Acer has already proven that it has what it takes to divert from the traditional PC market with the company’s successful Aspire One netbook. Now it wants to prove that it can do the same in the mobile phone market as it launches the Acer Tempo Smartphone series. And boy, they do know how to do it with a bang by announcing not just one, but four new smartphones in the series - the X960, F900, M900, and DX900 with all four touting WVGA touch screen features.
Now this may be a handful of new mobile phones for a starter, but are these devices different from one another? Of the four it’s quite obvious that the M900 and the DX900 are the more promising devices. The M900 is a Windows Mobile phone running version 6.1 while the DX900 has a dual-SIM slot for additional functionality and convenience. Of course, with Windows Mobile 6.1 running on the M900, we don’t have to tell you that you can do a lot of mobile office computing using the phone. The DX900’s dual-SIM slot would let you load both 3.5G (HSDPA) and 2.75G (EDGE) SIM cards. Both the Acer M900 and DX900 would surely appeal to users whose levels of mobile phone usage vary from personal to business functionality.
Going back to the other two Acer phones, both the X960 and F900 offer features which would cater to the casual mobile phone users who want to have a taste of smartphone functionality. Both smartphones have GPS functionality, 3.2 megapixel cameras with auto focus, FM radio, and mobile web browsing capability.
Interestingly all four new Acer mobile phone sport WVGA touch screen features which is actually a good thing since Acer is entering a mobile phone market where touch screen navigation is now a standard feature.
So, are you excited about these new Acer mobile phones?
Rob Lazzurs writes "The second 'Google phone' has been announced. While this does from the first look seem like a nice device, I know I would miss the keyboard. However, I would expect given the issues with the first device, the question on most G1 users lips will be 'Is the battery life any better?'" Update: 02/17 14:06 GMT by T : Reader Andrew Lim adds a link to CNet UK's hands-on pictures of HTC Magic including pictures of it next to a G1. Also on the upcoming cell phone front, reader Jack Spine writes "Dell is to launch a smartphone, according to AT&T chief Ralph de la Vega. Speaking at a Mobile World Congress panel discussion with Steve Ballmer, de la Vega said 'Dell announced they're entering the smartphone market,' — a bit of a slip, because Dell hasn't, yet."
Barcelona — Nokia has unveiled a couple of new cellphones at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. One is a rather slimline QWERTY slider and the other one breaks easily.
First the E75, a business phone that is so dull that it actually has a picture of a desk on the PDF spec sheet. A real, wooden desk. This is a shame as the phone itself looks rather nice — a solid but lightweight handset with a positive and usable QWERTY hidden inside. The keyboard is actually quite a surprise when it pops out, so slim is the phone.
Inside, you get a sensible 3.2MP camera, a proper 3.5mm headphone jack, an FM radio and a slew of office features — VPNs, calendars, encryption for both phone and MicroSD card and an alarm to wake you when you’re done. Joking aside, the E75 might not be a bundle of fun but for the business user it is ideal, and available this quarter.
The E55 is virtually the same, differing only in the keyboard (it has a BlackBerry-like two-letters-on-one-key setup) and the lack of encryption or FM radio, The camera is the same, and the email features and VPN are all there. The standout feature, though, is the weak metal plate on the back. As the picture below shows, it is trivial to pull the plate off. I did it simply by lifting it from the display — the security cable stuck to the back did the rest (that’s my story at least). I snapped the pic and then ran away before the Nokians noticed.
While these phones are both good enough, we wonder just what is going on at Nokia. The Mobile World Congress is the Western World’s biggest cellphone event. That the Finns only came up with two extremely dull business handsets is very odd indeed. Actually, not quite true — the 6720 Classic was also unveiled, but it is a phone so incredibly boring that I have trouble staying awak… Zzzz.
Squeezebox owners: You can now access Napster music right from your your WiFi boombox.
That is, of course, you subscribe to the music service for $12.95 a month. But if you do, or will, different music genres can be selected for your listening pleasure and streamed to the boombox over WiFi or a wired connection. Exciting.
Logitech Squeezebox Adds Music from Napster
FREMONT, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Logitech (SIX:LOGN) (NASDAQ:LOGI) today announced that Logitech® Squeezebox™ network music players support online music from the award-winning music subscription service Napster®. Using your existing wireless home network and your Squeezebox player, now you can access Napster’s library of more than 7 million songs on the home-entertainment system in your living room, bedroom, or in any room where you listen to music.
“Logitech is delighted to add Napster to its family of online music services for the Squeezebox product line,” said Robin Selden, vice president of the Logitech Streaming Media group. “The Logitech Squeezebox is a Wi-Fi device, so you don’t have to string wires everywhere just to enjoy Napster away from the computer. Whether you love rap or reggae, Beethoven or classic rock, Napster and Squeezebox make it easy to listen to a world of music, streamed to any room in your home.”
Napster can deliver music, on-demand, through any Logitech Squeezebox network music player. Using Napster, you can choose from millions of songs from all major labels and thousands of independent labels, discovering old favorites and exploring new music from Napster’s playlists, new releases and Billboard charts.
“Napster, a pioneer of digital music, has always offered the ultimate in interactive music experiences, creating better ways to discover, share, acquire and enjoy music,” said Napster President Brad Duea. “Online music is growing more popular every day, and the link between Napster and a Logitech Squeezebox is a natural one. Together, Napster and Logitech are harnessing the potential of the digital world for music lovers everywhere.”
Napster is available for a free 30-day trial period to Logitech Squeezebox owners in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Germany. After 30 days, Napster is available for $12.95 per month (U.S.). More details can be found at www.logitechsqueezebox.com/napster or www.napster.com/squeezebox.
About Logitech
Logitech is a world leader in personal peripherals, driving innovation in PC navigation, Internet communications, digital music, home-entertainment control, gaming and wireless devices. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).
Logitech, the Logitech logo, and other Logitech marks are registered in Switzerland and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information about Logitech and its products, visit the Company’s Web site at www.logitech.com.
Schedules Q408 Earnings Release Date TORONTO, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. ("the Company", "CSI" or "we") (Nasdaq:... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 1:24 pm
MADRID, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Spain's Repsol said on Tuesday that it will bid in future deepwater exploration rounds in Trinidad and Tobago. Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 1:21 pm
ATLANTA, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- HotHead Technologies, Inc. today announced that the technology they have developed shows promising signs in early research results by... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 1:21 pm
Our pal Nate Heasley is popping around at Toy Fair finding the stuff we missed, when instead he should be manning his booth to promote his award-winning board game, Wits And Wagers.
Designer toys are one of my favorite areas of ToyFair. There are a lot of independent, new toy companies that spring up here, and other more established companies that work with a lot of independent artists. It's an area of ToyFair that didn't exist when I started going about 6 years ago, but now it's big enough to have its own aisle and some of the best innovation comes out of this area.
Sadly, the current economic climate seems to have hit the smaller companies harder, since there are some empty booths in the Designer aisle where there hadn't been before. But the big boys (well, big for this market anyway) are still here, like Toy2R, who came with a great collection of modded Qee and Toyer pieces, as well as displaying some customizable "DIY" models that are coming up. I love the Toyee, and plan on doing some modding of my own on one of them, but my favorite piece is the Jumping Brain by lapolab. – Nate
The Second Installment in the Zenithia Trilogy Finally Arrives on North American Shores LOS ANGELES, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 1:15 pm
Our pal Nate Heasley is popping around at Toy Fair finding the stuff we missed, when instead he should be manning his booth to promote his award-winning board game, Wits And Wagers.
I've always been a fan of monowheels, the hubless design that has a certain ascetic simplicity. So I was psyched to see that some folks had decided to take that concept and make monowheels for your feet. The Orbitwheel skates are just two monowheels (okay, so there's a bit of a contradiction there) that you step in to and then move around on by making an s-pattern with your feet. When someone is good at it (as the guy at ToyFair is) it's actually very graceful, like a figure skater.
When learning, as I was, it's not exactly quite as graceful. Well, at least there's no chance of gerbiling like in a real monowheel. Available from Inventist.com for $120. – Nate
SpuriousLogic writes "CERN is losing ground rapidly in the race to discover the elusive Higgs boson, its American rival claims. Fermilab say the odds of their Tevatron accelerator finding it first are now 50-50 at worst, and up to 96% at best. CERN's Lyn Evans admitted the accident which will halt the $7B Large Hadron Collider until September may cost them one of the biggest prizes in physics."
TUSTIN, Calif., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Perplexed by the cryptic review and approval process Apple uses on iPhone applications submitted to the AppStore, Rapadev, LLC announced... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 1:13 pm
Why? Got me. I downloaded Silverlight onto my MacBook in order to watch NBC’s Olympics Webcasts last summer. And whenever I could find the events I wanted to watch (much harder than it should have been), I got a really great picture on my laptop.
So did some 40 million other people, which was why Microsoft wanted so desperately to get the rights to the event — it is trying very hard to gain some ground on rival Adobe’s (ADBE) Flash technology, which is the de facto standard for Web video. So it spends a lot of time focusing on big Web video events where it can introduce its tech to consumers.
March Madness isn’t nearly as big as the Olympics, of course: Last year, some 4.8 million people watched the tournament via CBS’ Webcast. But it’s a very big deal for CBS, which generated more than $20 million in extra advertising revenue out of the event. No word on what Microsoft had to pony up in order to get the rights this year, but Les Moonves and company certainly didn’t give it away.
⌦ Domain Names – GoDaddy, the world's classiest registrar, is doing 1-year domain registrations for $1.20 per domain. [Slickdeals]
⌦ Picking, Grinning – Extra 10% "Value Brand Instruments" like banjos, mandolins, guitars, woodwinds, and more. Get a Rogue guitar and mandolin value pack for $90, shipped, for instance. [Dealhack]
⌦ Turntable – Jensen 3-speed turntable for $40, shipped, with built-in speakers as well as speaker outputs. I know lots of people have albums but no turntable (hi!) and thought maybe you'd want to remedy that. [Dealnews]
⌦ All-in-One Laser Printer – Brother MFC-7420 for $110, shipped. About $80 off. [Dealnews]
⌦ Gaming Keypad – The Belkin N52TE SpeedPad, one of those fancy ten-key-like add-ons for ultra-gaming, is $50, shipped, or about $20 off. [Dealnews]
⌦ Bookmark – Today's Woot is a three-pack of Thinktank Technology Bookmark LED Lights for $7, shipped.
LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Merck & Co has withdrawn its bid to get EU approval for its cutaneous T-cell lymphoma drug Zolinza, said the European regulator the EMEA. Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 1:03 pm
Partnership Kicks Off During New York Fashion Week and Includes Custom Garment for Retail and National Consumer Mood Board Contest SAN DIEGO, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- LG Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 1:01 pm
According to the rumors, Dell is suppose to unveil an Android smartphone at MWC09. So far the hardware hasn’t shown up but the AT&T CEO seemed to confirm the upcoming smartphone while speaking on a MWC panel. Now, it could be that he read our coverage and simply assumed it was general knowledge or Dell really is prepping a smartphone.
Dell announced they’re entering the smart phone market.
What more do you want? That’s what the chap said. Maybe we’ll get an official word today but Barcelona is six hours ahead of EST so the day’s festivities are starting to wind down today. Tomorrow perhaps. Or it could come months from now. Anyone golfing buddies with Michael? He must still have pull as the Chairman of the Board.
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According to the rumors, Dell is suppose to unveil an Android smartphone at MWC09. So far the hardware hasn’t shown up but the AT&T CEO seemed to confirm the upcoming smartphone while speaking on a MWC panel. Now, it could be that he read our coverage and simply assumed it was general knowledge or Dell really is prepping a smartphone.
Dell announced they’re entering the smart phone market.
What more do you want? That’s what the chap said. Maybe we’ll get an official word today but Barcelona is six hours ahead of EST so the day’s festivities are starting to wind down today. Tomorrow perhaps. Or it could come months from now. Anyone golfing buddies with Michael? He must still have pull as the Chairman of the Board.
Barcelona -- Acer might have entered the smartphone fray a little late, but it is making up for that by announcing a staggering eight new models, all of which will ship this year. The phones were unveiled last night at a special event in the wilds of Barcelona as part of the Mobile World Congress event.
The phones are aimed at every conceivable demographic, a point hammered home by a succession of Acer executives. (Hint to Acer speechwriters -- don't have your CEO joke about "being the only thing keeping 200 people for dinner" and then have him bang on about "segmenting the long tail" for another half hour before even mentioning the phones). The only things they have in common are Windows Mobile -- the old version, not the shiny new 6.5 version just unveiled by Steve Ballmer, and the screens -- and that they are all touch screens.
Instead of listing all the specs (you'd just fall asleep), we'll take a look at two standouts in the range (pictured below). The M900 is Acer's Blackberry-a-like, an email machine with a slide out QWERTY keyboard. The phone is loaded with Microsoft Office Mobile and also Outlook. The screen is a decent 3.8" and the phone also has a 5MP autofocus camera, GPS and an FM radio. Price is unknown, but we should see the M900 in the next couple of months.
At the other end of the range is the F900, an almost willfully dull phone. The handset is all touch, with a 3MP camera and, well, that's it really. There are the usuals – MP3 player, calendar – but nothing that makes this any more compelling than any other WinMo cellphone. Nothing, that is, except the price. Acer plans to have these coming in for pennies after carrier subsidies.
This pricing shows that Acer is planing to flood the smartphone market and turn it into the same commodity game that we see in the PC industry. Take a look at the netbook market, for instance. All netbooks are essentially the same. Same processor, same OS (Windows XP, usually) and same size. The only differences are the keyboards and the occasional outbreak of Linux. Acer will bring this same homogeneity to the smartphone market. And once the company gets Android in there (the Acer engineer says there is nothing lined up yet, but his smile said that Android is coming), it might be over for everybody else.
It wasn’t quite final hardware (the face buttons are slightly different - a bit larger and round) and we weren’t allowed to touch the thing, but we just got back from spending a bit of time with the second-ever Android phone to make its way into a carrier’s line up. The HTC Magic, essentially a polished up and physical keyboard-less G1, totes a 3.2 megapixel camera, 3.2″ HVGA (480×320) capacitive touchscreen, on-screen keyboard, and all of the Google-powered services we’ve come to know and love with Android. Read on for our impressions.
What we like:
Without a slide-out layer, it’s quite slim - at least compared to the G1. As for the weight, we have no idea; as mentioned previously, we didn’t get to hold it.
Unlike many a candybar, accessing the microSD slot does not require removing the battery. You do have to remove the back panel, however.
It’s Android - and the most recent version, of that. They demonstrated many of the features of Cupcake, though we didn’t spot anything we haven’t already seen besides landscape support for the onscreen keyboard and accelerometer based autorotate (which is possible in the G1, but has been disabled in the official firmware)
What we don’t:
No physical keyboard. Rumors indicated as much, but we had hoped for a last minute surprise. It’s a step in the wrong direction - you just can’t beat a real keyboard.
The infamous chin (the odd angle of the bottom of the handset) from the G1 has found its way to the Magic - and it’s still not very attractive.
We’re hoping to get a bit of one-on-one time with this one before we leave Barcelona - we’ll update you if our impressions change once we’ve actually pawed at it.
It wasn’t quite final hardware (the face buttons are slightly different - a bit larger and round) and we weren’t allowed to touch the thing, but we just got back from spending a bit of time with the second-ever Android phone to make its way into a carrier’s line up. The HTC Magic, essentially a polished up and physical keyboard-less G1, totes a 3.2 megapixel camera, 3.2″ HVGA (480×320) capacitive touchscreen, on-screen keyboard, and all of the Google-powered services we’ve come to know and love with Android. Read on for our impressions.
What we like:
Without a slide-out layer, it’s quite slim - at least compared to the G1. As for the weight, we have no idea; as mentioned previously, we didn’t get to hold it.
Unlike many a candybar, accessing the microSD slot does not require removing the battery. You do have to remove the back panel, however.
It’s Android - and the most recent version, of that. They demonstrated many of the features of Cupcake, though we didn’t spot anything we haven’t already seen besides landscape support for the onscreen keyboard and accelerometer based autorotate (which is possible in the G1, but has been disabled in the official firmware)
What we don’t:
No physical keyboard. Rumors indicated as much, but we had hoped for a last minute surprise. It’s a step in the wrong direction - you just can’t beat a real keyboard.
The infamous chin (the odd angle of the bottom of the handset) from the G1 has found its way to the Magic - and it’s still not very attractive.
No 3.5mm jack - as with the G1 (and a ton of other HTC devices), you’ll need an adapter if you’re bringing your own pair of buds. Bleh!
We’re hoping to get a bit of one-on-one time with this one before we leave Barcelona - we’ll update you if our impressions change once we’ve actually pawed at it.
Today’s the day, kiddies. Today’s the day that every broadcasting TV station in America was suppose to switch to digital, but the US Government intervened to save the millions of citizens we hear are not ready. Still, the switch is now optional until June 12, 2009 so a few stations made the transition today. The FCC made a list available that details which stations will switch-off when but at this point you might as well switch on the ol’ antenna TV and flip around yourself.
Tuning in a digital signal can be a bit more tricky than its analog counterpart. The signal either works or it doesn’t. There isn’t much in between such as analog’s ’snowy’ signal. AntennaWeb can help with antenna point and direction if the television is hooked up to a directional antenna. Rabbit ears: just start playing around but when you do get in the picture, it will be better than cable or satellite. There is nothing better than free, digital TV.
These three striking (and giant) macrofocus photos of PC motherboards (taken by Anne of the delightfully named Cette Merde Est Folle blog) reveal the hidden futuristic cities inside our computer.
We were just starting to worry that Mobile World Congress 2009 would go without pass by without an Android press announcement, but Vodafone and HTC have swooped in to save they day. They just announced the HTC Magic, a full touchscreen Android device which bears quite the resemblance to the HTC G1 - except with a bit more polish, and without a keyboard. It’s also a perfect match with the shot that leaked out yesterday.
The HTC Magic will have a 3.2 megapixel camera, trackball, 3.2″ QVGA capacitive touch screen, GPS, accelerometer, and WiFi. Look for it on the shelves this spring exclusively from Vodafone in UK, Spain, Germany and France, and non-exclusively in Italy. No plans have yet been announced for US availability, but it’s something they’re working on.
We were just starting to worry that Mobile World Congress 2009 would go without pass by without an Android press announcement, but Vodafone and HTC have swooped in to save they day. They just announced the HTC Magic, a full touchscreen Android device which bears quite the resemblance to the HTC G1 - except with a bit more polish, and without a keyboard. It’s also a perfect match with the shot that leaked out yesterday.
The HTC Magic will have a 3.2 megapixel camera, trackball, 3.2″ HVGA (480×320) capacitive touch screen, GPS, accelerometer, and WiFi. Look for it on the shelves this spring exclusively from Vodafone in UK, Spain, Germany and France, and non-exclusively in Italy. No plans have yet been announced for US availability, but it’s something they’re working on.
Update: Full specs after the jump.
Processor Qualcomm® MSM7201a™, 528 MHz
Operating System Android
Memory ROM: 512 MB
RAM: 192 MB
Dimensions 113 x 55 x 13.65 mm ( 4.45 x 2.17 x 0.54 inches)
Weight 118.5 grams ( 4.18 ounces) with battery
Display 3.2-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 320×480 HVGA resolution
Network HSDPA/WCDMA:
*
900/2100 MHz
*
Up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
*
850/900/1800/1900 MHz
(Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent.)
Device Control Trackball with Enter button
GPS Internal GPS antenna
Connectivity Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate
Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g
HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
Camera 3.2 megapixel color camera with auto focus
Audio supported formats AAC, AAC+, AMR-NB, MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC-LC, MIDI, OGG
Video supported formats MP4, 3GP
Battery Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
Capacity: 1340 mAh
Talk time:
*
Up to 400 minutes for WCDMA
*
Up to 450 minutes for GSM
Standby time:
*
Up to 660 hours for WCDMA
*
Up to 420 hours for GSM
(The above are subject to network and phone usage.)
Expansion Slot microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
AC Adapter Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 47/63 Hz
DC output: 5V and 1A
Special Features G-sensor
Digital Compass
Crunch Network: CrunchGeardrool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
(TrendHunter.com) When your kids as you what that box is about twice the thickness of your Blueray or DVD player, you can tell them its nothing but a super slick toaster. Kiss the days of the VHS goodbye... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 12:20 pm
(TrendHunter.com) Fashion icon Kate Moss took the cover of the Spring 2009 edition of New York Magazine, and with it, flaunted new styles for Top Shop. The 35-year-old super model is in New York to... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 11:59 am
(TrendHunter.com) Oh to be someones muse. Imagine sculptures being made in your likeness, or canvases with your face painted so beautifully, encompassing your every best trait, highlighting the features... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 11:40 am
In an item yesterday, Hilton–who has gotten into a lot of copyright infringement legal trouble himself–asked his fans to boycott the fast-growing social networking site and claimed Facebook “can license your personal pictures out to companies, make a shizzle of money and don’t have to give you a dime.”
Facebook could certainly use a shizzle or two, but that seems about as likely as people like Hilton laying off of Jessica Simpson for her alleged weight gain. (Speaking of which–Hey, Perez, let’s say we just blame the bad jeans and move on, shall we?)
Nonetheless, it is still kind of fun to watch as different worlds collide so perfectly.
Of course, Hilton’s Facebook app was still up last nigh, although it apparently only has 361 monthly active users, compared to SuperPoke’s sheep-tossing 6.3 million.
Not to be catty or anything!
In any case, here’s a link to the Hilton post and an image of it below (one can only dream that Perez will come after me with that digital Sharpie for lifting it!):
I think that if you look at the market today, volumes speak volumes. In the last year we shipped over 20m phones. I’d say, mostly, it’s game on - we are all out there. We are leading the pack on volume. I’d say Apple’s got some advantages on image, but we’re in the early stages.
(TrendHunter.com) From exquisite calendars featuring Hollywood stars like Salma Hayek and Eva Mendes to music videos from hip new artist Lady Gaga and suggestive billboards by top photographer Terry... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 11:23 am
We’re live at the relatively low key Vodafone press conference at Mobile World Congress, where they’re announcing the Android-powered HTC G2 - otherwise known as the HTC Magic. Click through for the live blog.
Update: The press announcement is now over, but we’ve since dug up the full specs and have had a bit of not-quite-hands-on time with the Magic.
Crunch Network: CrunchGeardrool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
We're live at the relatively low key Vodafone press conference at Mobile World Congress, where they're announcing the Android-powered HTC Magic, a keyboard-less touchscreen along the same vein as the... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 11:22 am
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Danny Choo is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. Danny resides in Tokyo, and blogs about life in Japan and Japanese subculture - he also works part time for the empire.
Why is it that your relatives or friends in Japan tell you that they got their fully functional electronic goods such as TVs, refrigerators, music centers etc from the streets for free?
Many folks over here upgrade their electronic goods regularly to keep up with the Suzuki's. They've only had their TV for a couple of years and want an upgrade. By law, one should not just throw out their old electrical appliances.
The owner of a TV for example would go to the local convenience store and purchase a recycle sticker (which looks something like this) that they stick on the TV - the sticker in this case may cost something like 3 USD. An appointment is then arranged with the local ward office to come and pick up the TV at a particular time.
Despite what the law says, some folks just leave their stuff on the roads for others to pick up and do this because they think its a waste to have a fully functional appliance just taken away - *and* the fact that they have to pay for it to be taken away too.
Do folks in your region just leave electrical appliances in fully working order around?
Photo dug up from somewhere in my A Week in Tokyo series.
Danny Choo is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. Danny resides in Tokyo, and blogs about life in Japan and Japanese subculture - he also works part time for the empire. Why is it that your relatives or friends... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 11:15 am
Windows 7 allows application developers to write DRM that bypasses your firewall, refuses to let you modify or disable DLLs, and to block you from mixing your audio inputs (to prevent you from recapturing DRM'ed music, presumably).
That Photoshop stopped functioning after we messed with one of its nag DLLs was not so much a surprise, but what was a surprise: Noting that Win7 allows programs like Photoshop to insert themselves stealthily into your firewall exception list. Further, that the OS allows large software vendors to penetrate your machine. Even further, that that permission is responsible for disabling of a program based on a modified DLL. And then finding that the OS even after reboot has locked you out of your own Local Settings folder; has denied you permission to move or delete the modified DLL; and refuses to allow the replacement of the Local Settings folder after it is unlocked with Unlocker to move it to the Desktop for examination (where it also denies you entry to your own folder). Setting permissions to 'allow everyone' was disabled!
Re — media: Under XP you could select 'Stereo Mix' or similar under audio recording inputs and nicely capture any program then playing. No longer
Update: Lots of chewy debate in the Slashdot thread, including more details -- some of these DRM issues were present in Vista, others haven't been replicated on other systems. Of course, users who worry about the lock-ins imposed by proprietary software are trapped into this kind of Kremlinology about the code, arguing about what the developers intended, what was a bug, and what was their imagination -- without the source code, we're reduced to playing blind-man-and-the-elephant when it comes to assessing our tools.
PC World - Skype is developing a VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) software client for Nokia's top-of-the-range N97 smartphone, executives of both companies said Tuesday. Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 17 Feb 2009 | 11:00 am
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We’re live at the relatively low key Vodafone press conference at Mobile World Congress, where they’re apparently announcing the G2 - otherwise known as the HTC Magic. Click through to MobileCrunch for the live blog.
We’re live at the relatively low key Vodafone press conference at Mobile World Congress, where they’re apparently announcing the Android-powered HTC G2 - otherwise known as the HTC Magic (Update: They specifically said that this is not being referred to as the G2. Looks like the G-numbering is a T-mo-only thing.)
All times are in CET.
12:00 PM: Show should start soon. Screen still reads as pictured above.
12:01 PM: Mics are on!
12:02 PM: WiFi is spotty. What we know so far: 3.2″ QVGA touchscreen, trackball, no availability or pricing being announced. 99% chance the G2 shots we saw recently were legit.
12:03 PM: Peter Chou is now onstage. Holding the Magic.
12:05 PM: Currently just discussing the HTC/Voda partnership, how to make the mobile internet usable and enjoyable. “As a software platform, Android is flexible, powerful, and also makes mobile internet easier and enjoyable”
12:06 PM: “The magic will come when the device fits into your hand and into your life”
12:08 PM: Watching a video. It’s the one we saw a few days ago. Looks gorgeous.
12:09 PM: “We’ve done it.” - saying they’ve developed a product that really shows Android
12:10 PM: Magic’s UI being shown; nothing new here from the G1. They’re currently showing how to change the wallpaper. More hardware stuff, please.
12:13 PM: Now they’re talking about the Market. They’re working to make sure folks who are unfamiliar with Android aren’t too lost.
12:14 PM: Will launch initially in UK, Spain, Germany, France, and non-exclusively in Italy. “More countries to follow”. Online registration will be available for early pricing details.
12:15 PM: Showing Street View. Will have compass mode, just like the G1.
12:16 PM: That’s going to be one tough aspect of launching Android phones; unless they tweak things a lot, most people already know the software.
12:19 PM: Q&A Time. Wait, almost - more availability stuff. Online pre-registration opens today.
12:20 PM: Pocketlint: Why is the G2 launching on Vodafone instead of T-Mobile? Chou: We don’t call it the G2. This is the HTC Magic. Kind of skirted the rest of the answer.
12:21 PM: Is it touchscreen only? Yes.
12:22 PM: What’s the price? They’re not specifically saying yet, but 99 to 199 (euros, presumably)
12:24 PM: Rich Brome of Phonescoop: Availability planned in North America? Chou: Not currently, but they’re working on it.
12:24 PM: Vodafone is usually quite critical of the number of operating systems on the market; yet you’ve added another. Do you plan to slim down? “We’re still working on 20+ operating systems - what ever is the final number of contenders, it’s still a lot less than the number of proprietary OS a few years ago. We can debate on how many is too many, but the focus is [on the customer]. This is a great phone, a great design.”
12:26 PM: 3.5 mm jack? Doesn’t look like it. Dongle needed, again.
12:27 PM: What megapixel is the camera? Why no flash? 3.2 megapixel. No flash because it’s “not trying to replace your professional camera. For day to day life, it’s good enough”
12:30 PM: All wrapped up. Time for the hands on. Check back later for our impressions.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Andrew A. Adams (University of Reading) and Ian Brown (Oxford Internet Institute) have just released a new paper on the risks that we face now that the entertainment industry wants to augment DRM with... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 Feb 2009 | 10:47 am
Andrew A. Adams (University of Reading) and Ian Brown (Oxford Internet Institute) have just released a new paper on the risks that we face now that the entertainment industry wants to augment DRM with ISP surveillance and termination of accused infringers. They argue that all the evils that arose from ineffective DRM will be magnified by ineffective ISP termination, that the music and film industries will be no richer, and that the public will be at much greater risk of censorship and unfair disconnection from their education, work, health information, families, free speech, and civic engagement via the Internet.
1. It would be trivial for the authors of filesharing software to enable the
encryption of traffic flowing between peer‐to‐peer clients. This would
make it much more difficult for ISPs to identify the transmission of
copyrighted works, even if they undertook highly resource‐intensive and
invasive traffic analysis of customer data flows. Use of network‐level
encryption protocols such as IPSEC would make it difficult to block
specific peer‐to‐protocols. Such protocols can also be masked to avoid
restrictions.
2. The US government spent 25 years trying to prevent the widespread
availability of encryption software, and failed spectacularly.20 Even after
the horrific events of 11 September 2001, it made no serious attempt to
reopen that battle. Cryptographic protection is now the foundation of
Internet security. It is almost inconceivable that governments would
attempt to ban it a second time.
3. “Well‐known” sites that contain infringing content and hence might be
blocked by ISPS are easily duplicated at less well‐known sites – at a speed
that would likely outpace the ability of right holders to keep up. Much
peer‐to‐peer software is already designed to avoid a dependence upon
access to particular servers, following the shutdown of the first‐
generation Napster’s indexing servers.
4. As with TPMs , data monitoring software run by ISPs is not in a position to
understand the context and hence legality of the transmission of a given
work.
5. The widespread availability of multi‐gigabyte hard disks and USB data
sticks is making it ever‐easier for users to exchange entire music
collections face‐to‐face. The heaviest restrictions on Internet service
would have little impact on this “sneakernet”.
This past weekend, Mobile CDN made a fairly significant move in the mobile world when it streamed footage of the NBA All-Star game live over mobile phones. Why? Mobile CDN launched the first live streaming application approved by Apple and that works over any wireless network Edge, 3G and WiFi phones. Until now, Apple hasn't officially allowed iPhones to access streaming applications.
Here's an ill-advised HOWTO from Instructables user Lemonie that shows you how to turn your useless VCR into an incredibly dangerous toaster:
If I thought anyone would attempt this (and they shouldn't) I'd offer the following warnings:
Ensure the metal parts are earthed (I did)
Do not place it on heat-sensitive surfaces.
Do not place heat-sensitive materials on top of it.
Take care not to touch any hot surfaces.
Do not leave the machine unattended.
We first saw the MiFi 2352 Mobile Hotspot’s CDMA brother back at CES; we loved it then, and we love it just as much in its GSM form. Novatel announced yesterday that Telefónica would be the first carrier to launch the MiFi sometime during this quarter, so we figured we’d stop by their suite to give it a spin.
We liked the brushed metal look of the CDMA variant a bit more than the plastic case of the MiFi 2352 - but aesthetics aren’t what counts here. It’s slim, and it’s light weight, and it works well. Once your SIM is in, the MiFi 2352 will act as a wireless router for up to 5 people (though carriers can drop this down to 3 if they choose). It goes from powered off to kickin’ out the WiFi juice in a matter of seconds, and has a swappable, USB charged battery, up to 16GB of storage via microSD, and internal GPS - live bloggers couldn’t ask for more.
Thee device can theoretically handle up to 7.2 megabit per second HSUPA but, as with all theoretical caps, don’t expect to actually reach that speed. We ran a few speed tests and were averaging about 4 megabits per second download and 1000 kilabits per second upload - not bad at all, considering that there are probably at least a few hundred thousand cell phones battling for tower time in the area around Mobile World Congress.
We got to take a quick sneak peak at the configuration screen, which we hadn’t seen previously; nothing too exciting here, but everything seemed about as simple as could be - see the screenshot below as an example.
A court ordered the Seattle municipal water company to pay compensation to its customers for "fire hydrant" surcharges added to their bills (fire hydrants are a municipal responsibility and shouldn't be charged to general water customers). In order to pay the fines, the company is adding a "we have to pay you compensation" surcharge to its bills.
As a result of the latest court decision, anyone who was a Seattle Public Utilities water customer between March 2002 and December 2004 is due a refund under a court order issued in October. But current water customers will be the ones paying the bill.
Eligible water customers will get their full rebate in May or June. The surcharge and tax will be spread over 21 months.
We first saw the MiFi 2352 Mobile Hotspot’s CDMA brother back at CES; we loved it then, and we love it just as much in its GSM form. Novatel announced yesterday that Telefónica would be the first carrier to launch the MiFi sometime during this quarter, so we figured we’d stop by their suite to give it a spin.
We liked the brushed metal look of the CDMA variant a bit more than the plastic case of the MiFi 2352 - but aesthetics aren’t what counts here. It’s slim, it’s light weight, and it works well. Once your SIM is in, the MiFi 2352 will act as a wireless router for up to 5 people (though carriers can drop this down to 3 if they choose). It goes from powered off to kickin’ out the WiFi juice in a matter of seconds, and has a swappable, USB charged battery, up to 16GB of storage via microSD, and internal GPS - live bloggers couldn’t ask for more.
Thee device can theoretically handle up to 7.2 megabit per second HSUPA but, as with all theoretical caps, don’t expect to actually reach that speed. We ran a few speed tests and were averaging about 4 megabits per second download and 1000 kilabits per second upload - not bad at all, considering that there are probably at least a few hundred thousand cell phones battling for tower time in the area around Mobile World Congress.
We got to take a quick sneak peak at the configuration screen, which we hadn’t seen previously; nothing too exciting here, but everything seemed about as simple as could be - see the screenshot below as an example.
Crunch Network: TechCrunchobsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies
Dame Stella Rimington, the former head of MI5, has made a blistering public condemnation of the British government's "exploitation" of the threat of terrorism to create a "police state" where the terrorist objective of taking away Britons' liberty is achieved by government, and where crackdowns serve to inspire new terrorists.
In an interview with the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, Dame Stella said: "Since I have retired I feel more at liberty to be against certain decisions of the Government, especially the attempt to pass laws which interfere with people's privacy."
In the interview, published in the Daily Telegraph, she continued: "It would be better that the Government recognised that there are risks, rather than frightening people in order to be able to pass laws which restrict civil liberties, precisely one of the objects of terrorism: that we live in fear and under a police state..."
"Furthermore it has achieved the opposite effect: there are more and more suicide terrorists finding a greater justification."
Over on Boing Boing Offworld, our Brandon has an early look at Quest 2, a school in New York that's focused on game-based learning.
New York's Institute of Play has officially announced the foundation of Quest to Learn, a new school for "digital kids" that will be accepting its first 6th grade class this fall, which "uses the underlying design principles of games to create highly immersive, game-like learning experiences for students."
...
It’s important to note that Quest is not a school whose curriculum is made up of the play of commercial videogames, but rather a school that uses the underlying design principles of games to create highly immersive, game-like learning experiences.
Games and other forms of digital media serve another useful purpose at Quest: they serve to model the complexity and promise of “systems.” Understanding and accounting for this complexity is a fundamental literacy of the 21st century.
Ponca City, We love you writes "Jet packs have been around for half a century, but there's always been one problem: they run out of fuel in around 30 seconds. Now a German company has taken the standard jet pack design, run a fat yellow hose out the back, and connected it to a small unmanned boat that houses an engine, pump, and fuel tank and sends pressurized water up the hose, where it's shot out by two nozzles just behind the wearer's shoulders. Called the JetLev-Flyer, the design purportedly can reach a height of 15 meters, a speed of 72 kph, and a range of 300 kilometers based on four hours of flying time. A digital fly-by-wire system is used to control the throttle. Future designs may achieve higher altitudes, higher top speeds, and extended range, and even travel below the water's surface. The American manufacturers claim it is 'amazingly easy to learn and operate' and they're taking orders now at $130,000 each."
Danny Choo is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. Danny resides in Tokyo, and blogs about life in Japan and Japanese subculture - he also works part time for the empire.
This Japan Telecom chap is installing our second optic fiber 100Mbps Internet connection which I'm currently using to dish out images for dannychoo.com from a Mac Mini - uncapped connection with an average of 64Mbps down/55Mbps up. Cost is 11 USD per month with no setup fees either.
The installation takes less than an hour and you can watch the whole process in my previous article.
I remember when I first started out using the Internets back in the UK over ten years ago on a 56k modem - my first phone bill was over 200 pounds!
How much does the Internets cost you in your region? Is it cheap or does your ISP require 7.2 pints of blood from you?
Danny Choo is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. Danny resides in Tokyo, and blogs about life in Japan and Japanese subculture - he also works part time for the empire.
In Japan, the American Spider Man works part time to promote apartment rooms - in this case its for the snazzy Bloom Tower.
And this is because the Japanese Spider Man is elsewhere giving aerobics lessons as you can see from the video below...
Photo taken from my 7pm in Tokyo series where I snap and post a shot of what I'm doing/where I am at around 7pm.
GENEVA, Switzerland, February 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Nokia and ST-Ericsson
announced they are cooperating to provide the Symbian Foundation with a
reference platform based on ST-Ericsson's U8500 single chip. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 17 Feb 2009 | 9:11 am
Get your house in order with how-to articles at Life123
BOSTON, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The market's a mess . . . but how's your house? A money crunch shouldn't mean putting the kibosh on home and garden upkeep. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 17 Feb 2009 | 9:09 am
Independent Survey Commissioned by Digital Realty Trust Indicates that Datacentre Projects for the Coming 12-24 Months Have Increased and Expanded in Scope Despite Economic Conditions
DUBLIN, Feb. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 17 Feb 2009 | 9:00 am
HERZLIYA, Israel, February 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BluePhoenix
Solutions (NASDAQ: BPHX), the leader in value-driven legacy modernization,
today announced financial results for the fourth quarter. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 17 Feb 2009 | 9:00 am
In a fairly huge win for VoIP fans everywhere, Skype and Nokia have just announced a partnership to preload Skype onto handsets beginning later this year.
But they’re not just throwing the app onto the devices and calling it a day - the integration will run at least contact list deep. Once you’ve tied Skype contacts to their relative contacts in your address book, their Skype status will appear right within the contact list. Both text and voice chat will be supported over 3G or WiFi.
The first device to get the Skype-treatment will be the N97, beginning in Q3 of 2009.
Full release after the jump.
Skype and Nokia Partner to Integrate Skype into Nokia Devices
Mobile World Congress 2009
BARCELONA, Spain–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Skype and Nokia today announced a partnership that will bring the world’s leading Internet communications experience to the Nokia range of mobile computers. Under the terms of the cooperation, Skype™ will be integrated into Nokia devices, starting with the Nokia Nseries. The Nokia N97 flagship device will be the first to incorporate the Skype experience in the 3rd quarter of 2009.
The Skype experience will be part of the address book of the Nokia N97, enabling presence – seeing when Skype contacts are online – as well as instant messaging. Nokia N97 owners around the world will also be able to use 3G and WLAN to easily make and receive free Skype-to-Skype voice calls, in addition to low-cost Skype calls to landlines and mobile devices.
“Making Skype available everywhere through mobile devices is essential to fulfilling our vision of ‘enabling the world’s conversations’,” said Scott Durchslag, Skype’s Chief Operating Officer. “Collaborating closely with Nokia to preload and integrate our software onto their devices will benefit the many Nokia customers who already use Skype, as it makes Skype easily accessible and simple to use on the go. It will also bring Skype new users who love Nokia’s Symbian S60 experience.”
“With more than 400 million Skype users worldwide, the integration of Skype on Nokia Nseries mobile computers is a significant step in bringing converged Internet experiences from the desktop to the world’s most advanced mobile computer,” said Jose-Luis Martinez, Vice President, Nokia Nseries.
About Nokia
Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries. We make a wide range of mobile devices with services and software that enable people to experience music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games, business mobility and more. Developing and growing our offering of consumer Internet services, as well as our enterprise solutions and software, is a key area of focus. We also provide equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.
About Skype
Founded in 2003, Skype is revolutionizing the way people communicate around the world. Skype has more than 405 million registered users globally who use Skype software to communicate for free through voice and video calls as well as instant messages. Skype generates revenue through its premium offerings, such as calls made to and from landlines and mobiles, voicemail, call forwarding, and SMS. Skype is used in almost every country on Earth, and people have made more than 100 billion minutes worth of free Skype-to-Skype calls. Conversations over Skype can take place on computers, mobile devices and Skype Certified™ hardware. Skype certifies and sells hundreds of hardware products from more than 50 partners, and works with hundreds of third-party developers who have created plug-ins to extend Skype’s functionality.
Skype is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY). Learn more and download Skype at www.skype.com.
Crunch Network: CrunchBasethe free database of technology companies, people, and investors
We dug up a bootleg version of the full trailer for Transformers 2 - Revenge of the Fallen as early as last Friday but now we have the official one (in high quality). And it looks fantastic.
The movie comes out in the US on June 24. Release dates for other countries can be found here.
You can watch the trailer in 720p here or in 1080p here.
Filtrbox, a startup for online brand monitoring and market intelligence that was part of the TechStarsclass of 2007, has announced that it closed a $1.4 million Series A funding round led by Flywheel Ventures and True Ventures at the end of last year. In conjunction with today’s funding announcement, the site is also launching an overhauled version of its main product,
Filtrbox G2.
The site allows users to monitor thousands of content sources, including blogs, Twitter, and FriendFeed. After inputting the terms they’d like to keep track of, Filtrbox can send them continuous updates, weeding out duplicates (you can also choose to receive periodic digests). Beyond typical metrics like relevance and how recently an article was published, Filtrbox can also gauge how relevant an article is by analyzing its source (obscure bloggers will have a lower priority than mainstream press).
The original version of the site launched in June 2008, and while the core functionality in the new version remains the same, it has a handful of notable improvements. Users with premium accounts (which cost $10/month) will now be able to monitor an unlimited number of search queries at the same time (previously there was a maximum limit of 25). Other new features include the ability to view results as graphs, export data for use in other programs, and collaboration tools that allow users to share search results, with granular privacy settings.
The site also offers a more basic free version, which has fewer features and restricts users to five simultaneous searches. Other players in this space include BuzzGain, which launched in January.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
There are plenty of people who can muster outrage at Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees third baseman who is the latest example of win-at-any-cost athletes. But I’d prefer to see him as at the cutting edge of another scourge — the growing encroachment on privacy.
The way Mr. Rodriguez’s positive steroid test result became public followed a path increasingly common in the computer age: third-party data collection. We are typically told that personal information is anonymously tracked for one reason — usually something abstract like making search results more accurate, recommending book titles or speeding traffic through the toll booths on the thruways. But it is then quickly converted into something traceable to an individual, and potentially life-changing.
LONDON, February 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Moneybookers, one of Europe's largest
online payment systems, is delighted to announce that its full payment module
is now available via the Open Source shop software provider, osCommerce.com.
This follows the recent announcement that the Moneybookers payment system
would be available via Magento.com, another leading Open Source shop software
provider.
One of the first Open Source systems, osCommerce has built a showcase of
over 14,000 online shops and powers many thousands more online shops
worldwide.
Moneybookers' global payment system offers businesses access to over 60
payment options in more than 200 countries with a single integration. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 17 Feb 2009 | 8:13 am
Users of iPhones beware — state gaming agents are watching you.
California gaming authorities tipped off their Nevada counterparts to a blackjack card-counting program that can be used on either the Apple iPhone or the Apple iPod Touch portable music player.
“The program calculates the true count and does it significantly more accurately,” according to a Gaming Control Board memorandum sent to casino operators last week warning of the electronic device.
Microsoft announced plans to open retail stores, hoping to boost visibility of many of its products and its brand. The move seems to be an effort to mimic the success that Apple has had with its retail stores. The news is just too tempting not to have some fun with. So here are some yet-to-be-officially-revealed details about the Microsoft stores.
Medpedia Project, an initiative we wrote about during its private beta launch, has unveiled a public version of its trustworthy, fully transparent technology platform for the worldwide health community. Combining social networking with Web 2.0 health information, Medpedia’s website offers consumers a Wikipedia for health information, a LinkedIn network for health professionals, and a Facebook-like platform where consumers and experts can have a medical dialogue about treatment and conditions.
Medpedia has developed partnerships with Harvard Medical School, Stanford School of Medicine, Berkeley School of Public Health, University of Michigan Medical School and other health organizations to help bring content and medical networks to the site. Many of the health institutions are offering the content free of copyright restrictions. Already, 25 medical and government institutions in both the U.S. and the U.K. have signed on to Medpedia to use its professional network.
When comparing the angioplasty information pages on WebMD, Wikipedia, and Medpedia (from a consumers point view), I found Medpedia’s post much easier to understand, both visually and content-wise. The pictures of the procedure and condition were detailed and the description offered two versions of the procedure, the clinical and “plain english” version, which can be helpful when doing extensive research on a condition. The ability to edit or add information to these pages can only be done by physicians and PhD’s in the biomedical and life sciences fields, adding some legitimacy to what the consumer is reading. The user can even see the name of the post’s author and can suggest changes in the post.
What seems particularly innovative is the formation of social networking platforms in Medpedia. While WebMD offers a news platform for professionals, the customized LinkedIn-like application could be valuable in the medical community for finding jobs, speakers for conferences and for referrals. The “Communities of Interest” section, though similar in idea to other online health forums like Trusera or PatientsLikeMe, offers a new twist. Users must submit their real names in profiles. This may be an obstacle to engaging consumers, who remain hesitant to publicly reveal health history or attach their names to certain medical conditions.
Medpedia was founded by James Currier, a well-respected and experienced Silicon Valley entrepreneur. The company is funded and operated by Ooga Labs (also founded by Currier), a technology greenhouse in San Francisco. It doesn’t appear that there has been such an integrated and comprehensive medical platform to date. With the backing of the world’s best medical institutions and the support of the technology space’s most enterprising and respected leaders (Mitch Kapor is on Medpedia’s board of advisors), Medpedia has the potential to be a powerful all-in-one technology platform for the health community. Now all Medpedia has to do is incorporate the power of Twitter into the platform.
Here are a few screen shots:
Crunch Network: MobileCrunchMobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.
The nation’s switch to all-digital broadcasts has been more than a decade in the making. The federal government has spent nearly $2 billion to help people prepare. Broadcasters spent another $1.2 billion to run warning ads and millions more to upgrade equipment. Until last week, the United States seemed ready to follow the half-dozen European countries that have made the switch.
But with two federal agencies in charge, no clear idea of how many people would be affected and constant partisan disagreements over money, the program foundered just before its long-standing Feb. 17 deadline. It has now been pushed back four months.
Exactly a year ago today, I closed the door of my flat in East Dulwich for the last time, pushed my keys back through the letterbox and began my life as the littlest e-hobo. Since then, according to my Dopplr account, I’ve flown enough miles to single-handedly warrant the building of a third runway at Heathrow. It’s lucky that I don’t offset my carbon because if I did, the world would be overrun by trees. And no one wants that.
It’s fitting perhaps that – 52 weeks to the day after saying goodbye to London for the first time – I’m about to do it again. I’ve reached the end of a two-week stay in town to take care of some admin and, most importantly, to finalise a deal to write a second me-me-memoir, this time about my bizarre adventures as a technomad. A sort of Drunk And Disorderly In Paris and Las Vegas, if you will. The fact that the deal is with the same publisher – even the same editor – as my previous book is a frankly damning indictment of the level of sane judgement to be found in modern publishing. Ask anyone who has worked with me in the past and they’ll tell you the last thing they want to do is make the same mistake again. I’m just going to put it down to an administrative error, keep my head down and hope no one at Orion House realises what the hell they’ve done.
Leading Russian Systems Integrator Embraces Autonomy's Meaning-Based
Computing Solutions
CAMBRIDGE, England and SAN FRANCISCO, February 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Autonomy Corporation plc (LSE: AU. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 17 Feb 2009 | 8:00 am
First MDmesh V Devices Achieve RDS(ON) of 0.079 Ohms at 650V in TO-220 and D2PAK Footprint
GENEVA, Feb. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 17 Feb 2009 | 8:00 am
Enhanced product brings new capabilities for operators and content developers.
BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 17 Feb 2009 | 8:00 am
Mobile World Congress, BARCELONA, February 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that it has
been chosen by Chuan Wei (Cambodia) Co Ltd, to deploy a nation-wide WiMAX
Rev-e (802.16e-2005 standard) wireless broadband network, Cambodia's first.
Commercial services are set for launch in mid 2009.
Chuan Wei, part of the Thai Boon Roong Ltd conglomerate, is counting on
the Alcatel-Lucent solution to meet its target of serving one million
subscribers, roughly 80% of the country's business and enterprise
population,, within two years of launch. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 17 Feb 2009 | 7:30 am
goran72 sends in a story out of the Chicago AAAS meeting contending that Earth-like planets with life-sustaining conditions may be spinning around stars in our galactic neighborhood — we just haven't found them yet. "'So I think there is a very good chance that we will find some Earth-like planets within 10, 20 or 30 light years of the Sun,' astrophysicist [Alan Boss]... told his AAAS colleagues meeting here since Thursday. ... The images from those new planets, he added, should identify 'light from their atmosphere and tell us if they have perhaps methane and oxygen. That will be pretty strong proof they are not only habitable but actually are inhabited. I am not talking about a planet with intelligence on it. I simply say if you have a habitable world. ... Sitting there, with the right temperature with water for a billion years, something is going to come out of it. At least we will have microbes,' said Boss."
For photographers who work with sophisticated lighting setups (that would be not me, so excuse my ignorance), triggering several flashes or distant flashes can be a chore. The flash world is mostly a mystery to me, but I can certainly understand that not only do you not always want the flash pointing directly at the subject, but sometimes you may want a couple, distant, at weird angles. There exist solutions for triggering them, but it looks like PocketWizard has beat the rest with its latest offering.
The PocketWizard sits on your camera’s hot shoe and intercepts the signal your camera sends to fire the flash and any extra information that needs to be passed along — reduced EVs, curtains, and so on. It then radios it out to whatever flashes you have equipped to receive the signal. There are advantages to the PW, as well: it has a way of catching wind that the camera is about to send a “fire flash!” signal, and can preempt it by a fraction of a second, depending on your needs — perhaps enough to allow you to open up a stop or reduce ambient light. To be honest, it’s all greek to me, since my flash-fu is seriously weak. There are many other uses but you may as well ask me about the dark side of the moon for all I know of them.
You can get a lot more details at this detailed overview, and see a few important differences between the two new models as well. From that breakdown I’d say there are precious few advantages to the Mini other than its size. If you have a 5D mkII, beware of compatibility issues as well.
If you’re just looking to hand-hold your flash or something simple like that, there are probably cheaper and easier options (the Pocketwizards cost $200 and $220), but pros with real lighting setups (again, not me) may find them extremely useful.
Boulder, Colorado-based startup incubator TechStars has decided to open a second office in Boston where it will run a concurrent mentorship program starting this summer.
The Boston program - which will probably be located in Cambridge - will accept the same number of companies (10) as the Boulder program, effectively doubling the number of TechStars companies admitted each year. Assuming application rates don’t rise dramatically, this will make it easier for companies to get into the program - especially if they’re willing to relocate to either city.
Co-founder David Cohen says that admission rates are about on par with last year, despite the recession. With the deadline of March 21st still over a month away, TechStars has already received 100 applications for its Boulder program. Last year, 400 applications were collected in total. Those who apply after today will get the chance to state a preference for either location, and those who have already applied to the Boulder program can contact TechStars to switch their preference to Boston.
It would seem TechStars is intentionally trying to fill the mentorship void left by Y Combinator when that incubator announced its departure from Boston in January. However, Cohen says that TechStar’s expansion into Boston has been in the works for about six months now, so Y Combinator’s decision didn’t play a role.
TechStars plans to run its Boston and Boulder programs mostly separately, even though they are going to be held at roughly the same times. About 5-6 investors have contributed to each program, and Boston has its own set of east coast mentors that includes Colin Angle, Don Dodge, Eran Egozy, and Chris Heidelberger. Boston entrepreneur Shawn Broderick will be in charge of managing the new branch.
The programs will mix, however, at the end of both sessions when the best from each are combined and given the opportunity to present to investors in Silicon Valley.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Design standards on the Web are constantly evolving, and the Mobile Web is no exception. We’re currently smack-dab in the middle of the Web App age, with users expecting their mobile browser-based services to provide a rich visual experience closer to that of a native application than the ultra lightweight (and generally ugly), text-centric pages of yesteryear. Looking to embrace this change, MySpace will soon debut a new version of its mobile site (m.myspace.com) whilst simultaneously announcing support for S60 and webOS, the platform set to launch with Palm’s much-lauded Pre.
MySpace anticipates 50% of their total traffic to come from mobiles within the next few years, so a refresh of the mobile site makes a lot of sense. The new layout (see mockup below) takes a bunch of design cues from the native MySpace applications - especially the Android app. A number of navigational items have been converted from text to icons, with sub-navigation items losing the old fashioned numbers for icons as well.
Beyond being for the sake of modernity, the new look should help dramatically with enhancing the brand’s identity in the mobile space. Note the use of MySpace’s signature blue in the header and footer, something which was curiously absent in the previous design.
For all the curious scalability geeks out there: John Faith, MySpace’s General Manager and VP of Mobile Operations, tells me that this is as much an architectural change as it is visual. They’ve moved away from XML/XSLT transformations and towards a MVC (model-view-controller) architecture, with significant leverage of Microsoft’s ASP.NET. If all the acronyms are hurting your brain, this is essentially just a fancy way of saying MySpace Mobile’s servers should now be able to handle a good amount more without things getting shaky.
While no specific timing has been set for the new site’s launch, we’re told that we’ll probably see it go live sometime around Chris DeWolfe’s Mobile World Congress keynote on Thursday.
As previously mentioned, MySpace is also announcing plans to support Symbian S60 and Palm’s webOS when it debuts with the Pre later this year. Combine these coming additions with the support already in place for Android, BlackBerry OS, Sidekick OS and the iPhone, and MySpace supports just about every major smartphone platform besides Windows Mobile. When we asked about Windows Mobile, Myspace responded by saying “it has great relationships with everyone and wants to be everywhere”. Our sources close to both companies say Myspace and Microsoft have been in talks for awhile, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see them knock that last one off the list before too long.
Random tidbits gleaned from our discussions with MySpace:
Of all the mobile traffic they see, between 20% and 25% is from the native applications.
MySpace Mobile has seen 2 million installs in the past week, and has 20 million mobile users overall.
Crunch Network: CrunchGeardrool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
Design standards on the Web are constantly evolving, and the Mobile Web is no exception. We’re currently smack-dab in the middle of the Web App age, with users expecting their mobile browser-based services to provide a rich visual experience closer to that of a native application than the ultra lightweight (and generally ugly), text-centric pages of yesteryear. Looking to embrace this change, MySpace will soon debut a new version of its mobile site (m.myspace.com) whilst simultaneously announcing support for S60 and webOS, the platform set to launch with Palm’s much-lauded Pre.
MySpace anticipates 50% of their total traffic to come from mobiles within the next few years, so a refresh of the mobile site makes a lot of sense. The new layout (see mockup below) takes a bunch of design cues from the native MySpace applications - especially the Android app. A number of navigational items have been converted from text to icons, with sub-navigation items losing the old fashioned numbers for icons as well.
Beyond being for the sake of modernity, the new look should help dramatically with enhancing the brand’s identity in the mobile space. Note the use of MySpace’s signature blue in the header and footer, something which was curiously absent in the previous design.
For all the curious scalability geeks out there: John Faith, MySpace’s General Manager and VP of Mobile Operations, tells me that this is as much an architectural change as it is visual. They’ve moved away from XML/XSLT transformations and towards a MVC (model-view-controller) architecture, with significant leverage of Microsoft’s ASP.NET. If all the acronyms are hurting your brain, this is essentially just a fancy way of saying MySpace Mobile’s servers should now be able to handle a good amount more without things getting shaky.
While no specific timing has been set for the new site’s launch, we’re told that we’ll probably see it go live sometime around Chris DeWolfe’s Mobile World Congress keynote on Thursday.
As previously mentioned, MySpace is also announcing plans to support Symbian S60 and Palm’s webOS when it debuts with the Pre later this year. Combine these coming additions with the support already in place for Android, BlackBerry OS, Sidekick OS and the iPhone, and MySpace supports just about every major smartphone platform besides Windows Mobile. When we asked about Windows Mobile, Myspace responded by saying “it has great relationships with everyone and wants to be everywhere”. Our sources close to both companies say Myspace and Microsoft have been in talks for awhile, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see them knock that last one off the list before too long.
Random tidbits gleaned from our discussions with MySpace:
Of all the mobile traffic they see, between 20% and 25% is from the native applications.
MySpace Mobile has seen 2 million installs in the past week, and has 20 million mobile users overall.
Crunch Network: CrunchGeardrool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
At the ongoing Mobile Web Congress, Nokia unveiled two E-series smartphones - the E75 and E55. The Nokia E75 is the successor to the highly popular E71 which was released last year, while the Nokia E55 is a follow up to affordable smartphone E51. Both these mobile phones are said to be loaded with Nokia’s new email interface which according to Nokia give a more efficient corporate email solution. This is a feature which made the BlackBerry devices successful in conquering the corporate mobile phone users.
Nokia has partnered with Microsoft and Lotus Notes to make this possible. And while we’re at it, the said email interface would have folder and HTML email support, expandable views and sorting capability by date, sender and size. Yes, something similar to the email experience that you have on your desktop. In addition, the new email interface would also have improved calendar functionality, contact and task management.
Taking a lot of inspiration from Nokia’s highly business mobile device, the Nokia 9300, the E75 would cater not only to smartphone users but to mobile gamers as well. Aside from its full support for Nokia Maps and assisted GPS feature with a 3-month license for turn-by-turn navigation, the phone is also loaded with N-Gage functionality. So, that takes care of our Nokia mobile gamer friends’ needs. In addition, the Nokia E75 also supports Nokia’s Ovi service, particularly useful for sharing files in the cloud.
Similarly, the Nokia E55 also features aGPS, Nokia Maps and N-Gage support. But since it is geared for consumers who are looking for an mid-range smartphone, its best feature would have to be its full QWERTY keyboard which was well loved by Nokia E51 users transitioning from the standard keypads of regular mobile phones.
The Nokia E75 will have an SRP of around $483 when it gets released sometime in March, while the Nokia E55 is expected to arrive sometime during the second quarter with an SRP of around $341.
The U.S. Army is funding the development of a "paintball gun on steroids" -- a gun that would become the chief non-lethal weapon in the arsenal. It should be capable of firing pepper spray, paint and other rounds intended to wound and keep crowds in check.
1818: A minor German nobleman patents a two-wheeled, foot-powered vehicle. It looks almost like a modern bicycle, but it's missing some key components.
Baron Karl Christian Ludwig von Drais de Sauerbrun (or Drais von Sauerbrohn, or Sauerbron) was born in Karlsruhe in 1785. He studied at Heidelberg and broke with his guardian's pre-selected career choice of forestry to take up inventing.
Bad weather in 1812 caused oat crops to fail, and horses starved as a result. That got von Drais thinking about how you could get around quickly without a horse. His first attempt was a four-wheeled vehicle with a treadmill crankshaft between the rear wheels. He demonstrated it to the Congress of Vienna (the peace confab that ended the Napoleonic wars).
That invention went nowhere, but the eruption of Indonesia's Tambora volcano in 1815 gave Europe a snowy summer in 1816. Oats were scarce and expensive again, horses died, and von Drais got back to work.
This time, he invented a two-wheeler on a frame that looks much like a modern bicycle frame with a seat and front-wheel steering. It didn't have a chain drive, and it didn't even have pedals. You drove the thing with your feet, much like a scooter. You stopped it with your feet, too: no brakes.
Von Drais' Laufmaschine, or running machine, bested 9 mph on its first trip, June 12, 1817, near Mannheim. He patented the invention the next year, but better weather and falling oat prices dimmed its future as a practical replacement for the horse. (Sounds sort of like gasoline prices and public attention to electric vehicles and alt-fuels, doesn't it?) In some localities, riders faced fines for riding on public roadways.
The two-wheelers really needed paved or at least smooth surfaces, of which there weren't many. It was also way too easy to fall off the contraption, and people's leather shoes were nowhere near as durable as a horse's iron shoes. What's more, the Laufmaschine also faced competition from another new invention: the railroads.
So, the utilitarian-inspired mechanical horse instead became a fancy toy for aristocrats and the rising bourgeoisie. The French called it a draisine, the English a hobby horse. The devices were often graced with equine figureheads, or even carved dragons and elephants.
In the first-known draisine race in 1819, a German cyclist named Semmler covered the 10-kilometer (6.2 mile) course in 31½ minutes — an average speed under 12 mph. (The word draisine is still used to describe a variety of hand- or foot-propelled rail cars, used for track inspection and repair.)
When revolution broke out in Germany in 1848, Baron von Drais renounced his title, proclaimed himself a democrat and styled himself simply as citizen Karl Drais. When the revolution failed, the triumphant aristocrats ridiculed Drais, and banned him from the fashionable spas. The government also revoked his inventor's pension.
Drais died in 1851, but his concept of the rider straddling a two-wheeled vehicle with the rear wheel following a steerable front wheel lives on in both the bicycle and motorcycle. In the decades after his death, many hands improved the two-wheeler:
French draisine maker Ernest Michaux put pedals on the front wheel in 1861, then added brakes a few years later.
In 1869, Englishmen James Starley and William Hillman started making penny-farthing bicycles with a small back wheel and huge front wheel. The design maximized pedal power, but keeping balance was pretty tricky.
Harry John Lawson, another Englishman, returned to smaller wheels and notably added the chain transmission in 1879.
Starting in the late 1880s, John Dunlop, Édouard Michelin and Giovanni Battista Pirelli made successive improvements on Robert W. Thompson's pneumatic tire, which rolled out a little ahead of its time in 1845.
But the baron who didn't want to be a forester — or even a baron — was the father of it all.
Source: Institute and Museum of the History of Science (Florence, Italy), Baden-Baden City Guide (Germany)
It's a carry-on, but only barely. Ballistic nylon on this cavernous bag protects your gear against just about anything the travel gods can throw at it.
It's a carry-on, but only barely. Ballistic nylon on this cavernous bag protects your gear against just about anything the travel gods can throw at it.
Though Wired.com readers selected 10 excellent photos in our Circles photo contest, we here at the photo department like to fight for the underdog. Here are our 10 favorite submissions that we think deserved more attention.
Our next twice-monthly photo contest is Love. We want you to open your heart and your shutters to conquer this challenge. Check out the contest page for more information.
Left:
Ouch
Submitted by Richard Sturm
Photographer's comment:
"Always look both ways."
:
Sunset
Submitted by Heetae Yoon
Photographer's comment:
"Tate Modern, London, U.K."
:
Sink
Submitted by Huber
Photographer's comment:
"College."
:
Circles, Real and Imagined
Submitted by AntonTV
Photographer's comment:
"The mirror, the living room, the IKEA lantern, the monkey and the bat."
:
Seed Pods
Submitted by Alexandra Matzke
Photographer's comment:
"A friend opening seed pods. Exposure: ISO 50, 1/1600 sec, f/2.8."
:
Hard to Pick the Best
Submitted by Marina
Photographer's comment:
"My niece likes to make mandalas."
:
Frozen Circles
Submitted by S.A. McMahon
Photographer's comment:
"Frozen bits after a storm."
:
Aerial
Submitted by Carl
Photographer's comment:
"Flying just east of the Rocky Mountains."
:
Dreamcatcher
Submitted by DanielGlazer
Photographer's comment:
"Archival inkjet print."
:
Fruit Juice
Submitted by Jade Gordon
Photographer's comment:
"Taken during a street fair while standing next to a drink vendor."
We managed to avoid being hypnotized by this month's Circle photos, but they did make our head spin. With so many unique and creative entries, we never knew what the next photo would bring. Here are the top 10 submissions voted by you, the reader. Connors will receive a subscription to Wired magazine and a digital picture frame for his winning photo "Primaries" at left.
Since we had so many great photos that we thought should've received more votes, and because we love to anger readers with our selections, we've also compiled a Wired.com Editor's Choice Circle Photo Gallery.
Our next twice-monthly photo contest is Love. We want you to open your heart and your shutters to conquer this challenge. Check out the contest page for more information.
Left:
Primaries
Submitted by Connors
Photographer's comment:
"I scurried on my back into the playset to get this one.
Camera: Nikon D80. Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250). Aperture: f/8. Focal Length: 18mm. ISO Speed: 100. Exposure Bias: 0 EV."
:
Curvy
Submitted by Rohit Mattoo
Photographer's comment:
"Bullring shopping center in Birmingham, England."
:
Ice
Submitted by Anonymous
Photographer's comment:
"I needed some cold water in the summer heat. So I decided to freeze a whole pitcher. Stupid idea, but it looked kinda cool."
:
Glow
Submitted by Todd
Photographer's comment:
"Macro flash shot of a bunch of straws."
:
Light Circles
Submitted by Paul Drzal
Photographer's comment:
"Light trails through arm windmills, tiring stuff."
:
Soap Bubbles
Submitted by urbanizr
Photographer's comment:
"A giant soap bubble frozen into a wire frame."
:
O's
Submitted by Robert Mallon
Photographer's comment:
"A photo of my daughter playing in the bicycle hoops outside of the de Young Museum in San Francisco.
Nikon D300 - Nikkor 24-70 2.8"
:
Tunnel Vision
Submitted by Vinny B
Photographer's comment:
"30-mile bike tour in N.H. with my two sons, summer 2006.”
:
2 x 4s
Submitted by Seth
Photographer's comment:
"Lumber."
:
World
Submitted by alexandra matzke
Photographer's comment:
"The remnants of a mural, made from plastic film canisters."
TV stations across the country were supposed to switch from analog to digital broadcasting on February 17. Even though it's postponed some months, it's gonna happen. We highlight a few of the medium's big technological turning points.
It's all you need. It makes the world go round. It's everywhere. And now it's this week's photo-contest assignment: Love.
Use the Reddit widget below to submit your best love photo and vote for your favorite among the other submissions. The 10 highest-ranked photos will appear in a gallery on the Wired.com homepage. Show us couples kissing at the carnival, bedside company at the hospital and dances of devotion at the vets hall. Sure, we want to see romance, but give us something more. Dig a little deeper. Show us that love can be more than just flowers and chocolate, champagne and carriage rides. Create your own icons of the most sought-after and hard-won prize on the planet — or is that money?
The photo must be your own, and by submitting it you are giving us permission to use it on Wired.com and in Wired magazine. Please submit images that are relatively large, the ideal size being 800 to 1200 pixels or larger on the longest side. Please include a description of your photo, which may include exposure information, equipment used, etc.
We don't host the photos, so you'll have to upload it somewhere else and submit a link to it. If you're using Flickr, Picasa or another photo-sharing site to host your image, please provide a link to the image directly and not just to the photo page where it's displayed. Using an online photo service that requires that you log in will not work. If your photo doesn't show up, it's because the URL you have entered is incorrect. Check it and make sure it ends with the image file name (XXXXXX.jpg).
Please bookmark this page and check back periodically over the next two weeks to vote on new submissions!
Don't bother dialing *-6-7 anymore. A new, free service set for launch Tuesday allows cellphone users to unmask your Caller ID when you think you have it blocked. Critics say domestic violence victims will suffer, while the company behind the new service insists it finally puts you in control of your own phone.
iSkoot, the startup that specializes in creating software for the billions of mobile phones that aren’t smartphones, has released its new Kalaida Platform, allowing users to access their social networks, RSS feeds, and Email from their basic cell phones. The platform is the same one that powers iSkoot’s recently-released Notifier application available on AT&T’s Media Mall, but will be available to a broad range of carriers and has more supported services.
The platform includes support for Facebook, Email, instant messaging, and RSS news services, and international carriers can add or remove services to suit their regions. Kalaida Platform is a big step for the company, which was previously best known for its mobile Skype client. The platform stems from iSkoot’s acquision of Social.im last September.
iSkoot’s Kalaida Platform works with most phones, but it still requires a dataplan - something that many users with basic phones don’t have (at least in the United States). The carriers will love this, as it will drive some users to spring for their unlimited data packages, but iSkoot will still have to fend off competitors, who include Mig33 and Trutap.
We should also note that iSkoot has finally ditched its funky purple skooter logo in favor of something a little more professional (looks like that $19 million funding round paid off).
Crunch Network: MobileCrunchMobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.
A beaver has been spotted in Detroit, following a 75 year absence from the city, ecologists say.
The Detroit Free Press reported Monday that a single beaver lodge has been discovered in an intake canal at Detroit Edison's Conners Creek power plant on the city's east riverfront.
John Hartig, the Detroit River refuge manager for the U.S. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 17 Feb 2009 | 4:14 am
A professional organization of scientists says it will not to hold its convention in New Orleans because of concern over Louisiana law on science education.
The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology -- which has more than 2,300 members -- notified Louisiana Gov. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 17 Feb 2009 | 4:09 am
PShardlow writes "I have recently been asked to propose two projects for a 1st year undergraduate teaching laboratory in the summer term this year. These are projects that a pair of students will spend 36 hours working on, and as such can be quite in-depth. A good project would include something they can build, something they can measure, and something they can calculate. Previous projects have included cloud chambers, a Jacobs ladder, a laser Doppler speed camera, laser sound detection, smoke rings, and physical random number generators. This is an opportunity to really inspire students into the joy that can be experimental physics — but it only works if we demonstrators propose interesting projects. So I ask the Slashdot community for suggestions of fascinating projects to do, things that are relevant to today's physics problems but could feasibly be completed by a pair of first-year undergraduates in 72 man hours."
LG and Intel announced that they are partnering to produce MIDs (mobile internet devices) based on Intel’s Moorestown hardware platform and Moblin OS. LG hopes to release internet devices with low power consumption. They are also tapping Ericsson to provide 3G capabilities for the devices.
For those of you who are unfamiliar to these. Mooreswtown is a SOC (system on a chip) that integrates the Intel Atom processor, graphics, memory controller into one package. Moblin is a Linux-based operating system that Intel developed in-house.
We’ve talked about Moorestown and Moblin before. This MID platform is the logical next step. We’ve also seen other mobile computing platforms but none those caught on. Will this suffer a similar fate? What do you guys think?
Here’s the full release:
LG Electronics, Intel Collaborate on Future Mobile Internet Device
Seoul (Korea Newswire) February 16, 2009 02:08 PM — LG Electronics (LG) and Intel Corporation today announced collaboration around mobile Internet devices (MIDs) based on Intel’s next-generation MID hardware platform, codenamed “Moorestown,” and Linux-based Moblin v2.0 software platform. The LG device is expected to be one of the first Moorestown designs to market.
LG and Intel’s common goal is to unleash rich Internet experiences across a range of mobile devices while delivering the functionality of today’s high-end smartphones. The collaboration on the new design extends a close working relationship the two companies have enjoyed across their respective mobile product lines, which now spans the notebook, netbook and MID categories.
“The MID segment will drive growth at LG Electronics. We chose Intel’s next-generation Moorestown platform and Moblin-based OS to pursue this segment because of the high performance and Internet compatibility this brings to our service provider customers,” said Jung Jun Lee, executive vice president of LG Electronics and head of its Mobile Communications Business Division. “The collaboration with Intel on the MID platform has been valuable and further extends our longstanding relationship. Our efforts are well on track and we look forward to bringing the MID to market.”
LG launched a netbook, based on the Intel® Atom™ processor, in the fourth quarter of 2008, and has been supplying the mobile companion device to carriers and retailers worldwide. LG also continues to ship notebooks based on the Intel® Core™ processor.
MIDs represent an emerging growth category in the industry and are designed to bring a rich, interactive, PC-like Internet experience in pocketable devices. The experience on a MID will help usher in the many new Internet trends performed predominantly on a PC to mobile devices.
“Moorestown” is the codename for Intel’s second-generation MID platform, which consists of a System on Chip (codenamed “Lincroft”) that integrates a 45nm Intel® Atom™ processor core, graphics, video and memory controller. The platform also includes an input/output (I/O) hub, codenamed “Langwell,” that includes a range of I/O blocks and supports wireless solutions.
Intel’s “Moorestown”-based MIDs are expected to reduce idle power consumption by a factor of greater than 10 versus today’s Intel Atom processor-based MIDs. Additionally, the Moorestown platform will be accompanied by a newer Moblin software version, Moblin v2.0, that is based on the Linux operating system. This software is designed specifically to deliver a great PC-like Internet experience while also supporting cell phone voice capabilities. The “Moorestown” platform is expected to come to market by 2010.
“LG Electronics makes some of the most innovative computers and smart phones in the world, and is known to be a leading-edge player in every market segment they serve,” said Anand Chandrasekher, Intel Corporation senior vice president and general manager of the company’s Ultra Mobility Group. “We look forward to providing them some fantastic Intel products that will deliver the best Internet experience while dramatically reducing power –contributing to the development of ultra sleek devices that offer superb battery life.”
In order to offer a variety of network connections and Internet access, LG is also working with Ericsson to bring 3G network capability to its planned MID. This is an extension of the existing collaboration between the companies. LG has been supplying notebooks and netbooks with mobile broadband modules from Ericsson since the third quarter of 2008.
“We are glad that LG Electronics has chosen Ericsson to provide 3G capabilities in its Intel-based MID. We are working with LG and Intel to deliver industry-leading 3G capabilities on the Moorestown MID,” said Mats Norin, vice president and head of Ericsson Mobile Broadband Modules. “Ericsson’s unparalleled relationships with global service providers will be instrumental as we define plans with LG to take this MID to market across multiple geographies around the world.”
# # #
About LG Electronics, Inc.
LG Electronics, Inc. (KSE: 066570.KS) is a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, home appliances and mobile communications, employing more than 82,000 people working in 114 operations including 82 subsidiaries around the world. With 2008 global sales of USD 44.7 billion, LG is comprised of five business units - Home Entertainment, Home Appliance, Air Conditioning, Business Solutions and Mobile Communications. LG is the world’s leading producer of mobile handsets, flat panel TVs, air conditioners, front-loading washing machines, optical storage products, DVD players and home theater systems. For more information, please visit www.lge.com.
LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company (LG) is a leading global mobile communication and information company. LG creates handsets that provide an optimized mobile experience to customers around the world with its cutting-edge technology and innovative handset design capabilities. Increasingly, LG is pursuing convergence technology and mobile computing products. LG will continue to take leadership in the mobile communication environment with stylish designs and smart technology.
About Intel
Intel [NASDAQ: INTC], the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.
AP - The softness in the market for new mobile phones showed clearly Monday in a thin array of new product rollouts at the GSMA Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona usually a smorgasbord of eye-catching gadgets.
AP - Even with it is turned off, a new ThinkPad laptop will be able to talk to a BlackBerry phone so their owner will be able to read and send e-mail faster, the companies behind the devices planned to announce Monday. Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 17 Feb 2009 | 2:58 am
TechForensics writes "A few days' testing of Windows 7 has already disclosed some draconian DRM, some of it unrelated to media files. A legitimate copy of Photoshop CS4 stopped functioning after we clobbered a nagging registration screen by replacing a DLL with a hacked version. With regard to media files, the days of capturing an audio program on your PC seem to be over (if the program originated on that PC). The inputs of your sound card are severely degraded in software if the card is also playing an audio program (tested here with Grooveshark). This may be the tip of the iceberg. Being in bed with the RIAA is bad enough, but locking your own files away from you is a tactic so outrageous it may kill the OS for many persons. Many users will not want to experiment with a second sound card or computer just to record from online sources, or boot up under a Linux that supports ntfs-3g just to control their files." Read on for more details of this user's findings.
FROM APPLETELL - People see the iPhone as a powerful device, bearing the Apple logo, that has a certain aroma that attracts people towards it. However, the facts don’t show Apple as a clear winner. MORE »
Today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft finally revealed its new 6.5 version of the Windows Mobile OS. Most of the revisions to Windows Mobile deal with creating a better experience for users who prefer to use fingertips to interact with the device, a shift that has definite ties to the popularity of the iPhone. Unfortunately due to multiple leaks over the course of the last few weeks, not much of what Microsoft had to show was unexpected, but the various improvements were welcome nonetheless.
For starters, we have a new honeycomb-style menu grid that is allegedly more finger friendly than a traditional grid, at least according to Microsoft. Internet Explorer Mobile has also received considerable polish, new additions include a sliding zoom bar and icons for frequently used commands. The lock screen has been updated as well, it now shows specific alerts based on incoming messages, emails, voicemails, or any other info that is time sensitive. You can also now launch directly into the application that prompted the alert, right from the lock screen.
While this isn’t the total system overhaul that many Windows Mobile users have been hoping for, it may be just enough to keep the OS competitive until Microsoft rolls out Windows Mobile 7. Windows Mobile 6.5 should be finding its way onto handsets in the fourth quarter of this year, though sadly it will not be offered as an upgrade for existing devices. Perhaps this could be due to new mandatory hardware requirements, for example all 6.5 phones are required to have a physical ‘Start’ button. At least, with HTC and LG leading the charge, consumers should have quite a few choices for their new handsets.
When Sun Microsystems (JAVA) Gadfly-in-Chief Scott McNealy made his infamous statement about online privacy online in 1999, there was a horrified hubbub at the time that he had the audacity to say such a thing.
You know, that he actually uttered such a terrible thing as the truth.
What a shock then that everyone is now in a yet another tizzy about Facebook changes to its Terms of Service, which pretty much states the obvious again, by noting that Facebook archives info you posted, even if you quit the service.
As in, you probably can’t delete it.
No, you can’t–because you shared it, whether it be a photo, an email, a Wall post, whatever, already.
Because the fact of the matter is–since the moment first caveman sent the first email to another Neanderthal–there has never been true online privacy for anyone who has chosen to participate in this highly interactive medium.
Here’s the key definition of interactive: ‘Mutually or reciprocally active.”
That means once you send something to others, it is out there in cyberspace forever, never ever to return.
And that goes double on social networking sites, where–let’s be honest–people egregiously overshare and then get all righteous when it is explained to them that sharing means, um, sharing.
As in: You cannot take it back, if you have shared with 476 of your closest “friends,” your bikini shots from Cabo.
Now, BoomTown has learned to live with some very unfortunate haircut choices preserved forever online and does not often agree with Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg (I and everyone else slapped him silly on the Beacon debacle until he gave, for example).
But he is technically right on this, even if Facebook could have done a much better job communicating the changes it made to its ToS, especially since ToS controversies are the Bermuda Triangle of the online arena.
This lack of clarity has always a major Facebook weakness, but it was the same for AOL–now owned by Time Warner (TWX)–back in the day when it was raising privacy red flags all the time.
People want full ownership and control of their information so they can turn off access to it at any time. At the same time, people also want to be able to bring the information others have shared with them—like email addresses, phone numbers, photos and so on—to other services and grant those services access to those people’s information. These two positions are at odds with each other. There is no system today that enables me to share my email address with you and then simultaneously lets me control who you share it with and also lets you control what services you share it with.”
Zuckberberg then notes that users are just going to have to trust services like Facebook with their data, which is up to the individual to decide before posting whatever online.
And, if regrets come later? Well, one try this quote from the great playwright Arthur Miller: “Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets.”
Obviously already in the front of the line with their Touch Pro, HTC just unveiled a device that even outshines the Pro—the Touch Pro2. Yes, they did manage to make some nice improvements to an already very smart phone.
HTC says they are gearing the Touch Pro2 for business professionals,although I think most could appreciate what this device has to offer. They re-vamped the style a tad, and stuck on a touch sensitive zoom slider to work with the improved high resolution 3.6-inch 800 x 400 screen that replaced the previous VGA screen.
It of course features a large “finger-friendly QWERTY keyboard.“ It has expandable memory, the battery life is better, there are gravity, ambient light, and proximity sensors so it is fully optimized for touch as well as a barrage of emailing.
They also introduced what is called “Straight Talk” for the Pro2. This allows users to integrate email, voice and speakerphone usage. You can switch easily from emailing to calling the boss, or to a group conference call.
Also introduced today in Barcelona, was the Diamond2. The big selling point of the Diamond2 is that they design it to fit perfectly in the hand. It also features a bigger 3.2 inch wide screen display, as well as the touch sensitive zoom bar. And the Diamond2 is a mere 13.7 mm thick.
The Diamond2 is specially designed for those who are apparently busy with their other hand. It is optimized for one hand use. It also comes with battery life that is fifty percent better than its predecessor, expandable memory, the gravity and ambient light sensor, and even a five mega-pixel auto focus camera. You’ve also got the new version of TouchFLO 3D which runs on Windows Mobile, although the same processor is was in the original Diamond is still running it (528MHz). Still a nice package with a snazzy new look.
Both will be available in Europe and Asia in “early Q2 2009”, with later release dates for other places to follow. Keep it right here for more info as it comes in.
In the down economy, startups are trying everything they can think of to keep a steady flow of revenue coming in. For popular live-streaming video site Justin.tv, it looks like one of these measures is to try to capitalize on its users’ frequent searches for porn: if you run queries for terms like “xxx” or “sex”, the site will automatically redirect you to a third-party pornography page.
Before users are redirected, they’re presented with a message for five seconds indicating that while Justin.tv has banned adult content, the site is sending them to “a site where you can find what you’re looking for”. The new “feature” may be flying under the banner of convenience, but the site is clearly looking for a new source of income. Justin.tv may well be having trouble coping in the current economy, and a porn affiliate pays far more than a blank search results page.
I don’t think there’s anything morally wrong with what Justin.tv is doing - it’s highly unlikely anyone is going to accidentally search the site for “xxx” and get offended when they’re sent to a porn site (though they might get annoyed). But the new ‘feature’ doesn’t gel with much of the content on the site, which features clips of puppies and video games on its home page. And the site should really include a page confirming that the user is over 18 before redirecting them (there seems to be no such confirmation found on at least some of the redirected porn sites).
Above all, I sincerely hope this isn’t the start of a new trend. I hate when sites redirect me without my permission, and fear that other startups could expand on this technique to include other search categories - how annoying would it be if a search for “soccer” sent users to Nike’s homepage? It may sound like an extreme case, but many startups are getting desperate, and a good user experience is often among the first things sacrificed as they try to stay afloat.
Update: Justin.tv CEO Michael Seibel has sent us the following response to this story:
Justin.tv uses a variety of common tools to effectively reduce the
amount of inappropriate content on the site including: community-based
reporting, community admins, chat moderation and redirecting
sex-related search queries.
Lets be clear, this isn’t the magical solution for monetizing Web 2.0,
these tools exclusively help us to improve the community experience on
the site.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Al writes "Technology Review has an article about a common drug that seems to 'delete' painful memories related to a fearful experience. Experiments carried out by neuro-scientists at Emory University show that propranolol, a drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure, can suppress the emotional part of a fearful memory. The results, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest a new way to treat anxiety disorders. In recent years, scientists have discovered that the simple act of remembering a past experience requires that the memory be consolidated once again. And both animal research and some human studies have shown that during re consolidation, long-term memories — once thought to be fairly stable — can be more easily meddled with."
AFP - Facebook on Monday said it is not usurping users' content despite changing service terms to claim "perpetual worldwide license" to anything posted at the social-networking website.
Silent Stephus writes "I work for a smallish hosting provider, and this morning we experienced a networking event with one of our upstreams. What is interesting about this, is it's being caused by a mis-configured router in Europe — and it appears to be affecting a significant portion of the transit providers across the Internet. In other words, a single mis-configured router is apparently able to cause a DOS for a huge chunk of the Net. And people don't believe me when I tell them all this new-fangled technology is held together by duct-tape and baling wire!"
Among the millions of apps being released hourly in the App store, there truly are apps worth buying, and those that not worth wasting a glance at. iShoot ($2.99) is one of the best and brightest among its craptastic peers. One of many turn based tank fighting games, iShoot has proved its worthiness by sky rocketing into the #1 spot almost overnight, with his iShoot lite following close behind with the #1 spot in free apps. Creator Ethan Nicholas has recently enjoyed so much success from iShoot that he quit his day job in order to further his app-development career.
The Good
Up to 4 players at a time, 1 real and 3 computers, or a mixture of human and comp. players
Buttery-smooth framerate and zero crashes
Sound effects providing that satisfying explosion sound as you vanquish your enemies
25 unique weapons, ranging from mountains of dirt, to shotguns, to atomic explosions half the size of the screen
Landscapes from real places, turned into your destruction playground
The Bad
Occasional slowdown from massive explosions
Extremely limited options for moving your tank around
Computer AI is all over place, landing insane hits, and then not hitting you at all
Repetitive backgrounds feel like you’re playing the same level over and over again
When I first saw this in the App store, I was relieved and happy, because, what with it being in the 2 top #1 spots, I figured someone had finally gotten tanks for iPhone right. And so I happily bought and downloaded it, synced my phone, and played it for an hour straight. My first impressions were that someone had indeed gotten tanks for iPhone right, but as I played on, I began wanting more. After playing for an hour I was left with a slightly bitter, unsatisfactory taste in my mouth. It was like I had been tricked. I felt like I had ordered a coke, and been delivered a diet pepsi. And every time I took a sip of the Pepsi, my mind anticipated the sweet, savory taste of Coke, only to be immensely dissapointed from the Pepsi, over and over again. Despite difficulty changes and different and bigger explosions, someone had tricked me into playing the same level, over and over again.
I enjoy playing tank games, don’t get me wrong. I love playing them, learning to anticipate how the missiles will arc and come streaking down upon my poor helpless enemies, but iShoot doesn’t provide the player with much of a new experience when it comes to tank games. You start out with simple weapons, build up your money, and buy bigger and better guns. But the levels drag on. Use weapons, get money, buy weapons, use weapons and so forth.
Its not fair to say there isn’t anything good about the game, it is fun, and it does hold your attention for a while but basically iShoot is just a port of one level from that tanks game you used to play in the 1990s. Sure the landscape changes from level to level, but that is just a Coke sticker on the Pepsi can. If its innovation you’re looking for here, you won’t find it in iShoot by Ethan Nicholas
Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Since Verizon has now purchased Alltel, subscribers have wondered if the company would offer “My Circle” as a feature on their plans. My Circle was a group of friends or family that you could call an unlimited number of times and not have it count against your plan minutes. Verizon announced this week, its new Friends & Family feature, a comparable option to My Circle.
With the Friends & Family single line option, you can choose 5 of your contacts to make unlimited calls to without using your plan minutes. For family line users, the allowance is extended to 10 contacts.
However, the option does not come without some catches. For instance, users will need to have a minimum plan of $59.99 a month for single lines and $89.99 for family lines in order to be eligible. Also, Alltel users were eligible for 10 My Circle contact for single lines instead of the 5 offered by Verizon.
Above, two versions of the Texas Instruments DLP Pico projector. The newer model, at the top, has a native 854-by-480 pixel resolution, is 20% thinner and less voluminous, and is both brighter and more power efficient than the previous model. And although they Pico projectors are not quite small enough to fit into the very thinnest gadgets out there, they're already in Samsung W7900 phone—it won't be long before they're in nearly everything.
When Facebook recently changed its terms of service to no longer allow users to delete their data when they leave the service, it justifiably created an uproar. Just what is Facebook planning to do with this data, and isn’t it mine to delete if I wish. In a blog post, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg tries to calm everyone down.
Essentially, he says that the issues are not so cut and dry. When you share your data with someone else, whether it be an email or a photo, it becomes their data as well. You cannot normally rescind data you share with other people in an e-mail. So why should a social network be any different? Zuckerberg explains:
Our philosophy is that people own their information and control who they share it with. . . . One of the questions about our new terms of use is whether Facebook can use this information forever. When a person shares something like a message with a friend, two copies of that information are created—one in the person’s sent messages box and the other in their friend’s inbox. Even if the person deactivates their account, their friend still has a copy of that message. We think this is the right way for Facebook to work, and it is consistent with how other services like email work. One of the reasons we updated our terms was to make this more clear.
In reality, we wouldn’t share your information in a way you wouldn’t want. The trust you place in us as a safe place to share information is the most important part of what makes Facebook work. . . .
Still, the interesting thing about this change in our terms is that it highlights the importance of these issues and their complexity. People want full ownership and control of their information so they can turn off access to it at any time. At the same time, people also want to be able to bring the information others have shared with them—like email addresses, phone numbers, photos and so on—to other services and grant those services access to those people’s information. These two positions are at odds with each other. There is no system today that enables me to share my email address with you and then simultaneously lets me control who you share it with and also lets you control what services you share it with.
Zuckerberg is saying, “Trust us.” But it is difficult to trust a company that is stripping users of rights they’ve become accustomed to, even if hardly any of them ever actually asserted those rights in practice. And the principle that you should be able to delete your data from the Facebook service is one that many would argue trumps the good that is done by letting Facebook keep it. If I upload a picture which I later regret uploading, why shouldn’t I be able to erase it from Facebook forever, even if some of my friends have already seen it? And should there be different rules for different media? Most people consider the messages in their inbox to be theirs, even if the sender wishes they’d never sent it? And as this data is shared beyond Facebook across the Web, who controls what becomes even harder to determine.
Like Zuckerberg says, it’s complicated.
Crunch Network: MobileCrunchMobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.
holy_calamity writes "New Scientist reports on a patent application that suggests implanting polymer muscles beneath the skin of people suffering paralysis of the face to give them control of their features. The technique has already been used successfully to reanimate the eyelids of human cadavers. Movement could be returned to other facial features and even paralyzed limbs in the same way, the surgeons at University of California Davis say. The full patent application is also available on the WIPO site."
FROM APPLETELL - Apple has decided that it’s not only unsupported, but also illegal, to jailbreak your iPhone. Don’t worry yet, though. As of right now, only Apple supports this notion… MORE »
It's standing-room-only as the Pirate Bay trial kicks off in Sweden, where the prosecutor begins by painting a strangely benevolent portrait of the defendants he hopes to jail. Threat Level reports from Stockholm.
It’s tempting to blame the downturn for all the bad news hitting tech in 2009, but downturns have a healthy impact too. They burn away the brush of businesses that looked good enough on paper to keep raising money, but never quite worked in reality. Consider two stories in the news today: The possible bankruptcy of Sirius XM Radio in the next 24 hours and the looming ouster of its chief executive Mel Karmazin, and the slumping DVD sales that the so-called “winning” BluRay format is doing little to boost.
Stick with me here: I realize satellite radio and DVDs are very different businesses. But if you look at how Sirius XM, Howard Stern, Sony, Hollywood studios and all their various fans and stakeholders got into this mess, you’ll see two things in common that are causing more problems for their continued viability than waning consumer spending and locked-up credit markets.
1. Both businesses were too confident that trends of the past would repeat in the Web age. Go back to 2004 and read the press both Howard Stern and Karmazin did when they bet their futures on and bolstered their bank accounts with fat Sirius deals. Nearly every time either was asked whether people wanted to pay for a device and pay a radio subscription fee on top of that, they countered that the same doubts were there at the beginning of cable TV and that the same thing that premium cable did to broadcast was happening with radio. Similarly, during the Blu-ray/HD-DVD wars, there was a blanket assumption that this battle was clearly VHS/Beta, Part Two and hence the winner would inherit a big multi-year-growth market. Beware new technologies whose arguments are rooted in something that happened decades ago.
Clearly, in both cases, the creative-destructive power of the Web was vastly underestimated. In a Web world, there are not only far fewer people willing to pay for content, but they’re willing to pay far less than in the past. Put another way, free distribution of popular podcasts like Diggnation or on-demand episodes of “The Office” for $1 were never forces with which cable TV and VHS had to reckon.
Similarly, the satellite radio and Blu-ray/HD-DVD wars also missed a substantial shift in how people want to consume media: They’d rather rent than own. The reason my husband and I have a bookshelf filled with (dusty, still shrink-wrapped) DVDs was the early lure of having our favorite movies at our fingertips. Now, we essentially have that via a combination of TiVo with a DVD burner, Vudu, Netflix, iTunes, and Comcast OnDemand without cluttering up our living room.
2. Both spent way too much money on the assumption that past-was-prologue. Even given the above point, it’s possible there were still good businesses to be built out of satellite radio and a next generation DVD standard. There are plenty of rabid audio/video geeks and early adopters, and at just .43 cents a day satellite radio is hardly an unaffordable luxury. And, as Karmazin points out, satellite radio customers and revenues are growing in double digits. The problem was the stakeholders in both visions believed so much in the assumptions described above that they spent billions blindly driving towards this El Dorado market, utterly ignoring their balance sheets along the way.
Sirius and XM acted like 1999-era companies filing for IPOs, and racking up a combined $3.25 billion in debt, before ever turning a profit or proving exactly what the spoils of this shift from terrestrial radio to satellite would be. It’s a rookie mistake when it comes to new tech markets: Getting more wrapped up with beating a rival before your market really exists, or a classic case of putting the cart before the horse. See: Stern’s $500 Million deal with Sirius and Toshiba paying studios like Paramount and DreamWorks a reported $150 million to offer movies in HD-DVD exclusively. These were only a few of the high-priced deals struck on all sides of the two wars. Contrast that to a rivalry like MySpace and Facebook. Sure there’s some good-natured sparring. But there’s also a realization that social networking is in its early days, and the bigger problem is figuring out the business model, not killing one another. Market before market-share.
The result? Sirius and Sony find themselves in 2009 with combined billions of dollars in debt and shareholder cash wasted, scorched earth all around them and two victors of a still uncertain market standing and wobbly. And, for both Karmazin and Sony’s Sir Howard Stringer, uncertainty about their future employment.
For those who believe that tech always leads the U.S. out of recessions, there’s a lesson from the meltdown and billions lost in the war for satellite radio and next-generation DVDs: Beware of the old adage that history repeats itself. Because if markets are truly innovating, patterns of the past only hold up so much.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Jantastic writes "European Commissioner Günter Verheugen wants manufacturers of mobile phones to come up with a standard connector for chargers and microphones. If companies fail to do so, proposed legislation should speed up this process. In theory, this could improve competition, while enabling longer life cycles for these devices."
PC World - "Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men," according to some old dead Greek guy who took a fatal swig of hemlock. The latest attempt to massage our brainwaves with persuasive oratory comes from Sony Chairman Kazuo Hirai, who reportedly told CVG the Xbox 360 "lacks longevity" and that the PlayStation 3 will eventually pull ahead. Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 16 Feb 2009 | 9:39 pm
My body is nothing more than a mechanism for processing caffeine and beer. Actually, the folks at Gawker said something much worse. But fuck those guys. If they're so smart, why haven't they unionized yet? Anyhoo, I love good coffee, but I'll even drink the slime at the Shell station because, you know, addiction doesn't give a fuck.
Moreover, coffee, even bad coffee, makes you smarter and more productive. For real, you can go ask science if you doubt me. Science will tell you I'm right 1.
Yet there's no reason to drink bad coffee given the wide variety of caffeine delivery systems. Coffee drinkers, like potheads, have come up with a staggering number of ways to extract the feel-good chemicals from a simple agricultural product. Many of these transcend mere function and are as beautiful and entertaining to watch as, say, a small brotherhood of grizzly bears gang raping Lou Dobbs.
The best of these, both in terms of flavor and fun, is the vacuum pot, or siphon brewing system. While you don't see them that frequently here, they're somewhat more common in Japan. Vac pots—unlike a proprietary $4000 pod-based espresso maker—have been around forever. Or at least for about 160 years. Much like a bicycle, it is absolute mechanical perfection.
You dump coffee (freshly ground) in the top chamber, water in the bottom, and set it on the stove. The stove heats the water, causing pressure to force the liquid up into the top chamber, where it mixes with the grounds. Kill the heat, and the lower chamber starts to cool, creating a vacuum down there. That sucks the water back down again, passing through a filter on the way. You end up with a smooth, delicate brew with little to no bitterness; certainly one of the best ways to draw out the flavors of an individual bean.
(1) Ha! See how smart I am from all that coffee? That was a trick. I linked to something else I wrote. You're just going to have to take my word for it. Or not.
I'm pleased as can be to welcome our latest guest blogger, Mat Honan. Mat is a San Francisco-based reporter, blogger, ex-fatty, infamous twitterer and all-around good egg. He's a contributing editor at Wired magazine. He got his hair cut before I did so you can call me the poseur. You may also know him from Barack Obama is Your New Bicycle or that time he borrowed your pen and never gave it back.
He's going to write about stuff. Welcome aboard, Mat!
With Mobile World Conference upon us in Barcelona, there’s bound to be plenty of amazing cell phones being shown off. While there is no new iPhone to be found, there are a few phones that have the potential to level the playing field in terms of what a cell phone can do. One example would be the new LG’s new flagship phone, the Arena.
Looking at the Arena, it seems to take a few clues from other touchscreen phones that try to compete with the iPhone. But, the user interface, LG’s new 3D S-Class User Interface, is what sets it apart. Think of it as somewhere like the iPhone interface with Compiz effects and you’re almost there. It certainly looks impressive in the demos, and should run well given its powered by a “powerful AMD processor.“ There doesn’t look to be anything resembling multi-touch that could cause legal issues, but there doesn’t seem to be much need for it in the GUI.
Of course, if the only difference was the GUI it would be a rather boring phone, but LG packed a lot of interesting features into the Arena. To start, it’s the first phone with Dolby Mobile sound, which claims to provide some sort of surround sound and should provide excellent media playback. There’s a 5 MP phone built in with autofocus, continuous shot and the ability to take 120 fps video that should look great on the 3 inch WVGA display, as will DivX and Xvid videos. There’s even an FM transmitter for listening to your music in the car. There’s no point without storage, and it has 8 GB on board, and can go up to 40 GB with the micro SD slot.
There’s also Wi-Fi, A-GPS, 3G HSDPA 7.2 and a Google Mobile package in the phone, but that’s almost to be expected. The phone looks promising from a number of standpoints, assuming the GUI holds up well. It’s hard to say how it will stand up to the iPhone and its App Store, but as far as the phone itself goes, the Arena looks to have the iPhone beat in all but the multi-touch. Hey, maybe it’ll even be able to send an MMS every so often.
The Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets are melting, but the amounts that will melt and the time it will take are still unknown, according to Richard Alley, Evan Pugh professor of geosciences, Penn State.In the past, the Greenland ice sheet has grown when its surroundings cooled, shrunk when its surroundings warmed and even disappeared completely when the temperatures became warm enough. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 Feb 2009 | 8:42 pm
Last week we saw a couple phones drop from Acer, namely the DX650 (which is weird) and the X960 (which is generic). Well, they’ve expanded the lineup and now they’ve got a few more phones ready to hit the market. They all run WinMo 6.1 and with a little luck and legwork we’ll have hands-on with all of them soon.
The F900 is their straightforward all-touch phone. It’s got:
3.8″ screen at 480×800 — nice
Samsung S3C 6410 mobile processor (533 MHz)
128MB SDRAM for apps and stuff, and 256MB for built-in stuff
SiRFstar III GPS system wi/ Navigon shareware installed
Pull-out antenna (awesome)
The M900 is the F900’s big brother. It’s got the same screen, processor, and storage, but has the added benefit of a slide-out physical keyboard. It has a different interface and doesn’t have the crucial “L-sensor,” which is not explained.
It also has a fancy 5-megapixel camera with “flashlight,” an upgrade if i ever heard of one. Lastly, the front of the phone has a fingerprint reader of all things where the buttons should be. Don’t ask me.
Other than that it’s got the same stats as above for the most part, so don’t make me type them again. Use initiative, scroll up and down again, you could use the exercise.
Last is the DX900. Sounds like it should be the biggest and baddest, because it has two letters before its 900, but no: the letters signify that it’s a dual-SIM phone, and it actually will handle a 2G and a 3G SIM at the same time. Not sure why you would want to do this, but I’m sure it’s come up before. Anyway, its stats are slightly less hot than the other 900s in consequence of its freakish dual personality.
It has the same storage options and wireless connectivity as above, capabilities aside from the dual SIM.
2.8″ screen at 640×480
Samsung S3C 6400 mobile processor (533 MHz)
3-megapixel camera
The weird part:
SIM 1
HSDPA / UMTS (2100/1900/850 MHz)
Quad-Band GSM：850/900/1800/1900 MHz
EDGE class 10/GPRS class 10
SIM 2
GSM Tri-Band(900/1800/1900)
More info as we get it, and keep an eye out for a hands-on. More pics at CG.
Crunch Network: TechCrunchobsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies
Nvidia has announced that it plans to power $99 mobile internet devices with its Tegra 600 series chips, perhaps as early as this summer.
What’s a mobile internet device (MID)? Well, it’s a gadget that fits somewhere in between a smartphone and a netbook. It’s compact and internet-enabled, but it can’t quite fit in your pocket or make phone calls. It’s primarily intended for web surfing and watching videos over a WiFi or 3G connection.
According to VentureBeat, Nvidia is touting both the long battery life and the HD video capabilities of these Tegra-based devices. General Manager Michael Rayfield says they can go for days without a recharge and they support 1080p HD video playback, which is the high end of what you’ll find streaming online.
Nvidia plans to use both Windows CE and Android to power its cheap MIDs (although it appears as though the Windows CE-based versions will come first, with Android-based devices a more distant prospect). The $99 Tegra-based device is just the low-end of a product line that includes a $299 device (that also runs on an Intel Atom processor) and a $599 device that has more of the functionality you’d find in a regular laptop.
Part of me wonders whether Nvidia is trying to fill a niche that doesn’t really exist. If I want to surf the web, my smartphone does just fine - and I’m already paying a monthly data plan for it anyway (I certainly don’t need to pay for two). As for video, I’ll stick with my laptop since it can play DVDs, which are still the most reliable way to watch TV shows and movies.
It also doesn’t help that Nvidia plans to run Windows CE (really…Windows CE?). Android sounds more promising, though, especially with its greater potential to power netbooks and an array of smartphones all at the same time.
Crunch Network: CrunchBasethe free database of technology companies, people, and investors
Topobo is a construction kit with "kinetic memory", which mostly means that you teach the little motors in its joints how to move by physically twisting and shaping them with your hands. Some parts will respond directly to your ministrations, while others are slaved to "queen" parts and mimic her movements.
The joint project from Hayes Raffle, Amanda Parkes, Hiroshi Ishii and the MIT Media Lab is still in its beginning stages, but until they get it properly commercialized, they're only selling rather expensive starter kits: an "Experimenter Set" with 2 motors for $500; and a 24-motor, 1,000-piece "Classroom Set" for $5,000. That probably means your kids will be sticking with Capsela for the moment, but here's to hoping that Topobo gets some figurative traction to go along with its literal motive abilities. It looks like a lot of fun. [via Oh Gizmo!]
The first big news from Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress show this morning is from Palm. The company is showing off a GSM version of their expected-to-be smash hit phone: the Pre, complete with Vodaphone sim cards. Palm insists it is not making any statements at the show regarding a partnership with any carrier, but Vodaphone’s arch rival O2 tied up the iPhone so the big “V” would make a bit of sense.
Previously, Palm did not comment on a GSM version or if there would be one. In the US, Palm is hitching this horse to the Sprint wagon, which uses CDMA technology. Palm is obviously counting on the Pre to become a world-wide sensation, following in the steps of the iPhone.
So far, the folks at Palm Pre Community predictably love the one on one time they got with the phone and I expect that to be the trend with the journalists at the fair. Expect lots more love shown for the Pre out of Barcelona. Apple could have a real fight on their hands if developers can get behind it and compete with the App Store.
One big question remains, will the GSM model launch worldwide at launch, which is expected to be in the first half of this year? And if so, how many of those GSM phones come back the US on AT&T and T-Mobile?
Earlier this month, two nuclear-armed submarines from Britain and France collided in the Atlantic Ocean, causing new concerns about the safety of the world's deep sea missile fleets, according to authorities.The oldest vessel in Britain's nuclear-armed submarine fleet, the HMS Vanguard, and the French Le Triomphant submarine both suffered minor damage in the collision. There were no crew members reported to be injured.First Sea Lord Adm. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 Feb 2009 | 6:50 pm
Two polar bears are being encouraged by human matchmakers to mate, in an effort to further protect the species against extinction, USA Today reported.Nanuq, the aging polar bear from Wisconsin, is being brought to Buffalo, New York to meet Anana, a female bear, in hopes that their pairing could result in some offspring.Jim Hubing, director of the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wis., said zoo officials should know probably by late summer or early fall if she has conceived.Last year, polar bears were added to the list of threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act, and scientists used careful genetic matching to pair the two bears to ensure genetic diversity.Donna Fernandes, head of the Buffalo Zoo, said Nanuq is considered a good catch as a mating partner. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 Feb 2009 | 6:25 pm
International prize winnerIn the European Satellite Navigation Competition 2008, which ESA’s Technology Transfer Program supported, Ackerman and Shiri won first prize in the Bavaria Region in Germany and were the first runner-up for the overall Galileo Masters prize in this competition.“We are extremely honored to have had our GreenDrive selected from such a large pool of highly competitive solutions from around the world,” says Alex Ackerman, Chief Executive Officer of Road-Guard. “Our system reduces the fuel consumption of a vehicle in a very intuitive way for the driver. It can run on a mobile phone or a personal navigation device, and takes the environment into account when advising the driver on the most economical speed and acceleration,” explains Yossi Shiri, Road-Guard co-founder and Vice President for Business Development.The GreenDrive system uses localization information from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). At the moment it uses GPS, but in the future it will also use Galileo to take advantage of its higher accuracy.With satellite navigation data the system knows the exact location, speed and acceleration of the vehicle. Digital maps are used to provide information on road properties, elevation, traffic signs, speed limits and other elements that can affect car performance. Information on the type of car, what fuel it uses and the size of the engine is also incorporated in order to calculate the most economical speed and, if necessary, the acceleration profile. This information is given to the driver both in graphical displays and audio alerts.“Let’s say you are driving and 300 meters ahead of you there is a stop sign which you do not see because the road bends. The system will tell you to reduce your speed and take your foot off the accelerator. The system knows how to optimize your driving, reducing unnecessary speed-ups and, consequently, abrupt breakings. Other times the system will advise you that the optimal mode is just to keep a constant speed,” adds Yossi Shiri. How much can be saved? Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 Feb 2009 | 6:20 pm
On Monday, a Japanese conservation group said that it plans to fit prosthetic front limbs to a sea turtle injured in what marine scientists believe was a shark attack."We need to pay special attention as the forelimbs will have to be strong enough to (allow her) to climb up a beach," Erika Akai, a researcher at the non-profit Sea Turtle Association of Japan, told AFP."She should eventually be able to lay eggs on a beach."Akai said that the loggerhead sea turtle, with a 30-inch long shell, was named Yu after being rescued off southwestern Japan following a suspected shark attack last summer.The turtle was placed in a western Tokushima prefecture aquarium."Since we cannot release her like this, because her swimming capability is only at 60 percent of that of a healthy turtle, we decided to make prosthetic fins for her," said Akai, adding that the project would start in May.The association has asked Japan's largest prosthetic limb maker in western Osaka prefecture to make the artificial fins."We are fully aware that it will be a difficult challenge," said a spokeswoman for the company, Kawamura Gishi Co. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 Feb 2009 | 6:13 pm
NonToxicReviews.com was at Toy Fair yesterday (we actually talked with its editor "Stinkhead" ourselves at the Uncle Milton booth). He spotted something we did not: Elmo Tickle Hands, just the thing for furry self-pleasure. Hell, I'm not even a furry and I'm getting a little worked up.
In theory they're for the kids, though, who will presumably be taught some sort of lessons by Elmo's disembodied voice, which speaks from the gloves while they vibrate to tickle.
Barcelona -- Samsung's new Omnia HD continues the South Korean company's quest to shoehorn big things into small boxes. Following rumors of an ill-conceived 12MP cameraphone comes this oversized handset which is capable of both recording and playing back 720p video.
Seen above is a snap of the phone in action, shooting its bolt in excitement. In person, the sharpness and resolution is quite impressive, although as I said the handset is a little on the bulky side. But you're not limited to the built-in screen -- the Omni HD can play movies back in full 720p on an HDTV. The catch is that you can only do it via Wi-Fi.
Yes, I was just as surprised when I found out. You'll need some form of wireless access point hooked up to your TV -- the Eastern European engineers on the Samsung stand suggested either and Xbox or a PS3. I asked him if you could just run a cable. He turned the phone around in his hand, searching for a port. "No LAN port" he said, chuckling, "No use case!"
I would attribute this rather splendid quote but, as I was writing down the chap's name my pen rather surprisingly ran out of consonants. Suffice it to say that the engineer's name contain enough Ws and Js to win any Scrabble game.
Otherwise, the phones scores high on specs: The camera will also shoot 8MP stills (of course -- it's a Samsung), the big screen is actually 3.7" big, video codecs include DivX, XviD, H.263, H.264, WMV (why?) and MPEG4, there is built in GPS, a compass, an accelerometer and a couple of stereo speakers. Price is as yet unknown, but be assured that this phone does just about everything it's possible for a phone to do.
Shimano’s version, known as the Dura-Ace Di2 7970, is being used by three professional teams competing in California: Columbia High Road, Garmin Slipstream and Rabobank. About 10 riders will race with the system even though they have used it on only one or two training rides after receiving them late this week.
Bob Stapleton, the owner and general manager of Columbia, said many of his riders had doubts about using bicycles that could literally run out of power. The Di2 system has no manual override if its battery goes dead. That event can be an irritation or a disaster, depending on the terrain and what gear ratio the bike is stuck in. Shimano estimates the battery will last for about 1,000 miles per charge.
In the Times' story, the above graphic interactively shows how the new system is rigged into a bike.
Barcelona -- We like the look of the new W995 from Sony Ericsson. Or we would, if there were no danger of it falling into the hands of teenagers who would use its loud but still rather tinny stereo speakers to pump their evil noise into our otherwise peaceful days.
The new Walkman phone is, apart from this rather startling lapse, a pretty neat looking device, both inside and out. Aside from the usual (camera, phone) it incorporates Omniphone, an all-you-can-eat music download service which Sony Ericsson has re-branded as Media Go. For the first six months of your contract, you can download any song in the catalog (I had the Swedish demo guy search for Roxette. He grudgingly obliged -- at least I didn't pick Abba). Anything you grab is also mirrored on your PC, although only in the dedicated Sony Ericsson application (which makes heavy use of the .NET framework -- no Mac version is available or planned).
The service fits right into the regular phone menus and feels more like browsing a local library than searching a remote catalog. The AAC+ files downloaded quickly despite us being in the bandwidth-sink that is the MWC show. Pretty neat stuff, up until the first, free six months is up. After that, price will "depend on your carrier". And we all know what that means.
Oh, there's one other big problem with the phone. That camera is a huge 8MP in size, for an orgy of noise-filled, memory card filling crap.
Product page [Sony Ericsson -- link currently broken]
Barcelona -- Last year at the Mobile World Congress, we started to see the iPhone copycats, essentially stock cellphones onto which had been grafted a cursory touch screen. Most of these phones made little use of touch -- they used the standard menus and UI conventions they had always used.
A year passed and manufacturers realized that people weren't buying the iPhone because you could touch it. They were buying it because of what it did when you touched it. It was intuitive and, above all, not annoying. So this year at MWC 09 we are seeing the results of this realization -- some real UI improvements.
LG's new flagship, the Arena, was launched today and shows that the company has been working hard. The Arena has all of the features you would expect, from camera (5MP with autofocus and flash) to YouTube integration to a big, bright 3" screen. But LG is most excited about its new 3D user interface, which achieves a decent smoothness thanks to hardware acceleration and a processor from AMD. Check out the (official) video below.
To picture the UI, think of a multi-touch, on-screen Rolodex. LG calls it Reel Scrolling, which is cutely accurate, although perhaps a little gimmicky. That processor means that the phone can also handle some proper movie codecs, playing back both DivX and Xvid movies (the favorite formats of BitTorrenters everywhere). The handset also includes Dolby Mobile, a certification for mobile devices from the Dolby Labs, as you'd expect. It really doesn't add much.
Lastly, LG seems to get it when it comes to web services. Instead of trying to force us to use proprietary services, the Arena is all about what's out there already. If you like Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube, you're in luck. In fact, the Arena is a solid all-rounder. It's doing what has to be done in a post-iPhone world -- making something more than just good enough, with a splash of open-ness that Apple will never deign to match.
The cubic blocks found in classic toys and games like Tetris or Soma align well with one theme at this year's Fair: simplicity. We spotted a bunch of items that sported its characteristic tumbling walls: from Bumpity Blocks for the kindergarten to complex strategy games like Jakbo, there's something for everyone.
Barcelona -- Sony Ericsson's's new Idou is many things, but the feature most people will notice first is the camera. All 12 megapixels of it. The new cameraphone launched today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and we got a close up look at this frankly rather preposterous gadget.
The first thing to note is that the Sony Ericsson people wouldn't let us look at the camera. The chap in the booth kept the thing firmly in his hands and would only show me the music player and the swish interface. If you have seen the iPhone in action, the finger-swiping interaction will be familiar to you. The music player is also rather pedestrian, apart from the spangly stars which emanate from the on-screen menus as they slide across the screen. Think of it as My Little Pony meets Apple-style eye candy.
It is rather suspicious that we weren't allowed to see the camera in action. In fact, I wasn't the only sceptic in the crowd. Another attendee, who sadly refused to have his name attached to his words:
It's crazy, a megapixel frenzy. You'll have huge file sizes and really, how good can the optics be in a phone that size?
To say nothing of the tiny sensor, bursting at the seams as it tries to hold all those excited pixels in place. Available soon. More pictures below (one including Britney!)
If Times reporters and editorialist criticize Slim, he can wave the clips to prove to his countrymen that he isn’t a vengeful brute. If the Times doesn’t cover Slim’s every move, it will be charged with cutting its investor slack.”
And here, on cue, is the Times’s first deep dive on Slim, via Mexico City bureau chief Marc Lacey. OK, not so much a deep dive as a series of interviews with other journalists who have covered Slim. But that’s sort of appropriate, since the article is trying to assess whether one of the richest men in the world tries to control what the press says about him.
That depends, the Times seem to say, on where the press is based. No one suggests that Slim plans to affect coverage at Britain’s Independent, where he owns one percent of the newspaper, or at the New York Times, where he may one day own 17 percent of the company.
But media in his own backyard? That’s a different story:
Raymundo Riva Palacio, a veteran journalist in Mexico City, said that after he wrote a column in El Universal newspaper in 2006 condemning Mr. Slim as a monopolist, a Slim adviser threatened to remove newspaper ads from his companies.
That was no small threat. Mr. Slim’s holdings are so vast that he controls a large chunk of all advertising countrywide. Eduardo García, a Mexican journalist who runs a Spanish-language financial news Web site and follows Mr. Slim, estimated his wealth at almost $44 billion as of the end of 2008.
‘I took it as part of the natural dynamic between the media and the powers that be in Mexico,’ Mr. Riva Palacio said, adding that the incident was quietly resolved. ‘That’s how things work here.’”
If you want to learn more about Slim’s business background, let me suggest this excellent (and long) August 2007 profile in the Wall Street Journal.
But here’s a nice summation of his influence in his native land:
Carlos Slim is Mexico’s Mr. Monopoly.
It’s hard to spend a day in Mexico and not put money in his pocket. The 67-year-old tycoon controls more than 200 companies–he says he’s ‘lost count’–in telecommunications, cigarettes, construction, mining, bicycles, soft-drinks, airlines, hotels, railways, banking and printing. In all, his companies account for more than a third of the total value of Mexico’s leading stock market index, while his fortune represents 7% of the country’s annual economic output. (At his height, John D. Rockefeller’s wealth was equal to 2.5% of U.S. gross domestic product.)…
How did a Mexican son of Lebanese immigrants rise to such heights? By putting together monopolies, much like John D. Rockefeller did when he developed a stranglehold on refining oil in the industrial era….As Mr. Rockefeller did before him, Mr. Slim has accumulated so much power that he is considered untouchable in his native land, a force as great as the state itself.”
Our pal Nate Heasley is popping around at Toy Fair finding the stuff we missed, when instead he should be manning his booth to promote his award-winning board game, Wits And Wagers.
⌦ Domain Names – GoDaddy, the world's classiest registrar, is doing 1-year domain registrations for $1.20 per domain. [Slickdeals]
Do you love college basketball but hate Microsoft? Then CBS has a tough choice in store for you next month.
Why is it that your relatives or friends in Japan tell you that they got their fully functional electronic goods such as TVs, refrigerators, music centers etc from the streets for free?
Many folks over here upgrade their electronic goods regularly to keep up with the Suzuki's. They've only had their TV for a couple of years and want an upgrade. By law, one should not just throw out their old electrical appliances.
The owner of a TV for example would go to the local convenience store and purchase a recycle sticker (which looks 
New York's Institute of Play has officially announced the foundation of Quest to Learn, a new school for "digital kids" that will be accepting its first 6th grade class this fall, which "uses the underlying design principles of games to create highly immersive, game-like learning experiences for students."
This Japan Telecom chap is installing our second optic fiber 100Mbps Internet connection which I'm currently using to dish out images for 
In Japan, the American Spider Man works part time to promote apartment rooms - in this case its for the snazzy 
services to provide a rich visual experience closer to that of a native application than the ultra lightweight (and generally ugly), text-centric pages of yesteryear. Looking to embrace this change, MySpace will soon debut a new version of its mobile site (
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Today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft finally revealed its new 6.5 version of the Windows Mobile OS. Most of the revisions to Windows Mobile deal with creating a better experience for users who prefer to use fingertips to interact with the device, a shift that has definite ties to the popularity of the iPhone. Unfortunately due to multiple leaks over the course of the last few weeks, not much of what Microsoft had to show was unexpected, but the various improvements were welcome nonetheless.
With Mobile World Conference upon us in Barcelona, there’s bound to be plenty of amazing cell phones being shown off. While there is no new iPhone to be found, there are a few phones that have the potential to level the playing field in terms of what a cell phone can do. One example would be the new LG’s new flagship phone, the Arena.
A quick reminder that you can still enter to win a Phillips RC9800i universal remote control. What do you have to do to enter? It’s all very simple.
The F900 is their straightforward all-touch phone. It’s got:
the letters signify that it’s a dual-SIM phone, and it actually will handle a 2G and a 3G SIM at the same time. Not sure why you would want to do this, but I’m sure it’s come up before. Anyway, its stats are slightly less hot than the other 900s in consequence of its freakish dual personality.
