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Blu-ray set-top players are expected to be hot sellers this upcoming holiday season, but you might want to hold off until early next year when Pioneer and Sharp team up to bring Blu-ray recorders to living rooms in America. The partnership is hardly surprising—Sharp is part owner of Pioneer—and the recorders will launch in Japan this year and be shipped overseas next, with Europe and America likely being the first markets to get them. No word if they'll use those awesome new ultra-high-capacity disks we mentioned earlier, but not likely for this consumer-focused line. [Reuters]
The first iPhone 3G reviews have just hit, from Walt Mossberg of the WSJ and All Things D, Ed Baig from USA Today and David Pogue from the NYTimes. No one goes deep into the app store but here's what they think:
Walt Mossberg of the WSJ has been testing it "for a couple of weeks" and sees that surfing on the faster 3G is between three and five times the speed of the original iPhone. However, Moss found that browsing on the 3G network drained his battery much faster than browsing on the original. Externally, he says the speaker was "much louder" (YES!) for both music and speakerphone, but otherwise pretty much the same as the original. One bug/feature he ran into was that you can only sync your calendar and contacts with either Exchange or your personal accounts, not both.
In Mossberg's own battery tests, he got 4 hours and 27 minutes (short of 5 hours) of talk time, which is three hours less than his test on the original iPhone. Using 3G, he got 5 hours and 49 minutes, which is slightly better than Apple's own claim. He couldn't test any apps on his iPhone 3G, but did on his old iPhone—they worked pretty much as advertised. He concludes with pretty much what we've all known: it's slightly more expensive on AT&T due to the higher price plan, but satisfies people who really need that 3G speed. What's weird is that Mossberg didn't test the GPS functionality at all, so we're left wondering how that is. [All Things D]
Ed Baig of USA Today also tested the iPhone 3G and claims both that it was worth the wait, but still not perfect. His complaints of the first one—no video capture, no Bluetooth stereo and no voice dialing—are still there. Also, AT&T's 3G coverage was nonexistent in his New Jersey home, which kinda negates the whole "iPhone 3G" thing. He notes that the new plastic backing helps reception, and the new flush headphone jack is "a welcome development." Unlike Mossberg, Baig does have something to note on the gps. He says he was quite impressed by its accuracy when searching for pizza places while driving, and hopes that there will be a third-party add-on for turn-by-turn live directions.
Baig also says that the speaker is improved, but notes strangely that you can't directly charge the new iPhone 3G in some old accessories, such as a Bose SoundDock or a Belkin car kit. There's actually an adapter coming that will enable charging on those. Weird. He finishes up with his wishes for the next generation: Flash, Java and WMV support, removable battery and an expandable memory slot. All in all, a pretty positive review. [USA Today]
David Pogue of the NYT says that the audio quality is much improved, and notes that both incoming and outgoing sound is better than before. "In fact, few cellphones sound this good." The curved back makes the phone feel better in your hand, which is a definite plus. However, he says, the missing "standard cellphone features" from the first generation are also missing from this one. He hopes that the third-party Apps from the iPhone App Store will help fill in the gaps, but some of the ones we've seen—finding parking spots, free phone calls at Wi-Fi hotspots, random restaurant recommender, expense tracker, Etch-a-Sketch and tip calculator—don't exactly make up for the missing MMS, video recording and cut and paste features.
Pogue doesn't have much else in the way of benchmarks or impressions, but comes off seeming like he really likes the phone because of the iPhone 2.0 software; something old iPhone owners will be able to get for free. [NYT]
Notes: We have to say that Mossberg's review was the best in terms of completeness (save for the GPS omission). Normally, Newsweek would have a review up for the iPhone along with these three guys, but both they and Wired don't have an early review. This, we think, is because Steven Levy (the old Newsweek guy) at Wired, and Fake Steve Jobs (who hasn't quite started at Newsweek) didn't get the nod from Apple. We had our own hands on with the phone back at WWDC, which covers a lot of the exterior hardware elements as well as some of the software details.
Packard Bell—previously referred to as Packard Hell and Packard Smell—is diving head-first into the gaming PC market with the ipower X2.0, a gaming rig that features full customization at a decent price. It's aimed squarely at offerings from Acer and Ares. The Intel-based machines give customers their choice of ATI or nVidia graphics, disk drives, audio options, TV tuners and other add-ons. In addition, the PC features advanced cooling, including a silent water cooling system. The boxes are expected for this holiday season at about $2000, and we're hoping they're nothing like the PBs of the past. [Trusted Reviews]
Inadvertently posted to the Nokia site, the 8208 not only looks similar to the n96, the first non N-Series phone to feature a two-way slider. Part of Nokia's music phone push, the phone features the 0-9 keys below the screen, and music player controls above the screen. In addition, the CDMA phone has a 3 Megapixel camera and EVDO Rev.A. No word on release date or price. [Electronista]
Windows Media Center still isn't what Microsoft wants it to be, but it has its fans, and its getting an update this month that they've been waiting for. Word is coming down, though, that this update isn't the one the users are lusting after, the one with H.264 and DirectTV tuner support. Instead it's a minor upgrade that adds things like international support. But fret not, users, as now it seems like there's another rumor flying around about another update later in the year which will add many requested features. Patience, my fellow home theater nerds, we'll get our updates. [EngadgetHD]
Remember those modders from NGOHQ who were swolling out ATI's Radeon graphics cards with Nvidia's PhysX physics engine? Surprise, Nvidia loves the idea of their physics engine running on rival ATI's graphics cards, so they're giving Eran Badit and his crew total support, with access to documentation, SDKs, hardware and actual engineers. AMD, on the other hand, isn't being so cooperative.
Right now, Badit is chasing the goal of porting PhysX to the Radeon HD 4800, but ATI's not giving them any hardware yet, much less developer and PR support. Not totally surprising that ATI would stall, since porting their rival's physics engine to their cards is a definite poke at them and the Havok engine they license from Intel.
And making PhysX more universal by having it run on ATI cards makes it more likely to be supported by game developers, which isn't so hot for Havok. Nvidia's definitely got the upper deck here, since in the meantime ATI looks like a bunch of meanies, but helping out Badit threatens their own wares. [TGDaily]
The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.This stunning aircraft—that looks straight out of a science-fiction movie in which the Nazis won WWII—is the Boeing SkyHook JHL-40. A heavy-lift rotorcraft designed to lift 40 tons, it can transport its cargo across 200 miles without refueling in adverse environments like the Arctic. According to Boeing, it will be able to reach where no other kind of transport can go, at a fraction of the cost, with less environmental impact, and without danger to the crew. Seeing it carrying massive tree trunks makes the JHL-40 look even more impressive:
The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.
As you can see, the eight-engine aircraft has four vertical rotors to lift its neutrally buoyant body, plus four directional propellers under each rotor to direct it. Boeing says that it will be very popular in the energy, mining, and logging industries. Their pitch to environmentalists is that the JHL-40 has a very reduced carbon footprint, and it doesn't require to disturb remote lands with roads or other destructive transport methods (that way, the aforementioned industries will be able to properly disturb remote lands only by mining and logging, as it should be.) [Boeing]
Instead of turning it into a jukebox, a jack-o-lantern, or worse, a web server hosting your text-only fan site, why not ship that old Mac of yours out to Melbourne, Australia where painter and street artist Satta van Daal will slap on some fanboy-approved Apple imagery as part of his iPaint myMac series. I'm actually a little surprised it's taken this long for me to see a Mac with Jobs and Woz's bearded mugs on it. Maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough. [Satta Van Daal via Team Teabag]
So you got yourself a fancy new stereo for your car. It's all well and good while you're driving, but when you're out of the car you know damn well that it's a magnet for ne'er-do-wells who are just itching to take a crowbar to your window and forcibly remove your fancy apparatus from your dash. What to do? Simple: disguise it with a really crappy looking stereo faceplate, complete with a half a cassette sticking out.
Over at Instructables they have detailed instructions on just how to do this. It works best if you have the original, crappy stereo that came with your car handy, but it'll work with other models if you measure properly. Just get yourself a bunch of epoxy, some Velcro, an ironic cassette and a few hours of your time and you'll be good to go. Unless someone with a fetish for old cassette decks walks by your car, that is, but that's probably a risk you're willing to take. [Instructables]
Well if you didn't know it was iPhone week yet, you do now. This morning we saw a Portuguese phone get blurrily unboxed, followed by a US version just a few minutes ago. Unfortunately they're mere teases—since you've read our 3G survival guide, you'll know that your opportunity comes Friday. So the question on everyone's mind is—are you going to pick one up? Upgrading? Sticking with the oldie? Or just can't wait for this week to be over? UPDATE: This poll may be broken. Either that, or we only have one reader who hates the iPhone—hey it's possible, but unlikely. Please continue to vote anyway, since it may just be a very laggy counter.
The Guardian wrote a neat feature on Surrey Satellite Technologies, who are currently working on scaled down, fully functional satellites for commercial consumption that only cost 10 million dollars, only weigh 220 pounds, and only take 18 months to build. But when compared to full-sized satellites ($500m, 1000 kg) used by government agencies and large corporations, these micro-satellites are amazingly compact and cost effective. Surrey will be sending 5 of these into orbit on the back of an old soviet rocket in Kazhakstan.
The "diminutive" satellite will be able to take photos for various applications, like surveying natural disasters, evaluating agricultural fraud, so on and so forth. However, the paranoid schizophrenic in me thinks it's really going to be used for personal world domination. [The Guardian via John Dvorak via Gizmo Watch via Dvice]
Boy Genius' unboxing of the iPhone 3G might not be the first in the world, but it is the first in the US, and damned if it isn't the best, with lots of clear, shiny shots. One problem: It's not activated, so they can't actually dive into the phone's functions. But it's not like there's a whole lotta surprise there. [BGR]
What are nudists to do when enjoying their favorite watersports? I mean, safety is one thing, but wearing a traditional lifejacket means unsightly tan lines and breasts yearning to be free. Fortunately a Korean company has manufactured a transparent lifejacket dubbed the "Zak Nudevest" that ensures buoyancy and exposure for the discerning naked consumer. I suppose that the jacket could also be used for clothed individuals that simply feel foolish wearing big, orange lifejackets—but that problem is not nearly as arousing. Available for around $15. [Earlyadopter via TFTS]
Unless you've been in a coma for the last 2 months, discovered technology yesterday, or are just plain dumb, you've heard the iPhone 3G is coming out on Friday. We know some of you could care less about the nuanced intricacies of the iPhone, but it shouldn't be any shock that will be the focus of Gizmodo for the next few days. So we're just reminding you that you can avoid all such news by visiting http://www.gizmodo.com/tag/not:apple to nix all apple news (or substitute iPhone in there just to get rid of iPhone news).
It's almost here. E3. The Entertainment Ere... Elephant...something to do with games. Next week from July 14 to July 17, we'll be providing live coverage of all the stuff that's going down with Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony and all the other companies exhibiting their stuff on the show floor. Will Nintendo come out with yet another $99 accessory to build a game off of? Will Sony reveal their Wiimote knockoff? Will Microsoft show their Home + Mii avatar scheme? Will Nyko come out with some crazy accessories? What do you want to see there? Tell us in the comments.
The British company behind the Juicebar are billing it as "the world's slimmest emergency phone charger." The device looks about as big as a cardboard coaster, but apparently it is capable of powering up a phone for up to 480 minutes of standby, or around 60 minutes of talk time depending on the device. Full charge is reached in about an hour, but you are free to talk anytime during that period.
It also has a 5-year shelf life which the company has backed with a guarantee. Obviously, it makes more sense in the long term to have a rechargeable backup solution, but if you are caught in an emergency situation, dropping around $6 on a Juicebar seems like a decent option. Juicebar is compatible with Nokia, Sony, Samsung, Motorola and Blackberry phones with an LG version coming soon—but, unfortunately, it is available in the UK only. [Juicebar via Gizmag]
We've seem more than our fair share of fascinating Wiimote mods, but few involve the Wiimote's faithful, platonic sidekick, the Nunchuk. So one modder took the Nunchuk, hooked it up to his computer, converted the MIDI signal and piped the information into 3D Studio Max. The result is realtime, 3D motion capture of a quasi-phallic CG object. And when it's all said and done, who can really ask for anything more than that? [via Hack-a-Day]
Hey Apple. Microsoft's seen those Get a Mac ads with J. Long and J. Hodgman. They're tired of that shit. So tired, in fact, that they're going to spend some $300 million in their own advertising campaign with Crispin Porter + Bogusky telling consumers how much Vista doesn't suck. Corporate VP of Windows Consumer Product said this:
We know our story is very different from what our competitors want us to think. Today we are drawing a line and are going to start telling the real story. The quiet majority of million and millions of Windows Vista users out there are going to have a great experience,” Brooks said. “The message is ‘Move to Vista. The time of worry is over.’
And if you ask us, Vista isn't all that bad. [ZDNet]
Guys, isn't capital punishment hilarious? I mean, there's nothing funnier than the state putting someone to death for a crime they're pretty sure they committed even though there's always a margin of error and it's 100% certain that innocent people have been executed! LOL! For my next party, I'm getting the Shocker Chair, the only fake electric chair worth its weight!
Experience the gruesome Shocker electric chair with 2,000 volts involved. It’s guaranteed to make you tingle. Let your friends see the smoke rise as the voltage is increased.
So it's like being in a non-lethal electric chair? Uh, awesome? Seriously, who in their right mind would pay $1,000 for this? [Machine World via BornRich]
You're all set to get an iPhone 3G—you've done the research, you've picked a plan and you've even convinced the office you've got an 8am uh, sales call. Here's everything you need to know for launch day: Where to go, what to bring, the final word on in store-activation (you're not gonna like it), why you might be SOL if you want the mythical white iPhone (you're really not gonna like it) and more.
First dilemma: Apple Store or AT&T?
The Apple Store is way cooler than any AT&T shop, so that's where the zealots, cool kids and attention whores will be lining up. But according to Gary at the ultimate Apple retail blog ifoAppleStore, they're also going to have the most stock (logically). His guess is that, based on the original iPhone's first three days of sales, "each of Apple's 217 stores should be receiving between 750 and 1,000 handsets for sale this time." Happily, you'll be able to check a store's next day stock every night after 9PM.
If you're getting an enterprise plan, your choice is made for you too: You have to hit an AT&T store. But there may be other reasons to go to AT&T instead of Apple. AT&T's stock per store won't be as heavy as Apple's (Apple's controlling distribution, so they're going to favor themselves, naturally) but Gary says AT&T's allotment will be better than last time. AT&T wouldn't comment on how many per store, but Gary thinks north of 50-75, even in the boondocks, and another source tells us 100-250. Though AT&T wouldn't comment on the spread, logically, stores in more populated areas are going to get more. Our advice here is to plan and scout ahead: Drive by on the night before, or just early in the morning, and see if there are lines. If the AT&T store surrounded by coffee shops and boutiques has a line running down the block, maybe try one in a sketchier neighborhood. Oh, and no, you can't just skip the lines and order it online, at least for now. There's no word on when you'll be able to, either.
If you want a white iPhone, you may be out of luck: AT&T confirmed they would have both 8GB and 16GB models, but could not confirm they will have the white iPhone 3G. In fact, based on the fact that UK reports say there isn't a white iPhone in the whole of the British Isles, we're gonna go on a limb and say that either a) the white iPhone isn't available at launch, or b) it's going to be a devil to track down, like those pink iPod minis way back when. Best bet there is to hit the biggest Apple Store you can find, and sweet talk your way towards the front of the line. But there's no guarantee. We asked Apple, but predictably we have not heard back on this matter.
Camping out
If you're deadset on purchasing the JesusPhone 3G under the warm glow of the divine, you might just have to camp it out. Here's Giz's list of essentials:
• Laptop with lots of spare batteries (a solar generator if you can hack it) and a 3G card
• Beef jerky and Cliff bars (compact, easy energy)
• Adult diaper
• A friend you can pay to wait in line for you
• Patience, deodorant (more for us, than for you)
You made it inside!
AT&T has confirmed it's one per customer, period. No official word from Apple, but since they're actually sort of in sync here, we expect it'll be the same. Here's what you'll need when you get to the counter, straight from Apple: credit card, social security number, valid government-issued photo ID and, if you're new to AT&T, your current wireless account number and PIN. That's right boys and girls, no cash. And don't forget to sync your old iPhone one last time before you roll in.
Despite reports suggesting the contrary, AT&T has reiterated to us that you will have to activate in store. Like really, it don't get much plainer: "YOU MUST LEAVE THE STORE WITH THE PHONE ACTIVATED." They estimate it'll take 15 minutes. Apple's page also refers only to in-store activation, which they say will be mercifully over "in just a few minutes." Update: Apple retail chief Ron Johnson confirms in-store activation only at Apple Stores, while shattering our nimbler expectations by repeating the 10-15 minute blurb.
If you get there too late and it's sold out, don't hurt yourself (or others). At least at AT&T stores, you can go ahead and pay for the iPhone 3G, and they'll call you when it comes in. Then you can go to the store and activate it. Last year after the initial stock ran out, most people got their phone by the following Wednesday via 2nd day air, so we expect this year there will probably a fresh shipment pretty soon after initial run.
Don't fall for this stuff:
AT&T has told us they've taken steps to ensure you won't be forced by a rogue manager to buy an accessory bundle to get your iPhone 3G. You never have to buy an accessory pack. If someone pulls that on you, call them on it. If they insist, back out, report their ass to corporate and let us know. It's BS, so don't get screwed. Also, there isn't an iPhone insurance plan from AT&T. If they offer to protect your iPhone 3G for $100, it's a scam. Period.
Something we left out? Let us know and we'll update (they'll be at the bottom). Good luck and godspeed!
Update 1, Re: Family Plans: AT&T tells us that "the person in line who is buying the device must be the person who is paying for the device. If the person in line is buying for a FamilyTalk plan, the people who will get the device must be in line."
Update 2: You'll be able to check an Apple Store's next-day stock every night at 9PM.
NASA has put a final date on the shuttle program: May 31 2010. That day, the shuttle will launch for the last time, putting an end to 29 years of amazing missions, two of them with tragic endings. The final will be STS-133, in which Endeavour "will carry critical spare components that will be placed on the outside of the station," including new communication antennas, a gas tank, spare parts for giant space robot Dextre, and the coolest of them all: "micrometeoroid debris shields." I don't know about you, but I hope these involve invisible fields or laser micro-turrets or some kind of plasma generator. They also released details for the remaining flights of Endeavour, Discovery, and Atlantis:
SHUTTLE FLIGHTS IN 2009
Feb. 12 — Discovery (STS-119 / 15A) will kick off a five-flight 2009 with its 36th mission to deliver the final pair of U.S. solar arrays to be installed on the starboard end of the station's truss. The truss serves as the backbone support for external equipment and spare components, including the Mobile Base System. Lee Archambault will command the 14-day flight that will include four planned spacewalks. Joining him will be pilot Tony Antonelli and mission specialists John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Joseph Acaba, Richard Arnold and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will replace Sandy Magnus on the station as a flight engineer. STS-119 marks the 28th shuttle flight to the station.
May 15 — Endeavour (STS-127 / 2JA) sets sail on its 23rd mission with the Japanese Kibo Laboratory's Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section, the final permanent components of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s contribution to the station program. During the 15-day mission, Endeavour's crew will perform five spacewalks and deliver six new batteries for the P6 truss, a spare drive unit for the Mobile Transporter and a spare boom assembly for the Ku-band antenna. Mark Polansky will be Endeavour's commander with Doug Hurley as pilot. Mission specialists will be Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Dave Wolf, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will become a station flight engineer replacing Koichi Wakata, who will return home with the STS-127 crew. It will be the 29th shuttle flight to the station.
July 30 — Atlantis (STS-128 / 17A) launches on its 31st flight, an 11-day mission carrying science and storage racks to the station. In the payload bay will be a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module holding science and storage racks. Three spacewalks are planned to remove and replace a materials processing experiment outside the European Space Agency's Columbus module and return an empty ammonia tank assembly. The mission includes the rotation of astronaut Nicole Stott for Tim Kopra, who will return to Earth with the shuttle crew. The remaining crew members have yet to be named. STS-128 marks the 30th shuttle flight dedicated to station assembly and outfitting.
Oct. 15 — Discovery's (STS-129 / ULF-3) 37th mission will focus on staging spare components outside the station. The 15-day flight includes at least three spacewalks. The payload bay will carry two large External Logistics Carriers holding two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly, a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm, a spare trailing umbilical system for the Mobile Transporter and a high-pressure gas tank. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk will return home aboard Discovery with its crew, which has yet to be named. STS-129 marks the 31st shuttle mission devoted to station assembly.
Dec. 10 — Endeavour (STS-130 / 20A) will close 2009 with its 24th mission to deliver the final connecting node, Node 3, and the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center that provides a 360-degree view around the station. At least three spacewalks are planned during the 11-day mission. The 32nd station assembly mission by a shuttle does not yet have a crew named.
SHUTTLE FLIGHTS IN 2010
Feb. 11 — Atlantis (STS-131 / 19A) begins its 32nd mission as the first flight in 2010, carrying a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module filled with science racks that will be transferred to laboratories of the station. The 11-day mission will include at least three spacewalks to attach a spare ammonia tank assembly outside the station and return a European experiment that has been outside the Columbus module. It will be the 33rd shuttle mission to the station. The crew has yet to be named.
April 8 — Discovery's (STS-132 / ULF-4) 38th mission will carry an integrated cargo carrier to deliver maintenance and assembly hardware, including spare parts for space station systems. In addition, the second in a series of new pressurized components for Russia, a Mini Research Module, will be permanently attached to the bottom port of the Zarya module. The Russian module also will carry U.S. pressurized cargo. The first Russian Mini Research Module to go to the station is scheduled to launch on a Russian rocket in the summer of 2009.
Additionally, at least three spacewalks are planned to stage spare components outside the station, including six spare batteries, a boom assembly for the Ku-band antenna and spares for the Canadian Dextre robotic arm extension. A radiator, airlock and European robotic arm for the Russian Multi-purpose Laboratory Module also are payloads on the flight. The laboratory module is scheduled for launch on a Russian rocket in 2011. The mission marks the 34th mission to the station. The STS-132 crew has yet to be named.
May 31 — Endeavour's (STS-133 / ULF-5) 25th mission will carry critical spare components that will be placed on the outside of the station. Those will include two S-band communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank, additional spare parts for Dextre and micrometeoroid debris shields. At least three spacewalks are planned to be carried out by the crew, which has yet to be named. The 15-day mission will be the 35th to the station.
[NASA]
The BlackBerry's keyboard is an object of worship, and RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis has publicly said the iPhone's touch keyboard sucks. So, the BlackBerry Thunder's touch keyboard had better be the best one you've ever smeared your fingerprints on. According to Crackberry, it has two big tricks: The screen itself is "sort of like a big button," so it pushes in a little bit with a clicky sound, and it buzzes where you push it (localized haptics). There is one big limitation though.
You can use either the full QWERTY or SureType keyboard. But, SureType is for portrait mode, and QWERTY is for landscape. Supposedly you can use either one anytime, but if you only want to use QWERTY, you're going to be holding your phone sideways a lot. One thing that isn't confirmed yet is whether or it's multi-touch (we hope it is). It does use WebKit for the web browser engine (same as Safari), so if there's multi-touch, the browsing experience will be similar to the iPhone's.
We won't know whether this really adds up to the best touch keyboard ever until we put our hands on it, but it's pretty reasonable to believe this is one area RIM won't be cutting corners. [Crackberry]
Hooray! If you preordered an MSI Wind and suffered through a few delays, know that the mini-notebooks are shipping now. Remember they're only coming with a 3-cell battery, and apparently the $499 6-cell and $399 Linux versions aren't hitting until September. The $479 Wind should be available at popular retailers somewhere between now and soon.
MSI BEGINS SHIPPING THE WIND
The Wind is available in Fry’s and online New Egg, Amazon, Fry’s, ZipZoomfly, MWave.com and Buy.com
CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA – July 8, 2008 – MSI Computer, a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, has begun shipping all the pre-ordered Wind U100 notebooks. The Wind, with its speedy new Intel Atom™ 1.6GHz processor, is also on sale at Fry's and online at www.newegg.com, www.amazon.com, www.frys.com, www.zipzoomfly.com, www.mwave.com, and www.buy.com. These first notebooks sold will feature Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and a 3-cell battery.
In September, MSI will begin selling a Windows version of the Wind with a 6-cell battery , as well as the Linux version with a 3-cell battery. MSI will also carry a 6-cell battery for customers who wish to upgrade their 3-cell battery in late September.
A leaked email sent out to buyers at GameStop and Blockbuster shows three things that Microsoft will announce before or around E3 next week. One, there's a 60GB Pro console package coming. Two, there's a $99 60GB hard drive pack for Arcade and Core owners, which comes also with 3 months of Xbox Live, a wired headset and an Ethernet cable. Three, the 120GB hard drive will drop down to $149 in September. Nothing extraordinary, but all pretty decent announcements for people who don't already have enough space on their 360s. Hit the jump for the full email.
With the introduction of the 60GB Pro console in July, we have research that suggests it is very important to have a 60GB stand alone Hard Drive to go along with it to allow the consumer a full range of choices and values. In late October/early November (exact date TBD but most likely last week in October or 1st week in November), we will ship the Xbox 360 60GB Hard Drive, tentatively called the “Xbox 360 60GB LIVE Starter Pack”. This will be an excellent value price at and ERP of $99.99 with an 18% retail margin that contains:
· 60GB Hard Drive
· 3 Months of Xbox Live
· Xbox 360 Wired Headset
· Xbox 360 Ethernet Cable (same one that is included with Pro and Elite)
Positioning: For Xbox 360 Arcade and Core console owners, the Xbox 360 60GB Live Starter Pack offers all of the components to get onto Xbox LIVE and jump in to on line multiplayer gaming and Marketplace content downloads at an incredible value.
With the end of life of the 20GB Hard Drive and the price drop of the 120GB Hard Drive to $149.99 in September, this new 60GB hard drive will fit very well into our “Choice and Value” pillar and will fit nicely into our accessory line up. Exact SKU/UPC/Set up info will come soon and once we nail down the exact MSD, I will let you all know immediately.
[Xbox Family via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
The Gadget: Aerielle's i2i Stream allows users to share audio from any source between two or more i2i devices using a wireless 2.4 GHz frequency. Just plug in a set of headphones and listen to the music your friends are broadcasting on their i2i Streams (up to 7 audio sources).
The Price: $119.95 for a two pack (currently on sale for $99.95 ) or $69.95 in a single version (on sale for $59.95)
The Verdict: The i2i Stream works as advertised. The sound quality from the streaming music is good and it holds up well inside the range of 30 feet (even when separated by walls). Furthermore, switching between audio sources is easy with the color coded channels, and it gets a decent amount of battery life (around 6 or 7 hours). Still, I can't recommend something that seems unnecessary to me. It's not that it is huge or anything (although it could stand to be a little smaller), but when you plug in an iPod and headphones it is nothing more than another cumbersome gadget taking up space and emptying your wallet. And why? So you can share your horrible taste in music with your friends? If you want to DJ your tunes, a simple portable speaker would suffice. Besides, for the price of a single i2i Stream you could get a 2GB Shuffle and listen to your own music.[i2i Stream]
Although you can pull out a pen and paper and do the math yourself, BillShrink is an easy web-based way to calculate how much that iPhone 3G family plan is going to cost you over two years. Just move the sliders around, choose how many lines you want and pick the amount of text messages you use and out pops a summary of which plans are right for you and how much they all cost. We've got a little comparison chart of the 3G vs. similar plans on other carriers as well. [BillShrink]
This specially-created one-off steampunk gas mask was made from leather, brass, and a Soviet-era gas mask. What's special about this isn't that it looks incredibly creepy and incredibly cool, it's that it looks kinda similar to that Nazi villain from the first Hellboy movie. Maybe it's just us and our excitement for Hellboy II that we're even thinking of buying this on eBay for $650 to use in our "LARPing". Yeah, that's the ticket. [ebay via Livejournal via Steampunk Workshop via Wired]
Update: It also looks like Psycho Mantis from Metal Gear Solid.
The idea of a compact, folding bicycle is nothing new, but designer Chang Ting Jen is hoping to take the concept even further with his Backpack bike. According to the specs, a production version would weigh around 12 pounds and fold into a backpack that measured just under 2 feet in length. Naturally, that means that you could pick up and carry your bike around just about anywhere.
A bicycle as compact as this version promises to be would definitely be appealing—especially when gas prices are as high as they are right now. However, the plans call for plastics to be used in the frame instead of metal to keep the weight down. With all of the technology going into bike frames these days, you would think that a more advanced material could be used in the frame to add strength and drop weight. By the looks of things, this bike could be deadly to someone weighing over 150 pounds. [The Design Blog via Tech Digest]
Asus just released their Eee 901 for sale in the US and all is well with the world...except for one thing. They built a bunch of Eee 900s that they have to get rid of. Remember the Eee 900? That was the original 8.9-inch Eee that used a Celeron processor instead of a shiny new Atom. Anyway, if you purchase a 900 between now and July 31st, Asus will give you $100 back. That brings the price to $450, or $150 less than a 901. So what's that Atom worth to you again? [ZaReason and Direct PDF Rebate Link via Lilliputing]
Japanese Performance artist Momoyo Torimitsu built a crawling Japanese businessman robot and took it to the streets of Australia to creep out little kids and turn on weird dudes with camcorders. The bot is her critique on the Japanese salaryman lifestyle and the apparent upcoming Asian economic crash. All we know is that dressing up like a nurse and pulling down an old man's pants in the middle of the street is going to attract some lookey-loos. Oh, and I wouldn't want to scrape along the street with my undies down. Ouch. [Diagonal View via Dvice]
Named for microbiology pioneer Anton van Leeuwenhoek, Anton is currently being built with 512 highly specialized processors. These are clocked at just 400MHz, and the machine has modest memory, but its architecture lets it process problems in a massively-parallel way. Ultimately, that'll offer a performance boost of 1000x over current complex molecular simulations. And that's great news: these bits of math are how drug design works. It's different to processing done by existing supercomputers like BlueGene/L in that it will look at molecular behavior over a longer interval. That means scientists could discover new biological processes. "If you can do 1,000 times longer, real proteins come into play" as team leader David Shaw puts it. Anton should be in operation later this year. [ACM Library via NYTimes]
Why be tethered to your Wii when the rest of your controllers are free to swing about and fly around your living room? Logic 3's 32-key wireless keyboard lets you enter in names, messages and Wii Friend Codes like an expert, not a spastic ten-year-old swatting at invisible flies. It's £13.99 ($27) when it's released July 18 in the UK. [Twenga]
