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In May, the world was SHOCKED to find out that Google was pregnant, again, with what could best be described as a genetically modified inter-species lovespawn between Gmail, Google Docs, Twitter and AIM. Google called it “Wave;” Matt called it “frothy;” whatever it is, it’ll become available to about 100,000 interested users come September, and…
Fuji’s two-eyed 3D consumer camera grinned its way into our lives last week, but Time spared us the details. Now, a proper announcement: the FinePix Real 3D W1 camera shoots 3D stills and video, which can be viewed without glasses. Atop 3D capabilities and bevy of standard point and shoot features, the FinePix Real 3D…
If you like your dirt-cheap, oft-refurbished gadgetry with a healthy spoonful of self-aware wit, yet the ‘one day, one deal’ format is too slow for you, head over to Woot! right now, because they’ve got themselves a Woot! Off. [Woot!]
Fujifilm today announced five new cameras at an array of prices, ranging from the $90, 10MP A170 to the “prosumer” DSLR-lite FinePix S200EXR (pictured) at $600. It’s a pretty solid lineup of low- to mid-end shooters. From the bottom: The A170 and its 12MP brother, the A220, are the base models at only $90 and…
Remember when Clearwire promised they’d bring WiMax to 80 cities within 18 months? Well, they’ve started with Las Vegas, Portland and Atlanta (the latter being right in AT&T’s backyard), and Sprint is set to take advantage. https://gizmodo.com/clearwire-swears-theyll-have-wimax-in-80-markets-in-18-5308387 Sprint, which owns a 51% stake in Clearwire, says it will offer 10Mbps download and 3-6Mbps upload speeds…
Plastic Logic’s giant touchscreen ebook reader makes Amazon’s Kindle look like ancient Egyptian technology, and the Barnes & Noble digital bookstore closes its serious content gap. Too bad though they’re using AT&T’s 3G network for over-the-air downloads. https://gizmodo.com/plastic-logic-e-book-reader-video-tour-and-hands-on-5271693 The most obvious and logical explanation is that Verizon’s terms for data were too onerous and expensive,…
The Thirty-Meter Telescope will finally end in Hawaii, not Chile. When it’s finished in 2018, it will be nine times larger than any telescope today. The 30-meter (98.4-foot) mirror will be composed of 492 segments and, according to the experts, it is destined to dwarf Hubble in many regards. When it’s finalized nine years from…
Skype 2.8 for Mac, which integrates iChat-style, cross platform/OS screen sharing, Wi-Fi access through Boingo, and improved audio/video quality is out. Seems perfect for sharing amusing pictures while accidentally flashing someone. [Skype 2.8 via ReadWriteWeb via Lifehacker] https://lifehacker.com/skype-2-8-for-mac-adds-screen-sharing-wi-fi-access-an-5318857
If you are hunting down Erin Andrews’ naked peephole video and you are a dummy, beware: It may be a trick to get you to install a trojan horse, disguised as a video player. The bad guys have released a file that requires you to install a custom video player, which is in fact a…
Pluggage, the brainchild of ITP student Ohad Folman, is a piece of carry-on luggage with a built-in battery/inverter and a solar panel that’s capable of charging mobile devices as the bag is rolled or exposed to direct sunlight. The luggage is not your everyday pie-in-the-sky concept; Folman has already created a proof-of-concept prototype using a…
Microsoft released a more detailed timeline of exactly who will get Windows 7 RTM and when, and we’re sure you’re dying to know. But you better hope you’re a bigshot if you want to be the first to grab it. Independent software and hardware vendor partners will be able to snag a copy on August…
Editors from Columbia’s Science and Technology Law Review explained to us a year ago the pitfalls of not owning your Kindle books, a fact that Amazon revealed to be more horrifying than we thought. Guess what? It’s worse. https://gizmodo.com/amazon-kindle-and-sony-reader-locked-up-why-your-books-369235 Slate’s Farhad Manjoo points out more reasons (bothered from Harvard law professor Jonathan Zittrain) why we…
While SIM cards hold all the stuff address books used to, some people just can’t part from that old ink-and-paper. The SIMbook lets people know that you’re aware of modern technology, yet you choose to go retro. Pretty simply, it’s a small pocket notebook in the shape of a SIM card, both in unformatted (notebook)…
iSuppli just reported that the LCD panel market (any LCD of 10-inches or larger, which includes TVs as well as computers) jumped 41% from 91.7 million to 129.7 million. This follows sequential declines of 2.3 percent in the third quarter, of 18.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 and 2 percent in the first…
RealView Innovations‘ mysterious V-Screen certainly looks interesting, but does it really deliver a portable 3D experience? “The innovation uses special optical components in unconventional ways,” states Eamonn Ansbro, an Optical Engineer who is co-Executive Director of RVI. “No software, electronics or headgear is required. Nonetheless, the optical results are astonishing.” Continued Ansbro: “The video game…
It’s pretty early hardware and earlier software, but the guys at CrackBerry somehow got themselves a Storm 2 to play with. First question: Yes, it still has a clickable screen, but it’s allegedly much better than its predecessor. There aren’t any big changes on the software side (it’s still running BlackBerry OS 5.1), although remember,…
The iPhone App Store just turned one, and developers are getting the hang of the device. Game companies like EA and Namco are starting specialized divisions just to target the iPhone. Apps are about to get good, right? Not exactly. https://gizmodo.com/happy-birthday-app-store-revolutionizing-mobile-compu-5312495 Here’s the major reason: the price of apps. AppCubby maker of apps like GasCubby,…
The guy who engineered the Apple Store‘s primo real estate strategy is now helping Microsoft plan their retail assault on Apple Store as a consultant. So opening next door with 8x Genius power is just the beginning. [Techflash via TUAW] https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-opening-shops-right-next-to-apple-stores-this-5315454
Apple COO Tim Cook on their relationship with AT&T during Apple’s earnings call: “I think it’s an excellent relationship and we’re very happy with it.” So I guess the jabs Apple threw at WWDC 2009 were friendly ones. https://gizmodo.com/apple-made-a-lot-of-money-as-traditional-ipods-march-5319722 Answering another question about the iPhone being constrained by carriers with limited capacity (read: AT&T) Tim…
Who likes ladies in tiny bathing suits? Many dudes do, that’s who. And now they can get them on their iPhone via the official Sports Illustrated Swimsuit app. Sure, you have access to millions of pictures of scantily clad ladies via Safari, not to mention unclad ladies, but this is an app. An app, people!…