CrunchGear

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• Numark announces NSFX for NS7 to use with ITCH by DJs. They also run out of capital letters.
• CrunchGear Week in Review: Surfer’s Surprise Edition
• It’s a bra – no, it’s a gas mask – no, it’s a bra
• Sprint LG Lotus 2 coming in January, will rock a touchscreen face?
• iPhone 3GS with 3.1 added to pwnable items list
• Review: the awesome Retro-Bit handheld Genesis
• LED lightbulb puts out equivalent of 60 watt bulb, uses only 6 watts
• Sony Blows It, episode 57: In which the PSP Go is garbage
• Avatar toys go augmented-reality, courtesy of Mattel and Total Immersion
• Eminem and Apple sitting in a tree, reach-ing set-tlements fairly quickly
• Video: Watch this clip of 2012. (Hint: It’s terrible)
• Review: HP Envy 13
• Sigma inexplicably releases a minimally changed DP1s
• Oh yes you can bike to the beach with your surfboard
• A new Nikon is coming but we don’t know what it is
• Three years later, the PS3 outsells the Wii (in Japan)
• Man threatens to shoot his iPhone in the middle of the Apple Store
• Oh dear: The Pirate Bay removed from Google’s search index
• Video: Fighter freaks out over his terrible stats at EA Sports MMA meeting
• Host a Wordpress site on your Windows Home Server (soon)

Numark announces NSFX for NS7 to use with ITCH by DJs. They also run out of capital letters. Posted: 03 Oct 2009 05:20 AM PDT DJs have been using double turntable setups ever since 1947 with Sir Jimmy Savile. Modern setups, however, forgo the vinyl and even CDs. One such computer-performance system is the Numark NS7 Controller for Serato’s ITCH software. The NS7 gives DJs the feel of a traditional turntable rig, while functioning as a controller for ITCH. A single USB interface with a computer keeps the rig simple and slightly more “idiot-proof”. But we’re still not at the fun part. Tomorrow, at the 2009 BPM show in Birmingham, Numark will release the NSFX, a dedicated effects controller for the NS7. This module attaches directly to the NS7 and is completely plug-and-play. DJs can control all of the ITCHs effects systems via USB, without having to go into the software. One of the coolest selling points is all effects automatically sync to the tempo of the track they’re laid on. If I was spinning disks for a living, I would make this module a must-have. A mouse and interface window can’t beat good, solid, hands-on controls. Look for the NSFX at your musical equipment retailers in the last quarter of 2009. (Woah! That’s right now!)

CrunchGear Week in Review: Surfer’s Surprise Edition Posted: 03 Oct 2009 12:00 AM PDT Here are some stories you might have missed this week. LED lightbulb puts out equivalent of 60 watt bulb, uses only 6 watts Oh yes you can bike to the beach with your surfboard Mighty Mouse 2: Apple planning to upgrade its ill-fated mouse? Apple's new marketing campaign targets toddlers, kindergarteners New device brings wireless Internet to boats

It’s a bra – no, it’s a gas mask – no, it’s a bra Posted: 02 Oct 2009 05:56 PM PDT Convergence is the word these days, and as the GPS unit is folded into the phone, and the phone is folded into the PDA, fewer devices are needed every day to accomplish the same tasks. This bra, for instance, is also a functioning gas mask. What, is that so hard to believe? If you or a loved one is under constant threat of gas attack, but still needs adequate support for her front parts, this is really the first and only solution necessary. It was invented by a Chicago woman who felt that women in Chernobyl could have avoided breathing toxic particles if they’d had a gas mask near at hand — and where is nearer at hand than on your body? Not exactly going to be a million-seller, but hey, maybe they’ll pick up a few for the ladies working in hazardous materials labs.

Sprint LG Lotus 2 coming in January, will rock a touchscreen face? Posted: 02 Oct 2009 05:40 PM PDT Be honest: the first time you saw the somewhat-short, somewhat-stout LG Lotus, did you think it would be successful enough to get a sequel? Looks like it was. One of our sources just spilled the beans on what we're tentatively calling the "Lotus 2", for lack of a better name. It's sounding a whole lot like the original so far, with just a few little tweaks thrown in for good measure.

iPhone 3GS with 3.1 added to pwnable items list Posted: 02 Oct 2009 04:27 PM PDT If you've been dealing with a non-jailbroken 3GS running 3.1, now's your chance to redeem it. The Dev-Team has upgraded PwnageTool to allow the 3GS (and the newest iPod touch) to be busted wide open, provided it was previously pwned in 3.0 or 3.0.1. So if your iPhone had 3.1 out of the box, you're still out of luck.

Review: the awesome Retro-Bit handheld Genesis Posted: 02 Oct 2009 04:08 PM PDT PSP what? Nobody cares about that old thing. Honestly, do you want to carry around yet another heavy, fragile, state-of-the-art toy? No. What you need (what this country needs) is a cheap little handheld Genesis sporting 20 of the system’s greatest semi-hits. No need to worry about managed copies, DRM, firmware updates, or UMD transfer — just hit the power button and you’ll be playing Altered Beast or Sonic & Knuckles before you can say “Segaaaa!” It’s a fully-licensed little device, meaning you won’t be playing Revenge of Shinogi or Ecco the Porpoise. These are the real games. The device itself is about as cheaply made as you’d expect for $50, but it runs everything perfectly well and the controls are comfortable and responsive. The screen is bright and sharp, though it appears to have a sort of interlacing effect. Sound is loud and clear with little distortion (and no bass). It comes with an AV cable as well, which, combined with a pocket projector like the MPro 120, means you’ve got a big screen Genesis in your bag wherever you go, provided it’s dark enough. I can’t speak to battery life, but I suspect it’s pretty good, considering how little the hardware needs to do. It takes AAAs. My system came with a flaw in part of the screen’s covering, but it’s not very noticeable during gameplay. And since mine is a free review unit anyway, I’m not going to buck — I’m sure they’d replace yours in a snap if it had an issue like this. The question, though, is whether you want to lock yourself into the games and system provided here, or pay another $50 and pick up something like a Dingoo? It’s up to you, but the simplicity of this little system is a selling point as well as a weakness — and in its limitations, it doesn’t attempt anything it can’t do, as the Dingoo does (its Neo-Geo and SNES performance is spotty). I suppose what it comes down to is what games are on it. After all, it could be the best gadget in the world yet if it didn’t have decent games, why would anyone want it? Here’s the full list: Sonic & Knuckles Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle Gain Ground Arrow Flash Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Ecco Jr. Golden Axe Crack Down Altered Beast Flicky Decap Attack Cyper Police ESWAT Alien Storm Shadow Dancer Columns III Sonic Spinball Jewel Master Kid Chameleon Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine Ecco So. Some classics, some garbage. It’s to be expected. Anyway, this little thing is a great little time-waster, perfect for subway rides, waiting in lines, and so on. It’s a gadget, it’s awesome, what else do you need to know? They’re around, but Buy.com has free shipping.

LED lightbulb puts out equivalent of 60 watt bulb, uses only 6 watts Posted: 02 Oct 2009 03:30 PM PDT Oh man, I thought those compact florescent lightbulbs (CFLs) were expensive at around five bucks a pop. Say hello to the $40 LED light bulb — and that’s an introductory price. It’ll apparently cost $50 later. So what’s the big deal? Well, the bulb only consumes six watts of power and puts out light equivalent to a standard 60-watt bulb. Also, unlike standard light bulbs, this one’s got an estimated working life of 25 years. Imagine moving into a new house or apartment and bringing the lightbulbs over from your old place. The lightbulb is made by Lemnis Lighting and will soon be available at Amazon — there are 40-watt versions currently available. According to the company, you’ll realize a return on your investment in power savings within three years. [via CNET]

Sony Blows It, episode 57: In which the PSP Go is garbage Posted: 02 Oct 2009 03:00 PM PDT A year from now, or maybe two, when Sony has actually figured out what it’s doing with its online store, managed copies, and other details, the PSP Go might just be a good buy. Of course, they will have to lower the price by a hundred dollars, and I don’t think 16GB is going to cut it for long, and they’ll want to upgrade the wireless hardware too. But once those things are done… oh, who am I kidding? They’ll come out with the Go Plus and charge $300 for it. We’ve been skeptical of the PSP Go since before it was announced, and now that skepticism has flowered into a righteous contempt. Everyone’s trashing the system, from its micro-sized controls to its slow wireless. Its saving graces (nice screen, more portable, great new save feature) are afterthoughts when compared with Sony’s thoughtlessness when it comes to actually getting and playing games on the thing. Not to mention the $50 premium, which won’t exactly entice new gamers. While the PS3 Slim was a pleasant surprise in Sony’s increasingly baffling strategy in the gaming sector, the PSP Go is a dog. It’d be in the dustbin already if it weren’t Sony’s probable intention to make it the only handheld they make and move their PSP system entirely online. An interesting idea, but the PSP Go is a mighty poor start.

Avatar toys go augmented-reality, courtesy of Mattel and Total Immersion Posted: 02 Oct 2009 02:57 PM PDT This is a crazy fun demo of the new Avatar toys by Mattel. Each toy includes a little card that is scannable via webcam and creates an on-screen augmented reality robot or character. While this is old hat for most of us, Mattel is quite proud of being ahead of the curve and for good reason. You can see more demos at AvatarItag.com. Total Immersion made the technology and even added a little “button” system to the cards. When you touch a spot on the card, the onscreen character pulls a knife, shoots a gun, or recounts part of the story. The added information and data will change over time, up to the release of the movie on December 18. Obviously this requires a computer and a patient kid but it’s still an exciting addition to an already interesting movie. We’ll have some of these toys in next week and we’ll stage mock battles for you all. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could put two cards on the table at once and have them fight? OMG!

Eminem and Apple sitting in a tree, reach-ing set-tlements fairly quickly Posted: 02 Oct 2009 02:30 PM PDT When is an update not an update? Today we learned that Eminem has reached a settlement with Apple over what he claims was the unauthorized use of his songs. Eminem said the record label has the right to the recordings, but not the right to turn around and sell said recordings to Apple. What we don’t know, however, is any of the terms of the deal. How much did Apple have to cough up? Did Eminem and the record label have to pay for each other’s attorney fees? Nobody’s saying anything! So, again, when is an update not an update? I don’t know about you, but I can now rest easy knowing that, presumably, Eminem is a little bit richer today.

Video: Watch this clip of 2012. (Hint: It’s terrible) Posted: 02 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT Pardon my French, but this is the biggest hunk of shit I have ever seen in my life. It’s a short clip from the upcoming movie 2012, which stars John Cusack (as if I know who that is!). Here’s why I hate it with every fiber of my being. 1. The contrived husband-wife relationship. "Oh honey, you’re just being silly." The wife instantly dismisses Cusack without listening to a word he has to say. Why not have a conversation, like adults, rather than just going, "That’s just my husband acting dumb again!" 2. Cusack’s driving skills are unbelievable. Like, I cannot believe them. Unless you’re Michael Schumacher or The Stig there’s no way you’re making those turns so effortlessly as THE WORLD IS LITERALLY FALLING APART ALL AROUND YOU. So unless Cusack plays a multi-time F1 champ I have a hard time believing he’s able to drive so damn perfectly. 3. That big, stupid donut that rolls across the road. God I hate that donut. Never mind that The Simpsons used that same exact gag like 10 years ago. 4. The whole airplane scene. Bite me, Hollywood. I’d actually like to talk to an aviation expert and ask him what happens in real life when you lift an airplane before you reach the correct speed. 5. Oh, and where are they flying to? If the whole word is falling apart, where are they flying to, and on a single tank of gas no less? I’m embarrassed to be an American right now. As a matter of fact, I want that scenario to happen now. I’d rather see the world destroyed than live in a world where people get paid millions upon millions of dollars to create that garbage, with all due respect to actual garbage.

Review: HP Envy 13 Posted: 02 Oct 2009 01:35 PM PDT Comparisons have been made by the nattering nabobs of Appleism that the HP Envy 13 is just a knock-off of the Macbook Pro 13-inch. This is the cowards way out and I shan’t stand for it. I will look at HP’s latest notebook – don’t call it a netbook! – as a harbinger of things to come. The Envy 13 reflects a few trends in Windows hardware. First, consumers are realizing that notebooks are garbage. They are willing to pay a premium for a more powerful computer in a sex case. Second, Windows 7 is here and it’s ready to kick posterior and jot down identifying information. The model we tested was running Windows 7 Professional and had an Intel Core Duo 2 L9600 processor running at 2.13 GHz. It also had 3GB of 1067 Mhz memory. Its GeekBench score was 2375. To put this into perspective, this ToughBook scored 1893 and something like the MSI Wind it 837. This is, needless to say, a full-bodied machine. Battery life hit about 3 hours of movie watching. The Envy is definitely quite a looker. Clad in metal alloy it’s not quite unibody but it does have some very slick design queues that tell you it’s a higher end machine. First, the glass on the screen is flush with the edges of the lid and melds seamlessly a la the Macbook. Then you have some nice dotted detailing on the wrist wrest which, I suspect, will be full of crud after a few weeks. The keys are a bit mushy but the keyboard is big enough for daily use. Then you come to the trackpad. Your friends won’t “envy” this trackpad. It has two buttons, one on either bottom corner, and a central finger sliding area. It also supports limited gestures including two-fingered scroll but to activate them you need to tap the trackpad. Botton-scrolling is nigh on impossible because your thumb starts to touch the upper touchpad and results in all sorts of scrolling mess. HP tried to make a buttonless trackpad (like another laptop, ahem) but they failed. The trackpad is also very large and very sensitive, resulting in missed tracking every few swipes. This is the Envy’s biggest problem but something that can be accepted and even embraced given enough time and patience. Like a lover, the HP Envy opens itself slowly and you come to realize the true majesty of future Win7 laptops. The operating system is specially tweaked to match the Envy’s style and the menu bars and buttons all flash for a moment before settling down. This is a nice touch. The Envy also includes an instant-on OS which allows you to surf the web, run Skype, or listen to music. Is there value in this? That’s debatable, but it’s nice to know it’s there, I suppose. The fan was a little noisy at boot-up and during major activities but nothing major. There is no optical drive but it has an SD card slot along with HDMI-out, two USB ports, and a headphone port. Overall I was pleased with the Envy 13. It’s a small laptop with a minor trackpad quirk but it proves that the big guys like HP can still make a quality product without pandering to the Wal-Mart lowendization of the market. That said, guess how much this thing costs. $1,800 in this configuration. Oof. Given that the cheapest 13-inch MacBook (I know, that word again) costs $1,199, the premium placed on this laptop is a little rough. Presumably this one is for the trendy early adopters, those who want Win7 Pro the very first week it’s on the market, and, to be fair, there’s a lot of machine here for the size. Bottom Line Windows 7 is going to be the belle of the ball in the next few months so expect lots of machines like the Envy to hit stores. While that price is fairly rough, there will be few options for folks who want the Win7 Pro experience on a laptop and those few options will be expensive. Manufacturers will have to clear out their Vista/XP netbooks before moving to Win7 and even then they won’t want to come down much in price. It’s the premium play all over again and it will suck for a while. Also remember that this is based on the higher-end Voodoo Envy, a machine with a high price tag. Can HP take out the Voodoo DNA and sell laptops under the same branding without losing customers? Debatable, but we’ll have to see. However, if you’re looking for a stylish, fairly powerful notebook with enough horses to run Win7, this is one of the better models out there. Give it a second look. Product Page

Sigma inexplicably releases a minimally changed DP1s Posted: 02 Oct 2009 01:30 PM PDT Pop quiz, hot shot: you release a product to tepid critical response. Despite having a good concept behind it, it’s slow, limited, and performs badly in low light. After a year and a half, you release its sequel, which is better but still not really that good. What do you do? A) Forget this approach, try something new like Micro Four-Thirds B) Get a decent lens on that thing and improve responsiveness C) Tell her that you want her love D) Release a new version of the old product with such changes as it would take an expert in these things to see the difference. Delude yourself into thinking these minor shortcomings were the reason your product was received so poorly. If you chose D, you’re Sigma! Seriously, the DP1 was never a great camera, and the DP2 was a minor update. And now they come out with this DP1s? It’s like Microsoft coming out with Vista (plus DirectX 11) after Windows 7 comes out. What an utterly inexplicable move this is! [via Photo Rumors]

Oh yes you can bike to the beach with your surfboard Posted: 02 Oct 2009 01:00 PM PDT Now that Peter’s gone, someone has to step up and cover surfing stuff. And since I grew up in Minnesota, to say that I’m an expert on surfing culture, surfing technology, and surfing equipment would be a colossal understatement — Minnesota is THE center of the surfing universe. So let’s take a look at this weird-but-wonderful surfboard bike rack. Picture, if you will, a bicyclist trying to transport a surfboard to the beach. Hilarity at best, catastrophic at worst. Now picture that same bicyclist with a surfboard suspended above his or her head as if by magic. The future! The future, or ACG Surf Racks (which have apparently been out for a while). T’is a pipey suspension system that holds a surfboard above a bicycle, making it easy to navigate traffic and with the added benefit of providing some shade for the biker. They’re available at a few shops in California and a couple places in New Jersey sell them as well — not entirely sure on the price but they probably cost less than a car with a surfboard rack. ACG Surfracks [ACGSurfracks.com via Wired]

A new Nikon is coming but we don’t know what it is Posted: 02 Oct 2009 12:30 PM PDT This Nikon rumor is about as vague as it gets. All it states is that within the next weeks, there will be a new Nikon camera announced and it’s not the D700x/D700s. It also states that the model will be something entirely new for Nikon and not a replacement. Nikon Rumors is thinking that this camera *might* be something like the new Leica X1, which seems plausible. A few years ago the movement was to DSLRs. Everyone wanted one and a lot still do. But those of us that have been lugging around the cameras for a few years can tell you that they are a pain. What I want now is a high-quality pocket shooter just a step below a Micro Four Thirds camera – like the Leica X1. Hopefully Nikon has something planned because the Leica X1 is just a tad above my price range. I guess we’ll see in a week or two if this rumor pans out.

Three years later, the PS3 outsells the Wii (in Japan) Posted: 02 Oct 2009 12:00 PM PDT It only took Sony three years for it to get its act together! The recent introduction of the PS3 Slim was, as you know, a pretty big success, and today we have another metric: for the first time ever, the PS3 outsold the Wii in Japan last month. Everyone party! Sony sold 309,939 PS3s last month to Nintendo’s 297,060 Wiis. That’s the first time that has ever happened since the two consoles came out in fall, 2006. So yeah, good news for Sony. But if I may add this: I’m pretty sure that at this point anyone who wanted a Wii already has one, whereas as plenty of people wanted a PS3 before but couldn’t justify the $40 million it cost. That is to say there’s now a bigger market for potential new PS3 owners than Wii owners. You know what I mean.

Man threatens to shoot his iPhone in the middle of the Apple Store Posted: 02 Oct 2009 11:45 AM PDT Okay, everyone. Time for a pop quiz! Lets say your iPhone is totally ruining your day. Maybe the battery is flaking out; maybe you dumped a gallon of soda on it just to see what would happen. Regardless, you pop into the Apple Store to try and get things worked out. Now, what would you do next? Do you: A) Calmly ask for assistance, spend some time at the Genius Bar, and most likely walk away with your questions answered? B) Skip over those smug Genius Bar dudes, and go straight to a manager? C) Threaten to shoot your iPhone, and show the 9mm you have concealed?

Oh dear: The Pirate Bay removed from Google’s search index Posted: 02 Oct 2009 11:30 AM PDT The Pirate Bay just can’t catch a break these days. I won’t bore you with the past, but today’s juicy gossip is: Google has removed The Pirate Bay from its search index because of a DMCA complaint! A search for "the pirate bay" now brings up, in the first two results, the site’s Wikipedia entry, and a link to piratebay.com, a weaselly little site that promises "unlimited downloads" for "no extra fee." Stay far away from that, friends. Oh, also, the DMCA complaint isn’t online yet (as of 1:30pm ET), so we have no idea who made it.

Video: Fighter freaks out over his terrible stats at EA Sports MMA meeting Posted: 02 Oct 2009 11:00 AM PDT "Funny" videos on the Internet are often abysmal, but this one I like. I’d describe it, but suffice to say, that’s why it’s a video. For. You. To. Watch. In other MMA news, The Ultimate Fighter from the other day, where Kimbo Slice lost to that IRL IFL guy, was the highest rated MMA show in American history. Some 5.3 million people tuned in for the show, with 6.1 million tuning in for the fight itself. It’s safe to say that Kimbo is a huge draw. He still has zero ground game, but give him time. There’s no way UFC is gonna botch this guy’s career; entirely too much money is at stake. CORRECTION! Yeah, IFL, not IRL. Finger slipped–the r is right next to the f!–and it must have gotten past our team of highly skilled copy editors.

Host a Wordpress site on your Windows Home Server (soon) Posted: 02 Oct 2009 10:30 AM PDT Everyone loves Wordpress and everyone loves Windows Home Server. Using Wordpress to host a site on your WHS just makes sense! But don’t go looking for the download link just yet, it doesn’t seem the add-in is available yet, but I like the possibilities it holds. With the add-on you’ll soon be able to quickly and easily host a blog on your own server. I wouldn’t recommend doing this permanently unless your site only gets a few hits a month from Mom, but it could be a nice little sandbox for development purpose. Just pray you don’t get dugg otherwise you might get a nasty letter from your ISP. More to come soon. [Windows Home Server via mswhs]

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