BBC4's Synth Britannia was a sufficiently comprehensive look into the electronic music of postpunk Britain, from the pioneering soundtrack to "A Clockwork Orange" by Wendy Carlos, to experimental groups like OMD, Throbbing Gristle, and early Human League...

on to the pop greats that were my first real introduction to synth music, Depeche Mode and New Order. It ends in the middle '80s as synth music transitioned to club music and rave culture, getting nowhere near this decade's full-circle acceptance of '80s synth and chip sounds in pop.

A lovely way to spend 90 minutes, especially for dorks of a certain age who felt a kinship between early synth pop and the captivating other of both Britain and anything electronic. Too bad it's not available for watching on the BBC's iPlayer. You'll have to check the box where you keep your synthesized television experience.

Some of these features and interface ideas will be familiar from the earlier ad, but they're explained in more depth here. I particularly like the adjustable panes, which turn a single widescreen into two virtual screens, creating something akin to multiple workspaces. It's clever, but without laying hands on the phone it's hard to tell if the various other wide-optimized UI elements are features or compromises. [LG—Thanks, Tim!]

I'm guessing the editors of the magazine saw some kind of weighty symbolism in such a stunt, but landing a New Yorker cover is the kind of honor that would define an entire career for many illustrators. That's not to say this kind of thing isn't impressive—it really, really is—but I can't help imagining some dusty, 93-year-old editor at the top floor of the Conde Nast building seeing his first iPhone in the hands of an intern, losing his monocle over this amazing new tech-nol-o-gee, and impulsively ordering something, anything to do with this MAGICKAL DEE-VICE to be put on the cover, now.

Also odd: for quite a few weeks now, the magazine has been running full-page iPhone App Store ads on its back cover, making this issue a probable iPhone sandwich. Conspiracy!?!? (No.)

Anyway, back to the point: this is pretty neat. You can actually see how Colombo painted his scene, start to finish, in the video below, recorded using Brushes companion app Brushes Viewer. [New Yorker]

Just like Swivel Search TiVo Search will weed through both live TV and broadband content, like Amazon on Demand and Youtube, to find a complete list of available programs. But now upon searching for a show TiVo Search will automatically generate similar recommendations and display them with eye-pleasing art at the top of your TV. Another upgrade over the Swivel is the menu layout that is now three columns wide to make use of wide screen TVs and when available HD content is automatically recommended.

TiVo Search has be redesigned with that leaked TiVo UI we saw a few months ago, which brings a more evolved look to the friendly TiVo software. Right now this UI is only available while using Search which is currently in beta and available to all Series 3 and HD TiVos today.

If the leaked UI and the use of it in the new TiVo Search is any indication than it would seem this UI will probably be the future of TiVo, which I for one can't wait for.

TIVO TRANSFORMS THE TV WORLD ONCE AGAIN BY OFFERING A NEW WAY TO SEARCH & DISCOVER CONTENT

Introduction of New TiVo Search Means Channel Surfing is a Now Thing of the Past

Find What You’ve Been Missing

LAS VEGAS, NV. January 7, 2009 —TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today showed the future of television, unveiling a redesigned TiVo Search feature that offers improved search results with a completely new High Definition design, all at no additional charge. TiVo Search brings users the power of choice, offering millions of pieces of content not available via cable or satellite, along with thousands of linear TV choices. Delivered via broadband, TiVo Search combines a graphics rich experience with simplicity and relevancy that makes it a truly revolutionary way to get more out of your TV.

“What Google did for the Internet, TiVo is now doing for the TV, bringing people a combination of excellent search results and innovative discovery that can’t be found anywhere else,” said Tom Rogers, CEO and President of TiVo Inc. “TiVo has always been known as the best way to watch what you want, when you want it. Now we’re taking that to a new level, using TiVo technology to find just the right program from hundreds of channels and thousands of broadband options, all in seconds. It is clear TiVo is leading the way in providing more choice, and also leading the way in finding content quickly. TiVo Search is a new way to find what you’ve been missing.”

TiVo Search takes advantage of extra screen size afforded by high definition televisions by showing more details about a highlighted program than ever before, eliminating the need to dig down into each and every program to learn what it is about. It ensures the most important information is surfaced right up to the screen you're already on, equaling less navigation and quick, accurate results.

“One of the best things about the new TiVo Search feature is how it works as a discovery engine, helping users find content they didn’t even know they could get,” said Jim Denney, Vice President of Product Marketing at TiVo Inc. “We’ve added a new discovery bar that gives a quick guide to relevant content, and the search experience incorporates content from broadband sources like Amazon Video on Demand and YouTube. The newly tuned search engine also displays the most popular search results of the day automatically, even when typing only a single letter. Searches work not with just the first word of a title, but any word of the program, which is especially handy when looking for programs with specific search words.”

The new interface not only displays in high definition, it has a focus on finding high definition television content. TiVo search automatically recommends high definition television channels and episodes when users schedule a program to record. Additionally, users can now browse shows season by season and select any episode they want utilizing a robust episode guide. Depending on availability users may record content from cable/antenna, download it from Amazon Video on Demand, or use WishList searches to record it the next time the content is broadcast.

Seeing equals believing, and the new TiVo Search is no exception. Starting today broadband connected TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and HD XL subscribers can experience a beta version of the feature on their TiVo DVR, which can be found under Music, Photos, and Showcases. For an online preview and to provide your comments and feedback on this new search tool to TiVo visit www.tivo.com/tivosearch.

TiVo Search will be on display at the TiVo Inc Booth at the Consumer Electronics Tradeshow, Room N202 running January 8th – 11th.

Let's hope his leak at Apple has an alibi when his Steveness comes knocking. Here was Kevin's prognosticating:

- Revamp of entire iPod line.
- Small cosmetic changes to Touch, Nano to see significant redesign (see pic).
- iPods to see fairly large price drops to distance itself from the $199 iPhone.
- iPod touch 2.1 software, iPhone to get update very soon after.
- iTunes 8.0 ("it's a big update w/new features").

And on iTunes 8:

iTunes 8 includes Genius, which makes playlists from songs in your library that go great together. Genius also includes Genius sidebar, which recommends music from the iTunes Store that you don't already have.

With iTunes 8, browse your artists and albums visually with the new Grid view; download your favorite TV shows in HD quality from the iTunes Store; sync your media with iPod nano (4th generation), iPod classic (2nd generation), and iPod touch (2nd generation); and enjoy a stunning new music visualizer.

Even the layout mockup, which was coyly what it would look like "if I had to guess"—100% correct:

And of course, the Nano photo above. Not a rendering, an actual product shot of the silver Nano. So besides skipping the ancillary announcements like Nike+ and the new headphones, Rose nailed it.

One other side point: this also shows that Apple has smartly reconsidered the same strategy that issued a spew of take-down notices with every leak that hit the web and eventually forced blogs like Think Secret to shut down. It's all or nothing with that strategy—as only targeting the information that's correct is the deadest giveaway possible—and once something hits the web, there's very little one company can do to stop it. As we've seen a bajillion times.

So congrats Kevin—this time (we all know you've had your misses, too). Make sure you take your new buddy in Cupertino out for a nice, juicy steak (in Sacramento, with fake mustaches) while the axe hangs. [Kevin Rose]

Bill Gates, whose company, Microsoft, is one of the major investors in Intellectual Ventures, says, "I can give you fifty examples of ideas they've had where, if you take just one of them, you'd have a startup company right there." Gates has participated in a number of invention sessions, and, with other members of the Gates Foundation, meets every few months with Myhrvold to brainstorm about things like malaria or H.I.V. "Nathan sent over a hundred scientific papers beforehand," Gates said of the last such meeting. "The amount of reading was huge. But it was fantastic. There's this idea they have where you can track moving things by counting wing beats. So you could build a mosquito fence and clear an entire area. They had some ideas about super-thermoses, so you wouldn't need refrigerators for certain things. They also came up with this idea to stop hurricanes. Basically, the waves in the ocean have energy, and you use that to lower the temperature differential. I'm not saying it necessarily is going to work. But it's just an example of something where you go, Wow."

Back in March 2005, Judge Restaino was presiding over a domestic violence case in Niagara Falls when the offending cell rang. "Every single person is gong to jail in this courtroom unless I get that instrument now" raged Restaino. "If anybody believes I'm kidding, ask some of the folks that have been here for a while. You are all going."

After security guards were unable to find the phone, the judge ordered the arrest of every single person in the courtroom. Bail was set at $1,500 and everyone was carted off to Niagara City jail. Those who could not stump up the money were later shackled and taken to another prison. It was not until reporters started asking questions a couple of hours later that the judge relented and released the 46.

He later described his behavior as "improper and inexcusable" and blamed it on his private life, saying that he was under much stress at the time. Judge Restaino has 30 days to appeal against the decision, and will remain in office until that time. [BBC News]

The whole thing is expected to cost a pretty reasonable $31 million, which the company will quickly recoup, no doubt. The SpaceShipTwo and its carrier craft, White Knight Two, will be completed in 2008 as well, so the company is well on its way to offering cheap cheaper space flights. [Space]

The dogs' first unlucky victims were busted at three joints in the Jamaica area of Queens: Electronic Electroshack, Leather Wholesale and Flava. Boxes of counterfeit DVDs of The Simpsons Movie; Knocked Up; The Bourne Ultimatum; Rush Hour 3; and The Invasion were stacked "floor to ceiling," according to MPAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Kaltman.

According to authorities, the arrested men were Ibrahima Diallo, 19, of Queens: Mohamed Sene, 20 of the Bronx; and Michael Williams, 20, of Queens. If found guilty of trademark counterfeiting charges, they could each face four years in prison. [Wired]

Keep A Child Alive, a charity that campaigns to bring anti-retroviral drugs to African kids with AIDS will get the proceeds from the sale of the iPhone, once Mr Vulkan has flogged it on eBay. So if you see him, shake that man's hand and tell him he's Top Banana.

And if you want to donate to Keep A Child Alive, then you can do so here. Oh, and Steve, if you're reading this, then why don't you be a love and match the final eBay total?

First in line for an iPhone at Apple store Soho on Flickr [Flickr via Boing Boing]

A Williamsburg tattooist, Scott Campbell, has come up with half a dozen designs that you can have lasered onto your laptop for $200. If you up the price by $100 he'll etch your own design onto your machine, just like he did above, for Brooklyn-based artist Kaws. If these take off, perhaps Apple will change their ad campaign, swapping Justin Long for a large and leathered-up hairy biker who answers to the name of Steel Ball (he lost the second one in a fight down Altamont way). Check the gallery below for the six designs on offer.

– Ad Dugdale

Saved Tattoo Laser Laptops [Cool Hunting]

New Orleans has the right idea. To help get everyone communicating again, the ravaged city is starting up the country's first municipally-owned wireless Internet system that will, thankfully, be free for everyone. Obviously a great perk for those living and trying to come back to their homes in the city, the hope is that this system will make business more attractive and, of course, help city government officials. Most of the equipment being used was donated, but New Orleans will own and operate it all themselves. Wireless devices will be mounted on streetlights and should be operational in the central business district today.

New Orleans' new connection [msnbc]