Filed under: Laptops
If you caught the Charlie Rose show last night, this was the gruff ruffian you found presenting. The last thing you’d expect from the usually staid, easy going interviewer. Turns out Rose had a choice to make when he tripped on a 59th street pothole in New York City: protect his newly purchased MacBook Air, or his face — he chose the former. According to his producers, “The Macbook Air is fine, he showed us the blood stains on it this morning.” Wow, in an instant he took a measurable shot to his integrity and redefined the term, “air head.” Not bad.
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Filed under: Laptops, Storage
Bad news for those banking on SSD as the savior of all things laptop. While the drives have been proven to improve battery life and speed start times, other drawbacks have buyers thinking second thoughts about the major premium for laptops like the MacBook Air and Lenovo X300 with SSD — about $1000 in the case of those two. A new study shows that flash-based laptops are being returned at a rate of 10 to 20 percent for technical failer, compared to the 1 to 2 percent of regular laptop returns due to HDD issues. Perhaps it should be expected from an emerging tech like SSD, but consumers certainly aren’t expected to enjoy it. Other consumers are sending ‘em back just due to lackluster performance — particular applications like streaming video and, strangely, Microsoft Outlook, see a performance hit from SSD. Hopefully speedier drives will address this latter problem, but how about everybody cuts their prices in half and we just forget the whole thing, eh?
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Filed under: Transportation
Remember a few dozen years ago when we heard the first batch of 100 Tesla Roadsters had sold out? Us neither, but we’re assuming those were heady days. Since then we’ve seen delays, setbacks and untimely retirements, but Tesla Motors claims it finally has the car under production, and is naturally taking orders for the 2009 run — 900 cars have been reserved so far. Despite the concrete language in this press release, we’ll believe it when these silent beasts start hitting the road. And run our cycling-asses down.
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Filed under: Digital Cameras
Not quite able to squeeze into a size 2 chassis before PMA, Pentax’s Optio V20 now has the runway all to itself. This 8-megapixel point-and-shoot isn’t anything spectacular, but the 5x optical zoom is a nice complement to the 3-inch LCD monitor, face recognition, blink detection, USB 2.0 connectivity, video out and VGA movie mode. You’ll also find a SD / SDHC expansion slot in case 52MB of built-in memory just isn’t enough, and the rechargeable Li-ion is said to be good for around 200 clicks on a full charge. On board? Start pinching those pennies now, as this one will set you back $279.95 when it runs aground in May.
[Via CNET]
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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
iPod cases with built-in speakers have amazingly been around the block a time or two before. We’re guessing the reason shelves aren’t flooded with ‘em today has quite a bit to do with the presumably lackluster sound quality / output potential. Nevertheless, those hoping to find just a case for their precious new iPod classic need look no further, as the rotating speakers case for iPod is here to make your dreams come true. Reportedly, the $60.72 enclosure works just fine with 80/160GB iPod classic models as well as 30/60/80GB 5G iPods, but considering that each of the stereo drivers pumps out under 1-watt per, you should probably plan on tossing this bad boy over your right shoulder like we did back in 1985 in order to hear anything.
[Via popgadget]
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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Considering the plethora of facilities that have opened just in the past few years to deal solely with individuals that have become undoubtedly addicted to video games, the internet and all things Hello Kitty (we jest, we jest), we’re not surprised one iota to hear that uncontrollably texting / e-mailing could soon become “classified as an official brain illness.” According to a writeup in the latest American Journal of Psychiatry, internet addiction is a common ailment “that should be added to psychiatry’s official guidebook of mental disorders.” More specifically, Dr. Jerald Block, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, even goes so far as to argue that said phenomenon (neglecting basic drives to spend more time online) be “included in the [next edition of] Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, psychiatry’s official dictionary of mental illnesses.” Until then, we wish you the best of luck convincing that creature living in your basement with a dedicated T1 line that he / she isn’t alright.
[Via textually]
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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Dutch art group Studio Roosegaarde is no stranger to
interactive art installations, but it looks to really be upping its game with its latest project, which promises to change its form in response to human sounds and motion, assuming it doesn’t blind them first. To do that, the installation will apparently make use of an array of tubes, sensors, LEDs and unspecififed embedded electronics and “mechanisms,” along with some software that will let the light show “evolve” its behavior over time. There’s no word as to where you might be able to leave your mark on it just yet, however, although the studio says it’ll be ready by the end of the year.
[Via MAKE:Blog]
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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Dutch art group Studio Roosegaarde is no stranger to
interactive art installations, but it looks to really be upping its game with its latest project, which promises to change its form in response to human sounds and motion, assuming it doesn’t blind them first. To do that, the installation will apparently make use of an array of tubes, sensors, LEDs and unspecififed embedded electronics and “mechanisms,” along with some software that will let the light show “evolve” its behavior over time. There’s no word as to where you might be able to leave your mark on it just yet, however, although the studio says it’ll be ready by the end of the year.
[Via MAKE:Blog]
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Filed under: Handhelds
Sure, it might not be as filling as the Skoda cakemobile, or as family oriented as Martha Stewart’s Wii cake, but do those contain the thrilling tale of The Light Beam Rider? Yeah, we thought not.
Paul: “Unfortunately the screen refresh times of ‘30-35 minutes at 350 degrees’ is just plain unacceptable.”
Chris: “Moments later, a naked Jeff Bezos burst out, ready to greet everyone at the shareholders’ meeting.”
Richard: “Philippe Starck calls the Kindle ‘a little delicious.’ “
Sean: “No friends, that’s not the iCing phone, tis the Kindle Cake and it serves 12.”
Don: “You can never be too careful buying gadgets on eBay.”
Josh: “The Light-Beam Rider was surprisingly short.”
Ross: “The book is a lie.”
[Via The Raw Feed]
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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
In the me-too world of obscure DAP manufacturers, there’s one sure-fire way to make sure you stand out in the crowd, and that’s codec support. Soundstream took that to heart with its new X-ITE MP28 touchscreen player, which supports MP3, WMA, ASF, WAV, FLAC, OGG, and APE for audio playback, and MP4, DIVX, XVIDV, AVI, and MTV for video. AAC is notably absent from that list, but uncompressed audio aficionados should have a field day. Other features include a 2.8-inch touchscreen, FM radio, voice recording and a miniSD slot. The player comes in 2GB and 4GB capacities, and Soundstream is based in the good old USA, so we might even end up seeing this one around. No word on price.
[Via PMP Today]
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