Certified to military specs, Verizon’s latest Push to Talk flip-phone is ruggedized against shock/vibration, dust, high or low temperatures, and altitude. It’s also waterproof in up to one meter of water for about 30 minutes. The Barrage has a large 1170maH battery, but otherwise seems like a tough-as-nuts version of Verizon’s Motorola Entice . That means you get archaic clamshell specs like a 2-megapixel camera (with video recording), dual speakers, dedicated music controls, blah, blah. It’ll also handle Verizon Wireless Services like V CAST video, Rhapsody and VZ Navigator. If you work on an oil-rig, the Barrage is now available at Verizon for $130 (after $50 rebate; with 2 year contract). You can also make Push to Talk unlimited for an extra $5 bucks a month. [ Verizon ]

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Windows Mobile 6.5 phones arrive next Tuesday, and as rumored , the HTC Imagio will be amongst them. It has a 3.6-inch screen with TouchFLO 3D UI, dual CDMA/GSM compatibility, and is Verizon’s first smartphone to support V CAST Mobile TV. The FLO TV -based service includes content from Comedy Central, ESPN, NBC, CBS, and MTV. Access will run you $15 per month. The rest of the Imagio’s specs aren’t anything to write home about really, it’s more of the same: 480 x 800 screen resolution, 528MHz processor, 5-megapixel camera, microSD expansion, 3.5mm headphones jack, and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. Oh, the V CAST TV antenna doubles as a handy kickstand when you’re watching shows—that’s a nice touch. You’ll be able to order the Imagio online at Verizon next Tuesday, or test it out in Verizon stores from October 20. Either way, it’ll cost $200 (after rebate, with 2 year contract).

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The Apple/Google divorce continues to come into focus: Apple quietly bought Placebase , a mapping service company, back in July. Apple doesn’t buy companies it’s not going to use . Meaning, Apple’s getting into making their own maps. Peace out, Google. Seth at ComputerWorld, who put this together , points to a post on GigaOm last year detailing the awesomeness of PlaceBase vs. Google Maps —mainly, customization and tons of ways to layer multiple kinds of data sets onto maps, with an API that makes it easy to layer on those data sets. So maybe Apple wants these kind of intensive, custom geolocation mapping powers for the iPhone (and other stuff), or maybe Apple just wants to roll its own maps, so it’s not depending on Google for the tiles. Which would actually go along with the same kind of independent streak we’ve seen in other areas from Apple, like designing custom chips for the iPhone (and maybe the Tablet ) using its PA Semi acquisition, instead of using the same chips anybody can buy. If Apple’s got a new Maps app coming that’s totally un-Googley, does that mean we can finally get a real Latitude app , since it won’t confuse us anymore? Either way, Apple’s definitely doing something with their new toy. [ CW ]

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We don’t hesitate to show excitement over non lethal and less-than-lethal weapons , but the reality is that they’re kinda scary. In particular when we’re starting to see hand-held heat weapons which leave little to no trace of ever being used. A long time ago we heard about the UK considering testing out some non lethal directed energy gear. Basically a beam-based weapon which would cause a burning sensation to discourage a victim (or attacker), but not actually damage skin or leave burn marks. This is what the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate , JNLWD, has been exploring since 2005. But according to project engineer Wesley Burgei, they’ve still got a few bugs left to work out: “We have established the minimum irradiance to cause a sensation and have characterised where thermal injury begins,” he says. “But the exact operating irradiance which balances a useful military effect with a conservative margin of safety has not been nailed down yet.” In plain words? There are some itty bitty safety issues. Thankfully those will be ironed out before the weapons ever hit the streets due to some UN protocol on blinding laser weapons. It turns out that they forbid weapons which would penetrate the retina and cause blindness. It seems odd that a beam-based weapon could affect skin without damaging eyesight, but, according to Burgei, it’s entirely possible to use a “retina safe” wavelength. It’s great that safety is a priority in the design and creation of these beam-based weapons, but Steve Wright, a non lethal weapons analyst at Leeds Metropolitan University, raises an interesting point about them: “Persuading by pain rather than brain - through conversation - has led to push-button torture in the past. If it leaves no mark on the skin how will anyone prove it’s been abused?” Tasers and the like leave evidence, marks and traces of use, but once they’re within proper safety limitations, beam-based weapons like the one being built by the JNLWD won’t. Not to start the “Oh, no! They’ll be abused!” train, but how will we regulate them? [ New Scientist ]

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There are 2,000 in that container. And there are 112 such containers in Microsoft’s $500 million Chicago data center . It may seem somewhat ridiculous, but this container-based data center design is absolutely brilliant (and environmentally sustainable to boot). While we haven’t seen Microsoft’s newest data center, we hear that it has 700,000 square feet of space, really, really high ceilings, and 40-foot stacks of server-filled containers. Thinking about the stacks may leave me with vertigo, but thinking about the ingenuity of the design leaves me impressed: Microsoft has built something which’ll “deliver huge benefits in cost, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability .” All those containers are plug-and-play in a way, complete with corresponding bays, and can be set up by “as few as four employees” in hours. Yes, they’ve designed it so that moving 60 ton stacks of servers requires only four people. If that’s not incredible then let’s consider that the place has a huge focus on being energy efficient: Despite the facility having a 30-megawatt power capacity, steps have been taken to make it as economical and sustainable as possible: [T]he Chicago site employs water-side economization [which takes] advantage of cool outside air to reduce the data center’s reliance upon power-hungry chillers to produce chilled water. Air economizers introduce fresh air into the data center, while water-side economizers use cooling towers to remove waste heat. Basically Microsoft is cutting down energy waste, saving on labor, and being all-around economical. While the modular, server-in-a-box approach might not get the stamp of revolutionary, the way Microsoft is approaching it is something worth paying attention to because it might just be what’ll help “meet the demand for cloud computing at scale.” [ Data Center Knowledge ]

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Japanese teen? Got it. Cheerleader uniform? Hmmm-hmmm. Video camera? Sure enough. Push ups? Yes. You know exactly where this is going. Yes, it’s an application in which a Japanese cheerleader encourages you to do sit-ups. Why the name, then? Apparently, fukkin means abs in Japanese. Whatever. For $1, it’s certainly the cheapest fukkin exercise you are going to find.[ iTunes Appe Store via Krapps ]

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Japanese teen? Got it. Cheerleader uniform? Hmmm-hmmm. Video camera? Sure enough. Push ups? Yes. You know exactly where this is going. Or maybe not. Yes, it’s an application in which a Japanese cheerleader encourages you to do sit-ups. Why the name, then? Apparently, fukkin means abs in Japanese. Whatever. For $1, it’s certainly the cheapest fukkin exercise you are going to find.[ iTunes Appe Store via i-Fukkin ]

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During Typhoon Ketsana in the Philippines last week, residents had to figure out creative ways to stay dry and get around. There are about a dozen reasons this seems like a bad idea, however. [ Big Picture ]

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What does Fox have in mind for improving the experience of Blu-rays? Actually…some really great ideas, according to SlashFilm . The most immediate (and maybe most promising) is Live Lookup. It’ll be on the Wolverine disc (you know, the same one that has the PSPgo digital copy ). Live Lookup allows you to hit a button and be linked to IMDB. Actors can be sorted by scene, allowing you to search for bikini shots of cute, female b-listers later. Check it out in the lead photo. Load times should be diminished or even eliminated, but at a cost. Fox plans to load BD menus while you watch previews. So things may not actually get faster, but you may have more incentive to sit through all that extra promotional material that shouldn’t be on a BD in the first place. Finally, we may even control a BD player through a remote device, like an iPhone. Not only could you search for content without popping a guide up onscreen, but the BD player could stream additional content to this second, personal screen. These are all great ideas, but hopefully more studios than just Fox will adopt them. Read more of what Fox had to say on the matter over at: [ SlashFilm ]

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Laugh at will. But apparently we haven’t come all that far in 46 years. [ Life via Uncertain Times via BBG ]

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The Recon Scout XT looks like a power walker’s dumbbell, but that doesn’t stop the R/C device from being useful to military ops in the field. Weighing just 3.2lbs (including the controller), the robot can land from heights of 30 feet onto concrete without sustaining damage. Toss it over a fence, drive it into a bunker and, all the while, a soldier can watch a wireless video feed on the controller’s small screen (ranges span from 100 feet if venturing indoors to 300 feet through line-of-sight). The bot will even activate invisible, IR illumination if the area gets too dark. Of course, the Recon Scout XT is surely meant to assist in violently vanquishing the enemy. But we like to imagine other, MASH-esque usage scenarios involving a uptight sergeants running out of the bath with their shower caps still on. ROFL! [ Defense Tech ]

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Google sure has a lot of money! And man, does it like to spend it! This map shows all of Google’s acquisitions and investments, detailing just how vast and diverse Google’s interests are. [ Meet the Boss via The Awl ]

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