Dust-proof and showerproof—although, despite the shower head-keyboard bunk-up in the picture, apparently not waterproof—this plastic laptop cover from Thanko is a glorified freezer bag. Available in A4 and B5 sizes, it is the plastic sofa cover of portable devices. Cost is around US$20, and I suggest using Cling-film instead. [Thanko via Akihabara News]
When it comes to the fine art of presenting movies on discs, Criterion’s treatment of films, in quality and extras, finds itself unparalleled. And that’s why it is amazingly good news that they’re finally going Blu-ray.
Blu-ray music is set to get a massive boost in the form of Neil Young’s archive collection, a 10-disc set that will chronicle his music between 1963-1972. Presumably, there will also be another set later on that covers the years after that too.
The discs will include high-definition audio recordings of all the songs in that period, including previously unreleased tracks, as well as video and other memorabilia.
Apparently it wasn’t just the superior storage of Blu-ray that got Young excited about the project, but the inclusion of BD-Live, which will let him provide more material to fans as it becomes available. That is, providing they have a BD Profile 2.0 player.
The set should hit US shelves (and hopefully Australian ones too) around July.
We’ve known it was coming for a long time, but now there’s been an official announcement. The Eee PC 900 from Asus will be available in Australia this month in both the 12GB version running Windows XP and the 20GB version running Linux.
The XP version will set you back $599 and the Linux $649. As far as distribution goes, the XP model will be through retailers everywhere and the 20GB Linux model will be through selected computer resellers, so it may be a little bit harder to find.
Hit the jump for the full press release:
What you’re looking at is the World Press Photo of the Year 2007, taken by Tim Hetherington in Afghanistan for Vanity Fair. While it wasn’t taken by an Australian, there were plenty of winning shots that were taken by Aussies, which you’ll see after the jump.
The World Press Photos are the cream of the crop of photojournalism, and last year included a whopping 80,536 entries.
If you’re up in Sydney and want a nice free day out to see some awesome photos, the State Library of NSW has an exhibition running from today until June 5, when it heads up to Brisbane from June 12 until June 30.
It’s the kind of thing that really makes you want to get a dSLR and go and take some photos. Honestly, you should check the exhibition out.
The Dash Express GPS just received its first historic traffic model update using the live Dash data gathered by users. That’ll help predict traffic in areas where no Dash or other trusted data sources have been in the last 15 minutes. By end of month, a software update is coming with tweaks in performance, stability and routing. As for today’s historic update, Dash recommends all users download the patch by Wi-Fi. Let’s hope that more updates come often as this one, and with more features using that internet connection.
XNA 3.0 tech preview is out, and with it, you can dev or install some homebrew games on your Zune right now like Alien Aggressor and Galactic Wars 3. The directions are at [Zuneboards, thanks IPXX]
The other day we saw a mobile phone watch that you could almost be comfortable wearing out in public. Well, here’s another one, although whether this particular model passes that “seen in public test” we’ll leave up to you.
It’s a tri-band GSM phone with a 1.3-inch, 128 x 160 screen, Bluetooth, built-in camera, MP3 playback, voice recording, 6 hours talk time and up to 150 standby. It even comes with a stylus for easy navigation, and will cost the bargain price of $399.
I don’t want to hate this product too much – as a child I always longed for a watch I could use to speak to my friends covertly without my parents knowing. But somehow, somewhere between childhood and becoming an adult, that dream died.
Hit the jump for a full-feature list, which just strikes me as overkill.
PingMag did an interview with the creators of the Tenori-on that was overlooked when published, but there are a few interesting tidbits from the interview, like the fact that neither of the creators are musicians.
You hear a lot of stories about satnavs taking people the wrong way down one-way streets or off an embankment where there’s no road. But what do you do if this happens to you? Well, if Hema Maps have their way, you’ll be using their upcoming Navigator satnav to get back on the road via a bit of off-road action.
The navigator is a product from Australian-owned Hema Maps. It uses their expertise in off-road mapping to create a satnav that can be used anywhere. The hardware is provided by VMS, the same company behind the first in-car satnav.
