Archive for April, 2009

iPhone vs Asus Netbook Extreme Typing Test [IPhone Vs Netbook]

Crave UK’s Rory Reid did a great experiment: Test the typing accuracy of the iPhone vs an Asus Netbook in a rally automobile racing at full speed. The video and the results will surprise you.

Jump to minute 2:00 to get into the test itself:

Yes, the iPhone wins. Even with its software keyboard, it proves more accurate than the netbook’s tiny keys. I think I see him doing some finger sliding with the iPhone at one point—which is a good way to get accurate typing under stress conditions—but my guess is that the iPhone word prediction and correction did the rest of the trick.

Some will argue that this test is too extreme and it won’t happen in real life. Obviously, those people have never ridden the New York City subway, which sometimes gets pretty close to this experience. Specially in some of the express lines, which feel like a amusement park crazy ride rather than a train. Sure, maybe the subway turns don’t generate three times the force of gravity, but to me it feels close enough. [Crave UK]



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Tweakers have finally bypassed the one thing in the way of getting CableCARD tuners working on any old Computer by fiddling with the BIOS and entering in certain product IDs. It’s a good start.

Previously, you could only get a HTPC hooked up to watch digital cable using a CableCARD that was authorized by CableLABS, which only authorized them on systems you purchase pre-built from OEMs. Now, if these DIYers can figure out how to enable the hack on many systems beside just ASUS P5Q motherboards, we’d have something going. You still need to purchase a standard CableCARD tuner, however, so don’t get your hopes up that you’re saving money on that. [Green Button via Engadget]



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Netbooks are great for travelers because they stick to the basic essentials—except sometimes you need an optical drive. Problem solved: this netbook stand doubles as a thigh-hair saver and a DVD multi-drive.

Supporting DVD±R/+RW (8x), DVD±R DL/-RW (6x), DVD-RAM (5x) and CD-R/-RW (24x), this multi-drive comes with two USB ports, weighs a tiny over a pound, and will be available for $100 in Japan starting this Friday. [Century via CrunchGear]



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If you can’t wait to have your dirty or half-clean paws all over the Palm Pre—according to rumors, it’s coming out this June—here’s are some crystal clear captures of its user interface.

As we already knew from our hands-on, it looks lickable. Head to Pre Thinking for the complete gallery, all taken through the Palm Pre emulator. [Pre Thinking]



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Unlike some smartphones we know, phones running WinMo 6.5 will get a pretty breathtaking connected voice command interface, courtesy of Microsoft subsidiary TellMe.

There are already TellMe apps out there, where the service listens to requests—search queries or requests for other data—and carries them out on the web. BlackBerry and Sprint Instinct have them, and the newest Ford Sync system uses TellMe for traffic data too. But in WinMo 6.5, TellMe isn’t just an app, it’s a one-button hub for voice commands of all kinds, including text messaging, making calls, and also jumping to Microsoft Live Search with natural language queries like “weather in San Francisco, California,” “pizza in Kansas City” or “mother’s day gift ideas.”

Microsoft has long been massive on the voice command thing, with PocketPC versions of it dating back five or more years, so it makes sense that they’d make a larger push with Windows Mobile 6.5 than others have done. Things are also more connected now, so it also makes sense that a new voice command system would blur the line between what’s happening on the phone itself (texting, etc.) and what’s happening in the wireless cloud (searches, etc.).

I am a massive fan of voice commands, and am still pissed off that Apple has ignored their safety benefits, as well as their convenience, in iPhone development, and I’m glad to see at least one of the power hitters pushing the idea towards the next logical stage.

The service will be free at WinMo 6.5 launch, either as a download from the awkwardly named Windows Marketplace for Mobile, or pre-embedded by the carrier or handset maker. [TellMe]

TellMe promo video:



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The new version of iTunes 8.2 (required by the latest iPhone 3.0 Beta) has a mention of Blu-ray in the about screen. This means Blu-ray in Macs come WWDC?

Maybe, maybe not. Although the old version didn’t have DVD either (the new version does), there was no Blu-ray functionality at all in iTunes before. And, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense to have iTunes be the Blu-ray playback, so we’re not sure what’s going on. [9to5Mac]



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Just imagine, being able to see your 80 fart-related apps at the same time! [Flickr via Likecool]



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Video: Would You Like a Hug With That Helmet?
When something is too good to be true, it often is. That’s why we don’t believe for a second that the video above is a legitimate depiction of how Denmark police treat bicyclists without helmets. Free helmets and a free hug? What the hell is this, a utopian society? Any of you out there know the […]

When something is too good to be true, it often is. That’s why we don’t believe for a second that the video above is a legitimate depiction of how Denmark police treat bicyclists without helmets. Free helmets and a free hug? What the hell is this, a utopian society?

Any of you out there know the original source of this video? Chime in by adding your comments below.

Meanwhile, check below the jump for a real example of how the NYPD treated a cyclist.

Via BoingBoing


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NASA is preparing the final—and very risky—Hubble maintenance mission. They have released an interactive site to explain it, which includes some of my favoriter favoritest Hubble images ever, ready for desktop background use:



NASA also released a new image to commemorate the space telescope’s 19 birthday. This is Arp 194, a system containing several interacting galaxies with a “cosmic fountain” of stars, gas, dust, and milk shakes that stretches 100,000 light-years.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t have enough of these. Actually, I think I’m going to sneak into NY’s Hayden Planetarium this weekend. [NASA]



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The Jalopnik question “What Do You Call Your Automobile” got me thinking. We’ve already talked about harassing neighbors with Wi-Fi names, so I thought I would ask: what did you name your Wi-Fi connection?

[Image via HSV]



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