After announcing their intentions and asking the community for input, the iPhone Dev Team has announced the official release of anySIM as Open Source software under the General Public License. They also have further clarified their reasons for this move, which involve the misappropriation of code by third parties. More »
A trio of girls has scooped the honors in Siemens’ Math, Science and Technology Prize, the first time in the competition’s nine-year history. According to James Whaley, President of the Siemens Foundation, the percentage of girls taking part in the competition has been steadily increasing each year — and this year, 48% of the contestants were female. So, does this double victory dispel the theory that women just don’t have it when it comes to excelling at sciences? More »
Good-looking mini speakers are few and far between, IMHO, but Elecom’s ASP-S750 diagonal speakers have a certain je ne sais quoi. Designed to go “forward toward the sound of fire,” according to the Engrish blurb, the 2.5W-per-channel speakers come in white or silver, and full specs are below the gallery.
Just in Japan for now, the NEC Lui is a system designed around a central server which will stream media to any device around the house using WiMax and Windows Vista. They showed the central server as well as a few devices based on the architecture, like a 4.1-inch Sony VAIO UX-like ultra-mobile PC. The central server is also designed to work outside the local network, allowing you to, paraphrasing Wilson, “sling your content out into the world” as soon as it’s not copyright protected. [Akihabara News]
Nokia Comes With Music is a new program that will get you a year of free “unlimited access to millions of tracks from a range of great artists – past, present and future” when you buy a new Nokia device. Yes. Free. Gratis. Apparently the stuff-your-ears-until-you-explode service is subscription-based and the first year is free with the phone but, unlike other similar offers, you keep the music after the subscription is over. Could this really be free beer? More »
I’m sure the editors at PC World didn’t think their declaration that the fastest Vista notebook ever was a Macbook Pro would be immortalised in a Mac vs. PC Ad. Of course, PC benchmarks go stale fast. I wonder what’s going to be announced at Macworld 08. [Apple via TUAW] More »
Only 10 of these gold-colored Zune 2s will be sold, in both 80 and 8GB sizes. Microsoft teamed up with the Goods to make these screen printed designs. I like the cross pattern. They’re available next Saturday, in Seattle, if you feel the need to splurge. (No price listed but “Gold” plus “Limited Edition” plus “one of ten” plus made in collaboration with a company called “Goods” equals expensive.) Whether or not this design or Zune is something you’re interested in, you have to admit Microsoft’s customisation program has been destroying the iPod’s offerings. [IHaveAZune via GotZune]
While it is no surprise that everyone and their mother is putting out a gift guide during the holidays, the problem is that most of these guides are basically the same. It is not that they aren’t useful–many are quite comprehensive, featuring the most popular gadgets today. But what if you are not interested in picking up an iPhone this year? Watch me prove just how generic five gift guides turned out to be, then check out five alternative guides that offer a refreshing departure from the norm: More »
