Posted by 010081
Tech
Friday, March 26th, 2010
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Web video star GeoHot just did a quick demo of his untethered iPhone /iPod Touch jailbreak. That’s right – you just have to put something on your device – and not directly connect it to your computer – and it will jailbreak that heck out of it in a few minutes. It’s just like the old days when you could download an image on the original iPhone and suddenly jailbreak it. While the video doesn’t explain anything , it’s nice to see America’s youth busily attending to the major issues of the day, especially if that issue is jailbreaking the iPad when it comes out next week.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
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So the saying goes, “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat down your door”. If that is true, Mark Fuller is about to be a really busy guy. Check out the mousetrap that Mark created using CAD, and a 3D printer. Mark created this gravity powered humane version of a mouse trap as part of a prototyping class at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. As you can see in the video, the mouse climbs into the trap after the bait, and then tips the device over, closing the magnetically sealed door. What’s even cooler about this demonstration is that Mark designed the piece, and then printed it out in about six hours on a 3D printer . Very cool stuff. Be careful watching the video though, because that music will get stuck in your head. [via Make ]
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
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Microsoft revealed more information about Project Natal today, the motion sensing Xbox 360 camera. Previously, there were some concerns about exactly how much space would be required in a room in order for the device to work properly. Microsoft says don’t worry, Natal will know you live in a crappy studio apartment in New York. Previous reports indicated that you’d need a large space to use Natal, but apparently that is not the case. Microsoft was quick to respond that they are aware of the fact that people may have limited space, and that Natal will automatically scan a room to determine the size, and be able to detect movement within a range of up to 13 feet away. This should be more then sufficient for even the smallest of living rooms, no matter where you live.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
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These stand-alone media streamers… Why wouldn’t you buy a PS3 or Xbox 360 , then have a video game system in addition to a cheap-ish way to stream all those scene releases of “The Pacific” you downloaded? (That, or put together a full PC if you’re feeling adventurous.) Be that as it may, let’s just quickly highlight another option that’s out there, the Nationite HDVP-2 . Not the snappiest name in the world, no. MP4Nation sells it (well, will sell it: can’t find it on their Web site just yet), and it should stream pretty much anything you throw at it, at resolutions all the way up to 1080p. You connect the device to your TV, then stream over Wi-Fi your media. But then you already knew that. $100, or 100 wing-wangs as they say in Futurama, whenever it comes out. That I don’t know.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
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Big news from the Japanese video game world today: Nintendo announced [JP, PDF] they will launch a successor to the DS/DSi for the next fiscal year (which begins next month in Japan and ends in March 2011). And what sounds particularly cool so far about the Nintendo 3DS is that the new portable device won’t require any special glasses for users to see the 3D images, according to Nintendo. Details are scarce at the moment (no price, no specs, no pics), but what’s confirmed so far is that “3DS” is just the tentative name of the device. It will be backwards compatible to conventional DS/DSi games (meaning it will have 2 cameras again) and is sure to hit Japanese stores first. Just as a reminder, Nintendo will release their new handheld, the DSi XL, on March 28 in the US . Nintendo also said they will give us more details about the DS sucessor at the E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles in June. Now let’s just hope the 3DS won’t be another Virtual Boy …
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
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I’m surprised this didn’t happen earlier. You can now go into an Apple store, fork over a few Benjamins, and walk out with an iPhone, contract-free , although the device is still locked into AT&T’s network. You can only buy one a day, though, I suppose to prevent people from buying a few hundred and building a fort of out of them.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Monday, March 15th, 2010
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I was pretty bullish on the One Laptop Per Child program for quite some time, and even participated in the ‘Buy One Give One’ program. I recognize that OLPC represents a long-term project, and that the fruits of that project are not likely to be visible for years. While we’re waiting, we can watch One Kindle Per Child , an initiative from Worldreader.org to improve literacy in Africa through the use of Amazon Kindle e-readers. I’m extremely skeptical of this project. I forwarded the story to my friend Rich, who grew up in Africa, and his immediate response was “Well intentioned people who are really good at X look around and say, ‘how can X solve this problem?’, rather than saying ‘what is needed to solve this problem?’” Like Rich, I’m not convinced that the Amazon Kindle is the right solution to the problem of literacy in Africa, or anywhere else. The Kindle is a closed platform. It is a fragile device, and not the kind of thing anyone in Africa is likely going to be able to repair. Even though it has a long-lasting battery, it still requires electricity to charge that battery. And don’t get me started on DRM, or vendor lock-in, or walled gardens, or any of the other subtle gotchas associated with a proprietary device like the Kindle. Rich reminded me of the Literacy Bridge project, which aims to address the problem of literacy in Africa through similar means, but with a decidedly different fundamental starting point: The model at LiteracyBridge is that the device is durable, so that it can withstand african conditions. It is simple, and local folks are trained in how to repair it. It is powered by regular batteries, so that they can buy them at a local store, which not only ensures that the device remains powered, but contributes to the local economy. They can put their own content on it, which also encourages local economy in recorded books. And of course, there’s still the Peace Corps , and countless traditional teaching opportunities to help address the issues of literacy in Africa and around the world. Technology may be one part of the larger puzzle, but I think that the Worldreader project is profoundly overestimating the value of technology for this problem.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
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After trying to find a way to remotely control their DSLRs, the clever hackers at HDRLabs couldn’t really find anything that would do what they wanted. So what did they do? Built a control of their own, using a Nintendo DS. HDRLabs went on to make the device available, for free . All you have to do is build one yourself. So this is kind of a DIY project, if for no other reason then you can’t buy this, but you can buy all the parts (and download the instructions) on how to build it. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that it’s easy, but the end result is incredibly cool. You’re going to need to take apart a camera release, a WarioWare: Twisted cartridge, and don’t even think about using this on a DSi. What’s the gain? Well, there’s a fairly large homebrew community sprouting up, but the basic set up gives you a sound activate trigger, motion sensor, time-lapse, and sun and moon rise awareness. Considering that this is a just a bunch of hackers building something that they couldn’t buy color me impressed. My only question is when can I get one for my Nikon? [via Electronista ]
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Friday, March 5th, 2010
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The wording in the headline may not be, you know, exactly what HTC said – but it might as well be. After the folks over at Crave UK woke up to a broken screen — which they swear isn’t their fault, as the device had just been sitting on a desk charging — full of inky purple rage on their Nexus One , they shot a call over to HTC support. After investigating the device, HTC sent back a response: they were stumped. Read the rest at MobileCrunch > >
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
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Pico-projectors are just so cute and cuddly. Amazon just so happens to be shipping the pico-sized MPro150 now for only $380. What do you get for that price, you ask? Great question, friend! This is 3M’s third pico-projector so it’s a bit more polished than the early models, including the 120 model Devin reviewed last year . This model is a bit brighter at 15 lumens and has two tiny speakers built-in. The unit even supports basic file systems, allowing users to manage and display certain file types without the need of a dedicated computer. A 2GB SD card is included to supplement the 1GB internal memory. Of course external sources can be plugged into the device as well. [ Amazon via PicoProjector-info ]