Saturday, December 22, 2007
Press
Gizmodo Sues The Onion for Libel, Asks Drew Curtis for Legal Advice
10:00PM Jesus Diaz | TAHOE, Nevada (Agencies) — Popular technology blog Gizmodo.com has sued the leading international newspaper conglomerate The Onion for libel, following the latter recent article on Microsoft Corp.’s (MFST) Zune 2 MP3 player’s roaring success. In declarations to the Reno Gazzette Journal this morning, Gizmodo’s editor-in-chief and dictator-for-life Brian Lam categorically denied that he referred to the second-generation Zune as having “great design.” “The Onion just made that whole thing up” Mr. Lam said, “what I really said was that the Zune 2 is an amazing piece of innovative engineering, a technological breakthrough that will affect all technology breakthroughs to come. The design, however, it a little bland.” Visibly angry, Mr. Lam accused The Onion of systematically “getting things wrong.” More »
Gadgets
Subtle Butt Gas Neutralisers Kill Farts Dead
1:30PM Sean Fallon | Last month we came across a patent application for a fart protector, but patent applications wont help that fat guy in the Mexican restaurant when the beans start kicking in. Fortunately, help is on the way in the form of an actual product called Subtle Butt. Like the patent application, Subtle Butt uses activated carbon/charcoal to neutralise noxious fumes. It also features a soft fabric with an antimicrobial treatment for added protection. And the best part is that there is an actual video demonstrating the product. Hilarious. Available for $US9.95 in packs of 5. [Product Page via Yes But Not Yes] More »
Gadgets
Papercraft Halo Dropship Makes For a Cheap-Ass Holiday Gift
1:20PM Sean Fallon | If you enjoyed creating the Master Chief papercraft figure, you can now spend your holiday downtime tackling another Halo related project —the D77 Pelican Dropship. Plus, if you are poor or stingy, you could always pass the finished project off to one of your gamer friends as a gift. After all, the gifts you make with your own two hands are the best right? Just don’t let anyone know it was completely free. Additional image after the break. More »
Entertainment
RIAA PR Masquerading as Real News: Pirated Music “Sounds Atrocious,” Funds the Mob and Killed My Mum
1:00PM Matt Buchanan | This clip is rich. If you’ve taken a journo class, you know that companies send these video junkets out to lazy local news producers all the time that sorta look like news but are really just PR propaganda. This one’s just hilariously blatant RIAA fodder though, with awesome bits like, “Prices that are extremely low indicate a CD is pirated.” Because low CD prices are totally ridiculous. More »
Gadgets
Brass Knuckles Cup: The Coffee Sucks? Wannafightaboutit?
12:40PM Sean Fallon | You know how your coffee cup keeps getting stolen at work? Walk into the break room with this bad boy and firmly proclaim that “this sh*t is going to stop right now.” You will feel like a real badass until the police arrive. The cup is a concept design from Simone Brewster, so it is not something you will be able to pick up in your local Pier 1—but if you are into violent drinking vessels, you can always get yourself a Gun Mug instead. [Product Page via Gearfuse] More »
Entertainment
Life|point HD Touch Panel is a Friggin’ Beast
12:20PM Sean Fallon | The Life|point HD touch panel takes home automation to the next level by allowing users to watch high-definition video, pause live TV or even check out four television streams at the same time—all from one device. The system also features an iPhone-esque point-and-slide navigation feature that can be used to control instant news, traffic and weather as well as the lighting, security and temperature control in your home. More »
Gadgets
Lightning Round: Zoombak GPS Tracking Device
12:00PM Wilson Rothman | The Gadget: Startup Zoombak is offering two new GPS-enabled trackers that use GSM cellular networks to report their whereabouts. One is for pets, intended to be worn in a nylon pouch on the collar of your dog (or large cat?). The other is for cars, so you can keep tabs on your teenager, at least until they wonder what the device with the blinky green light is doing. More »
Computers
Dell Listens to People, Adds Higher Res Screens to XPS M1530
11:30AM Matt Buchanan | Dell’s XPS M1530 is no slouch on the specs front, so the crummy low-res screen you were stuck with was a mildly bewildering (non-)choice. Cue power of the internets, and Dell’s open ear via IdeaStorm, and we now have two higher-res options before the launch: WXGA+ (1440 x 900) and WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050). Well played, Dell, well played. Except that upgrading will push the ship date out even further, and Dell really should’ve realised this on its own. [Direct2Dell] More »
Hardware
Bug Labs SDK Now Available
11:15AM Adrian Covert | For those who can’t wait to get their hands on the actual Bug Labs hardware, the Dragonfly SDK is now available for download with virtual hardware, so you can start working on your own apps and genius implementations for the hardware. [Bug Blogger] More »
Robots
