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Updated: February 17, 2010 at 11:40 a.m. PT. Google has changed the disabling procedure for Google Buzz. You can read about the change here. February 11, 2010 at 12:15 p.m. PT to share a new rollout that Google implemented to better manage (and block) contacts. Also added a note about profile privacy.

My colleague Molly Wood called it a privacy nightmare, but to many, Google's new social-networking tool Buzz is at its root an unwanted, unasked for pest. The way some of us see it, we didn't opt in to some newfangled Twitter system and we don't particularly want to see updates from contacts we never asked to follow creep up in our Buzz in-box. Call us what you will, but for curmudgeonly types like us, Buzz isn't so much social networking as it is socially awkward networking. We tried it, we didn't like it, and now it has to go.… Read more

Corrections made at 8:20 a.m. PT to number of Twitter followers and number or regions it works in.

Just like you need an accountant to navigate the tax code, you need an agent to get a good deal on solar panels, according to One Block Off the Grid.

The San Francisco-based start-up on Thursday announced that it has secured a series A funding round of $5 million from New Enterprise Associations to expand its operations. It follows angel funding it raised a little over one year ago.

One Block Off the Grid seeks to make it cheaper and … Read more

We've spent the last couple of days checking out how the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor kicks up off-road dust. Sure, it looks cool. But what is it really like to navigate and race this Baja-ready pickup truck on the desert sand? "The Smoking Tire" put host Matt Farah up to the challenge in the nether regions of California's Borrego Springs to get a first hand look at how the 2010 Ford Raptor can be used in an off-road driving scenario--boy, does it look like fun!

You can probably already tell that at the minimum this … Read more

Solar-powered equipment for water, lighting, and communications is being sent to Haiti as part of the reconstruction efforts following last week's devastating earthquake.

Fort Pierce, Fla.-based manufacturer Sol on Tuesday said it shipped 15 of its solar streetlights to Haiti as part of an aid mission. With hospitals operating without power, the lighting can be used to extend the time that doctors can treat the wounded, company executives told WPTV.

Sol intends to donate another 100 of its streetlights, which have a small solar panel mounted above an LED lamp, but it has not yet connected with an … Read more

Today, we get to see the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor in action and we hear from a Ford engineer about some of the design and detail that went into creating what is arguably the best American off-road vehicle that money can buy. Today's Web clip comes from an entity that might know a thing or two about trucks, PickupTrucks.com, as they delve into the many splendid features on the 2010 Raptor. This time, we get a peek inside as well as outside of this kick-ass automobile.

I know there's going to be some overlap in information … Read more

This week, we've been taking a look at some of 2010's biggest gas-guzzlers. Not surprisingly, this list has been chock full of utility vehicles, and today's blog chalks up yet another entry for Land Rover. Yesterday, we got a look-see at the 2010 LR4, and our newest inductee into the Low Mileage Hall of Fame is the Land Rover Range Rover Sport (which also wins another award for the most redundant vehicle name ever). The LRRRS boasts average gas mileage of 12 mpg in the city and 17 mpg on the highway--not god awful, but certainly nothing … Read more

AOL will officially be spun off from Time Warner on December 9, with trading to begin the next day.

Shareholders of record at 2 p.m. PST on November 27 will get one share of AOL for every 11 shares of Time Warner on the day of the long-expected spinoff of the Internet service.

At Time Warner's current market cap of $38 billion, that gives AOL an implied value of $3.2 billion--a fraction of Google's $20 billion valuation of the portal in 2005, when it invested $1 billion in the property. And it's even lower … Read more

Earlier this week, I posted a video featuring an SUV, the T-98 Kombat, as made by Russian manufacturer Dartz (whose $1.5M Dartz Prombron Monaco Red Diamond Edition extravagantly decked out in whale penis leather--how high-brow is that--even got lip service recently on "The Colbert Report"). Anyhoo, this particular blog (located here for your convenience) garnered the snide comment of "It looks like a Hummer...big deal." Well, funny that you should say that, sir, as today's video features the Dartz Kombat one-on-one against the Hummer H1. Let's get ready to rumble!

The Dartz … Read more

At the tail end of this last week, I used my blog to preview the SCORE International off road trophy truck race Terrible's Primm 300 that took place over this last weekend in Nevada. Well, the 14th edition of this race has been run, and the results are in - of over 100 trucks to start the race, roughly 60% completed the grueling off road terrain with Robby Gordon coming in at 1st Place.

Y'know dear readers, I must admit it's sometimes difficult to find quality web video within a short turnaround time in order to present … Read more