As if it wasn’t cool enough already to be an Apache pilot, these pictures arrive to make us even more envious. If an Apache is nearby a rescue situation then they will sometimes try to lend a hand—even though they only have two seats. The lucky/unlucky copilot has to step outside and sit on the wing stub, to make room for the evacuee. These guys at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo are practicing the move. I imagine that “noisy, uncomfortable and fun” doesn’t even begin to describe this. [Strategy Page]
Logitech’s $99 AudioHub is what it looks like: a none-too-portable speaker bar for you to prop your laptop against. It’s got a built-in 3-port USB hub, too. The smart thing is that both the audio and the USB connect to the laptop with the same single USB cable. If you have a webcam, you can attach it to the removable camera stand (shown in pic after the jump). The real question is, how does it sound? We’ll answer that in October when AudioHub ships.
A Federal Court judge has labelled the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s action against Google “opaque and repetitious”, asking it to clarify its claims.
In what is touted as a world-first action, the ACCC has accused Google of not doing enough to differentiate its organic search results, ranked by relevance, from the sponsored links that appear at the top of its results page.
The lawsuit was announced in July with the consumer advocate alleging Google and The Trading Post (owned by Telstra subsidiary Sensis) contravenes the Trade Practices Act by representing an association with another business when one doesn’t exist.
The ACCC is seeking injunctions that would restrain Google from publishing such sponsored hyperlinks. Google continues to deny any misconduct and the case is adjourned till October 4. -Anna King
Google misleads on sponsored links, Australian court told [APP via AFP]
While its not new news that Transformers: Animated is debuting on Cartoon Network in the spring, the surfacing of new toys from the show is. Over the last few weeks, concept shots started to surface and the bloggers at Toys R Evil have been diligent in gathering them into a single post. New characters like Bulkhead look pretty cool with a modern Anime-inspired design. Check out a few shots here after the jump and check out the entire gallery at [Toys R Evil] .
The FX3020 Soundbar Speaker System is one of the five new speaker-related goodies introduced by Altec Lansing today. Specifically built to go directly under a flat panel monitor, the one-piece rectangular speaker features precision-angled drivers and a built-in sound field expander. The slick speaker also uses XdB for bass (to cover for a lack of subwoofer) and can connect with older iPods, laptops, Mp3 players and so on. A great way to tidy up your desk the FX3020 SoundBar will be available in October of this year for a MSRP of $US99.95. [Altec Lansing via infoSync World]
Altec Lansing introduced a new Bluetooth speaker today that packs a number of wireless audio options into a sleek design. Only an inch thick, the Soundblade connects to any Bluetooth 2.0-compatible gadget and outputs whatever audio you offer up through two 2.5-inch speakers. Moreover, when used in conjunction with a music phone, the phone not only controls speaker volume, but the speaker controls can be used to switch tracks on the phone. If that’s not enough, the Soundblade acts as a giant speakerphone, making use of a built-in microphone. The Soundblade comes out in November for $US130. [Altec Lansing via infoSync World]
The first free iPhone unlock software has been sold and successfully installed today by Mr Paul Taylor, from the UK. Giz was there as an exclusive witness, but when things went badly and the process failed repeatedly giving a “baseband communication error” I jumped in to help. Lucky me, I found the solution after some troubleshooting, and I am afraid that it means the software unlock doesn’t work with all configurations. [Updated Sept. 11, 02:52AM EST: iPhone Sim Free has issued an application update to fix the problem we discovered during unlocking. Jump to see their statement.]
There’s no better way to trump your neighbour’s Halloween decorations than with a vomiting zombie-thing. CostumeFind knows what you want, and what you want is an animatronic man vomiting into a barrel when you cue the switch or press the foot pad. The decoration also makes a vomit noise, finally giving you the chance to trigger a block-long Trick-or-Treater vomit chain.
The device works on standard A/C power and comes with a tape player, a tape ripe with vomit sounds and an amp with speakers. You’ve got to provide the vomit, which is where you can get really creative and either make your own or stuff the thing with anything from candy to old syringes. A hilarious decoration with the best product picture I’ve ever seen, it’ll set you back a small $US2,880 – which is so worth it. [CostumeFind]
You can now own the shirt of that hot half-naked woman you see on the billboard! H&M – or the European version of the GAP – is creating billboards and magazine prints that will allow you to buy clothing using your mobile phone’s camera. Unfortunately, you still can’t buy the actual model.
Black-and-white patterned boxes called Semacode bars will be placed on advertisements which carry coded information that will bring the shopper to the retailer’s product catalogue. You’ll then be able to buy the clothes using your mobile phone account, making it that much easier for your spouse to rack up an insurmountable debt and send you to an early grave. [CherryFlavor via SciFi]
The masses in China don’t have an HD disc format yet to pirate, let alone two that their studios can bicker over. But they will soon with CH-DVD, the HD DVD variant approved by China. I’d guess HD DVD was picked over Blu-Ray because the format’s lower cost of production on the player and disc side. While HD DVD and CH-DVD aren’t actually compatible (they are just based on the same physical design), a few things could result from this that could benefit everyone: Cheaper players, cheaper discs as more factories go online. That could push adoption up, worldwide for HD DVD, simultaneously driving studios insane with greed and fear. BTW, did I mention HD DVD is a region-less format? More when I find out.
