A Different Kind of Apple for iPhone Waiters

Small-scale agriculture provides a path toward real solutions: Joel Salatin

(NEWSER) - In a recent New York Times op-ed , James McWilliams dismissed the movement toward smaller-scale, sustainable farming as ultimately unworkable in terms of logistics, and nowhere near as good for the environment as proponents suggest. In doing so, he called out one of the movement's leaders, Joel Salatin of Virginia's Polyface Farms, who writes in Grist that McWilliams' essay has "enough factual errors and skewed assumptions to fill a book." More»

Animated short makes case against factory farming

(NEWSER) - An animated video featuring Willie Nelson covering a Coldplay song is getting some buzz for its message against industrial farming, notes AdWeek . Nelson sings "The Scientist" as the video—commissioned by the Chipotle restaurant chain—shows a farmer inflicting the evils of large-scale agriculture on his pigs before returning to his sustainable, small-farm roots. The two-minute-plus video will be playing in theaters around the US. More»

Finally, an iPhone you can use ... as a phone

(NEWSER) - The iPhone 4 has finally arrived on Verizon , and what that means is … now you can actually make successful phone calls on your iPhone. Reviewers give it a thumbs-up:

• “The Verizon iPhone is nearly the same as AT&T’s iPhone 4—but it doesn’t drop calls. For several million Americans, that makes it the holy grail,” writes David Pogue in the New York Times . In five cities, including San Francisco and New York (“the two Bermuda Triangles of AT&T reception”), the Verizon version successfully held a call to a landline while the AT&T version dropped it, sometimes more than once. OK, the “holy grail” did drop one call, and AT&T has better coverage in some areas, but the bottom line is: “The Verizon iPhone has more bars in more places.”

Spend much less, get slightly less, but hey, it's a recession

(NEWSER) - A bunch of older gadgets—read: last year's models—"work fantastically well yet have been largely forgotten," Farhad Manjoo writes on Slate . What's more, they're relatively cheap, and perfect for the penny-pinching holiday shopper. A sampling:

• Kindle 1: The design is a bit "off-putting," and the device holds 200 titles compared with 1,500 for the latest version, but hey, it works. And it's less than $160, not $259.

Cardboard protection can be yours for just $1

(NEWSER) - Hard times no longer mean iPhone users who blew all their cash buying one can't afford a protective case for their new favorite toy, Mashable reports. Case-Mate has introduced the iPhone 3G Recession case, priced at just $1. The sturdy cardboard case, which assembles with locking tabs, will cushion your phone against falls and defend against scratches, but makers don't recommend getting it anywhere near fire or water. More»