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I’m actually a big fan of Sony’s XMB, but if I didn’t own a large plasma, it would be pretty tough to read. Luckily, some interface tweaks are coming in Sony’s 3.0 firmware to address the problem. Specifically, a new “What’s New” folder replaces the Information Board. Highlighting this folder produces large icon pop-ups that…
You know those mobile IV stands you see people clutching to in hospitals? Well, the iropod or “Interactive Robotic Pod” is kind of like that, but it’s for another kind of disease—computer addiction. Oddly enough, the iropod doesn’t involve a laptop—the computer is built-in to the frame with a power source that the manufacturer claims…
Sony has confirmed rumors that the PlayStation Store will be offering smaller titles called Minis for download on the PSP, similar to Apple’s App Store. These games will be limited to 1MB—yes, 1MB, 100MB. Among other titles, PSP owners will score Fieldrunners, which is probably the best game on the iPhone to date anyway. [Kotaku]…
A Digital Reader for comic books is coming to the PSP, along with a Marvel Comics partnership (though eventually, more partnerships will be available). It’ll arrive in North America and the UK this December. [Kotaku and Gamespot] https://kotaku.com/sony-2009-gamescom-presser-liveblog-spectacular-5339926
According to Fortune, Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, is the fastest growing tech company in the world. There isn’t much information on the rankings, but they are apparently determined various criteria including profits, turnover and investment return over three years. Though we already knew that RIM made a whole potload of moola, Fortune…
We don’t want to call it cheating, but headphones that can double as speakers? Doesn’t this sort of paradox generally open a black hole that swallows Earth? iHome’s iHMP5Us are pretty typical closed-cup headphones, save for the fact that you can balance them on the table, fold the earpieces out, hit a magnetic amplifier switch…
Apple is building a new data center facility in North Carolina. Nobody knows what is it for, but according to Data Center Knowledge editor Rich Miller, it will be one of the largest in the world: Apple is planning about 500,000 square feet of data center space in a single building. That would place it…
All I can think about when watching this hands-on video with LG’s super-long BL40 Chocolate touchscreen phone is that we’ve been using the phrase “candybar phone” way too loosely for the last few years. Here’s the thing: It’s been clear since the earliest teases that the BL40 is a streeeeeetched phone, to the point that…
Screw Keys can’t be fashioned by your local Ace to unlock your door, but the Phillips and flat head tips could take a majority of that door apart. Screwdriver keys have apparently been out of production for the last decade, but now for a mere $4.50, the two-piece blackened steel recreation can be yours one…
According to a new reader survey by Game Informer, the Xbox 360 suffers from a whopping 54.2% failure rate. That’s an insanely high figure, but I can’t say it seems that inaccurate. And you know what? People don’t care. As someone who just got his second red ring in as many years, is it really…
You can now get BlackBerry’s application storefront through a webportal. It lets you browse applications on your computer and then email yourself the link to purchase or download the app on your phone. Definitely a nice shopping alternative to having to browse on your Berry, but I kinda wish you could purchase through the site…
What a sad story Palm’s App Catalog has been so far: never more than a few dozen apps, a near-closed submission process, and no way for developers to make any money. Today, a sliver of light: Palm is accepting a handful of paid app submissions as part of a closed e-commerce system beta, which means…
Sense for Windows Mobile isn’t a full port of the Hero’s interface for Android; it’s a nebulous design philosophy, with “pillars” and a “vision.” But don’t worry! It—taking the form of TouchFlo 2.6 here—isn’t as lame as it sounds. A few months ago, rumor was that HTC would bring Sense to all its products, regardless…
Like we predicted, Dell is joining the Intel CULV brigade today with its Inspiron 11Z. The inch thin notebook isn’t part of the Inspiron netbook family, but is clearly what Dell planned to take the place of the Mini 12. https://gizmodo.com/dell-inspiron-z-sorta-thin-sorta-lights-5336070 The 3-pound Inspiron 11z has a 1366×768 resolution 11.6-inch display and has the same…
You’d think if Sony was teaming up with Best Buy, it’d be for a cheaper line of stuff that looks cool to retake minds and hearts—nope. Their new Altus line does look alright though. For iPod docks, anyway. The Altus line is just iPod docks and network audio—like wireless speaker setups—for now, but Sony and…
How do you know when your building plan has gotten unnecessarily crazy and pretentious? When it’s named after a Biblical figure who was fabled to save life as we know it…that might be a clue. NOAH (New Orleans Arcology Habitat) is a massive, 1200-foot city within a building that’s hurricane-proof and can actually float (don’t…
Researchers at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, have demolished the previous world record on the constant pi, more than doubling the amount of decimals to 2.5 trillion. They used a massive parallel computer called the T2K Tsukuba System. The T2K Tsukuba System is a 640-computer cluster with a processing speed of 95 trillion floating-point operations…
Remember Rufus Terrill and his BumBot? Well, the crazy bastard is running for mayor of Atlanta now on an anti-bum platform. And yes, he still has that robot. [The Awl]
It looks like Microsoft is saving a few cents by no longer including an HDMI cord when you purchase an Xbox 360 Elite. Call it cheap (which it is), but the penny-pinching maneuver goes along with rumors of the Elite dropping from $400 to $300. Nothing softens the blow of a $100 price drop like…
