Cody Taylor

Whether you’re a gourmet chef or just like to dabble in the kitchen, you’ll be amazed at just how ridiculous something as simple as a corkscrew can get. We found eight of the most over-the-top kitchen tools out there, ranging from to ,000. Some are pretty awesome if you can afford them; others are simply ridiculous.

A look at the fast-changing netbook – with an overview of models released in the past 18 months.

How does a small gang of lightly armed Somali pirates hijack a modern cargo ship? Pirates are generally armed with assault rifles and, increasingly, rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Modern ships’ crews are usually unarmed for a number of reasons.

explosivejared writes “Humans don’t always make the most rational decisions. As studies have shown, even when logic and reasoning point in one direction, sometimes we chose the opposite route, motivated by personal bias or simply ‘wishful thinking.’ This paradoxical human behavior has resisted explanation by classical decision theory for over a decade. But now, scientists have shown that a quantum probability model can provide a simple explanation for human decision-making — and may eventually help explain the success of human cognition overall.”

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Barence writes “Social news website Digg.com has made key changes to its recently introduced DiggBar. The browser add-on had been much criticised for its use of frames to “host” third-party websites within the digg.com domain using an obfuscating short URL, thereby boosting its own traffic figures to the detriment of those third parties. After many major sites ran negative articles on the DiggBar, and even changed their code to block it, Digg has relented and announced two changes to ease concerns.”

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Ian Lamont writes “A Microsoft-sponsored report that describes a hidden “Apple tax” has fallen flat among the technology press. Roger Kay’s report (PDF) compares various PC and Mac configurations, and claims an all-Apple household’s costs would add up to an extra ,367 over five years. Tech columnists and bloggers have slammed the comparisons and claims made in the report — even Mac-baiter John C. Dvorak calls it propaganda. However, some Mac fans still see a pro-Microsoft press conspiracy. Even if the comparisons are questionable, Kay’s report and the accompanying television ads have clearly struck a nerve among the Mac faithful.” Meanwhile Linux users everywhere are scratching their heads.

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jeet writes “Data centers are boring and NOCs are doubly so. But this one sure beats all of them. Found this video of a data center suited for james bond villain on Data Center Knowledge website. The facility is established in a hydrogen bomb safe bunker and has generators used in German submarines. The CEO takes you around and shows some other cool features.”

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Mike writes “The sunny state of Florida just announced that they will begin construction this year on the world’s first solar-powered city. A collaboration between Florida Power & Light and development firm Kitson & Partners, the 17,000 acre city will generate all of its electrical needs via a 75 megawatt, 0 million solar-powered generator. The city will also use smart grid technology to manage its power and allow all inhabitants of the community to monitor their energy consumption.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.