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By Brilldea, this "living room" has been loaded with LED-backlit paneling to add "ambiance." In reality, they've constructed a sci-fi nightmare suitable for some sort of legitimate sequel to Kubrick's 2001. It's a bit freaky, but what's even more freaky is that we can actually do this stuff. Here's the video:
It looks like the iPhone gaming scene is getting more solid by the day: Crash Bandicoot is the latest famous franchise that is going to appear at the app store in the form of Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart, a racing game that--looking at the demo video--looks smooth and quite impressive running in the iPhone classic.
OCZ's new Core Series SSD's are designed to be large and affordable. So the new 2.5-inch SATA II flash drives are coming in 128GB, 64GB and 32GB sizes at US$479, US$259 and US$169 respectively. They don't match up to the 200Mbps read speeds Samsung has promised--managing 135Mbs-- but that price point is pretty low. And while they're too big to drop into the smallest laptops (MacBook Air owners will weep), they might be just the ticket for people looking to cheaply upgrade to SSD--OCZ claim ten times faster than their HDDs and half the power. Available "soon." Press release below.
Even with man's advancements in developing increasingly intricate microprocessors and ever taller skyscrapers, there's one thing we cannot do. We cannot make a completely perfect sphere. Sure, we can get close. But a new problem has provoked a more perfect execution. The kilogram needs to be standardised across many countries as the 120-year-old physical platinum standard is changing in mass. And deviations in measurement have screwed up the value of a kilogram across the globe.
Laptops have been banned at the Bhutan parliament because, according to the speaker of their national assembly, "the members can be distracted playing games and viewing pictures."
It's been a while since we brought you some news from Ultimate Ears (the cat eating through the cable to my UE Super.Fi's doesn't count, sadly). But now UE has released its newest offering, and it's for the kids: the Loud Enough earphones. "They've gone barking mad!" you might say, citing expense and the potential damage that might be done to young ears by a max-volume burst of Noddy. Well, you'd be wrong: these earbud 'phones have special volume-limiting tech built in. Plus they're US$40. They've got silicon buds down to extra-small size... so I guess the only danger is what inventive kids will get up to with those. [Crave via Gizmodiva]
This helicopter mini-drone has been developed by the Navy to help it counter water-borne threats, despite its provocatively lurid name. Made by Lite Machines, the battery-powered Voyeur weighs just 1.8kg, stands 70cm high and is actually designed to be suicidal. It's meant to hop out of sonobuoy tubes, patrol for threats for a while and then sink itself. Much more economical than helicopters or jets wasting fuel by attempting to ID surface targets (has the Navy's gas bill gone up at the moment too?) Plus it looks waaay more creepily sci-fi. [Danger Room]
Technically, the trio of new processors from AMD are pretty much the same: they have the same core, and similar feature sets. But while the 9950 Black Edition is a 140W, 2.6GHz overclockable monster (the most power-hungry Phenom AMD has made) the 9350 (2GHz) and 9150 (1.8GHz) are selectively binned and draw just 65W TDP. This makes them the most "power friendly" quadcore processors there are. The 9950 will cost US$235 and at HotHardware.com they think it compares with Intel's Core 2 Quad Q6600. While the 9350 and 9150 will cost US$195 and US$175 respectively, meaning that "eco-friendliness" won't save you many dollars in the chip price, but will cost you a chunk of clock speed. [HotHardware and UberGizmo]
The director of the TSA, Kip Hawley, has spoken to the New York Times and confirmed that X-ray-friendly laptop cases will be accepted by the agency as soon as they hit the shelves, potentially bringing an end to the panic that your laptop will go astray in all the fuss at airport checkpoints. We brought you first hints of this back in May, but it looks like the process of getting the bags approved is well underway. And both Targus and Pathfinder Luggage are hoping to have products on sale as soon as September or October.
Posted by Nick Broughall at 6:02 PM on July 1, 2008
We knew it was happening, but Channel 7 today officially launched the Australian version of TiVo. We weren't there, but we've grabbed a copy of the press release and had a read of Asher Moses' piece on SMH, and have to say that we're not inspired.
For a start, the press release is full of smacktalk. Now, I know Channel 7 enjoys the smacktalk, but in a press release? Have a read for your self:
"The TiVo HD DVR brings you all the features, and more, that until now were only available to pay television customers. Why pay monthly fees for pay television when 56% of pay television viewing is on the free channels anyway?"But the real disappointment isn't in the press release. It's in the details. Like the fact that some of TiVo's core features will be gimped at launch, only to be switched on at a later date for a fee in the "tens of dollars".
It's real. The mid-range DSLR you've been waiting for: Nikon's D700 DSLR packs the D3's supernaturally low-noise 12.1-megapixel full-frame image sensor into a smaller, lighter body, for only US$2999.
I love driving fast, but when I have kids, I'm going to put them in the slowest, safest car imaginable, wrap pillows and old tires around the outside and install this Tiwi blackbox to let me know when they're speeding. It has GPS and some cellular connectivity. When a driver goes too fast, it issues a verbal warning: "You're exceeding the speed limit; please slow down." Then it emails, text messages, or calls the proper authorities (mum or dad) if the speeding continues. Only US$549 and US$35 a month to totally mortify and alienate your kids for life. [Tiwi]
What's more awesome and annoying than regular music ringtones? Video ringtones. iFoneTec have developed VideosTone, which lets you play back a standard formatted-for-iPhone video whenever someone calls. You can pick different ones for different people, like Devo for Lam and Ricky Martin for Jesus. We've been trying to try this app for ourselves but our download from Installer.app keeps timing out. The people on ModMyiPhone have had more luck getting Coldplay to dance on their phones, apparently. [ModMyiPhone]
The Mac mini looks good because the front is completely minimal. Unfortunately, that makes the front completely useless, and a pain in the arse if you have it set up where you need spelunking gear to get to the USB ports. Enter the unfortunately named Hang With Mi, which lets you mount your mini anywhere and adds four USB 2.0 ports to the front. Downside is that it needs its own power source, but the overall neat and convenient factor definitely adds up to the $50 pricetag. [macessity via Unpluggd]
A DIYer from the Guangdong Province in eastern China has finally perfected his sub-US$3000 home-built helicopter, taking it for a demonstration flight in what appears to his back yard. A tinkerer since he dropped school in his teens, Chen Zhaorong has been working on this project for nearly 10 years, but only began flight attempts a few months ago. The first attempts were neither successful nor fatal, (a remarkable combo) but this time around he not only got liftoff, but seemed to be in complete control.
Developers, developers, developers! Our iPhone Application Contest is still going on and we're just waiting for your juicy submission. Did you make something that will revolutionise the (fill in your industry) industry? Send it on in! See here for details. There's are even fantastic prizes waiting for you.
The Samsung/Foxtel iQ2 promotion we confirmed over the weekend has just been announced. Buy a Samsung HDTV, get a Foxtel iQ2 box plus a 3 month subscription, or if Foxtel isn't your thing, grab a Samsung BDP1500 Blu-ray player.
Full press release is below.
We're not the only ones who've noticed the resemblance between the BlackBerry Bold's new UI and Sony icons and the PS3's XMB. So if you want a taste of that on your BlackBerry Curve or 8800 without upgrading, you can just grab this pretty solid PS3 skin by CS Designs. It's US$7, but that's cheaper than the Bold will be. [Crackberry]
Nikon Rumours offers this photo and more as official pics of the D700, with no text explanation. Look real to you? Either way, the rumours are true of a midrange cam with a D3 sensor are worth getting excited over. [Nikon Rumors]
"Dare to be different," the saying goes, but the LG Dare is really Verizon Wireless's attempt to fit in, to offer a phone that's more like the AT&T LG Vu and Sprint Samsung Instinct, not to mention Apple's similarly... Read More »
Gary at HD Guru probably puts TVs through the most insane, obsessive test gauntlet of anyone. He just stacked one of Panasonic's latest, the TH-50PZ850U, against a Pioneer Kuro, once and future King of Plasmas. Basically, while Kuro is blacker (courtesy of its screen's darker tint) and brighter, Panny's colour reproduction is much deeper, you get better dark detail, more accurate gamma, it uses 30 percent less power, AND it's cheaper (US$3500 to $4600). Everything else is about even. For more grisly details, head over there: [HD Guru]
The prospect of a PSP phone looks even more likely now that we've seen Sony's patent for a touchscreen handheld. The patent describes a device with "digital tactile pixels" that respond to touch and give feedback via vibration. This patent was submitted by Sony Computer Entertainment, the group behind PlayStation, and not Ericsson, like the last alleged PSP phone patent. The mystery device is covered to play games and music and browse the web, but also make phone calls, so what else could it be? [patent via Tech Digest]
ZDNet's come up with a software-based app to overclock processors on the Intel 5000 and 5400 chipsets, which (as of right now) is the Mac Pro and Xserve. Apparently ZDNet Clock is so good, the cheapest 2.8GHz Mac Pro outperforms the 3.2MHz Mac Pro, saving you US$1600. You'll have to fiddle with the slider to get it customised for you, so don't think you can just drag it to the right and not have a crashfest on your hands. Hit up ZDNet to see the details. If you can get this to work right (and have enough cooling), it could be fantastic for heavy computational tasks. [ZDNet via Wired]
What better way to bring your childhood into the present with these Nintendo Famicom business card holders. Your US$8.80 will get you one random cartridge or controller, which may or may not be that really horrible knockoff one made by that one lousy company in the mid '80s. We're looking at you, Ice Climber. If you're lucky, you'll get Zelda, Ballon Fight, or Mario instead. [GameAsylum via Nerd Approved]
Posted by Nick Broughall at 8:07 AM on July 1, 2008
UPDATE: I've had lots of people asking if we've drawn this - yes we have. If you didn't get an email from me, sadly you didn't win. Why not try our Nokia competition this week and see if you can do better?
According to Kilmatec, their Base 1 AirWater Machine can extract up to 20 litres of water from the air in a 24 hour period. Unlike a common dehumidifier, it also makes that water suitable for drinking by running it through a carbon filter and ultraviolet light chamber to eliminate any pollutants or bacteria. It can even dispense the water hot or cold. So, in essence, the Base 1 is like a water cooler that never needs refills.
TiVoremote, the iPhone / iPod touch Telnet TiVo Remote app, was finally updated a few weeks ago with an ooey gooey GUI, and some really useful new features. Now at version 0.23, the app can now detect TiVos on your home network, allowing for easy selection of the TiVo you want to control. What's even better is the app now has the ability to download the Now Playing list data from the TiVo, allowing the iPhone to show what's been recorded and display each recordings data info. The app can also use the NPL data to start playing the recordings automatically. So if you've got a Jailbroken iPhone / iPod touch, and a Series 3 TiVo, I would suggest giving the app a try, it's surprisingly useful. [TiVoRemote]
The lucky and meticulous bastards at 
A DIYer from the Guangdong Province in eastern China has finally perfected his sub-US$3000 home-built helicopter, taking it for a demonstration flight in what appears to his back yard. A tinkerer since he dropped school in his teens, Chen Zhaorong has been working on this project for nearly 10 years, but only began flight attempts a few months ago. The first attempts were neither successful nor fatal, (a remarkable combo) but this time around he not only got liftoff, but seemed to be in complete control.