Daily Dispatch: "Nervous system" planned for Earth; Pre-paid Blackberrys

The Daily Dispatch is a collection of interesting news about computing, consumer electronics, and other technology gathered from around the Web by Dirk Klingner, our technology-trend watcher, and other staffers. If you have a tip on news you want to share, leave a comment below.

A Central Nervous System for Earth: HP's Ambitious Sensor Network (ReadWriteWeb)

HP Labs has joined the race to build an infrastructure for the emerging Internet of Things. The giant computing and IT services company has announced a project that aims to be a "Central Nervous System for the Earth" (CeNSE). It's a research and development program to build a planet-wide sensing network, using billions of "tiny, cheap, tough and exquisitely sensitive detectors."

T-Mobile launches pre-paid BlackBerry (Chicago Tribune)
One of the first smart phones available without a contract or credit check, opening up smart phones to a new market.

Automatic captions in YouTube (Official Google Blog)
Leveraging the voice recognition algorithms in Google Voice has allowed Google to begin automatic captioning (auto-caps) of YouTube videos. They have also launched an automatic caption timing feature which allows the user to submit a text file containing the text of the video and Google will do the rest, automatically applying the correct placement and timing to the text.

Wal-Mart Web Site Offers Remote Tech-Support Services (The Wall Street Journal)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), which launched new technical support services in its stores last month, is now offering its online shoppers remote tech-support services—such as virus removal, diagnostics, and repairs—through an India company.

Mplayit Wants to Let Your Share, Demo iPhone Apps via Facebook (The iPhone Blog)

Mplayit is a new online service that aims to let your Facebook friends share iPhone app recommendations with you—and then take it one step further and actually let you see videos, demos, and other information before you decide to buy it via the iTunes App Store.

Tiny chip could diagnose disease (BBC)

Researchers have demonstrated a tiny chip based on silicon that could be used to diagnose dozens of diseases.

Netherlands The Latest To Propose Mileage Tax That Requires GPS For Tracking Driving (Techdirt)

...Various US states, including Oregon, California and Massachusetts have toyed with such ideas, and while some in Congress have pushed for it on a national scale, the Obama administration has come out against the idea.

Lighter side: The Space Chair project sent a living room chair 98,268 feet into the atmosphere for a technology company commercial. (Wired)