D+Caf Detects If You’re Drinking Real Coffee Instead of Decaf [Coffee]

I don’t understand drinking decaf coffee. It’s like non-alcoholic beer. Both are crappy, neutered versions of the original. But if you’ve absolutely got to drink decaf, D+caf will make sure it’s the real (fake) deal.

D+caf test strips are simply little strips of paper coated with antibodies that tell if you a beverage is properly decaffeinated, turning up blue lines if it’s got more than 20mg of caffeine per 6oz serving. Even modern decaffeination procedures can’t remove every single trace of caffeine, but between 20 and 30 percent of coffee and tea drinks “contain unacceptably high levels of caffeine” according to the strip’s maker, Silver Lakes Research.

The strips are 98 percent accurate for detecting caffeine, plus you have to use them before you add anything else to your coffee tea, like milk or sugar. And at $10 for a pack of 20, you’re paying 50 cents a strip, instantly propelling even cheap decaf coffee into Starbucks pricing territory. So I’m not sure these are worth the small bit of security that some smartass doesn’t occasionally slip you real coffee instead of decaf.

Besides, how the hell do you decaf people get through the day, anyway? [Discover Testing via MIT Technology Review via Medgadget, Photo: Joshua Scott/MIT TR]

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BlackBerry Curve 8900 And 8MP Samsung Memoir Look Certain For Feb. 18 on T-Mobile [Cellphones]

We had a strong suspicion before, but this release memo over at BGR appears to confirm that T-Mobile will get the Curve 8900 and the 8-megapixel Samsung Memoir (which has gone by a number of different names through its FCC process) on February 18. In other shocking news, the 3G-equipped TM506 will be available in January in…RED! [BGR]

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How to Run Windows 7 and Your Old OS on the Same Computer [Windows 7]

Wanna check out the Windows 7 beta that just leaked, but don’t want to wipe your current Windows install? The Technicist has an easy guide to dual booting that’ll let you do just that.

Their guide is for a netbook, but it’ll pretty much work on any computer if you just want a taste of Windows 7. All you need is the Windows 7 DVD image, a disc imaging program (I like Daemon tools), a 4GB USB drive (or any external hard drive with more than 4GB) and your computer—though a second, optional flash drive is useful. Then just follow their guide, and you’ll be up and running Windows 7 in no time. [The Technicist via jkOnTheRun]

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Apple’s Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter Has Periodic Distortion Issues [Mini Displayport]

We’ve been waiting a few months for the Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter in order to hook up our 30-inch Dell 3007WFP monitor, but when it got here, it was periodically unusable.

Here’s the issue: occasionally (somewhere between a few minutes and an hour), the screen will look like it’s missing half its display information, like one of its dual “links” has failed. This can only be fixed by unplugging and plugging in ether the Mini DisplayPort connector to our MacBook Pro, or the USB connection (yes, the adapter uses both DisplayPort AND USB).

A quick search found these two Apple support threads, here and here, with a bunch of people that have the same problem.

And this issue doesn’t seem to be isolated to Dell’s displays, users have the same screen distortion with Apple’s 30-inch Cinema Displays as well.

Our own limited testing showed that this happens really quickly (in about a minute) when there’s a USB hub plugged either into the second MacBook Pro USB port, or into the pass-through port on the actual adapter itself. If we have nothing plugged in, the display is fine, but if we have a powered hub plugged in, the distortion hits almost immediately.

Here’s hoping this is an easy software fix. And, we probably just found the reason why the adapter was delayed so long. If you’re looking to buy one of these, hold off until the problem has been fixed.

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Compaq Mini 700 innards exposed by Italian fetishists

Ever wonder how netbooks pack all that laptopy goodness into such small packages? Laptop Italia has your answer, tearing a Compaq Mini 700 (aka HP Mini 1000) into its individual components, supposedly for the sake of enabling you to repair the thing at home, but we think the real motivation is rather less instructional and more exhibitionistic. Regardless of your intentions, the site provides an extensive guide on how to take apart HP’s tiny laptop, starting by pulling the battery and ending with a picture of where the 3G modem would go if this particular model had one. Unlike some teardowns we’ve seen in the past, this clinical looking disassembly, if reversed, looks like it might actually put the thing back together again — if you’re into that sort of thing.

[Thanks, faber]

Filed under: Laptops

Compaq Mini 700 innards exposed by Italian fetishists originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Psion says it’s only going after those “profiting” from the term netbook

Psion, Psion. We hadn’t really heard from the British portable maker since the halcyon days of the Series5, but it’s back and making waves with a series of nastygrams asserting its trademark of the word “netbook.” Psion’s legal team followed up with jkOnTheRun, and according to them, it’s only going after those sites and companies “making a direct, financial profit from use of the ‘Netbook’ trademark.” (As opposed to profit in kind, we suppose — did you know our advertisers pay us in toaster waffles and aviator sunglasses? True story.) Psion says it’s mostly focused on retailers and manufacturers using the term netbook to sell machines, not “straight blogs” and other sites. Of course, that means next to nothing, since Psion says it’ll still go after those sites that have sponsored ads or for-profit links containing the word “netbook” — including automatically-placed ads and links like AdSense and Amazon affiliate ads that site owners typically have no control over. +10 weasel, dudes. Anyway, considering the widespread adoption of “netbook” in the past year with nary a peep from Psion, we’d say the term is pretty well generic and no longer a valid trademark at this point — we’ll see how it goes when it drags the first heavy-hitter using the term (like Intel) into court.

Disclaimer: Nilay’s a lawyer and secret Asian netbook ODM, but he’s not your lawyer and this isn’t legal advice or analysis.

Filed under: Laptops

Psion says it’s only going after those “profiting” from the term netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cellphones Cause Kidney Stones and Heart Disease Now [Panic]

Just days after preliminary data gathered in the largest cellphone cancer study thoroughly depressed us, a new study claims that exposure causes red blood cells to leak hemoglobin—leading to kidney stones and heart disease.

During the study, scientists exposed samples of blood to varying degrees of microwave radiation (including levels well below those emitted by cellphones) for periods between ten to 60 hours. No matter how you cut it, the result was hemoglobin leakage (which just sounds nasty). Obviously, heart disease is the most serious condition of the two, but I can tell you from experience that you don’t want any part of a kidney stone either. Those things could make even Chuck Norris cry like a little girl.

I wouldn’t say that this test was the most thorough ever conducted, but I think deep down we all know that when all is said and done, the final verdict about cellphone use is going to be grim. [MINA via textually]

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