"Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just hap... Nope, that's a gun."

There’s a bit of a concern with the new full body scanners that will are becoming more popular at airport security stations.  Aside from the obvious concerns in regards to invasion of privacy (the detectors essentially produce semi-naked images of those who are being scanned), there are now some major health concerns being voiced by medical experts across the world.  Like how they have to potential to kill you…

Don’t get the wrong idea.  The devices don’t function as some sort of death ray or cause your head to explode as you are scanned by them.  The concern is that the concentration of energy on those being scanned has the potential to cause skin cancer due to radiation reaching dangerous levels as the devices are focused on and directly under the skin, especially the neck and face.

Honestly, the cancer that the concern is in regards to is basal-cell carcinoma, which rarely metastasizes and is pretty low on the chart of things that might kill you, but the fact remains that if the experts are right, why subject ourselves to another hazard while traveling even if it is in the name of security.

Another recently raised concern is the fact that the devices use Terahertz Waves in order to penetrate through clothing when scans are performed.  A recent study shows that while the Waves are present in our every day lives, the focus of this energy on the human body in large amounts, which is the case with the scanners, can be damaging to our DNA.  Yeah, I’d prefer the strip search to something that can pull my DNA apart, thanks.

There have already been some privacy issues with the devices and lawsuits have been opened in Britain where security personnel have been accused of “ogling” the semi-naked images of travelers that are produced by the scanners and in at least one case, commenting on them as well.

And then to top off all these problems, Israeli security experts have denounced the scanners as being a “waste of money” as well as being “easily fooled” when it comes to the transport of explosive materials.  At $250,000 a pop, one doesn’t like to hear of harmful radiation and that the scanner that’s potentially scrambling your DNA isn’t really going to make your flight any safer.

I don’t know about the rest of you but when I travel, I make certain I’m at the airport early enough to make certain the security checks don’t make me miss a flight.  The system might not be perfect and there may be some TSA folks I’d just as soon not talk to but in the long run, I don’t think the scanners’ potential for damage outweighs the questionable security benefits.

Guess I better get my tinfoil undies out of storage.

Gritskrieg – End of Line

(NY Times) – Wednesday is a good day for Wonder Woman. This 69-year-old superheroine, published by DC Comics, will don a new, and less revealing, costume and enjoy the publication of Issue No. 600 of her monthly series.

The costume ties into an alternative history for the character devised by J. Michael Straczynski, the new writer of the series, and into a quest by DC to shine a critical and creative spotlight on the heroine, who stands with Superman and Batman in its primary triumvirate of superstars, despite her series’s modest sales.

In the reimagining of her story, Wonder Woman, instead of growing up on Paradise Island with her mother, Queen Hippolyta, and her Amazon sisters, is smuggled out as a baby when unknown forces destroy her home and slaughter its inhabitants.

Mr. Straczynski, who created the television show “Babylon 5” and wrote the screenplay for “Changeling” in 2008, starring Angelina Jolie, said in an e-mail message that he wanted to address “the wardrobe issue” as soon as he took the job.

“She’s been locked into pretty much the exact same outfit since her debut in 1941,” Mr. Straczynski wrote. “If you’re going to make a statement about bringing Wonder Woman into the 21st century, you need to be bold and you need to make it visual. I wanted to toughen her up, and give her a modern sensibility.”

He added, “What woman only wears only one outfit for 60-plus years?”

Given Wonder Woman’s pre-eminence as a female character in the largely male superhero pantheon, her looks have always been a matter of more than casual interest, to both fanboys and feminists. In a 2006 interview about her work on the series, the novelist Jodi Picoult said: “One of the first things I did was ask if we could give her breast-reduction surgery, because as a woman, I know you wouldn’t fight crime in a bustier. But I was somehow shot down by DC.”

The new costume was designed by the artist Jim Lee, who in February was named co-publisher of DC, alongside Dan DiDio. Given the assignment, “my first reaction was, ‘Oh my gosh,’ ” Mr. Lee said in an interview. But he welcomed the challenge: “When these characters become so branded that you can’t change things, they become ossified.”

The new look, with an understated “W” insignia, a midnight blue jacket and a flinty fusion of black tights and boots — is darker than the famed swimsuit-style outfit, and aims to be contemporary, functional and, as Tim Gunn of “Project Runway” might say, less costumey.

Given the hope that the character will one day have her own international film franchise (a feature has long been gestating at Warner Entertainment, DC’s parent company), one test of the design was to imagine how it would look standing next to, say, Batman’s politically neutral ensemble. “The original costume was the American flag brought to life,” Mr. Lee said. “This one is a little more universal.”

Mr. Lee has drawn his share of sexy superheroines (the X-Men’s Rogue among them), some in skimpy costume, and knows what many fans will ask: “Why am I covering up her legs?” Ultimately, he wanted her to look strong “without screaming, ‘I’m a superhero.’ ”

The arrival of Issue 600 is a bit of comic-book sleight of hand, or, as DC calls it, a return to historical numbering. Wonder Woman’s first self-titled series, which begin in 1942, ended with No. 329. The character was then overhauled, her previous continuity erased, and she starred in Volume 2 as a heroine new to the world. That incarnation lasted 226 issues. Another new direction spurred a third volume (and, to collectors who care about such things, another Issue No. 1) that ran for 44 issues. Do the math, and what would have been Issue No. 45 is now Volume 1, No. 600.

The new costume will almost certainly be better received than the curveball thrown Wonder Woman in 1968, when she lost her powers, dressed mod and practiced martial arts. It took the attention of no less than Gloria Steinem to protest the change, and to help get the Amazon back into her star-spangled duds. Ms. Steinem went on to use Wonder Woman, resplendent in red, white and blue, on the cover of the first issue of Ms. magazine in 1972. A cover line proclaimed, “Wonder Woman for President.”

That’s the kind of attention Mr. Straczynski thinks she deserves: “Wonder Woman is a strong, dynamic, vibrant character who should be selling in the top 20, and I’m going to do all I can to get her there.”

(Gamespot) – Reports have been circulating since the beginning of June that on-demand TV show streaming service Hulu would be the latest multimedia addition to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Today, Hulu made it official. Along with formally unveiling its $10 premium service, the company confirmed that Hulu would be available through Sony’s and Microsoft’s console.

Hulu Plus is expected to debut on gaming consoles with the PlayStation 3. Though officially bearing a “coming soon” release window, a promotional video for Hulu Plus indicates that the service will be available on Sony’s console in July. For Sony’s part, the publisher would only verify the “coming soon” window. Xbox 360 gamers are expected to gain access to Hulu in early 2011. iPhone and iPad users who subscribe to Hulu Plus gain access to the service today.

Hulu did not indicate whether the free version of its on-demand content would be offered to console owners, and the company had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

As previously indicated, Hulu Plus is not a replacement for the TV show streaming content already available through Web browsers. Subscribers will gain access to full seasons of TV shows currently available through the service, instead of just the five most current episodes. Hulu Plus will also let subscribers access a range of TV shows, including The X-Files, Arrested Development, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Saturday Night Live.

Hulu is currently offering subscription plans to its premium service in limited quantities, and interested parties can apply for an invitation through the company’s Web site.

"Let's see, black mock neck, evil beard, piercing stare... Yup, time to take over the world."

It’s not even news… We all knew it was going to happen. The iPhone 4 hit the streets, people went berserk, lines stretched around corners, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria. There were shortages, most stores sold out in a matter of hours, and a lot of people braved the weather, ridicule, and vuvuzuelas in an attempt to lay their hands on one of the new iPhones.

And even with the reported reception issues, fragile all glass casings that shattered from drops less than one foot, and a myriad of other lesser problems reported, people still praised the latest device in Steve Jobs’ bid to take over the world. Reviews came out noting the issues but stating it was easily the best iPhone to date.

With all of that in mind, and the fact that there were 600,000 pre-orders through the AT&T and Apple websites before demand brought the sites to their proverbial knees, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the iPhone 4 sold more than 1.7 million units in only three days. It might not be a surprise but it’s definitely something for Apple to brag about.

The previous record for Apple was topping a cool million with the launch of the 3GS and amid the tales of connection woes, many of the people who managed to purchase an iPhone reported much better reception in areas they had previously had issues in.

But the forums of many of the tech sites are filled with the concern that the iPhone 4’s reception issue was realized before launch and that the Apple “bumpers” are merely a means to garner even more money from eager Apple fans.  The bumpers sell for $30 apiece. Regardless of the reports and suspected treachery, Apple has managed to outdo themselves with the most successful device launch in the history of cellular devices.

Based on the initial sales reports, if iTunes becomes self-aware, we’re screwed.

Gritskrieg – End of Line

Google isn't taking sides in the Adobe Flash/HTML5 war...

Google’s not making any apologies for including Flash in the latest Chrome update. And they’re making it easy to turn off for those who prefer to run through the internet Flash-less. Then there’s the fact that they’ve included support for HTML5…  It would appear Google is decidedly neutral in regards to the way video is handled in their browser as both formats are enabled by default. In addition to the Flash enabled software, Google is including five fixes with the latest update, two of which directly deal with the way video is handled by Chrome.

But it doesn’t stop there. The recent upgrade to Android 2.2 (otherwise known as “Froyo”) includes Flash 10.1 and benchmarks have shown the software to be playing well with the Android operating system. It’s a good bet that the dual support will be included in Google’s impending OS version of Chrome and I’m going to go out on a limb and call this a good thing.

I don’t know about the rest of the world but I’d prefer to have the choice as to what content I am able to view and download when I’m going to drop cold, hard cash for a multimedia device. I don’t like the idea that the device I just dropped hundreds of dollars on will force me to choose one viewing format over another. If I prefer Flash, why can’t I make the choice to use it?

Apple may very well end up ruling the cellular world with the iPhone and may have created a new market with the iPad but I’m just not convinced by Steve Jobs’ rant that Flash is “too buggy and too power intensive” to not at least want the option to use it on their devices.

There’s every reason in the world to believe that Google is capable of producing a functional and aesthetically pleasing desktop OS and by the simple fact that they’re building Flash support into their products, they may have just gained one more fan.

Gritskrieg – End of Line