Wednesday, May 23, 2007
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Magnets Might Chase Those Blues Away
11:56PM Seamus Byrne | We’ve been hearing wild stories recently about researchers using magnetic stimulation of the brain to make a sleep-on-demand machine, and now here’s a magnetic brain stimulator that psychiatrists might use to treat clinical depression. It’s supposed to send an electromagnetic pulse 3cm into your brain, and somehow stimulate the prefrontal cortex, that part of the brain responsible for making you a civilized human being. At the same time, it gets that blood flowing more freely, making you feel oh-so-good. Hey, who wouldn’t want a magnetic strap-on to chase the blues away? The FDA is testing this thingamajig, and if all goes well we could be catching a buzz from this magnetic toaster by the end of next year. Hang on, you depressed souls, help is on the way. – Charlie White The Magnetic Brain Stimulator Will See You Now [Wired] More »
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Samsung’s Future Phone Concepts to Mimic the K5
11:30PM Seamus Byrne | Design-wise, Samsung’s K5 MP3 player is spot on, so it’s no surprise the company’s modeling its future cellphones on the stylish MP3 player. Recent Samsung patents show cellphones with sliding/slanting screens and cradles that let you “stand” your handheld for watching videos or making video calls. It’s a simple design tweak, but one that would make today’s media phones a bit more practical to use. – Louis Ramirez Slanting Cradles Coming to Samsung Phones and Media Players [Unwired View] More »
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80GB PlayStation 3 May Come To US, According to AP
11:17PM Seamus Byrne | We told you on Monday that an 80GB PS3 was slated for launch in South Korea on June 16. What the good old reliable Associated Press has learned from Sony is that the company is considering the model for the US as well. Actually, here’s what the AP heard: “Increasing capacity for models is one of the options,” said Satoshi Fukuoka, spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “We make such decisions depending on the needs of the market, and every country is different.” So it’s not carved in stone. I for one think a 20GB bump up is just too small, given the low cost of hard drives. Why not double it to a clean 120GB? And while we’re at it, how about online HD movie downloads? Oh, right, Blu-ray. – Wilson Rothman Sony may sell 80-gig Playstation 3 in US [AP via Denver Post] More »
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Logitec Lands Six New Docks for iPod
10:36PM Seamus Byrne | Classy Japanese company Logitec has brought out three new iPod docks—rather like Daddy Dock, Mummy Dock and Baby Dock. You can see the LDS Ri500, aka Mummy, above, which includes a radio tuner and looks fabulously future-retro. Check the gallery for the other two, whose details are after the jump. AU: Don’t forget, this is Logitec, not Logitech… galleryPost('logitecdockipod', 5, 'logitecdockipod'); More »
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IO-Data USB2-W31RW Card Reader is Monochrome, but Well-Read
9:50PM Seamus Byrne | This card reader from IO-Data, the USB2-W31RW, comes in black and white, and can read 31 different types of cards—SDHC memory cards, micro SDs, memory sticks, MicroProles, SecuriMinge, SDHoHos, STDs, BumperMong Sticks, Multi-Media Splanges, High-Speed Jezebel Sticks, KrispyKremeKards, MemoryCleet, Fangs4DMemory and HDSpazzTwigs, for starters. What it won’t read: credit cards, birthday cards, business cards, bus passes and kidney donor cards. It weighs 120 grams and is now Vista-friendly. – Ad Dugdale Product Page [IO-Data via Akihabara News] More »
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Epson P-3000 Photo Fine Player Stores Photos, Plays H.264 Videos
8:48PM Seamus Byrne | On Monday we brought you a PMP from Asuka and compared it to last year’s Epson P-5000. Well, Epson has come back with their P-3000, a 40GB HDD which plays H.264 videos on its 4-inch screen. It’s Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Mac compatible and you’ll get three hours’ battery life for movies, and six for music playback. All that is available for $499 Stateside. – Ad Dugdale The subordinate model of Epson and H264 reproducible HDD storage [PC Watch through Google Translate] More »
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Pandora Hits Sprint Phones and Sonos Remotes
2:00PM Seamus Byrne | Right at this moment, a bunch of music fans are sitting in rows at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s Wattis Theater, eagerly awaiting the fate of Pandora, the cult-hit semi-customisable Internet radio service. What are they about to hear? That Pandora is teaming up with Sprint and Sonos to get into mobile and household gadgets, and is also introducing a new online interface for the free service. Why should you care? Mobile net radio has been in the non-existent to sucky range, and a lot of people enjoy Pandora in Web form. At least until Slacker’s many promises are realised, this is the biggest step in mobilising net radio to date. More »
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LCD Safety Shield Protects TV From Flying Wiimotes, Babies
11:30AM Jason Chen | We’re still puzzled as to what kind of spaz lets go of their Wiimotes during play, since none of the people we know have had this problem. But if you’re one of the lucky few who flip out in Wii Baseball and chuck that thing across the room, this LCD Safety shield should be just the ticket to keeping your investment safe. The shield is made by Taiwanese TV maker LCDArm and will fit 30 to 46-inch screens, has a invisible frame, 98% transparency, and reduces UV rays from (we’re guessing) the TV. No price or release date on this yet, so cool it with that Wii throwing in the meantime. – Jason Chen Product Page [LCDArm via Gearlog] More »
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Directors Believe 3D Movies are the Future, World Keeps Looking the Other Way
11:00AM Addy Dugdale | As if most movies weren’t bad enough in two dimensions, now studios and top directors believe that the future of movies will be 3D projections. According to the New York Times, people like Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Jeffrey Katzenberg are preparing films in this format, both for the creative possibilities (or so they say) and to stop piracy. More details after the jump. More »
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9:45AM Seamus Byrne | While we were sleeping …
Conference goers spotted a rare species, the Vista Service Pack. But will it ship?
The Japanese showcased new portable TVs … but at almost a grand, it could be an expensive way to die.
Buy one of these gigantastic 787 Dreamliners and you’ll get the trolley dollies for free.
Face it, we all love rumors about our favorite company in Cupertino (is there any other there?) and what they’ve got in store for us specially if it means better new iMacs.
Irregular guys might like to twist up a phat one and try and solve an irregular Rubiks cube.
More »
Breakfast Wrap: Best of Tuesday night
9:45AM Seamus Byrne | While we were sleeping …
Conference goers spotted a rare species, the Vista Service Pack. But will it ship?
The Japanese showcased new portable TVs … but at almost a grand, it could be an expensive way to die.
Buy one of these gigantastic 787 Dreamliners and you’ll get the trolley dollies for free.
Face it, we all love rumors about our favorite company in Cupertino (is there any other there?) and what they’ve got in store for us specially if it means better new iMacs.
Irregular guys might like to twist up a phat one and try and solve an irregular Rubiks cube.
More » 