Filed under: Home Entertainment
We hadn’t heard from struggling content-delivery service Akimbo in over a year, so it’s not really surprising that the latest news isn’t exactly cheerful: the company is shutting down, leaving only a “skeleton crew” behind to find a buyer for its remaining assets. Akimbo seemed like it was searching for a viable business model from the start (eventually leading the company to drop its hardware offerings entirely), and like other would-be set-top box vendors, it looks like the economics of content delivery were simply too skewed to wrestle into profitability. Any bets on who’s next?
[Via GigaOM]
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Samsung’s latest laptop is about as gorgeous as they come. Sadly this 12-inch sex beast is only a concept, so start penning your letters to Samsung’s CEO now.
Orange has started dabbling in Internet radio. The Liveradio will let you access up to 4,000-odd stations via Wi-Fi. And we mean odd. If you’re yet to sample the delights of Secret Agent FM and Illinois Street Lounge (think music from the Tom and Jerry cartoons), we implore you to try it now.
Getting one step closer to Michael J Fox’s power laced Nikes in Back to the Future Part 2, the Nike Illuminated Confusion shoes feature neon green light up sides. Sweet. All we need is a hoverboard and a self-drying jacket and we’re there.
Take this iTunes - Napster has launched the world’s biggest music download service. And it’s DRM-free. More than six million tracks are there for your listening pleasure, which is pretty bloody ace. And all at an iTunes-matching price of 79 per song. Next step in the download war: iTunes movie downloads. Bring it on.
Is it a laptop? We’re not quite sure, but the Sony VAIO VGC-LJ25L kind of looks like one. Except with a short, stubby Danny Devito-style keyboard. It’s half the size of the screen. Half. For more than a grand, we’d want two keyboards. Or one massive one.
Philips is prepping RelaxTV. It’ll use sensors to gauge your mood and match it with flashing lights and all other sorts of technical gubbins. We got the lowdown from some head researchers in Eindhoven. Just don’t expect to see it that soon.
The Acer Aspire Predator is possibly the most kick-ass gaming PC ever. Not only is it specced to hell, it also has a fantastic body, with rewriteable Blu-Ray drive built-in.
Samsung’s Tocco features an excellent new personalisable touchscreen. Just drag which widgets you want onto your start-up screen, and they’ll be there waiting for you. Sweet.
Finally, Pioneer’s latest Kuro looks pretty cool. Available in 50 or 60 inch models, expect it to have black levels coming out of its arse, with a price tag to match. But still, what price can you put on fun, eh?
For more news and comment, check out the T3 podcast every week. It’s free to download, and you can subscribe through iTunes.
Filed under: Wireless
We’ve been hearing for years of that certain elusive breed of human that is extra-sensitive to certain radio frequencies and electromagnetic fields, so it was only a time before those wire-tethered folks took shot across our wireless-loving bow. According to a local NBC news affiliate, Sante Fe resident Arthur Firstenberg (not pictured right) has organized a group of electro-sensitive citizens to rally against WiFi and cellphone use in public space, claiming it violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. No doubt it is indeed a sticky situation, but we’re pretty sure Firstenberg and co are going to have to do a little better than claiming to “get chest pain and it doesn’t go away right away” if they really expect an entire city (or country) to cease using wireless communications.
[Via Fark]
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Filed under: Wireless
We’ve been hearing for years of that certain elusive breed of human that is extra-sensitive to certain radio frequencies and electromagnetic fields, so it was only a time before those wire-tethered folks took shot across our wireless-loving bow. According to a local NBC news affiliate, Sante Fe resident Arthur Firstenberg (not pictured right) has organized a group of electro-sensitive citizens to rally against WiFi and cellphone use in public space, claiming it violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. No doubt it is indeed a sticky situation, but we’re pretty sure Firstenberg and co are going to have to do a little better than claiming to “get chest pain and it doesn’t go away right away” if they really expect an entire city (or country) to cease using wireless communications.
[Via Fark]
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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
Engineering souls have been hacking up the Apple TV for a good while now, but those too scared of completely ruining their box have had to sit patiently on the sidelines waiting for someone else to do their dirty work. Enter aTV Flash, a USB flash drive which enables your Apple TV (Take 2 included) to do all sorts of fancy new tricks without any fuss. Those with the drive simply plug it in and watch as new file formats become supported, UPnP media streaming opens up and Safari-based web browsing becomes a reality (among other things). Granted, the convenience will cost you $59.95, but that’s the price you pay for making your life easier (and your Apple TV a little more useful).
[Via TUAW]
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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
Engineering souls have been hacking up the Apple TV for a good while now, but those too scared of completely ruining their box have had to sit patiently on the sidelines waiting for someone else to do their dirty work. Enter aTV Flash, a USB flash drive which enables your Apple TV (Take 2 included) to do all sorts of fancy new tricks without any fuss. Those with the drive simply plug it in and watch as new file formats become supported, UPnP media streaming opens up and Safari-based web browsing becomes a reality (among other things). Granted, the convenience will cost you $59.95, but that’s the price you pay for making your life easier (and your Apple TV a little more useful).
[Via TUAW]
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Filed under: Wireless
Looks like the FCC isn’t quite done collecting on spectrum auctions just yet, and Chairman Kevin Martin has apparently scheduled a vote for June 12th to decide the eventual fate of the the 25MHz swath of spectrum between 2155 and 2180MHz (affectionately referred to as AWS III, despite not being three times better than AWS). Apparently whomever snags the spectrum might need to be prepared to offer a “free service tier” (define that how you will) that would reach 50% of the population in the first four years and eventually 95% of the population by the time the license expires. But that’s just one possibility for what may happen to AWS III, which, of course, we’ll be tracking closely. Like hawks, Kevin, like hawks.
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Filed under: Displays
We’ll go ahead and get this out of the way: the fantastic product you’re about to hear more on has “no plans” to go commercial. Now that we’ve thoroughly killed your buzz, let us introduce to you the LaserTouch. Said device is a prototype that recently emerged from Microsoft Research’s labs, which essentially allows people to retrofit any display (monitor, projector, etc.) so that they can use their own hands to control the on-screen action. According to Andy Wilson, who played a vital role in the unit’s creation, an infrared camera is used to track how a person touches the screen, while software that he developed handles the majority of the magic. Too bad this could totally undercut Surface sales, right?
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Filed under: Displays
We’ll go ahead and get this out of the way: the fantastic product you’re about to hear more on has “no plans” to go commercial. Now that we’ve thoroughly killed your buzz, let us introduce to you the LaserTouch. Said device is a prototype that recently emerged from Microsoft Research’s labs, which essentially allows people to retrofit any display (monitor, projector, etc.) so that they can use their own hands to control the on-screen action. According to Andy Wilson, who played a vital role in the unit’s creation, an infrared camera is used to track how a person touches the screen, while software that he developed handles the majority of the magic. Too bad this could totally undercut Surface sales, right?
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Filed under: Robots
Budding robot-builders certainly don’t have any shortage of
kits to choose from these days, but this new self-descriptive ROBO Builder set looks to be a good deal more complete than most and, compared to the norm, is somewhat more reasonably priced. This one will let you assemble three different bots (dubbed DINO, HUNO and DOGY) out of the included robot building blocks, each of which can apparently be programmed to perform various activities, or simply be controlled via a computer or remote control. You can also get your choice of black or transparent kits, the latter of which appears to boast some significantly more advanced break-dancing skills. It’s also a good deal more expensive, costing 660,000 won (or $630) compared to the 450,000 ($430) for the basic black version.
[Via The Gadgets Weblog]
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