http://www.wiredmagazine.info Get Technology News And The Best Deals On Wired Magazine Subscriptions Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:00:39 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 1882: An inventive New Yorker finds a brilliant application for electric lights and becomes the first person to use them as Christmas tree decorations.Edward H. Johnson, who toiled for Thomas Edison’s Illumination Company and later became a company vice president, used 80 small red, white and blue electric bulbs, strung ... http://www.wiredmagazine.info/2008/12/23/dec-22-1882-looking-at-christmas-in-a-new-light/ : What a year it's been for gadgets. We saw the second coming of the Jesus phone, the toppling of Canon as the premier DSLR maker and the first short wobbly steps of the Android OS. We also saw the fall of the economy, which may or may not have ... http://www.wiredmagazine.info/2008/12/23/the-top-gadgets-of-2008/ : 2008 was an amazing year for videogames.With the next generation of gaming hardware hitting its stride, the hits came fast and furious: Nintendo shipped its long-awaited Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii, Rockstar Games finally gave us Grand Theft Auto IV and Sony got its make-your-own platform game LittleBigPlanet ... http://www.wiredmagazine.info/2008/12/23/top-10-games-of-2008/ A new video technique uses laser beams to hit molecules, causing them to vibrate. Tracking the vibrations produces a sequence of point-by-point molecular maps. More: continued here http://www.wiredmagazine.info/2008/12/21/video-molecules-moving-in-living-cells/ After five years of lawsuits against music fans, the RIAA will have ISPs throttle the internet connections of alleged infringers. The strategy could allow the RIAA to circumvent a legal system that has hindered its anti-sharing efforts. More: continued here http://www.wiredmagazine.info/2008/12/21/riaa-to-stop-suing-music-fans-cut-them-off-instead/ Apple's App Store debut in July set the bar for other handset app platforms. Google Android, Palm and BlackBerry field their own versions of a centralized stage for phone applications that will make phones more attractive to users. We rate them all. More: continued here http://www.wiredmagazine.info/2008/12/21/four-mobile-app-stores-battle-for-user-and-developer-attention/ A high-definition video of an eruption shows new details of how volcanoes work. Scientists are learning about the mechanics of eruptions by connecting a frame-by-frame analysis of the video with seismic recordings. More: continued here http://www.wiredmagazine.info/2008/12/21/hd-eruption-video-gives-clues-to-how-volcanoes-work/ The RIAA says it is ending its five-year litigation campaign that has targeted 30,000 individuals for online file sharing of copyrighted music. The good news is that the RIAA, for now, is not demanding ISPs to filter peer-to-peer networks. The bad news is that copyright scofflaws face losing their internet ... http://www.wiredmagazine.info/2008/12/21/no-isp-filtering-under-new-riaa-copyright-strategy/ Lore Sjöberg tracks the evolution of the jolly old elf, from the monstrous incarnations of yore to the gleaming giftbot of the 22nd century. More: continued here http://www.wiredmagazine.info/2008/12/21/alt-text-video-the-strange-story-of-santa/ Some of the biggest waves in the Pacific Northwest are getting even bigger, according to research presented Friday at the American Geophysical Union meeting. Scientists don't know why the waves have grown, or if wave heights in other parts of the world are increasing, but the big waves are a ... http://www.wiredmagazine.info/2008/12/21/surfers-rejoice-some-extreme-waves-getting-bigger/