October 2008
Rob Beschizza
BBC admits that TV detector vans only work because Britons believe they do
Britain's ad-free BBC, renowned for the quality of its news and television broadcasting, is funded by an annual fee on television use. But it's also famous for its sinister TV Detector Vans, which legend has it can tell if unlicensed televisions are in operation behind closed doors.
The beeb's secret sauce will remain secret, however, as Britain's Information Commissioner has swatted down a Freedom of Information request for information on the size of the BBC's van fleet and the technology used.
The grounds given for the refusal, however, are telling enough: "if [the BBC] did so it would damage the public's perception of the effectiveness of TV detector vans," the report says. "... It relies on the public perception that the vans could be used at any time to catch evaders."
Revealing technical information would result in the loss of the "deterrent effect," and, hence, "a significant number of people would decide not to pay their licence fee."
Brits will be hard-pressed to suppress a guffaw at the nature of the disclosure and its rather obvious implications.
The request posed several questions, asking for confirmation of hand-held TV-detecting gadgets, how operators are trained to use them, how often they are deployed, technical specifications, and whether there really exists a "fleet" of detection vans at all.
In response, the BBC refused to disclose the extent of its operation, how often TV detector technology is used, and the details of how the technology works. Here's an excerpt from the ruling:
The BBC explained that the number of detector vans in operation, the location of their deployment and the frequency is not common knowledge. It relies on the public perception that the vans could be used at any time to catch evaders. This perception has built up since the first van was launched in 1952 and has been a key cost effective method in deterring people from evading their licence fee. The BBC state that to release information which relates to the number of detection devices and how often they are used will change the public’s perception of their effectiveness. If the deterrent effect is lost, the BBC believes that a significant number of people would decide not to pay their licence fee, knowing how the deployment and effectiveness of vans and other equipment will affect their chances of success in avoiding detection.
While it's technologically possible to detect emissions from television sets, some believe that the switch to LCD-based hardware, and the omnipresence of non-televisual computer monitors, has now made effective detection logistically unlikely—if there was ever a serious detection program in the first place.
The report even states that the BBC provided details of the technology to it, but reported that its disclosure would "open the possibility of people analysing them to find weaknesses to evade detection equipment."
Ruling (PDF) [ICO via The Register]
Rob Beschizza
Want to cool your PC with mineral oil? DIY kit makes it easier.
If you don't like the idea of spending an outrageous $5,000 on a ready-made PC filled with cooling goo, Puget Systems has a DIY kit priced just $315.
[We've] been running a mineral oil computer for over a year with no ill effects. In a more recent project, it has allowed us to run an extremely high end system at under 50C with virtually no noise. It has also allowed an overclock of a QX9770 from a stock frequency of 3.2GHz, to an overclocked frequency of 4.6GHz!
Shipping with the aquarium tank and cover, a motherboard tray, power lights and cabling, hard drive mounting brackets and optional lighting kits, Puget's deal lacks only one thing: the giant bucket of mineral oil you'll need to make the magic happen.
The recommended method for checking for excessive heat levels is as follows: when concerned, lower a wire basket of sliced potatoes into the enclosure. If they quickly become delicious, the oil has overheated and you should stop playing video games.
Aquarium Kit [Puget Systems]
John Brownlee
Mercenaries 2 DLC lets you roll with Barack and Palin
As the mellifluous wordsmiths over at Gearfuse point out, there is little reason to buy Mercenaries 2, which they label "the most mediocre game, ever." That's just about right. Still, Pandemic's latest DLC pack does at least have one ebullient grab at fun relevancy: it allows you to play as either Barack Obama or Sarah Palin, stealing tanks, slitting throats and blow up helicopters. Not worth buying the game for, but I imagine we'll see some fun YouTube videos out of it.
[via Gearfuse]
Rob Beschizza
Pioneer claims new player is lightest portable XM radio
The XMp3 is an mp3 player and an XM radio receiver—and the lightest such device in existence, according to Pioneer.
It has "100 hours" of storage and microSD card slot for more; an auto-record feature that remembers to grab your favorite shows; and a buffer of the last 30 minutes from multiple channels. This 3oz player is $280 and available immediately.
Product Page [XM]
Rob Beschizza
Report: Asus gets customer thrown in jail after she threatens to tell press about its dismal tech support
Asus and a customer are locked in a legal battle in China, according to reports, after it had her imprisoned for ten months when she threatened to tell the press about its use of substandard engineering samples to repair broken gear.
Huang Jin, accused by Asus of extortion but released due to insufficient evidence, is now launching a legal counter-attack, suing it for defamation, giving false reports to police, and for selling defective gear in the first place. She's also after the state for compensation for jailing her at the computer company's request.
Here's Danwei, translating a story from the Beijing Times:
Huang's ordeal with ASUS started when she was still a university student on February 9, 2006. She bought a V6800V model ASUS laptop from a Beijing retailer. Her computer had many problems including frequent blue screen freeze-ups.Despite Huang sending back the computer several times for repairs by the ASUS, some of the problems remained. The last time ASUS repaired Zhou's computer, they replaced the CPU, but the new CPU overheated. Examination showed that the new CPU was an Intel "engineering sample" of a kind not permitted to be sold in the market.
Huang and her lawyer, Zhou Chengyu, demanded that ASUS to pay a compensation of five million US dollars, threatening to break the news to the media and take ASUS to court.
Asus, according to the report, then contacted authorities and got her thrown in the clink.
Huang has a website up to gather support for her case against Asus, but it's in Chinese. Here's a barely-readable machtrans.
ASUS charges customer with extortion, customer countersues [Danwei] Thanks, Chris!
Joel Johnson
Video: Left 4 Dead Trailer
This is pretty much just a free advertisement for Left 4 Dead, the upcoming zombie apocalypse shooter from local favorite Valve Software, but all of us at BBG sort of want to have their screaming, pulsating babies gnash their way out of our distended bellies.
John Brownlee
Beware the clomping of the candy-fueled Chicken Walker
This kid's costume is undeniably awesome, but I'm not quite sure it's what he wanted. Quoth his Dad:
So my middle son asked to be a robot for Halloween. We had a great time building this but I believe he may be a bit too tired to eat candy.Then again perhaps not.
This, my friend, is not a "robot", it is a mech walker. At my school, if you didn't know the difference between a robot and a mech, all you'd earn is the communal snort of nasal contempt — a derisive "LOL" soaked in the phlegm of a thousand nerds — and a long walk through the slide rule gauntlet.
Otherwise, an excellent costume, Young Master Chicken Walker. I'm only curious about what the kid inside is saying to himself. Is it griping, or some sort of onomatopoeic robot noise?
Robot Costume [2wicky via Gizmodo]
Joel Johnson
"Even Grandpa's Kill -9 couldn't stop him."
Behold, the dreaded zombie process, the loneliest kid at the process table.
HALLOWEEN t-shirt [Latorra.org]
Rob Beschizza
Stay warm with Ardica jacket—and power your gadgets, too
Ardica makes a vest that conceals a large, flat battery. It provides not only power to your gear, but heat to your body.
The makers claim it holds "11 cell phone charges, 20 iPod charges and and enough juice to run a dead device or power a GPS, PDA or any other personal electronic device" so long as it requires no more than 10 watts of power. Alternatively, you can have 9 hours of low heat or 3 hours of hot.
Product Page [Ardica]
Rob Beschizza
Polar RS800CX GPS watch trains athletes
It used to be easy to cheat in marathons.
Lost in the crowd, a runner could dip into an alley here or cross a bridge there, maneuvers that would shave a few hundred yards off the field—and vital seconds from one's time. Motorcycles, rocket packs, teleportation booths: all, at one point or another, have sullied the integrity of sporting events the world over.
Times have changed, but technology changes with it. Polar USA's Polar RS800CX multisport watch includes a GPS mapper to better plan your athletic deceptions—they thoughtfully opted not to include a tracker, of course—and a "high-end training management system" which I believe includes various poison darts for silently felling competitors.
Multisport RS800CX [Polar USA]
Rob Beschizza
The Bullet: tiny wireless router plugs into any antenna for powerful unidirectional WiFi
Unless someone announces a netbook that turns into a spaceship, this is probably the most awesome thing I'll see all day: The Bullet, an 802.11abg gadget that plugs into any antenna. Plug the other into your network and voila: 1000mW of broadcast power that your standard wireless access point does not have.
The included AirOS software has all of the features you'd expect from a traditional router—bridge mode, uPnP, NAT, DHCP, port forwarding, web-based configuration, etc.,—but it's open source and comes with an SDK.
The unit itself has an Atheros CPU, 16MB of RAM and 4MB of flash, 100 Mbps ethernet, and up to 1000mW of broadcast power, in the forthcoming HD edition. It requires power over ethernet.
A lesson I learned from my adventures with Pringles Cans is that it's easy to forget about the uplink: point-to-point WiFi hookups work much better with the signal boosted at both ends. But as this thing is just $40, that's not an expensive problem.
Product Page [UBNT]
Rob Beschizza
Fancy Sudoku watch is $1,000 (and it only has one level!)
Sion writes in to tell us of a beautiful watch commorating Leonard Euler, the Swiss mathematician whose Latin Squares inspired Sudoku and similar games.
At a thousand bucks, I won't be buying one, but hey, game/math porn watch.
Product Page [The Awesomer]
Oris Limited Edition Stainless Steel Watch [Amazon]
Rob Beschizza
Infinite bubble wrap popping toy
The problem with bubble wrap is that it, like daisies and lust, does not last forever. Mugen Pop Pop, from Bandai America, brings the Japanese "Endless Plastic Bubble Popping Toy" to our shores. It comes in four colors and is in stores now.
INDULGE YOUR PLASTIC BUBBLE POPPING TENDENCY WITH MUGEN POP POP. For those tempted to reach for the nearest sheet of plastic bubbles look no further than Mugen Pop Pop from Bandai America! Hitting shelves at major retailers on October 27, 2008, Mugen Pop Pop is a highly-addictive handheld keychain device that stimulates the strangely satisfying experience of popping plastic bubble packaging.
It's not entirely authentic, larding the de-stressing experience with dog barks, chimes, honking noises "and more!," but the real question remains unanswered: can I chew it?
Dogmatic MNR [Mugen Pop Pop]
Rob Beschizza
Send email to the computer-averse with Celery
Celery is a fax machine that can receive and send email.
It's designed to make life easy for older folks who don't wish to fiddle around with computers: at the recipient's end, the machine is set up once, then simply prints out emails and photos sent to it. To reply, granny just writes a normal letter in response and feeds it in, printing the name of the recipient at the top so that the machine can figure out who to email it to.
"Even if most of your readers think its a stupid idea, I can assure you one thing, if they gift one of these to Grandma, they'll never need to find stamps and mail a letter ever again," inventor Neil Grabowsky writes in.
I feel vaguely as if we're still trying to get the 1990s right, here, but if it works, it works, right?
Product Page [MyCelery]
Rob Beschizza
The first and the last Wi-Fi Certified devices: Sony-Ericsson C905a is 5,000th gadget to receive stamp
This week saw the 5,000th gadget certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, whose program began in 2000. In the last year, 1,000 new devices were certified. Of the total, 438 are 802.11n, even though the standard is still, technically, a draft.
To get an idea of how far we've moved on in 8 years, here's the very first WiFi-certified device, the Cisco Aironet 340 Access Point and AIR-PCM340 Wireless PC Card, and the 5,000th, Sony Ericsson's C905a dual-mode cell phone.
Cisco's kit included a router and the plug-in PCMCIA module needed to communicate with it. This was expensive gear, eight years ago, marketed directly to the enterprise. Here's part of the marketing blurb from its product page:
The Cisco Aironet 340 Series is a comprehensive family of client adapters and access points that enables organizations to integrate the freedom and flexibility of wireless local-area networking into their information systems. The Cisco Aironet 340 Series client adapters and access points are designed to meet the mobility, performance, security, interoperability/management, and reliability requirements of in-building wireless local-area networks (WLANs) within enterprise-wide information infrastructures or as free standing all-wireless networks. The Aironet 340 Series products provide value-added features that are ideal for: IT professionals or business executives who want mobility within the enterprise, as an addition or alternative to wired networks, business owners or IT directors who need flexibility for frequent LAN wiring changes, either throughout the site or in selected areas, and any company whose site is not conducive to LAN wiring because of building or budget limitations, such as older buildings, leased space, or temporary sites.
Exciting stuff, huh? Times have changes, of course, and we're to the point where the lack of WiFi in pretty much anything is more remarkable than its inclusion. Here's Sony Ericsson's pitch for the forthcoming C905a cell phone, claimed to be a "real alternative" to a camera. It ships soon and is rumored to be subsidized by AT&T.
The C905 is Sony Ericsson's first Cyber-shot slider and its most advanced camera phone yet. With an 8.1 megapixel camera and real camera flash amongst its cutting-edge capabilities, it offers easy photo-taking in a phone that derives its looks from a digital camera and offers the picture quality to match. In comparison the S302 Snapshot is for those who want it all at an affordable price – good looks, must-have features and a pocket-sized slim design.
Rob Beschizza
Hand-cooling joystick for sweaty flight-simmers
Genius' MetalStrike series of PC joysticks cool the user's hand as he or she waggles. Three levels of force feedback, three levels of air conditioning and 13 programmable buttons should make it appetizing for those among you who still play flight simulators or proper space shooters.
•Vibration feedback function lets you experience the effects of taking off, landing, stalling, bumps, crashes, etc.
• Three levels (off/1/2) of air control to keep your hand cool plus feel the effects of flying.
• 4-axis: X, Y, Z, and rudder for Aileron, Elevator, Throttle and power control ideal for simulated flight games.
• Turbo function for auto repeat - good for shooting in flight games.
• 13 programmable buttons include fire trigger, four fire buttons and eight base buttons.
• 8-way ‘point-of-view’ hat switch to change your view points
Product Page [Genius]
Rob Beschizza
Robots for you
Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute has a slideshow of robots made by its Field Robotics Center. Robots!
Pictured is a winterized version of its Nomad rover, designed to search for and classify meteorites in Antarctica.
Robots at the FRC [CMU]
John Brownlee
Impervious to custom firmware hackers, there's less reason to buy a PSP-3000 than ever
Despite Sony's missteps, the Sony PSP is a great system, but in sheer spite of Sony's missteps, hackers are the ones who have made the PSP a great system. Although not as many as there should be for a system of the PSP's maturity, there's some excellent games available, but where the PSP shines is as portable emulation and homebrew device, and for that, Sony has less part than ever, consistently fighting against the same hackers and programmers who — if embraced — might have given Sony the leg up over the Nintendo DS.
So no shocks here: the recent release of the PSP-3000, aka the PSP Brite, is looking pretty hacker proof, with all its previous kernel holes patched up, preventing the installation of custom firmware and unsigned code. In particular, famous PSP hacker Dark Alex — who usually can turn around a new custom firmware within hours of an official Sony release — has made no progress worming his way into the PSP-Brite.
And that's ignoring the awful interlacing issue. There's still plenty of reason to buy a PSP, but not a PSP-3000. If you're looking to buy one and get the most out of your system, the PSP Slim or the PSP Phat is the way to go.
PSP is impervious to hackers [PSP Fanboy]
John Brownlee
The Sonic Lounger treats "stress" the same way 19th Century quacks treated "hysteria" (i.e. vibration)
There's something about this Sonic Lounger that invites perverted suspicion. The leg stirrups, the strange vibrating speaker positioned directly over the uterus, the arm clamps... it has every look of a Victorian era medical device for the treatment of "hysteria" in women, its operation overseen by a bejowled, constantly sweating physician who can never stop licking his chapped, mottled lips.
However, according to its manufacturers, the Sonic Lounger is simply for "relaxation." For the price of $9000, "it massages and resonates the entire body with crystal clear vibration, transferring high fidelity music into the skin, bones and tissue, allowing the subtleties and depth of sound that cannot be heard with the ears to be viscerally experienced."
So, in short, it is the 21st century's answer to the medical masturbation devices of the 19th century. Neat! I don't know what's cooler: that they're still making these, or that they are still euphemistically marketing them.
Sonic Lounger [Taiz Designer via DVICE]
John Brownlee
Pac-Man Pumpkins, carved to pixel perfection
There is nothing particularly hard about making yourself a last-minute set of Pac-Man pumpkins, merely some paint and the industry to use your pumpkin saw to carve out individual pixels on Pinky and Clyde. Still, these are very fine.
Pac Man Pumpkins [Instructables]
John Brownlee
Video: Hexpodmeisterschaft spider-bot does the Mambo No. 5
In my nightmares, mannequin-head spiderbots like the Hexapodmeisterschaft do the Mambo No. 5 all over my paralyzed body. And here's what makes me wake up in a cold sweat: I love it.
[via Laughing Squid]
John Brownlee
The Claw media destroyer is a compact disc hole puncher
Although they often seem to scratch in a breeze, CDs and DVDs are actually surprisingly resilient. Almost any disc that has merely been scratched can be repaired, since the data remains intact. If you want to destroy a CD or DVD, scratching it isn't enough: you need to puncture the data layer sandwiched between the outer label and the reflective surface of the disc face. Pro tip: almost any disc that, when held up to a lamp, does not allow light to shine through can be fixed.
For paranoids, that means taking a key to their old burnt disc isn't enough. The Sanyo Claw Destroyer promises to destroy any CD or DVD permanently. It works by punching hundreds of little holes in the surface of the disc (with a noise level similar to an electric pencil sharpener), as opposed to my first delightful guess: a shredder that spits out a compact disc confetti of razor shards from its back-end.
Sanyo The Claw Media Destroyer [Amazon via Gadget Grid]
John Brownlee
The Pramulator bomb shaped baby carriage
Spotted by our happy welding lads at MAKE, John Knotts' gorgeous, Enola Gay shaped baby carriage, christened the Pramulator... the perfect mode of conveyance for the larval progeny of history's great lothario, Mr. Slim Pickens.
John Brownlee
Predator's beer funnel
Or Sub Zero's, I guess, as the method of delivery for a triumphant libation after a particularly brutal Mortal Kombat style fatality. Take your pick of any spine ripper. It's only $13.99, but it is a little late to order it for your Halloween party tonight, so instead, we will open up this post's comments to field this hypothetical question: which liquor most resembling spinal fluid would you chug out of this thing? Please justify your answer.
Skull Beer Funnel [Decorations and Props via Nerd Approved]
John Brownlee
Forbes catalogs Apple's flops
Forbes has posted a gallery of ten of Apple's more ignominious flops. There's a good chunk of the usual suspects here: the Lisa, named after Steve Jobs daughter, buried en masse in a Utah landfill, the Pippin, the Newton. But there's also some forgotten gems, like Apple's vaporware "Taligent" OS.
I also found this observation on why the G4 PowerMac Cube failed to be interesting:
The PC's unique shape, a cube with a top-loading toaster-style CD drive, seemed poised to create a PC design revolution. Instead, Apple announced it was putting the machine "on ice," in a press release a year after the Cube's launch.Apple's mistake in that case, says Kay, was depending more on Jobs' personal taste than market research. In a study Kay worked on as an analyst at IDC a year before the Cube's launch, researchers gave users blocks of foam in various shapes and surveyed them on which blocks they preferred and why. Kay found that users opted for "dramatic" shapes--those that had at least one dimension very different from the others.
The Macbook Air, for instance, with one extremely thin dimension, would have scored highly. But by the same measure, the G4 Cube "was exactly the wrong product," Kay says.
Apple Product Flops [Forbes]
John Brownlee
The New York Times illustrates the car of the future
Nuzzled in the sidebar of an otherwise typical New York Times piece on the rapidly evolving comfort tech of your average consumer vehicle's options, this brilliant illustration by Bruce McCall of the world's most advanced and dangerous car.
Father drives while simultaneously watching Casablanca and getting a haircut, while Junior bakes a pizza, whips a toy airplane around his head as hard as he can and considers getting a few slam dunks in. Meanwhile, Mother uses a remote control to change channels on a television she could easily reach to adjust herself, but her laziness is redeemed by the fact that she is apparently a Popeye fan.
Even the pets are kept occupied: Fido is entranced by the admittedly captivating plots of the Bone channel, while Whiskers lazily watches a motorized mouse move back and forth... which will eventually, in the manner of felines, prompt him to wig the shit out, lodge himself in hissing terror underneath Father's accelerator and cause the very same horrific car crash that Junior is cheering on through the occulus his backseat Chronoscope.
Fully Loaded [NY Times via book of joe]
John Brownlee
Boxing Tonight: GameBoy animated boxing cartoon is the best thing you'll see today
Beyond the utterly trance-like GameBoy chiptune soundtrack (which has been given, let me assure you, Humbert's excited chirrup of approval) it will not immediately be apparent why we, gadget-obsessed Control+C/Control+V monkeys, are posting Boxing Night, an absolutely brilliant animation by Camilo and SidAbitBall.
Part of the reason involves how Boxing Night was actually created. The chiptune soundtrack isn't merely a stylistic affectation. According to the website, the animators created a method to synchronize animations with a GameBoy in realtime through a homebrew hardware interface.
But even if the whole thing hadn't been accomplished on a GameBoy, we'd still post it. Unfortunately, to explain why, we'd need to spoil the plot. Hint: the spoiler's in the categories.
Just hit play. This is inconceivably awesome. It's the best thing you're going to see all day.
Boxing Tonight [Bricovision]
Joel Johnson
Power On Self Test: EVE as young boy
[A fine looking young man via Scott Simpson's Flickr stream]
John Brownlee
Asus prepares its own Android phone
According to the Digitimes, Asus is planing an Android phone of their very own, to launch in the first half of next year. This bit of news leads Gadget Lab's Charlie Sorrel to evacuate his wishful thinking bladder into a rapidly expanding pool of prose:
This nugget leads us to some speculation. Android is a Linux-based operating system for mobile devices, supporting Wi-Fi, 3G and touch screens. Asus is planning to ship a touch screen PC early next year, and has shown a willingness to bundle Linux with its machines.Our spidey-sense is tingling, and it tells us that it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to imagine an Android based Eee PC, a little 3G-equipped Google Computer. And if the OS is doing some cellphone-style power management, this might even be the fix for the notoriously bad battery life found in most netbooks.
An interesting idea, Charlie, but Android isn't a quick hack away from running a full netbook. An Eee Phone? Sure: Asus has whored the brand enough. But my gut says any pairing Asus does between Android and Eee will either be meaningless branding or the quick hack of a tethering system between Eee netbooks and their Eee phones.
John Brownlee
Collapsible accordion Electrolux soft refrigerator
The Electrolux soft refrigerator concept is both expandable, collapsible. What this all means is you can save power by refrigerating only the space you need. As a bachelor, I love it: I can now optimize my refrigeration to take into account not a stockpile of grocer plenty, but the actual contents... a half package of suspicious scented ham, a shriveled pear and a carton of half-and-half that curdlingly threatens to kill my mother when I try to drink it.
Electrolux Accordion Fridge [Cribcandy via Slippery Brick]
John Brownlee
Hack Lego Minifigs for Halloween
Just in time for Halloween, a fantastic guide to making your own LED LEGO minifigs, perfect for ghoulishly glowing eyes and bloodfilled mouths.
How to hack LEDs into Lego Minifigs [Evil Mad Scientist]
John Brownlee
Zacuto's filmmaker kit turns any DSLR into a steadicam (Update: No it doesn't)
Zacuto's filmmaker kit will turn any video capable DSLR into a self-balancing steadicam rig capable of being hoisted by even the most waifish of bleache-blond filmmakers. You simply attach the camera to the front of the rig, with a video monitor extending from an adjustable arm to the side and a system of counterweights pulling up the caboose. Looks like an excellent solution for amateur filmmakers as long as you don't try to push your Nikon D90 past a five-minute take, but there's no pricing available yet.
Filmmaker Kit [Zacuto]
Update: Okay, whatever. I don't know what I'm talking about. Commenter Skep helpfully clarifies:
Not even close to a Steadicam. This rig converts a DSLR into a counterbalanced, shoulder mounted camera rig with a large monitor, not a "Steadicam."A Steadicam is a gimbaled, free floating rig suspended by spring loaded free swinging arms, which allow the operator to move without jostling the camera.
Rob Beschizza
11. Thou Shalt Not Use Caps Lock
If this doesn't work, the only thing left to do is nuke the caps lock key from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Note: Eleventh commandment applies only to the subset of mankind that is not John Hodgman.
Coda: Isn't it annoying when a netbook or cell phone has a difficult little keyboard, but they sacrifice a shift key or a full-size enter key in order to retain something useless like the tilde or caps lock? The swines.
CAPS LOCK TRAINER KEY [Sean Michael Ragan via Oh Gizmo!]
John Brownlee
The Unfinished Swan: beautiful monochrome exploration game
This tech demo for the upcoming Wii game The Unfinished Swan is certainly visually striking: it takes place in an invisible, monochrome world that can only be discovered by splattering its contours with blobs of ink. And it definitely deserves to get buzz. Unsurprisingly, though, it mostly seems to excite people who don't actually play many video games: those who do can't help but notice that it doesn't look like there's much actual game there. It's early days yet, of course, and I'm excited by the possibilities — imagine some sort of murder mystery set in such a world, where the first sight you see is a negative corpse splattered in white blood — but there'll need to be a lot more than what's seen in this video. Then again, who would have thought Portal — a puzzle shooter game about teleportation — would have one of gaming's greatest narratives?
Rob Beschizza
Aigo MID reviewed. Verdict: impressive potential, but doesn't Just Work yet
Aigo's P8860 is a MID, a Mobile Internet Device. MID, with low-power Atom chips and tailored operating systems, promises better handheld computers than its predecessor among marketing-driven form factors, UMPC. UMPC stood for "Use for Minutes Per Charge."
Unfortunately, Pocketables finds Aigo's pocket PC to be a complex device with no obvious customer in mind beyond expert users.
It's absolutely fantastic that the P8860 can be made into much more than it is, but most people would rather purchase a device that "just works," not one that can work really well with the right modifications.
A little smaller than an OQO or Vaio UX — and a little larger than Nokia's Internet Tablet — it hits a sweet spot at far as size is concerned, and the 4.8" passive touchscreen isn't bad at 800x480, thanks to its custom cut of Linux.
It has a single USB port, a microSD card slot, Audio in-outs and an inherent hackability that Pocketables' Jenn Lee is positively enchanted by. Especially interesting to me is the inclusion of a rear-facing 3 megapixel camera: this could be a useful tool for bloggers, or anyone else who wants to take another stab at convergence. Without 3G, though, it lacks the inherent mobility that its size demands. The keyboard, too, is poor: a typical design-led layout.
Review: Aigo P8860 MID [pocketables]
John Brownlee
The Amazing Bickford, the Razorblade Robot
The amazing Bickford — a robot whose construction out of over 2,100 disposable razors is detailed in this rather stream-of-conscious celebratory video — was lovable right up until the point that his inventor decided to install an Acme Robotics brand Hug Capacitor in his hollow, heartless chassis. Now, the coroner's office of Branson, Missouri spends most of its time trying to piece together the sinewy confetti of John Doe into a corpse that can be identified by his family. Bickford himself is still at large.
[via MAKE]
Rob Beschizza
Gold USB drive is "ultimate executive gift," says company selling them for $600
Eight gigs of "Limited Edition Solid GOLD Eloquence," the Pico-C represents the "hallmark of style and quality in USB drives."
People prize it for its beautiful design, according to the marketing literature. Why else would you pay $600 for a Sony MicroVault Tiny you can pick up at Fry's for $25 and get gold-plated for $100 more? Its "amazing qualities," of course!
Verily, it needs a Monex-style television advert, bathed in glowing golden light and shot in the style of late 1970s porn, in which a middle-aged lady murmurs statistics while gently dancing her fingertips over the product.
Super Talent Announces 18-Carat Solid Gold USB Drive [Super Talent via Crave]
Rob Beschizza
Hobart I-Cool chair helps villains rule empires, shed pounds
Hobart's I-Cool concept chair is not marketed as coming with a sinister white cat, or even a button marked "abruptly swivel 180 degrees to face Bond." Instead, it apparently helps one lose weight.
Just who do they think their market is?
Hobart I-Cool chair: Do nothing to burn your extra fat! [Born Rich]
John Brownlee
Uniqlo to turn mimes into "human vending machines" in Times Square
It is commonly observed that the only real pleasure to be eked out of the "art" of mime is by locking the albino mutes in transparent acrylic coffins, setting them up on street corners and see how long it takes for pedestrians to realize that his frantic "trapped in box" act is not merely an annoying performance, but actually that mime's own hilarious throes of asphyxiation. Uniqlo knows this. On Tuesday, November 18th, they will converge on Time Square and lock a number of mimes into "human vending machines." Supposedly, the mimes will distribute free pairs of Heat Tech Innerwear, which seems to be some high-tech thermal underwear solution, but I suspect a cannier strategy on Uniqlo's part: what could net them better publicity than the public execution of homo sapiens' cockroaches, the filthy mime? Expect cyanide tablets to drop minutes after the mimes' entombment.
Uniqlo to stage best promotion ever in Times Square [New York Mag]
Rob Beschizza
You've got mail... chainmail, to be precise
The Zombie Survival Guide warns against the false sense of security offered by the ornamental chainmail offered by online vendors. ThinkGeek begs to differ, asserting that its chainmail is "honest-to-goodness" the real deal, with riveted links hand-forged from mithril by dwarves in forbidden subterranean mines, distributed by ghouls.
New among the offerings are full-sleeved shirts and optional hand-closed links, to keep the garment from losing them if not meticulously cared-for. Important notes on wearing your chain mail include "chain mail does not stretch," "it could get tangled in your hair," and the all-important "PLEASE wear a shirt or some other garment underneath the chain mail."
Chain Mail Shirt [Think Geek]
John Brownlee
Excellent Russian Fire Extinguisher Speaker Mod
It's a fact: all the best hardware modders come from Russia. Perhaps its a genetic imprint left behind by 70 years of Stalinism forced everyone to cludge together a solution from flotsam pieces of state-branded tech, everyone in Russia seems to be a maker at heart. Some more proof to add to the growing evidence pool of Russian genius: a plucky Russian modder created a set of excellent speakers out of two rusty old fire extinguishers. He repainted them in the end, which is a bit of a shame — I prefer the rust aesthetic — but its still gorgeous work. But how do they sound?
Fire Extinguisher Speakers [Top Mods via Technabob]
Rob Beschizza
A nice bottle of USB
When California's Peltier Station Winery created a Port-like fortified wine, they hit a problem: they're not in Oporto, Portugal, or anywhere near it. So they couldn't very well call it Port.
The solution was, in the age of the ascendant geek, obvious. So welcome a nice bottle of USB to your wine cellar.
Portfolio [6 West Design via Music Radar, the Dieline]
Rob Beschizza
Europe's HP Mini to be sold under Compaq brand and have 3G
Everyone knows the downside to buying consumer electronics in Europe: you pay outrageous premiums for everything and put up with customer service right out of Are you being served? Oftentimes they do, however, get better stuff earlier. Take, for example, Britain's Compaq's Mini 700, to be sold there with an optional HSDPA modem and a 10-inch display. It's clearly a cut of HP's Mini 1000—and one they don't seem to have plans to offer stateside.
Even the price is right, this time, at least by European standards: £299, or about $500.
HP's Compaq Mini 700 thinks he's a Mini 1000, only better [Engadget]
Rob Beschizza
Thumb War game will shock your parents
If games abstract the arts of war, why not make games that intentionally inflict some symbolic degree of physical suffering? Doubtless that thought was the inspiration behind Firebox's Thumb Wars handheld game, which comes with various reaction-time tests and other challenges—all resulting in one or the other player getting zapped.
Shocking Thumbwars [Firebox via ChipChick and Giz]
Rob Beschizza
New Dell XPS ONE has 24" 1080 line display, doesn't look like cheese grater
Dell's new 24" XPS One all-in-one computer is a pleasant antidote to those ghastly new Optiplexes, with sleek, severe lines and unpretentious trim. Though the huge 1080p screen is the centerpiece, it also comes with a JBL speakers system (including subwoofer), a GeForce 9600M GT video card and a $1,700 price tag.
The occasional mistake aside, is it not fair to say that Dell is becoming something of a design house? The trend toward all-in-ones seems to be the latest catalyst. And it's not just them: see, for example, how HP's Touchsmarts went from grotesque the first time around to gorgeous in their second incarnation.
From the press release:
• The XPS One line of all-in-one PCs combines advanced entertainment features with a sleek, visually stunning and award-winning design. • The XPS One 24 integrates an array of sought-after features, including HDTV, DVR, optional Blu-ray Disc player and recorder, component stereo system, video phone, and media library. • In addition to the larger display and premium sound capabilities, the XPS One 24 features: • NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT video graphics for eye-popping visuals. • Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 quad core processor to easily handle complex multimedia activities. • Choice of Midnight Gray, or Pure White with the XPS One 24 (PRODUCT)RED version. • Dell offers two (PRODUCT)RED configurations, a version with Windows Vista Home Premium starting $1,699 and one starting at $2,299 featuring Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED and other upgrades. Each purchase of an XPS One 24 (PRODUCT) RED system contributes $50-$80 (depending on the configuration) to the Global Fund. To place that in perspective, a $50 contribution can provide nearly 4 months of life-saving treatment for an individual living with HIV in Africa. • For the rest of the year, Dell will feature daily deals, gift suggestions and shopping tips at www.dell.com/everyday. Be the first to know via tweets at http://twitter.com/DellEveryday , or check out the Everyday Deals Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dell-Everyday-Deals/56260914096.
Rob Beschizza
Tivo owners to get Netflix through the box
Netflix movie streaming is coming to TiVo by the end of the year. Testing begins immediately, with general availability in early December for those with HD- and Series3-class machines.
The world takes another step closer to the glorious entertainment future of One Box To Rule Them All.
Media Room [Netflix]
Rob Beschizza
Cakes based on video games
Asylum's collection of gamer cakes is good enough not to need garnishing with a Portal reference.
Video Game Cakes -- Tastes Like Geek [Asylum via Fidgit]
John Brownlee
Two words: rectal retractor. The horrors of the BCMA Medical Museum
Perusing BCMA's online medical museum, you can tell simply by the categories which will contain the rusted hooks, scrapers and separators that are wielded in your hospital nightmares. The anaesthesiology section is okay; you won't see anything particularly horrifying in Nutrition; Oriental Medicine is usually a safe zone unless they start pulling out thigh-lengthed needles to plunge into your spine. But then you miscalculate and click on Ophthalmology, confronted with the horrors of a speculum and a scoop. Dentistry is an exhibit entirely devoted to the ways in which manic 19th century dentists could break out tiny pieces of your skeleton, and proctology? There, even Goatse.cx fears to tread.
BCMA Medical Museum [Official Site via OhGizmo!]
John Brownlee
Finger stapped socket set allows digital bolt tightening
This is genius: a set of 21 sockets that can be strapped to the finger and wiggled into the inner most crooks of your furniture for bolt tightening with the utmost contempt for leverage or awkward positioning. They are made of plastic, unfortunately, and there's at least a few situations I can imagine involving the protruding shards of index finger bones. Still, for $20, worth a try.
Finger Grip Socket Set [Whatever Works via book of joe]
John Brownlee
Kangaroom gamer sofa saddlebag
The $30 Kangaroom gamer pocket is an attractive little saddle bag to be slung across the rump of the couch arm, organizing all array of game case, controllers and headsets. It does seem to be smidge Wii oriented, but instead of sheathing Magic Mario Wands, it would be easy enough to holster your television remotes in them instead, cramming your 360 or PS3 controllers into the roomy outer pockets.
Also excellent, of course, for covering up unsightly cigarette burns and coffee ring stains, which is what I'll mostly be using it for.
Kangaroom Gamer Pocket [Official Site via Gizmodo]
Rob Beschizza
Coldcut's remix of Doctor Who vs. other sinister BBC theme tune classics
Peter Kirn of Create Digital Music lauds Coldcut's remix of the Doctor Who theme tune. He correctly identifies it as the runner-up for best thing to ever come out of the BBC, second only to the BBC World News' theme tune, "The Rave at the Dawn of the Apocalypse," a common cut of which follows...
The Beeb actually has a long history of bad-ass theme tunes. Following is "Approaching Menace," the scary theme tune to Mastermind, a quiz show modeled on Nazi interrogation techniques.
Other wonders from the radiophonic workshop at CDM: Doctor Who: Coldcut Remix and Celebrating the BBC [Create Digital Music]
Rob Beschizza
Why Japanese cell phones suck
Often we post a strange, high-specced foreign device only to lament that it will never be made available in the west. The reason, often assumed to be some hypothetical propensity for Asians to buy 20 cell phones a year and therefore support more competing products, is in truth far more direct: the products stink. Lisa Katayama's feature on Japan's fancy handsets explains why: their smart looks conceal severe usability problems and bad user interfaces.
Once you open the clamshell, the interface is a complete mess. While American-made phones are leaning more and more towards simple interfaces and clean design, Japanese gadgets continue to be plagued with feature overload and nightmarish interfaces that are totally impractical.
Katayama goes deep into the odd politics of the Japanese telecoms industry, its disdain for software engineering, and how that leads them to develop and market similarly odd devices. But some things are true the world over: there, as here, the handset manufacturers are virtual slaves of the cellular carrier.
John Brownlee
Strange 3-in-1 USB hub: more TOS than TNG
Uh... what? The product description says it is a USB powered "luminous clock, loud speaker and HUB" all in one. But does it even really matter? Anything that looks this retro-futuristically Star Trek deserves a place on my computer desk, especially at only $18.
USB 3-in-1 Multifunctional Speaker [Gizfever via Geek Alerts]
Rob Beschizza
Craftman's Halloween ad
Craftsman's "skeleton of spanners" adheres closely to the fine tradition of Halloween things that aren't scary. Cool, though! It makes me want to see what a Halloween commercial from Tyson Foods would be like.
Halloween at Craftsman [Craftsman via Make]
Rob Beschizza
Robot hearts in two years
Britain's Daily Mail reports that a European research team will have a fully-artificial heart ready for clinical trials by 2011.
Dr. Alain Carpentier said: 'We are moving from pure research to clinical applications. After 15 years of work, we are handing over to industry to produce an artificial heart usable by man.'The prototype was developed with the help of aerospace engineers. Shaped like a real heart, with the same blood flow rhythms, it uses similar technology to artificial heart valves already used around the world. The recurring problems of most artificial hearts – immune system rejection and blood clotting – are avoided by constructing it from chemically treated animal tissues.
But this one is not made of meat.
First fully artificial heart ready for human trials 'within two and a half years' [Daily Mail]
Rob Beschizza
Knit one, Perl one with woolen Mac
Installed at Current Gallery in Baltimore, Ben's "Fibrous Reinterpretation of Macintosh 128k" is made of plastic canvas and yarn.
Software... [Bejaminter via Make]
Yes, that's three Apple-related posts in a row, for those playing BBG Apple Post bingo. Someone knit an Atari ST, and we'll talk.
Rob Beschizza
Report: GeForce-eqiupped MacBook Air shipping
The revised MacBook Air, now including an Nvidia board with a discrete graphics chip, is now shipping.
Nvidia's GeForce 9400M will be better for games, specifically, but also for other 3D apps, from Google Earth to CAD, should anyone out there be masochistic enough to run Autodesk on a MacBook Air. Rumor has it that hardware acceleration of h.264 video, a la the new MacBooks, is also on the plate.
NVIDIA-based MacBook Airs Now Shipping [MacRumors]
John Brownlee
Why the new MacBooks don't have Firewire
Rainier Brockerhoff's autopsy of the new MacBooks is a fascinating read, extrapolating and explaining how the new unibody construction informed the design at every point... including the controversial decision to abandon Firewire.
In older models, the motherboard either spanned the entire width of the machine to accomodate ports on both sides, or there was a secondary module on the opposite side, with fragile/expensive ribbon cables connecting that to the main board; not a good solution. Remember that making a unibody is an expensive process and that cost must be shaved off elsewhere; even so, the MacBook is $100 more expensive than its predecessor.So we pretty much have to accomodate all ports on one side of the MacBook... No Firewire also means no target disk mode. Target mode for migration, while convenient, is not really necessary if you have gigabit Ethernet. With the hard drive so easily accessible, a technician no longer needs target mode for debugging; it's easy to yank the drive out and plug it into a SATA-USB converter.
More tradeoffs [Solipsism Gradient via Daring Fireball]
John Brownlee
Dell prepares two smartphones
The newest computer manufacturer to jump into the smartphone business? Dell.
According to a leak on their website, Dell has two smartphones called the Pharos Traveller lined up for release sometime later this year. The 127 will be a traditional QWERTY phone, where as the 117 will go the way of the iPhone with a touchscreen interface. Both will feature 7.2Mbps HSDPA 3G, GPS and — gah! — Windows Mobile 6.1, with a talktime of four hours and 200 hours of standby. Both also have a 2MP camera and a 0.3MP front camera for video calls. No carrier or price yet.
It's pretty hard to find this exciting. The phones are ugly, the OS is coughing up dust, the name is joyless and the manufacturer is Dell.
Dell website leaks show to Pharos smartphones [Electronista]
John Brownlee
Fold-out HDTV pulls out from under the bed
There's very clearly some stop-motion animation going on in this video, indicating pretty strongly this isn't a purely automated solution, but it's still incredible: a pull-out HDTV that folds up and slides under the bed when not in use. There's a lot of problems with the idea, of course — notice that the television has no cables attached to it — but it's still sleeker than mounting a plasma above your bureau.
The Coolest Bed In The World [Liveleak via Slippery Brick]
John Brownlee
The first Macs to offer Blu-Ray are made by... Psystar?
Steve Jobs may have described Blu-Ray as a big bag of hurt, but Mac clone maker Psystar has decided to incorporate Blu-Ray drives into its line ofOpenPro desktops... even as they face being bludgeoned to deathwith a huge sack of legal hurt wielded Apple's attorneys.
According to Psystar's president:
Blu-ray has already won the format war. Not only is there fully functional and mature support for Blu-ray in other operating systems but you can now rent Blu-ray discs from almost any rental chain. Blu-ray has become pervasive technology that is being widely adopted by consumers everywhere. Blu-ray is not just for movies. The ability to burn 25-gigabyte discs is a feature that can help users in media editing or enterprise environments keep archives of large file sets. Our systems, regardless of configured operating system, can now provide this functionality.
The OpenPro desktop with Blu-Ray, an NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT and OS X installed starts at $1665. You know, I'm sure Psystar is going to be gelatinated into a long, bloody skidmark upon the underpants of the legal system, but I have to say... I love these guys.
Psystar to offer Blu-Ray support [PR Web via Slashgear.
John Brownlee
Video: The Tuttuki Bako Fingered
You may recall the Tuttuki Bako, a bizarre digital box best described as a sort of Tamagotchi glory hole. Courtesy of Joel, then, this video of a Japanese girl fingering its cheap electronic cervix while cooing with confusion and eventual delight.
Unfortunately, that's as far as I can go. The comments I made in BBG editor's chat when first watching this video were enjoyed by all, but all agreed they were unprintable. One interesting side effect, though: the slippery slope, one thing leading to another and all, and it turns out that our intern has already ordered new business cards for John "Assplay" Brownlee. Which, if you think about it, was really pretty appropriate all along. Make sure to ask me for one if you happen to see me at CES.
John Brownlee
Halloween OS X Finder Pillows
Just in time for Halloween, a Pickett-style mash of monstrously anthropomorphized Finder.apps in four flavors: Dracula, Pumpkinhead, Ghost and Frankenstein. These are really cute: it actually makes me wish the Finder.app face changed on holidays as an OS X easter egg.
OS X Halloween Pillows [Etsy]
Rob Beschizza
HP Mini 1000 in the wild
Ubergizmo unboxes the HP Mini 1000, a fashionable companion to the company's first netbook, the Mini 2133.
The main differences are a lower price, modest specs (512MB RAM, 8GB flash drive, 9" display) and a case design sporting art by Vivienne Tam. It'll be $400 with Windows or $380 with Linux, and you can upgrade to the 10" display for $50 more.
Pros would be the price and 60GB hard drive option, but the cons aren't insignificant: 1024x600 displays, at both sizes, and still no WWAN option.
HP Mini 1000 hands-on photos, full specifications [Ubergizmo]
Rob Beschizza
$65 toy is vile offspring of Mickey Mouse and Mario
Stare too long into Dave Bondi's mashup of Mario and Mickey, and it stares back into you. "The resulting toy blurs the boundaries of copyright," distributor DKE toys says. (No-one spoil its fun by explaining what trademarks are.)
Akashi - Combining Mickey Mouse and Mario [Likecool via Ubergizmo]
Rob Beschizza
Jack Thompson disbarment listed
Many will be familiar with Jack Thompson, the Florida lawyer disciplined following ever-stranger antics aimed at his nemesis, the game publishing industry. His disbarment is now official, according to the Florida Bar's website.
Here's the Bar's report, which makes is clear the gent's "permanently disbarred without leave to apply for readmission to The Florida Bar."
Here's part of the complaint:
Over a very extended period of time involving a number of totally unrelated cases and individuals, [Respondent has demonstrated a pattern of conduct to strike out harshly, extensively, repeatedly and willfully to simply try to bring as much difficulty, distraction and anguish to those he considers in opposition to his causes. He does not proceed within the guidelines of appropriate professional behavior, but rather uses other means available to intimidate, harass, or bring public disrepute to those whom he perceives oppose him.
John Bruce Thompson [Florida Bar]
Rob Beschizza
Incase's iPhone 3G slider case goes gold
Are you too sane to spend hundreds of dollars having your iPhone dipped in gold? Incase now makes a 3G version of its metallic slider case, to provide a cheap simulacrum of others' conspicuous wealth.
Metallic Slider Case [Incase via Cool Hunting]
Rob Beschizza
R2D2 Cookie Jar
Yours for $40 at Amazon. How about a trashcan, George?
Photo: Luke Anderson
R2D2 Collector Cookie Jar [Amazon via Technabob and Oh Gizmo]
Rob Beschizza
Paul Spooner's Amorous Automaton (SFW)
This video of Paul Spooner's Enchanting World of Automata starts out good, then gets better. From The Automata Blog:
Automata also have a long history of more adult themes -- and sometimes in conjunction with the more respectable subjects. For example, there are many pocket watch automata that show a simple, tasteful scene on the watch face.
Not this one!
Rob Beschizza
Power On Self Test: Puppies
When I saw Boston Dynamics' robot dog, my emotional reaction was mostly to be afraid of it.
But other people, they do not think like me. [thanks, H!]
Joel Johnson
Windows 7 will work just fine on netbooks (but so could Vista, says Microsoft)
Ars' Kurt Mackey interviewed Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky about Windows 7 on netbooks and uncovered quite a bit of interesting chatter. I especially enjoyed this discussion of netbook resolution:
This is more general, and I can guess, but given the small screens, are you doing anything special for the user interface on those?That's, it turns out to me, the main characteristic of netbooks are not screen inches, but screen pixels. Big difference. And, um, boy, you know, the HP one ships at 1280x768 which is perfectly good. The MSI, Lenovo, a few others are all shipping with the 10.3" panels that are 1024x600...
...such odd resolutions.
Well, they're just 16x9 versions of 600x800 and that's a glass thing, it's cheaper to cut the glass in those dimensions. You know, 600 is very tight and I suspect that in the very near term, those are going to get a higher DPI. They'll stay at 10.3, and in fact many of the higher end machines... it's the most expensive part, so the only way to keep the whole thing cheap is to put that screen in. So screens are the most expensive and consume the most power. But if you look at something like the Fujitsu p1610, p1620 series, those are netbook sized, but they have 1280x1024 10" screens, which is also a 4x3 aspect ratio, and that used to be my primary machine, and those are just 1GHz Celerons with 1GB RAM as well.
Ars@PDC: Steven Sinofsky on Windows 7 and netbooks [ArsTechnica.com]
Rob Beschizza
Man sucked into toilet after reaching for dropped phone
A mercifully unnamed Frenchman got his arm sucked down a fancy train toilet after trying to fish out a cellphone he dropped in it. The BBC:
The high-speed TGV train had to stop for two hours while firemen cut through the train's pipework. The man was carried away by emergency services, with the toilet still attached to his arm.
Is it odd to wonder exactly what sort of phone he had? This reminds me of the graffiti that used to be in practically every public lavatory in England, before they turned England into the set of a Paul Verhoeven movie: "Please do not throw cigarettes in the pissoir. It makes them soggy and difficult to light."
Rob Beschizza
New Optiplex towers go for Mac Pro look
Frankly, Dell's design strategy is just full of holes.
new Dell Optiplex systems... [Gizmodo]
Rob Beschizza
Blu-ray's thriller app: making you install firmware upgrades before playing disks
CrunchGear's Nicholas Deleon points out one of Blu-ray's critical flaws: when you want to watch a movie, the system can force you to dick around for literally hours applying "necessary" firmware upgrades until it consents to play the disk.
Here's just part of his hellish experience with one of Samsung's players:
I decide to burn the firmware to a CD, thinking that would be easier. It was and it wasn’t. After finding the firmware on Samsung’s labyrinth of a Web site, I burned it to a disc. I place the disc in the player and wait some more. And wait and wait and wait. Fifteen minutes go by before the player pops up, “Are you sure you want to upgrade the firmware?”
Bear in mind that the poor guy's reward for all this was getting to watch The Happening. Deleon's final question — whether "Blu-ray will forever be hobbled by this type of nonsense." — is the most entertaining aspect of the whole story. It seems almost a rhetorical question, as if we all know, deep down, that this really is the entertainment culture our children will grow up with. I do hope The Happening's end-user license agreement came in under 57 pages.
Blu-ray player upgrade process is killing the movie watching experience [CrunchGear]
Rob Beschizza
Alaris 3D printer among the world's most compact
Alaris's 3D printer, able to create 600dpi objects from resin, is an amazing work of engineering. That said, there's just something fundamentally amusing about this picture of it having the caption, "one of the smallest 3D printers on the market."
It reminds me that 2028 will have its own "Look Around You," where jokes are made about the days computers were so massive they could barely fit in your pocket!
Rob Beschizza
UltraPin: The revenge of the revenge of pinball
UltraPin is a virtual pinball machine, which is to say it's not really a pinball machine at all: all the action is contained within a standard enough video game, with the cabinet and controls in otherwise authentic shape. The table itself is a big LCD display.
Something vaguely similar this was tried at the end of the pinball era, but cancelled when it wasn't immediately a massive success. The taste of sour grapes for all but the bean-counters, in other words. I can't wait for a go of this latest monster, even if it seems, on the face of it, like just another serving of overbaked nostalgia.
Those of you suspicious of the very notion should know that pinball video games, when not being garbage included for free with the operating system, are often addictive beyond all reason. Pinball Dreams, anyone?
Arcade's Next Great Machine [Cranky's]
Joel Johnson
Behold, the first screenshot of the Windows 7 desktop
Microsoft CTO Ray Ozzie is up on stage at a developers conference as I type, basically chewing cud until the embargo lifts later this morning on Windows 7. But reporters and developers are playing around with Windows 7 right now — and one, tired of waiting, sent me this screenshot.
Similar screenshots will be all over the web in just a couple of hours, so bask in the meaningless ephemeral frisson of this PNG while you can. (Clicking the image will give you a larger version.)
Update: Did I say hours? How about minutes. [Ars Technica]
Joel Johnson
Morning tech deals highlights
• PC HDTV Tuner – Visiontek TV Wonder HD 650 PCI Express HDTV dual tuner card for $70, shipped. About $50 off. Will let you use your PC as a HDTV via over-the-air signals and unencrypted ClearQAM cable. (You may still need a decoder box from your company.) [Slickdeals]
• Camcorders – Dell has some 20%-off coupons that apply to SD and HD camcorders of all stripes, making for some very good deals. [Slickdeals]
• Keyboard & Mouse – Basic cordless keyboard and mouse from Logitech for $20, shipped. [Dealhack]
• Sony HDTV + PS3 – If you buy the Sony Bravia 40-inch LCD HDTV, a 3.1-channel soundbar, and a PlayStation 3 from Best Buy all at once you get a $500 discount, bringing it all down to $1,600. A pretty nice deal for kickstarting a home theater. [Bargainist]
• MacBook Pro – The Apple store continues to sell refurbished last generation MacBook Pro for great prices. A 15-inch 2.16GHz model can be had for $1,300, shipped. [Dealnews]
• MP3 Player – Today's Woot is a two-pack of Sandisk 1GB MP3 Player for $20, shipped.
Rob Beschizza
Review: Exclusive first look at Sonos' new iPhone-based controller
By Alan Graham
I've been a fervent Sonos user for well over three years, and with all honesty I can't even think of a single piece of technology, outside of computers, that I've gotten so much value from day after day.
And while that has been my experience, the major complaint I've heard over time from others, was the system costs too much. Because of that, many people turned away and set their sites on other cobbled together solutions which were either nowhere near as capable or as nice.
Since then times have changed and there is a whole new landscape of devices now available that give people some similar Sonos functionality. The Squeezebox Duet starts at $399 and is getting great reviews. Then there's the Apple TV which is even less ($229) and now has a free application available for the iPhone and iPod that make it pretty compelling as a music solution.
Today, however, Sonos may have made price less of an issue for those who want an alternative to the walled Apple DRM nightmare, and on the other hand want to dip their foot into the Sonos pool, but don't want to spend $400 on just the controller alone. Rejoice! Sonos has just released a free iPhone/iPod app that controls their system, meaning you can get started with a Sonos system for about $350.
Regardless of what platform you are attracted to, I thought I'd give you a peek at the application in use, and to do that I decided to compare the Sonos app to the Apple TV/Airport Express and their free Remote app, as it might give you some insight into how both solutions look at and handle music. Not to mention that most iPhone/Touch users have probably tested or tried out the free Apple Remote app.
Rob Beschizza
Unpleasant feedback music with walkie-talkies
Tom from MusicRadar writes in to tell us about musician Gordon Charlton. Charlton figured out how to produce "Theremin-like" sounds by manipulating the feedback produced by certain brands of walkie-talkie:
He simply turns the handsets on and moves them closer together and further apart. The pitch of the feedback that's created changes accordingly. That's all there is to it, really – there's no circuit-bending or other modification involved in this. Gordon uses a pair of Binatone Latitude 150 walkie-talkies (pictured below) that you can pick up for less than £20, but presumably, any model would do.
Rob Beschizza
Lutec's perpetual motion calculations a "basic mistake"
Yesterday, we saw a "zero point energy" machine from Australia. The creator, Lutec, says it's a "highly efficient means of generating electricity," but to many it'll look like just another rotary magnet-style perpetual motion machine. From their videos, it doesn't even seem a particularly elegant one:
From Lutec's website, it appears to be an investment scheme, with many appeals to buy shares. The most interesting claim in pursuit of that goal is that no physicist or engineer has ever looked at their figures and said it doesn't work. Enter BBG commenter Mac, who claims he's an engineer who has looked at Lutec's numbers and says it doesn't work.
I am a professional engineer in Australia. In September 2006 I was supplied with a summary of calculations by a potential investor to Lutec Australia, John Christie's company.The summary had diagrams and calculations showing how this worked.
The calculations were, to put it politely, fundamentally miscalculations. For example, they calculated the energy taken out of the battery as 'Ampere Hour Rating' of the battery multiplied by the battery voltage drop over the time of the test.
Another basic mistake was that they did all kind of 'chopping' of a sine wave, then used formulas to convert 'Ipeak' to 'Irms' on the assumption that it was a non-chopped sine wave.
They are just two of the many, many mistakes in the calculations.
I know that my comments to the investor were passed back to them, as I was emailed John Christie's response.
I have no objection to them believing that they have invented something new. However, the claim that no engineer has looked at their figures and said it doesn't work is incorrect.
Mac makes clear that this is his professional opinion and not that of his employers.
Here is something made of Lego that works in similar fashion to Lutec's machine. Amazing free energy!
John Brownlee
Prevent head explosions with Ear Pressue Equalizer
Frequent flyers, we know the sight well. The plane begins to land and our inner ear pressure swells, feeling something like the gradual multiplication of wet socks within our brain pan. A clench of the jaw and our inner ear pressure pops, making us feel marginally better. Ah. But in front of us, a fellow passenger is not so lucky. He grabs the side of his head, frantically swallowing and yawning, his mouth frothing over with half-chewed Chiclets, but nothing happens. Now he's screaming. Oh god. Not again. The stewardess begins racing down the isle, brandishing an emergency trepanation kit, but you know its already too late. You hold your briefcase in front of your face just in time to avoid being splattered by a cerebral slurry and the shrapnel of teeth. Christ. These red eyes.
In short, fickle evolution has not blessed everyone with direct muscular control of their Eustachian Tube. The Ear Pressure Equalizer aims to level the playing field and halt, once and for all, the rash of Scanners-like head explosions that has been the airline industry's dirtiest little secret for over fifty years. Simply push the device into your ear, press the button and feel the aural orgasm of inner ear pressure releasing itself. It's $60, which is a tad expensive, but you really can't put a price on your skull not exploding.
Ear Pressure Equalizer [Proidee via Oh Gizmo]
John Brownlee
Pantone Rubik's Cube
Sheer genius: the Rubitone, a Rubik's Cube coded with the Pantone Color Matching System. This is the way I want to choose my next bedroom color, cycling through the possible chromatic permutations on a puzzle cube at the Home Depot paint desk.
The Rubitone (Rubik + Pantone) [Ignacio Pilotto (Thanks, Dean!)]
John Brownlee
Green Beetle RealBug Mouse contains insect carapace
The Green Beetle RealBug Mouse is a bog standard USB optical mouse with the shimmering emerald carapace of a real, dead beetle frozen in the acrylic like an insect trapped in amber.
Something of a missed opportunity, though. The pun is obvious: it should really contain the dessicated mummy of a rodent, eyes bulging, yellow incisors exposed $19.95.
Green Beetle RealBug Mouse [Scientifics Online via Red Ferret]
John Brownlee
Liquid Bookmarks in hemoglobin, milk, mercury
Liquid Bookmarks: short of nicking an artery and spurting a copper-scented gout upon the page, the best way to mark your place during an annual Halloween re-reading of The Books of Blood. A set of three (milk, hemoglobin, mercury) cost $29.
Liquid Bookmarks [Design Boom]
John Brownlee
The Flaming Lips' double-necked Guitar Hero guitar
Where many guitarists petulantly sulk about these damn kids today plinking on their plastic guitars, completely degrading the mystical art of the five-string craft... at least until the first Rock Band royalty check comes in... Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne has built a Guitar Hero controller right into his double-necked guitar, using the five brightly colored buttons to control a built-in Korg Kaossilator synthesizer. You'll have to get through a rather sloppy vanity piece on some NBC jingle promotion to see it in action, but if you can get to 1:55 in this Entertainment Weekly piece, it's terribly neat.
Wayne Coyne's Guitar Hero guitar [Hollywood Insider via Hack-A-Day]
John Brownlee
3-inch portable speakers are cute, customizable figurines
I've never had much need for travel speakers — I've never wanted to subject a friend to a favorite song so much that I'd settle for the tinny, plasticky sound over just jamming one of my ear buds into their canal with my thumb — but if I were to carry one around with me on a regular basis, I'd choose one of these cute, customizable Headphonie figurines. They'll debut in batches of 500 to 1000 on November 30th for $30, with two blank figurines for your own customization.
Headphonies [Official Site via Slippery Brick]
John Brownlee
iGameboy: Gameboy custom theme for iPhone
Absolutely fantastic: a custom theme for the iPhone, vomited forth, Linda Blair style, in pixel puke pea green by the posession demon of a Nintendo GameBoy. You need to Jailbreak your phone to use it, as well as make your own Gameboy-style icons for custom apps.
John Brownlee
Jordan Mechner's original Prince of Persia animation reference footage
Jordan Mechner, creator of the original Prince of Persia, has been posting his original development diary entries to his official blog to coincide with the exact date they were written 23 years ago. Each post is a treasure for fans of the games, but the October 20th entry is particularly special: it contains the animation reference video for the Prince Mechner shot in the Reader's Digest parking lot in 1985, using his kid brother as a model. Anyone who has ever played this game will know every once of David's motions by heart. Amazing.
October 20, 1985 [Jordan Mechner (Thanks, Joel!)
John Brownlee
Mac Minis to get GeForce motherboards?
Who knows if the Mac Mini is dead or just dormant? On the one hand, Apple's told retailers not to order any more; on the other, the fact that it's the only entry-level Mac during a period of economic distress.
Still, rumors keep on sidling towards "update" over "dusted." The latest rumor, courtesy of MacWorld's Peter Cohen: that the next refresh of the MacMini will ditch the Intel integrated graphics motherboard for the GeForce 9-series of motherboards.
That would be great news, if true. It is in-keeping with the recent Macbook refresh, and it means the Mac Mini would become something you could actually run World of Warcraft on. And if the update to the GeForce 9-series means the Mac Mini can push video decoding to the GPU the way the new MacBooks can, it'll make the Mini an attractive HTPC option again as well.
John Brownlee
Ars Technica reviews Guitar Hero: World Tour (Verdict: Rock Band has a contender)
Ars Technica has posted a thoughtful and thorough review of Guitar Hero: World Tour, Activision Blizzard's attempt to move the Guitar Hero franchise into the full band sim space Rock Band elbowed out for itself.
I admittedly haven't followed Guitar Hero: World Tour, having given up on Activision's ability to make a satisfying Guitar Hero game sans Harmonix after the execrable Guitar Hero 3 (and after Harmonix changed the game entirely with Rock Band). That said, Ars thinks the game holds its own with an incredible set list, and I was intrigued to hear that the actual hardware ‐ the plastic guitars and drum sets — has changed significantly, and largely for the better.
Here's Ars' thoughts on the touch strip.
The biggest addition to the guitar is the touch-strip below the buttons, and it's interesting. While holding a note, you can slide your finger up and down to add a very electronic-sounding "wah" effect, and this works just like the whammy bar. There will also be sections of songs where you can slide up and down instead of hitting the strum button, and those take a while to get used to: the "buttons" are all together with a small ridge between them, making finding the "home keys" very difficult. You also can't see the colors on the pads because that section of the guitar is indented, making it hard to use even while looking down.
They also thought the three pad drum kits was a significant step up from Rock Band's, which is the exact opposite of what you'd expect. Sounds like this one can't be dismissed out of hand.
Guitar Hero World Tour Review [Ars Technica]
John Brownlee
The VCR is dead
After years of dogged resolve, JVC will stop producing standalone VCRs. And there you have it: the last spider crawling out of the eye socket of the skeletal and long-buried video cassette format. Oh, sure, we'll still see video cassettes: there'll always be the niche gadget or two that crams a VHS slot into a Blu-Ray player either for kicks or to separate itself from the competition, just like we still see the occasional 8-Track player crammed into a CD deck. But if you are seriously intending on breaking out that box of old Something Weird compilation and watching them again, now's the time to do it before the VCR goes the way of Cowboy Bebop.
JVC stops manufacturing VCRs [Trading Markets]
John Brownlee
Harness the power of a rainbow to learn to type
All rainbow directives at Boing Boing Gadgets come from the top. The guy who decided Infomercia — our joyless, Orwellian gadget state — should be rainbow colored? The guy who has been pushing for a BBG redesign in the style of the Reading Rainbow open credits, complete with auto-playing theme song sung and performed by him? Joel.
So it doesn't take much guessing to decide that Joel will probably like this KeyRight Learning Keyboard, with each chromatic QWERTY meant to teach budding typist where to corral each of their gingers. Heck, Joel's practically shilling the thing: that slouched, effeminate Asian man in the official product image? The one in the glasses and hipster hair, hugging a rainbow keyboard to his sunken chest as if it were a stuffed unicorn? I'm really not sure that isn't Joel after a quick dye job and the surgical addition of a couple epicanthic folds. None of us have seen him for weeks!
John Brownlee
LEGO robots by Peter Reid
Some incredibly cool LEGO robots by Peter Reid. This Mars Attacks / This Island Earth style Martian robot is my favorite, though: the insect eyes, the exposed brain lobes! He wants our women, and by god, he shall have them.
Peter Reid [Flickr]
John Brownlee
DIY Open Source GameBoy
Matt over at Liquidware Antipasto is making an Open Source GameBoy out of an Arduino:
Ok, so ever since middle school I've wanted to make one of these... but I only now have enough know-how and support to make it, ... an Open Source game boy :) Actually, it's a little smaller than a game boy, but it's 1000% cooler (in my opinion) because it uses an Arduino as the "core", and a few modules and shields that already exist.
But does it Tetris?
Using the InputShield to make an open source Gameboy [Liquidware Antipasto]
Rob Beschizza
We attack Caturday, pass it on
Good news from the Malabar front: Puppies will fit, too!
Cat Play House [Drinkstuff via RGS]
Rob Beschizza
Namco to shut gate to hell in 12 weeks.
The sword falls on Hellgate: London, the online action-RPG developed by a team of ex-Blizzard talent. Long-anticipated, it was released in unready condition and never found itself before the company behind it melted away. After the Asia operator shut down local servers last week, Namco announced that the U.S. will also go dark, on Jan. 31 next year.
There's still a single-player game to enjoy, but it was never really about that. Fidgit's Tom Chick explains the essential problem at hand:
Hellgate: London was a great big middle finger to its players from well before it came out, up through its launch, well into the clumsy patching process ... a textbook example of everything done wrong: PR, design, community relations, post-release support, and even the closing of developer Flagship Studios.
It'll be on free play for its last few weeks, however, so if you want to grab a copy and enjoy a middling post-apocalyptic multiplayer blast, it's all yours. How about a hack that lets one take a high-level character "offline?"
The real tragedy in all this is Mythos, the other game in development at Flagship, which was almost complete.
NAMCO ANNOUNCES FREE SERVER SUPPORT INTO 2009 FOR HELLGATE [Namco via GameSpot]
John Brownlee
iPhone 3G could go as low as $99
According to market analyst Charlie Wolf of Needham Research, Apple could drop the subsidized price of the 8GB iPhone 3G to $99 and still manage a 42.3% profit margin:
The financial expert estimates that the average, unsubsidized price of an iPhone 3G in the summer was $666 and so would give Apple a nearly 50 percent gross margin on each sale as well as a heavy subsidy from AT&T of $450. Both give Apple a large amount of space to adjust its price and could see the phone maker drop the price of an 8GB iPhone to $99 while still supplying a comfortable 42.3 percent margin...Any such price drops would be potentially devastating to competitors in the market, according to Wolf. The analyst believes that a $100 cut in the iPhone 3G's advertised price could "double or triple" projected sales and quickly overtake most other smartphones on the market and leave only successful but "niche" smartphone manufacturers like Research in Motion, which produces the BlackBerry.
That certainly makes sense. With Apple's exclusivity agreement with AT&T locked in for the foreseeable future, it seems like the better way of doubling or tripling iPhone sales — selling iPhones unlocked, or providing them to all major carriers — isn't going to happen any time soon. But from a mere financial perspective, the iPhone's success over the past year — especially if you push all their iPhone sales into the quarter in which they sold, as opposed to spacing the subsidy fee over a two year period — has rapidly reinvented Apple as primarily a phone company: the iPhone is generating massive amounts of bank. Apple can afford to drop the price more to get it in more customer's hands, and I imagine they will. Its happened before, after all.
iPhone could hit $99 [Electronista]
Rob Beschizza
Yamaha training instrument trumpets its way to success
Yamaha's EZ-TP Electronic Teaching Trumpet is quite costly, at $370, but models valves, transcribes your work to MIDI format and comes with a range of built-in teaching tools. You can even download songs to it and play them back with any of the included 22 "instruments."
In preparation for writing this post, further amusing metaphors based on the idea of "trumpeting" were devised, but we thought it best to spare you.
The example video is a lot more bizarre than you expect it will be.
Electronic Trumpet Yamaha P181 [Japan Trend Shop via Slippery Brick]
John Brownlee
Time Machine ball bearing clock
The Time Machine clock tells the passing time by dropping a chrome ball onto a multi-tiered track. Every five minutes, the last ball is dropped a level to mark a twelfth of the hour while the rest are flushed to the ball bearing time hopper; the same happens every sixty minutes to flush out the five-minute markers and mark the passing of another hour. The clack of connecting metal balls seems like a peaceful and rhythmic way to tell time... the Newton's Cradle of office clocks. Only $24.99.
Time Machine Tabletop Clock [Amazon via Gadget Grid]
Rob Beschizza
I have no mouth, and I must bark
Victims of a gorgon who turned flesh to silicon, Charles Kalpakian's angular dog lamps will forever bathe one another in pale shrouds of light. Subtle flickers in the 60Hz lambency encode messages. Not the plots of our future robot masters, but appeals to their child-masters for freedom: "Rover is a good boy. Rover can see forever."
John Brownlee
Ice Prong Cane Tips for Arctic-bound Dear, Aged Mothers
My dear, aged mother is notoriously difficult to shop for. It's bad enough that I live thousands of miles away: when her birthday or Christmas rolls around, requests for lists are ignored with a sweet, martyrish shrug: "But I've already been blessed with a son like you!" Subtext: if you can't find something heartfelt for your dear, aged mother of your own accord, you're an asshole. And needless to say, every year, I am proven one, to a greater or lesser extent.
So this year I was delighted that she actually approached me with a wish list a month or so before her birthday rolled around. And nuzzled in the middle of the list, something both practical and strangely wonderful: the dear, aged woman — who hobbles about her garden on a cane with a stroke a year or two back, full of pluck and vim — wanted one of these wonderful ice prong cane tips for the glacial New England winter. They come in two varieties: either with a single, penetrating tip, ideal for staking any ice vampires that might stumble across her path, or a more gripping five prong system. Better yet, they just pop on and off, to prevent linoleum gouging.
Very neat. I love the fact that that creative ingenuity even extends to cane accessories for inclement weather.
Five-Prong Cane Ice Tip [House of Canes, via Mommy]
Rob Beschizza
Noise-thrashing Atari Punk Console in a Sega Dreamcast
Did you know that you can turn Sega's Dreamcast into a synthesizer? The relentless, aggravating strains of an Atari Punk Console may emerge from almost anything!
features include: Internal speaker with on/off [under lid], Opto-theremin (photo cell) with on/off [under lid], 4 Body Contacts, Pretty blue LED ... uh, furby eyes.
The craftsman behind it is named George, and this is not his first project.
Atari Punk Dreamcast [Make]
Rob Beschizza
Behold the Nokia park bench. What?
O.K., so it's just a silly promotional stunt. But there's something eye-narrowingly clever about the idea of public MP3 dispensers.
One is tempted to challenge Nokia with the question, "wither thou goest?" The answer, however, is obvious: thou goest to punch the annoying troubadour in the face, so that one may occupy his seat. [via Music Radar]
John Brownlee
Philips Luxe MP3 player doubles as Bluetooth headset
Philips' admittedly lovely Luxe MP3 player is a curiosity. At $95 for a scant 2GB, it's far pricier than its competition, and the one-line LED screen isn't going it any favors either.
Where it tries to separate itself from the competition is with its novel Bluetooth function: it will pair with your phone and cut your music and display the caller ID number on its display when a call comes in, allowing you to answer the call on your device with its dual mikes.
That's pretty neat, but I'm guessing in the age of iPhone and the Android we're going to see phones get increasingly sophisticated audio playback functions, with built-in earbud headsets. This bridge device is all too likely to be a redundant gizmo of the status quo in the next year or so.
Philips LUXE player connects to your music and calls [Crave]
Rob Beschizza
Sprint to pro-rate termination fees for new customers
The last of the big cellular carriers to pro-rate its early termination fees, Sprint is expected to catch up with its competitors on November 2.
It currently charges $200 to leave town before a 2-year contract expires. Once pro-rating begins, its fee will decline on a schedule spread over the life of the contract. It will only apply to new customers, according to reports. If you're already with Sprint, you will not get out of the contract without paying the full fee.
That may seem oddly extortive. If so, you might be further surprised to find that Sprint's already gotten into trouble for shafting its current customers: a California judge ordered it to reimburse $73m to customers earlier this year.
The reason for such bull-headedness seems obvious: it needs the cash. While Sprint has made efforts to fix its reputation for poor customer care, it's still losing customers. So it's happy to anger them, and even risk legal sanction, to pry $200 from each and every one.
Sprint to join rivals in cutting termination fees
[AP via The Consumerist]
John Brownlee
Giant skull made out of kitchen utensils
A zygomatic bone glommed together from old sauce pots; a mandible constructed from rusty whisks; a maxilla ossified from dinner plates and moustachioed with unwashed spoons. This gloriously sepulchral skull constructed entirely from old cookware and crockery wasy on display in London's Regent Park a couple weeks ago as part of the Frieze Art Fair.
The Frieze Art Fair opens in Regent's Park [Telegraph via Gearfuse]
Rob Beschizza
Make fake Polaroids the easy way
Though it won't laminate the printout in that classic white-framed cardboard sandwich, Poladroid will at least put your shots in a pleasant border and tint them just so. Cult of Mac's Giles Turnbull gushes:
It mimics a Polaroid camera in every way, complete with a loud ker-zjeerrrrr-chikk sound as the photo pops out, and with the photos themselves having to “dry” as the initial brown chemical wash fades out, leaving the image proper behind.
It's free, too. Here's that link again: Poladroid. No, it will not banish the disappointment experienced using Polaroid's new pocket-size photo printers. Though very clever and compact, it's just not the same.
Poladroid Is Best Thing Ever [Cult of Mac]
John Brownlee
The clock of a thousand gears... well, okay, fifty
Homeloo's Jumbo Gear Clock is like a clock that has exploded with the bloating of its own horological guys: more than 50 gears are exposed, churning and grinding their teeth together in a beautifully intricate contraption that takes the Rube Goldberg connotations of even the simplest wound watch to its inevitable extremity. Quite cheap for all those gears too: only $78.
Homeloo Jumbo Gear Clock [Homeloo via Technabob]
Joel Johnson
Google Earth inexplicably launches first on iPhone, not Android
Google has released a version of its Google Earth software for the iPhone as a dedicated application. It looks like a fantastic application (I'm downloading it now) and is free, and as such will likely become another shiny application with which iPhone users will try to impress their friends.
Which is why I am baffled that this has been released for iPhone and not the Android platform first.
I mean, I get it: Google is a big company. There are lots of product teams. Those teams probably have a lot of autonomy. Google is fine making software for all platforms, not just its own, since their customers use a variety of platforms.
But we're not talking about Gmail here. We're talking about a stunning bit of entertainment software that would set Android phones apart from their competition. And then Google Mobile distributes it for iPhone first?
This is exactly the sort of behavior that I've been grousing about at least since the T-Mobile G1's first press conference. Google needs to act like they really care about Android's success or they're going to hobble it right out of the gate.
Google Earth for iPhone, iPod Touch [iTunes]
Introducing Google Earth for iPhone [GoogleBlog.Blogspot.com]
Joel Johnson
Bandai Gun O'clock shooting target alarm clock
Even if I didn't like the Bandai "Gun O'Clock" alarm clock — and I do, because I already wake each morning with a gun in hand just in case my dog has turned into a sexy female spy cowboy who has decided to betray me after a night of whisky martini-fueled passions — I would write about it simply as an excuse to post this picture. I dare John and Rob to find a better product image anywhere. They can't. Spy cowboys trump all.
And in case you want to actually buy this thing, Strapya World is taking pre-orders now for a November release. I'd put $45 on it right now if I could be sure I wouldn't mix the special infrared gun with one of the dozens of real handguns with which I sleep each night.
Gun O'clock catalog page [Strapya-world.com] (Thanks, Ricardo!)
Rob Beschizza
Australian snake-oil perpetual motion machine
Another day, another investment scam promoted by clueless TV journalists. Science is fun! In this case, Sky News Australia fluffs a perpetual motion machine, which purports to generate more energy than it uses.
"We don't need to prove the claims," says one of the pushers. "... no physicist or engineer has looked at our motor or our figures and says it doesn't work."
Would it be too geeky to play spot the logical fallacy? Home of the magical fuel-additive pill company that hoodwinked sports stars and politicians alike, Australia seems particularly vulnerable to this sort of escapade.
Australian Perpetual Motion Machine Runs on Snake Oil [Wired:Gadget Lab]
Joel Johnson
HEMI engine ring
I'm rather fond of this "HEMI Blown with Ruby's" ring from Cruzin' World (dot com), but I'd prefer that they ditch the rubies in the blower for some cheap crystals so that it didn't cost $400. Still — badass.
HEMI ring catalog page [CruzinWorld.com] (Thanks, Confused or Surprised!)
John Brownlee
HP announces Mini 1000 netbook
There's not much information yet, but Hewlett Packard has quietly pushed a page up on their online store for the HP Mini 1000, the follow-up to their earlier aluminum HP Mini-Note 2133.
There's not much to go on right now, except that it will come in black, be less than an inch thick and weigh a bit more than 2 pounds. There's no word on specs, although you can guess: 1.6GHz Atom CPU, 3 cell battery, 802.11b/g, 80-160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, and optional XP / Linux flavorings.
The big thing is it'll be cheaper. Where as the HP Mini Note cost more than six bills all told, the Mini 1000 should fall in line with the rest of the netbook market's pricing: expect to pay $399.
Online Store [HP via Slashgear]
John Brownlee
Yanko designs a new Mac Mini
The Mac Mini is an odd duck in Apple's line-up, often ignored and now possibly discontinued after an almost two year lapse in updates... but its admittedly attractive design has become the baseline for a number of Apple's other products (Time Capsule, Apple TV), each stackably modular.
So I'm interested in this Yanko for the next Mac Mini design. The idea is simple: rather than have the Mac Mini's look inform Apple's other modular devices, it inherits the look of a closed MacBook. A clever addition: an optional MacBook Air-like integrated keyboard and screen could then dock on top.
It's a big stretch, but I could actually imagine Apple doing something like this, making the aluminum MacBook the baseline that informs and ties together the rest of their non-iPod hardware's design.
Don't Die Mac Mini Don't Die [Yanko]
Rob Beschizza
The $13 Stun Gun will "startle assailants, giving some pain."
"If price is your main concern, then this is the stun gun for you," writes Surplus Computers in its blurb for the cheapest stun gun known to man. "For 0.5 seconds, will startle assailants giving some pain."
Customers who bought this item also bought the head magnifier w/bright LED and the eyeglass repair kit.
Source [Surplus Computers via Gear Diary and Gizmodo]
Rob Beschizza
Motorola's silvery steampunk Aura takes its first breath
The odd and wonderfully-designed Motorola Aura gets a hands-on test at Mobile-Review, which points out that the "rotational" form factor is something Moto's tried before.
But never with such style.
It goes without saying that the MOTOAURA is one unique phone - you can either love it or hate it, there is no room for some third option. ... It is way slicker than the Samsung S9500 Eccelso that feels somewhat edgy and cumbersome, plus packs in two SIM card slots, which isn't a major selling point by any stretch of imagination. Furthermore, the MOTOAURA's fashion cred is higher than that of all current iterations of the Nokia Arte.
It's curiously steampunky: there's even a set of ornamental cogs on the rear. Click through for a vast gallery of close-up shots.
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/motorola-motoaura-en.shtml [Mobile-review via Gizmodo and Engadget]
Rob Beschizza
Casio's Exilim Phone: Not yours
That Casio submitted the latest version of its ultra-thin camera phone to the FCC is a cruel jape: the model line is only available in Japan.
Hope springs eternal. Who could not want a RAZR-sized phone with a 800x480 high-res, 3.1" OLED display, 8.1 megapixel camera and 30fps video recording? It's really quite disgusting—it even comes in green.
Rob Beschizza
Wither not the four-track: Tascam's got a new one for you
The humble four-track ain't so humble any more: Tascam Japan's latest has two line inputs, 16-bit audio, two USB ports and up to 32GB of storage thanks to an SD/SDHC card slot. It will be ¥24,000 when released next month.
TASCAM JAPAN LAUNCHES A NEW 4 TRACK RECORDER, THE DP-004 [Akihabara News]
Rob Beschizza
Dell Mini Inspiron 12 isn't particularly Mini
Dell's Inspiron Mini 12 is coming, according to Laptop Mag, and it looks surprisingly similar (if less swanky) to Apple's MacBook Air. Joanna Stern writes:
I couldn’t put the Mini 12 through the usual hands-on paces, but I was able to form some early impressions of the unique “netbook.”At less than an inch thick (according to Dell its .92-inches at its thinnest point) and weighing 2.7 pounds, I couldn’t help but look at the Mini 12 and think of $1,500+ ultraportables like the MacBook Air and Voodoo Envy 133.The Inspiron Mini 12 was just about the same thickness as the Lenovo ThinkPad x200 I had brought to the meeting, and only a bit thicker than the .76-inch MacBook Air that one of the meeting attendees had on the table (see the photos in the gallery below). But that extra girth buys the Dell more ports - 3 USB, full-size VGA out, a 3-in-1 card reader, along with a mic and headphone jack.
The keyboard's larger than the Mini 9's, and it comes with a 12" screen.
The only problem is calling it a netbook. Stern puts the word in scare quotes once or twice in her piece, but otherwise plays it straight. So here's a little reminder: computers of this size, even at just $600, are named "laptops".
I fear we fall victim to marketing, here. Watch as those who established "netbook" as a fashionable category follow Asus in applying that branding to cheap, nasty notebooks, little different to the bog-standard Inspirons and Averatecs that have been available for under $500 for years.
Source [Laptop Mag]
Rob Beschizza
Tracks
When you're next in need of durable, long-lasting rubber tracks, don't forget to measure them.
Radmeister [via Dan's Data]
John Brownlee
MSI Wind adds overclocking in BIOS update
With its easy solid specs, affordable price and easy hacking and Hackintoshing, the MSI Wind continues to be a darling of netbook enthusiasts, its limerence unfaded by the usual netbook fugue that usually follows a lilliputer's release within mere weeks.
A large part of that's due to MSI's smart handling of the Wind. They haven't degraded the brand Eee-style with millions of iterations. And they keep adding cool new features.
The latest Wind BIOS update, 1.09, adds the ability to easily overclock the Wind while it's running. Simply press down FN and F10 at the same time and you can cycle between an eight, fifteen and twenty four percent overclocking of the Atom chip.
That's just very neat. I keep on waffling undecidedly on which netbook to buy (even though, deep down, I know it barely matters) but I remain surprised at how long the Wind has remained a frontal lobe contender.
MSI Wind BIOS 1.09 [MSI]
John Brownlee
Gamer proposes to girlfriend by hacking Chrono Trigger
Nerd love at its finest, with a maximum allowance of creativity and a minimum of french kiss retainer entanglement or dual use pocket protector prophylactics.
On October 17th, 2008, I proposed to my (now) Fiance. Originally I wanted to retun to the site of our first date, Mount Baker, near Bellingham Washington. Sadly, there was no discrete way to get her out there. So I turned to the next best thing, digitally recreating the mountain!But why stop there? I figured I'd try and recreate many of our other favorite memories -- stargazing, dancing, even her favorite song lyrics (from the Princess Bride). I'm a college student who is studying Computer Science, and I wanted to do something unique that used my talents, so I did some research on Rom hacking, as she was playing through Chrono Trigger....
When her name appeared on screen (blurred in this video), she glanced over to me (on one knee, with the ring out), wondering, "How did they get my name in this game?" When she saw the ring, she reread the proposal, nodded yes, and said, "You are such a huge nerd! I love this!"
I proposed by hacking Chrono Trigger [YouTube via MAKE]
John Brownlee
iTunes UK asterisk censors H*t T**n K****r P****y
Over the weekend, the iTunes UK music database began to inexplicably asterisk censor thousands of song titles, from Nirvana's "Smell's Like T**n Spirit", Queen's "K****r Queen, Katy Perry's "H*t and Cold" and Danny Kaye's "I Thought I Saw A P***y Cat."
Apple UK says it is a "database glitch..." which seems to be a euphemism for the overzealous data entry of a temp concerned by the dynamically generated rape playlist soundtracks Britain's insidious constabulary of pedophiles might put together after plugging "killer hot teen pussy" into iTunes.
Via Gizmodo's own Jesus Diaz, whose early morning post about this debacle was a single fist thrust defiantly into the rainbow-spatttered sky of Apple oppression. Over the course of several spittle punctuated paragraphs, our good friend Jesus decried the asterisking of the entire Pussycat Dolls oeuvre as one of the most egregious violations of free speech this side of Kim Jong Il, before finally summing his potent arguments up with two powerful recruitment videos from the Che Guevara of guerilla free speech advocacy, Mr. Eric Idle. Jesus then observed that this was "a level of idiotic politically correct censorship that not even the FCC will apply here in the United States"... an excellent point, considering the fact that nothing about the censorship of the word "teen" could be characterized as "politically correct."
A brave stand, indeed, Mr. Diaz! For in the immortal words of Martin Niemöller, "First they came for Devo's 'Pink Pussy Cat' and I did not speak..."
Rob Beschizza
Laptop Mag reviews EeePC S101. Verdict: Pretty but pricey
Laptop Mag's conclusions about the attractive and ultra-this EeePC S101 are the proverbial mixed bag. Every angle has a pro and con to contend with: it's far more attractive and svelte than other netbooks, but it's got faffy bling like Swarovski crystals on it, too. It offers a MacBook Air-like form for about a third of the price—$700— but the specs are worse than the top-end normal Eee, which is just $480.
How much are you willing to pay for style? The Eee PC S101 ($699) is hands-down the best looking mini-notebook we have seen, and its thin size and small footprint make it a machine that you’ll want to show off to the world.
Asus Eee PC S101 [Laptop Mag]
Rob Beschizza
Sunday irrelevance: ninja movie flowchart
Comcast subscribers may have noticed a surprisingly large number of ninja movies on the free on-demand movie selection of late. I have formulated a chart to help you determine which of these inexpensive productions are worth watching.
Citations follow.
Rob Beschizza
Review: McDonald's Angus third-pounder sandwich
Available in selected test markets, McDonald's Angus burger is the most fulfilling meal I've had at McDonald's. That said, after plowing my way through the 740 calorie sandwich, strange events are occurring within me and I regret the error.
Pros
• A third of a pound: you will actually feel satisfied by it.
• It's tastier, too. There's a flavor to it, a dry tanginess that you don't get with the Big Mac's or quarterpounder's mystery beef.
Cons
• 740 calories.
• $6 for a meal.
• After one of these and a bag of fries, my mouth feels like it's been scraped out with a block of salt.
• While better than normal McMeat, it's not sirloin or any other fancy cut. Just basic ground Black Angus.
• Can only get them in a few locations. Just yesterday, they said the trials would continue longer than expected due to the economic downturn.
Conclusion
Tastier than but thermodynamically indistinguishable from eating a tub of chicken-fried lard. I have entered the kingdom of the unwell.
Angus Third Pounders [McDonald's]
Rob Beschizza
Sprint: Android simply not good enough for us
CEO Dan Hesse told the National Press Club that Android isn't "good enough to put the Sprint brand on it," even though Sprint is one of the thirty-ish companies forming part of Google's alliance and will crank one out eventually.
This is one of the most astounding public bitchslaps you're ever likely to see in the tedious and hard-starched world of corporate telecommunications. Sprint worrying that its "brand" would be sullied by Android is going to keep me in chuckles for the rest of the hour.
Sprint: Android not good enough yet [Reuters]
Joel Johnson
From the makers of "Bacon Salt", a new type of sandwich spread
Coming any day now to an artery near you. Consider me a day one adopter.
Baconnaise product page [Baconnaise.com]
Joel Johnson
"iSafe" app for Android keeps the fearful in fear
Sascha Segan tells us about an overwrought app for Android phones called "iSafe", a GPS-driven tracker for the paranoid that alerts its users when they're in a high-crime area or motoring through a neighborhood that harbors a sex offender.
Just terrible. I'm fine with the app being available, of course, but I agree with Segan that this sort of thinking only breeds unproductive fear.A "sex offender," of course, can be anyone from some idiot teenager who took porno shots of herself for her boyfriend to a housebound elderly man who did despicable things in 1966. But if you're driving past Ms. Accidental Porn Star's house, iSafe will blurt out "You are in a sex offender neighborhood!" and you'll resolve never to let the kids out into the yard again.
By giving no additional details, iSafe increases the fear. At least on Web sites like familywatchdog.us, I found out that the guy who lives half a mile from me was convicted once, ten years ago, of assaulting an adult, and probably isn't a serial child molester. Even those sites, of course, don't give the full story. The full story, sadly, usually involves violence against a family member or someone already known to the assailant, not violence against a stranger. By not supplying details, iSafe invites you to falsely imagine the worst: marauding killers prowling the streets.
Humorously, all of New York City, one of the safest places per-capita in the nation, is listed as "unsafe for personal crime".
Opinion: Android App iSafe is Bad For America [Appscout.com]
John Brownlee
Apple? No. This is iOrange.
At least this Chinese knock-off is being utterly shameless about it. "Apple... no. This is iOrange!" Except they misspell it "iOrgane," which is just so deliriously, accidentally filthy.
Everything about this is just tops. I don't even know how to even transcribe the narration: "Eet eez zo kul writin massage wit zeengle hund!" Only better. The whole demonstration of the phone's abilities seems to be done by a freak with two right hands. And they completely fudge the accelerometer orientation switching.
WANT.
[via Engadget]
John Brownlee
Dell price gouges Japanese business market for spray painted Mini Inspiron
Deciding that the Mini Inspiron 9 was too garish to sell to the Japanese salaryman market, coming in whorish black and white as it of course does, Dell has opted to rebrand the Mini Inspiron as the Vostro A90 in Japan.
Everything else is the same. It still comes in black (although it's a blacker, more businessy black). It still has the same 1.6GHz Atom, the same 8GB storage drive, the same whatever.
But price? Close to a thousand dollars.For a machine that, short of a spray of paint, goes for less than 400 in the same configuration. Ha! lolwhut?
Dell readies small, cheap computer for small biz [Reg Hardware]
Rob Beschizza
How to make a cylon Jack o' Lantern
Make's Halloween project is a Cylon jack 'o lantern. You'll need a "Larson scanner," some LEDs, chrome spray paint, and a big pumpkin. Detailed instructions are in this month's special edition of the magazine itself, but its video should be enough to guide steady technical hands: "You'll probably want to put the scanner in a zip-lock bag"
Weekend Project: Cylon Jack O' Lantern [Makezine]
Rob Beschizza
De-stress in 2009 with a bubble wrap calendar
Perpetual Kid's 2009 bubble calendar dupes you into paying $30 for a sheet of bubble-wrap glued to a cardboard printout. Nonetheless, it's a bizarre and intriguing gift for any members of your family involved in the packaging and distribution trade.
One is reminded of the episode of Red Dwarf where Lister makes a fortune selling bubble-wrap as an anti-stress toy.
2009 BUBBLE CALENDAR [PerpetualKid]
Joel Johnson
Ethan Ham's robotic slide whistle
Ethan Ham built this motorized, vocoder-inspired slide whistle out of parts from an ink jet printer. It responds to sound input like a vocoder and responds with a pleasing whistle in kind.
In the above video, Ethan shows it off at Brooklyn's fantastic LEMURplex art space.
Study for a Vocoder [EthanHam.com]
Joel Johnson
Shoe cabinet affirms tribal query: Yes, you can Kick It
There's only one problem I can see with the "KickIt" shoe rack: lobbing shoes into a forest of plastic bristles is going to dislodge a lot of dirt and hobo muck into the bottom of the cabinet. I hope there's an easy way to clean it all out.
But besides that? I'm into it. I'm a bit of an edge case shoe fancier: I like to keep them looking nice and everything, but I also sometimes just get lazy and throw them on the floor. Having a cabinet I could drunkenly jam my foot into sound great.
Not $2,500 great, mind you.
KickIt! [Magazin.com via Swiss Miss via Crunchgear via Gadget Lab]
Blogger meta-whine: It's a shame that out of all the websites linking to this there's not a higher-quality image. It pains me to see such a compressed JPG wafting around — I bet it pains the original designers even more.
Rob Beschizza
Concept: Virtuo LCD palette for digital painters
Often, the hypothetical gadgets imagined by Yanko's collection of design magicians lack a certain creative flair. Not today. Yana Kilmava's idea for a handheld digital LCD palette, linked wirelessly to a Cintiq-style touchscreen "canvas", is a perfect application of fresh technology to an old problem: reality's lack of an "undo" button.
Virtuo looks very similar to the traditional paint pallets used by artists for hundreds of years, with the added bonus of modern technology. There are no wasted paints, no confusing mixing of colors and you don’t have to be an experienced artist to create really beautiful pieces of artwork. Virtuo includes an art pallet, a charger, 5 different art tools and works by electromagnetism so no worry about quick battery loss. Even though it was designed with the inexperienced artist in mind, Virtuo can also be used by the more professional digital artists who are also experienced in the traditional forms of creating art. At the present time, Virtuo is only in concept form, but I can hope that it is made available to the public sometime in the near future.
VIRTUO: A gidital art toolset that helps art novices develop their artistic side [Yanak Limava via Yanko Design]
John Brownlee
SurfaceTension releases incredibly overpriced MAME coffee table
We've seen at least a couple coffee table MAME cabinets — often times, the guts of an old PC crammed into an umlaut-spittled IKEA fiberboard cheapie — and every time, there's a tug between the allure of a coffee table that plays video games and the bothersome fact that very few people are really going to want to sit on the floor, stare down at the screen from an odd angle and use a joystick in a drawer to play a game on one.
As such, there's a definite upper limit on what you'd want to spend on a MAME coffee table, and that upper limit is way, way below the nearly five grand SurfaceTension wants. It would be overpriced at half as much: bog standard furniture design with a 19-inch LCD, a Shuttle PC, 2GB RAM, dual core processor, 160GB hard drive, Happ arcade buttons, 2 control sets, Happ illuminated trackball, volume controls and Sanwa joysticks built-in.
If you're willing to spend five grand, just buy yourself a real MAME cabinet already.
SurfaceTension New Arcade Coffee Table [Born Rich]
Joel Johnson
Retriever, the motorcycle that tows like a truck
With the flash of a manga fever dream, the "Retriever" motorcycle adds the utility of a tow truck to the relative agility of a bike. Built atop a modified Honda Goldwing, the Retriever uses a 118HP 6-cylinder engine that allows it to tow up to 5,000 pounds — plenty for most cars and light trucks.
The Retriever is already in use in 10 countries, says Retriever NA, its North American supplier. Goldwings aren't exactly cheap in the first place, so I would imagine that buying a Retriever would set you back a bit, but certainly not more than a standard truck-based towing rig.
I'm putting up two pictures instead of the usual one, simply because I think it looks awesome.
Retriever tow motorcycle product page [Retriever-NA.com]
John Brownlee
Destructoid reviews Saints Row 2 the only way they know how
Game review of the year:
This is a video review of Saints Row 2, wherein I weigh the relative strengths and weaknesses of the different gameplay mechanics and narrative conventions in an effort to, eventually, assign a numerical score denoting the game's value.It also includes a lot of footage of my ingame avatar, which is pretty neat.
(Close the ad if it comes up.)
Destructoid video review: Saints Row 2 [Destructoid]
John Brownlee
The Oracle Watch keeps you up on your I-Ching
The Oracle Watch mixes the shape of a bangle with the font from an old Apple II with the I-Ching. It also tells time. I don't really like Eastern philosophizing in my watches though: I prefer them to stick with telling time, playing video games and turning into a Transformer.
The Oracle Watch [Wrist Fashion via Slipper Brick]
Rob Beschizza
Gaiman denied G1 by T-Mobile because it "won't do the Google" where he lives
Neil Gaiman, author of fantastic tales, is not allowed to have a T-Mobile G1. In fact, the staff of a T-Mobile store didn't want anyone to have a T-Mobile G1.
There was a man and a woman behind the counter. They said they were sorry but they didn't have a G1 for me to play with."When will you get them in?"
"We won't get them in."
"No?"
"No."
Apparently the G1 "won't do the Google" in Gaiman's area. "So we aren't allowed to sell it." As a result, Mr. Gaiman has decided not to buy a G1.
Photo: Neil Gaiman
A fine wensleydale? [Neil Gaiman's Journal]
John Brownlee
Access releases ALP 3.0... the mobile phone OS built upon the bones of Palm OS 5
Now that the next-gen mobile phone OS wars are heating up, whither Palm? Well, they're certainly not working on an OS anymore, but Access — the company that licensed the Palm OS 5 source code — have just released ALP, and have published some PDFs of the OS to browse through.
It all looks endearingly Palmy, with thoughtful marination in the new OS features that have come into vogue since Palm left the OS market, including smooth transitions, animation, higher res displays and the ubiquitous accelerometer support. As someone who once fondly owned a Palm m130,
I'd love to see Palm license the OS back and pump out some phones with it... for old time's sake, if for no other reason.
Rob Beschizza
"Mr. Wilson," the unsettling tennis ball towel holder
His brass-rimmed black eyes settled over a leering, open crack of a mouth, Mr. Wilson likes nothing better than to hold a towel between his lips as he silently watches you bathe.
Mr. Wilson [Loony Design via Foolish Gadgets]
Joel Johnson
Amazing new "Pony" eBook reader uses no batteries (Warning: There is a joke here)
The form factor is better than the Kindle, for sure.
The Pony eReader [The Bedside Crow]
Rob Beschizza
Jakks combines Pac-Man & Namco TV game sets into one big yellow blob
The newest editions of Jakks' tv games are just gorgeous, combining solid traditional arcade controls with wonderfully cheerful design. Arcade Gold has Pac-Man and a bunch of derivatives (but not Mrs. Pac Man), Galaxian, Bosconian and Dig Dug. They're the original (emulated) games, not home system conversions or cellphone-style knockoffs. It's twenty bucks at Amazon.
Update: Reader Scissorfighter points out that they're not the exact originals. I will now have to review these, as is my stern duty.
Photo: Craig Harris
Jakks Pac-Man Gold TV Game [Amazon via Cranky's Arcade via technabob]
Rob Beschizza
False Jobs illness rumor was posted by 18 year old kid
Apple's stock got hammered on Oct. 3 after Silicon Valley Insider ran some blog post from CNN 's iReport like it might be news. Now the SEC has tracked down the original poster: it's an 18-year-old kid with no obvious motive.
From Bloomberg:
CNN spokeswoman Jennifer Martin said the cable news channel wasn't aware of the age or identity of the person behind the iReport post. CNN doesn't plan to review its procedures for placing content on iReport, Martin said, declining to comment further. ... The article, posted under the name ``Johntw,'' claimed Jobs was rushed to an emergency room after suffering a ``major heart attack.''``I have an insider who tells me that paramedics were called after Steve claimed to be suffering from severe chest pains and shortness of breath,'' the author wrote. ``My source has opted to remain anonymous, but he is quite reliable.''
Among the top stories this morning at iReport: Obama Is Too Soft For America and I Hope McCain Didn't Make One Of His Supporter Do This.
Jobs Said to Be Targeted by Teen in Heart-Attack Tale [via Apple Insider]
John Brownlee
HP's USB Floppy Drive Key allows BIOS installation
There's no tingle of excitement to be felt anymore when staring at yet another USB flash drive, but HP's new USB Floppy Drive Key does, at least, have one standout feature the rest don't have.
Let's say you have a BIOS update to install... the sort of thing that can often only be done from an obsolete, antediluvian floppy drive that has long since become home to a friendly family of spiders. Simply flip a switch to toggle the USB Floppy Drive Key into "boot from floppy mode", copy the BIOS files over and update with no fuss.
It's clearly aimed at sys admins, and the price reflects that: $49 for 256MB and $79 for the 1GB version. No one who isn't getting corporate to pay is going to spend that when they can do the same thing using a regular USB stick and any one of a number of open source programs. Still, props to HP for doing something, anything new with gadgetdom's most flotsam of tech.
HP USB Floppy Drive Key [HP via Slashgear]
Rob Beschizza
Your Morning Dog Automaton
Automata of Dog Based on Aquio Nishida Design [The Automata Blog]
John Brownlee
Great DIY laptop stand out of wire hanger
This Instructables guide to building your own egonomic laptop stand is just sublime: the only element this guy uses is a standard wire clothes hanger, bent into the appropriate angles and at the appropriate junctions.
I don't really know why I never thought of this: I've been using a Logitech Alto for years, and I'd still heartily recommend it as a fantastic all-in-one foldable stand/keyboard, but its the price of about 200 coathangers.
Ergonomic Laptop Stand Made From A Coat Hanger [Instructables via Engadget]
Joel Johnson
Video Review: Griffin AirCurve iPhone Dock
In short, it's bad. Don't buy it.
AirCurve dock product page [GriffinTechnology.com]
Rob Beschizza
Review: Phantom Force chess. Verdict: Kids will get a kick out of it
Phantom Force is one of those chess sets that uses magnets to move its own pieces. I always wanted stuff like this when I was a kid, and If I were still 10, I would be all over this thing.
As it is, it's a cool toy, but not much of a chess set: the gimmick gets in the way of the game. But as a way to get youngsters away from the dangerous outside world, it has its charms.
On top of the loud, grinding magnet mechanism hidden underneath the board's surface, it has sound effects, voiced warnings, and an integrated LCD display. The AI offers 136 levels of difficulty and is claimed to play at a 2000 Elo rating. You can set it to play certain opening lines, speak English, Spanish or French, and give you hints when you suck. It requires C batteries or the included A/C adapter.
It evokes The Turk, a fake chess playing automaton of the 18th century and one of science's classic hoaxes. But in its array of fruity sound effects (swords clashing, horses neighing, cannons firing) it also recalls the annoying computer game Battlechess, which was also funny the first time.
If you need the gimmick, go for it. If you don't, the same company's cheaper toys offer the same AI features for far less than Phantom Force's $249 retail price (It's cheaper at Amazon).
Here's some video of it in action.
Phantom Force [Amazon]
Joel Johnson
Panasonic G1 Micro Four Thirds camera reviewed (Verdict: Amazing, but wait to buy)
Pogue really likes the Panasonic G1, the first camera to use the Micro Four Thirds interchangeable lens system. And then he cautions not to buy it: "A monumental advantage of an S.L.R. is interchangeable lenses, and there are only two for the G1 so far." "Not to be an ingrate, but the G1 is not actually that small." And it can't do video.
It's worth a read, though, to hear all the tech that Panasonic has crammed into this camera. The format itself, odd duck in between point-and-shoots and proper DSLRs, may end up being a worthwhile addition to the ol' camera frop bog after all.
Pro Quality Without Reflex Lens [NYTimes.com]
Previously • New Lumix DMC-G1s are smallest cameras with interchangeable lenses
Joel Johnson
Margarator MSB-585: It's a fuckin' blender
The "Margarator" is a $110 blender with a spout on the front, designed to make margaritas and other frozen drinks — and only that. While I'm sure it pulverizes ice with the best blenders, I'm a little taken aback that something so specifically tailored for one purpose exists when a perfectly good multi-purpose equivalent is likely already in the kitchens of most potential customers.
But on the other hand, the MSB-585 — it's just one of many Margarators from Nostalgia Electrics! — has a car plug to let it run off DC power. Can your KitchenAid do that? (Asking "But why would I want it to?" is not allowed.)
I discovered this particular model via Margarators.com, a strange site that exists only as an index of various margarita machines.
Margarator MSB-585 catalog page [Barware.com]
John Brownlee
Robocraft Boxing Robots one up Rock'Em Sock'Em
Think of them as Rock'Em, Sock'Em Robots on wheels: Tamiya's constructable, DIY Robocraft boxing kit contains a contains a wired robot pugilist with only one function: to spurt hydraulic fluid, to knock servo-controlled blocks off, to see LED lights go dim under the bombardment of tin and plastic fists.
Rather expensive, unfortunately. Two will run you back $67, which is about $47 more than is reasonable.
Robocraft Boxing Robots [Tamiya USA via Technabob]
John Brownlee
Retro WTF: Where Cars Come From...
Laid as eggs by the shrill, nightmarish "Metal Bird", of course, then marketed and sold by a ghoulish, bowler-doffed transvestite. And that ghoulish, bowler-doffed transvestite's name was Henry Ford.
[via POETV]
Joel Johnson
Oprah, Amazon, and cockteasing
"What is Oprah's favorite gadget?" asks this video player on Amazon.com.
I don't know the answer because the 24-second clip never actually says. Thanks for making me feel doubly stupid for wanting to know the answer, Amazon.
I'll just go ahead and guess: I bet it's the Sybian. And there's one for all of you under your chairs!
Update: Oh, it's the Kindle. I guess I should have spotted that one, but I'm dense.
John Brownlee
DVD player in a Darth Vader head
Every once and a while, I have to purposely exfoliate the layers of callous that have built up on my soul and allow the entombed child within out to squee.
Curmudgeon that I am, my first thought when looking at this Star Wars Darth Vader television: "Pfft. Cheap tat. No way that 14-inch screen is high-def. And the integrated DVD player? Not even Blu-Ray. George Lucas can choke a dick: he truly has no shame."
But then I remembered the kid inside of me who would have creamed himself to a galaxy far, far away if he got this for his birthday. "Holy shit, dude. A television shaped like Darth Vader's frickin' head, with a lightsaber remote and a DVD player? Mother, consider my love successfully bought off for another annum."
$212, if you've got a child to send a-squee.
Star Wars TV/DVD with Lightsaber Remote [Geek Alerts]
Joel Johnson
Review: A few days with the T-Mobile G1, the first Google Android phone
When it comes to owning, using, or reviewing a gadget, there are really only two states: love increasing or love receding.
Products are not simply loved or hated, but appreciated over time on a scale which terminates with perfection at one extreme, failure to operate at the other. That scale can be broken down in any number of metrics, all of which are useless: what matters to the owner of a product is not where a reviewer, a single sample, has chosen to mark his opinion at an arbitrary point in time on the scale, but in what direction that point is heading. (And to a lesser and murkier degree, for how long that trend will continue.)
What's lost in the review — the direction of love — is critical. Like romantic love, a slide towards increasing love helps us overlook flaws, remember only the best aspects of our product's features, and gives the relationship between a product and its owner time to flourish and grow. Hidden delights will show themselves after a time, reinforcing the relationship, even as unaddressed incompatibilities might, after a measure, begin to tilt affection towards declination.
This vector of endearment is influenced before we even first crack open the package and hold a product in our hands; by discordant keening from a chorus of marketing harpies, by expectations of a deserved future, by hope born of past failures.
So, Android. Specifically: Android as it exists in its first outing, on the T-Mobile G1.
John Brownlee
Teacup with a CD as a saucer
Most enthusiast product designs fall somewhere between practicality and whimsy... usually closer to a Lewis Carrol-esque fantasy of the technology trade than anything else. This singing teacup concept by Jongmin Kim thoroughly falls under the Cheshire smile of gadget design: the obsolete compact disc is slotted into a saucer, with the tea cup its volume knob.
Singing Teacup [Yanko]
Joel Johnson
Quote of the Year
"But my complaints are meaningless in the grand scheme of things." – John C. Dvorak, PC Magazine]
Joel Johnson
Video: Emergency Party Button
While this implementation of a emergency party button that turns a living room into a seedy nightclub in just a few seconds is laudable, in a perfect world slapping that big red button would cause steel doors to shut instantly while mannequins drop from the ceiling, their faces painted like clown prostitutes while their limbs are herked and jerked by motorized wires. I didn't want to be invited to their stupid party anyway.
Emergency Party Button project page [Plasma2002.com]
Rob Beschizza
Floppy disk labels as gift tags
If you know someone who would appreciate them, it would be almost sinful not to tag their Christmas gifts with these clever floppy-style examples. They're $5.50 for a pack of 5, with 5 color choices. It's a bit pricey, given that you could just use the real thing for less, but they are at least printed on nice fancy card stock.
They also make similar items from old library cards.
floppy disc label gift tags [Feelfuzzy's Etsy store via technabob]
Rob Beschizza
iPhones on the Hill: Congress testing them. Update: Not.
Congress, an institution crafted to govern a country in a reasoned fashion unlike that of the rancorous British parliament, may soon prefer iPhones. According to The Hill, They're under testing by the House Chief Administrative Office to see if they are "suitable" for use by members and their staff. Here's Cult of Mac:
RIM’s Blackberry handhelds have been the communicator of choice in Washington since 2001 and today nearly 8,200 rely on a dedicated Blackberry exchange server to deliver email to people affiliated with the House of Representatives. “We’re trying [iPhones] out … because we heard a lot of people wanted the option to have them,” said Jeff Ventura, a spokesman for the CAO.
About Apple's rather swift displacement of RIM as the smartphone-maker du jour: is it being overblown? It might have sold more iPhones than Blackberries this last quarter, but that's a big hill to climb.
Update: Jordan Golson schools the 'net on the dangers of not checking sources: The Hill got it wrong, and we bloggers followed lemminglike in its wake.
iPhones Being Tested for Use by Congress [Cult of Mac]
Rob Beschizza
Quicktionary TS tells you what a word means
Wizcom's Quicktionary TS vaults us back, spiritually, to certain artifacts of the 1990s. Do you remember when "scanners" were Hand-held combs the size of frying pans, which one would have to carefully drag across the page being scanned? This $190 successor is much the same thing, but now has a more focused purpose—it looks up words and tells you what they mean—and is only the size of an adult forearm.
Quicktionary TS [Wizcom via Oh Gizmo!]
Rob Beschizza
Sunset at home
Adam Parker Smith's design for a giant lamp, with controllable brightness and hue, evokes much. But a sunset? Not so sure. Needs more birdies. Perhaps seeing the real thing, with moving clouds, makes all the difference.
Human controlled sunsets [Trendhunter]
John Brownlee
New York Times says search engines detecting unannounced Apple device
Appended to an otherwise standard write-up of Apple's recent quarterly earnings call, The New York Times' John Markoff dropped this bombshell:
That would seem to confirm findings that a search engine company shared with me on condition that I not reveal its name: The company spotted Web visits from an unannounced Apple product with a display somewhere between an iPhone and a MacBook. Is it the iPhone 3.0 or the NetMac 1.0?
It's not hard to believe that Apple is at least prototyping a netbook. But combined with Jobs' statement that the iPhone is Apple's netbook
Or, more likely, neither. As Gadget Lab's Charlie "Steal My Bike, Please" Sorrel points out, a Hackintosh netbook such as an MSI Wind would report itself as OS X 10.5.5 with a screen resolution of 1024x600... definitely "somewhere between" an iPhone and a MacBook's display.
Read My Lips: Apple is a netbook maker [New York Times via Mac Rumors]
* - A netbook needs to be the form factor of a traditional laptop, but shrunk down to the limits of comfortable usability. The iPhone is no more a netbook than a netbook is a PDA.
John Brownlee
Bedside table breaks apart into bludgeoning weapons
The Safe Bedside Table breaks apart into a bat and a shield for the rapid bludgeoning of a home invader. Yeah, okay, not bad, but a bit unnecessary: I deal with my home invaders (and, occasionally, groggily forgotten houseguests) by smashing cheap Ikea bedside tables over the backs of their heads, then crucifying them to the floor with the splinters until the police can arrive. Although I guess this is a bit better for fending off a zombie attack.
The Safe Bedside Table [Bauldoff via Slipper Brick via Gearfuse]
John Brownlee
Nvidia confirms discreet GPU switching and Hybrid SLI can be patched into new MacBooks
Apple's current method of switching between the dual Nvidia graphic chips in the new MacBook Pro is suboptimal at best. While Windows laptops with dual GPUs can discretely switch back and forth according to what the user is doing and if he's on his battery or plugged into a socket. Apple requires a manual switch accomplished with a log-off.
It was hard to believe that would stand for very long: it's the sort of cludgy solution Apple hates. And sure enough, Nvidia has confirmed with Gizmodo that the new MacBooks can indeed do on-the-fly GPU switching, they're just waiting for Leopard to catch up with the hardware. Better yet, the chips are also capable of Hybrid SLI, which might lead to a radical increase in gaming performance if Apple gets around to patching it in.
Gizmodo ends with a word of caution though: "But since it's Apple it's also entirely possible we'll never see any of this to come to pass—GPU-accelerated video decoding has totally been possible with the 8600M GT in the previous-gen MacBook Pros, and well, you know where that stands."
Confirmed: Apple can enable dual GPU and on-the-fly switching in MacBook Pro [Gizmodo]
John Brownlee
Fluorescent Hansel and Gretel system for firefighters
The Seoul Design Competition's grand prize winner was the Life Pebble device designed by Kim Woo-Sik and Jun Yoo-Ho of Konkuk University, which drops a trail of fluorescent pebbles behind a firefighter — much like a radioactive hamster — so he can easily find his way out of a smoking building.
Life Pebble [AVING via DVICE]
John Brownlee
Ultrasonic Eyeglass Cleaners for the filthy four eyed
I am notoriously bad about taking care of my glasses. At all times, I view the world through a milky carcinogenic sheen, as if a lung cancer patient just hocked a phlegmgobber in my face. I am not quite sure what the coating substance is made of, but I assume science would indicate it is roughly the same chemical make-up as the lubricant scraped off a necrophile's IUD. Regardless, philosophers would have a field day with them: slapping them on an infant at birth, they could then explore the boundaries of human imagination, asking the boy — as he grows up — if there's a way for him even to imagine a world not haunted by the phantasmal tarrish curlicues of my finger prints.
And when I do keep them clean? Say, with a microfiber cloth? Somehow, it is always covered with a thin coating of invisible diamond dust, which shreds them to bits.
So I really like this ultrasonic eyeglass cleaner. It's only $69.95, which is fairly cheap, and it appears to be the same device that my cute, Backstreet Boys loving optometrist uses after she tsk tsks at me and peels them with audible shlorking from my face.
Ultrasonic Eyeglass Cleaner [Hammacher Schlemmer]
John Brownlee
Build your own automated Ouija board
For Halloween, build a "haunted" ouija board that can spell out messages sent to it via serial device. I'd call it a DIY project except all Ouija boards are DIY... this one at least wears its scamming pedigree on its Dracula sleeve.
Animated Haunted Ouija Board [Instructables]
John Brownlee
Packard Bell comes up with clone netbook and perfect name
Packard Bell's first foray into the netbook market is basically the same as every other one out there: a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, a 3-cell battery, an 8.9-inch screen at 1024x600, a 160GB hard drive, even the 5-in-1 card reader. The price is even roughly the same as all the rest at €399 (expect $399 or lower when it's released in the States).
But I've got to hand it to Packard Bell in one regard: they've given their netbook a perfect name. The Dot. In a sea of hideously branded netbooks (the Eee PC, the Wind, the Mini 9) it just stands there, as button-cute as the punctuation mark that inspired it. And their press release metaphor — The Dot is to notebooks what the scooter is to cars — is absolutely adorable as well. Kudos!
Press Release [Packard Bell via Shiny Shiny]
Rob Beschizza
Socks for Cell Phones
Disney goes all out for baffling gadget promo of the year. "Socks for your phone" is a set of licensed socks, $15 a set, featuring characters like Eeyore, Minnie the Mouse, Tigger and so on. (Try promo code NL08081 for 10% off, it came with the spam)
Socks for your iPhone [Fun Friends]
Rob Beschizza
Pac Man shot glass set
Pac-Man shot glasses, from Namco itself. The game works like this: every time you are eaten by a ghost, knock back whatever your friends have put in the relevant ghost glasses. Eat fruit, and you sip from the corresponding glass. When Pac-man dies, guzzle from his own wee tumbler.
When you die, it's game over.
PAC-MAN COLLECTORS' SHOT GLASS SET [Club Namco via Fidgit]
John Brownlee
RGB Glasses: fluid-filled, color-changing specs
Portuguese designer Luis Porem created these neat, dye-filled RGB Glasses. Don't like the color? Simply pull out their drainage plug and filled it with another color. Of course, only Pescovitz could get away with wearing frames like this. Still, I look forward to seeing what a body modder can do with these: I imagine a set of RGB Glasses directly hooked into the circulatory system.
RGB Glasses [Design Spotter]
John Brownlee
Nintendo World Store has a hard drive Wii
While gamers wait for some sort of storage solution for the Nintendo Wii, the Wii kiosk in the Nintendo World Store in New York already has one... and it is amazing. Especially impressive is the fluid way in which clerks can browse through Wii titles pre-installed to the hard drive to demonstrate to customers. Nintendo: just figure a way to mass produce this and you've got your next Wii revision.
[via Kotaku]
Rob Beschizza
Free Halloween skin for Shuttle KPC owners
Shuttle, maker of attractive and reasonably-priced shoebox PCs like the K45, has a free Halloween costume for skinnable models. All they want is your address and serial number, and it'll be sent off in about a week, assuming you get in while supplies last.
Dress up your Shuttle [Shuttle]
John Brownlee
Google Gears adds WiFi geolocation
Google has just introduced a rather neat new feature in Google Gears: WiFi geo-location.
Essentially, the way it works is this. You opt-in for the service on Chrome, Internet Exporer, Safari or Firefox, with the usual privacy caveats (although Google denies recording your information). At that point, Google will automatically triangulate your position within "200m of accuracy" in hundreds of cities. This allows you to use location-based Internet apps with ease: for example, just go to a webpage and get nearby restaurant recommendations, or see promiscuous girls near you.
How's it done? Google's not saying, but Ars posits its much like existing WiFi positioning done by Skyhook, which works by sending fleets of vehicles with extra-sensivtive GPS and WiFi receivers driving around cities. This could be accomplished with Google's existing Streeview vehicles. From there, when you log-in, Google would simply compare the data of the WiFi hotspots in view of your computer with its database.
This is pretty cool. I'm a big fan of location-based apps on the iPhone like Nearby and would love to see more websites support this sort of thing. Let's see if Google makes any real headway with it.
Google Gears enhances geolocation with WiFi positioning [Ars Technica]
Rob Beschizza
Hangman lamp brightens day of the dead
Hand-made by enPieza! studio from corrosion-resistant iron, this lamp makes light of a gloomy subject. Once again, it's a one-off you can't actually purchase: doubtless a sanitized knockoff will appear in the Hammacher-Schlemmer or SkyMall catalogs soon enough!
The Colago table lamp [enPieza via Bedzine via Gadget Heat]
Rob Beschizza
The best steampunk goggles you have ever seen (through)
Yes, this is yet another "Awesome Steampunk Fashion Accessory" post, but this one is extra-splendiferous. Mike Brown's brass goggles have the leather bolted with tiny precision-engineered rivets to the eyeglasses. The leather itself uses a special tanning process specifically devised for headwear, and the leaf-aperture mechanism is designed to last 500 years.
They are not for sale.
Project page [Smugmug via Wired:Gadget Lab]
Rob Beschizza
iKey's newest Bluetooth keyboard has industrial anti-charm
Say hello to iKey's BT-87-TP, a brutally minimalistic industrial keyboard with a touchpad built in. Though it lacks a separate numeric keypad, it doesn't chop the function keys and has Bluetooth to keep the world wire-free. Two AA batteries keep it fed.
Hot or not? I say hot, of course, but not as hot as it would be if it was made of stainless steel. You won't be buying this easily, however, as you must submit a "quote request"—a sure sign that they're not interested in selling to consumers.
Key BT-87-TP [iKey via CG]
John Brownlee
The MK V Storm Watch
The MK V watch from Storm London is refreshingly gorgeous: a simple copper and black shell, with the face obscured by a throwing-star-shaped metallic sphincter which opens and shuts like the jet age occulus of a Bond villain's lair. The finish comes in black, slate or rose gold, and it retails for about $180.
Storm London MK V Watch [Storm Watches via OhGizmo]
John Brownlee
Mac vs. PC meets West Side Story meets Lucio Fulci
Don't let the finger snapping and crooning at the beginning fool you: what starts as a Mac vs. PC pastiche of West Side Story soon becomes an awesomely gory blood fest as jugulars are severed with MacBook Airs, iPod Nanos are used (Fulci-like) to puncture retinas, DVDs are used to vivisect skulls and brick-like Dell laptops to decapitate.
I only wish this was the way the real-life Mac vs. PC debate — so pissy and passive aggressive — would play out.
Not terribly safe for work, FYI, unless your office email ends in fangoria.com.
[via Giz]
Rob Beschizza
Jean Michele Jarre's speakers look like Star Wars trash cans
After a hard day crushing the rebellion, the discerning Moff should not settle for just any iPod dock. Jean Michele Jarre's Aerosystem is engineered to deliver superior sound quality in a form designed to match the luxury fittings found in officers quarters aboard the newest Star Destroyers — without compromising on features or volume.
An integrated amp tries to smooth out MP3 artifacts, blaster-proof glass ensures it won't crack easily, and it'll feed Emperor Palpatine's fireside chats directly to your iPod. What are you waiting for, admiral?
Stylish iPod-compatible Aerosystems loudpeakers [Born Rich via Gizmodo]
John Brownlee
Walking House... but barely
Okay, Dutch designer N55's walking house gets a limp, grudging clap for doing what it says, but really, I was imaging a New England gothic mansion scurrying across the New Hampshire hillside upon arachnid-like stilts. I mean, really, N55. I expect my walking houses to at least manage the 4 minute millimeter.
N55's Walking House Actually Walks [Treehugger]
John Brownlee
The Astonishing Tribe show off their other not-quite Android UIs
Swedish interface house The Astonishing Tribe are the design mavens who created the comme ci meh comme ca Android G1 UI, but they've got more ideas than just that. These aren't Android prototypes, of course, but it's interesting to see just how different a direction they could have gone if, for example, Google was an Asian phone company.
It's interesting to look at, but a lot of these concepts — for example, the Print UI or Business UI interface — look downright unusable.
The Astonishing Tribe [Concept Lab via Gizmodo]
John Brownlee
SurfaceWare lets bartenders know when you need more booze
Microsoft's Surface technology has mostly seemed like a rather outlandish prototype for interactive bar surfaces that will never been seen outside of the most repellant and gaudy of Las Vegas casino bars, but this feature of SurfaceWare still seems pretty neat. Sure, it's cynical technology aimed at allowing bartenders to get you to spend up more efficiently, but a bar surface that detects the level of alcohol in your glass and sends an electric shock into your bartender's biomechanically enhanced nerve clusters the moment your scotch is down to the last few drops would be useful, at the very least, for curtailing the usual passive aggressive staring and finger snapping of the rapidly dehydrating alcoholic.
SurfaceWare [YouTube via Engadget]
John Brownlee
Apple says netbooks are "nascent category" but they have "interesting ideas"
During Apple's quarterly sales call yesterday, Steve Jobs claimed that Apple wasn't ready to leap into the "nascent" netbook category yet, citing that "as far as they know" netbooks aren't selling very well. The good news, though, is if netbooks match whatever bizarro world success qualifiers Apple has set and "take off". Jobs claims Apple has "got some pretty interesting ideas."
I'd love to see an Apple netbook, especially since netbooks seem to run better on OS X than they do even on XP. It's a bit strange to hear Jobs say Apple isn't interested in diving into nascent categories, though. The iPod — the company's greatest success — was about as nascent a category as you can dream up when it first hit the shelves.
I think this is simply the caution of a comfortably entrenched but still imaginative powerhouse. When Apple released the iPod in 2001, Apple was just beginning its ascent from mediocre also-rans to one of the industry's most exciting companies... largely through the launching of bold new products. Apple is now sitting comfortable, and favors being revolutionary in design and features (the MacBook line, the iPhone) than by jumping feet first into new markets.
Apple has 'interesting ideas' for a netbook, but isn't ready [Gadget Lab]
John Brownlee
Android goes open source
Fulfilling the promise they made from the beginning, Google has released the source for Android:
Today is a big day for Android, the Open Handset Alliance, and the open-source community. All of the work that we've poured into the mobile platform is now officially available, for free, as the Android Open Source Project.You'll be hearing a lot about Android devices. We've all put a lot of effort into the first Android device, and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. But one device is just the beginning.
Android is not a single piece of hardware; it's a complete, end-to-end software platform that can be adapted to work on any number of hardware configurations. Everything is there, from the bootloader all the way up to the applications. And with an Android device already on the market, it has proven that it has what it takes to truly compete in the mobile arena.
Somewhere else, Joel said he's a bit cynical about Android, since "Google seems so unconcerned with the project." Hopefully, it being open source will make that unconcern irrelevant.
I don't know, though. I still have probably insane visions of a dual-boot, jailbroken iPhone dancing in my head.
Android is now available as open source [Official Blog]
John Brownlee
The death rattle in the Mac Mini's throat
According to Gizmodo, the Mac Mini's dead as a donkey. A dead one, I mean.
The Mac mini may be pronounced dead as soon as today's Apple earnings conference call, as two major retailers in Europe have confirmed to me that they can't order any more of the little computers. While this could signal an updated model coming in, they have been told by Apple to expect no more of it. Their impression is that—once again—the Mac Mini may be dead dead DEAD for real, even while you can still order it at the Apple Store.
I never bought one — for some reason, it being Apple's cheapest Mac somehow made it seem more over-expensive, not less — but this is still something of a shame, if only because I still think the form factor is gorgeous. And if I were sticking with an Apple only house, I'd still pick the Mac Mini as a theater PC over the Apple TV.
Apple stops Mac Mini shipments to retailers, says to expect no more [Gizmodo]
Joel Johnson
Video: Two firetrucks crashing
I like firetrucks. I don't like crashes. That is all.
Update: Bennyhillisation was requested in the comments. We live to serve. - Rob
John Brownlee
Sony PSP-3000 screen has ugly interlacing issues
The only toted advantage to the PSP-3000, the latest revision in Sony's PlayStation Portable line, is its more vivid, brighter, colorful screen. Brighter and more colorful it may be, but early user reports are hovering question marks like vultures above the "vivid" claim.
According to multiple users on the PlayStation forums, PSP-3000 owners are experiencing scanlines and ugly interlacing problems with a huge number of games... to the point that in a game like Disgaea (above), the PSP-3000's screen is noticeably inferior to the PSP-2000.
Sony's early response? It's a "feature." Worse, there are no plans to fix it with a patch, because it's not a "feature" of the software, but of the hardware.
In truth, until the PSP-3000 is hackable, there was little reason to buy one anyway. But messing up the 3000'S only advantage over more hackable models is a supreme FUBAR.
PSP-3000's screen has scanlines, games have odd interlacing problems [PSP Boards via Engadget]
Update: Sony Japan's full explanation:
PSP-3000 has a new LCD device with vastly improved picture quality, achieving a more natural and vivid picture than older models. By improving LCD response time to reduce ghosting, the horizontal-line phenomenon becomes more visible… Since this is caused by hardware characteristics, there is no plan to fix it with system software update.
Personally, I'd be happier with marginally less vibrant colors.
John Brownlee
Hang your living room from the ceiling with Gecko Glue
One of my favorite books as a child — hell, even now — was Roald Dahl's The Twits, about a horrible couple of ugly, smelly, hairy, nasty, bird-killing, cannibalism-aspiring, troll-like Brits. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone, but the finale of the novel involves a group of monkeys gluing all of the Twits furniture to the ceiling, prompting the Twits to believe they have been turned upside down and standing on their heads until they "compress" and eventually disappear.
I was always troubled by this scene. Certainly, it is common knowledge to the 4 year old that standing on your head too long will cause your organs to compress into your brain pan, and it certainly makes sense that this would eventually cause you to blink out of existence. But what super glue could possibly hold a couch, or carpet, or grand piano to the ceiling? Impossible!
Perhaps I should have been more credulous. I should have trusted Mr. Dahl: an admirer of Gustave Flaubert, Dahl is most often grouped in the school of 20th Century Literary Realists, and is not considered an author known for his gifts of hyperbole or exaggeration. Surely, when he wrote The Twits, he was thinking of Gecko Glue, which can can support 220 pounds of weight with one square inch. It can even be scraped off and re-used.
Of course, it's not available commercially yet, but I look forward to the day it is. Several horrible, smelly older relatives will be in for a surprise.
Sticky glue out-geckos the geckos [MSNBC via Crunchgear]
Joel Johnson
Motorola Aura fashion phone defines "mobauble"
Motorola today announced the "Aura", a peculiar high-end phone that is trumpeted as a piece of precision engineering. At its center is a circular LCD screen around which the top swings open on a "Swiss-made main bearing". Flip the phone over and a small window shows the gears turning.
Even though it's clearly being marketed as a luxury item, the Aura still has what is fair to consider as basic smartphone features: Email, audio and video playback, and all the Bluetooth connectivity you might desire. It's a quad-band model, but limited only to EDGE data speeds — not a huge deal since there's no web browser. (And who'd want to use one on that circular screen anyway?)
No price has yet been announced, but rest assured that it's pricey. I'm not knocked out by the overall designed, but elementally there's quite a bit of craftsmanship apparent.
Motorola Aura product page [Motorola.com via Phone Scoop]
Joel Johnson
Hardcore Computer Reactor PC puts videocards in mineral oil dunk tank
Previously the domain of adventurous overclockers, Hardcore Computer is now selling the "Reactor", a PC case filled with mineral oil in which videocards are submerged. Because oil absorbs heat better than air, the videocards can be overclocked far beyond what would otherwise be safe operating temperatures.
The price will vary depending on configuration, but a mid-range machine with dual GeForce GTX 260s will cost around five grand. Not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but not completely ridiculous considering the outre nature of the case, either.
Reactor product page [HardcoreComputer.com]
Related • Strip Out The Fans, Add 8 Gallons of Cooking Oil : Dousing Your Athlon FX-55 With Eight Gallons Of Cooking Oil? [TomsHardware.com]
John Brownlee
Lucky Charms Leprechaun Goes Goth: Rainbow-Colored USB Flash Skull Rings
There isn't a single thing about these USB skull rings that makes a lick of sense. Yes, I have been known to apply the pewter washer of an ineptly molded skull to the thick porkjam fingers of my youth, but not in a color scheme favored by, say, Glenn Danzig's gay doppleganger or a particularly emo Keebler Elf.
Then there's the skull design itself: surely, that puckering sphincter in the middle of the forehead must be the third eye itself, the human pineal gland, capable of viewing the eldritch things from beyond when properly stimulated by a dimensional resonator?
But then you look at the price: $145 for a 2GB flash drive. After the staggering, the throat clogged with unutterable WTFs, it all makes sense: the skull is meant to be the mirror X-Ray of its own buyer's coconut, and the "third eye?" The trepanation hole of the one person idiotic enough to buy it.
USB Key Skull Ring [Geek Stuff 4 U via Giz]
John Brownlee
The Lockwasher Imperial HD 700
Spotted in the MAKE Flickr pool, this gorgeously industrial macro cam created by Flickr user Lockwasher:
Introducing the new Imperial HD 700. Weighing in at a hefty 7lbs this Macro Lens monstrosity is ready for what every you can dish-out! From it's Frankenstein-ed shutter release to it's retractable stability sensored aluminum kick stand this baby's got it all and then some!
And the handle on the side makes it the perfect paparazzi knuckle duster.
new lockwasher "industrial strength" camera [Flickr via MAKE]
John Brownlee
Knife block kills bacteria with UV rays
It doesn't even have the charm of a $20 IKEA knife block made out of 90 percent recycled balsam pap, but this germ eliminating knife block by Hammacher Schlemer ciijs the e.coli off of your butchering utensils with a UV-C light that kills surface bacteria when the knife is inserted. And for the sort of ultra-germaphobes who stay awake late in the night, staring in the dark, contemplating the millions of protozoa sloppily fornicating in their mouths with existential horror, the block can even be set to automatically flash-fry your sheathed knives every three hours. $89.95.
Germ Eliminating Knife Block [Hammacher Schlemmer via OhGizmo!]
John Brownlee
Gateway MC-series laptops offer true 16:9 display at lousy resolution
Gateway's newly announced MC-series of notebooks are odd in a few key respects. Their 16-inch displays are toted as true 16:9, but that advantage is hobbled by a rather pitiful 1366x768 resolution. The keyboard is illuminated in low light conditions, but in jack-o-lantern orange. And each MC laptop weighs a thighbone-pancaking 7.1 pounds.
Otherwise, their specs are relatively impressive, especially for the price: Intel Core 2 Du processors, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650, HDMI out, four USB ports, 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. There's even a Macbook style seamless glass display.
The MC-series will be released this month at major retailers for $949.
MC-Series [Gateway]
Rob Beschizza
ZX Spectrum keys as jewelry
The ZX Spectrum was my first computer. It wasn't very good. It was a masterpiece of industrial design, though, so it's wonderful to see broken ones being put to good use by Customink at Etsy.
It is made from one of the geeky and bizarre keys of an old ZX Spectrum. For those of you unaware of this computer it was released in the UK in 1982 and bears similarity to the US Commodore 64. Most of the keys are covered in unusual commands and codes only really understood by the best 80s geeks.
It's sold out, unfortunately. You'll just have to wait for customink to destroy some more Spectrums!
ZX Spectrum ring [via Wonderland]
John Brownlee
New MacBooks have hardware h.264 decoding
According to Mac Rumors, the latest MacBooks might have an unannounced new feature: GPU-accelerated h.264 codec decoding.
According to anecdotal evidence, the new aluminum MacBook's processor runs around 75% slower when playing back 1080p movie when compared to a last-gen MacBook Pro with the Nvidia 8600M GT.
That makes sense: the MacBook's built-in 9400M chip is designed to support offloading video decoding to the GPU. But it's nice to see confirmation; more over, it seems to hint that we'll be seeing a lot more high-definition content on iTunes, sooner rather than later.
Apple Enabled GPU Hardware Decoding of h.264 [Mac Rumors]
Rob Beschizza
Wang's "King of Cigarettes" Cellphone
There is a certain kind of scotch that owners of Wang's King of Cigarettes XYW3838 should drink. Orange. Acrid. $10 a bottle. Details are available to the provincial westerner only through machine trans, but it seems to perfectly encapsulate the good taste behind this exemplar of Chinese industrial design.
Just look at it. ... Because of its shape, like a real cigarette case, the thickness of the fuselage reaches 24mm. ... that secret hiding place, so that users can place a few cigarettes, just like a real cigarette case. The use of inconvenience.
In addition to its obvious dual function of containing tobacco and making calls, the King of Cigarettes has a camera, a microSD expansion card slot and English language support. It is $1,380, but I'm not sure in whose dollars.
John Brownlee
The Typesonic: vintage typewriter turned noise machine
Diego Stucco's Typesonic, a vintage typewriter upon which clanging bass notes are QWERTilY plucked, is incredibly neat and wonderfully industrial. Sadly, I don't actually think the sounds produced are moree rhythmically hypnotic than the staccato sounds of the office typing pool, punctuated occasionally by an end-of-line brrrringing.
Diego Stocco: DIY Musical Machines [RetroThing]
John Brownlee
Firebox Cyber Clean gak for computer keyboards
I love the idea of cleaning my keyboard of my sloughed off skin, tobacco detritus and its subsurface race of magic nose goblins by pouring slime all over it. Canned air is just so much less fun. Still, I don't think I'll drop the $14 on the Gak-like Cyber Clean system. Oh, sure, it looks like fun, but I fear what the slime will look like when I finally peel it off: the congealed ectoplasm smegma of a poltergeist who has ejaculated into a brothel ashtray.
Firebox Cyber Clean [Firebox via Coolest Gadgets]
John Brownlee
Google scours Android Market of 3/4ths of its apps
As the Android G-1 begins falling into actual customers hand, the Android Market has suddenly been purged of almost 75% of its apps. According to T-Mobile, it's simply because Market has been updated, and the removed apps will be slotted back in when they are updated to the latest Market specs. Still, if you're a day one adopter, you won't have much to play with... although at least you'll be able to compare and contrast two competing weather apps.
Google removes applications just before launch [Android Community]
John Brownlee
LittleBigPlanet recalled over Quran quotes in music
Sony's upcoming world creation puzzler LittleBigPlanet was supposed to be released today. In fact, it's already getting rave reviews and blast-off penis rocketship videos. Yet bizarrely, Sony has made a costly last minute decision to delay the game by a week, recalling all existing copies and replacing them with freshly minted discs.
What predicated the recall? Apparently, a single Muslim gamer's forum post, in which he claims the game is offensive to Muslims because it contains a song with lyrics taken from the Quran.
From a business perspective, better safe than sorry, of course. Making a stand against the unreasonable expectations of religious extremists in the name of free speech is all well and good, but not worth the rumpus if the fix is simply replacing a song with lyrics with the same song's instrumental version.
But as Salon's Machinist blog takes note, what's truly absurd about this Little Big Planet recall is that the song in question was written and performed by devoted Muslim Toumani Diabaté, and can be easily purchased over iTunes. Moreover, Diabaté has a prayer room right next to his office and studio, and describes the Quran as a "deep and spiritual instrument." It's not just some lame doofus' pretension at multi-cultural profundity by cramming unrelated Quran quotes into a death metal song otherwise called "Jesus Christ Goat Fuck." It's a Muslim song, written and performed by a believer with the utmost respect for the faith.
What a stupidly drastic action for Sony to take for a non-issue, and a fantastic tale of knee-jerk sensitivity to one isolated voice's unthinking demand. The Machinist has a great write-up, including reactions from the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Sony recalls LittleBigPlanet over Quran quote in music [The Machinist]
John Brownlee
Pomera Digital Memo portable writing device does only that
Rob and I are both obsessed with the chimeric ultimate portable writing device. The idea is simple: essentially, it is a tiny, lightweight word processor with a low price, quick startup and incredible battery life that does nothing short of allow you to jot off a few pages of an article or short story no matter where you are. A sort of small, hardware-based Writeroom platform, really.
It seems like it should exist, but it doesn't: laptops are more fully featured but too expensive and netbooks fail on battery life. The idea, really, is far too specific to ever get any traction: like the Peek email client, it's the sort of gadget that would only be reviewed based upon the criterion of what it was never meant to do.
So I'm sort of captivated by this Pomera Digital Memo. It's exactly the device we are talking about: pocketable, with a full-sized folding keyboard, 2 second startup and 20 hours battery life. All you can do on it is type.
Unfortunately, it's still far too expensive at $269, so the search continues.
Pomera Digital Memo [King Jim via Engadget]
John Brownlee
The Calamente fork for spaghetti twirling
The Calamente fork features a sharp metallic thumb at its base, imitating the human hand for better spaghetti twirling. A canny evolution: why has it taken cutlery engineers so long to realize that I can twirl spaghetti far more gracefully by simply picking it up off my plate and whirling it rotor-like around my head for a few seconds than I can with that useless and pretentious gastronomic affectation, the fork?
I kid. I actually think this is pretty neat. I also like how it looks like some sort of Klington urethra gutting device.
Calamente [Official Site via Trends in Japan]
Rob Beschizza
Rubik meets rainbows with Magic LED Cube
I thought I'd gone to the limits. I hadn't. The Cenobites gave me an experience beyond limits... pain and pleasure, indivisible. And rainbows. Happy happy rainbows.
Source [Random Good Stuff]
Rob Beschizza
Android G1 Rap Song: "Ladies and gentlemen, you are now entering a mobile revolution."
Here is a fan-made rap video about T-Mobile's G1, and the Android operating system that runs on it.
A milli-yun here, A milli-yun there/Android phones for every continent, manufacturer n carrier/That day will come eventually… but til it does/I gotta go back to showin G1 Love
Android Rap Song: G1 Love [VIDEO] [Phandroid]
Rob Beschizza
Eye-Fi gets a Compact Flash adapter
Eye-Fi is an SD card with WiFi built-in, enabling it to upload photos to a computer or website whenever it can grab itself some bandwidth. Owners of older cameras will be pleased to see this $28 CF-to-SD adapter, claimed to be the only such device that actually works.
There are some warnings. First, it reduces the Eye-Fi's range to about 15 feet. Second, the read/write performance of the adapted card is diminished. Finally, they don't guarantee it will work for all CF-based cameras, offering only a short list of "proven" models, including Canon's EOS series, the Rebel XTi, and Nikon's D100.
CompactFlash Type II to Eye-Fi™ + Multi-Card Adapter [SynchroTech via CrunchGear]
Rob Beschizza
Microsoft Arc Mouse gleans good write-up
CrunchGear's Devin Coleway reviewed the strange, sexy Arc mouse. He liked it.
I think this is a great little mouse. It has an eye-catching look that doubles as a practical design for travel, and it feels good to use. The only problem is that it costs about $50, a good deal more than what most mini mice run for.
It uses its own RF dongle, relies on Microsoft's surprisingly unpleasant mouse manager software, and could be cross-promoted with a certain brand of unreliable German automobile. If nothing else, it's more interesting than the $12 travel mice at Walgreens.
Review: Microsoft Arc Mouse [CrunchGear]
Rob Beschizza
iKit, a no-nonsense media player that echoes the ol' Zaurus spirit
iKit is a little squared-off personal media player and web browser, packing WiFi, 128MB of RAM and a 312MHz CPU. VoIP video chat and instant messaging round out the deal proposed by maker Imovio, which tailored Qt Linux to its needs and to fit the little 2.8" display.
As Linux Devices suggests, it's very much like the Zaurus clamshells made by Sharp, long late of America's shores. This machine, however, will appear early next year for $175, with a touchscreen edition scheduled for fall 2009 and a more advanced follow-up in 2010.
Here's the trifecta of flaws that's making me doubt what otherwise looks like a great toy: no 3G, puny display, annoying keyboard.
Tiny clamshell PDA runs Linux [Linux Devices]
Rob Beschizza
Sony agreement lets it "record your activities" online and share data
Behold the unyieding, eye-hating red-on-black nightmare that is the Playstation Network's user agreement, a contract of adhesion for the ages. Should one wince as Sony's lawyers declare "you may participate in SCEA's online community" but only if "you give SCEA your express consent to monitor and record your activities?"
From the text:
However, SCEA reserves the right to monitor and record any online activity and communication throughout PSN and you give SCEA your express consent to monitor and record your activities. SCEA reserves the right to remove any content and communication from PSN at SCEA’s sole discretion without further notice to you. Any data collected in this way, including the content of your communications, the time and location of your activities, your Online ID and IP address and other related information may be used by us to enforce this Agreement or protect the interests of SCEA, its users, or licensors. Such information may be disclosed to the appropriate authorities or agencies. Any other use is subject to the terms of the applicable Privacy Policy.
The agreement also allows them to give your information to any unidentified third party it pleases, making clear that if you do not consent to this, you must not participate in the Playstation Network.
Let's face a fact: we, the users, habitually ignore EULAs. We don't even read them. Why? Because we know that they're mostly waffle, written by stone-faced lawyers to cover their employers' rears, and that it's extremely unlikely to ever bother us.
This, however, is entirely too much: agreeing to let someone record everything you do and share such information, simply to gain access to entertainment, is a bad idea. Sony's made it quite clear that in time, this service is going to be a content delivery system on par with iTunes and on-demand cable service; it is a contract you could genuinely come to regret signing.
Downright scary [Sony Insider]
Rob Beschizza
USB microscopes getting cheap
This USB microscope shuns the realistic style of its ilk for a more alien look. At under $100, it's not going to be lab-issue stuff, but I can imagine plenty of fun to be had with 100x zoom and the ability to record video, even if it is all just 1.3 megapixels.
Anyone know if these are any good?
White USB Microscope [SourcingMap]
Rob Beschizza
I hope you know about this suede notebook sleeve in time
WaterField already has new suede sleeves out, cut precisely to fit the new MacBooks. Great for anti-scratch, not so much for falls or unexpected use as a seat cushion.
The marketing pitch they sent was amusingly aggressive, given that it's just a $30 notebook sleeve: "Tech-savvy BoingBoing readers will want to know in time for the holidays."
Suede Jacket Sleeve [WaterField]
Joel Johnson
Eemobi: Latest crapvendor shows "strong man style"
Our own cha0tic (friend of the blog!) has discovered another fine Chinese crapvendor. It goes by the name of "Eemobi", and it is resplendent in its awkward English.
An example, as they pitch this somewhat intriguing cellphone watch:
The watch phone Watcha820 is the most masculine model in watch phone, the golden-black frame of the watch shows the strong man style! The beautiful 1.2inch screen with flat touch function, it also catches the trend with quad-band at the same time.
Watcha820 cellphone watch catalog page [EEmobi.cn]
Previously • What is a crapvendor?
Joel Johnson
Audio Technica ATH-CK100 earbuds cost more than most MP3 players
Audio Technica's new ATH-CK100 "in-ear monitors" (read: earbuds) claim to be the world's smallest and the world's lightest. That may not matter much when they cost around $560 — for that much money I'd want them to be made of an element heavy enough I could always feel its presence.
Instead the ATC-CK100s are made from titanium, have a frequency response of 20Hz to 18kHz, and deliver up to 113db at 23-ohm impedance. Which is to say: these things still cost half a grand.
Music Radar has a little more on the new earbuds, plus the latest across the new Audio Technica product line.
Audio Technica reveals 'world's lightest' earphones [MusicRadar.com]
John Brownlee
New iMacs coming for Christmas?
The Mac Rumors never stop, even when there's nothing to monger about... especially in regards to new Holiday iMacs:
While details remain scarce on what specific updates will be forthcoming, it is fairly safe to assume that no major design changes will be introduced, since the aluminum iMac has provided the template for the new look of the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and 24-inch Cinema display. Some sources, though not reliable, are suggesting a new 30-inch form factor that would retain the black-framed look.More likely, however, are internal upgrades for the existing 20 and 24-inch models, including processor bumps in keeping with the updated Montevina-based chips currently shipping in new MacBooks. Another likely change is the move to better, Nvidia-branded graphics cards in all models, replacing the ATI Radeon 2400 and 2600 HD cards currently in use. Nvidia has clearly become a supplier of choice for Apple, and their presence in all Apple notebooks provides strong evidence that we’ll see them in Apple’s desktops, as well.
Mini DisplayPort, the royalty-free new video connector present on all new Apple notebooks will likely also make the jump to the desktop in new iMacs.
The big question, of course, is not whether Apple will update iMacs. Natch. But what about Mac Minis? It's increasingly looking like that whole product line is being put out to pasture.
New iMacs Before The Holidays? [The Apple Blog]
Rob Beschizza
Coining a new word
Printbarrassment.
n.
A state of unease experienced by magazines when running reviews of obsolete products after they are no longer offered for sale.
"It's a little on the pricey side" — Entrepreneur magazine, reviewing the Palm Foleo, not available at any price.
John Brownlee
Here's How Celebrities Died: Seiko's Mid-80s Japanese Pinball Ad
Speaking of pinball, who knew so many rock and roll stars died in front of a pinball machine... at least according to this Seiko watch ad? Also, that Elvis Presley died while taking a crap upon the rear fender of a hot rod?
John Brownlee
Remote Controlled Pinball both novel and behind the times
It's testament to how static pinball technology has been that I can look at this upright pinball machine with attractively pod-headed robot and a fancy remote control and go, "Wow! Pinball while laying supine and flatulent upon the couch? The future is here." And then, without a trace of irony, pull out my DS to play a quick round of Metroid Prime Pinball.Except Metroid Prime Pinball costs $20, not $120.
Remote Controlled Upright Pinball Game [Hammacher via Geek Alerts.
John Brownlee
Perambulating spider bot keeps plants alive
I am incapable of keeping a house plant alive. My house is filled with the mummified fronds of plants as dessicated as if they had been french kissed by a race of vegetarian space vampires. I'm not really sure what I'm doing wrong: too much sun, not enough water, all vice versa? Who knows.
So I need this perambulating robot spider to follow the sun around the room. It is, perhaps, my only hope to ever have a lusciously verdant apartment, short of breaking out the plastic flora and stapling them to the walls. The only problem: on hungover mornings like today's, while sweating and jacttitating on the couch, a scene presenting itself like the animated GIF above would be far too close to my nightmare fever dreams.
Rob Beschizza
Review: a few hours with StarTech's Wi-Fi Detective
StarTech sent in its combo Wi-Fi detector and 802.11g stick, which you can pick up for about $50 online. A Wi-Fi detector when not plugged in and a USB wireless adapter when it is, the WiFi detective worked in both roles without any trouble.
Pros
• If you want quick WiFi network detection and have an old laptop with no WiFi, this is your dream gadget. You can find the best WiFi-bathed corner of the coffee shop without annoyance.
• Don't want to have that big obvious WiFi-less laptop open and running Netstumbler when you're doing whatever it you're doing? Here you go, wardrivers. Voila. Enjoy. It'll even tell you exactly what sort of encryption you're up against.
• Battery charges over USB.
Cons
• No Mac drivers.
Amusements
• Its software doesn't hide what it's doing. So if you enter an incorrect password or select the wrong sort of network, you can watch it report its failures, thrashing away like crazy trying to connect instead of having all that jazz hidden by a little "connecting" animation. I suppose the people that want this sort of thing know who they are.
Wi-Fi Detective: Wi-Fi Finder with LCD [StarTech]
Joel Johnson
Scientists discover Stone Age drug paraphernalia
From the Telegraph, describing finds made by archeologists in the Caribbean:
They found ceramic bowls, as well as tubes for inhaling drug fumes or powders, which appear to have originated in South America between 100BC and 400BC and were then carried 400 miles to the islands.We've taken drugs for even longer than that — the kykeon of the Eleusinian Mysteries was almost certainly narcotic if not psychedelic, as was the Vedic Soma — but I think the point is that at the same time the Greeks were getting sloshed on mystery juice there were more primitive groups of people using drugs, which suggests that equivalent use had been going on for thousands of years before.While the use of such paraphernalia for inhaling drugs is well-known, the age of the bowls has thrown new light on how long humans have been taking drugs.
Stone Age man took drugs, say scientists [Telegraph.co.uk via Dosenation]
Image: [Ponce.inter.edu]
Joel Johnson
MUG! keeps breakfast hooligans at bay
The "MUG!" is a cute porcelain mug with a knuckle duster for a handle. It's £12, plus shipping. (That's a lot of cash for a mug. I say wait until this shows up at your local Spenser's Gifts, provided those stores are still in business.)
Knuckle MUG! product page [Thabto.co.uk via Yanko]
Rob Beschizza
Apple and Psystar head for mediation. What does it mean? Not much.
Word of Apple ruminates on Apple and Psystar's decision to head into arbitration, and hence to evaluation and mediation, instead of a court trial. Most of it is concerned with correcting the ignorant assumptions that people keep feeding into their "What does it all mean?" speculations.
An agreement to participate in ADR (alternative dispute resolution) is not significant ... Apple has not agreed to forgo trial on this matter. It appears to me that some recent reports seem to mistakenly imply this is the case. Additionally, I believe a tempest in a teapot has arisen with regards to the fact that these proceedings will be secret. This also is not unusual. In my own job, which involves cases involving thousands to multi-millions of dollars, confidential settlement agreements through Mediation are commonplace and pretty noncontroversial. ... I would also bet on pain of being forced to use Vista for the next year that both sides already have conducted, or will be conducting, extensive private research on their own including, the use of trial psychology consultants and mock trials.
It is but the wind wiggling the fingers of the hand as it arcs in to deliver the slap. The more interesting question, World of Apple believes, is whether Psystar is some kind of patsy for a more well-organized Mac-cloning program.
In Brief: Did Apple Waive Its Right to Trial in the Psystar Suit? (Corrected) [WoA]
Rose Camelia by Nigoro
Rob Beschizza
Fujitsu ultraportable gets power-up
Fujitsu's P8020 is just an update, bumping the powerful 12" ultraportable's specs (320GB hard drive or 120GB flash and a faster CPU, but no 3G), but I just can't get enough of the nearly bezel-free sides on that display. Check our review of the P8010; the new one's differences to it will be minimal.
Where you might notice a new breath of life is gaming: the GMA 4500 is a stronger beast than the X3100 the older model had. The P8020 will be $1,800 from November.
LifeBook P8020 Notebook (Mug not included) [Fujitsu Direct via itech and SlashGear]
Rob Beschizza
Intel MID design actually exists—as a prototype. Sort of.
Intel's design for a mobile internet device, or MID, isn't new. It's been cropping up on stage for months. Now, however, they've got a prototype, albeit one that doesn't actually look like the render you see here.
What I like most about it is the fact that it's weird. It'll never exist as a consumer product, mind you: this is all pure reference design marketing.
IDF gallery [Flickr]
Press Release [Intel via Engadget]
Joel Johnson
Action Mobil Globecruiser adventure vehicle
All I've ever wanted out of life was several dozen attendants at my call, a longbow that shoots swords instead of arrows, and a hardened mobile vehicle in which I can travel around the wastelands. While I'm working on the first two (I keep losing swords in the neighbor's hedge or my servants), the "Globecruiser 2008" from Austria's Action Mobil is a nice candidate for my rolling fortress.
The 6x6 chassis is powered by a inline-6 turbodiesel that sip from two fuel tanks that can hold a total of 219 gallons. A 960-Watt solar system keeps a bank of batteries charged, while a 154-gallon water tank can be used for the outside shower or indoor toilet.
The Globecruiser is $670,000 — globe not included.
Globecruiser brochure [pdf] [ActionMobile.at via Oh Gizmo! via Born Rich via Squob]
Previously • EarthRoamer XV-JP: Live-Aboard 4x4 Solar and Diesel Jeep
• Madiba Adventure Truck
• Sportsmobile Ultimate Adventure Vehicle: In a Van, Down In the River
• Ten Post-Apocalyptic Survival Vehicles
Rob Beschizza
A shrine to Luddite.com
This weekend, it was noted that our love for wooden gadgets will never be the same: they are now making plastic ones with wood-grain stickers.
Commenter Ted Johnson points to another sadness: Luddite.com is no longer the wonderful fake Wooden Computer parody site it used to be. He has a tribute to it up at his own site, and archive.org has a snapshot from the good old days—before it was made real by others, and finally knocked off by the crapvendors.
Remembering Luddite.com [Half-hearted Fanatic]
Joel Johnson
The Self-Balancing Unicycle
Focus Designs has created this actually-rather-holy union between a Segway and a unicycle. They've called it the "Self Balancing Unicycle" and claim that it's about "half as difficult" as riding a regular unicycle. I wouldn't expect these to start tearing up college campuses anytime soon, but if you're a halfway-decent unicyclist and have an interest, they're selling a limited production run of ten for $1,500 apiece.
Self-balancing unicycle product page [FocusDesigns.com]
Joel Johnson
Digital Performance Eyewear from Gunnar Optiks: When future.jpg is so bright...
I hate being dismissive of a product I've never used (really), but I can't help but cringe a little at the buzzwords that abound in the press release for the Gunnar Optiks "Digital Performance Eyewear" glasses, a line of $100 to $190 glasses that claim to reduce eyestrain when viewing LCD panels.
• diAMIX™ lens material offers an optically pure viewing experience with ultra-light, ergonomic properties;Those $10 polarized fishing shades you can get at the local Bass Pro might not have four trademarked technologies, but I suspect they do just about the same thing.• iONik™ lens tint takes artificial light and precisely tunes it to the physiology of the eye;
• i-Fi™ lens coatings capture good light from digital screens while filtering out glare and reflective light; and
• fRACTYL™ lens geometry mimics nature to aid the natural focusing power of the corneal lens and creates a preferential ocular microclimate.
Press release [PRNewsWire.com]
Company page [GunnarOptiks.com]
Joel Johnson
Angel and Devil earbuds
Green House, the same design group that sells those fantastic pig-shaped earbuds, has started selling these somewhat-less-fantastic "Angel and Devil" earbuds. They're cute, but not as cute as pigs.
They're technically Japan-only, but CrunchGear suggests an importer will be selling them for $30 or so.
Angel and Devil: New strange earphones from Green House [CrunchGear]
Joel Johnson
Cue shower clock reminds you to check your breasts for lumps
The "Cue" is a $30 waterproof clock, fitted with a suction cup and meant to be stuck on the wall of your shower. Its main purpose in life is to remind you to check your breasts for lumps — seven days after the end of your menstrual cycle, or every thirty days if you're irregular — but it also serves as a simple clock and timer.
I'm all for regular breast exams. And certainly being reminded while you're in the shower, already naked and ready to squeeze, makes sense. But couldn't you just set up an email reminder from one of the dozens of services around? Or put in a reoccurring appointment in your phone? It wouldn't happen in the shower, but it wouldn't cost thirty bucks, either.
Cue breast exam clock product page [AvieCue.com via ChipChick via Coolest-Gadgets.com]
Joel Johnson
ReMake It! kit turns wine corks into trivet
Tiffany Threadgould's "RePlayGround" sells three fun "ReMake It!" kits that let you turn trash into stuff you can use: there's a Magazine Stationary kit that gives you stickers and templates to turn glossy mags into envelopes and postcards ($5); a Wine Cork Trivet [pictured] for $13, perfect for keeping hot plates off the counter; and the $40 Bottle Lamp, designed to turn six soda or beer bottles into a kitschy tabletop light. [via Core77]
Joel Johnson
Video: Steve Jobs addresses NeXT, 1990
John Gruber dusted off these videos from the 1990 in which Steve Jobs gives a "chalk talk" to his employees at NeXT. There's plenty of interest: the slightly less cautious speaking style of a Jobs two decades younger; the apparent inability for NeXT to cater to a fledgling market in a fight against Sun (a market which sounds an awful lot like the modern Macintosh marketplace); the complete absence of any mention of the internet, despite NeXT machines' great networking capability. This last bit is understandable considering the time, but still very odd. Twenty years ago we were excited just to get computers talking to each other within the same building, never mind always-on persistent worldwide networking.
Joel Johnson
A little more about Motorola's upcoming Android phone
BusinessWeek has pried a little information out of Motorola about their upcoming Android-based phone, which will have " an iPhone-like touch screen, a slide-out qwerty keyboard, and a host of social-network-friendly features". Sources describe it as a slightly higher-end version of the HTC-built T-Mobile G1, except with a price point even lower.
If the first wave of Android phones all launch with similar hardware feature sets it wouldn't break my heart. My biggest fear with Android is that the hardware across different manufacturers will vary so much that third-party software won't work consistently across the platform. And for all the minor complaints about the G1's size, there's much to recommend a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for a social networking and instant messaging device.
Motorola Readies Its Own Android Social Smartphone [BusinessWeek.com]
Joel Johnson
Morning tech deals highlights
• All-in-One PC – Dell XPS One, refurbished, starting at $554, shipped. Prices will vary depending on configurations. These reviewed well enough when released, but are now about 1/5th the cost. [Slickdeals]
• Earbuds – The popular Sony Fontopia MDR-EX51LP headphones can be had for $20 at Amazon. Maybe toss in a $15 Leatherman Micra multitool (or anything else over $5) to get free shipping. [Dealhack]
• Binoculars – Pentax Whitetails Unlimited 10x50 binoculars for $40, down from $100. [Dealhack]
• HDTV – LG Scarlet 37-inch 120Hz 1080p LCD HDTV for $900, shipped. About $200 off others' prices. [Dealnews]
• Headphones – Beyerdynamic Pro DT-770 headphones for $120, shipped. About 1/2 price. The reviews are almost universally effusive. [Dealnews]
• Bluetooth Headset – Today's wWoot is the Plantronics 222 Bluetooth Headset for $15.
Rob Beschizza
Review: a weekend with Dell's Inspiron Mini 9
Dell's netbook, the Inspiron Mini 9, doesn't feel like a compromise. Unlike the cheapest EeePCs, and even low-end UMPCs, the computing experience is neither frustrating or unduly limited. You don't have to check expectations at the door.
Of course, it is a compromise for those who expect it to replace a desktop PC or a high-end notebook. Performance-intensive applications like Photoshop will be painful; recent video games will be pathetic, should they even run at all.
Day-to-day work, however, ran smoothly. Multiple browser tabs with a handful of idle apps and iTunes chugging away didn't become a trudge. Its combination of a 1.6 GHz Atom CPU and a gig of RAM built up enough steam to handle the basics.
Other features include up to 16GB of flash storage, 3 USB ports, 100Mbit Ethernet, 802.11g and an 8.9" display set to 1024x600 pixels. It's about 10 inches long and 7 wide.
I've yet to use the MSI Wind, which I'm quite certain is the equal of this machine. But it's also a little larger, at least in the U.S., and it, like Asus' mainstays, lack something else the Dell has: style. It's come a long way from the dull design that used to characterize its output. While the Mini 9 is no better (or prettier) than the Mini-Note, HP's extras, like an ExpressCard slot and 802.11n, make it much more expensive. The Dell can be had for under $350, though you shouldn't get any computer with less than 1GB of RAM.
Moreover, the Mini-Note comes with Suse or Vista, both less appetizing than Dell's choice of Ubuntu or XP.
Hacking possibilities also abound with the Inspiron Mini 9. Getting OSX on it is reportedly not difficult, and it has an empty slot for a 3G Wireless adapter. Though it is disabled, it's easy to snap in a generic Novatel WWAN card and get your show on the road. Vodafone plans to offer Mini nines with cards (and 2-year service contracts) pre-installed.
Personally, I'd like it to be even smaller. Next to an EeePC900, which has the same-size screen and a dinkier keyboard, its swooping curves seem rather bulbous.On the other hand, it feels sturdier and somewhat better-made as a result.
One caveat is the keyboard layout: it doesn't have dedicated function keys, and the apostrophe/quote key is in an odd spot.
Later today, this machine gets mailed off, and I'm sad to see it go. Bought as a gift for my nephew and reviewed en passant, it almost stayed right where I wanted it: in my possession.
$429 as reviewed — Mini Inspiron 9 [Dell]
Rob Beschizza
A MAME cocktail cabinet that actually looks nice
With the "Optime Strategies" table, a display-topped computer with proper arcade controls, the "acceptable in the living room" quotient of old-school gaming takes a giant leap forward.
The table is designed as a complete reproduction of the original arcade 'cocktail' tables of the eighties. Rather than housing the original hardware and software however, it contains a high-spec PC. The PC is wired to standard arcade joysticks and buttons, and completely emulates the original games using ... MAME.
That testicle-crushing £3000 price tag is the bad news, though they'll customize it to your desires.
It's always fun to see the disclaimers offered by those who commercialize MAME. "Optime Strategies does not condone in any way the illegal use of copyrighted software" indeed.
Arcade Memories [via Born Rich]
Rob Beschizza
New Prius photo leaked
As Nilay Patel aptly puts it, "yep, looks like a shoe."
2010 Prius Photos posted on PriusChat First! Confirmed real! [Prius Chat via Engadget]
Rob Beschizza
A mouse to match the dashboard of your grandfather's 1978 Lincoln
Here is a $12 plastic mouse with a woodgrain texture. Isn't it lovely?
USB Wood Grain Optical Mouse [GizFever via GadgetHeat]
Rob Beschizza
Rumor: Snow Leopard to have rewritten Finder
AppleInsider reports on what it thinks is coming in Snow Leopard: a new finder rewritten in Cocoa (the current one being the last remaining Carbon component of OSX), as well as rewrites of the Apple-authored apps that come with the system; Microsoft Exchange support; and multiple boot partitions.
In other words, nothing sexy: Snow Leopard is mostly about the technical elegance that leads to stable and reliable computing, which is exactly what we wanted. For great justice!, etc.
Apple's Snow Leopard to sport Cocoa Finder and ImageBoot [Apple Insider]
Rob Beschizza
New MacBooks have less battery power — but lower usage, too?
GDGT's Ryan Block spots something that didn't crop up at Apple's MacBook presser last week. The new batteries offer 4700mAh instead of the last generation's 5600mAh.
I’d estimate that the integrated NVIDIA chipset and ever more behind-the-scenes power-saving techniques are why Apple is claiming such solid life despite killing a fifth of the machine’s energy supply — but a 20% reduction is still no small number
My last-gen MacBook Pro actually reports 6040mAh on a full charge, perhaps because it's the 17" model. Oh, for the day where we stop having to worry about whether a laptop can even get as far as lunchtime.
New MacBook Pro: now with 20% less battery power [Ryan Block]
Rob Beschizza
Procedurally-generated shadow magic
I tricked myself into forgetting, over the years, why I stopped climbing over the garden wall. On summer afternoons I used to wander the woods that stretched for miles behind the row of Victorian houses where I grew up. Lost in thought and childhood fancy, it was as if the hours simply disappeared.
In the late 1980s my family left town, and so I left my hideaways for the last time. And yet with every breath, I always knew a part of it never left me. High school, college, the best years: it rose from the depths in paintings and poetry, in dreams. Was I trying to cure myself? I don't remember dreaming of them, those who gave me this gift.
No matter. It is here now, spreading from my shoulders and arms and the back of my hands. It started, I later discovered, the very weekend when developers cleared that old stretch of Clapham wood: an itching in the bones, the scent of wet leaves seeping from my pores.
Why hide it? It's beautiful. And when it takes me, so shall I be.
Inner Forests: An interactive shadow installation [Michael Kontopoulos]
Rob Beschizza
Fit a Logitech wireless mouse dongle in your Dell Mini
Strider_mt2k explains, at My Dell Mini's forums, how to hack a Mini Inspiron 9 to contain a Logitech RF dongle, but without permanently soldering it in place. Anyone who has ever used a BlueTooth mouse will understand why one might do this.
I received a Dell Mini yesterday, but it's a birthday present for my nephew. Unfortunately, I have already fallen in love with it.
Internal Logitech Nano Receiver Modification [My Dell Mini]
Rob Beschizza
OLED-screen cell phone design speaks truth to complexity
This Nokia Aeon-like concept sketch, by Mac Funamizu, demonstrates how a phone with an OLED-wrap display could look. It is, as Unplggd remarks, the "IPhone Nano You've Always Wanted"; but that is really just a way of saying that it's a minimalist design that hits all the right notes.
The most remarkable thing about it is how it solves unremarkable needs. It imagines technology that makes design simpler: if such display technology was implemented, LCD screen frames and bezels would not only become unnecessary, but immediately seem like pointless ornamentation.
Just a Sketch: Mobile Phone [Mac's website via Yanko and Makezine]
John Brownlee
Mother 3 English Patch Released!
Mother 3 — the long awaited sequel to the SNES RPG masterpiece Earthbound — has finally been translated into English thanks to the plucky efforts of the Starmen.net translation team.
This has been a longtime coming. Earthbound (otherwise known as Mother 2, and the only Mother game to be released in the States) was released in 1995, and ended on the whiff of a sequel, but Mr. Saturn's Japanese drooglings didn't get to see Mother 3 until 2006, when it was unceremoniously released in Japan.
It was bad timing for an American release: the original, while a cult classic, did not sell well, and the game came out at the very end of the GBA's life cycle. But the Mother 3 Translation Team has been toiling away for the last two years, posting regular blog updates along the way, describing the challenges of hacking the non-conventionally programmed game and translating the quirky text into English.
The process for patching the game is simple: you will need to have a Mother 3 ROM (presumably — but, you know, not necessarily! — from your own legally imported copy of the game) and download the Translation Pack, which contains a one-step patching program for Windows, OS X and Linux. It's really very elegantly done. And make sure to read the translation notes: they're fascinating.
I've been waiting for about thirteen years for this. I'm positively giddy: instead of a weekend spent grinding through a stack of newly arrived Xbox 360 games, I will be lying prone on my couch, taming spiteful crows, battling zombies and hippies, chasing magic butterflies and dodging the incoming charges of Rhinorockets. Who'll be joining me?
Mother 3 Fan Translation Project [Official Site]
Joel Johnson
Putin's satellite-tracked dog not a harbinger for anything
Oh, Russia.
It's not like we don't have GPS-based dog collars here in the US. It's just somehow funnier when used by the ex-head of theMOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's black labrador dog, Koni, Friday was given a collar that will allow her master to track her movements by satellite. ... "She looks sad," Ivanov said. "Her free life is over."
"She is wagging her tail. That means she likes it," Putin said.
Putin's dog gets a satellite collar [Reuters.com] (Thanks, Brendan!)
Rob Beschizza
Blender Defender terrifies cats that dare approach the kitchen counter
This gentlemen maintains a video collection of his cat's attempts to leap onto his kitchen counters. As he has devised an apparatus that effectively dissuades the cat from doing so, all of them have the same ending. The Blender Defender [Plamsa 2002 via Make]
Rob Beschizza
Pedometer RPG
Bandai proves that no gadget is too simple or everyday not to contain a role-playing game. Its latest example is a pedometer game that comes in two forms: one based on Star Blazers and the other on 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother. Walk, level up, walk, level up ... It's just like Diablo, except you mindlessly exercise a different part of the body and it is not fun.
It's $45 and will hit the online stores in time for Christmas.
Rob Beschizza
Cellphone face rashes caused by nickel sensitivity
Does the flesh on the side of your face bubble and melt whenever you take a call? You might have contact dermatitis triggered by nickel, a common component in cell phones' casing. From Reuters:
"It is worth doctors bearing this condition in mind if they see a patient with a rash on the cheek or ear that cannot otherwise be explained," it [the British Association of Dermatologists] said. ... Many doctors were unaware mobile phones could cause the condition.Safety concerns over mobile phones has grown as more people rely on them for everyday communication, although the evidence to date has given the technology a clean bill of health when it comes to serious conditions like brain cancer.
Nickel is present in 10 of 22 popular handsets, Reuters reports, but it doesn't chance to name them. As a result of this report, BBG recommends that you immediately stop eating cell phones until the Chinese government takes action.
Joel Johnson
There's no way the "FlashPoint ES Mini-Microwave" is real
According the Book of Joe, this little blip ran in the Financial Times "How to Spend It" magazine. (I don't read the FT on a regular basis, so I don't know if that's a regular addition or what.) It describes the "FlashPoint ES", a portable, unshielded "mini-microwave".
It has to be a hoax. Even if you could get a little magnetron in a battery-powered device, who in their right minds would sell a directional microwave wand?
The only references I can find online stem from Joe's scan of the article, so I'm going to just presume the FT got duped by a clever jerk and go see if that block of chocolate I left on my tabletop uranium slab has turned into hot cocoa yet.
FlashPoint ES Pocket Mini-Microwave [BookOfJoe.com via Oh Gizmo!]
Rob Beschizza
Automatic Accordion
Whether it's for the love of automata, or simply a desire to horrify passers-by with unpleasant Bavarian folk music, Hohner's Magic Organa has got you covered. Check it out at the excellent Automaton Blog.
Joel Johnson
Line 6 POD Studio USB interfaces for guitar players (and their guitars)
Line 6, makers of a variety of virtual amplifier modelers and other nifty hardware for guitarists, is pushing out a new like of interfaces called the "POD Studio", all of which support high quality audio input over USB.
The main difference in the models (of which there are three) seems to be in the number of inputs that are available. The GX has a single quarter-inch input; the UX1 adds an XLR input and a headphone out; the UX2 [pictured] gives two quarter-inch inputs, two XLR inputs, a headphone out, and a couple of analog gauges and four big, cranky knobs. They're $140, $210, and $280, respectively, and each comes with the basic version of "POD Farm", a software guitar and amp modeling package.
I've got a big ol' Kustom amp and cabinet in my room on loan from a friend, but I hardly ever plug it in these days. It's been me, an interface box (I use FireWire), headphones, and software modeling for years. Oh, and a guitar.
POD Studio product page [Line6.com via Electronista via Engadget]
Joel Johnson
Easiest to Read digital scale with high-contrast LCD
This "Easiest to Read Digital Scale" is actually quite attractive in its way, with a massive LCD display on the right that stays displayed for ten seconds after you step off the scale. It's designed for oldsters, I'm sure, but I think it'd work fine in most bathrooms.
I also like how the icons indicate options for Batman, Elf, Pizza Server, and Trap Hole Salesman. That should cover all the bases.
It's a hundred bucks, about three times as expensive as it should be.
Easiest to Read digital scale catalog page [Hammacher.com via Oh Gizmo!]
Joel Johnson
Deutsche Optik, interesting military surplus collection at fair prices
I love me some European army surplus, but the days of finding loads of inexpensive Baltic pants for a tenner is pretty far gone. Too many people like it and the supplies are dwindling. However, Deutsche Optik manages to have a very nice selection of vintage surplus, both clothing and gadgetry, and their prices aren't that bad.
Unless you buy the "Carl Zeiss-Jena Rangefinder Observation Binocular EM-61-P", which is now on sale for just $500. And heck, that might even be a good price. I'm not exactly versed in the ways of WWII-era optics.
There's also poison flasks, bronze busts of a young, possible deformed Yuri Gagarin, and Swiss Army Carrier Pigeon Message Belly-Packs.
Army Surplus catalog [DeutscheOptik.com] (Thanks, Ricardo, you marvelous bastard!)
Rob Beschizza
Tech titans head to Fairey land
Cult of Mac's Lonnie Lazar gives Mr. Jobs the Fairey treatment, and starts assembling a gallery of tech-themed works. Go contribute while the meme's hot! (Here's mine)
Joel Johnson
Morning tech deals highlights
• 120Hz HDTV – Very nice Samsung LN46A630 120Hz 1080p 46-inch LCD HDTV for $1300, shipped. About $300 off. You'll find cheaper televisions of the same size, of course, but perhaps not the same visual quality. Or so I've heard — I've never used it! [Slickdeals]
• Tough Radio – I don't know that this is a great product of even that spectacular of a deal, but the factory-reconditioned Bosch PB10-CDR-RT Power Box Advanced Job Site Radio is one tough-looking motherfucking radio. I bet if you try to play anything but Sepultura on it waits until you go in to inspect its malfunction then explodes in your face, you big sissy. [Amazon via Dealhack]
• Refurb MacBooks – If you're not a total toolbag who went out and bought the new MacBooks right after they came out (cough) then there are some excellent deals on fast, last-gen MacBook Pro laptops at the Apple Store. 2.4GHz model, for instance, for $1350. (Refurb Mac Mini, too.) [Dealhack]
• Refurb Rack Systems Dual Xeon 2.66GHz barebones erver for $91, shipped. [Dealnews]
• Windows Smartphone – Unlocked HTC Touch Diamond smartphone for $500. A Windows fan favorite. [Dealnews]
• Car GPS – Garmin Nuvi 650 Portable GPS for $200, shipped. About $20 off. [Dealnews]
• Annoying Clock – Flying rotor alarm clock won't shut up until you replace the flying plastic bit. It's $12, but what price self-hatred? [Dealnews]
• RUSH! – DRM-free album Permanent Waves for one god damn dollar. "Spirit of Radio" is worth at least $10 by itself. [Dealnews]
• microSD – Today's Woot is a 4GB micoSD card with a SD card converter for $11, shipped.
John Brownlee
Wiimote enabled whammy bar
Rob Morris' Wiimote hacked guitar is extremely cool: he's able to use the built-in accelerometer as a pitch-changing whammy bar by simply raising or dipping the guitar, and he can pull off even more fantastic sounds by pressing the Wiimote's face buttons. And then, of course, there's the fact that his band is called Vivian Darkbloom, making him — at the very least — Humbert Humbird's new favorite musician.
Wiimote Guitar Effects Control [Hack A Day]
John Brownlee
Samsung's Digital Frames include USB monitor support
Samsung's series of LCDs scratch the same itch as yesterday's MIMO mini-displays. Connect them via USB to your computer and even without a spare monitor port, you can extend your desktop by between eight and ten diagonal inches. That's not enough screen real estate to do anything spectacular with, but it is a nice little digital corral for IM contact windows, system monitoring widgets, PhotoShop tool boxes and the like.
What makes the Samsung more interesting than the MIMO, though, is that acting as a USB mini-display isn't its primary gigs: these are actually digital frames, featuring 1GB of internal storage and a built-in memory card slot. The mini-display functionality is just a nice little perk.
The 800x600 8-incher goes for around $142 while the 1024x600 inch 10-incher costs about $204.
Samsung Digital Frames Double As A Second PC Monitor [Technabob]
John Brownlee
New Lumix DMC-G1s are smallest cameras with interchangeable lenses
Panasonic's recently announced line of Lumix DMC-G1 cameras promises to be the smallest camera yet with support for interchangeable lenses.
It's an intriguing little camera, somewhere between a DSLR (which it ain't) and a point-and-shoot. The camera itself packs 12.1 MegaPixels, a high-res viewfinder, a fast autofocus and a focal-plane shutter. It will come with a Limix G Vario Vario 14-45mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S lens, with a zoom lens and an adapter capable of fitting any Four Thirds lens you might already own sold separately.
They're certainly attractive little cameras with their red, black and blue chassises. I'm intrigued: I've been considering making the foray into the realm of DSLR, and the Lumix DMC-G1s look like a decent segue from the point-and-shoot world I know into perfectly focused pastures beyond.
Still, I'd be paying a hefty price for that slow immersion: at $800, the Lumix DMC-G1 is a few hundred dollars more than some entry level DSLR options.
Lumix DMC-G1: World's Smallest Camera With Interchangeable Lenses Priced at $800 [Gizmodo]
John Brownlee
Dr. Photon's excellent DIY spacesuit
MAKE spotted this fantastic space suit built by Flickr user dr_photon as a prop for a short film about a damn spaceman who refuses to get off a couple of ornery home owner's lawn. The film's cute, but it's really the space suit that impresses: with a couple glow sticks shoved up the spine and some spatters of red nail polish , this would make a great Dead Space costume for a Halloween gamer.
John Brownlee
Laser-etch your morning brew
An excellent morning project, courtesy of tonx and espressoparts: the laser-etching of green coffee beans.
laser bean [tonx]
John Brownlee
"PlushieBots, roll out!" Mickey Mouse Transformer
This unpainted Optimus Mickey prototype won't ship until next year (although you can pre-order it for $44.99 now) but it's certainly pretty neat, even if it seems that Mickey's transforming action makes him less an Autobot than an auto-fellator.
Mickey Mouse Transformer [Big Bad Toy Store via Nerd Approved]
John Brownlee
Amex's Blu-Ray SuperDrive for MacBooks
Blu-Ray may indeed be — to half-remember Steve Jobs brilliantly vivid metaphor — "a veiny, swollen sack of torsion-twisted hurt," but that's not to say consumers don't want that particular stiletto ground. Amex's portable Super Multi Drive stuffs a Blu-Ray drive capable of burning single layer BD-RE/-R discs, as well as standard DVDs and CDs.
It connects via USB, and comes in the usual shape of such design conscious peripherals, coming in the same dimensions as the Mac Minis and Apple TVs... not that you'll actually be able to plug this into those, since according to Amex's own system requirements, neither of those computers are actually capable of supporting the thing.
Either way, it's an attractive little drive. The player-only flavor retails for $289, where as the recorder will cost $100 more.
Portable Blu-Ray Super Multi Drive for MacBook [Amex Digital via Gizmodo]
John Brownlee
MacBooks less user servicable than ever
Crunchgear's list of reasons why damaging a MacBook is a worse idea than ever before brings up a lot of great points on why the glass-and-aluminum uniformity of Apple's newest laptops need to be eyed beneath a cocked eyebrow for anyone who doesn't store their computers in hermetically sealed vaults.
The big changes in the MacBook design, from a user service point of view:
• The glass screen is irreparable if broken, scuffed, or scratched, since it is fused with the lid.
• Dot-like spill sensors stuck to the innards like so many blind mute's ellipses, giving every Apple tech a reason not to repair your computer if it has been in the presence of that strange Earthen element, moisture.
• A keyboard that can't be replaced short of unwinding 80 screws.
Those last two really resonate with me, since I have spilled a couple beers on my MacBook Pro over the last three years, and in each case I found it cheaper and easier to replace the keyboard myself than try to argue with a Genius about the funky skunk water leaking out of the SuperDrive tray.
In truth, the new MacBooks are rather lovely, but with Genius Bar lines being what they are, I'm not really sure discouraging customers who actually are willing and capable of repairing their own busted products is such a hot idea. But Apple's been on this path for years, so no surprises.
5 Reasons Damaging Your MacBook Is A Worse Idea Than Ever [Crunchgear]
Rob Beschizza
Hands-on with Sony JS series all-in-one. First impression: hot specs, great price, a bit plasticy
A tinkering at the local electronics emporium leads to the following conclusions about Sony's new JS-series all-in-one desktop PCs.
• The $1,100 model played around was very responsive, even with multiple apps open. Getting 4GB of RAM in the base config is a good move by Sony, that area being the one computer makers often skimp painfully on to drive prices down.
• It was very quiet: no fan noise could be heard, though the store was quite busy.
• Lotsa inputs, with 5 USB ports (2 on the side of the display), a hardware WiFi on-off switch, S/PDIF an iLink connector and a a Memory Stick/SD card reader.
• The 500 GB hard drive, offered in all configs, is nice and expansive.
• The 20-inch, 1680 x 1050 display is pretty, but nothing fancy. Sound from the dual 3W speakers isn't going to be enough for people who like their movies and music loud.
• The case, which looks aluminum in ads, is just silver plastic. It's O.K., and doesn't detract from the minimalist design, but does make it visibly less beautiful than, say, an iMac.
• Its mouse is nasty: small, plastic and wired. The keyboard is also curiously fat.
• You won't be doing hardcore gaming, given the pairing of a E5200 Core 2 Duo CPU and Intel Mobile X4500HD video chip.
• Blu-Ray in an all-in-one desktop, especially a reasonably-priced one, is a killer. Though the Blu model is more expensive ($1,400) you also get a much faster CPU too. With an E8400, it should beat any iMac in productivity performance apart from the 3 GHz 24-incher, which is $850 more.
First impression: Sony's JS offers very strong hardware fundamentals for the price, though the trim, including peripherals, aren't perfect. Consider as an alternative to the iMac or HP's own AIO if you want Blu or powerful specs without having to pay too much.
VAIO® JS Series Desktop PC [SonyStyle]
Joel Johnson
Oobject Gallery: Monocoque design and the new MacBook
David Galbraith of Oobject trained as an architect, which always makes his commentary on the design of gadgetry come at interesting angles to that of regular ol' techdorks like me. I'm going to quote his latest write-up nearly in its entirety, but leave the actual Oobject gallery for you to go explore.
Apple's refresh of the Macbook line this fall is more evolutionary than revolutionary. In terms of design they have continued the trend, which started with the iPhone (see the drilled headphone jack hole on the original model) towards machining directly from block metal. This has lead to the latest Macbooks as being described as having monocoque structures, something which may not strictly be false but which is meaningless in the context.A monocoque is a single piece shell structure, it is a nice sounding word and is often used in marketing literature because it sounds technical. Because of this, and because of the fact that things like commercial airliners are hybrids of frame and shell structures almost anything can be described as such. There is a perfect geodesic truss in the list below which is described as a monocoque shell structure (the opposite), while an ordinary soda can is a monocoque.
The use of machining for Apple parts has more to do with tolerances and finish and almost nothing to do with structure, so the term is not relevant.
Below we discuss the merits of things which are described as monocoque - but as for the Macbook, not really.
Mythbusting the Macbook monocoque from an architect's perspective [Oobject]
Joel Johnson
Let's build a gaming PC for $1k
I'm doing this conversational marketing campaign with Symantec. They're going to give me a grand to build a gaming PC from parts, I'm going to write about my experiences, and then when it's all said and done I'm going to auction the PC off for Child's Play. (After politely breaking it in with a few games for a month or two, of course. Just common courtesy.)
Most of the posts will actually be over on the Symantec site — my first post is over there already — but I thought you guys might be interested in helping me pick out parts.
I'm going for gaming performance exclusively, so bigger hard drives or quad-core isn't that important to me. I'd rather give up any nicety for pure speed.
I am going to splurge on one thing, though: That Antec Skeleton open-air case. It's nearly $200, but it should make all the building and troubleshooting much less of a hassle. Plus, you know, it's neat. And since it'll be a gaming PC and not a multimedia workstation, I really don't care if I can hear all the fans. It'll be off when I'm not using it anyway.
Following the Ars Bargain Box guide I think I can squeeze in right under $1k if I ditch silly things like an outboard sound card. Vista will have to be my OS since this is a gaming box. And Intel and ATI seem to have the CPU and GPU market tied up in the low end. Just have to figure out motherboards and which CPU and GPU to actually buy.
For the record, I hate building PCs. I find it just a miserable experience. This is even worse: I'm going to build one, go through all the trouble of making it run, and then give it away. (Or maybe I'll just donate $1k to Child's Play. That might be easier.)
John Brownlee
Studio Ghibli to branch into RPGs with The Another World
At last week's Tokyo Game Show, Level 5 announced their newest DS RPG, The Another World. The title's obviously a bit of Engrish, but it's forgivable: in a surprising move, Level 5 has teamed up with Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli, the animation house behind Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and My Neighbor Totoro.
There's scant gameplay in the trailer, but the markings of a Studio Ghibli film are all there: the sweeping Joe Hisaishi orchestral score, the faded maps of strange fantasy lands, the strange dream-like tranquility of another world explored by a brave, wandering child. And the gameplay looks exciting: it appears to be based around drawing glyphs to cast spells, with each copy of the game sold having its own unique library of spells transcribed in a lovely custom spell book.
It's probably worth while having modest expectations of this one: there's only so much animation that can be crammed on a DS Cart. But an evolution of the Japanese RPG from the tired cliche of the Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest formula to something more approaching Miyazaki's folklore-inspired dreamscapes would be very welcome right about now.
First Footage of The Another World [DS Fanboy]
John Brownlee
Minoro is the world's first and cutest 3D webcam
The Minoru 3D Webcam isn't just another wonderful example of robo-pareidolia: unlike most web cams, it features two separate lenses, mixes them together in its elongated, pod-like skull and then beams the resulting three dimensional erection across the internet to jut out of the screen at some random Craigslister, clad in red-and-blue cellophane glasses... and nothing else.
John Brownlee
Martyr lamp by the Play Coalition
Martyr by the Play Coalition: possibly the world's first suicidal night light.
Martyr [Play Coalition via Crunchgear]
Joel Johnson
Plush R2-D2 backpack is the droid you're looking for
This is awesome entirely because they didn't try to make it look anything like a backpack at all.
It's $65, plus shipping.
R2-D2 backpack catalog page [FredFlare.com] (Thanks, Kleer001!)
Previously • The ultimate LEGO Star Wars diorama
• Star Wars Shaggin' Wagon for Sale on eBay
• Sexy Star Wars stormtrooper boots
• Official LEGO Star Wars AT-AT Walker
• The Star Wars musical floppy
• Star Wars Toys That Were Not to Be
• Video: The making of original Star Wars' computer graphics
• Drivable X-34 Landspeeder replica by Star Wars modder Daniel Deutsch
Update: John also wrote this up but I beat him to the punch because I barely wrote anything.
Ever since I dumped my first girlfriend during a preschool Star Wars play session by telling her that she was no longer pretty enough to be Princess Leia and must now be Chewbacca, I have felt an affinity for Luke Skywalker, and this affinity only grows as I stand upon the threshold of my 30s.Like Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back, I am a mop headed blond with a shrill castrati's voice and a once attractive face mangled by incompetent reconstructive surgery. Like Luke, I have strange psychic powers: under my penetrative stare, I have caused watch pots to boil, to name only one of my great works. Like Luke, I have made out with my own sister; like him, I am advised by a tiny green creature with strange, backwards speech patterns who clings to my back and exhorts me to kill my own father. It all fits.
One thing is missing, though: my own R2 unit. This R2-D2 backpack isn't a functional astromech droid, of course, but it does look as though it would store a mini-keg beneath its padded dome. I can't actually recall if Luke ever strapped R2D2 to his back, but I wouldn't be surprised: as far as I'm concerned, only Episodes IV - VI are canon, and all that Phantom Menace crap about R2 being able to fly is just guff. I'm sure Luke had to piggyback poor R2 from time to time: that droid was not meant for traversing Dagobah.
John Brownlee
Space Invaders alarm clock
For $78 dollars, one would hope that this cute little Space Invaders alarm clock — endorsed by Taito itself — is something you can actually play the titular game upon. Otherwise, what's the point? But unfortunately, it doesn't appear as though the Space Invaders alarm clock allows you to play Space Invaders at all! What a disappointment: I envisioned groggy 5am mornings defending Terra from descending pixel squids to turn off the alarm's cochlea-shredding bleeping.
Space Invaders Alarm Clock [Kilian Nakamura via Oh Gizmo!]
Joel Johnson
Magneat, a cable management system for headphones that might overthink it a bit
The "Magneat" is a simple little wire management system that uses a magnet to clip to your shirt. By winding your headphones' excess cable around its post, you'll be less likely to catch them on things. Or that's the pitch, anyway.
You can only buy them in Iceland at the moment, though, so you'll have some time to consider how much you want them before you make the flight over. Oh wait — you can buy them online and have them shipped over.
Honestly, the wire shortening I get, but I'm not quite sure why you'd want to attach it to your clothing.
Magneat product page [Magneat.com]
Joel Johnson
Things On My Desk: My Grandpa's "Lemonaid Loader"
I made a passing reference to "Lemonaid Loaders" (although I spelled it incorrectly), an old mail-order gadget meant to fit in-line from a data cassette tape deck, somehow cleaning up the signal, making failed loads (very common on the TRS-80) less likely. My grandfather Wayne Lemons built them in his converted garage workshop in his home on U.S. Route 65 in Buffalo, Missouri. I even helped him build a few when I was a toddler until it became clear that skill with a soldering iron wasn't part of his genetic legacy.
Gary Moore stumbled on that post I made and recalled it when he found an old Lemonaid Loader among the detritus of his TRS-80 (Model 1) stash. Being a gentleman, he sent it to me.
I'm so excited to have one, as after my grandfather died most of his workshop got parted out among the family (I have his TRS-80 4P luggable, while I'm told the Model 1 was donated to the Smithsonian, although now that I remember that it seems too odd to be true; I'm checking up on that). Nobody thought to save any of the Lemonaid Loaders at the time — there were just too many around to be thought of as valuable.
My grandfather was a huge inspiration, a man who gave me a love of technology, music, and the joy of being a recalcitrant bastard from the moment I could first think. He built the town's first radio station by hand. He wrote the "Learn Electronics Through Troubleshooting" manual that was the Army's basic electronics manual for years (much to the embarrassment of my uncle when he went to West Point). He received a letter from the first television station to broadcast in Kansas City when their transmitter went online; he was the only person they knew of in Southern Missouri who had a television — because he'd built one by hand. He was a writer, a cartoonist, and a musician with his own home recording studio decades before that became commonplace. He was a Radio Shack franchisee. (Nobody's perfect.)
Most of the artifacts I have of his life were destroyed over the years through neglect and an unfortunate double-whammy of fires, so all I have left of his technical achievements are the textbooks he wrote and this Lemonaid Loader. Which is plenty. So thank you, Gary.
Joel Johnson
Things On My Desk: A Verterra leaf bowl that I put through the dishwasher
I've been using the bowls I ordered from Verterra — the dishes made from pressed leaves – for a couple of weeks now. They're sold as disposable, but can be hand-washed and reused without much issue. They'll warp a little as they dry, but they tend to retain their essential bowlness. I've even heated up some stuff in the microwave which freaked me out a little, not because I thought they'd lose structure, but because I thought the food might cook into the leaf a little bit making them more difficult to clean. But so far that hasn't happened.
What has happened is that I put one in the dishwasher. It's pretty much unusable now — it went pretty flat — but what's good to know is that it stayed in one piece. The Verterra bowls are clearly pressed from a single leaf, so the worst that's going to happen if you put one in the dishwasher is that you lose the bowl, which is supposed to be disposable anyway. I didn't even notice any bits of plant matter on any other clean dishes.
When we first pointed these out, someone said they were a representative of Verterra and would ask the CEO about whether or not it would be possible to see the same technique being applied to local leaf stocks, since importing a bunch of disposable plates from Asia isn't exactly the greenest option in the world. We still haven't heard back, but it's a fair question.
Otherwise, though, I'm really impressed by these. I feel a little weird about mail-ordering semi-disposable plates and bowls, but if I could pick these up at a local store I'd probably keep several stacks of different sizes on hand.
Verterra product page [Verterra.com]
Joel Johnson
Things On My Desk: Objet Alaris 30 Desktop 3D Printer demo
I wish Objet had sent me a working unit of their new "desktop-sized" Alaris 30 3-D printer, but instead I got a box with a tiny car that had been printed on the machine inside. It's pretty impressive, though, with working gears and moving parts that were presumably all printed in one piece, not reassembled after the fact.
Despite asking, Objet wouldn't send me a unit out with which to print a few thousand 3D duplicates of my face with penises for eyes, so if your Christmas morning has been diminished you can blame them. They also probably don't just ship out $40,000 rapid prototyping machines to just any random pervert.
That 3D printers are getting smaller and relatively less expensive is exciting, though. It'll be another decade — barring DIY solutions like Rep Rap, of course – before we're really using these in homes, but it's coming!
Alaris30 Desktop 3D Printer product page [Objet.com]
Joel Johnson
Video: "Chaos Theory" 64k demo by Conspiracy
Oh, demoscene. I always forget you, then you come back to remind me why you are awesome. From the YouTube description:
Video version of "Chaos Theory", a 64k intro by the Hungarian demoscene group Conspiracy. First presented at Assembly 2006, where it reached second place.Also appeared at various film festivals such as Bitfilm, HDFEST, Ars Prix Electronica and most recently, SIGGRAPH 2007.
John Brownlee
Apple.fr: The New MacBooks are Perfectly Shit.
Why you shouldn't translate your corporate websites via Google Translate: according to TUAW, Apple's attempts to inform the French that the new MacBooks were "perfectly designed" was translated into grenouille as "perfectly dumb"... or, more vulgarly, "perfectly shit."
Zut alors! MacBook announcement doesn't translate well [TUAW]