My, my, what these phones of today can do!

I remember when running Quake 3 Arena required a pretty decent PC with dedicated 3D acceleration. It wasn't something that just anyone could run. Now we have cell phones running id Software's modern multiplayer classic.

A developer known as Thunderbird2k has ported Quake 3 to Android in a project known as kwaak3, which is open source and can be found here.

The developer did his testing on a Motorola Milestone (also known as the Droid) and was able to achieve benchmark results of 20.0 fps with sound and 25.4 fps without. The HTC Hero scored 11.5 fps and 14.5 fps in the same conditions.

"When I received a Motorola Milestone phone, I wanted to get into Android development. I had seen ports of Quake3 to the iphone and the N900 which have similar specifications (all use a similar CPU and the PowerVR GPU), so I thought why not bring Quake3 to Android," the developer wrote. "It only took me a day to get the game to compile and to load the Quake3 main-function. After that it took me a few more days to get OpenGL and some input working. In the weeks following the initial port I added touchscreen support, networking and sound."

We've given the Android port a quick test here on our Droid and can confirm that it runs astonishingly well. We can't wait to try it on a Nexus One, which features a faster set of chips.

Check out the video below from Android and Me.

A Wisconsin teenager has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for a Facebook sex scam that enabled him to sexually abuse seven of his male classmates.

The Associated Press reports that 19-year-old Anthony Stancl was accused of creating a fake Facebook profile purporting to be a teenage girl. During the period between spring of 2007 and November of 2008, Stancl used the profile to convince more than 30 of his male classmates to send him nude photos or videos. Police found more than 300 photos on Stancl's computer. Some of the photos depicted boys as young as fifteen years old.

Mr Stancl is said to have blackmailed the classmates involved by threatening to post the videos and pictures online if they did not engage in some sort of sexual activity with him. CNet cites an older AP report, which states that at least seven of the boys in Stancl's class have said they were coerced into performing sexual acts. Mr Stancl is alleged to have recorded these acts with his cell phone.

Stancl pleaded no contest to two felonies, including repeated sexual assault of a child. The AP reports that he showed no emotion when his sentence was handed down but that he apologized, saying he had learned to understand what his victims went through. He faced a maximum of 30 years in jail.

Now you can turn your console or PC into a racing arcade machine.

Looking for a little something different other than the living room couch to play your favorite Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 racing games? What about that stupid, worn-out chair that numbs your butt-cheeks while you're playing Need for Speed SHIFT on the PC? It's time for that piece of junk to go, and GamePOD may have just what you need to give those games a little extra dose of adrenaline.

Called the GamePOD GT2, the company is bringing the excitement of an arcade straight to your pad. Available in red, blue, or black, the gaming seat features a "solid and robust" laser cut steel frame, and a genuine "FIA Approved" race seat. The GT2 is also compatible with the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the PC, and all the associated racing wheels.

"As well as a full range of PS3, PC or Xbox360 wheels, The GamePOD is also available with a range of accessories such as TV brackets for flat screen TV’s, storage pods for your games consoles, to keyboard shelves," the company said.

The GamePOD GT2 features a starting price of $610.98. The pricetag doubles when consumers choose to throw in full leather seating, costing $1,291.37 before tax. Don't want the seat? The frame will put you back at a mere $393.26 before tax. Naturally the wheels and pedals are extra, making it a somewhat expensive buy for a gaming seat.

Only five months 'til WP7...

Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft's latest contribution to the smartphone market and smartphone fans are dying to get their hands on the a device running the OS just so they can see how it runs. Lucky for you, it seems LG could release a Windows Phone 7 device as soon as September, meaning you'll be ale to take one for a test drive sooner than you thought.

When WP7 was introduced at the Mobile World Congress last year, Steve Ballmer said we'd see devices running the mobile OS before the holidays. HTC said it would release its first WP7 phone 'before the end of the year' but offered nothing more specific than that. Engadget reports, speaking with LG execs who all but confirmed previous rumors that the company would release a WP7 device in September; LG is playing things cool and saying somewhere between September and November.

So far Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC, HP, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm have all signed on as WP7 partners. Who's phone are you looking forward to the most?

Don't worry, the Mail Goggles add-on that stops you from sending drunk emails is staying.

Gmail Labs is great. Started over a year ago, it means the Gmail team can roll out as many add-ons or features as they want without worrying about over-loading people. Any user can activate as many of these add-ons as they like. After a while, Google will promote the more popular labs features and give them a permanent place in Gmail. The less popular will be trashed.

Today Google is doing a nice spot of promoting and trashing. A few of the features that made the cut are the Forgotten Attachment Detector, which detects phrases like "I've attached" or "See attached" and, if there is no attachment, asks you if you meant to add an attachment before you clicked send; Search Auto-complete; and YouTube Previews, which allows you to watch linked YouTube videos right inside your email.

Unfortunately, Google has 'retired' a couple of nifty features too; IP-based Location Signature, which tells the receiver where the mail was sent from and the Random Signature feature, which automatically adds an interesting quote or signature to the bottom of your emails.

To peruse all the features available through Gmail Labs, click the Labs tab in settings.

Twenty hours ago, Conan O'Brien opened a Twitter account and blew Leno off the Internet.

Apparently Conan O'Brien plans to stick around even though NBC yanked The Tonight Show right out of his hands. The former late-night talk show host recently joined Twitter and posted one message, saying "today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to a commercial."

He then pleaded for help.

As of this writing, O'Brien isn't following anyone, and his one single post has gathered 284,086 followers since it was published twenty hours ago.

Arch-rival Jay Leno, whose moaning and groaning about his prime-time failure cost O'Brein his dream job, has been around on Twitter for a while, racking up 506 tweets. So far he's only amassed 30, 428 followers as of this writing.

That should speak volumes about who is more popular of the two.

CNET seems to think the new Twitter account is the beginning of a marketing campaign. It's highly possible that O'Brien has landed a late-night show on another network, and this will be his platform until then.

Hollywood is striking back against a judgment that would allow ISPs to turn a blind eye at piracy.

The AFP reports that Hollywood is striking back against a recent ruling that said ISPs are not responsible for illegal movies downloaded by their subscribers. The appeal, filed on Thursday by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), said that the Federal Court's ruling was "out of step" with copyright law. The AFACT represents 34 Hollywood studios in Australia.

"The court found large scale copyright infringements (proven), that iiNet knew they were occurring, that iiNet had the contractual and technical capacity to stop them and iiNet did nothing about them," said Neil Gane, executive director of AFACT. "In line with previous case law, this would have amounted to authorization of copyright infringement."

The judge's ruling that iiNet was not responsible for its customer's actions was a blow to Hollywood and its copyright owners. The case proved that nearly 90 films and television episodes were downloaded in a period of 59 weeks via iiNet's broadband service. Hollywood hoped the case would force ISPs to act against the copyright violators, however the ruling swung the other way.

Gane said that the organization filed the appeal because the Federal Court "erred on 15 grounds." He said the current ruling would allow ISPs to turn a blind eye to piracy. "The decision harms not just the studios that produce and distribute movies, but also Australia?s creative community and all those whose livelihoods depend on a vibrant entertainment industry," he said.

What's that say on my condom? Oh. Fable III.

Yesterday Lionheart updated the official Fable III Facebook page asking fans for input on Fable III-branded merchandise. The actual survey, found here, lists various items such as print media, apparel, toys, and other goods to purchase. Participants' answers will range from "must have" to "no thanks" in a multiple choice fashion. There's also a field for manual submissions.

However, according to the Facebook post, the company is open to unusual ideas. "With the release of Fable III imminent this year we’ve started thinking about different kinds of merchandise for the game. There are literally hundreds of things we can come up with; from mugs and t-shirts to an LCE or books, maybe even branded condoms."

That's right. Condoms. The post goes on: "At this point we normally say “it can’t be crazy enough” but I’d like to add that it can be too crazy! So please don’t go over the top with your ideas and please give us your opinion on the examples we’ve given."

The Fable series isn't without controversy, and apparently the upcoming third installment will be no exception. 2008's Fable II allowed for same-sex marriage, group sex, and animal abuse. Players could even contract a sexually transmitted disease if not wearing a condom. Now's a good time to submit your Fable III-branded idea... maybe some of us will end up wearing your suggestions.

Internet addiction may actually be listed in the psychiatry "bible."

Are we all just a crazy bunch of wackos because we can't get enough of the Internet? Because all we want to do is sit behind the LCD screen and search for this or download that? Apparently a way of life, a means to acquire information and purchase goods across the globe, could be considered as an addiction if the American Psychiatric Association has its way.

According to Techdirt, the APA is actually considering to make internet addiction a permanent diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The condition is one of many changes proposed for the fifth installment (DSM-5)-- this will be the first update since 1994.

However many professionals are disturbed by the "label," fearing that it won't address the true nature of the addiction.

"Making 'Internet addiction' an official diagnostic category is just wrong on so many levels, including, I believe, making it more difficult to get the right kind of help to those who have actually become painfully stuck online," said Todd Essig, PH.D. of Psychology Today. "Many people are turning from life lived to life online and they need help, but real help for real problems, not newly-minted addictions. "

Large amounts of Internet time, ranging from surfing long hours to maddening stretches of MMOPRPG gaming, have been noted as signs of depression. The Internet is a distraction, taking the mind away from both mundane and underlying problems. As Techdirt points out, the technological addictions aren't addictions to these mediums, but rather serves as a pacifier to cope with deeper issues.

So what constitutes Internet addiction? That's a good question. As Captain Obvious would say, it's presumably when you've lost your family, your job, your home, and you're living on the street because you lived and breathed Internet.

The DSi XL packs two displays that are 93 percent bigger than the screens on the DS Lite. It also comes with a handy-dandy XL stylus that's easier to hold.

Yesterday we finally learned when we'd get our hands on the new DS, the DSi XL. Arriving in North America on March 28, the device boasts two significantly larger displays than what DS and DSi owners are used to and also comes with a bigger, pen-like stylus that's easier to hold.

Venture Beat's Dean Takahashi spoke to executive vice president at Nintendo of America, Cammie Dunaway, and shot a video of the exec toying with the burgundy version of the DSi XL. From what I can tell, the device looks pretty neat. I can't say I agree with her fondness for the color choices though. Burgundy and bronze are your only choices, people.

Check it out below.

Advertisers are disappointed with Sony's virtual world as an ad platform.

Are advertisers bailing out on Sony's virtual world? According to a report filed by Brand Week, that is indeed the case as advertisers move out of the lagging PlayStation Home virtual world and set their sights on Microsoft's Xbox Live service.

Sony seems to be the blame for the slow revolt thanks to its "slow-footed nature" in the way it embraces advertising. Brand Week even called PlayStation Home a disappointment.

"The product has disappointed both users and advertisers," Brand Week said. "In fact, Red Bull remains one of the few non-endemic advertisers to carve out space in the world."

The console-based virtual world may have been doomed from the start. The overall concept was conceived during a time when it was believed that surfers wanted to socialize in virtual worlds rather than using the Facebook and Twitter socializing aspect we see today.

But as it turned out, many web surfers wanted something quick and easy. In contrast, PlayStation Home offers an awkward first impression and then provides little meat thereafter.

Brand Week's report adds that advertisers are actually more interested in the PlayStation Network itself. However Sony has designed a multimedia network that only advertises products available in the store-- you won't see ads for Doritos or other similar products.

"It was not really built with an advertiser’s mind-set," said John Rafferty, creative director at Publicis’ Denuo.

Many critics acknowledge that Sony is pulling itself together. The virtual world now offers more minigames and microsites than it did at launch, and supposedly is in a better place as a competitor with Xbox Live.

"Sony is a little more conservative in embracing their system as an ad platform," said Dario Raciti, director of Ignition Factory at OMD "They just have less people."

It's okay, guys. The Rickroll video is back.

We've known each other for so long; I knew Rick Astley wasn't lying when he said he was never going to give me up, let me down, run around and desert me. He said he'd never make me cry, say goodbye, or tell a lie and hurt me, and it was the truth.*

Yesterday YouTube removed the original Rickroll video from the video sharing site. Now, it's back and the video sharing site says the removal of the video was "accidental." According to CNet, Google has said it was removed by accident.

Confused? So were we. Sure, it's lame that it got removed, but you can't deny that it violates the terms of service; it's strange that they put it back up, mistake or not. However, it seems some YouTube users had flagged the video as spam and it was removed by accident.

"With 20 hours of video uploaded every minute to YouTube, we count on our community members to know our Community Guidelines and to flag content they believe violates them," a statement from the company read. "We review all flagged content quickly, and if we find that a video does violate the guidelines, we remove it, on average in under an hour. We also have a team that is dedicated to identifying and removing spam from YouTube. Occasionally, a video flagged by users or identified by our spam team is mistakenly taken down. When this is brought to our attention, we review the content and take appropriate action, including restoring video or videos that had been removed."

*In refraining from hiding any glorious Rick Astley links in today's and yesterday's posts, I reserve the right to make horrible references to Astley's lyrics. Give and take, lads, give and take.