Would you be embarrassed to serve Trader Joe's branded wine even if the wine was actually awesome? Give a shout out in comments.

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@jbruin - JK Wedding Dance Phenomenon was no phenomenon at all - http://bit.ly/8K9pW

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UPDTD: Videos on AdAge Viral Chart take an avg of 3 months to reach full viral, not 6 days - http://bit.ly/8K9pW - #JKWeddingDance #fake

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RT@glenngabe: Wow, check this out: The JKWeddingDance Video Was Real; The Viral Effect is FAKE - http://is.gd/1WE0l - What do you think?

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ViewSonic's VOT120 and VOT121 nettops suck in their guts for the camera

Unsatisfied with only having the tall and slim 130 and 132 nettops, ViewSonic's newly announced family of hardware also features a pair of even more diminutive options: the VOT120 and 121. Snapped in the wild for your delectation, these machines are small enough to be confused for a well-filled CD wallet and come with WiFi, four USB inputs, gigabit Ethernet and DVI-out. While the 120's standard netbook spec is nothing to write home about, the 121 does receive a (comparatively) potent 1.4GHz CULV chip and a HDMI output 'round back, making for an intriguing HTPC proposition. Prices in Taiwan are set for $304 and $423 respectively, but feel free to browse past the break for an inquisitive look at these miniature computers.

Continue reading ViewSonic's VOT120 and VOT121 nettops suck in their guts for the camera

Filed under: Desktops

ViewSonic's VOT120 and VOT121 nettops suck in their guts for the camera originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CrunchPad coming in November with built-in 3G connectivity, says Straits Times

Last we heard, TechCrunch's Michael Arrington wasn't ready to talk about a timeframe for the release of his self-proclaimed "science project," the CrunchPad tablet. That's not the case for The Straits Times, however, who've published an article claiming that developer Fusion Garage is aiming to get the device out to the masses by November of this year, just in time for Christmas shopping. The Singapore newspaper got a sneak preview of the device, as well as some new specs. The tablet reportedly about 2.64 pounds, has a 1.6GH Intel Atom and 1GB RAM (which we knew), a USB port for keyboard and / or mouse, built-in WiFi and 3G connectivity, and a port for mobile broadband. Price is estimated around $400, a little bit more than the $300 he pegged in April, but it's still being filed in the "unconfirmed" category for now -- hopefully it comes out a little leaner when this thing goes official.

[Thanks, David]

Filed under: Handhelds

CrunchPad coming in November with built-in 3G connectivity, says Straits Times originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi's next-gen R8 MMI recognizes handwriting, probably increases your insurance premium

There's comes a time in every technology's life when the envelope gets pushed just for the sake of getting pushed. For Audi's already complex MMI, this is it. Right around this time last year, we were drooling quite profusely over the A8's next-generation Multi Media Interface (which is basically a snazzy name for an in-dash NAV system), but this year, we're wondering who exactly will take advantage of the R8's next system. Aside from getting a much needed UI makeover, Autobild is reporting that said platform will include support for handwriting recognition. So far as we can tell, you simply pencil in your next address with your greasy digits and tag the correct word that pops up there on the right. We're still waiting to hear why this is preferred over a decent voice recognition system, but hey, so long as James Bond approves, who are we to argue?

[Via German Car Blog]

Filed under: Transportation

Audi's next-gen R8 MMI recognizes handwriting, probably increases your insurance premium originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China Mobile's 7-inch Android slate gets rendered

We've nothing much to go on outside of a few good renders and a smattering of machine translated paragraphs, but it sure sounds as if China Mobile is entertaining the idea of bringing a 7-inch Android-based tablet to its airwaves. As the story goes, said slate would boast China's homegrown TD-SCDMA 3G connectivity, support for video calling, a full-fledged web browser and an OPhone operating system -- which is essentially a customized version of Android for the Chinese market. Sadly, no further information was given, leaving us to wonder what kind of innards are scheduled for implant and what kind of price tag / release date we're looking at. Oh, and those "call" and "end call" buttons are pretty darn evident, leading us to believe that China Mobile might actually expect you to use this as your primary mobile. Can you say... Sidetalkin'?

[Via Pocketables]

Continue reading China Mobile's 7-inch Android slate gets rendered

Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs

China Mobile's 7-inch Android slate gets rendered originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer's Aspire Predator gaming rig gets even faster, stays just as orange

Just a few weeks too late for a Transformers 2 tie-in, Acer has announced a new revision of its Aspire G desktop, a.k.a. Predator. It shares the same case with the earlier edition that hit the US of A late last year, but naturally has some better specs this time 'round. The CPU is now one of Intel's new Core i7 950's running at 3.06GHz, up to 12GB of DDR3 RAM is on offer, while more permanent storage is offered by a 1TB HDD and a Blu-ray reader. A pair of NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 graphics cards keep the pixels flowing over four DVI-D ports, and dual Gigabit Ethernet is on offer for those about to rock shotgun network connections. All that clad in a brilliant orange case that looks like it rolled off the Lamborghini production line, though at ¥259,800 ($2,700ish) it's a lot cheaper than the Murciélago LP 670-4 Superveloce you've been drooling over. No word on American availability, but since the last one took about four months to make it this way perhaps we'll see this one by year's end.

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Acer's Aspire Predator gaming rig gets even faster, stays just as orange originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AAXA ups the ante with SVGA P2 pico projector

While it's probably safe to say that the rush of pico projectors has slowed to a trickle, that's not stopping a few of the early entrants from dishing out new and improved models as the second wave builds. AAXA, the outfit responsible for serving up the pint-sized P1 back in February, is demonstrating exactly what a hasty refresh cycle looks like by dishing out the higher-res P2 just a few months later. The LCoS-based pico projector packs an SVGA (800 x 600) resolution, a 33 lumen LED light source, 1GB of onboard memory, a microSD card reader and even a built-in battery good for around 35 minutes of beaming (or in other terms, nearly two full episodes of Entourage). The device checks in at just 4.3- x 2.3- x 1-inches and sports a VGA input, 3.5mm headphone output and a mini USB socket to boot. Feel free to pre-order yours now for $349 -- or, you know, wait for a 720p model.

[Via PicoProjector-Info]

Filed under: Displays

AAXA ups the ante with SVGA P2 pico projector originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's not every day that you get challenged to a public "fisticuffs" over calling branding "impotent" - http://bit.ly/ueQJJ

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What to Do if You Can't Do "Old" Branding Any More - http://bit.ly/ueQJJ

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The Citadel: The World's First Floating Apartment Complex [Architecture]

Since Holland is mostly under sea level, keeping houses from flooding is a constant problem. This concept fixes that problem by just having an apartment complex that floats.

The Citadel is the residential part of the "New Water" complex, which tries to embrace Holland's waterworld-ness instead of fighting it. It'll have a floating road to the mainland as well as plenty of boat docks for its 60 units. Apparently it'll also be 25% more energy-efficient than an equivalent complex on land by using the surrounding water for cooling. It looks kind of crazy, but the sort of crazy that could actually work. [Inhabitat]

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A Rallying Cry Against Scummy Carrier Voicemail Messages [Cellphones]

The New York Times' David Pogue is sick and damned tired of wireless carriers wasting our time and our minutes with their intentionally drawn out voicemail messages. And he wants your help to get them to change.

You know the messages: "At the tone, please record your message. When you have finished recording, you may hang up, or press 1 for more options. To leave a callback number, press 5. (Beep)" That's 15 seconds that you owe every time you leave a voicemail. And it's just as bad when you check your voicemail. And the entire thing is a scam.

These little 15-second waits add up–bigtime. If Verizon's 70 million customers leave or check messages twice a weekday, Verizon rakes in about $620 million a year. That's your money. And your time: three hours of your time a year, just sitting there listening to the same message over and over again every year.

In 2007, I spoke at an international cellular conference in Italy. The big buzzword was ARPU–Average Revenue Per User. The seminars all had titles like, "Maximizing ARPU In a Digital Age." And yes, several attendees (cell executives) admitted to me, point-blank, that the voicemail instructions exist primarily to make you use up airtime, thereby maximizing ARPU.

Well that's pretty shitty! So what to do? Harass the hell out of your carrier and get them to quit it. Pogue has links to places where you should yell at all four major carriers. Here they are:

Verizon: Post a complaint here.
AT&T: Send e-mail to Mark Siegel, ex! ecutive director of media relations.
Sprint: Post a complaint here.
T-Mobile: Post a complaint here.

In the end, will it work? Maybe. But you can't win if you don't play, and these are your overpriced minutes we're talking about here. So I think you know what to do. [Pogue]

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Nikon D300s officially announced -- 720p/24 movie mode with autofocus and mic input

Well well, Nikon managed to keep the big secret about the new D300s under wraps even as everything else was leaked in the past few weeks: the new $1,799.95 body will shoot 24fps 720p video with contrast-detect autofocus and offers an external mic input. That's basically every would-be DSLR videographer's major wishlist right there -- sure, 1080p would have been nice, but we'll take better sound over a couple more lines of resolution any day. Other highlights include a 12.3 megapixel DX sensor, 51-point autofocus, and 7fps burst shooting, as well as those dual CF and SD card slots and a 920k pixel screen. Yeah, it's looking like a real beast -- that DX sensor probably doesn't have Canon 5D Mark II fans worried, but if you're looking to get into DSLR video this looks like the new cam to beat.

Gallery: Nikon D300s officially announced -- 720p/24 movie mode with autofocus and mic input

Update: Digital Photography Review has a brief hands-on with the camera, clarifying that the contrast-detection autofocus isn't the quickest, and like we learned with the Olympus E-P1 you'll need to use an external mic when shooting to avoid the ever-present "shhhk" sound. Also of note is continuous shooting, which has been given a boost to seven frames per second -- eight if you have the battery grip -- compared to D300 and that it has the same memory card door as the D700.

Continue reading Nikon D300s officially announced -- 720p/24 movie mode with autofocus and mic input

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Nikon D300s officially announced -- 720p/24 movie mode with autofocus and mic input originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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