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N-03C: Casio’s Newest Rugged Cell Phone Goes On Sale In Japan

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 05:01 AM PST

Japan's biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomo just started selling the N-03C [JP], a new cell phone that's both shock- and waterproof. The device meets the drop-test standard "MIL-STD-810G Method 516.6-Shock" established by the U.S. Department of Defense. Read the rest on MobileCrunch.


Pioneer Prototypes Android-based Cyclocomputer (Video)

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 03:05 AM PST


If you thought Android can be used just to power phones, tablets, TVs or similar devices, think again: Pioneer is now using the Google OS (version unknown) in the development of a “next-generation” cyclometer. It helps users track four main parameters: speed, cadence, heart rate, and power.

The prototype, which sports a 2.2-inch color LCD (non-touch) screen and a trackball, also features a pedaling motor that measure the force on the crank.

Current features include ANT+ support, GPS, a microSD slot, a microUSB port, a thermometer, and 12 hours of battery life. The device weighs 100g.

This video (shot by our friends over at Diginfonews in Tokyo) provides more insight:

Video: First American To Try Out Robotic Exoskeleton HAL-5

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 02:02 AM PST

The so-called HAL-5 is probably the most advanced of the robotic suits designed to help elderly or disabled people walk out there. Made by Japan-based Cyberdyne, it enables handicapped people to walk around and lift heavy objects almost effortlessly – by thought alone.

I’ve seen the spectacular exoskeleton in action several times in Japan, but never got around to wear one. But tech journalist Evan Ackerman did (during the recent CES), as the first American ever.

The way HAL-5 works is that it transforms brain signals sensed through the skin into motion (Ackerman had a sensor on each thigh plus two on his waist). HAL-5′s battery pack lasts for over 2.5h on a single charge.

In the video below, you can see Ackerman wearing HAL-5′s legs, which weigh 15kg in total and support their own weight (the full suit with arms weighs 8kg more). It looks like he’s pretty impressed, and he doesn’t seem to have problems walking (I previously heard of “serious” users in Japanese hospitals complaining about HAL-5 steep learning curve).

Via IEEE Spectrum

Daily Crunch: Bounce Edition

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 12:00 AM PST

Nikontrol 3K Tethers Your Camera To Your PC For Free

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 11:00 PM PST

Nikon recently came out with Camera Control Pro, a software program intended to help the studio photographer by allowing them to tether their camera to a computer. The problem is, Camera Control Pro doesn’t support some of the latest cameras, and it has a $150 price tag. This inspired Nikontrol 3K, a free program that does basically the same thing, but for free.

Nikontrol 3K was written using the software development kit, and while it only works on the PC, it allows a photographer to remotely control their camera from their computer. You can also preview the last photographs taken, save images from your camera and choose to keep or store the images on your memory care, send files to a FTP server, and it even supports time-lapse shooting.

Of course, this is free and enthusiast written software, so your mileage may vary as far as it’s functionality. Be sure to read all of the support documentation before installing the program.

[via Nikon Rumors]

Nintendo 3DS May Be Crippled By 3 Hour Battery Life

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 07:23 PM PST

The Nintendo Japan site disclosed the official specs on the 3DS, and while overall it looks good, there is one thing that might be a deal breaker for some. Apparently, it takes a whole lot of battery life to power a 3D screen, even one the size of the 3DS.

It appears that the 3DS may have a bit of a battery issue. According to the specifications on the Nintendo Japan website, when playing cartridge games you can expect a battery life of 3.5 hours. It’ll also take 3.5 hours to recharge the device. Battery life does improve if you use software instead of cartridges, but it may take some time before there’s software in the store that supports the 3D functionality. So the real question is will the battery life be an issue for you? Or do you still want to buy a 3DS?

[via 1up]

Any Video With PixelJunk Shooter 2 In It Is A Good Video

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 07:00 PM PST


PixelJunk has it going on; as one of the premiere 2D developers out there, they would already have my attention, but since they decided to make a sweet and very original shooter, and then make a sequel to said shooter, they’ve been on my shortlist.

I didn’t get a chance to drop by their corner of the show floor at CES, but these guys did, and took a little video for my our enjoyment.

Watch This Amazing GE Video Kind Of Explain Regenerative Train Braking

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 06:00 PM PST


This video may not exactly make clear what it is GE is doing to make locomotives more efficient, but it sure as hell is fun to watch. I’m guessing this isn’t one of those single-shot things, but rather is a composite shot. Not that that matters to the viewer, but I’m always curious about that kind of thing.

The music reminds me of Loscil, except a little more… boutique-y.

[via Waxy and The Awesomer]

Universal Donates 200,000 Oldies To Library Of Congress

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 05:23 PM PST

It’s only fair that after giving the music industry in general a hard time, I should acknowledge when they do something right. Universal Music Group has just donated a huge collection of recordings from the 1930s and 40s to the Library of Congress, where they will be available to be listened to for free. The collection includes iconic, rare, and never-digitized tracks from the jazz and pre-rock period.

The donation is also not just off-tracks or non-commercial ones, like many in the LoC’s collection. It’s described as the “first major collection of studio master materials ever obtained” by the LoC, and hopefully it’s the start of a trend, since (as I looked into yesterday with film) the originals don’t last forever.

However, it’s not like UMG just handed over a drive full of MP3s. They’re giving the original master copies on metal and tape, and some of these have significantly degraded. The LoC will have to put a lot of work into digitizing them, but that’s what they’re here for.

Sincere thanks to UMG for this donation; I’m looking forward to hearing the highlights.

Here’s the full press release, with more details, if you’re interested:

January 10, 2011

Universal Music Group Donates Over 200,000 Master Recordings to the Library of Congress

Library’s Largest Musical Gift Features Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby & Others

The American people, through the nation’s library, will receive a post-holiday gift of vintage sound recordings from one of the world’s largest recording companies. The Library of Congress and the Universal Music Group (UMG) announced today the donation of more than 200,000 historic master recordings-many long out-of-print or never released-to the Library’s Recorded Sound Section, which has more than 3 million sound recordings in its collections.

Totaling in excess of 5,000 linear feet, UMG’s gift is the largest single donation ever received by the Library’s audio-visual division and the first major collection of studio master materials ever obtained by the nation’s oldest cultural institution. Among the collection’s thousands of metal and lacquer discs and master mono tapes are released and unreleased versions of recordings by such seminal artists as Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Tommy Dorsey, Billie Holiday, the Andrews Sisters, Connee Boswell, Jimmy Dorsey, the Mills Brothers, Guy Lombardo, Ella Fitzgerald, Fred Waring, Judy Garland, and Dinah Washington, among others.

They include:

* Bing Crosby’s 1947 version of “White Christmas”
* Louis Armstrong singing “Ain’t Misbehavin’”
* The Mills Brothers’ “Paper Doll”
* Ella Fitzgerald’s and Louis Armstrong’s duet “Frim Fram Sauce”
* Les Paul’s “Guitar Boogie”
* Josh White singing “Jim Crow”
* Machito and his Afro-Cuban All Stars Mercury recordings

“It is certainly within the national interest to acquire this recorded collection, and all its accompanying materials, for custodial care,” said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. “A surprisingly high percentage of America’s recording heritage since the early part of the 20thcentury has been lost due to neglect and deterioration. The donation of the UMG archive to the Library of Congress is a major gift to the nation that will help maintain the inter-generational connection that is essential to keeping alive, in our collective national memory, the music and sound recordings meaningful to past generations.”

UMG has one of the most extensive catalogs of music in the world and its gift to the Library includes historic masters from such subsidiary labels as Decca, Mercury, Vocalion and Brunswick, dating from the late 1920s through the late 1940s. “Music is a distinctive feature of any historical period, and this particular collection of masters provides true insight into popular music’s humble beginnings and who we are as a culture today,” said Zach Horowitz, UMG’s president and chief operating officer. “We are delighted to be collaborating with the Library of Congress to preserve and call attention to the groundbreaking musical achievements of these amazing musical pioneers.”

The Universal Music Collection, which consists of the company’s best existing copies, will be cataloged and digitized at the Library’s Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Va., which will permanently secure their exceptional sonic quality. “The Packard Campus and its employees will work hard to protect the Library’s comprehensive collection and make these recordings accessible to the American people and this generous contribution by Universal Music will help preserve our nation’s rich cultural heritage,” said Congressman Eric Cantor, Majority Leader for the 112thCongress and U.S. Representative from the 7thDistrict of Virginia, which includes Culpeper.

This gift is particularly important in the context of the findings of the first comprehensive, congressionally mandated study ever conducted in the U.S. on a national level. It found that only an estimated 14 percent of pre-1965 commercially released recordings were currently available from rights holders. The study also found that of the music released in the U.S. in the 1930s, only about 10 percent of it could be readily accessed by the public.

The Library will stream recordings from the collection on a website to be launched in the spring. The additions of these recordings will significantly broaden the scope of the site and enhance the Library’s already unprecedented authority to stream commercially owned sound recordings online.

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. It seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myloc.gov .

The Packard Campus is a state-of-the-art facility where the nation’s library acquires, preserves and provides access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of films, television programs, radio broadcasts and sound recordings (www.loc.gov/avconservation). The Packard Campus is funded as a gift to the nation by the Packard Humanities Institute and is home to more than six million collection items.

Universal Music Group is the world’s leading music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 77 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, the industry’s leading global music publishing operation. UMG’s record labels include: A&M/Octone, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Polydor Records, Show Dog–Universal Music, Universal Motown Republic Group, Universal Music Latino and Verve Music Group as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. UMG owns the most extensive catalog of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world’s most popular artists and their recordings. UMG’s catalog is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). UMG also includes eLabs, its new media and technologies division; Bravado, its merchandising company; and Twenty-First Artists, its full service management division. UMG is a unit of Vivendi, a global media and communications company.

[via Ars Technica and Engadget]

UK Recording Industry Says Piracy Killing Music, Despite Record Sales

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 04:30 PM PST


Oh, recording industry. You are impervious to reason. This year saw increases in digital sales over in the UK — extreme increases, really — and the bulk of this BPI report is still focused on the threat of piracy. I guess if they admit they’re doing all right, they have to stop suing people. And we all know how much fun they’re having doing that.

I like this part:

In total, Harris conservatively estimates that 1.2bn tracks will be illegally downloaded in 2010 – equivalent to a stack of CDs some 74 miles high stretching well into space.

What exactly does that mean? A stack of CDs? Are these CDs filled with MP3s? What bitrate? Or are they regular CDs, and if so, how many tracks per CD? And why the hell are they using this absurd visualization to express the magnitude of piracy? They could have said “the tracks would completely fill the encephali of a hundred sperm whales” and it would be equally accurate, and equally relevant.

It must be admitted, though, that they mention “Rising levels of income from digital music are not offsetting declining revenues from falling CD sales,” and I wonder why? Album sales are dropping because people can buy tracks individually, and even if you buy albums, no one will pay $17.99 for them as of yore.

They’ll never admit that their business model is in its death throes, because that would mean they’d have to shift to a newer, less profitable one. Yet the longer they hold out, the worse it’s going to be. I’m happy either way, personally.

[image: Sonic Boom Music]

Meet The Men Who Delivered CES To Your Door

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 04:20 PM PST

This is the CG CES Crew: Jon Orlin, Matt Burns, Greg Kumparak, Kyle Thibaut, Devin Coldewey, and John Murillo. Nicholas was somewhere else and I was taking the picture. They are the coolest bunch of guys you’d ever want to meet and we had a blast talking to you via Twitter and UStream all last week. If you’d like to see the things we carried, check out Jon’s post on his streaming rig and check out our remaining CES coverage here.

Motorola Hopes for 800,000 Xoom Sales Before Summer

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 04:00 PM PST

Motorola’s Android 3 tablet, the Xoom, will be shipping sometime later this year, and Motorola has high hopes for it. It has ordered as many as 800,000 units from its suppliers in Taiwan, and may even raise its expectations to a million sold in the first quarter of 2011.

That’s a pretty cheery outlook, considering there is no shortage of competition. T-Mobile’s G-Slate, Acer and other PC makers’ offerings, HP’s webOS slate, and of course the iPad 2 all make for a pretty crowded market. But if volume is big enough (say, total 10-12 million tablets sold in 2011), that leaves plenty of room for the frontrunners. And Motorola has the advantage of being the most recognizable Android hardware maker on the block. A little Droid branding might not have gone amiss, but we may see that later.

There’s no release date yet for the Xoom, but personally I’d guess March. They can’t afford any later.

T-Mobile UK To Cut Data Plan Usage Caps From 3 Gigabytes To 500 Megabytes

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 03:45 PM PST

Uh oh, T-Mo UK Customers — you might want to take a seat.

Today, T-Mobile UK is announcing plans to drop their “Fair Use” caps on data packages down to 500 megabytes for everyone. Considering that some folks (read: most Android handset owners) were previously capped at around 3 gigabytes, this news may be a bit upsetting. That’s a really, really big change.
Read the rest at MobileCrunch, because ROAR DATA CAPS SUCK! >>

We’ll Be Hanging LIVE At The Verizon Event Tomorrow At 11am Eastern

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 03:43 PM PST

We just got the go-ahead to head over to the Verizon tomorrow at 11am Eastern, 9am Pacific. I’ll be attending with good old MG and a few trusting 4G dongles and higher-end cameras. Needless to say, we’ll be liveblogging the heck out of this show. Will your endless prayers be answered? Tune in tomorrow.

SmallWorks BrickCase Lets You Brick Your iPhone. In A Good Way. As In LEGOs.

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 03:35 PM PST

You know, I can’t remember the last time I looked at my iPhone and didn’t think, “Man. That would make a really good platform to build a mean LEGO fort on.”

Actually, wait — scratch that. I can’t remember the last time I did think that. Sadly, that probably means that my inner six-year old has given up the fight against the boring, cares-about-things-like-the-stock-market-and-weather-forecasts adult Greg. Perhaps this case would help?

Read the rest at MobileCrunch, where we’re too busy playing with LEGO Bricks to finish this sent >>

Best Buy Sells Future Proofing For Your Gadgets

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 03:30 PM PST


It happens to everyone; you buy that new phone, or laptop – and then a new more powerful version of the same product comes out the very next week. Best Buy has come out with a program designed to help with this phenomenon, but it doesn’t come cheap.

Best Buy just announced their latest program, designed to protect your investment. Instead of being stuck with an item, Best Buy will buy your item back from, providing you with in-store credit on a Best Buy gift card. There is an additional cost when you originally purchase the item, which varies based on the purchased. It’s also only available on certain items like laptops, netbooks, tablets, and items of that nature.

From the press release:

MINNEAPOLIS (Jan. 10, 2011) – Today Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) is launching its first-ever Buy Back Program to help customers embrace new technology with greater confidence. Created for people who want to stay current with their gear but who are concerned about obsolescence, the Buy Back Program provides convenient access to upgrades with the help of a Best Buy gift card from "buying back" past purchases.

Beginning this month, Best Buy customers can purchase the Buy Back Program in-store or online when buying products in one of five popular categories: laptops, netbooks, tablets, post-paid mobile phones and televisions. Customers may purchase the Buy Back Program when they buy their new devices, with pricing based on the product category. For example, Buy Back protection for any laptop, netbook or tablet is $69.99. Best Buy will purchase the product anytime within two years for laptops, netbooks, tablets and post-paid mobile phones, and four years for televisions.[i] Customers may receive up to 50 percent of the product's original purchase price paid in the form of a Best Buy gift card if redeemed within six months of the effective date to purchase new products of their choice.[ii]

Buy Back Program appeal has been validated by a year of extensive consumer research, and most recently in a study conducted by Impulse Research Corporation.[iii] In the study, 40 percent of consumers surveyed agreed that concerns about technology becoming outdated have likely prevented them, or would prevent them in the future, from purchasing products such as laptops, mobile phones, TVs, tablets and netbooks. The study also affirmed the appeal of a Buy Back-like program when deciding on where to shop for popular electronics gear in the coming year. It revealed that 30 percent of consumers plan to purchase a TV or laptop in the next 12 months, and that 73 percent of consumers would consider purchasing these electronics from a retailer that offers a re-purchase type of program.

"We recognize that technology is changing faster than ever, and our customers tell us they want to enjoy these devices without worrying about when the next or newest version will launch," said Brian Dunn, chief executive officer of Best Buy. "We call this 'future-proofing' because our customers can now have more confidence that they're protecting the value of the products they're purchasing today. With the Buy Back Program, consumers benefit from assurance, convenience and transparency so they can stay current and stay connected."

Best Buy customers may purchase the Buy Back Program when buying a new product and redeem it at a later time, as long as the device is in good working condition and includes all original parts. Unlike typical retail trade-in programs customers don't have to wait for re-payment, and can immediately apply money from their Buy Back product redemption to the purchase of new products at any Best Buy or Best Buy Mobile store. Better yet, consumers know what they'll be paid up front, with a schedule that is available at the time of Buy Back Program purchase and is based on duration of product ownership:

· Redeem your Buy Back within 6 months from purchase effective date, and get up to 50 percent of your purchase price

· Redeem your Buy Back after 6 months to 12 months from purchase effective date , and get up to 40 percent

· Redeem your Buy Back after 12 months to 18 months from purchase effective date and get up to 30 percent

· Redeem your Buy Back after 18 months to 24 from purchase effective date and get up to 20 percent

· For TVs only, redeem your Buy Back within 48 months from purchase effective date and get up to 10 percent

“A program like Best Buy's Buy Back should encourage higher consumption by early adopters and fast followers that are considering new technologies, because it gives them confidence that the electronic devices they have just purchased will have real value going forward,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for NPD Group.

Impulse also found that when purchasing personal electronics, 84 percent of consumers say it's important to deal with a reputable company who will responsibly re-use and re-cycle their old products. Electronics redeemed through the Buy Back Program will be assessed by its built-in team of Geek Squad Agents, and distributed among Best Buy's aftermarket, trade-in and recycling programs. To learn more about the Buy Back Program and find the nearest Best Buy store, visit www.bestbuy.com.

Palm Crackin’ Away At A 4G LTE Device For Verizon?

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 03:27 PM PST

We know damn well that the Palm’s got some new devices up their sleeves — and come February 9th, we’ll probably know all there is to know about’em. We can take educated guesses as to what those devices will be — but right now, just about the only thing we know for sure is that they’re working on a webOS tablet.

This morning, a few eagle-eyed rumormill lurkers have spotted the tiniest hint of a new, non-tablet device: a 4G/LTE device built for Verizon.

Read the rest at MobileCrunch, where we use words like “Crackin’” in headlines >>

WP7 Connector Syncs Zunes To Your Mac (Unofficially)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 03:00 PM PST


Mac users have been asking for years for a version of Zune for OS X, even if it’s a stripped-down sync utility. The Windows Phone 7 Connector app for Mac is made for use, of course, with your WP7 handset, but apparently a simple terminal tweak is all it takes to make it recognize Zunes as well.

The instructions are here; they’re quite straightforward, but be warned, this feature is not supported and may in fact be disabled for good reason. Back up your Zune on your PC before you try this!

This could be pretty handy, but it’s also worth noting that the Zune HD has pretty good on-device support for getting and removing music. I wouldn’t have a problem traveling with it and my Mac, even if I couldn’t sync it. Download music from the store, delete directly from the device.

[via Download Squad]

Adult Entertainment Expo Video: A Close Up Look At The Jimmyjane Form 3

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 02:30 PM PST

Ah yes, Jimmyjane. John has written about these guys in the past, but it was left to me to step away from the fun and excitement of CES and check them out at last week at the Adult Entertainment Expo, known colloquially as "the porn show." The Expo wasn't all dudes getting autographs from their favorite adult stars (though there was certainly a lot of that!), but also a chance for some of the various companies out there to show off their adult-tech wares. In this video with Ethan Imboden, the company’s founder and chief creative officer, we see the latest "marital aid" from Jimmyjane, the Form 3 (as well as the Form 6 and Form 2).

You may have said to yourself, man, the Form 3 looks an awful lot like a mouse. That's what I thought too when I first saw it. Thankfully the folks at Jimmyjane have a sense of humor about the situation and have put together this here video:

"I think you may have shorted out my transceiver." I'm pretty sure that's one of the funnest lines I've heard in quite some time.

Also, sorry for the background noise in the video, I think I forgot to turn on the background noise reduction mode in my camera. That, or there’s a man with a French accent living inside my microphone.

NZXT’s Bunker Locks Down Your USB Devices So LAN Rogues Won’t Steal Them

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 01:15 PM PST


If you spend a lot of time at LAN parties, or maybe have a dorm room with its door constantly open, you might be a little nervous about someone making off with your sweet new hundred dollar mouse or headphones. This accessory for your case lets you lock them into your case, preventing them from being unplugged and nicked by unscrupulous LANgoers or undergrads.

It’s quite a clever little design, though I wish they’d left enough room that you could also plug in a thumbdrive. USB expansion ports like these are a dime a dozen, but it might be worth it to pay an extra couple bucks (the Bunker is $25) for this capability.
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