FROM GAMERTELL - Ryan VanMiddlesworth has released GLaGPS, a fan-GPS project which allows Garmin Nuvi GPS units to have a voice which sounds like Portal’s GLaDOS.
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I remember my very first flash drive. It was a silver generic drive with only 120+ megabytes storage capacity. Even so, as a geek, I was totally in love with it.
And then drives with enormous capacities started appearing, small drives with gigabytes upon gigabytes of memory. These already small drives became even smaller until they became so teeny, they always run a risk of being lost, or even being swallowed. Take fors example this Pico USB Drive. It’s so minute I could lose it inside my bag and never find it again. And that miniscule device can actually store 8GB of data. 8GB! It’s cute and all that, but really, I’d rather have something a bit more visible and not something small enough that I could swallow it whole. Interested? Take a look at the Pico USB Drive at ThinkGeek which sells for 25.
by Thomas Ricker, posted Jul 1st 2008 at 5:28AM
J Allard, previously of Veep stature, has been elevated to the position of CXO (Chief eXperience Officer) and CTO of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division. That puts the man synonymous with the Zune, Xbox, and once questionable, 80’s style in charge of “the technical architecture and user experiences related to products and services of the Entertainment and Devices (E&D) division.” He’s also cracking the whip on the E&D’s “incubation team” responsible for scouting out new opportunities for the division. You know, like the Zune Phone, Xbox 360 with Blu-ray, and Microsoft Surface Sphere. Thus making him the most important man inside Microsoft… from our perspective anyway.
[via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
The good manufacturers of the Dash Express have been hard at work updating the software. There a few main updates to the system, which are sure to make the Dash Express even more popular.
One of the first updates involves something called MyRoute, which studies a route you go on often and figures out ways to improve on it. For example, if you are commuting from home to work, it will learn the route that you usually take. Now, next time you want to make that same trip, this program will look for faster, more gas efficient ways to get to the same place, and then you can choose if you want to go that way or not. One of the problems with the initial software in the Dash Express was the time it took for the maps to render. Many users wanted their maps to load faster, Dash was able to fix this issue and now they claim that the maps will render about 50% faster than before.
Additionally, their is a new program in the software called Search Along Route, which basically helps to find POI’s nearby and will display any near POI’s along your route as well as the distance from current location. The last of the updates includes a new program, which is provided by the SiRFInstantFix technology, and the program is called FasterFind. Basically, this obtains information from direct GPS satellites and displays that info to start moving within seconds. All of these services update automatically when in Wi-Fi range.
The Dash Express costs only $300, which is pretty cheap considering all of the new and improved features it comes with.
Via [NaviGadget]
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by Thomas Ricker, posted Jul 1st 2008 at 3:43AM
Remember those Japanese vending machines that use face recognition to scan for wrinkles and saggy skin before authenticating cigarette purchases? Surprise, they’re so easy to circumvent that even a nicotine-addicted kid can do it. Turns out the cameras will authenticate “a 15-centimeter (6-inch) wide magazine photo of a man who looked to be in his 50s.” Smaller clippings work too as demonstrated by a successful cigarette vend using a 3-inch photo of a woman in her 30s — a 1-inch wide photo failed, however. Still, only 4,000 of Japan’s 570,000 cigarette vending machines feature the cams and these are due for a software update in response to the flaw — the rest use RFID readers to check the smoker’s Taspo age-verification card. Nevertheless, we don’t think it’s much of a stretch to predict that this system, like that of DRM controlled music, is destined to fail.
[Via The Raw Feed]
Filed under: Misc. gadgets
Sporting a cool blue color, Timex Kidz Watch T709819J is an ideal gift for your kid. This digital wristwatch comes with a grey color dial and multi-tone blue base. Designed especially for kids, Timex Kidz Watch T709819J also features a timer to help you kid manage time efficiently. Its Indiglo night-light spreads light uniformly in all directions even in the darkest of nights.
Timex Kidz Watch T709819J is water resistant up to 30 meters. Apart from showing time, Timex Kidz Watch lets your kid see day, date and month. Its eye-catching band is made up of elastic fabric giving it more flexibility and a longer life. Timex Kidz Watch T709819J comes along with a one-year warranty. Since kids tend to lose things easily, Timex covers this watch by the Timex Kids Loss Protection Plan.
Price and Availability
Timex Kidz Watch T709819J is available at a price of $ 20.00.
Source : timex
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by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jul 1st 2008 at 7:02AM
While the axe that comes with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is pretty sweet, if you were hoping to just get the game and use your Rock Band guitar, you’re out of luck. Despite rumors that Activision had opened its doors to the Harmonix-made Rock Band guitar controllers, early users of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith are reporting that the Xbox 360 version game isn’t being so friendly after all. The sad message: “An unsupported guitar peripheral has been detected. Connect either a Guitar Hero guitar or Xbox 360 controller and press START to continue.” It’s like they never even knew each other.
Filed under: Gaming
by Thomas Ricker, posted Jul 1st 2008 at 3:43AM
Remember those Japanese vending machines that use face recognition to scan for wrinkles and saggy skin before authenticating cigarette purchases? Surprise, they’re so easy to circumvent that even a nicotine-addicted kid can do it. Turns out the cameras will authenticate “a 15-centimeter (6-inch) wide magazine photo of a man who looked to be in his 50s.” Smaller clippings work too as demonstrated by a successful cigarette vend using a 3-inch photo of a woman in her 30s — a 1-inch wide photo failed, however. Still, only 4,000 of Japan’s 570,000 cigarette vending machines feature the cams and these are due for a software update in response to the flaw — the rest use RFID readers to check the smoker’s Taspo age-verification card. Nevertheless, we don’t think it’s much of a stretch to predict that this system, like that of DRM controlled music, is destined to fail.
[Via The Raw Feed]
Filed under: Misc. gadgets
Ok, you sun-worshipping CA folks - today is the day you must stop holding those cell phones while driving. Get yourself a headset, wired or wireless, as the brand new statewide law goes into effect. Did I mention it’s today?
Now whether you’re a fan or not, fact is that if you’re going to be talking on a cell phone call, then you need a headset. While I agree with JT that the law needs to be tougher, it’s a start. PS> please don’t text or e-mail while you’re driving. That’s just plain dumb, and you could end up having a Darwin Award after your name if you Murphy’s Law holds up.
Read on for some quick tips on searching for that elusive new Bluetooth headset since I’m sure you’re going to want to avoid the wires…
So, yours truly just got his brand new Bluetooth headset (a Cardo Scala 700LX) in the mail after he lost his last one (a Gennum nXZen nx6000) in a recent home move. I can’t tell you how good/bad it (the 700LX) is yet (it’s charging up as I write), but the reviews seemed fairly positive.
An interesting thing about Bluetooth anything, really - the reviews are all over the map. I can just as easily get a thorough review that trashes a popular headset as one that raves about it. It’s a bit unfortunate, but you may just need to try different ones until you find one you like. Don’t spend hours like I did searching for the magical best one, because it doesn’t exist!
Meantime, here are a few useful links if you’re in the market.
* A handful of some of the most popular headsets. In-depth, opinionated 3rd-party reviews.
* Amazon’s list of Bluetooth headsets. Always lots of user reviews on these. The ‘crowd’ sometimes does know what it’s talking about.
* PC Magazine’s list of best headsets from last summer. You can possibly get some of these cheaply now.
* When you’re ready to pull the trigger, do some price comparison shopping.
Good luck, clear conversations and be safe on the road!
Posted in Phones, Portable
by Thomas Ricker, posted Jul 1st 2008 at 4:30AM
It’s been a long time coming, but in-game XMB will arrive on your PS3 tomorrow. That’s right, Wednesday July 2nd and likely kicking off as a rolling, firmware 2.40, network update just as soon as the clock ticks over the top in Japan. You know, for those of you looking to get a jump on your Trophy collection.
[Via Joystiq]
Filed under: Gaming
