Off the Wire, 7-31-06

Many men who have left the workforce over the past few years -- whether by choice or circumstance -- are not rushing back, choosing to live off of savings and home equity rather than take a lower-wage and lower-status job. Approximately 13% of US men aged 30 to 55 are not working, nealy three times the number in the 1960s. Meanwhile, more women are entering the workforce. [New York Times]

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The FDA is considering a move to reverse its policies about the so-called "morning after" or "Plan B" birth control pill to allow its sale without a prescription, but only to women over 18. The pill's manufacturer, Barr Pharmaceuticals, must re-file its application with the FDA for reconsideration. [CNN]

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Arimasa Naitoh, Lenovo's worldwide VP of Development and the "father of the ThinkPad," made some predictions about the future of laptops... Lenovo laptops, at least. Naitoh believes that battery life, wireless capability, security and the ability to run Windows Vista will be critical features in future models. He said that within two years, Lenovo ThinkPads will be able to run all day on a single charge, and (shades of Henry Ford) will be available in colors other than black. [ZDNet]

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You may soon be able to control your computer with a wave of your hand. The University of Buffalo's Virtual Reality Lab has developed a "Fingertip Digitizer" that, when worn on the tip of the index finger, allows a user to operate a computer with hand gestures. [U of B news release]

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For those following the current conflict in Lebanon, The Truth Laid Bear provides a mashup plotting regional blogs and news feeds on a Google Map.

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The heat wave currently blanketing much of the US is creating an all-time record demand for electricity in the Midwest, putting enormous strain on the power grid there. [ABC News]

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According to the website traffic monitoring firm Alexa, YouTube has overtaken MySpace as the world's most popular community website, commanding nearly 4% of all Internet traffic. [Huffington Post]