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Luminox Colormark Chrono Watch Review

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 05:20 AM PDT

Amazing is the comfort level of the watch, as well as the refinement for the price. This isn't a luxury timepiece, but is a great little workhorse. For people in the active duty world, these have always been popular pieces for being highly legible, durable, and light weight. Coming in a hard polycarbonate case (basically a fancy plastic), this watch is hard, but oh-so-light. Luminox says the watch is carbon reinforced... never really sure what that meant, but it has a nice molded look that isn't cheap in appearance, and feels nice to the touch. The case is 44mm wide, and looks it thanks to a bezel that isn't extremely wide (as in some other Luminox watches). The crown and pushers are in polycarbonate as well, but in a metal color as opposed to the black. I would have liked for there to be a Luminox logo on the large crown. The screw-on caseback helps with the watch's 200 meters of water resistance. It has a mineral crystal.


The BlackPad gets a launch rumor, this November for $499?

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 05:07 AM PDT

Digitimes is reporting via the Chinese news site Apple Daily that RIM’s BlackPad will launch this November at $499. Oh, and I haven’t changed my opinion; the BlackPad will be an also-ran.

Use This 13-port USB 2.0 Hub In Your PC’s 5-Inch Bay

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 04:20 AM PDT

One can never have too many USB ports. If you think 80 ports are overkill, this new 13-port USB 2.0 hub [JP] might do the trick for you. Made by Japanese accessory maker Ainex, the so-called HUB-03 can be built into your desktop PC’s 5-inch bay.

Ainex says its self-powered hub also supports “larger devices” such as HDDs or web cameras. It’s compatible with Windows XP/Vista and 7 machines.

The HUB-03 will go on sale on August 26 with an open price model and is Japan-only.

Strong Demand: Japan’s Chipmakers Ask Employees Not To Take Summer Vacations

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 03:20 AM PDT

Is the electronics industry recovering from the recession? If you ask some of Japan’s biggest tech companies, the answer is a resounding “yes”. Various Japanese media are reporting that the country’s leading chip makers have asked their workers to call off their summer vacations  – a highly unusual move, even in Japan.

The reason: the semiconductor makers need to meet the strong demand shown by their customers, especially producers of smartphones, memory cards, and LCD and plasma TVs worldwide. Most of Japan’s workforce usually takes a one-week break during the Obon festival in August, but this year, Toshiba, for example, has asked employees in four chip factories in Japan to give up their summer vacation. The plan is to boost operating rates by up to 20 percentage points from last summer’s level.

Another big chip maker, Renesas, called off an eight-day break in August and decided to go full tilt instead. Renesas said it will be able to increase the capacity-utilization rate by 20 percentage year-on-year to 90% this way.

Fujitsu and Elpida Memory have also announced plans to cancel summer vacations at their chip factories this year.

Via Kyodo

CrunchGear Week in Review: Interrupting Animals Edition

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 12:00 AM PDT

The HP/Hurd Accusations: Now With More WTF

Posted: 08 Aug 2010 07:55 PM PDT


Something weird is going on over at HP. This whole Mark Hurd firing looks more like a coup timed with a nice, old-fashioned scandal than a case of “sexual harassment.” To wit, the “victim,” one Jodie Fisher, just wrote in a press release:

“I was surprised and saddened that Mark Hurd lost his job over this. That was never my intention.”
“Mark and I never had an affair or intimate sexual relationship. I first met Mark in 2007 when I interviewed for a contractor job at the company.”

There was no sexual contact and generally it just looks like they had dinners together when she was “under contract to work at high-level customer and executive summit events” for the company. She is also an actress who starred in the hit NBC show “Age of Love,” a show that appears to be about cougars. I know! THAT Jodie Fisher.

Anyway, whatever is going on at HP suggests a massive move in the ranks of management, perhaps to better accomodate Palm executives. While HP has made some good money selling printers and, incidentally, computers, they could really use a home run in the mobile/portable space. Without old thinking – read Hurd – they may be able to punch on through to the other side. Anyway, here’s Fisher’s press release. Weird stuff.

Gloria Allred Releases Statement by Former HP Contractor

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ — Attorney Gloria Allred released the following statement from her client, Jodie Fisher, the former contractor who recently made a sexual harassment claim against former Hewlett-Packard Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd:
“I was surprised and saddened that Mark Hurd lost his job over this. That was never my intention.”
“Mark and I never had an affair or intimate sexual relationship. I first met Mark in 2007 when I interviewed for a contractor job at the company.”
“At HP, I was under contract to work at high-level customer and executive summit events held around the country and abroad. I prepared for those events, worked very hard and enjoyed working for HP.”
“I have resolved my claim with Mark privately, without litigation, and I do not intend to comment on it further.”
“I wish Mark, his family and HP the best.”
Ms. Allred added:
“My client is a single mom focused on raising her young son. She has a degree in Political Science from Texas Tech and was recently the vice president of a commercial real estate company. She formerly worked on the House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control. She has also been a successful salesperson for a Fortune 500 company and has been in various television shows and films, some of which were R-rated when she was in her 30′s. Most recently, Jodie was one of the stars in an NBC television show called “Age of Love.” Our office does not plan to have any further comment.”

via BusinessInsider


Why The Verizon iPhone Rumors are True—CDMA iPhone Due in January

Posted: 08 Aug 2010 01:00 PM PDT

We've been hearing Verizon iPhone rumors for years now. It's to the point that no one really believes the rumors anymore, since analysts and pundits have cried wolf so many times.  But this time looks to be different due to some key dynamics in the semiconductor value chain, and I am going to go on record to say Verizon will be selling an iPhone this coming January. Here's why:


Despite Legal Threats, UFC Streams Still Easy To Find

Posted: 08 Aug 2010 10:00 AM PDT

Last night was the first big test for the stream police after Zuffa, parent company of UFC, had subpoenaed Ustream and Justin.tv last week for the IP addresses of its users caught illegally streaming pay-per-view events. A quick look around the Internet during last night's UFC 117 event showed one thing: streams haven't gone away.

As you can see in this screenshot, taken right around 10:00pm ET, a search for "ufc" on Ustream turned up channels advertising an illegal stream of the event.

What seems to be happening with these streams—and that goes for all sports, not just UFC—is that you'll find channels set up on Usteam, Justin.tv, etc. advertising the availability of a stream, but then you go off-site to actually watch the stream.

P2P streams, which are somewhat harder to fight, particularly if they're hosted in foreign countries, were still going strong, as well.

High-quality copies of the event have already spread to various BitTorrent sites.

Bottom line is, streams are still out there. For how long that remains the case—there's another UFC pay-per-view at the end of this month—is completely unknown.

Zuffa can subpoena whomever it wants, and it has every right to do so, but there will always be communities devoted to watching its events for free, either via a live stream (the quality of which will only improve in the years ahead) or via a download after the event finishes.

If I can make one suggestion: lower the price of the official Zuffa PPV stream. Fouty-five dollars for an Internet stream is a little on the high side, don’t you think? For that you’re almost better off paying the $60 for an HD PPV feed from your cable or satellite provider, or going out to a bar or restaurant and making a “night out” of it.

That, of course, only speaks to the PPV situation here in the U.S. I have no idea how UFC works in, say, Australia. (Though I do know the events are shown for free on ESPN in the UK, so that's neat.)

HP CEO Hurd To Get $40 Million Severance, Accuser Bought Off – UPDATE

Posted: 08 Aug 2010 07:10 AM PDT

Must be nice to sit on the C-Level. Reuters discovered that although there was no “sexual activity” reported in the sexual harassment case that forced Mark Hurd to step down, there were a number of expensed dinners which either suggest a prolonged wooing or maybe some expensive dinners. UPDATE – She is not talking to the press and her actual relationship with Hurd is unclear.

The accuser has settled out of court, Hurd is offering to pay back the $20,000 he spent on fancy lobster, and he’s getting a $40-50 million severance package in cash and stock to ensure he is able to continue to live his life in the style to which he is accustomed. Please note: If you try this kind of thing at your job (falsifying expenses to canoodle with a contractor, trying to resign gracefully in order to maintain severance) you will probably get sued into oblivion and no one will give you one red cent in severance or even the $1290 in vacation time owed you. As someone once said, “Eat the rich.”

Pro Tip (TM): Also, if you look like Hurd in real life you’re probably not going to convince anyone but your fine and patient SO to sleep with you.

via Giz


Amid iPhone 4 Antenna Controversy, Papermaster Out As Head Of Device Hardware

Posted: 08 Aug 2010 06:59 AM PDT

In November 2008, Tony Fadell, Apple's senior vice president of the company's iPod and iPhone divisions, stepped down due to "personal reasons." At the time, this was thought to be a blow to Apple, as Fadell was considered to be one of the execs on the short list to eventually succeed Steve Jobs as CEO. But Apple wasted little time finding a solid replacement: Mark Papermaster. But now, not even two years later, Papermaster is out as well, the New York Times reports today. While no official reason was given for Papermaster's departure, the timing is interesting to say the least. Papermaster's official position was Senior Vice President of Devices Hardware Engineering -- you know what that means: he was in charge of the iPhone 4's hardware. Obviously, that hardware has been under a lot of scrutiny since the device's launch due to antenna issues.


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