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- Verizon iPhone Release Gets Dated Down To The Hour
- Apple Hiring College Kids Part Time With Full Benefits
- Audi-Designed Carbon Skis: Want So Bad
- Android 3.0 Running (Poorly) On Nook Color
- Enspert 7″ Android 2.2 Tablet Soon To Be Available
- iPhone 4 vs LG Optimus 2X: Video Recording Quality Comparison
- Nexus S’ Random Reboot Bug To Be Squashed By Mid-February
- I Don’t Think This Is A Real Verizon iPhone Pre-Order Email
- Have Five Fingers Gone Too Far? Check Out This Year’s Casual Lineup
- Video: Experiment Shows Cord-Cutting Simply Too Difficult For Average Families To Grasp
- Video: Motorola Shows Off The Atrix 4G And Its Docking Station Buddies
- Evangelion-Themed Hotel Room Is Every Otaku’s Dream
- Crytek: Yes, There Will Be A Crysis 2 Demo
- With Call Of Duty Black Ops Permabans Incoming, Are PS3 Permabans Next?
- Star Trek Potato Heads To Boldly Go Where No Potato Head Has Gone Before (sorry, had to)
- Ferrari F150: The First Formula One Car Of The Season Inches Toward Green
- NEC And Lenovo Form Joint Venture To Create Japan’s Largest PC Company
- BookArc Makes Promises For MacBook Air Experience, Speed And Style Among Them
- Kickstarter: The Rustic Case for iPad and Kindle 3 Is A Handmade Must-Have
- John Carmack: Thanks To Low Level APIs, Sony NGP Should Be A ‘Generation’ Ahead Of Smartphones At Launch
| Verizon iPhone Release Gets Dated Down To The Hour Posted: 28 Jan 2011 07:54 PM PST
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| Apple Hiring College Kids Part Time With Full Benefits Posted: 28 Jan 2011 07:11 PM PST
Not only is Apple helping students get experience for their resume, decent health coverage and a cushy work environment, but also solving everyones hatred for austere outsourced labor. It’s called the College Advisor Program. Students are given a free iMac to work from and are expected to work 16 hours a week during the semester and 40 hours in the summer. Also, it doesn’t have to end when you graduate. The program has been known to hire students right after graduation. To get the job you have to be at one of the schools that Apple supports and have a 2.7 GPA. That’s pretty much it, besides having a strong tech background and being customer service focused. Could this model be game charging? So many times we think that Apple changes the game. Be it iPad, iPhone or even iPod. There’s nothing new here, just a different way of execution. I think it’s brilliant and would have loved to have this job in college. Anyone say Apple discounts? Let’s see if other companies seek college student’s labor. They work hard, are super motivated and for the most part cheap. Just as long as they remember to stay sober.
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| Audi-Designed Carbon Skis: Want So Bad Posted: 28 Jan 2011 05:10 PM PST
They’re a creation of Audi’s Concept Design Munich studio, who collaborated with Head to make them a limited production item. The ski has a wood core, with layers of aluminum and titanium, topped off with carbon. The lightweight construction gives it the impressively low 960 grams per ski. Dezeen has more information and pictures. The ski “may become available” at the end of 2011. No price, but I’m guessing they’ll be quite expensive.
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| Android 3.0 Running (Poorly) On Nook Color Posted: 28 Jan 2011 04:39 PM PST
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| Enspert 7″ Android 2.2 Tablet Soon To Be Available Posted: 28 Jan 2011 04:15 PM PST
It’s not the most exciting of tablets, but it does have access to the real Android Market, and should run pretty much all the apps out there no problem, unlike some of the Android tablets out there. It’s got a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor and a PowerVR SGX 450 GPU, putting it slightly below the Galaxy Tab in terms of specs, and its screen is significantly lower-resolution at 800×480, but other than that it stacks up nicely. SD slot, USB and HDMI ports, dual cameras, 802.11n wi-fi and Bluetooth, the works. The price is 349 of your American dollars, and it’ll be available next week. Personally I’d be waiting for 3.0, but hey.
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| iPhone 4 vs LG Optimus 2X: Video Recording Quality Comparison Posted: 28 Jan 2011 04:04 PM PST
Yesterday afternoon, an LG Optimus 2X finished the last leg of its rigorous journey from a South Korean factory to my front porch in California. As the first Android smartphone (and the first smartphone of any platform, really) to make it into the wild with a dual-core Tegra 2 processor, it is — for the time being at least — the most powerful Android phone in the world. We’ll have our full review up in just a few days, but in the mean time I figured you guys might enjoy this footage I shot earlier this morning comparing the 1080p video recording of the LG Optimus 2X to that of the iPhone 4.
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| Nexus S’ Random Reboot Bug To Be Squashed By Mid-February Posted: 28 Jan 2011 03:50 PM PST
The Nexus S is a pretty wonderful phone, in most regards. Built by Samsung after months of finetuning the process with their Galaxy S line, it’s a stunning piece of hardware in person — amongst Samsung’s best, perhaps. More importantly, it’s one of the few high-end handsets that gives a pure, unadulterated Android experience as Google sees fit. Alas, it has its flaws. Namely, it seems to reset whenever the hell it wants to. Amidst much clamoring and bickering around the Internets, Google has stayed mostly mum on the issue. Until now.
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| I Don’t Think This Is A Real Verizon iPhone Pre-Order Email Posted: 28 Jan 2011 02:00 PM PST
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| Have Five Fingers Gone Too Far? Check Out This Year’s Casual Lineup Posted: 28 Jan 2011 01:44 PM PST
There’s a new religion brewing in the athletic milieu that requisites fitting foot condoms around the phalanges. You know what I’m talking about: the Five Fingers phenomenon. Not dissimilar to the once popular Crocs, Vibram banks on being different as a means of selling shoes. What’s different about Five Fingers is nothing entirely new, in fact, it dates back to thousands of years ago: perambulating barefoot. While it makes sense to use your natural foot articulation to cushion the blow from today’s hard surfaces, Vibram may have taken it a bit too far with this year’s Five Fingers, with what they are calling “Casual Shoes”. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing better than running/weight lifting in Five Fingers, but frankly the style is daft. Tony Post, the company’s CEO says, “Our new casual footwear introductions [offer] dedicated consumers more alternatives for all aspects of their daily lives." Their customers can now have winter boots, club shoes and tennis shoes. Next year, I hope they don’t come out with the business shoe. The TrekLS is $140 and is made with kangaroo leather, complete with shoe laces and a loop, swoop and pull. They look really good, right up ’til about the toes. Next they have the Bormio: an ankle-high, black zip-up boot also made of kangaroo, priced at $160.
Women get their own winter boot (pictured above), or “cold-weather lifestyle boot.” It runs all the way up the calf and has a thicker midsole for cushioning and warmth. Not sure if the 5.5mm midsole detracts from the original minimalistic goals.
Last but not least, there is the $100 Speed model. It looks like a classic running shoe, including colored mesh in white, black or blue. It’s not like these can’t catch on, we’ve seen worse in the past. It’s just that I think the company has gone beyond their original goal of healthy excercise and into the realm of “let’s make profits.” Hopefully, it doesn’t compromise the original mission. And, it just might if sorority girls begin to trade in their UGGs for these uglies.
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| Video: Experiment Shows Cord-Cutting Simply Too Difficult For Average Families To Grasp Posted: 28 Jan 2011 01:20 PM PST Here's more evidence that regular people have zero time for things like Google TV, Boxee, and Roku, if only because they're too complicated for their own good. Hill Holiday, a "caffeine-fueled ad agency," asked five Boston-area families to participate in a cord-cutting experiment. For one week each family was asked to forgo traditional cable TV in favor of one of the following devices: Apple TV, Google TV, Boxee Box, Xbox 360, and Roku. These devices, of course, are the premier devices for people looking to break free of their cable company while still being able to enjoy television. And how did it turn out for these five families? They were not impressed, and for all the reasons we've enumerated in the past. And by "we" I mean Matt; cord-cutting is his bête noire. If you're someone who merely watches TV to unwind before going to bed, the absolute best device you can buy right now is a traditional cable TV box. Call the cable company, have them set it up, and you've got access to literally more programming than you could ever consume. Live sports, news, game shows, comedies, drama, reality TV as far as the eye can see—the works. There's no buffering and there's no hoping that your Wi-Fi network won't crash. Peace of mind is a wonderful thing. The families also complained that using these devices transformed TV-watching into an active experience. No! They used to call TV the idiot box for a reason: you sit back and let it all come to you. "Oh, look, Seinfeld is on, let's watch that." Or, "Wow, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is on, let's watch that for the hundredth time." There's a difference between A) channel surfing, having something catch your eye, then you committing an hour to watching it, and B) sifting through page after page of listings, nestled 400 menu screens deep, only to find that the movie you finally decided upon—an exhausting endeavor—isn't even available in HD. Gee, thanks. The question becomes, exactly how is that better than watching regular TV? Isn’t technology supposed to make our lives easier, and not more frazzled? Of course, none of this is to say that cord-cutting doesn't work for some people, because clearly it does, but it does show that not everyone is as keen on the concept as some of its proponents online would have you believe.
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| Video: Motorola Shows Off The Atrix 4G And Its Docking Station Buddies Posted: 28 Jan 2011 12:10 PM PST
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| Evangelion-Themed Hotel Room Is Every Otaku’s Dream Posted: 28 Jan 2011 12:00 PM PST
Yes, it’s pretty weird. But when you think about it, it’s no weirder than, like, Disneyland. Or the themed hotels in Paris. I guess they don’t all have life-sized Rei figurines, though, or a full-sized Unit 01 head smashing through the wall nearby. The hotel room is at the Highland Resort amusement park by Mt. Fuji, and will run you about $450 per night starting March 1st. [via Comics Alliance, Anime News Network, Nerd Approved]
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| Crytek: Yes, There Will Be A Crysis 2 Demo Posted: 28 Jan 2011 11:45 AM PST
At this time, Crytek & EA are glad to confirm that we’ll be releasing a pre-launch Crysis 2 multiplayer demo on PC! Stay tuned for details.
Good news for you on this cold Friday afternoon. Crytek now says that there will, indeed, be multi-player demo for the PC version of Crysis 2. Huzzah! A demo has always been in the works, but it was initially only thought to be for the Xbox 360 version, which would have been lame indeed. I saw the game last April, and it certainly looked Crysis-y. Like other elitist PC gamers, my only concern is that the game's graphical fidelity will have to be dialed down in order to run on the ancient Xbox 360 hardware. /me staying tuned
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| With Call Of Duty Black Ops Permabans Incoming, Are PS3 Permabans Next? Posted: 28 Jan 2011 10:30 AM PST By now you surely must know that Sony has released PS3 firmware 3.56, which applies a "minor security patch" to the system. Of course it does, and of course it prevents people from hacking their PS3. What happens hereafter will be most telling. Let's not mince words: Sony has every right to update the system's firmware so as to prevent folks from being able to hack their PS3. I do sympathize with the idea of being able to fiddle with your legally purchased hardware as you see fit, with the desire to run whatever on your PS3. But if you want to connect to Sony's servers to play online, or to buy stuff from the PlayStation Network, you're going to have to play by Sony's rules. I don't see how anyone can dispute that. But will Sony show mercy to hackers? (And I used the word "hackers" purely out of convenience—there's nothing "hackery" about putting a few files on a USB flash drive and tapping the X button on your controller.) Reports right now suggest that people with previously hacked PS3s, after applying the 3.56 update (Why would you update, by the way? Best to content yourself with offline play for the time being.) are still able to connect to the PlayStation Network, are still able to play online. In other words, Sony hasn't whipped out the banhammer just yet. Microsoft has been fighting Xbox 360 hackers since Day One, and it never had any problem mass banning offending 360s from Xbox Live. Outrage usually followed—how dare Microsoft ban me from Xbox Live~!—but it's Microsoft's service, and it can admit whoever it wants. It's my party, I can cry if I want to. If you want to play on Xbox Live, you need a clean Xbox 360, end of. It's slightly different when it comes to the PS3. New games often require the latest version of the official firmware in order to run—even in offline mode. So if you have a hacked PS3 but then want to play Killzone 3 (or whatever) when it comes out, you're out of luck. You can either upgrade to the newest official firmware, or have slightly less fun by staring at the disc. Maybe play frisbee with it? All of this will be moot, of course, if people can figure out a way around the new "minor security patch." WHAT?! Minutes before this was to go on the front page it emerged that users have started running into Call of Duty: Black Ops (for PS3) permabans. Countdown to Aggro…
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| Star Trek Potato Heads To Boldly Go Where No Potato Head Has Gone Before (sorry, had to) Posted: 28 Jan 2011 10:08 AM PST |
| Ferrari F150: The First Formula One Car Of The Season Inches Toward Green Posted: 28 Jan 2011 09:00 AM PST
The new Formula One season begins in March, and Ferrari is the first team to show its hand. Its new car, the F150 (so named to commemorate 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy), was launched just a few hours ago at its headquarters in Maranello—Italy, of course. Given that Formula One is poised to introduce a new series of regulations in the coming years, partly to make the sport more "green," it's probably worth a few minutes to check out some of the changes Ferrari has made to its flagship piece of engineering. Is it enough to dethrone Adrian Newey and the rest of Red Bull Racing? Prediction: no. It should be noted that Ferrari had a pretty crummy year last year. Yes, one of its drivers, Spain's Fernando Alonso, managed to come in second place, but for Ferrari second place might as well be last place; it's a very New York Yankees mentality over there. Where to begin? Looks, sure: not bad, Ferrari. I like the Italian tricolore on the wing there. But don't get too excited, for Ferrari says the exterior is subject to further tweaks. "The car you will see at the first race will be completely different from the car you will see in Valencia [for pre-season testing, on February 1]," said Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari's grand poobah. Ferrari says the name of the game this year is reliability, which is funny because I seem to remember Red Bull having a number of reliability issues last year, too.
Kers returns this year. Kers, the kinetic energy recovery system, lets cars convert excess kinetic energy and put it toward useful ends rather than just be lost to friction. It's not a new technology, but Williams said, when it was first introduced, that Kers represents the "first stepping stone" on the path toward environmental responsibility or some such. The banning of the double diffuser means that Ferrari (and probably others) will abide by push-rod suspension. (Red Bull has used pull-rod for the last two years.) Ferrari has also lowered the suspension a tad to "improve the flow of air beneath the car." Meanwhile, Red Bull, the reigning champions, will show off its new car in four days' time, in Valencia. Adrian Newey will be there, triumphant, saying, "Look how great I am."
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| NEC And Lenovo Form Joint Venture To Create Japan’s Largest PC Company Posted: 28 Jan 2011 08:24 AM PST
Big shake-up in the PC industry: Yesterday, Japan’s biggest PC maker NEC and Lenovo announced a plan to form a joint venture to create Japan’s largest “PC group”. Lenovo will hold a 51% stake in the joint venture (to be incorporated in the Netherlands), while NEC will own the rest. As part of the deal, NEC will receive $175 million from Lenovo through an issue of Lenovo shares. It’s basically the price big L has to pay for access to the Japanese market. It’s a move that makes sense, as NEC is practically not present in PC markets outside Japan, while Lenovo never gained a foothold within this country (the No. 3 market for PCs in the world). NEC controls 18% of the Japanese PC market (just 0.9% globally), while Lenovo is the fourth biggest computer maker worldwide, trailing HP, Dell and Acer (according to IDC). The two companies will keep their separate brand names in Japan. Both companies are also hinting at future tie-ups, for example in the development of smartphones and tablets.
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| BookArc Makes Promises For MacBook Air Experience, Speed And Style Among Them Posted: 28 Jan 2011 07:52 AM PST
So you got a new MacBook Air. Big deal, right? How have you been using it on your desk? Surely you have an external monitor, trackpad and keyboard. But, somethings missing, isn’t it? Why lie the MBA flat on the desktop, especially since there is now the BookArc from 12 South. Built from heavy gauge steel, the BookArc stand also features a built-in cable management system for us enginerds who like tidy workspaces. It neatly integrates the cables that must go on both sides of the MBA. The BookArc makes a lot of promises to improve your MBA experience. Not only with function and style, they claim that by using the MBA to power an external monitor, with the MBA closed, the computer is faster since the graphics only needs to power one monitor. Makes sense. Available in February for $39.99, but you can sign up to receive notifications now. Press Release Charleston, SC, January 28, 2011 — Twelve South introduces a new version of its popular BookArc, designed exclusively for Apple® MacBook Air (Late 2010 models). The latest BookArc firmly grips the thin MacBook Air and includes a convenient built-in cable management system to keep cables in place for grab and go use. When BookArc is paired with a MacBook Air and external monitor, it offers a noticeable boost in power for graphics-intensive programs. BookArc for MacBook Air begins shipping next month (Feb) for $39.99. More information and images can be found at www.twelvesouth.com. Like previous versions of BookArc, the MacBook Air model is fashioned from heavy gauge steel for stylish looks and a sturdy footprint. One convenient addition is built-in cable management. Since MacBook Air has inputs on both sides, the BookArc cable housing routes power, external display, USB and other cables behind the MacBook for a clean workspace. These cables stay tethered to the stand so you can easily get your Mac in and out quicker than ever For those who use MacBook Air with an external display, a key benefit for BookArc is the performance boost it gives your Mac. If you connect MacBook Air to an external monitor and leave the MacBook open, video memory is split between the two displays. When working with MacBook Air in the closed position, resting in BookArc, 100% of the video memory is dedicated to powering the external monitor. This provides a notable boost in power when working with Aperture, Photoshop and other graphics- intensive programs. "BookArc has been one of our most popular products, so it was only natural to create one for the thin new MacBook Air," said Creative Director Andrew Green of Twelve South. "Some insightful feedback from customers led to some design tweaks, including the cable manager, making this the strongest BookArc to date.” The arc-shaped stand elevates MacBook for a less cluttered workspace. A soft silicone insert firmly grips the second generation, 11 and 13-inch MacBook Air. Padded rubber feet keep the stand from leaving any marks on your work surface. BookArc for MacBook Air begins shipping next month with a price of $39.99. An email list is available to alert customers when the BookArc for MacBook Air begins shipping. Users can sign up here. About Twelve South Twelve South is a company dedicated to making one-of-a-kind accessories exclusively for Apple products. The company was formed in 2009 by former executives from the fashion and consumer electronics industries, and its design team includes the original designers of landmark products like the Griffin iTrip and iCurve, and the DLO HomeDock and DLO Relaxed Leather cases. More information is available at http://twelvesouth.com.
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| Kickstarter: The Rustic Case for iPad and Kindle 3 Is A Handmade Must-Have Posted: 28 Jan 2011 07:46 AM PST
Show me a handmade device case like this one from Kickstarter, and I’ll show you the money. I love ‘em. The DODOcase is a prime example. High-quality material, a SanFran-based labor force, and honest marketing. Btw, we have a big DODOcase giveaway coming next week for Valentine’s Day. You’re going to love it. The Rustic Case for iPad and Kindle 3 is from the same thread. This mostly wool sleeve is just that, a sleeve to hold your precious slate. But the handsome look, top-shelf materials and fair price ultimately sells the case. But there’s a catch. They need help. That’s where you and Kickstarter comes in. The creator turned to the crowd-funding site mainly because the cost of material is so high. The goal here is to produce the case in New England from a locally-sourced 80/20 wool polyester blend and the $5,000 would be used to cover the up-front material order and the cost of a specialty sewing machine. A fair request, I’d say. Pledge anything you want; you don’t have to donate a lot. As of this post’s writing, the project only has one $50 pledge and there’s 29 days left. $40 and $50 pledges net funders a Kindle 3 or iPad case, with a $20 pledge giving you a $5 discount code that can be used later on. A $90 or $100 pledge will get you either a Kindle 3 or iPad cases but with your initials embroidered on to it as well as a Rustic Case Company t-shirt. A $500 pledge will get you two sets of cases, one with your initials and one without for gifting purposes, as well as a 20% discount for life. All pledge levels include the always-popular “I’m helping someone make their dream happen” feeling that comes with funding a product on Kickstarter.
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| Posted: 28 Jan 2011 07:30 AM PST
John Carmack, the man behind Doom and Quake, appears to be a bit of a Sony NGP fan. That shouldn’t come as a shock to close followers of id Software, which has very much embraced mobile gaming, particularly of the iPhone variety. Shortly after Sony’s big reveal, he tweeted: "Low level APIs will allow the Sony NGP to perform about a generation beyond smart phones with comparable specs." Is that enough to make the NGP a great success? Perhaps—at the very least it suggests that developers will have an easier time developing "real" games for the NGP than they would have developing on the smartphone du jour. It’ll take less effort to get close to NGP’s hardware than it would your typical smartphone. But as Devin wrote yesterday, the days where "real" or "AAA" games are required to make a mobile gaming platform a success seem to be behind us now. Angry Birds and its ilk show that developers can make a boatload of cash without having to spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing next-gen graphics engines, or spending millions of dollars attracting "name" voice actors. There must have been a shift somewhere, where the "goal" of mobile gaming went from trying to emulate the living room gaming experience to something simpler but just as compelling. Again: look at Angry Birds. It’s not exactly a game you’d expect to see given a big trailer during the middle of the Microsoft press conference at E3, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun to play on the subway on the way to work in the morning.
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