IPod Controlling Uniforms Come to British Schools Man, things have changed since I was at school. Back in the 70s and 80s, you could get beaten up for so much as wearing a calculator watch. Or, as the euphemism for nerd was back then, “carrying a calculator…
Man, things have changed since I was at school. Back in the 70s and 80s, you could get beaten up for so much as wearing a calculator watch. Or, as the euphemism for nerd was back then, “carrying a calculator in your top pocket”. And if you detect a trend, it’s because a calculator was just about the only geek toy there was back then.
Fast forward to 2008. The kids today have it made. Cellphones, Nintendo DS, Tasers, even the web. And not one of those wonderful toys carries a social stigma. Hell, even using a d20 probably wouldn’t get your head flushed down the toilet these days. And the venerably square UK clothing retailer Marks and Spencer is selling school blazers with iPod controls built in. How’s that for progress?
The jackets, made from recycled bottles (plastic, we assume) even have great names: “Stain Defence” and “Stormwear”. The controls are inside the lapel, and there is a pocket to keep the iPod snug. Channels in the collar and lapels route the earbuds out of sight, so if you grow your hair a tiny, you’ll be able to listen in class. Ideal of all, the blazers are fully washable (remove iPod first). From $47.
Gateway P-7811FX Notebook Fast, good and cheap: Pick any two. This mantra of designers and engineers pragmatically points out that you can’t have it all. It’s like the laws of physics or something. Gateway’s brand new P-7811FX not only has…
Gateway P-7811FX Notebook
Fast, good and cheap: Pick any two. This mantra of designers and engineers pragmatically points out that you can’t have it all. It’s like the laws of physics or something. Gateway’s brand new P-7811FX not only has a name that looks like a Federation Starship name, it seems to break the laws of physics that Chief Engineer Scotty seems to hold so dear (RIP, Mr. Doohan, and sorry about those ashes). Through some loophole, wormhole or deal with the devil, Gateway has produced a huge desktop replacement that’s fast, good and cheap.
How fast, you ask? Fast enough to go toe-to-toe — and school — a $4,800 Alienware Area 51 m15x: In our Quake 4 test, the Gateway posted a score of 167.8 fps to the m15x’s 167.2. This is partially because the Gateway’s 512-MB Nvidia Geforce 9800M is running the show. We know less than a frame per second is not a huge lead, but split seconds are common currency for winning the Olympic gold, so it’s good enough for us. The FX also has Olympic endurance for bigger class notebooks, going 2 hours, 23-minutes to play a DVD.
And that brings us to the cheap part. The Gateway is just $1,400 — more than three times less than the Alienware and hundreds (and more hundreds) less than most other desktop replacement machines. Sure, it lacks the latest processor (it’s got a 2.27-GHz Core Duo), but it has a whopping 4 GB of RAM to help it attack processing tasks and a spacious 200 GB of drive space for your stuff.
But is it any good? With a desktop replacement this cheap you’d anticipate some crap components, but the FX is pretty chintz-free. The keyboard’s solid, the 17-inch screen is bright and even, and the unit has all the ports you’d expect, including eSATA, HDMI and a media slot. The design looks good too: black with a semitransparent lattice that recommends (but isn’t) carbon fiber, trimmed with a metallic orange that would look nice on a souped-up ‘69 Ford Mustang Mach I, if your brother-in-law hadn’t wrapped it around that oak out on Route 57.
The huge bummer here’s the missing Blu-ray drive, which is what is likely keeping this thing so affordable. The included DVD Multi drive has Yamaha’s LabelFlash technology, so you can burn designs onto specially coated media, but that’s not going to provide any solace when Dark Knight hits Blu-ray and you can’t watch it in HD.
It’s great that Gateway unraveled fast-good-cheap, but it’s time to move on to the next challenge, a Computer this good, for this price, with Blu-ray. Do that, and the company would have a frenzied crowd of piss-pantsed, slavering geeks, clamoring to purchase up its PCs. —Roger Hibbert
WIRED Some of the ideal gaming performance ever recorded on a PC. Long battery life for a desktop replacement. Comfy and solid keyboard withstands heavy hands. Mutimedia controls and slide volume look cool without glowing too brightly.
TIRED No Blu-ray is a letdown for HD-heads, and you can’t configure your Personal computer to include the drive. The battery sticks out a bit in the back, and the power brick is monstrous. Power lights on the front, unlike the multimedia controls, are too bright.
Smart Bike Helmets Disfigured by Decoration Recently I ranted about the difference between design and decoration. Is short, the former is process of refinement in function that often results in beauty. The latter is the equivalent of taking a rose and spray-painting it with polka dots….
Recently I ranted about the difference between design and decoration. Is short, the former is process of refinement in function that often results in beauty. The latter is the equivalent of taking a rose and spray-painting it with polka dots.
Curiously, these bike helmets from Yakkay do both. The naked helmet is plain, handsome and very nice looking and its stainless steel buckles and air-routing system show some good thinking on the design side. However, compare the handsome helmet with one of the add-on covers. Pure decoration. We guess that the idea is to make head protection more “fashionable”, but in reality this will just make you look like some bobble-head in a cap.
Still, even a nasty old cap is superior than a split-open brain-pan, so we’ll forgive Yakkay its decorative leanings. Except for one: much like any bling product, the helmets cost a lot: $120.
Even the men in suits want iPhones, and — if the reports are correct — they might even ditch their BlackBerries to get them. An article from ZDNET Australia states that the HSBC bank might swap wholesale to Apple’s iPhone,…
Even the men in suits want iPhones, and — if the reports are correct — they might even ditch their BlackBerries to get them. An article from ZDNET Australia says that the HSBC bank might swap wholesale to Apple’s iPhone, providing the handsets for around 200,000 employees worldwide. HSBC boss Brenton Hush:
We are actually reviewing iPhones from a HSBC Group perspective … and when I say that, I mean globally
Last year, other phone makers made much of the iPhone’s poor suitability for the business market, a perception helped along by Apple’s own Personal computer vs. Mac commercials. Now though, with Exchange support and third celebration applications, those arguments are dust.
200,000 iPhones is a huge order, but if this signifies a trend, the ripples could spread much farther. Phones are cheaper and replaced more often than personal. With Vista widely perceived as junk, and many companies holding off upgrading from XP, could a good corporate experience with the iPhone trigger the famous Apple ‘halo-effect’ and bring Macs into the office?
Opinion: Firmware Update to Fix iPhone 3G? I Doubt It Peter Burrows of Business Week claims two “reliable sources” have leaked information about an upcoming firmware upgrade for iPhone 3G that will remedy widely reported problematic issues with the 3G network. He writes that a 3G chip produced by Infineon…
Peter Burrows of Business Week claims two “reliable sources” have leaked information about an upcoming firmware upgrade for iPhone 3G that’ll remedy widely reported problematic issues with the 3G network. He writes that a 3G chip produced by Infineon is the sole cause of the problem, and a firmware update will be the magic bullet that saves the day.
That’s comforting to hear, but as always, take claims from anonymous sources with a grain of salt. Believe me — I’m not the type to be conservative, but the blogosphere’s getting a little out of control with 3G chatter, with some people preaching theory as if it’s confirmed fact.
Analyst Richard Windsor was the first to theorize that Infineon produced the iPhone’s allegedly “immature” and weak 3G chip. But a Gadget Lab reader was thoughtful enough to point out that when the first iPhone was released, Windsor speculated the handset would be susceptible to heat and degrade after six months. And clearly that theory did not turn out to be true. I’m not naysaying Windsor or calling him a bad source; I’m simply stressing we should treat theory as theory until there’s substantial evidence confirming these claims.
And yes, some blogs have reported carriers blaming the iPhone 3G, but keep in mind that carriers are interested in protecting the reputation of their network services more so than Steve Jobs’ precious iPhone. Some Gadget Lab readers have told us AT&T customer service blamed the iPhone itself for spotty 3G performance, but how much do you think a tech support rep knows about how this stuff works? They likely know as much as, if not less than, all of us keeping up with iPhone news.
It would make my life (i.e. job) a lot easier if a firmware update would simply make 3G problems disappear, but I’m extremely skeptical that will be the case. Like femtocell expert Dave Nowicki told us, there are definitive, technical issues with AT&T’s relatively young 3G network, and it’s going to take years for AT&T to get everything running smoothly. Is a firmware update on the iPhone going to change the fact that 3G cells were installed on towers optimized for EDGE in terms of positioning? Is a firmware upgrade going to change the fact that 3G still isn’t available to the majority of cities in the United States?
Speculation is useful: It’s a first step toward reaching a conclusion. But taking into consideration the few facts we’re already aware of, I’m speculating that people aren’t going to stop complaining about 3G performance after this supposed, magical-sounding firmware upgrade. When something sounds too good to be true, that’s usually the case.
According to security expert Neil Livingstone, domestic airlines and government officials are seriously considering pushing RFID chips into each part of the flying process. Gadgets under consideration include RFID tagging and tracking of luggage, and a ‘non-invasive’ personal RFID chip…
According to security expert Neil Livingstone, domestic airlines and government officials are seriously considering pushing RFID chips into every part of the flying process.
Gadgets under consideration include RFID tagging and tracking of luggage, and a ‘non-invasive’ personal RFID chip (in the form of a card or pin for the breast pocket, perhaps?). The latter will prevent people from opening doors they’re not supposed to, and we suppose this includes the stewardess’ ’special’ rooms.
Mr. Livingstone mentioned this update while commenting on the current news that an official at the Department of Homeland Security looked into buying up EMD “safety” taser bracelets. The Canadian company promoting these tracking bracelets believes airplanes would be safer if everyone wore them — if a person shows potential dangerous properties, they’d be immobilized.
While he believes that the government won’t ever go so far as to put shocking mechanisms on all passengers, he says that flying is ‘a privilege, not a right’ and that RFIDs are a viable security need.
But if tasing bracelets ever see the light of day, you can bet there will be a few miscommunications, leading to the following exchange:
“I am not causing a SCENE. I AM perfectly NORMAL. See, I’m not even yelling! Why are you pointing that device at me? Please don’t! . . . Tase! Me! Braa!”
If I had to choose, I’d take the Massive Brothery, genteel RFID-enabled pin over that.
Ideal Purchase Vending Machines Landing at an Airport Near You More Ideal Buy news this day. The massive box retailer is set to put branded vending machines in to the nation’s airports, selling all manner of impulse-buy friendly gadgets. Cellphones and headphones will make it in, but far more sensible, given…
More Best Purchase news this day. The big box retailer is set to put branded vending machines in to the nation’s airports, selling all manner of impulse-buy friendly gadgets. Cellphones and headphones will make it in, but far more sensible, given the location, is the inclusion of chargers and travel adapters.
Best Purchase will be teaming up with vending company Zoomsystems, so the machines will likely look similar to the Zoomsystems/Macy’s model seen in the picture. The machines themselves use a robot arm to grab your chosen item and transfer it to the delivery slot: It’s like one of those arcade machines with a grabbing arm so weak and frail it can’t even pick up a little teddy bear. Only in this case, when you put in your money you’re guaranteed a prize.
The machines will begin showing up in airports on September 1. You want to know where? Sure, here’s a list: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and San Francisco.
A wind-up remote control that doesn’t need batteries — why didn’t anyone think of this before? Remote controls are relatively low-powered devices, and Gizoo’s $38 wind-up universal remote control makes you realize just how wasteful it is to be using…
A wind-up remote control that doesn’t need batteries — why didn’t anyone think of this before?
Remote controls are relatively low-powered devices, and Gizoo’s $38 wind-up universal remote control makes you realize just how wasteful it is to be using batteries with these things. The remote contains a built-in generator that you wind up with a dial; 30 full turns will keep the remote running for a week.
This gadget is perfect for that classic roommate scenario in which the remote-control batteries die, there are no spare batteries in the home and both roommates are too lazy to go out and buy some so they end up throwing things at the TV to change the channel or hit the power button. I know what I’m buying Peter for his birthday…
Apparently on the internet gaming is all about the pings, the DPI and the caffeine loaded drinks. I’m not a gamer, on the internet or otherwise, but what I do know is that the perfect gaming mouse is like a yapping chihuahua|: Overly sensitive,…
Apparently on the internet gaming is all about the pings, the DPI and the caffeine loaded drinks. I’m not a gamer, on the internet or otherwise, but what I do know is that the perfect gaming mouse is like a yapping chihuahua|: Overly sensitive, twitchy and swift to react. So the Avatar from Nzxt would seem to be the perfect lapdog of the rodent world. Except that it looks like a squid.
Animal confusion aside, the Avatar has some good numbers to back it up. The optical sensor gives 2600 dpi of resolution at a frame rate of up to 6470. There’s a DPI switch to slow things down (four settings), seven programmable buttons, rubber up top and Teflon down below, for grip and slip respectively. And Nzxt state the USB mouse is equally suitable for the more sinister side of the population, the left-handers. $60
China, Coca Cola to Spam Phones at Olympics As hard as you try, there’s no way you can ignore an advertisement on your phone. And if you’re attending the Beijing Olympics, you’re out of luck. Olympics attendees’ phones will be spammed with Coca Cola ads thanks to China’s…
As hard as you try, there’s no way you can ignore an advertisement on your phone. And if you’re attending the Beijing Olympics, you’re out of luck.
Olympics attendees’ phones will be spammed with Coca Cola ads thanks to China’s new Bluetooth marketing campaign provided by Pioco. It’s not as easy as receiving a text message, either; Pioco has hooked up areas all around Beijing and Shanghai with wireless hot spots that spit out videos, photos and so forth to your handset.
Though this campaign has focused on the Olympics games, the official Olympic truck has already been using this Bluetooth technology — so millions of Chinese people are already familiar with this technology.
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