Technology Blog

Apparently, when people sing Sinatra’s My Way in a Philippines karoake bar, and they sing it poorly, they die.

The epidemic’s gotten so bad, in fact, that local law enforcement started calling it the “My Way Killings.”

No one really know why dozens have died over the past decade while warbling to one of Sinatra’s greatest hits, just that they have, and after this specific song. Is it bad singing? Traditionally violent streets being traditionally violent streets? Die hard Sinatra fans exacting their revenge on newbs who butcher the greats? Possibly. Karaoke is huge in the region, with machines popping up everywhere, from bars to alleyways (as you can see from the image). Combine that with high crime and a fanatical love of Frank Sinatra and you could have just the right mix for a kill (the audience with your talent) or be killed (by the audience for sucking) atmosphere.

One thing’s for sure: This guy should stay the hell away form the Philippines. [NYT]

It appears to be graphene day. First, IBM was using the material to shame silicon into submission, and now Swedish scientists say graphene could one day make lamps and other traditional lighting elements unnecessary.

If the Swedes are right, then future homes and buildings could be adorned with graphene panels, called light emitting electromechanical cells (LECs, for short).

The LEC panels can be fashioned so they cover an entire ceiling, wall, or whatever, and they’re completely adjustable. Dim your walls and ceiling for a romantic evening with the female characters of Mass Effect 2, for example.

The article notes that OLED panels have seen similar implementations, but the graphene scientists say their material is both cheaper to produce and better for the environment (OLED panels contain indium tin oxide, which is difficult to recycle). [Science Daily via Treehugger via DVICE]

Normally we ignore “steampunk” news because it has nothing to do with real, actual steampunk and more to do with some bloke attaching nonfunctional brass tubing to his PC, but in this case these guns actually shoot something.

The blunderbuss, above, shoots rubber balls. Cool, I suppose…But! It also shoots them at such a velocity that they can penetrate cardboard at a respectable distance:

The other rifle, Black Betty shoots ping pong balls and confetti paper, the latter of which can be lit up to make a flame thrower of sorts:

And that’s probably the last steampunk anything you’ll see here for a while. Well, unless it shoots something. Or, you know, actually uses steam power. [YouTube via Boing Boing]

It’s the “holy crap it’s been a while iPad! CES! Christmas!” edition. This month (or so), we’ve got m-m-m-multitouch maps, good eats, movies and blawgs.

To see everything on one page, click here.

Other Android App News

• An Embryonic Build of Firefox for Android
• Motoblur Makes Its Way to Verizon via Devour
• A Neat Video of 50 Android Games
• How to Overclock the Crap Outta Your Droid
• How to Circumvent Android 2.1’s Word Filter
• T-Mobile’s Bundling DoubleTwist for Media Syncing with New Android Phones
• A Guide to Tethering Your Android Phone
• HTC’s Espresso Sense UI for Droid, If You Can Hack It
• Our Nexus One Review

This list is in no way definitive. If you’ve spotted a great app that hit the store this month, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our previous monthly roundups here. See ya next month.

Thursday night’s edition of the Charlie Rose Show brought David Carr, Michael Arrington, and Walt Mossberg together to discuss the iPad. Having used the iPad briefly, all three seem optimistic about what it has to offer.

Though we’ve already heard Mosspuppet’s preemptive review of the iPad, it’s interesting to see all three of these influential voices discussing Apple’s upcoming device in one forum. And what emerges is that all of them, to varying degrees, are excited about the iPad’s promise.

At one point, David Carr says, “I think there’s a revolution in the fact that you lean back and read something,” and this, the possibility of a more casual version of computing, seems to be the iPad’s greatest promise in the minds of all three journalists. And after reading the 1994 Rolling Stone interview with Steve Jobs that recently resurfaced, it’s clear that Jobs is at his most passionate when he has locked in on a revolution to champion. [TechCrunch]