Saturday, September 6, 2008
Music
Unconfirmed: An Actual Picture of the New iPod Nano
3:00PM Matt Buchanan | Looks like we’ve got a supposedly legit, actual spy shot of the new iPod nano in its packaging (apparently originally posted by MacNN in an obscured form before getting cleared up). Thankfully, while it confirms everything we’ve been hearing about it, it’s much, much prettier and Apple-y than what Kevin Rose provided us with, which looked like it was crapped out of a plastic robot Ewok or something before it had its picture taken. This, all assuming that it’s actually a legit picture. Orange? My dream of a lime green nano on Tuesday now has wings. Update: We have changed the photo again for one without watermarks we just got in the mail. [MacNN--Thanks Mike]
Computers
Purchase Classical Works of Art, As Dreamt by a Young Steve Jobs
9:48AM John Herrman | Regulars might remember Adam’s similar Photoshop contest a few weeks ago, but these amazing oil-on-canvas paintings were lovingly adorned with Macintosh SEs for a Sweden-only ad campaign all the way back in 1987. Erik Saxen produced these original works (inspired by a number of famous artists) for Apple’s marketing, but is now seeking a (weird) collector to take them off his hands. More »
Home
Oppo BDP-S83 Blu-ray Player May Be First (Almost) Universal Disc Reader
9:38AM Wilson Rothman | Oppo, pimps of the upscaling DVD realm and makers of one of the best (and last) SACD/DVD-Audio capable machines out there, are moving into the Blu-ray business with the BDP-S83 player. There are no announced deets, but an AVS Forum member spotted this unit at CEDIA. And from what we can see in this image and the back shot below, the feature set is laid out clearly, and something’s unusual about it. Update: Oppo got back to us with extra info, including confirmation of Anchor Bay upscaling, soon-ish shipping date and a possible price (US$500-US$700). More »
Software
The Week In iPhone Apps: Spore Origins Hands-On Edition
8:57AM John Mahoney | I’ve been running around at CEDIA this week, so for today’s installment, on top of a rundown of our app news from the week, we had a chance to give Spore Origins for the iPhone a spin before it drops (hopefully) this Sunday. More »
Software
Google Chrome: Anatomy Of A Logo
8:10AM Adrian Covert | Though it’s in no way official, I happen to enjoy Google Blogoscoped’s analysis of the Google Chrome logo and agree with the influences listed. In addition to the hodge podge of handheld Simons, Pokeballs, Firefox, webcams and Google logos, Neatorama also throws in the Sal-9000 eye from 2010 for good measure. It also kinda looks like that robot lamp from yesterday (obviously, they’re not remotely related). Anything else this reminds you of? [Google Blogoscoped via Neatorama] More »
Screens
Panasonic’s 65VX100U Premiere Kuro-Killing Plasma Reviewed (Verdict: Best Flat Panel to Date)
7:52AM Sean Fallon | Just yesterday we got our first taste of Panasonic’s new TH-65VX100U plasma technology, which features specs that meet or exceed Pioneer’s Kuro. Our initial impressions were extremely positive, but Gary at HD Guru managed to get his hands on an early production sample for a closer look, and he too was impressed. In fact, he called it the “new king of flat panels.” More »
Robots
The 50-Foot Mechanical Spider Awakens
7:20AM Mark Wilson | The 50-foot robot spider known as “La Princesse” has awakened from hibernation to explore the streets of Liverpool. This £1.5m beast is supposed to aid tourism and spur the local economy—which will just mean that La Princesse has more goodies to eat. We’re not quite sure what strange marching bands and snow have to do with taming giant arthropods on a rampage, but we’re not ones to judge the miracles of science. [BBC] More »
QOTD
Question of the Day: Have You Made Google Chrome Your Default Browser?
7:00AM Sean Fallon | It’s been a few days since Google Chrome was released, so you should have a fairly decent idea of what the deal is by now. Obviously, it is still in beta, so there are bugs to work out and scary EULAs to be freaked out by—which is why I’m curious to know how many of you have taken the bold step of running it as your default browser. I’m also interested in knowing whether or not you plan on keeping it that way. More »
Software
Microsoft to Deploy Their Own Version of the Apple Genius
6:38AM Sean Fallon | As part of their US$300 Million ad campaign Microsoft has announced that they will begin to deploy in-store representatives to large chains like Best Buy and Circuit City to help consumers with their PC issues. Like their Apple counterparts, The “Microsoft Gurus” will not be paid on commission and they will be available to handle general questions and give demos of products—but they will not be available for any real tech support or repairs. So they are kind of like Apple Geniuses, only a lot less useful. Nonetheless, Microsoft plans to roll out around 155 of these trained experts during an initial trial run sometime before the end of the year. [Electronista] More »
Regulars
