Oh my god! Are they insane? The Vodafone New Zealand site is choking right now is back up, and this appears to be the most god-awful money-grabbing scheme I’ve ever seen in this dirty business. I feel for you guys in Canada but this is highway robbery on a whole other scale. First of all, the […]

Oh my god! Are they insane? The Vodafone New Zealand site is choking right now is back up, and this appears to be the most god-awful money-grabbing scheme I’ve ever seen in this dirty business. I feel for you guys in Canada but this is highway robbery on a whole other scale.

First of all, the phone costs a freaking small fortune unless you go with their most costly plan. And if you go with their most high-priced plan, it costs a goddamn mint! The prices should be approximated to about 75% of their NZ amount, but even so you’re looking at a nearly $200 per month cell phone plan, people. This can’t be happening. [thanks for the tip, Ben]

Yeah, I know the headline states $200 and it’s really $188. Just wait a month for our dollar to drop another couple points, you pedant! $200 pops, people!

Via [crunchgear]

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The Nahamer T450 toaster concept from Rob Penny gets a large thumbs-up in the design department with its good looks and viewing window. Plus, instead of popping up, the toast slides gracefully onto your plate—simplifying the mechanics in standard toasters.

[Yanko Design]

Via [Gizmodo]

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Oh me, oh my! The most vulnerable segment of our population, the old and useless, don’t seem to know much about the upcoming transition to digital Television. Some simply don’t know what’s going on—chalk that up to the horrendous ad campaign the government has run so far—while others, like 69-year-old ray of sunshine Bertha Graham, […]

Oh me, oh my! The most vulnerable segment of our population, the old and useless, don’t seem to know much about the upcoming transition to digital Television. Some simply don’t know what’s going on—chalk that up to the horrendous ad campaign the government has run so far—while others, like 69-year-old ray of sunshine Bertha Graham, refuse to acknowledge on the transition on patriotic grounds.

Quoth the raven:

You would expect this stuff in Cuba, the places where there is a dictatorship. You shouldn’t have to buy converter boxes or do whatever they state to do. You should be able to use what you’ve got.

Ms. Graham doesn’t even want to let her son help her out, using the two government-provided coupons to get a converter box.

OK, so she’s a crazy person, but what about other folks, folks who don’t act like jerks for the sake of it?

The government has spent a whopping $5 million advertising the transition. Compare that to how much is spent on pork or earmarks or whatever they call useless pet projects these days.

And this matter not just because, “Oh, someone won’t be able to watch Dancing With the Stars anymore.” Think of how many people still get vital information—daily news, storm warnings, and the like—from good ol’ fashion television. It’s these people who are gonna be most affected by the transition, not us flat screen TV owners.

And what happens when next year rolls around, and everyone and their mother goes to claim a government converter box coupon? Will we run out? Will there be chaos? Where did The Island go?

All questions to ponder. And while you’re pondering, be sure to take this government quiz to become a Television Deputy. Needless to state, I passed the test, and am now an official Television Deputy. You get this certificate for your troubles.

I don’t know, maybe if our government spent less time creating tiny quizes and phony deputy credentials we’d still be a shining city on a hill.

Via [crunchgear]

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Xbox Media Center—a lauded cross-platform solution for streaming media—has just gotten a neat new name for its OSX version called “Plex.” (That’s short for “cineplex.”) But we know how it is. You use Front Row and think it’s great. Before you go back into your Apple shell, check out this Aeon skin for Plex. Currently in alpha release, it features a fluid wallpaper effect ala iPod coupled with the simplicity of Delicious Library’s shelf organization. Our own Brian Lam stated to me, “I’ve never seen a Media Center UI look so nice.” I’ve to agree. (Well, I actually do concur. But I think that I have to agree, too.) Here’s a large gallery of shots from Plex running Aeon:

[Plex and Aeon via Crunchgear]

Via [Gizmodo]

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Fear is the mind-killer. And this thing will kill more than that once the technology is co-opted by the treacherous Harkonnens — or your roommate. This little RC copter is available from Thinkgeek for $50 and would work perfectly to administer a dose of lethal poison to a sleeping kwisatz haderach. If you don’t know what […]

Fear is the mind-killer. And this thing will kill more than that once the technology is co-opted by the treacherous Harkonnens — or your roommate.

This tiny RC copter is available from Thinkgeek for $50 and would work perfectly to administer a dose of lethal poison to a sleeping kwisatz haderach. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s time to read you some Dune! Or you can imagine I’m talking about the hunter-killers in Terminator, that works too.
[via BoingBoing and Technabob]

Via [crunchgear]

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In a Nikkei article set to publish Monday, it was revealed that Toyota has green lit plans to offer solar panels on its popular Prius hybrid vehicle. The solar panel option will be available on the high-end Prius model when it receives a redesign in 2009. Strangely, the Japanese business newspaper also reports that the power generated by the solar panels will be used for the air conditioning system. The solar panels are being manufactured by Kyocera Corp. Previously, Gizmodo has covered some DIY solar panel options for the Prius, but the news today confirms that an official offering is now forthcoming from Toyota. It’s a start, right? [Reuters]

Via [Gizmodo]

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