1. Twitter has announced a new feature called Hovercards.  Hovercards appear when you put the mouse over a username or avatar and it displays additional details about that user.  This will make it easy to follow, RT, and DM users. [Twitter Blog]

2. uTorrent 2.0 has been announced.  The updated version is only applicable to Windows as of right now.  The new version includes bug fixes, improved performance, bandwidth regulation, and UDP support. [Lifehacker]

3. SEGA has revealed that Project Needlemouse is Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. Sonic 4 will be in 2D and will continue from the last Sonic and Knuckles game. The game will be available on PSN, Xbox Live Arcade, and WiiWare this summer. [Hellforge]

4. Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has sold off HotJobs to Monster.com for $225 million in cash. Monster will continue to power Yahoo job listings for 3 years as part of the deal.  Yahoo! bought HotJobs for $436 million in 2001. [TechCrunch]

5. Wikileaks is a website that started in 2006 with the goal of hosting leaked government documents.  Wikileaks gained a lot of attention when 9/11 pager messages and Guantanamo Bay manuals were leaked.  Wikileaks raised about $200,000 as part of a fund-raising goal to stay operational, but the company is seeking an additional $400,000 to pay staff members.  The funding was announced via Twitter: “Achieved min. funraising goal. ($200k/600k); we’re back fighting for another year, even if we have to eat rice to do it.” [Telegraph]

6. Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) has acquired a New York based company called Touchco.  Touchco develops touchscreen technology and will be merged with the hardware division for the Amazon.com Kindle.  Touchco’s interpolating touch technology can be made transparent and work with color LCD screens.  It can also detect an unlimited number of touch points.  Touchco can achieve this at lower costs than the estimated iPad/iPhone screens (or $10 per square foot).  [Engadget/NYT]

The Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle DX is now available with international wireless access. This makes it possible for Kindle owners to download books when they are traveling outside of the United States. However consumers will be subjected to an international download charge. But it may be worth it if you are overseas for an extended period of time.

During the holiday season Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced that sales of e-books has slid past the sales of paper books. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos also mentioned that the Kindle was the most gifted product in the company’s history.

“We are grateful to our customers for making Kindle the most gifted item ever in our history,” stated Bezos. “On behalf of Amazon.com employees around the world, we wish everyone happy holidays and happy reading!”

Amazon.com said that the sale of the Kindle device has surpassed the 8GB iPod Touch and the Nuvi 260W GPS device. The high sales of the Kindle was probably one of the reasons for the spike in e-book sales.

Amazon also announced that December 14 was the busiest day of the season. Amazon processed sales of about 9.5 million items on that day.

Those of you that have read the books “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and “Principle-Cantered Leadership” will recognize the name of a publisher who has signed an exclusive deal with Amazon.com. Stephen R. Covey has signed an exclusive deal with e-retailer Amazon.com. This may serve as a signal for what the future may hold for publishing books in the future. Traditional book publication companies may be overlooked altogether as more authors sign on board with e-retailers and e-book devices.

28. Perky Pet 203CP Pinch Waist Glass Hummingbird Feeder, 8 oz capacity

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By Bartok Kinski
This double set, humming bird acquifier and ant feeder is a wonderful addition to any senior citizen’s home. Sitting in your air conditioned porch and watching birds of all distinction taste the syrupy flavor that comes out of the spout will make anyone go wild, unless you are blind.

27. Motorola HS-850 Bluetooth Headset (OEM)

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By The Amazin’ Amazon Guy
THANKS TO BLUETOOTH YOUR EARTHLINGS NOW RESEMBLE ME. I NOW BLEND INTO YOUR EARTH SOCIETY AFTER BEING OBJECT OF EARTH RIDICULE FROM EARTHLINGS FOR MANY EARTH YEARS BECAUSE OF COMMUNICATION DEVICE WITH BLINKING BLUE LIGHT ATTACHED TO RIGHT EAR.

BLUETOOTH NOW NOT ONLY MAKES ME APPEAR SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE BUT ALSO GIVES ME APPEARANCE OF BEING EAGER YOUNG EARTH BUSINESSMAN. SOME ON EARTH HAVE CHRISTENED ME “GO-GETTER”. NOT ONE OF YOUR EARTHLINGS HAS YET QUESTIONED COMMUNICATION DEVICE WITH BLINKING BLUE LIGHT ATTACHED TO RIGHT EAR SINCE AVAILABLITY OF BLUETOOTH. I COMMUNICATE WITH LEADER OF BEEZAR SEVEN WHILE GIVING APPEARANCE OF COMMUNICATING WITH SUPERVISOR IN NEXT BUILDING.

I AM NOW ABLE TO WALK UNSUSPECTED IN YOUR PLACES OF BUSINESS. I AM ALSO FINALLY ABLE TO PURCHASE MANY THOUSANDS OF YOUR CIRCUS PEANUTS WITHOUT DIFFICULTY. MATING WITH YOUR FEMALES IS NOW DISTINCT POSSIBILITY. PLANET BEEZAR SEVEN OWES DEBT OF GRATITUDE TO BLUETOOTH FOR ENABLING SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE OF BEEZARIANS ON PLANET EARTH.

26. Jesus Action Figure Deluxe

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By Mojo
At first I admit I was skeptical when searching for a new friend for Barbie, but now I am delighted to have stumbled across such a masterpiece.

The distinction of this doll compared to Ken dolls is astounding. Deluxe Jesus stands a whopping three-quarters of an inch taller than that puny “Go to the Beach Ken” doll. DJ is to Abercrombie as Ken is to Baby Gap. When I stood them next to each other and aimed my personal desk fan at them, Deluxe Jesus stood firm while Ken was swept away. The sun-through-a-magnifying glass test put a hole right through Ken, but DJ was unaffected, as if his own father created the Sun.

The quality of this item is undisputable. It is waterproof and comes with fake bread loaves and fake fish (perfect for fake meals!!) Great for adults and kids alike. Deluxe Jesus: The new Ken. A must buy!!

25. Radio Controlled Rat- The Rotten Rodent

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By Bartok Kinski
While I was staying in a barn in Russia, I bought some of these with me. Unfortunately one of the farm hands, who was drunk at the time, smashed it to pieces with a hammer because he thought it was a real rat.

Fun to use when you are bored or dream of dead rats.

24. It Hurts When I Poop!

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By Hoffman
I’m 31 years old and have been afraid of pooping my whole life. Now after reading this book I go six or seven times a day, usually laughing joyously throughout the entire experience.

23. Graco Pack ‘n Play Playard in Bugs Quilt

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By Hoffman
My kid hates this. The bugs are almost as big as her. It’s like she’s trapped in a nightmare. I just use it as a punishment device when she’s bad now. Or when I need a good laugh.

22. Foggy Mountain HotMoose

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By GC
I would like to dedicate this review to the memory of my beloved cousin/half-brother Billy C. If this review saves just one life, his untimely death will not have been in vain.

Billy was never the smartest, but he was kind and had a wicked sense of humor. He was always joking around with my other cousins and brothers, and playing pranks on the rest of the family.

My uncle was preparing to take some of the boys on a hunting trip, and had sent Billy out to the garage to gather up some supplies. Billy found a bottle of HotMoose in my uncle’s garage with some of his other hunting supplies.

Being unable to read past a 2nd grade level and having little to no ability to think critically about that which he did read, he took one look at the attractive gentleman on the label and one whiff of the musky contents and mistook it for cologne. Dabbing some behind his ears, and dabbing more in other conspicuous areas of his person, using near half the bottle, he felt like a true man as he and the rest of the guys headed off to hunt moose.

Let me explain why this was such a tragic mistake: Foggy Mountain HotMoose is the essence of the urine of a female moose in heat. Thus, not only does it attract moose, but it specifically attracts male moose who are blinded by their raging hormones, seeking only to get it on with a ladymoose and ready to thrash anything or anyone that gets in their way. Few forces of nature match that of a male moose looking for action. So, imagine the tragic end to the story which begins with an innocent young man dabbing himself with moose juice, and middles with an enraged moose bull mistaking the frail, 130 lb young man for a female moose in heat.

No one knew poor Billy had doused himself with the stuff, and no one had been keeping an eye on him as he held back from the group, distracted by the beauty of nature and all of the Lord’s creation. I will never forget that weekend … we could barely enjoy the fresh moose meat, and as we dined, we could only console each other knowing that Billy had at least died on a day when he had been truly happy, out and enjoying nature. And perhaps it was fitting that he died with nature enjoying him.

It has been over a year since Billy’s closed-casket funeral, and the pain still lingers. But I hope that from this story, you will know to be careful with HotMoose and realize that the attractive gentleman featured on the bottle was most likely carrying a gun and prepared to fend off vile-minded male moose. May you do the same.

I gave this product 4 stars because it does do a very good job of attracting male moose, but I had to remove 1 star in memory of Billy, whose starry light has been extinguished forever.

21. Dream Supreme Plus 100% Gel Filled Pillows

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By Bartok Kinski
I had no idea on how to inflate the Pillows, as no air pump came with the package.

There was an odd smell to them as soon as I opened them. I think it was a smelly factory where they were produced, so much so that I gagged the first night I used them on the bus in Ecuador. I used the Dream Supreme Plus Pillow as a travel Pillow but it was useless.

Eventually they caught fire near a camp where I slept.

(more…)

Jeff Bezos talked to The New York Times Magazine about the Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) Nook e-book reader. The Nook has the ability to lend an e-book with a friend only once.

“The current thing being talked about is extremely limited. You can lend to one friend. One time. You can’t pick two friends, not even serially, so once you’ve loaned one book to one friend, that’s it…It is ‘Sopie’s Choice,’” stated Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos.

In addition to criticizing the Nook, Bezos decided to throw in a state about the Kindle: “For every 100 copies of a physical book we sell, where we have the Kindle edition, we will sell 48 copies of the Kindle edition.”

The Verizon Droid has not been out for that long, but retailers want to capitalize on the hype around the new Google Android phone, designed by Motorola. Verizon is selling the phone for $200. Then Amazon.com decided to chop the price to $150. And now Dell.com decided to beat Amazon’s prices by offering it for $120.

Dell had a rough third quarter caused by a 54% net income drop so the company probably wants to attract more buyers to their website. Most likely Dell will be subsidizing the price drop out of their own pockets, but the commission from selling Verizon contracts might be worth the drop.

The newest Palm smartphone with 3G connection, QWERTY keyboard, social networking applications built-in, EV-DO connectivity, GPS through Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV, Amazon.com MP3 store, and 5 hours of talk time has been reduced to a mere $25 on Amazon.com with a 2 year contract of course. This is about $75 less than buying the phone from Sprint itself. This is the perfect deal for Palm fans that want to save a few bucks this holiday season.