Thursday, December 27, 2007
Hardware
128GB Sony Micro Vault Selling in China?
11:43PM Wilson Rothman | A tipster just sent us compelling evidence of giant 64GB and ridiculously huge 128GB Sony-branded USB drives circulating in China. When he first spotted them at a market in Zu Hai, near Macau, he thought it was a misprint, but then he discovered that his own father had a 64GB card. Lest you think he was still foolin’ himself, you can see that when he stuck the drive into a PC and checked, the thing sure enough registered around 64GB of space: More »
Entertainment
Sony VPL-VW40 Projector Brings Sony 1080p Down to Sub $3K
10:58PM Charlie White | Sony’s putting some great tech into its 1080p VPL-VW40 projector, but the big story here is the price: One penny under $US3000 takes it home. Sony just couldn’t sit still while Epson and Panasonic break the $US3000 barrier for erstwhile crazy-expensive 1080p projectors, with both competitors already cranking out their second iterations packed with 1080p-ness. So here’s Sony’s reply, this Bravia SXRD projector with a 15,000:1 contrast ratio. There’s three micro-display panels cranking out the high-rez in full 12-bit color, using liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) technology instead of those tiny mirrors in DLP projectors. And we especially like the 22dB spec of that ultraquiet fan on board. Sony says this mutha will be available on January 31st. [Sony] More »
Entertainment
Amazon Now Selling MP3s from Warner; 2.9 Million DRM-Free Tracks Now Available
10:16PM Wilson Rothman | Amazon just kicked a certain Cupertino-based company where it counts, scoring DRM-free MP3s from Warner Music Group that you can buy today. This leaves out only the big S, Sony, which is always the last to cave in when the topic is reduced content protection. By contrast, Apple, which helped usher in the DRM-free music initiative, is only selling iTunes Plus tracks from EMI. Stay tuned, though, as that could change at any minute. Jump for full press release. More »
Entertainment
Panasonic Announces World’s Thinnest Internal Blu-ray Drive
10:16PM Mark Wilson | Panasonic has announced their development of the world’s thinnest internal Blu-ray drive. At just 9.5 mm tall, it’s thin enough for laptops but still packs a performance punch. We’re talking 2X recording for both BD-R and BD-RE (rewritable) discs, along with BD-R DL support (but we’re guessing that the dual layer writing is just 1X…have fun burning those 50GB discs). The drive also supports DVDs with 8x burning on all types of discs. It’s priceless for now with Panasonic only shipping units to manufacturers at the moment, but we’ll get more details soon when it’s on display at CES. [fareastgizmos] More »
Gadgets
EZ Dupe Makes Stealing Portable Again
9:58PM Mark Wilson | We’re gonna cut the crap and avoid that whole condescending, elephant in the room post about DVD “backups” and how you need to easily copy home movies for grandma. EZ Dupe is a sexy, fairly tiny dual DVD drive that allows for simple (and probably illegal) 8x copy of your favourite discs. You can plug in the drive via USB to either a PC or Mac for Lightscribe (laser labeling) support, or unplug the drive from a computer entirely for the more portable, back-of-van piracy experience. More »
Random Stuff
Dr. Awkward Sings Backwards, Proves Rats Live On No Evil Star
9:53PM Charlie White | You’ll get a kick out of this guy’s backwards singing, and he actually has a pretty good voice. Halfway through, the video is reversed, and you’ll discover what song he’s actually crooning. See if you can guess what the song is before the halfway point. We didn’t get it until he was nearly finished with his backwards section. Great job of picking out things that look crazy when played in reverse, too. Jeez, how long did it take for this guy to learn to sing that reverse gibberish? Not to mix a maxim here, but jeez, it was worth it. After watching that, all we can say is, “Did I strap red nude, red rump, also slap murdered underparts? I did!” [YouTube, via Boing Boing] More »
Computers
Dell XPS One Is Better Machine than iMac, Loses Battle for the Software Mossberg Says
9:44PM Jesus Diaz | Today, December 27 at 1:01AM EDT, The Supreme Pope of Tech Walter Mossberg has declared the Dell XPS One a better machine than the iMac. And yes, that sound you thought you dreamt was Steve Jobs screaming and Hell freezing. The Dell XPS One comes “sightly ahead” of the iMac because of its design and hardware features, like the audio video controls or the built-in memory card readers: More »
Gadgets
Uniden Packs Radar Detector Inside MapTrax GPS for High-Tech Cop Spotting
9:35PM Wilson Rothman |
Gadgets
MPillow Concept Is Both Cushion, Light Show and MP3 Player
6:47PM Addy Dugdale | The MPillow is a technogel-filled music player-cushion combo to aid relaxation, that connects via wireless to your computer. Designed by Per Arlander, Madiene Linstrom and Ozgur Tasar, you can either download your own music or listen to the ambient whale-fart sounds available on the MPillow itself. The lights change according to your musical tastes, apparently. A couple more pictures of the MPillow being fondled by a lay-dee and in light-up mode are below. More »
Screens
