HD VISION Sunglasses…Yes, the “HD” Stands For “Hi Def” [Hd]

With all the confusion around 720p, 1080i, 1080p, HD, full HD, Blu-ray, HD DVD, ACVHD and the pesky digital television transition, thank goodness we have the fine folks who make infomercials standing in the ready to soothe our tired brains. Before watching this very important offer, we had no clue that we’d only been seeing the world in standard def. How embarrassing!

Note: this is not a parody. Sometimes the world just feels like one. [Seen On TV]

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The Consumerist this day wonders why AT&T refused to sell someone a pre-paid GoPhone for claimed “credit history” reasons. A tiny odd, given that the whole idea of these things is they require no contract and no bills, right? From the…

The Consumerist today wonders why AT&T refused to sell someone a pre-paid GoPhone for claimed “credit history” reasons. A tiny odd, given that the whole idea of these things is they require no contract and no bills, right? From the customer complaint:

“Ms. Johnson blatantly refused to answer either of these questions and simply read some pre-prepared rejection script that was obviously coming up on her personal screen as rudely as she could in an attempt to disturb me in mid-speech. Once she finally ran out of things to parrot I asked why it was that a supervisor in the AT&T order processing department didn’t know how the AT&T order processing process worked well enough to explain to me why my orders were being cancelled, and she stated that this was something the credit department handled.”

Isn’t the answer obvious? GoPhones and other prepaid services are just a marketing plan to turn you into bona fide contract slaves somewhere down the line.

So, there will be credit checks.

Via [wired.com]

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The Activexpression from Promethean is either brilliant or doomed. It’s a mobile phone-like handset designed for use in schools. The units, which use RF to communicate with the base station, sport a decidedly old-school monochrome 128×128 pixel LCD screen. The…

The Activexpression from Promethean is either brilliant or doomed. It’s a mobile phone-like handset designed for use in schools. The units, which use RF to communicate with the base station, sport a decidedly old-school monochrome 128×128 pixel LCD screen.

The instructor can issue quizzes and the children key in answers via the familiar multi-tap keyboard. We don’t know why this is better than pen and paper, or even talking, but we know how much the teens love their cellphones, and from our point of view, more gadgets in the classroom is always superior. Schools might be more popular, though, if they follow the lead of Michigan, where the say plans to purchase iPods for each student.

Product page [Promethean World]

Via [wired.com]

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This is what tools are for, my friends. Ronald Long of Deepwater, MO, was trying to install a satellite dish in his bedroom. He was having trouble putting the necessary hole in the wall and, thinking himself quite clever, decided to use his gun to get the job done swiftly. Unfortunately, his wife was outside and caught the bullet in the chest. She was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival. On the upside, Ronald now has DirecTV. Silver linings, people. [KCTV via Boing Boing]

Via [gizmodo]

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Question: How Many Cops Does It Take to Bust a Ring of Cellphone Thieves? [Cellphones]

This many, apparently. This was the scene in North London yesterday afternoon, as 600 cops in scary riot gear marched up a suburban street on their way to knock some thievin’ heads together.

The boys in blue made a beeline for 19 businesses situated on the Blackstock Road, a crime hotspot that, coincidentally or not, is just round the corner from the mosque where extremist preacher Abu Hamza used to preach from. Premises raided included a butcher’s shop, internet cafe and greengrocer’s.

The raid wasn’t just about cellphones, however—although T-Mobile claims that 40 percent of its stolen phones go on to be used in the Blackstock Road area. Some of the other charges leveled against the suspects include drug dealing, money laundering and selling fake documents.

And the reason for 600 woodentops? Well, a bit like the Kaiser Chiefs, officers predicted a riot, so they sent an entire regiment of men down there. Seventy men were arrested, 300 stolen mobiles recovered, as well as (deep breath) 120 laptops, 110 cameras, 32 iPods and 20 satnavs. Oh, and 47 forged passports and driving licenses. I heart London. [Daily Mail]

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Pube Grooming Kit Makes Your Muff Ideal In Show [Pubic Topiary]

Anyone into heart-shaped boxes need look no further than the Just Kittyng Kit. In it is all the gear you need to turn your girlfriend’s lady-garden into something more, shall we state, ornamental. It’s got a bunch of stencils so that when you select to transform her bush into a heart, star or arrow, it won’t look like something that Salvador Dali did. The three shapes are dull-ass dull, though. Whoever is behind this $36 thing needs to begin thinking outside the box. [Makeup.com via ALBOTAS]

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Send Your Ashes to the Moon for All Eternity, for a Price [Space]

Graveyards are so 20th century. If you want to be a cool and hip dead person in these modern times, you need to do something a bit crazier. Like get sent to the moon!

That’s just what Celestis, Inc. is offering: the ability to send some of your ashes to the moon for the low, low price of $10,000. Celestis has already been launching ashes into space for a few years now, but this new service will let your final relaxing place be right there on the moon, a place that you can be sure will see your ashes relaxing comfortably and not returning to the Earth from whence you came. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust is all well and good for some people, but some of us don’t want our cremated corpses used for growing trees in the woods or some other such indignity. No, the moon is the only place for decent people to end up. It’s that much closer to heaven, after all. [New Launches]

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HD VISION Sunglasses…Yes, the “HD” Stands For “Hi Def” [Hd]

With all the confusion around 720p, 1080i, 1080p, HD, full HD, Blu-ray, HD DVD, ACVHD and the pesky digital television transition, thank goodness we’ve the fine folks who make infomercials standing in the ready to soothe our exhausted brains. Before watching this very important offer, we had no clue that we’d only been seeing the world in standard def. How embarrassing!

Note: this is not a parody. Sometimes the world just feels like one. [Seen On TV]

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QuickerTek has made available the TriBand, an add-on antenna for Apple’s Time Capsule. Here are the reasons you don’t want one: Ugly. Just look at it. And what happens if those skinny wires get a good yank? High-priced. The DIY…

QuickerTek has made available the TriBand, an add-on antenna for Apple’s Time Capsule. Here are the reasons you don’t want one:

Unsightly. Just look at it. And what happens if those skinny wires get a good yank?

Expensive. The DIY upgrade is $130. Opt for the full service option and the price jumps to $200. And remember that the box needs to be opened up to make the modification, which also means you’ll void your warranty, possibly adding future costs.

The only reason we have the ability to see to own a TriBand is that you could tuck the whole uglified kit into the attic to keep your backups burglar-proof. Or you could leave the Time Capsule in full view and just stick some old frayed wires through one of the holes, which should offer the same deterrent.

Product page [QuickerTek via TUAW]

Via [wired.com]

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Notes: Gizmodo Story in Wired [Notes]

There’s a story in Wired about your favorite gadget blog. It’s a feature and as you can see, on top of the writing the photography is bad ass.

Joe Pugliese, the same guy who shot El Jobso minutes after his iPhone announcement, shot me, Adrian and Chris in my apartment. I love this place, but as you can see in the not too different from real life shot, it makes for cramped conditions and I’m moving today. Ya, I’m still packing too, because someone broke the embargo on the Dash GPS and Wilson and I had to hustle to get a review together. Anyhow, I’m digressing like mad because I’ve been up 20 hours so far, and the day isn’t close to being over.

This piece is kind of strange and meta because before I worked at Giz, I worked at Wired, where I was low man on the totem pole. I really learned a lot from the 15 or so senior editors there, but I didn’t ever get to do any real work. So to be honored in the pages of my still favorite magazine, well, I never thought I’d see the day. Some people were concerned about bias, but I’m pretty sure they got both the praise and hits in pretty square.

For instance, there’s such heavy emphasis on the admittedly interesting and bizarre CES prank. Meanwhile, there isn’t one mention of the Gates interview. First time the guy admitted on record that Vista was not so good. I mean, come on, thats’s interesting. And ok, Blu-ray coverage at Giz was second to none, but of course, that’s too boring to mention. All we get described as is juvenile. Well there’s a reason why I insist on Gizmodo being lighthearted, and it makes a lot of sense. First of all, we don’t write about cancer. This isn’t a serious topic, even if the work is taken seriously. If you can’t enjoy yourself writing about what are essentially man toys, well, I feel like that is utter lack of perspective on life.

Secondly, there’s that great William Gibson quote hanging over the wall at Wired—”The future is here, its just unevenly distributed.” That may be the case when it comes to purchasing technology or having access to it, but when it comes to media, especially free media, there’s no reason to keep technology in the hands and minds of only the nerds or the rich. So we write for the common people. There are plenty of Giz readers that aren’t hardcore geeks but love technology. I’m happy to dress up the tech in humor to get the point to more people, and the let the medicine go down smoother. Not everyone gets that.

(BTW, this is why I love Pogue videos. Funny thing, in the story, the man who sings songs about TiVo is quoted in the story as saying that gadget bloggers have to figure out what they want to be when we grow up. For me, when I grow up, I want to do exactly what Pogue does, but I’m not musically gifted. I wouldn’t call that growing up, though, Dave. I’d call it staying young. A good thing.)

On the other hand, Dan Lyons, Fake Steve, who is like some sort of Giz big brother at this point, completely gets what we do. Or he flatters me with his faith. Either way, I trust in his insight, so to be understood by him and misunderstood by so many others, well, I’d rather have Dan on my side than a bunch of commentards. (Not you guys, the guys we already banned and other twits in the press.)

But I’m nit picking. I don’t think anyone can call the story anything but fair, generous and fun. And again, I’m pretty flattered and grateful anyone would think to write a feature on our little corner of the web, let alone my favorite magazine where all my old mentors work.

OK, I gotta pack. Moving van is here in 3 hours and I’ve like a dozen boxes to go.

Did I mention I’m going on vacation next week, too? Can’t come soon enough. I need to recharge the batteries!

Rambling is a late phase of exhaustion. [Wired]

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