Friday, April 10, 2009

Survey: 100% of Teens Want an iPod; 0% of Teens Want Any Other Player [Dominance]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/VZAZQrFEAB4/survey-100-of-teens-want-an-ipod-0-of-teens-want-any-other-player

News doesn't get much worse than this for the Zunes and Sansas of the world: a whopping 0% of surveyed teens planned on buying their devices, with 100% wanting an iPod in the coming year.

Piper Jaffray's biannual Teen Survey, in its eighth year, shows a serious drop off in interest for the Zune and Sansa. From last year's not-great 15% figure to this year's unfathomable 0%, it's just ugly.

But are these numbers accurate? For one, SanDisk had some decent numbers around 2007, but this survey says they peaked at 4%. It's certainly possible that SanDisk sold all of its products to adults and not teens, which would explain the discrepancy, but it still seems a bit fishy.

But in any case, Apple has just got to love seeing numbers like this. The age of iPod's total dominance over the PMP scene won't last forever, but with numbers like this it isn't ending anytime soon either. [Apple Insider via Crave]



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Crunchpad: Photos of TechCrunch's Delicious Web Tablet [Techcrunch]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/0rUh9qcIwWY/crunchpad-photos-of-techcrunchs-delicious-web-tablet

The web tablet TechCrunch is working on is apparently still alive, seeing as it just showed up in Michael Arrington's posterous. UPDATED

The photos are now down from his posterous and Arrington declined to give us any more details or specs.
From the techcrunch twitterfeed:

fyi on the crunchpad buzz, photos were removed. apologies, they weren't ready for publication yet. added to our posterous account in error

More from TechCrunch, which has come forward with more details:

What you see is a prototype, equipped with an Intel Atom processor and a 12″ capacitative touchscreen.

Check out the keyboard.

I love this thing. Techcrunch will have more details next week.



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This Farm? Oh, At This Farm We Grow Fluorescent Bulbs [Image Of The Night]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/uvH4_FTCGuY/this-farm-oh-at-this-farm-we-grow-fluorescent-bulbs

Richard Box's art installation, called FIELD, is powered by the electrical fields from the power lines that run above the project. It's an eerie sight, to be sure. [io9]



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Leaked pics of the CrunchPad make it look dangerously close to availability

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/leaked-pics-of-the-crunchpad-make-it-look-dangerously-close-to-a/

Thanks to a slip of the fingers on Posterous (and Robert Scoble's serious Twitter addiction), new images of Michael Arrington's pet Internet-tablet project -- the CrunchPad -- have shown up looking very, very close to a finished product. As you can see in the gallery below, the (supposedly) $200, WiFi enabled pad has gotten dressed up in multiple colors and been shoved into some fairly handsome looking packaging. There's no telling if this means the device is any closer to a buy-able reality, but one thing is for sure: a microblog is no place for secrets.


[Via Scoble's Twitterfeed, Arab Crunch]

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Leaked pics of the CrunchPad make it look dangerously close to availability originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vandals take down Internet, emergency, and voice services in California

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/10/vandals-take-down-internet-emergency-and-voice-services-in-cal/

Feeling vulnerable? Maybe you should. Apparently, taking down the Internet, ATMs, and landline and wireless phone services is as easy as crawling down a few strategically located manholes and hacking through some fiber optic cables. Police in California suspect exactly that after "vandals" cut a total of 10 fiber optic cables (each containing between 48 and 360 fibers) at 4 locations on Thursday morning. The AT&T and Sprint cables knocked "tens of thousands" of San Francisco, Bay Area residents off the grid including an additional 52,000 Verizon landline and wireless customers. San Jose spokesman, Sgt. Ronnie Lopez, says that Vandals somehow managed to thwart the safeguards securing this important element of the US infrastructure. "The manhole covers are heavy," he said, "and would take quite an effort to lift, perhaps even requiring a tool." Amazing. There's been plenty of speculation that disgruntled members of the Communication Workers of America union are to blame after its contract with AT&T expired amid "strike-threatened contract negotiations" over the weekend -- something CWA officials adamantly deny. And they should... everyone knows that kidnapping corporate bosses is the hot new trend for curing the gruntles. AT&T is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the vandals.

[Via SFGate]

Vandals take down Internet, emergency, and voice services in California originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 03:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Touch Diamond2 hitting Taiwan this month

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/10/htc-touch-diamond2-hitting-taiwan-this-month/

According to MobileTechReview the HTC Touch Diamond2 is due out this month in Taiwan. Local price is NT$21,900 (US$648.93) and it'll come with a 8GB memory card inside the box. Still no US release date, but with the UK version reportedly launching next week, we wouldn't be surprise if April was the lucky month for a stateside debut, as well.

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HTC Touch Diamond2 hitting Taiwan this month originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Radiopaq launches custom tuned earphones to single our your audio

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/10/radiopaq-launches-custom-tuned-earphones-to-single-our-your-audi/


There's a big difference between giving people choices and giving people a choice, and while Sleek Audio did the smart thing by doing the former, Radiopaq is carelessly banking on the latter to still go over well. Rather than producing a set of earbuds with customizable acoustics to fit whatever genre you find yourself into, Radiopaq's custom tuned earphones take that personalization away from the end-user. Oh sure, you could plop down for four different sets to handle your classical, jazz, pop and rock records, but that would easily go down as one of the most absurd decisions you've ever made. The company proclaims that each set actually can be used to enjoy other genres, noting that each pair is simply optimized for one specific style. Each package will go for £59 ($86), so make sure you choose carefully -- does your allegiance lie with The Cranberries or Taylor Swift?

[Via Pocket-lint]

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Radiopaq launches custom tuned earphones to single our your audio originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 06:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Resin replaces ITO in latest flexible OLED prototype

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/10/resin-replaces-ito-in-latest-flexible-oled-prototype/


Make no mistake, wrapping your mind around the build of an OLED panel is mighty tough to do. Without getting you mired in technobabble, let's just say that indium tin oxide (ITO) has generally been a mainstay in every single OLED that was produced commercially. Now, a team of researchers from AGFA-Gevaert, IMEC, Holst Centre and Philips have prototyped a 12- x 12-centimeter flexible OLED lighting panel that swaps out the ITO for highly-conductive transparent resin electrodes. You see, it's been difficult for OLED builders to secure enough electrical conductivity of ITO in a low-temperature process, and this new methodology is perfectly suited for the coating method (which makes it ripe for printing). The resin itself is being dubbed Orgacon, and tests have shown it to have a 6x improvement over ITO in terms of electrical conductivity. Beyond that, the crews are keeping the secrets safe from the poachers of the world, but here's hoping this amounts to more than just jovial celebration in a far off laboratory.

[Via OLED-Display]

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Resin replaces ITO in latest flexible OLED prototype originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hybrid Technologies becomes EVII, adds two electric beasts to its conceptual stable

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/10/hybrid-technologies-becomes-evii-adds-two-electric-beasts-to-it/

Hybrid Technologies becomes EVII, adds two electric beasts to its conceptual stable
Remember Hybrid Technologies, the company that offers to rip the motor out of a Mini and then charge you close to $60,000 for the privilege? They've gone and changed their name to EV Innovations Inc., or EVII (which looks like EVIL if you squint), and along the way came up with a pair of new electric options. First is the Wave (pictured above), with a 170 mile range, 80 mph top speed, $34,900 price tag, and a body that looks something like a 996 Porsche Carrera left out in the sun too long. The other is the Inizio, the sports car (after the break) with beefy pushrod suspension, racy sport seats, adequate 170 mph top speed, generous 200 mile range, and aggressive $139,000 price tag. The company hopes to start building both next year, but since it can't decide between three or four wheels on the Wave and doesn't yet have a body to show for the Inizio, that could prove to be a bit optimistic.

Continue reading Hybrid Technologies becomes EVII, adds two electric beasts to its conceptual stable

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Hybrid Technologies becomes EVII, adds two electric beasts to its conceptual stable originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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wow, no one has tweeted that I'm stupid (yet) -- re: The ROI of Social Media is ZERO -- http://ping.fm/P0TE1 -- debate continues!

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Thursday, April 09, 2009

Microsoft Ordered To Pay $388M For Pirating Windows Activation Technology [Lawsuits]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/4XxFz5tXTJo/microsoft-ordered-to-pay-388m-for-pirating-windows-activation-technology

A jury has ordered Microsoft to pay $388M to security software firm Uniloc, who alleged back in 2003 that Microsoft infringed on the firm's patents for Windows Activation, one of the most horrible features ever.

One way to look at this—the hasty, vindictive, techno-populist way—is to see this whole thing as some kind of cosmic rebalancing, in which Microsoft is finally paying a huge, literal price for years of subjecting us to broken product activation runarounds in virtually every major piece of software they've released in the last eight years. Their 30 days is up, their trial period (ha!) over, etc etc etc.

Another way: A gigantic company, who has produced loads of useful products despite succumbing to the temptations of overbearing antipiracy measures, has been forced to shovel an ungodly sum of money to a company that only produces overbearing antipiracy measures. So, hurray. [WSJ]



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Intel Promises Two-Second Boot Times With Their Moblin Netbook Linux OS [NetBooks]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/mSt1dNcS7FY/intel-promises-two+second-boot-times-with-their-moblin-netbook-linux-os

Imagine if your netbook went from completely powered off to fully booted and ready in two seconds. It would be an entirely different gadget in your life, wouldn't it? That's what Intel hopes.

We've already seen promising early builds of Moblin, their open-source project to create an Atom-optimized OS for netbooks on the platform. But speaking at a Linux summit in San Francisco recently, Intel's Imhad Sousou spelled out plans to make a two-second boot a reality.

It's ambitious, and it will require significant and deep fiddling, but that's the goal. I don't know about you guys, but I'm really excited for the next generation of netbooks that moves beyond traditional desktop operating systems. Again, it's software that counts. [Ars Technica via Gadget Mix]



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Vandals Cut AT&T Fiber Optic Lines In San Jose Affecting Thousands [Crime]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/BL6ECnltz28/vandals-cut-att-fiber-optic-lines-in-san-jose-affecting-thousands

Police in San Jose are investigating two incidents involving severed AT&T and Sprint fiber optic cable that knocked out landline, cellular and internet service to thousands of Silicon Valley residents.

"We're treating this as a crime scene," Lopez said.

Four AT&T fiber-optic cables were severed shortly before 1:30 a.m. along Monterey Highway north of Blossom Hill Road in south San Jose, police Sgt. Ronnie Lopez said. Sprint's cable in San Carlos was cut about two hours later, a company official said. The exact location was not immediately known.

With all of the economic turmoil going on, who would be surprised to find out that this was the work of some disgruntled employee? I, for one, would not be. Hit up SFGate to check out video of the scene. [SFGate]



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Nokia working on new MID for this year, wild QWERTY tech for next?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/nokia-working-on-new-mid-for-this-year-wild-qwerty-tech-for-nex/

Let's start this out with a word of warning: TheStreet.com's latest report allegedly from deep within Espoo's most secretive labs contradicts itself on a couple occasions -- and Nokia has a decent (though not stellar) track record of keeping most prized secrets under wraps -- so we're bringing this up with a good deal of caution, healthy skepticism, and cold, hard reality on our minds. That being said, some aspects of the report seem totally plausible, particularly a new bit about a fresh MID (likely to replace the aging N810) in the works with a sliding keyboard and 4.2-inch display targeted for release before the holidays this year; Maemo 5 development is well underway, so we'd actually be kinda surprised if this didn't happen. Odds are it wouldn't be that rumored Sparrow-powered device, though, since we'd heard 2011 for that one.

Here's where it starts to get a little strange -- next up, the report mentions a "Nautilus project" intending to create an ultra-thin touchscreen phone of some sort that uses a "sensor" (you know, a "sensor") to motorize the keyboard in and out of the body; what's more, the keys would rise up when deployed for better feel. This sounds unlikely at best, considering the added weight, complexity, bulk, and reliability concerns around that kind of a mechanism, not to mention the fact that it'd serve almost no practical purpose whatsoever. At first, TheStreet says this is a device, then later changes it! s mind a nd says "the first Nautilus phone isn't due out for another year" -- but whether it's a phone or an entire range of phones, we're just not seeing it; it'd be fun to play with, yes, but we think this is the kind of thing where the engineers would putz with it for a while and realize that it's a really, really bad idea.

[Via Unwired View]

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Nokia working on new MID for this year, wild QWERTY tech for next? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Visa rolls out its first commercial NFC payment system

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/visa-rolls-out-its-first-commercial-nfc-payment-system/


Nokia fulfilled its part of the bargain by rolling out its NFC-enabled 6212 cellphone last year, and it looks like Visa is now finally making the phone a good deal more useful -- in Malaysia, at least. That's where the company has launched its first commercial NFC (or Near Field Communications) payment service for point-of-sale transactions, which will let folks simply wave the phone in front of a reader to make a purchase instead of going to the hassle of swiping a card. What's more, it doesn't look like this is simply a limited trial, with 1,800 stores in the country ready to accept the magical payments out of the gate, and Maxis and Maybank on board to let folks easily access their credit account. Better still, Visa has also said that this move finally signals the shift from pilot programs to actual roll-outs, although it's unfortunately not being all that specific about the next few markets on tap just yet.

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Visa rolls out its first commercial NFC payment system originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Peapod the friendly Neighborhood Electric Vehicle in the flesh

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/peapod-the-friendly-neighborhood-electric-vehicle-in-the-flesh/


We just got an exclusive first look at the Peapod from Chrysler's Global Eco Mobility unit. Like its cousin the GEM, Peapod is a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle, which means it's limited by law to 25 mph and can't go on the highways. Peapod gets about 30 miles on a charge, and adds in all the "car" goodies that GEM was lacking. The vehicle seats four in lightweight Arion-inspired seats, has suicide doors for easy entry, a windowed roof that can be removed for some open-air driving, and even a nice amount of trunk space. On the dash there's an iPod dock and the instruments panel is a colorful collection of informations. We couldn't drive it around just yet -- it was stuck in a building lobby -- but we'll get a shot at taking this onto the city streets shortly. The Peapod should hit the streets in October, for the quite dramatic estimated pricetag of around $12,000. That's a pretty penny for something that can't top 25 mph, but at least this thing is a lot more likely than the P.U.M.A. to land in your driveway in the near future.

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Peapod the friendly Neighborhood Electric Vehicle in the flesh originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eye-Fi's 4GB WiFi SDHC cards start to ship out

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/eye-fis-4gb-wifi-sdhc-cards-start-to-ship-out/


Nah, Eye-Fi's latest Secure Digital cards still aren't nearly as capacious (nor as cheap) as other alternatives on the market, but good luck getting that free-after-rebate 8GB SDHC card from IAWANNA Corp. to upload images via a wireless hotspot. We pinged the company today to see if the company's 4GB Explore Video and Share Video SDHC models were shipping out, and we were informed that orders placed over the web were indeed leaving the docks. If you're not kosher with handing $99.99 or $79.99 (respectively) over through the intertubes, both devices will splash down in stores starting on April 19th.

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Eye-Fi's 4GB WiFi SDHC cards start to ship out originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hitachi unveils 11 latest Wooo plasmas and LCDs: Greener, better looking & network connected

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/hitachi-unveils-11-latest-wooo-plasmas-and-lcds-greener-better-l/


This year's edition of the Hitachi Wooo line of flat panels look a lot like their predecessors on the outside (120Hz IPS LCDs, 250GB HDD equipped models with iVDR slots for additional hard drives and Wooonet DLNA network support) but it's what's inside that counts. The four new XP plasma models range from 42- to 50-inches and promise even better contrast ratios, as high as 40,000:1, with better color reproduction and the promise of greater energy efficiency. The ultra-thin 35mm / 1.4-inch thick LCDs are back in four new models, with UWB wirelessly connected tuners, auto sensing/adjusting brightness and aforementioned "eco" power sipping improvements. The relatively fat XP line of LCDs consists of just three displays, but just like all the rest, buyers can still hook up to the 'net and pull down video on-demand or Yahoo! Japan's web TV portal -- features unlikely to make the jump when we see U.S. versions of these later this year. The XP plasmas and LCDs go on sale in Japan later this month or next, while the ultra-thins will be crash dieting until October.

Read
- Hitachi, recording double-35mm-thin LCD TV "Wooo UT800"
Read - Hitachi, 7 new plasma / LCD

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Hitachi unveils 11 latest Wooo plasmas and LCDs: Greener, better looking & network connected originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S. electrical grid penetrated by spies, hackers, or something unfathomably more terrible

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/u-s-electrical-grid-penetrated-by-spies-hackers-or-something/

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the electricity grid in the United States has been infiltrated by "cyperspies," in an attempt to map the infrastructure, leaving behind software that could pose potential threats in times of crisis. Quoting anonymous "current and former" national security officials, the report claims that the spies, hailing from China, Russia, and "other countries" have not attempted to do any damage, but that they could, and that these types of intrusions are on the rise. Officials are of course worried about the potential implications of such penetrations, noting that much of our infrastructure, including nuclear power plants and financial institutions, are at risk. Unfortunately for the WSJ and its Cold War-era headline, the article goes on to state that it's not really possible to know whether a particular attack is "government sponsored," or just the work of regular old hackers from those regions running amok in cyberspace. Additionally, spokespeople from the Russian and Chinese Embassies vehemently deny their respective governments involvement in any such work. The Wall Street Journal, of course, fails to point out the most obvious of explanations: it's aliens.

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U.S. electrical grid penetrated by spies, hackers, or something unfathomably more terrible originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use! of feed s.

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BYD's "Mars" MID clamshell has a phone on the back, runs full Windows XP

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/byds-mars-mid-clamshell-has-a-phone-on-the-back-runs-full-wi/


Intel isn't just showing off its new Atom hotness at IDF Beijing, they also pulled out a previously unseen MID from previous non-player BYD. Codenamed Mars, the MID runs an Atom processor in a clamshell form factor, with a full Windows XP install and QWERTY keyboard. On the back of the lid there's a regular phone keypad and secondary screen. It's not going to beat the RAZR at a weigh-in, and we'd feel pretty dumb holding something this large up to our head, but it's a pretty wild concept all the same, and a nice teaser of the sort of MID / phone "synergy" we might come to expect when Moorestown rolls around. No word on the timeline for commercialization, but there's supposed to be a working unit floating around IDF so we'll keep our eyes peeled. Video is after the break, with the BYD unveiling a bit after the 3 minute mark.

Continue reading BYD's "Mars" MID clamshell has a phone on the back, runs full Windows XP

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BYD's "Mars" MID clamshell has a phone on the back, runs full Windows XP originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The ROI for Social Media Is Zero? - http://ping.fm/P0TE1 - what about social marketing done right?

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Wednesday, April 08, 2009

The Fuego Element Grill Is Awesome Until It's Swiped Off Your Back Porch [Grilling]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Bp_CJBHQzBo/the-fuego-element-grill-is-awesome-until-its-swiped-off-your-back-porch

I have a cheap hibachi on my porch—who the hell cares about stealing that? The Element grill from Fuego is another story though—this thing is a work of art.

The Element comes in a variety of colors, it has a 24,000 btu dual-burner with different zones for either direct or indirect heating, and it's small enough to fit just about anywhere (like in the arms of a thief in the night). I'm not sure how much one of these beauties will cost, but if you decide to drop some cash on one I would consider chaining it up. [Swipelife via NotCot via DVICE]



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Mitsubishi introduces 16-speaker Unisen LCD HDTV line

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/08/mitsubishi-introduces-16-speaker-unisen-lcd-hdtv-line/


With Mitsubishi's LaserVue lines humming along once more, it's time for the company to bust out a few more big announcements in the HDTV space. First up is the new Unisen line, comprised of the 151 Series (40-, 46- and 52-inches), the 153 Series (40-, 46- and 52-inches) and the high-end Diamond 259 Series (46- and 52-inches). Each set in the line comes with a built-in "5.1-channel" 16-speaker audio bar, much like the iSP LT-52149 that we reviewed last fall. Each model also incorporates a new UltraThin Frame design, Smooth 120Hz Film Motion technology, four HDMI 1.3a inputs and a USB media port. The top end crew also includes an iSP calibration microphone, Plush1080p 5G 18-bit digital video processing, a wired IR input and a few swank blue accents to really woo the ladies. The whole family should ship to the United States next month and range from $1,799 to $3,299. Exact pricing is just after the break.

Continue reading Mitsubishi introduces 16-speaker Unisen LCD HDTV line

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Mitsubishi introduces 16-speaker Unisen LCD HDTV line originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mitsubishi debuts 3D-ready Home Theater TV line, 82-incher included

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/08/mitsubishi-debuts-3d-ready-home-theater-tv-line-82-incher-inclu/


No need for 16 speakers built right into your next HDTV? How's about the ability to watch 3D content whenever it infiltrates the home? Mitsubishi's other big introduction today comes in the form of its 2009 Home Theater TV line, a family that includes the 737 Series (60-, 65-, 73- and 82-inch), 837 Series (65-, 73- and 82-inch) and the standalone 82-inch WD-82737. The big screen crew is completely 3D ready and the whole lot features 120Hz dejudder technology, the firm's exclusive 6-color processor, four HDMI 1.3a sockets and a JADE Activity-based user interface. For those badly in need of a new set after suffering through March Madness on that 22-inch CRT, you'll be elated to know that every set mentioned here is shipping now from $1,499 to $4,999, with the full gamut of details waiting just past the break.

Continue reading Mitsubishi debuts 3D-ready Home Theater TV line, 82-incher included

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Mitsubishi debuts 3D-ready Home Theater TV line, 82-incher included originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Corsair's ultra speedy 256GB SSD sneaks out, hits the bench

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/08/corsairs-ultra-speedy-256gb-ssd-sneaks-out-hits-the-bench/


My, how fast the cutting edge becomes dull. Nary four months ago, we were introduced to Corsair's first SSD: a 2.5-inch 128GB slab of MLC NAND goodness that promised 90MB/sec read and 70MB/sec write speeds. Needless to say, those numbers weren't about to shatter any records, so the company went out and produced something that just might. The benchmarking fiends over at HotHardware managed to scoop up a 256GB S256 from the company and put it through the first of many tests. As for results? Early reports show average read speeds nailing the 200MB/sec mark, while average write rates hovered just under 170MB/sec. The only issue is the breathtaking $749 price tag (expected, anyway), but at least you've apparently got a few months to save up.

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Corsair's ultra speedy 256GB SSD sneaks out, hits the bench originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dai Nippon Printing's Joe Walsh approved OLED poster

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/08/dai-nippon-printings-joe-walsh-approved-oled-poster/


We have to admit that we got excited when we saw this poster, but that's only 'cos we thought it was for the dinosaur rock band from the 1970s -- an appropriate object of some good-natured ribbing, if ever there was one -- instead of some baseball team from Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Manufactured by the Dai Nippon Printing Co., this "light emitting poster" is currently on display at the exhibition space of the aforementioned sluggers. Combining an LED backlight for graphics and OLED panels for scrolling text, energy use is sixty percent that of flourescent light, and the OLEDs have lifetime of 20,000 hours. Expect commercial availability sometime in April 2010, by which time the Eagles should be ready for their next "farewell" tour.

[Via OLED Info]

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Dai Nippon Printing's Joe Walsh approved OLED poster originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell demos multitouch on the Studio One 19

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/08/dell-demos-multitouch-on-the-studio-one-19/


Dell's new all-in-one Studio One 19 is due to start shipping soon, and it's packing some interesting new multitouch capabilities which Dell has been kind enough to demo briefly on video. There's a new touchable launch bar, which give access to Dell's own touch-friendly apps (see the second video after the break), though Dell's Josh Duncan (video one) made sure to reiterate that gestures should carry over to non touch specific apps -- which pretty much means Internet Explorer, from what we can tell. Our own experience with Windows 7 multitouch was none too impressive, and Vista's built-in single touch stuff is even worse, so hopefully Dell's not just paying lip service to making multitouch a real OS-wide phenomenon. The touch-specific apps like a photo browser and paint app are cute and gimmicky, but at least seem to match HP's TouchSmart for the most part -- plus some multitouch enhancements. What is perhaps the Studio One's biggest boon to touchability doesn't even have a thing to do with the screen or software: it tilts back on the stand, giving you a better angle to work with. Check out both videos after the break.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Continue reading Dell demos multitouch on the Studio One 19

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Dell demos multitouch on the Studio One 19 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Talent ships $1,500 2.5-inch MasterDrive RX 512GB SSD

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/08/super-talent-ships-1-500-2-5-inch-masterdrive-rx-512gb-ssd/


Just a year ago, Toshiba was dreaming of 512GB SSDs while simultaneously trying to figure out why in the world HD DVD became such a dumpster fire. Fast forward to today, and you can own one of these mythical masterpieces (albeit with a Super Talent logo) if you don't mind parting with $1,499.99. Starting this very moment, the company's most capacious MasterDrive RX device yet is ready to rumble, bringing with it loads of MLC NAND flash, 230MB/sec read rates and 200MB/sec write rates. Suddenly, that forthcoming Z Drive doesn't look so outrageously priced, huh?

[Via HotHardware]

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Super Talent ships $1,500 2.5-inch MasterDrive RX 512GB SSD originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Variable Song Pricing Hits Amazon's and Walmart's Digital Music Stores [Digital Music]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/PuevwfZg09M/variable-song-pricing-hits-amazons-and-walmarts-digital-music-stores

Now that Apple is slowly and quietly switching all its freshly DRM-free tracks to a popularity-based variable pricing scheme, we almost didn't notice that Walmart and Amazon have taken the same step.

Amazon now has prices ranging from a low of $0.79 to a high of $1.29, the same as iTunes, and its highest priced tracks now make up ten of its top 100 list. Walmart, for its part, is a little cheaper, from a low of $0.64 to a high of $1.24. It looks like the music labels have finally gotten their way in this battle. [Electronista]



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Intel Atom Turns One With New 2GHz, 1.2GHz Models [Processors]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/slxd6Zz_FKo/intel-atom-turns-one-with-new-2ghz-12ghz-models

It's been a year since Intel fired the opening salvo against regular-size laptopping with its Atom processor. Now, the Z series gets its expected speed bump, and at the low end, a low-power MID-oriented model.

The Atom Z550 takes the Atom to heretofore unseen speeds of 2.0GHz, while maintaining a sub-3W power envelope. Obviously, this speed gain is a good thing, but enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that this is based on familiar tech; the Z series "Silverthorn" processors may be power-thrifty and capable, but their architecture hasn't changed much with the new processors. The speed bump and hyperthreading are welcome, but these marginal boosts won't be game changers.

On the other end of things, the Z515 winds the clock down. Intel claims that Intel Performance Burst Technology "enables the processor to run at 1.2GHz when performance is needed", scaling up from 800MHz. The Z series processors were originally intended for low power applications like MIDs, and although the Z550 will likely make its way to netbooks, the Z515 is comfortable right where it is, thanks.

But as I've said, these aren't a huge step for Intel, and won't make a massive difference to consumers. For that, you'll have to wait for the new Moorestown platform, based on the 45nm "Lincroft" Atoms, a prototype of which Intel broke out at the conference, just to tease us. Full presser below.

Intel Developer Forum: 1-Year Intel® AtomTM Processor Anniversary

Brings New Chips, Demonstration of Next-Generation Device

Intel Executives Share Vision, Updates at Beijing Tech Event

BEIJING, April 8, 2009 – Celebrating the 1-year anniversary of Intel Corporation's introduction of its wildly popular Intel® AtomTM processor family, An! and Chan drasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group, introduced two new processors for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and several other milestones during his keynote today at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing.

Chandrasekher was joined by two other Intel executives, Craig Barrett and Pat Gelsinger, whose keynotes focused on the company's directions for the next year and beyond. The event, held at the Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel, was geared toward the Chinese market in support of local innovation and Intel's industry leadership in the region.

Mobility Keynote

During his keynote, titled "Mobility's Next Wave of Growth," Chandrasekher demonstrated the first live demo of Intel's next-generation Atom-based MID platform, codenamed "Moorestown." Chandrasekher provided a sneak peek into the low-power innovation of the platform by showcasing a greater than 10x idle power reduction compared to today's Atom-based platform in a side-by-side demo. This dramatic reduction is made possible through a combination of new power management techniques, a new partition optimized for the MID segments and Intel's Hi-k 45nm manufacturing process.

Due in 2010, the Moorestown platform is comprised of a System on Chip (codenamed "Lincroft") that integrates a 45nm Intel® Atom processor core, graphics, video and memory controller, and a companion input/output (I/O) hub (codenamed "Langwell"). The platform will be accompanied by a new Moblin software version that is optimized to enable the rich, interactive, PC-like Internet experience along with cellular voice capabilities.

Intel also announced two new Atom processors for MIDs: the Z550 and Z515. The Z550 extends the performance of the MID product line to 2GHz with Intel Hyperthreading technology support, setting a new standard for the highest performance processor in the under-3-watt power en! velope. The Z515 incorporates the new Intel® Burst Performance Technology (Intel BPT), which enables the processor to run at 1.2GHz when performance is needed in existing small and sleek MID form factors.

These new Atom processors further extend customer choices to enable the best Internet experience in pocketable MIDs. Chandrasekher also announced several new MID designs for the China market.

Discussing Intel Centrino 2-based laptops, Chandrasekher pointed out additional OEMs choosing to include Intel ultra low-voltage processors to create ultra-thin laptop designs that are less than 1 inch thick. While lighter in size and weight, these notebooks still offer great performance and battery life consumers have come to expect. Chandrasekher then described the next-generation processors for laptops based on the Nehalem architecture that will be available in the second half of this year on the "Calpella" platform. These processors will be more powerful then their predecessors by including such technologies as Intel Hyper-Threading Technology and Intel Turbo Boost Technology.

Enterprise Keynote

During his keynote, titled "IA: The Intelligent Architecture Investment," Pat Gelsinger, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Digital Enterprise Group, discussed Intel's latest client, server and embedded product lines, and gave developers an update on the latest programming tools available for the Larrabee architecture.

Intel's complete Intel Architecture future product roadmap was also revealed. Gelsinger said the "Nehalem" microarchitecture has received worldwide acclaim with the Core® i7 processor launch in 2008 and the recent Nehalem-based Xeon 5500 series introduction. The Xeon 5500 series combines the world's leading processor microarchitecture with a new memory and I/O subsystem, QuickPath Interconnects and Intelligent Power Technology to control power consumption.

Gelsinger said Intel and the industry now look to adopting more mainstream PC and laptop versio! ns of th e Nehalem microarchitecture, including 32nm manufactured versions with on-processor graphics, as well the multi-socket Nehalem EX server processor, all in production in the second half of 2009. The future Nehalem-EX processor will provide eight cores for the multiprocessor "intelligent server" market.

For embedded computers, Gelsinger discussed a range of recently announced Atom processor solutions with industrial temp for applications such as in-vehicle infotainment and industrial automation. He also disclosed, for the first time ever, the Nehalem-EP based processor (codenamed "Jasper Forest") that is specifically designed to deliver increased compute density and integration required for embedded and storage applications.

Gelsinger also addressed Larrabee, which is Intel's first many-core architecture designed for high throughput applications and features a programmable graphics pipeline that enables developer freedom. The Intel executive discussed availability of a C++ Larrabee Prototype Library and a future parallel programming solution based on "Ct" technology. The first Larrabee discrete graphics products are due in the late 2009/2010 timeframe.

Vision & Leadership Keynote

During the conference's opening keynote, Intel Chairman Craig Barrett described how technology is a tool for improving education, health care, economic development and the environment. He challenged the developer community to use its collective technology expertise to develop solutions that tackle these challenges.

"Nothing beats investing in good people and good ideas," said Barrett, whose conclusions are drawn from observations from trips to more than 30 countries a year. "Public-private collaboration is fundamental in driving solutions that confront global challenges."

Barrett announced that Intel had selected the four winners of the INSPIRE•EMPOWER Challenge he launched last August. The winners will each receive $100,000 to further fund their innovative solutions that apply technolog! y to add ress unmet needs related to education, health care, economic development and the environment.

The INSPIRE•EMPOWER Challenge winners are: Bibek Chapagain of Winrock International in Kathmandu, Nepal; Daniel Fletcher of the University of California, Berkeley; Eric Morrow of the Maendeleo Foundation in Kampala, Uganda; and Michael Potts of Catholic Relief Services in Nairobi, Kenya. Details on the winning solutions are available at www.intel.com/pressroom.

Intel Developer Forum

IDF spans the worlds of mobility, digital enterprise, digital home and technology and research. The Beijing IDF, as announced in December, was scaled back from a two-day event due to current economic circumstances and business pressures the industry is facing globally. Next up on the IDF schedule is a three-day event in San Francisco, which will be held Sept. 22-24 at Moscone Center West. Further information is available by visiting http://developer.intel.com/idf.

Intel [NASDAQ: INTC], the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.



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BumpTop 3D Physics-Enabled Desktop Now Available, Going Multitouch for Windows 7 [Interfaces]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hFm5dFUso9Y/bumptop-3d-physics+enabled-desktop-now-available-going-multitouch-for-windows-7


God, it's been years since this concept surfaced. BumpTop, the 3D, physics-enabled, extremely literal take on a desktop manager is finally available for download. It looks... well, it looks as interesting as it ever did.

A free version is available for us to play around with, while the Pro version is $30. But both are lush, and the 3D desktop environments are eye-popping. One thing that the early demos may not have gotten across, though, is that BumpTop doesn't actually change that much about your computing experience. It's not an OS by any means, nor is it even a full shell conversion. No, it's really just a new desktop with some widget-like functionality. You can throw around your icons, which is fun, but beyond that you're limited to whatever extensions BumpTop supports: For example, flicking photos to a Facebook icon will upload them as you might expect, but this behavior isn't systemwide—it's just the function of a specific widget.

CNET says the app is well suited to touchscreens, but I suspect it'll really come into its own when a multitouch version is released later this year to coincide with Windows 7. For now, though, it's a fun toy. [The Download Blog]



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Intel debuts 2GHz Atom Z550 processor, demos Moorestown platform

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/08/intel-debuts-2ghz-atom-z550-processor-demos-moorestown/


In celebration of the Atom's one-year anniversary, Intel's unveiled Z550, the latest processor in the family and as the rumors suggested, it clocks in at a pretty impressive 2GHz along with support for Hyperthreading, all in under three watts of power usage. Additionally, it took the veil off of the Z515 with Intel Burst Performance Technology, which can bump the speed up to 1.2GHz. In more forward-thinking news, senior VP and general manager Anand Chandrasekher demoed its Moorestown MID platform on stage at a presentation, which we last heard was supposed to show itself in a more tangible form sometime this month via an Archos netbook. We've contacted Intel for video of that demonstration, so you're just gonna have to wait a bit for that.

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Intel debuts 2GHz Atom Z550 processor, demos Moorestown platform originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 01:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Bumptop gives Windows 7 touchscreen PCs purpose

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/08/video-bumptop-gives-windows-7-touchscreen-pcs-purpose/

Bumptop has been around as a video concept for a few years. Now this amazing desktop organizer with a physics engine underpinning the UI is available for download (PC only). The software allows you to bump and toss weighted objects across the desktop and organize them into folders or piles the way you would on your real-world desk. It also includes the ability to pan and zoom on images with all the gesture support you'd expect. While a touchscreen (multi-touch supported when Windows 7 ships) display provides a more natural interface, Bumptop also works with a mouse. Check the video after the break -- then hit up the download link below which we suspect you'll be frantically searching for after the video ends. Granted, we we don't want to spend our days with arms outstretched at "work" in front of a touchsceen PC anymore than you, but software like this could be useful on our lesser used, kitchen PCs.

Update: Katherine Boehret and Walt Mossberg have posted their review after playing with the wares for a few days. It's definitely "worth a try" but requires a shift from an application- to a desktop-driven approach to daily computing. Something they don't sound eager to do regardless of how "fun" Bumptop is.

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Video: Bumptop gives Windows 7 touchscreen PCs purpose originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM (employee): Storm 2 with "new approach to text entry" for end 2009, early 2010

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/08/rim-employee-storm-2-with-new-approach-to-text-entry-for-en/

Reputable Dutch site Tweakers has Alain Segond von Banchet, RIM channel sales manager according to LinkedIn, stating that the BlackBerry Storm followup is scheduled to launch at the end of the year or at the beginning of next. In addition, he has the phone coming to KPN, not Vodafone who had the first generation Storm locked-up under an exclusive deal. Interestingly enough, Mr. Segond von Banchet says that the Storm 2 (not the final name) will "offer among other things a new manner to input text" -- among other things meaning WiFi, presumably, as we heard before. Keep in mind that channel sales managers do not typically represent a company to the press. Nevertheless, what he's saying does jibe with previous rumors and we have no doubt that RIM is working hard to avoid the universal disdain that greeted the Storm's mushy, push-button touchscreen input.

Update: Tweakers responded telling us that Mr. Segond von Banchet was speaking on the record for RIM because there was no one from marketing at the TeleVisie 2009 Expo yesterday.

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RIM (employee): Storm 2 with "new approach to text entry" for end 2009, early 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds! .

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Fred Wilson: Agencies Need to Think More Facebook, Twitter, Less TV -- "earn the "media"; don't pay for it" -- http://ping.fm/6kNbf

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Tuesday, April 07, 2009

1000 Acres Vodka Packaging by Arnell

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDieline/~3/XSLbSML8C1M/1000-acres-vodka-packaging-by-arnell.html

Acres01dailyicon Acres02dailyicon

Via Daily Icon, new work from Arnell, the same folks who brought you the new Pepsi and the new (now discontinued) Tropicana packaging:

"Elegant packaging for 1000 Acres premium Vodka. Glass vessels designed for display beyond the liquor cabinet. 1000 Acres Vodka, by Manufacturer"

Thoughts?

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Create a Faux Fisheye Effect in Photoshop [Photoshop Tip]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/Bl04Vm-0nbs/create-a-faux-fisheye-effect-in-photoshop

Fisheye lenses can create some pretty novel images, but buying one can break the bank. Check out this tutorial for mimicking the fisheye lens effect on the cheap using Photoshop.

For the unfamiliar, a fisheye lens is a lens with an extremely wide angle of view. For comparison, fisheye lenses have an angle of view of 180 degrees, but the fixed 50mm lens, a staple of basic photography, has only a 46-degree angle of view. Because of the huge angle of view, fisheye lens have a significant amount of distortion—normally a bad thing, but also an artistic result for some shots, and one of the reasons people use them in styled photos and videos.

Why recreate the effect in Photoshop instead of just using a fisheye lens? A fisheye lens for a DSLR from a no-name company will run you more than $300, and easily $700 and up from a respectable company. Unless you have a huge passion for fisheye photography or a pressing business need to take wide-angle, that kind of expenditure is outside the scope of most photography hobbyists.

Helen Bradley's tutorial on software fisheye effects requires just Photoshop, or the GIMP, and the patience to translate the steps to suit your photos. In most cases, you'll need multiple pictures of a single scene to replicate the wide angle of view you get with a fish eye lens. Using Photoshop, you stick the photos together, clean up the edges, and then use the distortion filters to bend the photo to your fisheye-loving will. For more details and a step by step walk through, check out the link below.



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ImHonest Labels Offer Advanced Lost and Found [Lost And Found]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ozimU0UylrA/imhonest-labels-offer-advanced-lost-and-found

ImHonest is a lost-and-found service with a clever spin on returning your valuables with a little incentive.

Photo by Paul Stamatiou.

To get this out of the way from the start: ImHonest isn't necessarily more effective than just dropping your own homemade labels on your gadgets and hoping that whoever finds your stuff does the right thing. What it does provide is some advanced recovery options. The service works like this:

You purchase ImHonest labels from the ImHonest web site ($15 for six labels) and place a label on every item you want to register with the lost-and-found service. Then you head to the web site and register each device and the unique ID code so ImHonest knows what device corresponds to which ID.

In the event that you lose your ImHonest registered gadget and some honest chap happens to come across it, they'll see the label with the reward incentive*, call up the number, and receive instructions for dropping off your gear at the nearest UPS store. ImHonest will email you asking you if you've lost the item that's being reported as lost, you confirm, and UPS magically sends the item back to your doorstep. (Don't get too excited—you're still paying the shipping.)

ImHonest seems like a solid service, though as I said above, it's not necessarily all that much more effective than your own homespun labels—or even your digitally signed portable media. If you've already got a solid method for getting your lost gear back from an honest stranger, let's hear it in the comments.

*Incidentally, the reward for your honest: Free labels from ImHonest. I think I'd be a little annoyed.



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Image Resizer Powertoy Clone Resizes Pictures Easily [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/4a0-q7pwoVY/image-resizer-powertoy-clone-resizes-pictures-easily

Windows only: The Image Resizer Powertoy Clone adds an option to the Windows explorer context menu for quickly resizing pictures—without opening an image editor.

Using the utility couldn't be simpler—just right-click one or more pictures, select Resize Pictures, choose the resolution you want to resize the images to, and the newly resized images will show up alongside the originals—making this a very handy tool for quickly resizing images to share over email or instant message.

If this sounds familiar, it's because the utility is a clone of the previously mentioned Image Resizer Powertoy—but that one only worked on Windows XP, and only for 32-bit, but this one is both Vista and 64-bit friendly for your image resizing tasks.

The Image Resizer tool is both free and open source, available for Windows only. For more, check out the previously mentioned Bulk Image Resizer, or take a look at the top five image editing tools. Thanks, syndprod!



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