CrunchGear |  |
- Thanks To New Feed, Sonos Music System Now Works With The XM Half Of Sirius XM
- CafePress Wants To Give You A CrunchGear iPhone 4 Case
- Portal 2 For PS3 Has ‘Complete’ Move Support, Includes Free PC Copy
- Where Does Watson Go From Here? First Stop: Healthcare
- Mitsubishi Shows LCD TV With Red Laser Backlight
- 26 Billion Text Messages Sent During China Spring Festival
- Redbox Prepping Movie Streaming Service, Could Partner With Amazon
- MiniStation: Stick Buffalo’s New HDD Onto The Back Of Your TV
- NSFW: Dead Island Announcement Trailer
- MB&F HM2 SV Final Edition Watches Hands-On
- Video: First Robot To Run Full Marathon Next Week
- Daily Crunch: The Batman Cometh Edition
- K’Nex Never Looked Scarier: The K’nexabeast
- DOTKLOK: A Clock Made Of Dots
- This Phineas And Ferb CD Boombox Is For Kids And/Or Dads
- The Final Night Of IBM’s Jeopardy Challenge: How Did Watson Do?
- This iPhone 4 Exploded
- Logitech To Stream Enterprise Video To iPads And iPhones
- ISP-Funded GOP Congressmen Speak Out Against Net Neutrality, Question FCC’s Legal Authority
- What’s Going To Happen With The Kobo After Border’s Bankruptcy?
| Thanks To New Feed, Sonos Music System Now Works With The XM Half Of Sirius XM Posted: 17 Feb 2011 08:45 AM PST
The following probably speaks to Sirius XM silliness more than anything else, but what are you gonna do? Sonos’ Multi-Room Music System is now fully compatible with the "new and improved" Sirius XM stream. The system had worked on the Sirius side of things just fine, but now it works on the XM side of things, too. XM now works because Sirius XM updated its Web feed a few weeks ago, which, judging by comments here and there, meh, it would be charitable to call the new player "OK." The iOS and Android Apps still seem to work OK, which is good enough for me since I rarely (read: never) use the actual Web player. Baby steps for Sirius XM.
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| CafePress Wants To Give You A CrunchGear iPhone 4 Case Posted: 17 Feb 2011 08:19 AM PST
Happy Thursday! CafePress, makers of customized T-shirts and books and mugs and stuff, wants to give you, the fine people of CG, 100 CrunchGear iPhone 4 cases. Why? Because you guys are b to the a to the d to the a to the double snakes, that’s why. This is a random for one of 100 CrunchGear iPhone cases and entering is pretty darn simple. To enter, just send an email to hearme@cafepress.com with the subject line “CG ME.” We’ll hold the lines open until next Monday and CafePress will will ship the cases out next week. I have been assured that CafePress will not use your email address for evil. Good luck and we hope you enjoying walking around with a CG case… like a boss.
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| Portal 2 For PS3 Has ‘Complete’ Move Support, Includes Free PC Copy Posted: 17 Feb 2011 08:00 AM PST
It’s looking more and more like the PS3 version of Portal 2 will be the better of the two console versions. Valve told the German PlayStation Blog that Portal 2 PS3 will ship with "complete" Move support. Apparently they’re still working on working out all the kinks, but it’s part of Valve’s effort to make up for the so-so PS3 version of The Orange Box, which was developed by an external team. There’s more! The PS3 version, which is already confirmed to ship with Steam Cloud support and cross-platform play with the PC version, will also ship with a PC download code. Presumably that means if you buy the PS3 version of the game Valve will throw in a full copy of the PC version for free. Is there any doubt that Valve is a fine, fine company?
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| Where Does Watson Go From Here? First Stop: Healthcare Posted: 17 Feb 2011 07:30 AM PST
We all saw what Watson did last night, but now the question becomes: what now? So what that IBM created an artificial intelligence that was able to answer a few trivia questions? (That’s a massively simplistic way of looking at Watson, and discounts the incredible capabilities of the human brain and discounts the complexity of having to interpret human language with off-the-shelf hardware and finely tuned software.) Is there an end-game here? Maybe "end-game" is too strong phrase to use, but IBM has announced a deal with Nuance Communications to "explore, develop, and commercialize the Watson computing system’s advanced analytics capabilities in the healthcare industry." Part of the backlash against Watson I’ve seen stems from people misunderstanding some of the basics surrounding its operation. A caller told Opie (of Sirius XM’s Opie & Anthony Show) yesterday that Watson, upon receiving the question, would search online for the answer. Wrong! Watson gets the text, "reads" it like a person would read it, analyses what the question is asking, consults his database, then buzzes in with an answer. It wasn’t always right—IBM had mentioned last night that Watson may have thought Toronto was a U.S. city (not counting Toronto, Ohio, but that would be like saying Rome is an American city because there’s a Rome, New York) because the Toronto Blue Jays play in Major League Baseball’s American League—but the fact that engineers were able to create what amounts to a fancy computer program to parse and interpret human language, with its many idiosyncrasies, to a degree that it was able to compete in a game and win speaks volume about the talent of IBM’s engineers. IBM should hire someone like Bill Nye The Science Guy or Michio Kaku or Neil deGrasse Tyson to go around various talk shows (Leno, Conan, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, etc.) to explain in terms the average person can understand why Watson is so much more than a "robot" that can answer a few trivia questions. But back to this Nuance Communications news. It’s expected that the first commercially available product won’t be available for another 18-24 months, but that it will combine the best of IBM’s tech (Deep Question Answering, Natural Language Processing, and Machine Learning) with that of Nuance (speech recognition and Clinical Language Understanding). The idea is to create something "for the diagnosis and treatment of patients that provide hospitals, physicians, and payers access to critical and timely information." How about this scenario: a patient is rushed to a hospital with an unidentified illness. A loved one explains to Dr. Watson the symptoms, and the good doctor searches terabytes of information in a split-second to narrow down the possible ailments, along with possible courses of action. "This patient would appear to have X, please prepare a drip of Y to begin treatment." That’s a completely invented scenario, but imagine something along those lines for an idea of where this technology could be going.
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| Mitsubishi Shows LCD TV With Red Laser Backlight Posted: 17 Feb 2011 07:02 AM PST
Mitsubishi Electric yesterday showed a “Laser Backlight LCD TV” [JP] the company plans to release within this year. At the press conference in Tokyo, Mitsubishi showcased a 46-inch prototype TV with a red laser and a cyan LED integrated into the backlight unit. The laser features an emission wavelength of 638nm and is, according to Mitsubishi, especially boosting the on-screen quality of the color red. The TV achieves a 126% color gamut and uses the cyan light for green and blue colors. Using the technology for 3D TVs in the future is apparently possible, too. Comparison (Laser Backlight LCD TV on the left, regular Mitsubishi model on the right):
Mitsubishi is selling the Laservue, a TV using RGB color lasers in the US and elsewhere since last year. The company said it will offer the red laser backlit (actually edge-lit) model in Japan first. Via AV Watch [JP]
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| 26 Billion Text Messages Sent During China Spring Festival Posted: 17 Feb 2011 06:55 AM PST  Here's yet more proof that plain ol' text messages aren't going away any time soon. The recent Spring Festival in China (the local name for what's often referred to as Chinese New Year) saw the country send some 26 billion text messages. That's billion with a "b," mind you.
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| Redbox Prepping Movie Streaming Service, Could Partner With Amazon Posted: 17 Feb 2011 06:24 AM PST
Redbox already took down chain DVD rental outlets, and now Coinstar is expanding the popular DVD rental brand to the web with a movie streaming service. Netflix killer? Not likely, but the upcoming Redbox media service is reportedly with another company. Amazon is the popular choice, which will no doubt help boaster both content and credibility rather than going at it alone. That’s actually true for both companies as it’s been rumored for a while that Amazon had a movie streaming service in the works as well. The company’s CEO stated that the service would do be subscription-based rather pay-to-play like its DVD rental business. No doubt the pricing would be competitive with Netflix, but the key would be the content available and supported platforms. Three major movie studios already require both Redbox and Netflix to wait 28 days after the DVD hits the retail market. Disney also increased the cost of its DVDs to Redbox and consumers are increasingly moving away from DVD rental services. Redbox’s transition is a necessary step although it won’t be easy to compete with Netflix. Redbox’s next step should be what Netflix did the last two years and embrace as many hardware platforms as possible. Simply outing a streaming box like Blockbuster won’t cut it. Consumers do not want another box under their TV. Redbox needs to get on existing hardware like Netflix. That’s the keys to staying in the game.
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| MiniStation: Stick Buffalo’s New HDD Onto The Back Of Your TV Posted: 17 Feb 2011 06:02 AM PST
It’s hard to “innovate” when you’re a maker of hard discs, but Japanese company Buffalo had an idea: why not offer a model users can stick to the back of the TV? The so-called MiniStation [JP] is supposed to make it possible to record programs directly onto the HDD via USB (if supported by the TV) and save some space at the same time. The MiniStation offers 500GB of storage and is (of course) usable as a PC HDD, too.
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| NSFW: Dead Island Announcement Trailer Posted: 17 Feb 2011 05:39 AM PST The mom’s kind of hot in a video gaming sort of way. And yes, this video is NSFW. Or your kids. Or your mom. It’s a tad bit bloody. Bonus: After you’ve watched the real thing, click through to watch the same video except in proper chronological order, which as you know, makes it backwards from the official one embedded above. Man, I like that tea dress.
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| MB&F HM2 SV Final Edition Watches Hands-On Posted: 17 Feb 2011 05:34 AM PST  The original HM2 SV was limited to only 25 pieces. That is a really low amount given how popular the watch was - and it was popular for good reason. The Sapphire Vision offered not only unparalleled views of the movement, but also created a totally new looking surface for a watch that spoke all too well the language of love for watch nerds. So for the last pieces in the HM2 collection to ever be made, MB&F offers just a few more of these sexy Sapphire Visions for us to enjoy.
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| Video: First Robot To Run Full Marathon Next Week Posted: 17 Feb 2011 04:41 AM PST
We all knew this day would come, and we all knew this would happen in Japan: robot maker Vstone has announced what it says is the first full marathon [JP] for humanoids on February 24 in Osaka. The group of five mini robots will “run” (rather walk) around a 100m long course exactly 423 times plus another 95m to complete a marathon (42.195km). Vstone will start the race next Friday at 10am in the morning Japanese time and expects it to end at 8pm on the 27th. The whole event will be streamed live on the Vstone Ustream channel.
One of the humanoids and the robo car you see in the video embedded below will stream the race from their perspectives (channels of the humanoid, car). This video shows the participating robots (you can see the Vstone Robovie is one of them) during a test run: Via Robonable [JP]
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| Daily Crunch: The Batman Cometh Edition Posted: 17 Feb 2011 12:00 AM PST |
| K’Nex Never Looked Scarier: The K’nexabeast Posted: 16 Feb 2011 06:31 PM PST This clever robot is made entirely of K’Nex blocks and a Picaxe 20×2 micro-controller. It can move “autonomously” and solve simple problems when it hits walls and gets under tables. While it’s not as magically dangerous as Big Dog, it’s still a cool little robot.
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| Posted: 16 Feb 2011 05:44 PM PST
DOTKLOK: Game Time from The Latest Artists on Vimeo. Like the Pong Clock, the DOTKLOK uses an LED array to display the time – and more. Available at Etsy for $150 ($200 assembled), the kit uses and Arduino board to display the time and includes a sexy case.
The kit includes multiple clock faces and it can cycle through faces once a day. It has a 24×16 screen and is fully hackable.
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| This Phineas And Ferb CD Boombox Is For Kids And/Or Dads Posted: 16 Feb 2011 04:59 PM PST
Like maybe… Discovering something that doesn’t exist (Hey! ) So yeah, it’s a Phineas and Ferb CD boombox. But with an FX sound effects button, LED siren, and an awesome design, it should more than qualify for a gadget and therefore worthy of a post here on CrunchGear. After all, these two little characters embody the spirit of having fun with technology and doing things yourself. So yeah, we won’t tell anyone if this boombox actually ends up in your workshop instead of your kids room. $70 @ Amazon
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| The Final Night Of IBM’s Jeopardy Challenge: How Did Watson Do? Posted: 16 Feb 2011 04:37 PM PST
There we have it. The IBM Jeopardy Challenge has concluded, so what follows is a brief review of what happened tonight. Once again, West Coasties (and anyone else who didn’t get to see the final episode live) should probably click away for now—there will be spoilers. You have been warned. One last warning: that way spoilers lie! In a victory for science, Watson, the IBM-developed artificial intelligence, has indeed won. The final scores were $77,147 for Watson, $24,000 for Ken Jennings, and $21,600 for Brad Rutter. At the beginning of the show the previous night’s total were totally wiped, only to be added to tonight’s score after Final Jeopardy. Watson started the game on a tear, like always. Ironically enough, Watson had trouble with the "also on your keyboard" category. In fact, Watson struggled for much of the first round, tripping over the seemingly more "pun-y" or idiomatic categories. The second round was an epic battle between Watson and Ken Jennings. It was incredibly tense. All three contestants answered the Final Jeopardy question correctly, but by then Ken Jennings admitted what we’ve all been thinking: it’s time to welcome our new artificial intelligence overlords.
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| Posted: 16 Feb 2011 04:03 PM PST
How would you feel if your iPhone 4 burst into flames on your wooden table, fire licking the laquer and the noise scaring your girlfriend and child half to death? That’s what reader Omar had to deal with this week when his iPhone completely exploded. He writes:
He’s contacting Apple now to see if he can, perhaps, get a new iPhone. Ideally one that doesn’t swell up and explode on his coffee table.          
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| Logitech To Stream Enterprise Video To iPads And iPhones Posted: 16 Feb 2011 03:04 PM PST
Cisco has long dominated the enterprise video conferencing world, but Logitech wants to change that. Logitech currently does video conferencing with their own version called the LifeSize video streaming system. As more and more business profressionals are skipping the airplanes and going for teleconferencing, Logitech sees an opportunity to gain some market share. And due the the large user base of iDevices in business, Logitech is going to support conferencing on iPads and iPhones first. Logitech currently uses its LifeSize Video Center device for sending live and streaming video such as training sessions and company meetings to employees. Getting a web streaming service to run on an iDevice isn’t too hard. All they really had to do was tweak some software to recognize iDevices on the stream and adjust the bit rate for them. Right now, there wasn’t a mention if they web app would become a standalone app some day. Currently, the app only supports one-way video conferencing. In order to be on camera, customers have to purchase a LifeSize endpoint such as the LifeSize 220. This could be a really neat thing for enterprise to catch up with the rest of the world. We’ve had Skype for how long now?
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| ISP-Funded GOP Congressmen Speak Out Against Net Neutrality, Question FCC’s Legal Authority Posted: 16 Feb 2011 01:00 PM PST
The Republican Party has a bone to pick with the Federal Communications Commission, and you’ll never guess why. Oh, wait, yes you will. Predictably, several Republican congressmen have come out against the evils of Net Neutrality, despite the fact that it passed several months ago, and despite the fact that it could charitably only be called Net Neutrality Lite. What gives? The latest complaint, by way of Rep. Fred Upton, of Michigan, and Rep. Greg Walden, of Oregon, centers on two things. One, that the FCC may have overstepped its bounds when it comes to "regulating" the Internet, something the NYU School of Law sorta agreed with. Not that the FCC overstepped its bounds per se, but that it went about implementing Net Neutrality (Lite) using the wrong legal avenues. Oops. The other part of the congressmen’s assertion is a little less inspired, and that’s that the FCC didn’t show any market-based reason for implementing Net Neutrality in the first place. I suppose these congressmen never had the please of, to mention one concrete example, Comcast shaping their traffic without so much as their knowledge, let alone their approval. How about, "You want to shape my traffic? OK, I’d like the cancel my service with no penalties, please." The idea that the almighty market will ensure that the Internet remains free and open is laughable. Have we forgotten that Google and Verizon capriciously decided that the "mobile" Internet is separate from the "regular" Internet, and that data there should be treated differently than data elsewhere? And by the way, what market? Hoe many high-speed Internet providers are available in the average American town? You’re lucky if you have one crummy cable operator offering "high speed broadband." Seems to me if your ISP is treating your data unfairly then you really don’t have anywhere to turn. There’s your market at work. And how about this: Comcast was in the top five contributors to Rep. Upton’s campaign back in 2008, and AT&T similarly contributed to Rep. Walden during the previous election cycle. I guess we’re supposed to believe that random congressmen, backed by the very companies that stand to lose if Net Neutrality were to stick around, just so happen to have an interest in seeing the FCC knocked off its perch. How convenient. Or maybe that’s what they mean when they say they want the market to dictate policy? Whatever company comes around with a cheque-signing pen gets its agenda pushed. Neat.
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| What’s Going To Happen With The Kobo After Border’s Bankruptcy? Posted: 16 Feb 2011 12:35 PM PST
Borders took a different route with e-readers than rivals Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Instead of branding their own reader, Borders opted to partner with Kobo, a spin-off of Canadian publishing company, Indigo Books & Music. So, when Borders announced their bankruptcy today, we couldn’t help but wonder what happens next for the Kobo. “Nothing,” says Kobo. Kobo remains a separate entity independant from Borders.”Your eBook library is perfectly safe…The Borders ebook experience is powered by Kobo, an entirely separate company from Borders. Kobo is financially secure and will continue to maintain your ebook library no matter what happens,” Kobo added. So there you go, Borders might be closing 200 stores, but Kobo will continue as is, selling Borders ebooks through its apps. [via readwriteweb]
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