Nowsday Information Technology

iOS 4.2 Now Available - Multitasking on iPad

2011-08-06T18:27:00.000+07:00

The latest version of Apple’s mobile platform, iOS 4.2, is now available for the iPad, iPhone & iPod touch.

This version is especially important for iPad owners, as it brings over 100 new features from the last three version of iOS to that device, most interesting among them being support for multitasking. The feature enables users to keep several apps open at the same time and switch between them almost instantly, while preserving iPad’s battery life (which Apple refers to as “legendary”).

Other new features for the iPad include app folders, unified inbox, and the gaming social network Game Center. AirPlay and AirPrint are also here, with AirPlay bringing the ability to stream music, photos and video to Apple TV, and AirPrint finally enabling users to wirelessly print out content to AirPrint-enabled printers including the HP Photosmart, HP LaserJet Pro and HP Officejet.

Apple also said that iOS has 125 million users around the world, while its App Store now has more than 300,000 apps, 40,000 of them being native iPad applications.

See the full list of improvements in iOS 4.2 here, and be sure to check out our complete hands-on:

Lean Your iPad or iPhone Against a Running Faucet With Gravity-Defying Stand

2011-08-06T18:23:00.000+07:00

Leaning your iPhone or iPad against a running faucet is probably one of the last things you’d want to do, which is why this Elecom stand created by Japanese design firm Nendo may seem somewhat odd.

The “Jaguchi” (Japanese for “tap”) stand can hold just about any tablet or smartphone, making it look like your device is resting on a faucet with a frozen stream of water rippling out of it.

Elecom (in Japanese) says you can either lean your device against the virtually flowing faucet, or place this decorative sculpture against a wall for an even more-perplexing illusion when you’re using your tablet or smartphone.

Nendo‘s stands are shown in four colors and two sizes, but the Elecom site lists their price as “open.” Let’s hope the company imports these to the U.S., pronto.

Google+ Could Have More Users Than Twitter

2011-08-06T18:21:00.000+07:00

Google+ has signed up 13% of U.S. adults so far and could hit 22%, in a year, passing Twitter and LinkedIn as the number two social media network, according to a new study.

The report, based on a Bloomberg and YouGov poll of 1,003 U.S. adults from July 29 to August 2, revealed that 71% percent of U.S. adults use Facebook, but that number will drop to 69% a year from now. Among people who use both services, 30% say they plan to cut the time they spend on Facebook. However, 31% of Google+ users say they’ve abandoned their Google+ accounts or never posted anything on them.

Twitter and LinkedIn will continue to grow, however.

Twitter is set to add 3% of the U.S. population over the next year for a total of 20% of the U.S. population. LinkedIn, which is expected to add 2%, will also hit 20%. Meanwhile, 45% of respondents who signed up for Google+ said they read content on the site every day. For Facebook, the figure was 62%. For Twitter it was 42% and for LinkedIn, 8%.

First on The World Flying Sphere Looks Like an Alien Death Bot

2011-08-05T23:44:00.001+07:00

Looking more UFO than UAV, the Japanese Defense Ministry has created a spherical surveillance drone which they have deemed the world's first. Designed for use in urban areas, the menacing, all-black machine can fly up to 37 miles-per-hour.

Weighing less than a pound, the AFP says the craft's 17-inch shell was designed to protect it from bumps against walls and windows. Lead engineer Fumiyuki Sato says the flying ball has $1400 worth of parts, all of which he pulled from store shelves.

The latest model, the seventh prototype, is equipped with a single propeller, shielded by the shell, with flaps and wings to control its flight, and can zip through the air at up to 60 kilometres (37 miles) per hour.
Sato said all its components can be found in shops in Tokyo's electronic tech-geek heaven of Akihabara, at 100-yen shops where every item sells for about a dollar, or on the Internet.

The only bummer is that craft can't be controlled using its camera. It's flight controls are still so sensitive that anyone operating the thing has to be able to see it. Still though, it's good enough to prey on the paranoia of conspiracy theorists for lulz. [AFP via Physorg]

Hand-Shaped iPhone Case is the Latest in Serial Killer Chic

2011-08-05T23:39:00.000+07:00

Back in 1963, the Beatles crooned about wanting to “hold your hand.” In 2011, a Japanese cellphone accessory store has created the perfect remedy for that desire: the Dokkiri Hand Case for iPhone 4.

Sadly, the case only comes in two models. The first is a replica of a lady’s hand — specifically, one belonging to the wife of the company’s COO. The second, even more creepy model, is a child’s hand.

The case will only cost you $64 — and the trust of random passersby.

Carzor Razor Scrapes off Your Beard, Then Folds Back Into Your Wallet

2011-08-05T23:36:00.000+07:00

Unlike a lot of the crazy concepts we feature, the Carzor (credit card-shaped razor) can actually be bought—and for only $17, too. The razor/mirror tucks into wallest for scraggly-faced emergencies in the office or public bathroom.

Bizarrely, you can also choose to "scent" your Carzor, choosing between mint, sandalwood, lemon, ocean or orange strips to moisturize and freshen you up. I suppose there's no harm in smelling like mint when ditching the homeless/hipster look, but ocean? [Infmetry via Fancy via OhGizmo]

Prometheus - 2012 Images Have Surfaced

2011-08-05T23:33:00.000+07:00

These leaked images for the upcoming ALIEN prequel “Prometheus” are from footage shown at ComicCon 2011 and fans of the series will see traces of a derelict spacecraft, familiar dome spacesuit helmets, and hallways

of a spacecraft that could easily be the predecessor to the “Nostromo.” We honestly cannot remember the last time we where this excited to see teaser images for an upcoming film – head on over toScriptFlags to see for yourself!

BlackBerry 7 OS based smartphones RIM unveils five new

2011-08-05T00:57:00.002+07:00

An finally is he new BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone that combines 3.2-inch (480 x 640) touchscreen with slide-down QWERTY keyboard in a body measuring 111 x 61.9 x 14.5 mm. The phone offers 768MB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage, HSPA 14.4 Mbps, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, and front VGA camera, and rear-facing 5 megapixel camera with 720p video shooting.

Research In Motion has today unveiled five new BlackBerry smartphones which runs company’s newest OS version – BlackBerry 7. The new models include BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930, BlackBerry Torch 9850/9860 and BlackBerry Torch 9810, all powered by 1.2 GHz processors and coming with the next generation BlackBerry HTML5 optimized browser

The BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 are thinnest smartphones in the RIM’s portfolio measuring 115x66mm and just 10.5mm thick. They feature brushed stainless steel frame and are equipped with 2.8-inch (640 x 480) capacitive touchscreen along with aQWERTY keyboard, 1.2GHz processor backed by 768MB of RAM, HSPA+ 14.4Mbps wireless, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with 720p video capabilities. Both are also the first BlackBerry smartphones that support NFC (Near Field Communications).

The BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 feature the largest display on a BlackBerry smartphone to date, a 3.7-inch with a WSVGA (800×480) resolution. The models are only 11.5mm thick and and also are boosted by 1.2GHz processor, 768MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. Other specs include GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with 720p video recording.

micro SD/SDHC pocket card reader - Team Group TR11A1

2011-08-05T00:40:00.000+07:00

The company Team Group brings to the market a new convenient, pocket card reader which can be used without any extra cables.

The TR11A1 is a tiny single slot card reader for micro SD/SDHC memory cards

with a size of a tiny piece of chewing gum, weighing only 2 grams and allowing you to conveniently transfer data from the memory cards to your PC. It is available in in two colors- sweet pink and sunny blue, has USB 2.0 interface and comes with a two-year warranty, along with a convenient strap.

Skype adds calling video capability to 17 new devices

2011-08-04T22:08:00.000+07:00

By now, hopefully you all know about Skype, the immensely popular video-chatting service that allows users to have video conversations over the PC. Though anyone with a PC and an internet connection can use Skype to it’s fullest potential,

Skype’s Android application has only allowed video calling for a grand total of 4 Android devices (Nexus S, SE Xperia Neo, SE Xperia Pro, HTC Desire S).

That’s all changing today, as Skype has added support for a whopping 17 additional devices. The additional devices supported in today’s release are:

Acer A5
HTC Desire
HTC Desire HD
HTC Evo 3D
HTC Evo 4G
HTC Flyer
HTC Incredible S
HTC Sensation
HTC Thunderbolt
LG Revolution
Samsung Droid Charge
Samsung Galaxy S
Samsung GalaxyS II
Samsung Galaxy Tab
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY
Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray

Skype’s video chat services is now being supported on 21 Android devices, which will be a welcome benefit for current Skype users, as well as provide an alternative to the current crop of video chat services such as Qik, Google Talk, and Tango.

This is an interesting move given the fact that Microsoft now owns Skype. And even though it’s not clear what they’ll do with it at this point, it’s obvious that they’ll turn Skype’s focus towards other Microsoft products like Windows Phone. Eventually, Skype could very well become the default video calling app in Windows Phone. Whether or not that will affect the Android and iOS version of the product is yet to be seen. We hope we’ll continue to see a multi-platform approach to Skype.

What say you, readers? Are you planning on using Skype now that it’s supported on your device? Sticking with another video chat service? Don’t really care to use video chat at all? Sound off in the comments.

2012 Ford Police Interceptor: The Crown Vic's Robocop Replacement

2010-03-13T09:43:00.000+07:00

Ford's Crown Victoria-based police interceptor will finally end production late next year. This is its replacement — the 2012 Ford Police Interceptor. Other than the movie Robocop, it's the first time Ford's Taurus has served as a purpose-built patrol car.

Ford first introduced its police package in 1950 and today the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor is the industry leader. The automaker's dominated the streets to the point that over the last five years, Ford's controlled more than 70% of the patrol cars sold. Obviously police fleets are an important segment. Unfortunately, the Crown Vic's Panther-platform's getting a little long in the tooth — it hasn't seen a redesign in over 15 years. The replacement? An all-new Police Interceptor built off the Ford Taurus platform that will be produced at Ford's Chicago, Ill. assembly plant.

The new Police Interceptor sedan will obviously offer two powertrain options in order to be competitive with the upcoming Chevy Caprice PPV. The first'll be a standard engine with a 3.5-liter V6 Duratec engine producing more than the Crown Vic's current anemic V8 and more than the standard Taurus V6 — over 263 HP. But it's the second powertrain that police officers'll be pining for — a twin turbo Ecoboost 3.5-liter V6 delivering 365 HP and 350 lb-ft of torque. That's the same engine found in the new 2010 Ford Taurus SHO and it gives Ford a performance boost over the new GM patrol car — the Chevy Caprice PPV — that'll be hitting the streets at about the same time as the new Police Interceptor.

There's also an optional AWD system for the members of the Fargo police department and any other P.D.'s with need of more-than-front-wheel drivetrain police cruisers.

And oh, that interior. We're told by police forces who've already seen the vehicle that nearly 90% of the interior's been redesigned specifically for police. Ford's done little things — like installing the slimline shifter on the column to free up more console area. The instrument panel includes a horseshoe shape for aftermarket equipment installations. It even appears they've thoughtfully provided standard 9" spacing between the passenger and driver — just like the Crown Vic — so agencies can transfer existing aftermarket equipment to their new Police Interceptor. Ford's also supposedly redesigned the doors to make them open 71 degrees. That's not quite as good as the Carbon Motors concept's suicide doors, but not too shabby — and better than the Caprice PPV it'll really be in competition with.

We can also see that there's a 220 amp alternator to provide officers with all the power they'll need for computers, lights and the like — and we're told by suppliers there's a flexible conduit inside the headliner for ease of wiring aftermarket equipment. Lastly, don't forget the anti-stab plate in the back of the front seats — for your protection from shiv-equipped baddies in the back seat.

But that's the near-term future. The long-term future reportedly include a second Police Interceptor that'll be available as a "utility version" built on the same platform. Yup, a Ford Flex-based Interceptor.

But, we are wondering if the Taurus being used as a Police Interceptor is just one more step in the eventual evolution of Detroit police officers into Robocop. Probably not, but somehow that's all we'll be thinking if we see this mean-looking patrol car pulling us over.

Google May Stop Censoring Search Results In China This Month

2010-03-13T09:41:00.000+07:00

Google and China's dirty laundry has been airing in public since mid-January when Google refused to continue censoring search results in the country. A resolution could be nearing though, with Google rumored to be pulling censorship this month.

Their clash of values has been well-publicized, with Google halting the release of certain Android phones and even canceling a developer event over there. Eric Schmidt from Google warned that "something will happen soon," with the Wall Street Journal claiming sources have tipped them off that they may stop censoring search results this month.

Li Yizhong, a Minister of Industry and Information Technology in China, responded with "if you don't respect Chinese laws, you are unfriendly and irresponsible, and the consequences will be on you" when asked about how China will retaliate if Google stayed true to its word.

However, the rather boring (for spectators, at least) conclusion might just be for Google to work with individual agencies and sectors within China, censoring and un-censoring as they see fit. [WSJ via Reuters]

Watch NASA Assemble a Space Telescope Live

2010-03-13T09:40:00.000+07:00

NASA employees take 10 to 15 minutes to decontaminate before entering this clean room. But you can get a look inside from your couch, pre-shower.

At NASA Goddard, a crew is working to assemble components of the James Webb Space Telescope, set to launch in 2014. Their "webbcam" (embedded within 9,000 square feet of HEPA filters) will be feeding a photo a minute to anyone who'd like to watch.

You should be able to see activity 8:00am to 4:30pm Eastern, Monday - Friday. But wait wait wait...those NASA employees are ditching out half an hour early? No wonder we're not playing golf on Mars right now! [Webbcam via NASA via MAKE]

Gadget Deals of the Day

2010-03-13T09:38:00.001+07:00

It all about the full packaged bundles in today's deals. Pickup an Xbox bundle with two major tiles at a discount, those wanting to dive into DSLRs have the great deal from Nikon, and nab some free prints too.

Top Deals: • Nikon D5000 Digital SLR Camera Kit 2 (18-55mm and 55-200mm VR Lens) + Nikon Gadget Bag $779 + free shipping (normally $849) • Xbox 360 Elite 120GB + Forza 3 & Halo 3 ODST for $299.99 plus free shipping (normally $400). • FujiFilm SeeHere 50 4x6 photo prints for $0 (use coupon code prints-6)

Gaming: • Buy select games, get $10-15 credit for your next order (over 15 titles to choose from). • GoGamer 48 Hour Madness Sale Complete List (All Consoles) (Up To 67% Off). • Xbox 360 Elite 120GB + Forza 3 & Halo 3 ODST for $299.99 plus free shipping (normally $400). • XBox 360 Arcade Console $160 Shipped (normally $200). • Plantronics GameCom X20 Xbox Headset for $9.99 plus free shipping (normally $17). • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition (360) for $99.99 (normally $141). • Assassins Creed II (PS3/360) for $34.90 (normally $54). • The Beatles: Rock Band Game Only (PS3/Wii) for $29.99 plus free shipping (normally $37). • Brutal Legend Game (PS3/360) Two for $26 (normally $60) • Battlefield: Bad Company (360) for $8.54 (normally $17). • FIFA Soccer 10 (PS3) for $49.99 plus free shipping (normally $60). • Active Life: Extreme Challenge Bundle with Mat (Wii) for $31.99 (normally $52.90). • Red Steel 2 (Wii) for $39.90 (normally $50). • Mass Effect 2 (PC) for $29.90 (normally $36). • Star Trek Online Standard Edition (PC) for $29.98 plus free shipping (normally $47). • Lumines II (PSP) for $13.04 (normally $20). • Nintendo DSi Bundle (console,2 games,case,accessory Kit) for $189 (normally $200). • TrackMania (DS) for $17.17 (normally $29.94). • ZUBO (DS) for $10 (normally $20).

Personal Portables and Peripherals: • Apple iPod Touch 8GB (3rd Generation MC086LL/A) NEWEST MODELfor $174.99 plus free shipping (normally $183 - use coupon code JAM0815). • Griffin Technology: 15% off Coupon on iPod, iPhone, iPad cases & accessories (use coupon code CJ101) • Nikon D5000 Digital SLR Camera Kit 2 (18-55mm and 55-200mm VR Lens) + Nikon Gadget Bag $779 + free shipping (normally $849) • Sigma 50-200mm OS For Canon $169.10 + $10 Gift Card + free shipping (normally $219) • Canon PowerShot SD960 IS 12.1MP Digital Camera for $199.99 (normally $228 - use coupon code EMCYPZN59). • 12.2MP Kodak M341 Digital Camera $100 Shipped (normally $150). • Sanyo Xacti VPC-S1285W 12MP 3X Digital Camera + Rechargeable Eneloop Batteries & Charger for $64.88 (normally $99). • Creative ZEN MX 16GB MP3 Player for $79.99 plus free shipping (normally $129).

Hobomodo: • FREE Motorola BACKFLIP With MOTOBLUR w/ 2 Year Activation for $0 with free shipping (normally $100). • Mini Mango Pinkberry at Pinkberry Friday 5 pm-9pm(Mar.12) for $0 (use this form). • Spartacus: Blood and Sand (iPhone/iPod Touch) for $0 (normally $4.99). • FileApp Pro (iPhone/iPod touch) for $0 • Free Redbox Rental on March 17th when you become a Facebook fan for $0 (use this form). • Solitary Gun by Rogue Wave (MP3) for $0 (download here). • FujiFilm SeeHere 50 4x6 photo prints for $0 (use coupon code prints-6)

If a deal looks too good to be true, investigate the store and see if it's a good, reputable place to buy. Safe shopping!

[Thanks TechDealDigger, Dealzon, Logic Buy, GamerHotline, Cheap College Gamers, CheapStingyBargains and TechBargains.]

Non-Enclosed 3D Printer Can Build Houses

2010-03-13T09:36:00.000+07:00

Normally they're contained in a box, so the fact that this 3D printer isn't confined means it's theoretically capable of building much larger objects that most. In fact, the owner wants to build a cathedral with it.

It lives in Pisa, Italy, and uses CAD software to create objects designed using the program. Blueprint Magazine describes how it works:

Driven by CAD software installed on a dust-covered computer terminal, the armature moves just millimetres above a pile of sand, expressing a magnesium-based solution from hundreds of nozzles on its lower side. It makes four passes. The layer dries and Enrico Dini recalibrates the armature frame. The system deposits the sand and then inorganic binding ink. The exercise is repeated. The millennia-long process of laying down sedimentary rock is accelerated into a day. A building emerges.

3D printers are still very expensive though, so before you start planning on adding a new extension or granny flat to your house you should definitely weigh up the costs. Having said that, 2010 is apparently going to see the cost lower drastically from the $15,000 or so that they normally cost, with the MakerBot being the cheapest we've seen so far, at $750. [Blueprint Magazine via MAKE]

Friday Night Funnies: 8 Images to Close Out the Week

2010-03-13T09:33:00.000+07:00

It's been a long week and we could use a laugh. We've already started worrying about taxes and pre-ordering iPads, among other stresses. To sum it all up, here are some illustrations from a cartoon maestro called Lunchbreath.

Tobias Lunchbreath is the award-worthy author of numerous contributions to the prestigious IMDB "2Fast2Furious user comments" section, including "Paul WalkEr takes THA $$$ & THA RespeKT" and "Michelle Rodriguez R Eva Mndez? DISCUSS". His talents include hagiography, phrenology, hagio-phrenology, and mutton. In his free time he designs circles. You can follow him on Twitter or see more of his work on Flickr.

Some images may have originally appeared on Core77.

Palm offering discounted contract-free phones to developers -- too bad they're carrier locked

2010-03-13T09:32:00.000+07:00

Usually when we hear the phrase "contract-free developer phone" the words "unlocked" and "GSM" follow shortly thereafter, but apparently Palm didn't get the memo -- it just announced discounted hardware prices for its devices, but they're carrier-locked to Verizon and Sprint. Yeah, that's a big sad face out of us -- it's not like Verizon's going to give you a cheaper plan if you show up with a contract-free device. In fact, you might be better off picking up a $79 Pre on a Sprint contract from Amazon and just canceling after a year or so -- the ETF will have been prorated to $120 by then, putting you way ahead of Palm's $439 price tag. So much for that dream -- at least we still have our fantasy of driving to Mexico for an illicit Telcel Pre smuggling run.

Palm

Okoro Media Systems upgrades HTPC range with Core i3 / i5 CPUs, bitstreaming and USB 3.0

2010-03-13T09:31:00.002+07:00

You picked up an Okoro media PC last month, didn't you? If you're nodding up and down in a worried fashion, you're probably better off ignoring everything else we'll say in this post. For the rest of you HTPC hounds, the boutique outfit has something that's very likely to pique your interest (and kick that upgrade itch into high gear). Announced today, the company is adding Core i3 and Core i5 processors to its 2010 media center PC lineup, and as if the extra horsepower weren't enough, users will also find native bitstreaming of TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio on every system save for the Q100. You'll also get a 64-bit copy of Windows 7, up to 8TB of internal storage space, optional Blu-ray playback, quad CableCARD support and the new holy grail of transfers, USB 3.0. You can hit up the outfit's webstore now to configure your dream machine, and if you so desire, you can check out its dedicated trade-up program that'll last through May 31st.

eCoustics

Okoro Media Systems

Zoom G2Nu and G2.1Nu guitar effects pedals offer direct USB recording

2010-03-13T09:31:00.001+07:00

Zoom is kind of like Mitsubishi -- it sort of does it all. Months after shipping one of the greatest pocket audio recorders every known to man, the company is now hitting back with none other than a pair of guitar effects pedals. The G2Nu and G2.1Nu boards both feature 100 preset guitar sounds, 20 of which have purportedly been given the almighty thumbs-up from Steve Vai. If you're curious about differences, the latter adds a built-in expression pedal for additional control, but frankly, the expected capabilities aren't what we're interested in. Both devices sport integrated USB ports that enable them to operate as audio interfaces; in other words, axe slingers can record directly to their computer through this box, and the 1.9-inch display helps you keep track of what's going on. Regrettably, pricing and availability details have been conveniently omitted, but we suspect it'll be hitting Sam Ash, Sweetwater and the rest of the gang soonish.

Zoom G2Nu and G2.1Nu guitar effects pedals

Show full PR text

Power, Tone and Intuitive Control Advance with Zoom's G2Nu and G2.1Nu Hauppauge, NY – March 11, 2010 – Zoom's new G2Nu and G2.1Nu take the performance, tone and functionality of the incredibly popular G2 guitar effects pedal and incorporate years of engineering innovation. What emerges is a variety of new and practical features along with enhanced ease of use, improved tone technology and patches created by legendary guitar virtuoso Steve Vai. Zoom's revamping started with the overdrive/distortion sounds. Twenty types of guitar amps and stomp boxes offer finely tuned sonic qualities including gain settings and harmonic character. Both new pedals also feature 100 preset guitar sounds, 20 of which have been created by world-renowned guitarist Steve Vai. Additional patches meticulously emulate famous rock sounds from the sixties and seventies as well as other famous artists. And the G2.1Nu also features a built-in expression pedal for enhanced control. "The new G2Nu and G2.1Nu show how the investments we've made in engineering and technology have progressed to help produce amazing models," says Masahiro Iijima, CEO for Zoom. "I truly believe that these advances, along with the assistance of guitarist Steve Vai, help make the G2Nu and G2.1Nu the best sounding pedals we've ever developed." The new pedals can also operate as audio interfaces, letting users record directly to a computer via the built-in USB port. Plus, Zoom's direct monitoring design eliminates latency problems and allows you to seamlessly capture any tone right on your favorite computer DAW. A large 1.9-inch LCD display and a new, more intuitive interface also provide easier navigation during both live and recording sessions. "For more creativity and interactivity we've also made software available through a free download," says Iijima. "Not only does this software allow you to download the latest patches, it also helps you edit patches easily to quickly achieve the sound you're looking for. Plus, import and export functions let you exchange patches with other users. All these new functions and capabilities make these our best sounding, most intuitive and technologically advanced pedals to date." About Samson Technologies Samson Technologies Corp. is the exclusive U.S. distributor of Zoom recording and signal processing electronics. Samson designs, manufactures and distributes high-performance wireless, audio and music accessory products in the United States and 106 countries abroad. Samson is also the exclusive worldwide distributor of Hartke products. Samson Technologies is based in Hauppauge, New York. For more information, please visit www.samsontech.com.

Nokia C6 is actually a 5230-ish landscape slider?

2010-03-13T09:30:00.001+07:00

We hate to turn your entire world -- nay, your very belief system -- on its end, but it's at least conceivable here that the so-called Nokia Mystic with the portrait QWERTY keyboard may not be the upcoming C6 after all. Instead, Tom's Guide is submitting this bright white exhibit as the device lucky enough to wear the C6 name, a phone that looks a whole hell of a lot like a 5230 with a QWERTY slider tacked on for good measure. That would make sense considering Nokia's goal of turning the freshly-introduced Cseries into a midrange, consumer-friendly brand; this phone could easily slot in below the N97 Mini, for example, particularly in light of rumors that the phone will lack the N97's beefy internal storage. Word is the C6 is pegged for a European release by Summer, so start cleaning off those 5800s and 5230s for eBay right now, why don't you?

Mobile Bulgaria

Tom's Guide

Playcast Media nabs support from big name publishers, aims to bring STB gaming to US

2010-03-13T09:29:00.000+07:00

GDC is winding down here in San Francisco, but Playcast Media is hoping to snag its 15 minutes by announcing new partnerships with Atari, Capcom, Codemasters and THQ (to name a few) for use in its "console-free games-on-demand" service. 'Course, streaming games in through a set-top-box is nothing new, but few operators in the States offer such a thing with any real substance behind it. Playcast's solution enables titles to be pushed through existing cable and telco STBs, and we're told that the US market is next in line to get gifted. We're not given any significant details beyond that, but we're pretty jazzed about big name publishers signing on to finally give this distribution method a bit of credence. Now, if only this Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD shipped with a SIXAXIS controller, we'd be golden.

German student shows off camera-based input on an iPhone

2010-03-13T09:28:00.002+07:00

Using a camera as an input device is hardly a new idea -- even on a mobile device -- but most examples so far have been to enable functionality not possible on a touchscreen. As Master's student Daniel Bierwirth has shown in the video after the break, however, a phone on a camera can also be used as an alternative input method for features like scrolling or zooming, potentially allowing for easier interaction on devices with smaller screens. Bierwirth also takes the idea one step further, and sees the system eventually including a second camera that's worn by a person, which would be able to detect when your hands are near the phone and allow for a range of other gestures. Check out his full report at the link below.

Recombu

Daniel Bierwirth

Win XP needs some TLC to use next-gen hard drives

2010-03-13T09:28:00.001+07:00

Solid state drives may be the fast-moving wave of the future in PC storage, but the technology for bigger and better magnetic media keeps on trucking. Only recently, that truck hit something of a pothole: the 4096-byte sector size that will allow advanced format drives to have more usable space (and surpass the current 2TB capacity limit) doesn't play nice with the world's most popular OS -- Windows XP. While manufacturers like Western Digital have already introduced software that successfully combats the problem, the new drives perform poorly in Win XP without it, and rival manufacturer Seagate told the BBC that even with software tricks, XP users should expect the occasional 5ms delay, or 10% speed reduction, during write times. Is this the end of Windows XP? Hardly. Should you make sure to install the software that comes with your next hard drive? Absolutely.

BBC

web coverage Ars Technica Verizon's Nexus One to be sold only through Google, have Sense UI (or not)

2010-03-13T09:27:00.001+07:00

This doesn't come as much of a surprise, but Android Central seems to have obtained a screen shot from a deep, dark, top-secret Verizon system that indicated that the upcoming CDMA version of the Nexus One will be "available only through www.Google.com/Phones." That, of course, matches T-Mobile's strategy of quietly letting Google do its thing -- and Verizon's strategy of keeping its network "open" -- so you'll just have to remember to not line up at your local store at 8PM the night before the launch, otherwise you're going to come away very, very disappointed. What's a whole lot stranger, though, is a mention that it runs HTC's Sense UI, which means one of a few things: Google's allowing carriers and manufacturers to have their way with the Android builds sold directly through its own store, the Verizon-branded Nexus One is the Incredible, or the document is just sorely confused. The way we see it, there'd simply not be enough differentiation between the Nexus One and the Incredible for them to come to market as separate products if they were both running Sense -- and besides, isn't variety the spice of life? Update: That was quick -- it seems Verizon has already updated its specs to remove the reference to Sense and change the URL from google.com/phones to google.com/phone -- no plural. Thanks, ninjalex76!

MobileCrunch

Android Central

Apple iPad -- model A1337 -- phreaks the FCC

2010-03-13T09:25:00.002+07:00

A pair of iPads was just revealed in the FCC's system in perfect synchrony with that little pre-order sitch with which you may or may not already be familiar. Apple, of course, has a track record of timing its FCC filings perfectly so that virtually nothing is revealed before Cupertino wants it to be, and frankly, you're not going to get much here that you didn't already know -- the photographs (both external and internal) and the user manual are all still under confidentiality. Both units were tested for WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth, while one -- model number A1337 -- adds in GSM 850 / 1900 and UMTS 850 / 1900, so it appears that Apple has bundled all of its 3G and non-3G models into just two filings regardless of storage capacity. We caught A1337 flipping through an old issue of 2600, so for all we know, it socially engineered its way to FCC approval -- whatever it takes to make that late-April launch window, right?

FCC (1), FCC (2)

Lenovo CEO says mobile internet products will soon account for '70 to 80 percent' of sales

2010-03-13T09:23:00.000+07:00

Lenovo may mostly be associated with laptops and all-business desktops these days, but it looks like the company's CEO hopes that won't be the case for too much longer. Speaking with the AP, Yang Yuanqing dropped the somewhat surprising statement that he expects mobile internet products to account for between 70 and 80 percent of the company's sales "within three to five years." Of course, Yang didn't specify exactly what constitutes a "mobile internet product" for Lenovo, but we'd assume it includes things like the company's new IdeaPad S10-3t (and possibly even traditional laptops), or else it really has its work cut out for itself. He further went on to add that Lenovo is focused on a "protect and attack" strategy over the longer term, noting that while China accounts for half of its global sales at the moment, it's now facing increased competition from the likes of Dell and HP both at home and abroad.

Physorg

Entourage Edge review

2010-03-13T09:22:00.001+07:00

Is it an Android tablet? An e-reader? Just a sweet gadget with two screens? Truth is the Entourage Edge is a little bit of everything, and that's exactly why we've been so intrigued with the "dualbook" since we fondled it at CES. Finally ready to make its shipping debut, the $499 dual screen device is aimed at students, but really it's for anyone interested in a combination 9.7-inch E Ink reading / note-taking experience and a 10.1-inch Android web tablet. It's sounded very cool to us for quite a while, but there's always a difference between hype and reality. Does the Edge live up to its promise or attempt to do too much? The only place to find out is after the break in our full review.

Entourage Edge review

Look and feel

Here's the thing about the inch-thick Edge – it's large. The size of a netbook large. It's not only thicker than most e-readers – three times thicker than the Kindle DX -- but it's heavier too. Holding up the three-pound device while lying on a couch was more of an upper body work out than we'd care for, but we do assume most students will stand it up or lay it flat on a desk. And like the Motorola Backflip, the Edge has taken some yoga classes: it can do the reverse clamshell and flip its screens so that they lie back to back. We'd be lying if we said we thought the Edge was attractive. When closed the glossy white and boxy design continually made us think that it belonged in a sterile hospital room, and its silverish gray trim doesn't really do much for us either. Entourage does plan to offer a variety of colors, but it's still quite vanilla looking. The other thing that makes the Edge look like a laptop is the number of ports that surround it: two USB, a micro-USB, mic and headphone jacks, and SIM and SD card slots. A stylus is tucked into the side, and a curious three megapixel camera lives above the LCD screen. We looked through Android menus for about 20 minutes before we realized there's no way to use it -- a future software update will apparently enable camera functionality.

E-reader experience

Like the Kindle DX, the Edge's 1200 x 825-pixel, 9.7-inch E-Ink screen is spacious and fits more text on the page than the average six-inch reader. As usual, there's a fairly long refresh when turning pages and zooming in on text, but we really found the overall reading experience to be pleasant. It's easy to page through a book using the physical forward and back buttons, though it would have been nice if finger swipes on the touch-enabled E Ink display did the same. Speaking of the touch, it's pretty nice: you can underline/highlight text and jot down notes in the margin or in a separate journal page with the included stylus, and you also can save a marked up page or journal document as a PDF and then easily transfer it to the LCD screen and email it to a friend. Pretty impressive, but because the screen is E Ink based the writing experience is laggy; there's about a second delay until the text shows up. Those worried about missing a word can always launch the Android audio recorder which uses the Edge's dual microphones. They picked up a bit of background noise when we recorded a meeting, but we could clearly make out the conversation. As an e-reader the Edge is actually solid until it comes to buying books. Though you can download books over the air from the Entourage Edge store, the selection is lacking compared to Amazon and Barnes & Noble's e-book stores, not to mention quite expensive. Entourage says there are over 225,000 trade books, 65 current New York Times best sellers as well and over 1,500 newspapers in its store -- we found some titles by our favorite authors including Nick Hornby and Jodi Picolt, but when searching for others like John Grisham we came up empty handed. The company is really banking on people using the device to download free ePub books and PDFs from Google Books. You can actually do this right from the Android browser on the LCD screen; once you download a book the Edge automatically puts it in your library and will open it on the E Ink display. You can also sideload content either using the SD slot or by transferring files to the 4GB of onboard memory directly from your desktop.

Android tablet experience

It's when you start using the 10.1-inch Android tablet on the right side that the Edge shows signs of weakness. While the standard Android 1.6 apps are present and Entourage has also thrown in Docs to Go, the Edge doesn't support the Android Marketplace. Yes, this means no downloading your favorite Android apps, and yes, it sucks. We felt lost without our go-to internet radio and Twitter apps. As a consolation, we're also told that the company is planning on launching its own Android app store for the device soon. The rest of the Android experience is also quite mediocre. To its credit the company has added a nice shortcut bar to the home screen with icons to the library, bookstore, browser and e-mail, but the resistive touchscreen gets in the way of smoothly navigating menus and browsing the web. While we got the hang of having to press harder on the screen and on the virtual keyboard, we seemed to select the wrong links and letters more often than not. There's a trackball on the right to make up for it, but it just felt counterintuitive to switch between the screen and the ball. In the end, the tablet is best used for light web browsing, checking email and listening to some music -- the speakers between the screens are actually fairly loud. Oh and while the company promises Flash Lite support, we couldn't get YouTube videos to play in the browser, and the YouTube app isn't preloaded.

Performance and battery life

As for performance, we don't necessarily think the Edge is slow -- it's just not fast. It certainly isn't as fast as an Atom netbook or the Snapdragon-powered Nexus One, but the Marvell Armada PXA168 processor was fine for keeping open a few browser tabs and playing some music in the background. However, it was sluggish when having to backtrack through menus. WiFi browsing speed was decent; it took 4 seconds to load Engadget.com. There's a SIM slot on the top of the device, but like so much else on the Edge, it hasn't been enabled yet. Battery life is really dependent on what you're doing. With WiFi and both screens turned on the Edge only lasted four hours. That's pretty awful for an ARM-based tablet like this, but if you turn off the LCD screen in settings – we wish there was a physical switch for this – it should get over 16 hours of standby. (That's still less than the Kindle's three days.) Oddly, when we closed the device it didn't go to sleep, but this will apparently be fixed in the first firmware update. Still, you'll have to charge the Edge quite frequently -- too bad the charger is larger and less portable than most laptop AC adapters.

Wrap-up

Yes, the Edge is a combination e-reader and a Android tablet -- it just doesn't quite work well as either. For $499 there are just too many issues with it, including its chunky body, skimpy e-book selection, frustrating touchscreen, poor battery life and lack of Android apps. While promised software updates may yet fix enough issues and enable enough features to perhaps make it a decent textbook replacement for some students, we just can't say that its worth the cash right now. And so our wait continues.

Nokia asks court to dismiss part of Apple patent lawsuit

2010-03-13T09:20:00.002+07:00

How do we know we're years away from a final resolution to the Nokia / Apple patent lawsuit? It's been six months since Nokia first filed its complaint, and the two parties are just now starting to argue about which specific substantive claims they're eventually going to argue about. Let's do a quick refresh: at the heart of the lawsuit is a conflict over Nokia's wireless patents, some of which are almost certainly essential to how cell data and WiFi operate. As a member of the ETSI and the IEEE licensing groups which oversee GSM and WiFi, Nokia's required to license its patents to anyone who asks on fair terms, but those terms aren't set in stone -- Nokia can negotiate separate licenses as it sees fit, and it apparently wanted Apple to cross-license its touchscreen patents as part of the deal. Apple said no, and now we're all in court, with both sides alleging patent infringement in three different lawsuits (one of which is on hold) and Apple claiming that Nokia is also liable for breach of contract, because it promised fair licensing terms and didn't deliver. Got all that? Right. So that brings us to yesterday, when Nokia asked the court to dismiss all of Apple's contract-related claims, saying that they're simply a distraction from the real issue, which is patents, and that its license offers aren't unfair simply because Apple doesn't like them. In short: Apple and Nokia's patent lawsuit is currently not really about patents at all, but about whether or not it should also be a fight about contract terms in addition to a fight about patents, and that question won't be resolved for months. And that's why ~~vigilante justice is the future of America's tarnished civilization~~ something like 90 percent of patent cases eventually settle out of court. P.S. Oh, and in case you're wondering, today Reuters reported that the first trial date isn't expected until 2012. So, yeah.

BusinessWeek, Motion to Dismiss (PDF)

Wacom Cintiq 21UX hands-on

2010-03-13T09:20:00.001+07:00

It's almost too much to take in all at once. Sure, the $1,999 Cintiq 21UX pen display is priced out of reach for most of us mere mortals who "don't draw good," but the pure lustworthiness of this unit sure makes us try to forget that inconvenient fact. The expanded movability of Wacom's latest is commendable, the pen input is naturally great, the screen is beautiful, and even those new rear-mounted touchpads seem helpful. It would take someone much more familiar with professional draw-ist-ing to really speak to the more specific merits of the 21UX, but from a mere standpoint of inspiring irrational desire in our hearts, Wacom seems to have done a pretty good job this time out. Check out a video of the screen in action after the break.

Wacom Cintiq 21UX hands-on

FCC comes through with a Consumer Broadband Test app for iPhone, Android and the home

2010-03-13T09:18:00.000+07:00

We talk about the FCC a lot here, but usually the ways ye olde Commission affects our lives are indirect. A little extra spectrum here, a nice leaked image there, that kind of thing. Not this time, though, as the FCC is getting involved directly with its own Consumer Broadband Test app, designed to probe network latencies and download speeds on your home connection or mobile device. Part of the hallowed National Broadband Plan, this will furnish the FCC will useful data to show the discrepancy between advertised and real world broadband speeds, and will also -- more importantly perhaps -- serve as a neat way for users to directly compare network performance in particular areas. It's available on the App Market and App Store right now, with versions for other operating systems coming up, so why not get with the program and give it a test drive?

Switched

FCC

HDI headquarters walkthrough: details galore on the new face of in-home 3D

2010-03-13T09:15:00.000+07:00

Call it an inexplicable fascination, or call it all-out geek lust over a screen with three digits in the "diagonal screen size" specification field -- either way, we had little choice but to shuttle over to HDI's nondescript Los Gatos, California headquarters in order to check out what even Steve Wozniak has been quoted as saying is the best 3D solution out there. While stationed on the west coast this week for GDC, we grabbed a camera and bolted down the 280 in order to get a sneak peek at the aforesaid firm, a tight-knit startup that currently has prototype displays in production and plans for far more. We've heard plenty through the grapevine, but we set out to get our questions answered directly, and possibly even provide some insight that has yet to be made available to the public thus far. For those unaware, HDI's flagship product is a planned 103-inch 3D HDTV that uses a proprietary technology in order to showcase content in the third dimension (or 2D, if you'd like). We sat down with Chris Stuart (Director of Technology) and Edmund Sandberg (Chief Technology Officer) in order to get an overview of the tech, set the story straight in regard to pricing and availability, and dig in a little deeper on its plans for distribution and expansion. We also plopped down in front of the company's prototype 97-inch set and a 46-inch 3D LCD that has remained mostly a myth up until now, and we've certainly got plenty to share in terms of impressions. If you're eager to learn more (and take a behind-the-scenes look at a television R&D lab), give that 'Read More' link a gentle press.

HDI 3D prototype HDTVs

Company overview We should start by mentioning that HDI's 3D solution actually is different than what's already out there in the market, as it uses a laser-based projection solution along with a magical mix of optics and LCoS in order to drive a gargantuan 103-inch panel. The glasses required for use are passive in nature, with the outfit's CTO expressing a distinct distaste for active-shutter alternatives that he claims creates discomfort after extended viewing. We were able to take a look at the actual laser array and the rest of the guts that make everything with the set tick (shown in the gallery below), with the company confessing that the actual laser array was the most expensive part in the whole equation (upwards of $20,000 in extremely small quantities, but far cheaper when produced in bulk). In short, HDI was created from the desire to have a different approach to 3D; Edmund noted that most consumers only view active-shutter solutions in stores for a couple of minutes before being impressed enough to make a purchasing decision, but few actually hang around in Best Buy to watch a two hour feature on them. He personally cannot stand the "flicker effect" that many folks see from the battery-powered glasses that are required for this (admittedly inexpensive to implement) solution, and he claims that HDI's passive method is far easier on the eye (and brain, for that matter).

HDI 3D components and behind-the-scenes R&D tour

Pricing and distribution details on 103-inch HDI 3D HDTV Before breaking into our own take on his claims and HDI's technology, we'd like to share a few exclusive details about the company's product line. As of today, a grand total of three 103-inch, HDI-branded 3D televisions are in production, and all three are decidedly "prototype builds." These three have actually been purchased by eager consumers overseas who were willing to pay a stiff premium for early access, with an understanding that certain kinks may be worked out in the final model. Early this summer, 10 to 12 more sets will hit the production line, with this batch reserved for select studios and offices where powerful people in the industry will be able to access and demo them with ease. Around 5 to 6 months from now, the company will nail down the last great hurdle before mass commercialization can occur: a custom curved optics solution that will bend and direct laser light within the 10-inch deep cabinet that the 1080p 103-inch panel will reside in. Once that's nailed down, HDI has full intentions of mashing "go" on mass production, though we're told that those final builds will not ship to distributors (and in turn, customers) until "Q2 or Q3 2011." We were told that earlier reports of a June 2010 launch were taken out of context, and that only the aforementioned trio of beta versions would have a remote shot at shipping out within a few months from now.

HDI's custom laser solution

Specification breakdown Turns out, the company actually had advanced conversations with many of the mainstays in the television industry, with initial hopes being to license their 3D solution for use in existing sets from the Sonys, Toshibas and Sharps of the world. Curiously enough, no one was interested in ponying up, with most of them seeming to think that they could implement a similar enough solution to appease the masses without forking over additional cash to someone else (read: HDI). After that rude awakening, HDI decided to simply start a TV company, with the upcoming 103-incher to boast HDI branding and all. We learned that the outfit will be aiming the set specifically at high-end, custom install users as well as corporate boardrooms, studios, sports bars and pretty much anyone who would consider CEDIA their favorite trade show of the year. As for distributors? You can expect to see the set offered in high end AV retailers (Fry's was casually mentioned), as well as independent custom install shops. Because the device is designed to hang flush on a wall, we learned that the first units will ship with a breakout box (similar to Runco's 70-inch Crystal Series CX-70DH), putting an array of inputs in your AV rack rather than on the panel itself. When talking specifics, we gleaned that the box would accommodate component, VGA and HDMI, while DVI and DisplayPort were still being mulled as possibilities. We also found that the unit will ship with a built-in 2D-to-3D processor that's said to be far superior to solutions that are on the market today; put simply, the TV will accept conventional 2D programming and convert it on-the-fly to 3D. Granted, the effect won't be nearly as surreal compared to material that's shot and produced for 3D viewing, but it's a nice bonus nonetheless. The final tidbits that we had yet to hear prior to our visit had to do with audio and accessories; HDI is planning to ship the set with an integrated soundbar that spans from one side to the other using a litany of drivers to create faux surround sound. They wouldn't go so far as to confirm an embedded wireless chip for attaching a cord-free subwoofer in the future, but they did mention that a Wireless HD solution could eventually be utilized to cut the tether between the breakout box and the panel itself. As a bonus? The team is considering the inclusion of a DIY 3D camcorder, which would give owners the ability to shoot and create their own 3D content right out of the box. The mockup shown to us in Los Gatos was little more than two JVC camcorders mounted on a straight bar in order to shoot the same thing a few inches apart, but obviously the sky's the limit in terms of implementing this kind of peripheral bundle. Oh, and given that you're dying for a price right about now, we were able to confirm that the final 103-inch set -- complete with a soundbar and possibly with a 3D camcorder -- would cost between $10,000 and $15,000. That ain't cheap, but HDI isn't planning on selling these to Average Joes and Janes. And when you consider that Panasonic's (2D only) 103-inch TH-103PF10UK currently sells for around $40,000 and Bang & Olufsen's version of the same thing (dubbed BeoVision 4) runs just under $95,000, HDI's alternative suddenly feels like a veritable bargain.

Front projector and 46-inch 3D LCD As for the rest of its product line? The company admitted that its projection technology could easily be wrapped into a front projector, and it seemed to indicate that an overhead version would ship at about the same time as the TV. The primary difference here (besides the drastic change in form factor) is the installation difficulty; the 3D HDTV could theoretically be installed sans any help from outside parties, while HDI will recommend installations for the front projector due to the requisite screen that will be bundled with it. We weren't given specifics surrounding front projector pricing, only that it would be "somewhat higher" due to the de-speckling screen that would be required for use. Finally, we saw the only two 46-inch HDI 3D HDTV prototypes in existence, and while Edmund and Chris both seemed to think that the effect was optimal at 60-inches and above, we got the impression that an LCD version in the 46- to 70-inch range would also be hitting shelves in mid-to-late 2011. HDI 3D impressions So, onto impressions. We've witnessed 3D from a variety of sources, be it in a RealD theater, NVIDIA's active-shutter 3D Vision gaming or Sony's own active solution. Without a doubt, HDI's 3D HDTV was the best in-home 3D product that we've had the pleasure of viewing. Granted, a lot of the wow-factor comes from seeing content that was specifically designed for 3D viewing on a display that's simply enormous, but we'd say that HDI has the immersive factor nailed. We watched a variety of clips for a solid half-hour, and while very slight eye strain was present at times, it certainly wasn't anything out of the ordinary. We also mentioned to Chris our desire for 3D glasses that swallowed more of our face (we know, we know...) in order to prevent us from seeing the rims of the spectacles in our periphery, and he acknowledged that the company was looking into various designs that could utilize larger lenses for those bothered by the frames. We took the opportunity to walk all around the display, and even standing a foot away from the screen, the effect was still present. Viewing angles were as good as we'd seen on a panel, with the 3D effect following us (sans blur and artifacts, mind you) as we walked from one extreme edge to the other. Of course, not everything was perfect; minor ghosting and blurring was present on certain clips, but overall, the images popping off the screen were striking. We can't help but think back to the first time we witnessed Mitsubishi's LaserVue HDTV -- to this day, that remains the most visually stunning 2D television that we've seen, so it's pretty safe to say that we're fans of this whole laser thing. Gaming on HDI's 3D solution As enjoyable as watching 3D content was, it simply didn't hold a candle to the experience of playing Avatar: The Game in 3D, at 1080p, with all details cranked. Naturally, you'd need a Core i7 machine with a fairly potent GPU in order to pull something similar off, but if you're springing for a $15,000 television, you've probably got an Alienware or two that you're using to prop your feet up at night. The amount of depth and the accuracy at which the game was rendered was nothing short of stunning. Cruising around beneath rock formations and watching armies of enemies congregate in the background provided a whole new feel to the game, and if executed well on the developer's end, we could totally see this taking off far quicker than mainstream 3D television viewing.

46-inch 3D experience vs. 97-inch 3D experience If you're curious about how the 46-inch set compared to the 97-inch prototype, here's the honest truth: it's dramatically less immersive, and is more of a nice addition than a completely new experience. The big boy also has the advantage of shooting 1080p to each eye, whereas the 46-inch LCD uses a modified polarization technique that cuts down on the perceived resolution. From afar, the 46-inch set was delightful in its own right, but again, that's only if you're actually okay with donning 3D glasses to enjoy your programming. If you're no fan of strapping something on your face in order to see things differently on your set, this solution -- nor any other, really -- will change your mind.

Technicalities and software plans We'll close by explaining how exactly the 97-inch prototype was setup, and how that'll differ from the completely enclosed 103-inch version that's set to ship to the earliest of adopters in prototype form later this summer. Put simply, the screen you see hanging on the wall here has a massive cutout behind it leading into the next room; within that room was a box of lasers that were being channeled via fiber optic cabling to a projection box. The projection was beamed out onto a substantially large mirror, which then hit the rear of the screen and produced the image that we witnessed in the demo room. Essentially, this is an exploded, full-scale version of the miniaturized and optimized process that'll occur within a 10-inch chassis on the final build. And as for those GUI shots below? That's HDI's first attempt at crafting a media portal that would enable buyers to easily find (and even upload or sell) 3D material, and we were duly impressed with just how slick it looked. Even the XBMC-based beta was web-connected, with Chris noting that it could easily be shaped to pull down web content feeds or RSS information. Plans about including this at launch are still in the works, but giving people an avenue for procuring tough-to-find 3D content from the get-go sure sounds like a bright idea from our perspective.

HDI 3D custom user interface

Oh, and one last thing -- if you've got your heart set on owning one of these monsters, and you're in no position to wait until the fall of next year to take delivery, you can purchase a fully functional beta build right now. All that's required is two months worth of patience, a valid shipping address and around $100,000. Think we're kidding? Give 'em a ring, and have that Centurion Card number ready to rattle off.

Leave No Trace: How to Completely Erase Your Hard Drives, SSDs and Thumb Drives

2010-03-13T00:21:00.002+07:00

With stories abounding of identity theft aided by information lifted from discarded storage devices, you want devices you no longer plan to use to have no usable information when they head out the door. Here's how to wipe them clean.

Why Erasing Files Is Not Enough

Sure, you could erase the contents of the drive, but keep this in mind: the act of erasing a file does not remove it from a storage device.

When you erase/delete a file from your computer, it's not really gone until the areas of the disk it used are overwritten by new information. If you use the normal Windows delete function, the "deleted" file is sent to the Recycle Bin until the space it uses is required by other files. If you use Shift-Delete to bypass the Recycle Bin, the space occupied by the file is marked as available for other files. However, the file could be recovered days or even weeks later with third-party data recovery software. As long as the operating system does not reuse the space occupied by a file with another file, the "deleted" file can be recovered.

With SSDs, the erased file situation is even more complex. SSDs store data in blocks rather than in sectors as with magnetic storage. Overwriting a block was previously used involves copying the contents of the block to cache, wiping the block's contents, delete the block to be overwritten from cache, writing the new data to cache, and rewriting the block with the new data. As an SSD is used with files that are deleted or changed frequently, the performance can drop unless the drive (and operating system) support a technology called TRIM that wipes out deleted data blocks as soon as the file using the blocks is deleted. TRIM is supported by Windows 7 and by some late model SSDs, but not by older Windows versions. So, disk wiping can be both a security feature and a performance improvement strategy.

Data Wiping Versus File Erasure

While erasing files simply marks file space as available for reuse, data wiping overwrites all data space on a storage device, replacing useful data with garbage data. Depending upon the method used, the overwrite data could be zeros (also known as "zero-fill") or could be various random patterns.

Products that can be used for wiping hard disks might not be suitable for wiping other types of drives. In this article, we will look at methods for securely wiping hard disks, USB flash memory devices, flash memory cards, and SSDs.

Zero-Fill a Hard Disk

Time Needed: several hours (varies with size and speed of drive) Software: Hard disk utility software from your drive vendor Media: blank CD or floppy disk

Although writing zeroes across the entire hard disk surface (aka "zero-filling") is not sufficient to meet government data sanitation (disk wiping) standards such as DoD 5220.22-M or the more comprehensive Standards and Technologies (NIST) Special Publication 800-88, overwriting the entire hard disk prevents most types of data recovery from being successful.

Here's where to get zero-fill software from hard disk vendors:

Hitachi Drive Fitness Test (see website for specific models supported) http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT Select the Erase Drive feature to zero-fill your hard disk

Samsung HUtil (see website for specific models supported) http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/support/utilities/Support_HUTIL.html Use Tool, Erase HDD to zero-fill your hard disk

Seagate (including Maxtor) SeaTools for DOS (see website for specific models supported) http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatools Use Full Erase to zero-fill your hard disk

Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostics (select drive model for specific version recommended) http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?lang=en Use Write Zeros to drive to zero-fill your hard disk 1. Determine the brand and model of hard disk you want to overwrite. 2. Download a CD ISO image or a floppy disk image (depending upon your equipment) and use the image to create bootable media. The floppy disk image is self-contained: run it, insert a blank floppy disk when prompted, and the image is created on the disk. You will need to use a CD burning program that works with ISO images to convert the ISO image into a bootable CD. 3. Restart your computer with the bootable media you created in Step 2. 4. Select the hard disk to zero-fill when prompted. 5. Choose the option to zero-fill the hard disk. 6. When the program is finished, follow the on-screen instructions to shut down or restart your computer. 7. Remove the wiped hard disk; you can now reuse or recycle the hard disk.

Secure Wiping a Hard Disk

Secure wiping goes beyond zero-fill operations, and provides an extra level of security. Most secure wiping programs are designed to meet DoD 5220 standards, which require three passes of overwriting with a special numeric pattern and verification. More information about this and other secure standards are available from the DataErasure website.

(Note that the 2007 revision of the Defense Security Service, Updated DSS Clearing and Sanitization Matrix (June 28, 2007) (PDF) now recommends degaussing or drive destruction for maximum protection. Stanford University's Disk and Data Sanitization Policy and Guidelines, a must-read for understanding data wiping issues, recommends Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) for secure hard disk wiping.

Secure Wiping a Hard Disk with DBAN

Time Needed: several hours (varies with size and speed of drive) Software: Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN); available from http://www.dban.org/ Media: blank CD (all versions) or floppy disk (version 1.0.7 and older versions)

1. Download the DBAN boot image ZIP file (we used version 1.0.7 and beta version 2.0 for this article); we downloaded the ISO image for CD burning, but a floppy disk builder is also available 2. Extract the contents of the compressed file. 3. Burn the ISO image file extracted in Step 2 to CD; see our article on how to do this, or use the built-in ISO CD image burning support in Windows 7. If you downloaded the floppy image builder, run the program to create a bootable floppy disk. 4. Restart the computer using the CD or floppy disk created in Step 3. 5. Press Enter to run DBAN in interactive mode. 6. Use up and down arrow keys to highlight the drive to wipe. 7. Press the space bar to select the drive. 8. Press M to select the wiping method. 9. Press F10 to begin the wipe process. 10. At the end of the process, shut down the system. You can reuse or recycle the wiped hard disk.

Note: if DBAN is unable to recognize your SATA hard disks, configure your system BIOS to use IDE mode rather than AHCI mode.

Wiping Flash Memory Cards and USB Drives

Programs such as DBAN or vendor-supplied hard disk utilities are limited in the devices they support: they are designed to work with internal ATA/IDE or SATA hard disks only. Programs that work with flash memory cards and USB flash drives often support hard disks as well, enabling you to use a single program for all disk wiping processes. Roadkil's DataWipe can be used with any hard disk, floppy disk, or flash drive that has a drive letter.

Wiping Flash Memory Cards with Roadkil's DiskWipe

Time Needed: Varies; from a few minutes to several hours, depending upon size and speed of drive and computer Software: Roadkil's DiskWipe, available from http://www.roadkil.net/ Media: Can be run from Windows desktop

1. Download Roadkil's DiskWipe. 2. Extract the contents of the compressed file. 3. Open DiskWipe. If you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7, right-click the program icon and select Run as Administrator. 4. Select the drive to wipe. 5. Select the type of wipe to perform; DiskWipe can zero-fill the disk or write random data. 6. Enter the number of passes. 7. Click Erase to start the process. 8. At the end of the process, close the program. You can reuse the wiped disk.

Wiping SSDs

To solve write performance problems on drives that don't support TRIM (check with your drive vendor for firmware upgrades) is to use wiper.exe (included with some SSDs) or to run the Secure Erase feature supported in most recent ATA/IDE and SATA drives. The Secure Erase feature can be activated on many systems by running Secure Erase 4.0 (HDDerase.exe), available from http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase.shtml. Version 4.0 works with most recent ATA/IDE and SATA hard disks and SSDs, but if you use an Intel X-25M, X-25E, or X-18M SSD, follow this link to download Secure Erase 3.3 http://www.iishacks.com/index.php/2009/06/30/how-to-secure-erase-reset-an-intel-solid-state-drive-ssd/. Note that it is no longer being developed, and we were unable to use it on a system running an AMD 690 chipset.

Wiping Drives and Free Space with SDelete

SDelete is a free program from Microsoft's TechNet Sysinternals collection. It runs from the command line, and can be used to wipe drives, wipe files, or wipe free space.

Time Needed: Varies; from a few minutes to several hours, depending upon size and speed of drive and computer Software: TechNet Sysinternal's SDelete, available from http://technet.microsoft.com

Media: Can be run from Windows desktop

1. Download SDelete. 2. Extract the contents of the compressed file. 3. Copy sdelete.exe to c:\windows\system32\ (this will enable you to run it from any location) 4. Open a command prompt session with Administrator rights. 5. To wipe all files on drive X: and its subdirectories and to wipe free space, enter Sdelete -p 2 –s -z X:\*.* (to see all command-line switches, enter Sdelete with no options) 6. Wait; the program displays status messages as it runs. When the program is finished, you can reuse or dispose of the drive.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Disk Wiping Programs

We used demo versions of two popular data recovery programs to evaluate some of the disk wiping programs discussed in this article. To determine whether a typical data recovery program could recover files on a SD card wipe with Roadkil's DiskWipe, we first of all formatted the card using a card reader. Ontrack's EasyRecovery Data Recovery (available from http://www.ontrack.com) had no difficulty finding folders and files to retrieve.

However, when we used DiskWipe to wipe the drive using a one-pass blank disk (zero fill) operation, EasyRecovery DataRecovery was unable to find the file system, let alone any files or folders.

After reformatting the card, taking a few photos, and deleting the photos, EasyRecovery Data Recovery was able to find the new photos, but the contents of the card before running WipeDisk were unrecoverable.

To evaluate SDelete, we used SDelete to wipe all of the files on a hard disk, but omitted the –z switch; when –z is not used, SDelete deletes files and renames them, but does not clear free space. To determine what might be visible, we used a demo version of Disk Doctors NTFS Data Recovery software, available from http://www.diskdoctors.net.

Disk Doctors were able to locate the deleted folder and Outlook Express message folders, but SDelete had renamed them from their original names and DBX extensions (Outlook Express message folders). If you use SDelete, it's very important that you take time to use the –z switch to clear free space on the disk (once a file is deleted, the space it occupies is free space).

We also used Disk Doctors to evaluate the effectiveness of a freeware program called Eraser, which can delete and overwrite files and folders from the right-click menu. We created a documents folder with a subfolder called Figures and used Eraser to overwrite the folder and subfolder using its default settings.

Disk Doctors was able to locate the folders, but the contents are files with garbage names and are zero bytes in size – except for leftover word processing temporary files (files that begin with $). These filenames were not changed, which could enable a snooper to figure out the names of the files in the folder – although the files themselves were destroyed. By using more overwrites or different methods available with Eraser, a more thorough wiping may be possible.

Conclusion

We've highlighted a variety of free ways to protect data on castoff drives from being retrieved. As you can see, your best bet is to overwrite data directly, but you also might want to consider using a program such as SDelete to scramble filenames first and then use a disk wiper such as Eraser or WipeDisk to finish the job.

Use demo versions of data recovery programs such as Ontrack Easy Recovery Data Recovery, Disk Doctors Data Recovery (various editions for NTFS, FAT, and flash media), and others to evaluate the effectiveness of your data wiping procedures. Remember, the full versions of these and other data recovery programs can save your data if you accidentally format or partition a disk because, until the data is overwritten, it's still there.

Maximum PC brings you the latest in PC news, reviews, and how-tos.

Leave No Trace: How to Completely Erase Your Hard Drives, SSDs and Thumb Drives

2010-03-13T00:21:00.001+07:00

Back in January 2009, as Vodafone was preparing to close a £20 million ($30 million) deal to buy Swedish mapmaker Wayfinder, it was seen as a bold move from a carrier intent on entering the apparently lucrative market for location based services. Fast forward to the present day -- past the bit where free Google Maps Navigation destroyed TomTom and Garmin share prices, and past the introduction of free turn-by-turn navigation to Nokia's Ovi Maps -- and you'll find Wayfinder gently sobbing into a handkerchief as it permanently closes up its doors. Vodafone's Anna Cloke gives us the reason for it with devastating concision:

"We could not charge for something that others gave away for free."

So there we have it, the paid navigation services deathwatch has its first fatality, and it's the unfortunate nature of the beast that plenty of others will be following suit, unable to resist the destructive effects of the free and ubiquitous services now on offer. [Thanks, Chris]

Sydsvenskan.se

iKat Augmented Reality App Works Without Real-World Prompt

2010-03-13T00:15:00.003+07:00

Apart from the name—which I personally approve of very much—Zenitum's iKat app has another cool edge to it. It's (we think) the first augmented reality phone app to work without a marker, or real-world prompt.

The app itself is pretty basic, just a cartoon-like pet running around on whatever surface you aim the phone at. Zenitum, the South Korean company behind iKat, says the app has to recognize an environment to work:

"Based on Zenitum's D-Track engine, we are working on markerless mobile augmented reality application, iKat. You are breeding a virtual kitten on the phone. The kitten can be mixed into real world using AR. Since no markers or image targets are needed, you need to recognize the space in front of the camera for creating the appropriate space for your kitten."

Here's the app working:

It's all built using Zenitum's D-Track software, which is explained in this video below:

iKat is a neat stepping stone for augmented reality, and while the app itself doesn't do much, I'm sure Zenitum will be expanding their technology for further use. [Zenitum via Recombu]

First Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Series devices to boast 480 x 800 pixel displays, HD2 owners sigh

2010-03-13T00:08:00.000+07:00

Even though Microsoft's big MIX event is still days away, the Windows Phone 7 Series development platform is already pretty well defined. It's also clear that Microsoft wants to keep things tidy for developers by requiring all WP7 phones to meet a certain base-level spec. Now, thanks to a post from Microsoft's Shawn Hargreaves, we know the display resolution for the first batch of Microsoft's next generation phones: 480 x 800 (WVGA) pixels at launch, with a future update that will introduce a 320 x 480 (HVGA) native resolution. Dedicated hardware will ensure image scaling across all those pixels without taxing the GPU. That allows game developers, for example, to write to a lower resolution (requiring less horsepower) and then scale up as required while remaining compatible to a variety of screen resolutions. Now, for those playing along at home, the HD2 getting ready to launch on T-Mobile in the USA is also WVGA and it features a 1GHz Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm, Microsoft's WP7 silicon partner. So we can assume (but not guarantee) that it meets the image scaling hardware requirements described by Hargreaves. Man, if only the HD2 had three-buttons. [Thanks, Cytrix]

Mobile Tech World

Shawn Hargreaves Blog

Keyport Slide now ready for your $295

2007-12-05T17:53:00.000+07:00

What? A month not long enough to scrounge up 29,500 pennies? That's really too bad, as the limited edition Keyport Slide is now available to anyone willing to fork over the aforementioned quantity of cash. Granted, we still think that's ~~a touch~~ entirely too pricey for what you're getting, but hey, at least you can pick between four colors, right? [Thanks, William]

Xbox 360 HD DVD player stoops to $129

2007-12-05T17:47:00.000+07:00

Not even six months after the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive fell to an oh-so-tempting $179, the unit has now reached an even lower low. That's right kids, the attachment has just plummeted to a juicy $129, which would honestly sound a whole lot sweeter if not for that sub-$100 HD DVD fiasco still lingering in our heads. Nevertheless, we've already noticed the player's new price tag over at Amazon and Toys R Us, but feel free to point out any other price slashings in comments below. Read - $129.99 at Amazon Read - $129.98 at Toys R Us

Photographer drops suit against Apple for lifting images in advertising

2007-12-05T17:44:00.000+07:00

It's not clear whether or not a settlement agreement was reached, but photographer Louis Psihoyos, who sued Apple over what he claimed was an infringing use of his "wall of video" image (pictured) in marketing materials for the Apple TV, has dropped his suit. The suit was dropped with prejudice, which means a settlement is likely, but neither party is commenting on the matter. Either way, let's hope Apple is a little more judicious in appropriating art for advertising in the future.

Michael Bay's format war conspiracy theory: it's a Microsoft fix

2007-12-05T15:40:00.000+07:00

It's no secret that Michael "Transformers" Bay prefers his high definition optical discs in the Blu variety, but what we didn't know was how convinced the man is that the whole format war is nothing but a stalling tactic, with Microsoft pulling all the strings. Responding to a commenter angry over Paramount's decision to burn Optimus and friends onto HD DVD only, Bay claims to have the inside track on the "corporate politics" at play here, suggesting that "Microsoft wants both formats to fail so they can be heroes and make the world move to digital downloads." He goes on to claim that Redmond has only been financially backing HD DVD over "superior Blu-ray" to create "confusion in the market" until such time as high def digital downloading goes prime time. In other words, if you believe Bay, Microsoft is backing a known loser in order to prolong a war it doesn't want anyone to win. Pretty wild theory, if you ask us -- hey, this guy should make movies.

[Thanks, Timothy and Kiwi616]

Cowon Q5W gets reviewed: needs work

2007-12-05T15:29:00.000+07:00

Now that the Cowon Q5W is finally on sale in the US, reviews are starting to spring up, and sadly, it looks like we'll have to put off our newfound love affair for a while -- while the device is sexy and the feature list is there, it seems like the interface just isn't up to snuff. The folks at Gadgetaholics are first off the line with a review, and while they praise the extensive feature list and codec support, it seems that the three-year-old Windows CE 5.0 OS just isn't quite as touch-compatible as that five-inch screen would have you believe, with the use of a stylus required for several features, including the onscreen keyboard. Worse, the Cowon shell runs as an app on top of the OS, requiring some unfortunate mode and context switching to change settings and run other apps. Video playback was also marred by glitches, including an inability to play certain supposedly compatible files and a hard lockup when attempting to load an unsupported .mov file. In the end, regardless of Q5W's impressive screen size and feature list, it looks like the Archos 605 might be a better bet -- we hope it can forgive us for straying.

Apple gives free iPods to kids affected by California wildfires

2007-12-05T15:27:00.000+07:00

It's a small, small consolation, but Apple has donated free iPod nanos to over 100 kids in a California school district who lost their homes in the recent wildfires. Affected high school students in Poway, California, received the devices after Steve Boyack, husband of a Poway city councilwoman, noticed that fundraising and gift drives organized by the city targeted mainly young children and older folks and decided to write Steve Jobs an email at his famously public email address. Steve didn't write back, but Michael Foulkes, Apple's senior manager for state and local government affairs, soon had the iPods on their way. Apple being Apple, it's declined to comment on the story, and Boyack says the company didn't want any publicity to begin with, saying, "It was strictly from the heart and just wanting to help." Love or hate Apple, you've got to respect them for trying to provide at least a little holiday cheer.

BBC rules report on WiFi dangers was "misleading"

2007-12-05T15:25:00.000+07:00

It looks like WiFi fearmongers now have one less tool to back up their slightly dubious arguments, as an official BBC complaints body has now ruled that a program on the subject that aired on the network earlier this year was "misleading." While the complaints body did find that the program's decision to focus on the issue was legitimate, it slammed it for giving a "misleading impression of the state of scientific opinion on the issue" -- specifically, by including only one contributor who disagreed with Sir William Stewart (who first raised the issue), as opposed to the number of other speakers who seconded Stewart's claims. Of course, this latest development will likely do little to rest altogether, what with plenty more "studies" out there where this one came from. [Via Slashdot]

BW-M2404 PMP takes a hint from your average digiframe

2007-12-05T15:22:00.000+07:00

We're not quite sure what to make of Best Wisdom Industrial's BW-M2404, which could easily be a diminutive digital photo frame or a fat-bordered PMP depending on how you see it. Nevertheless, the manufacturer claims it's the latter, so we'll stick with that until told otherwise. As for specs, this oddly-shaped device sports a 2.4-inch 320 x 240 resolution LCD, between 512MB and 4GB of internal storage, an SD expansion slot, image / text viewer, a few built-in games, USB 2.0 connectivity, a rechargeable Li-ion and support for MJPEG, FLV, WMV, QVGA, MP3, WMA, DRM, WMA, OGG, WAV, APE and FLAC file formats. You'll also find an FM tuner and an interesting control layout, but unfortunately, we've no idea what this awkward little bugger will actually run you. If intuition isn't leading us astray, we'd say you're better off in the dark. [Via PMPToday]

Copyright Royalty Board sets new satellite radio license fees

2007-12-05T15:20:00.000+07:00

It's not nearly as hotly-debated as the change to the webcasting rates, but our nation's esteemed Copyright Royalty Board has just issued a new set of license fees for satellite broadcasters -- also known as Sirius and XM. The new rates come after a year of legal wrangling -- the main point of contention was hashing out what revenue to measure to determine the license fees, and it looks like the broadcasters won on this one -- advertising and subscriptions count, but not hardware sales and data services. That said, the rates still look like they're pretty fair, all around: the six-year plan has the companies paying six percent of applicable revenues through 2008, 6.5 percent in 2009, seven percent in 2010, 7.5 percent in 2011, and eight percent in 2012. Of course, hopefully by then that pesky merger will finally be completed, so the rates will have to be adjusted further, but it's nice to know that the tunes are going to keep coming for a while longer. [Via OrbitCast]

Asus says it'll ship 3.8 million Eee PCs next year

2007-12-05T15:16:00.000+07:00

It's no secret that Asus has some big expectations for its low-cost Eee PC, but it looks like the company is now getting a bit more specific on the matter, with it saying it expects to ship some 3.8 million of the laptops in the next fiscal year. To put that in some perspective, HP (currently at the top of the laptop heap) shipped some 6.2 million laptops total in the last quarter, while Apple sold approximately 1.4 million in the same time period. Given that Asus is talking about one particular model (with few variations), however, 3.8 million in a year certainly isn't too shabby. What's more, as Daily Tech reports, at least some of those 3.8 million laptops will be shipping with Windows -- specifically, a stripped-down version of XP that's been designed for "emerging markets." Stripped-down or not, however, those'll apparently still demand a $30 to $60 premium over the base, non-Windows model. [Laptop sales figures courtesy of CNET News.com]

Troll Touch ships touchscreen iMacs

2007-12-05T15:15:00.000+07:00

Sure, it's not the real thing, but those of you aching for a taste of Steve's "research project" touch Macs can now order up the latest and greatest iMacs retrofitted with touchscreens from Troll Touch. The company's been putting its PSRT touchscreens on all sorts of displays for years, and much like the ModBook, the tech pretty much just works. Pricing for the new iMacs starts at $2499 for the base 2.0GHz 20-inch model and runs up to $3899 for the 2.8GHz 24-inch Core 2 Extreme, while those of you who want to upgrade your existing machines can get in on the action for $1099 (20 inch) or $1599 (24 inch). Shipping now, apparently.

Vista pirated half as much as XP, Microsoft rejoices

2007-12-05T15:14:00.000+07:00

While it admits it's not possible to pin down an exact number, Microsoft has let out word today that it estimates the counterfeit rate of Vista to be about half that of XP, a figure that it seems to be more than pleased with. Of course, one could interpret those numbers in slightly less positive ways, but Microsoft claims the sharp dip in piracy is due to Vista's amped up authentication system, which it says is a "proven and effective way to combat piracy." To come up with the numbers, Microsoft apparently relied statistics based on Windows Genuine Advantage validation failures, as well as other unspecified internal data. As TG Daily notes, all this follows Microsoft's announcement of revised anti-piracy measures in Vista SP1 and, specifically, some big changes to the aforementioned WGA feature.

STEC announces "cheap" 32GB to 512GB MLC NAND-based SSDs

2007-12-05T15:01:00.000+07:00

Everyone wants to be packing some of that sweet flash memory in their notebooks these days, but not everyone wants to shell out such high prices for such relatively measly capacities. Well along comes Santa Ana-based STEC Inc. with what it claims to be a breakthrough NAND technology that will allegedly slash the price of solid state drives down to just $2/GB within two years; specifically, the company says it has successfully leveraged so-called multi-level cell-based (MLC) NAND into SSDs with 90MB/s read / 60MB/s write speeds -- good enough to exceed platter-based hard drive performance at prices supposedly half of what they are today. STEC is currently shipping manufacturing samples between 32GB and an impressive 512GB (in a 2.5-inch form factor; the largest 1.8-inch drive is 128GB), although it remains to be seen how much of those savings will be passed along to the consumer when these eventually come to market.

Verizon gets behind Android, still iffy on Open Handset Alliance

2007-12-05T15:00:00.000+07:00

While it's still not clear if it's actually going to go so far as to join the Open Handset Alliance (as previously rumored), it looks like Verizon Wireless is at least getting behind the Android platform, marking a fairly significant shift from its previous position on the matter. According to Business Week, Verizon Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam now says that the company is "planning on using Android," adding that, "Android is an enabler of what we do." It seems that Verizon's embrace of open access won't include the same level of support that it offers to its current handset lineup, however, with the company only promising to "to ensure the wireless connection is working for customers who buy those devices" (although it will test all phones developed to run on its network). According to McAdam, customers will have to "talk to their handset provider or their application provider if they have particular issues." That, Verizon says, will allow it to offer far more devices than it's previously been able to, which should, in turn, attract customers it's previously been unable to lure in -- or so it hopes. [Via Phone Scoop]

Nokia's eco-friendly 3110 Evolve

2007-12-05T11:57:00.000+07:00

The just-announced 3110 Evolve candybar from Nokia is big on features. Not features of the gizmo sort, though -- quite the contrary, actually -- rather, features of the "Mother Nature will thank you" sort. As its name suggests, the phone appears to be an evolved version of the rather plain 3110 classic, a phone that features a 1.3 megapixel cam, FM radio, and a tri-band GSM radio. Certainly nothing to write home about there, but the Evolve's claim to fame is that it's rocking "bio-covers" made with over 50 percent renewable materials and comes in a box made of 60 percent recycled stuff. On the technical side, the Evolve's charger is Nokia's most efficient ever, delivering juice at a full 94 percent below Energy Star specifications. Looks like the Greenpeace love is destined to continue, eh? No word on pricing or availability for the 3110 Evolve just yet.

Xbox Live Video Marketplace to launch in Europe next week

2007-12-05T11:54:00.000+07:00

Just over a year after launching the Xbox Live Video Marketplace in the US, Microsoft is finally ready to bring the service to Europe, with Computer and Video Gaming reporting that it'll open for business on December 11. Sadly, it looks like it'll be rental-only, at least at first, with 720p flicks going for 320 MS points (about £3.23, or $6.64) and SD movies for 250 points (about £2.13, or $4.39). Rentals will stick around on your hard drive for 14 days after you download them, but once you hit play they'll delete themselves after 24 hours -- a system which seems needlessly complicated to us, but we'll take what we can get.

The solar-powered toothbrush returns

2007-12-05T11:45:00.000+07:00

Look, we know you think brushing your choppers is a chore, but perhaps it would be more interesting if you were harnessing the power of the sun in the process. We'd like to you to meet Dr. Kunio Komiyama, his good friend Dr. Gerry Uswak, and a little something they've whipped up for the Shiken company of Japan called the Soladey-J3X -- a new version of this solar-powered toothbrush. The brush -- which contains a moisture-activated, titanium dioxide rod in the neck -- works by creating a chemical reaction when light hits the rod, releasing electrons which combine with acids in the mouth to help break down plaque. The toothbrush has a solar panel at its base which transmits additional electrons through a lead wire, making this version more effective that previous iterations. The Soladey-J3X doesn't use toothpaste, but does lead to a, "Complete destruction of bacterial cells," according to Komiyama. Let's just hope no one from Crest tries to bump him off. [Via Canada.com]

Nikon D3 full frame DSLR unboxed

2007-12-05T11:21:00.000+07:00

So it looks like the first lucky individuals have started receiving their Nikon D3s in the mail -- lucky not just because they're the proud new owner of a 12.1 megapixel full frame DSLR with 6400 ISO, 51-point autofocus, two CF slots, HDMI, and a 3-inch live view LCD, but lucky because, you know, they can afford to spend $5,000 on a camera. For those of us who can only aspire to possess such luxuries, there are always a bunch of nice unboxing shots to really help flesh out our weird gadget fantasies.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Dell Latitude XT manual appears online, tablet still MIA

2007-12-04T20:41:00.000+07:00

We've been hearing that Dell's latest tablet, the Latitude XT, was supposed to hit this week, but here we are with nary a peep -- except for the shockingly uninteresting 245-page user manual that's just popped up on Dell's site. In addition to detailing such revolutionary features as the AC power adapter, wireless on / off switch, and keyboard status lights, it's also got one more nugget of info: it looks like Dell will be shipping a Core Solo version, which should make for scintillating performance when paired up with the integrated AMD RS600 graphics on this thing. Apart from that, it looks like those specs we saw a couple weeks ago were right on the money, so only the hardest of the hardcore need hit the read link to snag the entire PDF. [Thanks, Adam]

Vista SP1 kills the WGA kill switch

2007-12-04T20:37:00.000+07:00

Microsoft's anti-piracy system known (and loathed) as Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) is set to lose its bite. When Vista SP1 launches in early 2008, WGA will still identify -- ad-nauseam -- what it thinks to be non-legal copies of Vista. However, it will lose its ability to disable said systems. The change was announced in a presentation by WGA senior product manger, Alex Kochis, who said, "Based on customer feedback, we will not reduce user functionality on systems determined to be non-genuine." That should bring a swift end to WGA customer complaints related to false-positives, spyware concerns, or server glitches. Score one point for law-abiding citizens everywhere. [Via ZDNET, thanks Daniel S.]

NEC's Lui: for digital lifestyles not human waste

2007-12-04T20:28:00.000+07:00

NEC is rolling out a new home server / client solution for persons of the active "digital lifestyle." Dubbed "Lui," we're talking platform, not device, though the family kicks off with a trio of new devices for iEXPO in Japan. The idea here is simple enough (and certainly not new): a central home server manages your video, music and photos which can then be streamed out to a handheld "PC Remoter Pocket" and/or laptop "PC Remoter Notebook." The server features a pair of terrestrial digital high-def tuners with a DVR functionality operating independently of the PC. The PC Remoter Notebook brings a 10.6-inch WXGA LCD, measures 257 x 182-mm, and weights just 650-grams (1.4-pounds). The handheld MID device packs a 4.1-inch touchscreen and weighs just 250-grams (about 0.55-pounds). All should hit Japan en masse sometime before mid-2008. It's just a shame that the name sounds like a french toilet. Plenty of pics over at Aki. [Via Akihabara News]

Nokia's "Comes with Music" free subscription service -- cancel, keep the music

2007-12-04T20:00:00.000+07:00

So here's the deal. Nokia just launched a "Comes with Music" program. No, not software, but a deal which allows you to buy a Nokia device with a year of unlimited, subscription access to "millions of tracks." Once the year is complete however, customers can keep all their downloaded music -- it doesn't disappear just because the subscription is over. What's the catch? Don't know yet. We know it's limited to Universal Music Group tracks for the time being but there's no mention of any fees, DRM, advertising, or other restrictions. We'll update you as soon as we get more. Update: It's free for one year! All the Universal Music tracks you can download for 12 months can be yours. The offer doesn't begin until mid 2008, just as long as the deal doesn't fall apart by then.

Carnegie Mellon's "Crusher" military bot getting $14 million upgrade

2007-12-04T19:55:00.000+07:00

Carnegie Mellon's so-called "Crusher" unmanned military vehicle already had quite a bit going for it in its previous incarnation, but it now looks to set to expand its robotized arsenal even further, courtesy of a $14.4 million grant from the Army. According to the university's National Robotics Engineering Center, the updated bot will make use of the "latest suspension, vehicle frame, and hybrid-electric drive technologies to improve upon its predecessor's performance" while also promising to, somewhat ominously, "push the envelope for autonomous and semi-autonomous operation." That the NREC says, should allow the bot to begin working alongside troops in five or ten years, with it initially confined to convoy roles before it puts its autonomous skills to use in "tactical" missions. [Via CNET Military Tech]

OQO announces Model E2 with HSDPA -- and that's all

2007-12-04T19:38:00.000+07:00

Man, what a tease. OQO's Anytime / Anywhere event is all wrapped up in London and with it, an updated OQO Model E2 with HSDPA data is born. At the moment, that's all that's been announced, a same spec'd Model E2 with a €250 (about $367) premium inclusion of HSDPA/UMTS 2100MHz; GSM/EDGE/GPRS 900/1800MHz (SIM Free) data. Really now, was a full-blown press conference required to announce a simple (though useful) HSDPA bump to the European version of the Model 02? Full press release coming tomorrow -- maybe we'll see some surprises then. [Via UMPC Portal] Read -- OQO Model E2 with HSDPA on Expansys

LG's 13.3-inch P300 series of LED-backlit laptops

2007-12-04T19:30:00.000+07:00

LG's dressing up the gear-waifs to roll out product again in South Korea. Up on the block is this, their new XNOTE P300-series of 13.3-inch LED backlit 1,280 x 800 laptops. The top-end, ₩2,600,000 (about $2,810) model touts a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 processor, 2GB of memory, 256MB of NVIDIA Geforce 8600M graphics, 250GB of disk, super multi-drive disc, 1.3 megapixel camera, integrated WWAN, and HDMI out. Although we'd appreciate a few more pixels on that screen, an easy on the shoulder 1.6-kg (3.5-pounds) weight is sounding might fine.

Montclair State mandates use of GPS-enabled phones

2007-12-04T19:29:00.000+07:00

Nearly six months after Slippery Rock University introduced a RFID payment system for mobiles at its campus, we've learned that Montclair State University is requiring that all full-time undergraduates carry a school-issued mobile for their own safety. The handsets, which cost some $210 per semester, are already being carried by about 6,000 students, and feature a GPS function that can be activated to ensure campus police are alerted of their location if something goes awry. Aside from being able to send a request for help immediately, the phone will also call for assistance should the feature remain on for longer than a preset length of time. As it stands, the university has yet to see the Rave Guardian technology used in situations other than false alarms, but a 32-member police force is kept on staff in case any future calls prove legitimate.

[Image courtesy of WCBSTV]

ICI Controls' "completely sealed" SC240M PC gets down and dirty

2007-12-04T19:28:00.000+07:00

Trust us, we've seen a smorgasbord of smallish PCs designed to reside in places humans aren't fond of visiting, and ICI Controls is making no bones about the ruggedness of its latest alternative. The fanless SC240M is a relatively small, completely sealed PC designed for "embedded and industrial applications in wet and dirty environments." Packed within the rough and tough exterior is a 1.2GHz VIA, 1.6GHz Pentium M or 1.6GHz / 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, up to 2GB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, WiFi and a slew of ports including Ethernet, four USB 2.0 sockets, audio in / out, RS-232, FireWire and S-Video. Notably, users can customize the innards to their heart's content, but the basic configurations start at $1,695, and you can even add in a backlit sealed keyboard for just $250 more. You know, for your upcoming stay in an underwater hotel, or whatever. [Via LinuxDevices]

Intelligent coasters create new wave of drinking games

2007-12-04T19:23:00.000+07:00

Believe it or not, engineering minds have figured out a way to gadgetize even coasters, but Sentilla's Smart Drink Coasters hope to be the zaniest yet. Designed using vanilla glass coasters from Michael's (an arts and crafts store), one of Sentilla's diminutive pervasive computers, a handful of LEDs and a few other ingredients, these units can not only blink in different ways depending on how full / empty one's beverage is, but they can be used to create a whole new world of drinking games. Reportedly, the gizmos can be programmed to understand when a drink is on it and when a refill is needed, theoretically enabling a bartender or server to be alerted of one's drink status without even going over to check. Additionally, a set of coasters can be used to replicate a memory game much like "Simon," which could undoubtedly create a room full of laughs in the right circumstances. Granted, this all works under the assumption that you'll actually slam your container down on (i.e. not just nearby) the intelligent coaster, but if you think you're that coordinated, hit the read link for a full description and a video demonstration.

LEGO Wii Zapper puts old blocks to good use

2007-12-04T19:16:00.000+07:00

What better way to complement your LEGO-fied Wii than to build a LEGO-based Zapper holster for your Wiimote? mrklaw managed to do just that with a colorful assortment of old blocks, and yes, he even left an opening in the rear for the nunchuck. There's also a finely crafted trigger depressor that mashes in the B button underneath, but we've no idea how well this thing would hold together after hours of flailing around while trying to peg on-screen baddies. Nevertheless, it's a whole lot cheaper (provided you've got the parts, and c'mon, you've got the parts) than the alternatives out there, and it's a darn good excuse to bust out the bricks your SO made you lock away after your 28th birthday. [Via NintendoWiiFanboy]

Comcast, Time Warner not interested in 700MHz auction

2007-12-04T16:43:00.000+07:00

In what is surely a sign that the mania around the upcoming 700MHz auction is reaching absurd levels, cable operators Comcast and Time Warner Communications both issued press releases today confirming that they would not be bidding in January's auction. You might recall that both Time Warner (which is owned by Engadget's parent company's parent company) and Comcast are part of SpectrumCo, which snapped up 137 licenses covering 20MHz of spectrum the last time the FCC put airwaves on the block, so there was some speculation that the venture might ante up again this go 'round -- especially since TWC CEO Glenn Britt was running around making vague proclamations about it. Still, it looks like Sprint's exit from the alliance was enough to shelve any such plans, so it looks like the big players are still Google and Verizon. Good thing too -- with this much hype over Good vs. Evil, the racket over Good vs. Evil vs. More Evil vs. Frustratingly Incompetent would be deafening.

Busted Rock Band axe? Here's a free game for your trouble

2007-12-04T16:35:00.000+07:00

Just days ago, we heard that the Rock Band team would be replacing faulty axes with haste, but alas, they haven't been able to come through as promised to all customers. Reportedly, a "late shipment from its manufacturer" has caused some gamers to pace around frantically while suffering through an "unacceptably long delay," but rather than sitting idly, EA will be offering up a free game to those who are forced to wait. Certain customers have already received emails notifying them of their reward for patience, but interestingly, there's no mention of what game will be handed out. 'Course, it also states that "details will follow shortly," so here's to hoping it's a title worth playing (or eBaying, at the very least). [Via Joystiq, thanks Mike]

Nintendo's Wii Fit unboxed

2007-12-04T16:31:00.000+07:00

Our bosom buddies over at Engadget Japanese got ahold of Nintendo's new Wii Fit and ran through the unboxing ritual for our sake -- they're all too busy burning the carbs to bother with such nonsense otherwise. Nothing much to see in the box, but we're sure you'd rather get started on some yoga than play with a bunch of doodads anyways.

Nokia envisions fingerprint-reading cellphone displays

2007-12-04T16:29:00.000+07:00

Cellphones with built-in fingerprint scanners aren't exactly revolutionary, but a recent patent application filed by Nokia could foreshadow mobile displays that recognize and react to biometric inputs. More specifically, the technology would see a touch-sensitive user interface that could allow / deny access or morph depending on what user swiped their finger. Moreover, a mysterious "visual display cursor" is also referenced, which would seemingly allow the device to bring important applications / lists / etc. to the screen's forefront depending on the preferences saved for each fingerprint. As always, it's a mystery as to when something like this will actually go mainstream, but we certainly dig the sound of it -- even when written in totally incomprehensible patent app lingo. [Via CellPassion]

Steve Jobs to deliver opening keynote at MacWorld 2008

2007-12-04T16:20:00.000+07:00

In a shocking turn of events, IDG World Expo officially announced today that Steve Jobs will in fact headline next year's MacWorld San Francisco conference, with his opening keynote address set to go down at 9:00AM sharp on January 15th. Exactly what that keynote will entail remains a mystery, of course, although we've certainly heard plenty of rumblings on the matter. Whatever it is El-Jobso has in store, you can be sure we'll have by-the-minute coverage of it, so mark your calenders and watch this space, or not. [Thanks, Mark]

Nortel and Qualcomm test cellular / WiFi-hopping handset

2007-12-04T16:15:00.000+07:00

Cellular / WiFi hopping handsets aren't an entirely new concept, but Nortel and Qualcomm look to be giving the desirable technology a boost today, with them announcing that they've succesfully tested a handset that makes use of Nortel's Voice Call Continuity network-based system and Qualcomm's corresponding IMS/VCC-based chipset. That combo, the companies say, allows for seamless switching of voice calls between CDMA cellular networks and plain-old WiFi networks which should, in turn, save you some money on service charges. What's more, the pair says their solution will allow companies to offer dual-mode mobile phones that are VCC-ready upon purchase, with no further software downloads or service configuration necessary. It also seems like that prospect may not be all that far off, as Nortel says it expects its network solution to be available in the first quarter of next year, while Qualcomm says its VCC-ready devices will be rolling out sometime in mid-2008. [Via Phone Scoop]

Apple, AT&T hit with lawsuit over iPhone's Visual Voicemail feature

2007-12-04T16:12:00.000+07:00

Apple's already drawn a bit of unintended attention for the iPhone's Visual Voicemail feature, and it now looks like its facing a bit more heat on the matter, with Klausner Technologies now suing both it and AT&T for alleged patent infringement. Specifically, Klasuner is claiming that the Apple and AT&T violated two of its patents by "allowing users to selectively retrieve voice messages via the iPhone's inbox display" and, according to Apple Insider, its seeking damages and future royalties estimated at some $360 million. But that's not all, Klausner also apparently filed similar claims today against Comcast, Cablevision, and eBay (Skype, specifically), with damages and future royalties in those cases clocking in to the tune of $300 million. What's more, all this apparently follows two other lawsuits over the very same patents, which Klausner's attorney says they've litigated successfully. As is often the case, however, it's now up to the federal court in the Eastern District of Texas to sort things out. [Thanks, Mark]

Yeast and sugar generator can power cellphones, but how does it work?

2007-12-04T16:02:00.000+07:00

This yeast-and-sugar powered generator invented by Dr. Cedrick Ngalande of Malawi can supposedly power cellphones, OLPCs, and medical devices for up to eight hours, but apart from a few vague guesses involving CO2, oscillating motion, and a couple Sharper Image desk toys we've got lying around, we're utterly at a loss to explain how it works. Ideas, leave 'em in comments! [Via Afrigadget]

Earth-saving mystery material unveiled to be...wait, not unveiled

2007-12-04T15:56:00.000+07:00

Alright, so we're not exactly sure what went down at the Fortune Forum -- that swanky dinner in London last night where a radical, climate-changing "new science" was supposed to be unveiled -- but we do know that the event came and went with nary a mention of the supposed "super material." Apparently the only major news is that Al Gore was there, and he gave a speech praising UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown for his work on global warming, which sounds about par for the course. No word on whether or not anyone tracked down British Inventors' Society founder Kane Kramer to ask him about his claims, but we'll keep a sharp eye and let you know if we hear anything. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Windows Mobile 6.1 gets pictured, detailed

2007-12-04T15:53:00.000+07:00

So this weird Motorola Q9 that Boy Genius Report came across is turning into quite a gold mine. First it revealed AT&T's apparent intention to let its guard down just a tad and start bringing more devices into the WiFi fold -- despite the obvious risk to data revenue -- and now it turns out that she's dressed to the nines with none other than Windows Mobile 6.1. A fleeting glance at most of the screens doesn't indicate any obvious changes from 6 (it is a .1 release, after all), but the devil's in the details: goodies like threaded SMS (Yahtzee!) and cut-and-freaking-paste on Standard (double Yahtzee!) alone should make it a worthwhile upgrade. 'Course, it's up to the carriers and manufacturers as usual to ultimately decide whether to push updates to existing devices, but it would be pure, unadulterated torture if the lion's share of devices didn't see official releases. Seriously, we'd cry.

London's Heathrow Express to get half-kilometer-long LED video display

2007-12-04T15:47:00.000+07:00

Because all of the posters plastered on every single surface on the inside of the cars is clearly not enough advertising for your average subway passenger, London is poised to light up a half-kilometer-long LED display in the tunnel between Heathrow and Paddington Station. Manufactured by Canadian firm SideTrack, the simulated video system -- which is composed of 360 individual LED bars synchronized to train speeds -- will replace a static version already installed along the same Heathrow Express route, thus allowing officials to change the message without swapping out physical signage. No word yet on who the premiere advertiser will be, but this medium would seem like a good way for rental car companies to make a compelling point: "Avoid these crappy ads, rent from Avis next time." [Thanks, Jamie D.]

Google bluffing on 700MHz bid?

2007-12-04T15:42:00.000+07:00

With the stage primed for a heavyweight fight between Verizon and Google in January's 700MHz wireless auction, there's some chatter today that Google might actually be bluffing. Bloomberg is reporting that some analysts think that Google has been simply making a lot of noise so that the FCC would enact those controversial open-access rules, but that it doesn't intend to place bids beyond the $4.6B minimum. That strategy would mean that El Goog would get an open network upon which to play, but not have to pony up for the actual towers and infrastructure. Of course, this flies in the face of nearly everything else we've heard to date, like Google pronouncing that it's putting "money where our principles are," and possibly even building a secret test network on its campus, but it's not necessarily unthinkable -- with carrier partners in the OHA and Verizon's surprising decision to open its cell network, it certainly seems like Google's getting pretty good at manipulating airwave politics.

APC intros increased-efficiency Back-UPS ES 750

2007-12-04T15:40:00.000+07:00

It looks like APC is trying to make its uninterruptible power supplies a little less power-hungry, with its new Back-UPS ES 750 model promising both a boost in efficiency and a savings, however small, on your power bill. Among other things, the ES 750 (which apparently replaces the previous model of the same name) can automatically cut off power to unused peripherals when your computer's in sleep mode, which APC says should save you on average $40 a year on your power bill compared to competing models. Otherwise, you'll get all the features you'd expect in a model of its class, including ten power outlets (five of which have battery backup), and 450 watts of power which, depending on what you have plugged in, can give you up to 70 minutes of run time. Look for this one to set you back an even $100 when its released sometime in January.

Belkin ships a low-cost 2-port HDMI switch

2007-12-04T15:38:00.000+07:00

There are quite a few HDMI switches out there for the input-challenged, but this latest box from Belkin is by far the least-expensive we've seen at $49.99 list -- which means street prices might be even lower. Nothing too special apart from that: 1080p compatibility, HDMI powered, IR remote for switching, and Belkin's classy-but-anonymous case design. Shipping now in the US and Canada, March 2008 in Europe, Asia, and Australia.

FCC considering caps on cable ownership

2007-12-04T15:33:00.000+07:00

It's not all gifts for cable giant Comcast this holiday season, as the FCC is considering a new cap on cable ownership. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and two of the Commissioners are set to support the cap plan, which would affect any company that controls over thirty percent of cable subscribers nationwide, while the remaining pair have not made their intentions public. The FCC has conducted additional market research to bolster their argument for limiting ownership, as a previous plan was rejected in 2004 by a federal judge. While the cable industry is sure to sue if the plan moves forward, perhaps Comcast should shore up any complaints on that pesky packet spoofing issue before this gets any uglier.

Creative finally confirms 32GB Zen

2007-12-04T15:31:00.001+07:00

Like we needed any more confirmation, but Creative has finally put an end to any remaining incredulity on our part by posting a press release with all the sordid details of its new 32GB Zen. We're not really used to "world firsts" from Creative in the DAP space, but the doubling in capacity over competing flash-based players certainly qualifies as one -- though Sansa seems to be hot on Creative's heels. The Zen is otherwise the same as its 4GB, 8GB and 16GB siblings, including that SD card slot for expansion should 32GB prove limiting for you. The new player will be available mid-December in Singapore for S$549.00 (about $380 US), and there's no word on release dates for Europe or the States. Get ready to import! Update: Friendly tipster Justin R. pointed out that you can indeed pre-order the 32GB Zen from Creative's US store for a mere $329. [Thanks, Rene]

Brick is back with the Mini MOB retro mobile

2007-12-02T17:44:00.000+07:00

Is the mobile phone really mature enough for brick phones to make a retro comeback? According to the makers of the ironically named Mini MOB, the answer to that is yes. The Mini MOB is definitely designed in the retro brick phone style, but at only 3.5 cm wide, it could probably be considered a scale model. It includes some pretty standard specs -- camera, MP3 player, 128 MB card for the SD slot -- but also happens to have an amazing battery life of 30 days standby, and a full 72 hours of continuous talk time! That's almost enough to get us interested in picking one up, but at £160 ($320+) it ain't an easy decision. [Via TechDigest]

EFF claims that Comcast is still meddling with data

2007-12-02T17:43:00.000+07:00

According to a report released by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Comcast has yet to relinquish its data discriminating habits, and users attempting to share content via P2P could still face slowdowns and unexpected delays. Of course, Comcast's Charlie Douglas proclaimed that the firm "does not, has not, and will not block any web site or online application, including peer-to-peer services," but followed up by stating that it did engage in "reasonable network management to serve all of its customers with a good internet experience." The EFF, however, saw things differently. During its own tests, it was reportedly able to confirm conclusions drawn earlier this year by the AP, and it also exclaimed that Comcast was "essentially deploying against its own customers techniques more typically used by malicious hackers." Pretty strong words, to say the least, but we're curious to know if the continued Comcast bashing is indeed legitimate. So, dear readers / Comcast users, are you still (or have you ever, for that matter) experiencing sketchy P2P performance, or is this all just one overblown mess?

RCA's S2501 Jet Stream gets reviewed

2007-12-02T17:42:00.000+07:00

Although we already had a chance to briefly try out RCA's Jet Stream DAP / wireless earbud setup at CES, the folks over at PCMag were able to get ahold of a finalized product and put it through paces of their own. Interestingly, they found a lot less to love when using 'em for more than a few moments on a crowded show floor, and while they did admit that gym rats could possibly fall in love, the average joe / jane probably won't. On the upside, the DAP proved durable and the wireless headphones exhibited strong reception, but reviewers found that they didn't fit well enough to really show off their talents. Additionally, the menu navigation was deemed "terrible," and they weren't exactly keen on plopping down over $130 for just 1GB of storage. 'Course, we're sure those who spend the bulk of their listening time on the track (listening to just a few CDs on repeat) could find room to argue, but for the rest of us, it was suggested that we wait for "a better implementation of Kleer's wireless technology to come along" before buying in.

Ricavision kicks out VAVE100 universal MCE / SideShow remote

2007-12-02T17:40:00.000+07:00

Following up on the RICA 100 that Ricavision unveiled in May is the VAVE100, which doesn't deviate too far from its past siblings in the design department, but does offer up a 2.4-inch QVGA LCD, a shiny green MCE button and SideShow functionality. As we'd expect, this thing is a Class 1 (~50 meters promised) Bluetooth device with A2DP support, and it comes with its own docking station, a BT transceiver and a power charger. The remote enables users to control over 20 different components from up to 50-feet away via IR, and the buttons are backlit to keep you from fumbling around in the dark while trying to switch tracks. Unfortunately, you won't be using one of these to control your new gear (you are asking for new gear this year, right?) until next February, but you will save $25 by pre-ordering now for $274. [Thanks, Ronald]

Asus' Eee PC on sale with 8GB SSD, 1GB RAM for $499

2007-12-02T17:38:00.000+07:00

Don't look now, but those not quite satisfied with the Eee PC's 512MB of RAM and 4GB hard drive can finally get what they've been asking for. E-tailer Dynamism is offering up Asus' 7-inch darling (in Pearl White and Galaxy Black) with 1GB of RAM and an 8GB SSD, but all of the remaining specifications look to be the same. Of course, you'll be coughing up nearly five bills for this version, so we'll leave it to you to decide if it's worth it. Oh, and don't expect either flavor to arrive before "mid-to-late December." [Via jkkmobile]

CE-Oh no he didn't! Part LII: AT&T CEO scoffs at Verizon's "Any Apps, Any Device" plan

2007-12-02T17:37:00.000+07:00

(ever?) is clearly not. At least the debate is moving forward: hopefully his statement that "[all carriers] are all going to be open over time" will come to fruition with Even 6 months ago, it would have been inconceivable to imagine the CEO of the biggest cellphone operator in the US sniping at its primary competitor's hints at becoming more open. The key point being that none of the cellphone operators in the US are actually "open" by any objective definition, so maybe AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson should have bitten his tongue rather than stating that his company is "probably one of the most open networks in the world," in a mild rebuke to Verizon's open network plan for 2008. Also Randall, stating that "all of the handsets we sell are Java-equipped" might be a little unwise considering that AT&T's flagship handset, and probably the most widely publicized handseta little more gentle prodding coupled with the occasional kick up the arse. [Image source]

Yet more 32GB and 2GB Creative Zen confirmation

2007-12-02T17:34:00.000+07:00

As if the last two reports about a 32GB Zen from Creative weren't enough for you, here's another for a lazy Saturday. This time, Crave claims to have an unspecified confirmation that a 2GB and 32GB Zen is coming, and it's coming in flash form. Would that make this the highest capacity flash PMP out there? It'd certainly be pipping Sansa to the post. [Thanks, Cody B.]

Venturi intros CREW vn740 DMB-equipped GPS unit

2007-12-02T17:33:00.000+07:00

We haven't heard much from the Venturi that makes solar/wind-powered vehicles lately, but the Venturi that makes generic PMPs and GPS devices still seems to be kickin' it, with it now showing off its new CREW vn740 model. While there's nothing too stand-out here, the device should certainly handle all your in-car distractions quite nicely, with it boasting a large 7-inch touchscreen, along with some DMB TV capabilities, a PIP function, and an integrated FM transmitter, among other standard features. No word on how much it'll set you back, but only those in Korea will have to worry about that little detail. [Via Navigadget]

Austrian researchers train dogs to use computers

2007-12-02T15:49:00.000+07:00

Yeah, teaching a canine how to operate a computer may sound pretty complex, but considering that one such animal was actually trained to sniff out and snag cellphones for its dubious owner, we guess it's not too difficult to conceive after all. In a recent study published in Animal Cognition, researchers from the University of Vienna in Austria taught four dogs to use computer automated touch-screens in order to carry out classification tests, theoretically eliminating any "potential human influence." In experiments that sought to see if dogs could indeed visually categorize pictures and transfer learning to new scenarios, the four subjects "were shown landscape and dog photographs and expected to make a selection on a computer touchscreen." Eventually, the authors concluded that using computers in animal testing could open up new windows of opportunity in testing cognitive abilities, but c'mon, you know those pups were just clicking around to see if their testing station would in fact play Doom. [Via TheInquirer, image courtesy of Itchmo]

EU agrees to open up GSM spectrum for other technologies

2007-11-30T17:40:00.000+07:00

A 20-year old EU legislation is on the brink of being abandoned, and it's good news for those wanting more 3G across the pond. Reportedly, European Union telecom ministers supported proposals to "open radio frequencies allocated exclusively for GSM mobile phone services to other technologies, such as 3G mobile data." If approved by the European Parliament, creating a 3G network in the 900MHz band could provide "up to 40-percent greater coverage than one in the 2,100MHz band for the same capital expenditure," according to the GSM Association. Furthermore, some 300 million more individuals across Asia, Europe and Africa could purportedly have access to mobile broadband by 2012 if operators could use the 900MHz spectrum for 3G services. Sounds good from here, but we've no idea how long it'll take to hear a final decision on all this.

Cowon A3 US launch details revealed

2007-11-30T17:34:00.000+07:00

Cowon's been teasing us with its A3 personal media player for some time now, and it looks like the whole charade is now finally nearing a close, as the company has just announced the long-awaited US launch details for the PMP. According to Crave, the player will start shipping in early December, with it setting you back $349 and $399 for the 30GB and 60GB variations, respectively. If you've got a bit more money to spend, however, you may do well to consider Cowon's just-released Q5W player, which adds some WiFi to the equation, among other things. [Thanks, Justin]

Exploding phone battery not blamed for Korean's death

2007-11-30T17:32:00.000+07:00

This certainly won't be the first time that an exploding cellphone battery has been pegged with blame before all the facts shook out, but now it seems that the South Korean worker who perished yesterday was in fact not killed by his mobile. Reportedly, the National Institute of Scientific Investigation "said the injuries were too substantial to have been caused by a battery explosion," and an unnamed medical examiner was quoted as saying that it was "difficult to conclude that the damage of internal organs was caused by [the explosion]." Details are still likely to unfold in the coming weeks, as it will be about a fortnight before autopsy results are analyzed and a final conclusion is drawn. Seems that "virtually impossible" notion from LG may be accurate after all, eh? [Image courtesy of Yonhap News]

40MHz of Canadian spectrum auction set aside for newcomers

2007-11-30T17:27:00.000+07:00

Although America's upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction could see a newcomer or two join the fold, Canada's auction is actually calling for it. Reportedly, Industry Minister Jim Prentice made known that 40MHz of the 105MHz of spectrum available for bidding would be "set aside for newcomers to the industry," hinting that more competition could eventually lead to lower cellphone rates across the nation. He went on to say that the "introduction of new service providers would help to make Canada's wireless market more dynamic, more competitive, and more innovative," and moreover, only companies that hold less than 10-percent of revenues in that market would be allowed to bid for the luscious 40MHz segment. As expected, big boys in the biz are none too pleased about the announcement, with Telus executive vice-president Janet Yale even going so far as to say that it believed the move "wouldn't be in the best interest of consumers or telecom industry overall." Right. [Thanks, Andy]

SMS-based SatLav service guides Londoners to public toilets

2007-11-30T12:02:00.000+07:00

If you've ever found yourself stuck in London with the insatiable urge to urinate in an alleyway, help is on the way. Believe it or not, a new SMS-based toilet finding service actually has the aforementioned predicament as a top priority to solve, and the Westminster City Council is hoping that people utilize the system to keep streets a bit cleaner. Cleverly dubbed SatLav, the technology enables individuals passing through London's West End to text the word "toilet" to 80097 in order to receive a (hopefully hasty) reply with details to get to the nearest public restroom. Unfortunately, the service will cost users £0.25 ($0.52) each time they use it, so we're a bit skeptical that alleyway urinators will happily cough up some coin rather than just sticking to old ways. [Image courtesy of BBC]

Microsoft shows next version of Windows Mobile behind closed doors

2007-11-29T20:41:00.000+07:00

So we can't really delve into a lot of specifics, but today Microsoft showed off the next version of Windows Mobile at their annual Mobius conference. Nope, it's not Windows Mobile 7 / Photon, but what we saw "is an update, not an upgrade", was running on current hardware, and is due to manufacturers Q108. Our first impressions: very slick, and has a lot of features that just about any WinMo user will agree is way overdue. In other words, we're expecting users will be stoked -- no doubt about it. Expect specific details on features and the like in the near future, we wouldn't be surprised to hear more about it CES.

Cowon Q5W goes on sale in US, shows off its premium skills

2007-11-29T20:39:00.000+07:00

We knew the Cowon Q5W was coming to our fair shores this week, but now that it's here, we've got some fresh details that make that $549 pricetag seem downright reasonable. You're still looking at a 5-inch 800 x 400 touchscreen and Windows CE, but Cowon has really thrown down the gauntlet with codec support, including DivX, XviD, AVI, ASF, WMV9, MPEG4, OGM, Ogg, FLAC and APE -- and the browser supports Flash. There's also a "pen mode" for the interface and an optional WinCE Office Viewer that might let you actually get some work done. To top it all off, the entire UI appears to be skinnable, and Cowon says a version with GPS will also hit next month. Damn, looks like our love affair with the Archos 605 WiFi is over. PS. Check the Cowon America product page for some of the best machine translation pickup lines we've ever seen. [Thanks, Gibran]

Wirelessly powered Christmas tree: when high-tech meets high-chintz

2007-11-29T20:22:00.000+07:00

We're pretty certain we were supposed to be seeing cellphones, DAPs, and medical devices -- you know, gadgets -- rock the PowerCast wireless power system by now, but it looks like the first product off the line to include the tech is this chintzy $395 Christmas tree from Frontgate. The fake tree does indeed feature wireless power for its LED lights, but honestly, if you're moving your tree so much you need it to be wireless, you should really think about getting out of your house more often. [Thanks, Joe]

AT&T CEO outs 3G iPhone: "You'll have it next year"

2007-11-29T20:01:00.000+07:00

Of course the 3G iPhone is coming, that's clearly in the evolution plan. As Jobs said himself, it's only a matter of time until improved batteries allow for it. Still, when AT&T's CEO Randall Stephenson says, "You'll have it next year," well, our ears tend to perk up. The remark was made at a meeting of the Churchill Club in Santa Clara. He didn't say how much it could cost admitting that Jobs and Apple "will dictate what the price of the phone is." However, it wouldn't surprise us if fits back into the $599 slot vacated by the 8GB iPhone while toting a full 16GB of flash like the iPod touch.

The 2008 Lexus LX570 can see around corners

2007-11-29T19:43:00.000+07:00

Lexus has already shown us its Driver Monitoring System which tracks the driver. Now, it's showing off a "front wide-view and side video monitoring system" fitted into the new 2008 LX570 to peer inside your blind spots. The system provides a 180-degree, side-to-side view from the front of the vehicle as if you're standing on the front bumper. This allows you to edge up to a tree, wall, or parked vehicle obstructing your sight in order to get a clear view before pulling out into traffic. The side mounted cam also allows you to see below your passenger, side-view mirror in order to avoid that chucked bottle of bud outside your local dive.

Philips enters the notebook game in Brazil

2007-11-29T19:39:00.000+07:00

Details are pretty sketchy right now, but it looks like Philips is set to release its first two notebooks in Brazil in December. The two models both fall on the smaller end of the scale, with an 11-inch magnesium alloy model rocking a U2400 Core Duo, a 120GB disk, 1GB of RAM and a dual-layer burner for R$5499 ($2477), and a piano black 13-inch model (pictured) sporting a T7300 Core 2 Duo, a 120GB disk, a dual layer burner and 2GB of RAM for R$3,999 ($2165). We're still looking for model numbers, but Philips says these were developed "specifically for the Brazilian market," so don't expect to see them turning up Stateside anytime soon. Check a pic of the 11-inch model at the read link. [Thanks, Felipe]