Monday, November 16, 2009
Random Stuff
Video: Armchair Reaches 29,952m In New Toshiba Commercial
11:38PM Danny Allen | The latest object to shoot high-def video from the edge of space is… an armchair. To promote its REGZA SV LCD TVs (LED backlight, local dimming), Toshiba trekked into the Black Rock Desert with a helium balloon. This is the result. More »
Computers
11:09PM Danny Allen | The Core i5 iMacs are fast, but early benchmarks of the Core i7 model suggest a 35 per cent performance boost, even though upgrade only costs $US200 extra. Timon-Royer’s telling graph uses results from the Geekbench Website. [Timon-Royer via MacRumors]
27-inch iMac Benchmarks: Core i7 Vs. Core i5
11:09PM Danny Allen | The Core i5 iMacs are fast, but early benchmarks of the Core i7 model suggest a 35 per cent performance boost, even though upgrade only costs $US200 extra. Timon-Royer’s telling graph uses results from the Geekbench Website. [Timon-Royer via MacRumors]
Cameras
Casio’s Exilim EX-FH25: 40fps High-Speed Burst Shooting At 9MP
10:19PM Danny Allen | You might remember Casio’s EX-FC100 and EX-FH20 as two Exilims capable of 1000fps slow-mo video. Both 9.1-megapixel cameras are getting a 10-megapixel CMOS sensor, and the FH25 (a 20x superzoom) does 40fps high-speed bursts at 9 megapixels (up from 7). More »
Entertainment
4:30PM Nick Broughall | I’m not sure whether this French version of Batman would rather take on crime or eat fruit, but you can’t deny that it’d be a shock to see him hanging upside down from a toilet cubicle…
[NimportequiThanks Nic!]
The French Batman Is Scary For Different Reasons
4:30PM Nick Broughall | I’m not sure whether this French version of Batman would rather take on crime or eat fruit, but you can’t deny that it’d be a shock to see him hanging upside down from a toilet cubicle…
[NimportequiThanks Nic!]
Software
3:42PM Nick Broughall | I can’t remember the last time I used the White Pages. Or the Yellow Pages, for that matter. But if you’ve got a need to look up somebody’s phone number and want to do it from your iPhone, Sensis has launched its White Pages iPhone app. It’s free.
[iTunes]
Sensis Launches White Pages iPhone App
3:42PM Nick Broughall | I can’t remember the last time I used the White Pages. Or the Yellow Pages, for that matter. But if you’ve got a need to look up somebody’s phone number and want to do it from your iPhone, Sensis has launched its White Pages iPhone app. It’s free.
[iTunes]
Science
Can Your Body Be A Battery?
3:30PM Rosa Golijan | What if machines ran off biological fuel — blood sugar — from our bodies? Could we basically power gadgets on our increasing supply of body fat and Snickers bars? More »
Games
2:47PM Nick Broughall | You know what this Monday needs? More anger. More outrage. Fortunately, there’s a nice long letter from Michael Atkinson over on Kotaku (or at least linked to from Kotaku) that spells out his position on the issue of an R18+ rating, which should provide plenty of ammunition for your resentment. More »
Kotaku Discovers Why We Don’t Have An R18+ Rating For Games
2:47PM Nick Broughall | You know what this Monday needs? More anger. More outrage. Fortunately, there’s a nice long letter from Michael Atkinson over on Kotaku (or at least linked to from Kotaku) that spells out his position on the issue of an R18+ rating, which should provide plenty of ammunition for your resentment. More »
Software
2:05PM Nick Broughall | Editor’s log, Stardate sixteen eleven oh nine: I find myself slowly becoming overwhelmed by the sheer volume of application stores available to the modern phone user. What started off as a fresh, original idea to sell applications for a dedicated device has quickly descended into the murky bog of confusion as every phone maker and his dog jumps on the bandwagon. What’s worse – I’m receiving reports that now the telcos are trying to cut into this already overcrowded market, with Optus launching its own app store for Symbian, Android, Blackberry, Windows media and Java handsets. This is the toughest assignment we’ve ever encountered, and it’s going to require all our strength to overcome it. More »
Optus Launches Its Own App Store
2:05PM Nick Broughall | Editor’s log, Stardate sixteen eleven oh nine: I find myself slowly becoming overwhelmed by the sheer volume of application stores available to the modern phone user. What started off as a fresh, original idea to sell applications for a dedicated device has quickly descended into the murky bog of confusion as every phone maker and his dog jumps on the bandwagon. What’s worse – I’m receiving reports that now the telcos are trying to cut into this already overcrowded market, with Optus launching its own app store for Symbian, Android, Blackberry, Windows media and Java handsets. This is the toughest assignment we’ve ever encountered, and it’s going to require all our strength to overcome it. More »
Entertainment
12:31PM Jesus Diaz | At last, here’s the droid we were all looking for: This is the frame in which you can clearly see R2-D2 in Star Trek. This time there’s absolutely no doubt about it. More »
R2-D2 Finally Discovered In Star Trek
12:31PM Jesus Diaz | At last, here’s the droid we were all looking for: This is the frame in which you can clearly see R2-D2 in Star Trek. This time there’s absolutely no doubt about it. More »
History of TV
12:00PM Nick Broughall | Last year, LCD TVs made up about 50 per cent of global TV sales. That’s a huge number. Not bad for a technology that’s only 40 years old or so… More »
The Evolution Of LCD
12:00PM Nick Broughall | Last year, LCD TVs made up about 50 per cent of global TV sales. That’s a huge number. Not bad for a technology that’s only 40 years old or so… More » 
