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Apple Store is down worldwide

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 04:30 AM PST

The Apple Store went down (globally) a short while ago. And we all know what that means: They are adding new stuff, or at least updated stuff. Could this be refreshed MacBook Pros, for example? Those that allegedly run Core i7 M 620 at 2.66GHz?

Daily Crunch: Pac Directions Edition

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 12:00 AM PST

Apple job posting hints at video option for iPads

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 10:00 PM PST

It’s crazy how the slightest little hint of something starts all the rampant speculation about Apple’s product development. This is the third clue that the next generation of iPad will have a camera, if not video capability. It certainly explains the stuff that was found in the SDK.

So add it up: first you have support for video conferencing in the SDK. Add the fact that the leaked picture of the bezel shows a socket for a camera. Add to that, a job posting that recently appeared, looking for “a software quality engineer with a strong technical background to test still, video and audio capture and playback frameworks.” This all looks to add up to the inevitable fact that the next gen of iPad will have video capabilities. Makes you want to run right out and buy a first gen version, doesn’t it? Oh well. Apple will still sell a ridiculous number of the things.

Saving Private Ryan to storm Blu-ray

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 08:30 PM PST

You might want to sit down for this one. Are you ready? Saving Private Ryan is coming to Blu-ray. Yep, the 1998 Academy award-winning movie is finally coming to Blu-ray on May 4th. Expect the ad machine to fire up some time in April, since you’re going to want to buy another version of this movie as well, right?

So we know it’s coming May 4th, from the Blu-ray release schedule, but that’s about all the information we have. No word on what special features, extras, how much it will cost, box art. Nothing. It’s a whisper of a dream, and if you ask too many questions, that dream with burst like a soap bubble on a cacti.

Pandora open-source handheld is go

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 07:16 PM PST


For quite a while now, I’ve been following the progress of the Pandora, an open-source handheld for music, movies, and games. It’s hard to stay excited, though, when there’s the constant threat of the thing ceasing to exist. That seemed to be a risk for a while, but now we’re being told that all the hurdles are jumped and the thing will start rolling off the assembly line any moment now. Just thought you should know.

What are you waiting for? Get your pre-order in before the whole first run gets snapped up!

British Library to give away thousands of classics away as e-books

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 06:30 PM PST


Got a Kindle? Get thee to the British Library! Not only are they giving away a ton of old 19th-century literature in e-book form, but they’re a special “first edition” e-book with the original typeface and illustrations baked in. The 1800s encompass nearly all of my favorite literature, so this is actually making me want a Kindle pretty bad right now. Original typefaces! O lawd!

If Dickens and Austen aren’t your thing (pity) there are lots of other great works as well. None of the articles describing the project list more than a few titles, but I’m guessing you are likely to have some Dumas, Jules Verne, Arthur Conan Doyle, and of course Melville. Whatever the case, they’re going to be beautiful copies that make good use of those high contrast e-ink screens.

The project is funded by Microsoft, which donated “a very generous amount” to the library to enable the giveaway. They’ll be made available in the spring, at which time I’ll probably post again because I love love love this.

The ISS gets its own HD video tour

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 06:00 PM PST


Sit back, relax, and enjoy this extensive HD video tour of International Space Station. You better enjoy the ISS while you can. There’s a good chance it’s going to crash into Planet Earth within the next couple of years because of budget issues unless the ESA can save it.

Lian Li “spider” case seen creeping around Taiwan

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 05:30 PM PST

Beware the coming of the spider! This strange creature was seen in a back alley, eating cats, small dogs, and any memory chips it happens to find. It has the capability to disguise itself as the Lian Li T1 Pitstop, which is a Mini-atx case with room for a full size power supply. Of course, no word on pricing, availability, or even if we’ll see this case in the US, but it’s a fun video to watch.

Amazon is ready to take your Olympus E-PL1 pre-orders

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 05:00 PM PST

The Olympus E-PL1 budget micro four thirds camera launched last week but Amazon already has it available for pre-order. On one hand this pre-order will ensure you’re one of the first kids at school with the new toy, but that’s not going to be until next month away so you may wanna hold on to your $600 a bit longer. Something a bit more tantalizing might come along.

Review: G Drive mobile USB hard drive

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 04:30 PM PST

Short Version: It’s an external USB hard drive for your Mac. It’s white.

Features

  • Pre-formatted in HFS+ for OS X
  • Time Machine compatible
  • Bus-powered
  • Color matches MacBooks
  • $139 MSRP

Pros

  • It’s white like your MacBook

Cons

  • Bigger and heavier than most other bus-powered 500GB external hard drives
  • Questionable build quality

Review

So this is just another external hard drive. Yeah, there isn’t anything special about it besides the white case. That’s not to say it’s a bad drive because from what I can see, it’s fine. But it’s clearly meant for those MacBook owners who must have matching accessories. You know who you are.

The drive comes formatted in OS X-friendly HFS+. This always means that it’s ready for Time Machine making it a solid, out-of-the-box backup solution. Or Windows users always have the option of formatting the drive in NTFS.

Speed-wise, the USB 2.0 5400 drive is on par with Seagate’s 1TB bus-powered drive. Both drives took 0:50~ to transfer a 970MB file. Not too shabby in my book.

The drive clearly tries to replicate the MacBook’s premium feel and look, but actually fails. While the G Drive mobile is sleek, clean, and feels solid, the drive’s only seam partly protrudes from the top, reveling a harsh edge. The whole package is also a lot larger and heavier than other 500GB options from Seagate or Western Digital.

Bottom Line
The G Drive mobile USB is a fine drive even with the questionable build quality. The only real strike against it is that it’s somewhat pricey with a $139 MSRP for only 500GB of storage. A quick search online will reveal a dozen 500GB drives for $99 or less that are the same speed but also physically smaller. Still, if you must have a drive to match your new MacBook, this is probably your best option.

Product Page

“This Is It” commemorative hard drive

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 04:00 PM PST

Nothing like a commemorative hard disk to remember one of the greatest pop stars of all time. At least, that’s exactly what Samsung was thinking when they thought up this one. Now when people ask you what that gaudy gold contraption on your desk is, you’ll have an answer other than censored from last night.

Under the hood, you get a S2 Portable HXMU050DA, with 500 GB capacity on USB 2.0. Oh, and a DRM locked copy of This Is It. Don’t worry, you’ll also get a little voucher with the activation code you need to watch it. Heaven help you if you want to burn it to a DVD to watch anywhere other than on your computer.

I’m not completely sure if this is designed as an “Oh, here’s a free copy of this movie with your hard drive purchase” sort of thing, or a “Hey, I really want a copy of this movie. Might as well get a hard drive with it!” Either way, units will start moving on February 24th for $123 a pop.

[GadgetReview]

CrunchDeals: Buy two, get one free Xbox 360 Platinum hits

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 03:30 PM PST

Oh, winter snowstorms. Your lion's roar is but a cat's meow provided you don't knock out the power or prevent the UPS or FedEx trucks from completing their routes.

If you do knock out the power or render delivery services immobile, then you're an asshole. An asshole of a storm.

If not, please feel free to continue canceling school and work for everyone (except bloggers and other work-from-home professionals) while we all play video games.

Long story short (too late) if you need Xbox 360 games to play, Amazon's doing a buy-two-get-one-free deal on Platinum Hits titles. Just add three to your cart and the lowest priced one will carry the low, low price of nothing.

Deal ends next Saturday, February 13th.

Buy 2 Platinum Hits, Get 1 Free [Amazon via Joystiq]

Capitol Hill gets a big iPad

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 03:00 PM PST


…vending machine.

And you thought our government was low-tech. Capitol Hill staffers now have a huge iPad-like vending machine featuring a large touchscreen system that lets you choose your poison and then watch a little animation as it is vended.

It’s kind of dopey but I guess its better than the big open spring system they use currently. After all, who wants to see a bunch of ugly candy in a machine when you can watch a little video when you buy. The system comes from the National Automatic Merchandising Association and it seems that it might be some sort of demo system for the staffers instead of a real product.

There’s a bit more information at this clever blog but don’t look for this machine at your local YMCA. It’s still in testing and they only place milquetoast enough for it to survive was apparently our nation’s capital.

China shuts down pretty darn big hacking Web site

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 02:30 PM PST

Much has been written about China and “hackers” in recent weeks, probably because it contains two items that sound mysterious and scary: China and its rise, which unsettles people who believe the U.S. should run the planet, full stop, and “hacking.” Oh, scary hackers! Anyhow, here’s another story! A rather large Web site, one allegedly offering software for hacking, has been shut down. The site, Black Hawk Safety Net, was once located at 3800cc.com, but all you get now a bad request.

The site was run by three people, who have now been arrested. The site had 12,000 subscribers, and generated some $1 million in revenue.

The crazy thing is that all of this went down in November of last year, but it was only just announced.

This is the part where I mention that China is home to plenty of “hackers,” but the country’s authorities have been sorta lax in cracking down.

You’ll note that this is also a problem, if that’s the word to year, in Eastern Europe, where there’s plenty of computing talent, but not necessarily enough legitimate outlets to funnel said talent.

In other hacker news, I’m eagerly awaing my first shipment of Club Mate, popularized here in the U.S. by 2600 magazine.


Miyamoto: Nintendo is working on new hardware

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 02:04 PM PST

Nintendo’s next console has been the subject of countless rumors, and every time something comes up, someone at Nintendo vehemently denies it. A new console? Perish the thought! Well, I never! But at the Japan Media Arts Festival on Saturday, Shigeru Miyamoto himself said that yes, Nintendo is working on new hardware. There wasn’t much said beyond that, so it may be that it’s something totally different from, say, a Wii HD, but since we have a recent DS release, it’s safe to suppose it’s something that’s definitely new.

He was talking about the development process and some Nintendo history, and also revealed that he was working on some good stuff for MotionPlus. At some point, however, he acknowledged that the new generation of hardware was underway. I don’t trust the translation of the original article, so I’ll leave it at that.

[via Andriasang and 1up]

Heat powered arcade mugs

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST

Mugs are like jeans. You go through several different ones before you settle on a favorite. But once you find one, hell can freeze over before you use something else. And ThinkGeek’s new temperature sensitive arcade mugs will be able to tell you when that happens.

You’ve got a Pac Boy or Space Invaders design to choose from. In it’s natural state, the mug is black and rather nondescript. But pour in a hot beverage, and your nostalgia of choise is represented in all its 8-bit glory. Definitely beats whatever you’re drinking out of right now. These things will run you $7.99 a piece.

Now I suppose you could treat this as a very rudimentary video game in itself. By pouring your delicious drink in an accurate enough pattern, you should be able to recreate a session of respective pill-popping or alien-killing fun. Someone go do that, and you’ll almost be on par with these guys.

The InFocus DisplayLink Wireless system cuts the cord between Macs and InFocus projectors

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 01:30 PM PST

One of the most frustrating things about using a projector is setting up all the cords. You have to connect the video, probably the audio (at least in a business setting) and get the whole thing up and running. If you have a Mac, life gets even more complicated due to the lack of an HDMI or DVI port, which is the industry standard for projectors. InFocus is fixing all that with their new DisplayLink wireless technology.

DisplayLink was just announced today, and will allow users to connect wirelessly to any InFocus DisplayLink enabled projector by just plugging in a USB dongle. DisplayLink compatible projectors and the associated USB dongles will be available for the Mac at the end of March 2010. No word on pricing at this time.

From the press release:

PORTLAND, Ore. and CAMPBELL, Calif., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ — InFocus® Corporation, the industry pioneer in digital projection technology, today announced a major enhancement to its wireless solution that eliminates the need to have wired connections between laptops and select InFocus projectors, with support for Mac OS and audio.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100208/SF51089)

Based on wireless technology from Wisair, a leading provider of single-chip based UWB and Wireless USB solutions, the InFocus DisplayLink™ Wireless system, allows presenters to easily connect to InFocus DisplayLink-enabled projectors and share HD content on the big screen without wires.

Successfully launched in August 2009 with initial support for Windows OS platforms, the system is now made available for MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air platforms with audio support. These enhancements enable broader deployment of the InFocus DisplayLink Wireless system to educational and additional markets, where Mac platforms are widely used.

MacBook platforms do not have VGA or HDMI connectors, which are the most common connectors in Projectors. For a complete audio-video experience today, Mac users need to connect at least 3 cable adapters: (1) a mini-DisplayPort or mini-DVI to VGA adapter cable (2) a VGA cable that connects to the projector for the video and (3) yet another cable for the audio.

The new InFocus wireless solution allows Mac users to transfer video, audio and also the projector’s control, via a single wireless link with a single adapter that connects to a USB port, available in ALL MacBook platforms.

The system will be available with Mac OS support at the end of March 2010.

Rick Moody goes nuts over the Kindle

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 01:00 PM PST

I liked the Ice Storm. It was a good book and movie. I also like Rick Moody. Clearly the Moodster was expecting too much of Amazon when he cracked open his Kindle and immediately expected his device to contain the wisdom of the ages including content by Grace Paley and Stanley Elkin. Sure, the Kindle doesn’t have a lot of old-timey writers in there but there is still enough content to choke a horse.

His complaints? Pretty slim pickings:

Now I have to say, there are many ways that the Kindle truly sucks, right off the bat, at least mine sucks, and people who tell you that it doesn't suck, and that it is somehow better than a book, or as good, these people are the literary equivalent of Scientologists. They have drunk the Kool-Aid. Here are some ways that the Kindle sucks: it has no page numbers. My Kindle indicates the amount of the text that I have reading in a percentage. This makes me feel like I am huffing gas, not reading the book.

Over time Moody grew to love the Kindle store and accept is as an inevitable source of income for years to come.


Peter Molyneux will piss you off with Fable III info next week

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 12:30 PM PST

Is Peter Molyneux the video game industry’s Dana White, talking trash at every turn for seemingly no reason? I’d say so, yes. He’s going to show off more of Fable III at next week’s X10 event in San Francisco. He told Gamereactor that you’ll be “pissed off” by what he reveals. Peter Molyneux: promoter extraordinaire.

The full quote is:

We’re making some announcements about Fable III and there’s some… Wow, there’s some very, very big things happening in Fable. Bigger than you think. And it’s going to really upset people. I’m really scared when I go out and tell people what it is they’re going to get super pissed off, they really are. But it’s the right thing to do man, I’m sure it’s the right thing to do.

Maybe he’s going to make a halfway decent game for a change?! (I kid: I actually really enjoyed Fable, and liked the several hours or so that I played Fable II.)

Actually, I have no idea what Mr. Molyneux is talking about, not having finished Fable II. Maybe he kills off a main character? Any and all ideas can be left in the comments, but please don’t call each other names. It’s not civil.

via Eurogamer

Motorola DROID to be blessed with Android 2.1 in coming update

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 12:15 PM PST

When the Nexus One was announced, many folks were questioning Google's game plan and why it would release such an amazing device shortly after the Motorola DROID's release. If that wasn't enough to make some DROID owners envious, the Nexus One received a multitouch update last week which allowed pinch-to-zoom gestures within Google Maps, the Android browser and photo gallery. What could possibly quell all this Nexus One envy?


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