If The Daily Show covered Australian events, this whole NBN saga would be called: “Fibre Clusterf%*k to the Node”, or something like that. But in any case, today was the deadline for submissions to the government for their NBN, and both Telstra and Optus (backed by Terria) have sent theirs in. Although Telstra still managed to slide in a sideways “Fuck you” by not lodging a complete application due to “unresolved issues in the Government’s Request for Proposals”. Whatever Telstra. I don’t care. Someone just give us all high-quality broadband without raping our wallets already. And don’t let the government filter it, either.
With nary an explanation, most of the Sony-owned movies that were mysteriously pulled from Xbox’s Netflix Watch Instantly streaming service last week have been put back up again. Ghostbusters, the Karate Kid series and other Columbia Pictures luminaries can now be downloaded for watching. However, anything tagged with an “available through Starz Play” logo, such as Walk Hard or Bad Boys, are still absentia. -Thanks Rodolfo!
iPhone cases that offer a bit of extra juice on the go are nothing new, but what makes the Life! branded model special is that it’s Australian. And we all know that buying Australian products teaches baby Kangaroos how to box, puts sand on our beaches and prevents Peter Andre from ever releasing another album.
The case itself measures in at 135mm x 68mm x 22mm and weighs 80 grams. When your iPhone runs out of juice, the in-built Li-ion battery can recharge your phone fully in about 90 minues, and then when that runs out, can recharge your phone about 1/2 way again. There’s a switch on the bottom that you flick over to begin recharging, as opposed to just plugging it in to give your iPhone longer battery life.
We’re getting one in for review to do our part for the Australian economy, but if you can’t wait, the Apple certified Life! recharging iPhone case is available in black and white leather for $79 from their website.
[Life!]
What’s black and white and acts like a bamboo(m) box? The iPanda, an adorable iPod docking station by animal-themed audio system makers Speakal! The China bear-shaped dock boasts four speakers and a 4″ subwoofer for 25 watts of sound and “360° sound distribution.” Pump up the volume by touching the panda’s left ear, or lower the sound by touching the right. Don’t worry, give it a go–unlike real pandas, this one won’t bite you when you try to hug it.
This no-name charger from neTimes is a welcome add-on to the T-Mobile G1. It charges both the phone and a spare battery simultaneously, and with the G1′s offensive battery life, it’s almost a necessity to carry around an extra power source with you at all times. It’s $US17, which is just about the price we’d pay for something like this. [Netimes via Crunchgear]
Just like inner-city drug kingpins and high-seas pirates, architects also often find themselves eyeball to eyeball in deadly cutthroat fights. This time around, the Broken Bottle award goes to two firms trying to revamp the mouth of Copenhagen’s harbour with a crazy bridge-building. One team wants to make two towers with a pedestrian walkway between them, while the other designed a building that swoops clear across the harbor mouth, making bridge and tower one and the same. Here’s more evidence for your judgment in this death duel:
If you’re a Queenslander who’s destiny as a Genius at an Apple Store has been held back by the lack of an Apple Store in Queensland, you’re in luck. Job advertisements on Apple’s wesbsite indicate a new Apple Store location on the Gold Coast at Robina Town Centre. Victorians will also get a second store at Doncaster. There’s no word on when these Stores will be opening at this stage, but if you want to join the cult army of Apple Store employees, you can submit applications here.
One of those rumours that won’t ever die—the Zune phone—is now being touted by a reputable, legitimate news organisation, CNBC. Jim Goldman (the guy that interviews Steve Jobs on CNBC after every Apple event) says that according a “good source,” Microsoft is “ready to give a major facelift to the company’s Zune music player that could mean its evolution into a new smart phone from the company.” The project is codenamed Pink and “will combine the company’s Zune and technology from Microsoft’s purchase of Danger Inc.”
This is it. The real McCoy: Luke Skywalker’s one and only lightsaber, used in the original Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. It can be yours for only $US185,000. If you don’t have $US185,000 handy, you can get the real fedora hat or the bullwhip used by Indiana Jones in Temple of Doom for $US61,000 each (reportedly, the ones from Indiana Jones and the Crappy Flying Saucers with the Stupid Kid will be $US20.84). These are only three of the original props that will be available in a December 11 auction, which will include one with our name on it: The original Gizmo, the animatronic puppet used in Gremlins, with control box and wires included.
Found via Digg, these illustrative arm slings show onlookers exactly how you broke that arm, so you can save precious seconds from not having to repeat that boring story. Of course, your coworkers seeing this will then ask about where you got the sling design, how exactly you fell down the stairs when you live on the first floor of a one story house, and why you’re such a big liar. A quick search turned up nothing on where these originated, so if anyone knows, post it in the comments!
