February 19, 2008 - Gizmodo Australia

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HP Compaq 2133 UMPC Laptop

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 11:47 PM on February 19, 2008

According to these—allegedly "leaked"—photos, the black and aluminum 2.5-pound HP Compaq 2133 UMPC laptop looks like the Asus Eee PC's cooler cousin.

Real Fake Steve Jobs Mock Turtleneck, Made from Cotton, Not Harvested Chest Hair of Sacked Apple Engineers

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 11:05 PM on February 19, 2008

There are three important differences between this turtleneck and those his Steveness actually wears: First, it is slightly cheaper (we suspect). Second, it has the words "Hello my name is Fake Steve Jobs" printed in large, friendly letters on a fake name tag on its front.

EyeClops Night Vision Goggles, My Secret Manhunt Weapon

Posted by Benny Goldman at 11:00 PM on February 19, 2008

The EyeClops Night Vision goggles let you see in total darkness using infrared lights, all while giving you that special Terminator look. Two attachments allow visibility 10 or 20 feet ahead—the 10-footers give off no light, the 20s show some small red dots. I tried them on in a pitch black room and saw every poster on the wall easily. They're US$80, and they'll be out sometime this fall. A giant game of Manhunt will follow shortly after. [EyeClops]

Wow-Pen Joy Mouse Has Not a Pen, Wow, Nor Joy in Sight

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 10:46 PM on February 19, 2008

From the people who bought you the Wow-Pen Mouse, now get your hands around the Wow-Pen Joy Mouse. This shark fin-shaped mouse is F to the Ug to the Lee, but its ergonomics can only do good things to you (or something). It supports Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista, weighs 200g and has a resolution of 800 dpi. Expect it to hit around the middle of March, price will be around US$30. Gallery for those of you into ergo-porn below. [Aving USA]

Webasto Heater is Activated by SMS, Pre-Heats Your Ride

Posted by Haroon Malik at 10:07 PM on February 19, 2008

The winter may bring with it romantic comedies featuring Hugh Grant, but the downside is the drop in temperature. Fortunately, the Webasto Thermo Top E Parking Heater allows users to send a text message to a car where it is installed, which then kicks it into action, ensuring your car is warm to the touch when you get in. The self-contained unit uses a tiny amount of fuel, and can also be activated by voice or remote control. The heater outputs 4.2kW for a maximum of 60 minutes at a time. Sure, that would keep you from hanging like a brass monkey, but the US$1,695 price tag seems a little on the hefty side to us. Remember; it's not cold if it's free cold, whatever that means. [Red Ferret]

iPod Shuffle Drops to $65

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 9:58 PM on February 19, 2008

Apple's just dropped the price of the iPod shuffle to $65 from $89.

USB Owl Blinks Wisely, Doesn't Leave Owl Pellets, or Worse, On Your Monitor

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 9:39 PM on February 19, 2008

This desktop owl toy is the intellectual's version of the USB humping dog: plug it in, perch it on your monitor and get lovely warm reassuring feelings as it looks around and blinks appreciatively at your typing. On the other hand, it may also evoke weird Harry Potter-esque waking nightmares—watch the short video to check how you'll react.

Electronic Cigar Not Something You'd Find in Monica Lewinsky's Underwear Drawer

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 9:21 PM on February 19, 2008

Although it sounds like something you might find tucked away in Monica Lewinsky's bedside table, the electronic cigar is a SMOKE. Give it its full title, "Natural Wood Effect Electronic Cigar" and you would think that it belonged in Bill's bedroom, though. It works on the same principle as most electronic cigarettes—see how in the diagram below.

Nerf Vulcan EBF-25: Fully Automatic Toy Dart Gun Rambo Junior's Weapon of Choice

Posted by Brian Lam at 9:10 PM on February 19, 2008

The best new Nerf toy out of the entire Toy Fair 2008 lineup is this fully automatic dart gun. The toy is US$40, and comes with 25 belt-fed darts, powered by six D-cell batteries (!). Paired with the Mission Kit Tactical Light, this is the kind of base unit a Nerf gun modder could really learn to love.

Chumby Officially on Sale

Posted by Haroon Malik at 8:40 PM on February 19, 2008

After years of talk, the Chumby information device is now on sale to all. The hackable, Linux-based gadget provides a touchscreen to navigate around a series of stored widgets, which are updated thanks to in-built Wi-Fi connectivity. Retailing at US$179, the Chumby is available in either pearl, latte or a basic black colour. It certainly has a homeware 2.0 feel about it, and given the not-too-steep pricing, I sure am tempted. [Chumby via Make]

Kumho's Lavender-Scented Tires Go By the Name of Ecsta DX; Probably Answer to the Name 'Pointless'

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 8:34 PM on February 19, 2008

Apparently, Kumho's skid 'n' sniff tires are going out to the "trend-setting, fashion-conscious drivers" who want their cars to rock something that no one else has: the sweet smell of lavender. Now then, while I wholeheartedly applaud Kumho's decision to bring something so unique to wheelwear, I question the choice of fragrance. Surely "Eau de Roadkill" or "Rocker's Crotch" would have been more marketable than the scent most associated with a slightly incontinent old queen who thrilled millions during her lifetime—no, not Liberace, I'm talking about Britain's late, lamented Queen Mother. Full blurb from Tire Rack's product page is below.

Quadband GSM Wristphone from Epoq Charges Kinetically

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 8:11 PM on February 19, 2008

The EGP-WP88 from Epoq is the first GSM wristphone that actually looks like a watch. Waterproof to 50 metres, the WP88 has a kinetic recharge system, meaning you can charge it just by walking around, and boasts a 1.3-megapixel camera, OLED display, plays MP3 and MP4 files and can transfer data via either USB or Bluetooth. You get between two and two-and-a-half-hours' talk time, and 70 to 100 hours' standby. Costing US$530, the Epoq WP88 goes on sale on March 1. [GadgetCraver via UberGizmo]

Ricoh Updates Its Compact Camera Series With the R8 and R50

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 8:05 PM on February 19, 2008

Above is Ricoh's new R8 compact camera, a successor to last year's R7, packing a 7x optical zoom along with a 10 megapixel sensor with CCD-shift image stabilization. It also has a 1:1 square image capture mode, for that medium-format feel, a 2.7-inch LCD, and captures images up to ISO 1600. Also new is the R50, limited to a 5x zoom, but with the same sensor and image stabilisation. More info below the gallery.

Motorola Updates Its Mobile TV With Navigator

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 7:43 PM on February 19, 2008

Motorola's DH01 mobile TV, above, seen at CES last month, has been updated already. The beleaguered electronics company added a GPS navigation system to the DVR (and an "n" to the model number) and took its DH01n to Barcelona's MWC to show off. It still uses DVB-H format, though, which ain't exactly popular over here. [Motorola]

Toshiba Kills HD DVD, Official

Posted by Jesus Diaz at 6:57 PM on February 19, 2008

We have been saying it for ages, but now it's official. HD DVD has been pronounced dead on Tuesday, February 19, 2008, even before the press conference has started, according to our Ichiroo, from Gizmodo Japan. Toshiba's press release is out in the wild. The Format War is over. Full release after the jump.

AU: Toshiba are holding local press conference at 11am today – I'll see if I can gain any juicy info for you guys.

Apple Patents Show the Advanced Future of Multitouch

Posted by Brian Lam at 5:59 PM on February 19, 2008

These Apple patents show standard trackpad, basic multitouch and gonzo "Advanced Multitouch" never seen before on shipping products. The advanced UI includes thumb/forefinger/middlefinger combos for saving, closing and opening files, as well as cut, copy and paste. (The patents assume the system can detect the differences between different fingers. [Macrumors]

This Is What The PSP Phone Should Look Like

Posted by Nick Broughall at 1:24 PM on February 19, 2008

Sometimes all it takes is a sexy looking mock-up to get you excited by a fictional product. I'm not saying that the PSP-phone is a fabrication of some overstimulated imaginations – in some deep, dark dungeon of Sony Ericsson's design lab they probably have half a dozen prototypes. Bu that doesn't mean that they'll ever make it to market, no matter what Sony Magazine says.

If (and when) the PSP phone ever does come to market, I really, really hope it looks like this. I mean, come on... who wouldn't want the two-way sliding mechanism, sleek black lines and full PSP controls). It actually looks like it would be good for both gaming and making calls.

Of course at the moment, this is a complete fake - the magazine even admits that the PSP phone only has a 35% chance of becoming reality. On a side note, I'm not entirely sure what mag it is – to me it looks like a Spanish version of Stuff. If anyone can confirm, post in the comments. It's driving me crazy!

[NeoGAF via Kotaku AU]

Entertainment

6 Million Tracks for US$3 Million Bucks? That's Worse Than iTunes

Posted by Nick Broughall at 1:01 PM on February 19, 2008

When you guys filled out our reader survey last year, we learnt a lot about you. Like how some of you are practically dying to spend some of the millions of gold coins you use to swim through every morning to help wash away the feeling of not making more money while you slept. And yes, I am jealous.

The only reason I bring up the absurd wealth of some of you (you know who you are), is because I may have found a way for you to spend some of that cash. eBay user jpaulhenderson5a4e is selling his music collection, which includes more than three million records and over 300,000 CDs for a whopping total of more than six million songs.

If the maths there seems a little bit off to you, it's because the collection does include many duplicate copies. But still – six million songs! All from the 20th Century, all meticulously catalogued and organised, and currently housed in a climate controlled warehouse.

Steampunk Iron Man: Our Unhealthy Obsession Continues

Posted by Sean Fallon at 1:00 PM on February 19, 2008

I don't know what it is about steampunk, but we simply can't get enough of it. Now we are ashamed to admit that our obsession has reached rehab-like proportions. However, it looks as though this steampunk Iron Man will have to keep us satisfied until we get the help we so desperately need. [Sillof via Fwoosh Forums via Fanmode via Plockhead]

If the Poms Can Do It, Why Can't We?

Posted by Nick Broughall at 12:36 PM on February 19, 2008

BBC iTunes.png

So, The Rudd Government is thinking about legislation for ISPs to control online piracy. Which would be all well and good, if only we had access to online video here in Australia. While we're languishing in the pre-historic age, the BBC has just made their collection of TV programming available for UK iTunes users.

Each episode will cost £1.89 (about $4), and will be made available online eight days after they're broadcast.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why the local TV networks aren't jumping up and down trying to get their programming online. Even if it means they just start with local productions and work out licensing for international programs later. Obviously the ABC does this already in the form of video podcasts (hurrah for Aunty), but by working together with someone like Apple, they could seriously create an extra income and reduce piracy in one swift movement.

In any case, judging by how long it took for the networks to agree for their EPG to be broadcast and how long Channel 7 took to let Foxtel rebroadcast their signal, we should have local programming online by about 2020. Hell, I'm being positive here.

[Macrumors]

Computers

Backstory and Teardown of the Lenovo X300 (Components By Weight!)

Posted by Brian Lam at 11:10 AM on February 19, 2008

Here's an interesting bit: The Lenovo x300 almost had the old IBM butterfly keyboard of old. This detail and others were revealed in a Businessweek cover story on the ultrathin, quickly being recognised as the antithesis to the Apple MacBook Air. The piece has a lot of other interesting background, like the above info graphic of a teardown with weigh for each component. Also, it nearly had a 10-inch screen.

Flash on Flash: SSD Benchmarked Against SDHC

Posted by Adrian Covert at 11:00 AM on February 19, 2008

Tablet PC Review benchmarked the SSD storage format vs SDHC (high capacity SD cards), concluding that SSD substantially outperforms the other flash format. To SDHC's credit, it produced access times that rivaled SSD, but while a class 6, 8 GB SHDC card read at around 18 MB/s and wrote around 14 MB/s, a 128 GB SSD read and wrote at over 90 MB/s. The point? Just a reminder that not all solid state is created equally. [PC Tablet Review via JKK on the Run]

Australian Release Dates and Prices For Panasonic Cameras

Posted by Nick Broughall at 9:53 AM on February 19, 2008

You know all those cool Panasonic cameras we looked at during PMA last month? Well, Panasonic has just announced local pricing and availability. Hit the jump for the full breakdown...

Ubuntu Linux Comes to the Dell Inspiron 1525

Posted by Sean Fallon at 9:50 AM on February 19, 2008

Linux fans should be pleased with the announcement that Dell has added the Inspiron 1525 to their Ubuntu 7.10 lineup. It has also included built-in DVD playback to save users some valuable downloading time. The laptop will not arrive in the US until later this month, but customers in the UK, France, Spain and Germany can get theirs today. [Direct2Dell]

R2-D2 Cake Looks Too Delicious to Eat

Posted by Sean Fallon at 9:30 AM on February 19, 2008

If I were to get married, I would be honoured if pastry chef Mark Randazzo of Mark Joseph Cakes would whip me up one of these awesome looking R2-D2 cakes for the reception. Unfortunately, that would also probably mean that my marriage would be over before it began. I would be left all alone, weeping in a corner cramming fistfuls of R2's delicious body into my mouth. [Mark Joseph Cakes via B-Side Blog via Boing Boing via Technabob]

Binatone Carrera's S350 GPS Unit is Unbelievably Sexist

Posted by Sean Fallon at 9:10 AM on February 19, 2008

According to a recent press release from UK based Binatone Carerra, their new S350 GPS unit is "the perfect sat nav for women" because it comes in a "choice of colours, it is suitable for a handbag, and it is nail friendly." Apparently, "it's time women caught on to this extremely useful technology."

Star Wars Series 2 Mimobot Flash Drives Ship Tomorrow

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 8:40 AM on February 19, 2008

The Star Wars Series 2 mimobots—Luke, Leia, Han and Boba Fett—that were due last month are finally shipping tomorrow, three months after going up for pre-order. They've got a brand new feature that I'm not sure if I love or hate: When you plug in or eject the drive, it plays sounds from Star Wars, in case your coworkers didn't already know you were a virgin. [mimobots]

Japan's Nikkei: HD DVD Announcement from Toshiba Tomorrow, Sales and Production End by March

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 8:20 AM on February 19, 2008

Nikkei is reporting that Toshiba prez Atsutoshi Nishida will officially call it quits for HD DVD tomorrow, with sales and production ending in March for players, PC optical drives and the disks themselves. [Nikkei]