Tuesday, April 24, 2007

A Keyboard for Wii?

A few days ago news broke that Logitech would be joining in the productions of peripherals for Nintendo’s rather scarce gaming machine. Well, today WiiFanboy posted about a short blurb in the May issue of Game Informer. The tidbit claims that Nintendo is indeed looking into adding a keyboard to the Wii’s arsenal. This surely makes sense given the fact that you can browse the web using the Wii edition of the Opera browser. I think that it would certainly be a welcome addition for those who intend to surf the web with their shiny white machines. A full keyboard could also make in game chat for online games a very likely possibility. Check out a photo of the magazine page below, thanks to WFB.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

More Dark Clouds for Vonage, May Have a Silver Lining

Hopefully you’re not tired of reading about Vonage, because the news continues to pour in about the struggling company, and I assume it will continue to. Plus, I’ve already got myself interested in the case so I think I’ll be continuing to cover it.

In a recent article, Engadget explained that things were looking worse for Vonage, when they requested a permanent stay on the Judges ruling about signing up new customers. The conclusions seem to say that they’re having trouble coming up with a workaround for the Verizon patents that they were found to be infringing upon.



They company was quoted as saying that if they “[were] somehow able to implement a design around, and was able to ultimately prevail on appeal, it would have no hope of regaining its lost customers, or its lost goodwill, and its loss of revenue would be permanent and…” Apparently they cut the rest of the statement, claiming that the material was confidential.

However, there is some potential light at the end of the tunnel. In an update to the same article, Engadget explains that there is a possibility that Verizon’s patents are unlawful. Word is that they patents contain some technology that was previously discussed by a number of communications companies to eventually become an open standard. If this is the case, it sounds like Vonage might be getting off the hook, although from the sound of what they’re saying some ill will because of these proceedings may permanently hurt their image.

There’s one more dark cloud looming, and that may be possible litigation from Sprint. According to another at Engadget, another suit is in the works to begin in September. However, this ominous cloud has its own potential silver lining. Rumors are spreading that Sprint may actually move to acquire Vonage, which would certainly serve any of their patent issues. If there were any truth to these rumors it would be interesting to see what a telecommunications giant would do with a company offering a competing technology. Only time will tell what becomes of this distressed VOIP company.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

SolidAlliance Won’t Quit

I’ve already posted about Japanese company, SolidAlliances’s strange products a few times. It seems, however, that they still haven’t had enough of cheesy looking food themed USB devices. I really don’t have much to say about this USB Hub complete with 1GB attachment drives, aside from LOL. I just can’t see how there’s much of a practical market for this stuff. There’s no pricing available at Akihabara at the moment, but I’d assume, like the previous products, this stuff is bound to be expensive too.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

TEAC Joins the Bone Conducting Party

Who would have thought that bone-conducting headphones would become one of my most blogged about technology here? I certainly wouldn’t have. But, after Thanko’s bone-conducting headphones and high-tech headband, it seems to have become a trend around here.



Well yet another Japanese company, TEAC, has come out with their own model. The HP-F100s are their entry into the market. You can check out more about their specs at this article from Engadget. But, the biggest differences between this set and Thanko’s Vonias are the addition of a standalone amplifier and the price. The HP-F100s come with a dedicated amplifier that can apparently push out .76-watts for each channel, impressive (snicker).



The biggest kicker however, is the price. They’re going for a staggering ¥52,500, which translates to $440, while Thanko’s Vonia headphones run a cool ¥9,800 or about $82. With no direct evidence as to which pair sounds better, it seems like TEAC’s headphones are a little bit on the pricy side, especially for such a miniscule market.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Things Continue to Look Bad for Vonage

Last week I reported that Vonage wasn’t in such great shape after a lawsuit from Verizon and a court order by a judge. The judge ruled that Vonage wouldn’t be allowed to signup any new customers, which seemed like a death sentence for the already flailing company. Luckily, since then they have gotten this ruling lifted and they can continue to expand their customer base.


(Photo courtesy of CNET)


However, this isn’t a great turning point for the company, they still face pretty tough odds. Engadget reported today that just as Vonage was announcing cost-cutting measures, the acting CEO Michael Snyder resigned. Things aren’t looking too good as the company has announced that they will be consolidating their operations and scaling back advertising. And as was inevitable, Vonage will be laying off some employees. It seems that with every passing day we are coming closer and closer to the not-too-far-off end of VOIP pioneer Vonage.

Apple TV Upgrade Kit

So, the Apple TV is out even after its delay. If you’ve got one, and some expensive white cables to go along with it, what else could you possibly want? Well, more storage space, that’s what. The Apple TV ships with a measly 40GB hard drive. And if you’ve got a nice collection of feature length movies and TV shows, you might be running out of space already! If you haven’t heard there’s about a bazillion ways to get hacking the Apple TV (already). If you’re the totally balls-to-the-wall do-it-yourself type, check out AppleTVHacks.net, as they’ve got a pretty decent collection going on.



However, if you’re looking to expand your storage capacity but can’t be bothered to rip out the drive from the Apple TV and doing some disk copying and restoring, WeaKnees has got your back! They’re offering up a 160GB drive (4 times the storage) that comes preformatted to work with Apple TV, for $199. While it seems a bit steep it’s really only about $50 more than it would cost to go out and buy a drive and enclosure yourself and performing all of the work. On top of saving you time, this premium service offers a six-month warranty, seeing as performing this surgery on your Apple TV will immediately void your manufacturer’s warranty.

So, if you’ve got an Apple TV and you’re jonesing for more space this service could be a godsend. They’ve got tons of info on the website to help you along the process to make sure that everything goes smoothly.

New Apple Commercials

Just in case you get a chuckle out of Apple’s Get A Mac commercials (like me) you’ll be pleased to hear that they’ve posted two new ones. The first, “Flashback,” features young PC and young Mac. The second is titled “Computer Cart” and is funny, like usual.

Check them out by clicking either of the pictures below.




Wednesday, April 11, 2007

SolidAlliance CEO Interview

As you may remember, last month I posted about the Omelet Mouse Cover from SolidAlliance. And it all came down to the fact that it was basically a huge waste of money ($70). Well Akihabara recently interviewed the CEO, Mr. Karahara. The interview isn’t exactly exciting, but he showcases their line of Sushi USB devices. They’re also quite the novelty, and by the way it’s also expensive (1GB Mackerel USB drives run about $68).

Anyways, if you’re interested in witnessing who’s responsible for these frivolous and expensive pieces of gadgetry check out the video below.


Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Meade’s Ray Gun, err Personal Planetarium

It’s really hard to complain about this product solely on the basis of its function. The Meade mySKY Personal Planetarium is a handheld GPS enabled device that allows you to identify a gaggle of heavenly bodies (they claim more than 30,000). It really is a useful device for any stargazing fans. In the Engadget article, they also explain that it can be used in conjunction with other Meade telescopes.


Basically it’s a good idea. I just wish they fired their designer and gone with something a little less 80s sci-fi. It just looks like a blaster out of a cheesy low production film. Either that, or something you might find in the toy section of your local CVS. And at $400 you’d better make sure nobody mistakes it for a cheap toy.

Anyone Can Comment

If you haven’t noticed, you're now allowed to comment whether you have an account or not. Just the other day I realized that comments were set to only allow Google or Blogger members to comment. So, in the spirit of letting anyone voice their opinion I set it to allow anyone to comment. Now if you’d like to comment, feel free to do so! This goes the same for Audiosyncratic. Have a nice day!

Friday, April 6, 2007

Nintendo Console Transformation

In the spirit of bringing a few enjoyable videos to the table, here’s one I found because of the Wii Fanboy blog. It’s a short video of the evolution of Nintendo consoles through nifty animated transformations. The creator, ptacnik, did it as part of a school (probably college) assignment. I’d say it came out really well and he’s probably got a future in advertising or design of some sort. Check it out below.


Vonage (like Europe) gets the Shaft

You may or may not have heard, that recently Verizon sued VOIP provider Vonage for patent infringement. You can read more about the case at Engadget, but in short, Vonage lost and had to stop using the technology they were infringing upon. To this Vonage said that their customers wouldn’t see a gap in service. It was a shame to see them in such trouble, but it sounded initially like things could work out if they were going to be able to get by without the patented technology.


However, in this article from Engadget, things aren’t looking so good for the VOIP provider. A District Court Judge, Claude Hilton, ruled that Vonage would not be allowed to sign up any new customers. Quite the death sentence it seems to me. I don’t even see how such a ruling could be handed down. In a free market economy how can a court decide that a company cannot try to attract new customers? I see that there should be a penalty for infringement, but I’d say disallowing the use of technology and paying damages sounds a bit more realistic, not to mention the fact that Vonage has already done that.

To top it all off the judge also put a $66 Million bond on the appeal. So, what began as a setback, that seemed to be recoverable, has turned into a potential death sentence. If they don’t win the appeal on this ruling, I doubt there will be much of a future for Vonage.

iPod Takes a Bullet

The headline basically says it all. A soldier was on street patrol in Iraq and was shot at. The old HP edition iPod got itself between the soldier and the bullet. For a more complete story check out the page on Flickr, until then have a look at the picture of the heroic iPod.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

An Apple With 8 Cores

Well if an apple had eight cores I suppose it wouldn’t be much fun to eat, so it’s a good thing that this is an Apple. Today, Apple Inc. unleashed a new Mac Pro with the option to upgrade from dual two-core processors to dual four-core Intel Clovertown processors. While it’d certainly nice to have the bragging rights of such a beastly computing machine, I’m not sure if it warrants the extra (nearly) $1500 for the step up in speed.


The biggest reservation I have, as many would, is that applications these days simply aren’t optimized for computing with eight cores, most machines with two are hardly ever maxed out. The good news is, however, that right along side of these machines is the new Creative Suite from Adobe. Coincidentally (or maybe not so) CS3 applications are optimized for such mammoth of a computer.

On a side note, I have a brief story. Once upon a time there was a curse bestowed on Leo Laporte (former TechTV personality and current podcaster extraordinaire). As the story goes, shortly after Leo makes an Apple purchase, the product is replaced with a newer updated version. As luck would have it, it seems as if this curse is in effect if Leo is even present at the purchase of a Mac. So, two days ago Leo went to a nearby Apple store with a colleague of his. The man purchased a Mac Pro, with a measly four cores and two 24-inch Apple Cinema displays. Unluckily for this man, just two days later (today) Apple introduced the new speedier Mac Pro, and to make matters worse dropped the prices of cinema displays by $100. Quite bad luck I must say.

Razer’s Pro|Solutions Finally a Reality

For about a year Razer (a high-end input device company) has been tantalizing Apple users (and people with iPods who love white peripherals) with a keyboard with an iPod dock built in, plus a shiny white matching mouse as part of their Pro|Solutions series. The mouse has been around for a while (I’m using one right now with my MacBook), but Engadget just reported that the Keyboard is finally coming for fruition.


The Pro|Type keyboard is going to run about $130. Besides its white glory, it features an integrated iPod dock, plus a whole slew of media and programmable keys. In fact, the keyboard is able to switch between 10 profiles, which allows for even more customizable fun. If I didn’t already drop $29 on an Apple Keyboard I’d actually consider it, since I’m a fan of Razer and it would match my mouse. However, I’m not in dire need of an iPod dock, or an expensive keyboard. So, coolness aside I doubt I’ll be getting one anytime soon, doesn’t mean it’s not a sleek gadget though.

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

PSP Price Drop: Sony Shafts the Euros Again

While I’m not interested (at all) in buying a PSP, I’ve known for some time that it’s just too expensive for lots of people to consider, especially when its competitor the, Nintendo DS, is hovering just over $100. Well, also for some time, people have been actively complaining about the PSP’s $200 price point. As Engadget reports, it seems as if Sony is finally listening to its potential customers and doing something about it. While the article doesn’t make specific reference, the article they cite explains that the new price for the pack will be $179, which isn’t a huge cut.



The little bit of this news that sticks out to me is that Sony said “We have no announcements to make about the PSP in the European market at this time.” As you may remember I posted previously about Europe getting the shaft on backwards compatibility, not to mention the regrettably late launch of the PS3 across the Atlantic. I don’t know what it is about Sony and Europe, it just seems they like to give them the stick whenever possible, late PS3 launch, higher price for it, limited backwards compatibility, and now no plans to reduce the cost of the already pricey PSP. I’m not a big fan of Sony these days as it is, but if I lived in Europe, who knows what I’d think.

Colorful, Fashion Conscious USBCELL Batteries

I’ve you haven’t heard of USBCELL batteries, I’ll give you the lowdown. Essentially, they’re rechargeable batteries. However, instead of spending money on an expensive charger, you use any free USB ports on your computer to charge them. Last time I checked they had AAA, AA, and 9 Volt models. I know there’s a bit more of a trick the AAA size because a USB plug is a little bit bigger than the diameter of the battery, but the AA size have caps (on the positive side) that fold off to reveal the USB connector for charging.



They really are a good idea, and not too too expensive. I think they’re more than your ordinary battery, but as far as rechargeables go, they’re reasonable, especially taking into consideration the cost of typical chargers. Well, now as Engadget is reporting, USBCELLs will be coming in a variety of colors. Verity Wright, the design director is quoted as saying, “With virtually every other portable company launching fashionable pastel colored products, it's about time the Billions of AA Batteries inside caught up with the design and fashion concerns of modern consumers.” That’s just it, they’re on the inside, who cares? If they don’t cost the consumer any more to get a pack of colorful USBCELLs I can’t blame them, but if they plan on charging a premium for these tidbits of pastel portable power, then I’ve got a gripe.

Monday, April 2, 2007

Dude Wins a Wii

Two video posts in one day, wow. You know those stupid crane games (or others like them) that you never win? Well this kid won. It wasn’t some stupid old stuffed animal either; this guy won a Nintendo Wii. Pretty impressive I’d say. Check out the video below. If you’ve got a thing against cursing, I suggest turning down your volume before you start the video.

AP Reporter Takes It From The “Pain Gun”

I don’t exactly have the technical expertise or the desire to attempt to explain how the “Pain Gun” works, but if you’d like a briefing on it check out Engadget’s reporting on it from a while back. I can say, however, that the basic idea is that it gives whomever is it path of its beam will feel an intense pain, most likened to burning. The effect is that almost immediately the victim will want to get out of its way as quick as possible.

The press was invited to a recent testing session, and Elliot Minor, an AP reporter elected to have it tested on him, the video can be found below. I’ll just say from his reaction I plan to keep clear of this thing.

EMI and iTunes to bring DRM Free Content!

Last night there was a live webcast from London, by EMI and Apple CEO his Steveness. The big announcement was that EMI, one of the big four record companies; will be bringing higher quality DRM-Free content to the iTunes Store.



I’ve always been pretty under whelmed by the 128Kbps AAC tracks that cost $0.99 on iTunes. If I’m going to pay for my music I’d like to be able to do with it what I want (just like my movies) and I’d like it to be at a decent quality. 128Kbps just isn’t cutting it for me. So, now for $0.30 more, you’ll be able to find EMI tracks without DRM encoded at 256Kbps, lets just hope they’re not transcoded. In case you don’t know what that is, transcoding is the process of converting audio from one lossy format (i.e. AAC or MP3) to another. This further degrades the quality; so an AAC file transcoded to 256Kbps from 128Kbps, will actually sound worse. And when Apple increased the resolution for video downloads last year (I think) it was found out that they just upscaled a lot of them, which causes video artifacting.

The other bonus is if you’ve already got a whole slew of EMI tracks, you’ll be able to pay the extra thirty cents and get the DRM-Free version. Album’s will also be available without DRM, but at regular prices, sounds like an incentive to buy whole albums to me. Finally, EMI music videos will also come in DRM-Free forms, without a price hike. One of the best things to be heard from all of this is that Steve Jobs expects half of the tracks available on iTunes will be DRM free in the next year.

For more info, check out Engadget’s extended coverage.

Sunday, April 1, 2007

The WiiHelm from Think Geek

To close out coverage for April Fools day, I have a second gag product, which can also be found at Think Geek. It is the WiiHelm. It (if it existed) allows you to play your favorite Wii gesture-based games with your head! Check out the above link for all the details, but until then check out this video.

Wii Goes Cruising with Norwegian

Since the release of the Nintendo Wii, there’ve been many stories of its acceptance by non-gamers, young and old. This story furthers the Wii’s market penetration. Norwegian Cruise Lines has taken the liberty of installing Nintendo Wii’s in several of their ships, including their newest boat. These ships all have a few playing rooms and even have one main room for public gaming, complete with a gargantuan screen. The picture below basically tells the entire story. If, however, you’d like to read more, including the full press release check this out.

Belkin Hubs for Desks

I saw the iPod dock version of these a couple days before I saw this article at Engadget. At first I just thought it was yet another iPod accessory, but after thinking about it, I’ve concluded that this line of computer hub accessories from Belkin is a damn good idea.


How often do you see someone with a computer and their desk in a work environment? Just about anytime you look at an office desk. Well how often do they actually make use of the holes build into desks to route cables? Not very often. Belkin’s new USB Hub (and iPod dock) line of products makes use of these unused holes, to give the customer plenty more USB ports.

I find it hard to explain just why I like these products, I just do. They take the clutter away from your computer and make use of space more efficiently. Their design is simple but attractive, and they’re doing something I’ve never seen done before. These products haven’t hit shelves just yet, but you can expect to see them fairly soon at $39.99 a pop.

Just In Case You Want To Harm Yourself

Art Lebedev (the design oriented company that is responsible for the incredibly expensive Optimus Keyboard) brings us a hilariously dangerous gimmick gadget. The Vilcus Plug Dactyloadapter gives you (and your fingers) direct access to your wall outlets, both American and European.



Think Geek (the gadget’s exclusive retailer) explains the wonders of this product’s features:

* Easily test any AC Power Outlet
* Fits any finger size
* Works with European style and USA type outlets
* Become more alert through free electroshock therapy
* Exclusive Russian Design

If you haven’t quite got the gag yet, this product allows you to purposely electrocute yourself. While I think the idea is great (for its comedic value) I just want to say that you should probably not test it out. If you’d like to purchase one, you can find it at Think Geek for $12.99. Or maybe before you try to give them your money, you should check out what day it is.