Retro CD-ROM Retrospective, What Facebook Could Have Been

There's a load of great tech news happening out there every day, and, unfortunately, we just can't cover it all. Here are a few of the other noteworthy things we saw today on our never-ending journey through the wild, wild Web.
Growing up in the '80s and '90s, Microsoft Encarta was a standby in the classroom CD rack. PC Mag examines 10 other forgotten compact discs of the era, ranging from the riveting 'J.F.K. Assassination: A Visual Investigation' to Microsoft Home's 'Cinemania '94.' Maybe you had to be there... [From: PC Mag] The designers at iA, also known for the wonderful Web Trend Map, mocked up an interesting look for Facebook back in late 2006 and early 2007. Take a glance at the three-columned Facebook that could've been. [From: iA] The design team at Panic is showing off its incredible custom status LCD display, which displays the current e-mail queue, status for projects, team calendar, live Twitter updates and more. Now, if only we could get one for our office. [From: Panic Blog] Steph Thirion, creator of 'Eliss,' one of our favorite iPhone games, just announced/teased his upcoming game, 'Faraway.' [From: TUAW] Human Computer Interaction PhD student Chloe Fan developed this oddly engaging, minimalist 'Super Mario Bros.' running on an 8x8 LED and Arduino. [From: Vimeo]Got a tip? Want to talk to us? In need of more choice links like these? Drop us a line on Twitter and check out our Tumblr blog.

Facebook Ups the Stalker Quotient, Adding Location-Based Updates

Facebook is taking a break from the constant, user-infuriating redesigns to add an honest-to-goodness new feature -- location updates (which will probably be user-infuriating, anyway). Location awareness is all the rage for social networks as GPS has become a standard feature on most smartphones. Twitter, Google Buzz, Google Latitude, and Foursquare have all tightly interwoven these features into their respective services, and Facebook doesn't want to get left in the dust.

According to the New York Times, Facebook is set to unveil location-based updates at next month's F8, the Facebook developer conference. Those with keen eyes have known this was coming for quite some time. In November, Facebook updated its privacy policy to include the following statement: "When you share your location with others or add a location to something you post, we treat that like any other content you post."

iTunes LP Seems Bound for Failure After Just Six Months

In September, Steve Jobs unveiled the latest attempt to add value to the digital music download, and to distract people from the Web's vast stores of free and illegal content. The iTunes LP adds photos, lyrics, liner notes, and other bonus content, and offer material not found on file-sharing networks -- all to lure customers into buying full albums instead of individual songs. It's been six months, though, and there are only 29 iTunes LPs available. And almost half of those were available at launch.

So why did Apple's supposedly revolutionary format fail? Well, GigaOM points to a number of different factors, one of which is price. And we don't mean the price for consumers. The initial batch of LPs were subsidized by Apple, according to one person who worked on the project, at a cost of up to $60,000 apiece. Then, there's the fact that the format seemed better suited for tablet devices, like the recently announced but still unavailable iPad. Artists have also begun opting to package bonus materials as apps for the iPhone and iPod touch, which offer a level of interactivity not afforded by the iTunes LP format.

Cell Phone Accelerometer System Alerts the Boss to Your Laziness

Once a bastion of laziness, the office cubicle may no longer be safe from workers' oldest enemy: work. According to Asiajin, a team of researchers from KDDI Corporation, one of Japan's largest cell phone companies, recently developed a technology that would let your boss remotely monitor your every move.

The cornerstone of the monitoring system is deceptively simple: a cell phone equipped with an accelerometer. If your workplace decides to implement the device, one would input actions into the phone as you're doing them. That way, the device could accurately determine whether or not a movement corresponds to a purported action. For example, if your job is mopping the bathroom floor, but the accelerometer isn't detecting any movement (because you're taking a nap in the storage closet), your boss would know. As time goes on, and as you enter more actions, the system becomes more accurate. Therefore, after a few weeks, the office should run like a well-oiled machine.

As experienced office grunts, we're not too thrilled about this. After all, being lazy while making money is the American dream. [From: Asiajin, via: Fast Company]

Net Sales Tax Prompts Amazon to Cut Off Colorado, More States Could Follow

Right now, there are a bunch of angry former Amazon Affiliate program members in Colorado. A new law signed by the state's governor Bill Ritter would require Amazon to pay sales taxes if its affiliates, meaning Web sites and bloggers who refer purchasers to them, are based in the state. In response, Amazon discontinued its program, leaving thousands of affiliates -- many of whom rely on the referral fees for income -- with little recourse but to complain to their elected officials.

This is not the first time that Amazon has been compelled by states to collect sales taxes. In 2008, New York began requiring the online retailer to pay taxes, but, likely due to the market's size, Amazon kept the affiliate program in place. North Carolina and Rhode Island passed similar laws which caused Amazon to pull the plug on affiliates there.

Christina Aguilera? Reznor? 'iamamiwhoami' Baffles the Blogosphere

ShareFor over two months, music bloggers and journalists have been plagued by an intricate, creepy and riveting mystery: the identity of the mysterious and macabre iamamiwhoami. In December, a 55-second clip of a hyper-saturated, eerie (Scandinavian?) forest appeared on YouTube, making its way through critics' circles because of its catchy, pretty sounding music. No information was given, just the title "Prelude 699130082.451322-5.4.21.3.1.20.9.15.14.1.12." The set of numbers following the dash, when matched to their alphabetical correspondents, spell "Educational." A few weeks later, a second video emerged, with a dirt-covered blonde girl seductively licking trees to a slow, driving electronic beat -- the message this time, "Its Me." Each video ended with the outline of an animal: a goat and an owl, respectively.

James Montgomery, a rock editor at MTV News who discovered the videos while scanning blogs, covered the story after a third video emerged. He rounded up the list of suspects, which included the band MGMT, Lady Gaga and Bjork, as well as more obvious picks like Trent Reznor (who has done this before) and Christina Aguilera (who seems to be the favorite). "I contacted her people and they told me it wasn't her," says Montgomery. "So I wrote my piece about how it 'wasn't Xina,' and then, all of a sudden, he/she/it started emailing me." The next video, accompanied by a funkier and more cheerful song, featured the painted girl again, up-close, with freakishly large eyes -- and was sent directly to Montgomery's e-mail. This time, it spelled "Mandragora."

eReminders Less Effective for Doctors Than Hoped, Study Finds

According to CNET News, a study appearing today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal claims that computer reminders, which doctors use while electronically charting and writing prescriptions for patients, don't improve the quality of health care as much as they were once expected to do. In 2008, Medicare even offered incentives for doctors to adopt and use e-prescriptions, but according to this review of 28 clinical trials, digital reminders improved the accuracy and reliability of medicine taking by a median of 4.2-percent. At best, the reminders improved accuracy and quality by a median of 5.6-percent, which the study's authors characterize as being "below thresholds for clinically significant improvements." The authors go on to say that these results make e-prescriptions nothing more than "an expensive exercise in trial and error."

We're not doctors, but it seems like any improvement is better than none -- especially in light of this CNET News report that suggests handwritten prescriptions are seven times more likely to result in an error. The study does note that one institution saw significant improvements with a "homegrown" system, which suggests the key is designing and implementing a regimen that's easy-to-use and accessible. [From: Canadian Medical Association Journal, via: CNET News]

Get Your E-Spring Cleaning Done With OnyX and CCleaner

We've got a double dose of Switched Downloads for you. Normally we try to cover cross platform apps so everyone can get in on the fun, but with the category of app we're covering today, that just isn't an option. CCleaner and OnyX are system cleaning and optimization tools for Windows and Mac respectively. We searched for a comparable product for Linux, but the closest we could find is the unreliable (and potentially dangerous) System Janitor built into Ubuntu.

PC: CCleaner

What it is:

CCleaner, which is generally understood to stand for 'Crap Cleaner,' removes all sorts of data that might gunk up your system. The program clears your browser cache, empties your recycling bin and clipboard, deletes temporary files, and straightens the disaster that is the Windows registry. Not only does this clear up hard disk space and leave less information lying around for cyber-criminals to harvest, but it can actually make your computer run a bit faster.

AT&T's Stand Against Texting and Driving, HD Preview of Bridges' Return to 'Tron'

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....
The cell phone industry hasn't exactly developed a reputation for publicizing the inherent dangers of distracted driving. Proving that "business ethics" isn't an oxymoron, though, AT&T has actually initiated an admirable public campaign called 'Txtng and Drivng... It Can Wait' -- in order to help prevent texting disasters. [From: Mashable] 'Tron' and "Oscar winner" may not sound like a natural pairing, but the anticipation of Jeff Bridges' return to his role as Kevin Flynn is mounting. Judging from a newly leaked HD trailer, the film should be an incredible visual extravaganza (particularly with 3-D graphics). [From: Technabob] Apparently the 'Saturday Night Live' writers pay attention to those wacky Facebook movements, as the young and enormously popular group 'Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!' has finally gotten its wish (at least partially). White confirmed that she will appear on the show in some capacity in the near future. Now, if only the 'I don't care about your farm, or your fish, or your park, or your mafia!!!' group (and its 5 million members) could yield similar results. [From: Mashable] An exciting and long overdue trend is developing among social networking services, as the Foursquare-Bravo partnership and the new Detroit "inchvester" program are actually promoting physical, personal interaction in outdoor environments. Gowalla and the Travel Channel are also apparently joining that social networking shift, as a new "integration" will begin with tonight's episode of 'Food Wars.' [From: Read Write Web] Panda Security has issued a serious and troubling warning for Vodafone owners, particularly those who have recently purchased an HTC Magic with Google's Android OS. Panda is asserting that at least one brand new model was corrupted with malware that was capable of spreading to, and infecting, any connected PC. [From: Panda Security] Hacks on major companies frequently attract significant media attention, but the small business owners suffering from data theft definitely don't receive such prevalent press. The problem is significant, though; the FDIC believes that scam attacks on small businesses cost U.S. companies $25 million during the third quarter of 2009. [From: Computer World]

Just How Fast Is Your Broadband? Most People Don't Know, Study Says

ShareComcast proudly promotes its broadband services, which, it says, provide the "fastest Internet speeds." TimeWarner's "RoadRunner Turbo with PowerBoost" gives you an "extra burst of speed" while evading coyotes on the information superhighway. But do you know what it really means? Just how fast is "fast?"

According to industry analysis from Forrester Research, only 41-percent of American consumers actually know how fast their broadband connections are, thanks, in large part, to what industry consultant Craig Settles calls a "legitimized con game" that Internet providers play. As NPR reports, the speeds that companies advertise are really the maximum speeds they can attain, or what Settles calls "a theoretical ceiling." Chances are, you'll usually get about 10- to 20-percent of that max velocity. Apparently, companies get away with it because most of us can't really tell. Aside from experiential red flags, like a slow-loading YouTube clip or inconsistent streaming audio, it's pretty tough for the naked eye to pick up on the more subtle differences in download speeds.

Street View Awards Show Best of U.K. Without the Black Pudding

They might not have as high a profile as the Oscars, but Britain's first annual Google Street View Awards ceremony was held Monday. The Telegraph reports a panel of U.K. experts, selected by Google, and about 11,000 online participants voted a cobblestone road in York, called The Shambles, "Britain's Most Picturesque Street." "It has been the backdrop for many a jigsaw, chocolate box and railway poster and once you visit you will see why," shop owner Ian Addyman told the Telegraph.

The competition, intended to hype the many new locations added to the U.K. Street View, also included other award categories. Bath's Milsom Street won for "Best Fashion" and Hampshire's Stockbridge High Street came away with "Best Foodie Street." In return, these winning walks get a ton of free publicity (which business owners must love), and will be highlighted on Street View with special guides and point-of-interest markers. Google hasn't provided Street View links on the Awards announcement, but you can still browse the best of the digitized U.K. via the voting page. [From: Telegraph and Google]

Gallery: The Shambles on Google Street View

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Babies With BlackBerrys: Kids Increasingly Wielding Cell Phones

At an age when we were still playing with plastic toys, 10- and 11-year-old kids today are downloading games, sending text messages and surfing the Web with cell phones. After the communications fall-out of 9/11, many parents saw cell phone ownership as not just a priority, but a safety measure. Providers cashed in on family plans, and the nation took up talking and walking. Yet, now we have a generation who can't remember what it's like to dial.

According to the New York Times, a recent study (PDF link) from Mediamark Research and Intelligence found that the percentage of cell phone owners among kids aged 6 to 11 has doubled since 2005. According to the study, boys are to blame. While girls are still more likely to have a mobile device than boys, the gap between them closed in the last five years to 21.8-percent for girls and 18.3-percent for boys (it was twice as big in 2005). Overall, about 36-percent of kids in the previously mentioned age group own a cell phone. That's just staggering, since even the youngest among us didn't get our first cell phones until we could legally drive [Edit. Note: To be fair, back then, they were brick-like and made horrible noises when the call didn't go through].