Friday, September 12, 2008
Hardware
FBI Alleges Intel Employee Stole Secrets Before Leaving to AMD
11:40PM Mark Wilson | Biswahoman Pani worked for Intel. Claiming to miss his wife, he requested a transfer from California to Intel’s Hudson facility where she worked. That same day, when the request was granted, Pani turned in his resignation and announced that he’d be taking vacation for his last two weeks at the company. His new job would be with a hedge fund. More »
Software
iPhone 2.1 Update Available Now
11:16PM Kit Eaton | Just popping up when you sync your iPhone to iTunes is the iPhone 2.1 update. Go get it chaps, and check out its reputed fixes to call dropping, crashing, slow syncing and bad battery life. Apple itself is basically claiming the iPhone 3G’s all fixed up from top to bottom by the new software. And it’s saying that it’s fixed the 3G signal strength display with “improved accuracy”—sounds like no more fixes to 3G signal issues were needed after the 2.0.2 tweak. Check out Apple’s words on what the update tackles: More »
Phones
Hulger’s Maple and Brass Pappa*Phone: Skypin’ With Wood
11:00PM John Mahoney | These great-looking handmade VoIP handsets, designed by Hulger, are individually handcrafted to order out of solid American maple by Furni in Montreal. They’ll work with all the usual VoIP and chat apps via USB on PC and Mac for US$300. Is wood the new glossy white plastic? I kind of hope so, cause when done right, it’s beautiful. MoCo Loco has a nice look inside the factory, if you want to see the giant solid block of wood that will be your Pappa*Phone’s, er, daddy. More »
Gadgets
Techie Wine Bottles Using Digital Thermometers
10:40PM Mark Wilson | You may have paid US$100 for that fancy Cab, but little did you know, its tannins have been seared crispy like hashbrowns in a semi left to sit in the sun. So just for you, dear learned consumer, wine makers are fighting back with a new digital thermometer that can tell buyers whether or not the bottle fell outside its ideal temperature after shipping from the vineyard. More »
Music
Creative Special Event Due September 17th, Invite Teases X-fi Products
10:19PM Kit Eaton | Looks like Creative is getting set to unveil something new on September 17th: invites have gone out for a special event, bearing this mysterious image. Those darkened shapes in the image bear an X-fi logo, but that, apart from the “I am heard everywhere” slogan is all the info there is on exactly what’s going to be demonstrated. Dare we connect it with Creative’s internet tablet/camera/pmp device patent from yesterday? I think we dare. [Thanks Brandon!] More »
Computers
Sony’s New Vaio NS and CS Laptops Are (Almost) HD Ready
10:00PM Kit Eaton | The NS series of laptops is the latest in Sony’s Vaio update frenzy, and they’re machines aimed at delivering HD video. Hence the NS is available with a Blu-ray ROM drive and has a widescreen 15.4-inch Xbrite-Eco LCD for showing video off. Trouble is, the screen resolution is 1200×800, just enough to deliver 720p, but not enough for 1080p. Ditto for the cool new CS, which already made it to Japan. They both also have minimum battery lives of 1.5 hours—likely what you’ll get when you’re trying to watch that 2-hour Blu-ray movie. More overall feature info below: More »
Random Stuff
LHC Scientist Confuses Star Wars with Star Trek, Universe Doomed
10:00PM Jesus Diaz | digg_skin = 'compact'; digg_bgcolor = '#f1f8fa'; digg_url = 'http://digg.com/people/Scientist_Confuses_Star_Wars_with_Star_Trek_Universe_Doomed'; NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT. (Agencies) The scientific world is shocked today as Michael Zeller–a professor of physics at Yale who has been working at the Large Hadron Collider–reportedly misquoted the Star Trek tagline “Where no man has gone before” and, further shattering the Universe time-space fabric, attributed it to Star Wars: “What did they say in ‘Star Wars’? We’re going where no man has ever been? Well, that’s where we’re going,” Zeller said in declarations to the Yale Daily News about the LHC first beam test last Wednesday. Professor Zeller helped create the zero degree calorimeter used in Atlas, one of the main experiments at CERN’s multi-billion dollar Large Hadron Collider. “No that’s not where you are going, old man!” replied in a telephone interview with the Wichita Early Star a visibly angered William Shatner, “You are going to the cuckoo house, that’s where you are going! Where no man has ever been? Are you out of your mind? Have you had way too much Alvanian brandy yesterday? Did you forget your red pill? I can’t believe you are one of the guys in charge of that damn doomsday ring.” More »
Robots
Dean Kamen’s Full Bionic Luke Arm Video from All Things D
8:37PM Kit Eaton | We showed you some of the video from Dean Kamen’s appearance at the All Things D: D6 conference back in May and it included some demos of the amazing Luke Arm prosthetic limb. Now All Things D has made the three-part entire interview available, and it includes detailed explanations from Kamen about why he got into the research and development of the limb, and specifics of the development process from early prototypes up. It’s fascinating, and Kamen makes for compelling watching. More »
Gadgets
Philips Intimate Massager Sex Toys Get Detailed in Pics
7:50PM Kit Eaton | Details on Philips’ new sex toy products are out, including pictures much better than our comedy efforts earlier. The images reveal devices that, as you might expect from Philips design, are sleek, curvy and… um, purple. Looking like a good blend of form and *ahem* function. galleryPost('philipssextoys', 5, ''); More »
Peripherals
