April 2009 Archives
A quick post to show a video review of the HTC Touch Pro 2. I like what I see but I'm not sure it's good enough.
Credit the guys at WMPower.com for finding this.
Credit the guys at WMPower.com for finding this.
This is so crazy it's brilliant. Using the Amazon Kindle 2 and iPod shuffle's text-to-speech capabilities this video shows them acting out Leon's VK test from Blade Runner.
Credit: engadget
Credit: engadget
Earlier this week I was invited to attend TechCrunch's Geek n Rolla to see some impressive presentations on how to get your start up going in the tech world.
While I was there I managed to catch up with Jof Arnold, entrepreneur/web geek/prgrammer, and quizzed him about what it takes to get an iPhone app developed and published.
While I was there I managed to catch up with Jof Arnold, entrepreneur/web geek/prgrammer, and quizzed him about what it takes to get an iPhone app developed and published.
It's St George's Day, a day to celebrate everything English. Everything including the iPod."The iPod?" you say. "Isn't that as American as apple pie?" Well, yes but even Apple admits that the real inventor of the iPod concept was Englishman Kane Kramer - whose birthday is, incredibly enough, today. So, happy 53rd birthday Kane.
In 1979, Kramer and co-inventor James Campbell patented sketches and plans for a digital audio player, the size of a credit card, that would be able to play downloaded music. An LCD screen would display track information. Onboard storage would be provided by solid state memory capable of holding almost four minutes worth of music.
Prototypes were made after filing the patents in 1981 and the name changed from Pixy to Ixi, which became the company's name. The fifth prototype was unveiled at the APRS Exhibition at Earl's Court in 1986 where Kramer picked up £60m worth of orders. Despite this, problems arose and Kramer's patent was voided and entered the public domain - and into Apple's hands.In 2006, Burst.com sued Apple for infringement of patents at the heart of the iPod and last year Kramer was invited over to the US to prove that his ideas predated the patents held by Burst. Burst and Apple settled out of court shortly after.
Kramer is still actively inventing and is also the founder of the British Inventors' Society. His current projects include M
onicall, a call-in service that would make a phone call legally binding.He also has Bully Button, a small transmitting and recording device that can be worn discreetly by anyone being bullied regularly. The device records incidents and conversations on a hard disk to provide evidence that can be used to bring the bullying to an end.
If you want to establish the true roots of your iPod. whatever version you have, our images were taken from 3 Skins online store. Which leads me to ponder what will happen if 3 changes its name to 4 when 4G comes along. Will 3 Skins change its name in line with this? Probably not, think about it.
More about the 1979 filing can be found at Kane Kramer's site.
Hello all,
Just got back from my hols and found this gem. This is a Gameboy timeline created by Jesus Diaz over at Gizmodo.
I literally shouted "No way" when I saw this. I have most of the consoles on this chart but this could act as a cha
Just got back from my hols and found this gem. This is a Gameboy timeline created by Jesus Diaz over at Gizmodo.
Click the image to expand it.
I literally shouted "No way" when I saw this. I have most of the consoles on this chart but this could act as a cha
Orange is now selling the HTC Touch 3G phone to business customers on its Web site.The Touch features UMA technology to allow calls over a Wi-Fi connection to help cut costs when making calls, receiving emails and browsing the Web. It may only have half the resolution of the iPhone but tere again it's being offered free with an Orange business tariff.
The quad band HTC Touch has a 2.8in screen with 320x240 pixels display and uses Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional with HTC's TouchFLO user interface. Talk time on 3G is six hours and on standby the battery should last for 19 days between charges.
The camera includes a 3.5MP camera, MP3 player and HSDPA internet access. We're checking with Orange but we presume it will upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5 next month.
The only colour option is a sober and business-like Henry Ford black.
Today is Earth Day and the gadget world is not very Earth-friendly but maybe it can help. Pattie Maes, an associate professor in MIT's Program in Media Arts and Sciences, has been outlining her mind-blowing research programme that aims to make mobile personal computing amazingly useful.
The Sixth Sense project is looking at what could be described as a mobile version of Microsoft Surface but instead of using an expensive table the system projects an image of the computer information onto any handy surface - it may even be your hand.It doesn't look very pretty at the moment but it is only a cobbled-together prototype and not a finished product. Even so, it only costs $350 (£240) which is about a fiftieth of the cost of either Microsoft Surface or Epson's X-Desk.
How will this save the world? Well, apart from making LCD screens unnecessary, when you enter a supermarket it could detect the product barcode and give you all the information on sourcing of the ingredients to see if they are as Earth-friendly as they claim. Tenuous, I know, but you try to find an Earth-friendly gadget. I'd be delighted to hear about it.
Actions speak louder so here's a video of Maes presentation to the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference earlier this year.
You know the type. They hack into work in the morning, hack all day long after disappearing for ten minutes every hour or so and sound as if they are due for a coffin fit later in the day.The hardcore smoker is often noticeable by their absence but help is here.UK company E-Lites has developed an electronic cigarette (or a cigar) for the smokeless digital age and claims that the electronic cigarettes taste like real ones, contain no tobacco, no tar and do not burn. But they do contain nicotine and are only recommended for smokers who can't live without their nicotine fix every day. The main differences are that the cigarettes are plastic and the end glows with a green light to differentiate it from a real cigarette.
Smoking breaks cost companies substantial amounts each year, around 10 days per year of lost productivity. Electronic cigarettes means that the smoker can stay at their desk and, according to E-lite, save themselves money at the same time.
Epson's launch of the X-Desk at The Gadget Show Live
TO SEE MORE PHOTOS GO HEREBirmingham's NEC exhibition centre was teeming with gadget fans for all three days of the Gadget Show Live, based on the UK's Channel 5 TV programme. The sell-out show featured a wide range of products from the cutting edge LG wristwatch phone and Epson X-Desk to the cutting edges of weird cars driven by power tools.
The LG 3G Touch Watch Phone, romantically named the LG-GD910 was protected in a perspex case so it wasn't displaying its 176x220 pixel screen, probably because the company was worried about it disappearing. The phone has a built-in Webcam for teleconferencing and the 1.43in touchscreen gives a full-colour display. Calls can be made by using the on-screen touchpad or by speech recognition. Emails can be read out and there's also an MP3 player, bluetooth and a battery life of two hours talk-time or 247 hours standby.
Epson unveiled its X-desk, beating Microsoft Surface onto the open market. X-desk is a 52in touchscreen but uses a projector to produce a 1024x768 pixel display on a touch-sensitive surface. Configured as a coffee table display, the virtual desk is suitable for sorting through pictures and documents or for recognising objects using RFID Smart Tags. It can recognise 16,000 objects simultaneously.
Over in the oddball camp, Silverline Tools had a range of cars powered by chainsaws and a drag track for racing miniature vehicles driven by a range of tools. It almost made power tools interesting.
The show was a little disappointing because some of the big hitters in the technology world were not there. However, the range of products was immense and the success of the show will ensure that next year it will be much bigger and better.
In Barack Obama's (or Barry Obama as I like to call him) YouTube post today he confirmed that Aneesh Chopra as the First Chief Technology Officer.
At the moment, Aneesh is the Secretary of Technology for Virginia, which was ranked first in Technology Management last year.
Chopra's achievements include improving health care and education, has got the nation's first open-source textbook approved, initiated competitions for the state's students to create iPhone apps, and designed a social network for physicians in remote areas.
We like what we hear and wait to see what he does with a bigger budget and more responsibility.
At the moment, Aneesh is the Secretary of Technology for Virginia, which was ranked first in Technology Management last year.
Chopra's achievements include improving health care and education, has got the nation's first open-source textbook approved, initiated competitions for the state's students to create iPhone apps, and designed a social network for physicians in remote areas.
We like what we hear and wait to see what he does with a bigger budget and more responsibility.
As an update to the IE voodoo story, Chisa points out on her blog that German couple Jörn and Julia had an IE voodoo doll wedding cake at their marriage last December. The couple met because Jörn wanted a doll for each of his employees and got tailor friend Julia to make them. When he rang to say thanks one thing led to another. They dated and fell in love.
Big Aaaaaaahhhh everybody. Su-weet. Thanks Microsoft, maybe e stands for eros.
Oh but the image that just popped into my head of Steve Ballmer dressed as Cupid will haunt me (in a bad way) for many future, sleepless nights. No, mummy, leave the light on please.
Big Aaaaaaahhhh everybody. Su-weet. Thanks Microsoft, maybe e stands for eros.
Oh but the image that just popped into my head of Steve Ballmer dressed as Cupid will haunt me (in a bad way) for many future, sleepless nights. No, mummy, leave the light on please.
It's good to read IBM, Sun and Oracle join EC in anti-monopoly case against Microsoft
but the growing throng of browser complainants should ensure that the EC is aware of the Microsoft Internet Explorer tie-ins.
It's tiring to have to load IE just to get ActiveX content, especially when it's for an essential service like Microsoft Update. Users of Opera, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and any other third-party browsers should be able to access any site on the Internet without having to switch.
It would be a shame if the EC penalises Microsoft and leaves this loophole unplugged. To help the cause of creating a level browsing field you could contribute by stooping to voodoo.
Internet site DeviantArt has instructions by artist Chisa for an IE logo voodoo doll. It only takes about an hour at the most to create and will give hours of fun sticking it to Microsoft in the privacy of your own home. As a stress reliever, its also a great past time for idle moments in the recession.
Thanks to TFTS for the pointer (and the pinned E logo) and especially to Teresa (Chisa) Watts for the project.
but the growing throng of browser complainants should ensure that the EC is aware of the Microsoft Internet Explorer tie-ins.
It's tiring to have to load IE just to get ActiveX content, especially when it's for an essential service like Microsoft Update. Users of Opera, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and any other third-party browsers should be able to access any site on the Internet without having to switch.
It would be a shame if the EC penalises Microsoft and leaves this loophole unplugged. To help the cause of creating a level browsing field you could contribute by stooping to voodoo.
Internet site DeviantArt has instructions by artist Chisa for an IE logo voodoo doll. It only takes about an hour at the most to create and will give hours of fun sticking it to Microsoft in the privacy of your own home. As a stress reliever, its also a great past time for idle moments in the recession.
Thanks to TFTS for the pointer (and the pinned E logo) and especially to Teresa (Chisa) Watts for the project.
A digital picture frame is fine but what do you do if your beloved print is on paper? Scan it in to your PC and then download it. No more. Well, not from the end of April. Buy Skyla's Memoir FS80 frame and you can cut out the middle stage.
Skyla is Lite-On IT's new consumer product brand and the first product is this scanning digital photo frame. The scanned-in images can be mixed with digitally-sourced files and displayed on an eight inch screen. The scans can also be moved to a PC for storage.
Memoir has 1GB for storing up to 200 prints measuring 10cm x 15cm (4in x 6in) at 600dpi and the display screen is 800 x 600 pixels. It takes CF, SD, MS, MMC and xD cards as well as having a thumb drive port and a mini USB PC connection socket. No WiFi, however. The scanner takes a maximum print size of 10cm x 15cm which is a pity if you always opted for 13cm x 17cm (5in x 7in).
The Memoir FS80 will cost around £178.
Skyla is Lite-On IT's new consumer product brand and the first product is this scanning digital photo frame. The scanned-in images can be mixed with digitally-sourced files and displayed on an eight inch screen. The scans can also be moved to a PC for storage.Memoir has 1GB for storing up to 200 prints measuring 10cm x 15cm (4in x 6in) at 600dpi and the display screen is 800 x 600 pixels. It takes CF, SD, MS, MMC and xD cards as well as having a thumb drive port and a mini USB PC connection socket. No WiFi, however. The scanner takes a maximum print size of 10cm x 15cm which is a pity if you always opted for 13cm x 17cm (5in x 7in).
The Memoir FS80 will cost around £178.
Google is releasing its final imprint of the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) for the 1.5 update of the smartphone platform. Developers will be able to add widgets to the Android home screen so, hopefully, Google will improve its support for application vendors with a proper app shop rather than a catalogue.
The new OS will support soft keys from Google and third-parties, speech recognition and Live Folders - automatically updated Web feeds displayed on the home screen. The company will also incorporate improved camera capabilities and video recording alongside the stereo version of Bluetooth.
Android phones will be upgraded over-the-air in May or June.
The new OS will support soft keys from Google and third-parties, speech recognition and Live Folders - automatically updated Web feeds displayed on the home screen. The company will also incorporate improved camera capabilities and video recording alongside the stereo version of Bluetooth.
Android phones will be upgraded over-the-air in May or June.
Meru Networks is claiming its 802.11n Video Services Module (ViSM) improves video-over-wireless by eliminating unpredictable loss rates. The application of application-aware optimisation improves Web streaming and real-time multicast technologies that underlie wireless projection, IPTV, event simulcast, telepresence and video surveillance.
ViSM organises the WLAN architecture to give each client its own virtual wireless port so that each gets its own copy of the multicast traffic unaffected by the power-save and transmission behaviour of other clients.The module will be available in June as an add-on to Meru's System Director. For a 100-node network the module will cost $7,995 (£5,385).
ViSM organises the WLAN architecture to give each client its own virtual wireless port so that each gets its own copy of the multicast traffic unaffected by the power-save and transmission behaviour of other clients.The module will be available in June as an add-on to Meru's System Director. For a 100-node network the module will cost $7,995 (£5,385).
eBay is divesting itself of StumbleUpon and, surprisingly, Skype. In what looks like a weird interpretation of a reverse auction, the company has sold StumbleUpon back to its original owners for less than it paid for it. The same would also have been true for Skype but talks broke down.
eBay looks as though it's retracting to its core business which has upset quite a few of its supporters recently. The sale of StumbleUpon is no real surprise because it is not faring well up against Digg and other recommendation sites. Skype is a bit of a surprise. No, a shock.
According to The Guardian newspaper, eBay has been caught in a cleft stick. On one hand is a refusal by JoltID to allow its Global Index technology to be used by Skype. As this is the way that Skype organises calls, it means that eBay has to pay whatever JoltID may eventually ask as a licence fee or develop its own peer-to-peer network to underpin the voice over IP (VoIP) service.
Skype has no central server to establish calls. Instead, a Global Index is installed on a network of "supernodes". When a call is established, Skype tries to connect them directly. If this fails, the Global Index tries to establish the call by linking the answerer to the caller rather than the other way around. If that fails, the index service connects the callers through a relay node.
Without Global Index, Skype doesn't work. To add to this, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the developers of Skype who sold the company to eBay, also control JoltID and therein lies the complexities. eBay wants to unload Skype, Zennstrom and Friis control the Global Index rights so no-one else would probably want to buy Skype. The whole mess is heading for court and eBay now plans to float Skype on the stock market next year as an independent company.
Skype me sideways, it all sounds like the plot to a nerdy soap drama. To any peer to peer expert developers out there, now might be a good time to register your CVs with eBay's HR department.
eBay looks as though it's retracting to its core business which has upset quite a few of its supporters recently. The sale of StumbleUpon is no real surprise because it is not faring well up against Digg and other recommendation sites. Skype is a bit of a surprise. No, a shock.
According to The Guardian newspaper, eBay has been caught in a cleft stick. On one hand is a refusal by JoltID to allow its Global Index technology to be used by Skype. As this is the way that Skype organises calls, it means that eBay has to pay whatever JoltID may eventually ask as a licence fee or develop its own peer-to-peer network to underpin the voice over IP (VoIP) service.
Skype has no central server to establish calls. Instead, a Global Index is installed on a network of "supernodes". When a call is established, Skype tries to connect them directly. If this fails, the Global Index tries to establish the call by linking the answerer to the caller rather than the other way around. If that fails, the index service connects the callers through a relay node.
Without Global Index, Skype doesn't work. To add to this, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the developers of Skype who sold the company to eBay, also control JoltID and therein lies the complexities. eBay wants to unload Skype, Zennstrom and Friis control the Global Index rights so no-one else would probably want to buy Skype. The whole mess is heading for court and eBay now plans to float Skype on the stock market next year as an independent company.
Skype me sideways, it all sounds like the plot to a nerdy soap drama. To any peer to peer expert developers out there, now might be a good time to register your CVs with eBay's HR department.
I'm very parochial when it comes to my property. I like to keep it where I can see it and Pogoplug looks like my kind of gadget. The problem is that it isn't available in Europe yet as the company only supplies the US and Canadian markets.
Pogoplug is a network-attached device for USB 2.0 storage units. Plug an external disk drive or a USB drive into it and you can access it on a home network or over the Internet from your
Windows, Mac or Linux PC - or even from your iPhone. If you need remote access to your pictures, films and other bits and pieces, this $99 unit is better than Cloud storage. And it's password protected, SSL linked and encrypted.
The downside is that it plugs into your router, it plugs into your storage module and, if you want more than one USB drive, it plugs into your hub. Cables, cables everywhere.
One good thing about its non-availability is that Pogoplug is looking at adding features such as wireless access so the final import might be more exciting.
Pogoplug is a network-attached device for USB 2.0 storage units. Plug an external disk drive or a USB drive into it and you can access it on a home network or over the Internet from your
Windows, Mac or Linux PC - or even from your iPhone. If you need remote access to your pictures, films and other bits and pieces, this $99 unit is better than Cloud storage. And it's password protected, SSL linked and encrypted.The downside is that it plugs into your router, it plugs into your storage module and, if you want more than one USB drive, it plugs into your hub. Cables, cables everywhere.
One good thing about its non-availability is that Pogoplug is looking at adding features such as wireless access so the final import might be more exciting.
Nikon is releasing its D5000 Digital SLR camera in May. Though it lacks the 1080p HD film mode of the Canon EOS Rebel, it does have a pivoting screen to make the camera functional in more situations than its rival.
The D5000 uses a 12.5Mpixel DX format image sensor with a Multi-CAM100 11-point AF
system offering subject
tracking which will restart focusing on the subject even if it leaves
and returns to the frame.
The camera carries 19 preset scene modes and six mood settings. It has a light sensitivity ISO range from 200 to a very fast 3,200 which means that images can be kept sharp under fairly low lighting conditions. There is also a Retouch Menu for editing the shots on the camera which is particularly useful when submitting images on location.
In D-Movie mode, the D5000 only manages to produce HD at 720p (1280x720pixels) resolution but, let's face it, stills are its main function and for video it's still probably best to use a digicam. Movies can either be viewed on the camera or directly on an HDTV using the HDMI cable.
The best feature is the articulated LCD screen which is particularly useful when shooting over the heads of a crowd or, at the other extreme, shooting upwards from ground level. The screen can even be pulled down and twisted to allow it to be viewed from in front of the lens, useful for self-portraits.
The camera will be available from May 1 and the street price will be around £720 excluding the lens or £800 with an 18-55mm Vibration Reduction (VR) lens.
The D5000 uses a 12.5Mpixel DX format image sensor with a Multi-CAM100 11-point AF
system offering subject
tracking which will restart focusing on the subject even if it leaves
and returns to the frame.The camera carries 19 preset scene modes and six mood settings. It has a light sensitivity ISO range from 200 to a very fast 3,200 which means that images can be kept sharp under fairly low lighting conditions. There is also a Retouch Menu for editing the shots on the camera which is particularly useful when submitting images on location.
In D-Movie mode, the D5000 only manages to produce HD at 720p (1280x720pixels) resolution but, let's face it, stills are its main function and for video it's still probably best to use a digicam. Movies can either be viewed on the camera or directly on an HDTV using the HDMI cable.
The best feature is the articulated LCD screen which is particularly useful when shooting over the heads of a crowd or, at the other extreme, shooting upwards from ground level. The screen can even be pulled down and twisted to allow it to be viewed from in front of the lens, useful for self-portraits.
The camera will be available from May 1 and the street price will be around £720 excluding the lens or £800 with an 18-55mm Vibration Reduction (VR) lens.
With the release of Ultimate Ears 700 earphones, Logitech is cashing in on its investment in the company that makes noise excluding earphones for rock stars like the Killers, Green Day and Fall Out Boy. Ultimate Ears, acquired by Logitech last year, claims that it produces customised on-stage monitoring earphones for 75% of the current crop of rock performers so they can hear the music above the wall of noise created by their speaker stacks and the echoes in the auditorium.
The earphones offer 26dB of noise isolation and may lack the individually customised ear cushions that the stars enjoy but do come with plenty of options to make a better fit for your ears. Supplied as standard are two Comply foam ear cushions and a set of three silicone ones in small, medium and large sizes so your ears can be filled with sound whatever size they are.
Also supplied is a neat carry case to stop your cables tangling up in your bag or your pocket when the phones are not in use. There is also airline attenuator protection for unstable sound sources - such as the imbalance between the movie you're watching on a plane and the cabin staff announcements that boom through to warn of turbulence.
The advantage of the external noise reduction is that the MP3 player can be used at lower volume levels, reducing distortion, increasing battery life and making it less likely that you'll annoy those around you. Despite the high sound quality, the UE 700s are tiny. They are shown in comparison to a US dime which is about the size of a European two cent piece or a UK 5p coin.
These are the aristocrats of personal stereo earphones and the price reflects this. It's one for the audiophiles because a tag of £149.99 may not be music to many people's ears.
The earphones offer 26dB of noise isolation and may lack the individually customised ear cushions that the stars enjoy but do come with plenty of options to make a better fit for your ears. Supplied as standard are two Comply foam ear cushions and a set of three silicone ones in small, medium and large sizes so your ears can be filled with sound whatever size they are.Also supplied is a neat carry case to stop your cables tangling up in your bag or your pocket when the phones are not in use. There is also airline attenuator protection for unstable sound sources - such as the imbalance between the movie you're watching on a plane and the cabin staff announcements that boom through to warn of turbulence.
The advantage of the external noise reduction is that the MP3 player can be used at lower volume levels, reducing distortion, increasing battery life and making it less likely that you'll annoy those around you. Despite the high sound quality, the UE 700s are tiny. They are shown in comparison to a US dime which is about the size of a European two cent piece or a UK 5p coin.
These are the aristocrats of personal stereo earphones and the price reflects this. It's one for the audiophiles because a tag of £149.99 may not be music to many people's ears.
Easter is a time for fluffy yellow chicks. Next year you could try to grow your own and begin a life of self-sufficiency. P&T Poultry is offering an incubator that plugs into the USB port. Using 
the provided software, this Hilton Hotel of a product will keep your chicks-to-be warm and cosy and will turn their little egg-house regularly. Near hatching time, the turning stops and the chicks can burst forth into the dawn of a new day.
The computer can also be set to regulate the environment for different species of birds: poultry, game, waterfowl or even parrots. If granny's pet budgie goes walkabout for a night on the tiles and comes home with a little surprise, you could probably pop that in too.
There are two models in the R-COM 20 Pro range, one with a single egg tray and the other with three. For the single-tray version the price is £299.99.
the provided software, this Hilton Hotel of a product will keep your chicks-to-be warm and cosy and will turn their little egg-house regularly. Near hatching time, the turning stops and the chicks can burst forth into the dawn of a new day.The computer can also be set to regulate the environment for different species of birds: poultry, game, waterfowl or even parrots. If granny's pet budgie goes walkabout for a night on the tiles and comes home with a little surprise, you could probably pop that in too.
There are two models in the R-COM 20 Pro range, one with a single egg tray and the other with three. For the single-tray version the price is £299.99.
It's Sunday and the kids want to drag you off to some lame Easter Egg hunt. For 59p you can download a lame Easter egg hunt onto your iPod Touch or iPhone and let them fight over who has to play it. If they are young enough or have taken their daily drugs, they might just enjoy it. Its at the iTunes App Store under Easter Egg Huntz.
Finnish computer programmer Jerry Jalava had his
finger severed in a motorbiking accident. Turning tragedy to his advantage, he now has a removable finger end with a built-in 2GB USB drive.
Last May, Jalava was riding his brand new Ducati Monster 696 when he collided with a deer, as you do. He thought he was lucky and had escaped injury but, when he went to get a cigarette out of his pocket, he discovered that his finger end was missing. One year on and he has replaced the tip with a silicon prosthetic finger containing the USB drive.
The finger is not
permanently attached so he can leave it in the computer, no doubt, when he pops out for a fag (NB to our US friends, that's a cigarette). As far as upgrades are concerned, Jalava plans to swap the drive for a new one with an RFID tag - which will be useful if he forgets where he left it.
If he stores his MP3 catalogue on the drive, will that make it an index finger?
The condition of the deer is not known.
Easter is upon us. What do you think of? "Chocolate". Yes, what else? "Easter eggs". Yes, there's a theme forming. Apart from chocolate, what do you think of? "Bunnies". Anything else? 
"Ickle wickle chicks." What about Jesus? "Oh yes, him."
Get your own personal (music player) Jesus. You can witness Jesus rising from the engraver when you order your iPod from the good old US of A. No, not the holy Bible Belt but central Lost Angeles which is where TechEngraver lives. Take your pick Touch, Nano, Shuffle and Classic models or even a 2GB USB drive.
The only catch is the price. From the UK it's $349 for an 8GB iPod Touch plus $69.87 delivery which adds up to around £286. Holy iPods, Batman!
"Ickle wickle chicks." What about Jesus? "Oh yes, him."Get your own personal (music player) Jesus. You can witness Jesus rising from the engraver when you order your iPod from the good old US of A. No, not the holy Bible Belt but central Lost Angeles which is where TechEngraver lives. Take your pick Touch, Nano, Shuffle and Classic models or even a 2GB USB drive.
The only catch is the price. From the UK it's $349 for an 8GB iPod Touch plus $69.87 delivery which adds up to around £286. Holy iPods, Batman!
It would feel wrong to start a 'retro game of the week' without going for Mario. The podgy Italian plumber (once 'bigger than Mickey') has been losing his allure of late but back in the day, Mario was king of the gaming universe and Super Mario World was confirmation of that status.
Have a go at this emulator:
Have a go at this emulator:
So what made this game so special? Well, it was addictive with fantastic variety and you could fly. You can't get better than that.
For a long time this was considered the greatest game ever with Sonic 2 a close second. Funny how thing's have changed with Sonic and Mario games being released on the Wii.
Watch the ending:
Apple is being sued over it's touch screen technology by a firm in Taiwan.
The company, Elan Microelectronics, has recently won a similar lawsuit with a different firm, Synaptics, regarding one of the patents that they are suing Apple over.
Not surprisingly, Elan Microelectronics are quite confident about the outcome of this case.
What does this bode for Apple and the other manufacturers that make use of touch screen technology?
Source [The New York Times]
The company, Elan Microelectronics, has recently won a similar lawsuit with a different firm, Synaptics, regarding one of the patents that they are suing Apple over.
Not surprisingly, Elan Microelectronics are quite confident about the outcome of this case.
What does this bode for Apple and the other manufacturers that make use of touch screen technology?
Source [The New York Times]
Bumptop has been around for a few years now but it is finally available for download for the pc. What this does is organises your desktop with a 'physics engine underpinning the UI'.
Basically you can grab stuff and throw them aroud. Bumptop also works with a mouse but it's much more fun with your hands.
Basically you can grab stuff and throw them aroud. Bumptop also works with a mouse but it's much more fun with your hands.
There is more and more evidence that the next 3.0 beta release will support video recording.
The screenshot below shows a video recording interface (discovered by MacRumors).
While video recording and editing are nothing new for mobile phones, this is just another addition to the iPhone artillery.
The screenshot below shows a video recording interface (discovered by MacRumors).
While video recording and editing are nothing new for mobile phones, this is just another addition to the iPhone artillery.
Source [Silicon Valley Insider and MacRumors]
Apple's iTunes store is now iTunes Plus. The new pricing structure is in place and every track has been upgraded to AAC DRM-free 256kbps. Here endeth the good news.
All the most popular tracks now cost 99p and any others worth having are 79p. The rest of the catalogue costs 59p - but you'd be hard pressed to find them and will probably need therapy if you listen to them. Basically, it looks like a thinly disguised price hike. You can also upgrade any 128kbps DRM-ridden tracks to the Plus standard for 20p per track, with further reductions on albums you have already bought - how very generous. Capitalism lives.
Alternatively, you could go to Amazon or Napster where, for example, a popular track chosen at random, My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson, costs 59p (Amazon) or 33p (Napster) rather than 99p (iTunes). Even a more obscure track like Juliet by the Four Pennies costs 79p (i) but only 33p (N). However, on the schizo Amazon site, it depends which album the track is on so you can pay 69p or 79p.
In what the press is hailing as an attack on iTunes, Amazon is also offering some top tracks for only 29p. Why compete when you're beating them hands down on price already? Oh, I see, it undercuts Napster, too. So that's where the battle lies.
All the most popular tracks now cost 99p and any others worth having are 79p. The rest of the catalogue costs 59p - but you'd be hard pressed to find them and will probably need therapy if you listen to them. Basically, it looks like a thinly disguised price hike. You can also upgrade any 128kbps DRM-ridden tracks to the Plus standard for 20p per track, with further reductions on albums you have already bought - how very generous. Capitalism lives.
Alternatively, you could go to Amazon or Napster where, for example, a popular track chosen at random, My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson, costs 59p (Amazon) or 33p (Napster) rather than 99p (iTunes). Even a more obscure track like Juliet by the Four Pennies costs 79p (i) but only 33p (N). However, on the schizo Amazon site, it depends which album the track is on so you can pay 69p or 79p.
In what the press is hailing as an attack on iTunes, Amazon is also offering some top tracks for only 29p. Why compete when you're beating them hands down on price already? Oh, I see, it undercuts Napster, too. So that's where the battle lies.
Apple is ruining the whole barrel when it comes to batteries.It started with the power source for the iPod and now it is spreading through the laptops.
Batteries that cannot be replaced by the average user is the trade-off that has to made to get the super-slim good looks and lightness of the MacBook Pro or the Air. Now, the rest of the field is following Apple's lead as Asus, Dell and Samsung turn the same way and it's almost certain the same will be true of the MacBook Mini.
It may seem like a sinister plot to squeeze more money out of punters but the manufacturers claim that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Apple argues that the new lithium-polymer battery offers a longer life both in operation (up to 8hrs) and when recharging (1,000 charging cycles). The £139 charged for replacing the battery actually sounds reasonable if the battery truly lasts five years because, barring faults, it may never need replacing.
Battery performance tends to deteriorate over time and a laptop may run out of power more rapidly as the battery ages. It depends when this reaches a personal tolerance level as to when the battery actually needs to be replaced.
When a battery fails, the computer has to be returned to the manufacturer or its agents. Even if you live near a service centre, the chances are that you'll be deprived of your computer for a while and this could be inconvenient. At present, with replaceable batteries, at least you can use the computer via the mains adaptor until a replacement battery arrives.
One question that any company ordering a fleet of super-sleek computers has to ask is what are the security implications. What happens when it is returned to base with sensitive corporate data, VPN links and personal data on board should be considered a risk that needs to be managed.
Batteries that cannot be replaced by the average user is the trade-off that has to made to get the super-slim good looks and lightness of the MacBook Pro or the Air. Now, the rest of the field is following Apple's lead as Asus, Dell and Samsung turn the same way and it's almost certain the same will be true of the MacBook Mini.
It may seem like a sinister plot to squeeze more money out of punters but the manufacturers claim that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Apple argues that the new lithium-polymer battery offers a longer life both in operation (up to 8hrs) and when recharging (1,000 charging cycles). The £139 charged for replacing the battery actually sounds reasonable if the battery truly lasts five years because, barring faults, it may never need replacing.
Battery performance tends to deteriorate over time and a laptop may run out of power more rapidly as the battery ages. It depends when this reaches a personal tolerance level as to when the battery actually needs to be replaced.
When a battery fails, the computer has to be returned to the manufacturer or its agents. Even if you live near a service centre, the chances are that you'll be deprived of your computer for a while and this could be inconvenient. At present, with replaceable batteries, at least you can use the computer via the mains adaptor until a replacement battery arrives.
One question that any company ordering a fleet of super-sleek computers has to ask is what are the security implications. What happens when it is returned to base with sensitive corporate data, VPN links and personal data on board should be considered a risk that needs to be managed.
I like graffiti. I don't think kids it should be encouraged to do it where they please but there are times when I look out the window on a long commute and see something humorous or good and think 'wow that's cool'.
So when I heard you could 'tag your TV' with Wii Spray, I was intrigued. Watch this video to get your Banksy on.
It uses the Wiimote's motion sensors (so it doesn't actually need a work to work) and tracks the movement of the Wiimote.
This is not an official Nintendo product, but they'd be mad to ignore something this fun. Remember Mario Paint?
This will help me get off my crayon addiction.
So when I heard you could 'tag your TV' with Wii Spray, I was intrigued. Watch this video to get your Banksy on.
It uses the Wiimote's motion sensors (so it doesn't actually need a work to work) and tracks the movement of the Wiimote.
This is not an official Nintendo product, but they'd be mad to ignore something this fun. Remember Mario Paint?
This will help me get off my crayon addiction.
It's always been difficult to play games on your mobile. The buttons are too small or the touchscreen isn't as responsive as it should be but the Zeemote may be a step in the right direction.
As you can see in the video, it's a one-handed controller that sychronizes with your phone via bluetooth allowing you to hold the phone with your other hand.
I know some of you will say 'but I can play games fine on my iPhone!' and I hear you but I just don't care.
As you can see in the video, it's a one-handed controller that sychronizes with your phone via bluetooth allowing you to hold the phone with your other hand.
I know some of you will say 'but I can play games fine on my iPhone!' and I hear you but I just don't care.
Microsoft has started to show off a bit with their new marketing video that shows how they see Windows 7 and Windows Mobile working together.
Watch the video here.
It's basically a shiny advert that doesn't really mean anything and doesn't tell us anything but is prodding people to go 'Ooh aah'.
Watch the video here.
It's basically a shiny advert that doesn't really mean anything and doesn't tell us anything but is prodding people to go 'Ooh aah'.
According to The New York Times, T-Mobile are to release a home phone and tablet in 2010 that will run on Google Android.
The New York Times says that the information is 'according to confidential documents obtained from one of the company's partners'.
The home phone 'will plug into a docking station and come with another device that handles data synchronization as it recharges the phone's battery'.
There isn't a lot known about the tablet but the confidential documents say that it will be a 7-inch touchscreen laptop with no keyboard. It will 'handle basic computing jobs like checking the weather or managing data across a variety of devices in the home,' reports the NYT.
Verizon have taken similar steps by confirming that they will ship a 3G-enabled netbook.
Source: [Gizmodo via The New York Times]
The New York Times says that the information is 'according to confidential documents obtained from one of the company's partners'.
The home phone 'will plug into a docking station and come with another device that handles data synchronization as it recharges the phone's battery'.
There isn't a lot known about the tablet but the confidential documents say that it will be a 7-inch touchscreen laptop with no keyboard. It will 'handle basic computing jobs like checking the weather or managing data across a variety of devices in the home,' reports the NYT.
Verizon have taken similar steps by confirming that they will ship a 3G-enabled netbook.
Source: [Gizmodo via The New York Times]
It's every man's worst nightmare. Your girlfriend is a man.
I know that isn't really a gadget but on my morning commute today I picked up the Metro and found the story 'Cyber-girl's sex lie drove me to suicide'.
It tickled me as it had a bit of schadenfreude about it. It's hilarious as long as it isn't me.
What makes this stand out is 19 year old Xiao Cheng had dated this person for four years, showered the 49 year old man with £2,000 worth of gifts and tried to kill himself.
'I was crushed, I wanted to die,' Cheng, 19, told police.
Good luck mate, go to university and find some real girls.
The morale of the tale? Make sure your girlfriend isn't a man.
I know that isn't really a gadget but on my morning commute today I picked up the Metro and found the story 'Cyber-girl's sex lie drove me to suicide'.
It tickled me as it had a bit of schadenfreude about it. It's hilarious as long as it isn't me.
What makes this stand out is 19 year old Xiao Cheng had dated this person for four years, showered the 49 year old man with £2,000 worth of gifts and tried to kill himself.
'I was crushed, I wanted to die,' Cheng, 19, told police.
Good luck mate, go to university and find some real girls.
The morale of the tale? Make sure your girlfriend isn't a man.
Want to be able to play classics like Captain Commando and Streets of Rage 3 on the move?
Well Chinavision has made a nifty little handheld console that supports NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy Advance, SNK Neo-Geo and Capcom arcade systems CPS1 and CPS2 emulators.
It has:
Well Chinavision has made a nifty little handheld console that supports NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy Advance, SNK Neo-Geo and Capcom arcade systems CPS1 and CPS2 emulators.
It has:
- A 2.8-inch QVGA screen
- SD card slot
- 4GB memory
- Mini USB
- NTSC/PAL TV out
- FM radio
- Voice recorder
- Stereo speakers
- MP3
- MPEG5
- FLAC
- WMV
- AVI
- And might be able to function as an e-book reader with text to speech capabilities
Following the news that Google is looking to buy Twitter, we heard that they are also looking at using Twitter to do a real time search engine.
So what does a real time search engine mean/do? Well, basically people are starting to use Twitter to talk about brands in real time. Twitter added the search field recently which is a way of keeping users on the page as they continuously look at topics, brands and trends depending on what's in the news etc.
Therefore a well-implemented real time search engine can bring users together to talk about particular brands and trends which makes it easy to target advertisements against them. Twitter has already started experiments with ads by placing a small unit right below your profile and stats.
So to put it simply: You're watching a football match, you do a real time search on one of the teams, you find like-minded people and exchange views etc. while there are ads on sporting goods on the page. Advertisers can then implement strategies quicker and more effectively.
Twitter's traffic figures are growing exponentially, with numbers growing 3000% in the year from February 2008 to February 2009.
See also: Google rumoured to be buying Twitter and Google in late stage talks to buy Twitter
So what does a real time search engine mean/do? Well, basically people are starting to use Twitter to talk about brands in real time. Twitter added the search field recently which is a way of keeping users on the page as they continuously look at topics, brands and trends depending on what's in the news etc.
Therefore a well-implemented real time search engine can bring users together to talk about particular brands and trends which makes it easy to target advertisements against them. Twitter has already started experiments with ads by placing a small unit right below your profile and stats.
So to put it simply: You're watching a football match, you do a real time search on one of the teams, you find like-minded people and exchange views etc. while there are ads on sporting goods on the page. Advertisers can then implement strategies quicker and more effectively.
Twitter's traffic figures are growing exponentially, with numbers growing 3000% in the year from February 2008 to February 2009.
See also: Google rumoured to be buying Twitter and Google in late stage talks to buy Twitter
PodBrix has created what it calls "an exclusive collectable stuffed masterpiece", the aptly named "Plush Jobs", a limited edition Steve Jobs doll. The company says, "Initially we're offering 500 units for sale. If people love Jobs as much as we do we'll make more."
Barack Obama has given Queen Elizabeth an Apple iPod, Apple iPod, personalised with pre-loaded content and an engraved inscription when they met at Buckingham Palace this week.
If you've seen my photo story on the digital president, then this post should come as no surprise. Barack Obama is the geekiest president to walk this earth and this confirms it. I mean the guy fought to keep his Blackberry.
The mp3 player supposey contained 40 songs including some musical numbers from Camelot and My Fair Lady and her 2007 visit to Virginia.
The Queen gave Barack Obama a signed portrait of herself and Prince Philip.
I wonder who went home happier.
Source [Pocket-lint]
If you've seen my photo story on the digital president, then this post should come as no surprise. Barack Obama is the geekiest president to walk this earth and this confirms it. I mean the guy fought to keep his Blackberry.
The mp3 player supposey contained 40 songs including some musical numbers from Camelot and My Fair Lady and her 2007 visit to Virginia.
The Queen gave Barack Obama a signed portrait of herself and Prince Philip.
I wonder who went home happier.
Source [Pocket-lint]
Dear Sir/Madam,
Please accept my most sincere apology for my April Fool's blog post yesterday. I have thought long and hard about what happened and I realise how very upset/angry you must have been.
I am really sorry for creating the situation which I know I should have handled better. I admit that I was in the wrong and can only say how sorry I am. I can promise you that this will never happen again (until next year) and hope that you will give me the opportunity to prove this to you.
I understand that it might be difficult for you to accept my apology but hope that this letter will help.
Kind Regards
Inspect-a-Gadget
Please accept my most sincere apology for my April Fool's blog post yesterday. I have thought long and hard about what happened and I realise how very upset/angry you must have been.
I am really sorry for creating the situation which I know I should have handled better. I admit that I was in the wrong and can only say how sorry I am. I can promise you that this will never happen again (until next year) and hope that you will give me the opportunity to prove this to you.
I understand that it might be difficult for you to accept my apology but hope that this letter will help.
Kind Regards
Inspect-a-Gadget
In what will be seen as a huge blow to Sony, it has been confirmed that the iPhone and iTouch will allow you to play Gameboy Advance/Gameboy games by downloading them through an app from the DSiWare store.
Apple have been keen to push the gaming side of the iPhone and iTouch but until now didn't really have the background to be taken really seriously.
This collaboration may seem like a strange thing to do but in actual fact it makes perfect sense... for now. Nintendo have taken great strides to keep their handheld gaming market share and Apple are desperate to make the iPhone the number one mobile phone.
Titles will go on sale later today (April 1st) with titles such as Mario Kart (driving), Super Mario Advance (platform), Ape Real (action) and Fool's Gold (puzzle).
Apple have been keen to push the gaming side of the iPhone and iTouch but until now didn't really have the background to be taken really seriously.
This collaboration may seem like a strange thing to do but in actual fact it makes perfect sense... for now. Nintendo have taken great strides to keep their handheld gaming market share and Apple are desperate to make the iPhone the number one mobile phone.
Titles will go on sale later today (April 1st) with titles such as Mario Kart (driving), Super Mario Advance (platform), Ape Real (action) and Fool's Gold (puzzle).
Here we are, it's April 1 and megavirus Conficker triggered. No planes fell out of the sky. No computers self-destructed. The virus bots merely phoned home and settled back in their easy chairs all over the world.
Don't be complacent, though, Conficker is still out there and a payload could be in the offing. Make sure you use Microsoft Windows Update to download MS08-067 and you may like to try this to prevent USB sticks from infecting your PC.
Too late? A wide range of removal instructions and tools can be found via D-shield's Web site.
Don't be complacent, though, Conficker is still out there and a payload could be in the offing. Make sure you use Microsoft Windows Update to download MS08-067 and you may like to try this to prevent USB sticks from infecting your PC.
Too late? A wide range of removal instructions and tools can be found via D-shield's Web site.
The music industry has been looking for a way to protect their intellectual property ever since MP3 files became popular. We hear that the war against piracy is reaching new levels with an upcoming MP3 standard.Using techniques akin to those formerly employed in viruses, the new MP3 file format includes an anti-tamper trigger that corrupts the entire player's directory if it detects specific bytes distributed through the code.
Researcher Sally Padiforo from the University of Piory, Dallas, Texas, devised the SILFOR (Secreted InLine File Order Randomization) algorithm at the heart of the new format. She said, "Even if the file is re-recorded to bypass the protection, the SILFOR payload will be passed on to the new recording."
Padiforo calls the new format Broadside MP3 (BS3) and it requires BS3 enabled players to decode the music files. All of the major MP3 player manufacturers, including mobile phone vendors, have pledged to switch to the new format when it gains ratification as a standard. Mandatory operating system upgrades will appear on the companies' sites when the BS3 standard is enforced exactly 12 months from today. BS3 files will not play on current MP3 players without the upgrade and the promise of lossless, high compression and unbreakable protection has even won over "key companies" who currently use proprietary formats, Padiforo told Computer Weekly in an exclusive interview.
When the new system is in operation, it will scan the files for the encoded signature. If the signature is missing from any BS3 files on the player or any files in other formats contain the SILFOR payload, it will trash the directory, display a message stating "Illegal file filename.extension" and lock up the device. The player will have to be reset and reloaded omitting the offending file. This will only apply to files with a date stamp later than 01-04-2010. This means that non-BS3 files created before the deadline will still be considered legal. Changing the date on a converted BS3 file will not work because the SILFOR signature will still be present.
It is believed that the release of the new format is being delayed so that a video equivalent can be simultaneously launched next April. The format exists but gaining agreement from the movie industry and video-player manufacturers is currently under discussion because of the technical complexities of upgrading existing DVD systems.
My take on the new standard is that it is another attempt by the music industry to stifle competition from independent music publishers as well as stamping out piracy. Padiforo claims that licences for the encoding process will probably be in the region of $10,000 per year and applicants will be vetted by the soon-to-be-announced elite SILFORum syndicate of "interested parties".
Computer Weekly feels that BS3 amounts to protectionism and should be stopped in its tracks. We believe it could contravene EU laws and a petition and further information can be found at our Stamp Out The SILFOR Payload site. Please sign the petition today and put an end to this abomination.
First, a bit about beavers. Bear with me. Scottish Natural Heritage plans to re-introduce beavers to the Highlands. The EC Habitats Directive requires European Union Member States to study the desirability of reintroducing such species where they have become extinct. The European Beaver used to roam the glens but died out in the early 16th Century.Keep reading. The first six beavers arrived from Norway last November and are currently in quarantine expecting to be released in late April or early May. We hope they enjoy their new habitat and flourish but over the years there will be casualties. Misadventure, natural causes and road accidents will control their numbers and it may be timely to remind our readers of a useful way of recycling a dead beaver.
Artist Kasey McMahon has come up with CompuBeaver, a real beaverskin case to house your computer motherboard. First, catch your beaver. We would not, under any circumstances, condone beavercide. It is illegal and not very ecofriendly. But if you find roadkill...
If you don't come across a recently deceased rodent, you may be able to pick up a stuffed beaver in a secondhand shop or auction. After that, go to this instructional Web site for 29 easy steps towards creating your furry PC. For more information on the artist and her work, you can find her here.
For the technically minded the spec of the CompuBeaver is:
Motherboard: AOpen Mini ITX A-I945GTT-VFA (RoHS) with external power supply
Intel Core 2 Duo processor - T7200 2GHz
160GB 2.5in Hard drive
1GB System memory
Panasonic UJ-85J 8X Slim DVD Burner
Tornado 80mm fan
Beaver - American, deceased and formerly stuffed with expanded foam
A sick individual with no respect for the dignity of creatures - or a practically-minded Damien Hirst? The future will decide on this politically incorrect PC maker.
Note: East Anglian readers could consider the CoypuPC as a suitable alternative. I reckon it would make an ideal casing for a blade server or possibly a multi-terabyte storage array.
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