Sony Ericsson Kiki Concept [Cellphones] ...
Mobil delivered this rendering of Kiki, a Sony Ericsson phone with a projected display and um, presumably, somewhere, a keypad. I like green. People need to make more green handsets. [Mobil via Engadget]
Is Sony Ericsson's Racheal Their First Android Handset? [Cellphones] ...
Mobil's dug up these photos of the XPERIA Racheal, supposedly their first Android phone. Exciting, since I love Sony Ericsson hardware.
These things are kind of all starting to look the same, but it's running the Snapdragon platform, meaning it could be 1GHz, and is rumored to have an 8MP imaging sensor. Let's hope they've got the image processing sorted out, though.
DDR Alarm Clock Takes Your Fingers Back to 2003 [Clocks] ...
Dance, dance to much booty in the, um, wrists? Your fingers have to dance like they've never danced before to shut off the alarm. Hope you don't suck at Tap Tap Revenge. $16. [Thumbsupuk via OhGizmo via Engadget]
iPhone 3GS Jailbreak [Apple] ...
Hey, the iPhone 3GS has been jailbroken, through what looks like a web exploit. Warning: We haven't tested this because we're playing with fireworks. Use at your own risk. [Make It Rain via BBG]
The Pegasus Open 50 Sailing Log: Weather [Summer Funnology] ...
Philippe Kahn describes the weather before the race.I took a serious look at the weather. What a mess! In 11 crossings I have never seen such messy weather patterns in the usually very predictable Pacific.
July 1st, 2009
The weather chart says it all. Instead of one beautiful strong, stable high pressure centered somewhere 800 nautical miles from San Francisco, there are now 10 different weather systems playing with each other. Yes, climate is changing! This makes it all the more interesting for the Transpac. We start Sunday the 5th at 1 PM out of Long Beach, California. I'd love to celebrate the 14th of July or Bastille Day in Honolulu watching the sunset by Diamond Head. But a lot has to happen before that!
The Pacific has been highly unusual over the last 30 days. In particular, sea level pressure has averaged below normal off the California coast and much below normal over the central Pacific, northwest of Hawaii. This pattern has resulted in a weak Pacific high, ridged in a north-south orientation.
That means that the wind has been a right-shifter along the California coast and weakened the strong North Westerlies that are typical of the first two days of Transpac. But, things may be changing fast.
My bet is that by the end of the week we will see consolidation of the high given the trends on the 500mb chart and as a consequence a more typical, fairly windy race. But it could go either way!
The Boat will make it to Long Beach this evening. The delivery team is making good progress.
Our goal for this race is the double-handed Transpac record. Last year we established a new double handed record from San Francisco to Hawaii. This year we start from Los Angeles.
Just two of us: Mark Christensen, VP of Engineering and myself, Chief tinkerer at Fullpower and 2250 nautical miles of open ocean between the start and Diamond Head!
Sailing Team:
Philippe Kahn
Mark "Crusty" Christensen
Boat Project management:
David Giles, Zan Drejes, Bruce Mahoney,
Onshore Pegasus Racing team:
Zan Dredjes, David Gilles, Bruce Mahoney, Mark Golsh, Jana Madrigali, Seth Larkin
Online Presence:
Caleb Dolister, Peter Spaulding, Arthur Kinsolving, Joe Dolister
Sailor's food:
Bonnie Willis
July 2nd,2009
Now we are running routes and the different forecasting models are very different as you can see from the chart. Wildly different. In fact I don't believe any of them. The great news is that the weather on the Pacific is settling. The upper level blockages are dissipating and we may be in for a more classic July North-East Pacific weather pattern.
I have to confess that I have been arguing with myself as to the playlists for the soundtrack during the next 8 days. Lots of deBussy, ravel, Faure and of course Iz!
The boat will make it to Long Beach today and I will post some pictures soon.
Philippe Kahn founded Borland, invented the Camphone, and decodes human motion. He's also a fellow outdoorsman, splitting time skiing Tahoe and sailing in Santa Cruz. He'll share his Transpac 2009 sailing race with us live from the Pegasus Open 50.
[Pegasus on Gizmodo, Pegasus]
Giz Service Announcement: Aim Fireworks Into the Air, Not At Your Mom [July 4th] ...
Here's another clip from the Consumer Product Safety Commission that proves, once and for all, that it is not okay to point fireworks at family members. Happy July 4th everybody! [CPSC]
Pentagon's Robot Hummingbird Christened "Nano Air Vehicle" [Robots] ...
The Pentagon's wacky sci-fi department DARPA has been working on robotic hummingbird-based drones to serve as miniature spies. They're not nearly as agile or adorable as real hummingbirds, but DARPA is well on their way to achieving that dream.
Program manager Todd Hylton is aiming for "an approximately 10-gram aircraft that can hover for extended periods, can fly at forward speeds up to 10 meters per second, can withstand 2.5-meter-per-second wind gusts." Right now, though, the teeny robobird can only fly for about 20 seconds at a time. But with some hard work, some day we will produce a robotic hummingbird that will strike fear into the hearts of our enemies. Wait, is fear the right word? [Wired]
Pegasus Open 50 Tour, Part 1: The Hull and Foresails [Summer Funnology] ...
The official Gizmodo raceboat, the Pegasus Open 50, was originally rigged for reliability for global cruising. Going from CA to HI in a race requires more power. Here's a tour of the tech in the rigging, hull material and sails.
Bruce Mahoney, who helps run the team, is the guy walking me through the boat's features. The video work is less than terrible, sorry, but hey, its a sailboat. I'm just trying to help you get your sea legs
Philippe Kahn founded Borland, invented the Camphone, and decodes human motion. He's also a fellow outdoorsman, splitting time skiing Tahoe and sailing in Santa Cruz. He'll share his Transpac 2009 sailing race with us live from the Pegasus Open 50.
[Pegasus on Gizmodo, Pegasus]
Should We Be Excited About the Archos9 Windows 7 Tablet Netbook? [Tablets] ...
We already knew pretty much everything about the Archos9 tablet netbook running Windows 7, but with nobody sure what kind of touchscreen the thing uses, we're left to wonder if we'd want anything to do with a resistive-touchscreen tablet.
Crave got a little hands-on with the svelte Atom-powered Archos9, and without even thinking about it, published their post calling it a fairly accurate capacitive touchscreen. That makes us happy: Tablets, especially a little guy like this 9-incher, need as accurate tracking as they can muster. Archos's previous "tablets," the Archos 5 and 7, used mushy resistive touchscreens that worked okay but are firmly last-gen right now, and we're excited to see a slick capacitive interface with the highly-touchable Windows 7 OS.
Yet in Archos's press release for the Archos9, they list the screen as resistive. Now we trust Crave, and we believe that they (like the rest of us) can tell the difference with each finger press. So what's the story here? Crave doesn't seem to have any idea; all the documentation says resistive, but it certainly didn't feel that way to them. This may seem like nitpicking, but it might be a dealbreaker for us. Handwriting recognition is far worse with resistive screens, they can only pick up one signal at a time (so multitouch is out), and the screens themselves are often much muddier or washed-out looking than capacitive.
So help us out, Archos. We want to like this thing, we really do, but we'd like to know what we're dealing with first. Anyway, full presser below. [Crave]
ARCHOS REDEFINES MOBILE COMPUTING WITH ITS TABLET PC
New Ultra-Thin and Ultra-Fast ARCHOS 9 PCtablet Delivers Full PC Computing, Video Conferencing and Access to Media on a Full Touch Screen Handheld Device.
DENVER, CO – July 2, 200Your browser may not support display of this image. 9 ARCHOS is leading the innovation charge in the MiniPC market with the introduction of the ARCHOS 9 PCtablet. This new PCtablet combines the performance of a high-end PC with breathtaking design, excellent ergonomics and an astonishing touch interface. It gives PC users an entirely new way to work, stay connected and enjoy the Web and digital media on an ultra-thin and extremely fast full touch-screen tablet.
The ARCHOS 9 PCtablet is the ultra portable PC; extremely thin, just 0.63", and ultra lightweight, less than 22.29 oz. The ARCHOS 9 pushes the boundaries of style and function.
With a full touch-sensitive 9" screen, users can enjoy a comfortable computing experience. The resistive screen allows emails and documents to be composed easily via a built-in virtual keyboard. The innovative optical trackball and buttons allows easy navigation on screen, and provides an uncompromised PC experience.
The ARCHOS 9 features the new Z515 Intel® processor, Microsoft Windows 7® Operating system and an integrated multimedia platform that uses WiFi 802.11b/g connection and Bluetooth 2.1 for extremely fast computing anywhere, anytime.
Additional software includes Microsoft Office®, Web TV & Radio, video conference, antivirus, parental control, photos and movies edition applications and more.
The ARCHOS 9 PCtablet will be available this fall, 2009.
Upgrading the SSD in a Netbook Makes a Difference [Storage] ...
Netbooks are netbooks. Usually based on Intel's Atom chipset, and generally not that fast. What you gonna do? Well, I upgraded the SSD in my Hackintosh. Not just to bump the drive from 32 to 128GB, but for SPEED.
The drive is one of few things easily upgradable on these devices. On the Dell Mini 9, its a matter of removing two screws on the back plate, and two screws that hold the drive in place (which, if you've never seen a netbook SSD drive before, looks more like a RAM module.) The 64 and 128MB modules take up the space reserved for the WWAN card, so don't go that route if you have WWAN.
While I was able to restore my Mac OS X Time Capsule backup, it wouldn't boot til I used the DellEFIbootmaker (allows you to boot into the drive you just restored) and then ran DellEFI to restore the partition to a bootable condition. Oh, the Leopard install process which you use to restore won't read off of a Time Capsule, so you have to copy the restore file to a USB drive before hand. Anyhow, none of this is the point.
Look at how much faster the writes are, especially the random ones. The only sacrifice you end up with is a bit of big block read performance.
It's a bit of a shame the stock SSDs had these compromises in the first place, though. If you're buying a netbook, its worth checking the forums for results like these on the models you're interested in, and perhaps buying a low capacity stock model, and upgrading to an aftermarket drive later. (The Super Talent drive I tested wasn't cheap, though, at $200 for the 64GB model and $380 for 128GBs.) Kind of ridiculous next to the cost of a $200-$300 netbook, I admit. *shame*
One other thing to consider: The runcore SSD upgrades for netbooks have little microUSB ports on them, so you can load up and back up files/images from another machine. Handy for Hackintoshing, for sure, but I think they top out at 64GB, taking up only a single wide form factor.
[Super Talent Dell Mini 9 SSD]
The Week In iPhone Apps: Childhood v3.0 [IPhone Apps] ...
Right, so bear with me here: this week our apps are all about learning new things, understanding the world around you, meeting new people, playing extremely silly games in large groups. Sort of like being a kid again! No? Ok.
Pocket Universe: It's a pinchy, zoomy, 3D star map for the iPhone and iPod Touch. For the iPhone 3GS, for which the new Pocket Universe is designed, you get full-on astronomical augmented reality. Using location services, accelerometer data and the 3GS's compass, Pocket Universe pseudo-overlays information about your stars, planets, constellations and general space things according to whatever you're pointing at. Three dollars.
Loopt for iPod Touch: The Loopt iPhone app has been around as long as, well, iPhone apps. Since 2008, it's earned its keep as one of the only useful friend-locating apps. Just about every mobile platform has a client, with one notable exception: the iPod Touch. That, along with Of course, Loopt isn't quite the same without GPS, but Wi-Fi location will get you by in a bind. Still waiting for a proper 3.0 version though. Free.
Seek 'n Spell: iPhone games tend to be a lot like games for any other portable device, and rarely leverage some of the traditionally non-gaming capabilities of the handset. Part of this is because, until recently, the developer SDK was sort of limited. Most of it, I think, is because developers just haven't been thinking hard enough.
Take this clever, if obvious, idea for a game: A map of wherever you are is overlaid with letters, which you and you teammates can collect by physically running to their icons. Your goal is to come up with words for points, Scrabble-style. It's a very, very cool idea, and decidedly sweatier than your typical iPhone game. A buck.
MSNBC: Hey, look, another news organization has a content app! Let's talk about it! This one's less about news than about catering to fans of the network, with an emphasis on video content as well as Twitter feeds from MSNBC personalities. It's a bit hard on the eyes, and occasionally goes stuttery on you, but it works fine. Fun fact: according to the iTunes description, this iPhone app, being an MSNBC product, uses "Microsoft's Advanced Technologies." What this means, I have no idea. Free.
Fluent News: If you could sense a lack of excitement about that MSNBC app, that was because of apps like Fluent. It's far from the first multi-source news aggregator, but it's one of the better ones. It behave like Google News, more or less, collecting important news from lots of sources and grouping it in a sensible way Why not just use Google News then, you might rudely interject? Well, for one, Fluent can cache news for offline reading, for plans, subways, caves, or wherever. It also prefetches longer articles, though I couldn't really tell in my brief testing. Anyway, it's free, so why not?
Skype: Another incremental update to another extremely popular app. This one gets an interface lift, but most importantly, two useful features for people who use Skype's pay services: text messaging with SkypeOut credit (good for cheap international texts; bad for having no reply function), and Skype Voicemail support. Voicemail support is a bigger deal than it sounds: since receiving calls when you're out is still pretty much out of the question, the voicemail access makes being out of touch a little less irritating. Still free.
Air Sharing Pro: We've always been impressed with Air Sharing—it's a solid file storage/viewing solution in its basic form. The Pro version, though, is a different animal entirely. First of all, it's expensive: $10, to be exact. It's also got expanded support for file storage services like, MobileMe, MyDisk, and Drop.io.
The main draw is that there are tons of new file functions: emailing, which is a huge help; direct printing, via OS X printer sharing; archiving abilities, including viewing archive contents without extracting. It's a bit like a walled-in version of Finder, and the closest to a proper file browser you're going to get on a non-jailbroken iPhone.
This Week's App News on Giz:
• Facebook 3.0 for iPhone Adds Events and Photo Albums, But No Push (Yet)
• Apple's Nudie App Headaches Now Involve Underage Girls
• iPhone OS 3.1 Features: Better Video Editing, Voice Control Over Bluetooth, And More
• Remarkable Speech-to-Speech Voice Translator Coming to iPhone and Blackberry
• Birdfeed Twitter App Review: Lean, Fast and Pretty
• Doom Resurrection for iPhone Hits the App Store, Costs $10
• A Whole Lotta Quake Will Be Blowing Up Your iPhone
This list is in no way definitive. If you've spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our previous weekly roundups here, and check out our Favorite iPhone Apps Directory and our original iPhone App Review Marathon. Have a good weekend everybody.
Woman Shot During "Violent Armed Robbery" at Apple Store [Apple] ...
A 26-year-old employee was shot today during a "violent armed robbery" of the Clarendon Apple Store in Arlington, Virginia. Video news report embedded below—details at Cult of Mac. [Cult of Mac via BBG]
RunPee, the Guide to Ideal Bathroom Breaks During Movies, Comes to iPhone [IPhone Apps] ...
RunPee, that great website that tells you precisely the best time to run and pee during a movie so you don't miss anything good, has taken the next step and released an iPhone app for quick reference.
The RunPee app features a countdown that lists all of the most opportune times to dash away, and like the site, it'll tell you what happened during your pee break. We're a little bit iffy on people constantly whipping out their iPhones to check anything during a movie, but hopefully this won't lead to any extra film-watching rudeness. The app is available now (link will open iTunes) for $1. [Mashable via Lifehacker]
This 21-Gun Salute To America Blows Fireworks Away [Tgif] ...
You want fireworks for the Fourth? Oh, I've got some fireworks for you—21 crazy boomsticks, in fact. All in honor of our nation's 233 birthday.
Get fired up
A note about your second amendment rights
[Busted Tees]
Superweapons
Metal Storm takes you down in a hail of gunfire [Link]
The Navy's Railgun fires a projectile at 5,640 mph—one-third of its potential power. [Link]
The Cornershot does exactly what you think it does.
Boeing recently conducted a successful test with an advanced tactical laser mounted on a modified C-130. [Link]
Hacks
The Rubber Band Gatling Gun takes out co-workers with 40 band per second firepower. [Link]
Set your phasers to 1080p. [Link]
Vietnam shotgun bong is one shot, one kill for glaucoma.
The Doing Da Vinci team builds Leonardo's 11-barreled cannon for the first time.
The MythBusters paintball gun creates instant artwork with 1100 barrels. [Link]
The Toilet paper cannon is the ultimate weapon in the prankster's arsenal.
This water balloon bazooka can fire 12 fluid-filled rounds at once. [Balloon Bazooka]
People Who Shouldn't Be Around Weapons
Watch and laugh as Poncherello gets tasered.
Grandma is armed to the teeth, and she's got her eye on your toodles.
Skinny girls and big guns don't mix.
Toy Guns
This hacked Nerf Vulcan Chaingun shoots 500 rounds per minute. [Link]
This fully automatic gun fires Lego ammunition.
This realistic Halo 3 Plasma Rifle features lights, sounds and recoil. It even vents when overheated. [Link]
Infrared Duck Hunter brings the classic NES game to life. [Latest Buy]
Weird Guns
The G.R.A.D 22-cal knife gun is two kills in one. [Link]
The world's smallest pistol fires 2mm blank pinfire cartridges.
Grand Finale
Hot girls with guns.
[Image via Flickr; special thanks to Don the Intern for research assistance]
Gadget Deals Of The Day [Dealzmodo] ...
Giz isn't letting you go for the weekend without Dealzmodo! We've got nice deals on laptops including a 13" Lenovo. Games? Steam's got a bundle you can't miss! Try to stay sober and keep all your fingers! Happy 4th everyone!
Computers and Peripherals:
• 17" Lenovo W700ds Core 2 Duo 2.5GHz Dual Screen Laptop with Palm-Rest Wacom Tablet and NVIDIA Quadro for $2,234.25 plus free shipping (normally $2,979 - use coupon code USPW700JULY).
• 16" HP Pavilion G60t Dual Core laptop with 3GB DDR2 250GB for $479.99 plus free shipping (normally $579).
• 15.6" Dell Studio 15 Laptop Core 2 Duo Processor 2.2GHz LED Widescreen Display with $100 Dell Gift Card for $799 plus free shipping (normally $1,055).
• 15.4" Toshiba Satellite L305-S5919 Celeron Laptop with 2GB DDR2 160GB for $299.99 (normally $450).
• 15" Dell Inspiron 15 Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz Laptop with Blu-ray/Radeon HD4330 for $679.00 (normally $829.00 - use coupon code 6??JBPM0H1ST3H).
• 14.1" Gateway T-6345U Intel Dual-Core T3400 2.16GHz Laptop 2GB 250GB for $379.99 plus free shipping (normally $549.99).
• 13.3" Lenovo IdeaPad U350 Intel Core 2 Duo ULV Laptop for $599.00 plus free shipping (normally $699 - use coupon code USPU350NEW).
• Dell Optiplex 360 Core 2 Duo E7400 Desktop with 2GB DDR2 RAM, 320GB HDD with 22" LCD Monitor for $519.00 (normally $807).
• Lenovo C300 Intel Atom 230 All-in-One Desktop with 20" LCD for $399.00 plus free shipping (normally $499 - use coupon code USPC300NEW).
• 24" Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP Widescreen LCD Monitor for $395 plus free shipping (normally $484 - use coupon code 22X6DLMFK6K92G).
• 23" Samsung 2333SW Widescreen LCD Monitor for $161.99 plus free shipping (normally $179.99 - use coupon code 22X6DLMFK6K92G).
• 1.5TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 Internal SATA Hard Drive (2-Pack) for $199.99 plus free shipping (normally $269.99 - use coupon code 47DGX1L4SS?JS2).
• 1TB Hitachi Internal Hard Drive and Thermaltake BlackX eSATA & USB Dock for $79.99 plus free shipping (normally $111.98 - use coupon code FIREWORKS15 and this rebate form).
• DigiPro 8x6ft USB Graphics Tablet w/Cordless Pen for $39.99 plus free shipping (normally $100).
• Microsoft 3000 Wireless Optical Notebook Mouse for $15 plus free shipping (normally $22 - valid today only).
• GE Cell Fusion Bluetooth Phone System with 2 Handsets for $40 plus free shipping (normally $80.29).
Gaming:
• The Beatles Rock Band Limited Edition Bundle on Xbox 360 or PS3 for $235.99 plus free shipping (normally $250).
• Steam Powered huge 20-Game 2KGames Bundle digital download on PC for $53.99 (normally $230).
• Fight Night Round 4 on Xbox 360 for $42.90 or PS3 for $44.90 (normally $59.99).
• The Conduit on Wii for $39.99 plus free shipping (normally $49.99).
• UFC 2009 Undisputed on Xbox 360 for $39.99 plus free shipping (normally $59.99).
• Guitar Hero: Metallica on PS3 for $39.90 (normally $59.99).
• Fuel on Xbox 360 for $37.90 (normally $59.99).
• Bioshock and Oblivion Bundle on Xbox 360 for $34.99 plus free shipping (normally $39.99).
• Terminator: Salvation on XBox 360 for $29.90 (normally $59.99).
• STEAM Fallout 3 on PC digital download for $24.99 (normally $49.99).
• Wanted Weapons of Fate on Xbox 360 for $22.99 plus free shipping (normally $42.99).
• LittleBigPlanet on PS3 for $21.90 (normally $59.99).
• Game Party on Wii for $10.99 plus free shipping (normally $19.99).
• Project Sylpheed on Xbox 360 for $9.99 plus free shipping (normally $29.99).
• Amazing Adventures: The Forgotten Ruins on DS for $9.98 (normally $19.99 - valid today only).
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour by EA on iPhone for $6.99 (normally $9.99).
• MLB World Series 2009 on iPhone for $2.99 (normally $8).
• Multiplayer Championship Poker on iPhone for $2.99 (normally $10).
Home Entertainment and Movies:
• 52" Philips 52PFL7403D LCD HDTV (Refurbished) for $1,199.99 (normally $1,999.99).
• 42" LG 42PQ30 HD Plasma TV for $619 plus free shipping (normally $799.95).
• 40" Sony KDL-40S5100 BRAVIA S series LCD for $649 plus free shipping (normally $800).
• 32" Dynex 720p Widescreen LCD HDTV for $299.99 (normally $380).
• Dell M109S DLP Mini Projector G101H LED .8lbs 34-Watts for $299.00 plus free shipping (normally $449.99 - use coupon code 22X6DLMFK6K92G).
• Polk Audio RM6750 5.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System for $199.99 plus free shipping (normally $247 - use coupon code SPEAKER633).
• Jensen JIMS-185-BK Digital Music System for $35 plus free shipping (normally $45).
• 6-Foot HDMI Cable for $3.18 plus free shipping (normally $4.99).
• Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series on HDDVD for $20.99 (normally $99.98).
• Batman Begins Limited Edition on Blu-ray for $14.99 (normally $49.99).
• The A-Team Season 1 on DVD for $17.54 plus free shipping (normally $49.95).
Personal Portables:
• Nikon D60 10.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-135mm AFS DX Nikkor Lens (Refurbished) for $429.99 plus free shipping (normally $670).
• 250GB Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet for $279.99 (normally $300 - valid today only).
• 8GB Apple iPod nano (4th Gen) with Free $5 in music for $133.95 plus free shipping (normally $149.99).
• 60GB Apple iPod Video (Refurbished) for $119.99 plus free shipping (normally $172).
• Lubix NC1 Stereo Bluetooth Headset for $29.99 plus free shipping (normally $79.99).
• Plantronics Explorer 350 Bluetooth Headset for $19.99 plus free shipping (normally $89.95).
• Palm Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard for $9.99 plus free shipping (normally $79.99).
Hobomodo:
• Ice Cream Parlor Truffle at Godiva for $0 (valid 7/3 -7/9).
• BOSS ORANGE fragrance for $0.
• Mars Chocolate for $0.
• 12-Track Definitive Jux MP3 download for $0.
• Golden Voices Collection 5-Track MP3 download for $0.
• "Sahara" by Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara MP3 download for $0.
• "You Don't Know My Friends" by Tom Brosseau MP3 download for $0.
• TargetTap on iPhone for $0.
If a deal looks too good to be true, investigate the store and see if it's a good, reputable place to buy. Safe shopping!
[Thanks TechDealDigger, Fat Wallet, DealNews, GamerHotline, SlickDeals, Cheap College Gamers, CheapStingyBargains and TechBargains.]
CatGenie Litter Box: The Clean Fresh Smell of Civilization's Discontents [Review] ...
Ever since the Egyptians (Mayans? Indians?) invented zero, curmudgeons have argued that technology creates as many problems as it solves, but I've never encountered a product that does exactly that, until now. I'm talking about a litter box.
We all know there are plenty of products that cause more problems than they solve. As a professional technologian, my job is to sift through innovations to see which ones make for an improved life, and which ones are too troublesome for their own good.
CatGenie—pardon the pun—gives me pause.
After spending a month with it, I declare that it is the perfect zero-sum innovation. Every single advancement comes with drawbacks. While my wife and I no longer suffer from any of the problems associated with a traditional litter box, we are beset with an abundance of unanticipated others.
CatGenie is one of these SkyMall-type gadgets that bills itself as the "World's Only Self-Flushing, Self-Washing Cat Box," tossing in, for good measure, a weighty promise: "Never touch, smell, or buy cat litter again." You install it easily by splicing the cold water line from underneath your toilet, running a waste tube up around the lip of the same toilet, and plugging the contraption into the wall. You pour in beads that resemble litter enough that cats get the idea, and you click in a replaceable cartridge of cleaning agent.
When the automatic cleaning cycle is engaged, a mechanical scooper removes the poo, and detergent-infused water floods the box and then drains, taking any trace of funk with it. The moistened beads are then blown dry, like Ron Burgundy's hair, as a sweet floral scent fills the bathroom and any adjacent living quarters. The crap in the toilet is easily flushed away, as long as you remember to do it.
Compared to the alternative of sifting out chunks from a litter box and tying them off in environmentally uncool plastic bags, this is a beautiful promise. Because of the automatic setup, there's no chance of getting punished by your cat for forgetting to clean a box frequently enough. Everything I described above happens exactly as billed. And even our dumb neurotic brother-and-sister act somehow figured out how to use it very early on. They weren't even intimidated by the swirling Sarlacc pit that it becomes during cleaning. My key initial fear turned out to be totally baseless.
So why does the thing make me yearn for the days of the scoopable Arm & Hammer, even though PetNovations Ltd says there are 82,940 households already enjoying this contraption?
When I first watched the cleaning cycle, with my gadget-lover's grin, I marveled at the swirling and churning and slooshing and clacking. I kept marveling for about 15 minutes, by which time my grin had soured, and I was looking at my watch. By minute 25 I stormed out of the bathroom in annoyance, came back at minute 35, shocked that the thing was still doing its business, and then returned again, sometime after it had stopped, roughly 40 minutes after it had begun. CatGenie recommends that for two cats, the process should run two to three times a day. That's two solid hours of cleaning cycle.
The installation is stupid simple, but you need to be within 8 feet of both a power jack and a toilet (or laundry water line and drain). If you think that's easy, stick your head in the bathroom—very few have power jacks anywhere near toilets, and I had to run my power cord up along the back of a sink. It's not a hazard, but it looks like Wilson's Amateur Home Improvement Show down there.
CatGenie is also massive. Its basin has about half the volume our cats are used to, but because of its wide surrounding lip and the tower of machinery, the system is probably 25% larger than a good-sized plastic litter box.
After a few days, we discovered an interesting characteristic of the non-toxic litter beads: They do not absorb odors. Right around 8:30 every morning, our big male cat, Wade, comes trotting up the stairs with a combination guilty/relieved look on his face, and soon after, we are engulfed in a sickening stink. Mind you, the cats' depository is an entire floor away down the stairs in the guest bathroom. Scooping the offending dung into the toilet would defeat the purpose of owning a robotic litter box. ("Never touch litter again," they promised.) My sole move is to, yep, run the damn machine.
Only the problem doesn't go away instantly. In fact, it gets worse before it gets better.
As the detergent floods the basin containing Wade's leavings, the whole thing becomes a savory poop stew. Even when we run the fan in the bathroom, the smell is unbearable for about 10 minutes, after which it disappears instantly, replaced by the machine's pleasant perfume.
I kept telling myself that these problems are just growing pains, things to get accustomed to. CatGenie is not as messy as a litter box. There's none of that residual ammonia smell that you can't get rid of permanently, and for the most part, none of the crusty extras that come from overzealous (or just misguided) burying. The plastic beads manage to find their way all over the house, and I am embarrassed to confess, our 1.5-year-old kid manages to stick one in her mouth about every two weeks, but they are non-toxic plastic beads after all, and nothing that can't be vacuumed up.
At least, I once told myself, there are no more plastic bags full of poop and urea headed out to some landfill. I read somewhere once that San Francisco had solved something like 90% of its trash problems, and that the remaining 10% was cat and dog poop in plastic bags. (Not the actual stats, btw.) At least by switching to a bagless litter system like this, I'm being environmentally kosher, right?
Not in the least.
During every cleaning cycle, CatGenie runs a built-in hair dryer over all the beads for about 20 minutes. I plugged in my Kill-a-Watt meter and discovered this demanded a constant and alarming 1160 watts of electricity. For up to an hour per day, I am running the equivalent of four large plasma TVs, just so I don't have to touch litter.
The costs start to mount. Besides the up-front $300 and the daily running of water and electricity, the $15 cartridge needs to be replaced every 60 cycles—that is, every 20 to 30 days. And the scatter-prone beads need to be replenished every three to six months, at $24 per carton. Like an inkjet printer, the maintenance costs continue forever, making the notion of buying a $7 box of Arm & Hammer every two weeks seem all the more reasonable.
Despite all these negatives, a great debate rages in my household: I would like to return to the olden ways of scoop and bag, and my wife says, "No." Her argument, a good one, is that the bathroom has never stayed cleaner. Guests have to step around an awfully large contraption, but at least "it doesn't feel like you're walking into a barn."
As Sigmund Freud once explained, moving from the wilderness to the towns didn't solve humankind's problems, it just swapped out the rustic difficulties for more urbane ones. His conclusion, though, was that while life still sucks, there's a reason we don't move back to caves. After experiencing a more civilized litter box, I can't revert to scooping poop, but I impatiently await the next evolutionary leap in cat sanitation. [Product Page]
In brief:
After cleaning it's amazingly fresh
Cats took to it almost from the start
Sounds like the TARDIS when it runs (could be a minus for some but not me)
Easy installation
Can run automatically up to four times per day
Empties into toilet that must be flushed
Non-toxic clean beads get all over house
Beads don't kill odor
It's huge and must be stationed near toilet and power plug
Self-cleaning cycle runs over 40 minutes, smelly at the start and hot at the end
Hot-air bead dryer demands 1160 watts of electricity for about 20 minutes
No way to stop cycle once it has started
Giz Service Announcement: Fireworks Can Blow Up Your Face [July 4th] ...
Hey everyone, just checking in to make sure your holiday is kicking off with a bang. But that you haven't blown your face off with some giant aerial fireworks. Happy July 4th everybody! [CPSC]
My Most Memorable Gadgets, By Steve Wozniak [Memorable Gadgets] ...
We're kicking off our series exploring memorable gadgets from memorable people with one of the most influential tech giants: Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple. – JC
OK...meaningful...here goes...
For that definition, it was probably an electronics learning kit I got for Christmas at about age 8 or 9. As I recall, it didn't teach electronics formulas or resistor codes, but was full of projects to hook up input devices like switches and output devices like buzzers and lights. It was like learning how to connect all the devices to your hi-fi, or connecting all your peripherals to a computer. It also gave me a good start toward understanding logic rules, like both switches have to be on for the light to shine, or if switch A is on, then switch B selects which light is on.
I call this one the most meaningful, because, pretty clearly to me, it preceded my other important gadgets and inspired me to like gadgets and to understand how to build some. It's like how the transistor led to the chip, which led to microprocessors, which led to personal computers. Everything goes back to the first invention, in that sense. This electronics kit gave me the understanding that made it easy to progress to large logic devices with multi-pole switches, and some relays, which then progressed to a large tic-tac-toe computer with transistors which progressed to a large adding/subtracting machine with transistors, etc.
The word 'meaningful' has the root 'meaning' which implies some emotion. In that sense, my first transistor radio, at about age 10, would fit the bill. It gave me portable music that I could listen to all night long as I slept, every night. 20 years later came the walkman, and 20 more years later came the iPod, but the real change in life, the one having the most 'meaning', was with the transistor radio.
I always wanted my own computer. With the Apple I, I now had a machine that I could program. I would never run out of things to do in my entire life. So it's a close runner up to the other two.
The gadget that has been the most attractive of attention ever is not my Segway. It's my nixie tube watch from CathodeCorner. It looks very large to other people and looks very strange. It's handmade in America too. The nixie tubes run on 140 volts on your wrist. Airport security guards who have seen every kind of watch ever made have a thrilling time with this watch.
I used to fly to Japan regularly to scour new gadgets, and always bought tons of things which were always surprising at the time, but looking back, few have special meaning. The first consumer digital camera, I think the Mavica technology, was meaningful. The first one for computers, not TV's, was the QuickTake from Apple. But in many ways, no digital camera to this day has been as good as the first Ricoh one.
The HP-35 calculator was also very meaningful in my life, as it led me to an incredible job designing for the follow-on models.
Much thanks to Woz for helping to kick off our series. Coming up soon: Phil Torrone, gadget maker and modder extraordinare.
Image credit: Sony Mav, HP Calculator
Sega's Virtual Fireworks Machine Takes the Fun Out of Explosions [Fireworks] ...
Sega Toys is coming out with the Uchiage Hanabi, essentially a limited-function projector that shows fake fireworks on your ceilings or walls, complete with sound.
You'll be able to create your own "shows" with 55 different explosions which you can then take anywhere, as the device is designed to be portable—it takes AAA batteries for power and looks fairly diminutive. It'll retail for around $160 when it's released, but that release isn't until August 1st. Releasing a fireworks machine, virtual or no, four weeks after both July 4th and Canada Day is like investing in pumpkins in mid-winter. [Sega via OhGizmo]
Timbuk2's Hemlock and Q Backpacks Have Swing Around Easy Access to Your Laptop [Bags] ...
I haven't carried a Boy Scout backpack in years, but the laptop feature in Timbuk2's latest sounds great: The sleeve is sideloading, meaning you can pull out your laptop without busting open your whole bag and spilling crap everywhere.
You'll actually notice that all of the bags have laptop compartments—that's because going forward, laptop bags won't be a separate category for Timbuk2, but a "function" of all of their bags. All of them hold 15 or 17-inch laptops, depending on the size bag you get. Up top, respectively, is Hemlock, Q and Swig. Swig doesn't have the sideloading awesomeness that Hemlock and Q do, but it's the first backpack of Timbuk2's that you can personalize the colors on. They come out later this month. Here's all the details:
Hemlock
Made for the urbanite that needs a pack to schlep around town in style – from the office, to the rock climbing gym, to courtside at the game, the pack features a rolled, expandable top, Swing Around Access™, a side-access compartment designed to fit a 17-inch laptop (15-inch in the small) and signature Timbuk2 D-ring bottle opener. Available in solid, color block and the official camo of the Navy Special Ops and the retail price is $90 for Small and $100 for Medium.Design features include:
* Durable Ballistic nylon
* Waterproof flap liner
* Compression straps
* Accessory attachment loops
* Quick access pockets under front flap
* Padded back panel
* Lightweight Ergonomic Shoulder Straps
* And stash pocket hidden in the back"Q" Computer Backpack
Appropriately named after the gadget inventor of the Bond movies, the "Q" has a place for everything. This pack is designed to fit a 15-inch laptop with multiple grab handles for convenience and Swing Around Access™. Available in dark brown/black, army/spinach, rev red/gun metal, and black and the retail price is $100.Design features include:
* Durable Ballistic nylon
* Swing Around™ access
* Padded laptop compartment
* Multiple grab handles
* Lightweight Ergonomic Shoulder Straps
* Pocket for cords and peripherals with outside accessH.A.L.
H.A.L. (Heuristically programmed Algorithmic Computer) is the "Q's" older brother, named after HAL 9000 of the Space Odyssey saga, which was capable of speech recognition, lip reading, art appreciation as well as maintaining all systems on the ship. Similarly, the H.A.L. almost thinks for its owner and easily runs a mobile office. Designed to fit a 17-inch laptop, the backpack has multiple grab handles and plenty of capacity as well as Swing Around Access™. Available in dark brown and black and the retail price is $120.Design features include:
* Durable Ballistic nylon
* Swing Around™ access
* Padded laptop compartment
* Multiple grab handles
* Lightweight Ergonomic Shoulder Straps
* Pocket for cords and peripherals with outside accessSwig
A messenger-inspired carry-all pack built for dudes AND ladies (Hallelujah!). Two large internal compartments accommodate loads of stuff and the organization panel makes it easy to find your keys. This sleek pack features a front-flap closure that comes in two sizes to fit a 15- or 17-inch laptop with a dedicated padded laptop compartment and the signature Timbuk2 bottle opener. Available in black/gun metal, moss/camo, gun metal/blue, and dark brown/orange and the retail price is $80 for Small and $90 for Medium.Other features include:
* Accessory attachment loops
* Waterproof flap liner
* Quick access pockets under front flap
* Padded back panel
* Lightweight Ergonomic Shoulder Straps
* And stash pocket hidden in the back
* Customizable beginning August 2009 at www.timbuk2.com
[Timbuk2]
Pegasus Open 50, The Official Transpac Raceboat of Gizmodo [Summer Fun-nology] ...
Philippe Kahn founded Borland, invented the Camphone, and decodes human motion. He's also a fellow outdoorsman, splitting time skiing Tahoe and sailing in Santa Cruz. He'll share his Transpac 2009 sailing race with us live from the Pegasus Open 50.
The Pegasus starts the 2009 race, from Los Angeles, CA to Honolulu, Hawaii, this Sunday. But final preparations are being made, including weather analysis and route planning, both computerized and decisions made by experienced humans.
For now, read this interview Philippe gave us while aboard the boat, during the race, in 2007 (the first year he raced with the Open 50). Soon, I'll have video tours of the boat.
How do you stay connected out in the ocean?
It's hard to type... Small boat, big motion, big fingers... So excuse the typos etc...There are several satellite communications systems; weight and power consumption matter a lot. The practical ones for a project like this are the Iridium network and the Inmarsat Fleet-33 system. The bandwidth is limited, to say the least: 2400 baud for Iridium, 9600 baud for F-33s, but Iridium is far more reliable and completely global. The challenge is also that these systems lose their connections. And of course, with that kind of latency, all standard email and download systems fail and get into endless loops. Latency just kills them as they try to eternally restart operations that never complete. We use systems that pick-up where they started after a connection is dropped to remedy those short comings. Yes, those systems are generally 'line of sight ' and as long as there is not a massive storm it will work well, similar to Direct-TV. Iridium and Inmarsat are the main makers. They are not really water resistant, but pretty rugged. We protect it carefully. Everything is redundant on the boat except the F-33 that is a luxury that we enjoy once in a while when it works.
Tell me about the Boat.
The boat is all ultra light made out of the strongest and lightest pre-preg carbon fiber, the same methodologies of fabrication as the Boeing Dreamliner. The small cabin-pod that you can see on the drawing has a roof-top made out of kevlar so that it is not a Faraday cage. As the rest of the boat is made of carbon and there are many sensitive parts, like high precision stabilized compasses, running networks for sharing information between sensors and devices is tricky. We end-up using Cat 5 wiring, ethernet-style. And that is what connects the sat phones to the laptops and how I am sharing these emails with you. This is like a little spaceship. In fact, that is what people say when they see the boat. It's made for two guys who want to work hard and take some risks to compete with fully crewed yachts with tens of professionals sailing. So it is light and designed to make everything doable by two.
How are you charging you gear? What kind of electrics are on the boat? Does the weight hurt your performance?
The boat has high performance batteries that get recharged by running the main engine as a generator. We run the engine a couple of hours a day to get enough charge. Weight is the enemy in these kind of boats. So we keep everything to the bare minimum.
What would the difference be without all the electrics?
The Sextant is a super handy Gizmo. Yes, you can get a $99.95 GPS and think that you know where you are, but you wouldn't know about the stars, the planets, the moon and the sun as you do if you are proficient at finding your position anywhere in the world with a sextant. And that is really where we are, in the midst of the stars and the planets. That's where we live...
I combine my Tamaya sextant with their celestial calculator so that I don't need to carry all the site reduction tables. I tell you, at a party with smart hip people, you get more attention with a sextant than you got attention with an iPhone a month ago. Kids love it. Sophie, our 10 year old, is always eager to go and take a planet or a star site. It's really fascinating to her.
I have a Suunto watch with a barometer, my sextant and always with us a hand bearing compass. If all fails, that will work. It's important to know how to use those tools and like them.
How are you and co-sailor Richard Clarke taking shifts?
We really are flexible. Right now, I'm on watch, trimming, checking, navigating, taking care of things, writing email... I'm letting Richard sleep as long as he needs to because conditions are fairly stable. When things get hairy, none of us gets any sleep. It's an exercise in sleep deprivation.
[From the blog: "by the way, we get both less than 4 hours of sleep every 24 hours"]
More to come.
What's the Fallout if North Korea Nukes Hawaii? [Nukes] ...
North Korea's aiming their test missile near Hawaii. The US military says they can protect the islands, and locals aren't too worried, but if something happens, the thermal, shockwave and radioactive fallout will look something like this.
The Carlos Labs Google Maps Mash up, which we've featured before, has been now updated with a simulation for 6 kiloton Korean weapons. Let's hope we never have to fact check its accuracy, or we'll have to kick Kim Jong Il's Ass. [Carloslabs]
The red is a thermal radius.
The purple is the pressure wave.
The green is the fallout, as affected by the wind.
Add Us On gdgt [Media] ...
The new data and social network type gadget site, gdgt, is back up and fully operational. Here are our accounts. Add us!
Brian, Jason, Wilson, Mark, Adam, Matt, John Herrman, Dan, and the Interns: Don and Quinton.
[gdgt]
Remainders - Things We Didn't Post [Remainders] ...
...NASA Flashes a Full Moon...Disney Universal Buys a Piece of Another Lifeless Rock...Move Without Moving (aka How To Get Fat Fast)...iPhone Screens Fixed at a Store Near You...
These beautiful hi-res shots of the Moon appeared after the camera on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter started shooting two days ago. On one hand, it gives me a tingle that the Moon is once again in our sights, but on the other hand, hey, it's the damn Moon—Pink Floyd told us everything we need to know about it. ("It's all dark," for instance.) I figure we move on to some new celestial body. [Wired]
Remember Asteroids? That game with so much story, it caused JRR Tolkien's nephew Froederick to exclaim, "My uncle has been upstaged!"? Well, Disney Universal bought—wait for it—the movie rights. Yes, there will soon be a movie of Asteroids. Why am I even bothering to tell you this? Because you will probably see the trailer first here, embedded on Gizmodo. I am not proud of that, but you know it's true. [Slashdot]
Reason Why We're Doomed #84713: Treadway motorized footwear. Yes, some designers are hard at work contriving a way to keep you from using that fine leg musculature God gave you to walk "the last mile." I for one resent this, not just because so many Americans are already so heavy they make the people in Wall-E seem fit, but because, as somebody glued to a chair all day, I relish being able to get out and walk. So hear me now: I will never wear your damned motorized shoes. Ever. Except maybe once. [Unplggd]
People who will remain nameless who broke their iPhone screen a few weeks after someone was nice enough to give them their old iPhone (you know who you are) will be relieved to know that Apple Stores are now replacing screens on location. This is not 100% confirmed, and seemed like too minimal a rumor to run as its own post, but it is good news for certain people, because it means you won't need to ship your phone off to a repair facility and wait. (Hint, hint.) [MacNN]
Facebook 3.0 for iPhone Adds Events and Photo Albums, But No Push (Yet) [IPhone Apps] ...
Here's what Facebook for iPhone 3.0 looks like—pretty nice. Besides the new giant button home screen, you'll be able to actually RSVP to events and create new photo albums. No push yet, but here's the full list:
1. The "new" News Feed
2. Like
3. Events (including the ability to RSVP)
4. Notes
5. Pages
6. Create new photo albums
7. Upload photos to any album
8. Zoom into photos
9. Easier photo tagging
10. Profile Pictures albums
11. A new home screen for easy access to all your stuff, search, and notifications
12. Add your favorite profiles and pages to the home screen
13. Better Notifications (they link to the comments so you can reply)
14. Quickly call or text people right from the Friends page
15. Messages you are typing will be restored if you quit or are interrupted by a phone call
I'm sure Jesus will love being able to finally zoom in on photos. It's coming "soon," but no exact date yet. Later this summer, 3.1 will finally bring push notifications. [Facebook via Inside Facebook]
The First Integrated Circuit Chip: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary [Retromodo] ...
The Computer History Museum is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the integrated circuit, pictured above, with a multimedia exhibit called "The Silicon Engine" to explain why many claim the IC as one of mankind's greatest and most important inventions ever.
Using oral histories from those who experienced the creation and development of the integrated circuit, the Computer History Museum compiled a documentary on this invention that irrefutably changed the world. The year-long exhibit will feature examples of early transistors, the vacuum tubes they replaced, and early integrated circuits, as well as explaining who was behind the inventions, especially the so-called "Traitorous Eight" engineers that largely developed the IC back in 1959.
After departing from the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, engineer Jean Hoerni and the rest of the "Traitorous Eight" moved to Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957. There, Hoerni developed the planar process which would become the foundation for the integrated circuit. The planar process involves using an oxide layer to protect the joining of the p-n semiconductors on a silicon chip, named because of the flat surface in which it results. The planar process is more electrically efficient than the then-common method of stripping the oxide layer for fear of contamination, but more importantly, the design allowed for a complete circuit to be built on a silicon chip.
Later in 1959, fellow "Traitorous Eight" member Robert Noyce demonstrated that the combination of the oxide coating and the flat surface allowed for a complete integrated electrical circuit, with diodes, transistors, resistors and capacitors, to be built within a planar chip. Simultaneously, Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments independently developed a similar idea based on the planar process, though his was based on a germanium chip, rather than Noyce's silicon. This new integrated circuit, called the "monolithic integratic chip," is the basis for pretty much everything we love today, including computers, radio, television, audio equipment, cars and anything else that uses a microchip.
It's no exaggeration to call the IC an invention that profoundly changed the world. Microchip technology has exploded since its invention 50 years ago, and few (if any) other inventions have become so essential worldwide in such a short amount of time. The technology is kind of tough to wrap your mind around, but the Computer History Museum's exhibit sounds like an illuminating look at how Silicon Valley and our favorite hobby began. [Computer History Museum]
Ceiling Porn Is Probably Not What You Think It Is [Image Cache] ...
We tend to take ceilings for granted, unless there's water coming through them thanks to a careless upstairs neighbor. Deputy Dog collected ten insane architectural feats of ceiling-craft to show off the most underrated wall in the house. [Deputy Dog]
With a Name Like 'Luminotherapy' It Hardly Sounds Seedy at All [Furniture] ...
Philippe Boulet's "luminotherapy" bed is supposed to help you sleep. But since when does light shining in someone's face help them sleep?
Loaded with a variety of multicolored LEDs, you can change the hue of the luminotherapy bed with the touch of a remote. The resulting colors, such as pink, blue and green will make your lover glow with all the vibrancy of a Star Trek Original Series alien babe. Well, that, or they'll give you night terrors of being stuck on a Cylon base ship (before they got all lovey hippie on the humans) or a painfully hipster sushi joint. [phillipe boulet via Unplggd]
Self-Portrait Machine Forces Your Hands Into Drawing a Pretty Picture [Robots] ...
No artistic ability? Let a friendly robot force your hands into drawing a realistic self-portrait of yourself.
Jen Hui Lia's Self-Portrait Machine takes your picture and then guides your hands into drawing your own portrait. You slip your wrists and index fingers into the straps, hold a pen and the machine does the rest.
It's sort of gimmicky now, sure, but imagine the next generation of this thing: instead of a picture as the source, it uses your brainwaves to put down whatever you're picturing in your head on paper. Who needs talent? [We Make Money Not Art]
Apple's Future iPhone Patents Show Fingerprint ID For Different Gestures, Plus More [Patent] ...
MacRumors found three interesting patents that point to various new interaction techniques. The most interesting is the fingerprint ID directly on the screen so that the iPhone can see which finger you're using and accept gestures appropriately.
The fingerprint ID also, of course, can theoretically act as a security device so that only you can activate your phone. There's also haptic (physical) feedback when you're hitting things, as well as using the touchscreen as an RFID reader. None of the three are really mindblowing in themselves, on the surface, but if implemented intelligently might make for a big step forward in the iPhone product line. [Macrumors via Boy Genius]
LG Making iPhone Competitor, Android Phone and Prada III [Lg] ...
It would be amazing if LG could make an iPhone competitor, an Android device and a Prada III that's one single device, but somehow I don't think that's what LG's president means.
In an interview for a Korean news agency, Ahn Seung-kwon says (besides the details above) that LG will make another luxury phone (unrelated to the Prada) that will be similar to Nokia's crazy overpriced Vertu. He also said that they aim to be the number two cellphone maker in the world by 2012. The current #2? Samsung. So it's like Predator vs. Aliens, except instead of Predator and Aliens, you have a bunch of Koreans. [Unwired View via Boy Genius]
Land Rover S1 Phone Tested By Elephants: It Really Is The Strongest Phone [Cellphones] ...
This is why the Sonim/Land Rover S1 phone is the toughest phone yet: it can stand an elephant stomp, being run over an actual Land Rover and being tossed out of a second floor window. Plus...
...it was dunked in mud, put inside a 300 degree oven, and soaked in beer. What finally did it in is being crushed by a three ton forklift, which is pretty above and beyond the duty of any phone we'd normally use.
As for the specs, it has 1500 hours of battery (standby or talk, we're not sure) and a 2-megapixel camera. And, most notably, it has an "extra loud" ringtone so you can hear it under elephants. [Telegraph via Slashdot]
Magnetic Big Wheel or Ring of Death? [Cars] ...
Car designer Harsha Vardhan has a different vision of tomorrow. While his vehicle calls for an electric engine, just like we see in cars now like the Prius or Volt, that engine drives magnetic fields, not wheels.
(The magnetic fields, of course, do eventually drive the wheels forward when the energy is transferred from over superconducting fluid that touches the rims.)
The result is, theoretically, a very smooth and quiet ride with a low environmental impact. We just like the design for its neat, rear-entry cockpit and all of the potential we see in jousting of the future. [ecofriend]
Robo-Geisha Invade Theaters With Chainsaws, Butt Blades and Fried Shrimp [Nsfw] ...
If fembots were viciously cultured Japanese escorts instead of just ditsy blondes, Austin Powers would not have lived to make The Love Guru. (Tagged NSFW for crude violence and PG13 T&A)
This preview for Robo Geisha captures a world in which geisha are robotic assassins, super villains shoot rockets from wheelchairs, giant robots make buildings bleed and assassins sometimes sustain inconvenient anal injuries by way of panty katana. The film is expected to hit (Japan's?) theaters this fall.
If anyone has any more information on this must-see, Oscar-sure film, please share it in the comments. [Robo-Geisha via CrunchGear]
Windows 7 Home Premium Will Have a Family Pack [Windows 7] ...
Kristian Kenney finds this M&M buried inside the horrible trail mix that is the Windows 7 Home Premium End User License Agreement: there's going to be a Family Pack.
That's it. There's going to be a family pack for three users. Nobody knows what the pricing will be, but Apple's Leopard family pack pricing is $199 for five users, and Snow Leopard is $49. Only three (Mom, Dad and Junior) can use Windows 7, so theoretically it should be lower than $199. But when you look at the pricing for a standalone one-user copy of Home Premium, it's $120 for an upgrade and $200 for a full version. So somewhere between $120 and $199 for an upgrade Family Pack, and somewhere between $200 and infinity for a retail Family Pack. [Kristian Kenney via ZDNet]
Urination Is Where We Draw the Line on Home Beauty Products [Wellness] ...
You know what they say: Nothing takes the callouses off like fastening plastic bags filled with urine around your feet.
The Foot Pee! Pack, essentially two ziplock bags intended for your feet, supports an age-old philosophy that one's pee can have benefits to their skin. Now I'm no expert, but I've been accidentally urinating on stuff for years now, and I can't say that my crotch, toes, knees, backyard bushes or bathroom walls look any younger because of it. [Toyko Times via Tokyo Mango]
Also note the products tagline: "Easy & Surprise"
Heinz Beanzawave USB Desktop Microwave In Action [Microwave] ...
We already knew Heinz was developing a USB-powered and possibly portable mini microwave, but now we actually get to see how it works. You guessed it, just like a microwave.
It's supposedly going to be battery-powered upon release, letting you take it outdoors for a quick bean injection no matter where you are. And having a microwave on your desk? That's living, my friends. [TechEBlog]
Gadget Deals Of The Day [Dealzmodo] ...
We've got some stunning deals on laptops and TVs today. If you're enjoying Wimbledon (it's been on 24-7 at my house), there's a free subscription to Tennis Magazine for ya'. Have a happy and safe Independence Day!
Computing and Peripherals:
• 16" HP G60t for $479.99 plus free shipping (normally $579.99).
• 15.6" Lenovo IdeaPad Y550 Laptop for $494.10 plus free shipping (normally $699 - use coupon code USPNOTEBOOKS).
• 15.4" Dell Inspiron 15 Laptop for $399.99 (normally $519).
• Dell Vostro 1520 Laptop for $599 plus free shipping (normally $1021).
• EVGA X58 SLI LE Intel Core i7-920 Quad-Core Barebones Desktop Kit (6GB RAM/1TB HDD) for $699.99 (normally $849.99 - use this rebate form).
• Inspiron 530s Desktop with 20" Flat Panel for $564 plus free shipping (normally $704).
• 24" Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP Widescreen LCD Monitor for $395.10 (normally $549.99 - use code 22X6DLMFK6K92G).
• 23" ASUS VH236H Widescreen LCD Monitor for $159.99 plus free shipping (normally $196).
• 22" Samsung 2243SWX Widescreen LCD Monitor for $134.99 plus free shipping (normally $186).
• 20" Samsung 2033SW Widescreen LCD Monitor for $103.50 (normally $129.00).
• Linksys WRT120N Wireless N Home Router for $54.99 plus free shipping (normally $65).
• Microsoft Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 3000 for $14 plus free shipping (normally $23).
• Bose Companion 2 2ch Multimedia Speaker System for $69.83 (normally $99.99).
• Fantom G-Force II 1TB External Hard Drive f0r $89.99 plus free shipping (normally $111.98).
Gaming:
• Sony PS3 (80GB) for $360 plus free shipping (normally $400 - use coupon code EMCLVLN52).
• Fallout 3 Game (PC) for $24.99 digital download (normally $39.99).
• UFC 2009 Undisputed Game (Xbox 360) for $39.99 plus free shipping (normally $52.99 - use coupon code EMCLVLN54).
• Dark Sector (PS3) for $9.99 plus free shipping (normally $16.85).
• Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood (Xbox 360) for $49.99 plus free shipping (normally $55.00).
• Rise of the Argonauts (XBox 360) for $14.90 (normally $27.00).
Home Entertainment:
• Samsung LN52B750 52" 1080p 240Hz LCD TV Plus Sony BDP-S360 Blu-ray Player for $2,047 plus free shipping (normally $2258).
• 47" Westinghouse LVM-47W1 1080p LCD TV for $599 (normally $1548).
• 42" LG 42PQ30 Plasma 720p HDTV for $619.00 plus free shipping (normally $699.99).
• 40" Sony Bravia KDL40V5100 1080p 120Hz LCD TV for $899.99 (normally $999.99 - use coupon code SONYLCD1).
• 37" Samsung LN37B530 Widescreen 1080p LCD TV for $722 plus free shipping (normally $828).
• JVC LT-32P300 32" 1080p LCD HDTV with iPod Docking Station for $579.99 plus free shipping (normally $690).
• Cirago 1TB Multimedia Center for $200 plus free shipping (normally $239 - use this rebate form).
• Onkyo TX-SR876 7.1ch 140W/ch Receiver for $999.99 plus free shipping (normally $1594 - use coupon code RECEIVER717).
• V for Vendetta (Blu-ray) for $11.49 (normally $14.98).
Personal Portables and Peripherals:
• 3.5" TomTom ONE S GPS Navigation for $78 plus free shipping (normally $100 - use this rebate form).
• Magellan Maestro 4350 GPS for $159.99 plus free shipping (normally $186.12 - valid today only).
Miscellaneous
• $200 Cash Back When you Sign Up for a AT&T Uverse Bundle (normally $100 cash back).
Hobomodo:
• Chiquita Bites Single Pack for $0 (use this coupon).
• Subscription to Golf Digest for $0 (use this form).
• 1 yr subscription to Car and Driver Magazine for $0 (use this form).
• 1 yr subscription to Tennis Magazine for $0 (use this form).
• Sample of Dove Shampoo for $0 (use this form).
• 7.11 oz. Slurpee at 7-Eleven for $0 (valid on 7/11).
If a deal looks too good to be true, investigate the store and see if it's a good, reputable place to buy. Safe shopping!
[Thanks TechDealDigger, Fat Wallet, GamerHotline, SlickDeals, Cheap College Gamers, CheapStingyBargains and TechBargains.]
Altrove Lighting: How Spiderwebs Might Look in 2020 [Design] ...
Altrove is a new lighting product that uses "transparent wires" (which we think means fishing line, not fiber optics) to create a geometric yet ethereal mesh of light on your wall or ceiling. [Artemide via MocoLoco]