Just in case you missed it, at Oracle OpenWorld 2007, Dell demonstrated the multi-touch capability of their new Latitude XT tablet PC. Users will be able to use multiple fingers to draw lines or manage several images simultaneously. Kevin Kettler, Dell’s chief technology officer, noted that “it’s going to be a great avenue for creative applications to be developed around it.” Dell plans on shipping the system sometime in the next few months. [ComputerWorld]
Don’t be too alarmed, but this video shows the iPhone being accessed by terminal using a program installed by a webpage. Since the program, like all unofficial apps, runs as root, they’ve got access to data stores for mail, call lists, contacts, and voicemail, which are served up via terminal. And no, that guy isn’t hacking your ghost with those piercing eyes. I think.
This is why a managed SDK with sandboxed apps like the one Jobs proposes for February is going to be a lot better than opening up the device outright, like it or not. Since this is a hack done via a website, it’s likely the 1.1.1 TIFF exploit that can be patched by a) installing Apple’s 1.1.2 patch or hacking your 1.1.1 iPhone using the Jailbreakme.com installer website. The guy runs all this on a LAN, knowing IPs, but it wouldn’t be hard to have malware ping home, either. [FC via CrunchHickey]
What J. Allard reveals when he talks about Microsoft’s (and his) plans for conquering all media isn’t surprising—an integrated, single network for all of its entertainment products and services. NYT’s Bits sums up his spiel in three sentences: Even though the Zune and Xbox product brands are separate, they are ultimately meant to connect to the same central network. The online services for Xbox, Zune and future products will merge. Video will be a key part of this service.
Allard also shared his feelings about the first Zune—what he calls “failing fast”—and the potentially true rumours of a Zune phone.
Edgar Bronfman, the CEO of Warner Music Group, admitted that waging war on consumers was kind of a bonehead idea at the GSMA Mobile Asia Conference. Look, he actually admits to being wrong!
“We used to fool ourselves. We used to think our content was perfect just exactly as it was. We expected our business would remain blissfully unaffected even as the world of interactivity, constant connection and file sharing was exploding. And of course we were wrong. How were we wrong? By standing still or moving at a glacial pace, we inadvertently went to war with consumers by denying them what they wanted and could otherwise find and as a result of course, consumers won.”
Boy, that’s just great, Edgar. Really heartfelt, we’re all impressed. But you know a better way of admitting that starting a way against consumers was wrong? Stop suing your consumers. Jackass. Until that happens, you’re all talk. [MacUser via Slashdot]
If you are a fan of Rube Goldberg-style contraptions, you will love Think Geek’s Cological Marble Run Construction Set. It contains everything you need to create your own marble mayhem—including 23 different types of marble-moving mechanisms like rolling cars and whacking mallets. More info and a video after the jump.
This is probably the first time the word “sexy” has ever been used to describe a washing machine—but this concept piece from designer Simona Luculano is definitely worthy of such an adjective. Unlike traditional washing machine eyesores that must be hidden in a garage or behind sliding doors, the Flexible Distance washing machine could actually be used as a decorative piece.
When it comes to product placement, I can’t think of a more high-profile scoop than the International Space Station. DirecTV is wisely offering NASA a chance to install a 42″ HDTV, DirecTV Satellite DVR/receiver and a remote covered in Velcro to avoid losing the remote to spacewalk in the orbital lab. Guess you’d get tired of viewing the entire friggin’ planet from space after a few days. [Forbes]
My grandma just cleaned 10 years’ worth of useless magnetic crap off of her fridge, revealing its marbled surface for the first time I can remember. The Endo magnetic clips make me wanna cover it in crap all over again. They only support a pound, so you can’t string up a small child, or anything with real heft, unless you grab like 50 of them, which is pricey at $10 for a pack of three. [Endo via Gadget Lab]
Like many people who live in Verizon country, I have eagerly awaited the carrier’s latest—and definitely greatest—feature phone, the LG VX10000 Voyager. Yesterday UPS dropped it off, and I’ve been playing with it constantly ever since. It is a powerful thing, ambitious in that it combines much of what we like about both the iPhone and the BlackBerry into a single compact system. But it has flaws that make it hard for me to give the highest marks, especially with an after-rebate price tag of $300.
Because it’s not truly a “smartphone” but rather one of the most overblown feature phones to date, I will review each feature in its arsenal:
