February 20th, 2008
By GadgetManiac
One Vlad Dolezal suggests that 1 of the problems facing the (lack of) popularity of Linux for the desktop is that it`s free. Vlad points to studies that indicate people tend to associate things that are free with being worthless – ie you get what you pay for. And there`s plenty of evidence to back him up…including this study: Price Tag Can Change The Way People Experience Wine. He suggests raising the price to $500, but make it available for free via semi-licit download.
…our take is that aside from the fact that the cheesy logo needs a makeover, people are pretty much locked into whatever OS is in use at work.
Why Linux Doesn’t Spread – the Curse of Being Free – An Amazing Mind Blog, 16 February 2008 via Slashdot
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February 19th, 2008
By GadgetManiac
As expected, Toshiba CEO Atsutoshi Nishida today announced that the company “will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders”.
The press release made no mention of T now joining the rival Blu-ray Disc Association, but Toshiba will aparently be working on flash memory, small hard disk drives, next-gen CPUs, visual processing, and wireless & encryption technologies.
…some commentators suggest that the success of Blu-ray won’t come until Blu-ray players are reduced in price to the range of $200-300. Others say that the main competition for Blu-ray will be from DVD players that can upconvert/scale to near-hi def quality. And, Blu-ray is expected to enjoy about 5 years of growth until the next big medium arrives, currently expected to be digital downloads.
In the period from March 2006 to February 2008 Toshiba shipped approximately 1.3 million HD DVD units world-wide, of which 710,000 were stand-alone players.
Sony seemed determined not to lose this high-def format war, apparently out-spending Toshiba by a factor of 10:1 in marketing efforts.
Toshiba Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Businesses - Toshiba press release, Feb 19 2008
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February 18th, 2008
By GadgetManiac
“Sci-fi films are as dead as Westerns”, so says Ridley Scott in an interview with The Times back a while ago.
Scott who directed both Blade Runner and Alien ought to have some credibility on the topic of the death of science fiction, and for what little it’s worth, we agree with him. His point regarding the demise of the genre is that “There’s nothing original. We’ve seen it all before. Been there. Done it”.
So why is Sci-Fi dead? …aside from writers running out of ideas, Ridley doesn’t exactly say. Our pet theory as to why this might be so, has evolved from: science moving too fast & being too successful, to the effects of living in a sort of post-industrial zen-like introspective miasma, to science (and by lesser association sci-fi) being deemed irretrievably uncool.
…aw heck…sci-fi fortunes will revive with the release of Star Trek XI /maybe.
Sci-fi films are as dead as Westerns – Times, August 30, 2007
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February 17th, 2008
By GadgetManiac
The HERCULES laser system located at the University of Michigan Center for Ultrafast Optical Science appears to be the most powerful laser in the world. The beam delivers about 20 billion trillion watts per square centimeter, contains 300 terawatts of power and thus qualifies as the highest intensity pulsed laser beam produced thus far. Details here.
…impressive, but the UMich laser doesn’t even come close to the estimated 10^32 watts expended by the Death Star’s superlaser to destroy the planet Alderaan.
Michigan laser beam believed to set record for intensity – University of Michigan news release, February 15 2008
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February 16th, 2008
By GadgetManiac
A virtual piano for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Demo video at this link. …sounds realistic.
iAno – homepage
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February 16th, 2008
By GadgetManiac
Toshiba that promoter and purveyor of things HD DVD seems ready to pull the plug both literally and figuratively on High-Definition DVD players as well as the format itself. Reports from Japan suggest that Toshiba’s announcement might come as early as Monday.
…the counterpoint between Toshiba and Sony gives way to the Blu’s.
Toshiba mulling complete pullout from HD DVD production – Kyodo News, February 16 2008
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February 16th, 2008
By GadgetManiac
The adjective unique is inadequate to describe Santa Monica architect Hagy Belzberg’s Skyline Residence in Los Angeles. Perched in the Hollywood Hills on a ridge above Mulholland Dr, overlooking L.A. with views of Laurel Canyon and the San Fernando Valley, the spectacular glass-walled residence is a kind of updated village perchés, found in the vicinity of Nice FR.
The 5800 sf Skyline Residence won an Honors Award from the American Institute of Architects who tagged the building with the minimalistic honorific “One of the most dynamic forms with super-reduced minimal vocabulary”.
The only gadget tie-in is the unusual outdoor home theater, which seems to show only B&W films…
Skyline Residence – Belzberg Architects
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February 15th, 2008
By Tim Attwood
Apple has been taking steps recently to get back into the mobile device market, especially with the launch of the iPhone. It’s possibly their most inspired product since the Apple Newton! The most recent product launch by Apple is the new MacBook Air. Read the rest of this entry »
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February 15th, 2008
By GadgetManiac
Well, Rinspeed has unveiled their sQuba, the world’s first submersible car. Works on land, on water and under water.
It’s just like the Lotus Esprit that was used in the movie “The Spy Who Loved Me”, only different…the Rinspeed sQuba is electric, the passengers get wet and must don scuba gear.
Rinspeed’s Zero-Emission World Debut at the Geneva Motor Show – a Green “Fish” with Q-Factor – Rinspeed news, Feb 14 2008
Posted in Automotive ~ 1 Comment
February 14th, 2008
By GadgetManiac
Now, for your dropping pleasure, a new shockproof and waterproof camera from Olympus, model μ1030 SW.
The camera is a tough one – it can withstand a drop of 2 meters, is mud sand & dust -proof, works in -10 deg C, and is waterproof to 10 meters. The μ1030 SW is a load-bearing camera, taking 100kgf , which means you can step on it…provided you weigh less than 220.46 pounds.
It also has a 10.1 MP sensor, 3.6x optical zoom and 14.7 MB of memory.
Olympus μ1030 SW – product website
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