Read it and weep, Pioneer is done making plasma panels: However, we have judged that maintaining the cost competitiveness of plasma display panels at projected sales volumes will be difficult going forward. Accordingly, we have decided to terminate in-house plasma display panel production and to procure these panels externally, after panel production for our next series of models is complete…Pioneer is currently in discussions on the feasibility of procuring panel modules that may incorporate the Company’s proprietary technologies.
Translation: Kuro’s not going anywhere.
I’ve mentioned it a couple of times over the past few weeks, but I’m off getting married next week. There’s sure to be a lack of wedding gadgets at the reception, but I’ll hopefully be making up for it on the honeymoon with a whole heap of underwater cameras.
Sadly, that will mean that I’ll be offline for the next three weeks. But never fear Gizmodians! I’m absolutely stoked to announce that while I’m away, the team from BRAN will be guest editing your favourite gadget site. If you’re not familiar with BRAN, make sure you click the link and check out their Podcast – it should be part of every gadget fan’s weekly diet.
So, wish me luck! When I get back, I’ll be working even harder to make Giz AU even better, with even more competition, news, features and reviews.
Cheers all. See you in three weeks.
Nick
Gizmodian Rhett has pointed us in the direction of TiVo’s website again to show us that TiVo are once again looking for Beta Testers. Looks like I didn’t make the grade from the first intake, then. I checked and it still seems to be pretty active, so if you’re keen, fill in the form and keep us informed on what it’s like.
It doesn’t really seem like Seven’s going to pull the plug on it if they’re still asking for Beta testers, either. Hopefully we’ll even see both in the near future.
[TiVo – Thanks Rhett!]
Remember the good old days? When instead of playing Gran Turismo on the Playstation you would stick a couple of cars with wire poking out the bottom onto a track and press a trigger to make them go around? No? I must be getting old then…
Anyway… Designer Pete Nidzgorski has created a cheap, modern sculpture that anybody can hang on their wall using their dusty old Scalectrix. And if you happen to be too young to own a Scalectrix, you can pick them up cheap on ebay.
Because the tracks come in pieces, you can create practically any track design you want to have on your own wall as well, from the figure eight seen here to something complex, like a Gizmodo logo, perhaps?
San Francisco’s Municipal railway has shut down hybrid bus service on two lines that run through housing projects in San Francisco’s Hunters Point neighbourhood. Apparently, kids have taken to flipping the power switches located on the outside of the bus—which shuts down radios, lights and makes it impossible to accelerate. They say that service will not be restored until locks can be installed on the power boxes. Locks? Goddammit its a crisis! Why the power switches are located in an open box on the exterior of the bus is beyond me, but it seems that a quick trip to the local Wal-Mart could solve this dilemma right away. [SF Chronicle]
Citing a senior exec at Sony, the Financial Times have once again fueled rumours that Sony is in talks with Microsoft about bringing a Blu-ray drive to the 360. However, according to Next Gen, a Microsoft spokesperson commented on the rumour stating “there are no plans to introduce Blu-ray.” Dammit. I wish one of these companies would just put this one to bed. [Financial Times and Next Gen via Kotaku]
If the Benkatine Turbine by Leviathan Energy finds its way into homes, your bowel movements can help generate free electricity. Using the same technology found in other hydroelectric devices, the Benkatine turbine uses the water that passes through the pipes in your home to produce power. According to the company, that means you could make use of the water flowing from any number of sources—including your gutter drains. It is a simple idea, but simple ideas are often the most useful. Plus, you pass off your excessive drinking and overeating as your little way of helping the environment. [Wired via Inhabitat via DVICE]
One PC case modder has taken his battle with heat to a whole new level using a design that is 100% passively cooled. That is to say, the entire case is one gigantic heatsink. Unfortunately, numerous problems were encountered during the project and in the end, a faulty motherboard and power supply issues made a proper test of the case problematic. So, even though the mod is flawed, there are plenty of ideas that can be gleaned from the process itself that could result in something a little more practical. Hit the link for instructions. [Metku via Hack n Mod via Gearfuse]
I know we probably got your hopes up with our story the other week about the R18+ rating for games being back on the table, but it isn’t going to happen. South Australian Attorney-General Huge McTool Michael Atkinson is staunchly opposed to the adult classification, and seeing as how all Attorney-Generals need to agree, there’s no chance of it happening.
I was so angry when I read his argument as to why he opposes the rating over on news.com.au that I was about to write an essay dismantling every argument he had. Then I discovered that Logan over at Kotaku had already done the hard work for me. Go and check it out and spread the link to all your friends – it’s an extremely well-written and logical argument for the introduction of an R18+ rating for games in Australia. And the more people we have on our side, the better the chances that we’ll finally get treated like the adults that we are.
