Archive for July, 2010

Carry-on Coat is perfect for the geek flasher

Posted in Accessories by Shane McGlaun on July 5th, 2010

In movies, flashers always have long trenchcoats and run around showing off their jiggly bits to everyone. If that flasher were a geek that wanted to stay connected while flashing, he would need the new SCOTTEVEST Carry-On Coat.

The new coat has a ton of pockets covering all sizes and appears to be the required trench coat length. There are pockets for the iPad, the iPhone, MP3 players, water, keys and just about anything else you can think of.

Flash comes to jailbroken iPad thanks to Frash

Posted in Apple by Shane McGlaun on July 5th, 2010

I am sure that there are lots of people out there who are like me and wish their iPad would support Flash video. Steve hates Flash that the chances of that happening officially are nil.

A guy has created a new hack for jailbroken iPads that ports Flash from Android to the iPad. The port works well and allows Flash games and content to run on the iPad using a compatibility layer.

Swiss IBM supercomputer uses hot water for cooling

Posted in IBM by Shane McGlaun on July 5th, 2010

It never gets very cold here in the south so when winter rolls around we don’t think too much about keeping warm like people in colder climates do. A college in Switzerland called the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich had its new IBM super computer installed recently.

The school uses hot water to heat its buildings and IBM uses the excess hot water to cool the new supercomputer dubbed Aquasar. IBM says that using this left over hot water reduces the supercomputers carbon footprint by up to 85%.

Coby MP620 is a $29 iPod Nano alternative

Posted in MP3 by Conner Flynn on July 4th, 2010

If you’re looking for an attractive and cheap iPad Nano alternative, this one will only cost you $29 and it looks like it is quality for that price. The Coby MP620 is a video and MP3 player that shares a similar form-factor with the Nano.

Sort of looks like those really small phasers from Star Trek: The Next Generation too. This device features a 1.8″ color LCD screen, and an FM radio. It comes in black, red or blue with a 4GB capacity for just $29.55 or $43.05 for the 8GB version.

Chase iPhone app lets you deposit checks from anywhere

Posted in iPhone Accessories by Conner Flynn on July 4th, 2010

Looks like banking giant Chase is finally getting itself into the 21st century with the latest version of its iPhone app. It allows you to deposit paper checks into your Chase account using an iPhone. All you have to do is take a picture of the front and back of the check, hit a few icons, and you’re done.

This is a major time-saver for people and it’s super useful. You don’t have to make a special trip to the bank anymore just for a deposit. We love that.

Samsung Dive remotely locks, wipes your Wave, Galaxy S for free

Posted in Samsung by Conner Flynn on July 4th, 2010

You need to be prepared in case you lose your phone. To that end, Samsung has introduced its Samsung Dive feature which is an extension of Mobile Tracker, helping users lock or wipe the phone in the event of a theft or loss.

You can also receive notifications online when the SIM card is taken out and replaced with a new one, or get the phone’s location sent to you at the same time. Sadly, the tracking feature will not be enabled in all countries due to legal and security reasons, but it will help some of us.

Samsung Wave shipping in the US, $499 unlocked

Posted in Samsung by Conner Flynn on July 4th, 2010

Holy crap. What’s with that model’s eyes? She looks like she is about to sprout vampire teeth and drink my blood. Probably without even having hot vampire sex with me. Would you buy a phone from her? It’s creepy. It’s like I’m being threatened to buy or else her and her husband, the Joker will have their way with me while Batman watches.

Anyway, the Samsung Wave has already hit the UK last month, but folks in the US have yet to get their hands on it. Now Amazon is offering the smartphone to US customers for $440 without a contract commitment.

Samsung Galaxy S does video out via 3.5 mm headset jack

Posted in Samsung by Conner Flynn on July 4th, 2010

Who would have guessed that you could pump video out of a 3.5mm headset jack? The recently released Galaxy S has been confirmed to offer video out through its 3.5mm headset jack. The international version of the Samsung Galaxy S comes with a TV out option that is built into the display settings, allowing you to pick your TV type (PAL or NTSC).

But you will need the appropriate cable to go from the 3.5mm jack to the standard AV ports on your TV. This mirrors the handset’s display on the TV in real time. We hope the US versions of the Galaxy S will come with this feature, but who knows.

Google plans music service with Android 3.0

Posted in Google by Conner Flynn on July 4th, 2010

Apparently Google wants to take on Apple’s iTunes with the next Android 3.0 update which should be released before the year is over. Google Music should be released along with Android 3.0 and it likely will have something to do with the recently acquired streaming service Simplified Media.

Itunes could use some competition and if anyone can do it, Google would be the company. It should be interesting to see what happens. It won’t be easy.

Condoms for old school gamers

Posted in Humor by Conner Flynn on July 4th, 2010

Condoms for old school gaming nerds seems like an oxymoron. On one hand, the packaging and concept is completely awesome. On the other, it’s a condom product designed for those who will likely never use one.

Each package features different classic Game Boy games, similar to those you grew up with. Classics like “The Long End of Zelda,” “Dong,” “Bone Zone 2,″ “Super Mario Land of Love,” “Sextris,” or “Donkey Shlong.” Seriously.

HDMI to be replaced with HDBaseT?

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on July 4th, 2010

The HDMI standard has been targeted for assassination. The killers? LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Valens Semiconductor. They have introduced a brand new audiovisual standard, called HDBaseT.

Don’t worry, this will not likely introduce a new kind of cable to your home. Instead of a new connector, it is based on the Cat 5e/6 network cables, commonly referred to as ethernet cables. The cable can pass HD and 3-D video signals, as well as data through an integrated 100MBit Ethernet connection. That feed should allow for new internet-connected TV services, like Google TV.

Night-vision mode could double your Android’s battery life

Posted in Android by Conner Flynn on July 4th, 2010

Want to extend the battery life of your Android phone? Would you switch your display to night-vision mode to do so? Probably. Especially if it could reduce the power consumption by half.

Android engineer Jeff Sharkey has discovered a hack that lets you power each specific color channel (red, green, and blue) found in an AMOLED display. Organic LED displays have separate pixel elements for each color channel so powering only one color can save a lot of power.

Pre Plus and Pixi Plus free on contract, with free accessories

Posted in Palm by Conner Flynn on July 4th, 2010

To celebrate the opening of the new HP Wireless store, the company is now offering both the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, on AT&T or Verizon, free of charge, but for a limited time only. The handsets also feature free shipping, and the Pre even comes with free accessories like a Bluetooth headset, car charger and leather case.

Poor Sprint still expects buyers to pay cash money for these handsets. If you’ve been thinking about these handsets, it looks like now would be the time to get one.

Digital Wallet concept for easy money transactions

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on July 3rd, 2010

The Digital Wallet concept might just change the way you look at transactions. This digital device lets you perform safe and fast money transactions wherever you happen to be, no matter what time of day or night it is. Just connect the two devices to transfer money from one account to another.

Identity verification comes from placing your thumb on the outer ring, then after confirmation, you can transfer an amount by using the screen. The LED stripe will light up to confirm a successful transfer. This probably won’t be the new thing since we have several similar ways to transfer money already, but it’s interesting.

Colorware strikes again, paints the Xbox 360

Posted in Xbox 360 by Conner Flynn on July 3rd, 2010

It seems there isn’t a thing Colorware won’t paint. Now you can jazz up that new Xbox 360. The color options are near limitless. If you’ve already picked one up, Colorware is charging $175 for the send-in option.

If you want to buy new, that technicolor dreamcoat will cost you $500 bucks. Totally worth it for a part red, part lime, part purple Xbox right? No one understands your sense of color like Colorware.