Archive for March, 2008
 In the words of the Conchords, a team of Canadian students just wanted to do something special for the lay-deez of the world. And so they came up with the Ladybag concept. It’s a smart bag that uses RFID technology to ensure that you leave the home with those three staples you need in the modern world: mobile; keys; and wallet.
Developed by a team at Canada’s Simon Fraser University, the bag, which uses RFID technology, also has LED icons on the side, which illuminate when the bag is missing an object, while a smiley emoticon lights up when you’re ready to go. I think they left off the lipstick icon, though. [Ladybag via Talk2MyShirt]
 
 Via [Gizmodo]
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I’m not sure if I comprehend this thing entirely. It appears to be a small, fanless card with a partial PCI connector that performs hardware filtering and adjustment of your video out. I’m not sure I trust it entirely to upgrade my “legacy content.” Uprezzing and filters are strange beasts and should not be applied […]
I’m not sure if I understand this thing entirely. It appears to be a small, fanless card with a partial PCI connector that performs hardware filtering and adjustment of your video out. I’m not sure I trust it entirely to upgrade my “legacy content.” Uprezzing and filters are strange beasts and should not be applied willy-nilly. I play NES with bilinear and NTSC artifact filters, I use a Denoise algorithm on video and Warpsharp on animation, and of course there are the myriads of filters and post effects in games these days.
While it would be nice to have a hardware layer taking the load off the CPU for this kind of thing, I don’t like the idea of taking myself out of the flow entirely and letting the card determine what is ideal for the situation. Still, it’s a step in the right direction and modularity in processing is definitely a good thing.
Asus Splendid HD1 Press Release
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Right now, I’m using a phone from Helio as my main phone. It’s no secret that we like what those guys are doing — they make full-featured phones for nerds; awesome! — but Helio’s voicemail system only grants for thirty messages. I get many calls a day, pitches to hear about USB baby-rocking cradles, Firewire-bus-powered lighters, […]
Right now, I’m using a phone from Helio as my main phone. It’s no secret that we like what those guys are doing — they make full-featured phones for nerds; awesome! — but Helio’s voicemail system only allows for thirty messages.
I get many calls a day, pitches to hear about USB baby-rocking cradles, Firewire-bus-powered lighters, or solar-driven microwave ovens, whatever, it’s more than I can hold if I’m having a busy day, so I skip. No, wait, I always skip.
When your voicemail box is full, people can’t leave messages. I enjoy this, but I’m not the only one. In fact, our big man Michael Arrington points out in this story that it’s something of a guilty pleasure that people can’t leave him voicemail when his mailbox is full, and that gets me thinking: is voicemail dead?
It won’t go away entirely, of course, but when was the last time you listened to an entire message before deleting it? I can’t remember. Nor can I recall the last time I left a message and expected a prompt call back.
All of our cellphones broadcast the number we’re dialing from and they all also report the number coming in. If that number is in your phonebook, you can call back. Rad.
If things are important we text. That inbox is also ususally full, but you can at least glance at it and triage what’s important and kill the “OMG did you hear about danny and maria!?” stuff from last weekend.
My voicemail box is full, and I don’t care. I ask, do you?
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 Chrysler has announced its intention to bring world wide web access to its cars. The functionality will be added to existing models this year, and will be followed by assembly line produced, internet ready cars. The connections will rely on mobile phone towers and a monthly subscription charge will be levied on those taking up the service. Talking about the development, a Chrysler spokesperson said:
“We want to make the radio itself a WiFi port,” whatever the hell a WiFi port is. We’re guessing the spokesperson meant WiFi connectivity will be coming using a modified internal radio. Whether Chrysler will trick out their own navigation systems with an internet browser to make use of the functionality is not clear, but using WiFi instead of EDGE on your iPhone whilst driving has got to be a help, even if it isn’t great for general road safety. [Washington Post]
 
 Via [Gizmodo]
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 OK, so take this with a dashing of salt; the guys at Monster and Friends have apparently spotted the first photos of the iPhone App Store, which appeared on a user’s iPhone in place of a connection error alert. The user, Drunkenbass of Monster and Friends managed to have a look around the Genres and Top 50 sections, and he spied a Facebook and Checkers app. Jump in to grab another shot of all gray, app store excitedness. (Yeah, I made that word up. )
 The look of the alleged store appears to be very similar to installer.app, and why not? It sure as hell works. Strangely, the applications already had a shed load of user ratings, but if this is part of Apple’s testing routine, that fact is probably not too out of place. What do you, the discriminating public make of it all? [Monsterandfriends via Modmyifone]
 
 Via [Gizmodo]
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Take this with a grain of whatever delicious condiment you most enjoy but we have what appears to be a screenshot of the upcoming iPhone AppStore — the place where you’ll be able to download applications created using the software development kit that was recently released. The T-Mobile logo in the upper right left […]
 Take this with a grain of whatever delicious condiment you most enjoy but we’ve what appears to be a screenshot of the upcoming iPhone AppStore — the place where you’ll be able to download applications created using the software development kit that was recently released.
The T-Mobile logo in the upper right left hand corner seems to be causing some concern for certain skeptics and the word “Photoshop” has been bandied loosely about, so I’ll leave this up to your discretion, dear and gentle reader.
I’m leaning towards “fake” because who in the world only gives Checkers three and a half stars? Everybody loves checkers. Everybody.
One more not-as-exciting alleged screenshot after clicking the jump-like link below.
Are these the first screenshots of the iPhone AppStore? [TUAW]
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 Google, along with Microsoft, Dell, Intel, HP and Philips are pretty hot on devices that use white spaces—unused tiny blocks of the TV spectrum band that are prem-o for high-speed wireless. Billy G, for instance, wants to use it to make Wi-Fi even awesomer. So Google’s announcement they’re holding a press conference at 11:30 AM on Monday to speak about a white spaces filing with the FCC definitely has our eyebrow in a perked arch. They didn’t play to win the 700MHz auction, so what exactly do they wanna do with this tiny slab of wireless goodness? [CNET, Image via Flickr]
 
 Via [Gizmodo]
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I went to the Grand Prix in Monaco one year and heard the entire race. That’s about it, though, as the cars were moving too fast and my view was obstructed by annoyances like “other people” such that I couldn’t see much of anything. A device called Kangaroo TV is looking to remedy that […]
I went to the Grand Prix in Monaco one year and heard the entire race. That’s about it, though, as the cars were moving too fast and my view was obstructed by annoyances like “other people” such that I couldn’t see much of anything. A device called Kangaroo TV is looking to remedy that type of problem. Here’s more…
The gadget is about the size of handheld GPS receiver, with a 3in colour screen and navigation control pad. It receives live pictures from a series of cameras around the track that beam real-time video back, meaning that no area of the circuit is ever out of sight. Users are also able to switch to in-car cameras of designated drivers, giving them a behind-the-wheel view of the race. An earpiece connects them directly to commentary.
Very nice. It’ll be available at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July. Hey, you know what would be really awesome? If you could watch the race on a huge TV while sitting on a couch. Maybe indoors, even.
I kid, I kid. People like to be at the event to smell the oil and hear the engines revving and this Kangaroo TV thing will actually allow them to see what’s happening on the rest of the course rather than what’s happening on the stretch of course directly in front of them. The behind the wheel thing seems pretty cool, too.
“People attend live sports events for the atmosphere, the spectacle and in the case of motor sport the smell,” says Alain Charette, Kangaroo TV’s executive vice-president of corporate development. “But the experience can be ruined because most of the action takes place miles away from where you are standing. We offer the best of both worlds.” Fans will be able to hire out the gadgets at Silverstone for a fee of about £50 for the weekend, and Kangaroo says it is in talks with governing bodies of other sports including cricket, tennis and the International Olympic Committee.
The device underwent a trial run at last year’s F1 championship and will be more widely available this year. A similar offering by Sprint Nextel here in the states called FanView is available at NASCAR races.
Handheld TV brings action replays to live sport [Times Online]
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 Steven Levy is a notable tech reporter because of his intimate access to new Apple gear and long history of non-tech reporting to back up his relative-to-the-world lightweight beat. He’s long been associated with Newsweek. But now, Wired, who he’s written for before, just picked him up as a staff writer. Stupid Newsweek!
Difficulties between Apple and Wired have been patched up since the This is the Phone of the Future Cover?, mocking iPod ads and kicking the iTunes compatible Moto ROKR while it was down. But will Levy’s famous Apple access follow to the new pub? I haven’t asked, but I’m sure Apple will decline to comment. Valleywag also chimes in with rumor that Newsweek, in an attempt to trim its headcount, is paying up to two years salary for people to voluntarily depart.
 
 Via [Gizmodo]
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