CrunchGear

CrunchGear

Link to CrunchGear

CrunchGear Giveaway: An Apple iPad #crunchgear

Posted: 16 Mar 2010 05:31 AM PDT

Good morning, CrunchGear readers. If you tried to win an iPad last week from TechCrunch and didn't get the goods, here's a second chance. This week we're giving away a $599 32GB Apple iPad. What do you have to do to win? Good thing you asked, buckaroo!


Alex eReader now on sale in the U.S. for $399 a pop, starts shipping mid-April

Posted: 16 Mar 2010 05:17 AM PDT

Spring Design this morning announced that its dual screen Alex eReader will be available online today (the rumors were true!) for $399. Customers can thus start pre-ordering the Android-based multimedia e-reader, which supports eBooks in EPUB, PDF, HTML and TXT formats.

Spring Design says due to localization of international versions with partners, pre-orderded units placed on the Web in the U.S., will be shipped no later than mid-April.

The Alex eReader features a 6″ EPD screen and a full color 3.5″ Android-based touchscreen LCD. The device supports full Web browsing over WiFi, allowing users to surf the Web, watch videos and communicate with online contacts while simultaneously reading and downloading books. Users can also use a number Google Android applications.

Alex connects to Google’s bookstore with over one million titles, and other book stores that support Adobe DRM.

The Alex eReader weighs 11 ounces and measures 4.7″ by 8.9″ and less than a half inch deep. Users may add their own content or download content to the microSD card offering expansion of user libraries up to 32GB. The Alex may be updated over WiFi and USB 2.0 and comes with headphones, AC/USB power connector and a padded cover.

DPS plug-in from Bongiovi Acoustics

Posted: 16 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PDT

There’s a disturbing trend in music technology. Although home studios are rising, music is generally still recorded in specially designed environments and at high fidelity. Then for distribution, we compress the hell out of each track and do all sorts of terrible MP3-related things to them. And now, in order to repair the damage, we’re seeing a rise in after-market software designed to make the bad sound good. The Digital Power Station is one such plug-in, and just for you guys, we took it for a test run.

This plug-in is for Mac OS and iTunes only. There are different algorithms based on your input and output medium. The input is pretty limited since you can only use this thing with iTunes, but apparently the transients in music and movies are that drastically different. The real differences come out in the output profiles. Pick whether you’re using your computer’s built-in speakers, externals, or listening on headphones.

There are various output presets based on your hardware. All the different Mac laptop and desktop models are available, along with various “universal” settings for other brands of speakers and headphones. I found that this plug-in only really shines when you’re using either the built-in speakers, or low-quality peripherals. When listening on my Sony MDR-7506s, I didn’t notice any change from the enhancer.

I could see this being a piece of pre-installed software, but I would be hard pressed to drop $30 on it. Especially for only one license. They’ve got a free trial available, so you guys can go listen for yourself. They’ve even got endorsements from at least three members of Boston. Or you could encode your audio into a decent file format. Yeah, do that.

Meet Tsutenkaku, a robot that looks like a tower (video)

Posted: 16 Mar 2010 04:00 AM PDT

Japan has a lot of different robots so why not develop one that looks like a tower – even if it may make no sense whatsoever? That’s what a total of seven Japanese companies thought and built the Tsutenkaku Robotto [JP] (Tsutenkaku roughly translates to “tower that extends to the sky”). And as the name suggests, the robot is pretty tall: 170cm.

In fact, the makers claim their robot is the tallest humanoid ever produced. Tsutenkaku stands on two legs, is battery-powered, has 80 LEDs that help him light up and can strike poses with his arms. The main purpose of the robot is to boost the coolness factor of Osaka (Tsutenkaku is being marketed as Osaka’s own hero).

The robot is scheduled to make his public debut next week during a street festival in central Tokyo and will also be showcased during the Shanghai World Expo in May.

Watch Tsutenkaku in action in this weird promo clip (in Japanese):

Via Yomiuri Shimbun [JP] via Plastic Pals

Daily Crunch: Escape from the Red Planet Edition

Posted: 16 Mar 2010 12:00 AM PDT

Retro Mega Man 10 commercial – complete with V-Hold issues

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 08:00 PM PDT


The whole time I was watching this Mega Man 10 fauxmercial, I was thinking “something about this is wrong.” And yes, it’s all wrong, of course, but specifically… it’s 16:9. Man, there ain’t no NES commercials in 16:9!

[via Reddit]

Kingston’s new “fastest memory ever” probably is, but won’t be next month

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 07:30 PM PDT


I haven’t been keeping up with the hardware. Last year I was all set because I’d recently built my PC, but all this dag-nabbed Macintosh-using has made me lazy. So when Kingston says their new HyperX 2400MHz DDR3 RAM is the fastest in the world and is timed at 9-11-9-27-2, all I can do is nod my head, open a new tab, and hit “New Post.” The result… is what you see.

The fact is that it’s a full-time job to keep up with enthusiast hardware. I skimmed this great roundup of processor features recently and it let me know how much I’d missed out on — and of course there’s memory and motherboards to think of as well.

I’m planning on putting together a new PC sometime in the next six months or so, at which time I’ll check in with all my favorite hardware sites and get a digest of what’s been happening, what’s a gyp, what’s on the horizon, and so on. But in the meantime, just check out the fins on these babies! This isn’t only the fastest RAM in the world, it’s also the first RAM you can simultaneously burn and stab yourself with!

[via Hot Hardware]

Bunker buster robot will be like an underground missile

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 07:00 PM PDT


Well, there goes Zion. That rave-lovin’ excuse for a remnant of humanity would have been taken out in a trice by these Robotic Underground Munitions. And so it will be once the Robocalypse hits. Why are we doing the machines’ job for them? Here, I’ve got a better name for these bunker-busting subterranean missiles: Drill-based Earth-Asploding Terrifying Horrorbots.

I guess it’s worth nothing that pretty much every missile fired is at this point a robot, what with the GPS navigation, on-board cameras and all that. But somehow when they’re in the air they aren’t quite as scary. Under the ground, though — remember Tremors? And Screamers? And Gremlins? Well, that last one not so much, but still worth thinking about.

Note: the above illustration is not an accurate representation of this nightmare technology. It is Drill Man.

[via Ares and Gizmodo]

Next-gen GigaPan system sports new features, better frame

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 06:30 PM PDT

It’s no secret, we think that GigaPan’s products are pretty darn cool. The first generation only supported P&S cameras, the second generation worked with SLRs, but not the big boys. The Epic Pro however, not only supports a full size SLR with a heavy lens, it’s significantly more powerful then the ones that have come before.

So the GigaPan Epic Pro really expands on the capabilities of the Epic. First off, the Pro will support up to 10 pounds of camera (and lens), whereas the Epic 100 would only support up to 3 pounds of gear. This is because the Pro has a magnesium chassis. The Pro will also take up to 20 images per position, vs. the 10 supported by the Epic 100. This will allow you not only to produce the typical GigaPan images, but also HDR images within the GigaPan. The Pro also comes with a rechargeable battery pack, remote trigger port, and adjustments for exposure compensation, aspect ratio, and picture overlap.

Of course, there’s a cost for this level of performance, and the Epic Pro is going to set you back $895 when it’s released next month. Considering how awesome the pictures were from the first version, I’m thinking it’s worth it.

[via Gizmodo]

Aspiral Clock makes telling time a ball

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 06:00 PM PDT

Most concept clocks are high on art, and low on functionality. That’s not the case with the Aspiral Clock, designed by Will Aspinall and Neil Lambath. Instead of using the standard hands, this clock uses a small ball to tell the time.

As time progresses, the entire clock spins, which causes the ball to move along the spiral. The numbers on the face of the clock is labeled with your standard numbers, and as the spiral turns, the ball moves and indicates the proper time. Interesting concept, no? Best part, these are actually available for sale online and in assorted colors. Now, they aren’t cheap – you’re looking at $526 (plus shipping) to get one of these from the UK.

[via Sweet Station]

Play (rock paper scissors) with yourself

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 05:30 PM PDT

Self proclaimed glove hacker and electronics wiz Steve Hoefer just came out with his latest project, the Rock Paper Scissors glove. His project isn’t just random either, the glove actually learns how you play and will take advantage of your patterns in order to defeat you. Kind of creepy.

Steve explains how to build your own, including the AI and all the wiring on his website. He even tells you where to order the parts from, the part numbers, and a complete wiring diagram. Definitely cool stuff. But don’t take my word for it, check out the video.

NVIDIA tries creating real hair

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PDT

Ten years ago, Final Fantasy VII upped the ante on realistic portrayals of their human characters in their cinematics. It’s a good thing, too –those cinematics became a terrific reward for the hours spent acquiring EXP and levelling up to make one’s characters fortuitous enough to withstand the battles they laid in wait behind.

It wasn’t long before the other companies started to ‘level up’ their own cinematics, and less time still before gamers started to crave that sense of realism in the actual gameplay. To that end, NVIDIA (video above) has been working on real-time rendering — literally down to the last hair they can manage.

According to their demo at the GDC, they are now capable of, in-game, rendering up to 18,000 individual strands of hair at a time, completely interactive with light, wind, and, apparently, conditioning — just look at that bounce and shine!

Given that the average human head of hair has 100,000 strands, NVIDIA hasn’t hit Caprica levels of in-game realism yet — but for today’s technology, we figure we can settle for this remarkable leap forward.

Samsung’s WinPho7 handset peeped, specs set in stone at MIX

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 04:27 PM PDT


Hey, I told you MIX was going to be hot. A talk at the development conference has revealed a third flavor of Windows Phone 7 Series, though alas, it does not appear to be the third chassis style we heard exists — unless the extra-hot camera is the third style. This shiny new Samsung keeps the lozenge style but has a more rounded look than the “reference” design we saw at launch.

Some other news from the conference: as we expected, Microsoft is locking down the hardware requirements for WinPho7 devices, requiring them to meet or exceed certain qualifications.

Continue reading…

RFIDify your iPhone

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 04:00 PM PDT


Just think of all the fun you could have if the iPhone could interact with RFID tags. But you don’t have to wait for Apple for iPhone version 7 for this feature. Nope. You can build your own iPhone compatible RFID reader right now.

Maybe not right now. First you probably have to get through your day at the office and make your way home only to spend a few mundane hours with the family. But maybe in the 35 minutes you have after your last kid goes to bed and the nightly news starts, you could assemble this project.

Hollywood has its best year ever in 2009 (but piracy is killing the business?)

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 03:30 PM PDT

I could have sworn “piracy” was killing the movie industry. Apparently not, when you actually look at the data! The year 2009 was the single best year in Hollywood history as far as “money” is concerned—if you can find a single decent movie produced by Hollywood last year I’d love to see it—where it made $29.9 billion in ticket sales alone. (Never mind how much Blu-ray and DVD sales will bring in.) So again: if piracy is killing the industry, how do you explain these numbers?

Well, we’ll try to explain them. Last year was the year of Avatar—Avatar is 3D, to be exact. A ticket to a 3D showing cost quite a premium, something like $14-$15 (or more!) depending on your location instead of the usual $10ish.

That’s pretty much the only explanation.

Avatar was to Hollywood what the Wii was to Nintendo for a while there—simply a money-printing machine.

Perhaps it speaks to an earlier thesis: you cannot “pirate” the 3D “experience,” so Hollywood should be flying high for a little while.

Geekware: Crazy old gear gives up the ghost to become clocks

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 03:00 PM PDT

Urban legend has it that when Atari’s sorry adaptation of “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” showed disappointing sales figures, they took the remaining copies from their warehouse and had them crushed into a cement cube at a landfill in New Mexico. If this is a fallacy, whoever still has that warehouse full of cartridges might have a potential buyer, after all.

Geekware, a quirky upstart out of Edmonton, Canada, has taken it upon themselves to repurpose technology as fashion, creating a boon of cool items for the geek niche — among them, analog clocks made from rescued Atari cartridges, currently available in Asteroids, Centipede, and Ms. Pac-Man models (24.95 USD). Numbering among those getting the clock treatment are vintage film reels, Commodore Vic-20 carts, microwaved CDs, and this blogger’s personal childhood fave, the Little Professor math tutorial toy.

5-inch floppy disks vie for their return to your desktop, as the front and back cover of a cute 100-page notebook (9.95 USD). A piece of advice — don’t put your secret formulas on the center of the first page. Also at the ready is a handy pocket-size 3.5-inch 50-page edition. We have it on good authority that if you put a magnet on top of these notebooks, the writing inside remains intact. Progress!

Keys from various models of Macs and PCs past have been made into keychains, pendants — even cufflinks. At 9.95 USD, a six-key refrigerator magnet set won’t be enough for you to replace your magnetic poetry, but if you were looking for a fun way to get rid of your latest six-figure bonus, this could be your calling — and, if you order over 49.99 USD worth of stuff, they’ll throw in the shipping.

Der Kaiser likes 3D soccer

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 02:30 PM PDT

“The images that I saw here today are fantastic. I’ve seen a lot of developments in TV coverage of soccer over the years. I’m sure that with 3D we’re at the start of a whole new era for TV technology.” Danke, Mr. Beckenbauer.


What happens first: Team USA wins the World Cup or people start paying for online news?

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT

Would you pay for access to The Huffington Post? The Guardian? Or, gasp, CrunchGear? People in the news business are trying to figure out how to get by, let alone make a profit, and a recent Pew survey suggests that people have no idea what’s going on. Six in 10 Americans now get at least part of their news online, but the question remains: are people willing to pay?

Just thinking as the everyman, I’d have to say, “Oh, boy…” People are pretty used to reading Reuters and AP and the rest of them online for free, so to all of a sudden ask people to pay for that? Difficult.

Ad revenues declines in 2009 for the first time since 2002, and while that may be partially blamed on the recession, it’s not good news regardless. And that’s when sites can convince advertisers to pay up in the first place! People using ad blockers are ruining sites’ ability to go to advertisers and say, “See, we have X-Amount of readers ready to look at your ads!”

I say: you wanna block ads, be my guest. I’m not gonna tell you how to live your life. But when Ars Technica, which is about as user-friendly as you can ask a site to be, starts saying, “Guys, come on, you’re hurting us…”

The Pew survey basically says nobody has any idea what’s going on. Nobody has figured out how to get people to pay for online news. Remember that Newsday experiment, flawed though it might have been? Yeah.

So, will anybody figure out how to make online news “work” anytime soon? Not bloody likely.

Keep in mind I have no idea how online sales or advertising works—I don’t even know what our traffic is!—, so whatever.

Chanting “USA! USA!” over and over again means you’re a patriot.


Is uTorrent ruining Western Civilization as we know it? (And how big is BitTorrent still? Inquiring minds wants to know.)

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 01:30 PM PDT

Something’s wrong with uTorrent, the de facto Windows BitTorrent client. The client’s implementation of uTP has drawn the ire of certain private BitTorrent sites, saying that it favors uTorrent clients above all others. That’s not good for the “BitTorrent community,” as it were.

The deal is that uTorrent now uses the micro transport protocol to help share the bandwidth load between uTorrent and other applications. You don’t want BitTorrent stealing all of your bandwidth (unless you leave it running overnight or whatever), so in steps uTP. It’s a fine idea, I guess, but it has created a problem: the way it’s currently implemented, uTP favors connections to uTorrent above all other clients. That means, if you’re in a swarm with users using other, non-uTorrent clients—Vuze, Transmission, rTorrent, take your pick—the others guys are doomed. It unnecessarily divides the BitTorrent in two: uTorrent, and everyone else.

Technically, what uTorrent is doing is favoring uTP connections over plain ol’ TCP, which is used by other clients.

It’s such an issue that at least one pretty big, private BitTorrent site has banned the latest version of uTorrent.

Now, if the other clients implemented uTP, which was developed by BitTorrent, Inc., none of this would be an issue, but that’s entirely dependent upon BitTorrent, Inc. Easier said than done, yes.

You’ll recall that Vuze (formerly called Azureus) was banned on several prominent, private BitTorrent sites recently, making uTorrent Windows users’ go-to client. It’s a bigger issue now than it would have been, in other words.

I do wonder if kids (and by kids I mean higher schoolers) even torrent much anymore. It was big in my day (2004ish), but it’s so much easier to Rapidshare this or that here and there.


Crimsonfox: Augmented reality-powered scavenger hunt in Tokyo (video)

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 01:02 PM PDT

Augmented Reality is a pretty hot topic currently, but it seems to me that the Japanese in particular have really embraced the concept of mixing the real world with computer-generated imagery and data. One case in point is the Crimsonfox project [JP], an “Alternative Reality” scavenger hunt game event that took place over the weekend in Tokyo, Japan.

The main idea here was to use a tailor-made augmented reality app on the iPhone (which is only available in the Japanese App Store) in a mass-player game in the real world, namely the central district of Shibuya.

And over 200 players showed up in flesh and blood on the day of the event, all equipped with iPhones. Using said app, GPS and the built-in compass of the 3GS, players ran around in the city looking for hidden (physical) hints to find the real-world hideout of a “secret society called Moonlights”.

On the screenshot below, you can see those hints in red and an interim goal in blue.

Players were able to “scan” hints they found with their iPhones, for example a graphic printed on a piece of paper somewhere. The app would then verify the hint by superimposing an emblem (see below) over the image on the iPhone camera, give away points for finding the right hint and then lead players to the next part of the game.

Very cool concept, so it wasn’t too surprising that the Crimsonfox project was watched by a total of 7,000 people live online. Tokyo-based Ubiquitous Entertainment, the main organizer of the event, was even able to win the support of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

While this is probably possible in Japan only, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this kind of event copied for marketing or other purposes outside this country in the future (hit this link for more information on the game in English).

Here’s the official Crimsonfox promo trailer:
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)