Sunday, December 9, 2007
Music
How to Disable Zune 3-play Restriction for Shared Songs
9:39PM Jesus Diaz | Are you lucky enough to have a Zune and know someone who has another one? Would you like to squirt fluids and songs with your future wife? Think the Wi-Fi song sharing sucks because the restriction that limits playback to three times? In other words: would you like to pirate some music on the go? For shame! Oh well, it’s your soul, you are the one going to h-e-l-l, HELL. Just tag the songs’ genre as “Podcast” and eliminate 3-play limit, any chance of redemption and the ability to browse your music by genre. [ZuneScene] More »
Entertainment
Apple TV is Not a Hit
3:50PM Mark Wilson | The analysts are finally confirming what we’ve known all along. Apple TV isn’t a big deal. Market research firm Forrester reports that they estimate Apple will be lucky to sell 800,000 units by the end of this year, or 200,000 short of Forrester’s 1 million unit estimation. So do they blame the marketing? No, plenty of internet-using adults know about the product (around 50%), but only 5% of those people know what it does. More »
Games
New AIBO PS Rumours Grow, PlayStation AIBO?
10:20AM Mark Wilson | It looks like Kotaku’s word on a new AIBO was fairly solid, because a new [still rumour] from Stuff talks about an AIBO PS (or AIBO PlayStation as we read that). Controlled through a PS3, the AIBO PS will appear as an avatar on the PS3 XMB (menu system). Personalities will be downloadable off PSN and…wow, it just gets better (along with the mega-sized scan):The Wi-Fi capable AIBO PS will be completely controllable through a PSP or PS3. Plus, when in security mode, the AIBO PS will be able to awaken itself when sensing sound or motion and ping your email. Your PSP could then interface with its camera and stream the signal real time. Oh, the little guy will be able to climb stairs with the best of em. Stuff puts the probability rating at around 53%. So whether it’s pure speculation or from a hot tipster, we don’t know. But none of it sounds all that crazy to us. [kotaku] More »
Robots
Imagineer Helps Design Cute, Killer Robot
10:15AM Mark Wilson | The Robotex AH is a robotic killing machine. Standing just 2 feet tall and travelling 10mph, the Robotex can go up stairs and then shoot a 10-inch hole through a steel door from a quarter mile away. And most days, that’s enough to make us crap our pants. But what’s even more interesting/scary is that this concept video was produced by ex (or rogue?) Disney Imagineer Terry Izumi. Shooting up to 300 rounds per minute and undeterred by nasty, uneven terrain, Robotex hopes to sell their…Robotex…for $US30,000 per unit to the government. And if this concept video proves in any way accurate…let’s just say I’ll never look at Micky Mouse the same way again. [fortune via inventorspot] More »
Entertainment
Superbad DVD Pulled from Wal-mart
8:50AM Mark Wilson | This may be the first time Gizmodo has reported on a DVD controversy that didn’t involve the words “HD” or “Blu.” Apparently the special edition of Superbad has been pulled off of Wal-mart shelves in Hawaii because of its inclusion of a novelty fake ID. Remember the movie? It belongs to a certain someone named “McLovin”. Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann was none too happy about the ID, even though the card’s photo is really a hologram alternating between “Fogell” to “McLovin” (to be fair, I’m of age and I’d love to carry that bad boy in my wallet). So Wal-mart pulled the film from its 7 Hawaii locations. And then sub-21-year-olds turned back to their ways of purchasing good fake IDs and, in some cases, bypassing the temptations of alcohol altogether for abstinence and whippets. [thnt] Thanks Colin! More »
Games
Darth Vader Wii, Please Don’t Buy it Now for $15,000
8:05AM Mark Wilson | The Star Wars Vader Edition Wii is pretty hot. While we could honestly do without the Star Wars theme in our living rooms (at least while company visits), the black finish and corresponding red LED gives us visions of just how good a touch of the dark side could be for the Nintendo Wii. Screw cute, family friendly pastels. We want coal, blood and steel. And we want it to spew raw meat for our ingestion. Oh, and it’d be nice if it didn’t cost $US15,000.To be fair, that’s just the “buy it now” price…which maybe for this one listing should be renamed “I think Star Wars fans are both geeky AND stupid and/or I wanted to get good publicity” price. But you could (and will) end up snagging it for far less since there’s no reserve. It also includes Wii Play ($US10 value) and they’ve gone through the trouble of painting not one but two Wiimotes and nunchuks “Vader” black ($US14,740 value). Well in that case, here’s my Paypal. [ebay via technabob] More »
Home
Oblong Gear Clock Anything But Conventional
7:20AM Adrian Covert | Now that timekeepers can be found on everything from computers to mobile phones to dog collars (well, maybe not that), the wall clock lacks function, not to mention it’s boring looking. This Oblong Gear Clock, however, eschews the round/proportionally square look for a tall, rectangular look thats jam-packed full of working gears. Even if the gears were just for show, I’d still like it just because it looks so nice. The Oblong Gear Clock can be yours now for $US125. [Z Gallerie via 7 Gadgets] More »
Software
Asus Eee Rocks Ubuntu in 3D
6:34AM Mark Wilson | Linux add-on Compiz Fusion brings some fantastic 3D effects (along with a great deal of practical efficiency) to Ubuntu. Here’s a video of the two programs loaded onto a completely stock, 512MB Asus Eee PC. We were way impressed by how the Eee doesn’t break a sweat during all the effects. In our own experience, the only thing that seems to make the Eee chug is too many successive YouTube clips…so I’m thinking it’s time to upgrade from the Eee’s stock, Asus Linux OS with some dazzling Ubuntu style. [via digg] More »
Entertainment
“Jive”, A Great Surround Sound Idea … From Vizio??
5:39AM Mark Wilson | We’re as surprised as you are, but a company not known for its innovation, Vizio, has a pretty decent idea for incorporating surround sound seamlessly into ones home theatre. Their JV47P “JIVE,” a 1080p plasma, brings the front surround channels into the TV itself. Then a separate subwoofer and two wireless rears round out the equation. While full details are scant since the model will technically be introduced at CES, it seems like a promising solution for those looking for a non-obtrusive home theatre (since you save 2 to 3 speakers, cords and a receiver from the normal setup). But we’re not holding our breath until we see how well it actually works. Vizio will also be introducing another new TV:Priced at $1499, they will begin offering a 50″ 1080p plasma with 30,000:1 contrast ratio and 100,000 hours of display life. Hmmm, two plasma offerings lead the way in a press release from the leading LCD supplier in the US. Kinda odd. We’ll try to get some ears on with the Jive at CES for you. Until then, you know, just sit there and keep reading Giz in your underwear. More »
Robots
