Feature: Best of Gems: Communication and Internet tools. The roll call of our favorite bargain programs continues with low-cost apps that make it easier to stay in touch via iChat and e-mail as well as top-flight Internet and networking tools.
 

Mac OS X Hints: Run widgets prior to install. Learn how to run a Dashboard widget without adding it to your widget collection--and not by using Safari, either. 

News: MediaCentral 2 media center software adds features. Equinux has released MediaCentral 2, a major new upgrade to their media center software for Mac OS X. 

Stocks Drop as Oil Prices Reach Record High. The anxiety in global commodities markets swept through equity markets today, with stocks posting broad declines. By JEREMY W. PETERS. [NYT > Home Page] 

Kittelman accused of fanning fire with advisory vote. A critic of Douglas County Commissioner Marilyn Kittelman accused the first-term Republican on Wednesday of pushing an advisory vote on tribal land holdings to inflame a national debate on the issue. [News Review - News] 

Apple restricts $899 education iMac to institutional purchases. Last week, Apple computer finally retired the last of its CRT-based machines, replacing the eMac... [MacDailyNews] 

Payne: Four 2 Will Do More. Don Payne, who is writing the upcoming Fantastic Four sequel movie, confirmed to SCI FI Wire the previously reported news that the follow-up to the superhero hit will prominently feature the Silver Surfer, herald of the planet-devouring Galactus. [SCI FI Wire] 

NYT 

Wide Flaws Found in Boston Tunnel After Death. At least 60 more trouble spots were found in the Big Dig tunnel where a woman was crushed by ceiling tiles. By PAM BELLUCK. [NYT > Home Page]

A Scanner-Reader to Take Along Anywhere. A new portable device can turn all types of printed text into speech, anywhere. By J. D. BIERSDORFER. [NYT > Technology]

Build a Robot of Your Own, Lickety-Split. The Lego Mindstorms NXT kit comes with everything you need to whip up a working automaton in half an hour. By J. D. BIERSDORFER. [NYT > Technology]

Courting a Hot Market With Cool Phone Service. Almost half of people aged 13 to 16 have a cellphone, and make up a young, tech-savvy crowd that cellphone companies are eager to attract. By JOHN BIGGS. [NYT > Technology]

Edward C. Baig: Personal Tech - LukWerks lets you put kids, pets on candid camera (USATODAY.com). USATODAY.com - I peeked in on my napping daughter the other day though I was miles away in a mall parking lot. I was testing the remote capabilities of the LukWerks Digital Video Surveillance System, using Palm Treo 700w and Motorola Q smartphones to access a video camera pointed at her crib. [Yahoo! News: Technology News] 

WIRED 

'Imitation IPod' Invades Radio. It's like listening to a middle-aged drunkard's iPod set to shuffle, but the Jack FM radio format is spreading across the dial. By Dave Demerjian. [Wired News: Top Stories]

A Real World of Faux Superheroes. Marvel mastermind Stan Lee picks contestants for a new "reality" show that will document the everyday drama of a loft full of wannabe crime fighters. By Erin Biba from Wired magazine. [Wired News: Top Stories]

The Hidden Secrets of Archimedes. Inside the technology that could recover lost science from a medieval prayer book. By Dylan Tweney from Wired magazine. [Wired News: Top Stories]

The Art of News Feeds. Newsreaders and RSS aggregators aren't known for being particularly flashy. But some mashups transform headlines, photos and other ephemeral nuggets into expressive exhibitions. The result? Bohemian RSS! By Eli Milchman. [Wired News: Top Stories]

"Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you've had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean."