What do hardware engineers talk about when they’re drunk? Merging two distinct gadgets into one gadget, as evidenced by this Asus MS71 mouse/storage device. It’s a wireless laser mouse, but at the same time it’s a USB thumb drive. The marriage of the two may sound good on paper—if you don’t think about it for more than five seconds—but the actual execution gets you either something that’s way too cramped to use comfortably as a mouse, or way too big to shove comfortably into a USB port. How about a Webcam/USB thumb drive next? Maybe we need to be more drunk to come up with these things. [Newlaunches]
CeBIT ended yesterday, and I can’t say I miss it. Most importantly, the product lines were thin. Secondly, there was a transport strike on the fair’s first day. And, there is, apparently, a shortage of prostitutes in Hannover, a definite problem for the whore-mongering tech press corps. (You know who you are.) The last time it was important enough to attend was several years ago, and I’m not sure we’re ever going to this show again.
The big shebang on Sony’s latest entry-level DSLRs, the a300 and a350, is their two-way tilt-y live view. Pogueman takes a peek today and really digs it: “Live View on existing cameras is slow, noisy and deeply confusing” but on the a300 it’s “a completely different experience.”
I had the fortune of being able to visit both Microsoft’s Redmond Campus and Apple’s Cupertino’s offices within the same week. So, I thought I’d do a little comparison as to how a visitor perceives and experiences the respective headquarters. Both campuses have those generic looking tech worker buildings with large mirrored glass faces and grey/beige walls. But both have vastly different signage, transportation systems and designs. Take this for what you will, and if you want, draw comparisons between company philosophies and geography. But before we get started, I gotta say that I honestly got lost at Microsoft. For an hour.
Trusted Reviews says they’ve got a “rock solid source” who claims Microsoft will dump the standard 20GB hard drive that’s now included in the Xbox 360 Premium (which they’ve since just dubbed Xbox 360) for 60GB drive as early as Q2 of this year. This rumour makes sense if Microsoft’s planning on hitting drive-heavy applications such as movie streaming or IPTV, since an HD movie can take up a huge percentage of that small 20GB drive as it is now. Of course, all of this is just a rumour, and if you really wanted a larger hard drive on your 360, you can always just go out and buy one of their 120GB units now. [Trusted Reviews]
You finally brought that man/woman of your dreams back to your space den, and you’re trying to seal the deal. May I suggest using this US$15 Spaceship Fragrance Oil Warmer, the geekiest love aid we’ve ever seen. Imported from far off galaxies and recommended by captains by the name of Kirk, Gordon, Solo and Zapp Brannigan, I’m not sure how you could go wrong except if you tipped it over and caused a chemical fire in deep space and your airlocks all blew out before you finished your business time. [product page via Nerd Approved]
While ogling Sony’s Xperia X1 at CeBIT, the dudes at PhoneMag noticed a definite, conspicuous splash of AT&T flair. There’s been no official word it’s been cleared to board the Death Star, but it runs on all the right bands. And well, honkin’ AT&T Xperience window on a demo unit at a tradeshow all the way in Germany, hello. [Phonemag via WirelessInfo]
Samsung’s no stranger to dual touchscreen phones—their Soul is a slider with one big one and one small one—but this G400 seems like a clever use of dual touchscreens. The two, one on the outside and one on the inside, are both 2.2-inch TFT LCDs, and allow people to control the phone without flipping it open. Inside, there’s a 5-megapixel camera with facial detection and image stabilisation, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, FM radio and three distinct GUI themes for you to choose from. No price or availability yet for the US, but it will be launched in Europe starting June 2008. [Mobile88 via Mobilewhack]
My satellite dish. My apartment full of cats. I’m king of the nerds! [Product Page via CrunchGear]
The makers of the cheesy snack Doritos launched a new competition today, asking the UK public to design a new advert for a unique audience: ETs. The winner’s 30-second video clip will actually be beamed from the high frequency radar telescope in Svalbard, Norway, in June, directed toward a likely looking star in Ursa Major. Doritos are calling it the world’s first interstellar advertising campaign, and who are we to argue with a claim like that? We do have one question, though, which all humankind should ponder on— is a snack food the best way to advertise intelligent life on Earth?
