A very interesting and useful development in search technology has recently surfaced in the form of reverse phone lookups. This service functions in a way similar to a search engine in that it looks for information matching what you entered in the search field, but unlike these search engines, reverse number lookups only search specialized databases that contain one type of data: phone numbers. Whether you need to make sure that number that called you belongs to a local business, or check up on an unknown and unsolicited cell phone number, these new online search services make it easy and convenient to track down the name of the person associated with a specific phone number.

Reverse phone number searches work by browsing a diverse set of directories for entries that match the number you entered in the search field. Every reverse phone lookup will automatically search national public databases, or phone books; additionally, some searches have access to private directories containing cell phone and unlisted land line numbers. Most people like to start with a general phone number search in order to verify the origin of a call. Most reverse phone number lookup services, in fact, guarantee to retrieve the name of the phone number owner or provide you with a full refund.

There are many reasons that you might need to use these kinds of services, and luckily, there are many different reputable companies that offer them. Another advantage to the large number of reverse phone number searches available on the internet is that each may browse slightly different directories, or do so in a different way. A lot of people also like to check the results they get from one service against those offered by another, to get a sense of the accuracy of phone number searches in general.

Moreover, anyone who takes the time to check search service results will soon learn that overall, the information you can get about an unknown number is really quite reliable. While it takes some time, even up to a few months to register a change in a published land line number, results from private directories are even more up to date, as phone companies edit their private directories every time a change occurs.

The announcement of the Canon EOS 50D isn’t surprising for those who have been watching the rumors. Looking for a good reason to upgrade? Here are the new goodies:

Canon 50D vs Canon 40D

• 15-megapixel vs 10.1-megapixel
• DIGIC 4 vs DIGIC III
• ISO 100-12800 vs ISO 100-3200
• Noise reduction: Four levels vs On/Off
• Auto lighting optimizer: Four levels vs On/Off
• New AF microadjustment feature: Finetune all lenses or up to 20 lenses for perfect focus accuracy.
• 3.0″, 920k pixel, TFT LCD vs 3.0″, 230k pixel, TFT LCD
• Live view AF mode: Quick mode (Phase detect), Live view mode (Contrast detect), Face detect (Contrast detect) vs Phase detect only
• New Peripheral illumination correction feature
• 6.3 fps (Up to 60 JPEG Large/Fine or 90 JPEG Large/Fine (UDMA) vs 6.5 fps (Up to 75 JPEG Large/Fine)
• New DIGIC 4 user interface
• Weight: 730g (No battery), 822g (With battery) vs 740g (No battery), 836g (With battery)

Except for the much higher resolution, I wouldn’t say the 50D is a necessary upgrade for 40D users. Canon claimed that its sensor performs much better than 40D in high ISO, but I believe 40D’s performance is quite sufficient for the average users. Anything better, you should be looking at the Canon 5D for the full-frame noise advantage.

No price details at the moment.

At the same time, Canon announced the new Canon EF-S 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS, a direct competition to the popular Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX. It offers automatic panning detection and four stops of stabilization. It does not feature USM, so focus mechanism will not be as advanced.

Looks like Canon is heeding the call of their users who have been envying Nikon for their convenient one-lens solution. This lens would be perfect for travel, although its optical quality would probably be nothing near the Canon ‘L’ lenses.

Suggested retail price is US$699.

Paparazzi are very annoying for the celebrities. But if you are a celebrity with these sunglasses, the paparazzi would have no way to capture you on video cameras. Your face will be invisible to the camera!

Learn how to make one of these sunglasses yourself in the above video. Basically, it uses infra-red LEDs to shine an intense light that only video cameras are capable of seeing. Let’s hope a more elegant commercial solution will be in the market soon.

We finally get a first look at the upcoming Microsoft Windows 7 as it gets unveiled at the All Things Digital Conference yesterday. But still, little is known about the highly-anticipated OS that is to be the successor of Windows Vista come 2010.

From the video above, we can see that there are lots of emphasis on touch interface support. Multi-touch gestures in photo galleries like two-finger zoom, flicking, and panning, multi-touch paint program where you can draw with 10 fingers, Multi-touch piano software, application that pulls from Microsoft Live Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth with, again, support for touch.

There will also supposedly be an OSX-like dock. Ha, the copycats are in action again. Time will tell if this will be an innovative breakthrough, or a lackluster offering like the Vista.

Very soon, Cyalume sticks (aka glow sticks) will be history. MPK CO. has invented a new kind of light source called Litroenergy that acts somewhat like a glow stick, but lasts more than 12 years without ever needing a recharge. No electricity nor solar exposure required!

“The Litrospheres are not effected by heat or cold, and are 5,000-pound crush resistant. They can be injection molded or added to paint. The fill rate of Litroenergy micro particles in plastic injection molding material or paint is about 20%. The constant light gives off no U.V. rays, and can be designed to emit almost any color of light desired.”

Safe, consistent, and eco-friendly. Litroenergy could possibly save billions of dollars for the world.

But smart netizens has dug out Litroenergy’s patent application, and it says the active ingredient used is Tritium. That is the tricky part - United States has a ban on the import of Tritium, probably due to its radioactive nature.

Do you think this product will ever materialize?

In two words: DAMN COOL!

Check it out in the video below.

For more high-speed videos, check out this link.

Keeping fit while having fun! If you own a Wii, here comes the motivation to do some exercises. Wii Fit is a new game that works with the new Wii Balance Board. The Wii Balance Board is a wireless pressure-sensing device, that is able to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI) and your center of mass.

The combination means the ability to provide you with about 40 fun activities to do at the comfort of your home!

Activities include:

• Yoga Poses
  Deep Breathing, Half-Moon, Warrior, Tree, Sun Salutation, Standing Knee, Palm Tree, Chair, Triangle, Downward-Facing Dog, King Of The Dance, Cobra, Bridge, Crocodile Twist, Shoulder Stand.
• Muscle Workouts
  Single Leg Extension, Press-Up and Side Stand, Torso and Waist Twists, Jackknife, Lunge, Rowing Squat, Single Leg twist, Sideways Leg Lift, Parallel Stretch, Tricep Extension, Arm and Leg Lift, Single Arm Stand, Press-Up Challenge, Jackknife Challenge, Stretch Challenge.
• Aerobic exercise
  Jogging, Step aerobics, Hula Hoop, Rhythm boxing.
• Balance games
  Ski jumping, Ski and snowboard slaloms, Heading footballs, Table tilt, Tightrope tension, Balance Bubble, Penguin slide, Zazen.

Wii Fit was released in Japan on December 1, 2007, in Europe on April 25, 2008, and May 8, 2008 in Australia. The game is scheduled for release on May 19, 2008 in North America. Get notified by Amazon when Wii Fit is available.

RIM announced today its latest BlackBerry 9000, also known as the BlackBerry Bold. Due to its black color enclosed in a chrome border, it’s hard not to notice the similarity between it and the iPhone.

The BlackBerry Bold is not putting up a fight without being well-prepared. It has 3.5G HSDPA support, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, 480×320 resolution screen (twice the resolution of the most recent BlackBerry Curve), physical QWERTY keyboard, trackball located under the screen, full-featured desktop-style web browser, 2MP camera with video recording capabilities, built-in camera flash, and 5x digital zoom. Definitely a worthy competitor to the iphone.

Unfortunately for RIM, the BlackBerry Bold has yet to have an official launch date. The iPhone will be upgraded with new features very soon, and we don’t know how shiny the Bold would look by then.

Apple has signed deals with four major telecommunication companies in four countries to help the company surpass its iPhone sales goal of 10 million units by the end of 2008.

Singapore’s SingTel, India’s Bharti Airtel, Phillipines’ Globe Telecom, and Australia’s Optus, will begin carrying the iPhone “later this year.” A specific date has yet to be announced.

And it is safe to assume that the model would be a new 3G-enabled one, since 3G is the industry standard for this part of the world.

Good news for you patient ones still waiting for its official launch. Bad news for my soon-to-be-unexclusive iPhone.

For those familiar with Mac, we all know how useful Exposé can be. With the click of a button, it elegantly displays all your open windows in one screen, making it really easy to find a particular window that you are looking for.

Long have Windows users yearned for something like this. There have been several offerings for Windows that tries to do the same, but neither has been particularly successful in emulating the original. And with the birth of Windows Vista, there is now Windows-TAB that does something similar, but still not as good.

But now, we have something new called DExposE2 Reloaded. This one seems really promising in becoming a worthy substitute for Exposé on Windows. It even features a handful of extras such as interactive previews, hot corners, and multi-monitor support. Why not give it a shot?

Download: 05-08-2008 Build

Alternatively, download via the developer’s site.