Saturday, May 31, 2008
Science
Mars Lander Can Move Arm Now, Probably Just Slept On It Wrong
10:41AM Gizmodo US Edition | Putting rest to fears that the Phoenix Lander might be DOA, the lander wagged its robotic arm on Thursday. NASA was worried that a stuck piece of plastic casing could prohibit the 2.3m titanium appendage from extending, making it impossible for the Phoenix to carry out crucial drilling experiments. More »
Cameras
RCA Releases New Mini-Camcorders With Expandable Memory, Water Resistance
10:12AM Adrian Covert | RCA is refreshing and expanding its line of Small Wonder mini camcorders, positioned to compete with the wildly popular Flip Ultra. The new cams feature upgraded video quality, storage and skins, though unfortunately no rechargeable battery. The Pocket and MyLife models don’t offer anything too revolutionary, but keep the same fold-out screen of the original, while the more rugged Traveler claims water resistance and shock-proof battery contacts, though the screen is built in to the body. More »
Press
Security Camera System Busts Homeless Woman Who Lived Undetected in a Man’s Closet For a Year
10:00AM Sean Fallon | A homeless woman in Japan was recently busted by the police for trespassing after the man who had been unknowingly harboring her began to notice that food was disappearing from his kitchen. To discover the source of the problem, he had security cameras installed that transmitted images to his mobile phone. It wasn’t long before the cameras captured someone moving in his home, so he called the police who proceeded to thoroughly search the premises. They eventually found a woman cowering in the closet who later revealed that she had been living there for a year. More »
Design
GPS Art: This Time, It’s the Real Deal
9:30AM Sean Fallon | A few days ago, a story about an “artist” (advertising student) using DHL to create the biggest GPS drawing in the world surfaced and, like most cool stories, it turned out to be a complete fake. However, the concept itself was fantastic—and the good news is that there is a guy out there named Antti Laitinen who is the real deal. More »
Online
How Two Teenage High School Dropouts Hacked Comcast
9:30AM Matt Buchanan | A couple days ago, a pair of teenagers brought down Comcast’s homepage and mail service. They haven’t been arrested (yet), so they gave the full story to Wired. Like most nuclear-level hacks, they didn’t intend to hijack the website and mail hosting of the biggest cable company in the country. They say they even tried to warn Comcast. But, “once we were in,” said EBK, the younger of the two, “it was, like, fuck it.” Here’s how it went down, in a nutshell. More »
Phones
GPS on the iPhone 3G Confirmed?
9:00AM Sean Fallon | We have all heard the rumours about whether or not GPS functionality will show up on the new iPhone, but according to GigaOM it is a done deal. Their confirmation is based on two factors: private sources that claim a GPS contract for the iPhone was awarded to Broadcom and legal requirements put in place last year by the FCC regarding Enhanced 911. Even though GigaOM is a reputable source, I’m not ready to buy into iPhone GPS just yet. Sources are sources and I’m pretty sure E911 doesn’t even need GPS. [GigaOM] More »
Peripherals
iHome Alarm Clock Rotates Because It Can
8:30AM Mark Wilson | While the iPod touch is capable of rotating to tweak the video aspect ratio, most docks make you choose one way or the other. But the iHome iH41B dock will actually rotate with your iPod, and its digital clock display will adjust to match. For those of you who just own standard iPods, the iH41B is still compatible. So fulfil all those dreams of docking your MP3 player at a 90-degree angle. And never let someone tell you that you can’t do something again. [iHome via Crunchgear] More »
Regulars
10 Gadgety Reasons to Stay in Bed All Weekend
8:00AM Sean Fallon | Another long workweek draws to a close, and that means its time for the Thank Giz It’s Friday roundup of gadgets to help you get the most out of your weekend—or, in this case, the least. In fact, the focus this week is to supply you with 10 good gadgety excuses to stay in bed. Naturally, you probably have a few questions about how this can be done, so let’s get started.
Gadgets
