CrunchGear

Man microwaves an iPhone 4
Fedor’s Strikeforce fight tonight has Internet pay-per-view choose-your-own-camera-angle feature
First impressions: Viliv N5 Ultra Mini Mobile PC
FIFA says it will investigate the Jabulani ball after the World Cup. Maybe it should investigate itself while it’s at it?

Man microwaves an iPhone 4

Posted: 26 Jun 2010 04:01 PM PDT

Sigh. But thanks anyway, Daniel.

via DailyiPhoneBlog

Fedor’s Strikeforce fight tonight has Internet pay-per-view choose-your-own-camera-angle feature

Posted: 26 Jun 2010 03:15 PM PDT

Sherdog’d

Strikeforce, the mixed martial arts promotion that’s the focus of the upcoming EA Sports MMA video game, has an event tonight headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum. Normally I wouldn’t mention that here on CG, but there’s a fairly neat tech angle that’s worth mentioning. Not only is there an Internet pay-per-view option at $24.95 (the event otherwise airs on Showtime here in the U.S.), which, in and of itself isn’t exactly breaking news (WWE, the world’s most technophobic company, has been running Internet pay-per-views for some time now, and even smaller promotions like Ring of Honor have jumped aboard the iPPV bandwagon), but there’s a clever “choose you own camera angle” gimmick that may interest you.

Throughout the event, iPPV viewers will able to choose the camera angle from which to view the action. There’s the standard camera angle that viewers on Showtime see, as chosen by the fancy-pants director in the production studio, but there’s also camera angles from each fighter’s corner, an overhead camera, a roaming camera, and something called CageCam. I believe that’s the referee-mounted camera: what he sees you see. Very much reminds me of PRIDE FC… those were the days.

How nice it is to see major sports promotions (if you’ll allow me to call Strikeforce a major sports promotion) actually embrace the Internet, rather than fighting it like Grim Death. Give people the option to view something like a Fedor fight, which are increasingly rare these days, nice and legally, and maybe they’ll bite—though my gut tells me that the $24.95 asking price is about $10 too high for what amounts to a one-fight (well, two-fight, if you include the Cyborg bout) show.

And if you’re feeling bold, bookmaker.com has Fabricio Werdum at +400 tonight, which means if you bet the maximum amount ($2,000) and Werdum wins you’ll have won yourself a hell of a vacation—plus, think of all the Steam games you could buy!

Then again, you could be out two-large, so whatever.

UPDATE~! Well, Fedor lost. Hope you took advantage of that +400 while you had the chance!

First impressions: Viliv N5 Ultra Mini Mobile PC

Posted: 26 Jun 2010 09:12 AM PDT

Viliv is at it again. This time around the Korean manufacturer is going after the clamshell market with the N5. The self-described Ultra Mini Mobile PC is really just that — a truly mobile PC. This form factor isn’t exactly new as I just looked at the main competitor, the UMID mbook bz, just a few months back so I’m actually curious if the N5 brings anything novel to the niche market.

I’ve only had the handheld for a few hours now so what follows are simply my first impressions. I’ll post a full review once I put some serious time in with the device. These type of devices sometimes take a while to appreciate and understand so it’s not exactly fair to judge its potential right out of the box. Anywho, click through for a few pros, cons, and pics — including comparisons against the mbook bz.

Pros

Screen
The WSVGA 1024 x 600 screen is gorgeous. It’s sharp, bright, and displays adequate contrast. It might be the most impressive feature of the N5.

Build quality
I found Viliv’s last release, the S10 convertible netbook, a departure from Viliv’s traditionally top-tier feel. Not the N5. It feels as good as anything that Sony or Apple could make. The outside is covered in a sort-of soft touch skin and there isn’t a miss-aligned seam anywhere. It’s really impressive.

Graphic power
The N5 can run Hulu Desktop! The N5 can run Hulu Desktop! And I mean it can run it in a way that’s enjoyable to use with very little lag and jitterness. This is the first ultra mobile PC I’ve used that can actually provide an acceptable experience with Hulu Desktop. It’s not flawless, but it’s good enough. Just think of the fun that can be had with Hulu Desktop and the integrated 3G HSPA modem.

Cons

The mouse
I’m not a fan of small optical trackpads. I’ve yet to use one that’s intuitive and clever. The N5’s is more of the same. The tiny optical trackpad isn’t accurate, slow, and a pain. But in Viliv’s defensive, I don’t have a better solution. These trackpads are about the smallest navigational devices available and it really wouldn’t be that big of a deal if the N5’s touchscreen was better.

Touchscreen
Finicky. That’s the best way to describe the touchscreen. A stylus improves the experience, but even then it’s not exactly accurate or precise. It feels like a driver issue and my unit is a pre-release model, so let’s chalk this one up to that fact.

Keyboard
It’s too mushy. Keys that require less travel would make typing on the N5 with your thumbs so much more effective.

Glossy screen
The screen is basically a mirror in a bright room.

Full review coming shortly

FIFA says it will investigate the Jabulani ball after the World Cup. Maybe it should investigate itself while it’s at it?

Posted: 26 Jun 2010 07:55 AM PDT

Villa seems comfortable on the ball…

Sitting here watching Uruguay’s Luís Suárez bury the ball (his second goal = !!!) into the back of the net, I’m thinking to myself: "Boy, he sure didn’t seem to have any problem controlling the Jabulani." But never mind, for FIFA, world soccer’s generally inept governing body—remember, this is the same body that refuses to allow goal line technology!—has finally come out and said it: "FIFA is not unreceptive about what has been said about the ball." The organization now plans to talk to players, team officials, and the ball’s manufacturer, Adidas, after the tournament. The question is: is the ball crocked?

The funny thing is, if there’s anyone "to blame" about the Jabulani, it’s FIFA itself! Adidas can’t sit in its laboratories and create a ball out of think air. FIFA sets standards and regulations and the various manufacturers meet these standards. The Jabulani meets FIFA regulations, so to blame Adidas for the ball would be like blaming a French Press from making too delicious coffee: that’s what it’s designed to do!

And it’s not like the Jabulani is new, having been used in Germany’s Bundesliga since last December. (There’s even been a Pro Evolution Soccer Bundesliga Jabulani patch since March!) Granted, I don’t read Kicker every day, but I don’t recall any big controversy coming out of Germany because of the ball.

I don’t want it to sound like I’m defending Adidas—I patently don’t care one way or the other. It’s not like I’m a stock holder or anything. If the ball is crocked it’s crocked, so be it. I merely think that complaining about the ball is a time-honored tradition. And if the Jabulani has been in use since December, then the onus is on FIFA to explain why it allowed the "flawed" ball in the World Cup in the first place.

Perhaps there’s a failure somewhere in this mess, but I’m not exactly sure blame lies with the Jabulani itself.