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Google to shine holiday cheer and free Wi-Fi in 47 airports for the holidays

Posted: 10 Nov 2009 05:36 AM PST

holiday07_5
Google loves you and wants to make sure your holiday travel isn’t absolutely horrible by providing free Wi-Fi at 47 airports nationwide. Don’t be evil, indeed.

The promo starts on November 16 and runs through January 15, 2010. The only catch is that once you log onto the free Wi-Fi, you will be prompted to try Google Chrome and set Google as your default search engine. Fine by me. In fact, it sounds less annoying that current airport Wi-Fi that generally has a gigantic banner somewhere on the screen reminding you that you’re in a wonderful airport waiting to board an H1N1-invested plane.

Amazon finally releases the Kindle for PC app (but it’s still in beta)

Posted: 10 Nov 2009 05:20 AM PST

amazon
Huzzah! PC users can finally include their computers within the each of Amazon’s syncing capabilities with the Kindle for PC app. The just released beta finally gives PC users a viable ebook reading option on a program that doesn’t look like it was designed for Windows 95. Although the majority of users will probably be those that already own a Kindle and just want to turn a few pages while at work, still relying on a Kindle for most of the reading. The app is pretty darn powerful in of itself, but there are some notable drawbacks and limitations.

The Kindle for PC app has full access to the Kindle Book store, but it’s through the computers Internet browsers and not a touchscreen-friendly app. Ebooks look great in the app but only Kindle ebooks; you can’t import anything including PDFs or any other ebook. The app itself looks great but isn’t especially meant for a a touchscreen.

Amazon is onto something here but it’s a good thing this app is still in a beta. If Amazon could make the app a little more touchscreen friendly with larger buttons and a dedicated book store, it very well could be a must-have app on all the touchscreen MID and UMPCs. The stradegy would be solid, get those proven gadget fans hooked with a free app and then possible sell them a Kindle. If they don’t buy a Kindle, at least they are still dropping $10 for each book. That’s money.

The beta is free so why not jump over to Amazon and download it yourself. Mac users will need to sit quietly in the corner until Amazon outs an OS X edition.

NTT Docomo’s 19 new cell phones for Japan (photo gallery)

Posted: 10 Nov 2009 04:43 AM PST

Following KDDI's announcement three weeks ago, Japan's biggest cell phone carrier NTT Docomo today unveiled [JP] its winter-line up of cell phones (SoftBank, the No.3, did the same). And here are all the new models announced by Docomo for the Japanese market today.


Japan gets 17 new cell phones: SoftBank’s complete winter-spring line-up (photo gallery)

Posted: 10 Nov 2009 01:22 AM PST

KDDI did it as early as last month, and today it was NTT Docomo's and SoftBank's turn to unveil their line-ups of new cell phones for the Japanese market. Here are all of SoftBank's 17 future models [JP], which will be sold in Japan from this fall through spring 2010.


Daily Crunch: Danger! High Voltage Edition

Posted: 10 Nov 2009 12:00 AM PST

100% concept watch coming to market after all

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 10:30 PM PST

100-led-watchCheck out the latest creation from the specialty design company, 100%. Despite having a name that’s really annoying to blog about, they do have some cool products for sale. What they don’t have for sale (quite yet) is this bracelet that cleverly conceals a digital wristwatch.

Not sure exactly how they do it, and power consumption might be an issue, but it certainly is a cool looking watch that looks more like an accessory then your bog standard watch.

No formal announcement on the release date or the price, but it should probably be out in the next few months and be in the sub-$400 range.

[via ablogtoread]

Modern Warfare 2 Is Here: Twitter Is Noticing

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 10:26 PM PST

modern-warfare-2
It’s finally here! Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is finally legally available in the US through special midnight release parties tonight. People can’t seem to stop tweeting about the game, as “Modern Warfare 2″ is now a trending topic on Twitter. Whether people have already gotten the game or are waiting in ridiculously long lines, people have something to say about CoD:MW2.

There is one common thing between all these tweets: everyone is excited to play this game. It’s already gotten two perfect scores and if what early players say is true, I’m sure more high scores are to come. I would add more to this, but let’s be honest, the lines on the West Coast are already two hundred deep and growing, and I need this game. Tonight.

Apparently, this is the Droid you are looking for

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 09:30 PM PST

Good news for Motorola and Verizon, it looks like the Droid is a hit. The new phone is certainly living up to the hype, and seems to be the breakaway hit of this holiday season.


Digeo outs a 3-tuner Moxi HD DVR, drops prices across the board

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 09:00 PM PST

moxi-hd-dvr

Digeo has managed to stay busy despite going through an acquisition by Arris. The company just went live with a slew of updates that show the company is serious about the DVR game. First and foremost is a new HD DVR model. This boy is almost exactly like the current Moxi HD DVR except it comes equipped with three tuners that will allow you to record three separate stations at one time off of a single multi-stream Cable Card. Take that, TiVo.

The new three-tuner model is perfect for the somewhat new Moxi Mate that will soon be able to utilize the tuners in a Moxi HD DVR for live TV viewing. Picture this: you’re streaming a recording from your main Moxi HD DVR onto the Moxi Mate in your bedroom but the wife fails asleep. This means you’re no longer obligated to watch Gray’s Anatomy and instead of switching to your TV’s tuner, the Moxi Mate will act just like a full size Moxi HD DVR and stream content live from one of the free tuners located in the full size Moxi HD DVR. You can even change the channel, view the guide, and timeshift live TV all over magic of Ethernet.

Up to two Moxi Mates can connect to one three-tuner DVR but can access live TV only when the main Moxi has a tuner available. If the tuners are in use, the user will be notified of the conflict and given the option to cancel the recording to free up the tuner. The necessary Moxi Mate software update will be available within the coming weeks along with an update to the Moxi HD DVR that tweaks the menu structure a bit.

Of course the new three tuner Moxi HD DVR can do the standard DVR functions too. Except this model allows you to record on three stations while watching a previously recorded program.

With the new model comes price drops. The two-tuner HD DVR is now $499 down from $799 and the standalone Moxi Mate is $299 instead of $399. The three-tuner model is only available in a bundle pack with either one or two Moxi Mates for $799 and $999, respectively. Just like before, there is no monthly fee with any of these products.

Digeo has been on a roll ever since the Moxi HD DVR was released last December. This is the 3rd straight quarter that the company has significantly updated its Moxi HD DVR product line. TiVo hasn’t done that in years.

New Three-Tuner Moxi® HD DVR and Reduced Pricing for Moxi Multi-Room Packages Unwrapped for Holiday Season

Under ARRIS Ownership, Moxi Continues to Innovate and Deliver New Features to Consumers

SUWANEE, GA – November 10, 2009 – As part of its first product update since acquiring the award-winning Moxi product line from Digeo, Inc. in September, ARRIS (Nasdaq: ARRS) today announced the introduction of a three-tuner version of the Moxi HD DVR as well as reduced pricing for its two-tuner Moxi HD DVR and Moxi multi-room packages.

  • The new three-tuner Moxi HD DVR, which allows for recording of three channels simultaneously while watching a fourth recorded program, is available in a Moxi HD DVR plus Moxi Mate bundle for $799 MSRP.
  • The price of the two-tuner Moxi HD DVR introduced earlier this year has been reduced to $499 MSRP (formerly $799).
  • In addition, ARRIS is introducing a three-room multi-room bundle option—a three-tuner Moxi HD DVR plus two Moxi Mates that collectively serve three rooms for $999.

The company also announced plans to deliver live TV on the Moxi Mate via the Moxi HD DVR. The Moxi HD DVR will receive the update automatically through a software download. Additionally, the price of the Moxi Mate has been reduced to $299 (formerly $399).

"We've heard from consumers that they love the Moxi products but are looking for different price and component options to serve their individual needs," said Marc Beckwitt, VP of CPE Video Business Development, ARRIS. "The recent acquisition by ARRIS brings the market presence and leverage required to drive cost out of the product, and consequently, we're able to offer these very competitive prices to consumers."

ARRIS continues to stand by the commitment to deliver the Moxi "all in", with no monthly or lifetime DVR service fees. Moxi also has no in-menu advertisements.

The Moxi HD DVR is designed to appeal to the most demanding digital cable entertainment enthusiasts. Some of its key attributes include:

  • A native HD interface and Emmy® award-winning Moxi Menu
  • Up to 75 hours of HD recording space or up to 300 hours at standard definition, and expandable to 6.5 Terabytes for up to 1000 hours of HD recording with an external eSATA drive
  • Access to many Internet services consumers already use, such as Rhapsody®, Flickr® and online video from Netflix®, Hulu™, and YouTube™ via DLNA server software such as PlayOn™ (currently provided at no charge) running on their PC
  • Multi-room viewing with the Moxi Mate and the ability to record three channels simultaneously while watching a fourth recorded program on the three-tuner version of the Moxi HD DVR
  • Remote and mobile browser scheduling to set recordings while away from home moxi.com
  • MoxiNet for full-screen web browsing and SupertickerTM —a ticker widget that provides information, such as weather, sports scores and news along the bottom of the screen

The Moxi HD DVR makes it effortless for consumers to discover, experience and share high definition media from their digital cable provider, PCs on the home network, and the Internet.

Also scheduled for release later this month are additional software upgrades to Moxi, which include new search and record option menus. These software updates will enable users to specify preferred record settings that can be applied to any new recorded TV shows or TV series. The new menu structure delivers easier access and better visibility related to the DVR function of the Moxi HD DVR, such as available hard drive space and other Moxi HD DVR related recording and scheduling functions.

Software upgrades, which have been delivered each quarter since unveiling the Moxi at CES in January 2009, continue to be delivered to the consumer automatically and at no charge.

Taking advantage of ARRIS e-tail infrastructure, the company is also introducing payment via major credit card instead of the PayPal option previously offered. The new Moxi pricing and bundle options are available now at www.moxi.com.

For more details, technical specifications and screen images of the Moxi HD DVR and Moxi Mate, please visit: www.moxi.com. You can also follow Moxi on Twitter at www.twitter.com/moxi_hd or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/moxi.hd.

Video hands-on with the Dell 5130cdn, the world’s fastest color laser printer

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 09:00 PM PST

dell-5130cdn-2

Yup, that gigantic Dell box contained a huge color laser printer. But to my pleasant surprise, the 100 lbs 5130cdn isn’t nearly as boring and mundane as I thought it was going to be. I really don’t know if it’s the fastest printer in the world like Dell claims, but I do know that this printer could be a serious weapon in the hands of a comic book pirate. (I would like to think they exist)

dell-5130cdnDisclaimer: I don’t know jack about business-level printers. When Dell first asked me to look the world’s fastest color laser printer, I thought it was going to be a desktop model like Best Buy sells. Nope, the 5130cdn is a full scale, business printer with a monthly load throughput capacity of a 110,000 pages. This printer is serious business but for $1,549 I would expect nothing less.

I managed to get the printer set up after some issues with Windows 7. For some reason, this brand new printer doesn’t ship with Windows 7 drivers, instead I had share the printer on another computer and then the print speed wasn’t up to spec. But once Dell gave me the right drivers and assured me that I got a pre-production model and the retail version will have the compatible drivers, I was off to the races.

The printer is rated at 47ppm in both mono and color and I found those numbers to be accurate. With just a random text-only PDF, I was able to get about 39ppm when printing over a wireless network and exactly 47ppm via a direct USB connection. Even when the document has a splattering of color, the speed isn’t noticeably affected.

comic

But let’s say you want to print a full-color comic book for some random reason. Just how fast is it then? Well, the 5130cdn managed to spit out the 38 pages in 1:38 as shown in the video above. Trust me, that’s fast considering each page is a full color image around 800KB in size. Try that with your inkjet and see what you get.

dell-2Dell has of course loaded this printer with a ton of new technology to get these results. It’s the first Dell printer to use ColorByDell, which is a total print quality solution that improves color saturation, sharpness, and print quality. Plus, the printer has a Cost Per Page of 1.04c per page for black and white, and 7.72c for color.

The 5130cdn is available starting today for $1,549, which includes a 3 year next business day on-site service contract. Let me warn you though, if you do buy this monster, its shipping weight is 120 lbs on a pallet and your wife won’t like it if it sits in the living room all evening.

Dell Launches World's Fastest Color Laser Printer

3 New Commercial Printers Help Customers Boost Productivity & Lower TCO

ROUND ROCK, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 – Dell today announced three new commercial workgroup printers to help businesses of all sizes increase productivity and lower their total cost of printing. Printers available today include the Dell 5130cdn, the world's fastest single function letter (LTR) size color laser printer, the Dell 7130cdn, Dell's first LED color printer with tabloid size printing capability; and the Dell 3330dn, a single function monochrome laser printer for high performance class black and white printing. These new printers will be launched and available in Europe and the Middle East on November 24.

The Dell 5130cdn can print up to 47 single-side and 37.6 double-side LTR pages per minute (ppm) in both mono and color, making it the world's fastest LTR size single-function color laser printer.  The 5130cdn also premiers ColorbyDell, a total print quality solution that delivers improved color saturation and image sharpness and outstanding print quality. This is enabled through a combination of a powerful new image enhancement algorithm, advanced toner technology and improvements in print engine design. The Dell5130cdn also brings significant energy and cost savings by using a new toner formulation that fuses at a lower temperature, enabling a remarkable Cost Per Page (CPP) of 1.04c for black and white and 7.72c for color print outs[i]. With a maximum duty cycle up to 110,000 pages a month, the Dell 5130cdn provides outstanding reliability and is available today in the US from $1,549 with 3 Year Next Business Day (NBD) Onsite Service after remote diagnosis[ii].

To help companies reign in the costs of their color printing, Dell also announced the availability of Dell ColorTrack Pro—a remote administration tool for IT administrators to centrally monitor and control access to color printing on the Dell 5130cdn. Designed for workgroup environments, Dell ColorTrack Pro manages user access at the server level, to more easily control printing and toner costs.

"With a school district as large as ours, it's important that we provide students, faculty and staff access to quality technology," said Tim McNeese, Information Systems Director of Williamson County Schools. "After installing the new Dell 5130cdn printers, we noticed a big difference in the quality and speed of the printouts. The great value and high production rate helps our schools run smoothly and collaboratively," he added.

The Dell 7130cdn is Dell's first LED-based color printer with the ability to print up to tabloid-size, high quality Pantone® approved color prints, for more accurate color reproduction. With its ability to bring professional quality color printing in-house with lower costs and improved printing options, the Dell 7130cdn includes a rich feature set, including numerous paper handling options, a powerful processor and enhanced memory. This allows the printer to print the first page (First Print Out Time) as quickly as 6.5 seconds in both mono and color. The Dell 7130cdn is available today in the US from $2,799 with 1 Year Next Business Day (NBD) Onsite Service after Remote Diagnosis[iii].

"Dell's new commercial printers add to a compelling portfolio of business color and mono printers for organizations of all sizes," said Keith Kmetz, Vice President of Hardcopy Peripherals Solutions and Services at IDC. "The Dell 5130cdn revolutionizes speed and usability. And its user-friendly appeal makes it attractive to organizations looking for high quality color output at a low total cost of ownership," he added.

On the black and white printing front, Dell announced the Dell 3330dn, a single-function black and white performance printer that can print up to 40 pages per minute (ppm), with a monthly duty cycle up to 80,000 pages. Built for high performance printing needs, the Dell 3330dn packs work-horse reliability, and includes paper drawer and memory expansion capabilities that grow with increasing business demands, all in a compact desktop size. The Dell 3330dn is currently available from today in the US from $599 with 1 year Advanced Exchange Service.

"Dell has always focused on efficiency, reducing costs and increasing productivity for businesses of all sizes, and today we have extended that same winning formula to the printing world," said Mike Arterbury, Global Director Commercial Software & Peripherals at Dell Inc. "Our portfolio of printers provides customers with valuable and affordable choices and lower cost of printing, saving them time – and real money!" he added.

"Dell's complete lineup of laser printers provide customers with outstanding value, world class reliability and ease of use to help them achieve more with less, with minimum downtime and complexity," said C. K. Lim, General Manager of Dell's Global Imaging Business.

Dell printers are available direct from Dell and from Dell's more than 50,000 partners worldwide.

Printer Specifications

5130cdn Color Laser Printer 7130cdn Color Laser Printer 3330dn Mono Laser Printer
List price US$ 1,549 (includes 3-yr NBD On-site Service after remote diagnosis) US$ 2,799 with 1-yr NBD Onsite Service after remote diagnosis US$599 with 1-yr NBD Advanced Exchange after remote diagnosis
Consumables type Separated toner and drum unit Separated toner and drum unit Separated toner and drum unit
Print Speed (Letter) Up to 47ppm in both mono and color (Actual print speed will vary with use) Up to 35ppm (actual print speed will vary with use) Up to 40ppm  (actual print speed will vary with use)
Duplex Print Standard Standard Standard
Max. resolution Up to 1200 dpi x 1200 dpi Up to 1200 dpi x 1200 dpi Up to 1200×1200 dpi / 2400 IQ
User interface 160 x 64 Mono Graphics backlit LCD text 128 x 64 Graphics backlit LCD text 4 line backlit LCD (text and graphics)
3-button + 5-way cursor keypad 6-button cluster 20 buttons keypad
1 LED: Status (green, yellow & red) 1 LED: Status (green, yellow & red) 1 two-tone LED
Processor 800 MHz 1 GHz 466 MHz
Connectivity High-speed USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet High-speed USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet USB 2.0 (Hi speed), Parallel, 10/100 Ethernet
Print Language PCL® 5c, 5e/6 Emulation: 81 fonts

Adobe® PostScript® 3: 136 fonts

 PCL® 5c,  PDF direct v1.4 , Adobe® PostScript® 3 Adobe® PostScript® 3 PCL® 5e, PCL 6, PCL XL, HBP (GDI), XPS (GDI) and PostScript® Level 3 Emulation
Paper input (std/max) 700 / 2900 sheets 600 / 2100 sheets 250 / 850 sheets (550tray+MPT)
Paper output (std/max) 500 / 1000 sheets 400 / 400 sheets 50 sheets
Multi-purpose input 150 sheet 100 sheet 150 sheets
Max. monthly duty cycle Up to 110,000 pages Up to 150,000 pages Up to 80,000 pages
Size (W x D x H) 22.1" x 20.0" x 17.0" 25.2" x 26.2" x 15.7" 10.2″ x 16.6″ x 14.53″
Weight 99lbs (45kg) 145.2lbs (66 kg) 31.15 lb.

Related Links:

For more details, please go to www.dell.com/printers

Excellent idea: flat outlet pulls out to allow extra plug

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 07:28 PM PST

pullout
One must be careful when re-inventing industrial design that has been around for a long, long time. Chances are, it was like that for a reason. The Node Outlet, for instance, looks cool at first, but upon reflection has some serious and dangerous problems. I don’t see any similarly obvious issues with this pull-out plug, but hello, I’m a blogger. What the hell do I know?

rozetkus-3d-room

I suppose the major challenge with something like this is making sure there’s no current interference. Or… resistance… polarization. Never mind, I give up. Can you guys think of any reasons why this shouldn’t work?

More info and pictures at Art Lebedev’s site.

Six hot ‘n fresh DisplayPorts on one video card, coming right up

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 06:00 PM PST

radeon2
When I first saw Eyefinity demoed, I thought “that’s pretty awesome, but aren’t you going to have to pull some shenanigans to get that many monitors hooked up? I mean, daisy-chaining monitors isn’t science of the rockets or anything, but it does mean certain restrictions need to be observed, and certain accessories bought. But what if your graphics card had as many outputs as you had monitors? Or, say, a lot more?

That’s what this particular ATI Radeon 5870 is doing. Can you say six (mini) DisplayPorts?

radeon1

Apart from the extra ports, this model doesn’t differ too much from the reference 5870, though it does sport a slightly different PCI interface and, of course, it has 2GB of GDDR5. It’s got HDMI and two DVIs, plus… I don’t recognize that one on the left, am I losing it? (yes, I am, it’s a standard DisplayPort)

No pricing or availability information at the moment, but it’s good to know it’s out there if I ever happen to buy five more monitors and need to rock that Eyefinity.

[via Tom's Hardware]

GamersGate has a virtual currency I might actually want to earn

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 05:00 PM PST

Sm64bluecoinsGenerally speaking, I’m not a fan of virtual currencies. They certainly have their place, but usually they’re just an obstacle between you and the object you want. Why do I have to buy points if points are just your version of dollars? There are exceptions: here in Seattle there are a couple alternate currencies being traded for goods and services which work on a different level from dollars — and GamersGate, the direct-download games site, appears to have something of a good deal in their blue coins.

Unlike in Mario 64 and other games, you can’t get an extra life by collecting 10 blue coins. That would be impossible. No, these are used for buying games, just like regular money, but it appears that you can earn them just by participating in the site. Writing reviews for games, answering questions in the “Game Tutor” program, and doing other stuff nets you a load of coins. They’re not worth a lot individually, but once you buy or review a few games (may I recommend X-COM?) and lurk on the forums for a bit, you should have enough to make a bargain purchase or two.

ea_blc_week

If you keep an eye on the offers page, you can also find games that give you lots of bonus coins, too — so if it’s between buying it there or on Steam or whatever, you might as well get the extra buck or two off.

Anyway, if you’re going to lurk on a gaming community, you might as well get paid for it, right? I couldn’t find a complete guide to how to get coins so I’ve put what they sent me here:

Some of the current EA titles have huge Blue Coin bonuses (i.e. Dragon Age: Origins- 5,000 blue coins).

Pre-order

GamersGate allows you to pre-order a game, and when you do you'll be rewarded with Blue Coins. The standard is 250 BLC, but sometimes there are special offers that include more.

Price guarantee

If the pre-ordered game drops in price within 30 days after its release, for more than 5 days, you will get the difference back in Blue Coins.

Review

Your reviews posted on GamersGate are important as they will help other gamers with their game selections. Therefore we want to ensure that all reviews are as useful as possible to our gamers. Anyone who has purchased a game is welcome to write a review, which will be published on GamersGate. Please note that in order to get your review published you need to follow our review policy. In order to review a product, you must be logged in and own the game, and you can only review a product once. If you are first to review you will receive 300 BLC, with additional reviewers receiving 150 BLC.

Ratings – rate a game

GamersGate allows you to rate the game you have purchased, using a five-star rating scale. If you are first to rate the game, you will receive 100 BLC with subsequent ratings receiving 50 BLC.

Game Tutor

The Game Tutor program is designed to help members with any game issues and reward those who help.

For example, let’s say you can’t get your game to load or you are struggling on a specific level of a game. You simply go the page, post your question and the first member who responds with the solution is rewarded with Blue Coins which can later be used to purchase games. The person who provides the solution will be rewarded with 500 BLC.

Purchase Games

For every game you buy, you will receive 5% of the purchased value in BlueCoins. Let's say you have bought 5 games for $39.99 – you'll have enough coins to get a FREE game (valued at $10).

Walkthrough

GamersGate offers tons of challenging games, and players are bound to get stuck from time to time. Any player who writes a Game Walkthrough for the site will be rewarded with 1,000 Blue Coins.

GG Tag

Gamers will use their "GG Tag" widget to direct new users to GamersGate. The "GG Tag" displays your GamersGate profile with links to your profile page, the game you are currently playing and the games you own. Users will be able to post their "GG Tag" widget on websites, blogs, and any other place where you can imbed HTML code. You will have a kickback in BlueCoins on every purchase generated from your GG Tag.

White member will receive 2%, Green 2.5%, Yellow 3%, Red 5% and Black 10%.

Reward program;

Pre-order: 250 BLC (Watch out! Sometimes games give you more BLC.)

Review (1st): 300 BLC

Review: 150 BLC

Rate (1st): 100 BLC

Rate: 50 BLC

Game Tutor Solution: 500 BLC

Walkthrough: 1,000 BLC

Purchase Games: 5% of the total purchase value will be rewards in BLC

[Example: Buy Football Manager 2010 for $49.95 get 5% back in Blue Coins, or 2,498 BLC. Or buy 5 games for $39.99 each and get a game for $10 for FREE.]

GG Tag: Create you own GG Tag and show off your entire GG catalogue.
Publish the GG Tag on your blog; when friends buy games through the GG Tag widget, you'll be rewarded with BLC.

Member status:

White Member: 0 – 1,249 BLC

Green Member: 1,250 – 4,999 BLC

Yellow Member: 5,000 – 12,499 BLC

Red Member: 12,500 – 999,999 BLC

Black Member: >1,000,000 BLC

And no, I’m not on the payroll there! Just seems like a good deal.

Trillions: a short film on the future of computing

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 04:14 PM PST


This is an interesting little futurist tease of a movie by MAYA that’s “a fast paced preview of a larger effort — I’m guessing where they fill in the gap at the end. The idea is that computing right now is at one of those thresholds where we can’t quite grasp the idea of the “next generation.”

Just as computing in the 60s and 70s was about mass calculation and interpretation of external data and experts foresaw little of what we have now, the future of computing involves such a low level of fundamental integration and a high number of nodes that it’s practically impossible for us to see how it will work. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, though.

[via LikeCool]

How to read, and respond to, video game reviews

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 02:30 PM PST

ponggame

Keep this in mind when you’re reading a video game review from your favorite publication.

To quote Destructoid:

If a videogame review that you disagree with is posted online, you are duty-bound to respond and shame the writer into committing suicide, because it’s just that crucial. Of course, you need to be armed with the proper responses, and fortunately, we’re here to help. Come with me as I show you exactly how to respond to a video game review. That no-good writer who trashed Uncharted 2 by giving it an 8.5 will be crying into his oatmeal by sundown!

It goes on to detail, in humorous fashion, how you, the everyman on the street bouncing from IGN to Eurogamer to Edge to 1UP to Kotaku to CrunchGear when I get around to it, should react to a review of your favorite video game. Hate the score the reviewer gave the game? Call him biased! Upset that a game you hate got a 7.5 instead of a 7.0? (That’s why I don’t give numbers in my reviews, which are always entitled "Wherein we discuss [Game]," because I think they’re dumb.) Make wild accusations about conflicts of interests, as if every video game reviewer is a stock holder in a video game publisher.

I have no stock in anything, for the record. That’s a rich man’s game.

Now, we can use this as an opportunity to discuss what y’all look for in video game reviews. I do know that when I was younger (let’s say around 13), the first thing I’d check was the review score. "Yes, they gave Zelda a 5.0 for the fun factor~!" I didn’t pay much attention to the review itself, just the score. Today, it’s the complete opposite. I’d rather sit through a really long Edge review and not see a score (like the magazine did with Fatale) then see some 200-word quickie with an 8.0 tacked on the bottom for good measure.

Star Trek Blu-ray release earns a perfect score at Blu-ray.com

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 02:02 PM PST

star-trek

We all know that the new Star Trek was the best movie of all time – I’m serious – but how about the upcoming Blu-ray release? Well,  Blu-ray.com takes Blu-ray releases and grades them on four levels: Movie, Video, Audio, and Extras. The upcoming Star Trek release scored a perfect five out of five in each category. Yeah, it’s that awesome.

Normally I would encourage you to jump over to the source website and read the whole review yourself, but the damn thing is over 4,000 words so let me summarize it for you: the Blu-ray release is tits. Buy it.

Review: BlackBerry Bold 9700

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 02:00 PM PST

blackreview
The Short Version: I’ve always preferred functionality over looks in my gear. But the Bold 9700 puts a sleek outer cover on a powerful processor. T-Mobile’s first 3G BlackBerry is manufactured by Research In Motion. Perhaps you were expecting something more a bit more post-worthy?

RIM’s newest release brings us BlackBerry OS v5. It has all of the standard features you’ve come to know and love, email, SMS, IM, web browsing, etc. The Bold takes all of that and serves it too you on a 624MHz processor. i would say the only weak spot is the web browser.

The Bold is 4.29″ x 2.36″ x 0.56″ and weighs in at 4.3 ounces. Size wise, it feels about the same as any other BlackBerry, but it was much lighter than I expected. The back has this interesting faux-leather cover for those of you who want to feel like you really got your money’s worth.DSC00618

The control surface proved a nice improvement. RIM replaced the traditional trackball with an optical trackpad. Personally, I like this interface much better. It feel much smoother and more precise than a ball. The trackpad sits flush with the body of the phone, so it won’t get damaged or worn out nearly as often. The keyboard proved to be easy to type on as well. The keys themselves are a little small, but the sculpted edges prevent you from slipping. Other dedicated buttons include a keypad lock key and a mute key on the top, voice dialing on the left side, and a volume rocker and programmable button on the right (default to opening the camera).DSC00619

The display is something to behold. Not only can you watch streaming video with the new and improved JavaScript and streaming protocol support, but it all looks absolutely beautiful. The quality of pictures and video playback is pretty damn good. The camera itself isn’t too shabby either. 3.2 Megapixels with image stabilization, a 2x digital zoom, and flash. The onboard mic for video recording isn’t the greatest, but that’s to be expected.

In terms of connecting to the outside world, the Bold has not only 3G and Wi-Fi capability, but UMA support. Meaning you can make calls over a wireless network, without using your plan minutes.

T-Mobile hasn’t given us a firm release date. But you can expect it in time for the holidays for $199.99 with a two-year contract.

Technical Specs

  • Memory: 256MB of internal flash memory, with a microSD card slot
  • Battery Life: Talktime – 6 hours     Standby Time – 19 days
  • Display: 480 x 360 color display, TFT LCD
  • Camera: 3.2 MP camera with 2X zoom, flash, and video
  • Optical Trackpad
  • Keyboard: Full QWERTY keyboard, backlit
  • Bluetooth: v2.1
  • Headset Jack: 3.5mm stereo headset
  • Media Player Supported Audio: 3GP, MP3, WMA9/WMA9 Pro/WMA 10, MIDI, AMR-NB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+
  • Supported Video: DivX 4, DivX 5/6 partially supported, XviD partially supported, H.263, H.264, WMV3, MPEG4, Sorenson Spark and On2 VP6 (Flash support)
  • Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g (w/ UMA support)
  • GPS: photo geotagging capability
  • BlackBerry OS: v5.0

Finally, Roombas enacting a game of Pac-Man

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 01:22 PM PST

Yes. It is finished. We can shut down NASA, DARPA, all the arts and sciences, and stop trying now. The pinnacle of human achievement has been reached. Robot vacuums have been hacked to play the parts in a real-life game of Pac-Man.

The ghosts are actually moving autonomously along computer-defined lines (they can’t “see” the actual maze) and the Man of Pac himself is guided by an RC controller. I was a little disappointed to see that he doesn’t eat the dots, though.

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I won’t waste your time by summarizing all the hacks and modifications that went into this project; they’re well-documented here, and good reading too if you’re into that sort of thing.

[via Giz and En]

Test Drive: 2010 Volkswagen GTI

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 01:09 PM PST

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The new 2010 Volkswagen GTI is a stylish and versatile piece of machinery. This latest installment in the GTI's nearly three-decade existence has been restyled to provide the driver with a sleek exterior, a comfortable interior, and plenty of power for moving around in the daily grind.

VW wanted us to drive test out this new car so bad, I was flown out to San Fran and put up in a swanky hotel for three nights where I was wined and dined. It was hard leaving my blue-collar routine in Detroit, but someone has to do it.

gti2You know what though, I was thoroughly impressed with how the 2010 GTI performed during normal everyday driving and not-so-normal parking lot autocross racing. VW was even kind enough to provide me with one of their TDI cup drivers, Perry Richardson, to show me how to put the Mk VI GTI through its paces.

The two courses provided were set up thusly: a slow speed course that was very technical with numerous tight corners and switchbacks. Then there was a high-speed course, which featured a couple of good sweeping corners and a slalom at the end of it. Perry took me through both courses, explaining his technique to navigate through the sea of orange cones as he drove.

gti3Then it was my turn. While a total blast to drive, my driving skills were not on the same level as Perry's. Nonetheless, this event displayed just how powerful Volkswagen's direct injected turbocharged 2.0L four cylinders are that making 200 SAE hp at 5,100-6,000 rpms and 207 lbs-ft. of torque from 1,800-5,000 RPMs. The 16-valve DOHC engine and six-speed manual transmission propels the GTI to a respectable 0-60 time of 6.8 seconds. The standard transmission allows the GTI to achieve a decent 21 city/ 31 hwy. MPG (EPA est.).

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Now, as much fun as a manual gearbox is to drive, VW's optional six-speed automatic with DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) gives the driver the ability to just get in drive and go, or put it into manual mode and control the up shifts and down shifts. The DSG automatic utilizes a computer to control the dual clutch system, telling one clutch to engage the next gear while the other clutch releases the current gear. The result is a smooth, crisp shifting, better acceleration (0-60 in 6.7 seconds), and improved fuel economy (24 city/32 hwy.).

A very neat feature on the automatic gearbox is the launch control. All you have to do is set the transmission into manual mode in first gear. Then turn off the traction control, put one foot on the brake and the other one the accelerator pedal. Release the brake pedal and let it fly! All this power is transmitted to either the standard 17 inch x 7 inch or the optional 18 inch x 7.5 inch wheels and "European-tuned" suspension.

gti4While the wheels were stylish enough, I thought the suspension was almost too firm for a daily driven vehicle. Don’t get me wrong, I like a firm, responsive ride, but I felt like I was home in the pothole-riddled state of Michigan while driving around the surface streets of San Francisco. It's not a bad ride, I just think they could improve on it some more.

Then there is the interior. It's clean, functional, and easy enough to access the back in the two-door models. The front seats are very sport-minded and hold you in place during various… let's just say fun maneuvers throughout your drive.

I love the fact that an integrated an iPod connection into the car. This makes jamming your favorite tunes a breeze on either the standard touchscreen radio or the optional navigation system with a 30 GB hard drive (20 GB of which can be devoted to music). Both of these radios support Bluetooth, so you can keep in touch with everyone hands-free.

How much is it, you ask? The base starts out at $23,290 and goes on up from there. It is available in six different colors: Deep Black Metallic, Candy White, Tornado Red, United Gray Metallic, Carbon Steel Gray Metallic, and Shadow Blue Metallic. Let me suggest checking out what 25-years of GTI heritage has created.

Great, Seattle middle-schoolers are making shanks now

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 12:40 PM PST

Photo 5
I just came across this story in the neighborhood newspaper. I can’t find it anywhere online. What is wrong with our seventh-graders that they are using their DIY skills to make shanks instead of putting together a cool fort or at least a more creative weapon? They couldn’t, I don’t know, modify Nerf arrows with metal caps so they hurt when they hit?

If they’ve got some violence in the system, as many kids do, they need to work it out. Most kids do that through video games these days, yet why do I get the feeling that somewhere in the Seattle school district tonight, somebody will be cursing the same games for making kids more violent?

Luckily, no one was hurt in this incident. The kids involved were expelled, but beyond that nothing is known. I think that going to an inner-city high school and being held up at gunpoint a couple times has made me a more well-rounded person all told, but I wouldn’t wish a shank on anyone.
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