Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Science
Phoenix Lander Watches Snow Falling on Mars
11:50PM John Mahoney | As the clock continues to tick for brave Phoenix so far away on Mars, the discoveries keep on rolling: this time, that snow falls on Mars. A laser instrument called for pulsing the atmosphere and observing what gets bounced back detected Martian flurries at altitudes of 4km in the clouds. The snow is vapourising before hitting the ground, but the discovery lends some crucial insight into the Martian water cycle. As did another juicy finding dug up from the soil. More »
Entertainment
Goofy’s How to Hook Up Your Home Theatre Guide
11:30PM Jesus Diaz | I like the 1940s Disney animation shorts. They may not get to the hilarity level of Chuck Jones and Tex Avery’s work at Warner, but some of them are really good. This How to Hook Up Your Home Theatre short is new, but it feels like one of them and summarises perfectly the dangers and absurd complexity of modern big home theatres, from impossible-to-open audio cable boxes to the sound system–with “centre channel, left and right speakers, bit more to the left and bit more to the right speakers, surround speakers, surrounding surround speakers”– to huge screens. [Cartoon Brew via Dark Roasted Blend] More »
Entertainment
This Week in Blu-ray: Iron Man Knocked Up Edition
11:10PM Mark Wilson | Giz pick of the week: Iron Man More »
Entertainment
New HD Downloads on VUDU
11:09PM Mark Wilson | Digital downloaders, we haven’t forgotten about you while running This Week in Blu-ray. And to those in the audience with VUDU, a respectable 52 rentable HD movies have been added to the service in just the past two weeks. Read on for the full list. More »
Computers
Toshiba Media Server is a Wireless Powerhouse, Dodecahedron
10:50PM John Herrman | This strangely sexy (for a networked storage device) Toshiba wireless media server concept on show at CEATEC takes a novel approach to design; as wires disappear, the necessity for an unimaginative stack of home theatre equipment is diminished. The device is loaded with wireless capabilities, including Wi-Fi, wireless HDMI (presumably the WirelessHD protocol) and for the sake of variety, Near Field Communication (NFC). More »
Peripherals
Targus’ Chill Mat For Macs Designed to Keep Your MacBook and Knees Cool
10:30PM Kit Eaton | Generally I think “laptop coolers… meh” when I come across them, but the new Chill Mat from Targus—part of the new range for Macs—is actually a fairly sweet device. Mainly because it’s just a simple mesh-top gizmo, that tilts your Mac to a more wrist-friendly position and it looks like it’d sit quite well, stylistically speaking, next to a MacBook (and yes, I’m one of those people who’d think about that.) It’s got dual USB-powered fans to keep your Mac and knees chilled, and fits all Macbooks up the 17-inch Pro. Out now for $US50. [Targus] More »
Peripherals
Targus’s Mice for Macs First to Have 4-Way Touch Scrolling
10:30PM Kit Eaton | Targus has been making peripherals since before sliced bread was invented, but as part of its first line of notebook accessories specifically designed for Macs it’s come up with two mice that are the only ones to have four-way touch scroll controls for Macs. They’re ergonomic, and both have 1200 dpi sensitivity: the wireless version uses 2.4GHz RF tech, with a micro-receiver that slots into a USB hub or the mouse base for travelling, and the laser mouse connects over Bluetooth. Both are out now, the wireless mouse for $US50, and the Bluetooth one for $US70. Press release below, alongside news about the Bluetooth presenter that’s in the same line. More »
Cameras
MI6 Camera With Secret Images Bought on eBay for $US30
10:15PM Jesus Diaz | A Nikon Coolpix camera belonging to the MI6–the British equivalent of the CIA–was sold on eBay for $US30 with images of al Qaeda suspects, fingerprints, names, rocket launchers, and missiles inside. That’s bad enough, but it gets worse: the camera also contained top secret information that may compromise the security of James Bonds in the field. More »
Computers
Toshiba Satellite E105 Is a Big Fan of the MacBook Pro
10:00PM Matt Buchanan | Toshiba’s Satellite E105 is almost run-of-the-mill as far as new notebooks go—Centrino 2, latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 4GB of RAM, integrated graphics (boo), HDMI out—but a couple of things make it stand out. What instantly struck me is that the silhouette—which you can see more of below—is obviously inspired by the MacBook Pro. More »
Science
