site, which says the service respects people's privacy.
Read more »

(Almost) indestructible storage of the future

With no moving parts, one of the key advantages of solid-state drives have been the fact that they are hardier than their mechanical cousins. But research is underway which will make current storage devices seem positively fragile.

Created from the same element as diamond, graphene was demonstrated by researchers to not only store more information for the same given area, but is able to withstand temperatures of up to 200 degrees celsius. The only problem is that graphene has low data access speeds, but scientists are confident that this issue can be overcome in the future. So if data archiving gets you hot under the collar, then keep an eye out for these (almost) indestructible storage devices.

Via ComputerWorld

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