Microsoft’s Live Maps is adding Clearflow, a system in 72 cities that takes four years of real-world traffic data and uses it to interpolate what traffic is going to be like “today”. The project started with traffic algorithms from GPS units in Microsoft employees’ vehicles, and now has “over 125,000″ miles worth of info. This traffic data should be free and available on Live.com for you to plan out your next trip to Albertsons. It’s not quite as good as Dash, but it beats going in blind. [NYT via Slashdot via JKOntheRun via Lifehacker]

Via [Gizmodo]

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The newest iteration of Canon’s Rebel X__ series is available for pre-order. I’m actually considering upgrading my Rebel XT to this model, the XSi/450D because the changes are actually significant (more useful pixels, live view, larger LCD, etc). However, I’m not really interested in paying for a useless lens along with my camera, so I’m […]

The newest iteration of Canon’s Rebel X__ series is available for pre-order. I’m actually considering upgrading my Rebel XT to this model, the XSi/450D because the changes are actually significant (more useful pixels, live view, bigger LCD, etc). However, I’m not really interested in paying for a useless lens along with my camera, so I’m going to go with the body only option. It’s the same price at Amazon, BH, and J&R so don’t worry about getting a bargain just yet.

Via [crunchgear]

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Are you one of the millions of Americans living without health insurance? If so, then you know how high-priced hospital visits are, especially for fancy tests like MRIs. But hey, don’t worry. If you need an MRI, you can always just use this makeshift MRI that was built using a cardboard tube, coils of wire, and other items that you can pick up at your local hardware store. The thing is, it really works.

Built by a couple of researchers at Harvard, the makeshift MRI was cost less than $100,000 to make, but it does a superior job of imaging the lungs than traditional MRIs do. That’s because while traditional MRIs are great at imaging liquid within the body, the lungs are full of air, which doesn’t come out in the scans. Not this hobbled together contraption; it uses a weak magnetic field to image aspects of the lungs that are invisible to all other imaging techniques.

So really, this is a very specialized MRI machine, albeit one that was essentially built in a garage by a couple of crazy geniuses. So no, you won’t be able to go down the street to your neighborhood mad scientist’s shed to get an MRI on the cheap anytime soon, but it’s a nice thought, isn’t it? [Technology Review]

Via [Gizmodo]

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We’ve got a man on the ground in San Francisco and we’re getting some nice pictures of protesters and miscellaneous people at the ceremony there. Looks like there are a lot of sightseers and people are generally having a good time — not the bloody melee you’d expect at a civil rights protest in the […]

We’ve got a man on the ground in San Francisco and we’re getting some nice pictures of protesters and miscellaneous people at the ceremony there. Looks like there are a lot of sightseers and people are generally having a good time — not the bloody melee you’d anticipate at a civil rights protest in the Bay Area (or at a Tibetan Monastery - ouch!). We’ll keep you updated. If you’re there and checking this on your iPhone, keep us appraised of events.

CrunchGear: Your source for current events and world-changing issues.

Via [crunchgear]

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Not content with looking like a dumbass on a regular tandem bike, Taiwanese inventor Chen Yugang decided to kick it up a notch and develop a bike that’s as perilous as it is ridiculous. Apparently, his new design can be ridden face to face, conventionally or (and here’s the real kicker) back to back for couples looking to add a little rush to their romantic life. Seriously though guys, there isn’t a damn thing that’s romantic about the emergency room okay? Still, Yugang plans on getting it mass produced. Yeah, good luck with that dude—I just hope you’ve a great lawyer. [Daily Times via Geekologie via DVICE]

Via [Gizmodo]

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