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Panasonic Makes Mysterious “Lumix Phone” Pre-Announcement

Posted: 01 Oct 2010 01:20 AM PDT

There will be a large IT and electronics exhibition in Japan happening next week (CEATEC), and Panasonic Japan just announced [JP] it will use the show to announce a new cell phone. The company has set up a dedicated site [JP] for the new device but is being pretty mysterious about it (no pictures). Read the rest on MobileCrunch.


Toshiba Decides To Give Up OLED Production

Posted: 01 Oct 2010 12:21 AM PDT

Just when everyone thought OLED screens would constitute the third of innovation for flat panel TVs (following LED backlit TVs and 3D capability), Toshiba just made a surprise decision. According to Japanese business daily The Nikkei, Toshiba has entirely given up previous plans to mass-produce OLED screens.

Toshiba’s subsidiary, Toshiba Mobile Display Corp., together with Panasonic, has invested $190 million in 2008 to set up an OLED production line at a factory in Ishikawa prefecture. The plan was to produce 1.5 million OLED screens for smartphones per year. But that won’t happen (on the picture, you can see a bigger OLED Toshiba showed two years ago).

Toshiba says its decision to scrap OLED was triggered by a surge in demand for LCD this year. Apparently, another important factor was the blow the recent financial crisis dealt to the earnings of the company.

All staff involved in the production and R&D of OLED will be transferred to the LCD panel division. The company will now focus on doing OLED-related R&D for lighting equipment only.

Daily Crunch: King’s LED Coat Edition

Posted: 01 Oct 2010 12:00 AM PDT

The iArm Mount Keeps Your iPad At Your Fingertips

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 05:53 PM PDT

We’ve tried the avoid the majority of iPad mounting solutions, but this one is just too good to pass up. The iArm car mount keeps your iPad where you want it at all times: blocking your view of the rest of the world.

Ok, this is totally a joke product, and hope to never see the day when someone actually does this. If you want to buy a box for one as a gag gift, it’ll cost you about $8.

[via OSX Daily]

With WebP, Google Aims To Replace Yet Another Elemental Web Format

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 04:49 PM PDT


The image accompanying this post is encoded with JPEG compression, a standard which, while it has been improved somewhat, has been more or less in its present form for almost two decades now. Over those two decades, images have changed their role on the web dramatically, and consequently the number and quality of images on the web have been increasing exponentially. Yet the way we make those images easy to share and transmit hasn’t caught up with the times.

Increases in bandwidth, it must be said, have made the matter one of very little urgency, and it’s important to admit that it takes less time to load a content-rich webpage (our front page averages 1-1.5MB) than it did to load a barebones page in the old days. But even so, it’s just as true that images take up the bulk of the bandwidth and making them more efficient means making the web more efficient. It looks like Google is trying to do just that with its new WebP image format.

We already have alternative image formats: specialty formats like PNG for certain types of images, and next-generation implementations of JPEG principles such as JPEG XR and JPEG 2000. Now’s not the time to discuss their strengths and shortcomings. But judicious use of such formats makes for a significantly more streamlined web experience, and misuse results in such things as ordinary images taking up many times the space they should (something I see a lot on the TechCrunch network, incidentally).

Some people consider optimization on the level of a few kilobytes here and there to be trivial, even a sort of web pedantry. But no one questioned Google’s logic when they introduced Google Instant, which rarely saves anyone more than a second, if that. The collected savings from billions of searches justifies the technology, and the same applies to images. Images are being added to the web at ever-increasing rates, and sites like Facebook and Flickr encourage you to host your images on the web instead of locally. Even a minor improvement in efficiency, to say nothing of the ~40% improvement Google is quoting, would save terabytes of bandwidth every hour.

There is also the argument that this will simply not catch on. That’s worth considering as well; browsers, apps, and scripts today aren’t even savvy with existing formats. My iPad, for instance, doesn’t recognize the JPEG 2000-encoded images in Google Books PDFs, even though both those formats have been around for a decade. There are surely complicated licensing agreements and loyalties in place, which explains the situation but doesn’t excuse it. What Google wants is a standard we can all agree on that’s free to use and easy to implement or layer on top of existing setups.

And who better to attempt the change than Google? Microsoft can’t, Apple won’t, and others services don’t care for now, since bandwidth is cheap. It takes someone ambitious and proactive to attempt a replacement for something so fundamental as JPEG. Google loves talking about openness, and by the time others decide it’s important enough to care about, Google will have a product in place for them to use. Same with WebM — nobody wants it now; nobody needs it now. But in a couple years, the issues that gave rise to it will become more ubiquitous and everyone will be glad Google thought ahead.

As for adoption, it’s a fantasy for the present. Google is even talking about scripts that replace JPEGs on the fly with WebP images and cache them for later; such stopgap measures are easy enough to implement, being as we are so generously provided with processor time and storage, but I doubt they’ll be popular, and it’s kind of unnatural. Standards are being set and adopted more quickly than ever, though, and a partnership with Mozilla would make a huge (and growing) number of users WebP-compliant. Then again, this whole thing could also disappear into the rather large format deadpool. It’s too early to say.

Right now the web is in a period of serious expansion, and making minor but fundamental changes like these to compression methods, packet efficiency, CDN optimization and so on will ensure that this web 2.1 will continue to be fast and accessible even as the data handled by the average person increases exponentially. It may sound like merely replacing one cog with another, but it’s the cogs we use the most that most deserve replacement.

Expect more from Google on WebP and WebM (and likely WebA) in the near future.

[via CNET; image: Millais, Ophelia]

Mad Pimpin’ Personified – The LED Fur Coat

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 03:18 PM PDT

Let no one say that the people who attend Burning Man are not creative. This particular individual decided to “pimp his coat” with various electronics and LEDs. The end result is striking to say the least.

The Amazing Technicolor LED Fur Coat from Arren Parker on Vimeo.

The pimp person who made the jacket was kind enough to put up instructions on how to make your own technicolor LED coat, if you are so inclined.

Capcom: Game Distribution Will Never Go All-Digital

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 02:30 PM PDT

A senior Capcom guy recently said in an interview that he believes retail will always have a place in game sales. It seems like an unwise thing to say when online distribution volume is growing like crazy, but I think he has a point.

Christian Svensson, Capcom’s VP of strategic planning, said:

Retail will always have a place because it will always be important to facilitate impulse purchases, cash based transactions, giftable (in the physical sense) objects even if that object is nothing more than a token in a box, etc. Secondly, I do believe that some retailers like Gamestop do offer value to less educated consumers (think your mom) when it comes to directing them to products they or someone they're buying for might enjoy. Sure there are ways that user reviews and the like could provide similar guidance, but for your average non-gaming consumer, they aren't going to do the research online. They're just going to walk into a store and ask a clerk for a recommendation.

This really is just true… at least for the foreseeable future. But already, recommendation and popularity engines are curating lots of software in places like the App Store and Steam. Sure, your mom doesn’t use Steam, but what is Steam but an app store for PC games? With the rise of free and near-free games that can be distributed to millions instantly instead of expensive affairs that must be printed, boxed, shipped, and pass through numerous hands, the long tail effect is coming to gaming distribution faster than retail would like to admit.

[via GoNintendo]

DIY Six-Cheese Fountain

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 02:00 PM PDT

Instructables has an excellent how-to on building your own six cheese hexagonal fountain. Why would you want to do this? God only knows.

HP Names Former SAP CEO Léo Apotheker As Their New CEO And President

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 01:48 PM PDT

HP has just named their new CEO. No, it’s not Todd Bradley — a popular guess out of the current ranks (and clearly he was thinking about it as well). Instead, HP’s Board went outside and picked Léo Apotheker, the former CEO of SAP.

In February, Apotheker abruptly left SAP after only seven months in the CEO position – well, the sole-CEO position. He had been co-CEO with Henning Kagermann for almost a couple of years before that. But he had been with SAP for over 20 years.

The Green Supercars Of Tomorrow Are On Display At The Paris Auto Show

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 12:55 PM PDT


Supercars are as important as space programs. They are a hotbed of technology development and these incredibly expensive platforms allow designers and engineers alike to run wild. Sometimes even when the vehicles are sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars, they do not directly make the companies money. But yet supercars are built over and over again because they are just that important.

The vehicle industry is at a turning point right now. Suddenly stuffing a lightweight high-output engine into a F1 body tweaked for the road isn’t enough. Well, it is right now in 2010, but that design won’t cut it three, four, and especially five years from now when the vehicle finally moves from development to retail. Nope, the Paris Auto Show is showing the world is going green and that includes the next generation of supercars.

The term green is used loosely here. It doesn’t mean these 200+ MPH cars will suddenly see 50mpg numbers. No, some will still suck down fuel faster than a Ford F350, while others will use no gasoline. Both types however will employ foward-thinking technology that will eventually trickle down to your next Corilla or Malibu. This is why supercars are so important.

Humanity is not going to ride one specific type of green vehicle off to the sunset. No, there is more than enough room for multiple green powertrains. Pure EV vehicles make a lot sense for city folk while extended range hybrids like the Volt or Fisker Karma work better for those needing to drive longer distances. Advance diesel systems even have a place as both the fuel and engines become more efficient and output less emissions. Traditional hybrids will likely overtake pure gasoline vehicles by the end of the decade as battery packs and electric motors drop in cost.

However, each of the aforementioned green powertrain options still have a long way to go before they reach any sort of maturity. It’s up to the supercars and their race car brethern to work out the kinks.

The Porsche 959 is a tech world cult classic. This is the car that Bill Gates and Paul Allen both imported to the states in the ’80s despite the US Department of Transportation deeming them illegal to drive. Gates’ sat in a US Customs warehouse for 13 years until the “Show and Display” category was authorized. But these tech giants wanted this car because it was the best in the world. It was the best in the world because Porsche threw out the mold and went wild.

The Porsche 911 platform was treading water in the early ’80s. The rear-mounted engine configuration used in the 911 was seemingly dying, but Porsche wanted to give it one more go. The company used the wild Group B rally circuit as an excuse and set out to develop the best on- and off-road car possible. The all-wheel drive 959 with adjustable ride height and a totally new sequentially turbocharged 2.85L flat-six engine emerged. In accordence to rally rules, a passenger version had to be made as well and so the 959 went on sale for $225,000.

Crazy expensive? Yes, but technical achievements of the 959 can still be seen in today’s 911 models. It was a necessary venture and perhaps saved the 911 from losing its spot atop the supercar podium.


Jaguar just introduced what is nearly a perfect electric throwback to the iconic XJ220 at the Paris Auto. Google Image Search “Jaguar supercar” and that’s what you get. While the XJ220 was the dream car of the ’90s, the just-unveiled C-X75 will likely be posterized by your kids. It’s the twin-turbine electric supercar of the future.

The C-X75 is just a concept right now, but most of the configuration is already doable by today’s standards. There are four 195HP electric motors at each of the wheels, powered by an extended range system similar to the one inside the Chevy Volt. Jaguar claims the vehicle can go 68 miles on battery power alone, although that’s likely when you’re treating the accelerator like there’s an egg under it. But unlike the Volt where an I4 gasoline engine is used to recharge the Li-on battery pack, the C-X75 employs micro-gas turbines developed together with Bladon Jets. That’s the concept part.

But Jaguar is far from alone in their Paris Auto Show announcement. Lotus unveiled the Elite Gentlemen’s car that uses a KERS-inspired hybrid boost system along with announcing a hybrid version of the Elan supercar is in the works that also uses the same system.

It’s everywhere. Green powertrains are now longer a novelty, they’re a requirement.

Then there’s the Porsche 911 GT3 electric hybrid currently making the racing circuit rounds. This car uses a 480HP flat-six gasoline engine for the rear wheels and twin 60 kW motors for the front. A flywheel captures energy during braking and then delivers it either on-demand via a button or during flat-out runs. It’s apparently a thrill to drive and you’ll be able to catch the car at on October 2nd as it competes in Atlanta for the Petit Le Mans (PLM).

There was an old saying back when NASCARs were closer to production cars, “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.” That statement may very well become relivent again, but in a slightly different context. Rather than selling, say, a Porsche 911 just because it won some random race, the vehicle will sell because it has a proven green powertrain.

Technology trickles down. Scoff at the seemingly-unattainable supercar all you want, but they serve a necessary part in vehicle development. This even applies to cars like the Volt. Sure, it’s pricey now, but GM developed a whole new powertrain system and eventually it will become more affordable.

Once Again, Valve Proves Its Awesomeness With Latest Team Fortress 2 Update Press Release

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 12:30 PM PDT

OK, so a few minutes ago I got a press release from Valve talking about the latest Team Fortress 2 update. I read the subject line and was like, "Oh, I bet they added a bunch of stuff. Neat." But then I read the press release.

So here it is, in all of its glory:

September 30, 2010 – Badlands, New Mexico. Mann Co., the industry leader in selling products and getting in fights, today announced the deployment of the Mann-Conomy initiative to the warring mercenary factions in the ongoing global war between Builders League United (BLU) and Reliable Excavation Demolition (RED). The Mann-Conomy initiative represents the largest introduction of new items in the company’s history, available for immediate trading, use, and sale.

“This brutal, endless war between BLU and RED is, of course, lamentable,” said C.P. Bidwell, assistant to Mann Co. CEO Saxton Hale. “So if letting mercenaries buy, trade and sell Mann Co. products helps make this ongoing tragedy more enjoyable for both sides, then we’ve done our part. The Mann-Conomy initiative is, at the end of the day, a humanitarian effort.”

The first update in this ongoing initiative will involve 65 new items overall-including the introduction of five new Class Weapon Kits, 18 new hats, and an all-new way to get in an additional fight during an existing one: dueling pistols.

The Mann-Conomy initiative will allow BLU and RED mercenaries to finally trade items with each other, escalating hostilities further through emotionally wrenching haggling sessions over hats.

Mercenaries who purchase items through the Mann Co. Store will not have an advantage over their rivals. “We want to make sure that our customers still have a terrific experience on the battlefield whether they buy anything or not,” says Bidwell. “All the existing ways they were able to get their hands on weaponry still exist without them having to spend any money.”

“Steam”, a revolutionary Mann Co. technology developed in cooperation with Newell & Sons (a small Bellevue, WA based company specializing in hat-themed war simulation), utilizes a global network of pneumatic tubes that will allow mercenaries to equip themselves instantly without leaving the heat of battle. Mann Co. is currently accepting Euros, United States Dollars, and British Pounds, as all of these currencies will fit in the tubes.

For more information about the Mann-Conomy, please visit http://www.teamfortress.com/

About Mann Co. Mann Co. is a global weapons manufacturer that makes square, unsafe products for men and gets in fights. Founded in Australia and based in America, Mann Co. CEO Saxton Hale prides himself on his hands-on customer relations: “If you have a problem with any Mann Co. product, you can take it up with me!”

Why can’t every company be even one-tenth as fun as Valve?

Apple Forced To Temporarily Close Beijing Store To Ward Off Grey Market Re-sellers

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 12:05 PM PDT


What a neat photo

Here’s a fun story out of China, the home of fun stories. It’s also the home of, like, many, many grey market iPhone re-sellers. It used to be that Apple had a two-iPhone limit at its Beijing store. Used to be? Yes, Apple removed the limit, and then chaos ensued.

So many grey market re-sellers rushed the store that Apple eventually had to shut it down. Everybody out!

There was quite a scene in the store, with legitimate iPhone customers competing with grey market re-sellers for the "right" to buy the phone.

Up rolled the police, and order was restored.

In unrelated news: poor Liverpool.

Medal of Honor Now Most Pre-Ordered Medal of Honor In History of Medal of Honor

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 11:00 AM PDT

All this negative attention? Apparently not have a negative impact. EA’s upcoming Medal of Honor now holds the distinction of being the most pre-ordered game in the series’ history. Nice.

The Limited Edition is available on Steam for pre-order, and it comes with a beta key for Battlefield 3, download key for Medal of Honor: Frontline (PS3 only), and a few exclusive weapons.

But the game is $60. Asking that much for a PC game isn’t cool at all.

Video: Zombie Attack In Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 10:30 AM PDT

Ha! Haters may say something like, "Looks like zombies are gaming’s new 'break glass in case of emergency' gimmick," but another chance to run around the world of Red Dead Redemption is OK with me. (I wasn’t too keen on the previous multi-player DLCs, if only because I’m not the biggest multi-player gamer. I find a solid single-player mode to be far more compelling.) Anyhow, it’s called Undead Nightmare, and it’s due for release in late October.

The story goes something like this: you’re John Marston, and it’s your job to find the cure to a disease that’s turned residents into ZOMBIES~!

New weapons and enemies, the whole nine yards. It’ll be 800 Microsoft Points, or $9.99 on the PSN.

I don’t know, looks fun to me. Artwork certainly looks decent.

Acer CEO: Netbooks Not Dead Yet

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 10:15 AM PDT


Acer CEO Scott Lin believes netbooks are not dead and that they’ll see about 40 million units sold in 2010 and a similar number in 2011. He expects the high performance Atom N550 from Intel to increase speed and reduce price to about $300, which is pretty darn cheap.

I still say they’re garbage.

via Digitimes


You & Your Noble Team Buddies Can Win Some Mountain Dew Halo Goodies

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 10:00 AM PDT

How is your Halo: Reach-ing? Racked up a bunch of frags in multi-player yet? I’ve slacked off, and now most of my free gaming time goes toward Fallout and F1 2010. There’s a neat bit of news that may be of interest to some of you. You know how when Halo 3 launched, back in 2007, there was a special edition of Mountain Dew? Well now Pepsi (Mountain Dew’s parent company) and Microsoft have teamed up~! again.

It’s called Honor The Code, and it’s a fancy new contest that you and your friends can enter.

You buy some Mountain Dew or Doritos, right? Then you have an option of entering the contest code at the Web site and winning a prize. Prizes are handed out every 15 minutes. So you can do that, or you and five of your friends can put your codes together and enter the daily Noble Team giveaway.

What can you win? All sorts of stuff: controllers, Halo edition Xbox 360 consoles, headsets, art prints, hoods, etc.

A nice little bonus if you’re a big time Mountain Dew drinker.

This actually reminds me of the old Pepsi-iTunes giveaway from like 2003 or 2004. Underneath the cap there was a code for a free iTunes song. The thing was that you could tilt the 20oz bottle at a certain angle and see whether or not that bottle was a winner or not. So I’d stand there, tilting bottles in the back of some deli, then getting home and claiming my prize.

No, I haven’t really lived a very exciting life, as you can tell.

The Typeface Memory Game Is Must-Have Flash Cards For Digital Media Students

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 09:39 AM PDT

Either spend € 19,90 on this set from BIS Publishers or make your own. Either way, there probably isn’t a better way to quickly learn different fonts than flash cards. [BIS Publishers via swissmiss]

Videos: Panasonic’s Hair-Washing Robot In Action

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 09:01 AM PDT

Last week, we asked you if you would trust Panasonic’s new 16-fingered robot that you can see above and that’s supposedly able to wash the hair of a human being. If you were undecided about this question back then, we can help you now with two videos that appeared online just today.

What I find suspicious (or slightly disturbing) is that during this public demonstration of the robot, Panasonic didn’t let it wash the hair of a human being but that of a dummy.

Anyway, here’s the first video:

In this second video, you can see the robot shampooing/washing the dummy’s hair:

Via NODE [JP]

XM Snap: Not A Dock, But A Radio For Your Car

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 09:00 AM PDT

Sirius XM has a new radio that’s poised to solve all of their problems. It’s called the XM Snap (first discovered, and erroneously thought to be a dock, a few weeks ago), and it marks the first time I’ve seen the XM brand name used in quite some time. SIRIUS xm, in other words.

One picture pretty much tells you all you need to know. (But there are other pictures, too.)

You plug one end into a power socket (or cigarette lighter), attach the antenna, and off you go.

Then you can listen to the Virus, the only channel worth listening to on the platform. One of the stars of the Virus? Mr. Fez Whatley, who has a 3-0 record against heart attacks. You can’t keep him down, heart attacks, so stop trying. This is Fez Marie Whatley you’re dealing with here.

The price isn’t too bad, coming in at $59. It’ll be available in October from the XM shop.

Of course, you need to be a Sirius XM subscriber to be able to use the thing, and even then you need to be an XM subscriber. (It’s an XM radio.) If you want to listen to Sirius stuff you can then add the Best of Sirius to your account.

My Summer Project, Circa 1991: A Shoulder Mounted Rocket Launcher

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 08:23 AM PDT

My Dad has been in the hospital this week and I’ve been going through some of the things in his/our/my family’s garage. Said garage is a mess and we pulled out about 500 pounds of junk that we hauled to the dump and threw away, marking an ignominious end to a lot of projects I started back around eighth and ninth grade out there. However, there was one project that worked – and worked well.

One afternoon I went over to my buddy Mike’s house (He called himself DamageInc on the BBSes in Columbus, if that tells you anything about him) and he showed me a project he was working on. It was a shoulder mounted rocket launcher. His used a small PVC tube connected to a box and he built an Estes rocket with a freaking broadhead arrowhead on the tip. Obviously his model was a bit dangerous, especially considering he was using higher-powered rockets, but I was smitten. I had to make one. I don’t think he ever shot his, but it was pretty impressive.

Truth be told I’m not very handy. My Dad was always the tinkerer and his garage is a testament to this fact. It’s stacked to the rafters with junk or, more correctly, stuff he collected in order to make other stuff. He is also kind of a hoarder. There are pipes, old typewriters, office phones, boxes of books, and this summer I pulled out about ten milk crates of LPs in various states of decay that we sold to a vinyl obsessive for $30.

My Dad gave me some of these flat 9-volt cells that he found and I was trying to figure out a use for them when I realized they would make a good battery for model rocketry. I then found a few pieces of wood, a long metal tube, and some wire. I found an old switch and rounded up some wire and began.

The handle itself is not a masterpiece. It’s basically an open box with notches cut out to hold the pipe. I used a piece of thick rubber to hold the pipe down onto the handle and taped the battery to the handle. Wires leading to the switch and then to a pair of alligator clips completed the basic design.

I probably used B-class engines in this thing which warrants a bit of exploration into what I was actually dealing with. The B-class engines have an exhaust velocity of about 2550 lbs/second and an average thrust of 6 newtons so you’re looking at about 47 feet per second of speed coming off the launching pad. In this case, however, the launching pad was horizontal and my face was right next to it.

Knowing that I was a damn fool, my dad gave me a moped helmet with a fishbowl face mask. I also put on a long-sleeved shirt and what I recall was a chain mesh vest from a meat packing plant. I made a small wooden rocket and a wooden plug for the rear of the tube. I obviously drilled a hole in the plug to run the wires through and also, presumably, to vent some of the gasses onto the back of my head. Again, I’m glad my Dad thought to give me a helmet.

I took the kit out to the back yard and wired everything up. I took aim and stood there for a second, wondering what went wrong. Nothing. No pfft. Nothing.

Then, suddenly, whoosh. The igniter took a few seconds to heat up and my rocket was off, whizzing down the yard at the shed like, well, a rocket. It hit the shed and in a second it was gone, shredded on impact. I don’t actually think we found most of it.

I only shot my rocket launcher once and I just dumped the thing yesterday so I’ll never be able to relive those moments with the same device. However, I doubt my son would ever be able to relive those experiences. It’s hard enough finding a place to shoot rockets anymore let alone shoot a DIY RPG. I don’t even know if I’d let him do it now, considering I don’t really have all the same junk my Dad always had lying around. This is partially because of where I live and partially because the tinkering spirit seems a bit moribund. Guys like Bre Pettis and Phil Torrone are doing amazing stuff to keep the dream alive and I hope that my son, too, will want to make a shoulder mounted rocket and won’t be turned over to Homeland Security on first launch.

My Dad’s illness has made me think a lot on what our parents gave us from the eras in which they lived. He, for example, gave me the idea that anything can be fixed given enough parts and a schematic. It’s this DIY spirit that’s driven me to program and putz around on the Internet and I hope against hope that I can instill the same spirit in my own kids. We’ll see.
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