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Nero has released “reference quality” encoding software said to be fully compatible with the latest MPEG-4 audio standards (LC-AAC, HE-AAC, HE-AAC v2), and is offering a free Windows version for noncommercial use. Additionally, the company says its licensable digital audio technology includes an optimized codec for devices running Windows CE, among other embedded OSes.

According to Nero, the new “3GPP-compatible” audio encoder’s compression ratios can be selected on a file-by-file basis, from 2.5:1 for highest audio quality, to a maximum compression level that can squeeze the contents of up to 58 CDs into a single CD. An entire audio album can be saved in a single .mp4 file with advanced content management, including support for CD-audio index maps, embedded album art, and ReplayGain, the company says.

Additionally, the new MPEG-4 audio codec supports sampling rates from 8 to 96 kHz and bit rates to 320 kBit/s per channel with constant, average, variable, or double-pass coding modes, making it compatible with virtually any audio source, according to the company.

How much would you pay for “the Bentley of cellphones”? $1,000? $10,000? Try a cool million bucks. This one-of-a-kind quad-band handset by Goldvish sports a blinding 120 carats worth of VVS-1 grade diamonds, according to designer Emmanuel Gueit, and as you’d expect from a seven-figure phone, features such amenities as Bluetooth, a camera with 8x digital zoom, MP3 playback, FM radio, included 2GB memory card and an EDGE connection (though curiously no 3G option or WiFi — it seems a million bucks isn’t what it used to be).

For those of you not willing to drop such an obscene amount of money on a phone that even the designer likens to a boomerang, Goldvish also offers several other diamond-encrusted 18k gold models in your choice of rose, yellow, or white, starting at a much more reasonable $25,600.

Police say the woman told them she found out her husband was cheating on her. So, while he slept, police say the woman grabbed and squeezed two parts of his male anatomy, separating them from his body.

A city of South Houston teacher was placed on administrative leave, accused of having an improper relationship with a student, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.

Officials at South Houston High School said they began asking questions after the English teacher, Sean Eckman, 29, asked his principal if he could take a 17-year-old student to prom.

“He asked for permission to take her to the prom. He said he was a family friend and that the parents had agreed that it would be OK,” said Kirk Lewis, the Pasadena Independent School District superintendent.

“The culmination of those investigations led us to believe he had engaged in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student,” Lewis said.

The principal sent a letter home to parents letting them know about the allegations against Eckman.

Eckman resigned from his teaching position.

He remained jailed on a $100,000 bond!

Aboriginal culture was to blame for endemic levels of sexual violence against children in central Australia, according to a Northern Territory prosecutor who cited a case in which a four-year-old was drowned while being anally raped.

Alice Springs prosecutor Nanette Rogers said “men’s business” in remote Aboriginal communities often led to males freely breaking the law and committing appalling crimes.

“Men’s business is a predominant aspect of life in remote communities, and young men who are initiated are given a certain status in the community and feel they are not responsible for their actions,” Ms Rogers told ABC television’s Lateline last night.

“In other words, they can do whatever they like.

“Young women are not accorded the same status. Males are given a higher status.”

Ms Rogers detailed a range of “dreadful” cases she had prosecuted, which included a seven-month-old baby and a two-year-old toddler being raped and a four-year-old girl being drowned while being raped.

“While she was playing in the water he pulled her under and anally penetrated her and drowned her probably simultaneously,” she said.

A 14-year-old girl who ran away to avoid testifying against a man accused of molesting her has been jailed for a week and denied access to an attorney, officials and court records said.” … “Sanchez-Pesantes, of Akron, is accused of having unlawful sexual conduct with the teen in January. He is free on bond and had a pretrial hearing scheduled Tuesday.

The old circus trick of firing a person from a cannon is being considered by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as a way to get special forces, police officers and fire fighters onto the roofs of tall buildings in a hurry.

A ramp with side rails would be placed on the ground near the target building at an angle of about 80°. A (very brave) person would then sit in a chair, like a pilot’s ejection seat, attached to the ramp.

Compressed air from a cylinder underneath would be rapidly released to shoot the chair up the ramp’s guide rails. At the top the chair would come to an instant halt, leaving the person to fly up and over the edge of the roof, to hopefully land safely on top of the building.

People in the United States and Canada can make free calls from their computers to telephones in those countries using online communication service Skype, the company said.

Skype, a division of eBay in Northern California, announced that its SkypeOut service would be free in the United States and Canada through the end of the year as a promotion intended to lure new users.

Skype calls from computer-to-computer have been free since the service was launched slightly more than two years ago, but SkypeOut calls routed from computers to land-line or mobile telephones came with fees.

“Millions of consumers around the world are flocking to Skype every month, and we believe free SkypeOut calling will rapidly accelerate Skype adoption in the US and Canada,” said Henry Gomez, general manager of Skype North America.

According to Professional Builder, the first zero energy home costing less than $200,000 has been built in Oklahoma. This house produces as much energy as it consumes in a year and combines “renewable energy technologies with advanced energy-efficient construction.” This environmentally friendly house is just a prototype and not available for sale. But as it has created lots of interest, I would not be surprised if its builder decided to add it to its catalog. Read more…

This house has been built by Ideal Homes, based in Norman, Oklahoma, and is located in its Valencia community in Edmond, also in Oklahoma.