The TomTom HD Traffic service uses anonymized cell phone traffic patterns to provide up to 5x resolution on traffic speeds on major roads.  Nice.  Does Garmin have anything like this?

Those who know this site also know I'm a fan of the Data Robotics Drobo.  I've caught some heat from product managers for other comparable products because I just don't think they match the capabilities of this little device.  One area I've been disappointed about however is performance.  The Drobo docks massive amounts of storage in a small, rock-solid little unit but it's S L O W when doing large transfers.  That's why I'm keen on today's announcement of the new Drobo 2.0 with a faster processor, faster USB 2.0 and new Firewire 800 performance options.  I recently moved my home Media Center into a single desktop system with a Quad-core and it's been working without a hiccup using my Drobo as the primary storage for all media except for two things:  1) Hard Drive spinup lag when the drives haven't been used in a while, and 2) that pesky data transfer performance.  I have two  HDTV (OCUR) tuners connected via USB as well as sundry peripherals and haven't seen any perf issues fortunately, though I would

I'm eager to try out the new Drobo 2.0 and may pick one up - but if I have to transfer over all of my existing nearly 2GB of Drobo 1.0 content to the Drobo 2.0 via the original's sluggish USB, that may be a deal-breaker.  I'm hoping I can swap the drives out and the new 2.0 device will pick up where the 1.0 left off.  I have email into the folks at Data Robotics to learn more on that topic and a few other - will report back here.  Thomas Hawk also has an excellent review here.

Starting at $450 up to $700, the Acer x1200 is about the size of a large book complete with 4GB of RAM, an AMD Dual-Core processor, up to 500GB in storage, and even an eSATA port to go along with the nine USB ports. While Nvidia has taken some lumps as of late for their mobile GPU issues, this unit has a GeForce 8200 integrated along with two PCIe slots (looks like half-height only).  The Mac Mini has little in terms of performance on this gem if you can spare an extra inch and some cost savings.  I am curious about power consumption and heat though and an HDMI out would seal the deal.

Looking forward to spending the next few weeks recharging with family.

Over the years, I've been stymied when I've wanted to link to an artist, album, playlist, podcast, or just about anything on Zune via the Web.  Prior to this feature, there was just no way to link directly from the Web (a feature iTunes has had for some time).  Thankfully, the Zune team has quietly launched their ZuneLinks service for sharing links to Zune Marketplace and Zune Social.  So if you have a podcast to share or music you like, you can now link up.

http://social.zune.net/links/ZuneLinks.aspx

My personal favorite, the Zune Social experience.  The links take you directly to Zune Social where you preview the songs, see stats on listenership, read a review and more:

• Linkin Park
• Jimmy Buffett
• Alice in Chains
• Collective Soul 

And a few podcast examples linking to marketplace:

• The Chris Pirillo Show
• The Family Guy FOXCast
• The Media Center Show

Feature suggestions I've sent to the team:

• A Copy to Clipboard button
• <img border="0" .> :)
• Convincing the team (or an enterprising enthusiast) to develop an add-in for Windows Live Writer.

How would you improve the experience?

Silverlight 2.0 Beta 2 is out earlier than originally announced.  You'll also find a new Deep Zoom Composer available shortly (link may be broken for some as it propagates across the innertubes.  Brandon has a good writeup here including download links:

The Windows Experience Blog : Silverlight 2.0 Beta 2 and Deep Zoom Composer Update

Trailer for the new X-Files movie in Silverlight here.

Fox - X-FilesT - I Want To Believe

What I really want for Father's Day.  :)

Supercar: Scorpion Supercar Uses Hydrogen Hybrid Engine to get 40MPG

Apparently the Milky Way loses a few arms, gains a bar in the center.

 The Milky Way Gets a Facelift -- ScienceNOW

My faves:  #2, #8, #95, #17, #26(creepy), #79, #82, #89, #86, #57, #42
What, no Star Wars? :)

TCCANDLER.com -- The 100 Best Movie Posters of All Time

As a kid living outside NYC, I used to enjoy riding mass transit- to take the train into the city through Hoboken, the transfer to the Path and the trip under the Hudson River to appear in a strange land smelling faintly of pierogies, burned pretzels and er other things.  When we moved to Seattle over a decade ago, I was amazed to learn there was no light rail or commuter rail service to speak of.  Just dreams of a monorail that haven't changed much since highlighted in the movie, "Singles".

Now that gas is getting above $4 a gallon and the lines at the Issaquah Costco Discount Gas Station are actually blocking the entrance to Costco's massive parking lot, we witnessing a turning point. 

I can see it with the Microsoft Connector bus service. New routes are being added like crazy and seats on the bio-diesel powered fleet are hard to come by.  Unfortunately I live in an area not easily served by the bus service but I have to wonder - is there finally enough momentum to get the Eastside Rail Project on the right track with trails and rails?  It seems from the East Coast corridor to CA, a part of the solution is light rail and/or commuter rail.  What will it take - $5 gas?  $7?

I'm hoping the Seattle P-I will update this article on high-speed light rail along I90 with a hard look at the topic of connecting the Eastside as well as Seattle proper.

AT&T and Starbucks have finally rolled out free WiFi to Starbucks Card users registered with AT&T.  The catch is that this is actually an ad-funded service- in exchange for letting AT&T send you four emails a year, you get a single WiFi session of up to two-hours per day at ~7000 US-based stores.  Nice.

Free AT&T WiFi now at Starbucks - Engadget

Nvidia is touting their new system on a chip (SOC) called, "Tegra".  The new unit, Tegra 650 is primarily targeted at consumer electronics devices such as phones where it will be capable of 3D graphics, 30 hours of HD video playback, includes up to 1080p video and WSXGA+ resolutions along with an 800Mhz ARM processor.  It's being optimized for Windows Mobile phones.

While I can't see myself watching 1080p HD video on my phone, I can see it storing and playing back a single file from local screen or docking it to watch on the big screen when I get home.  Oh and the entire unit is about the size of a dime.

Handheld computers are right around the corner it seems...

Release

Apparently the deal is for all US and Canadian consumer PCs.  (I hear HP ships a few of those.)  Silverlight powers the Live toolbar.  Nice work Silverlight team!