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Apple Japan Now Ready To Replace Overheating 1st Gen iPod nanos

Posted: 11 Aug 2010 02:41 AM PDT

As we reported last week, Apple Japan had to admit to the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) that its local subsidiary failed to report 34 mostly minor accidents involving the iPod nano. Big A has a somewhat problematic history with the Japanese government, mostly because of overheating iPods.

It now turns out Apple has apparently been under so much pressure in the past days that the company now offers [JP] on its Japanese website to replace all first generation iPod nanos that overheat (for Japan-based customers).

This is actually not the first time this happened. In this case, Apple will consider all iPod nanos sold in Japan between September 2005 and Spetember 2006. On the website, Apple says an external (unnamed) battery maker provided the batteries that caused some first generation iPod nanos to overheat or burn. According to the company, other iPod nano models are not affected by the problem.

So far, Apple offered to just replace the battery but now tells buyers to contact Apple support to get the entire unit replaced. Take this as a sign of goodwill to the Japanese government.

Video: Mini Humanoid Doing Yoga Moves

Posted: 11 Aug 2010 01:21 AM PDT

We’ve shown you a number of robots in the past that were able to pull off some serious moves, but Choromet 2 [JP] is particularly elegant – when he’s performing Yoga exercises, at least. Made by Japan-based robot venture General Robotix, the mini humanoid stands 53cm tall, weighs 5.8kg and comes with a total of 22 joints.

To be more exact, the little guy has four joints in each arm, six in each leg and one each in his head and neck. Users can plug him into their PCs via USB 2.0 to program moves.

General Robotix will start selling Choromet 2 in Japan starting next month (price: $1,170).

Here’s him doing Yoga moves (watch more videos here):

Daily Crunch: Ride Into The Future Edition

Posted: 11 Aug 2010 12:00 AM PDT

INON X-2 Underwater Housing For Panasonic GF-1 Is Beautiful And Functional

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 10:00 PM PDT


This exceedingly good-looking underwater housing for the Panasonic Lumix GF-1 is… well, I’ve just told you. It’s coated aluminum and offers a few options for the front element — whatever best fits the lens you’ve got on. I love the button layout in the back, too.

It looks like they’ve spared no expense, except in the English translation of the website, so I doubt this will be very affordable when it comes out. There’s even an optional moisture detector that will light up and buzz if there’s a leak. Shouldn’t that be standard?!

[via NotCot]

DIY: The One-Handed Gamecube Controller

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 09:30 PM PDT


Here’s an interesting hack to start your day. Modder Hasse has a brother with a disability; he’s only able to use one hand. The brother also likes to play video games, and with the way joysticks or controllers are set up now, you pretty much have to use both hands. Hasse wanted to help his brother out, so he designed and hacked a N64 Gamecube controller into one-handed use, allowing his brother to play games. For complete details on how this was done (and I do mean complete) click here. Props to Hasse for helping out his brother.

Good Night, Sweet Que

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 08:00 PM PDT


“We recognize the market has dramatically changed, and with the product delays we have experienced, it no longer make sense for us to move forward with our first generation electronic reading product. This was a hard decision, but is the best one for our company, our investors and our customers.”

Aw. I held it these very hands and proclaimed it sexy. But it was not to be. Better luck next time, Plastic Logic.

RIM Reportedly Bows To Pressure From Saudi Arabia, Hands Over Blackberry Access

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 07:27 PM PDT

Even when you’re one of the largest mobile companies in the world (and certainly the largest for the business elite), things change when you have to do with a sovereign nation. Or a few. That’s the situation RIM is in right now as they attempt to reconcile their longtime promise to users (uncompromising encryption and security) with the unforgiving world of global politics. As you’re likely aware if you’re reading this post, RIM has been the center of government ire in a few countries (most prominently the UAE, India, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia), which have threatened to ban Blackberry devices if RIM doesn’t provide them reasonable access to users’ data.

RIM’s response was a stolid “relax,” but the public response appears to be different from the internal one, if reports from inside the company are true. What the Saudi Government has praised as “positive developments” are reportedly concessions by RIM giving that government unprecedented access to certain RIM resources, giving it the power to eavesdrop on any Saudi Blackberry user.

Continue reading on MobileCrunch…

Modified Konstructs Announces Custom Media Center

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 07:00 PM PDT

In the market for a media center PC? You might want to take a look at the new kid, Modified Konstructs. Modified just announced their first product, the MK-X1 Media Center. Based on the Acer Revo chassis, and pre-loaded with XBMC, the MK-X1 sounds like an ideal media center set up for someone who wants more then the bare bones set top box, but doesn’t want to spend a bunch.

The MK-X1 uses XBMC, which allows you to access all of your stored media across your home network. The Revo PC has the necessary power to decode your video files, but the small form factor fits well in your entertainment center. The MK-X1 has a built in HDMI port, audio out, and everything else you need to control it from your couch. XBMC is constantly being upgraded do to its open source nature, and is very customizable. Picking up an MK-X1 will set you back around $300, and is currently only available on the Modified Konstructs website.


Adobe Flashes OS X With Hardware Acceleration

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 06:30 PM PDT

Adobe released the latest version of Flash for the Mac recently, bringing it up to speed with the Windows version, which has built in hardware accelerated video decoding. The version you want is 10.1.82.76, which you can dowload directly from Adobe.

[Via LifeHacker & ByteArray]


Microsoft RearType Research Project Has Its Rear In Gear

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 05:40 PM PDT

Some people complain about the direction of touch panels. Complaints about losing a physical keyboard are some of the biggest. Certainly typing anything larger than a page can begin to feel numb on a touch device.

Microsoft, never afraid to innovate (well, sometimes), has come up with the RearType research project. What it is exactly is a rear keyboard that users will blindly strike to cross the T's and dot the I's. While Microsoft isn't the first to place input behind the screen, it is first to have a keyboard. Microsoft's researchers do recognize that the idea is a little nuts, but can show that the speed of typing is similar to that of a touch screen device like the iPad.

After extensive discussion and pilot explorations, we felt that the crucial question to ask at this stage is whether the basic idea of putting keys on the back of the device is even reasonable. After all, at first glance, this might well appear to be a crazy idea with little practical appeal. We therefore conducted a user study to determine if, upon initial exposure to the device, users find such a novel keyboard at all usable or simply frustrating. To obtain some comparative empirical data, we also contrasted the use of RearType with a touchscreen soft keyboard and a regular physical keyboard. Initial results are very promising; we show that after only an hour with the device, participants could type 15 WPM using RearType and that their performance was not statistically different to text entry using the touchscreen keyboard.

[via TechFlash]

Bag Week Reviews: Skooba Checkthrough Backpack

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 04:30 PM PDT

Short Version: It’s a backpack with a window in it so the TSA people won’t hassle you at the security checkpoint. Given the high price and issues with the shoulder straps, I’d recommend caution if you are considering this bag.

Features:

  • Holds up to a 17-inch notebook
  • Easy Access “Doc-Pocket” for airline tickets, passport, transit pass, etc.
  • Interior organizer for cords, power adapters, and peripherals
  • $129.95
  • Product Page

Pros:

  • Easy to open, Checkthrough system looks like a laptop in a bin
  • Interior organizer is laid out nicely

Cons:

  • Shoulder straps too thin
  • Lacks straps to provide additional load support
DSC_0990 DSC_0991 DSC_1005 DSC_1009 DSC_1011 DSC_1014

Review:
With all of the additional TSA checkpoints now, being a business traveler really sucks. You have to take off your shoes, put your carry-on in one bin, any electronics in another, and it’s generally just a hassle. Skooba (along with many others) has tried to make this process slightly less annoying.

The Checkthrough Backpack is an example of this, using a clamshell design to hold your laptop on one side (with a clear plastic window), and the rest of your valuable electronics on the other. This makes the ideal design for getting through the TSA checkpoint as quickly as possible. Unless of course, you’re lucky enough to be randomly selected or they’re not sure what’s in the non-laptop side of your bag. Part of the idea of the Checkthrough system is that the laptop side of the clamshell looks exactly like a TSA checkpoint bin. This does not mean that you’ll never be searched, since the bag includes a disclaimer stating that the TSA can request a closer look no matter what bag you are using.

So the Checkthrough part is good, what about the rest of it? Well, the interior is fairly spacious, but I wouldn’t expect to use it as an overnight bag and a laptop bag. The interior organizer takes up a fair amount of room and depending on the number of peripheral gear you carry, there may not be enough space for a couple of pairs of pants and some shirts. The other issue is if you load it up with a bunch of weight, you’re going to kill your shoulders. The straps just aren’t wide enough, and the lack of a chest strap or waist strap means all of the weight will be on your shoulders, and those circulation cutting shoulder straps.

Conclusion: The Skooba Checkthrough backpack isn’t a bad bag. The TSA friendly part is really well thought out, but the rest of the bag does let it down a bit. Because of the amount of space in the bag it would be really easy to put too much weight in, which would try and cut off your arms as you walked to the terminal. With a little more planning and some better strapping, this bag could be great.

Check out the complete Bag Week Review Blitz here.

New iPod To Sport Retina Display And Dual Cameras?

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 04:15 PM PDT

And why not? The iPod touch has always been positioned as a non-phone version of the current iPhone, though the hardware hasn’t always been completely in parallel. The original iPod touch got a hardware boost that put it past the original iPhone, but was leapfrogged by the 3GS and now, almost a year after the iPod touch 3rd generation announcement, it seems pretty natural that they should align its key features with the iPhone 4.

Apple wonk John Gruber has casually suggested on Daring Fireball that a few weeks will bring us a Retina display-toting and dual camera-equipped iPod touch. He’s been right with this sort of prediction before, and this particular one doesn’t even take any inside information. The timing and positioning are perfect for Apple to debut the iPod touch 4.

The two flagship features mentioned are, really, things that Apple could hardly fail to include. For an iPod touch to lack a Retina display at this point would put it at too great a disadvantage, and at any rate the move to a higher resolution is a one-way street for Apple. The change has to happen eventually for the lower-end device, and why not now?

Facetime, too, is a huge selling point, not just in spite of its limitations, but in a way because of them. Wi-Fi only (unless you feel like hacking it) makes it a nice bonus on the iPhone, but it transforms a non-3G PMP into a powerhouse communication device. For (presumably) around $300, you’re getting a video phone you can use immediately, with almost no setup required thanks to the email address calling on the way to iOS 4.1, which will likely ship with the device.

An iPod touch with these features will also stand up to competition extremely well. As Gruber notes, the Dell Streak looks like a chump when you place it next to an (admittedly fictional at this time) iPod touch 4G. Bigger screen? Why should you care (Apple will say) when their big screen only has two thirds the pixels of ours? Skype and Google Voice? Why bother when you’ve got free unlimited video calling built-in, and (hopefully) soon becoming the “open standard” of which Apple spoke?

The only question is (and I ask this as a total Apple non-fanboy, people, so calm down): can Apple make enough of them? Seriously — the Retina displays and A4 processor manufacturing facilities are in all likelihood working at full capacity, and to introduce another product would likely put them over their limits by X per month. This is just speculation on my part, but even for Apple, the numbers of units being put together are pretty high, and they might have to (at the very least) put off availability for a month or two to build up stock.

I haven’t heard anything from the usual sources about increases in LCD orders from Apple, but they’re good about isolating parts of the supply chain, and it’s possible that Apple has been assembling these for some time now and restricting iPhone 4 production in order to have a timely iPod touch 4 launch.

Bag Week Reviews: Ogio Epic Backpack

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 03:30 PM PDT

Short version: The perfect backpack for gadgets? Possibly.

Features

  • Side entry notebook pocket for up to 17-inch notebooks
  • Top-mounted, fleece-lined camera pocket
  • Water bottle holder
  • Ventilated rear panel
  • $109 MSRP
  • Product page

Pros

  • More pockets than you could use
  • Very comfortable
  • Love the top-mounted camera pocket
  • Great price

Cons

  • None I can find
ogio-epic ogio-epic-1 ogio-epic-2 ogio-epic-21 ogio-epic-3 ogio-epic-4 ogio-epic-5 ogio-epic-6 ogio-epic-7

    Review
    As I proclaimed in the Street City Corp review, I love Ogio bags, but this backpack is something else. I absolutely adore it. It's nearly perfectly designed for gadget freaks. There's a pocket for everything — but not the the point of craziness.

    Take the top-mounted camera pocket: it's lined with fleece and is just the right size for my Nikon D40 with a good size lens. No longer does it need to chill in the same big pocket as random gadgets and sharp objects as it has its own little convenient space. Up top, there's two smaller similar pockets flanking the top-mounted handle. Probably for cell phones, wallets and media players or whatever.

    Having these quick-access pockets frees up the rest of the bag for actual storage as the other pockets handle items often-used items.

    Take the front part of the bag. There's really three layers to it with the very front pocket designed for charges and batteries in a zippered pocket. Directly behind that is an open pocket, which Ogio says is for airline tickets. Then there's standard organization panel with pen holders, a few little pockets, and a key holder.

    All of these pockets are cleverly labeled, too. Ogio does this on most of their bags and while I initially found the little labels insulting and somewhat comical, but they're there for a purpose. It's actually like the bag’s engineer is there, pointing out how he intended owners to use the pockets. Fine with me.

    The rest of the bag's storage is pretty standard. There's a large top-opening section, no doubt for magazines, books, and papers. Then, behind that, there's a side-opening padded notebook section.

    I should mention that the bag's comfy to wear. It rides well and the three-section padded back panel helps with back sweat. But that's to be expected. As soon as you pick up the bag, you know by the feel of the construction that everything is going to be top-notch including fit and form. That's a common theme among Ogio bags.

    Seriously, if you travel with the insane amount of gadgets I do, buy this backpack. It's clearly designed to fit within that lifestyle. Plus, it looks great. Highly recommended.

    Check out the complete Bag Week Review Blitz: Back To School Edition coverage here.

    Sears Wants To Trade You A Samsung Camera For A Review

    Posted: 10 Aug 2010 03:00 PM PDT

    Want to win a free Samsung Dualview camera? Kind of, right? Well, get over to MySears.com and write a review of a piece of electronics they sell and you’ll be in their contest. No, I’m not shilling for Sears, I just thought you might want a free camera. US residents only; you have about a week to write your review, and it mustn’t be “profane, obscene, lewd, defamatory, disparaging, non-family-friendly” or anything but wholesome, really. Details here.

    OKCupid Says: Learn To Use Your Camera If You Want To Get Busy

    Posted: 10 Aug 2010 02:20 PM PDT


    While TechCrunch has their own conclusions about OKCupid’s latest blast of internet dating metadata, we read the rest of the post and found a few interesting, but not entirely unexpected, tendencies. It seems that the camera-savvy among us are, shall we say, getting their sensors cleaned a bit more frequently.

    Of course we all have our good photos and our bad photos. But what goes into a good or bad photo was something OKCupid wanted to know. Is it the angle? The content? The light? The hair? As it turns out, there’s a lot of correlation with camera quality, flash quality, and exposure type.

    You can read the whole post if you want to hear about their methods and so on, but I’m just going to break it down to a few bullet points, because I love you guys:

    • Use a decent camera, preferably a DSLR. Of course it’s not absolutely necessary, but you get better fidelity, better exposure control, and better focus. If you have a friend with a DSLR, buy him or her dinner and ask for a few glamour shots. Try lots of things! You never know what might make you look good: close-up, black and white, grain, shallow depth of field… it’s up to you. Really, just use anything but a cell phone camera.
    • Try not to use a flash, or if you do, bounce it. Direct flash pictures (i.e. 90% of photos taken at clubs and bars with point and shoots) look terrible. Makeup and blemishes show, skin tone is washed out, eyes look unnatural, etc etc. If there’s a flash, stick some tape on it, or point it towards the ceiling.
    • Take pictures in good light. Warm, diffuse light makes everyone look better. I like natural light because it’s natural and free, but if your friend has a sweet lighting setup, feel free to do that too. Just avoid one-sided light and lighting from below. Just before sunset, or “magic hour” is the best time for pretty much everything.

    And remember: Friends don’t let friends do duck face.

    Samsung Tablet, Named The Galaxy Tab NX100, To Debut Next Month

    Posted: 10 Aug 2010 01:45 PM PDT

    Samsung is the latest company to get into the tablet business. This, despite the fact that the tablet business is going nowhere, fast. Well, unless your name is Apple and you consider the iPad a tablet. In any event, behold! It's the Samsung Galaxy Tab NX100, and it will makes its official debut at European trade show IFA in September.

    The device has a 7-inch screen and will run on Android 2.2, affectionately known as Froyo. (That's the version of Android that ships with the Droid 2, mind you.)

    The Tab will also have an interchangeable camera as will offer some sort of mobile TV capabilities. I'm hesitant to make too much of the TV feature because that type of thing ends up being different in every single country the device is available in.

    Be that as it may, we can all rest easy knowing that Samsung has a fancy new tablet en route.

    ProTip: Tablets will just sorta be "there" until someone like HP, now with WebOS, or Google gets into the game.

    Not A Good Day For Wikileaks: Attacked By Human Rights Organizations, Julian Assange Target Of International Trackdown

    Posted: 10 Aug 2010 01:15 PM PDT

    It's been several days since Wikileaks went from being an obscure whistle-blower Web site to one that has attracted international attention, not to mention condemnation. The latest meme going around right now is that Julian Assange, the editor-in-chief and de facto "face" of Wikileaks, has lost his standing with people, organizations, and governments that otherwise would be on his side, all things being equal. Even more pronounced: the U.S. government is trying to convince its foreign allies to limit his travel and bring criminal charges against him.

    The day started with word that several human rights organizations had publicly asked Wikileaks to take greater care in blocking the names of civilians that appear in its published documents.

    "There was no consideration about civilian lives," said the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.

    That, for the record, is directly at odds with what Wikileaks has said in the past, that it had tried to approach the Pentagon before the publication of the documents in an effort to "minimize" harm. Approaching the Pentagon hardly passes the "no consideration" test, no?

    Wikileaks also tried to downplay the significance of the human rights groups' statement by linking one of them to the "occupying forces" of Afghanistan, and by noting that Amnesty International, one of the largest (and certainly best known) human rights group on the planet, had nothing to do with the released statement.

    It gets worse for Assange & Co. Apparently the U.S. government is now trying to convince its international allies, including Germany and Britain, to bring charges against Assange as well as limit his cross-border movement.

    Though isn't it all a bit of a fool's errand? Even if Assange were to be apprehended, which I wouldn't be surprised to see, there's still the small matter of the site itself: how can you silence Wikileaks at this point? It has roots all over the world at this point, and its everyday users are protected by Tor.

    Which means, of course, that the powers that be will stop at nothing to shut the site down, and silence Assange for a very long time.

    If nothing else, we're in for several more days of interesting developments, that's for sure.

    iBuyPower Makes USB 3.0 A Given Right, Adds It Across The Entire Desktop Line

    Posted: 10 Aug 2010 12:53 PM PDT

    Shopping for a new desktop? You should know that iBuyPower now offers USB 3.0 on all their desktops. Awesome, right? Now, which manufacturer will follow suit first? Dell? HP? Apple? (probably not Apple) At least there’s one now, though. Hopefully it will start becoming standard by year’s end.

    El Monte, CA – August 10, 2009 – iBUYPOWER, a leading innovator of gaming PCs, is excited to announce it is now offering USB 3.0 on all its desktop systems for free. This includes iBUYPOWER systems that currently feature motherboards without onboard USB 3.0. iBUYPOWER customers will enjoy the faster data transfer rates (5Gbps) when transferring movies or pictures from a camera or other handheld to an iBUYPOWER system.

    “USB 3.0 is fast becoming an industry standard, and like liquid cooling, iBUYPOWER is dedicated to making these technologies accessible to our customers faster than our competitors,” said Darren Su, Vice President of iBUYPOWER. “USB 3.0 will provide our customers with incredibly fast, dual simplex data transfer, up to ten times faster than USB 2.0.”

    The upgrade future-proofs new iBUYPOWER desktops by ensuring their compatibility with new as well as unreleased handheld recorders, digital cameras, smartphones and more. USB 3.0 is also backwards compatible meaning all USB 1.0 and 2.0 devices will still work with the new iBUYPOWER rigs.

    Other innovative iBUYPOWER system upgrades and services include the company’s Power Drive Overclocking Service, the Harmony sound reduction system, the Internal USB Expansion System, Pro Wiring and Specialized Advanced Packaging System with expanding foam inserts to prevent damage during shipping.

    Scosche reVIVE II USB Chargers Now Support the iPad

    Posted: 10 Aug 2010 12:30 PM PDT


    Scosche announced the latest revision to their home and car USB chargers, the reVIVE II. Based off off the same design as the original reVIVE product line, the reVIVE II still has two USB ports, but one has a 2.1 amp output (for charging an iPad) as well as the traditional 1 amp output (supports everything else). The car version has an MSRP of $24.99, and the home version sells for $29.95.

    HP’s WebOS Tablet Coming Out In Early 2011?

    Posted: 10 Aug 2010 11:47 AM PDT

    A rumor just surfaced over at Engadget that basically states HP’s targeting a 2011 Q1 release date for the webOS tablet. You know, the one likely named Palmpad. Apparently the Personal Systems Group VP mentioned that yesterday at some mass HP meeting. Does that mean we’ll see a CES 2011 announcement? It feels just about right.
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