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Daily Crunch: Power Shot Edition

Posted: 16 Jul 2010 12:00 AM PDT

Toshiba angers Spain by reneging on World Cup refund promise

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 07:30 PM PDT

Toshiba made a bit of a mistake back in early June. They ran a series of ads in Germany, England, Portugal, Italy, and Spain, promising that if someone bought a Toshiba product before the end of the World Cup, and your team won it, Toshiba would refund your purchase. Sounds like a great deal, right? Well.. you’ve got to read that fine print.

Turns out that Toshiba is rather particular about the exact terms of the refund. Turns out that the time frame is really limited, you had to register your product during the World Cup, and you have to send the forms in via certified mail. Quite the series of hoops, but hopefully everything will work out in the end.

There’s more to it, because all this is going on in Europe, Toshiba might find themselves in trouble, but it’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting situation.

Xbox 360 sales jump after redesign

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 07:00 PM PDT

Apparently changing the look of the Xbox 360 was the thing to do for Microsoft; they saw a huge jump in sales or the month of June, surpassing even the Wii by about 30,000 units.

June’s sales figures were released today, and while the Xbox didn’t take the lead (that went to the Nintendo DS), the Xbox 360 certainly didn’t suffer and and in fact came in second for the month. Software sales dropped overall, but honestly there weren’t that many compelling titles released in June. Hopefully Microsoft can keep up the momentum, and we’ll probably see even more units moved as we get closer to the release of the Kinect.

[via 1up]

Smart Helmet tells you if you hurt your brain

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 06:30 PM PDT

Living in ski county, I hear every year about skiers and snowboarders that have sustained head injuries from crashing into trees, pylons, rocks, each other, etc.. There’s always a risk of head injury, and a smart person wears a helmet no matter what they are doing.

Of course, regardless of if you are wearing a helmet or not, if you crash, you run the risk of a head injury, and should be checked out for a concussion. Researchers at Northeastern University are working on a “Smart Helmet” that measures the acceleration and impact, and then reports any potential injury based on the force of the impact. This can help rescuers or even your friends help you in case of a crash.

The helmet is still in prototype, but hopefully will reach the market in some form, it really does have the chance to save lives.

[via Gizmodo]

Aqua Teen Hunger Force ceramic Shake cup is a major lifestyle decision

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 06:00 PM PDT


By buying and using this cup, you are admitting you watch a lot of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. By admitting you watch a lot of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, you are admitting a lot about yourself. Not bad things, of course, but… you know, things. Just something to be aware of if you choose to rock a ceramic Shake.

[via That's Nerdalicious and The Awesomer]

P.S. Mooninites rule #1

Please let this be a teaser image for a 3DS Mega Man game

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 05:30 PM PDT


Mighty Capcom, hear my prayer. Please, please, please make a 2.5D Mega Man game for the 3DS with lots of quick weapon switching on the bottom screen, sweet Mega Man X style graphics on the top screen, and the same punishing difficulty of Mega Man 9. Please make this game by Holiday 2010. Also, we could use a new Strider. Amen.

[image via The Mega Man Network and Go Nintendo]

n gear 64: mod a Sega Game Gear into a N64

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 05:15 PM PDT

So you really want a portable Nintendo 64 unit. Well, modder Evil Nod can build you one, using a Sega Game Gear, and a N64. The end result may not be ergonomically correct, but at least you’ll be able to take your N64 games with you.

[via Technabob]

Poll: What will take place at Apple’s event this Friday?

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 04:40 PM PDT


Votin’ time. We’ll find out tomorrow morning, but it’s fun to speculate.

After all that fuss, RIAA doesn’t create Chinese Democracy anti-piracy PSA

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 04:00 PM PDT

Famous rock band Guns N’ Roses released their latest album, Chinese Democracy, in November, 2008. It had been in development for an astonishing 15 years. That’s partially why Kevin Cogill got into so much trouble. You’ll recall that he was caught uploading tracks from the then-unreleased album in June, 2008. While he managed to doge jail time, Cogill was given a year of probation and two months of home confinement. He was also supposed to take part in a public service announcement on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America&mdas;public enemy number one in the eyes of young people around the country.

So here we are in July, 2010, and we’re left wondering: what happened to that PSA?

Cogill tells Wired that the RIAA never bothered creating the PSA. The RIAA says it would have been too expensive and time consuming to create a PSA. (The where did all of the money won in various copyright infringement lawsuits go? Certainly not to the artists…)

Cogill was not entirely unrepentant, telling Current TV last August that file-sharers would get "f’d in the A," getting it "right in the butt" from the RIAA.

Not the most eloquent speaker, no.

It’s a shame, too, since you can almost picture what the PSA would look like. It would be shot in black-and-white, of course, to convey the seriousness of the situation: sharing Justin Bieber songs online. The camera would hover menacingly over the shoulder of an anonymous youth fiddling around with an antiquated peer-to-peer application. Think LimeWire. As soon as the youth goes to download "One Time," the computer monitor shuts off, and a flashing "pirate" symbol appears. Then the narrator says, "Stop stealing music! It’s, like, not cool, dude!" (Gotta have the youth vernacular in there.)

Never mind that copyright infringement != theft.


Empulse electric motorbike from Brammo just plain looks amazing

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 03:48 PM PDT


I’m going to be honest. I just love the way this thing looks. That’s my only reason for posting it. For all the specs and history of this beautiful piece of machinery, head over to Autopia.

Another two bite the 3D dust – Captain America and Thor to be converted to 3D

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 03:15 PM PDT

I’m not going to waste any more time talking about how 2D-to-3D conversions are a bad idea. I said all I need to say on the topic here and here. But I won’t pretend I’m not deeply disturbed that Official Marvel Cinema Products™ Thor and Captain America will be 2D-to-3D conversions. When will these idiots learn? Oh, that’s right — never. I didn’t have much hope for the movies anyway, but I feel for those who did.

The Popbox media stream starts shipping from Amazon

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 02:53 PM PDT


There’s a looming battle on the horizon: The Syabas Popbox vs the Boxee Box. Both are fighting for living room dominance, but the Popbox has made the first move as it’s finally available directly from Amazon.


We first spied the little streaming back at CES and fell in love with the device. Over the last few months it has gotten even better with a proper SDK and apps, appropriately dubbed Popapps, and RealD 3D support. Originally the device was suppose to ship later this month but the company tweeted that the first shipment made it through customs faster than expected. This resulted in a faster ship date from Amazon.

Now it’s Boxee’s move but the Popbox has all the way until the Boxee Box’s November ship date to gain traction and fans. Of course even though these two devices are competing for the same market, they’re also joined together, battling cable and satellite providers. There certainly is enough room for both of them — although not in the same living room. [Amazon via Engadget]

Casio’s new giant G-Shock may be right for football players, you

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 02:50 PM PDT

In order to grab the coveted Dudes-Who-Look-Like-Turtle-from-Entourage market, Casio is launching a bigger G-Shock, a massive, wristband-like addition to the G-Shock line that is, in Casio’s own words, designed for “sports players like basketball players.”


While many of you playing at home would suspect that sports players would probably wear something slightly more expensive, G-Shock has made their living on selling their brand of ironic nostalgia to hip-hop-loving teens everywhere and this new model is no exception. It looks like a watch no on would wear and so millions will wear it.

Not many features to speak off but it’s big, bold, and saucy. Look for it this holiday.

CrunchRumor: Nikon’s new entry level camera will be called the D3100

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 02:30 PM PDT

We’re calling this one a rumor, but it’s pretty much confirmed. Nikon is expected to announce their newest models at Photokina, but there’s always leaks before the show. Word got out a few months ago that Nikon was going to release a new entry level DSLR this year, something between the D3000 and D5000. The previous rumor was that it was going to be called the D4000, but that appears to be false.

The new rumor is that the next model will be called the D3100, and will have some interesting new features. Here’s what we think we know:

  • Continuous autofocus in video mode
  • A new autofocus configuration covering the majority of the viewfinder
  • HD Video (1080p and 720p)
  • In-camera video editing
  • Expected to come as a kit, with an 18-55mm lens

We don’t know how much it will cost, or what the official release date will be, but it’s safe to assume we’ll get an official announcement in the new few weeks.

Starcraft II now available for downloading (but not playing)

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 02:10 PM PDT

Starcraft II isn’t officially available until July 27, but you can avoid the rush and download it right now — for free! RIGHT NOW!

The catch is you can’t launch it until the 27 and you’ll have to pay-up before playing. Sorry.

But seriously, don’t wait until July 27 to download it. That’s silly. Only losers deal with overcrowded servers and download games on launch day. The cool kids pre-load all their games so sign into Battle.net and start downloading.

A Bluetooth-controlled sheet music page-turner for the iPad. Sure, why not?

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 02:00 PM PDT


Ever since someone wrote down music on more than one page, musicians have struggled. The advances during the Renaissance (i.e. another person turning the pages for you) improved things somewhat, but not until 2010 has a true solution been imagined. Of course, it involves an iPad. Everything does nowadays.

I actually don’t really buy the “iPad as sheet music reader” completely. I mean, it’s probably handy for a few pieces here and there, but isn’t it rather a nonstandard size? Sheet music is generally around folio size, isn’t it? The notes seem like they might be cramped on the iPad screen, and nobody wants to mistake a flat for a… whatever.

But for those who do find it useful, this little Bluetooth foot pedal seems like a pretty good idea. I seem to recall these existing in “analog” form for some time now, but I think they’re pretty unreliable. Precision flautists require better.

Sorry, this post came out pretty ignorant. Might be because it’s very hot in my apartment. Anyway, If you’re a musician and are interested in using the iPad to enhance your performance, give this thing a look.

Logitech Z506: 5.1 audio for $99

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 01:15 PM PDT

Logitch has a new 5.1 audio system that may interest you, particularly if you’re not looking to spend too much money. It’s the called the Z506, and it’ll only set you back $99. Throw in a couple of cheap stands and you’re good to go.

Much like with headphones, speakers are damn near impossible to write about unless you’ve listened to them for some time. Have I listened to the Z506? Nope. So all I have are raw stats: 75W RMS power; two 8W front and two 8W rear speakers; 16W center speaker; and a 27W subwoofer—hope you don’t live above somebody.

And of course, the Z506 will work with whatever you plug it into, be it your Xbox 360, Blu-ray player, PC, PS3, etc.

Again, there’s only two bits of information that you need: 5.1 and $99. It should be available in August.

If you’re still watching Blu-ray movies or playing Cal of Warfare 87 with your TV’s built-in speakers well, don’t.


Discovery sues Amazon over Kindle patent infringement – again

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 12:49 PM PDT


When I read this story at Reuters, I thought it sounded a bit familiar. And sure enough, in March of 2009, we wrote pretty much the same thing. I immediately thought: “Could Reuters have messed up? Are they really that bad at this?” As it turns out, no — but they missed a key bit of context. Discovery is suing Amazon again, over essentially the same thing. They missed that part, which Barron’s made much more clear.

So what’s this one about? Likely more of the same: one patent, filed in 2000 and granted in May 2010 (!), describes an extremely broad “electronic book selection and delivery system” that could easily have been stepped on a bit by Amazon with the Kindle. But there are no facts yet to go on, so it’s all speculation.

What’s to be said? Not a lot. The suits are likely to go on for a long time and the outcome will probably not please anybody. Honestly, ten years to grant the patent? I thought four was a lot in the case of the original Kindle. When a patent takes 10 years to go through and the company that applied for it hasn’t followed up on it at all during that time, the point of the patent has been mooted. Discovery has not been protected, the art has not been advanced, and now all it’s doing is serving as an impediment to innovation.

iOS 4.0.1 update now available through iTunes (Update: And 3.2.1 for the iPad!)

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 11:59 AM PDT

The updates are coming, the updates are coming! Yesterday, developers saw the launch of iOS 4.1 within their inner rings — and today, the masses gain access to 4.0.1.

Note the extra 0 in the version number there. 4.0.1 so far appears to be a different patch, solely containing tweaks to Apple’s “formula to determine how many bars of signal strength to display”, without any of the Bluetooth enhancements or other such changes spotted in the less-decimaled (that’s a word now) 4.1.

We’ll let you know if we spot any other changes if you’ll do the same.

Update: The iPad gets an update, too!


Optimus Prime set to protect China against Japan’s Gundam

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 11:49 AM PDT


The stage is set. The lines are drawn. It’s the battle of the ages. Optimus Prime vs RX-78-2. Transformers vs Gundam.


Optimus Prime stands 40 feet tall and weighs in at 6 tons. He’s fittingly constructed of recycled car parts such as engines, bodies, and tires. He’s more than ready to protect the Beijing’s “Bird Nest” stadium located near by.


The 60-foot RX-78-2 was just reconstructed in part of Gundam’s 30th anniversary bash. This time he stands guard with a massive 1:1 scale beam saber.

All we can hope for as here in the states is that the Thundercats will protect us in case the two massive robots form an unholy robot alliance under the banner of robocalypse. [Topless Robot via technabob
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