Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
We all know Windows Phone 7 is due at the end of the year, but according to the Chinese version of Engadget, LG is preparing for a launch date as early as September, as late as November. It’s still a wide gap, but certainly a lot more hopeful than “early 2011.” [Engadget Chinese via Engadget]
After 18 months of Gmail Labs being in operation, Google’s killing off some unpopular features, but also promoting the oft-used ones to permanent functions. Say hello to the forgotten attachment detector, YouTube previews and custom label colors. While the muzzle, fixed width font, email addict, location in signature and random signature functions have been buried…
The chocolate brown HTC Incredible has reappeared on the scene, this time in Verizon Wireless’ inventory system. Is the Android phone close to announcement? It’s peculiar HTC hasn’t officially announced it yet, instead outing the Legend and Desire. https://gizmodo.com/htc-incredible-photos-leaked-reveal-incredibly-brown-b-5466195 The Android 2.1 phone (with HTC Sense slicked on top) is rumored to run on a…
These 1GB lightsaber flash drives may have been imported from Japan and they may light up when plugged in, but they still don’t feel quite right without some woosh-woosh-zzwoommm-zwing sound effects. Worth $20 without those? [ThinkGeek via Nerd Approved]
There are reports of Google CEO Eric Schmidt forcing his mistress to take down her naughty tell-all blog. Whether that’s the reason for its disappearance or not, we’re glad that our Gawker friends preserved some of the amusing details. http://gawker.com/5475332/the-google-ceo-and-his-mistress-the-tell+all-blog Former Forbes journalist Kate Bohner is supposedly the gal behind the now-deleted “Recovery Girl 007”…
This lady’s walking between panels of thermally-bonded polypropylene filaments which I keep thinking are giant dryer sheets. Either way, her body’s static charge is all that’s required to make the panels jump apart. There’s no real purpose to this art installation set up by design group SpaceOperaFoam other than to use static charge for a…
Last month we looked at this photo in a book of 1960’s advertisements. It’s not immediately clear what women in space helmets have to do with refrigerators, but like we’ve discussed, positioning a product as “futuristic” means that as a consumer you’re able to “buy tomorrow.” Own a piece of the future… with our widget.…
This sushi-making robot, along with the Okonomiyaki robot and the omelet robot, aren’t new, but they are featured in this NYT story about chef robots to get you up to speed on machine-prepared cuisine. The only question I have, since these robots are from Japan, is about where else that hand has been. [NYTimes]
This was Nikola Tesla’s letterhead. It reminded us that along with the often overlooked little things which change our lives, we need the loud, filthy, slaughter-filled battles just as much. Like the dirty War of the Currents. Just in case you’re not familiar with the War of Currents—one of my favorite messes in the history…
The best part about dominoes? Watching them fall down. The worst part? Setting them back up again. The Ouroborus Domino sculpture turns the worst part into the best part and makes me dizzy in the process. [Doobybrain via SlipperyBrick]
After all the snark and bickering, we’ve got a Flash app on the iPhone. Kinda. Connect Pro Mobile was built using Flash and then turned into a native iPhone app using Adobe’s Packager. https://gizmodo.com/adobe-gets-sharky-snarky-with-apples-iphone-flash-ban-5395427 The app itself isn’t all that exciting—it’s aimed at corporate suits—but it’s the first of hopefully many examples of apps which…
The Cloak camera bag, presented without comment. (Mostly.) [Cloakbags via Craziest Gadgets]
The W90 is Pentax’s solid successor to the W80. It’s got a new strap and LEDs around the lens for close illumination. It’s also slightly more resistant, rated to 20 feet of water and 4-foot drops. https://gizmodo.com/pentax-w80-camera-review-waterproof-and-now-slightly-r-5336015 The new case is nicer than the old, and the innards seem pretty similar to the older model…
When on vacation and not wanting to tote around two laptops and three spare external drives, it’s nice to have a gadget to dump and view photos on. Sanho’s HyperDrive Album could be that gadget—if it weren’t overpriced. The HyperDrive Album is supposed to serve as a way of clearing out your memory cards and…
The mini-giant Nintendo DSi XL, which is ALSO AN EREADER APPARENTLY, has just gotten a price: $190. It will be ripe for your purchasing on March 28. https://gizmodo.com/oh-boy-nintendo-dsi-xl-is-an-ereader-now-too-5479633
Microsoft’s Beijing office filed a patent yesterday for an unusual little device with two distinct functions: one side is an inductive charging pad, for, say, a mouse. The other features a tiny built-in display for displaying headlines or sports scores. Sometimes mash-ups are just right, creating something that’s greater than the sum of its parts.…
Sprint’s expanding its 4G mobile broadband service—also known as WiMax—quite a bit this year. They intend on making it available to a whopping 120 million people by the end of 2010. The lucky cities to be among the first in the rollout are: San Francisco, CA Denver, CO Washington, DC Boston, MA Minneapolis, MN Kansas…
Let’s not turn everything with a screen into an ebook reader, pleeeease? The DSi XL is launching in North America on March 28, and Nintendo’s putting that gorgeous 256×192 display to use with 100 Classic Books June 14. Dear Christ. https://kotaku.com/dsi-xl-hits-north-america-next-month-for-190-5479225 The 100-book package features works from Shakespeare and Mark Twain and it’s 20 bucks.…
From the looks of this video, while it’s technically possible to craft a snowboard out of two Apple PowerBooks, you’re probably better off buying the real thing (or investing a little more in newer unibody models). [ZweckEntfremder via Macenstein]
Microsoft has a 22-page document which outlines how they store all your private data in their online servers. The document also tells government agencies how they can get it. But, oh surprise, they don’t want you to see it: Microsoft Spy Click to view The document was unearthed by Cryptome, the site who previously unveiled…