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Daily Crunch: Invasion Edition

Posted: 21 May 2011 12:00 AM PDT

Source Confirms Camera On Wii 2 Controller

Posted: 20 May 2011 01:30 PM PDT

Back in April, when rumors about Nintendo’s next system were flying fast, we heard there would be a user-facing camera on the controller. At the time I thought it ridiculous, but I also thought the 6″ touchscreen was ridiculous, and that seems to be accepted as fact now. So I guess it’s no surprise that a second source has confirmed that the controller will have a camera on it.

While it sounds like a gimmick at first, there’s a lot you can do with something like that, especially if it were to have, say, an IR component so it could detect you or your hand in the dark, that sort of thing. More (shaky) details over at Develop.

Sigma DP1 DSLR Gets Priced At Nearly Ten Grand

Posted: 20 May 2011 01:00 PM PDT


We heard about the SD1 back in September: a Foveon-based DSLR with 45 megapixels, as they define them, though the “megapixel” rating is difficult to compare when you have different sensor patterns going on. They’re confident enough to price this thing above even Canon and Nikon’s pro level cameras. Yes, it’ll set you back $9700. That’s $2000 more than a 1D mk III and $4000 more than a D3X or S.

Sigma is hoping that it’ll be picked up not as a superior pro camera but as a cheap alternative to medium-format brands like Hasselblad and Leaf. But there are a few problems there:

  • The Foveon sensor has its strengths, but it also has its weaknesses, and I doubt studio photographers are risk-takers. Is it really able to run against Hasselblads?
  • I’m not loving that low-resolution LCD. The screen on Canon’s sub-$1000 DSLR line is far sharper, and that resolution matters when you’re reviewing shots or checking focus.
  • In the end, definition is determined by the lens. Sigma makes a million lenses but for years I’ve heard their consistency trashed. No one is going to pay ten grand for a camera if you can’t guarantee a cherry lens every time. Nikon and Canon have this covered with their high end lenses, and the built-ins on medium formats are married to the sensor. Can Sigma compete?

Unfortunately for Sigma, I just don’t think the camera will be a hit at that price. It has a lot going for it, but when you’re putting it up against cameras four times the price while at the same time missing features available on cameras half the price, you’re not going to make a lot of friends.

Comcast Pulls Funding To Filmmakers After Tweet

Posted: 20 May 2011 12:59 PM PDT

Comcast donated $18,000 to a non-profit filmmaker’s group, the ReelGrrls, dedicated to giving young girls a voice and more confidence through film-making. One of the members expressed concern over the upcoming NBC/Comcast merger on Twitter, stating her disbelief that the FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker just quit to move to Comcast after approving the merger.

Almost immediately one of Comcast’s media relations people, Steve Kipp, pulled the funding:

Given the fact that Comcast has been a major supporter of Reel Grrls for several years now, I am frankly shocked that your organization is slamming us on Twitter. I cannot in good conscience continue to provide you with funding — especially when there are so many other deserving nonprofits in town."

Bang. There you go. Step on the dragon’s tail and you get the horns, right? Let that be a lesson to brave young women everywhere: be quiet or you won’t get the money.

Luckily, according to the Washington Post, someone higher up at Comcast contacted the group and, explaining that Steve was wrong, said:

"We are in the process of reaching out to ReelGrrls in Seattle and let them know the funding the organization has received from Comcast is not in jeopardy and we sincerely apologize for the unauthorized action of our employee," Fitzmaurice said. "This is not the way Comcast behaves toward its nonprofit partners."

All’s well that end’s well, it seems. However, this sort of ridiculous reactivity by a corporate sponsor, especially one as execrable as Comcast, is ridiculous and the back-pedaling shows just how poisonous most media conglomeration really is.


Superplayers Take Arcade Gaming To New Heights

Posted: 20 May 2011 12:24 PM PDT

If you saw them on the street, you’d keep walking. If you saw them in an arcade, your jaw would drop. They’re called superplayers, and they make our idea of hardcore gaming look like child’s play. Instead of sitting on the couch, covered in yesterday’s food, these gamers take to the arcades and not only break records, but put on one hell of a show.

I’ve chosen a couple of my favorite videos from the past few years to share with you guys, and I would suggest searching a few more because if anyone deserves YouTube celebrity status, it’s superplayers:

Talk about passionate:

No look:

Tetris unlike you’ve ever seen it:

[via Gizmodo]

Neuromancer Movie In Pre-Production

Posted: 20 May 2011 12:08 PM PDT

I’m not going to get my hopes up – they’ve been promising a Neuromancer movie for years and, I fear, no one will be able to the book justice – but Vincenzo Natali, director of Splice and Cube, says he is in pre-production on William Gibson’s seminal cyberpunk novel and they will soon begin filming in Canada, Istanbul, Tokyo, and London.

In an interview with Natali last year, Slashfilm asked him about the obvious issues with adapting the book into a movie:

I actually really started to break down the book, now that this is looking like it might happen, and I actually don't think you need to stray too far from the book. I think you have to add some connective tissue, and I think that the ending needs to be finessed. I had a conversation with William Gibson about a week and a half ago, and he kind of agreed. You have to retool the ending a little bit. But basically I think the structure is there. And I actually see my version, if it were to be made, as having a little bit more of a literary kind of a structure. There would be a little bit of trickery with the timeline, and we would delve into characters' pasts and then come back into the present. I think that's the way to approach it. And that really excites me, because as somebody who watches a lot of movies and a lot of science fiction films, I'm really getting tired of the same old tropes, the same old kind of structures. If you're going to experiment with narrative structures, this is the movie to do it with.

All I know is that if Natali screws this up I will personally come down to his house and make him watch Treasure of the Four Crowns and Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone in 3D over and over again until he goes mad. Nobody messes with Molly and Case. Also, did you know that this exists online? I didn’t until a few years ago.

Weekend Giveaway: A REAL FREAKING THOR HAMMER

Posted: 20 May 2011 11:21 AM PDT

Cast out from the ice halls of his father Othin, doomed to carry the world serpent in his teeth as he wings his justice across the face of the dead earth, great world-eater Thor is here to mete justice on us, his iron eyes hard over a blazing red beard. Woe betide he who looks upon his lover Járnsaxa with avarice for Thor mess not with that sort of thing and will totally flatten you.

Why do I bring these legends to your offering chest, brave reader? For I have for you a genuine (reproduction) of Thor’s mighty hammer, a device so dread and powerful that Thor’s craven enemies call it by only one name – Myron. Doth you wish this hammer to hang by your protruding bits at the next Comic-Con? Read on!

Young warrior, if you dare take up this quest, comment below with your best horrible comic-book pseudo-Shakespearean preamble to galactic war. Comment only once and I will pick one winner at random on the Moons Day when the sun is high over the isle of Manhattoes.

Thanks to 80stees for supplying the freaking hammer.

An Explosion At Foxconn Chengdu Engulfs Building, 16 Hurt, 2 Killed

Posted: 20 May 2011 10:33 AM PDT

UPDATED – What appears to be a fire or explosion engulfed one of the buildings at the Foxconn Factory in Chengdu, China. Foxconn is reporting two casualties and 16 hurt and the damage does look severe and quite thorough. MICGadget reported that “10 fire engines, ambulances and 10 police cars” arrived on the scene. Reports state that a few floors in Building A5 (apparently part of the iPad 2 production line) were affected and that the explosion was caused by light dust igniting in one of the manufacturing rooms.


What could have happened? Well, as we learned from the Mythbusters, any aerated, flammable substance can potentially explode given the right mix of heat and propellant. The resulting explosions, especially in a factory that is probably producing clouds of aluminium and plastic dust on a daily basis, could be quite dangerous.

As of 21:00 Chengdu time, six men and one woman were sent to the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital. There were two fatalities and injuries to 16 others.

Foxconn released an official statement on the accident:

We can confirm that at approximately 7 pm on May 20, there was an explosion at our Chengdu campus. At this point, we can also confirm that there were two fatalities with injuries to 16 other employees. We are working with medical officials to provide treatment to the injured employees and we are working with government and law enforcement officials to contact the families of all employees affected by this tragedy.

The situation has been brought under control by the fire department and the cause of this explosion is being investigated by local police officials. Foxconn is cooperating fully with that investigation.

Production has been suspended at the site of the explosion until the completion of the investigation. The safety of our employees is our highest priority and we will do whatever is required to determine and address the cause of this tragic accident.

via Giz


Video: Space Invaders in Real Life

Posted: 20 May 2011 09:36 AM PDT

I see this not as a recreation of the classic Space Invaders but rather a prediction of what will happen tomorrow, May 21st, during the predicted Rapture. Are you ready to defend Spaceship Earth?

Paraplegic Walks After Three Days Of Epidural Stimulation

Posted: 20 May 2011 09:06 AM PDT

After a hit-and-run in 2006, Rob Summers lost the use of his hips, legs, feet, and toes. Five years later, Mr. Summers took a step with the help an electrical stimulator connected to his spine. A team of researchers in Louisville led by Susan Harkema (and in collaboration with UCLA and California Institute of Technology) have been working to create a way to mimic the signals the brain sends to the spine, commanding a certain action. Apparently, their work has been a great success, and in the words of Summers, "It was unbelievable."

Scientists believe that this type of technology could theoretically help those in wheel chairs walk again, with the help of the electrical stimulator and intensive physical therapy. What they didn't expect was that the process could be so quick. After just three days with the electrical stimulator, Summers could stand. For a little perspective, Summers' last form of therapy yielded virtually no progress after 170 sessions.

Doctors stipulate that this is only the beginning of our exploration of epidural stimulation, and the its benefits for spinal cord injury victims. Eventually, they hope to use the same type of technology could not only let the lame walk, but help correct secondary conditions like sexual response and impaired bladder control.

Here's what Summers had to say:

This procedure has completely changed my life. For someone who for four years was unable to even move a toe, to have the freedom and ability to stand on my own is the most amazing feeling. To be able to pick up my foot and step down again was unbelievable, but beyond all of that my sense of well-being has changed. My physique and muscle tone has improved greatly–so much that most people don't even believe I am paralyzed. I believe that epidural stimulation will get me out of this chair.

[UCLA via Atlantic Wire]

Apple Is #5 In PC Sales In Europe

Posted: 20 May 2011 08:58 AM PDT


Gartner found that Apple is number five in European PC sales, just below Acer, Dell, and Asus. They sold 966,000 units in 1Q11, 292,000 less than the fourth place winner. But wait… there’s more!

The most interesting point of the study is that Apple gained 10% over the past year in Western Europe overall while the rest of the PC manufacturers lost up to 29% of market share. Again, these are numbers for Western Europe overall and you see the same thing in separate countries including a 15% increase in the UK. However, Apple doesn’t rate in the top five in France and Germany, the latter where Samsung seems to be taking off.

Apple has traditionally been wildly expensive in Europe and perceived as almost impossible to find and buy in average retail environments. However, that’s clearly changing and with the roll out of improved retail operations and more support from the independents sales folks in each country makes things considerably easier. In fact, anecdotally, it seems that Europeans coming over here are barely looking at picking anything up here in America anymore because the prices are almost on parity. Is that the case where you are?

via TUAW


Infograph Fun: Flatscreen Prices Are Gloriously Low Right Now

Posted: 20 May 2011 08:47 AM PDT


This is sort of silly but still worthwhile. Of course prices of developing technologies drop over time, but the infograph from Wired is still fun if for nothing else than a bit of nostalgic reminiscing. I can recall the first two plasmas we got while I worked at Circuit City: a Panasonic for $10k and a Pioneer for $12k. Of course that was back in the wild and crazy times of 2002 when credit was available to anyone with a pulse and a social security number.

Star Wars Acetate Sells For $40,000

Posted: 20 May 2011 08:10 AM PDT

If you’re a fan of Spock, Orko, Sulu, and all the rest of those great Star Wars characters, you may want to get out a few thousand dollars when the acetate crawls from the original movies come back on the market because they’re clearly going cheap. For example, at a relatively unpublicized auction someone picked up the original Empire Strikes Back crawl for a mere $40,000, which, knowing the depravity of the average sci-fi fan, is wildly low.

The crawl was sold at at Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. It appears that the original car from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang sold for $2.6 million at the same auction, a number that suggests a profound disrespect for the canon of science fiction in America and an equally odd fetish for Dick Van Dyke.

via TheRichTimes


Nokia Sees Lowest Market Share In 14 Years: Gartner

Posted: 20 May 2011 07:45 AM PDT

Things have never been so bleak for the world's largest handset maker. Fresh off of rumors that Nokia would be selling off its handset division to Microsoft, new numbers from Gartner reveal that Nokia's current market share is the lowest its been since 1997, nearly 14 years ago.


Lenovo Sees 2012 To Be The Year Of USB 3.0

Posted: 20 May 2011 06:55 AM PDT

USB 3.0 devices have been available since late 2009. I tested several first-gen USB 3.0 external hard drives in early 2010 and the spec hit several laptop platforms a bit after that. Still, even though it’s nearly halfway through 2011 now, USB 3.0-equipped computers are rare. One Lenovo product manager expects the spec to hit the big time next year.

“In 2012 USB 3.0 will be a mainstream technology,” Jason Parrish, worldwide product manager for Lenovo ThinkPad, told Cnet. “And we see 2011 as the transition year for USB 3.0 as it starts to come into more and more products,”

Of course USB 3.0 is going up against Intel’s baby, Thunderbolt, but the use cases are a bit different. Sure, Thunderbolt kicks the pants off USB 3.0 in speed, platform support. (the sweet name doesn’t hurt, either) But it seems more PC makers are opting for the faster USB spec for mainstream product lines where Thunderbolt will likely hit niche performance models. As Jason points out, space is limited on today’s slim notebooks so not many OEMs will waste space on a spec with a nonexistent product base.

So will USB 3.0 hit the big time next year? Yep.

Current Honeycomb Builds Include A Secret Gingerbread Interface

Posted: 20 May 2011 06:25 AM PDT


Honeycomb is Google’s purpose-built tablet interface that uses a radically different interface than 2.x Android builds. However, it seems that at certain resolutions, Honeycomb tablets reverts to a Gingerbread-ish interface. Hardcore hacking isn’t required, either. All it takes is a Honeycomb tablet that’s been granted root access and then an app that switched the pixel density for you. 160ppi or less gets you Honeycomb where anything over 170ppi triggers the Gingerbread interface. See it in action after the break.

[StreakSmart via Pocketables]

Video: Fujitsu’s Symbian/Windows 7 Dual Boot Cell Phone Up And Close

Posted: 20 May 2011 06:19 AM PDT

We showed you the LOOX F-07C earlier this week, Fujitsu's Symbian/Windows 7 dual-boot cell phone that Japan's biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomo plans to market this summer. In case you were wondering how the device looks like in action, our friends over at Diginfonews in Tokyo have shot a video (in English). Read the rest on MobileCrunch.


Google Spends $4.9 Million On Modu Patent Portfolio

Posted: 20 May 2011 06:06 AM PDT

Remember Modu, the Israeli phone maker who never quite found a market for its itty bitty cell phones? That's ok if you don't, because the semi-omniscient Google does. Back in 2008, Modu came up with a tiny modular cell phone that could slip into a number of different sleeves to be able to perform different actions and functions.

Now, over three years later, Google has received permission to buy Modu's patent portfolio, in what we assume are plans to resuscitate the forgotten phones that were only previously picked up by a few carriers. Shortly after Modu's entrance into the mobile arena, the company whipped out its latest and greatest phone models in preparation for an IPO, but unfortunately had to shut down operations after running out of cash.

Of course, Google was happy to step in and lend a helping hand in the form of a $4.9 million IP purchase. The Google funds will go towards payment of Modu's creditors and ex-Modu employees who have yet to be paid. We'd expect that Google has new Android technology in the crosshairs with this patent portfolio acquisition, although the search beast has yet to officially comment on plans.

[via BGR]

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CrunchDeals: 4GB Archos Vision MP3 Player

Posted: 20 May 2011 05:58 AM PDT

$12 for a name brand 4GB MP3 player? Yessir! I’ll take two. It’s even better with free shipping to Prime subscribers or for any order totaling $25 or more. The Amazon reviewers haven’t marked the player very high, but most complaints seem trivial: the buttons aren’t backlit, low bitrate files sound like garbage, and the shuffle feature is broken. Still, it’s twelve freaking dollars with the next competing unit, likely the SanDisk Sansa Clip+ runs just over $40. [Amazon via DealNews]

The iPad Flexible Arm Lets You “Comfortably” Use Tablets In Bed

Posted: 20 May 2011 05:32 AM PDT

This is either completely stupid or I am missing something major: Tokyo-based crap gadget maker Thanko strikes again with the so-called “iPad Flexible Arm” [JP]. The idea here is to make it easier for owners to use tablets (both in a vertical and horizontal position) while lying in bed.

The thing is specifically designed for use with the iPad and iPad 2, but according to Thanko, most tablets not thicker than 18mm will fit.

The iPad Flexible Arm is already on sale in Thanko’s Japanese online store (price: $61).
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