Apparently Google is posting videos to showcase the story of its Nexus One smartphone. This first one discusses the concept and design of the device. [Thanks, Erick Tseng!]

Google Earth's historical imagery feature has a new batch of pictures. You can now witness how some cities looked in the middle of World War II and compare them to the places you may live in today.

The Google LatLong Blog explains the reason for the addition of this feature:

The historical imagery feature gives people a unique perspective on the events of the past using today's latest mapping technology. We hope that this World War II imagery will enable all of us to understand our shared history in a new way and to learn more about the impact of the war on the development of our cities.

Looking at the images, it's tough to imagine that those hopes won't come true:

Awe inspiring, isn't it? [Google LatLong Blog via Wired]

In response to complaints regarding black level performance in its plasma TVs, Panasonic has issued a statement admitting that "background brightness will increase," but described the change as "automatic" over the TVs' lifespan and being intended to mainta optimal performance.

It also said that newer plasma TVs will include a "more gradual change in Black Level over time," but made no mention of a fix for existing plasma TVs, whose owners first noted the issue at enthusiast Web site AVS forum.

Here's the entire statement as e-mailed to CNET, entitled "Automatic Control of Contrast over Operational Lifetime."

Panasonic Viera plasma HDTVs deliver exceptional picture performance throughout the lifetime of these products. Various elements and material characteristics of all electronic displays change with use over time. In order to achieve the optimal picture performance throughout the life of the set, Panasonic Viera plasma HDTVs incorporate an automatic control which adjusts an internal driving voltage at predetermined intervals of operational hours.

As a result of this automatic voltage adjustment, background brightness will increase from its initial value. After several years of typical use, the internal material characteristics will stabilize and no additional automatic voltage adjustments are required. The Black Level at this stabilized point will yield excellent picture performance.

The newest Viera plasma HDTVs incorporate an improved automatic control which applies the voltage adjustments in smaller increments. This results in a more gradual change in the Black Level over time.

More Questions Than Answers

I first contacted Panasonic seeking comment on January 11 , and the company has not responded until this statement, which was e-mailed to me Wednesday, February 3. Though arguably better than silence, the statement leaves too many major questions unanswered.

I have followed up with Panasonic seeking those answers, asking, among other questions, if/when a fix is planned for current TVs to address owner complaints; at what "predetermined intervals" do the the voltages increase; when do the materials stabilize; what the quantitative difference is between the initial black level and the "stabilized point"; which are the "newest Viera plasma HDTVs" referred to in the statement; and what should owners do who are unsatisfied with the picture quality of their TVs. I'll update this story when I receive a reply.

The Big Picture for Plasma

As I mentioned in the original report, I haven't seen a Panasonic plasma affected by the lighter black levels yet, so it's impossible for me to reply to the big question of whether the loss of black level performance is significant enough to make the TV pale in comparison to its competitors. Many eyewitnesses believe it is, judging from the original thread at AVS forum and from a few of the comments on the report, but other owners are less definitive or report no change.

I began a long-term test using two 2009 Panasonic plasmas in my lab, but it will be at least a month before I can expect to notice any change in black level. Of course, I'll report back when that happens.

I'll also report that since 2005, my main TV at home has been a Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK plasma, and I've never noticed a change in its black level performance. At CNET, we didn't hear of this issue until we read the reports on AVS forum, and to our knowledge, past Panasonic plasmas, as well as models by LG, Pioneer and Samsung, have delivered basically consistent black levels over time.

That's why, despite Panasonic's statement that "all electronic displays change with use over time" and that after said change its sets still have "excellent picture performance," I tend to believe owners who describe the black level increase in the company's latest plasmas as unusual and ultimately detrimental to picture quality.

A quote included in my original report accords perfectly with much of Panasonic's eventual statement, enforcing that belief. In it a respected calibrator who goes by the screen name D-Nice, citing sources within the company, called the too-aggressive voltage increase a "goof" on the part of Panasonic engineering. The closest Panasonic has come to admitting as much is contained in its reference to an improved, more gradual change in new models.

Now What?

My main job at CNET is to provide buying advice regarding TVs, and Panasonic plasmas were one of my go-to recommendations. The 50-inch G10 was the most popular TV on CNET during 2009, and the V10 series earned the only Editors' Choice award I handed out to any flat-panel TV last year. In fact, after I reviewed the 2009 models, my dad bought a TC-P42X1, two of my colleagues at CNET, Matthew Moskovciak and John Falcone, bought TC-P50G10s and another, David Carnoy, bought a TC-P65S1 (we're keeping tabs on the black levels of those sets, too). It's safe to say that many readers of this Web site did the same thing dad, John, Matt and David did: buy a solid-to-excellent HDTV for a good price, and be perfectly happy with the picture quality. Judging from reader reaction, that happiness may be in jeopardy.

Nothing halts a shopper's reach for his wallet better than doubt, so I believe it's in Panasonic's best interest to answer those lingering questions. Until that happens, it's going to be hard for me to recommend the company's TVs without a degree of uncertainty.

This story originally appeared on CNET

Frustrated after seeing his father try to make a replacement car key without the ID code, Steve Randall and Ted Schwarzkopf created the Electronic Key Impressioner. If it works, it could be great news for locksmiths. And maybe thieves too.

The Electronic Key Impressioner plugs into the car keyhole and, after aligning it properly, it connects with a computer via USB, sucking up the code after you select the car type you are trying to crack. For now, it only work for Fords.

The key cloner will only be sold to authorized locksmiths. Randall says that their device will have to connect to the Internet to work, so if it falls into the wrong hands, it could be deactivated remotely. Sadly, if history has told us anything, is that no matter how secure you think your system is, there will always be people capable of cracking it. [Popular Mechanics]

If you go out to party with your friends and leave your significant other at home, chances are that he or she wouldn't be very happy. Fortunately, here's the perfect solution.

The video is in Spanish, so read below to understand what's happening before playing it

The promotional team of Andes—a very popular beer in Argentina—came up with it. They noticed that, once guys get a girlfriend, they don't go out with their friends as much as before. The girlfriends just don't like their men going out with their brute friends to get drunk. As a result, beer consumption drops.

To solve this, they created the Teletransporter. Granted, it's not a real teletransporter, but it's good enough: A soundproof booth with an integrated sound system controlled by a touchscreen. The sound system offers different ambient sounds, which get played at the touch of a button. The beer company installed several of these in bars and clubs all over the Argentinian city of Mendoza.

Now imagine that you—girl or boy—are in the bar and get a call from your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend. You can a) answer the call and get crucified later, b) don't answer the call and get crucified later, or c) go into the Teletransporter booth, choose a lie, press the option, and then pick up the phone as the ambient sound changes. Something like this:

I wouldn't be surprised if these Transporters get installed in bars all over the world, in the style of old phone booths. [Pagina2 - Thank you, Rub

In former VP Dick Brass's stabbing assault on Microsoft, he pointed to how his tablet projects were strangled to death by competing groups inside the company. So it's interesting to see the record of infighting go back further.

First, Microsoft didn't give Brass as many engineers as he wanted—just six, instead of the 20 he wanted. (He did manage to snag two guys worked at Xerox's nigh-mythical PARC, the birthplace of the GUI that inspired the Macintosh.) Consequently, the team ran into issues like handwriting recognition that only worked half the time, and a confusing interface, according to user tests.

BusinessWeek also reported back then that Office group wanted to focus on their own applications, even though the tablet group knew having software ready to go was key. Bill Gates went for the weak compromise, an add-on pack with tablet-specific features. This seems to support Brass's allegations in the NYT op/ed that the VP of Office at the time "refused to modify the popular Office applications to work properly with the tablet." Ironically, the person who shut down Brass appears to be Steven Sinofsky, current president of Windows—the guy who turned the division around and gave us Windows 7.

But the problem now isn't that Microsoft doomed their tablet PCs to failure 7 years ago, it's that they still haven't solved their tablet problems today. [BusinessWeek]

The math itself doesn't make much sense, but I like the concept of this formula to calculate the real size of your gadget. One thing is clear: the Apple fanboy constant automatically sets the weigh to near-zero. [Not Quite Wrong]

According to a leak spotted by Ars, if you buy Microsoft Office 2007 anytime between March 5 and September 30 of this year, and you activate the product and save your dated receipt, you can get Office 2010 for free. Ars has more details, but slow down, there's a catch: The info was yanked after it was published, and Microsoft now won't say whether it's legit or not. I'm guessing it is. Whether you believe it or not, play it safe and don't buy any version of Office until March 5. [Ars Technica via TechFlash]

I'd buy an iPad just to read comic books. Think I'm nuts? I probably am, but see how you feel after this first look at what Panelfly, maker of a popular comic book iPhone app, is building for the iPad.

Instead of simply scaling up the existing iPhone app, the folks from Panelfly put their heads together with the Sugarcube dev team and brainstormed. With all the talk of the iPad and how it could restore comic books to their former glory, they realized that they needed to revamp the app and make a version specifically for the iPad. This way they could take full advantage of the device's screen size and provide a new way of purchasing and interacting with the content.

The way the Panelfly iPhone app works is that you download the app for free from the app store and then add comics to your library through in-app purchases. Stephen Lynch, CTO and designer at Panelfly, hinted that the company is currently exploring several different purchase models for the iPad version, but was unfortunately unable to elaborate even when I tried to coax out whether there'd be a subscription option.

As far as reading and navigating content on the new iPad app goes, let's just say it'll blow us all away. From what Stephen was able to share with me, Panelfly "didn't want to stray too far from the native Apple UI elements, [they] wanted to create something that was [theirs] as well as a platform that gave the content the respect it deserves." And from the looks and sound of it? They've succeeded.

Be sure to click on the images in the gallery for the full-sized view. It's worth it.

Call me a geeky comic book lover, but apps like this one are what I'm looking forward to when it comes to the iPad. The gadget won't replace my computer, it won't replace my TV, and it won't replace any other device I've got around the house. But it will be what I sit down with when I want to catch up on some comics, magazines, journal articles, and what will be formerly known as "print" media.

A tiny but significant factoid in Sony's earnings report from the WSJ: "Sony loses about six cents for every dollar of PS3 hardware sales."

Educated guesser of component prices iSuppli had deduced that Sony was finally eking out a little bit of profit on every PS3 Slim they sold, thanks to lower costs, but apparently, not the case! They're hoping to cut production costs by 15 percent by March 2011. Hey, at least PS3 sales were up 44 percent. On the other hand, no one's buying the PSP Go. Sony cut their sales estimates by third for the year.

Sony did actually make money this quarter—the first time in a year—but it was by essentially ravaging the company to cut over $3 billion in costs: A fifth of its plants are gone, along with 20,000 jobs. [WSJ]