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Daily Crunch: A Better Blade Edition

Posted: 26 Feb 2010 12:00 AM PST

HyBrid enclosure to hold SSD and standard drives

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 11:30 PM PST

Raidon showed off their new HyBrid drive enclosure recently, a strange combination of an SSD drive enclosure and a SATA enclosure. It’s not an external device mind you, but rather an internal drive cage that will read and write to the SSD, and then mirror the process to the SATA drive.

Raidon stated that while the HyBrid system is not a RAID system, it is possible to restore data from the standard hard drive if the SSD were to fail. The SSD drive will be removable and can be used without the HyBrid system, you would just put the SSD into another enclosure or connect directly to a controller. Raidon didn’t disclose available sizes or pricing on the HyBrid, but it should be available this coming April as an internal device, and then as an external device later this year.

[Via MacWorld]

Nikon’s lens rebate program starting on the 28th

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 06:00 PM PST

Get that wallet ready, Nikon’s annual instant rebate program is starting on the 28th. Pretty much always a good deal, Nikon loves to tempt the weak with their instant rebate offers on lenses and gear that they roll out on a yearly basis. Case in point – I bought my D300 back in 2008 (with the oh so popular 18-200 VR) and justified it to my wife as a “really great deal” because of the rebate. Luckily she’s a patient woman, and we’re still married.

So what’s coming on the 28th? Well if the rumor is correct, the rebates will be on some of the most popular “walking around” lenses. All of the rebates are for (almost) any SLR with a particular lens, and the amount varies based on which lens you choose. If you buy the 70-200, the rebate is $400, the 24-70 is $300, the 18-200 VRII (my favorite) is $250, and the amount on the 24-120 is $200. All of these are instant rebates if you buy from an authorized Nikon dealer, which you should anyway for warranty purposes. We don’t have the official list of compatible SLRs yet of course, so it would be best to wait until the 28th before you get too excited about picking up that new D3s. By the way, there’s also word that Nikon may be offering instant rebates on some of their more popular P&S cameras as well, but only time will tell on that one.

Nikon teasing an EVIL camera?

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 04:40 PM PST

To Canon shooters, all Nikon cameras are evil. But none are truly EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens). That may change soon, if the current tease campaign underway in France is any indication. These little cards, counting down to March 5th if we assume one per business day — coincidentally, Nikon has scheduled a press conference in the UK for that very day! So far, the only clue is “Je suis fun,” meaning “I am fun,” which really could mean anything. But Nikon, like most camera companies, releases its point-and-shoots in batches (“je” is singular), and its DSLRs aren’t really supposed to be “fun.” So the speculation is that it’s something in between.

A non-DSLR interchangeable lens camera from a very DSLR-orientated company might sound weird, but it’s really a question of market segmentation. DSLRs are expensive, and the real benefits of a true SLR body are frequently left unused by first-time shooters. They’d just as happily shoot with an electronic shutter and have a more compact package to work with. Why not push R&D into that type of device, and focus on the pros with your DSLR line? It gives your DSLRs a good reputation and helps pioneer a new device market at the same time. And if a portion of the lenses already on the market fit the mount — you’re laughing.

Too bad it’s really all just loose talk right now. “Je suis fun” could also mean a rugged and waterproof compact, or a pocket camcorder or something. The teaser postcards should just keep on arriving, so we’ll keep you informed if there are any new revelations.

[via Nikon Rumors]

New helicopter blades not only look cool but are way more quiet

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 03:30 PM PST


From now on, you won’t even hear the black helicopters coming. Just a breath of wind rustling your blinds, and then — bag on the head! At least, that’ll be the case if the NSA gets hold of some of these Blue Edge rotor blades from Eurocopter. They’re not only shaped like a sword you might find in Final Fantasy XIII, but they have little mechanized flaps that are automatically adjusted in order to reduce the wup-wup-wup noise that results from the blade cutting through turbulent air.

See? Hear, rather?

If you’re interested in a more technical perspective, Autopia’s got it. There’s still a long way to go before these things are actually quiet enough to sneak up on you, but I’ll tell you what, I guarantee nature photographers are going to enjoy these things. Losing a few decibels means you can hover a couple hundred feet closer to your subject critter.

Video Review: Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 23-inch LED backlit monitor

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 03:00 PM PST

Short Version: Samsung's SyncMaster XL2370 is a 23-inch LED backlit monitor that retails for around $300. At under eight pounds and less than two inches thick, there's a lot to like here.

With traditional 23-inch LCD monitors starting at around $200, is it worth an extra $100 for an LED backlit screen? Samsung's offering consists of a bewilderingly thin and light frame, nice rich colors, and quick 2-millisecond response time for gaming. You'll give up VESA mounts, built-in speakers, and tactile adjustment buttons, but if those things aren't important to you, the $300 Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 makes for a very compelling purchase – especially if you're looking for something that won't take up much space and is easy to move around.

Product Page: Samsung SyncMaster XL2370

Gloves with LEDs in them. You know whether you need these or not

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 02:30 PM PST


There’s not much a humble blogger can do when faced with such a straightforward product. It’s work gloves, with LEDs that attach in a number of places so you can see what you’re doing. In the immortal words of Jay-Z, “What more can I say?”

I guess I could say that it looks like there are two attachment points on the index finger, one on the back of the hand, and one somewhere I can’t see.

They only cost $23, which is a great price, if you ask me. If you work under your car a lot or are planning some home improvements necessitating lots of running wires through crannies and so on, these could be quite helpful.

[via Unpluggd and Dvice]

The only guide to current-generation CPU features you’ll ever need

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 02:04 PM PST


Do you like PC hardware? Do you like graphs? Well, tell the secretary to hold all your calls, because you’ve just booked yourself an afternoon of CPU feature inspection. Okay, it doesn’t sound that exciting, but if you’re at all interested in processors or PC hardware, you probably owe it to yourself to check out the real-world consequences of multiple cores, hyperthreading, and other things that most people would write off as technical gibberish.

Careful, now: iXBT Labs‘ series has been going on for some time and there is a lot of content. You can pick and choose, of course, if you’re not curious about AMD processors or the current generation of Cores.

Part 1: AMD Phenom II, the amount of cores.
Part 2: AMD Phenom II, memory subsystem.
Part 3: Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost, Hyper-Threading.
Part 4: Intel Core i7, pure Hyper-Threading.
Part 5: Intel Core i7, number of cores.
Part 6: Intel Core i7, clock rates.
Part 7: Intel Core i7, memory subsystem.

They’ve obviously put a lot of work into it (I admire the work ethic of hardcore component sites) and the series appears to be continuing, so bookmark and check back next time you’re feeling nerdy.

[via PC Perspective]

Review: Motorola Devour

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 12:42 PM PST

Short Version: Hey ladies! Your Droid is here. The Motorola Devour (it's actually DEVOUR but I refuse to shout at you) is a social media phone with enough style to beat down a million Droids. But is it just one more brick in the Android wall?


LG hopes to launch their first Windows Phone 7 handset around September or November

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 11:15 AM PST

When Microsoft announced Windows Phone 7 just a few days ago at Mobile World Congress, the only sort of time frame they’d give for release was “by the Holidays”.

As it turns out, they may have meant Labor Day.

Read the rest at MobileCrunch >>

Orb releases a mini Speaker/Amp combo

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 09:34 AM PST

Orb, a small company in New York, makes odd-looking speakers with some great sound. They just announced a small speaker/amp combo for $299 which includes two speakers and an optional subwoofer. The handmade speakers come in multiple finishes (I have the copper here at the house, which I personally don’t think go with my rug) but the dark ones look nice.

The super eight subwoofer, a real monster, costs $299, while their larger model costs $598. I’ll have my review of these up soon – I’m having some set-up issues – but for the size they’re excellent.

TV antenna disguised as picture frame

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 09:30 AM PST

Long range over-the-air HDTV antennas can get mighty unsightly and expensive. Clixxun's "Fancy Alpha" attempts to stem that tide with a $40 TV antenna that's disguised as an unassuming picture frame.

The frame holds a 4×6 photo and Clixxun is pushing its patent-pending Long Range Reception (LRR) technology to deliver TV signals "even in regions that so far have needed an outside or rooftop antenna."

The antenna can be powered via a built-in USB port, "phantom powering from your receiver," or with an optional AC adapter. It'll pull down DVB-T, ATSC, and DAB signals along with analog TV signals, should any of those still be floating around.

Fancy Alpha [Clixxun.com]

Intel admits it was target of “sophisticated” attack

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 09:00 AM PST


Google was attacked by hackers in China. Microsoft reports that they’re the target of hackers all day, every day. Now Intel is stepping forward, and admitting in their annual 10-K filing that they were the target of a sophisticated attack. Intel observes that it might be industrial espionage, or it might be “hackers seeking to harm the company.” It makes you wonder how many attacks on smaller organizations go un-reported, or indeed even un-noticed.

The section from Intel’s 10-K is more than a little vague:

We may be subject to intellectual property theft or misuse, which could result in third-party claims and harm our business and results of operations.
We regularly face attempts by others to gain unauthorized access through the Internet to our information technology systems by, for example, masquerading as authorized users or surreptitious introduction of software. These attempts, which might be the result of industrial or other espionage, or actions by hackers seeking to harm the company, its products, or end users, are sometimes successful. One recent and sophisticated incident occurred in January 2010 around the same time as the recently publicized security incident reported by Google. We seek to detect and investigate these security incidents and to prevent their recurrence, but in some cases we might be unaware of an incident or its magnitude and effects. The theft and/or unauthorized use or publication of our trade secrets and other confidential business information as a result of such an incident could adversely affect our competitive position and reduce marketplace acceptance of our products; the value of our investment in R&D, product development, and marketing could be reduced; and third parties might assert against us or our customers claims related to resulting losses of confidential or proprietary information or end-user data and/or system reliability. Our business could be subject to significant disruption, and we could suffer monetary and other losses, including the cost of product recalls and returns and reputational harm, in the event of such incidents and claims.

The old adage “Security is inversely proportional to convenience” rings true time and time again. I don’t know anything about how Intel has their internal network structured, but if any of their research computers are directly connected to the Internet then they’re at risk. Of course, even if Intel is using a physically separate network for R&D, cut off from the Internet, removable media can still be used to inject nasty targeted malware. I don’t envy the jobs of the network security folks at organizations like these.

Via InformationWeek.

CrunchDeals: DJ Hero (Xbox 360) for $59

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 08:45 AM PST

If the $120 price tag that initially accompanied DJ Hero as it made its way to market in late October of last year seemed a bit steep to you (and apparently, you weren't alone) then you may be interested to hear that you can get the Xbox 360 bundle for $59 from JR.com.

The kit includes the game with "80+ DJ mixes" and the turntable controller. JR.com claims that you're saving $100 off the previous price of $159.97, to which I suggest that JR.com should "stop frontin'." That's a thing, right? Frontin'? Trying to sell a $120 game at $160 is frontin'.

DJ Hero Bundle – Xbox 360 [JR.com via dealnews]

iControlPad iPhone game controllers in production, one features extended battery

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 08:30 AM PST

Oh my, does this look nice. If you've got a jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch and you've been wishing/hoping/praying for some sort of tactile controller to come along so you can use your favorite emulators as the gaming gods intended, the wait may soon be over. The iControlPad (previous coverage here) has gone into mass production.

According to the product's website:

"The iControlPad will come in two different versions, one with an internal battery which doubles the iPhone battery life (idea for long gaming sessions) and a budget version which has no battery. They both have the same controls."

Looks like we've got a D-pad, two analog controllers, A/B/X/Y buttons, and Select/Start buttons. The form factor has changed a bit from the svelte earlier version, but the final product's extra girth allows for the extended battery and analog sticks.

Here's a demo video:

Looking good. I'd absolutely buy this provided it doesn't cost a skillion dollars. Unfortunately, there's no firm word on an actual availability date or pricing yet.

iControlPad [iControlPad.com via SlashGear]

Nintendo keeps it public domain with their new ebook cartridge

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 08:09 AM PST


That bastion of fine games reporting, Bloomberg News, has a story on a new cart called “Classic Books” that will contain the greatest, public domain, royalty-free hits from Mark Twain and William Shakespeare.

How much do you have to pay for this walk down Gutenberg Project Lane? $19.99, apparently, and the release will be timed with the launch of the DSi XL, the bigger DS for a bigger America.

No word yet on if they’ll release the royalty-free works of Hammurabi as an RPG.

Rilakkuma Edition: Casio unveils ultra-cute Exilim

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST

Casio is no stranger to teaming up with major toy makers, licensing super-cute cartoon characters, using them on existing digital camera models and offering up super-cute limited editions to a fanatic fan base. After cartoon cats Doraemon and Hello Kitty, it’s now time for Rilakkuma, an adorable teddy bear.

The result is the Casio Exilim Rilakkuma edition that was announced [JP] today. This model is based on the Exilim EX-Z330, which features a 12.1MP sensor, 3x optical zoom, face detection, Eye-Fi connectivity, HD recording, an SDHC/SD memory card slot, and a 2.7-inch LCD. But who cares about specs when you can have a design like this?

Bandai Namco Games, the company that actually sells the camera, throws in a super-cute Rilakkuma pouch. It also saw to it that Casio builds in a special home screen that shows the bear together with his friend Kiiroitori, a yellow chick (see picture above). You can also add special Rilakkuma icons to pictures and movies you made with the camera.

The Exilim went on sale today on a special Japanese web site for $290 (pouch included). If you’re interested but live outside Japan, I suggest you contact import/export specialists like Rinkya, Geek Stuff 4 U or the Japan Trend Shop.

Via Digikame Watch [JP]

Quake 3, Android style

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 07:30 AM PST

Quake 3 has been ported to Android. It looks slick, too (see video demo below). The project is called "kwaak3" and is based on Quake 3 ports to the iPhone and Nokia N900. The developer got everything up and running on a Motorola Milestone (a GSM Motorola Droid with multi-touch, basically) and makes use of the phone's keyboard, "so it won't work on your Nexus One or other phone at this point," according to the project page.

The minimum required Android version is 1.6, though, so you may be able to load it up on your own Android phone if you don't have a Droid/Milestone. Indeed, the developer lists frames-per-second rates for the HTC Hero as well.

Here's a quick video demo from AndroidandMe's YouTube page:

The features, according to the project page:

  • Audio
  • Hardware floating-point on Neon-capable devices
  • Input: keyboard, touchscreen and trackball
  • OpenGL 3D rendering
  • Game uses ARM optimized libcgamearm.so / libqaarm.so / libuiarm.so
  • Networking

Yes, networking. "There is network support in Quake3 which works properly. I played against my laptop using wifi and it works fine," according to the developer.

Cool stuff. If ever there was a need for a full size mouse and keyboard, this might be it.

kwaak3 [Google Code via Slashdot]

A closer look at the Square Payment System

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 07:30 AM PST

Phil Torrone got to look at the new Square iPhone Payment system and he and the daring Lady Ada of AdaFruit industries took some photos and video of a prototype of the new device. To recap, the Square device is a little dongle that lets you swipe credit cards. With a quick slash of the card you can accept payment from anyone for almost anything.

Not much to write home about right now but this early beta seems to work like a charm, reading and authorizing a charge in seconds. Great for the hunter/gatherer economy that will come in to replace our current capitalistic model.

Be aware of your digital footprint

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 06:52 AM PST


So the Internet is abuzz about the fact that Microsoft has a document entitled “Microsoft Online Services Global Criminal Compliance Handbook“. The document was leaked to Cryptome, and as soon as MSFT found out they sent a DMCA takedown notice to Network Solutions. The proverbial cat is out of the bag, as the document has been well circulated; but I’m left wondering what’s the big deal?

In our litigious society, any service provider is pretty much obligated to keep track of who does what in the event of a lawsuit. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Microsoft retains some generic records about who does what on their various services. It should also come as no surprise that an organization as big as Microsoft has been the recipient of lots of subpoenas, search warrants, and court orders over the years. So it makes sense that Microsoft would develop a document to detail what they can provide, and how it can be obtained.

I would expect Google to have a similar document, and we already know that Facebook and other popular destinations have such documents.

The real moral of the story here is to remember that what you do online leaves a very real trace, and that companies and websites hang on to those traces — sometimes for a very long time. Don’t assume that because no one is actively looking over your shoulder that what you type into that email or instant messaging conversation is private. If you want real privacy, figure out how to use strong encryption.

Via Gizmodo, and lots of other sites.
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