A inventive person created a swine flu google map that tracks news stories about flu cases. 

H1N1 Swine Flu - Google Maps

lengend :

Purple marker is confirmed or probable
Pink marker is suspect
Yellow marker is negative
Fatal cases have no dot

Facebook is now entering every facet of life.  You can recieve update across a slew of your favorite websites.  Alert your friends that you just ordered wings and a pizza from pizza hut.  Now you may have a new message alerting you to your court summons next week.  

Usually the courts are the last to use new technologies but Facebook may be a new way for lawyers to server you a court summons.  In Australia a court allowed a mortgage lender to server legal documents through Facebook after a client defaulted on the loan.  In 2006 a Connecticut court used Facebook as a viable means to locate the location of an individual.  Also in 2006 meail was used in sending legal documents after having no other way to contact the indivdual.

Facebook hasn't been used yet but it very well could be.  Also look for the IRS, and tax collection agencies to follow suit.  So make sure you keep an I on your facebook profile, your next message may tell you your getting audited, or someone is sueing you.  

Look for more information after the jump

Source jump: Cnet Tech news

I just got my first HD television for Christmas and I wanted to go right out and get a HDMI cable to enjoy my stellar HD picture. I was appalled at the prices at circuit city and best buy for HDMI cables. The cheapest one i could find was $40. In the past i have alway paid less when buying online but a $34 price different is horrendous. These stores are simply gouging the ignorant public who don't know any better. I left the store disappointed and went on monprice.com and bought my cable for $6 plus shipping.

I feel that I must spread the word to people who think that paying $80 for the same cable is going to get them a better picture, is just wrong. I'm sure these cables provide extra protection but the extra protection is so small it can't even be measured with today's technology. I have found an in depth article from the guys over at gizmodo describing this rip off and tested comparable cables at monoprice. Please read these articles and spread the word for any new HDTV owner.

This quote from gizmodo pretty much sums up the article "The only people who should buy Monster cable are people who light cigars with Benjamins. Fortunately for Monster, there are plenty of those people. They're not even suckers, they are just rich as hell, and want the best. This testing did not prove that Monster is not the best. It just proved that the best is, for the most part, unnecessary." 

The cables that i bought are not the same cables that they tested, i purchased the cheapest cables. From my experience my picture is just as good as the high quality ones given to me from Verizon FIOS technicians. We tested this fact on a 50 Panasonic plasma playing xbox 360 halo 3 and between 3 people we couldn't tell the difference.

Find out more at gizmodo.com

I recently purchased the thermaltake notebook cooling pad. When searching for a notebook cooler portability was the main deciding factor. I needed something i could throw into my notebook bag and use whenever and where ever. I stumbled onto the the Thermaltake iXoft notebook pad. I have been using this pad for about a month and absolutly love it. Here is a quick run down of the good and the bad.

Green computing, the study and practice of efficient and eco-friendly computing resources, is now under the attention of not only environmental organizations, but also businesses from other industries. In recent years, companies in the computer industry have come to realize that going green is in their best interest, both in terms of public relations and reduced costs. This article will take a look at several green initiatives currently under way in the computer industry, as well as issues that have been raised regarding these initiatives. We will also have a talk with VIA to learn more about the future of green computing.

Microsoft has been told to fork over $140m because Windows XP and certain versions of Microsoft Office require more than one activation code.

You see, there are patents on the use of more than one activation code, and they're held by a clever company in Michigan that has successfully sued the bejesus out of the Redmond software giant.

On November 16, The Associated Press reports, a federal appeals court ordered Microsoft to unload $140m on the tiny z4 Technologies, upholding the decision of a lower court.

Currently, Microsoft penalizes Windows Vista users who fail to activate their operating system software within 30 days.

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) on Tuesday said it will cease hobbling Windows Vista installations that fail the company's validation processes in its forthcoming Service Pack 1 update, scheduled for next year.

The standby and hibernate modes in Microsoft's Windows XP and the sleep mode in Vista are meant to be great time-savers. But too often a sleeping PC wakes up on its own--or doesn't awaken when you want it to.