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I Always Wondered How Kuribo’s Shoe Worked

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 07:20 PM PDT


Wearing this shirt gives you a sixth sense: you will be able to tell who in your immediate vicinity is really nerdy. Because only the nerdy venerate Kuribo’s Shoe — and only the nerdiest will recognize the significance of “Diagram 5-3.”

[via GoNintendo]

Component Makers Whisper That Chrome OS Will Ship In November

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 06:50 PM PDT


We’ve been expecting Chrome OS for a long, long time. We’ve heard that it would launch this fall, most vocally from Acer, which has made various promises about Chrome OS devices being on the way. Well, the time for Chrome OS’s debut may in fact be approaching: Digitimes reports that the launch will be this month, and the big players will show off their kit before the holidays.

The information comes from shadowy “component players,” middle-men who are probably working on the display for the iPhone 5 right now but only occasionally get a whiff of branding, allowing them make these kinds of statements. They say that Google will be (as rumored) releasing a self-branded device, which I think is a smart move.

Personally, I’m very much looking forward to Chrome OS. It’s more compelling to me than Android as a tablet OS, though as time has worn on, Google has made its mobile OS a bit more suitable for larger screens.

Whether it’s the glorified browser some fear or the transformative ideal thin client some hope for is still a mystery. We’ll find out soon, I guess.

Galaxy Tab Costs Just Over $200 To Make

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 06:00 PM PDT


A detailed teardown by iSuppli has shown that Samsung’s much-hyped Galaxy Tab has a total cost to manufacture of about $200 — $214.57, to be precise. Comparisons to the iPad (estimated at $260 to make) are inevitable, so let’s just get on with it.

The most expensive part of the iPad is the touchscreen, not surprisingly, and Samsung’s display costs significantly less. It is, of course, smaller, but it’s the same horizontal resolution, and there are a lot more factors we don’t know about that might have affected the cost. But that cost also includes the touchscreen assembly, and it’s clear that Apple splurges on that for its touchscreen products.

The processor is ridiculously cheap at $8, but Samsung might be getting more of a discount there, or it could simply be an off-the-shelf unit. Apple spends $26 per unit on the A4, though it belongs to the same class of ARM chip as the one Samsung chose. But that could include integrated RAM, because that wasn’t listed separately on the iPad breakdown.

What it comes down to is basically that Samsung saved a good amount of money on the touchscreen and possibly on the processor, but other than that there are no crazy differences between the way these things are constructed.

Dictionary.com Opens Its API And IP With Nook Color, Hopes To Define Dictionary Functions

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 05:30 PM PDT


Barnes & Noble’s new Nook Color e-reader, on which our opinions at CrunchGear are divided, represents the first major application of Dictionary.com’s new API tools. They launched them late last month, and I just spoke with Dictionary.com’s President, Shravan Goli, about their approach to modernizing the centuries-old market of providing definitions.

It’s a difficult proposition, and one that is being faced by a number of free or almost-free services out there. People won’t pay to have unfamiliar words defined for them, yet here is Dictionary.com, a thriving business. It’s one of the situations on the new web where monetizing seems to result directly from authority.

I won’t go on at length here since the free-to-users business model isn’t an original one, but I think Dictionary.com’s particular variant is interesting. They have an opportunity to provide an essential and ubiquitous layer to a huge number of devices and services, and they’re being pushed from the other side, too: if they don’t succeed, a solution will emerge that obsoletes them. In constantly shifting, global markets like web and mobile, there are only the quick and the dead.

Dictionary.com’s approach is to supererogate, providing more than a simple lookup service. I asked Shravan about the threat that is community-based knowledge like Wiktionary and other free dictionary projects. Engaging the community is important, he said, but the issues of authority and trust are especially applicable to a service like Dictionary.com’s. He sees it as the final word, the definitive answer, if you will, because there needs to be such a thing.

With that kind of clout, Dictionary.com can get away with charging for the privilege of using its libraries and APIs — using a tiered structure, of course, so Big Company pays more than Little iPhone Developer. You can go to developer.dictionary.com right now and check out what’s going on with the API, but let’s be honest, the site is mainly limited to providing definitions for words. You can see the fruits of their development community in the recently-announced Nook Color, and Shravan mentioned that they were working with “a few other big guys,” which he did not elaborate on — but it isn’t hard to fill in the blanks.

I know it’s not exactly headline news, but I just think that Dictionary.com is in a fairly interesting position in the market right now: a precarious domination that requires no small amount of vigilance to maintain. Like so many services based on access to a non-exclusive body of data, they are subject to attack from ground-up projects duplicating or improving their content. It’s a dated example, but Encarta was in a similar situation in some ways, and the rise of Wikipedia erased it from the earth. If Dictionary.com doesn’t stay on top of its game, the same could happen to them. They seem to be doing fine for now, but I look forward to seeing what kinds of contortions they’ll have to do to keep their position in the future.

P.S. — If you’re at all interested in words, check out their Hot Word blog. I like a good etymology now and then.

Video: Sweet Homemade Automatic BB Cannon

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PDT


I wouldn’t have thought that so many BBs could come out of a bit of DIY like that, but you can’t argue with that ruined apple. The secret is (apparently) having a one-way valve so that the BBs can travel towards the chamber but not away from it.

There has to be a better way of introducing the BBs than blowing into the tube, though. If you’ve got your mouth on that thing and the valve goes, you’re going to get a BB sandwich before you can say “oh god no!”

[via Make]

Would You Care For A Compact Personal Genome Sequencer?

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 03:30 PM PDT


This is pretty amazing. The device you see there is a home genome sequencer. Like, for sequencing your genome. And it’s about the size of a big microwave.

What exactly will you do with it? You will sequence your genome. At home.

Whether that information is useful to your or not, I can’t say, but do you remember when it took the combined powers of like ten universities and a hundred researchers to sequence the human genome? And now you can get a complete genetic profile of yourself (or anyone you can get a tissue sample of) without leaving the den.

Just had to post this. Watch an interview with the CEO of Life Technologies over at MedGadget if you want to know more.

Newegg Gets In On The Early Black Friday Sales With Black November

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 03:00 PM PDT

Just like how Amazon (and it was also brought to my attention, offers.com) has started offering Black Friday sales early, so, too, has Newegg. The site began its Black November promotion today, and while there doesn’t appear to be anything too crazy right now, it’s literally Day One of the sale. I, for one, am waiting for a Blu-ray drive to put into my PC. Not that I need one, but I’ve been adding components piecemeal for several months now, and it’s the next logical upgrade.

Black November consists of a few things. There’s the normal deals that Newegg runs (you really ought to subscribe to their newsletter to get the e-mail updates), and then there’s going to be a daily discount for certain items.

Today’s there 10 percent off video games, 15 percent off relevant accessories, and 10 percent of AMD and Intel motherboards.

Kingston’s SSDNow V+100 Drive Is One More Reason I’m Not Investing In SSD Yet

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 02:30 PM PDT


Here’s a little tidbit of news; nothing ground-breaking, but right in line with a trend I’ve been watching for a year or two now. Kingston has released an improved version of their enterprise SSD line with a version that internalizes TRIM support, making OS support for the SSD management utility irrelevant. At the rate Kingston and everyone else are improving base SSD technology, can it really be wise to buy in right now?

To be fair, SSDs do already (as I’m sure you well know) provide a healthy performance boost to any system, but it seems like every month there is a new advancement in drive controllers, cell density, or what have you. The benefits of waiting “just a little bit longer” are pretty substantial, as opposed to the case with GPUs, CPUs, and other forms of storage, which seem to me to be changing much more gradually.

That said, it also seems silly to buy a demonstrably inferior product for your system drive. If you can get a decent SSD for $150 or $200, why not go for it? I guess I’m just too storage-hungry to feel okay with the $/GB on even the cheapest models.

Anyway. The SSDNow V+100 (and its encrypted cousin, the V+100E) is aimed at enterprise sales, where older systems predominate, and a self-contained drive optimization system like this is likely to do some good. The technology will probably trickle down, but it also increases the cost of the drive. I don’t see a price anywhere, but the SSDNow series has traditionally been sort of average price, so these extra features will probably bump them up to a premium level.

[via Electronista]

Bitplay “Bang!” Lamp Lets You Gun Down The Lights

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 02:00 PM PDT


If you often feel the need to turn off a light from across the room, but have decided against a clapper for taste reasons, this lamp might be right up your alley. It’s pretty straightforward: you turn the lamp off by firing the gun at it, which simultaneously topples the shade. I’m not sure how it works or if it’s even real, but head over to bitplay’s site for more details.

[via Hypebeast]

Viewsonic Shows Off ViewPad 7 And 10

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 12:15 PM PDT


A couple months ago, we got wind of Viewsonic’s ViewPad series of Android tablets, and it looks like they weren’t kidding. They really are making tablets. And it turns out that these particular tablets are slightly unlike the others out there.

The ViewPad 7, actually, isn’t much different. It has Froyo, an 800×480 screen, dual cameras, and 512MB of RAM. The usual business, and pretty much what we heard about in August. It’ll go for $479 some time this year.

Its big brother, the ViewPad 10, is a more interesting beast. Maybe. Well, it’s different, anyhow. This 10-inch, 1024×600 thing has a 1.66GHz Atom (model unspecified), a 16GB SSD, a nicer webcam, and… it runs Windows 7. And Android 1.6. Wait, what?!

Yes, this thing boots into either Android or Windows. I can’t imagine 1.6 provides a very compelling tablet experience, however — why they even included it is a mystery to me. Windows 7 might be usable, although you’ll feel the lack of storage (MicroSD helps). $629 puts it at a bit cheaper than some other Windows 7 tablets out there.

Here’s the full press release:

VIEWSONIC UNVEILS ANDROID™-BASED VIEWPADS®

Thousands of open-sourced apps available for 7" Android 2.2 3.5G capable ViewPad 7 and 10.1" dual-boot Win 7 and Android 1.6 ViewPad 10

WALNUT, Calif. – November 1, 2010 – ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of computing, consumer electronics and communications solutions, today announced its ViewPad line of Android-based devices, featuring the ViewPad 7 and ViewPad 10.

"Leveraging our 20-year display heritage, these new ViewPad solutions provide users with anytime anywhere connectivity," said Jeff Volpe, vice president and general manager for ViewSonic Americas. "With access to the universe of Android apps, our new ViewPads are perfectly suited for enjoying digital entertainment and social media. Office productivity is also a snap with robust web browsing functionality."

ViewPad 7 – The Android 2.2 ViewPad 7 combines a powerful processor with 3.5G capable data technology in a lightweight, pocket-sized 7" form factor. With an 800×480 WVGA LCD screen, this device is one of the only 7" tablet solutions with Android Google Mobile Services (GMS). As a result, consumers can connect to a selection of more than 100,000 apps and games along with Gmail, YouTube and more for a superior and convenient entertainment solution that fits today's mobile lifestyle.

With its wireless 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth® connectivity the ViewPad 7 supports instant messaging, VoIP, and all the web browsing and USB connectivity functions of a capacitive multi-touch device. The ViewPad 7 features 2 built-in cameras: a 3-megapixel, auto focus camera in the rear and a 0.3 megapixel camera in the front. In addition to the integrated 512MB of memory, the ViewPad 7 offers up to an additional 32GB of storage capacity via the micro SD card slot, along with battery life of up to 10 hours. The result is the ultimate device for connected fun and multitasking – in a compact size easier to carry than a netbook and with better media performance than a smartphone.

The ViewPad 7 will be available in late Q4 2010 for an ESP of $479. Third-party accessories and ViewCare™ extended warranties will also be available at launch.

ViewPad 10 – Innovative and productive, this 10.1" dual-boot Wi-Fi device gives users a choice between Windows® 7 Home Premium and Google Android 1.6 within the same device. With a high performance, high speed Intel® Atom™ 1.66GHz processor, integrated 1GB of memory, 16GB SSD hard drive and expandable micro SD slot, the ViewPad 10 is ideally designed to view Flash-based content and Office programs with Windows, and for an optimized mobile entertainment experience with Android. Additionally, the 1024×600 LED backlit panel includes a G-sensor and capacitive multi-touch for intuitive navigation across multiple applications. Teamed with a 1.3-megapixel webcam with built-in microphone, the ViewPad 10 is great for videoconferencing as well.

The ViewPad 10 with dual-boot OS will be available in Q1 2011 for an ESP of $629. Third-party accessories and ViewCare™ extended warranties will be available at launch.

For further information on ViewSonic products, please visit ViewSonic.com or follow ViewSonic on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Logitech Revue With Google TV: The Official TechCrunch Review

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 11:47 AM PDT

My family and I have been living with a Google TV for a few days now and since I first installed it, I’ve come up some clever titles for this post. They’ve ranged from snarky to just plain mean, and, well, since I can’t decide on just one, I went with the boring one above. I can’t let all these classy titles go to waste. That wouldn’t be fair, and so, here are some of the nicer ones:

  • Google TV: Welcome to beta testing
  • Google TV: Like Android 1.0 but on your HDTV
  • Google TV: Feels so good, works so bad
  • Google TV: Because Google only releases beta products
  • Google TV: Twice as many cons as pros
  • Google TV: Because managing unstable applications on your TV is good family fun
  • Google TV: Where’s my Gmail?

Got the idea? Yeah, it’s that rough. I can’t paint you a rosy picture of this beautiful marriage of the Internet and your TV because, well, the magic simply isn’t there. Yet. But I’m here to tell you that if the next TV you buy doesn’t have Google TV – or Google TV-like features – I’ll eat my handsome, stylish hat.

Google TV, as it stands, is a product in its beta round even though it’s not labeled as such. It’s not fully-fledged nor does it work particularly well. I resent that Google saw fit to use us as their guinea pigs but, but that’s how Google rolls. Think of this as Android for your TV – version 1.0 is garbage but just wait until you see 2.2. With several major updates and lots of little tweaks, Google TV will be the best product they’ve ever made. As of right now, however, it’s a sad mixture of random functions loosely held together by a fustercluck user interface.

A Friend Of Both Cable & The Internet

Google TV sits between a set-top box and your HDTV. You connect to your set-top box via HDMI, the Revue then overlays that signal with Google TV and outputs it via HDMI. No composite/component here. This is obviously Google’s way of edging their way in with the cable mafia. You can still interact with your STB, but now, a specially-made keyboard controller or smartphone app can also interact with both the Google TV and the entire A/V setup.

It’s actually novel at first. Live TV becomes an app of sorts and you can access and manage it along with various apps like Pandora radio or Netflix. Google also worked in an alternative type of programming guide into the backend, but you’re not required to use this one over your the stock one in your cable box. Google’s version, however, is rather nice and divides up the content currently live on TV into genres — this is one of best little things about Google TV.

But a key selling point is that everything still works as if there’s no Google TV installed at all. This makes integrating it into a family atmosphere seamless. No one is required to learn a new interface, guide structure or even remote. But it’s there if they want to use the advanced functions of Google TV. To activate Google TV you can press a “search” button and begin typing. If you want to watch Boardwalk Empire you type it in, select it via Google’s own interface, and it is added to your queue. If you have a compatible set-top box, it should, in theory, begin recording your shows to your DVR.

Apps? We Don’t Need No Stinking Apps

The apps aren’t anything special. CNBC Live is more like CNBC lag. Netflix, is, well every other implementation of Netflix and the same goes for Pandora. The Gallery app only links to a Picasa accounts. NBA Gametime, one of the apps highly promoted for Google TV, isn’t dynamic so none of the info is presented in real time — there seems to be a random update that refreshes all the info every couple of minutes. It’s not exactly the best way to follow multiple NBA games at one time. Strangely, it’s missing any Google Apps such as Gmail, Reader, Maps, or anything else that would seem natural on a web-connection Google device.

The other apps – like the TNT, TBS, even Amazon Video On-Demand – aren’t really apps. These are web portals accessed though a shortcut, which basically means you’re at the mercy of the web browser — which is called Chrome, but clearly isn’t your desktop’s Chrome.

Chrome *sigh*

There were probably dozens upon dozens of boardroom meetings concerning how the browser would work in Google TV. Some designers probably wanted to bring the full experience, complete with visible tabs and an address bar to the platform while others likely wanted a stripped-down version. The latter camp won, and it’s a shame; I want so much more. But it seems Google steered Google TV away from being a device that brings all of the Internet to your TV towards a device that brings Internet video to your TV.

The web browser, which is named Chrome likely just for branding purposes, offers a gimped user interface and poor performance, although the slow rendering speed could be a result of underpowered hardware. Forget about the speed for a quick minute (although that’s how Chrome has sold itself for years). It’s the user experience that’s more important. Acid3 awards it a 99 out of a 100, but most of the tests reported slow results stating that while it can handle most of the web, it won’t be smooth.

Hit F11 on your keyboard. Your browser went full screen, right? Try to navigate to a different website or even to the previous page using the back button. How about accessing your favorites or switching to another tab. That’s exactly how it is on Google TV. Sure, all those actions have keyboard commands, but it’s hard to replicate the workflow and usefulness of actual in-browser buttons.

Google TV’s Chrome still has most of the functions you’d find in a desktop version, even incognito mode — but they’re frustratingly hidden behind a keyboard command. I’m not saying I want a quarter of my screen taken up by a menu bar, but there has to be a better user interface especially for managing the tabs. Right now the only way to access multiple browser windows is through the fast-switch screen accessed from hitting Ctrl + Tab that also displays all the running apps such as your home screen, live TV, and whatever else is running. Why can’t there be a physical tab bar either on the screen or on some auto-hid bar?

Some standard desktop browser functions are missing, though. The search bar that also doubles as the URL bar doesn’t remember frequently-searched terms or sites. Google TV simply doesn’t offer a pleasing Internet browsing experience although I quickly found that I really enjoy writing on the Google TV. In fact, I wrote 90% of this review reclined in my Lazy-Boy on my 47-inch LCD 12 feet away. The Logitech wireless keyboard that comes with the Revue isn’t great, but it’s nearly full size and fits nicely in my lap.

You might be saying, “Who cares, I can do that right now with my HTPC.” which I will promptly agree with, but then indicated that one shining part of Google TV’s Chrome is that it optimizes the text for the screen. I’ve never seen text this crisp and clear on any HTPC. But an HTPC with the right mouse and keyboard combo still provides a better overall web browsing experience.

Surprise, surprise. It’s all about the search.

Clearly Google wanted to make Google TV not about the entire Internet, but about web video. It offers the best experience possible in this regard thanks primarily to the slightly hidden search function. There’s really nothing like it anywhere else. The robust search polls both broadcast TV and streaming sources for a particular show and presents the results in an easy to use grid layout.

Say you search for CSI. First a general selection screen will present different series and clips pertaining to the searched term. In this case, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, and the original CSI are all options. Once the appropriate show is selected, the next screen is a large chart formatted just for Google TV of each season with episodes listed beneath the correct season. To the right of each episode are three columns relating to live TV, free web video, and pay-per-view content from Amazon Video On-Demand. Select a given episode and up pops a menu asking you to select where you want to watch the content. If it’s live TV, it will tell you when it’s showing and then dump you in your cable box’s guide. The web video will launch the URL of the video’s location, while the pay-per-view option takes you to Amazon’s page. It’s easy, but there’s a problem. Hardly any shows are available for free streaming right now.

Google got a bit of bad press shortly after its launch when the major networks banned Google TV not from their sites entirely, just the streaming content. Sure, it’s pissing match between industries, but it sort of kills the usefulness of Google TV. The whole philosophy behind Google TV was to supplement subscription-based TV with content from the Internet. It’s a sad story without web content from News Corp, CBS, Disney-ABC Group, and a limited selection from NBC Universal. Only Viacom (Comedy Central, Nick, TBS) is playing nicely right now.

Still, since the search drops users of at the URL of the video, and not on a specially-formatted screen, Chrome’s sorry performance often kills the experience. Some videos take a good three to four minutes to start playing and Flash-heavy sites like NBC.com often crash the browser entirely.

The experience is far from refined. However, the search function alone is powerful enough to justify Google TV’s entire existence as long as the networks play ball, and hopefully, with enough time (and money) they will.

Hardware

There’s a good chance that I would feel slightly different about Google TV if it was running on more powerful hardware. It feels like the hardware is holding the system back. But there lies a big problem in that the $300 price tag is already higher than most other similar options and more powerful hardware would no doubt drive it up even higher. I’m not sure what sort of hardware improvements are necessary, but a bit more RAM seems in order.

The keyboard works as expected and the slim form factor helps it to feel less like a piece of office equipment. It’s still larger than a traditional remote, but Google TV’s claim is to bring the Internet onto your TV and I can’t imagine browsing and searching without a full QWERTY keyboard.

The Android app feels like it’s in beta right now. It’s almost useless. It doesn’t know the state of the system so if the app is launched while Google TV is running, it thinks the system is off. Clicking the Google TV button in turn powers down the unit. It can control all of the equipment within the range of the Google TV IR blaster, but the app is more of a novelty right now. It doesn’t offer any additional functionality over the standard remote. In fact, it’s a bit more unwieldy thanks to a poor UI if anything.

Logitech also offers a $150 webcam for the Revue and while the picture quality seemed nice when I was setting it up, I never could manage to get the thing to work. The equipment wasn’t to blame. The Logitech Vid software — no Skype here — constantly crashed and a few times a power cycle didn’t resolve the issue, forcing me to go into the Running Services menu deep in the Settings to kill the task or a rather large error message would inform me every five minutes that the program was dying. That’s when I came up with a few of those headlines above.

It’s crazy just how perfect the correlation between Google TV and Android 1.0 happens to be. It’s slow, buggy, but shows so much promise. Google TV can be awesome. It can change the way consumers interact with their TV. It can bring the power of Google search into your cable box. But not yet.

In short, Google TV is still in beta. It’s not even like Gmail’s “beta” period. This thing is straight up rough. Currently the device has only a few very basic features that have been available in systems like XBMC and Plex for years. For example, you cannot connect to drive shares on your network except through UPnP which often causes poor video quality and format compatibility troubles. Many of the cool things you’d love to be able to do with this device are potentially available – VNC desktop connectivity, Skype, and even illustrated e-book reading for kids – are glaringly missing. Android Market is set to come in 2011, so perhaps the landscape will quickly evolve.

First, Google needs to iron out the whole system and work with hardware companies to optimize the system for low-cost hardware. The platform needs to open up and allow 3rd party apps designed just for the Google TV — the crapfest that is the Google Marketplace will not help the cause alone. The browser must grow up and gain at least some functionality traditionally found on desktop version.

There isn’t one of the aforementioned tasks that’s more important than another. All of them must be tackled immediately. Google TV isn’t ready for public consumption yet. But one day it will be and that’s when you should buy it. Not now. Unless you enjoy the pains of beta testing.

Hackable Atari Controller For Your MAME Pleasure

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 11:16 AM PDT

While I wouldn’t say that the Atari controller is particularly ergonomic, it’s a classic of the form and brings back all sorts of happy, fuzzy memories. This $25 controller connects to a Mac or PC via USB and supports all major game emulators including Stella and MAME. You can even pop it open and hack in two new buttons, just in case.

ThinkGeek notes:

Warning: These USB joysticks do not connect to classic Atari hardware. They’re USB. USB wasn’t even invented until 1996!

Product Page


And Here’s An Android 2.2 iPad Clone For Your Approval

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 10:11 AM PDT

Most honest Android fanboys would admit that the iPad has a sexy casing. It might run the wrong OS and be a tad large for their liking, but it feels and looks great. Got a solution. Fly to China and buy this clone. It’s running Android 2.2, merging two worlds in a way that would banish Steve Jobs back to the fifth dimension where he belongs with Alex Trebek.

CFast, The Successor To CompactFlash, Begins To Trickle Out

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 09:45 AM PDT

CompactFlash, on the way out? Transcend has begun selling storage cards based on the standard that’s designed to supplant the age old CompactFlash. It’s called CFast, and it’s quite a bit faster than its predecessor, as you might expect.

CFast is rated at speeds of 375MB/s. This, compared to the 90MB/s you can expect with the best CompactFlash cards out there.

There’s no prices for these new CFast cards, and Transcends says they’re more for industrial applications, not for filling up with wedding photos or whatever. They’ll initially come out in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB sizes.

Keep in mind that the SD Card Association has the blueprints for cards up to 2TB, so size isn’t really a concern these days. It’s more price per gigabyte, and how fast you can access the data.

Video: Mini Rescue Robot Moogle

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 09:04 AM PDT


Japan-based Daiwa House will soon offer “Moogle” [JP], a remote-controlled mini rescue and inspection robot developed in cooperation with the Chiba Institute of Technology. Sized at 50x30x24cm, the little guy weighs just 13kg and comes with a number of features that help humans in emergency situations.

The main features include CCD and CMOS cameras, LED lighting, Wi-Fi, and a laser range finder. Powered by NiMH batteries, Moogle can be used for about 60 minutes in a row, and he is able to drive over obstacles that are up to 15cm high.

Daiwa House plans to start selling the robot in Japan in April next year for $25,000.

This video shows Moogle in action:

Via Robonable [JP]

Tremendous: Blizzard Puts Red Shirt Guy In World Of Warcraft

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 09:00 AM PDT

Who can forget the Red Shirt Guy? He’s the young man who, at Blizzcon last week, told Blizzard something about Falstad Wildhammer being on the Council of Three Hammers. I don’t know, I’m not as familiar with the World of Warcraft lore as I’d like to be. Which is not to say I’m above killing hours on WoWWiki looking up this or that faction, but clearly I’m not in the same league as Red Shirt Guy. Moving on. Blizzard was so impressed with the young man’s knowledge that they’ve actually put him in the game.

His name in the game is the Wildhammer Fact Checker, and he’s wearing a red shirt. Pretty, pretty awesome.

"FAKE!"

Um, no. A blue post on the WoW forum confirms its authenticity.

Next Batman Movie’s Lack Of 3D & ESPN 3D Doubt Signs Of A Struggling Technology?

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 08:15 AM PDT

Is 3D already in trouble? Quite possibly, and there’s a few data points to back up that claim. As you know, Christopher Nolan has announced a few things pertaining to the next Batman movie, namely its name (the Dark Knight Rises), that The Riddler won’t be in it (much to fans’ chagrin), and that it won’t be filmed in 3D. I’m pretty sure the previous Batman movie, the Dark Knight, was a gigantic success, so to not film it in 3D is quite the snub. Sorry, 3D, but the prettiest girl at the dance wants nothing to do with you. (Stupid metaphors are stupid.)

Now there’s word that ESPN 3D isn’t doing too well, either.

The channel, which launched in time for the 2010 World Cup (which, incidentally, comes out on 3D Blu-ray in two weeks), will come under review in early 2011 to see if carrying it makes business sense. No use having to produce and/or license content for a channel that nobody watches, or that nobody can watch.

The primary problem, as ESPN’s Senior Director of Technology, Johnathan Pannaman, told a European business conference, is that ESPN is "still not sure what makes sense for 3DTV, and we don't yet see a proven ROI [return on investment]."

So, ESPN doesn’t know what works when it comes to 3D sports broadcasts, and there’s no money in it. It’s not too dissimilar to what ESPN said at IFA in September: filming sports in 3D is tricky.

Pannaman then said ESPN is looking forward to this holiday season, because then, hopefully, people will buy 3DTVs en masse, and the channel will at least have the potential viewership to be viable.

Then again, you look at something like the unemployment rate for the U.S., and you wonder how many people are even in the position to upgrade to a 3DTV, perhaps only a few years after they upgraded to an HDTV.

Recent sales data suggested as much, that not too many people were upgrading to 3DTV. You know the reasons: 3DTVs are expensive, wearing 3D glasses is cumbersome, and there’s no 3D content.

That last point is cyclical: if consumers see there’s no 3D content out there why should they buy a 3DTV? And if consumers don’t buy 3DTVs why should companies like ESPN invest in producing 3D content?

We’re looking at a situation where 3D technology is still very new—you’ll recall the torrid time Sony had filming the 2010 World Cup in 3D—and consumers, for a variety of reasons, aren’t all that interested just yet.

Hopefully this doesn’t come as a shock to you, because we’ve been saying it pretty much all year long.

Amazon Kindle Bores Through the Great Firewall of China

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 07:47 AM PDT

According to Kindle users in China, as long as you’re using the GSM “Whispernet” for book download and browsing you can access sites like Twitter and and Facebook.

According to an AFP report, Chinese resellers are ordering the Kindle from America and selling them for about $200. As users begin to connect via GSM they are finding the device is completely open.

“I still can’t believe it. I casually tried getting to Twitter, and what a surprise, I got there,” the paper quoted a mainland blogger as saying.

“And then I quickly tried Facebook, and it perfectly presented itself. Am I dreaming? No, I pinched myself and it hurt.”

Presumably the Great Firewall censors will quickly plug this hole but here’s hoping China enjoys their Twitter for at least a while.

via Breitbart


Marshall Releases Teaser Image Of Its Upcoming Earphones, The Minor

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 07:26 AM PDT


Marshall, a name synonymous with the rockers of old, released a teaser pic a few weeks back of their upcoming ear cans. Well, it seems they also have a set of earbuds coming out in the near future called The Minor. Apparently where The Major — the over-the-ear option — replicates the look of a Marshall amp, the Minor look to the Marshall dials for design inspiration. Of course pricing isn’t known, but the whole line is set to launch on November 15th so that little bit of info should drop then as well.

Press Release

The Minor is an advanced and hard working earphone model. Perfectly mimicking a tele plug and the classic knobs of Marshall Amplifiers, The Minor is subtle yet a true eye catcher. In addition to its good looks the Minor incorporates quite a few exciting features.

The unique EarClick patent is an ingenious and discrete way to secure the position of the headphones in your ear. Whether you are head banging or slam dancing, EarClick, together with a cable clip and anti-tangle fabric cord, will keep The Minor securely in place. Combined with excellent audio quality, size-pads to fit all ears and a microphone and remote control for mobile phones and music players, The Minor is in it for the long haul.

Marshall Headphones is set to launch on the 15th of November worldwide.


2600 Magazine, The Hacker Quarterly, Now On Amazon Kindle

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 07:00 AM PDT

2600, the quarterly magazine that deals with hacker culture and issues affecting it, is now available on the Amazon Kindle store. It’s $3.95 a pop (I think I pay $6-something at the newsstand), meaning a full year is just under $12. That’s quite a deal, particularly since the magazine primarily text; there’s no fancy drawings or anything. I guess the "phones from around the world" part will lose something in the move to Kindle, but what are you gonna do?

Emmanuel Goldstein, the magazine’s editor (and something of a rallying post in the hacker world), said that "other platforms" are being explored, so it’s not a case of them favoring the Kindle for no good reason.

Yup, that’s it.


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