Gadgets Blog

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 23rd 2008 at 1:57PM

Say it ain’t so! America’s most loyal advocate for Microsoft’s Zune is apparently throwing in the towel. Of course, we should warn you that this could very well be a simple ploy for attention, but if the man keeps his word, he will soon be covering his Zune tattoos with… something else. Curiously, he didn’t say whether or not he would be playing the traitor card and picking up some sort of ipod, but considering that more people have seen this guy’s body art in the wild than actual Zunes, the general public should know soon enough. You fought a good fight, Zune Guy, but consider yourself expelled from The Social.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video, Wearables

by Nilay Patel, posted Jul 23rd 2008 at 2:49PM

We basically knew the FCC was going to approve the XM / Sirius merger after the DoJ approved it earlier this year, and it looks like the communications agency is just about ready to sign off — the Wall Street Journal is reporting that a majority of FCC commissioners are close to approving the deal. Word is that XM and Sirius will have to fork over an additional $20M to make it happen and agree to several enforcement terms, but it’s all up in the air until this goes official. Let’s hope that’s soon — after a historically long delay, it looks like there’s finally some light at the end of the tunnel.

[Warning: Read link requires subscription]

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Filed under: Portable Audio

An angry mom has decided to go to the courts after Universal has demanded a YouTube video of her son dancing be removed from the popular site.

The reason for the take down demand by Universal? The son was dancing to the Prince song Let’s go crazy for a whole 30 seconds.

The mother, Stephanie Lenz, was both angry and surprised at the order, which YouTube complied with and took the video down. Stephanie fought back though, convinced YouTube the video should go back up and is now fighting Universal with the aid of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

EFF attorney Corynne McSherry commented:

Universal’s takedown notice doesn’t even pass the laugh test … Copyright holders should be held accountable when they undermine non-infringing fair uses like this video.

The outcome of this case is being viewed as an important decision with regards to what constitutes fair use and online free speech.

Read more at the EFF, found via Vnunet.com

Matthew’s Opinion
The attorney is right, this is laughable. I couldn’t even make out the song in the background when I first watched the clip. Even on a re-listen a lot of the song audio is covered up by Stephanie talking and the mumblings of an excited, dancing child.

Seriously, is this how it’s going to be online? You have a family-friendly video you want to share, but it’s not allowed because you happen to have some music playing in the background, or you happen to have a TV in shot playing a film?

I’m glad Stephanie has decided to fight this and if she loses I hope there is a huge uproar about it.

Man, and I thought that bicycles are meant to make you break out in a sweat to help keep those pounds off as you attack uphills and slopes, but once again technology is here to make life easy with the Automatic Transmission Electric Bicycle.

This is the electric bicycle that uses automatic transmission to downshift into a lower gear when it senses a hill, upshifts for rapid acceleration up to 20 mph on flats, or allows you to pedal normally because the motor can be disengaged at your command. Powered by a 750-watt electric motor housed in the horizontal chain and motor assembly that provides 1 hp, the 8-speed automatic transmission is capable of four modes of operation, all controlled by a thumb toggle on the handlebars: a setting for rapid acceleration, a low gear setting for inclines (but slower acceleration), and a setting for manual gear shifting that disengages the motor to preserve battery life. Construction begins with a 12′ straight piece of 3/8-gauge, aircraft aluminum 6061 alloy that is roll-formed and annealed for uniform wall thickness into a complete 6′ diameter circular tube with a 4″ interior diameter (the NiMH batteries reside within the tube from the front fork to the seat), which is then bisected to make a 6′ long arc for the bicycles frame. The sturdy frame supports riders up to 300 lbs.

Of course, the Automatic Transmission Electric Bicycle might not burn a hole in the ozone layer but it will surely do a number on your pockets as it retails for a cool $5,500.

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What you see on the right is just for illustrative purposes and is not the real thing, but Ymup from Japan has managed to come up with a backpack that contains a battery-powered oxygen generator. This portable device even comes with a remote control and is touted to be the first of its kind in the world. As most people are aware, the higher you climb, the thinner air gets and that’s exactly where this oxygen generator comes in, making it perfect for forlks who love mountain trekking and hiking. The oxygen comes with 30% concentration and is inhaled via a nozzle, while the battery lasts up to 2 hours. Would be nice to see a solar panel attached to this thing to keep the battery going. Ymup has plans to release this backpack in three differet models at the end of this month, with a price range that falls between $880 and $1,150.

FROM GAMERTELL - To promote the toys and collectibles tied into the upcoming aniamted Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie, Toys R Us is opening its doors at the earliest second as well as giving away fiive-feet tall action figures…
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If you’re a casual swimmer who takes a dip occasionally, then there is no harm in skipping this post. Otherwise, do read on about the new Underwater Pace Clock from FINIS that will make even the most casual of workouts more exciting. After all, what’s the point of doing a few laps around the pool if you don’t want to better yourself? There is a certain sense of satisfaction each time you outdo your previous best time, and the day we stop trying to improve ourselves would be indeed a sad one. More on the Underwater Pace Clock after the jump.

With the addition of the Underwater Pace Clock, a uniquely waterproof digital clock for competition and practice settings, FINIS technical equipment continues to make even the most ordinary of workouts seem more exciting. The clock is completely submersible and waterproof to depths of 16 feet (5 meters). The unit has a large 10″x10″ two-digit display for viewing across the pool, and comes equipped with LCD digit display for clear reading from multiple angles and varying distances. Swimmers can utilize this technology in tracking their sets and sendoffs, as well as by monitoring their desired pace - all without subsequently losing their stroke technique and stroke rhythm. By placing the Underwater Pace Clock on the deck or resting it on the bottom of the pool, the swimmer or swimmers are able to obtain a clear visual readout and a constant awareness of their performance with no awkward lifting of the head. The device also includes a detachable infrared pole (3 feet in length) to transmit signals to the base of the unit. The infrared technology facilitates the lap counting function of the clock. Swimmers and coaches can use the Underwater Pace Clock to track longer distances in both practice and meet settings. Additionally, easy to access buttons on the unit allow the user to reset and switch between various modes. A unique feature of the Underwater Pace Clock is that it is fully powered by a standard 9-volt battery and absolutely no wires are necessary. The clock’s internal battery provides for 240 hours of continuous, wireless operation.

Coaches, take note of this device in your next shopping list if you haven’t done so already.

Press Release

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I like using Instant Messaging, but I rarely use the emoticons that are associated with them.  Of course, we live an age where some refuse to communicate with anything but emoticons. 

If you are one of those people, and are not satisfied with the Mr. Happy Face look of most emoticons, you can now program your own look.  Thanks to a program known as Minimise-Me, a user can customize an emoticon with an interface that is very reminiscent of Nintendo’s Mii Creator. 

Minimise-Me is located on an MSN UK website, and works with Windows Live Messenger.  Not only can users create a custom emoticon, but they have access to emoticons that look like celebrities.  I’m guessing that the Tom Cruise emoticon likes to jump up and down on a couch. 

Once the 300KB installation is run, the new emoticon character will be in Windows Live Messenger dialog until you tell them to leave. 

Man, is it just me, or is everything getting customized these days?  Pretty soon, everyone will have their own unique font.  Of course, I’m willing to bet good money that this is available already. 

Read [MaximumPC]

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Bruno Oro’s creepy bear-shaped Dilus is many things, not least of which is its ability to scare hospital-bound children.

Conceived as a distance learning tool, the Dilus is intended for children who are on an extended hospital stay and cannot attend school. The skin of the bear-thing is a a conducting polymer which can change color and display pretty much anything, from web pages to games to, we guess, schoolwork. Oro calls this display “holographic”, but we’d say that it is more correctly a kind of 3D.

But why a bear? Well, according to Oro, the bear shape will console the poor lonely kids and become a friend. Which, aside from the problem of the pre-mentioned creepiness seems to forget that there is a reason that more computers don’t come with bear-shaped monitors: They’re not efficient. We admire the innovation here, based as it is on actual field research, but we can’t help thinking that it would be better (and cheaper) to just give the kids a real teddy bear and a cheap laptop.

Project page [Coroflot. Thanks, Bruno!]

by Nilay Patel, posted Jul 22nd 2008 at 9:18PM

We’re usually pretty jaded when people tell us that we “won’t believe” what we’re seeing in a video sent to tips — right, right, a cellphone demon, nice one — but it sure seems like the Golden Shellback waterproof coating is the real deal. Developed at the Northeast Maritime Institute and hopefully headed to production sometime soon, the process involves applying the coating to your precious toys inside a vacuum, after which they’re basically impervious to all liquids — in one test, a coated device spent over 450 hours powered on and functional underwater. There are some downsides: you can’t remove the coating, so any repairs will involve “abrasive methods,” which sounds like quite a commitment. That said, we’ll take a little abrasion in our lives if it means we never have to worry about spilling on our keyboards ever again. Video after the break.

[Via gCaptain]

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets