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Verizon’s New Ad Flogs MiFi/iPad Mash-Up

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 05:33 AM PST

This video shows how amagical things will get once you start toting your MiFi wi-fi hotspot around the house. You’ll be in a new place! You’ll surf the Internet! You’ll avoid the pain of living!

To be honest, the deal actually sounds pretty good. The MiFi is a nice little piece of kit and you can add up to five devices to it for family fun. However, AT&T charges $14.99 a month for 250MB of iPad 3G service and the MiFi deal costs $50 a month for 5GB of MiFi service so I’m kind of at a loss which horse to bet on. I’ve never used up by 250MB service (in fact, I think I’m going to turn it off) but then again I know I won’t use up the 5GB plan.

Kno Tablet Will Start At $599 For Single-Screen, $899 For Dual-Screen

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 04:36 AM PST

When textbook tablet startup Kno raised $46 million in September from Andreessen Horowitz and Silicon Valley Bank, it was shooting to price its dual-screen tablet at under $1,000. On Tuesday, it will announce the pricing of its tablets at $899 for the dual-screen version and $599 for the single-screen version. It will also start taking limited pre-orders for shipping before the end of the year.

At $599, the single-screen tablet, will be $100 more than a WiFi-only iPad and the same price as a Samsung Galaxy Tab from T-Mobile without a contract. But the Kno is ginormous. Even the single-paned one, with its 14.1 inch screen, is nearly twice as big as an iPad. That one debuted at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco (see video below).

NEC Develops Super-fast Analog To HD Video Conversion Technology

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 03:20 AM PST

Japan’s biggest business daily, The Nikkei, is reporting that NEC has developed a technology that makes it possible to quickly change low-res analog video to HD video. According to NEC, the existing solutions out there require one full month to convert one hour of analog video images into HD images.

Big N’s new method, however, is up to 17 times faster than conventional ones. For example, the company’s image processing technology changes one hour of analog into HD video in just 10 hours.

Video material, for example older movies, TV programs of historic events recorded on analog video could be remastered and shown in HD using the solution. Unclear images recorded on non-HD security cameras could be sharpened this way, too.

NEC plans to further improve the technology before offering it to broadcasters and (at some point in the future) to individual users.

Daily Crunch: Candy Everybody Wants Edition

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

Just What You Needed: A View-Master For Your iPhone

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 05:21 PM PST


If there is a problem with the iPhone, it’s that it isn’t 3D-capable. Sales could have been so much higher if only it was, and 480Hz and 1080p to boot! But don’t worry. Hasbro has you covered, bro.

Continue reading…

Motus, A Real-Life-3D Camera Hybrid System

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:52 PM PST


That headline makes it sound a little sexier than it is, but this system is pretty cool. It’s actually an application of the Sixense technology we saw at the last CES, which uses magnetic detection instead of visual. Some researchers at Abertay University have made it into a kind of handheld virtual camera, not unlike something similar used by James Cameron for Avatar.

The video explains much of what you need to know, and of course it’s got its work cut out for it when you consider the Move and Kinect, but it’s a cool system nevertheless. When I used the version in development at Razer, it was really a solid system, though they did need to get the latency down.

Supposedly we’ll be seeing a consumer version of this coming out in 2011. I’m guessing Razer will have a new version with standardized controls (it should work with any PC) showing at CES in January. I’ll be sure to get some video there for you guys.

Hate Fire? Get You Some Sweet Extinguishers

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 03:30 PM PST


I know fire extinguishers aren’t really on everybody’s Christmas lists, but if I saw these in a store window, you’re darn tootin I’d stop and look, buster. If you’re going to put out a fire, why not look good doing it?

These HalGuard extinguishers were originally designed for use on racing circuits, where a foam or liquid agent might gum up the engine and cause further failures. The Halotron1 substance these awesome-looking things fire out quickly evaporates, meaning it should be less harmful to electronics and sensitive materials.

Of course, if you’re shooting a fire extinguisher at your computer, chances are it’s already pretty much done for.

They come in red and chrome, as you see above; the chrome is a luxury feature and adds a little bit to the ~$130 price.

[via Uncrate]

Dear Movie-Goers: Shut The Hell Up.

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 02:32 PM PST

Hello, fellow movie-theater patrons!

I’ve got something to say to you. Not all of you, of course — but it seems the number of you that need to hear this is increasing at a ridiculous rate. You ready?

Shut the hell up.

You see, I used to love going to the movie theater. Growing up, it was a bi-monthly event at the very least. The whole Kumparak family would load up into the Kumparak-mobile, cruise over to the local filmery, and gobble up the latest flick along with a few smuggled sodas and a bucket of popcorn bigger than my admittedly-huge-for-a-child head.

Then.. something happened. I don’t know exactly when, and I don’t have a clue what caused it, but people.. started talking. The cardinal rule of movie-going, “Silence is Golden” (or “If you talk, you’re a piece of crap.”), was being stomped all over.

It started off innocently enough; at midnight showings, people would crack jokes at trailers in hopes of getting a few kicks out of the already excited crowd. That’s understandable. People are on a high (some because they’re pumped about a flick they’ve waited months for, others because they’re actually, you know, high), the energy is palpable, and the timing is just right. Whatever, it’s the trailers.

Then it got worse. People started trying to crack jokes during the movie. (Oh, the joke floundered and no one laughed? Obviously they just need to be louder next time.) People started repeating lines from the movie immediately after they were said. Last week, a lady behind me was translating THE ENTIRE MOVIE for her husband. In every single showing, at least one wanker is texting away, failing to realize (or failing to care) that the otherwise-unnoticeable light from his phone’s display was blindingly bright in the pitch black theater.

Do you do any of this stuff? Then you’re a jerk.

Why do people continue to go to the movie theater, even as prices have climbed from “Wow, that’s expensive” to “HOLY CRAP ARE YOU SERIOUS”? Because it’s pure. It is the true movie-viewing experience, as it is meant to be enjoyed. 1080p home projectors and booming 5.1 systems be damned — nothing compares to a proper, full-blown theater. Nobody — and really, I mean nobody — goes in with the hopes that other theater patrons are going to spout their mouth.

I’ve tried going to different theaters. I’ve tried going at different times.

I’ve tried staring, I’ve tried “Shh”ing, I’ve tried asking nicely, and I’ve tried raging. Each blabbermouth (or group of blabbermouths) reacts differently — and when I’m paying $10.50 for an hour and a half of entertainment, I’m not going to burn that time working out how to counter some jerk’s lack of manners. As often as not, any patron-to-patron request results in a further-degraded experience for everyone, as the blabbermouths, now aware that everyone thinks they’re jerks, go into mega-jerk mode and either try to get into a shout-off or just increase their volume.

Since “Silence is Golden” is apparently too vague of an idea, I propose three new rules for movie-going:

  1. Shut up.

    I don’t care if you’re on an ego high because of a few positive comments on your “comedy troupe”s YouTube videos — if a clever one liner hits your noggin during a movie, sit on it until the DVD comes out and have a screening at your house.

  2. Tell your friends to shut up.

    Friends don’t let friends ruin things for everyone else in the theater.

  3. Complain to management if others won’t shut up. If they don’t do their job, complain to the Internet.

    It’s telling of our day and age that this is, perhaps, the most important rule. It is not your duty as a customer to deal with other customers acting up. It’s the management’s. Complain. If they don’t do anything about it (I had a theater tell me “Yeah, people seem to like to talk here. We can’t do anything about it.”), demand your money back and head to Yelp.

    I’m not one to complain to Yelp over trivialities; If a restaurant’s food sucks, I chalk it up to my personal tastes and just don’t go back. There are plenty of restaurants out there. With theaters, however, there are only a handful of options in any given area. With fewer options, the customer has less alternatives to turn to when things suck — but the business’s reputation is all the more important. Get a dozen or so reviews up there blasting the theater for refusing to deal with gumflappers, and that policy will change right quick.

Here’s a thought, theater-folk: start a program where one person can sit in on each screening for free in exchange for promising to weed out any baddies that spring up. It might cost you one ticket per show, but imagine what it’ll do for overall sales once word gets out.

Got a method for making squawkerboxes pipe down? Share it in the comments below.


Review: Logitech Z515 Wireless Speaker System

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 02:30 PM PST


Short version: Simple, convenient, and sounds decent, but reception issues might limit its utility for you.

Features:

  • Wireless or wired audio transmission
  • Simple setup
  • Rechargeable battery
  • MSRP: $99.99

Pros:

  • Setup is a breeze
  • Sound is reasonable for the size
  • Rechargeable battery is convenient, has good life

Cons:

  • Reception issues
  • Maybe a little too simple

Full Review:

There’s no shortage of compact speaker solutions out there, but Logitech is shooting for the ultra-simple, $100 mark, which is not to say low-end, but not, let us say, aimed at the audio enthusiast.

The Z515 is a very straightforward little device; it has two inputs, wireless and 3.5mm wired. The wired connection interrupts the wired one, so you can’t do both at once, though I can’t imagine why you would want to do so. There are only three buttons: volume up, volume down, and power. There is no accompanying software or background service: plugging in the wireless dongle simply adds a USB speaker option to your sound outputs control panel, and once that’s selected, it beams it to the speakers.

Setup was super easy. Both on Windows 7 and OS X, the speakers were detected instantly and just a couple clicks made the switch.

Control is limited to turning the thing on and off, or increasing or decreasing the volume. It got about as loud as you can expect a pair of 2″ drivers to get, which is to say enough to fill a room, though at full volume it could be pretty harsh when there were strong highs and mids. Bass there ain’t much of compared to regular speakers, but it’s much better than what you’ve got on your laptop.

Reception, however, was spotty. With the dongle on my desktop in the center room of my apartment, I heard no issues when I was listening to Chopin in the kitchen while doing dishes. But on my bedside table, which was equidistant, with the same amount of wall (or less) between it and the speaker set, there were constant hiccups and loss of quality.

Battery life is quoted as 10 hours maximum, probably rather less in practice, but charging is easy and you can use it while it fills up. The speakers don’t seem to have any auto-shutdown ability, which seems weird. Why not turn off after 10 or 30 minutes of receiving no signal?

The speaker unit itself is understated and rounded, as you can see in the pictures, which makes it difficult to balance on some surfaces but generally isn’t a problem. It feels solid, and weighs about two pounds, I’d say. The back of the unit pops out to reveal a hiding place for the dongle, and the panel becomes a kickstand. There’s no good comparison for size, but it will easily fit into a bag or backpack. It comes with a little case for protection from crumbs and such.

Conclusion

It’s a straightforward device, a good alternative to simply turning the volume up and hoping you can hear it in the kitchen, bathroom, or wherever you happen to be. It’s nice and portable, and compatibility appears to be good. However, it’s far from certain that its reception range will be suitable for your needs; if you can, make sure you are able to return it in case you find that your walls are, as those of my bedroom proved to be, kryptonite to the signal.

Product page: Logitech Z515 Wireless Speakers

Research Confirms What We All Suspected: Laptops Are Spermicidal

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 02:00 PM PST


While I salute the courage of the 29 young men who had thermometers applied to their undercarriage in the name of science, I doubt the outcome is a surprise to anyone. Hot laptops resting on your lap will cook your coconuts.

The study, performed by the urology department at the University of New York at Stony Brook, was positive in its findings that yes, your scrotum will rise in temperature if you clap your legs together and put big, heated slab on top of them for an hour. Even using a laptop cushion, advised as a preventative measure against toasted skin syndrome, didn’t prevent the scrota in question from reaching the danger zone.

Tests showed an increase of 2.5 degrees Celsius, which doesn’t sound like much, but remember that your balls are out there for a reason: to stay cool. Other research has shown that an increase of even one degree can be bad for your sperm.

Want children? Keep it on the desk.

[image source]

Conan O’Brien Returns To TV Tonight. Will Team Coco Follow Him?

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 01:30 PM PST

Attention, Team Coco! I just want to remind y’all that Conan’s new show, conveniently named "Conan," debuts tonight on TBS at 11pm.

During the big Team Coco versus Team Leno feud that tore American apart about a year ago, we pretty solidly supported Team Coco.

Then, like the rest of America, we lost interest.

But Conan’s back now.

My one hope is that the show is different. There’s a reason why Conan’s Tonight Show didn’t do too well, and then Leno’s re-launched Tonight Show similarly tanked in the ratings: TV is different in 2010 (nearly 2011) than what it was when Johnny Carson was the man.

The very idea of sitting around, waiting for 11pm, to see someone tell a few jokes about the sitting president, or about the latest pop music hack, and then interview Tom Hanks or Anne Hathaway about their latest nothing movie, well, I have better things to do with my time.

For example, I could be arguing with children about what’s better, Half-Life 2 or Call of Duty.

CrunchGear Columbus Meet-Up: Meet the Galaxy Tab

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 01:18 PM PST

I’m in Columbus, Ohio this week (I know! Glamorous!) and I have the Samsung Galaxy Tab in tow so I thought it might be fun to have another Columbus meet-up. We’re thinking of having it at Old 40 Tavern at 2882 East Main Street on Wednesday November 10. If you’d like to talk gadgets or start-ups, we’ll be there starting at 7pm and ending at whenever.

If you’ll be attending, send an email with the subject line “COLUMBUS” to rsvp@crunchgear.com. And then we’ll see you there!

Image from here and those things are delicious.

New Entourage Pocket Edge: Same Device, Smaller Screens

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 01:00 PM PST


We reviewed the Entourage Edge back in April; Scott was able to appreciate aspects of it I had dismissed out of hand, citing the “purpose” of e-readers. Of course, everyone has a different purpose in mind when they go in for a device like this, and it looks like enough Edges have been sold to justify a new model. The Pocket Edge is, as you might expect, a very similar device, but smaller and lighter, sporting 6″ and 7″ screens instead of 10″.

http://www.entourageedge.com/devices/pocketedge/pocket-edge-details.html

The smaller size might make it a more palatable e-reader, but it doesn’t look like the issues we pointed out earlier have been rectified: it still has no access to the Android Market (only “enTourage Systems' application store and other third-party developer sites”), and although the smaller size might make gripping the thing easier, there is still the danger of accidental button presses on the far side when using it as a tablet.

Still, good for Entourage. They have a truly unique product in a market full of imitators, and that’s worth something.

The left screen is 800×600 and Wacom-enabled (though it isn’t said what version of e-ink it uses), and the right is 800×480 and resistive-touch. The rest of the details can be found here, and hopefully we’ll get to review this little guy.

[via The E-Book Reader; thanks, Nathan!]

What Can Be Done About The Growing Broadband Gap In The U.S.?

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 12:30 PM PST

There’s good news and bad news about broadband coming out of newly released Census data, courtesy of the Commerce Department. The good news is that more people than ever before now have broadband, with 63.5 percent of all households now subscribing to a broadband service. That’s up from 9.2 percent from way back in 2001. Read that carefully: that’s up from 9.2 percent, not merely up 9.2 percent. The bad news?

The bad news is that there’s a very real "broadband gap" that appears to be developing along socio-economic lines.

Roughly, the more money you make (which generally correlates to your level of educate) the more likely you are to have broadband.

If the Internet, and broadband specifically, was supposed to be the great equalizer, how is it supposed to equalize anything of only the well-off have access to it?

It works out like this: 94.1 percent of households making $100,000 or more per year subscribe to broadband, while only 35.8 percent of households making less than $25,000 or less per year subscribe to broadband.

84.5 percent of households with at least one college degree under the roof subscribe to broadband, while high school degree households come in at 28.8 percent.

As for race or ethnicity, always a prickly topic in the U.S., 47.9 percent of Hispanic household subscribe to broadband. African-American households are at 49.4 percent. Non-Hispanic white households come in at 68 percent.

The most broadband crazy? That would be Asian-American households, with 77.3 percent of such households subscribing to broadband.

Now you know.

Here Come The Kinect Injury Videos!

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 11:59 AM PST

Bad day? Watch this dude destroy his grandson while playing Kinect. It’s awesome. I’m looking forward to more of these types of videos. Also, don’t forget about our Kinect review casting call. We want your take on the system. [via Kotaku]

Don’t Call It A Gimmick: Rana Sobhany Spins Her iPad Music Into A Full-Time Career

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 11:00 AM PST

I was blown away when I first saw Rana Sobhany on stage.

With nothing more than 2 iPads and a mixer, Rana was mixing tracks and busting beats live in front of the hundreds of attendees at AdAge’s IDEA conference. You wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between her and a DJ with a full set of gear. I realized pretty quickly that what was once a cool PR stunt had now become a full-blown business.

Read More

Video: Epic Games’ Infinity Blade For iOS Looks *Ridiculous*

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 10:30 AM PST

John Carmack told us, a few months ago, just how capable the iPhone is when it comes to gaming. Now we have Epic Games, the Manchester United to id Software’s Liverpool, showing us a trailer of its new iPhone game, Infinity Blade.

"Are you serious?"

That’s what I said when I first saw this trailer.

I’m not the biggest fan of iOS gaming if only because my hands always feel cramped when trying to play these games, but man alive: that at least looks great.

2011 Infiniti M37S: An Extensive Technology Feature List, But The First Impression Isn’t Positive

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 10:00 AM PST

You can pretty much stand off to the side of the Infiniti M37S and check off the little box for every available vehicle feature: H-O V6? *check* 4 wheel steer? *check* Adaptive cruise control? *check* Bose active noise cancellation? *check* 5.1 Bose surround system? *check* 3D navigation system? *check*

A 2011 Infiniti M37S hit my driveway a little bit ago and after taking it for a quick drive, I’ll profess that this sedan is unlike any I’ve drove before. It doesn’t belong on the road. This is a track car. The 4-wheel steer and high-strung V6 gives this saloon F1 car cornering capabilities. So it only seems natural that when the performance aspect is combined with the impressive infotainment suite that it would make a lasting positive first impression, right? Wrong. It only took 2 miles for me to decide that I’m not a fan of this car.

Something is amiss here. This is a prime example of how simply having features does not instantly qualify the vehicle. While there are a ton of systems onboard the M37S, they just don’t seem to work well. This is particularly true with the infotainment suite. Granted, I’ve only been in the car for a few short drives now, but it’s not a fun system. It’s a confusing mess of dashboard buttons and strange navigation paths–I can’t remove previously-connected Bluetooth phones to add my Droid to the list. The navigation is hokey, the Bose noise cancellation can’t drown out the loud tires wrapping the 20-inch rims, and worst yet, the damn car is nearly uncontrollable on rutted roads.

Still, we have this car for a week and making 90 degree turns at 70 MPH doesn’t get old. I hated the MyFord Touch system at first too. Maybe I just need to give this one time to prove itself.

As usual, expect an extensive look at the media and in-vehicle systems this Wednesday followed by a comprehensive review on Friday. Please, M37S owners, give me the low-down on this car. I can’t stand it right now.

Scientists Have Created ‘Mini Big Bangs’ With The Large Hadron Collider

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 09:30 AM PST

Did your bed shake you awake morning? That’s because scientists working on the Large Hadron Collider have created a series of "mini Big Bangs" in order to better understand how the universe formed all those years ago (currently estimated at around 13.75 billion years old, give or take a few million years). The scientists collided particles of lead, the resulting collision producing temperatures several times hotter than our very own Sun.

A UK scientist told the Telegraph that at that speed the collisions would melt protons and neutrons.

How hot are we talking here? Oh, you know, right around 10 trillions degrees centigrade.

The next step in the experiment will be to study how the resulting melted particles behave.

Exactly what the results of these experiments will be won’t be determined for months yet.

Science takes time, you see.

TSA Full-Body Scanner Backlash Begins In Earnest

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 09:00 AM PST

Hmm, are people beginning to rebel against those full-body scanners? There was a story in the New York Times a few days ago about what happens to people who choose to "opt-out" of subjecting themselves to the full-body scanners. High alert, we’ve got an opt-out! You’re then subjected to a pat-down search that would make the Combine blush. Nice.

A few days later, we have reports saying how the TSA has itself a good ol’ time patting down a woman at the security gate. Male officers, mind you. If nothing else it’s degrading to the human spirit.

Granted, reading the comments of that second link would suggest that the site errs on the conspiratorial , but it’s a whole different matter when the New York Times writes about what’s going on.

But at least we’re safe, right?
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