links for 2009-11-14

Reviews of The Panasonic Lumix GF1, and Canon PowerShot S90: at the forefront in allowing easy yet sophisticated photography. --David Pogue

EXCERPT|: "Starting next week, Verizon will double the early-termination fee for smartphones. That is, if you get a BlackBerry, Android or similar phone from Verizon, and you decide to switch phones before your two-year contract is up, you'll be socked with a $350 penalty (it used to be $175)."

It gets worse. They intentionally scam customers with an easy-to-accidentally-hit button that charges $1.99 even as you hit cancel immediately. We need re-regulaltion!

Opening lines: "I'm touching a wet slab of protein, what feels like a paper-thin slice of bologna. It's supple, slimy, but unlike meat, if you were to slice it down the center today, tomorrow the wound would heal. It's factory-grown living tissue."