Digital Technology for Digital Living.
December 31, 2007
iPhone 1.1.3 Leak [video]
Here it is… video evidence of the new unreleased iPhone 1.1.3 software improvements. The embedded video below is a nice and thorough walk-through of the unreleased iPhone 1.1.3 feature updates hosted by Andru from GearLive.com. Watch it fast before Apple’s lawyers take it down.
Anyone still think it’s fake?
If the embedded video above doesn’t load, then click here.
methodshop | Comments (0) | Mobile Phone
December 28, 2007
Online Predator - Taser Accident
Call me crazy, but when a group of Police officers approach me holding guns and start yelling “Get down on the ground,” I’m gonna listen. This guy… not so much.
Watch this clip first from the popular American TV series “Dateline: To Catch A Predator” (dateline.msnbc.com), then read my explanation. I’ve analyzed this YouTube clip frame by frame and watched it like 50 times. I think I’ve got it all figured out.
The perp unknowingly shows up at a “Dateline: To Catch A Predator” sting house looking for a sexual encounter with an underage teen he met in a chat room. After Chris Hansen pops out and basically tells him that he’s on national TV, the guy tries to put on his shoes and walk out the front door to freedom. But the cops are outside.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Video
December 21, 2007
The World’s Most Famous Photoshop Fakes
All professional photographs are usually touched-up a tiny bit. Sometimes specks of dust need to be removed, maybe the image needs a little bit of color correction or even a dose of red eye reduction.
Then there are images that get completely ’shopped (aka Photoshopped). For example, look at the terrible image of Oprah to the right from a 1989 issue of TV Guide. Oprah’s head doesn’t even look natural transplanted on Ann-Margret’s body. It’s ridiculous!
While “Photoshopping” an image might be a creative opportunity for artistic photographers and designers, for news editors, it can all be a bit of a nightmare once the public finds out.
Here are 7 of the most famous Photoshop fakes according to Photopreneur.com.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General
December 13, 2007
USPS Hates Netflix Envelopes
According to an article in the NY Times, the USPS isn’t happy with Netflix because their red envelopes must be sorted by hand. The US Postal Service estimates that the manual sorting of 1.6 million Netflix envelopes per day is costing them about $21 million a year.
As a result, the USPS wants to add a 17 cent surcharge to every package that requires hand sorting - including Netflix DVD envelopes. Tony Wible, a Citigroup analyst who wrote the report, says that the income that Netflix receives per subscriber would fall from $1.05 to 35 cents and that Blockbuster’s return mailing envelopes do not cause this problem. This could make a big competitive difference for the 2 companies.
“We know that Netxflix, which mails out about 1.6 million movies a day, is clever enough to create a redesigned mailer sometime soon.” ~ GearLive.com
BeSocial: methodshop
methodshop | Comments (0) | DVD
December 06, 2007
Violin-playing Robot can perform Christmas carols | New TOYOTA Mobility Robot
NEW TOYOTA ROBOTS ARE THE ULTIMATE FESTIVE SEASON ACCESSORY
- Mobility Robot can walk owners around, carry shopping
- Violin-playing Robot can perform Christmas carols
Toyota has unveiled two new robots, a “Mobility Robot” and a “Violin-playing Robot”, which could become very useful at Christmas in years to come.
The Mobility Robot provides transport in places where conventional wheeled vehicles would fail, including steps, making it the ideal aid for all those hours of Christmas shopping.
The Mobility Robot can move at speeds of up to 4mph – human walking pace – and travel up to a distance of 13 miles on one hour of battery charge. In addition to being able to transport its owner, it can also follow people and avoid obstacles, allowing it to function as a porter, leaving the owner’s hands free at the New Year sales.
The Violin-playing Robot is capable of performing a variety of tasks with its hands and arms. Its delicacy of movement is best demonstrated by the fact it can play the violin. It can achieve vibrato on a violin similar to that created by humans, enabling it to play all the classic Christmas carols.
The 1.5-metre tall Violin-playing Robot, equipped with a total of 17 joints in each of its hands and arms, uses precise control and coordination to achieve human-like agility. It could also be used to assist with domestic duties or nursing and medical care.
These newest additions to the Toyota Partner Robot family are being developed to support people’s everyday life but unfortunately you won’t be able to purchase them for this Christmas. Toyota hopes to have these and other Toyota Partner Robots on sale in the early 2010s.
Toyota Partner Robots are envisioned to assist people in four main fields: domestic duties, nursing and healthcare, manufacturing and short-distance personal transport.
Toyota is primarily focussing on technology that works in harmony with people, such as assistance devices that can help move heavy instruments in a factory, on mobility technology for autonomous movement, on full-body coordination for walking and jumping, and on tool manipulation.
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General
Dell D630 run over by car - Still boots
As someone who has just ordered a Dell Latitude ATG (All Terrain Grade) Notebook today - this video is rather reassuring ;-)
D630 run over by car - Still boots
I wonder how Dell’s complete care warranty handles this?
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | Portable
Leg Lamp Replica from A Christmas Story
This half-scale reproduction of the Leg Lamp from the 1983 movie A Christmas Story isn’t completely accurate, but for a mere $40 bucks it’s probably close enough for most Christmas Story fans. And honestly, it’s smaller scale will be more apt to blend in with the average living room. It certainly does with mine, never failing to draw smiling comments when a new guest first sees it.
I wonder how long it would take for HR to give me a call to “talk” if I brought my Leg Lamp to work?
My friend has been saying for years, in jest, how he’d love to have the Leg Lamp to place in the window of his house, for all the neighbors to see. And his wife has sworn that it would never happen… now she is going to kill us for getting him this for Christmas!
If only Amazon.com would mark the outside of the package “Fragile” so you too can become “The Old Man” for a nostalgic moment when the Leg Lamp arrives at your door.
Via: methodshop
methodshop | Comments (0) | Toys
December 04, 2007
Crowd Farms Offer Alt Energy
The band takes center stage, the fans surge forward and the sheer power of the crowd’s excitement amplifies the sound of their favorite songs - providing enough energy, in fact, to move a train.
It could happen in the Crowd Farm, a conceptual design by two graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that seeks to milk the mechanical movement of hundreds or thousands of assembled people to produce electrical power.
In principal, a large-scale version of the setup could harness the collective energy of commuters bustling toward subway stations, shoppers marching through mega malls or fans dancing at a rock concert. Already, the students have shown how the simple act of sitting on a stool can generate enough power to turn on four LED lights.
The Crowd Farm team takes inspiration from an old anecdote about Thomas Edison and a simple but effective turnstile. When visitors toured Edison’s summer property, the inventor allegedly asked them to pass through a peculiar turnstile. In response to their bemused queries, Edison would tell them good-naturedly that they had just helped him pump several gallons of water from his well into his storage tank.
Read More: msnbc.com
methodshop | Comments (0) | General
December 03, 2007
O2 Mobile Launches NFC - Near Field Communications on mobile phones
O2 Mobile Phones to Become Smart Wallets
Mobile phone pilot of new technology set to make cash payments a thing of the past
The UK’s first large scale pilot of NFC (Near Field Communications) on mobile phones is being launched today, which will allow a mobile phone handset to be used as a wallet for electronic cash, much like an Oyster card.
O2 Mobile Launches NFC - Near Field Communications on mobile phones
NFC is a wireless connectivity technology, which allows secure communication between electronic devices at a short-range, and is set to pave the way for people to use their phones to pay for purchases or public transport by simply swiping their phone across a reader.
The six month pilot by O2 will involve over 500 participants. In the trial users will be able to:
Make ‘contactless’ payments at selected retailers for purchases under £10, by simply tapping their phones on the reader. They will also be able to use their phones to check available funds, and to locate retailers close to them that accept contactless payments.
Travel on public transport with Oyster; they will also be able to top up their Oyster cards by touching their handset on ticket machines or at ticket stops.
Touch the handset on selected ‘smart posters’ – smart posters contain embedded tags with more information about the subject on the poster (eg. an item on sale, or an event taking place).
Still answer a call while making a transaction – as calls or text messages will not interfere with the NFC service.
Each trial participant will be given a Nokia NFC handset installed with the O2 Wallet which groups together multiple NFC applications, including an Oyster card and a Barclaycard Visa. It’s hoped the findings will help better explore the viability of this technology, and whether customers feel safe and confident to use their phones instead of cards or cash, to purchase goods and on public transport.
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | Mobile Phone
