Whoa — Aza Raskin, Mozilla's Head of User Experience just put out a video showing off some of the features they've been working on for Firefox Mobile. Though it's still in the early stages, some of the features like the navigation buttons on the sides of the pages, browser actions on the footer, search bar functions and the multiple window interface all look cool.. Between Opera, Safari, Skyfire, and Firefox, it will be interesting to see who ends up with the best product in the end. [Aza's Thoughts via Into Mobile]

According to leaked docs, Comcast is officially bumping up their previously tiny upload caps on two of their plans tomorrow. Their 6Mbps/384Kbps plan is becoming 6Mbps/1Mbps, and the 8Mbps/768Kbps plan is becoming 8Mbps/2Mbps. Some people might think they have this rate already because of Comcast's recently rolled out PowerBoost feature, which eliminates bandwidth caps on files of 10MB or less, and gives you a peak speed of about 2Mbps. This explains any extraordinarily high results you've been getting when using a bandwidth test site—which usually test uploads with files less than 10MB. Look out for this to hit tomorrow. See the official release after the jump.

Thanks tipster!

The Gadget: The Sony VAIO LT is an attractive all-in-one that has a 22-inch, 1680x1050 widescreen display, BD-RW drive, integrated webcam, wireless keyboard and mouse, an external cable card tuner and Vista Media Center, powered by a 2.5 GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB RAM.

The Price: $3300 as tested.

The Verdict: The Vaio LT is a solid computer with alot of good features. It's easy enough on the eyes that it could be placed in a kitchen or bedroom (it can also be VESA mounted), but it is hardly underpowered. Blu-ray playback provided a nice picture, and watching HD via CableCard was crisp and clear. Rarely, if ever, did I experience slowdown while using many of the media features, showing the hardware is up to the task.

The integrated 1.3 MP webcam is up to par with similar offerings, and the speakers provide good audio in most settings. Despite it's TV-esque appearance, there are no inputs for VGA or component video, meaning hooking up a game console or laptop is out of the question.

But looks and power come with a price. The low end model does start as low as $2000, but it only has a 1.6 GHz processor and 3 GB RAM. The high end model, with the Penryn processor, Cable card tuner and 4 GB RAM, will run you $3300. But hardware alone, the VAIO LT is a solid choice for a media PC.

Not since Adam Frucci's last house party have we seen anything get lit as fast as Panasonic's Pa-Look fluorescent bulbs. These use a hybrid lighting method that makes for "instant bulb brightness," which is more convenient for bathrooms where you want to get light right away and not accidentally step on errant urine. Inside is a "quick lamp" that brings the goods 50 to 60% faster, and then cuts off when the regular fluorescent reaches optimum lighting. Fantastic for the slightly impatient. [Akihabara News]

Gizmag has an epic feature about the evolution of sailing that's focused around Project GreenJet — a huge, 57 meter sailing yacht that can be controlled by one man and a touchscreen. The designer Erik Sifrer, based the design for the 57 meter Project GreenJet around his earlier SY120 Yacht that functions in a similar manner. Only this time, it bigger, faster, and more advanced.

What's cool is a boat like this would eliminate the need for the dozens of athletically-inclined sailors normally required. Instead, one (or a few) just needs to monitor weather systems and adjust accordingly via the touchscreen. The 2 sails can be raised to their 55m height in 30-40 seconds, and can also rotate 160 degrees.

Other ships, such as the Maltese Falcon, might be bigger and already do partially automated sailing to an extent, but Project GreenJet is trying to push the boundaries of automation. While still a concept, Sifrer says its a matter of time and money to get this made. Basic production calculations have already been made, and Sifrer just needs backing for this project, which will cost $70 million and take 3-6 years to build. In theory.

My feeling is that you still need the human to make the calls. Sailing is extremely complicated and it's very difficult to read into waves, wind and current simultaneously and autonomously. It just hasn't been done yet over any great distances or challenging conditions and 3 to 6 years is far enough away that we might as well say 60 years. But who knows.

[Gizmag]

Aerovironment has developed a range of modular wind turbines designed to clamp on to existing architecture, called 'Architectural Wind'. The units, which can be easily teamed together, sit around the edge of a structure's roof and use specially designed low-speed turbines to take advantage of the breeze that naturally travels up tall buildings' walls.

The concept of decentralized wind power is not a new one, but adoption has been held up by the expense and unwieldiness of existing solutions, which basically involve building a tall, ugly, miniaturized Texan wind farm on your roof. 'Architectural Wind' promises to simplify the process, allowing you to strap as many of the attractive, unobtrusive fans to the edges of your building as you can, without requiring any kind of additional renovation.
[Inhabitat]

AMD and NVIDIA have decided they're done waiting for Intel to give them the data they need to create USB 3.0 compliant products, and plan to launch their own spec to launch against the USB 3.0 data protocol. Intel says they haven't finalized the spec and want to prevent people from developing hardware based on multiple versions. AMD and NVIDIA aren't satisfied with such an answer and feel Intel is trying to gain a sizeable lead on market share. They will apparently have their first clandestine meeting next week. I wonder if "HD DVD" will be the secret password. [CNET via Daily Tech]

We previously heard that the Samsung Instict was going to be $299 after rebate on Sprint—not too bad a price for what we said was the best Sprint and best Samsung phone ever. Turns out the iPhone 3G's $199 reveal sent Sprint back to their abacuses, which they used diligently to come up with an extra $100 mail-in rebate to equal the playing field with AT&T. The win for Sprint's deal is that current customers can supposedly buy the phone without renewing their 2-year contract, which is pretty great for someone who plans on ditching carriers soon. [Phone News]

Voodoo's Omen gaming desktop is the best-looking one around. But we (and gamers) care about inner beauty too, and the insides shot by Pocket Lint look like the Matrix's people farm with all of the magenta tubes and cables flying around—a far cry from its clean, steely exterior, though about as neat as one can expect of such an intricate cooling system. It's definitely designed around heat dissipation, though I'm not totally sold on the whole rotated motherboard.

Also, it doesn't look like you have a whole lot of maneuverability inside the case, at least from the pics—granted, if you're spending that kind of coin on a build-to-order PC, I don't know how much tooling around inside you'd be doing anyway. [Pocket Link]

Although newly flush with Avery Dennison labels and grant money, all is not well at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. A piece in today's Los Angeles Times sums up the tensions, which start with widespread grumblings about the private college's planned $50 million design research center, designed by Frank Gehry, and extend to criticisms of changes wrought by current president Richard Koshalek. While administrators point out that the new building would address the school's problem of workspace overcrowding, an online petition launched by alumni "cast[s] Koshalek as an empire-builder...and asks trustees to ignore 'the legacy needs of one man' and 'take immediate action to again make education the school's top investment.'" Mike Rios, director of issues for the Art Center student government, told the LAT, "Right now, the entire school is in an uproar."

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

That deal where you get a $100 Wal-Mart gift card when buying a Blu-ray player is even better than we thought. If you buy a PlayStation 3 (including the Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle) between June 8 and June 14, you'll qualify for that hundred bones. This deal looks even better than the last one, seeing as the $100 gift card qualifies for purchase of anything, not just Blu-ray movies, of which there are only a handful we actually want. Good find, Crecente. [Wal-Mart via Kotaku]

The burnout has an appeal that only a car lovin', Nascar watchin' man could possibly explain. However, only Steven Laurie dared to eliminate the vehicle from the equation and bring the burnout to its essence...all in the name of art. The device he created looks something like a lawnmower sitting atop an axle, but it does manage to create some skid marks and smoke. The only problem is that the Burnout machine is fairly underwhelming when fired up, as you can see in the demo video below.

Laurie's obsession with motors is not confined to the burnout though. His exhibition entitled "Art of the Motor" also features devices that "replicate" the sound of muscle cars— like the Boom tube (basically a lawnmower engine with an exhaust attached) and "Wild Thing," which gives the same treatment to a chainsaw. [Station Gallery via Hack a Day]

I never thought about this before, but driving around in a car can be especially dangerous for people with severe cases of diabetes. Fortunately for them (and everyone else on the road), a company called Medtronic Diabetes has unveiled its new M-POWERED car—a Lincoln sedan fitted with a system that wirelessly connects a patient's glucose monitor with the dashboard. Once connected, the system will continually update the driver's on his/her health status via audio and visual cues. There is no word on whether or not this system will actually be available for patients anytime soon however. [Medgadget]

I have actually been looking for a decent padlock over the last couple of weeks, but so far nothing has suited my needs. While many of these locks would do a fine job of protecting my stuff, I think I was waiting for something a little different. This siren padlock may be just the ticket because it locks up property and it is liable to have a thief shitting bricks when they hear the 100dB alarm.

When the alarm is activated, the padlock will emit a blaring noise for 10 seconds every time it is tampered with. So even if they could get past the hardened steel and zinc-alloy shell, it would hardly be worth the risk. Plus, it is one of the more affordable locks at only $20. [Siren Padlock via Toolmonger via Boing Boing Gadgets]

It's official: O2 and Telefonica users in the UK and Spain will get the iPhone absolutely free if they sign up for a 18-month plan with a $88 monthly cost. But how "free" is free? Is this really a better deal than AT&T's $1,975 24-month plan price? The answer is yes, absofrakinlutely. Those countries got really good deals, enough to convince me to buy the new version:

The total cost for the O2 18-month plan is $1,591, which every month gets you:

• 1,200 minutes of voice calls.
• 500 text messages.
• Unlimited data transfer in both 3G and Wi-Fi networks (at The Cloud and BT OpenZone Wi-Fi spots.)
• Reduced roaming rates.

Sure, having 24 months will get your total price to $2,121. But the fact is that, after 18 months, you are free to get elsewhere, and you are getting almost three times the voice call minutes, and 2.5 times the amount of text messages.

Compare that to the $1,975 iPhone 3G plan in AT&T:

• 450 minutes.
• 200 messages.
• Unlimited data transfer in 3G networks.

[O2 and Telefonica press release]

A man in Singapore (where else) has been banned from owning a camera phone for a year after being caught secretly filming a woman in an airport bathroom. Actually, "secretly" is probably a strong word when you consider that the perp, 19-year-old Samuel Ong, simply slid his camera phone under the cubicle door to catch a few shots.

Not surprisingly, the woman caught Ong in the act and reported him to the police. In addition to the cellphone ban, he will have to complete 60 hours of community service, undergo psychiatric treatment and observe a curfew as part of his sentence. Seems like he is getting off pretty easy, especially by Singaporean standards.[Reuters]

Gene Munster took an informal poll on the floor of WWDC of 20 developers working on apps for the iPhone. And while they may or may not be a representative sample of the show's 5,200 attendees, he dug up some interesting stats all the same. Notably, 71% of iPhone apps discussed wouldn't cost a penny (or nickel, dime, quarter, etc.) to download.

For the 29% of apps that will need to be actually purchased, the average price was a pretty reasonable $2.29. But since Apple ultimately foots the bill for distribution through iTunes and those costs can be most directly recouped through software sales, it may (ironically) not be the software developers who want to charge for iPhone apps, but Apple instead. [AppleInsider]

You're a big man, and you're so secure in your manhood that you're not afraid to proclaim your manliness in everything that you do just so everyone knows that you're a man. That's why you'll only make frozen mixed drinks with a blender powered by a 43cc 2-stroke engine that has handlebars for controls. That way, no one will think you're some sort of sissy for drinking a pomegranate margarita. Because even the most manly of men enjoy a fruity frozen beverage with the boys on a hot summer's day. It's exactly the kind of thing you need to get some energy before going out in a roving pack and beating up people who are different from you. I'm a man! [Product Page via GearCrave]

Soon all the kids will be running out to Macy's to buy $36 "collectors' edition t-shirts" featuring such Rolling Stone covers as those featuring Johnny Cash (from 2003) and the 1993 pairing of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, but what about some other memorable covers of the magazine? We combed through the Rolling Stone archives and selected the above trio of covers as particularly shirtworthy. And no, none of them involve Bon Jovi. First up is the colorful cover of the magazine's April 1973 issue, featuring Truman Capote sporting a rakishly tilted fedora and a rainbow scarf (so holiday 2007 Gap ad!) and promising an "audio-documentary" (translation: Interview-style Q&A) between Capote and Andy Warhol. Journeying a bit further in the wayback machine, we found an olive-tinged Miles Davis (December 1969), who manages to give would-be readers the evil eye while sporting sunglasses and a highly complex shirt/jacket hybrid. Finally, there's the simpler times of August 1981, when Rolling Stone's cover featured a pensive man, his swim fins, and the cover line "Bill Murray Hits the Beach."

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

A few things to keep in mind before bidding on an iPhone 3G from eBay:
1. You can no longer buy an unactivated iPhone.
2. The biggest iPhone will only run you $299 (half of $600 going rate).
3. Eventually, even your grandma will have an iPhone, and that means you will have paid over $600 to have the same phone as your grandma. Remember the RAZR and the Macarena, people! [eBay]

Like having the best of the best Farmer's Market delivered to your door, California-based We Love Jam hand makes some of the most tantalizing jams, sauces and other treats we've ever tasted and sells them online. Using produce sourced from obscure varieties of fruits and refining recipes to perfection, their products are bursting with flavor and boast addictive qualities that make them disappear quickly.

Their pitch-perfect BBQ sauce, hitting the ideal vinegary sweet balance with a touch of heat, has fast become our favorite summer condiment. As recommended by the makers, the sauce is as delicious on grilled meats as it is on sandwiches, fries and any other excuse you can find to get it into your mouth. A 16-ounce mason jar is $10 from their online store.

Similarly habit-forming, We Love Jam recently introduced a citrus, dark chocolate and nut biscotti that's exceptional. With a subtle dose of hand-candied citrus, a liberal sprinkling of raw Mission almonds and hazelnuts with touches of Belgian chocolate, the combination goes well with coffee and teas. A much softer, more snackable texture than other biscotti, they're tasty on their own as well. The treats are made in small batches and a box of nine (packaged in biodegradable cellophane) is $10.

We Love Jam made their name with their exceptional Blenheim Apricot Jam. The makers started with the apricot variety back in 2002, producing an apricot jam with a superior flavor, color and texture to all other versions. They since discovered that the Blenheim is an endangered tree, which combined with its popularity makes for extremely limited quantities and a waiting list. Sign up now to reserve jars ($20 for 16 ounces and $10 for eight ounces) that will be available in August.

Though we've only had the privilege of tasting these three products, they're enough for us to bet that We Love Jam's other offerings, including bread and butter pickles, Fukushu Kumquat marmalade and the intriguing hoshigaki (hand-dried, massaged persimmons), are worth ordering.

You might think you're pretty awesome playing One on expert in Guitar Hero 3, but could you conduct an entire orchestra? My guess: probably. And you'll be able to test my hypothesis with Virtual Maestro, a Wii game created by a couple of professors.

Unfortunately, the game doesn't let you play any of the instruments in an orchestra, which would be pretty cool and allow for nice, 50-person online games. Instead, it uses the Wiimote as a baton, letting you conduct the orchestra. Yep, it's a game that's totally controlled by you waving your hands to the music. Sound boring? Yes, I agree, but hey, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there are explosions when you really get the tempo right or when you lead that soloist to perfection. Classical music explosions, that is. The future is now!

Unfortunately for you, it's not for sale. Instead, it'll be set up before London Symphony Orchestra shows to give people a chance to try their hand at conducting before seeing the real maestros at work. You'll have to settle for my incredible box art Photoshop. [Reuters]

Things went well last night at the Giz and Ars WWDC party. So well, I woke up a little late this morning. If you came, thank you for making it an event full of wonderful, beautiful people. Yes, you too, mysterious ponytail man wearing an Apple shirt! All 7 of you. I met lots of great devs, but there were some people I saw who I didn't get a chance to say hello to like Leah Culver of Pownce, iJustine and Jordan Golson and Megan McCarthy, of ValleyWag fame. Here are some photos, courtesy of commenter BossKev and his amazing Nikon D3 DSLR. (WANT.) Jacqui and Clint from Ars have some photos up on their page, but If you've got extra photos, let me know and I'll put em in the gallery. Nutbastard: thanks for covering my bar tip and making the drive to hang out. [Ars and more from Flickr user Cirne]

After experiencing the popularity of their paper goods selling in stores throughout the globe, the London-based stationers Present & Correct decided to take it online, opening their own store with goods culled from such far-flung locations as Korea, Peru and Osaka. From charmingly-packaged colored chalk sets to the rainbow-limned pages of a notebook, their well-curated offerings will likely delight event the biggest stationery junkies. We're particularly taken with a couple of Present & Correct's own repurposed products.

Made from vintage wallpaper sourced from the "grannies of London," the Wallpaper Postcards feature floral patterns on one side and a black and silver design on the reverse. A pack of five is £6.50 from Present & Correct or $13 from Etsy.

Also taking advantage of castoff gorgeous illustrations, the Recycled Book Envelopes transform pages from science textbooks, bird encyclopedias and cookbooks into exquisite ways to send a letter. Each set of comes with flat notecards and address labels, running £9 from Present & Correct.