The pictured subway station is located on North Avenue in Chicago, next to a future Apple store location. While Apple's stipulation that the subway station renovations be completed by September 30, 2010 gives us a bit of a hunch as to when the store might open, it still remains a mystery exactly why the company is pouring so much money into prettying up a corner of Chicago. According to the agreement they're not getting very much out of it:

[I]n exchange for the improvements the CTA will lease the bus turnaround to Apple at no cost for 10 years, with options on four, five-year extensions. The CTA will also give Apple "first rights of refusal" for naming the station and placing advertising within the station, if the CTA later decides to offer those rights.

Alright, and Apple intends on making that bus turnaround into a "landscaped public park," so there's no profit to be found there and the "first rights of refusal" are worthless if the CTA never actually decides to offer any of those advertising options and rights. It almost seems as if Apple's doing this for the warm fuzzy feeling that comes out of doing something incredibly wonderful for a city's development. I'm proud of you, Apple, but I still think Bill Gates is cooler for trying to cure malaria with candy. [ifoAppleStore via Mac Rumors]

The gum would be used to test, painlessly, for malaria in children while the chocolate would serve as a way of getting some of the disease-feeding fat out of a patient's body. There's already some promise in these methods and the Gates contribution should certainly keep research going. [Telegraph]

This direct mail campaign is incredibly effective in how it brings forth childhood memories for many while emphasizing the reality of those who may never have one: Child soldiers in places such as Africa. The campaign may be aiming to find corporate sponsorships, but they've earned a check from me, too. [Direct Daily]

Proceeds from the numbered consoles will go to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières. The first console, already up on eBay, is currently at $20.50 with the auction ending in a little more than nine days.

Beginning Sept. 9, Xbox 360 owners can also download All You Need Is Love with those proceeds going to that charity as well. Purchasing the song for 160 Microsoft Points will also enter you in a contest for a chance to win one of the limited edition 360s and a Rickenbacker 325 replica guitar controller.

The Beatles: Rock Band, officially goes on sale tomorrow. Check out our review.

The three hospitals to receive an Ultimate Gameroom through Microsoft's partnership with the Children's Miracle Network are chosen by a very public popular vote. Not a random raffle, not a secret vote, but a public popular vote with results regularly updating on the CMN's website.

As I'm writing this, there is an eight-way tie for last place, with each hospital having one measly vote. The hospitals currently in the top three have a lead of several thousand votes over the rest, but that can and probably will change quickly. How will those kids feel when they miss out on the gamerooms after thinking they could win? How do the kids at the hospitals with barely any votes feel? While I'm sure that all the kids at the winning hospitals (or at least those who enjoy Xbox-based games) will be as giddy as can be, charity isn't about making 167 hospitals full of kids feel like losers in the process.

Looking at the premise of the giveaway, it's like Christmas gone oh-so-very wrong: They'll give some Children's hospitals about ten thousand dollars worth of equipment which could include several 42" Plasma TVs, a pair of Xbox consoles, some Zunes, four computers, oodles of games, and associated furniture. Microsoft is even throwing in delivery, installation, and "reasonable labor," while the hospitals cover any construction costs. Pretty fair. Except that the world is voting on where Saint Microsoft will bring Xboxes.

I truly hope this is just a one-time bad decision, especially since Microsoft is normally rather good about charities, this one included. They've helped raise $1.3 million of the incredible $3.2 billion total which the Children's Miracle Network has raised for Children's hospitals around the world. Microsoft has also contributed an Xbox kiosk to each of the 170 hospitals in the Network and been an all-around great partner to the CMN. It's truly sad that they've chucked away any milligram of character with the Ultimate Gameroom Giveaway. This vile competition is on the level of tearing a teddy bear out of a child's arms and then ripping it apart into a pile of fuzzy remains on the spot.

It's almost sad the mess probably started with good intentions. Perhaps someone truly struggled to find a way to cajole his or her boss into approving giving away $30,000 in equipment. Maybe turning it into a marketing scheme was the only way to cover or justify the expense, but if that's the case then I'm even more disappointed. Microsoft has spent hundreds of millions on individual ad campaigns, some of which barely made sense and were ridiculed, while this act of charity had the potential for a lot of positive publicity. And even if Microsoft went as far as outfitting each of the 170 hospitals with the same Ultimate Gameroom, it would've cost them a measly $1.7 million total. That's a lot to you and I, but to Microsoft that's .6%, point freakin' six percent, of the cost of a single ad campaign.

That perspective aside, no one is demanding that Microsoft give away $1.7 million. Charity is charity, and it is wonderful that they're giving as much as they are. But they're toying with the hopes of children at 170 hospitals and frankly, I would really love to find whoever decided on this messed up vote-based competition approach and tear any Birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, Summer Solstice, and un-freakin'-Birthday gift right out of his or her cruel, little claws. If you're going to contribute to a charity, especially a children's charity, you shouldn't turn it into a game with winners and losers.

Even without spending more than $30,000, this situation could've been handled differently. I understand that some sort of public announcement is needed in order to justify the spending, so I don't really expect Microsoft to just quietly pick a few hospitals for these donations. But the money could've been used for a smaller campaign encouraging others to give. Or if someone's really stuck on having a public vote then choose the hospitals without a spectacle and keep the rankings hidden. Those kids have enough sadness in their lives and really don't need to be yanked back and forth while watching a ranking of just how much the public cares about them or their particular hospitals.

The Abridged Version for Those Strapped for Time:
I like charity. I personally donate both time and money to various causes and I encourage others to do the same. I applaud Microsoft for everything they've done in the past and continue to do. Hell, I'm even secretly a Microsoft-fangirl (but lets not go there, because this isn't about the company). What this rant is complaining about is the game-like approach taken with this particular donation.

Whether you agree or disagree with any or all of the points, or have thoughts on a better approach: The comments are here for a reason, so please let your opinions be known. If a few good ideas, a constructive discussion, or maybe a few extra donations come out of things then all the better. [Children's Miracle Network via TeamXBox]

The program, called "Browser for the Better," is connected to those wacky Dean Cain IE8 commercials that launched earlier this month.

And while the Dean Cain marketing effort will likely last forever thanks to the glorious wonder of the Internet, the charity portion of Browser for the Better only runs from June 10 to August 8. Don't ask about the image. Apparently, for the meals to become viable, Microsoft had to truck in a bunch of artists so they could stack them into shapes resembling the Empire State Building and Golden Gate Bridge. [Neowin]

Bad press doesn't get much worse than that.

Gary Sutton Jr., 40, and Charles Hommema have been charged with the misdemeanors and face fines and up to a year in jail on each charge if convicted. Sutton has been released on bond, Wilson said, and Hommema is to be arraigned later this week.

The FBI gave a terse statement about the privacy of families and how they're committed to resolving the matter. [AP, thanks zenneth!]

Mitch Gewirtz of Michigan would like to give you his 17-inch PowerBook. For free. From Mitch:

Subject: I AM UP FOR THE CHALLENGE!

To whom it may concern,

I recently watched the new PC ad on television the other night about "Lauren" purchasing a laptop for under $1000.00. It was a great advertisement targeting everyday PC users. My only concern is that I feel the computer "Lauren" chose will not provide an overall positive experience. I am asking for your assistance to help me locate "Lauren". I am willing to give her my 17" Mac laptop "FOR FREE" so she can decide which laptop is superior without putting a price tag on it.

I do believe everyone on this planet is "cool enough to be a Mac person".

Sincerely,
Mitch Gewirtz

We of course wrote back to Mitch to gauge his level of seriousness in this matter. His response:

Absolutely! I am serious!

I believe my 17" G4 powerbook is still more advanced than any PC out there today. It is a very healthy laptop that has given me a wonderful experience the last couple of years. I truly believe if "Lauren" had a chance to use this laptop she would change her mind.

Can you help me locate her?

While Apple fanboys are a dime a dozen, we like Mitch's attitude, a guy willing to put his money where his mouth is (even if that money is invested in an older machine he may be planning to replace). So Mitch, Gizmodo would like to support you on your quest to gift Lauren your PowerBook. We've got your back, buddy.

Lauren, where are you? Drop us a line (you can find my email on the side of the page). Let's make this love connection happen.

Offered through Goldgenie (read: not Apple), Elton's personalized iPod nanos complete with his Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits CD pre-installed can be yours for $565 (8GB) or $640 (16GB). We realize that sounds like a lot, but keep in mind that 12.5% of each purchase goes back to the the Elton John AIDS Foundation—or $45 (8GB) and $51 (16GB). Only 100 of each color will be puked on with a mixture of crystals and adhesive.

Like most of the reasonable public, I'd pay 50 or so bucks not to carry one of these iPods, so maybe I should just mail in my check and have it done with. [Goldgenie via ShinyShiny]

Songs of Love: The first (and as far as I can tell, only) iPhone app released by a charitable organization, Songs of Love's mission is to create personalized songs to help cheer up kids who are battling cancer. It's a free app, but it shows you some of their work and in video and audio form, and has a donations page.

Phospho: Yes, it's another 99 cent flashlight app. Yes, you could just use a Safari page to find you keys. But if you're going to buy a flashlight app, make it this one—Phospho donates 100% of your buck to charities that aim to fight blindness in children and adults worldwide.

iZen Garden: Another popular app genre is the Zen Garden. iZen happens to be among the more well reviewed of the bunch and actually looks pretty cool (different colored sands! Lots of rakes to rake it with!), and it gives 5% of the $3 to the Tibet Fund.

Gratitude Journal: Oprah claims to have changed her life with a Gratitude Journal; this app will give you the same chance. The idea is to write down five things you are thankful for each day—not a bad idea this time of year. You can add photos to your entries as well. 10% of the buck it costs is donated to charities, although the developers don't say which ones.

Qur'an, Bhagavad Gita and Tanakh: The holy books of Islam, Judaism and Hinduism in their complete form, each fully searchable and bookmarkable. The Qur'an even has an audio recording of each Ayah in English and Arabic, and is discounted down to $5 (the others are $10). 100% of all proceeds goes to the Aga Khan development network which helps developing communities in Africa, Central/South Asia and the Middle East.

Now don't you feel all warm and fuzzy?

We covered a lot of great new apps this week on Giz, here they are. And if you are hitting the slopes this holiday like our favorite snowbunny Blam is, check out his Ski and Snowboard app Battlemodo;

• iPhone Geisha Will Dance For You For A Small Fee

• I Love Katamari for iPhone/iPod Touch Lightning Review

• Apple Warns Developers App Store Approval Process Sucking More Than Usual

• Wazabee 3DeeShell Adds 3D Screen to iPhone

• Tilt-Shift Photography On the iPhone, Sorry Starving Artists

• Television App For iPhone is Not Quite Hulu, But Getting Warmer

• Konami Releasing Silent Hill, DDR and Frogger for iPhone, Too (on top of METAL GEAR SOLID)

• ReedBox Recreates Eno's Bloom iPhone App With Magnets

• Earth-Shattering Changes in Google iPhone App Update

• Agile Lie Detector: Tell Me the Truth, iPhone!

• Wazabee 3DeeShell Adds 3D Screen to iPhone

This list is in no way definitive. If you've spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our previous weekly roundups here, and check out our original iPhone App Review Marathon. Have a good weekend and a very happy holidays everybody.

Here's the deal, we're throwing the party at a place called Shine in the SOMA district of SF. It starts at 7pm and goes 'til Midnight. Entry is free, and for the 21+ crowd only, but since it's an event for Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity, donations are looked upon favorably. You'll be able to live out your rock n roll fantasies, throw back a few (or 10) drinks, have a chance to win some prizes and be able to say you met the great Jason Chen before he became a five-time AVN Award winner.

And if you're not in SF, but happen to live in NYC or Denver, you should swing by one of the Funde Razor events there, which are hosted by Joel Johnson of Boing Boing Gadgets, and Brian Crecente of Kotaku, respectively. [Funde Razor]

Funde Razor SF
December 10, 2008
Shine
1337 Mission St
San Francisco, Ca 94103
7pm-12am, 21+

If you come out to Funde Razor tomorrow night (7 PM, Shine Bar) you'll have a chance to win any of the following:

• The ambiguous Chumby internet thingamajig
• Zune 120 w/ Zune Points
• Zune 16 w/ Zune Points
• Sony PS2 with Singstar games
• Lego Factory Space Skulls Set
• Lego Factory Star Justice Set
• Lego Factory Modular House Set
•Lego Creator 3-in-1 Boat/Plane/Airship Set
•Lego Star Wars General Grievous Set

...and expect more prizes to surface. If you're in SF, you should stop by. Just be 21. [Funde Razor]

Funde Razor SF
Shine
1337 Mission St
SF, Ca 94103
7pm-12am 21+
http://shinesf.com

Watch Matt and Adam face all comers in our Deathmatch for Charity happening at 1PM until they give up, and at 3PM, we'll do a live Will it Blend demo using our computer controlled Blendtec blender. While they haven't sanctioned this public showing of their fantastic shredder at work, I think if you bring some gadgets to destroy, I'll consider it.

Watch the proceedings—during daytime hours—on the live Justin.tv feed:

[Thanks to REED ANNEX and thanks to our benefactor gizmine.com]

Gizmodo Gallery

Reed Annex

151 Orchard Street

New York, NY 10002

Gallery Dates:

December 4th-7th

Times:

12/4 Thursday

12-8

12/5 Friday

12-8

12/6 Saturday

11-8

12/7 Sunday

11-4

[Read more about our Gizmodo Gallery here and see what else we'll be playing with at the event.]

Here's how it works—donate over $10 or bring a brand new toy for Toys for Tots, and you'll be entered into the drawing for prizes. Want some incentive beyond helping the needy and unfortunate in these financially trying times? How 'bout all this cool stuff?

• Dyson's Han Solo blaster-looking Root 6 hand vac
• Lego, Lego, Lego
• A cornucopia from Logitech: two premium Kinetik laptop cases, two PureFi sound docks, some V550 mice, two pair of ClearChat headsets and more.
• A few Zunes (Obama's secret favorite portable player)
• Xbox 360
• SanDisk Sansa 8GB Fuze, 8GB Clip, 8GB Ultra MicroSD card and more
• Over a dozen pieces of certified excellent geek apparel from Gama-go
• Agent 18 iPod cases, Ten One Design Pogo iPhone stylus and a pink mStation Orb dock
• SmartShopper personal shopping list maker
• Hercules Wii Accessory Pack
• Several beautiful TokyoFlash watches
• A few crazy Thanko USB gadgets
• The lovable Wi-Fi beanbag, Chumby
• Wicked Laser to start some forest fires
• TiVo HD
• Gundam Slippers
• Make Magazines
• Bunch of Incase stuff.
• There's even more to come...

Special thanks to all those companies mentioned above for donating products for our fundraiser!!

We'll also publish a gallery of winners later on, so everyone can see how charitable you are. It's for a great cause, unless you hate children. We really hope to see you, even if you are a cheap bastard!

The Spin Since Michael Dell returned to the helm a year ago, Dell has struggled mightily to rebrand itself as cutting edge rather than value-minded. On the product front, that's entailed everything from rolling out a worthy iMac competitor to veering away from lackluster AMD chips. But the more noticeable changes have occurred on the marketing side, where Dell has focused on creating glammed-up ads targeted toward the style conscious. (Hype Sheet previously swooned over the company's use of the Flaming Lips' "The W.A.N.D." in one great spot.) This (RED) ad, directed by the man responsible for Nirvana's seminal "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video, continues the trend. (See below for that promised behind-the-sceneser.) But Dell doesn't want you thinking they're just in the computer game to make cake—they've also got heart, just like fellow (RED) backers American Express, Microsoft, and (perhaps most notably) Apple.

Counterspin Cynics, including our tart-tongued droogs over at Consumerist, have raised some important questions about Dell's (RED) pricing scheme. The laptop featured in this ad, for example, costs $150 more than its plain-Jane peer, yet only $50 of that goes toward the Global Fund. The only spec difference is that the (RED) model runs a tweaked version of Vista. Is that really worth an extra $100? Or has Dell built in a way to make a little coin off consumers' best intentions? On top of that, the intersection between commerce and charity is always guaranteed to make some folks squirm—especially when the commerce part is far more visible than the end results in the developing world. Last year, AdAge controversially estimated that the (RED) campaign has spent more than its raised, a claim that elicited a strong rebuttal. Hard to tell who's right here without taking a closer look at the books, but Dell should realize that today's consumers are a naturally suspicious lot; you can't just say you're on the side of the angels and expect immediate praise.

Mission Accomplished? The spot certainly spurred a lot of Google searches, which was Dell's true aim—note how they leave the details of (RED) vague, and simply tease with the joinred.com URL at the end. Will that translate into gangbusters sales of (RED) XPS laptops and desktops? The hunch here is "no"—the price premium seems a wee bit high, and I trust that the majority of charity-prone consumers might prefer direct contributions (as well as their attendant tax write-offs). But even if you're an ultra-cynic about the commerce-charity meetup, you have to admit this is an effective ad—the do-good angle aside, it basically makes the XPS M1530 seem like the computing equivalent of Axe body spray. That's a pretty impressive image overhaul for a brand that, until recently, couldn't shake its rep as the Night Swept of hardware.

Hype-O-Meter 7.5 (out of 10). Yes, you can certainly question the sincerity of Dell's commitment to the cause. (And, please, do so in comments.) But this spot fits in rather neatly with the company's efforts to shed its Ben Curtis past.

Brendan I. Koerner is a contributing editor at Wired, a columnist for Slate, and author of the forthcoming Now the Hell Will Start. His Hype Sheet column appears every Thursday on Gizmodo.

Read more Hype Sheet

If we are serious about ending extreme hunger and poverty around the world, we must be serious about transforming agriculture for small farmers, most of whom are women...The challenge here is to design a system including profit and recognition to do more for the poor.

Yes, before our commenters flip out, we realize the 1984 spot was a shot at IBM, not Microsoft. [cnn]

Dell and Microsoft will announce later this week that they will offer customers a simple way to make a difference, through the purchase of unique (PRODUCT) RED branded personal computers and a printer. Adding to the premium experience, all Dell (PRODUCT) RED PCs are powered by Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED, that include six unique desktop wallpapers, a screensaver, two innovative Windows Sidebar gadgets and a (RED)-themed Windows DreamScene. Dell is the exclusive PC and peripheral partner of (PRODUCT) RED.

• When a consumer chooses either laptop - the XPS M1530 (PRODUCT) RED or XPS M1330 (PRODUCT) RED with Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED (starting price $1,149 for either laptop) - Dell and Windows will make a total joint contribution of $50 directly to the Global Fund, which buys nearly 4 months of lifesaving antiretroviral medication.

• When a consumer chooses the XPS One (PRODUCT) RED with Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED (starting price of $1,599), Dell and Windows will make a total contribution of $80 directly to the Global Fund, which buys 6 months of lifesaving antiretroviral medication.

• When a consumer chooses the 948 All-in-one (PRODUCT) RED Printer (starting price of $149), Dell will make a $5 contribution to the Global Fund, which buys more than ten days of lifesaving antiretroviral medication.

More information about (RED) is available at www.joinred.com.

Yes, Apple has donated 100 nanos to a group of kids who were victims of the recent fires, which was nice of them. Sure, it wasn't completely selfless, but it's not like it's their job to get them new houses or whatever. It wasn't a random donation, either, but rather a request that they fulfilled. Poway resident Steve Boyack emailed King Jobs asking for them, saying that "iPods are an accessory most kids like and can't live without." See, I would have said a bed is an accessory most kids like and can't live without, but that's just me. In any case, soon after shooting off the email, 100 nanos arrived into the hands of a bunch of confused, homeless kids. Thanks, Apple! [Sign on San Diego via Gadget Lab]