164 diggsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The ailing U.S. steel industry is pressing President-elect Barack Obama for a public works plan that could be worth $1 trillion over two years to boost flagging demand for U.S.-made steel, the New York Times reported in...

137 diggsEspecially mathematicians, who spend all their days doing boring sums in some remote world of the intellect.Some news, guys: it's not true.

123 diggsHumans could be protected from dengue fever by infecting the mosquitoes carrying it with a parasite which halves their lifespan, say researchers.

321 diggsBANK'S "technical error" leaves one shocked customer with a massive overdraft. The 38-year-old, from Irvine on Scotland's east coast, said his wife noticed the somewhat "major discrepancy of two £50-billion debits'' after he logged on to his account online

149 diggsThe rate at which corals absorb calcium from seawater to calcify their hard skeletons — and thus grow — has declined dramatically in the last two decades and signs point to manmade greenhouse gas emissions as the culprit, according to a study of samples from Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

133 diggsDigital music, long the bane of the music industry, may finally be something that record label executives can smile about.For 2008, total music sales rose 10 percent to 1.51 billion units sold, up from 1.36 billion units the year before, according to industry tracker Niel

253 diggsSupercar from future for just 750,000 euro

98 diggsNew research suggests that Africans have more sensitive palettes than Europeans and Asians – at least for bitter tastes. A survey of numerous African populations in Kenya and Cameroon found a striking amount of diversity in a gene responsible for sensing bitter tastes.

130 diggsElectronics Recycling for the New Year

220 diggsApril 18, 1935. Dust storm approaching Stratford, Texas.

134 diggsGNU/Linux offers a bewildering variety of flavors -- or distributions, as they're called. To a newcomer's eye, many of these seem virtually identical to each other.Yet, the more you learn about a distribution and the community that surrounds it, the more different they become.

282 diggsYou’ve spent the money for rebuilding the orphanage on videogames, and already you’re wanting more? Fair enough, though we defy you to remember all of 2009’s hot prospects with so much Fallout 3 in your brain. Here, because we love you, is a quick rundown of the ones that slipped off the radar yet still have the potential for greatness.

143 diggsRussell Kaemmerling, who was convicted of conspiring to commit wire fraud and is being held in a federal prison in Texas, sued to block the state from collecting his DNA on the grounds that it amounted to a defilement of "God's temple" and was "tantamount to laying the foundation for the rise of the anti-Christ."

303 diggsMaybe we're too hard on Disney. After all, they simply remake classic stories in cartoon form. What's not to like? Well, as you'll see, it all depends on just how much thought you apply to it. Here's seven pretty terrible lessons that Disney films taught us, whether they meant to or not.

264 diggsWeb-savvy moms who breast-feed are irate that social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace restrict photos of nursing babies. The disputes reveal how the sites' community policing techniques sometimes struggle to keep up with the booming number and diversity of their members.

141 diggsThe car doesn't make the man.

215 diggsTake Ubuntu or Fedora wherever you go. Nothing can beat having a great Linux distro installed on a super-fast hard drive, with all your favourite apps configured just how you like them and all your files at your fingertips.

61 diggsFans brave cold at Chicago's Wrigley Field for ice hockey showpiece.

217 diggsThe free and open source software community has been waiting for the G1 cell phone since it was first announced in July. Source code for Google's Android mobile platform has been available, but the G1 marks its commercial debut. It's clearly a good device, but is it what Linux boosters and FOSS advocates have long been anticipating?

555 diggsLogos are everywhere. Because of this, only a few can rise among the noise -- and often it's the more unique logos that are most memorable. Sometimes to be unique, you've also got to be weird. In this post, we showcase twenty lovably strange logos that work.

243 diggsThe country's 1.2 million square miles of trees -- dubbed the "lungs of the planet" by ecologists because they account for more than 7 percent of Earth's total forest lands -- could always be depended upon to suck in vast quantities of carbon dioxide, cleansing the world of much of the harmful heat-trapping gas. Not anymore.

141 diggsThese are all great songs that were not covered by radio play last year, but are all worthy of your attention. Included are songs by The Kelly Affair, Supergrass, Al Green, Kate Nash and more. You can watch all the video here and vote too. Cool!

213 diggsThe familiar hardware for Guitar Hero and Rock Band cries out to be tinkered with, and do-it-yourselfers answered the call: playing real guitars, rigging up double bass drums and just plain cheating.

168 diggsThough the kid might have a faint "I'm totally gonna see this on YouTube" glimmer in his eye, it's still a pretty funny clip.

245 diggsTeens and young adults are responsible for a doubling of record sales this past year, while CD sales plummeted.

270 diggsQuicktime required. Ambient city noise played after the jump.

177 diggs"On at least one occasion, [the male employee] rubbed his groin on [Thomas's] desk, and said, 'You know what I'm doing, I'm rubbing myself on your desk,'" claims the lawsuit, filed yesterday in Houston federal court. Other alleged incidents include "sticky surprises" in his work area and pictures of another man's testicles on his digital camera...

166 diggsThe iPhone may have started the touch-screen smartphone trend, but these days, there's no shortage of competition. Which handset is right for you?

182 diggsNever mind the 360, Wii, and PS3, because Sony's PlayStation 2 beat them all in average minutes used during 2008.

236 diggsWeb analytics is the process of gathering and analyzing your web content’s data in order to glean meaningful information about how your site is being utilized by your users. There are plenty of Web analytics applications out there, and you probably already know the big guns such as Google Analytics, Crazy Egg, and remote-site services such as Alexa

155 diggsThis cop is either really stupid, or that penis is really gun shaped.

223 diggsI see an upscale Netbook-like Apple computer with, let's say, a slightly smaller form factor than the Apple MacBook Air.

119 diggsWant to increase your Twitter Followers? Here is a huge compilation of the Top 100 Twitter Icons And Buttons that you can use on on your site to promote your profile.......

123 diggsRALEIGH, N.C. -- For her college interview, Avery Cullinan put on her best outfit but didn't bother with shoes. She sat in her living room, smiled into her computer's webcam and told an admissions officer more than 800 miles away that Wake Forest University was right for her.

378 diggsAbstruse Goose

225 diggsAmazing.

170 diggsThe Wine development release 1.1.12 is now available.

167 diggsThe International Ski Federation (FIS) is now holding the 2008-09 Ski Jumping World Cup - the 30th season to date. This World Cup season began on November 29th in Kuusamo, Finland, and will run through 28 competitions ending on March 22nd in Planica, Slovenia.

100 diggsWARMER temperatures and earlier melting of sea ice are causing polar bears to go hungry. The number of undernourished bears has tripled in a 20-year period.

115 diggsManning now joins Brett Favre as the only people to win the award 3 times.

142 diggsWith such a memorable year, it was hard to pick the top ten memorable scenes from all the films. Of course, to be fair, I had to choose only one scene from any given movie (otherwise, The Dark Knight would easily take five or six spots on the list).So here are the most memorable scenes we had in the theaters this summer, for better or for worse.

192 diggs"For gamers who travel, handheld systems like the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable are lifesavers. A boring, lengthy flight is the perfect excuse for a focused gaming session."

194 diggsI’m sure you’ll all agree that 2008 was a crazy year, so I thought I would take a moment to recap some Digg highlights. - Kevin

97 diggsThe world used 197 million new IPv4 addresses in 2008, leaving 926 million addresses still available. The US remains the biggest user of new addresses, but China is catching up quick.

200 diggsSen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) threatened Friday to filibuster any attempt to seat Democratic Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken next week.

118 diggsWatch this amazing accident by rain

119 diggsPeople have talked for years about Google taking Microsoft on with its own Linux desktop. Guess what? Google may already have sneaked a Linux desktop out without anyone noticing... until now.

96 diggsResearchers explain how carbon nanotubes could someday bypass faulty circuitry in the brain, for instance curing Parkinson's disease, as well as to repair spinal cord injuries and eventually to augment and enhance cognitive functions.

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196 diggsPhotographer: Anji Tillemans

178 diggsWe went 0-8 in our predictions last year. But that didn't stop us from looking into our crystal ball to see who was most likely to kick the bucket in 2009

107 diggs"There are millions of people who browse Wikipedia in any given month, but only 2 percent of them (roughly 1,400) are responsible for editing nearly 75 percent of the information on the entire website."

183 diggsBeijing is showing all the symptoms of suffering from the same 'Olympic curse' as Athens and Sydney.

109 diggsSome forecasters were prescient; financial leaders weren't.

174 diggsFollow this handy action plan in order to set New Year’s Financial Resolutions you can actually keep.

124 diggsDue to the positive feedback for our original “101 things” article, I’ve created a sequel to tickle your imagination bone.

111 diggsMicrosoft was not able to slow the market share loss of its Internet Explorer (IE) web browser in December. IE surrendered more than 1.5 points in December, according to Net Applications, while Firefox, Chrome and Safari posted substantial gains.

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128 diggsWhile watching the Cotton Bowl heard a brief story on this guy, some of you are familiar or may have read the book..."On a cold and blustery morning, Sean and his wife, Leigh Anne, were driving down one of the main boulevards of East Memphis..Sean pointed him out to his wife and said: “That kid I was telling you about — that’s him. Big Mike.”

91 diggsPeyton Manning and Philip Rivers are playing so well, it is easy to forget that they could not plant their feet last spring.

505 diggsRand Memorial Hospital in the Bahamas tells TMZ the son of John Travolta died today.We're told 16-year-old Jett was vacationing with Travolta and wife Kelly Preston. We do not know the circumstances of his death.

118 diggsDungeness crabs are not only a winter treat; they are also the most valuable catch on the West Coast. More than 400 boats ply the waves in the early winter and lay their crab pots off the coast of California, Oregon and Washington.

207 diggsThe current 4 year low in gas prices is ruining tax revenue earmarked for the nation's roadways and bridges, says the commission appointed by Congress.

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82 diggsIn his first season, Mike Smith has led the Atlanta Falcons to an 11-5 regular-season finish and a trip to Arizona for the playoffs. And as ESPN.com's Elizabeth Merrill writes, he's done it the old-fashioned way, by earning his players' respect.

123 diggsYes, it's true that people (and especially businesses) still use fax machines, even in Japan. The market seems to be big enough to make Panasonic Japan develop what’s reportedly the world’s first fax machine that enables users to both send and receive messages without having to use paper.

91 diggsThe concussion that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sustained in Sunday’s game highlighted the team’s notable history with brain injuries.

155 diggsFor a couple in their sixties, Cynthia MacGregor and her live-in partner, Grant, have few hang-ups about personal boundaries: In their household, the bathroom door is always open, regardless of what's taking place inside.

179 diggsThis spring, travelers entering San Francisco International Airport will see a new type of kiosk at check-in -- one offering carbon offsets for those who wish to counter the greenhouse-gas emissions from their trip.

233 diggsNo more trawling the web for the latest media codecs. Windows 7 comes ready to play all your favourite "downloaded" videos.

104 diggsCloud development platforms, mobile application development and the increasing acceptance of dynamic languages for Web development were among the top 10 stories in the world of software programming. With each passing year, software tools have become more sophisticated. While developers have more languages and tools to choose from than ever before.

263 diggsMotorists are driving less and buying less gas, which means fuel taxes aren't raising as much money for transit programs. While Americans are managing their money more carefully and cutting down on fossil fuel consumption, the government is considering hiking the gas tax. Perhaps the government should just try managing its money better, too.

207 diggsHollywood's six major studios say they broke overseas box office records in 2008, with an estimated $9.9 billion in tickets sold.

235 diggsThe music industry has taken some extreme measures to counter piracy, but it hasn’t found the silver bullet yet. The key is to come up with a service that will fulfill the needs of music lovers, and one that would even be embraced by the most hardcore pirate. With Spotify, this might just become possible.

134 diggsHarmonix confirmed today what you may have already had leaked all over you: a Roy Orbison six-pack is hitting the Rock Band series next week. The tracks? You already know. “Claudette”, “In Dreams,” “Mean Woman Blues,” “Oh, Pretty Woman,” “Ooby Dooby," and “You Got It,” six tracks that span years worth of Orbison's career.

115 diggsEver stare at an expiration code that reads like "1L24A22J"? How the hell are you suppose to know what that means? Here's handy cheat sheet explaining the various code format.

224 diggsA daredevil Catholic priest who was killed after floating out to sea suspended by 1,000 helium-filled party balloons has been honoured for his idiocy.

232 diggsIt's AVN season, the time when porn stars dress up in their finest PVC attire and compete for awards in categories such "Best All-Girl 3-Way Sex Scene." And for those lucky enough to be attending the AVN awards on January 10th in Las Vegas, it's also the time when porn stars leap out of the DVD player and come to life to pose for pictures and sign

116 diggsWant an iPhone 3G but hate AT&T (T)? Or want to plug in another carrier's SIM card to use your iPhone with abroad? That's now easy to do with Apple's newest phone: The iPhone 3G unlock is now available, and Gizmodo has instructions.

130 diggsIn a world where body painting is celebrated more often with testosterone than artistic appreciation, Australian artist Emma Hack stands out. [SFW]

196 diggsWhile Obama may credit the web for his successful White House run, at least one corner of the Internet is voting Palin 2009; currently leading Amazon’s Office Products and Supplies bestseller list is the Sarah Palin 2009 Calendar.

174 diggsCraigslist is one of my absolute favorite sites on the 'net -- it's been around for years, but kept the same simple look and feel, perfectly fulfilling the service of classifieds without ever once going off that course. Sure, there are issues with spam, but Craig and his minions have worked overtime to make the thing work, and it works well (in fac

106 diggsThe San Francisco Giants are pursuing free-agent slugger Manny Ramirez and have offered him a four-year deal, a well-connected source said.

131 diggsThe National Institute on Media and Family releases an annual report card for the gaming industry, and this year's report painted a very rosy picture indeed. Unfortunately, those findings were somewhat tainted by the knowledge that the NIMF accepted a cash donation from the Entertainment Software Association. Next year's report card could be very i

203 diggsPolice get calls about drunken drivers all the time, but rarely do they come from the alleged offender. A 17-year-old girl in Bismarck called 911 on New Year's Eve "to report herself driving under the influence," police Lt. Randy Ziegler said. "I've never heard of such a thing happening, and neither has anyone here."

185 diggsChrysler LLC said on Friday it has received an initial $4 billion emergency loan from the government. ''This initial loan will allow the company to continue an orderly restructuring,'' Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said in...

241 diggsOfficials say a woman believed to have been the world's oldest living person has died in northwest Portugal at the age of 115. Maria de Jesus had been listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest person. That title now falls to an American, 114-year-old Gertrude Baines, who lives in a Los Angeles nursing home.

58 diggs"I can confirm that Jeff has resigned and is interested in the Padres," Padres owner John Moores wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

150 diggsThe bloodletting in the c-suite started in 2007. It still hasn't stopped. Another year goes by and more chief executives get the ax — probably more than in any previous year. People shook their heads when Charles Prince III at Citigroup and Stanley O'Neal at Merrill Lynch got the boot in 2007. Now it look like they were lucky. They got out just in

121 diggsA study, published in the January issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, was performed in laboratory mice but, according to the authors, should serve as a warning to people with a high risk of lung cancer or who have the disease to avoid the additive -- inorganic phosphates -- as much as possible.

334 diggsThe U.S. will give an estimated $26 billion in foreign aid in 2008—70% more than when President George W. Bush took office (the figure doesn’t include funds related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). More than 150 countries get financial assistance from the U.S. Here are the six that received the most this year.

141 diggsSan Diego, already home to dozens of companies involved in solar or wind energy, would be a major player in the nation's multi-trillion-dollar energy economy if a group of local researchers succeed in turning algae into a commercially viable transportation fuel, something they think they can do within a decade.

91 diggsNot every sport can boast referees who cradle assault rifles, or winners who eat the animal carcasses they have spent the afternoon fighting over.The object of buzkashi — a popular game in Afghanistan — is to grab the goat, gallop round the pole with the carcass in hand, race back toward the circle and drop the goat inside.

164 diggsFive Democratic leaders seek aid for all 50 states to maintain education, welfare, infrastructure, as recession worsens. The governors of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio and Wisconsin - all Democrats - said the initiative for the two-year aid package was backed by other governors and follows a meeting in December where governors called on

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116 diggsFewer structures have been more critical to California's development than the 1,100 miles of earthen levees that help funnel water through the 1,300-square-mile confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. But the levees are in trouble, experts say. Rising seas, earthquakes, subsiding land and floods pose dire threats.

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137 diggsContributors to the free online encyclopaedia are motivated by egotism, not altruism, a psychological survey concludes.

261 diggsIt's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic.

86 diggsProfessionals who help people make changes in their lives suggest that the anatomy of change is determined not by one's surroundings, but one's mindset. Beginning with small goals or steps usually leads to a bigger payoff later, they say. And trying to make a change is easier with support from a cheery group of friends, family, or co-workers

129 diggsThousands of heart attacks could be prevented after a gene associated with early hardening of the arteries was identified by scientists.

198 diggsIt’s been nearly a year since Garmin announced the nüvifone. And while the phone still isn’t out, Garmin is providing us with a nice handful of screen shots, perhaps as a final sneak peek before CES. If you’ll recall, the nüvifone is Garmin’s first combination GPS/phone device.

161 diggsUtah is the best of the BCS busters. Brian Johnson threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, and the No. 7 Utes upset fourth-ranked Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl on Friday night to finish 13-0.

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158 diggsA mixed-race British couple has defied the odds — twice — by producing two sets of twins in which one sibling appears to be black and the other white. Dean Durrant's newborn daughter Miya has dark skin like him. Twin sister Leah has fair skin like her blue-eyed, red-haired mother, Alison Spooner.

147 diggsThis is a well-known version of 'Somewhere over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World', by Israel Kamakawiwo Ole. I think this is absolutely the most beautiful video, set to his music. The song reminds me of simpler times.

176 diggsLegendary animator Ralph Bakshi (of "Fritz the Cat" fame) thrived as an animator as the giants of the field like Disney were dying. Last year Bakshi gave an speech for animators on how to survive in tough times — but his insights can be applied to any creative professional or entrepreneur. And it all comes down to this: "Reinvent your Industry".

148 diggsDespite lessened expectations for next week's Macworld Expo, the Moscone Center venue for the trade show already sports roughly a dozen sprawling, cloth-concealed banners that hint at several product announcements.

132 diggsTechnology Investment Saves Auto Industry" didn't quite happen. The Senate shot down the House's $15 billion compromise plan to loan the money that Congress originally appropriated in Section 136 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 for fuel-efficiency technology development to be used

89 diggsKobe Bryant scored 40 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 113-100 Friday night for their fifth straight win and 17th in 18 home games.

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77 diggsGov. Bill Ritter is shattering conventional wisdom in tapping the popular but politically untested Michael Bennet, superintendent of Denver Public Schools, as the U.S. Senate replacement for Interior Secretary nominee Ken Salazar.