Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Software
Violent Comic iPhone App Murderdrome Banned From App Store, Authors Want a Rating System
11:45PM John Mahoney | When the guys at Infurious Comics created Murderdrome (Death Race without the cars, looks like) and submitted it to the App Store as a free download, Apple told them that it did not “satisfy their ‘community standards.’” Apparently, a super-cartoony depiction of someone getting decapitated and having his head used as a handball was enough to ban the app from the store for being too “adult.” And now, the comic’s creators want something that makes a lot sense–a content rating system for iPhone apps. More »
Robots
First Fully-Unmanned Machine Combat in History Heralds Robotic Apocalypse
11:15PM Jesus Diaz | For the first time in history, an unmanned machine has engaged and destroyed another unmanned machine in real combat. It sounds like science fiction, but it happened a week ago in Iraq, when a MQ-9 Reaper killed a remote controlled vehicle carrying a bomb. More »
Phones
iPhone Ad Pulled in UK Because It’s ‘Not Quite True’
11:00PM Mark Wilson | While Apple’s been playing their trademark guy-with-the-finger iPhone commercials overseas, one has contained the simple slogan “all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone.” It’s kinda cute. And it’s very Apple. But the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has also decided that it’s very untrue and banned the commercial from airing in its current state. More »
Peripherals
DLO’s Homedock Pro Adds 1080i HD Output to Your iPod
10:45PM Kit Eaton | It was way back in February when we first alerted you to DLO’s upcoming Homedock, but now there’s more info available. The Homedock HD Pro is an upscaler dock that can add 1080i or 720p output to your iPod through an HDMI cable to your TV, and it’s going to be demoed at the upcoming CEDIA Expo show. It’s got “industry standard connectivity” over RS-232 and I.P., with digital optical audio and an IR receiver so you can bolt it into your media setup and control it with universal IR remotes. Better still the dock has an “enhanced on-TV interface” which “features album art in an icon-based format,” which makes it sound like a mini AppleTV. There’s no pricing info as yet. [CEPro] More »
Toys
Guy Builds Full Lego Boba Fett Costume, Somehow Manages to Keep Marriage Intact
10:30PM Jesus Diaz | Our friend Andrew Becraft at Brothers Brick have spotted the most useless, silly, awkward looking, yet absolutely irresistible Lego job ever: a full Boba Fett costume made out of bricks, including helmet, bracelets, utility belt, armour plates, rocket pack, and his laser rifle with obligatory LED light. The picture gallery leaves no doubt to the amazing dorkiness of Simon, its creator. Simon, we love you. And we love you even more after seeing that you also did a full Darth Vader Lego suit: More »
Peripherals
Microsoft: ‘Say Goodbye to Laser’
10:29PM Mark Wilson | Microsoft has a teaser up on their hardware site with the tagline “Say Goodbye to Laser.” Most likely a hint regarding the upcoming Sept. 9 Microsoft event, we can only assume that Microsoft has developed an alternative to the near-perfect laser mouse or maybe made a breakthrough in “optical” media. (Well, one of those choices, or they’ve developed an advanced rail gun/microwave/nuclear technology that the Navy and DARPA will pursue instead of high powered beams of light.) UPDATE: As our clever commenters have discovered, it’s probably this product. Our mock-up after the jump. More »
Press
A Million Rich People’s Personal Info Sold for US$65 on eBay
10:15PM Jesus Diaz | I don’t know how many times people have to sell other people’s personal information on eBay for everyone to learn about security, but apparently it’s not enough yet: an ex-employee sold his company-provided computer on the auction site for US$65, carrying banking data belonging to more than a million people. The new twist this time: these people are dirty rich, high-street bank customers of companies like American Express. Thankfully for them, the guy who bought the computer was not Robin Hood. More »
Peripherals
Sandisk Exreme III SDHC Cards Blaze Along at 30MBps, 50% Faster than Before
10:00PM Kit Eaton | Sandisk previously popped new Extreme III versions of its Memory Stick lineup, and now it’s extended the tech to SDHC. The new family of cards can cope with 30MBps read/write data rates, a 50% speed boost over previous versions and a “new speed record” according to Sandisk. They’re designed for digital cameras that have a high-speed burst mode, like the Nikon D90, and can safely capture “39 images in continuous shooting mode at 4.5 frames per second with a file size of 6.0 MB.JPEG L Fine per image.” You’ll have to wait ’til October, and expect to spend US$64.99 for the 4GB card, US$109.99 for 8GB and a sizable US$179.99 for 16GB. Press release below. More »
Screens
Epson Adds Moviemate 55 to Projector Lineup, 3LCD Tech, Built-in DVD
8:59PM Kit Eaton | Epson’s just added to its Moviemate lineup of digital projectors with the 55 model. It uses a three-chip 3LCD system for high image quality, a new E-TORL lamp that can blaze up to 1,200 lumens, and has a built-in stereo speakers and DVD player. That’s where its interesting though, since that player is just standard progressive-scan 480p, and nowhere does Epson make reference to the projector’s resolution. It may indeed be able to throw a “16:9 widescreen 60-inch image from only six feet away” but this might not interest you if you’re after HD imagery. Still it weighs just 3.6kg and costs US$699, so that might let Epson off. Due in October. Press release below. More »
Peripherals
