Saturday, April 28, 2007
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Exclusive Pics of the Vudu – Video Store In A Box
3:05PM Seamus Byrne | These are the first pictures of the box, remote control and UI of Vudu, a video store in a box that is going to engage in a battle royale with Apple TV later this summer. The service will launch with thousands of movies from seven major studios as well as indie distributors, connects directly to your TV and does not require a PC or a cable box. The company, Vudu, Inc., has been quietly engineering the technology and striking deals with content owners for the past two years (under the codename Marquee). It’s run by some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley. Find out more about the box, its load-sharing network, and the Apple connection after the jump. galleryPost('Vudu', 4, 'Vudu'); More »
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Apple Issues MacBook, MacBook Pro Battery Update
11:30AM Seamus Byrne | Those of you with MacBooks and MacBook Pros purchased between Feb ‘06 and April ‘07 should grab this update. There’s some problem with these notebooks that occasionally makes it so that your battery won’t charge, won’t recognize, or reports a low charge when it’s fully charged and has a battery cycle count of less than 300. Oh, and those deformed MacBook Pro batteries? That’s caused by this too. If you install this update and your battery’s still acting up (showing the above symptoms), you can head into an Apple store and get a free battery replacement. Especially if you’ve got that 300 cycle count thing. Because that’s madness. – Jason Chen Battery Update [Apple via MacWorld] Image courtesy CNET More »
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Big-Box Retailers: Why We Need iTunes and Other Online Stores
11:15AM Seamus Byrne | An article in the Wall Street Journal today drives home why record labels need to hop on the DRM-free digital music train to get their wares out there. Wal-Mart, Best Buy and their ilk are now responsible for at least 65 percent of all music sales—including online stores—and they’re reducing the amount of music they carry as CD sales drop. Do we really want Wal-Mart dictating what music people listen to? More »
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German Shift Knob LCD Makes Gadget Fans Happy
10:30AM Seamus Byrne | Although people who drive stick know what gear they’re in by feel, this German shift knob is something we think they can get behind. It’s a learning shifter, which you assign gear numbers to depending on your car’s specific position. When you switch to that gear, the LCD display on the top shows you correct gear in easy-to-read numbers. Very sweet. Although our cars are automatics (some of us, anyway), this thing’s too cool to pass up. Plus, it’s only $169—not too expensive at all. – Jason Chen Product Page [TMTuning via Auto Blog] More »
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Smart Mug Heats, Maintains Liquid Temperature
10:00AM Seamus Byrne | As good as regular mugs are, that damn second law of thermodynamics always wins out in the end, making sure your hot coffee is now just bitter luke-warm liquid. But with the Smart Mug, all you have to do is set a temperature, plug it into your car’s cigarette lighter, and you’ve got yourself some always-hot beverages. The only thing to watch out for is spillage, which at 160 degrees (the maximum this cup can heat up to), will make sure you never have to use contraception again. – Jason Chen Product Page [Gifts and Gadgets via Gearlog] More »
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FastMac Ships First < $500 Blu-ray Burner For Macs
9:30AM Seamus Byrne | Whether you’re making home Blu-ray movies to distribute to your friends or just backing up all your data with 50GB chunks, Blu-ray seems to be the way to go if you’ve got a Mac. FastMac’s latest Blu-ray drives are the first sub-$500 BD burners that we’ve seen, and work fine with Mac Pro, PowerMac G3-G5, eMacs and iMac G4s. Check out their full spec list after the jump for the types of Blu-ray discs it works with. But still, five hundred bones is a lot to fork out if you don’t really need it for work or to make money. There’s a reason why Blu-ray and HD DVD porn movies cost $49.99 each. More »
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Apple on the Prowl for More Flash Memory
9:20AM Seamus Byrne | There’s a predator on the loose and rumor on the Interwebs says that it’s Apple. According to DigiTimes, Apple is on the hunt for more NAND flash memory to satisfy its insatiable belly. It already has a deal with Samsung, but now Apple is asking for 10-15% more than what they initially bargained for, which is about 400-500 million 4GB NAND chips. Samsung’s not sure they can meet the demand. All I gotta say is that I’d hate to be the guy to disappoint this man. – Louis Ramirez Samsung and Apple in Talks About NAND Flash Purchase [DigiTimes via AppleInsider] More »
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Microsoft Makes More Money, Fewer Xboxes
9:04AM Seamus Byrne | A few days ago, we reported Apple’s stellar quarterly earnings, not because we’re going all Wall Street, but because we heart Apple. (Like you didn’t know.) One brave reader named Jim called us on the bias, saying that Microsoft did amazingly well in its most recent quarter, and deserves a bit o’ Gizmodo love. “Why aren’t you reporting Microsoft’s successful quarter?” wrote Jim. “Hey, maybe you have it wrong, and Vista is a huge success…and it can only get better with worldwide sales.” Well, Jim, wherever you are, when you’re right, you’re right. Microsoft did have an impressive quarter, but there was also some grimness tucked in with those upwardly moving graph lines. More »
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Are You Hot? Infrared Thermometers Give You a New Pickup Line
8:30AM Seamus Byrne | Although it’s not specifically used for wine, like the Nuvo Vino, there’s nothing technically stopping you from taking temperatures of your drinks with these infrared thermometers. They come in three sizes—keychain, pocket, and radar detector—and all are able to measure anywhere between -76 degrees F to 938 degrees F. Word of advice: If you’re pointing this at something and it’s reading 938 degrees F, back away. – Jason Chen Largest Size [X-Treme Geek] Pocket Size [X-treme Geek] Keychain Size [X-treme Geek] More »
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