Evangelical Tract Says Says ‘Ipod Guy’ Needs Jesus
We’re as inclined as anyone to believe that Steve Jobs is going to spend eternity in flames—somebody has to pay for all those DS_store files—but Rich Robinson of Jews for Jesus is really sure. So certain that he made this evangelical tract, currently being passed around (or thrown on the ground) in New York’s very…
Internet is Hard
I appreciate all the feedback we’ve been getting about the redesign, both positive and deleted. We’ve been knocking out bugs and making tweaks based on your suggestions all last week and will continue to do so. But do me a favor: I’ve heard tell that there are some rendering errors hanging around, especially in Internet…
Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader
Ray Kurzweil is going to make big money from the blind—up to $3,500 a pop for his ‘K-NFB,’ a device that scans printed text and repeats it audibly. “This has probably taken something like three years’ effort by some fairly diligent scientists,” explained Mervin Robertson, managing director of Sight & Sound Technology, who will be…
European iPod Filings Confirm Apple Still Swiping Ideas
Apple Insider’s lede is a bit daft: “A recent series of design filings made by Apple Computer suggests the company may have intentions of abandoning its Click-Wheel interface in future versions of its iPod digital music players.” Taken collectively, the interface designs are clearly a work of inscrutable Apple skullduggery, slapping up iPods with control…
ClearSounds CLC50 Freedom Phone: Loud
There’s much to be said of gadgets designed for the elderly: they’re usually simple to use, sturdy, and stand up to accidental application of Brylcreem. That’s why Mike Elgan of the forcefully-named Personal Tech Pipeline loves his ClearSounds CLC50 Freedom Phone, proclaiming it ‘the best phone ever.’ Actually, nevermind—those are qualities I am transposing to…
Lego Mindstorms NXT Update August 1st: More User Memory, UniBin for Mac
We’ve got it on good word that Lego will be releasing a new firmware version for their Mindstorms NXT robot kit that will “open up 60 to 80% more storage space” for user-made programs. (If you read our impressions of the Mindstorms NXT, you might remember that the low storage space and lack of expandability…
Two New Samsung Robot Vacuums: VC-RS60, VC-RS60H
Samsung has added two new robot vacuums to their lineup in Korea, the Zairo-designed (who?) VC-RS60 and VC-RS60H. Although the robots self-recharge like good robots do, they also can be called up when you’re out and told to clean up the place. Having had two Roombas crap out on me in the last few weeks—one…
Transparent Screen iMac Mockup
Since we’re showing off our new images capability this morning, take a gander at this speculative iMac mockup, commissioned by MacFormat magazine. Obviously the missing tech for this idea is a screen that fades in from totally transparent to a usable opacity, something that is theoretically possible to do with today’s screens—if you didn’t backlight…
Lego Mindstorms NXT Impressions
Although I received my Lego Mindstorms NXT kit in the mail early last week, it wasn’t until yesterday that I really had a chance to dig in, spending a whole day working through the included instructions. It’s difficult to completely review NXT in the entirety of its potential as it’s the first set of new…
Bronx Basement Tech School Sees No Student
A flickr blogger discovered a free technical school in the Bronx, staffed by a pleasant old man soliciting young adults on the street with the promise of education. Sadly, it sounds like few are taking the man up on his offer, leaving the gallery a quiet record of an underground lair filled with empty chairs.…
Personal Troubleshooting Moment: Macbook Pro and 10.4.7
I updated to 10.4.7 night before last. Ever since, I’ve had increasingly frequent lock-ups on my system. They aren’t hard locks, insomuch as I can still move the mouse around, but I can’t click or input any text until I reboot the machine. It’s not a specific app that’s doing it either—it’ll do it from…
Lego Mindstorms NXT Shipping
I got an email last night saying Lego has shipped my Mindstorms NXT pre-order. Looking at the tracking number, I don’t think they’ve actually been handed over to UPS yet—probably tomorrow. Nevertheless, if you, too, pre-ordered the NXT set, expect to be building your first robots as soon as this week. I’ll definitely be doing…
The Big Lo Network: Pirate DVDs to Your Train Stop
I got this slip of paper from a friend of a friend a while back, but I’m slack so it took me a while. Apparently ‘Big Lo’ is his ‘movie dealer.’ One call—and I’ve obfuscated the number because it would be impolite to rat out someone else’s dealer—and Big Lo will meet you at your…