Monday, September 22, 2008
Software
Two Tiny Tastes of Windows 7: Fancier Start Button and Nifty Calculator
11:45PM Mark Wilson | Last weekend we caught a fleeting glimpse of the latest build of Windows 7. Today, the same source of those screenshots is gracing us with two brief videos. The first is just a very simple clip demonstrating Window 7’s updated Start button glow animation. The second, listed after the jump, demonstrates the powerful new integrated calculator. More »
Gadgets
Jog Through Tokyo with Google Maps and a Wiimote
11:30PM Mark Wilson | It’s not perfect, but we love the idea. One modder connected his Wiimote to Google Maps’ Street View, allowing the Wiimote to track his jogging in place to guide him through the streets of Tokyo. As you can see, the flaw is that the image updates more like a slideshow than fluid video, as Street View vehicles don’t capture a seamless picture. But we’ll take exploring the backstreets of Akihabara at a low frame rate over fixating on that crack in the wall at ∞ FPS any day. Download the code free at Tokyo-Jogging’s humble official site. [Tokyo-Jogging via Kotaku] More »
Science
Carbon Nanotube Supercapacitors May Replace Clunky Car Batteries
11:00PM Kit Eaton | Carbon nanotubes are one of the surprising new carbon supermaterials, and it looks like their application in supercapacitors may have a role in replacing clunky old car battery tech. Scientists at the University of Texas at Dallas have invented a technique to make supercapacitor “paper” made from randomly tangled carbon nanotubes embedded in a polymer. Both chemical batteries and capacitors store electrical charge, in differing ways, but nanotech supercapacitors could store more energy in a smaller space, without the dangers associated with chemical systems. Potentially excellent news given the rise of the hybrid car. Better yet the new technique is “easily scalable for device fabrication on an industrial scale,” so it might end up in real products sooner rather than later. [Physorg] More »
Entertainment
PlayStation 3 Movies Can Only Be Redownloaded Once
10:45PM Mark Wilson | I’m not sure how many of you are buying (aka not renting) movies from Sony’s PlayStation 3 video store, but to those who are willing to drop $US15 on a permanent, DRM’d digital product, know that Sony only allows you to redownload these products one time. More »
Hardware
Cell Processors to Go 45nm in ‘09; Smaller, Cheaper PS3s Likely to Follow
10:30PM John Mahoney | Sony and Toshiba announced that they had successfully shrunk the 65nm cell down to 45nm earlier this year, and now thanks to Japan’s Nikkan Kogyo, we now have a date for mass production: 2009. At a 40% reduction in power consumption, the shrunken Cell will generate less heat, which would help the PS3 to lose some of its piano-black bulk in a slim version. Cheaper production costs also means more $$ for Sony (or price drops for us). This could also lead to wider adoption of Cell technology in HD upscaling, which Toshiba is already doing in their SRT-enabled TVs and DVD players (but with their own custom chip). [Nikkan Kogyo (Translated)] More »
Phones
Family Portrait: HTC Touch Phones
10:15PM Mark Wilson | From left to right: HTC Touch HD, HTC Touch Diamond, and HTC Touch Pro. Note that while the Touch HD’s footprint isn’t much bigger, the screen appears ginormous. [CNET] More »
Software
Palm Slips OS 2 Date, New Smartphones Due Later in 2009
9:59PM Kit Eaton | Palm’s been quietly developing its OS II, and says it’ll now be finished by the end of this year, meaning we can expect to see handsets bearing the OS sometime after June 2009. It’s another delay to the Linux-based OS, also dubbed Nova, with Palm’s CEO originally promising OS II handsets in 2007: current Palms like the Centro use OS 5.4m, also known as ‘Garnet’ which has its roots in 2006. Bad news for Palm fans, though you could argue the extra development means the OS should be in even better shape to take on the iPhone, BlackBerries and Windows Mobile phones in its marketspace. [Reghardware] More »
Cameras
Pentax’s Entry-Level K2000 DLSR, aka K-m, Now Official
9:25PM Kit Eaton | Pentax’s upcoming entry-level DSLR, that we brought you news of on the weekend, is now official. It’s actually named the K2000 inside the US and K-m outside. The sensor is indeed 10.2-megapixels and it does have a 2.7-inch LCD and lacks live-view, just as we’d heard. With an auto scene-detection mode, it’s also aimed squarely at amateur DSLR users, though it has the “Shake Reduction” tech found on higher-end K-series. Press release below. More »
Phones
iPhone Home Activation Is Coming, Needs Store Visit, And No 32GB iPhone Says Rumour
8:30PM Kit Eaton | Over at BoyGeniusReport they’ve got more info on the iPhone 3G home activation story: it turns out it is true-ish. A source has apparently confirmed to BGR that home activation is indeed coming…but it’s only the pre-activation billing and credit part. In other words you’ll still have to turn up at an Apple store (presumably with a verification printout, or some such) to buy and unbrick the phone. That should speed up the in-store part a fair amount, but still needs you to actually go there. The same source also commented on the 32GB iPhone rumour and dismissed it as “probably untrue”—it’s just connected to stock movements as the mini power adaptor is recalled. [BGR] More »
Phones
