A rather penetrating look at the relationship between artist and music industry when it comes to auditing for royalties owed. Not pretty!

I just had to feature this Web site for no other reason than I love the name – Speak with a Geek. It’s an online tech help service via email or phone, but really I don’t care. I just like the name!

The Transcend Implantable Gastric Stimulator ™ is a little doo-hickey that is implanted in the body to generate electrical impulses to the stomach to stop you feeling hungry. A sort of Slendertone for the internal organs, if you will. Apparently doing this makes you feel fuller quicker and for longer and is therefore being touted as a solution for morbid obesity. Hmmm.

The Don’t Link to Us site is a wonderful online ‘name and shame’ compendium of folks who simply don’t GET the Web. These are the muppets who have instituted anti-linking policies, not realising that the whole purpose of the World Wide Web is to propagate a vast interconnected…er….Web of knowledge for all. Quick Rule for all idiots out there: If you don’t want your site or stuff linked, THEN DON’T PUT IT ON THE WEB!!!!!!! Idiots!

If you’ve got some time, you might consider delving into this 400 page US government sponsored report on improving the human condition through the use of converging technologies. The techs in question are Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology and Cognitive Science. Deep, deep stuff.

Hermit sought for small cave in Northern England. Only mad dogs and Englishmen need apply.

So there’s this bunch of guys who fancy flying a balsa wood model plane across the Atlantic. Crazy? You bet, but a great quest nonetheless. Update: Apparently things aren’t going too swimmingly at the moment.

Australian telco Telstra has come up with the ultimate in urban usefulness – paying for parking via a mobile phone. The new M-Commerce Parking system is being tested in Sydney and Melbourne and looks to be the perfect antidote to that sinking ‘lack of change in the pocket’ feeling. You access the service via a screen on the parking meter itself, key in the bay number, select the period you want and then dial the number which is then displayed…

Those clever folks at Mitsubishi have come up with a paperless concert ticket system which works through your mobile phone. The ticket is downloaded in the form of a barcode onto an Internet friendly mobile handset from a Web site. When you reach the concert door, you display the barcode on the phone’s screen and it is then scanned to authenticate and allow entry. Eventually this kind of paperless ticket will probably become the norm everywhere, from air travel to…

It’s enough to make you climb the walls with excitement. No really, the GekkoMat is a German designed wall climbing rig, which the makers claim is perfect for use in those lifesaving, fun and security situations where you simply must climb that vertical surface. Bet it doesn’t work too well on pebbledash surfaces though!

The MadPlayer is a little gizmo that lets you create cool sounding ‘tunes’ by selecting from a set of internal samples (800 samples and 550 instruments are included). The unit will also let you import your own samples via a SmartMedia card and features an FM radio and a music player. There’s a more comprehensive review of it here. Priced at around �250.00.

A new ozone gas treatment could spell the end of painful drilling and filling to combat tooth decay. According to this New Scientist article, the treatment involves simply fitting an airtight cap over the tooth then pumping a 10 second shot of ozone gas onto the decaying area, thereby killing 99% of the nasty bacteria. Researchers at Queen’s University, Belfast are offering the ‘no pain’ treatment for �45.00 a tooth. Update: Here’s a link to the Canadian HealOzone site as…

The WaterCone (aka AquaCone) is a simple and yet effective device for producing fresh water from sea or dirty water sources. On a sunny average summer day the Watercone produces 1-1.5 liters of pure water in 24 hours with a used surface area of 0,5 square meters. No idea of pricing though.

I’m not sure whether this makes a lot of sense, but apparently some folks have deemed it necessary to design and develop a digital sundial. Er…no I’m not really sure why you would want one in the 21st century, but I’m sure there’s a very good explanation on the site. [via zzz]

First Tuesday takes a typically authoritative and long look at the issues surrounding US copyright, Peer2Peer and the law. Heavy going but worth reading nonetheless. [via Techdirt]