Talk about rubbing it in: Best Buy is giving out US$ 50 gift cards to all of its customers who bought HD DVD players or HD DVD attachments before February 23. What's with the date? This was within the week that Toshiba dropped the format and sealed HD DVD's fate. Details in the full article.

Cease and desist letters were fired off to Apple as well as other technology giants such as Microsoft, Adobe, and RealNetworks on Friday. According to MacNN, the C&D letters demanded that the aforementioned companies integrate Media Rights Technologies' (MRT) proprietary technology to prevent music streams from being "ripped."

MRT claims that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) "forces companies to comply with the act and provide copy-control technologies." Each company has been given 10 days to respond and MRT will reportedly file lawsuits totalling more than US$ 200 billion against the companies.

MRT also claims that companies such as Apple, Real, and Microsoft are deliberately designing their players with loopholes to allow copyright infringement. MacNN also reports that according to MRT, the suits could also extend to companies like YouTube and CNN, which also use the infringing technology.

Imagine a totally wireless future. We're not just talking about wireless internet and stuff, too. When we say wireless, that includes the power cords that are connecting your PC to your electric socket, giving it power so that you can read these words on this website right now.

It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but startup company Powercast is already starting to make leaps and bound in this field of research. According to a report from CNN Money, Powercast and its first major partner, electronics giant Philips, are already set to launch their first device powered by - brace yourself - electricity broadcast through the air. Here's how it works:

It may sound futuristic, but Powercast's platform uses nothing more complex than a radio--and is cheap enough for just about any company to incorporate into a product.

A transmitter plugs into the wall, and a dime-size receiver (the real innovation, costing about $5 to make) can be embedded into any low-voltage device. The receiver turns radio waves into DC electricity, recharging the device's battery at a distance of up to 3 feet.

The first joint product from Powercast and Philips is a wirelessly powered LED light stick which will hit the market this year. Powercast says it has also signed deals to develop products with more than 100 companies, including major manufacturers of gadgets ranging from cell phones and MP3 players to medical implants.

PCs and laptops could also be added to the list of Powercast-powered devices in the future. Right now, PC power consumption is still too high for the Powercast to handle, but these consumption rates are rapidly dropping.

UPDATE: After missing for 11 days, James Kim's body was found half a mile from the Rogue River. According to the Oregon State Police, Kim, 35, left his family in the car and traveled for 8 miles in search of help. His body was found less than a mile from where his family's station wagon got stuck in the snow; authorities are still baffled on whether he was trying to return to his family, or if he just got disoriented due to the bad weather. Josephine County Undersheriff Brian Anderson tried to give a better picture of Kim's heroic act in saying "he was very motivated...he traveled a long way."

The QJ family's one with the Kim family in grieving over their loss.

---

In a more hopeful turn of events since a couple of days ago, CNN.com reports that the wife and two children of CNET editor James Kim were recently found alive in a remote area of southern Oregon. James himself remains missing, though, having left his family two days before to find help.

Search teams found Kati Kim waving an umbrella around 1:45 PM Pacific. She had been nursing her two children, Penelope and Sabine, for the past two days as they had no food. They were airlifted to a community hospital Grant Pass and are reported to be in good condition.

Officials are hoping that James Kim remains alive, noting that he had previous outdoor experience. They are currently hoping to track him using his cellphone signal. They're also using some of the latest available search technology such as thermal imaging, to locate his whereabouts. We extend our best hopes and wishes to both the Kim family and James himself, that he may be speedily found and in good condition as well.