Posted Jan 16th 2008 5:24PM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Cellphones
Apparently, a lot of iPhone users are experiencing issues related to out of order SMS conversations.
[Thanks Mark and Sean]
What’s the deal, have you seen this? Shout it out in comments.
A lot of people were pretty damned stoked about the SMS improvements Apple unleashed upon iPhone owners yesterday with firmware v1.1.3, but it’s not all turning up roses.
For the latest info on the coolest gadgets, emerging technology and wired madness, subscribe to our full news feed or have it delivered to your inbox. Always free. Always unique. Thanks for visiting!
Nice job Alienware, you did very well launching a sweet system around the same time as Apple’s launch of the ridiculously named Mac Book Air. Normally your releases would attract such fanfare it is not funny, but then there was no element of surprise this time. We had known for well over a month that your latest power gaming notebook was on the way. We even knew what it would be packing under the hood. Still, you could have drummed up a bit more publicity, had you brought this out a little earlier.
The stats of this gaming bad boy, according to the press release are as follows:
• Intel Core 2 Extreme mobile processor power, enabling users to run the latest games and power-hungry applications like post-production video software and music encoding programs at full speed for optimum productivity.
• Cutting-edge graphics delivered by an NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX GPU, fully primed for the new wave of DirectX® 10-fueled games.
• Alienware’s BinaryGFX technology, which provides the flexibility of switching between integrated and high-performance graphics cards.
• Advanced user controls through the Alienware Command Center, including the AlienFX® lighting and the AlienFusion power management system.
• Smart Bay technology giving users on-the-fly customization capabilities with a hot-swappable optical drive, second hard drive and backup battery.
This is one hot gaming notebook, it is just a shame that they mistimed its release so unbelievably badly. The Mac Book Air nearly had me singing its praises until I saw that a superior product was on the market in the form of the Area-51 m15x 15.4-inch notebook. I don’t need thinness, I need gaming juice and this thing has it in spades. Plus that alien head with the glowing eyes is a far cooler logo than a half eaten piece of fruit.
Priced to move between $1,500 and $2,700 (for our money, the mid-ranged $2,100 machine looked the pick of the bunch).
Alienware
When I was at CES 2008 last week, there was a lot of hype over the Hitachi 1.5. In fact, Hitachi had these mobile billboards driven around all around the town proclaiming “1.5 is here”. I’ve always found ad campaigns like these a little awkward. They tend to assume that you know what the product is, which sort of defeats the purpose of advertising.
For those who do not know, 1.5 is a new display from Hitachi that is as thick as its name: 1.5 inches. Of course, the mere thickness (or in this case, thinness) is pretty impressive, but Hitachi packed even more features.
First, the 1.5 has a search engine that is designed for large-scale image and video archives. This program, also known as Similarity Based Image Retrieval System, can essentially use a picture to search for a bigger or similar picture.
Second, the 1.5 has a Personal Video Sharing feature with a built-in home data center. This allows for content recorded on a video camera to be shared between two homes. No PC is required for this.
The third cool feature is a Wireless HDTV System. This allows high-definition content to be distributed over WiFi from a Hitachi video gateway device. In other words, a user can share content among several displays at home.
The fourth feature is the IPTV user interface for “accessing, managing, and sharing content at home or on the go”.
The 1.5 is planned to be released shortly, and something tells me it will make quite a splash.
Source
<!– ch_client = “gadgets”; ch_type = “rpu”; ch_noprice = “1″; ch_width = 468; ch_height = 90; ch_color_title = “#B40505″; ch_non_contextual = 1; ch_nosearch = 1; ch_default_category = “89″; ch_font_title = “Arial”; ch_font_text = “Arial”; ch_sid = “Coolest Gadgets RPU”; ch_alternate_css_url = “http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/rpu2.css”; ch_target = “_blank”; var ch_queries = new Array( ” Hitachi says 1.5 is here!” ); var ch_selected=Math.floor((Math.random()*ch_queries.length)); if ( ch_selected
This DIY Fire Alarm Clock may be overkill, but hey, maybe you’re a little deaf? Eh? What’s that you say?
This hack takes a standard cheap alarm clock, some interface components and a fire alarm bell to get the job done right. Normally these small alarm clocks use a piezo buzzer to attempt to wake you up. The alarm signal is hijacked from the clock circuit board and used as an input to the interface board.
<!– –> Smugmug has teamed with Marc Silber, Bay Area photographer to present a series of free introductory workshops entitled Capturing the Spirit of Photography. The first to be held Wednesday, January 23, 7 p.m. at SmugMug HQ, 67 East Evelyn, Mountain View, CA 94041.
"Today everyone has a camera, but do they really know how to use it? Rushing around, snapping pictures distracts from the core joy of photography. The art of photography transcends just looking through a camera lens and leads to really seeing life. I'll give tips to improve anyone's abilities straight from two of the greats of photography, Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier-Bresson," Siber said.
"There isn't a pro in the field, any field, that won't tell you that the key to improvement is instruction and practical application. With this in mind, we're presenting this series of workshops for photographers of all levels. By adding the element of Marc's workshops we are taking the next step in our in our mission of devotion to priceless photos," SmugMug's Markham Bennett added.
Silber, a Peninsula native attended the San Francisco Art Institute, has been a professional photographer for more than 40 years and enjoys teaching photography through his workshops and published works.
Over the past few years the torrent site ‘The Pirate Bay’ has become a favorite of those who hate the draconian tactics of the RIAA and MPAA. The merry pranksters have consistently taunted anyone and everyone who has attempted to shut them down. The Pirate Bay has become so influential that the Swedish-based site has even tried to form their own political party. Sadly the Pirate Bay may be winding down. For the first time, the administrators of the Pirate Bay may be facing charges from the Swedish government.
Back in 2006, Swedish official seized their servers in what seemed to be the end of the improbable run of the Pirate Bay. The site was back up and running within three days. Coincidently (or not), the Swedish police website was taken down with a DDoS attack during the same period. Some of the Pirate Bay’s administrators have speculated that the humiliation of that failed take down has continued to sting the Swedish police. They are equally sure that the charges will amount to very little.
“[If we are convicted], we’ll just appeal all the way to the European Union court. So in five years time this might be settled.” says admin Peter Sunde
It remains to be seen if Sunde is correct in his confidence but we’ll be sure to let you know as the story develops.
Read [Ars Technica]
Posted Jan 16th 2008 9:33AM by Thomas Ricker
If you’re barbaric enough to still use disposal alkaline batteries instead of new generation rechargeables like Eneloops, then you’ll be stoked by this news Atouk. Panasonic’s new EVOLTA lineup is said to perform “almost 1.3 - 2 times” longer that their existing alkalines. In fact, they now claim to have the “longest lasting AA battery cell in the world.” For that, Panny will charge you an approximate 15% premium when they hit the market on April 26th.
Posted Jan 16th 2008 9:14AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Desktops, Gaming
Ready for more rumors of processor delays? This time, it’s Intel (not AMD) in the spotlight according to DigiTimes’ sources at Taiwan motherboard makers. Intel is said to be delaying volume shipments of their quad-core QX9770 CPU for high-end desktops until February or March instead of January as earlier believed. Worse yet, the proc is now rumored to cost $1,399 (in 1,000 unit quantities) when it ships — not $1,200 as thought back in November. Hey Intel, if this move has anything to do with an intent to monopolize the market in lieu of AMD’s inability to compete then let us remind you of something — the EU and a certain Attorney General are watching you.
Posted Jan 16th 2008 7:27AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Wireless, Storage
Believe it or not, MacWorld does continue even after Jobs has left the building. In as much, Eye-Fi just announced support for Apple’s iPhoto as well as the Safari and Firefox browsers when accessing their web-based Eye-Fi Manager. iPhoto support means you can now capture images from your digital camera to your $99 Eye-Fi 2GB SD card and transmit them directly into the photo management software while on your home WiFi network — right, no hotspot uploading action for you. Considering photos were previously dumped into a folder (or 19 on-line sites), the free update is definitely a step in the right direction.
[Via TUAW]
Posted Jan 16th 2008 8:23AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Household
For those who could easily sleep through a tornado (or similar), there are a plethora of alarm clocks out there designed to wake even you up. Still, there’s nothing like crafting a suitable alternative yourself, and the folks over at Hacked Gadgets decided to exemplify overkill in their latest concoction. ‘Course, a “fire alarm bell alarm clock” is pretty self-explanatory, and while it certainly doesn’t come through as loud over YouTube as we’re sure it is in person, there’s still ample reason to click through and peek the video yourself.
[Thanks, Alan]
