Jeep and Mitsubishi Sharing Alarm Codes? October 06, 2006
Read more Gadgets
Are Jeep and Mitsubishi using the same car alarm codes? Check out this video, where our beloved bloodbrother Ray Wert at Jalopnik wants to get into his Jeep, hits the unlock button on his remote key fob, and the alarm goes off in the Mitsubishi next to his Jeep. WTF? Ray tells us that Mitsubishi and Daimler Chrysler, Jeep's maker, once shared components, so maybe this is just a coincidence.
This happened to me one time, where a valet parker brought me the wrong car, an identical model to mine in which my keys actually worked. Could happen. Anyway, car alarms are a big pain in the ass; they make lots of unwelcome and unexpected noises when not needed, and any self-respecting car thief can defeat them, anyway. But at least they could all have unique codes.
Breaking Odds! Wert Encounters Strangeness In Detroit Parking Garage [Jalopnik]
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Pioneer PDP-5000EX: Plasma Display with 20,000:1 Contrast Ratio October 06, 2006
Read more TV
Pioneer stalls the decline of plasma display technology's popularity for a while longer with its 60-inch PDP-5000EX plasma TV that the company says cranks out a 20,000:1 contrast ratio. Take a look at the photo above, and you can plainly see that the higher contrast ratio of the set on the left gives you a better view into the blacks than you get with the conventional Pioneer plasma set on the right.
Blacker blacks are important, and there is a difference. Alas, you, dear Gizmodo reader—you with the golden eyes—may be the only one in the room who notices. Nevertheless, we want to see it all: video from zero black to 100-white, color from infrared to ultraviolet, and resolution only a microscope could discern. Even if the difference is academic, it's still there. – Charlie White
Cherie Roberts Nerdcore 2007 Calendar October 06, 2006
Read more Home Entertainment
It's not too often that we get to link to our pornographic cohorts, Fleshbot (nsfw, duh), but today is one of those glorious days that produces a smile ear-to-ear. Check out this calendar starring Cherie Roberts, nerding it out all naked like.
Gadgets, geekiness, nerdiness and naked ladies? Happy Friday! Now if only 2007 would come a little sooner.
Cherie Roberts/Nerdcore 2007 Calendar (NSFW) [Fleshbot]
USB iGrill: For When Leaving Your Seat to Make a Burger is Too Much of a Hassle October 06, 2006
Read more Gadgets
What could be healthier than combining all-night LAN partying with grilling burgers, all without leaving your comfy chair? Everything, probably, but don't let that stop you, boss. Called the George Foreman USB iGrill, this grill uses USB 2.0 to give your cooking an interactive experience. You can download recipes from the Internet then set up the iGrill to handle things like how heavy the meat is and how soft you want it to be.
The iGrill can be found online for around $100. I, for one, welcome the impeding cholesterol crisis that's about to be experienced by computer-holics 'round the country.
UPDATE The iGrill isn't real so stop with the hateful e-mails. Between the readers and rival bloggers teasing me about "falling for it" (omglol!!1), I think I get the point. Obrigado.
Product Page [ThinkGeek via Crowdedbrain]
How Porno Stars Clean Their Sidekick 3 (Hint: They Use Their Bodies) October 06, 2006
Read more Portable Media
Our video guy Rich is a man about town and found himself in some sort of adult video release fiesta last night. (It was for the Vivid release of "Chemistry" for your later Googling.) Why does Gizmodo care? Here, we get to see how real life adult film star Dana DeArmond cleans her Sidekick 3 and a friend's Samsung Trace. Yeah, she uses her breasts. There's no nudity or anything, but your wife still might not appreciate it. We're all pigs here so it doesn't even matter in the least.
Circuit Board Dress: Are You Wearing Any Underwear? October 06, 2006
Read more Gadgets
Here's a dress made out of 436 white circuit boards, all tied together with metal rings. Each one of the boards is addressable from a control unit hidden in the back. All of the circuits are powered with solar cells, and there's even an RF receiver that can download commands from afar.
Each one of the tiles can have a solar cell and an RGB LED embedded, so various lighting patterns can be displayed on the dress. You light up my life, baby—let me stand next to your fire.
Solar-powered dress [we make money not art]
Mitsubishi D702iF Cellphone Tracks Fertility Cycle October 06, 2006
Read more Mobile phones
This is the Mitsubishi D702iF cellphone for NTT DoCoMo. It is a pretty average clamshell phone, but it does include one unique feature. A menstrual cycle monitor. The phone will keep track of lady's biological rhythm (or menstrual cycle) to help her get pregnant by informing of the optimal conception time. Screw the phone, just have sex non-stop. That method always works!
A cellphone for the ladies [uberphones]
Windows Vista Pronunciation Guide October 06, 2006
Read more PC
Is it Windows Vissta or Windows Veesta? Here, let an animated Demetri Martin, of The Daily Show fame, help you out.
Windows Funnies Up Their Vista [CruchGear]
Buy a Pink DS Lite from Target, Help Fund Breast Cancer Research October 06, 2006
Read more Games
A lot of companies are fighting the good fight and releasing gadgets in pink that help fund breast cancer research. So as on on-going part of breast cancer awareness month, Target will be donating 100 percent of the profits from pink DS Lite purchases to breast cancer research. Now is a better time than ever to pick up a pink DS Lite—remember guys, you can use pink stuff now because it is an "in" look.
Product Page [Target]
How To Hack an ATM (Just Don't Expect Free Money) October 06, 2006
Read more Gadgets
Hacking an ATM Machine [Hack 247]
Ultrasone Edition 9 Headphones: Audio Ecstasy On Your Head October 06, 2006
Read more Digital Audio
We're big fans of Ultrasone headphones, and now the company brings its coveted Edition series down to near-earth orbit. The Ultrasone Edition 9 keeps most of the same features of its $3105 Edition 7 brother, but loses that beautiful piano-like dark blue finish in favor of flashy chrome, while keeping its Ethiopian sheep leather earpads and headband.
I can tell you firsthand that the S-Logic technology built into these Edition 9 headphones—common throughout Ultrasone's line—is simply magnificent. It almost sounds like surround sound, and for some weird reason you don't need to crank the volume up as loud to get an astounding audio effect. Too bad these gorgeous limited-edition headphones cost $1500. But if you're serious about your music, it just might be worth it. -Charlie White
Technical Specifications
•Closed-back headphones
•S-Logic Technology
•PROline standard ULE by Mu Metal shielding
•Dynamic principle
•Frequency range 8Hz-35.000Hz
•40mm Titanium-Mylar drivers
•Impedance 30 ohm
•SPL 96dB
•Nominal Headband pressure 5.2 N
•Weight without cord 310g
•Cable 3 meter
•6.3 mm gold plated plug
•3.5mm adaptor
Press Release [Ultrasone]
Refurbished Roomba Floor Vacuum, $90 October 06, 2006
Read more Deals
I felt it was only appropriate to end this week with another refurbished product. As part of Amazon's weekly Friday sale, they are offering up a remanufactured iRobot Roomba 4100/4300 for $90 after $60 of instant savings. This Roomba includes a rechargeable battery, charger, virtual wall and an extra air filter.
If you have never had a Roomba, I definitely recommend purchasing one. My Roomba is one of my best investments yet, and it is so damn cute. (Yeah I think my vacuum is cute, got a problem with it?) – Travis Hudson
Product Page [Amazon]
Toshiba Shows Updated HD DVD Player at CEATEC October 06, 2006
Read more DVRs
Toshiba rolled out a prototype of its next HD DVD player at CEATEC in Japan, and from the looks of it, it's about half the height of Toshiba's first outing into the HD DVD player world, the HD-A1. The remote looks to be slightly improved as well with its easier-to-read labels, but still suffers from ranks and rows of nondescript chiclet-like buttons.
This is a more attractively-designed box than its predecessor, which looked like its makers took an old VHS case and crammed HD DVD innards inside. But we're still thinking Toshiba is feeling the flop sweat for HD DVD, and might have a difficult time recovering from the shameful showing of its debut models as well is the paucity of studios delivering movies in the doomed format.
CEATEC - A Toshiba HD-DVD player prototype [Akihabara News]
Prototype: Hitachi Mini Blu-Ray Camcorder October 06, 2006
Read more Digital cameras
This little camcorder, revealed at the Japan-only CEATEC, records directly to itty bitty Blu-Ray discs, and looks like a Gundam shoulder mounted cannon. This reminds us of the low-end Samsung mini dvd-camcorder we wrote about a few weeks ago. Except that one was cheap and terrible, and this one will never see a Best Buy store shelf, and is completely awesome.
With all the flash camcorders out there, I would never buy a camcorder that records to discs. You?
Hitachi HD Blu-Ray video camera protype [Akihabara News]
Japanese Golden Poop Cellphone Charm October 06, 2006
Read more Mobile phones
Did you know that Japan's favorite and best selling cellphone strap is a golden poop? Tokyo Mango reports that over 2.7 million of the little shiny turds, said to be good luck charms, have been sold. There's even a version in a baseball mitt, for "catching money". Mitt, and info on purchasing, post jump.
-Brian Lam
This is what Koizumi REALLY went to Yasukuni Shrine for [Tokyo Mango]
GhostBusters Proton Pack, Wand, and Trap October 06, 2006
Read more Gadgets
Developed by Dr. Egon Spengler and Dr. Ray Stantz after their residencies at Columbia University, the proton pack fires a stream of protons via a wand for use in paranormal investigation and capture. The protons, sometimes referred to as positrons, attack the negative ectoplasmic energy of a ghost, snaring the little bugger, holding it in place ideally above a trap.
The pack's beam creates a powerful recoil, and has damaging effects on material, usually combing to create extensive collateral damage. Early attempts to power the pack by wall current resulted in melted wiring. Instead, the pack is powered by...
an unlicensed mass of nuclear material with a half life of 5,000 years. Should the power source reach a critical thermal state, the resulting blast would affect half a square block.
The wand has controls for beam intensity, length, and polarization levels, with a maximum frequency adjustable to 500,000 Mhz. Crossing the streams from one or more wands was initially discouraged, as it was believed that "total protonic reversal" would occur; this effect would have catastrophic results, namely "the end of all life as we know it, and every molecule in one's body exploding at the speed of light."
Proton Pack [Wikipedia]
HOW TO - Make a Ghostbuster costume (and accessories) [Make]
Mitsubishi's CM-7200 LCD Replaces In-Car Rearview Mirror October 06, 2006
Read more Gadgets
Cameras and the LCDs that love them have been in cars for a while now, but Mitsubishi has managed to eliminate enough of the LCD's excess weight to make it entirely replace the rearview mirror. A rear-mounted camera records all the action that happens behind the car then feeds it to the LCD in the front. Primarily designed for those big, hulking trucks that freak everyone out on the highway, the 7-inch LCD (the CM-7200) has a brightness of 500cd/m2, ships in November and retails for $550.
A fun idea, to be sure. I just wish a 7-inch LCD didn't cost $550, which seems a bit much.
Press Release [Mitsubishi via CruchGear]
Blackberry 8800 Spotted, Spec List, Too October 06, 2006
Read more Smartphones
Seems like we were just talking about the Blackberry 8703e rolling out RIM's door, and now here's a picture and a partial spec list of the Blackberry 8800. Unlike its CDMA-only 8703e brandmate, this one will support GSM/GPRS, EDGE, and—wait for it—WiFi. It looks thinner than its predecessors, and it has a 320x240 screen, Bluetooth 2.0, a full QWERTY keypad and of course, that addicting, homewrecking Blackberry email.
If this baby is as thin as the spec list says, (exactly how thick is "ultrathin," anyway?), it looks like Blackberry could be catching up to the rest of the techno-world. Our interest is piqued. There's a whole lot more info; take a look at the spec list and an all-angles pic, after the jump.
Blackberry 8800
•Quad-Band: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS, EDGE + Wi-Fi
•Email
•Phone and SMS
•Corporate Data Access
•Organizer
•Wireless Internet
•BlackBerry Maps
•Trackball, ESC key and Menu key
•Integrated earpiece and microphone
•Integrated speakerphone
•Bluetooth v2.0; headset, hands-free and serial port profiles supported
•Polyphonic, MP3 & MIDI ringtones, vibrate, on-screen or LED indicator
•Embedded RIM wireless modem
•Supported by version 4.2 or higher
•Ultra Thin
•Full QWERTY keypad
•Large 320 x 240 screen
•Full multimedia feature set
•Possible on some versions of the 8800 (Camera - 1.3 mp, 5x digital zoom, flash and maybe even video recording)
•Media Player - audio and video playback (Built-in streaming*) stereo headset compatible.
•64 MB Flash, expandable memory (Micro SD)
•Great phone experience w/ Advanced noise and echo cancellation
•Voice activated dialing, speakerphone, Bluetooth 2.0
RIM's BlackBerry 8800 Specs & Details [Pinstack]
Onkyo Wavio MP-1000J Portable AV Hard Drive Enclosure Keeps the Kids Quiet On Long Trips October 06, 2006
Read more Portable Media
Onkyo is better known for its fancy home entertainment equipment than its portable gear, but don't let that stop you from taking a look at the Wavio MP-1000J, a portable 2.5-inch hard drive with AV outputs. Imagine how many times you wished you had a way to transport some highly illegal Xvid to your friend's house but had no way of putting it on the big screen (horrors!). You're too cool for an iPod, so bringing the actual hard drive is the next best thing.
The Wavio enclosure is able to output in 480p, 720p and 1080i. You can even hook the Wavio up to your car's AV system thanks to the 12V car adapter that's included. It goes on sale in Japan next week sans hard drive, naturally, for around $125.
This oddly named hard drive enclosure with AV outputs looks promising enough—drop the price a bit and then maybe we'll talk.
Press Release (in Japanese) [Onkyo via I4U News]
Voice-Activated R2-D2 Obeys Your Commands, Beats Up the Neighbors October 06, 2006
Read more Robots
Let's start our Friday with something sure to put a smile on many of our faces: a voice-activated R2-D2! Yes, now you can own a piece of Sci-Fi movie history in R2-D2, a 15-inch tall robot that obeys simple commands like "turn around" and "move forward." The little guy responds to 40 commands in all and can even be scolded just like in the film (I think) with "R2, behave yourself."
The robot has a sensor that helps it detect objects so as to prevent it from smashing into your expensive, non-Ikea furniture. The best part may be that it can be set up as sentry, guarding a room from trespassers. Should one appear, its alarm will sound.
The voice-activated R2-D2 is available now for $120. Let's see, an R2-D2 that obeys my commands and swivels like the real thing? Oh, yeah, I'm down for that.
Product Page [Hammacher Schlemmer]
Toshiba Displays Fuel Cell Batteries on a Laptop October 06, 2006
Read more Laptops
Fuel cell batteries have a long way to go, but at least Toshiba is trying. At CEATEC in Japan, the company displayed one of the clunky prototypes mounted onto the bottom of a laptop. But just like any other technology in its infancy, it looked a bit clumsy.
Too bad this fuel cell apparatus is so big and bulky. This picture will probably be laughed about two years from now. But there's been plenty of progress made since we first heard about Toshiba's fuel cells back in 2003.
Even so, these things use methanol to make hydrogen; and you thought Sony was having exploding battery troubles? In more ways than one, we ain't seen nothin' yet.
CEATEC - Toshiba fuel cells [Akihabara News]
BAFTA Dishes Out First Games Awards October 06, 2006
Read more Consoles , Gadgets , Games , Home Entertainment , Laptops , Online , PC , PDA , Peripherals , Software
There will be many online dwarves, paladins and rangers aghast at the news that the brilliant Elder Scrolls: Oblivion – nominated for four BAFTA Games Awards – was ignored on all accounts and had to slink off home with its double-bladed axe between its legs.
Still, other developers and publishers will have been more than chuffed, none more so than Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter which snatched the Game of The Year Award from Hitman: Blood Money, Black and Guitar Hero among others. Most innovative game went to Dr Kawashima's BRAIN TRAINING: How Old Is Your Brain?, while Shadow of the Colossus (pictured) took gongs for Artistic Achievement and Action & Adventure.
Loco Roco for the PSP also took two awards, Best Character and Best Kids Game.
For a full list of the winners and nominees, point your Axe Of Unholy Smiting +6 here.-Martin Lynch
Konica’s See-Through Video Glasses October 06, 2006
Read more Gadgets , Home Entertainment , Peripherals , Portable Media , TV
While most head mounted displays or video glasses make you look like a cross between a Borg and Cylon, Konica Minolta has been showing off something a lot more discreet and useful at the Ceatec Show in Japan.
The Holographic See-Through Browser looks like a glasses for a one-eyed pirate but the clever bit is that you can see out on the move while simultaneously viewing a video, watching TV or browsing the Web. As you can see from the photo above, it’s very lightweight and a video demo of the product showed a user watching a motorcycle race while strolling around the house without stepping on the cat or knocking everything over.
To see a photo (a tiny photo) of that race entertaining someone on the boring old Tube commute, jump now.-Martin Lynch
Blue Man Group Electronic Keyboard October 06, 2006
Read more Digital Audio , Gadgets , Gigs , Home Entertainment , Peripherals
Fans of the Blue Man Group and crappy looking keyboards, listen up. This is your chance to have a real excuse for painting your face blue. The Blue Man Group Electronic Keyboard allows you to plug in your MP3 player – even posh iPods – to let you play along to some of your own tunes or to record all the truly outstanding music you’ll be making by yourself.
The keyboard comes with 10 original compositions inspired and created by the band and features eight instruments. The real selling point though are the proximity sensors, that allow you to turn the unit on, mix and match sounds, change instruments and arrangements, and adjust the volume with just a wave of your hand. Magic eh?
Yours for just £45. All you have to do is wave your credit card near this Web page now. –Martin Lynch
Via Red Ferret
SRS-U10 Sony PSP, Walkman, and Mobile Phone Compatible Speakers October 06, 2006
Read more Digital Audio , Home Entertainment , Peripherals
Sony's SRS-U10 speakers work with any sort of line-in, so you can connect your PSP, MP3 player, or Sony Walkman to it to use as a desk-top or bed-side audio player. There's also a PSP stand, which doesn't get in the way of the controls on the PSP, something we've been seeing a lot of in various PSP speaker designs. No price or availability info yet.
SRS-U10, the Sony PSP compatible universal speaker [Akihabara News]
Talking Pig Radio: Video October 06, 2006
Read more Digital Audio , Gadgets
This is just stupidly hilarious.
Talking Pig Radio [Geekmatica]
Synaptics Onyx Concept Phone Demoed October 06, 2006
Read more Smartphones
The UI works as a Flash interface over Windows CE underneath, which lets the user do things like drag and drop, double click, and scroll with just a finger. Still just a prototype, the phone should be even smaller and faster when it's closer to production.
Bonus video after the jump.
Synaptics Onyx Concept: Live Demo Captured on Video!
feature [Slashgear]
50GB Dual-Layer Blu-ray Movie Announcement Coming Tomorrow, 10/6 October 06, 2006
Read more Storage , TV
A naughty little birdy just shot a secret up our chutes about an upcoming Sony Pictures announcement regarding Blu-ray. Their first dual-layer 50GB Blu-ray movies are launching starting next week, and they're going to be loaded with high definition special features which make use of the extra.
The titles are Click (Adam Sandler's project where he got to make out with Kate Beckinsale), Black Hawk Down (Josh Hartnet's project where he got to make out with a gun), and Talladega Nights: The Balald of Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell's project where he got to make out with John C. Reilly). Click is launching October 10, BHD November 14, and Rick Bob December 12.
Black Hawk Down is going to have some special high definition features, as well as a "Blue Wizard" feature that is supposed to add some special viewing capabilities to the extras. We'll have more tomorrow when it's officially announced.
Opel's Extendable Bike Rack Hides When Not In Use October 06, 2006
Read more Gadgets
Great for self-loathing bikers, the Flex-Fix feature on European Opel Antara and Corsa cars carry two bikes but hide away when not in use.
How it works: the rear extends out from the bumper far enough for you to mount your ride, which afterwards neatly folds back up and into the body so no one's the wiser. You technically have to have two license plates in your car in order to show when the rack is out, but it's much more elegant than mounting the bikes on top of your car. Not to mention easier.
Opel Antara Flexes That Ass: Saturn's New Vue-To-Be Sports Techie Bike Rack Goodness [Jalopnik]
Phantom Lapboard Gets a Price And a Date: £70 in November October 06, 2006
Read more Peripherals
The Phantom Lapboard, the keyboard and mouse combination left over from the doomed Phantom console, finally has a price and a ship date. It's going to be £70 in November, but if you order now you can get £15 off.
The whole setup is wireless with a USB receiver which needs to go into your PC, Mac, or Media Center. The keyboard tilts up to 22-degrees to give your right hand more space to mouse around (go to hell lefty freaks!), and has volume and mute controls. At £50 it's actually not too shabby for a wireless keyboard to your Media Center machine.
Update: "features a keyboard that rotates 360-degrees to accommodate left or right-handed users". You win again lefties.
Product Page [Phantom via Gadgets Fosfor]
Linkman Gives You Permission To Quit Smoking October 06, 2006
Read more Gadgets
If all other methods for getting rid of your addiction has failed, the Linkman may help you stamp out cigs for good—provided you follow its guidance.
Whenever you feel the urge to smoke, double click the button on the Linkman. If the light turns green, go ahead. If it's red, you need to wait. The Linkman starts its minimum wait-time at 10 minutes, then gradually increases the time every time you press that button. Eventually you'll reduce your cigarette intake to something more manageable—or possibly even quit entirely. If you don't quit for your kids, quit for the guy (me) who has to smell your smoke.
Product Page [Linkman via Medgadget via Sci Fi Blog]
Hate the iPod? Check Out the Alternatives, Cool Man October 06, 2006
Read more Digital Audio , Portable Media
There's a lot of people out there who think they're too "cool", too "hip" to own an iPod. (Communists.) For these people, the New York Times has put together a small fiesta of non-iPods to lust after. For the tantalizing details, jump. Word.
Beverage Buggy Brings Beers, Ya Big Bum October 06, 2006
Read more Gadgets
Quit ordering everybody around, and have the radio-controlled Beverage Buggy bring you a couple of beers in a hurry. Then you can just sit there with your remote control, driving your beers from refrigerator to you. Just make sure your loyal assistant is ready for the loading chores. So much for that "quit ordering everybody around" thing. Anyway, if you get to the point where you can't navigate this little buggy from there to here, you've had enough.
Now if you could just park it in a little refrigerated garage, and have those cans automatically roll into place as the vehicle backs into position, the Beverage Buggy would be the ultimate lazy man's friend. But then, that would raise its price well above its current £25. Oh well, we'll just have to wait for the robot servants to help us—until, of course, we become their pets.
First Grope: SanDisk, Best Buy, Rhapsody Threesome October 06, 2006
Read more Digital Audio , Portable Media
It's not often that three big players hop in bed together and invite us to watch. So we wasted no time this afternoon at the Sansa Rhapsody music orgy, where SanDisk showed some slow tender lovin' to their new bedside partners Best Buy and Real Rhapsody.
The hour-long menage a trois led to the birth of four new Sansa players. There's the 2GB e250R (£70), the 4GB e260R (£90), the 6GB e270R (£110), and the hulk-size 8GB e280R (£125). All four feature a 1.8-inch TFT color screen, can be expanded by popping in a microSD card and come pre-loaded with hours of music you didn't know you wanted. They also include an FM tuner, voice recording, and have a removable 20-hour battery (though you have to unscrew 4 screws to get inside the battery compartment).
SanDisk Sansa™ e200 Series MP3 Players [Product Page]
Audio Technica AT-DSP190 Cone Speakers October 06, 2006
Read more Digital Audio , Home Entertainment
These "wine glass" speakers from Audio Technica look less like wine glasses to us, and more like floating marital aids, which is pretty cool too if this were Fleshbot. Nevertheless, the speakers are housed inside the cone, and produce sound from the bottom, into the base, which disperses the sound around the room.
The speakers are 30cm anti-magnetic reflex, and have a blue light on the bottom to make it more attractive to people who like blue light. They're sold in Japan and you can pick one up for about £90 (21,000 Yen) to decorate your futuristic-styled bachelor pad.
Product Site (Japanese) [Audio Technica via Far East Gizmos]
Sony PlayStation 3 Intercooler From Nyko Keeps Your £300 From Burning Up October 06, 2006
Read more Consoles , Peripherals
The Nyko Intercooler for the Xbox 360 would never have even been a product had the 360 not overheated and crashed so damn much around launch-time last year. Well, it looks like the Sony PS3 is also going to need some help with not overheating, and for somewhere between £10 and £15, you'll be able to protect your investment from being just a warm box that does nothing.
The box will connect to your PS3 "3 using patent-pending technology that works with the systems power port and vent system", meaning it'll attach to the unit itself, making the PS3 even more bulky.
Press Release [Nyko via i4u]
Bluetoothify That Old-Ass Printer October 06, 2006
Read more Gadgets , Peripherals
Got an old printer that uses a parallel adapter, but got a new computer that lacks a parallel port? This device from USBGear may be your only option. USBGear has created a combination Bluetooth printer adapter. This can connect to either a parallel style or USB printer, giving it a little Blue love. Sync your computer up to the device wirelessly and begin the printing fun.
Ooooh. I can already hear the familiar noises of the dot matrix printer churning in my head. £35.
Product Page [Via Red Ferret]
Sony MDR-D777SL Headphones With HD Driver October 06, 2006
Read more Digital Audio
When not manufacturing exploding batteries, Sony takes the time to develop sorta-ok headphones disguised as "premium" ones like the MDR-D77SL. While they look pretty darn comfortable to use, the stats really aren't anything to go crazy over, especially in light of other high quality headphones being released. You get a 40mm HD driver and a 106dB/mW output.
No price or release date yet, but if it's Sony, you know it's worth its weight in gold. Or something to that effect.
MDR-D777SL, the hi-fi headset for DAP [Akihabara News]
DIY: Xbox 360 Wireless Arcade Joystick October 06, 2006
Read more Consoles , Games , Peripherals
Where is the fun in playing games from Xbox Live Arcade without a real, traditional arcade style joystick. Frogger with a d-pad? Are you kidding me? A "junior member" on the arcade controls forum managed to piece together an arcade style controller for his Xbox 360 ... a wireless arcade style controller.
Basically he purchased a new wireless controller and used some crazy ass wiring to rig it up to a joystick and some buttons. It may be a bit on the large size, but I am still very much impressed, especially with the ballsy wiring job going on.
Instruction Page [Via Kotaku]
Ultimate Ears triple.fi 10 Pro Earphones Available, Kinda October 06, 2006
Read more Digital Audio
We teased you with a couple of pictures and a bit of info about the Ultimate Ears triple.fi 10 Pro earphones last week, and now we have more for you, namely, the pricing which will be £199. They're sorta available—you can now pre-order a pair of these three-driver nuggets of audio nirvana, and the company's website says it has a few limited-edition units on sale now.
We're big fans of these types of earphones, bringing you monster sound in a tiny package, equal to that used by pro musicians on stage. These bring that Ultimate Ears sound down to earth, requiring no custom fitting and pounding your skull with sweet, sweet music for under £200. Yeah.
Product Page [Ultimate Ears]
Samsung Launches 3 Phones for T-Mobile: T629, T619, T509s October 06, 2006
Read more Mobile phones
T-Mobile and Samsung have officially launches three phones that are available today. These three phones are acceptable for use with T-Mobile myFaves. Jump to get the low-down on each handset.
Low End Theory: The Customer is Always Cheap October 06, 2006
Read more Mobile phones , Smartphones
Every morning as I approach my workspace, I'm assaulted by two very different sensory experiences. The first is the whiff of stale urine outside a certain construction site, where nightly Mad Dog throwdowns seem to occur. The second is the hollering of a tout who spends eight straight hours piping, "Free Sprint phones! Free T-Mobile phones!" She's out there rain or shine, handing out flyers for a nearby phone depot. So piercing is her scream that I've started hearing it in my dreams.
But don't get me wrong, I admire the lady bigtime—not just for her Teutonic work ethic, but for advancing the cause, however slightly, of handset enticements. You see, wireless providers seem to think there's only two ways of getting your business: coverage (hence those now-stale "Can you hear me now?" Verizon ads) and plans (hence that really annoying T-Mobile ad with the two long-haired stoners, their dads, and a loudspeaker that blares "Overage! Overage!"). But neither of these is really the way to a cheapskate's heart—and, by extension, his wallet. We're the sorts who prefer a dollar today to a buck fifty two years down the line, and so what we look for is this, and this alone: what sort of free cell do I get for signing up? After the jump, a rundown of what America's wireless providers are giving away at present, as a means to deciding which company really, truly loves us low-enders.
Hitachi to Cram 5TB Into a 2.5-Inch-Thick Cartridge October 06, 2006
Read more Storage
Hitachi figured that if one Blu-ray disc holds 50GB of data, why not stack 100 super-thin discs on top of each other and cram them into a 2.5-inch thick cartridge? The result: 5TB of storage. That's just what the company is going to do with its SVOD (Stacked Volumetric Optical Discs) technology.
The Blu-ray version is still in the works, but the company says a DVD-based product will be available by early next year. The DVD version's 100 ultra-thin (92 micrometers) double-sided discs will combine to store 940GB on a cartridge, which will sell for around £175.
This could be an efficient way to archive reams of data, that is, until hard disks—and ultimately flash memory—get to be cheaper, more permanent and more portable.
Hitachi planning super data catridge by squeezing 100 Blu-Ray discs [Newlaunches]
Fanatec Heäd$h0t Mousing System for Gamers and Showoffs October 06, 2006
Read more PC , Peripherals
Is this is a great-looking mouse and mousepad combo, or what? The Fanatec Heäd$h0t has an LED-lit arch that holds up the mouse cable, and the mouse itself is supersensitive, using a 2000-dpi laser sensor. Plus that mousepad/base is packing a two-port powered USB hub.
This is an innovative mousing system, albeit a bit pricey at £50. But serious gamers will find it worth it, especially since the mouse has a unique adjustability, perfectly fitting the fragging hand. I think it's worth a hundred bucks just for the astonished stares you'll get from the surrounding cubicles.
Fanatec Heäd$h0t is the Most Feature Heavy Mouse and Mousepad Ever [CrunchGear]
Two For the Road: Mustek PD77 Two-Screen DVD Player October 06, 2006
Read more Portable Media , TV
Mustek decided that if one screen on a DVD player is good, then two screens must be twice as good. The result is the PD77, calling a truce between those combative backseat passengers by offering them each a screen, and giving you a fighting chance at getting them to stfu.
The screens are 7-inch 480x234 LCDs with tiny speakers and a stereo headphone jack, and the playback unit pumps video from DVDs into both. The system can also handle CD and MP3 audio, and other video files such as DivX, XviD and AVI.
That 480x234 screen has barely enough resolution to suit me, but I suppose it's enough for standard-definition DVDs. Good luck hiding those cables connecting the two screens, though.
Mustek PD77 two screen DVD player [TechDigest]
Mitsubishi Intros Swiveling LCD TVs, Finds Sexy Babe to Demonstrate October 06, 2006
Read more TV
Mitsubishi, in a desperate move to differentiate its LCDs from all the others, released a line of swiveling LCD TVs that use a small servo to rotate the set toward you when you push a button on its remote control.
Huh? Wouldn't you just point the television set toward you before you sit down? And if you're moving around, you're already up, so you could rotate the TV accordingly. This is just dopey, but we certainly like the proud posture of the cute young lady displaying it.
Mitsubishi swiveling LCD TVs [Newlaunches]
Beam Me Up, Scotty: Scientists Transport a Hunk of Matter 18 Inches October 06, 2006
Read more Gadgets
Scientists in Copenhagen took one more step toward the Star Trek transporter, figuring out how to teleport groups of billions of atoms from one place to another using light, quantum mechanics, magnetism and a concept they call "entanglement." Professor Eugene Polzik and his team managed to move an object about 18 inches, using an excruciatingly complicated process that amounts to some serious magic. Says the Prof:
"Creating entanglement is a very important step, but there are two more steps at least to perform teleportation. We have succeeded in making all three steps -- that is entanglement, quantum measurement and quantum feedback."Although the scientists admit that no humans are going to be teleported a la Star Trek any time soon, this technology might make it possible to transmit and process data at unheard-of speeds. Can't wait to see that. Energize.
Scientists teleport two different objects [Reuters] (Thanks, Mark!)