Archive for: August 10, 2009

So what’s better? Touch screen input or good ‘ol hardware buttons? The argument goes on in the geekosphere both sides bringing in their advantages. Touch screens typically have the advantage of gesture control if executed well, and hardware buttons are there for tactile feedback. But what happens when you can merge the two technologies together ? No I don’t mean something like the LG Chocolate or other devices that run a combination of buttons and touch-sensitive panels. We’re talking about a touch screen that has actual protrusions, backlit to serve multiple functions depending on what you want to do. This is a beautiful piece of technology that shows a lot of potential in shutting up both camps. Adding tactile feedback to a touch screen may seem like something hard to imagine, so I’ve attached photos to show you what it would look like. Imagine a rubber keypad that actually changes its topography based on what you want to do. [ image ] Post from: Cellphone9

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Touch Screen + Buttons = Winner UI

Failing to find a larger company to acquire it, Nambu Network will shut down its link shortening service. Tr.im has thousands of users and creates tens of thousands of URLs per day for social media users. Like tinyurl, bit.ly and many other free services, tr.im converts a conventional URL to a shorter URL that redirects users to the original page. Link shortening services have been especially popular on Twitter. With a 140-character limit, URL shorteners make it more practical for members to share Web content with each other on the micro-blogging service. “We regret that it came to this, but all of our efforts to avoid it failed,” Nambu Network said on its home page. “No business we approached wanted to purchase tr.im for even a minor amount.” Nambu Blames Twitter Nambu said all tr.im links will continue to redirect until at least the end of 2009. If no company steps up to buy tr.im, those links could eventually lead users to nowhere. “There is no way for us to monetize URL shortening — users won’t pay for it — and we just can’t justify further development since Twitter has all but anointed bit.ly the market winner,” the company wrote. “There is simply no point for us to continue operating tr.im, and pay for its upkeep.” The company was especially critical of Twitter and companies that feed off of it to provide services. Nambu claims tr.im gets hit by countless bots every day farming its data to create and operate companies that allow users to search and retweet the hottest stories on Twitter, such as Tweetmeme. “Twitter has all but sapped us of any last energy to double-down and develop tr.im further. What is the point? With bit.ly the Twitter default, and with us having no inside connection to Twitter, ...

On Monday, Toshiba did what some thought it would never do: apply for membership to the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). After losing a long battle for high-definition DVD technologies, Toshiba has signaled plans to launch products that support the Blu-ray format it once rivaled. Toshiba cited recent growth in digital devices supporting the Blu-ray format, combined with market demand from consumers and retailers as the impetus for joining the BDA, whose members include Sony, Samsung, Hitachi and many other leading electronics manufacturers. Betting on Blu-ray Growth Blu-ray discs are seeing sales growth. According to Futuresource Consulting, consumers are on target to buy more than 100 million Blu-ray discs in the United States, Europe and Japan in 2009. Sales of high-definition-capable LCD and plasma TVs, along with continued price declines of Blu-ray disc (BD) players, are fueling the interest in packaged hi-def content despite the economic downturn. Futuresource Consulting forecasts that the major global Blu-ray disc markets will grow from 18 million discs in 2008 to 130 million discs in 2010. “BD disc sales continue to expand into all major markets and genres, although to date the business has gravitated towards new release titles,” said Jim Bottoms, managing director at Futuresource. “In particular, the action adventure genre dominates, appealing strongly to the young male technology adopter, which also closely matches the PS3 owner profile. For some high-profile titles, close to 25 percent of all disc sales have been on BD, while other action adventure titles consistently see BD accounting for over 15 percent of total sales.” Toshiba is looking to get in on the action. The company already offers a lineup of advanced digital products, such as DVD recorders and players, HDTVs and notebook PCs that support a wide range of storage devices, including hard disk drives, DVDs and SD cards. ...

It was a bold statement in small packages. On Aug. 5, Hewlett-Packard said it was planning to sell portable, Web-connected computers that can tap Japan’s cellular networks without requiring users to be locked into a contract with a wireless operator. The computers — laptops, netbooks, and touchscreen tablets — will come with 100 minutes of free airtime and a built-in, pay-as-you-go wireless system when they go on sale next month. HP’s event, at a downtown Tokyo hotel, was a small affair, attracting just a few dozen journalists and one TV camera. But among industry executives and analysts, HP’s latest move is attracting a lot of attention: It could end up rewriting the rules in Japan’s wireless industry. HP, in effect, will become a mobile operator — in industry jargon, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). That means the Palo Alto (Calif.) company will get to decide what type of gizmos to connect to the network — and will keep for itself most of the revenues from airtime use. Having a tech manufacturer double as an operator poses a threat to Japan’s three largest wireless operators, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, and SoftBank. Undercutting the Operators’ Control Operators traditionally have exerted tight control of the airwaves used to deliver telecommunication signals to consumers. They have the final say over which phones, PCs, and other gizmos can tap their network, and how much to charge subscribers for service. The iPhone, for which Apple is said to get up to 30 percent of the operators’ revenues from iPhone subscribers’ monthly payments, was the first to shift the balance of power away from operators. HP will take that a step further. The Japanese government’s decision last year to force operators to sell unused bandwidth to new entrants helped. HP will rent spectrum from Japan Communications [JCI], ...

(Credit: Sony) A small but vocal group of tech enthusiasts is raising a fuss over Sony’s plans to disable the hardware virtualization required to run Microsoft’s Windows 7 XP virtualization technology. Answering reader questions on the official Windows Partner Blog, Sony exec Xavier Lauwaert says security issues are …

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Sony nixes Windows 7’s XP virtualization mode for current Vaio laptops

This was originally posted at ZDNet’s Between the Lines . Toshiba said Monday it is planning a lineup of products that support the Blu-ray storage format. Toshiba was one of the leading companies behind HD DVD, a standard that lost to Blu-ray. In a statement, that it will provide “a … Originally posted at News - Digital Media

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Toshiba signs up for Blu-ray

By Andrew Liszewski In the olden days, bicycle dynamos were really only used to power safety lighting on a bike. But in these modern times a cyclist can be using everything from a GPS device to a cellphone to an MP3 player while they’re out for a ride. So the PedalPower+ system safely harnesses the power generated by an AC dynamo and turns it into a safe DC source where the current is regulated and the voltage is consistent enough for electronic devices to be recharged. The PedalPowerr+ system uses either a bottle dynamo (pictured above) which is relatively easy to install, or a hub dynamo which will probably require the assistance of a bike shop since it requires a re-spoking. But it’s flexible and modular enough that it can also be adapted to a pre-existing hub generator if your bike is already equipped for power. And during the times when you’re not riding, the battery charging unit can be easily removed and used to trickle charge your gear until your next ride, or until the battery is depleted. [ PedalPower+ ] VIA [ Gizmag ]

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PedalPower+ Keeps Your Gear Charged While Riding

By Chris Scott Barr Have you ever been out hiking and gotten stranded? I can’t say that I have, but I can only imagine that it would not be a fun ordeal. One problem you’ll no doubt run into if unprepared would be finding food. I’ve never attempted to forage for food, and really wouldn’t know where to begin. The smart move is to pack some kind of food in with your hiking gear. If you’re really smart, you might pack these HotCans. These cans come in three flavors (Beef Casserole, Sausage and Beans, and Vegetable Chili) and heat up of their own accord. Just remove the lid, pop a few holes and wait for the steam to start rising. Who knows how tasty the meals are, but if you’re unable to get a fire going, any hot meal is going to be awesome. At $8 a can they are a bit expensive, but when you’re not hiking they would go nicely in your fallout shelter. [ Firebox ] VIA [ RGS ]

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HotCans Provide A Hot Meal Anywhere

By Andrew Liszewski Yep, for just $24.95 from Vat19 you can split a single USB 2.0 port on your PC into 4 ports using this retro cassette tape USB hub. Unfortunately like real cassettes, flipping it over doesn’t give you an additional 4 more USB ports, so why would you opt for something like this? As one of the commenters on BBGadgets points out, it’s all explained in the FAQ: Question: How is this different than a regular (boring) USB Hub? Answer: The Cassette Tape USB Hub looks like a cassette tape. So, it’s awesome and not boring. Can’t argue with that. [ Cassette Tape 4-port USB 2.0 Hub ] VIA [ CrunchGear & BBGadgets ]

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Cassette Tape 4-Port USB Hub

By Chris Scott Barr Have you ever wondered how you could be easily identified as a giant douche at the next party you attend? As with skinning a cat, there are many ways to accomplish this noble title. My new preferred method is wearing this Portable Tap Dispenser. Granted, if you’re at a party with no booze and you walk in with a full tap of beer, you might be a hero. However, try walking into a kegger with an empty one and you’ll be douching it up in no time. The best part here is that you’ll just get worse the longer you’re there. Just having this thing strapped to your back is bad enough, but when you roll up to the keg and start filling it up, you’ll definitely turn a few heads. Things will probably start heating up once you’re about 3/4 the way through your beer. By then you’ve no doubt got a good buzz going, and everyone at the party knows that you’re the one that spent 10 minutes filling up their stupid backpack with beer. They’ll be giving you crappy looks and telling you where you can shove that thing. To properly earn your new title, finish off your booze and head back for a refill. Trust me, it’ll be the best $35 you ever spent. [ FunIdeas ] VIA [ FoolishGadgets ]

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Make New Friends With The Portable Tap Dispenser

I'm not going to make believe I'd heard of http://tr.im before today. It's one of a plethora of url shortening sites that have sprung up recently. In the 140 character Twitter world brevity truly is the soul of wit and then some.

tr.im is now in the process of discontinuing service, effective immediately.

That's the headline on the tr.im site (except bolder and larger there). One doesn't often get to write their own obit.

There is no way for us to monetize URL shortening -- users won't pay for it -- and we just can't justify further development since Twitter has all but annointed bit.ly the market winner. There is simply no point for us to continue operating tr.im, and pay for its upkeep.

We apologize for the disruption and inconvenience this may cause you.

Though tr.im will maintain its links through the end of the year the implication for anyone whose ever used one of these sites is enormous. If you're using a url shortener you're taking the chance it will disappear and your link will become an orphaned dead end!

When you've only got 140 characters short is good, but when space is no object short is dangerous. Make no mistake, tr.im's inability to monetize its product is not a tr.im only concern.