Monday, November 19, 2007

Apple Spies on iPhone Users, Hackers Claim

11:30PM November 19, 2007 | Jesus Diaz

Put on your tinfoil hats, because according to the findings of XianLi, one of the members of Hackint0sh, the iPhone spies on you. The evidence in the code shows that the Stocks and Weather applications send your IMEI number—the unique number that identifies your iPhone and is tied to your personal information—to Apple, along with the nature of the information you are looking at: More »


Computing

Asus R50A Has GPS and TV Tuner and 3.5G Connectivity

11:12PM November 19, 2007 | Addy Dugdale

Information about Asus’s new UMPC, the R50A, is out and about. And, if you like these kind of things, the chunky handheld with a 4.8-inch, 1024 x 600 screen boasts both 3 and 3.5G connectivity. And that’s not all: More »


World’s Worst Fembot Slaps Your Face When You Touch Her Boobs

10:37PM November 19, 2007 | Addy Dugdale

newVideoPlayer("fembot_gawker.flv", 475, 376);

I can’t see Aiko, seen here last week at the Ontario Science Center, being the world’s favourite fembot — For starters, she’s a dowdy dresser. And secondly, she will slap your face if you try and get busy with her breasts without chatting her up first. She’s the creation of Le Trung, who has developed the B.R.A.I.N.S (Bio Robot Artificial Intelligence Neural System) software, controlling Aiko’s speech, reading, math, vision, colors, hearing, automation and sensors. Her attitude makes a change from the last laydee android we featured on the Giz, who looked like a missing teen forced to do rude things to her kidnappers. Anyway, the poor girl needs a new wardrobe. Anyone like to help her out? [Project Aiko and YouTube via The Raw Feed] More »


Geek Out

75-Story Skyscraper Will House Overflow for New York’s MoMA

9:24PM November 19, 2007 | Addy Dugdale

Jean Nouvel unveiled his design for The Tower at 53rd West 53rd Street this weekend. As well as the now-obligatory apartments and seven-star swank-hotel, the 75-story glass-and-steel structure will have three floors dedicated to housing the overflow collection of the neighbouring MoMA. Check the gallery below to see what the skyscraper, whose construction is expected to begin some time next year, is expected to look like.

More »


Computing

AMD Spider Platform Is Gaming Supercomputer or So They Say

9:18PM November 19, 2007 | Jesus Diaz

AMD has just announced their Spider platform, which they claim is the best PC gaming platform out there. Spider combines AMD Phenom quad-core processors, up to four ATI Radeon HD 3800 cards and the AMD 7-Series chipset, with CrossFireX, HyperTransport 3.0, AMD OverDrive, AMD AutoXpress and Nonobtanium-Enhanced Flux Capacitors to provide massive acceleration for high definition 3D graphics. The experts, however, disagree: while strong, especially in the graphics department, the Phenoms are falling short on the frequency front compared to equivalent Intel processors. More »


Swarovski-Infected Limited Edition Mplayer from iRiver

8:43PM November 19, 2007 | Addy Dugdale

iRiver’s Mplayer, the Mickey Mouse-themed music player, has been given the bling treatment just in time for Christmas. Just 500 of these glittery rodent-redolent MP3- and WMA-compatible players have been made, and they come with lanyard-style earphones.

There’s 1GB storage space, and you skip songs by twisting Mickey’s left ear — exactly what I do to my “special friend” when I want him to change the TV channel. Price is 16,800¥, or around $150. [Impress] More »


Mobile

Touchless Nokmote Controls Nokia N95 With Motion

8:43PM November 19, 2007 | Jesus Diaz

newVideoPlayer("nokmote_gawker.flv", 475, 376);Nokmote is a Symbian S60 free program that will allow you to use motion to control the Nokia N95, similar to what you do with a Wiimote. The usual cynics will call it a “gimmick!” Some other will say “silly!” Others will shout “french!” And you will be right, but it looks to work quite well in the two games he tries at the end of the video, specially when he connects the N95 to the television for some tempestastic action. [Nokmote via MobLearn - Thanks Christopher] More »


Gadgets

Sanyo Brings out Waterproof Portable TV, a Companion for the Xacti

8:18PM November 19, 2007 | Addy Dugdale

The LVT-WD40 is a waterproof portable TV that Sanyo claims is the perfect bedfellow for its waterproof Xactic camcorder. Widescreen, and with 480 x 272 resolution, it will cost 50,000¥ ($450) when it comes out in Japan on Wednesday. File this one under “chocolate teapot”, I think. [Impress] More »


One-Step DVD/CD Duplicator Rips Without a PC

11:45AM November 19, 2007 | Haroon Malik

TEAC’s One-Step DVD/CD Duplicator will rip your CDs, or DVDs, without the need for a connection to a PC. That is enough information for us to decide we like it; it is simple and it can copyright infringe in around 6 minutes flat, thanks to the 48x CD drive read speed / 16x DVD read speed. Nice—but don’t use it to copyright infringe, or you shall be hunted down like a dog and be made to pay like a millionaire pooch. More »


Geek Out

Jump Up Internet Rescue School Provides Rehabilitation for the Internet Addicted

10:45AM November 19, 2007 | Haroon Malik

South Korea’s Jump Up Internet Rescue School is the first of its kind, providing rehabilitation to those who cannot escape from the confines of the great interweb. Fittingly, South Korea is the world’s foremost internet connected nation, with over 90% of homes having access to cheap, high speed broadband. Worryingly, this has been the reason for the establishment of a rehabilitation centre for those who are addicted; the ready availability of the internet means users have grown seriously dependent on the world wide web’s offerings. More »