Posted Jul 3rd 2007 10:49AM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Gaming
After nearly a year of playing cat-and-mouse with Sony's legal and dev teams, it looks like the heat was too much for
Dark-AleX, the modder behind a couple (in)famous PSP cracks, including the "
run any PSX ISO" 3.02 firmware and the bust-it-wide 3.10 "
Open Edition." In a terse posting on his website, the cracker says the effort was not only taking up too much of his time, but that Sony's recent "
menaces" to PS3 modders left him unwilling to continue. We can see why he'd drop out, but we're sad to see him go -- the PSP homebrew community owes him a great deal.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 10:23AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Laptops
Just as
we mentioned in May, the
HP Compaq 2710p Tablet PC is definitely on its way, having just received FCC approval. The 3.6-pound, 12.1-inch tablet runs on an Intel Core 2 Duo ULV, features Bluetooth, 802.11/a/g/n, and offers an integrated EvDO or HSDPA broadband module, thus making it seriously enticing to anyone looking for an ultralight with some real connectivity options. Check the link for many, many pages of sweet FCC testing documents.
[Via
PCJoint]
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 10:03AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio
It seems like everyone wants to get a
piece of the Apple pie this week -- even old, crazy
Napster. According to an article in InformationWeek, Napster has issued a damning statement to investors "warning" them of the "possible" impact the iPhone
might have on its business, due to the incompatibility of the online distributor's
WMA formatted music and the Apple device. "Our software is not compatible with the iPod," the statement included, thus noting one of the more obvious aspects of the company's dilemma, and went on to proffer that it does not expect the Napster service to be compatible with the iPhone either. Of course, Apple has never been overflowing with hospitality towards non-Cupertino-blessed formats, but it seems like Napster may have shot itself in the foot by attempting to position themselves as
direct competition to the juggernaut. The rest of the statement didn't comment on Napster's apparent confusion concerning its own business practices (whether it wants to compete with Apple, or play nice), or question if not selling iPod/iTunes compatible music had contributed to their fiscal year losses of $36.8 million. When reached for comment, a spokesman for the company said emphatically, "we just can't stop doing this to ourselves, whatever it is that we seem to be doing, and we're worried it could effect sales."
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 9:43AM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Although June 29, 2007 will probably be most remembered for the release of some
cellphone, another release that will hugely affect the tech community went out on that fateful Friday -- version three of the GNU General Public License was officially released, revising the terms that govern the use and distribution of many open-source projects, including Linux. A major goal of the revisions was to prevent the use of free code in closed devices (known charmingly as "tivoization"), drawing criticism from Linus Torvalds, Tivo (naturally), and others, but the Free Software Foundation maintains that the changes will be beneficial to end users. We're all for device makers opening up their boxes, but we're not sure forcing them to do so via license restrictions is the way to do it -- we'll see how this plays out in the future.
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 9:23AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals
What better way to cap off a recent $600 or so
purchase than to spend even more money
accessorizing it? The myriad of Belkin wares
we spoke of a short time ago has hit the market just in time to grab your attention (and dough), and users itching to wrap their precious toy up in a clear acrylic case ($29.99), armband ($29.99), or slim-fit holster ($29.99) can now pick up any of the three. Additionally, a number of 3.5-millimeter stereo cables and headphone adapters are also available, but they aren't likely to perform any differently than the bargain variety already out there. Check 'em all out below in glorious high-resolution.
[Via
I4U; thanks Doom!]
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 9:03AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Transportation
The Type N700, a new bullet train developed by Central Japan Railway and West Japan Railway is being touted as the fastest ever, reaching speeds of up to 186mph (the previous high-water mark was 168.5mph), and making the trek from Tokyo to Osaka in about two hours and 25 minutes (a whopping 5 minutes faster than the previous model). The N700 is the first bullet train revamp since 1999's Type 700, and uses a new form of Automatic Train Control (or ATC) to govern the train's speed and stability during curves in the track. Additionally, the N700 boasts a 30% increase in acceleration, which reduces the amount of time it takes to reach its maximum speed. Truth be told, it all seems like a lot of money and trouble for an extra 5 minutes -- if these cats really wanted to step up their game, they should speak with
the French.
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 8:27AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Displays
Sanyo's showing off their "world's brightest" projector this morning: the 6,500 lumen LP-XP100L. Of course, it's only the world's brightest single-lamp, mid-sized projector weighing less than 12-kg -- come on, why even bother Sanyo? Anyway, that 330W NSHA lamp is bright, enabling a 1,024 x 768 pixel resolution display with a 2000:1 contrast ratio. Inputs include component BNC and HDCP-enabled DVI. Yours in Japan starting August 1st for ¥1,260,000 or about $10,287. Oh hey, Sanyo, putting a pretty girl next to it doesn't cancel the ugly, mkay?
[Via
Impress]
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 8:03AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Peripherals, Storage
Panasonic is set to join
LG with the introduction of their own 4x speed BD-R recorder. However, while LG's
GBW-H10N Blu-ray recorder burns are limited to single-layer media, Panny is boasting of a 4x burn to a dual-layer BD-R platter. That's 50GB in 46 minutes in case you're keeping track. No pictures or price but you can expect Panny to go big-and-fast with product sometime later this year.
[Via
Impress]
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 7:08AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Uh oh, we've got ourselves a true-blue corporate
competitive intelligence espionage fiasco exploding on the international stage. Germany's SAP has admitted to "inappropriate downloads" from arch-rival, Oracle in the US. Oracle is suing SAP with claims that it is guilty of "corporate theft on a grand scale" after hacking into Oracle's computer network and stealing a "wide range of copyrighted software and other material" from their Peoplesoft business unit. Taking the presidential classic, "I didn't inhale" defense, SAP admits to stealing the data but claims it never left the systems of their wholly owned subsidiary, TomorrowNow (where SAP has "made changes" to management). Well, at least now we can more clearly see why the
French are so concerned with their sensitive data being hosted outside of their immediate control.
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 6:37AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Household
Generally speaking,
wind turbines have been reserved for more macro-scale operations, but a West Australian inventor "believes he has developed a way to generate electricity for homes using wind power." This
residential approach utilizes a modular turbine that is minuscule enough to perch atop nearly any roof without causing too much unsightliness, and can create power for the house to consume as the wind pushes its blades. Additionally, Graeme Attey suggests that
solar panels could be used in conjunction with his creation, giving you double the renewable energy opportunities (at least during the day). Currently, Mr. Attey's device is being partially funded by the West Australian government, and homeowners who toss one up on their crib could receive a rebate if in fact this is ready for commercialization next year.
[Thanks, Strayan]
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 5:08AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Check it Stephen Colbert, there's a new premium man seed farmer wanted for China. In a poll of 1,000 women between the ages of 25 to 35,
Bill Gates was the second most popular choice to plow those fertile asian fields. Oddly, veteran Hong Kong actor Andy Lau was the number one choice even though he can't code his way out of a paper bag.
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 4:29AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Analysts seem to be tripping over themselves telling us
how well the iPhone sales are going. In fact, Goldman Sachs is now estimating some 700,000 units were sold in just the first weekend alone. Sweetness to the ears of Apple no doubt. But... look at the retail availability trend above from data harvested off Apple's iPhone locator site. On Saturday June 30th, Apple showed 100% availability at their stores although we know at least some of these were only stocked with 4GB models. On Monday, availability dropped off to 84% and then just 61% as of yesterday, July 2nd. This morning, Apple's only showing a 42% availability across the nation of which we're guessing most are the less sexy 4GB models. We'll have to wait for the stores to open but as far as we know, AT&T has
still not managed to restock since
selling out in the opening hours. Thus, anyone looking to purchase the device must either order on-line (and wait 2-4 weeks for delivery) or hoof it on down to your "local" Apple store which could be a state (or two) away. Now, depending upon your economic persuasion, this is either good news for Apple since stock isn't rotting on the shelves or bad news as they trend towards a replenishment issue with an inability to post profits in line with consumer demand. Before panicking however, you should note that several stores, particularly in Apple's home of California, who did not have stock yesterday are showing green for Tuesday.
Read -- Goldman Sachs
Read -- Apple's iPhone retail locator
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 3:21AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Robots
Erecting an 18-meter high robot
statue in Japan may not
shock and
awe as it would in the US of A, but a brightly colored, 70-ton
Gigantor is still apt to catch quite a few eyes. Kobe, Japan is set to be the home of the mammoth tribute statue, which will simultaneously commemorate the life of the late Mitsuteru Yokoyama and the revitalization of the surrounding areas since the 1995 Kobe earthquake. The project will cost an estimated ¥135 million ($1.09 million) and should be completed next Spring, but how it will affect property values (or tourism from fanboys and girls) remains to be seen.
[Via
SciFiTech]
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 2:08AM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Storage
Fujitsu's been selling well-regarded hard drives in branded external enclosures for a
while now, so it's no surprise the company is trumpeting the arrival of 300GB 2.5-inch drives with a new line of pocket drives. The USB-powered 4200rpm drives feature a new 16-point shock absorber and the usual array of security software that'll get wiped out during the first reformat. Expect to see these hit shelves in Q3 for $229, no word on when the bare drive will be available.
[Via
MobileWhack]
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 12:01AM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Cellphones, Features
The first solid info anyone heard about the
iPhone was in
December of 2004, when news
started to trickle out that Apple had been working on a phone device with Motorola as its manufacturing partner. About ten months later, under the shadow of the best-selling iPod nano, that ballyhooed device debuted -- the ROKR E1 -- a bastard product that Apple never put any weight behind, and that Motorola was quick to forget. The relationship between Apple and Motorola soon dissolved, in turn feeding the tech rumor mill with visions of a "true iPhone" being built by Apple behind the scenes. After years of rumor and speculation, last January that device was finally announced at Macworld 2007 -- and here we are, just over six months later -- the iPhone, perhaps the most hyped consumer electronics device ever created, has finally landed. And this is the only review of it you're going to need.
We've gone into serious detail here, so here's the review split into multiple parts. Trust us, it's a quick read. Enjoy!
Part 1: Hardware, interface, keyboard
Part 2: Phone, Mail, Safari, iPod
Part 3: Apps and settings, camera, iTunes, wrap-up
Next Page >
