It’s vital that the human race stores all the collected knowledge of previous generations. It would be a shame, though, if novels, scientific journals and music all survived, but the dance which I bust out at weddings didn’t. Some researchers from the University of Tokyo think that they can store traditional dances for the future, by recording them with motion capture and using robots to play them back.
The 2008 edition of the Guinness World Records book will feature three records for Samsung cell phones. The SGH-U100 is the World’s thinnest cell phone at 5.9mm, the SCH-B600 has the highest photo resolution in a cell phone at 10MP and the SGH-Z370 is the world’s thinnest 3G cell phone at 8.4mm. However, with the speed that these records change, it seems like the achievement isn’t just in making these phones, but releasing them to coincide with the compiling of the next book. [I4U]
There may not be tiny LCD screens on each key, but Logitech’s new high-end Vista-friendly keyboard-and-mouse pairing, the $170 MX5500 Revolution Cordless Desktop, does have an integrated display for time, calculator functions, media controls and incoming messages. The price includes the MX Revolution laser mouse, typically a $100 value. It also includes Bluetooth 2.0 integrated throughout the system, although I am a wee bit suspicious of the one-USB-port system requirement. I’d hope that is where the mouse’s rapid-charging station goes, but I’m not holding my breath.
“Move away from her, you bitch!” yelled the booth babe when I started getting a bit too close to Samsung’s SP-A800B DLP projector. Not surprising, really, because the beast is bea-utiful, and I was dribbling a bit. It’s big, measuring 17 x 8.3 x 18.8 inches &mdash there’s also a smaller one, with 13.5 x 6.3 x 13.6-inch dimensions for all the non-size queens amongst you. So, how was it?
Melbourne-based tech vendor Designwyse had a massive fire back at the end of July, destroying their entire premises. Thankfully no one was hurt, but their systems were completely destroyed. Like this Xserve rack. Did anyone else know an Xserve has a gooey, nougaty centre that spills out when you cook it? Tasty! Another shot of the rack after the jump. -Seamus Byrne Thanks Ben Greig! [Designwyse]
News broke over a week ago on the Fone Zone buyout of Apple reseller Next Byte. Thought we’d better throw in some speculation on the subject, because we’ve had a few reader queries: could this offer any clues on the iPhone network deal?
In a word, no. Fone Zone may be Telstra exclusive, but that won’t make Next Byte the same. This is Fone Zone broadening the income portfolio – if Telstra gets iPhone, Fone Zone won’t need to be an Apple reseller to stock it. I’d almost think that, if it is anything at all (and I stress, I don’t think it is), it would be a firming of the idea that Telstra won’t have iPhone on their network. They want in on Apple goodies, and perhaps they aren’t expecting to see any in a Telstra-only store anytime soon? -Seamus Byrne
Why, why, why, why, why, why WHY??!?? First it was the Samsung Q1 UMPC that pulled the special release move, and now the word from Asus is that the Eee PC UMPC will be available by ‘special tender’ only. I can’t begin to describe how pissed I am at these kinds of releases… if you can call them releases at all?
Yes, fine. It’s an immature market. You probably won’t sell many at retail. But give us early adopters a chance to fall in love and spread the joy to the rest of the world!
If you are the type who has access to ‘special tender’ ordering – whatever that is – then you should be able to get your hands on an Eee PC around October/November. -Seamus Byrne
UPDATE (09:25): Just to clarify, we don’t know what the international release status will be, but this is the word we have on how it will become available in Australia. So you may find it on shelves when next you hit Hong Kong or something, but in Australia, it’s special access only. -SB
Fresh off their victory over Channel Nine, IceTV has added a new recommendation service to the IceTV system called I Watch This. Currently dubbed a public beta, there is a lot of promise in this idea – like any recommendation system, the more people who get in on it the better it’s going to get.
It’s got a simple “I Watch This” vote system as well as a reviews area, and entries can be clicked through to add them into your online IceTV schedule. The guys at IceTV have promised this is just the start of their new wave of features as they kick into top gear now the court case is over. -Seamus Byrne [I Watch This]
At last week’s Panasonic launch event, one item that jumped out at me that was otherwise completely undiscussed was the new PTX5 2.1 channel home stereo. It’s small, it’s pretty, and it has serious audio chops while also playing the role of DVD player so it’ll do the ‘complete’ solution in a very small space. Warning: it isn’t cheap.
Panasonic doing stereos? Here’s the scoop: Matsushita (the company behind the Panasonic brand) also owns a little number called Technics. Oh yes, THAT Technics! The engine behind the PTX5 is all Technics, baby, and it all starts to make sense when we cranked this little number and it filled what was a space larger than most living rooms I’m ever likely to spend time in. They’ve made a nice choice to keep the two channel speakers relatively small while giving the sub a bit more substance to give that bottom end some serious grunt.
No Breakfast today, because the US crew were on holidays so there wasn’t much to report. You’ll find a little more IFA coverage from the crew in Berlin below. -SB
