<![CDATA[Boing Boing Gadgets]]> http://mobileratty.com/feed/341be94091ef1b88192f4e431012efb9 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:11:55 +0000 iRatty Engine http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss <![CDATA[Introducing the Walkpod]]> http://mobileratty.com/article/7467fc140365e34b2ccba8aa88d78a3f http://mobileratty.com/article/7467fc140365e34b2ccba8aa88d78a3f apple-walkpod.jpg

There's something satisfying about the mechanical act of mating involved in putting a tape into a walkman and hearing the machine crunch shut around it. If I still had any, I would totally by a Walkpod.

[Farai via Likecool]


]]> Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:01:57 +0000 walkpod machine crunch mechanical act walkman farai tape likecool Introducing the Walkpod <![CDATA[Teddycam catches thief]]> http://mobileratty.com/article/52dc5854498f49d7ed59f4b10146d9f1 http://mobileratty.com/article/52dc5854498f49d7ed59f4b10146d9f1 _44938294_teddy_pa282.jpg

A tiny camera, hidden in the eye of a teddy bear by a 21 year old forensic scientist, caught a carer stealing from her terminally ill grandmother. As a result, a judge sentenced the carer's to six months in the nick. From the beeb:

Robert Sampson, 46, and (daughter) Emma, 21 ... set up the camera when 75-year old Mrs Sampson noticed money going missing ... Mr Sampson said: "My mother has end-stage leukaemia and we had to get a carer in who worked for the primary care trust (PCT). "The next day my mum said £40 had gone out of her purse."

The model used cost £55 ($120), and its eye-like lens inspired them to rig up a plush toy. Expecting a lengthy wait, they got results immediately: "We thought it would be a long process but she was greedy."


Teddy camera catches carer thief [BBC]


]]> Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:16:15 +0000 robert sampson sampson primary care trust carer tiny camera eye-like lens camera eye teddy bear Teddycam catches thief <![CDATA[Wired on Nikon D3: "Light-Years Ahead of Other Prosumer-Grade Shooters"]]> http://mobileratty.com/article/59a5128c39571ac507bbcf0ba44cf3c2 http://mobileratty.com/article/59a5128c39571ac507bbcf0ba44cf3c2 d3.jpgPhotographer Jackson Lynch writes up the D3 for Wired. He loves it.
The noticeably improved 51-point auto focus system is whip-fast and works in concert with an outstanding 1005 pixel metering sensor that gets it right in the most challenging lighting. Images are beautifully consistent with a wide dynamic range and improved noise reduction settings that give the pictures a more natural look. ... the D3 is incredibly customizable. Dial it in for lightning quick 11 frames-per-second sports action, super low light shooting (ISO up to 25600), handheld or tripod mounted live view, you name it.

I look forward to the day that I am rich enough to describe a $5,000 body as "prosumer!"

Review: Nikon D3 is Light-Years Ahead of Other Prosumer-Grade Shooters [Wired Gadget Lab]


]]> Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:35:44 +0000 light-years ahead noise reduction settings super low light wide dynamic range sports action nikon wired prosumer live view Wired on Nikon D3: "Light-Years Ahead of Other Prosumer-Grade Shooters" <![CDATA[Blu-Ray dectrators echo 1990s DVD hate]]> http://mobileratty.com/article/a435d846e277e64c559bdcb95d895287 http://mobileratty.com/article/a435d846e277e64c559bdcb95d895287 CNET goes back the the mid-1990s to excavate the reasons given then why the new "DVD" laserdiscs would never be a success. The punchline is, of course, that most of them are identical to the reasons now given why Blu-Ray will fail.

The first three: No-one will re-buy movies they've got on VHS; there aren't enough movies on the format; recording is expensive and annoying.

Conspicuously absent from the earlier griping, however, is the modern ubiquity of broadband internet, and "on demand" movie services from Cable providers. These are Blu-Ray's real challenge, not decade-old philosophical objections to the movie industry's greed.

Photo: Jovike

DVD will fail? Sounds a lot like Blu-ray [Cnet.com]


]]> Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:22:36 +0000 blu-ray blu-ray cnet cnet dvd re-buy movies movies decade-old philosophical objections movie industry real challenge Blu-Ray dectrators echo 1990s DVD hate <![CDATA[CD Barbell "soft to the touch"]]> http://mobileratty.com/article/ae3925a7adb7dbe6ae723e6586edb6f2 http://mobileratty.com/article/ae3925a7adb7dbe6ae723e6586edb6f2 cddumbbells_540x404.jpgDanny Seo's photo of the 10 pound CD barbell needs no further description. All it needs is an appropriate soundtrack made from the 1980s pop classics sacrificed to create it.

Old CDs into Dumbells [Danny Seo via Crave]


]]> Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:18:10 +0000 dumbells danny seo danny seo pound cd barbell 1980s pop classics photo crave description cds soundtrack CD Barbell "soft to the touch" <![CDATA[Plywood inspires futuristic phone]]> http://mobileratty.com/article/2fb27e8d3d7fec2c2bb5fa59d7d034e1 http://mobileratty.com/article/2fb27e8d3d7fec2c2bb5fa59d7d034e1 kddiply1.jpgIf you ever looked at a slab of plywood and thought, "I'd love a phone that resembled this," Japan's KDDI has you in mind. Designed by Hideo Kanbara, the conceptual "Ply" would put a different function in each of its six super-thin layers. On the top one, the display; in the next, a keypad; in a third, a printer. It would even crack open to reveal a miniature projector! au-ply-phone2.jpg

Product Page [Kddi via Gizmodo and Cscout]


]]> Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:09:43 +0000 kddi product page kddi plywood hideo kanbara miniature projector phone super-thin layers gizmodo ply Plywood inspires futuristic phone <![CDATA[Text on an Arduino-based Monome clone]]> http://mobileratty.com/article/9c5827abc91022908128478bcb08c0f0 http://mobileratty.com/article/9c5827abc91022908128478bcb08c0f0
Arduinome Nerdscroll Demonstration from BricK Table on Vimeo.

"Let's get nerdscroll running."

Arduinome [via Make, CreateDigitalMusic]


]]> Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:02:13 +0000 nerdscroll arduinome nerdscroll demonstration arduinome brick table vimeo Text on an Arduino-based Monome clone <![CDATA[HP Touchsmart reviewed. Verdict: Yeah, pretty good]]> http://mobileratty.com/article/04865443cb8a29235ff54496218846de http://mobileratty.com/article/04865443cb8a29235ff54496218846de hptouchsmart1111112121.jpgDemystifying Digital reviews HP's latest TouchSmart PCs, and finds that it's a good alternative to Apple's iMac. The A/V options are far superior, the price is right, and the touchscreen software is improved — if still far from perfect. The limiting factor, DD says, is Vista.
Its a slave to Windows Vista's own capabilities. Vista has touch-sensitive functionality built-in for developers to make use of, but there's no support for multi-touch, like you see in Apple's iPhone or iPod Touch. So imagine trying to crop a photo by having to re-size it one touch at a time. It seems a bit archaic, doesn't it?

The thing that surprised me about it was how attractive it was in the flesh, especially compared to the hideous first-generation models. Most interesting about 2008 is the trend toward more attractive design by leading PC makers.

HP TouchSmart PC: Should You Touch it? [Demystifying Digital via CrunchGear]


]]> Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:50:59 +0000 touch touch-sensitive functionality built-in touchsmart multi-touch ipod touch vista windows vista attractive design attractive HP Touchsmart reviewed. Verdict: Yeah, pretty good <![CDATA[PlayStation 3 Chat Pad]]> http://mobileratty.com/article/8d19f578be78b1124e3a7e27208de294 http://mobileratty.com/article/8d19f578be78b1124e3a7e27208de294 keypads.jpgAnnounced practically at the same time as Microsoft's improved Xbox 360 controller, Sony unveiled their latest addition to their line of PlayStation 3 accessories at GC yesterday: the PS3 Wireless Keypad, a QWERTY typing add-on that snaps on to any DualShock or Sixaxis PS3 controller and allows text chat and entry in games.

It's a little weird looking, to tell the truth. The placement above the buttons and D-Pad seem like they'd require you to re-grip the controller every time you want to use it. And one of the touted features is puzzling: apparently, the keypad can be toggled into a touch pad mode, where moving your finger along the keys moves a mouse on the screen. That's... interesting... but surely one of the analog nubs would have worked just as well, if not better.

There's no price yet, but it's due to be released in November.


]]> Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:21:36 +0000 sixaxis ps3 controller controller ps3 wireless keypad keypad touch pad mode analog nubs playstation time keys moves PlayStation 3 Chat Pad <![CDATA[Apple says 2.0.2 update fixed iPhone 3G, BUT...]]> http://mobileratty.com/article/8d89e02618ef2a3d353614c8d5ee5d01 http://mobileratty.com/article/8d89e02618ef2a3d353614c8d5ee5d01 So why is the Apple iPhone 3G giving such lackluster 3G network performance compared to other phones? Is the problem going to be fixed?

No need to worry. According to Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock, it's already okay!

"The [iPhone 3G 2.0.2] software update improves communication with 3G networks."

Great! Except according to the statistics gathered by the Test My iPhone website (summed up here by Cult of Mac):

Prior to the upgrade, the average iPhone download speed is 2227.93 kbps (averaged from nearly 600,000 total speed tests made at the site).

But in tests made over the past 24 hours, the average is just 1429.31 kbps.

That’s a decrease of nearly 36 percent.

To be fair, Test My iPhone may not be a flawless metric for iPhone 3G network speed... a fact even Cult of Mac notes. But the Apple support forums are filled with people who are still having problems. Ars Technica's editor-in-chief (among others) lost the ability to make 3G calls entirely with the update. And while not 3G related, apps are still crashing all over the place.

What is going on, Apple? Do you even know?


]]> Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:11:55 +0000 apple iphone apple iphone iphone website apple support forums total speed tests tests mac mac notes Apple says 2.0.2 update fixed iPhone 3G, BUT...