CrunchGear

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• Philips DirectLife shows you exactly how much time you spend sitting
• Best Buy announces the launch of Rocketfish Rocketboost
• Disney announces new DVD Killer technology
• More information about Moleskines than you require
• Lexar announces new 600x Compact Flash cards
• DIY: Gear clock
• Fable 3 to utilize Natal, says Molyneux
• So! How excited are you about Windows 7
• Hey, you got Bluetooth in my Nintendo DS
• TerraCycle introduces speakers made of candy wrappers, chip bags
• First Annual CrunchGear Halloween Costume Contest! Win an XBox!
• Bose hops on the wireless streaming bandwagon
• Yesterday’s Macs are today’s bargains
• Weird Accessory #8791: Kawaii Bear iPod Charger
• Today on the CrunchGear Live Podcast
• What’s inside this mystery box?
• Lenovo gears up for Windows 7 with 2 new laptops
• And now Miles Davis has himself a pair of Monster Cable headphones
• Video: Chuck Norris and his Beard, coming to an iPhone near you
• Altec Lansing announces Rock Band speakers

Philips DirectLife shows you exactly how much time you spend sitting Posted: 21 Oct 2009 11:30 PM PDT Think you’re active because you walk around the office all the time on your way to meetings? Well, now there’s a way to actually track that and know for sure if you’re REALLY getting all that much exercise when you’re strolling through the cubicles. Philips just announced the new DirectLife product. It’s an activity monitor that you throw in your pocket, clip to your belt, or wear around your neck. It then senses all your movements, and tell you exactly what your daily energy expenditure is. The sensor (and the software that reads the information out of it) will help you to determine how much energy you expend on a daily basis, and how much you should be expending on a daily basis. I’m curious about this one, since living the blogger lifestyle has me expending as little energy as possible, moving from my chair to the mini-fridge for a can of Mt. Dew or Monster(tm) every so often. The system is available from the DirectLife online store now, and will run you $79 (until October 30th) and includes a 4-month membership. After the initial 4 months, membership will run you $12.50 a month. This product is available in the US and the Netherlands only at this time.

Best Buy announces the launch of Rocketfish Rocketboost Posted: 21 Oct 2009 08:30 PM PDT No, it’s not a new type of pet disposal system, it’s a wireless whole house audio delivery system. Rocketfish takes the audio output from your device, and the transmits it to the strategically placed speakers throughout your home. The Rocketfish system is made up of a wireless amplified audio receiver, a wireless sender/receiver, a wireless outdoor speaker, and a wireless HD audio starter kit, which contains a sender and a receiver unit. With the appropriate component purchases, you can send up to five different sources to up to nine receivers throughout your home. Rocketfish is expected to be available this month, however at this time the area of Best Buy with pricing information is not yet active. Best Buy isn’t the first company to jump on the wireless audio bandwagon this year, and most likely won’t be the last as the holiday season approaches. [via Ecoustics]

Disney announces new DVD Killer technology Posted: 21 Oct 2009 08:00 PM PDT I love companies like Disney. They seem to think that just because they want something some way, it’ll happen. Take for instance their latest scheme. Instead of allowing you to “buy” their movies on DVD, Blu-ray, or even VHS, they are going to allow you to buy access to their content. Disney doesn’t want you to pass your treasured copies of their movies on to your children, or sell them at garage sales. Oh no… they own that property, and expect to be paid for it without it being loaned, traded, or sold on the secondary market. The Wall Street Journal reports that Disney’s new technology is called Keychest, and is expected to be rolled out next month. They’ve quietly been talking to electronics manufacturers about including the ability to access the content into their systems, however no information has been revealed about who exactly has bought into Disney’s new plan. The Keychest technology allows an end user to purchase a lifetime license to view a movie across multiple platforms. The movies wouldn’t be something that you can download, instead you would be able to stream the films to your devices over the internet or cable television system. Seems like an attempt to recover from the recent collapse of DVD sales, which has resulted in some companies reporting losses for the first time since 2005.

More information about Moleskines than you require Posted: 21 Oct 2009 07:33 PM PDT There are some men who pride themselves in their prowess at the gaming table or in bed and there are others who brag about being able to pick the winning horse at a racetrack. But how many men can write long, detailed posts about Moleskine notebooks, offering advice to the other Moleskine fans about how to best handle your Moleskine experience. There is only one man who does that. His name is some dude who runs InkyJournal. That’s right. InkyJournal. The site seems to be dedicated to Moleskin hacks including how to decide on the best notebook for the best activity and how to add tabs to tabless notebooks. He even reviews a pen holder for Moleskins. I fell in love with Moleskine in Paris (where else?) when I bought my first one from a stationary store right by Breguet’s old workshop. While I love using them, I haven’t gone to the lengths we find on this dude’s site. However, that shouldn’t stop us from trying.

Lexar announces new 600x Compact Flash cards Posted: 21 Oct 2009 07:30 PM PDT Lexar announced their new 600x compact flash cards today. It’s not unexpected that the faster speed memory cards are coming out, given the UDMA requirements of cameras like the Canon 7D. The new Lexar cards have a amazing 90MB/s transfer rate when used in a device that supports the new UDMA 6 protocol. This is particularly important for the generation of cameras that shoot video, since the write speed is critical when you are shooting in HD. The new cards are available in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB sizes. The 8GB and 16GB cards are available now, the 32GB should be available in November. The 8GB version sells for $149, the 16GB version sells for $249. There isn’t any pricing available for 32GB version, but you can safely assume it will not be cheap. You can read the press release here.

DIY: Gear clock Posted: 21 Oct 2009 07:00 PM PDT So let’s say you need a new clock. Sure, you could go spend $19.99 (or less) and just go buy one, but wouldn’t it be more fun to bust out the CNC machine and build one yourself? Alan Parekh of Hacked Gadgets thought it would be, and he just happened to have a new CNC machine lying around. Alan cut the gears on his CNC router, used a micro-controller and a step motor, and created a pretty cool wall clock. He explains how he did it fairly well in the video, but his site has even more detailed instructions. [via Make]

Fable 3 to utilize Natal, says Molyneux Posted: 21 Oct 2009 06:30 PM PDT The Fable 3 announcement had creator Peter Molyneux saying he was throwing away the “foundation stone” of RPGs. Yeah, I thought, you’ve been saying that kind of thing for 20 years now buddy. Show me the money. And in a pleasant surprise, it looks like he may actually be doing that; he confirmed today that the game will use the Natal motion controller, which makes him probably the technology’s biggest on-the-record developer. He already hinted that this was the case, but now it seems that Microsoft is giving the go-ahead for making official announcements. I can only speculate on the variety of sordid acts you’ll be performing with this thing. Dancing to impress the villagers? Throwing bottles at dragons? Impregnating your wife? The possibilities, I’m sure Molyneux will tell you, are many and various.

So! How excited are you about Windows 7 Posted: 21 Oct 2009 06:00 PM PDT It’s nigh on a few hours before the Windows 7 launch and things are heating up in the big city. Folks are lining up at the Windows store, children are quieter and more attentive in school, and the troubles of the world – global warming, terrorists, the economy – are on hold. We are waiting for a miracle and when it comes it will rhyme with ‘dindows’ and end with ‘7′ How happy are you about Windows 7? Like how totally happy? Joking aside, I’ve been using a Windows 7 machine for almost a month now and I’m quite impressed with the stability and usability. I’m genuinely excited. Not excited enough to buy into it right now, but sooner or later we’ll all be using it somewhere. Microsoft is a juggernaut and no amount of snark can change that.

Hey, you got Bluetooth in my Nintendo DS Posted: 21 Oct 2009 05:30 PM PDT A cartridge that supplies Bluetooth functionality to the DS? Why, you ask? Well, I asked the same question when I saw this, and there is no certain answer. But the fact is that the DS is a versatile, well-documented device that is used for more than just playing games. Putting Bluetooth functionality in there just makes it that much more useful. How about a wireless headset for your DS? Or maybe streaming homebrew ROMs from your computer? The implications of this device are staggering. Well, that’s a bit of an overstatement. It might be handy for some, let’s just leave it at that. [via Hack a Day]

TerraCycle introduces speakers made of candy wrappers, chip bags Posted: 21 Oct 2009 05:00 PM PDT TerraCycle, the company that makes household items out of recycled bottles and other gear, is now making speakers made out of chip bags and candy wrappers. Their Universal Speakers won’t win any awards for clarity but they don’t require any batteries and connect straight to any music player. TerraCycle transforms candy wrappers into music blasters with their newest upcycled product, Universal Speakers Trenton, NJ – TerraCycle, the company that keeps your garden looking great with its organic worm poop fertilizer, has partnered with Merkury Innovations, a leader in the consumer electronics accessory business, to bring something new and exciting to its current line of eco-friendly products; upcycled universal speakers. These foldable speakers have a 3.5mm universal plug and they do not require any batteries so there is less hassle and, more importantly, less waste. Additionally, as with all of TerraCycle's products, the speakers will be made from waste, such as Frito Lay chip bags and Mars candy wrappers. Through upcycling, the process by which items typically seen as garbage are instead repurposed as valuable raw materials and transformed into new, useable consumer products, TerraCycle expects to help divert over 3,000 tons of candy wrapper waste from being dumped into landfills. TerraCycle receives material for upcycling through its various Brigade programs in which different organizations, elementary schools, and individuals across the country collect their wrapper waste and then send it in to TerraCycle. Terracycle donates two cents to a charity of the collectors choice for each piece of waste. So far, over 5 million used chip bags have been collected in only one year.

First Annual CrunchGear Halloween Costume Contest! Win an XBox! Posted: 21 Oct 2009 03:00 PM PDT Halloween is coming up and if there’s one thing I know it’s that geeks love Halloween. The opportunity to hide behind a mask, to subvert the status quo, and to dress up like sexy nurse/sexy witch/sexy balloon boy is a cause for celebration. That said, we’re offering one Xbox 360 Modern Warfare 2 Limited Edition Console to the winner of our First Annual CrunchGear Halloween Costume Contest. Here’s how to enter. Send a link to a picture of yourself or send a file of up to 200KB of you in your best geek Halloween costume to contest@crunchgear.com with the subject line “COSTUME CONTEST.” You can upload it to any service but please don’t bombard our mailbox with huge image files. There are a few rules: * You must be holding something with the word “CrunchGear” written on it. This is proof you didn’t raid some Halloween store’s website. * The contest will run from today until noon Eastern November 1, 2009 * We will then choose ten runners up and then allow you to choose the winner via a method I will discuss on November 1. We will close the contest on November 10. * The winner will receive their XBox by November 10, the release date of Modern Warfare 2. Please have fun and be creative. Here’s some inspiration. See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Bose hops on the wireless streaming bandwagon Posted: 21 Oct 2009 02:45 PM PDT Wireless has always been the new exciting thing in consumer electronics. Remote controls, game console controllers, Sony’s wireless power transfer, and now Bose is getting in on the action. The latest in their Wave System series, SoundLink allows you to stream audio to the unit from your computer. The unit is physically indistinguishable from the rest of Bose’s stereos. But the magic happens in the provided USB key. Plug into your computer running Windows XP, Vista, or Mac OS 10.4, and you should be able to hear beautiful music coming from your Bose unit up to 60 feet away. At the end of story, it’s pretty much just a Bluetooth-capable Bose Stereo. So don’t get too excited. But if you have $549.95, why the frak not?

Yesterday’s Macs are today’s bargains Posted: 21 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT You have to love the game that Apple plays. The company never puts anything on sale and all its products generally stay at their MSRP until new models are available to replace them. Well, because of yesterday’s new products, today is lucky day. (if you’re in the market for a new Mac, that is) Head over to the refurbished section in the Apple Store for some nice bargains. Yeah, these are all refurbs, but they do save you a bit of coin. You can snag a 2.13GHz MacBook for $749, a MacBook Air for $1,099, an aluminum MacBook for $899, or a 24-inch iMac for $1,099. Plus there are a whole lot more deals. I say go for it.

Weird Accessory #8791: Kawaii Bear iPod Charger Posted: 21 Oct 2009 01:30 PM PDT   What is that bear doing to that poor outlet and WHAT is that iPod cable doing to that poor bear?! This is the Kawaii Bear iPod Charger, straight from our friends in Japan. They apparently cost 1980 Yen each ($21.75) although it's not exactly clear where or how they're sold, which is probably a good thing. [via Craziest Gadgets]

Today on the CrunchGear Live Podcast Posted: 21 Oct 2009 01:00 PM PDT Here are some of the topics from today’s podcast… Barnes & Noble’s “Nook” e-book reader New Apple products Verizon’s Droid initiative Eee Keyboard PC’s new touchpad LISTEN: Show Link | RSS Feed | iTunes Link

What’s inside this mystery box? Posted: 21 Oct 2009 12:43 PM PDT This just mysteriously appeared on our doorstep. The return address on the label leads to Verizon's PR company, Weber Shandwick. We're going to do a video unboxing in just a second - in the mean time, any guesses as to whats inside?

Lenovo gears up for Windows 7 with 2 new laptops Posted: 21 Oct 2009 12:30 PM PDT A pair of new additions have been announced for Lenovo’s ThinkPad line. So all of those business people who shunned Windows Vista and held onto XP can finally take the plunge to a new OS. These new notebooks are optimized to run Windows 7 along with a host of other little goodies. Powered by Intel Core2 Duo processors, a 16:9 HD screen, HDMI and VGA outs are just some of the features. Lenovo also really hit the VoiP market hard with these. You’ve got WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, and some models have 3G built in. The camera resolution is supposed to be better, but we didn’t get any specs for it, so who knows. The integrated microphone now has a dedicated mute button for when you need to cut the audio. These laptops are even EPEAT and Energy Star certified to be green. So you’ll know that you aren’t horribly destroying the planet when you buy one. The SL series is the lowest of the ThinkPad’s but the new SL410 and SL510 are the only members to be certified under Lenovo’s Enhanced Experience program. I’m not really completely sure what that means. According to the press release, “certified PCs deliver a faster, richer and easier computing experience over identical configuration, non-optimized PCs.” So they have the same hardware, they just run better for some reason? Why not just optimize all of them? These should hit stores tomorrow, with a starting price of $529.

And now Miles Davis has himself a pair of Monster Cable headphones Posted: 21 Oct 2009 12:00 PM PDT Yup, Miles Davis is about as far away from Lady Gaga as you can get. Monster Cable has yet another pair of headphones that are emblazoned with a famous musician’s name. And if you were here two sentences ago, you might have guessed that that artist is Miles Davis. You’re a good guesser! You’ll find the headphones as part of the Miles Davis Tribute Set, which includes said headphones and a super-de-dooper deluxe copy of the jazz man’s famous album Kind of Blue (Note: I know nothing about jazz, but even I have heard of Kind of Blue). This deluxe version comes with a DVD, linear notes, yada yada yada. So, basically, we’ve got a pair of Monster Cable headphones with a Miles Davis logo on it, and a spiffy version of his best known album. Price? Oh, you know, $400. (Eh, that may seem expensive, but headphones can get very expensive, very fast if you’re not careful.) No release date, I’m afraid, but it is available for pre-order from Monster Cable’s Web site. via iPodNN

Video: Chuck Norris and his Beard, coming to an iPhone near you Posted: 21 Oct 2009 11:42 AM PDT Gameloft just sent over this teaser trailer for an upcoming title, "Chuck Norris: Bring on the Pain". Sure, Chuck's a bit late to the iPhone game if he's looking to milk this meme for all it's worth - but we had to share the video with you, or he'd burst through our office wall and roundhouse kick us in the face. We didn't want that to happen.

Altec Lansing announces Rock Band speakers Posted: 21 Oct 2009 11:40 AM PDT Why be a video game rockstar if you can’t hear it? Have you always wanted to put your foot on something while you power chord-ed your way to stardom? For those of you who are using the stock speakers in your TV to play Rock Band, Guitar Hero, or Harmonica Hero, first off, shame on you. The Stage-Gig speaker system is being debuted at the College Music Journal (CMJ) music festival in New York City. Modeled as a stage monitor, the Stage-Gig gives you a 6.5″ woofer, silk tweeter, all with 40 watts of output power. It has two sets of RCA plugs so you can theoretically chain as many of these units are you could possibly want. If you don’t have any better speakers, these offer you a simple, plug-and-play upgrade for your game console. XBox, Playstation, Wii, anything that uses RCA audio outputs will work. Look for it in early November and expect to shell out $99.95.

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