The folks at InstallerApps claim that they’ve come across a leaked early version of Installer.app 4, the version that works with the iPhone 2.0 software. The download link works, but the installation process requires SSH and command line work to install and is apparently still an early rough beta. So, install at your own risk if at all, but it does match the screenshots we’ve seen and looks to be working in the video. [InstallerApps]
In this month’s Mad Magazine, there’s an ad parody for Circuit City (Sucker City! Oh, Mad Magazine you rascal!) that takes aim at the electronics retailer. Always across the street from a Best Buy! Expensive TVs! The price always goes down right after you bought it! Wah wahhhh! I wasn’t even aware that Circuit City sold Mad Magazine, but apparently they do, and they sure are pissed. In fact, they’re ordering every store to destroy every copy of the offending issue. Hit the jump for the full ad parody and Circuit City’s internal response.
Way back in the days of 2007, courier company Deadline Express treated their New Zealand patrons to a particularly evocative printed advertisement. It was a US$14,000 billboard that featured a timer counting down to when it would blow up, proving “when Deadline Couriers gives you a time, they actually mean it.” We can’t speak for the service, but the explosions were spectacular in video:
Movies movies movies… we all love a good show, but the lovely MPAA is up to some pretty strange shenanigans to ensure that you get to see some shows just once—until they’re out on DVD at least. The fab guys at the Motion Picture Association of America are petitioning the FCC on behalf of some major movie studios to close the “analogue hole” that may allow people to record movies broadcast on cable before they hit DVD. “The Petitioners’ theatrical movies are too valuable in this early distribution window to risk their exposure to unauthorised copying” runs the argument, and is why the MPAA wants “selectable output control” (SOC) enabled on some cable box outputs.
The Nike Hyperdunks 2015 edition are cool reminders of the love we all have for Back to the Future. But I think you’ll agree when I say they’d be like 100x cooler with power laces. So I’ve been chatting up Phil Torrone, Nick Bilton, and a few others nerds to get some ideas on how to do it. We’re researching how to make them, and if you’ve got advice or think you can pull it off, let me know! If we can make it happen, I think it should be pretty easy to donate them to a museum for display. Here are some of the design challenges:
Last week, Apple quietly stopped distributing NetShare, put it back up, and now appears to have pulled it again. But what could we expect? It was a piece of software allowing users to transform their iPhones into Wi-Fi hotspots.
We’ve talked a few times about iRiver’s Spinn PMP with its revolutionary controller, and now its UI has been captured on camera. Check out the radio-dial-like menu selection system, which looks pretty sleek and shiny. You dial through/click the menus with the feature wheel on the unit. Or by jabbing at the touchscreen. Hmm…. so the purpose of the big wheel is as an additional control that doesn’t offer the flexibility of touchscreen controls? It’s a little confusing: as is the UI itself, to my eyes at least. [IRiverfans via Engadget]
Pumping gas into a diesel engine, or vice versa, is a big no-no that may well screw up your engine. We all know that, don’t we? But for those, uh, “fuel-type challenged” people out there that get it wrong, there’s this new Fuel Checker gizmo. You install it inside your filler flap, and touch the pump nozzle to it before filling up: it’ll check the type and flash green for go, and red for no. No idea how it works, but it comes in gasoline or diesel versions. Or you could, you know… read the label on the pump and double check the colour of the nozzle you’re holding, and save yourself US$40. AU: Seriously? I drive a diesel, and I’ve never ever ever come close to putting unleaded in the tank. Is this a common occurrence?
Sometimes the strangest part of writing for Giz is decoding press releases: like this morning’s Sony Ericsson one. Did they leave out an image of the upcoming special limited-edition C902 Cybershot James Bond phone to add to the mystery? Is it supposed to be kinda secret, à la Bond himself? Who knows: luckily T3 snagged a picture of the “titanium silver” phone. 007 himself uses it in the movie Quantum of Solace, and you can get your hands on one too. Hardware-wise the phone is unchanged from the 5-megapixel camera original, but will come with 007-themed content, including a “spy-style” game. Quite how this makes sure you’re “ready for any challenge” I’m not sure. It’s a mystery. As is price and release date. Blimey, Sony Ericsson’s really good at this cloak-and-dagger stuff isn’t it? [Sony Ericsson and T3]
Lenovo’s gone official with details on its Ideapad S10 ultra-portable notebook: it’ll come with Windows XP pre-installed, measure 25 x 18 cm, weigh just 1.08kg in its lightest configuration, and pack in a LED back-lit 10-inch screen. Powered by Intel Atom N270 and 945 GSE express chipset, the diminutive PC also has some advanced heat-dissipation tech so that your lap and wrists won’t get overheated. Interestingly Lenovo notes that “In some countries there will be 9-inch versions,” different colours and “Linux preloads”… but doesn’t say if those systems will hit the US eventually. Initially then, the S10 will cost you either US$399 for a 512MB memory, 80GB HDD model or US$450 for a 1GB, 160GB HDD model, and comes in black red or white. Press release info below.
