Got a desire for the sold out Amazon Kindle? If you do your probably out of luck on actually getting one anytime soon. The next best thing might actually be an Eee PC in “Kindle” mode. By using FBReader in fullscreen and portrait mode, an Eeeph forum member turned his Eee into a Kindle imitator. Since FBReader is a free e-book reader for Unix and Windows computers this little Kindle tweak shouldn’t be too hard to get you a multi-function e-reader out the popular Eee PC. [Eeeph via EeeUser]

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Wildcharge, the device that lets you wirelessly charge your RAZR, has just released new adapters for the iPhone, iPod, BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry 8800 and 2nd Gen iPod Nano. It still works the same: put the adapter on the back of your phone, place your phone onto the charging pad and wait for the juice to flow. No pricing information on this quite yet, but the old RAZR chargers were $34 (or $89 for the pad and the charger together). [WildCharge]

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Polaroid is closing its last remaining film plants in Mass. so the oh so fun instant Polaroids will soon become a thing of the past. Well it’s already a thing of the past, but this time it’s serious since no more instant film will be produced. Over the past two years Polaroid has stopped production on the instant cameras and now it’s the film, which will be available till around next year. It was only a matter of time till Polaroid killed off the film since it was obviously a declining / nonexistent profit. So for all those Polaroid users out there, were sorry, looks like you’ll only have another year left to take random pictures at house parties. [Washington Post]

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Thinking about getting a pink iPod nano, but want the absolute pinkest piece of iPod money can buy? Balls-out pink lovers should try to scrounge up a 2nd gen nano, while someone looking for a subdued, less intensely pink experience can walk into an Apple Store and buy the latest bubblegum flavor. [iLounge

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I bet you were feeling pretty happy with Congress a little bit ago. Get ready to go back to normal! The College Opportunity and Affordability passed the House today (sounds good so far, right?), but it carries a provision that forces schools to make plans for network filtering mojo and a legal alternative to P2P file-sharing.

Luckily, the provision doesn’t have much in the way of teeth right now, but an amendment to safeguard schools’ federal funding if they don’t comply was pulled yesterday, so it could quickly grow some. Just another reminder of why gov’t peeps who know tech and aren’t easily confused by slick lobbying are important. [Ars Technica]

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Filed under: Cellphones

TerreStar certainly hasn’t been flooding us with news over the years, but it looks like the company’s been keeping itself busy nonetheless, and its now scored an impressive $300 million in funding for its efforts. That money, coming from EchoStar and Harbinger Capital Partners, will largely be used to fund the company through the launch of its TerreStar-1 “hybrid mobile satellite” (pictured above in a circa 2005 mockup), which promises to power cellphones that’ll be able to use traditional terrestrial networks and fall back on satellite when there’s no other signal. What’s more, despite the three-year-gap since the initial announcement, TerreStar says it’s still shooting for a launch by the end of this year, with Arianespace confirming that it’s able to provide the transport into space during the December 2008 through February 2009 launch window.

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A British electronics retailer’s survey concluded that 47% of men would give up sex for six months in order to get a free 50-inch Plasma TV. Amazing. Six months is a long time, and 50 inches isn’t THAT big. So we pose this question to you, our readers. What’s your no sex to TV ratio?

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Image courtesy Complex

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Filed under: Cellphones

TerreStar certainly hasn’t been flooding us with news over the years, but it looks like the company’s been keeping itself busy nonetheless, and its now scored an impressive $300 million in funding for its efforts. That money, coming from EchoStar and Harbinger Capital Partners, will largely be used to fund the company through the launch of its TerreStar-1 “hybrid mobile satellite” (pictured above in a circa 2005 mockup), which promises to power cellphones that’ll be able to use traditional terrestrial networks and fall back on satellite when there’s no other signal. What’s more, despite the three-year-gap since the initial announcement, TerreStar says it’s still shooting for a launch by the end of this year, with Arianespace confirming that it’s able to provide the transport into space during the December 2008 through February 2009 launch window.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Laptops

The EFF sure has set it sights high with its latest lawsuit, with it now teaming up with the Asian Law Caucus (ALC) to sue the Department of Homeland Security over laptop and gadget searches and other alleged infringements of civil liberties at U.S. borders. Specifically, the two groups are asking for the DHS to disclose its policies on questioning travelers on First Amendment-protected activities, including the photocopying of individuals’ papers, and the searching of laptops and other electronic devices. According to the EFF, that rather drastic move was prompted by the DHS’s failure to meet a 20-day time limit Congress had set for responding to public information requests. Needless to say, the DHS itself doesn’t seem to have a whole lot to say on the matter at the moment, and we’re guessing that situation won’t be changing anytime soon.

[Via The Register, image courtesy of WhiteHouse.gov]

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If Star Wars took place in Japan and Jedis were ninjas, this is what Stormtroopers would hunt them down in during the Great Jedi Purge. They’re obviously smarter than the average clone, too, since they’re too dumb and clumsy to wield katana. Created by artist Yoshi Isao and on display at Gift Show 2008 in Tokyo, Giz Japan brings us this follow-up to his rendition of Darth Vader as Dark Lord of the Shogun. [Yoshitoku via Giz Japan]

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