There’s a rumour going around stemming from Microsoft’s emails last night informing people of the Zune 2 features that the upcoming players/software update will bring video sharing. We spoke with Microsoft and they told us that no, the new Zunes cannot transfer video from device to device, putting this rumour into out of commission before it starts snowballing into something crazy like Zunes ending the WGA strike.
Also, in case people forgot, Zune Social is the name of their cool new social networking site where you can see what your friends have been listening, to as well as check out stats under each band to see who’s listened to them the most. Prepare to see our names under Pat Benatar.
I can’t play the guitar worth a damn, but with any luck the Pac-Man electric guitar would allow me to tap into my inner musician by channelling my dominant inner gaming nerd. Designed by Specimen Custom Guitars, the Pac-Man guitar features a blinking headstock and a variable-speed knob located on the eyeball that can synchronise the blinker to the beat. Unfortunately, the guitar is one-of-a-kind so chances are you won’t be able to play one yourself—which is a shame because I would love to hear how this thing sounds. [Specimen via Ubergizmo]
Expansis and Directron both have listings for black Asus Eee PCs that should be available in eight days for an extra $20. [I4U News via Coolest Gadgets]
The RFID Guardian is a personal, battery-powered RFID firewall that manages tags “within physical proximity of a person,” blocking them from answering queries—and possibly getting snooped. Better yet, it can clone your chips so you can switch the signal off and on at your command. The latest version is totally open with a wiki, source code bank and bug-tracker, making an already fantastic tool—given the proliferation of RFID chips loaded with personal info—even better. [RFID Guardian via BoingBoing]
The Work and Play Combo by the design team at Gruber + Schlager features a foldout desk for working on one side, and space for a TV and DVD player/entertainment system on the other. On one side it’s all about business, and on the other it’s all about partying. The unit “transforms” with a simple turn, which can save valuable space and add a unique look to any room. It is definitely an interesting concept, one that I would love to see go into production. [Gruber + Schlager via Trendir via Treehugger]
Fake Steve’s lengthy stream of bile laying waste to the Google Phone isn’t simply pure invective, it’s actually a mostly well-reasoned indictment of coalitions that trumpets the values of “one vision, one man, one genius.” It’s worth reading in its entirety, but this is our favourite quote: The only companies that join consortia are the ones who are too stupid or shitty to make a great product on their own. It’s like, Hey, we’ve got forty spazzo companies that can’t fuck their way out of a paper bag; let’s put them all together and maybe they’ll magically become some kind of big bad powerhouse.
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At the Web 2.0 conference, Dash GPS announced that they were providing an open API for mashing up the Cellular-equipped navigator with webapps. Here’s the first live demo of Dash being used to drive through a neighbourhood and call up the price and details on every house on the street using Zillow.com’s Database. See that Silicon Valley house with the red door? It’s 1150 square feet, yet 1.1 million bucks. What’s cooler is that they’ve got craigslist, yahoo! search and other plugins for the Spring launch. And people will build a dozens more. I’m stoked for this thing.
Today Lenovo unveiled the first computers to use Intel’s fast, energy efficient new 45nm Penryn chips. The newly branded ThinkStation D10 and S10 will offer quad core performance along with a “passive venting system” that helps to cool the system quietly.
Further spec details are scarce, but Lenovo did mention that the D10 is outfitted with a 5400 Xeon processor and the S10 with a 3GHz Core 2 Extreme QX9650. They also noted that both computers would use NVIDIA graphics and dual Gigabit Ethernet and multiple slots, bays and USB ports for expandability. Expect the D10 and the S10 to be released this January for $US1,739 and $US1,199 respectively. [Press Release and Electronista]
The Pentaphone is the brainchild of Austrian designer Robert Stadler and is intended to offer a stylish means of conducting a conversation on your mobile without being distracted by ambient noise. As you might have guessed, this product is only a concept piece at the moment, and it is likely to stay that way until people become comfortable with the idea of looking stupid under a giant helmet-like wooden dome. [Robert Stadler via Designboom]
As a guy who produces either way too much or way too little saliva, humidifiers are key to keep from waking up 14 times in the middle of the night to gulp down water. This Umydo Humidifier doesn’t just moisten up the place, it adds a touch of class to a room that only a stainless steel quarter circle dog bowl could match. We’re unclear on how the thing actually works or where the mist comes out of, but we definitely want one. [Allmodern via Oh Gizmo]
