Sunday, November 4, 2007
Games
Ben Heck’s Definitive Atari Mod Mega Timeline
11:32PM Haroon Malik | Console modding extraordinaire, Ben Heckendorn, is up to it again; reminding us that, yes, he is still selling his sexy revision 5.1 Atari hand helds for $350 and a sacrificial 2600. The Atari Rev 5.1 really is his most complete system yet, including built-in paddle controller, difficulty switches and player 2 port for multiplayer games. And it’s a mere 1-inch thick—no small feat when you realise there’s an entire vintage console in your hands. All in all, the 5.1 really may be Ben Heckendorn’s definitive Atari 2600 project. So we thought it was about time we looked back on over 18 of Ben Heckendorn’s fantastic Atari projects that got him to this point, so we’ve put together this awesome, spectacular, fantabulous timeline fit for any console modder’s wet dream. More »
Phones
UK iPhone Launching with 1.1.2 Firmware, Jailbreak Broken
12:45PM Mark Wilson | T3 got their hands on the new European iPhone, and to their delight (and dismay), the phone is pre-installed with firmware 1.1.2—which is newer than the 1.1.1 firmware we currently have in the states. Believe it or not, it’s actually packing some new features. But before you ask, their early testing shows that current Jailbreak software is no longer functional. So that whole saga continues! The biggest standard consumer-oriented change is probably that the phone supports 12 languages out of the box, along with special keyboards for French and German languages (we guess that the other languages see a more limited level of support). There’s also bundled free access to The Cloud Wi-Fi hotspots, which we’ve already seen in the European iPod Touch. And like we said, no more iPhone hacking for a little while. [t3] More »
Computers
XO Laptop for $20*
10:45AM Haroon Malik | *We brought you news about OLPC’s Give 1 Get 1 initiative previously. Under the scheme, buyers will purchase a XO laptop for $399, and included in the price will be the cost for a second laptop, which will be donated to a third world child on the consumer’s behalf. To back the plan, T-Mobile shall be offering one year’s complimentary Wi-Fi HotSpot access for those participating. We think that this is a great offer, as HotSpot access for a year would normally cost $359.98 on its own. Now you can grab a XO laptop for yourself / buddy in a third world country and bag T-Mobile HotSpot access for a whole year for an extra $40.01, only. That’s (kinda) a XO laptop for $20! The buyers will be sent the details for HotSpot access once they have made a qualifying purchase. Good on T-Mobile. Well done—keep it up, chaps. [Businesswire] More »
Screens
Which TVs are the Most Reliable? Flat Ones.
10:00AM Mark Wilson | Consumer Reports’ Annual Product Reliability Survey will be featured in their upcoming December issue. Its news? Flat panel displays are far more reliable than their rear-projection counterparts. Just how much more reliable? Around 15% 500%. The study showed that both LCDs and plasma displays needed repairs, on average, of only 3% of the time. Meanwhile, rear-projection sets had an overall necessity of repairs of 18%. And the worst culprates in rear-projection were DLP TVs. Yeah, apparently those millions of tiny mirrors need millions of tiny fixes—which is really too bad, since my eye favours good DLP over LCD and plasma any day. Consumer Reports’ other conclusion was that neither repair prices nor rates on either type of TV warranted warranties. So don’t let that punk kid in a wrinkly blue shirt scare you out of your money better spent on hi-def content. [informationweek] More »
Random Stuff
Wedgie Proof Underwear Makes Us Recall the Bad Times
8:35AM Haroon Malik | Two 8-year old geniuses have invented wedgie proof underwear—more than a decade too late for us. Simplicity is the key to all great design, as the inventors showed when they presented the Rip Away 1000 on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, which is the most unlikely platform for the display of the 8-year olds prodigious talents. More »
Gadgets
The Gadget Wars, Who Won/Lost Last Week?
7:50AM Mark Wilson | Every week is a crazy, unbelievable Battle Royale between companies, PR, reporters and consumers. Like this one time, a guy at the bar was in line in front of me for the bathroom. Another guy left the bathroom, but the guy in front of me was too engrossed in some conversation he was having to step up. So I politely asked, “Hey, could I go ahead?” And then he stuck his chest out and wanted to fight. OK, that isn’t like the gadget wars at all, but let’s just say I went to the bathroom without a hitch (and not in my pants). More »
Announcements
Vote for Giz
7:20AM Charlie White | Without trying to stuff the ballot box or anything, the 2007 Weblog Awards ballots are now online, with November 8th being the last day you can vote Giz for Best Technology Blog. We’ve been a good little Gizmodo, haven’t we? And you, well, you’re the best little readers, yes you are. Yes you are. If we win, we promise to give each of you a ride in our private Gizmodo jet, taking you to a week-long frolic at the Gawker recreational compound, and then you’ll each walk away with your own pony, complete with iPhone holster. That’s right, we’ll buy you a pony. Vote here. [2007 Weblog Awards] More »
Phones
Hop1883 Entry Level GPS Phone is Like Lindsay
7:07AM Haroon Malik | The great guys over at Navigadget just heard word of an entry level phone with GPS functionality. The new cellphone, called the Hop1883, will be offered by Hop-On Wireless, and has the classic candy bar form factor. Beyond being cheap and not bad looking (like Lindsay Lohan), the Hop1883 will be tri-band 900/1800/1900 MHz, with a 240 x 320 QVGA screen, 2MP camera and will have a SiRF Star III GPS receiver chip. More »
Phones
Challenger Mobile to Offer Free VOIP Without Wi-Fi
7:00AM Mark Wilson | A mystery carrier in the UK will soon be partnering with Challenger Mobile to offer free VOIP from normal phones without the annoying necessity for a Wi-Fi network. The prospect would allow a mobile phone user to call any country in the world for completely free if the other party supports the techology. So how does it work? It’s a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) based service, meaning that it’s compatible with most cellphone service standards already. When I call you through SIP, your number would be converted to an email-like extension automatically and be sent to a central server. That server would then contact us both to establish the connection. And in the case that your service isn’t SIP supported, calls can be appropriately routed to standard telephone networks. We’ll keep an eye on the potentially excellent service. But as many of you already know, anything promising to save you money will probably cost you. [challengermobile via informationweek] More »
Hardware
