Gearlive is showing off some convincing screenshots of the new iPhone firmware 1.1.3. Arn over at Macrumors thinks they seem like functions Apple would do, even if the features don’t line up with previous rumours:
FYI: The Washington Post article starting to bubble its way across the internets about the RIAA arguing that personal rips of CDs you actually own are illegal is sorta old news from a few weeks ago. [Washington Post]
Website XboxFamily.com dropped a rumour this week that peripheral maker Gyration is developing a motion-sensitive add-on for the existing Xbox 360 controller. Microsoft has yet to utter a word regarding this rumour, but could the Big N have finally ruffled Microsoft’s feathers? [XboxFamily via Next-Gen via Kotaku]
Wii modchips have been around since the start of the year in one form or another, but some folks at the 24th Annual Chaos Communication Congress just demoed a new Wii hack that lets them have full access to the console, including all the hardware. By using a custom serial interface, they were able to grab access to the encryption and decryption keys during runtime by doing memory dumps. Don’t worry about the details if you’re not sure what’s going on, just know that you’re going to be able to run even better homebrew and “backup” Wii games in the near future. [Nintendo Scene via WiiNintendo]
Imagine drinking copious amounts of alcohol, all while staring at this “waterfall” optical glass bar designed by Tokujin Yoshioka. You would be heading to the bathroom every 15 minutes. In reality though, no actual water is used. The effect is created using an optical glass block that is crafted in such a way that it gives the impression of flowing water. An interesting design concept for sure, but if I were a bar owner I would think twice about installing it. Water bills can be a bitch. Additional image after the break.
Our buddy Ramon of modding fame has been busy lately, with the Rockstar Wii mod following up a long procession of mods anybody would be glad to call their own. This latest mod was comissioned specially for Kevin Smith, and features the four main characters from Clerks. Not only is the console itself really “Clerksy”, the Nunchucks have “Kevin Smith” and “Silent Bob” engraved on it so his wife knows which controllers are his.
While we’re just now struggling to get credit cards that pay wirelessly, Korea’s already moved on to the next stage and made their credit card USB-compatible. Not only can you wave this thing in front of a register like Harry Potter trying to Wingardium Leviosa Hermione’s dress, you can plug this into your computer to make online purchases as well. It saves you the trouble of either remembering your CC number or fetching your wallet every time you want to buy a copy of, say, an iPhone book on Amazon. Korea: not just the place where red hot world cup ladies come from anymore. [etnews via The Raw Feed]
The Associated Press just reported that the FAA is now banning all Lithium batteries, meaning you can’t travel with extra batteries for your laptop or digital camera. Outrage of outrages! The problem is, they’re wrong. The FAA is now banning Lithium Metal batteries; the Lithium Ions that power a good chunk of your gadget collection is still A-OK as long as you take them on board in your carry-on and not in checked luggage. You probably don’t have many big, non-rechargeable Li-Metal batteries kicking around, and if you do I doubt you’re all that worried about traveling with them. Now that that’s settled, let’s move on with our lives, shall we? [Boing Boing and NY Times]
Not all of us like fitting a DSLR in our pants when we go on vacation, which is why DigitalCameraInfo’s best point-and-shoot cameras is useful for just about everyone. They graded on different criteria, with the Fuji F50fd taking the prize in resolution, the Sony T100 in least image noise, the Canon A570IS in color accuracy, the Sony H7 in low light and the Canon S5 IS in video. There’s no one camera that dominates more than one spot, so it’s mostly up to you and where you’ll snap pics to decide which P&S to buy. It’s too bad DCI didn’t rate how well these cameras can fit into a pocket, which is as important as anything else they tested for. [DigitalCameraInfo]
Toiling away in a cubicle all day can be boring during a slow holiday week, believe me —I know. So it is no surprise that employees will often turn to office toys in an attempt to get to 5pm without doing any actual work. Sounds like a great idea, but you had best stay away from the gadgets below unless you have an extremely cool boss, you are the boss, or you hate your job. Because you cant have any cubicle fun when you are spending your days doing deplorable things in alleys for cash.
