Digital Technology for Digital Living.
January 31, 2007
European nations fight with Apple over DRM
The Norwegian ombudsman has sided with a consumer council and a group of European nations that are fighting for Apple to change its Fairplay digital-rights-management (DRM) software that stops downloaded songs from iTunes from being played on competing mp3 players. The Norwegian ombudsman said that Apple’s iTunes service unfairly locks in consumers.
The fight which started in June last year includes European nations such as Germany, the Netherlands and France. Should Apple not open up its iTunes to other players they are threatening fines and total bans from operating in their countries.
In a statement from Torgeir Andrew Waterhouse, senior adviser to the The Norwegian Consumer Council he said “It doesn’t get any clearer than this, [Apple's] Fairplay [DRM] is an illegal lock-in technology which main purpose is to lock the consumers to the total package provided by Apple and iTunes Music Store by technically blocking interoperability.”
The iTunes Music Store is currently selling 5 million songs a day.
Reference for posting: http://www.pcmag.com
AndyD | Comments (0) | Musicgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
You could win a high tech toilet
US firm Roto-Rooter have announced that they will gave away their high tech toilet in an online sweepstake. The toilet affectionately known as the ‘Pimped Out John’ boasts a number of interesting features and gadgetry which will mean that you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll never have to leave the toilet and that your gaming will never have to be interrupted.
The toilet features:
?¢‚Ǩ¬¢ 20-inch Philips LCD TV
?¢‚Ǩ¬¢ an Xbox 360 console
?¢‚Ǩ¬¢ a DVD player
?¢‚Ǩ¬¢ a Gateway EMachine laptop
?¢‚Ǩ¬¢ an iPod docking station with its own toilet-paper dispenser
?¢‚Ǩ¬¢ a TiVo DVR
?¢‚Ǩ¬¢ an Avanti refridgerator with beer tap
?¢‚Ǩ¬¢ an exercise bike
?¢‚Ǩ¬¢ an electric cup warmer
The online sweepstake is presumably only for US participants which is a shame for people outside the country as the high tech loo is a one of a kind with the ability to wow anyone.
Reference for posting: http://techdigest.tv
AndyD | Comments (0) | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
Teenagers clothes and gadgets cost ?Ǭ£768
According to a survey (and what will probably come as no surprise to parents) teenagers are costing parents a small fortune for trendy clothes and gadgetry.?Ǭ†
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The survey, carried out by insurer Cornhill Direct, reveal that the trendiest of teenagers walk around in gear worth an incredible ?Ǭ£768.46 every day.
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The average teenager leaves the house in clothes worth ?Ǭ£229.54, which includes jewellery and watches. Mobile phones, MP3 players and wallets can add another ?Ǭ£300.
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It is the gadgets in particular that are a cause for concern for insurers.?Ǭ† 3 in 10 teenagers claimed that their gadgets had been lost or stolen from them and when a mobile phone is bought for an average ?Ǭ£127.58 and a MP3 player for ?Ǭ£150 insurers can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t be happy.
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Reference for posting: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk
AndyD | Comments (1) | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
January 30, 2007
The ?Ǭ£9 DVD player from ASDA
There has got to be someone in the UK who does not own a dvd player.?Ǭ† It may be a small percentage but there has to be a home out there that is still playing the same dodgy VHS tapes that everyone else played a decade ago.?Ǭ† But now with the extremely low priced DVD player from ASDA that could all change.
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Last year saw the launch of two new high definition state of the art disc format players, the Blu-ray and HD DVD players.?Ǭ† Whilst some eager consumers are adopting the technology ASDA is offering the standard definition DVD player for a measly ?Ǭ£9.?Ǭ† That?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s less than the price of an average newly released DVD.
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From Thursday 25th January ASDA will be halving the price of the Duraband DVD player which originally cost ?Ǭ£17.84 to ?Ǭ£9.?Ǭ†
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There will be more than 80,000 of the DVD players hitting shelves and it will be on sale at every one of ASDA?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s 316 stores and seven ASDA Living stores throughout the UK and Northern Ireland.?Ǭ†?Ǭ†
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Argos and Tesco offer similar DVD players for roughly ?Ǭ£18.
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Reference for posting: http://uk.gizmodo.com/2007/01/29/asda_flogging_9_dvd_player.html
AndyD | Comments (1) | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
January 29, 2007
YouProfit with YouTube
In an effort to stay competitive with revenue sharing viral video sites like Revver, Chad Hurley, co-founder of YouTube, said that his site will start sharing profits with its millions of users. The announcement was made during Hurley’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this past Saturday. Many active YouTube users have started removing their videos and reposting them on Revver so they can make some money off their hard work. Revver started sharing profits with their users back in October of 2005.
“We are getting an audience large enough where we have an opportunity to support creativity, to foster creativity through sharing revenue with our users… So in the coming months we are going to be opening that up” Hurley said.
How much will popular YouTube posters like The Wine Kone or Adam Wade start making off their videos? It’s still unknown. Hurley didn’t go into any payment details during his speech.
About 70 million videos are viewed daily on YouTube, which was sold to Google for $1.65 billion last year.
Be Social: digg story | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (1) | Broadband, Videogadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
January 25, 2007
Bad news for both Blue Ray and HD-DVD
Bad news for both Blue Ray and HD-DVD as the number of sales of the next generation of optical disc format is far below what industry analysts had expected. The approximate number of players that shipped last year was 250,000 which was considerably lower than the rather optimistic 750,000 that were predicted.
The next generation format war is likely to echo of that of the war between Sony’s Betamax and the VHS format. Because of how that war turned out (VHS becoming the dominate format) consumers have remained cautious about which format to choose with many adopting a ?¢‚Ǩ?ìwait and see?¢‚Ǩ¬ù approach. That coupled with the high price of the technology have seen the players not selling as many as had been hoped.
But it is not just the consumer who is cautious about the format war. Both electronics producers and Movie companies have thrown their support to the different formats. Sony, Philips, Panasonic and others back Blu-ray. Microsoft, Intel and Toshiba back HD DVD.
Both Formats have different advantages. Blue-ray has a much greater data storage capacity whereas HD DVD?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s are less expensive to produce and thus will cost less. Blue-ray also has the added benefit of being the format of choice for the Playstaion3 meaning that every PS3 user is bound to favour the Blu-ray format.
South Korea’s Electronics Giant, LG, announced it would release a combo Blu-ray/HD DVD player. However many are sceptical about a player that can run both formats citing that the player would be much too expensive for consumers.
Reference for posting: http://news.com.com
Gadgets boy | Comments (1) | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
January 24, 2007
DIY Nintendo Wii Steering Wheel
You might remember hearing about a wave of wounded people when the Nintendo Wii first came out last November. A combination of physically unfit Wii owners and a weak Wiimote strap was causing people to accidentally do things like punch their dogs or dislocate knees. Well apparently everyone?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s wounds have healed and they?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re starting to experiment with their new gaming systems.
One ambitious Wii owner even decided to make his own steering wheel and upload a picture of it to GoNintendo.com. The official Wii steering wheel is included with most racing games like GT Pro Series and Monster 4X4: World Circuit; but why pay extra for a game bundled with a wheel when you can just make your own?
While this particular DIY wheel leaves a lot to be desired (especially when it comes to style points), I’ll give this lumpy homemade masterpiece an A+ for effort.
Be Social: digg story | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (0) | Toysgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
January 23, 2007
Heroes and Zeroes
Heroes is going digital. The hit American TV series on the the NBC network is relaunching its Web site with new interactive features coinciding with a batch of new original on-air episodes. NBC hopes the multiplatform strategy will deepen the “Heroes” mythos with additional content for Internet and mobile applications.
Some of these new digital offerings include a real-time, two-screen application that plays out on the PC along with each episode, commentary from cast members set to streamed episodes, and mobile content.
NBC is even making special viral clips to help promote Heroes on video sharing sites like YouTube. The latest Heroes clip is a parody called “Zeroes” about ordinary people with relatively pointless abilities. Check it out. If you are a fan of the show you’ll really enjoy it.
Jeff Gaspin, president of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment and Digital Content had this to say about the new online presence for Heroes in The Hollywood Reporter: “Heroes has proven itself a hit on-air and online, and these extensions of rich, original content will allow our audience unprecedented access to new levels of the show as they dig deeper.”
If you want to copy this video off of YouTube and save it on your hard drive, then check out this tutorial: Copy Videos Off YouTube.
Social: digg story | methodshop
methodshop | Comments Off | Videogadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
January 18, 2007
Conan iPhone Commercial
Apparently Steve Jobs was holding back at last week’s Macworld Expo. Apple’s new iPhone can do a lot more than just play music, movie and make phone calls.
As you can see from this video, the research staff at Late Night with Conan O’Brien were able to uncover all of the iPhone’s features including camera, movie player, remote control, electric razor?¢‚Ǩ¬¶
If you want to copy this video off of YouTube and save it on your hard drive, then check out this tutorial: Copy Videos Off YouTube.
social: youtube | digg story | methodshop
methodshop | Comments Off | Mobile Phone, Musicgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
January 17, 2007
MoGo Wireless Bluetooth Mouse
The MoGo Wireless Mouse is a business-card sized, Bluetooth-enabled mouse that stores and recharges neatly inside (yes, inside?¢‚Ǩ¬¶) your laptop’s PC card slot. To recharge your MoGo Mouse, just slide it into the empty PC card slot in your laptop. It will fully recharge in less than an hour and provide you with enough power for about 8 or 9 hours of use.
As you can imagine, the MoGo Mouse is specifically designed for people who spend a lot of time traveling like writers, reporters and sales reps. Other mice, even those meant for travelers, usually don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t cut it. Mini-mice (aka ?¢‚Ǩ?ìwalnut shells?¢‚Ǩ¬ù) get lost in your hand and are difficult to maneuver, and the idea of carrying a full-sized mouse defeats the entire purpose of mobility on the go.
The MoGo Mouse is a natural fit for road warriors. Storing it inside you PC Card (PCMCIA) slot is pure genius and the fact that it charges there is just the icing on the cake. The only thing I’d like to see in future models is a scroll wheel. I know that the size of it makes it hard to have a wheel but maybe a touch wheel, like one some laptops, could have been possible.
“an excellent tool for the road warrior or… minimalist.” ~ GetUSB.info
If you spend a lot of time on the road with your laptop, then the MoGo Wireless Mouse will just make your life easier.
methodshop | Comments (1) | Peripherals, Wirelessgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
January 14, 2007
Hot New Electronic Toys for Your Car
The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has been breaking barriers in automotive innovation for 40 years. From satellite radio and vehicle navigation to compressed audio and wireless connectivity, new mobile products are speeding into the mainstream – and now viewers have a chance to soak it all up right from the show floor in Las Vegas.
Gadgets boy | Comments (0) | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
Wii Sports Pack From Joytech
For Nintendo Wii owners who want to take their gaming to the next level, Joytech have released their Sports pack. This pack of accessories can be attached to the Wii?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s controller, the wiimote letting users experience a new level of sporting authenticity. They include a golf attachment, a tennis racket attachment and a steering wheel attachment.
The Sports Pack retails for just under twenty UK pounds and to get the most of the pack you would need to buy the games that correspond to the attachments. Wii Sports that is bundled with every console has a golf game and a tennis game so the Sports pack could be put to use from the offset. Also at launch game is Need For Speed Carbon, a racing game.
Whether this extra level of game immersion warrants its price tag is a matter of personal opinion, but I can imagine that a large percentage of Wii owners could happily go without.
Reference for posting: Joytech.net
Gadgets boy | Comments (1) | Consolegadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
$100 Laptop is on its way
2008 should see the release of a Laptop that will only cost $100. The One Laptop per Child project are producing a Laptop that can be sold to the world?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s poorest countries to help children?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s learning and development.
This non-profit humanitarian project has worked with experts from both the academic world and industry to produce the laptop. The laptop is said to be flexible, power-efficient and durable and includes wireless mesh networking.
However there are a number of features that had to be omitted from the machine such as a hard drive, optical or floppy disk drives and fans. However many of these features can be connected via a USB port.
The first countries to sign up to buying the machine, which is officially dubbed XO, include Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Nigeria, Libya, Pakistan and Thailand.
Reference for posting: The BBC
Gadgets boy | Comments Off | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
January 12, 2007
iPhone: Cisco vs Apple
If you were paying attention to all the hype building up to the Apple iPhone announcement on Tuesday, then you might recall the little snag concerning who actually owns the “iPhone” name.
Even though Apple unveiled the iPhone in San Francisco this week, Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems Inc., announced a product called the iPhone on December 18th, 2006. The Linksys iPhone is a Web-enabled telephone handset capable of making calls over the Internet using voice over Internet protocol (VOIP).
So how can two different companies lay claim to the “iPhone” name? That’s the problem… they can’t.
Linksys, actually owns the “iPhone” trademark because of a Cisco acquisition. A company called Infogear registered the “iPhone” name in 1996. Then Cisco then absorbed the “iPhone” trademark when it acquired Infogear in the year 2000.
So what happens now? It’s all up to the lawyers. Cisco filed a lawsuit against Apple yesterday in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Basically Cisco and Apple need to reach a settlement or Apple will have to call their iPhone something different like iChat Mobile.
According to the NY Post, Cisco thought it had reached a deal with Apple. The two companies were reportedly engaged in heated talks over the “iPhone” name the past few weeks leading up to the Apple iPhone announcement.
“We sent them final terms on Monday, but we never got approval back,” Cisco spokesman John Noh told The Post. “We’re very open to sharing the trademark. We made that clear. But then they went ahead and used the name without our permission.”
Apple has been trying to get the iPhone name away from Cisco since 2001 when they first released the iPod. Will Apple finally be successful? They obviously have something up their sleeve or they wouldn’t have halted talks with Cisco and just announced the iPhone this week. It will be interesting to see what happens these next few months.
Apple plans on releasing the iPhone in June 2007.
methodshop | Comments (1) | Mobile Phone, Music, Portable, VOIP, Wirelessgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
January 10, 2007
PoweriZers – the latest Extreme Sport
There is something about Powerizers that will make them seemingly irresistible to man or boy. Perhaps its that these shoe attachments can make you jump 2m (7ft) in the air allowing you to pull of all manner of tricks such as back flips. They?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll allow you to leap 3m (10ft) for every stride and run at speeds of 20mph!
Powerizers have curved springs attached to the base, so when you press your feet downwards, the pressure of your weight creates gravitational energy. The springs push back to harness the energy, allowing you to jump to incredible heights and run with huge strides at amazing speeds.
However some tricks can seem daunting and may take a bit of experience with the Powerizer before the user is happy enough to try out the stunts. All users should wear sufficient crash protection and exercise extreme care when using them even when you are more experienced.
Powerizers retail for just under two hundred pounds which means that they are fairly accessible to the consumer. Powerizers come in a range of models designed for specific weights so make sure that you only purchase the Powerizers that match your weight.
Reference for posting: PoweriZers
Gadgets boy | Comments Off | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
