May 10, 2008

Networks

AT&T Says Free WiFi for iPhones Will Come... Someday

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 11:45 PM on May 10, 2008

All AT&T's flip-flopping between offering free wireless at Starbucks and then taking it away—turns out it was some peon screwing up after all. A spokesperson for the company told the New York Times that the confusion was due to a "human error." But the day when iPhone users can definitively access the internet while sipping on frappuccinos will come, the PR flack assures, AT&T is just refusing to say when. Oh, come off it, AT&T. The cat's out of the bag already, you might as well roll out the service now. I'm sure there will be plenty of secrets you can accidentally release before deadline in the future. [New York Times]


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Toys

Pleo Gets Thrashed at the Hands of a Battlebot

Posted by Adrian Covert at 12:00 PM on May 10, 2008

At Maker Faire 2008, a group of carnage-loving individuals pitted the 2007 Holiday Toy Darling Pleo against the heavy duty battle bot, Vicious Verdict, in a no holds barred competition. Needless to say, the sniff-n-grunt capability of the Pleo was not match for the blade-equipped bot, which turned Pleo into fillet meat. But the funniest part of the video (below) might be the background shrieks little kids, who were forced to watch their Christmas present get shredded. Mean, perhaps, but undeniably funny. [DViCE via Tech Digest via Bot Junkie]


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Entertainment

Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums Come Pre-Ripped For US$9,000

Posted by Wilson Rothman at 11:30 AM on May 10, 2008

If you're rich enough to have a dedicated media server from the likes of Crestron, Elan, Escient, Kaleidescape, ReQuest or Apple—a strange one to mix in, I thought—you can go off and buy Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time already ripped and encoded on a NAS RAID drive, for the low price of US$9,000, thanks to a company called Terra-San. I can see several problems with this:


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Design

Crazy Contraptions From The Biodomotica Secret Underwater Lab

Posted by Sean Fallon at 11:00 AM on May 10, 2008

Truth be told, the "Biodomotica Secret Underwater Lab" is not actually secret, or underwater, or even a lab for that matter. The name actually referrers to Italian designer Massimo Marazzo's project website where one can find designs that are as unique as they are baffling. A selection of these concepts are available in the gallery below.

handphone-2friend-detectormagic-cardsphone-chairgps-maprfid-ring
[Biomotica via Gizmowatch via Gearfuse]


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Gadgets

Lightning Review: Olympus TP-7 Mobile Phone Recording Mic

Posted by Brian Lam at 10:46 AM on May 10, 2008

The Gadget: This olympus microphone plugs into a recorder and your ear, recording whatever you hear. That makes it perfect for recording mobile phone interviews, which traditional telephone voice recorder setups meant for landlines can't.


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Peripherals

Moshi Zefyr: A Macbook Heatsink On Your Lap

Posted by Adrian Covert at 10:06 AM on May 10, 2008

Moshi's Zefyr is a portable cooling pad for the MacBook that provides a near silent fan, powered by USB, and offers a temperature drop of roughly 3 degrees Celcius. The Zefyr is designed to place your MacBook at an ergonomically beneficial tilt, and when not in use, the Zefyr collapses to better fit in a bag.


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Science

Plasma-Powered Hovercraft Patent

Posted by Adrian Covert at 9:30 AM on May 10, 2008

The patent shown is for an aircraft to be powered off the ground using a plasma technology. Subrata Roy, a University of Florida aerospace engineer, proposes the existing technique of passing a magnetic wave through a conducting fluid can produce a force strong enough to lift an aircraft off the ground. Granted, the example in the patent is only 15 cm, and attempts by others haven't gone particularly well. But with phrases like magnetohydrodynamics being thrown around, I keep flashing back to the space travel scene in Contact and getting excited. Subrata Roy must be a poet. [WIPO via Ubergizmo]


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Gadgets

Myhab Recyclable Concert Dwellings Now Available For You to Do Horrible, Horrible Things In

Posted by Sean Fallon at 9:00 AM on May 10, 2008

We first came across the Myhab festival dwelling last year when designer James Dunlop was in the process of developing the concept. Now it appears that the Myhab is open for business in the UK. The customisable units are made from recycled plastic and waterproof cardboard and include foam mattresses, temperature insulation and a lockbox to store your valuable herbs possessions.

myhab-4myhab-2myhab-3


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Gadgets

Light Bags LoJack Your Handbag With GPS

Posted by Sean Fallon at 8:30 AM on May 10, 2008

Get a load of this racket. A company called Marilyn Light Bag has developed a series of purses equipped with a GPS tracker in the event that it is lost or stolen. A device, the product page claims, can not be deactivated by a thief. The real kicker here is that the first two months of GPS monitoring are free, with a US$15 charge for each month thereafter. So, essentially you are paying for your purse in perpetuity—all in the hopes that you might be able to recover the bag if it should ever vanish (but the contents may be another story). Prices start at US$30. [Lightsbag via Shiny Shiny via Popgadget via Ubergizmo]


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Computers

Apple's Sparking Power Supply Lawsuit Settled (Verdict: They're Paying)

Posted by Brian Lam at 8:26 AM on May 10, 2008

The class action lawsuit brought against Apple for PowerBook and iBook power bricks with the potential to spark has been settled. If the final approval for the settlement goes through, Apple will pay US$25 to US$79 to customers who "bought an adaptor made by Apple or another company to replace a failed one." [LA Times, photo from Don Ramsey]


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Entertainment

Watch Netflix Downloads On Your Xbox 360

Posted by Brian Lam at 8:19 AM on May 10, 2008

By installing the vmcNetflix plug-in to a Vista Premium Media Centre computer, you can watch streamed Netflix content on an Xbox 360. It's buggy, but it's a lot better than watching Netflix on a laptop screen. (Providing you have Netflix, an Xbox 360 and a Vista Media Center.) Maybe Netflix should open up streaming to lots of devices, not just windows PCs as of today. I know Mac support is coming, but combining wide support for their online services with disc delivery, it could be a pretty sweet hybrid of the old and new. Video demo post jump. [vmcNetflix via Hacking Netflix and Thomas Hawk, thanks Mike]


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Games

How Would You Kill This DS?

Posted by Mark Wilson at 8:00 AM on May 10, 2008

If you came across this Nintendo DS resold by King Deco, the question isn't if you would kill it but how. My plan would involve a hazmat suit, the jaws of life and that big pool of molten steel from Terminator 2. But enough about me. How would you kill this Nintendo DS? [King Deco via ShinyShiny]


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Robots

RC Beer Cooler Robot Now Available For Pre-Order

Posted by Sean Fallon at 7:30 AM on May 10, 2008

It was a big hit at CES, and now you can get in on all of the drunken laziness. The device will be available from Solutions on May 23rd for US$69.95 and from Firebox on the 28th for US$78.30. [Solutions and Firebox via Toyology]


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Design

HandTalk Glove Turns Sign Language Into Words via Mobile Phone

Posted by Sean Fallon at 7:00 AM on May 10, 2008

Attempts at making a glove into a communication device for the deaf have been going on for years now, but a group of undergraduate computer engineering students at Carnegie Melon have come up with what has to be the most practical design to date. The main difference being that it translates sign messages through a mobile phone as opposed to a bulky computer. And the best part is that the device uses fairly inexpensive materials to work its magic.


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Games

Guitar Hero: On Tour DS Bundle Coming in June

Posted by Adrian Covert at 6:59 AM on May 10, 2008

In a conference call today Activision said that their DS rendition of Guitar Hero will be hitting stores in June, and Nintendo was so impressed by the controller add-on, that they're allowing the hardware to be included with the game as a bundle set. Activision didn't discuss price or specific release day, but it's good knowing the game is coming sooner than later. Let's hope it's as awesome as the console version. [Joystiq]


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Gadgets

Pet-Proof Your AV Gear For Fun and Profit

Posted by Jason Chen at 6:30 AM on May 10, 2008

Unless you want to spend money on replacing your AV gear or replacing your pet, you're going to have to protect one from the other. Sound & Vision Mag has seven suggestions on how to do just that. Among them are wrapping up your rat's nest of wires behind the TV, placing a ScatMat (not what it sounds like) to gently shock little animals that step near your goodies, shielding your screen and hiding your remotes. Sounds like a pretty good warmup for when you have to baby-proof your AV gear a few years down the line. Especially with that ScatMat thing. [Sound And Vision]


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Regulars

Gadgets That Help You Slack Off at Work When the Boss Isn't Looking

Posted by Sean Fallon at 6:00 AM on May 10, 2008

Did you get stuck with weekend duty at work? Are you just plain bored at your job? Sitting in an office all day may not be the most exciting way to spend your time, but that does not mean that you can't make the most of it. And when I say "most of it" I am definitely not referring to increasing your productivity—the following gadgets will destroy any chance of that. However, they will certainly help keep you entertained until quittin' time—especially on a Friday afternoon.


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Computers

Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves

Posted by Adrian Covert at 5:37 AM on May 10, 2008

A White Plains, NY woman who was the victim of burglary, including her MacBook, used the Back To My Mac screen sharing feature to turn on her webcam and capture images of the unwitting culprits using the computer. As a result, police were able to arrest the thieves and recover most of the stolen goods, which included two laptops, two flat-screen televisions, two iPods, gaming consoles, DVDs and computer games.


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Software

Vista Media Centre Supporting BBC iPlayer (Unofficially)

Posted by Mark Wilson at 5:30 AM on May 10, 2008

For those living in the UK, the BBC iPlayer is a pretty fantastic VOD service with one drawback: you have to watch shows in-browser. Now one philanthropist coder has written a Vista Media Centre interface for the iPlayer. So you can view BBC content on your TV without the PS3 and Wii workarounds, or, at the very least, break free of your browser's annoying viewing restrictions. It's a free download, so all you Doctor Who fanatics should have plenty of cash left over for living-room-destroying merchandise. [Milliesoft via eHomeUpgrade]


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Design

Bright-F Clothes Scanner Lets The Blind Hear Colours

Posted by Jason Chen at 5:00 AM on May 10, 2008

Did you know Daredevil's costume was supposed to be black, like the night, instead of bright flaming red? That's because Matt Murdoch is blind, and the bastard couldn't tell one material from another. Did you know I made this story up in order to introduce the Bright-F design, which scans clothing and speaks the colour so you don't match lime green with puke brown. We have a hard enough time dressing ourselves as it is, so we could see this being a tremendous help to the visually impaired. You know, if it were real. [Yanko Design]


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Phones

iPhone World Map Charts Jobs' Giant Game Of Risk

Posted by Mark Wilson at 4:30 AM on May 10, 2008

It's tough to keep track of the iPhone's slow global release, so one Apple fan assembled all the data into one easy to read map. If the country is red, then they either have the iPhone or will be getting it this winter. (Note: Switzerland, Spain and Poland are still just rumoured, not official).


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Gadgets

The Most Ridiculous Beer Pong Table Ever Automatically Washes Your Balls

Posted by Adam Frucci at 4:30 AM on May 10, 2008

A group of electrical engineering students at West Virginia University has built the most insane beer pong table ever. It's got lights all around that react to the music playing as well as a pair of built-in swirling ball washers. It's incredible. They're taking orders for them now if you want one of your own, but be warned: this first one cost them US$1,000 and 400 hours of work to complete, so it won't be cheap. Hit the jump for a video of it in action, and be sure to skip to 2:30 unless you think still photos of electrical engineering majors and circuit boards are suddenly cool when set to Linkin Park.


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Phones

HTC Touch Diamond Lands on FCC, Puts Up Mission Accomplished Banner

Posted by Jason Chen at 4:00 AM on May 10, 2008

The Touch Diamond, HTC's 2008 flagship phone, just hit the FCC. This means that it's well on its way to one of the four carriers, most likely either AT&T or Sprint first, judging from the way the original HTC Touch played out. As Addy said in the hands-on, it's the most iPhoney of Windows Mobile phones yet, and feels much like a tiny iPhone for people who have small hands. [FCC]


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Hardware

Toshiba Bringing PS3 Innards to Notebooks, TVs

Posted by Adrian Covert at 3:54 AM on May 10, 2008

Its recently been revealed that Toshiba is planning to use Sony PS3 technology in its upcoming TVs and Notebooks. The OC Register's Gadgetress got her hands on the Toshiba's Qosmio notebook (shown above), which will use the SpursEngine chip, jointly developed between Toshiba and Sony around the Cell. The processor will handle much of the video and multimedia processing, taking the load off the main CPU.


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Home

Alley House Brings Luxury Living to Cockroach Cracks

Posted by Mark Wilson at 3:30 AM on May 10, 2008

There's plenty of room left to build in the world's major cities; we just have to be MacGyver about it. Because when one group of architects looked at an alley, they saw the perfect lot for a five-story building that's less then eight feet wide.


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Networks

Dems Launch Net Neutrality Bill, GOP Says "Hands Off the Poor ISPs!"

Yesterday on Capitol Hill, two Democratic representatives introduced a House bill that would require broadband ISPs to "interconnect with the facilities of other network providers on a reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis." It also requires them to treat all content,... Read More »

Peripherals

Narae Inter Recorder Mini, Tiny Mobile Mic

Posted by Mark Wilson at 2:00 AM on May 10, 2008

A laptop microphone can be pretty handy, but not all computers have them built in. Narae Inter's Recorder Mini is a tiny microphone that will fit in any standard mini jack microphone port and pick up sounds within a 10-metre radius. Released only in Korea at the moment, we're not certain about the price, but the magic of the internet could surely make the product part of your mobile arsenal. Like your USB hub. And your gun. [AVING via TechFresh]


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Phones

AT&T Changes its Mind Again, No Hotspot Access for iPhone Users

Posted by Adam Frucci at 1:57 AM on May 10, 2008

AT&T has flip-flopped yet again on the issue of iPhone customers getting free access to AT&T hotspots. While yesterday the iPhone plans page clearly stated that access to the hotspots was included with all plans, that statement is now gone again. Hey, AT&T: why don't you make up your minds and be clear about this? This is ridiculous. [AT&T via I4U]


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Toys

WowWee Chatterbot Looks Like Robot Hell-Hound, Does Friendly Banter

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 1:40 AM on May 10, 2008

Move over