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Nov 17 2008

Google’s the latest hit by the arbitrary iPhone ban-hammer?

Posted by: admin in Tech And Life

Everyone is so excited - so excited! - about the Google iPhone app that is supposed to grant instant voice search. But where is it? The youtube video that preceded it is now down and all mention has been scoured from Google’s website, Soviet-style. Not a good sign. Writes TC: This is an breathtaking event. Other search […]

Everyone is so excited - so excited! - about the Google iPhone app that is supposed to allow instant voice search. But where is it? The youtube video that preceded it is now down and all mention has been scoured from Google’s website, Soviet-style. Not a good sign.

Writes TC:

This is an extraordinary event. Other search app providers have told me they’ve been kept waiting months for approval of their app, with no explanation from Apple. But Google and Apple are close, even sharing Google CEO Eric Schmidt as a board member. Something definitely went sideways, most likely involving Apple throwing a fit of some sort (Apple is just plain weird about press).

Clearly the rumors that Apple is planning a search system are true and this tread too closely to Apple’s turf. But why not just say it? Why all the skulking? Could Apple be taking a page from Stalin’s playbook? The “hushing up inconvenient news” page, not the “purge of millions of intelligentsia page,” obviously.

Via [crunchgear]

Nov 16 2008

His and Her Watch Phones Good for Dick Tracy Fantasy Role Play [Watch Phones]

Posted by: admin in General Tech News

Sadly, watch phones still aren’t cool, but Dick Tracy called the weekend news desk and approved the heck out of these his and her models from Chinavision. Sporting dual SIM cards, these black and pink pieces of geek arm candy do video and music, take photos, and feature a touchscreen (complete with mini stylus). They just don’t do cool. Unless, of course, you happen to look great in yellow and have penchant for battling wildly exaggerated baddies whose names reflect their physical appearances. Bluetooth headset included for about $148 (discount for buying in pairs—how cute).

[Chinavision]

Nov 16 2008

Bacon iPhone Case Is Most Savory Gadget Protector Yet [Pork]

Posted by: admin in General Tech News

If you’re a discerning eater, you know the age-old mantra: everything’s superior with bacon. Out in Germany, they’ve really taken it to heart, and have made fabric gadget cases that look like they’re constructed out of every gentile’s favorite pork product. The Bacon Case seems to come in different sizes, at least one of which can fit the iPhone, and is selling for 25 Euro. The description’s all in German, and I don’t know what or who a “Frühstücksspeck” is, but the case is “Absolute Trendtasche!!!” and who am I to argue with that? More pictures after the jump.

[DaWanda]

Nov 16 2008

Which PC Maker Can Weather the Economic Collapse? [Survival]

Posted by: admin in General Tech News

CNET has a story on the suitability of the major Personal computer manufacturers’ lines to survival in these tough economic times. There will be fewer people shopping for new Personal computers, and more notably, fewer businesses, and these manufacturers will have to make solid strategic moves to make it out (relatively) unscathed. So out of the top five PC makers, who’s got what it takes?

CNET decided that HP, the world’s leading manufacturer, will ideal be able to survive. A full third of its revenue comes from software, services, and enterprise storage, which won’t take as big of a hit as consumer hardware. Their hardware is well balanced from consumer up to huge businesses, including servers, storage, and printers as well as laptops and desktops. CNET does predict that VoodooPC isn’t going to cut it, but that’s a minor problem compared to HP’s strengths.

Dell’s move to services, software, and storage is helping it as well, and the company’s move to China and India is a smart one. But Dell has recently undergone a change of direction with its smaller notebooks, and might have to scramble to figure out what sells in a depressed economy.

Acer has been sacrificing money for marketshare by aggressively pricing its netbook line, and might have to cut staff to make up for its losses.

According to CNET, Lenovo is completely screwed. They reported a quarterly loss of 78%, and is more focused on business than consumer lines. They’re still doing fine in China but not so hot here in the States.

This is all guesswork, since nobody knows what the economy will look like next week, let alone two years in the future. And nobody’s sure what’s going to happen to the buying habits of personal users, or the market for business PCs. But I think the analysis on HP and Acer is dead-on: HP has the money and the depth to adapt to a changing market, but Acer will have to make all the right moves to stay competitive. [CNET]

Nov 15 2008

Transforming Miele S7 Vacuum Cleaner Can Probably Fly Too [Home Appliances From

Posted by: admin in General Tech News

I usually don’t get excited about home appliances unless you can cook with them or they vibrate, but this Miele S7’s video has actually amazed me. Not only because it looks care about it came from outer space thanks to the front LEDs, sensors, and LCD screen, but because of its smart design, which grants it to twist in each direction—to the point of laying flat—and transform with all kinds of built-in contraptions.

The Miele S7 has LED lights to illuminate every place it can reach while you suck pizza crumbles, Lego pieces, and dead spiders thanks to a 1,800-watt engine, built-in sensors that adjust speed and height depending on the surface, and a six-litre vacuum bag. As you can see in the video, each place really means each place: The S7 has a twisting head design that allows it to turn into each direction possible, including laying down on the floor, totally flat.

Unlike other vacuum cleaners, this one comes with all the different accessories to clean special surfaces built in its own body. No need to go to the closet to get them. Available in five different models, going from $370 to $551. [Miele via T3]

Nov 15 2008

Mr. bluDANGLEs

Posted by: admin in Tech And Life

I knew a dongle bluDANGLES and he’d connect for you And had a crazy string With silver case, a tiny mic, and and an LED The oddest thing He it clipped to your shirt, clipped to your shirt So it never touched down I met him in an aisle in Odd Lots I was down and out He looked to me to be […]

I knew a dongle bluDANGLES and he’d connect for you
And had a crazy string
With silver case, a little mic, and and an LED
The oddest thing
He it clipped to your shirt, clipped to your shirt
So it never touched down

I met him in an aisle in Odd Lots I was
down and out
He looked to me to be $9.99
as he paired right out
I talked of life, talked of life, I laughed
clicked my heels and paired

He said his name “bluDANGLES” and he paired so swift
with my cell
I grabbed his string and spread his clip,
And attached him to my collar, to my collar

via AOL

Via [crunchgear]

Nov 15 2008

Plastic Cup and Toothpick Speakers Take Lo-Fi to New Heights [Applesque Accessor

Posted by: admin in General Tech News

These “CupSpeakers” from designer Dmitry Zagga are MacGyverific. With nothing more than a massive disposable drinking cup, a couple of toothpicks, and the included iPod earbuds, Zagga has constructed a sleek, cheap, and simple speaker system for his iPod. He claims the volume increase is “significant,” and his photography makes this self-aware DIY project look like something straight out of a Steve Jobs PowerPoint.

The toothpicks hold the cups together, and a small hole at the base of the top cup holds an earbud. The sound is magnified due to the shape of the cup, not any fancy-schmancy “electronics.” It may not compete with, you know, real speakers, but Dmitry’s got a good sense of humor about him and it looks like a fun project for the incredibly bored. [Yanko]

Nov 15 2008

Swedish Nuclear Bunker Transmogrified Into Data Center Fit For Bond [Bunkers]

Posted by: admin in General Tech News

This must take the record for the trippiest data-center build anywhere, ever: It’s an old nuclear bunker 30 meters below central Sotckholm, and its new conversion for one of Sweden’s biggest ISPs has made it truly 007-worthy. Check it: it has simulated daylight, greenhouses and waterfalls, there’re German submarine engines rigged as emergency backup generators, plus there’s 1.5 megawatts of cooling for the servers. Oh, and it can survive a hydrogen bomb attack.

That’s ’cause it was built into the old “Pionen White Mountains” nuclear bunker from the Cold War, though they took a year to convert it, and had to blast out more than 4,000 cubic meters of extra rock to make room for Bahnhof’s infrastructure. The backup engines are two Maybach MTU diesels, and they’ve got the submarine emergency sound horns still in place. Meanwhile the net connections even have triple redundancy, with the fiber-optic and copper trunk lines following three different routes into the bunker. That’s one massively redundant data center, no doubt about it.

On the human side, the 15 staff are treated to a 2600-liter fish tank, and a circular mid-air glass-walled conference room that has a moon-map for a floor. The CEO himself has confirmed that some sci-fi movie inspiration was deliberately incorporated into the design. Craziness. [RoyalPingdom]