Probably dismayed by the current smleh state of games for the iPhone, game wizard John Carmack has announced that iD Software is bringing something very special for the iPhone. Knowing that John is the creator of Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake, but, more importantly, Commander Keen, you can imagine how excited we are. Yes, that excited. In fact, as excited as he is about the iPhone as a gaming platform, comparing it to the PS2, as Chris Morris reports:
The obviously named Solar House Number Display & Mailbox will not only help guests find your home in the dark, but it keeps your mail and newspaper snug, too. The box drinks in solar rays during the day, and when evening comes, it automatically triggers the LED backlighting, lasting for up to ten hours. Just use the numbers provided in the package to indicate your house number, mount the thing up, and forget about it–no batteries, and it’s water resistant.
Worried about someone walking up and snagging your mail? The mailbox has a lock, though the newspaper just slides into the cubby at the bottom of the unit. Good luck trying to get the paper boy to walk up and slide your newspaper in just for you. The Solar House Number Display & Mailbox costs $128.
Product page [NapaStyle via Uberreview]
This Microsoft patent for acoustic caller ID seems ingenious. Instead of relying on the phone company to ID by easily spoofed phone numbers, the system IDs by voice. That way, callers can be identified from whatever line they call from, cell, voip, landline, and gas station pay phone. Of course, that means the caller has to actually talk before the person picks up the phone.
So smart, yet so dumb.–Brian Lam Patent 7,231,019: Automatic identification of telephone callers based on voice characteristics [USPTO via Wired]
