Digital Technology for Digital Living.
April 30, 2007
$100 laptop becomes $175 laptop
Oh dear the price of the $100 laptop has increased to $175. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization has announced that the laptop, which they hoped would be affordable enough for children in developing countries to use, has to be a bit more expensive.
They have put this down to the rising prices of raw materials, particularly nickel. However its not all bad news. The machine, which originally was to run its own open source operating system, will also be capable of running Windows.
The OLPC would originally start manufacturing when it had orders for between five million and 10 million laptops. Even though many nations have signed on, the cash to back the orders has not been forthcoming. The organization is still optimistic that production will begin this October.
Reference for posting: http://www.theregister.co.uk
AndyD | Comments (1) | General
Xbox 360 Elite news
Its been seen as a technical rival to Sony?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s PS3 and now Microsoft?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s updated version of the Xbox 360, the Xbox 360 Elite has a price point.
The Xbox 360 Elite will retail for US$ 479.99 (?Ǭ£240.00 / EUR 350), while a standalone 120Gb hard disk will go for US$ 179.99 (?Ǭ£90.99 / EUR 130). Xbox 360 users will also be able to order a free Elite migration kit which will allow users to transfer everything from their 20Gb hard over to the 120Gb drive featured within Elite.
The transfer may take up to an hour depending on the amount of data to transfer and you won’t lose any content from the 20Gb disc if the transfer is interrupted.
Microsoft has yet to announce plans for the Elite’s UK release.
Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk
AndyD | Comments (1) | Console
The Smart Mug
Mug attachments seem to be everywhere. Pc owners have had to put up with less than effective drink warmer USB attachments and now drivers can now try out the Smart Mug. However this time the Smart Mug seems to be pretty good.
The device attaches via a 12-volt car adapter and is capable of heating liquids up to 160 degrees. It will also tell you when the idea preset temperature has been reached. Its ideal for being stuck in early morning traffic.
The Smart Mug is available in blue and red colors and retails for $29.95.
Reference for posting: http://www.ubergizmo.com
AndyD | Comments (1) | General
iPods help cheats
Technology is helping school kids to cheat in exams. First it was sending messages on Phones and other communication devices and now kids have been using iPods to store written notes or recorded notes on possible answers in the exams.
One school in Meridian, Idaho, is banning students from taking Apple iPods into exams because two kids were overheard discussing how to use them to cheat. Kids at some Californian schools have already been caught with incriminating notes on their music players.
One student reckoned cheaters could still get away with running an earpiece up their sleeve and listen to it while appearing to lean on their hands.
Reference for posting: http://www.theregister.co.uk
AndyD | Comments (0) | General
April 28, 2007
The SwiMP3 v2
The SwiMP3 v2 is an underwater MP3 player that can deliver an incredible audio experience. This MP3 player allows the user to listen to their favorite music underwater by using bone conduction of sound.
The SwiMP3 transfers sound vibrations from the cheek bone to the inner ear to provide the swimmer with excellent sound clarity. Its thus ideal for anyone who enjoys swimming either competitively of just for some exercise and can make it a bit more enjoyable.
The SwiMP3 has 256MB worth of memory for you to store your songs.
Reference for posting: http://www.finisinc.com
AndyD | Comments (1) | Music
The Slouchpad
The Slouchpad is a gamer?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s dream. This comfortable chair which has a number of adapters along the side which you can plug in everything from your Mp3 player, TV to your laptop and DVD player and it boasts has two built-in 5Watt RMS speakers and a 10Watt RMS Sub Woofer which will help immerse you into the game.
The Slouchpad comes in six colors, including classic black, cream and red, and the more nausea-inducing lilac, pink and white. The Slouchpad retails for ?Ǭ£299.
Reference for posting: http://uk.gizmodo.com
AndyD | Comments (0) | Console
April 27, 2007
The Journi portable speaker system for iPods
The Journi is a portable speaker system from Griffin that works with dock-connecting iPods.
The Journi boasts a leather-like exterior shell that keeps your iPod out of harm’s way when it is not being used as a stand. The volume and power buttons are concealed by the rubberized sides.
The Journi?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s battery offers up to 10 hours of play on a single charge. Two audio drivers and an equal number of passive radiator vents complete the Griffin Journi’s look.
The Journi currently retails for $130.
Reference for posting: http://www.ubergizmo.com
AndyD | Comments (0) | Music
The PlayStation Eye
Sony claims to have made huge advances in USB camera and microphone technology and they have put all of this into the PlayStation Eye, a camera accessory for the Sony PS3.
Highlights of the new Eye camera are a noise canceling microphone, frame rate of up to 120 frames per second, two position zoom lens for close-up and full body options and the bundled EyeCreate software that lets you edit captured videos.
The Eye will be essential in using Sony’s Network gaming and communication services. One of Sony?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s rivals, Microsoft are currently using a camera for their Live network over Xbox360 but only a few so far support it such as Command and Conquer 3: Tiberian Wars.
The Sony Playstation Eye will ship this Summer.
Reference for posting: http://www.i4u.com
AndyD | Comments (0) | Console
Father of the PlayStation Retires
Ken Kutaragi aka ‘Father of the PlayStation’ has decided to retire from his role as chairman and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc (SCEI). He helped make PlayStation what it is today, the world?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s most popular video game brand.
Kutaragi developed the original PlayStation as well as the PS2 and he was also instrumental in the development and launch of the PlayStation 3 and due to this has become a minor celebrity in his home country, Japan.
Kutaragi will assume the role of honorary chairman of SCEI, and act as future technology adviser to Sony’s chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer. He will be replaced by current president Kaz Hirai on 19 June.
Reference for posting: http://www.tech.co.uk
AndyD | Comments (0) | Console
April 26, 2007
PS3 users give support to Folding@Home
More than 250,000 PlayStation3 owners have enrolled their console in the Folding@Home project which uses it to study the shapes proteins assume which could helps to understand diseases such as Alzheimers.
So many people have signed up that the project has carried out a year’s worth of research in a month.
The Folding@Home (F@H) project uses idle machines to simulate how proteins, the building blocks of life, assume the forms that play key roles in living tissue.
A better understanding of these folded forms could help tackle disease or help manipulate or mimic these vital structures.
By harnessing thousands of idle machines to do hundreds of thousands of these smaller tasks it becomes possible to do analysis that would take years to complete on a single supercomputer.
Sony said an update to the F@H PS3 program would boost speeds and make it easier to see who else was participating.
Reference for posting: http://news.bbc.co.uk
AndyD | Comments (0) | Console
New NEC PC displays
NEC is releasing three new wide screen PC displays aimed at office users which will come in 19?¢‚Ǩ¬ù, 20?¢‚Ǩ¬ù and 22?¢‚Ǩ¬ù sizes. The models include the AccuSync ASLCD193WXM 19?¢‚Ǩ¬ù LCD, ASLCD203WXM 20?¢‚Ǩ¬ù LCD and the ASLCD223WXM 22?¢‚Ǩ¬ù LCD.
The 20?¢‚Ǩ¬ù and 22?¢‚Ǩ¬ù displays share the same 1680 x 1050 native resolution and the 19?¢‚Ǩ¬ù version has a 1440 x 900 resolution. NEC?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s three displays come with integrated speakers, 5ms gray-to-gray response times and 1000:1 contrast ratios.
The 19?¢‚Ǩ¬ù costs $229.99, $289.99 for the 20?¢‚Ǩ¬ù and $359.99 for the 22?¢‚Ǩ¬ù version. The 19?¢‚Ǩ¬ù display is ready for shipment now, however you will have to wait until May to get the other two versions.
Reference for posting: http://www.i4u.com
AndyD | Comments (0) | General
Forget the radiation, Text Speak is the problem
Irish parents have more to be worried about their children?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s mobile phones then just the radiation, now they have to be concerned diminishing writing standards as well.
An education commission has said that due to the rising popularity of text messaging on mobile phones, 15-year-olds are making more errors in grammar and punctuation and in a report states that students are ?¢‚Ǩ?ìunduly reliant on short sentences, simple tenses and a limited vocabulary”.
The report was compiled by the State Examination Commission in which they reviewed last year’s exam performance by 15-year-olds.
The report blames Text Speak which uses shorter sentences and words to convey messages quickly which children are transferring over to their schoolwork.
Reference for posting: http://uk.reuters.com
AndyD | Comments (0) | Mobile Phone
Top 10 Awkward TV Interviews
Maybe it’s something in the air. Maybe they were just having a bad day. Or maybe it was the handful of painkillers they swallowed moments before going on air (right Paula?). But whatever the explanation, weird, awkward interviews seem to be occurring at an ever more frequent rate. The website Double Viking has gathered the top 10 most awkward interview moments of all time.
The list includes such gems as Barbra Walters asking Katherine Hepburn what kind of tree she’d be and Tom Cruise attacking Matt Lauer about Scientology. But by far, my favorite moment is when Vanilla Ice grabs a baseball bat, destroys part of a TV set and makes Jon Stewart crap his pants.
Want to watch these YouTube clips on your iPod? Then check out this tutorial: How to Copy Files Off YouTube and Convert them for your Video iPod
BeSocial: digg story | flickr | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (1) | Video, Digital TV
April 24, 2007
Modest Mouse Music Video Contest
Want to make it big as a music video director/editor? The band Modest Mouse wants help making a video for their new song “Missed the Boat.” With the help of Apple, Modest Mouse posted 12 high quality videos (each shot at a different angle) of them performing in front of a green screen.
The public is encouraged to download these video clips and edit them together into one final music video. Feel free to use your own footage and experiment the green screen.
Why is Apple generously providing massive amounts of bandwidth for people to download these giant high resolution video clips?
Read the rest of this entry ?Ǭª
methodshop | Comments (0) | Broadband, Music, Video
Should Sci Fi Green Light Outer Space Astronauts?
Sci Fi.com and Sci Fi Magazine are asking Internet users if they should pick up a new sci-fi comedy called Outer Space Astronauts.
Visitors are given access to 5 vignettes from the show on the SCI FI Pulse Broadband Network and asked to fill out a survey explaining what they think. Sci Fi says it will also take traffic into account when deciding whether or not to pick up the show.
Think you know how to program the American Sci Fi Channel better than NBC Universal? After they started airing wrestling on the Sci Fi Channel… who doesn’t.
You can watch the Outer Space Astronauts clips here.
BeSocial: digg story | flickr | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (1) | Broadband, Video, Digital TV
Bill Gates Hates Apple Ads
Recently Bob Garfield, from AdAge, got to interview Bill Gates during the Corbis Creativity 2.0 panel in Manhattan. Garfield asked Gates about a number of topics from Vista to IPTV. He also tried to get Gates to comment on a very sensitive topic… Apple’s “Get a Mac” advertising campaign. The campaign features actor/author John Hodgman who looks like Bill Gates and personifies a PC.
As you can imagine, Bill Gates is not amused by the ads. Here’s the portion of the interview transcript where Garfield asks Gates about the ads. Enjoy:
GARFIELD: I want to ask you one more thing: Those Mac ads — how do you feel about the John Hodgman character?
GATES: I can’t comment on someone else’s ad.
GARFIELD: OK … but he’s you.
GATES: Yeah, I’m not gonna comment on someone else’s ad.
GARFIELD: OK, well, Bill Gates, thank you so much for joining us.
(Silence)
GARFIELD: Can I just have a clean goodbye?
(Silence)
GARFIELD: OK, can you just say goodbye? Thank you or goodbye or something like that?
GATES: Goodbye.
BeSocial: linkcritics | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (0) | Video
April 20, 2007
Apple Asks Video Podcasters to Increase Quality
Last week Apple sent out an email (screenshot courtesy of TechCrunch.com) to video podcasters asking them to increase the quality of their productions and start formatting their videos for the big screen. Since the launch of the Apple TV (full review here) in March, Apple TVs have been selling like hotcakes and video podcast subscription numbers have skyrocketed.
Apple TV owners, who don’t necessarily want to spend lots of money in the iTunes Store, are gobbling up video podcasts like never before. Even though there currently isn’t any HD quality videos for sale in the iTunes Store, the Apple TV is capable of HD video playback. So several popular video podcasters, including The Washington Post, TWIT (MacBreak), Revision3 (Diggnation) and Vintage Tooncast, have decided to fill the void of HD content by distributing their podcasts in HD or hi res quality.
Why hasn’t everyone started distributing their video podcasts in HD? Money. Not only does producing an HD podcasts require extra hard drive space (roughly 4 times more), special cameras and editing software, but just hosting these giant video files on the Internet can be enough to bankrupt your entire production. For example, the iPod Video version of MacBreak episode 63 is 21 MBs. The HD version is 93 MBs. To help alleviate increased HD production costs, many podcasters have reached out to HD television manufacturers like Samsung and Panasonic to get them to sponsor their new HD podcasts.
For video podcasters who are still producing content at 320×240 but want to do something to increase quality, there is an intermediary step before going HD. Podcasters can start by migrating their productions to 640×480, or even 640×360 (letterbox). This way their video files will still be compatible with portable media players like the Zune and iPod, but will also work on the Apple TV. If the material is carefully encoded, it will look as good or better than typical TV.
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methodshop | Comments (0) | Video, Digital TV
April 18, 2007
Top 5 TV Shows that Should be Canceled
Here is MSNBC.com’s list of the top 5 American TV shows that should be canceled. I have a feeling that a lot of people aren’t going to agree with the top three.
Let the fireworks begin…
Disagree? Want to talk about it? You’re not alone. Head over to the MSNBC.com Message Boards and join in the discussion.
“The Simpson’s stopped being funny years ago.” ~ Ghazi
“Lost needs to start getting down to business. It’s losing it’s appeal. Start answering questions outright already and get to the damn point.” ~ primehifi
You can see the MSNBC.com list here: Top 5 TV Shows that Should be Canceled
BeSocial: digg story | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (0) | Video, Digital TV
April 17, 2007
Pictures of Geek Culture
These pictures of “geek culture” will either amaze or disturb you. Enjoy.
Did anyone else want to kick over that arch of monitors?
BeSocial: digg it | via scribd.com | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (0) | Geek
Lonelygirl15 Creators Announce Spinoff
Lonelygirl15, the teenage video diary that became a huge hit on YouTube but turned out to be a fiction, is destined for a UK spin-off after its creators tied up with social networking website Bebo.
Lonelygirl15 Presents… KateModern will debut in July with several weekly episodes available exclusively to Bebo users in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
The original series of webcam diary entries from teenage girl Bree generated some 50 million views via YouTube and other user-generated video sites like Revver.com.
The popularity of the property remained undented when it came to light that Bree was in fact a character being played by an actress. In fact, the controversy actually helped increase the buzz around Lonelygirl15 and even influenced a line of t-shirts. Now its creators, Miles Beckett, Greg Goodfried and Mesh Flinders, are turning their attentions to the UK.
KateModern will expand on the original Lonelygirl storyline, focusing on a university student in London and her “struggle to balance her complex social life with the dark forces that shadow her.”
As with Lonelygirl15, KateModern promises to incorporate puzzles and mysteries into the plot, which will carry over into ‘real life,’ allowing viewers to participate in the storyline through the integrated alternate reality game.
BeSocial: digg it | Lonelygirl15 videos | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (0) | Video
