CrunchGear |  |
- Rumor: Microsoft’s “Metro” Design Language May Be Renamed “Windows 8″
- The Hovis Eco Is A Robot That Can Dance, Do Martial Arts
- MacKenzie & Marr Bring Guitar-making Into The 21st Century
- 4moms Raises $20 Million For Its Gadgetized Baby Gear
- Japanese 3D-Printing Company Creates Models Of Your Live Fetus
- Fanboys, Grab Your Credit Cards: Original Factory-Sealed iPhone Goes Up On eBay For $10,000
- The 32GB 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook Is Now Available From Canadian Carriers For $550
- Another Day, Another Samsung Denial Of RIM Acquisition And Licensing Rumors
| Rumor: Microsoft’s “Metro” Design Language May Be Renamed “Windows 8″ Posted: 09 Aug 2012 03:27 PM PDT  Metro is so last week. Microsoft has reportedly ditched the hip moniker for its design language for something a bit more pedestrian: Windows 8. Previously, the name Metro was part of the design mantra that started with Windows Phone 7 and has since trickled into Windows and Xbox. As Microsoft once put it, “We call it Metro because it’s modern and clean. It’s fast and in motion. It’s about content and typography. And it’s entirely authentic.” Well, forgot that nonsense. The Metro branding is out and Windows 8 is in. Officially, the story goes that Microsoft was looking to “transition from industry dialog (e.g. Metro) to a broad consumer dialog.” However it seems that German retailer Metro AG could have been threatening legal actions over the branding. But the new branding could bring additional confusion. Prior to the change, applications for the tiled Windows interface, Metro, were known as Metro-style applications. Those applications are now known as Windows 8 applications. Plus, the Metro environment is now called Windows 8 user interface. So… apps designed for the new interface are called Windows 8 applications and applications coded for the original, so-called, classic interface, will be called Windows applications. Awesome. This new branding apparently also trickles down to Windows Phone where its trademarked tiled interface will also be named Windows 8 interface. Outside of the possible branding confusion the new name removes any segregation between Windows 8′s two desktop environments. For better or worse, Windows 8 is now just Windows 8.
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| The Hovis Eco Is A Robot That Can Dance, Do Martial Arts Posted: 09 Aug 2012 11:13 AM PDT It’s a little known fact that Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics is missing a law: The robot shall be able to do Tai Chi. Thankfully, there’s the Hovis Eco, a tiny, plastic-clad humanoid robot by Dongbu Robot. The robots cost $900 for the plastic clad version (the Eco) and $730 for the more barebones model below. They are programmable and can move and dance at your command. You can check them out here. You can upgrade your wee fellows with servos, a new head unit, and optional sensors. The Eco weighs about four pounds and is 16 inches tall. Almost a thousand smackers is a little much for a little robot that can do martial arts moves, but who knows – maybe you can teach it to bring you a beer or something.
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| MacKenzie & Marr Bring Guitar-making Into The 21st Century Posted: 09 Aug 2012 09:30 AM PDT  Guitar-making is a noble and beautiful art and it’s high time luthiers started thinking about the web. MacKenzie & Marr is a tiny company in Quebec that designs and hand makes relatively inexpensive but amazingly handsome guitars. While they do outsource much of the manufacturing to China, there is not a single robot involved in the building of their cedar-top git-fiddles and guitarists can order their handsome axes with a few button-clicks. Why did the boys go online? “The music business is the worst distribution channel imaginable. Factory to brand to warehouse to multiple distributors to dealers. High end guitars are almost always in small retailers,” said John Marr, co-founder. This allows them to cut 60% off of the price of hand-crafted guitars. As an ecommerce play, instruments are a fairly benighted industry. They’re niche, so, like fine wristwatches and pens, there’s some tendency to focus on authorized dealers and networks. By eschewing this, the team saves a lot of hassle and money. “I was looking for a product that could be sold on the web..had to be expensive (not interested in selling 25 cent widgets) had to evoke passion (word of mouth) and one day Jonathan asked if I had played any Chinese guitars. I said ‘Yes, total garbage,’” said Marr.
Marr went on to spend a week working in China in order to better understand the process. He said the lack of contract manufacturers and cost prevented him from building guitars with the same craftsmanship in Canada. “Everyone said no musician would buy a guitar over the Internet. We knew they would.” And they did. The company sold out of their first run fairly quickly after appearing on Canada’s Dragon’s Den, which is a sort of Shark Tank for the Great White North. You can obviously pick up Fenders and Martins at various online stores but this is the first factory-direct sales model I’ve seen in the guitar world. They’re not quite ready to offer custom work just yet, but inlays may be on the horizon. “For most makers the quantities we produce would be laughable so even a huge production run by our standards is custom work for someone like Martin,” he said. The guitars start at about $1,000, but some “less than perfect” models can be had for $600. Jon MacKenzie and Marr met in grade school and have been friends for over fifty years. Marr plays blues fingerpicking and Jon likes folk and Celtic. Marr describes himself as a real hack, but he knows how to build a mean axe.
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| 4moms Raises $20 Million For Its Gadgetized Baby Gear Posted: 09 Aug 2012 09:02 AM PDT  4moms, the small Pittsburgh-based company that’s re-imagining the baby products industry by incorporating robotics, electronics, and innovative engineering into things like strollers, infant seats and playpens, has raised $20 million from Bain Capital Ventures. The firm’s sister fund Bain Capital also has investments in Toys R’ Us (Babies R’ Us) and Gymboree, so there’s the opportunity for some knowledge-sharing and marketing opportunities here, it seems. As for the 4moms products, in case you haven’t seen them – well, they’re pretty crazy. TechCrunch’s gadgets team has been going hands-on with these things for years, and doling out compliments like “the coolest gadget I have ever seen since the original TiVo…and it’s just a damn stroller.” Seriously, these things almost make you want to pump out babies (or more babies) just to try them out. Well, almost. What makes the 4moms products so different? For starters, they’re not your typical baby products – they’re basically gadgets. This Origami stroller opens and closes with the tap of a button, for example. This playpen works with one firm push. If you don’t have kids, you may not realize exactly how impressive some of this technology is. True story: my husband and I had to google “how to set up a playpen” on our first attempt. We had to watch a YouTube video to figure it out, I’m embarrassed to admit. Another time, we forgot to set it up for the sitters (ahem, grandparents) in advance, and later found out they just let the kid stay up until 1 AM because she had nowhere she could get comfortable sleeping. Let me just tell you, the fallout from her sleep deprivation is not something I’d wish on anyone. Ever. So, yay: someone is working on building better versions of all this stuff, and making products that anyone could use. That being said, there are some downsides to the 4moms products. The stroller is still a bit hefty, for example. But the bigger concern for some parents will be the price. These products are seriously high-end. A good chunk of the baby-making demographic can’t afford to spend nearly $900 on a stroller. But then again, maybe the grandparents owe us one?
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| Japanese 3D-Printing Company Creates Models Of Your Live Fetus Posted: 09 Aug 2012 07:32 AM PDT  If ultrasonic baby pictures aren’t enough, how about a resin-cast 3D model of your live fetus floating in clear lucite? An Ebisu health clinic, Hiro-o Ladies, is working with a 3D printer called Fasotec to create Tenshi no Katachi – Shape Of An Angel – so the entire family can see what that squirt is doing in your womb. A company representative waxed all things baby love: “We actually got three expectant mothers to try this out. They said it felt great to see how their babies looked before birth, and to be able to actually hold the inside of their own body. They also enjoyed looking at the model after giving birth, thinking, ‘This is how my baby looked inside me’ and recalling how it felt to be pregnant.” The service costs 100,000 yen (about $1300) and uses a dual-resin extruder to make the baby part and the solidified amniotic part at the same time. You can build the baby in multiple sizes and shapes and you can, using 3D imaging, focus on the whole body or just the face. You can even get little cellphone fobs with your baby floating inside of them. Seriously.
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| Fanboys, Grab Your Credit Cards: Original Factory-Sealed iPhone Goes Up On eBay For $10,000 Posted: 09 Aug 2012 07:23 AM PDT  Apparently $10,000 is the going rate for a factory-sealed first-gen iPhone. At least, that’s according to two sellers on eBay, who have recently listed the historic device on the bidding site. I would usually say that most electronics shouldn’t be seen as collectors items, as they only lose value over time and aren’t pivotal enough during their lifespan to warrant a resurgence in value. Yet, the original iPhone is a different story. This is a device that changed the course of the future. The App Store itself, though not present on the original iPhone, has changed the entire tech industry. Plus, the first iPhone was the very first time we had a usable version of the Internet in our pockets. So yeah, the original iPhone is a big deal. There have been no bids on either unit, though both come from seemingly trustworthy sellers. Samsonbible is a top-rated seller with 100% feedback, and phsledge also has 100% feedback. Plus, the pictures look totally legit, as even the box is still wrapped tightly in plastic. Here’s the seller listing:
So, if you have $10,000 lying around and have held on to all of the previous iPhones (or plan on collecting them), hop on over to eBay and check it out. This well may be your only chance — the original iPhone is no longer available for sale. And even if you can’t afford it, it’s always fun to check out the specs compared to what we’re seeing these days. [Hat tip to iDownloadBlog for spotting the listing]
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| The 32GB 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook Is Now Available From Canadian Carriers For $550 Posted: 09 Aug 2012 07:19 AM PDT  RIM announced the 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook earlier this month and it’s finally available from several Canadian carriers. The LTE tablet is slightly upgraded from its WiFi-only counterpart with a 1.5GHz CPU and 32GB storage option, but the main difference is the new LTE radio. The 7-inch PlayBook is a pretty little package and the operating system is finally a contender. The tablet might have a chance if RIM was in a position to price the PlayBook competitively. The LTE PlayBook is expensive. It’s available through Bell and Rogers for $350 with a three-year contract (lengthy contracts are normal in Canada). The 32GB LTE PlayBook is also available through TELUS without a contract for $550. RIM is a tough situation. With its dire financial situation, RIM cannot aggressively price the 4G PlayBook. It likely cannot take a loss on the hardware sales hence the above market pricing. RIM has yet to announce the 4G PlayBook’s US price or release date.
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| Another Day, Another Samsung Denial Of RIM Acquisition And Licensing Rumors Posted: 09 Aug 2012 07:14 AM PDT  Sorry RIM, it looks like yesterday’s stock bump may be all you get out of these acquisition rumors. After a note from Jefferies analyst Peter Misek recently pointed to the possibility of Samsung licensing RIM’s nascent BlackBerry 10 platform, Reuters reported earlier today that the Korean electronics giant confirmed that it hasn’t considered either a licensing deal or a full-on buyout. If this all sounds more than a little familiar, that’s because nearly the exact same sequence of events took place earlier this year. BGR reported in back January that Samsung was strongly considering a RIM acquisition, though Samsung was quick to shoot that notion down. Then, in March, the two companies were said to be engaged in licensing talks, with Samsung supposedly considering a minority investment in the beleaguered Canadian company. Naturally, that deal was never heard from again. This time, the RIM/Samsung rumblings began shortly after The Telegraph published an interview with RIM CEO Thorsten Heins in which he alluded (once again) to the possibility of licensing BlackBerry 10 to some capable handset manufacturers. "You could think about us building a reference system, and then basically licensing that reference design, have others build the hardware around it – either it's a BlackBerry or it's something else being built on the BlackBerry platform,” he said. “We're investigating this and it's way too early to get into any details.” While Heins doesn’t mention Samsung explicitly, The Telegraph does, noting that the next BlackBerry smartphone could be built by “Samsung or Sony.” Soon afterward, analyst Misek tried to make that connection more explicit by releasing a note to investors mentioning that the Korean electronics giant would be the company most interested in licensing BlackBerry 10. To be fair, Samsung tying up with RIM isn’t the most outlandish notion out there — the potential deal probably wouldn’t have made as many headlines as it had if it wasn’t at least somewhat plausible. RIM would get a much-needed shot in the arm when it comes to BlackBerry hardware (from a company that has nailed the sexy, all-touch form factor no less), while Samsung could increase its role in the enterprise market as well as reducing its reliance on Google. For now though, the fabled deal looks like it will remain just that.
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:23:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:24:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:24:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:24:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:24:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:24:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:24:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:24:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:24:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:24:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:24:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:24:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:24:00 AM
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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 8/10/2012 05:24:00 AM
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