Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Music
Woz: iPod to Die Soon
11:45PM Jesus Diaz | In an surprisingly frank and fresh exclusive interview with the Daily Telegraph, Steve Wozniak has left us some new gems of wisdom regarding the past, present, and future of Apple. Among his thoughts on Apple’s fanboyism, stock overvaluation, upcoming products, and the iPhone limitations, the most surprising is his prediction that the iPod success will die soon, just like the Walkman and transistor radio did: More »
Software
Microsoft Surface SDK Coming This Month
11:30PM Matt Buchanan | Do you want to develop niche multitouch applications for a platform that most people will never get their hands on for the foreseeable future? You’re in luck. Later this month, Microsoft will be releasing its Surface SDK beyond the few companies that have been privy to it since launch to attendees of its Professional Developer Conference. I am curious to see what kind of multitouch gaming could come out of more developers having access to the kit, but the fact that you can’t just go out and buy one for your living room undoubtedly puts a damper on development fever for the platform. [Cnet] More »
Peripherals
Retro iPod Shuffle Case Proclaims Old School Fandom
11:10PM Mark Wilson | What better way to celebrate your new iPod shuffle than sticking it to Apple’s marketing/branding department and sliding the sleek device into the original Apple logo? Available from an Etsy seller, the $US12 classic case features a rear opening that allows the shuffle’s clip to slip through so you can wear it like a broach or button. But if giant lizards are more your thing and you’ve got a new iPod nano, the seller has something else you may be interested in: More »
Software
Official Gmail Goggles Add-On Prevents Shameful Drunken Emailing
10:52PM John Mahoney | My new favourite Googler Jon Perlow has used his 20% time (that portion of it he doesn’t spend hammered, apparently) to write Gmail Goggles, an official Labs add-on that makes sure you really want to send that 3AM email to your ex-girlfriend. Goggles employs five arithmetic problems that appear after pressing send (you choose the difficulty level!) that must be answered correctly in a limited time before your overly passionate and typo-ridden message can be on its way. It can also be scheduled to be active only on your party nights. Thanks big G! [Official Gmail Blog] More »
Screens
52-inch Sharp TV Runs on Solar Power
10:25PM Mark Wilson | There’s so much wrong with the application of this technology that we won’t even get started on it, but this Sharp television runs off the juice of a single attached solar panel. That’s because the 52″ LCD is illuminated by LEDs which coincidentally reduces its power draw to the same amount produced by that solar panel sitting on the floor. More »
Science
Sneaky LED Bulbs Will Double As Wireless Access Points
10:00PM John Herrman | Researchers at Boston University (whose football mascot, incidentally, is a giant light-emitting germanium diode) think they’ll be able to combine LED bulbs with wireless networking technology, allowing for nearly complete ubiquity of wireless access points. The technology will be able to communicate data with visible light at up to 10Mbps, and can be adapted to existing power lines. More »
Phones
HTC Touch HD Pretty Much Never Coming to the US
9:00PM John Herrman | No amount of oohing, aahing or drooling can convince HTC to bring this 480×800 monster to American shores, according to the Taiwanese company. That’s a shame, because it was looking pretty good. The company passed the news on through Twitter, which is the corporate equivalent of breaking up with your girlfriend with a text message: Sad news, US. we looked into it- by the time we could bring Touch HD to the States, it would be old news. We do have other cool stuff coming. The G1 is admittedly more exciting, but this thing is set to be one of the best Windows Mobile phones available. Import options will be available sans 3G support, which nobody will want anyway. [Twitter via WMExperts] More »
Gadgets
Nikon Debuts Video Headset With Wi-Fi, 8GB of Storage, and a Browser
8:30PM John Herrman | A seriously odd announcement from camera maker Nikon, the Media Port UP300 and UP300x video headset approaches wearable PC territory. The device, which honestly looks like a pair of headphones with a small display tacked on, actually has a pretty impressive spec sheet: up to 8GB of flash memory for videos, audio and file storage, Wi-Fi connectivity, a full-featured internet browser and on the 300x model, even motion control. Browsing would have to be frustrating on a setup like this, but the Wi-Fi connection can also be used to download audio and video content directly to the device. More »
Home
Designer Breakfast Wares Turn Your Morning Routine Into a Game
7:40PM John Herrman | Designer Ivo Vos has assembled in “The Brunch” a routine-ruining set of kitchen accessories. It really reminds you to never take anything for granted, if you assume “anything” to mean “toast” and “coffee.” We’ve seen a projectile toaster before, but it was more of a tool of force than of precision toastmanship. Some of the other concepts in the gallery at the source link seem an awful lot like obsessive compulsive tools (a saw box for bread?) but I wouldn’t kick any of them out of my kitchen. [Yanko] More »
Random Stuff
