Archive for October, 2009
Article courtesy of John Beck, from The Processor.
If you didn’t get invited to any good Halloween parties (or are just a complete misanthrope), then you might well be planning to spend Saturday night hunkered down behind the sofa with the lights off, hoping that sugar-crazed trick-or-treaters don’t suss you out and begin making outrageous demands for confectionary and money in exchange for not smashing your windows or causing you actual bodily harm.
In case you do get rumbled, you might wish to follow Glenn Derene of Popular Mechanics’ lead and create some hi-tech surveillance pumpkins to capture the tiny darlings on tape while they ransack your house and/or break your legs.
Derene made himself two different video system sporting jack-o-lanterns - one with a cheapo infrared camera and receiver set and another with an Aavek Vue wireless camera system, which can be monitored remotely via a password protected website. Check out step by step instructions here. Take that you pesky children!
[ PopularMechanics ]
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 By Andrew Liszewski
Believe it or not, in some parts of the world you just can’t find a bidet when you need one. Thankfully the Travel Bidet from Sanicare (which totally should never be mistaken for a product from Sonicare who makes toothbrushes) can be used whether you’re sitting in an airplane lavatory at 30,000 feet, or simply squatting in the forest.
A small reservoir can be filled with water as needed, and it comes with 3 different spray heads depending on what you intend to clean. The pump is powered by a single AAA battery which is included, and you can get it directly from Sanicare for $39.95.
[ Sanicare Travel Bidet ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]
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By Andrew Liszewski
To be perfectly honest I guess I really shouldn’t be that surprised that Walmart sells coffins and caskets on their website, but why are they listed under the ‘For the Home’ category? I’m pretty sure they’ve to be shipped directly to a funeral home, and in case you were wondering, they can’t accept a returned casket if it’s already been used due to FTC regulations. So forget about saving even more money on a refurb unit.
[ Walmart Caskets ] VIA [ Gear Diary ]
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By Andrew Liszewski
So it turns out that ’speculation’ about a newer, bigger screened DSi was bang on, as Nintendo officially announced a new version of their dual-screened console this morning. The DSi LL will be available in Japan on November 21st for about $220, and will later be renamed the DSi XL for the Europe market when it’s available there in Q1 of 2010. As for availability in North America? Currently unknown.
The biggest improvement on the LL/XL is the 4.2 inch screens, a full inch larger than the ones the DSi sports. It’s also claimed to have about 1 to 3 hours more battery life than the DSi depending on screen brightness, but since the new model is considerably larger and about 50% heavier than the DSi, there’s plenty of space for a bigger battery. And in addition to the standard DS stylus, the DSi LL/XL also appears to come with a bigger “touch pen” that’s 4cm longer and considerably more ergonomic than the built-in one.
[ Nintendo DSi LL/XL ] VIA [ GoNintendo ]
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By David Ponce
And death as well, we suppose. See, if you’re one of about 68,700 Belkin Surgemaster owners (model numbers “F9G930-10, F9G930v10, F9G930-10-W and F9G930-10-SN, all manufactured in 2003. The model number and date of manufacture are located on the underside of the unit. Grey models F9G930-10-GRY and F9G930fc10G-CL are not a part of this recall.”), you might want to halt using them. Like right now. It seems the device’s rotating plug has shown the capability to detach itself and expose wiring, a quirky behavior that can quickly lead to uncomfortable situations.
Contact Belkin toll-free at 800-952-1465 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.belkin.com/recall.
[ Press Release ] VIA [ UberGizmo ]
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By David Ponce
What else can be stated about this, other than I’ve enjoyed ruining your childhood now that mine has been.
Remember: it cannot be unseen!
VIA [ Geekologie ]
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Posted by: in HDTV Industry
Speaking at the FPD show in Japan, Won Kim, VP of LG Display’s OLED sales and marketing group laid bare its OLED plans for the future. Pretty significant as LG is one of only two players currently manufacturing production OLED Televisions; though unlike Sony, LG has yet to ship anything — that bit of consumer magic begins in November. So here’s the deal: LG will release 20-inch and bigger OLED panels in 2010, 30-inch and more massive in 2011, and 40-inch and more massive OLED panels in 2012. While 40-inch OLEDs will still be “fairly expensive” in 2012, Kim predicts that “OLED panels will cost less than LCD panels in 2016.” We’d love to believe that but it sounds overly aggressive to us considering the enormous investment panel manufacturers have made in LCDs (they’ll be milking profits just as long as they can) and new push towards 3D TVs. Besides, LG’s been all over the map with its OLED dates so let’s not go carving anything in low-temperature polycrystal silicon just yet.
[Via OLED-Display.net]
Filed under: Displays, HDTV
LG roadmap predicts ‘OLED panels will cost less than LCD panels in 2016′ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by: in HDTV Industry
Looks like Apple’s “hobby” is finally getting the iTunes Extra & LP features it was initially denied, as the Apple Television 3.0 software has just released, featuring a brand new main menu (above) plus Genius Mixes and world wide web radio access. It took a reboot and a few tries for units around here to start seeing the new software was available, so feel free to give that “check for updates” button a workout, ’til then the official PR is after the break describing what your box is missing.
Continue reading Apple Television 3.0 software update is out, with iTunes Extras, LP & Genius in tow
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
Apple Television 3.0 software update is out, with iTunes Extras, LP & Genius in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by: in HDTV Industry
VIZIO sure ends up in a whole lot of legal battles, but one way or another, it always seems to find its way out in the long run. Such is the case once again this day, as the current LCD TV king has apparently said all the right things to Sony. If you’ll recall, Sony (along with a slew of others) filed suit against Vizio a while back over patent licensing concerns, but now it seems the two have reached a mutual agreement to use each other’s technologies without bickering over who owns what. The release on the matter says that Sony “has become a licensee under VIZIO’s patent portfolio,” and that “VIZIO now is a licensee under Sony’s color TV patent portfolio.” Who knows how much under-the-table cash and shaky promises had to be passed along in order to make everyone happy, but hey, a problem solved is a problem solved.
[Image courtesy of TooMuchNick / WireImage]
Update: Sony’s response to all of this is after the break, courtesy of a company spokesperson who pinged us directly.
Continue reading Sony and VIZIO ditch the courtroom, clear up licensing issues
Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment
Sony and VIZIO ditch the courtroom, clear up licensing issues originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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By Andrew Liszewski
Envision you crossed your desk at work with one of those Razor scooters, I think the results would look something like this Mobile Desk which I completely want for my next trade show. It’s got a bicycle seat and a small tray for holding a laptop when you’re being productive, but each leg features a wheel allowing you to roll around the office without ever having to get up. Surprisingly there’s a two-seater version as well, but with a price tag of $1,000 I’m going to stick with the more affordable $500 single rider model.
[ Mobile Desk ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]
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