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Sweden Prosecutors Seek Wikileaks’ Julian Assange

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 05:00 AM PST

Julian Assange, the Wikileaks editor and spokesperson, is now wanted in Sweden, but not "wanted" in a good way. It has nothing to do with Wikileaks (so says The Man), but over an alleged rape. It’s not a new case—a warrant was issued in August before being stricken—but it’s probably not the kind of thing that Wikileaks needs as it’s trying to maintain credibility.

The actual charges Assange is now wanted for is rape, sexual molestation, and coercion.

The prosecutor in the case, Marianne Ny, said that "the reason for my request is that we need to interrogate him."

More courtroom activity is expected later today.

Story’s short on details, so I’ll leave it here.

Just In Time For Breakfast: The Egg Cuber

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 04:55 AM PST

Say, for example, you’re the kind of person who abhors curves. You’re very linear, very Borg-like. Well, this is the egg cuber for you. For $5.99 you can hard boil your favorite ovoid objects into a squat little cube, forcing the cantilevered majesty of the your hen-fruit into the straight-edge box of conformity.

Crushes hot hard-boiled eggs into cube shapes
Acrylic construction comes apart for easy cleanup
Dishwasher safe
Makes cool stratified hors-d’oeuvres and sushi, too!

This could make a good Secret Santa gift for that certain someone who hates change.

[Thanks, Jer]
Product Page


The First Augmented Reality Star Wars Game, Falcon Gunner, Hits The App Store

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 04:44 AM PST

Star Wars and video games go hand-in-hand. There is a long line of Star Wars-themed games going back to the days of arcade games, and continuing through home console and mobile games. Now, the first augmented reality Star Wars game for the iPhone just hit the app store. It is called Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner ($4.99, iTunes link). The game starts with the scene from the original Star Wars inside the Millennium Falcon after they escape the Death Star and the TIE Fighters attack. You are Luke Skywalker in the gunner's turret below, and you turn the iPhone to rotate around and shoot the attacking TIE Fighters while Han Solo and Princess Leah either encourage or heckle you depending on your skills. ("Let me guess, you are trying not to hit anyone.") In the 360-degree background is the Death Star and an earth-like planet, which come into view depending on which way you turn. The game is completely immersive, and works especially well while sitting in a swivel office chair.


Nokia: 3 Million Apps Downloaded From Ovi Store Every Day, 165 Million Ovi Users

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 04:44 AM PST

Big numbers coming out of Nokia land this morning. The company says its application store Ovi Store continues to gain traction, this week reaching the 3 million downloads per day milestone, up from 1 million downloads per day in the beginning of this year and 2.3 million downloads per day last month. In addition, Nokia revealed that the total number of users of Ovi now exceeds 165 million people across more than 190 countries. Furthermore, Nokia says it is adding some 250,000 new Ovi users on a daily basis, which means roughly 7.5 million new users per month.


Woz: Apple Almost Launched A Phone In 2004, Android Will “Win The Race”

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 04:43 AM PST

Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak was being his fascinating self again this morning, revealing in an interview with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that the company he helped get off the ground actually developed a smartphone in partnership with a well-known Japanese electronics company as early as 2004, but shelved the project prior to its debut (via Engadget). Apple introduced the first iPhone on January 9, 2007 at Macworld. Wozniak in the interview with De Telegraaf touted the iPhone as a quality device, but went on to say that he thinks Android will eventually become the dominant mobile platform, and slammed Nokia for being a "brand of the previous generation".


Zenith El Primero Tourbillon Watch

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 04:12 AM PST

This is actually a tourbillon watch I would wear daily. Zenith's new El Primero collection of watches is a thing of beauty. I have been eying them for a while, enjoying how they look on the wrist. They have now announced a tourbillon version of it. Now most of the time when a company takes a new collection and shoves in a tourbillon I hardly take real notice, but in this instance Zenith has put together a satisfying set of feature that you could wear each day - assuming you can afford it of course.


Hikari iFrame: NTT’s Android Tablet Finally Goes On Sale In Japan

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 03:21 AM PST

When we first blogged about the Hikari iFrame back in November last year, tablets were still relatively new. It took NTT, Japan’s biggest telecommunications company, a long time, but their device is now finally ready to go on sale in this country.

The iFrame has the following features:

  • 7-inch touchscreen with 800×480 resolution
  • Android 2.1
  • Wi-Fi IEEE802.11b/g
  • USB port, SD card slot
  • internal speakers
  • digital picture frame function, alarm clock function
  • size: 21×199×18mm, weight: 430g

What’s interesting is that NTT will offer iFrame-specific content, for example recipes or shopping guides that display discounts of nearby supermarkets. There will be 50 apps available initially (no access to the Android market), for which owners will have to pay a flat fee of $2.50 monthly.

Starting November 25, the iFrame itself can be bought from NTT for $290 or rented for a monthly fee of $3.80. The company plans to initially sell 100,000 units on the Japanese market.

Via Keitai Watch [JP]

Video: Panasonic’s LUMIX GF2 Gets Priced And Dated (In Japan)

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 01:41 AM PST

Panasonic’s LUMIX DMC-GF2, a micro-four thirds camera, which big P started teasing earlier this month now has a concrete release date and price for the Japanese market. The successor to their GF1 (which was released last spring) will hit stores over here on December 3 [JP] – one month before the US and Europe.

In the US, the camera is likely to cost around $700. Japanese buyers will need to pay $721 for the body, $961 for a lens kit (LUMIX G 14mm F2.5 ASPH) or $1,081 for the “LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S.” lens kit. A body case will cost another $60.

Panasonic plans to offer the camera in three colors: white, red, and black.

Here is the official GF2 promo video (in Japanese):

Daily Crunch: Fix It Edition

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

OnLive Finally Comes To Your Living Room

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 09:49 PM PST


It was quite a while back when we first tried out OnLive, and got our first look at the “microconsole” and wireless controller. So long back, in fact, I was wondering whether they’d abandoned that avenue of sales altogether. But no! They were just lying in wait for the 2010 holiday season to drop the sucker on our laps.

The service has been available on PCs for months, but this little box makes it much more of an accessible product, and much more familiar to console gamers. You plugs it in, you plays your games.

At the moment, the rates are still rather high for renting or playing games, in my opinion — for console gamers, a service like GameFly is probably still a better deal. But then you wouldn’t get the thrill of knowing that it’s all streaming live to your TV from some datacenter fifty miles away! Of course, you also don’t own the games you pay full price for, but that’s another discussion.

The microconsole and controller will be available on December 2nd for $99, and that includes a free game — which makes this a pretty tempting deal for the holidays. Soon they’ll have a nice subscription model that lets you play as much as you want for a flat monthly fee, but I suspect they’re busy working out the economics of that right now. We’ll have a full review as soon as we get our paws on the sucker.

Tiny Robots Made From Measuring Tapes Move Slowly, Cutely

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 07:00 PM PST


If this video of measuring tapes slowly dragging themselves across some turf doesn’t make you crack a smile (inwardly at least), you have no heart. I know this because I got no enjoyment from it at all. I must not have enough RAM to appreciate it.

Their creator, Keiko Takahashi, calls them Meter Crawlers, and she built them a while back for his “Daily Object Creature” project. There are more pictures at her website, and she’s showing them off at the Make meetup in Tokyo this weekend.

[via Make US]

Honda Shows Off Its Fit EV

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 06:25 PM PST


We heard a little while back that Honda was beginning to go public with its new hybrid and EV line for 2012, and sure enough, today at the LA Auto Show they unveiled the concept electric Fit. It doesn’t sound particularly original, and the Leaf and Volt will be beating it to market by a year, but hey, the more the merrier.

Here are some basic stats and facts:

  • ~100mi range
  • 90MPH top speed
  • Coaxial electric motor provides ~2.0L performance
  • 12hr charge at 120V, 6hr charge at 240V
  • Compatible with Honda-branded “charging stand”
  • Normal, Econ, and Sport drive modes
  • Smartphone and computer applications for monitoring battery, assistance, etc.

So the usual. No pricing or anything like that, but it’s supposed to go into production in 2012. More information at Honda.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/world-debut-of-honda-fit-ev-concept-electric-vehicle-and-plug-in-hybrid-platform-at-los-angeles-auto-show-108764604.html

Ponoko Refreshes Its Fabrication Service With Personal Factory 4

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 06:07 PM PST


If you’re feeling the need to have some special objects manufactured for you or a loved one, there are a few choices out there right now. Ponoko is one of the original fabrication services on the net, and it’s revamping its service to be more convenient and affordable.

You now can choose between five materials: durable, rainbow, or superfine plastic, stainless steel, or gold plate. Not sure what’s under the plate, but who cares? Gold! They also offer a few “starter kits” for putting together objects to print, and with compatible 3D model files, you can get an instant price quote for your selected material.

You can even embed “open source electronics,” which is stuff like generic switches, boards, and wiring. Make a lamp!

There’s no minimum order size or amount, and no setup fee, so why not go print yourself out some sweet dice or a DS stylus with a naked lady at the top? What? Fine! Some people just don’t appreciate fine art.

Anyway, more info over at Ponoko.

Zero Punctuation Force Chokes Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 05:54 PM PST


Oh, Star Wars. Potentially so much fun, yet continually wasted in weird ways. The Force Unleashed II is the latest incarnation of the ancient franchise, and while I suspect it actually is pretty fun in some ways, Yahtzee tears it apart with his claws just like… well, all the other games he reviews. What’s wrong with this one? You name it!

As far as I’m concerned, I could just go back and play Jedi Knight 2 and maybe Jedi Academy over and over; those games were great. The slow-motion limb removal effect was way ahead of its time.

Video: It’s 2010 And People Have Absolutely Zero Computer Security & Safety Knowledge

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 02:30 PM PST

Ha, this is too funny. The folks at F Secure went out onto the mean streets of San Francisco to ascertain the average person’s malware knowledge. You know, Q: "You have conficker, what do you do?" A: "I don’t know, take some Advil?"

You can say something cynical like, "Bah, that’s just how it’s edited," but outside of your proper techie friends, how would you characterize the average person’s malware knowledge? I talked to some anti-virus companies last summer, and they said to a person: most people know very little about malware, how to prevent it or how you can treat it.

Or, you can be like me, and sit back and enjoy the hilarity.

Hitachi’s New Ultrastar Enterprise SSDs Are Quite Fast

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 02:00 PM PST

Generally, enterprise-orientated hard drives are much too expensive for the mainstream consumer. I can’t find the price on these new Hitachi SSDs, but I guarantee they’re not bargain bin. These suckers are aimed at speed and longevity.

The 2.5″ versions use a 6Gb/s serial-attached SCSI interface, allowing them to top 500MB/s read and write on the 200GB and 400GB capacities, and the controller allows for 46K and 13K read and write IOPS. That’s on par with the high-end stuff, so I’m going to guess the prices will be around $3/GB or so.

The 3.5″ variety is slightly slower, using a 4GB/s connection and falling behind on read/writes — still quite fast, of course, but not quite so much as the smaller one.

Just an FYI so you know how SSD speeds and such are standing now. I don’t expect anyone to run out and buy these, but a little refresher on what’s being sold is always in order. More info over at Hitachi.

The TunerMatic: It Can Tuna Guitar, But It Can’t Tuna Fish

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 01:38 PM PST

While this thing is pretty aged, I hadn’t seen a robotic tuner for less than a hundred bucks so $49 looks like it might be just the thing for the lazy guitar tuners out there. Best off all, they have an excellent video description with a real, honest-to-goodness As Seen On TV voiceover artist.

It requires a $12 mic for tuning acoustic guitars but that said it’s not a bad price either way.

Product Page


A Life-Sized, Actually Working Halo: Reach Mongoose ATV? Thanks, Mountain Dew!

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 01:00 PM PST

Remember the Halo: Reach Honor the Code Mountain Dew promotion from a few months back? Of course you do. The prizes were, and still are, pretty neat, but word on the street is that now you can win something truly special. Yes, you’re looking at it right now: a fully working, life-sized Halo: Reach Mongoose ATV.

There’s no "trick" or anything here. You enter the code, as usual, found on Mountain Dew and Doritos, but instead of putting in for, say, an Xbox 360, you put in for the ATV.

There’s two of ‘em in total, and they’ll be given away on November 18 (tomorrow) and November 22. That’s one on the 18th and one on the 22nd.

The full Honor the Code promotion ends on November 28, so you’ve a few days left to win some gear.

Leaked Pictures May Show PSP2

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 12:04 PM PST


We’ve heard about the PSP2 for going on two years now, but this is the first we’ve ever seen of it. And it may not even be it. See, the leaked pics found by VG247 are from a development kit with a form factor that may or may not be final. Reportedly, a second dev kit has been put out that has a fused body, like the original PSP. Still, it’s a peek behind the curtain, and we can’t pass that up.

Here’s my question: why not have both form factors? People seem to like both for different reasons, and as long as they’re equivalent on hardware levels (same HD resolution, same RAM), people will like the idea of having a choice. The draw is going to be the power of the device and its unique controls, not simply the form factor.

That’s my suggestion, Sony. And I think I know a thing or two about this stuff! Unlike you!

Black Friday Study: iPad Tops Holiday Tech Wish List

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 11:30 AM PST

Black Friday sales are already all over the place online, particularly for those shiny new tech toys we all love so much. But here’s the thing: nobody has a job anymore. Well, not "nobody," but with unemployment currently hovering around 10 percent, you’d have to expect that people will curb their spending this year. So goes the conventional wisdom, and you know what they say about conventional wisdom: it’s wrong~! A new survey from Retrevo shows that 78 percent of respondents are willing to spend the same or more on electronics this year as they did last year. Twenty-two percent of people plan to spend less this year on electronics than they did last year.

What’s the number one item on these people’s wish lists?

Let’s see, it begins with an "i" and ends with "pad"…

Right.

The last item people are interested in? 3DTVs. Ouch.

Of course, who needs Black Friday this year when you can listen to Ron & Fez in December and win fun and exciting prizes?

Protip: shop online to avoid Wal-Mart stampedes or crushes. You don’t need to fight your neighbor over a no-name flat screen TV.


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