December 3, 2008

Entertainment

Amazon HD Streaming Spotted on TiVo

Posted by Mark Wilson at 11:19 PM on December 3, 2008

Are you a big Amazon Unbox fan who has been insanely jealous over Netflix HD streaming? Don't break that remote in passionate rage just yet.


Read More »

Entertainment

A Lesson in Gadget Product Placement, Courtesy of Scooter Smiff

Posted by John Herrman at 11:02 PM on December 3, 2008

Moderately musical little person Scooter Smiff has helpfully demonstrated, point by point, how not to endorse gadgets in your music video.


Read More »

Games

Wii Drum High Turns Your Controllers Into a Shaky PC Drum Set

Posted by John Herrman at 10:29 PM on December 3, 2008

Wii Music set up a solid control scheme for drumming with the console's various attachments, which hacker He Zhao has basically replicated. Except this time it's free, customisable and on your PC.


Read More »

Software

Apple Removes Antivirus Support Note, Reiterates OS X's Built-In Protection

Posted by John Herrman at 9:45 PM on December 3, 2008

As we saw yesterday, the accusations from the BBC, Washington Post, and Cnet saying that Apple was trying to "quietly" recommend antivirus software were false: Our quick fact check showed it was all an update to an old tech note. Now, Apple has removed the articles entirely.


Read More »

Music

BluTiger Speakers Are Great For People Who Enjoy Graphing Their Music

Posted by John Herrman at 8:46 PM on December 3, 2008

They're really just a gimmick, but there must be a reason that software music players still include visualisations, and that this $US300 BluTiger 6000 speaker set has them permanently bolted to its front.


Read More »

Peripherals

Logitech Timeline of Mousery is Full of Memories, Logitech Advertising

Posted by John Herrman at 7:59 PM on December 3, 2008

It's a piece of promotional material, but it raises memories: your first, imprecise mousings; excitement at the earliest wireless mouse, and subsequent realisation that it was uselessly jittery.


Read More »

Design

China's CCTV Headquarters Trying to Shake 'Hemorrhoids' Nickname

Posted by Elaine Chow at 6:00 PM on December 3, 2008

China cultural fun fact: People here love giving nicknames to buildings. With all the avante-garde architecture around, sometimes the nicknames are less than complimentary. The new CCTV building is now trying hard to not be known as "Hemorrhoids."


Read More »

Peripherals

USB Card Shaver Disguises Your USB Shaving Shame

Posted by Elaine Chow at 4:45 PM on December 3, 2008

This USB Card Shaver is the thinnest of its ilk that we've seen and, with a diameter of only 10mm, is perfect for the man-on-the-go trying to hide that he uses an USB shaver in the first place.


Read More »

Games

New Xbox 360 Arcades Sports 256MB Internal Storage

Posted by Elaine Chow at 3:45 PM on December 3, 2008

Microsoft has confirmed that it's newest Xbox 360 Arcades come with 256MB of internal storage, making it NXE-compliant without you having to buy an extra memory card. Old Xbox 360 Arcade owners are still out of luck though.

Read More »

Screens

180-Inch 3D LED Wall is First Step to Scaring Time Travellers From 1985

Posted by Elaine Chow at 3:00 PM on December 3, 2008

Imagine one-upping Adam Frucci by posing with a 180-inch screen... that displays 3D! NewSight could give you a chance with their new gargantuan 3D video wall. Sadly, it uses LEDs for pixels, making the resolution all Monet-like.


Read More »

Phones

LG Renoir Makes Its Way To Australia

Australian Post Posted by Nick Broughall at 1:57 PM on December 3, 2008

KC910_Packshot.jpgFans of LG's Viewty mobile phone should be excited by the news that the Korean company is bringing its successor, the Renoir, to Australia. Aside from having one of the worst names for a mobile phone we've ever come across, the Renoir is a bit of a spec machine, with an 8MP camera, xenon flash, 120fps video mode, A-GPS, HSDPA connectivity, built in Wi-Fi and a 3-inch touchscreen. All of that is crammed into a phone that's just 14mm thin... The Renoir is available now for $799 from Optus, Vodafone and 3 resellers on contract.

Read More »

Entertainment

Jon Stewart Trashes Black Friday, Succumbs to Lego Millennium Falcon

Posted by Jesus Diaz at 1:57 PM on December 3, 2008

If you didn't watch Jon Stewart yesterday, check out his hilarious take on Black Friday, recession, and people's stupidity fighting for silly things. His purchases: a wobble-headed C-3PO doll and, get ready, the Lego Millennium Falcon*.


Read More »

Cameras

Red Reduces Prices, Announces Trade-In Program

Posted by Jesus Diaz at 1:35 PM on December 3, 2008

Jim Jannard has announced a price reduction on their Scarlet and EPIC cameras, their latest modular systems for still and motion photography. Plus, now there are multiple trade-in upgrade paths:


Read More »

Computers

Enhanced Photos Can Bypass Any Face-Recognition Software

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 12:00 PM on December 3, 2008

BKIS, a Vietnamese security centre, recently demonstrated that face-recognition security programs found in Toshiba, Asus and Lenovo laptops can be bypassed with a special photo.


Read More »

Gadgets

Crazy Synchronised Christmas Lights Season Starts Now

Posted by Jason Chen at 11:49 AM on December 3, 2008

We've featured crazy arse Christmas lights on here before, and seeing as it's officially past Thanksgiving, it's time to show them off again.


Read More »

Regulars

Catching Up: Arcade Mania!

Posted by Jason Chen at 11:20 AM on December 3, 2008

Hey Brian, remember the book Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft wrote? The one on Japanese game centres (arcades) and the different types of games, players and cultural influences surrounding them? It's available now!


Read More »

Software

iPhone App Makes Logging On to Free AT&T Wi-Fi Not Suck

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 11:00 AM on December 3, 2008

All iPhone users get free AT&T Wi-Fi, hurray. But the text-message-based access system makes it a pain in the arse to log onto. Enter Easy Wi-Fi for AT&T, an app that makes it, well, easy. When you fire up the app for the first time, you just enter your number. After that, when you hit an AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot, like at Harbucks, you just mash a giant button to log in, no hassle required. Ars says Devicescape is planning more automated connection apps for other operators, AT&T is just the first, thanks to the "approval store nightmare." It's free until Friday, then it jumps to $US1.99. [iTunes via Ars]

Screens

At Gizmodo Gallery: Tiny Projectors That Fit In Your Hand Or Mouth!

Posted by Brian Lam at 10:40 AM on December 3, 2008

Our Toys for Tots fundraiser and all mega gadget exhibition, Gizmodo Gallery starts this Thursday in NYC. And among the ~40 devices we'll have more than just a huge TV; we'll have one of the world's tiniest projector, like the Aiptek Wilson reviewed last week.


Read More »

Computers

Apple Patents For Liquid-Cooled Portables Surface

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 10:20 AM on December 3, 2008

While us normal folk were gorging on turkey and fixings, the tireless US Patent Office was busy filing an interesting Apple patent detailing a mobile liquid cooling system--something that looks like it could be used in a future portable device.


Read More »

Regulars

Breakfast Wrap: Best of Tuesday Night

Australian Post Posted by Nick Broughall at 10:04 AM on December 3, 2008

Breakfast oranges.jpgI know we had oranges a coupl of days ago, but I'm still sick and need the Vitamin C boost...

Nokia N97 Unveiled, The First High-End N-Series Touch Phone
What is Nokia going to do when they reach N99? Move to triple digits?

QIGI i6-Goal Looks to Be the First 'Next' Android Phone to Actually Come Out
looks like the Chinese are jumping on the Android bandwagon...

Optibike OB1 is a Hybrid Electric Mountain Bike You Might Actually Want to Ride
I always thought the point of a bike was exercise.

Xbox 360 Outsells PS3 3:1 on Black Friday
I wonder if that had anything to do with price, much?

Canon Clear to Resurrect SED Technology But Might Not
Forget it, Canon... The world has moved on...

iPhone Mosaic Celebrates 10,000 Apps and Counting
One for the fanboys.


Phones

iPhone Conquers 16.6 Percent of World Smartphone Market

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 10:00 AM on December 3, 2008

After besting BlackBerry and the Razr, the iPhone has seized its largest parcel of the global smartphone market yet: 16.6 percent. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it's actually a pretty big deal.


Read More »

Phones

Katie Couric Explains How Texting Works in Relationships

Posted by Mark Wilson at 9:40 AM on December 3, 2008


Let it be known, Katie Couric is OK with saying you love someone over text message. Just don't dump somebody that way. Text messaging: Adequate for love, not quite seething enough for hate. [via textually]

Games

Acekard 2i Becomes First to Crack Nintendo DSi For Homebrew

Posted by John Mahoney at 9:00 AM on December 3, 2008

Befitting of the homebrew crackin' reputation recently, Nintendo figured they'd take the opportunity of the DSi's fresh hardware to kibosh homemade code via flash carts once and for all. As you can see here, that plan didn't last long.

Read More »

Software

Windows Vista SP2 Features and Fixes Unveiled, Beta Announced

Posted by Sean Fallon at 8:54 AM on December 3, 2008

Kevin Tofel of jkontherun has put together a fairly comprehensive list of what's inside the Vista SP2 update—just as the beta rolls out to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Here is what users can expect:

Read More »

Phones

Apple: 'No Reasonable Person' Should Trust Their Marketing

Posted by Mark Wilson at 8:40 AM on December 3, 2008

While every new Apple product is scrutinised closely by an army of ambulance chasers, taking issue with Apple's speed claims regarding the iPod 3G is probably a somewhat reasonable position...unless you realise that Apple doesn't expect you to trust them in the first place. After a legal complaint by 70-year-old William Gillis over the "twice as fast for half the price" statement found in iPhone 3G marketing, Apple responded with a 9-page, 32-point rebuttal—one paragraph of which included this overly harsh, but very telling, statement:

Plaintiff's claims, and those of the purported class, are barred by the fact that the alleged deceptive statements were such that no reasonable person in Plaintiff's position could have reasonably relied on or misunderstood Apple's statements as claims of fact.
In other words, if you believe what Apple says in an Apple ad, you are not a reasonable person. Well that point is more clear by the moment, isn't it? [Legal Doc (pdf) via Wired]

Regulars

Question of the Day: How Far Back Do Your TiVo Shows Go?

Posted by Sean Fallon at 8:20 AM on December 3, 2008

According to CNN, you are not the only one who may have "TiVo guilt." Plenty of people keep shows on there forever. So, how far back do your unwatched TiVo / DVR shows go?

Read More »

Peripherals

Callpod Fueltank Two-in-One Portable Charger Lightning Review

Posted by Jason Chen at 8:00 AM on December 3, 2008

The Gadget: Callpod's Fueltank, a 2-in-1 portable battery/charger that can power up any two mobile devices simultaneously, from phones to Bluetooth to portable media players. It uses the same tips as the six-way Chargepod charger, so anything compatible with that is compatible with this.

Read More »

Toys

Keyhole Surgery: Operation for the Less Than Ethical

Posted by Mark Wilson at 7:40 AM on December 3, 2008

While some of us invest points into intelligence to become doctors, others of us pour those stats into perception and agility to take a different route...

Read More »

Peripherals

Yogen Max Charges Laptops with Feet

Posted by Mark Wilson at 7:20 AM on December 3, 2008

The Yogen Max is a foot pedal laptop charger that will fold up for easy travel, allowing you to run your laptop like an antique sewing machine. http://www.easy-energy.biz/

Read More »

Peripherals

Here Kitty Kitty, Must Charge My iPhone Via Your Spinal Fluid

Posted by John Mahoney at 7:00 AM on December 3, 2008

In the electric future, cats' nervous systems run on USB, and we can tap into them for our needs. This four-porter (the other one is in kitty's mouth) is available only via wholesale from Shenzhen, which is how I imagine most of the future will be delivered. [Alibaba via FFFFOUND]

Computers

Laptop Cop Geo-Locates Stolen Laptops With Wi-Fi

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 6:45 AM on December 3, 2008

Previous version of Laptop Cop let you remotely delete (or retrieve) files from a stolen laptop, but the newest feature makes it genuinely worth paying for: Real-time geo-location using just Wi-Fi.

Read More »