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Turns out it was a tough decade for tech companies. First the bubble they helped create burst and took the rest of the economy down with them; now the credit markets have sunk them in return—with two notable exceptions. I'll admit that this chart would be more readable if it had been a more competitive field. But isn't that kind of the point? While everyone else was mucking around trying to recover from the mistakes of the late nineties, two truly innovative companies—Apple and Google—distinguished themselves in spectacular fashion. Granted, Google didn't join the party until 2004 and benefits from a severely undervalued IPO, but even taking that into consideration, their current stock price of $622 is 20 times that of Microsoft. No matter what kind of dividend Ballmer hands out, that's an enormous—and telling—gap. That's the big picture. But I'm curious as to what you guys see in the details, too. A stock can pop on a rumor and drop on a dime. What's behind some of the peaks and valleys we see here? [Chart via Google] Send an email to Brian Barrett, the author of this post, at < moc.odomzig@tterrabb > moc.odomzig@tterrabb

The 102-year history of the Times Square New Year's Even Ball is one filled with technology, death and, of course, pretty shiny lights. See it all unfold in our historical timeline. (Click the image for a large popout version.) Of course, for those who don't appreciate the festivity of the ball drop, despite all of the hard work behind the scenes, feel free to ignore the ball's 32,256 glimmering Philips LEDs and turn your attention to your iPhone...because, yes, Waterford has made an app for that. Happy New Year everyone! Send an email to Mark Wilson, the author of this post, at < moc.odomzig@kram > moc.odomzig@kram

No, I'm not obsessed with Saturn. OK, I am obsessed with Saturn. But so is Time, who picked this deliciously crispy photo as one of the images of the year, revealing ring bumps as high as the Rocky Mountains. I'm not surprised, because it's a truly unique moment, one that happens at Saturn's equinox, which is an event that only happens twice in 10,179 Earth days. And this time, we had Cassini there to take this amazing photo, just when the sun illuminates the rings edge-on. As Carolyn Porco—Cassini imaging team leader—puts it: The geometry revealed structures and phenomena in the rings we had never seen before. We saw this famous adornment spring from two dimensions into three, with some ring structures soaring as high as the Rocky Mountains. It made me feel blessed. The team used Cassini during a week to take photos of vertical clumps in the ring, and when the equinox happened, they could measure their true size looking at the shadows. According to NASA's Bob Pappalardo at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory: It's like putting on 3-D glasses and seeing the third dimension for the first time. This is among the most important events Cassini has shown us. Well, Bob and Carolyn, Carolyn and Bob and the rest of the Cassini team, all I can say is thank you for an amazing work, and the stunning desktop backgrounds in 2009. [NASA Full Resolution Image] Send an email to Jesus Diaz, the author of this post, at < moc.odomzig@susej > moc.odomzig@susej

Grandma Millie and Grandma Fran + green screen roller coaster = 80 seconds of pure hilarious joyride. Please, god, let this be a series. Next stop: Grandmas in Space! [The Daily What] Send an email to Brian Barrett, the author of this post, at < moc.odomzig@tterrabb > moc.odomzig@tterrabb

In Be Kind Rewind, cinephiles Jack Black and Mos Def created ultra-low-budget versions of their favorite movies. The Asylum, a studio of B-movie mischief-makers, is their real-life counterpart, except they make gold like Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus and Transmorphers. I've actually seen Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (it's available at Netflix) and loved it, and John Herrman branded them "film heroes," so it's interesting to see Wired's bio of the organization. They're not just making weird parodies in their basement; these are relatively successful little movies that sometimes play in theaters and can often be found in rental stores. And though the majority of its films are sci-fi or horror, the company has lately expanded into biblical-disaster movies (The Apocalypse), teen-sex romps (18-Year-Old Virgin), and even family fare (Sunday School Musical). It's a new kind of B movie: low risk and made to order. "I said, ‘Make me a T&A movie in 3-D,' and they did that with Sex Pot," says Keith Leopard, director of content acquisitions at Blockbuster. "They're constantly delivering good little filler products for our customers." And, I mean, in Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, a giant shark eats a plane out of the sky. How much better can it get? [Wired] Send an email to Dan Nosowitz, the author of this post, at < moc.odomzig@ztiwosond > moc.odomzig@ztiwosond

That failed terrorist attack yesterday might make international flights a whole lot less enjoyable. Passengers are reporting that new restrictions are in place, and their severity varies flight-to-flight. Among the reports: No electronics allowed. Updated: Update 2: The TSA also released this statement, which seems to confirm that electronics usage policies will be on a case-by-case basis (emphasis added): "Passengers flying from international locations to U.S. destinations may notice additional security measures in place. These measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same thing everywhere. Due to the busy holiday travel season, both domestic and international travelers should allot extra time for check-in." Update: According to @charleneli, here's the situation: New flight rules - Body search, no electronics apply only to int'l flights to US. Just landed in ORD from Canada, missed connection Again, these are isolated incidents, and there's still no official word from TSA. But in certain instances, some passengers are reporting that electronics usage on inbound U.S. flights is restricted. We'll let you know if an official announcement comes. The New York Times is reporting that no one will be able to move from their seats during the last hour of flight. That means no bathroom breaks, no accessing carry-on luggage, nothing. When that plane starts descending, you're planted. Multiple sources, among them Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing, have also been told that no electronics are allowed on international flights. None. So you can't even play video games to distract yourself from how badly you have to pee. From what we can tell, this is largely restricted to inbound international flights. TSA hasn't made any announcements yet either, so hopefully this is either a temporary measure, or the restrictions will be less severe once the official policy becomes clearer. So much for using those free in-flight Wi-Fi codes we told you about. If you're flying today, tell us what you hear. [Business Insider, New York Times, @xenijardin] Image via Bekathwia Send an email to Chris Jacob, the author of this post, at < moc.odomzig@bocajc > moc.odomzig@bocajc

First there was the shoe bomb. Now Al Qaeda has taken it to the next level: Yesterday's failed terrorist attack was supposed to be delivered by a suicide bomber with the payload sewn into his underpants. ABC News is reporting that Al Qaeda sewed about 80 grams of PETN, an explosive that's similar to nitro-glycerin, into the Nigerian attacker's underwear. For comparison, the shoe bomber only had about 50 grams in his footwear. Luckily, officials are saying the detonator was either too small or wasn't making proper contact with the explosive. What does this mean for the future of airline security? After the shoe bomb attempt, we all had to start taking off our shoes at the screening line. Are we going to start walking through the detector in our birthday suits now? Security expert Bruce Scheiner points out that increased security in these sorts of situations just doesn't work, because the tools TSA uses can't detect schemes like these: I don't want to even think about how much C4 I can strap to my legs and walk through your magnetometers. Not to mention how ineffective the whole no movement during the last hour of flight idea is. In his words: Do we really think the terrorist won't think of blowing up their improvised explosive devices during the first hour of flight? For years I've been saying this: Only two things have made flying safer [since 9/11]: the reinforcement of cockpit doors, and the fact that passengers know now to resist hijackers. This week, the second one worked over Detroit. Security succeeded. Whatever inconveniences this may cause, I'm just glad that we averted another disaster. It's pretty unbelievable that twice—twice!—this stuff has snuck by security in various articles of clothing, and both times we've been incredibly lucky that no one got hurt. Here's to hoping airport security figures out a way to accurately screen for explosives attached to the body soon, without needing all of us to get a little too friendly with each other at the metal detector. [ABC News] Images via Pinkycay, Fastfission Send an email to Chris Jacob, the author of this post, at < moc.odomzig@bocajc > moc.odomzig@bocajc

The Apple Tablet, a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, has just gotten a little more interesting. Thanks to some crack investigative reporting, MacRumors discovered that Apple purchased the domain for "islate.com" back in 2007. Dum dum dum! What we know: islate.com was registered to Apple in 2007, through an intermediary (to disguise its true owner). At the moment, that domain doesn't seem to lead anywhere—and there are a couple explanations. First, Apple bought it as a protective measure, to stop anyone else from using that "i" prefix with that particular word. Second, Apple had or has plans for either a product or a project by that name. Third, it's the tablet. Or fourth, it's Apple's take on Slate.com (sample headline: Why I Hate Christmas Presents). Maybe we'll find out just what that means in January, when the tablet is rumored to be announced. [MacRumors] Send an email to Dan Nosowitz, the author of this post, at < moc.odomzig@ztiwosond > moc.odomzig@ztiwosond

A lot of people wrote about the V-Screen 3D kit for the PSP when it was announced. Jokes may have been made! But now Ars has actually tried one, and their results are surprising: It's not perfect, but it works. According to Ars, the V-Screen uses an old trick, popular with flight sim devotees, whereby a fresnel lens—at a size slightly larger than the device's screen—is placed a short distance away from the display. This magnifies the image a bit, and more importantly, adds a sense of depth. For 3D games where depth in important, like racing games and FPSes, the effect is apparently "more compelling than it sounds on paper," to the point that "it's going to be hard to back to playing the games on a standard screen." There's no doubt that this is a faux-3D setup, but it's also fairly cheap—$40, to be exact, which might not buy you honest 3D, but it'll buy you the sensation. Like a Fleshlight, for your eyes! Yes. [ArsTechnica] Send an email to John Herrman, the author of this post, at < moc.odomzig@namrrehj > moc.odomzig@namrrehj

[FSJ] Send an email to the author of this post at < moc.odomzig@malb > moc.odomzig@malb