Hasta La Gadget!

The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) is considering putting cellphone jammers into its cabs to stop cabbies nattering while driving. Of course, it’ll also block the cells of any passenger unlucky enough to climb into the taxi of Travis Bickle.

I got freaked out, or rather, confused every time I climbed into a cab in Las Vegas and San Francisco (actually, in Vegas, every cab driver I had was weird). After asking where you were going and setting the sat-nav, they started talking to me, often in tongues. It took me a while to work out that they had Bluetooth headsets embedded into their ear-canals and were in fact shouting abuse at friends and family, not at me.

So blocking seems like a good idea, except that the drivers will then rant at you, the passenger. The jammers are supposed to affect the front seats only, but we know how well that will work. Better are the other public suggestions being considered by the TLC: iPod chargers, MetroCard payments and — please Lord let it be true — Wi-Fi.

What do you think? Cell jamming would be great in cinemas and restaurants, but what if there’s a doctor on call in there? It’s a sticky discussion. To jam or not to jam?

NYC Considering Blocking Chatty Cabbies’ Phones [WCBSTV via RAW Feed]

Photo: Seamus Murray/Flickr

The new Nikon D5000 has, along with more zeroes in the name than any Nikon DSLR before it, the exact same image chain as the more expensive D90. So this clip of video shot with the new body should come as no surprise. Even so, those thinking about buying a movie-shooting Nikon SLR now the price is more attractive might like to take a look.

The quality looks fine, as much as we can tell from a YouTube clip, especially as it was shot in a low-light situation (still shots for the same underground parking garage were taken at ISO 3200). The subject? Skateboarders, of course, probably the most video-d set of people on the planet, judging by the amount of camcorders I see in our local skate-spots.

The biggest disappointment here is the rather pedestrian camera-work — not a criticism of the photographer, but rather the lens. We can only assume, given the low light and the likelihood that the lens was used wide open, that it is a standard zoom with a maximum aperture of around ƒ4. The lack of a shallow depth of field really sucks the drama out of a scene, don’t you think?

Nikon D5000 HD Video Review [Demystifying Digital]

See Also:

• In Depth: Nikon D5000 with Video and Flip-Screen
• Review: Nikon D90 Takes World Champion DSLR Title Belt
• Nikon D90: First SLR With Hi-Def Movie Mode

Remember the standalone conference phone? So do we — its what we used before Skype. Back then it was called “video conferencing” and took place in walnut-trimmed offices amongst serious executives. Now, of course, the biggest problem with video calls is that you can’t pretend you’re not still in bed.

Kicker is a concept phone for people who hate conference phones, and tries to bring a bit of the “web 2.0” to the old-school device. The iPod-alike box would be nothing more than a novelty were it not for some genuinely interesting features. We will translate them one by one:

Feature: Synchronizes with calendars and contacts for one-tap dialing

Translation :Actually usable by people in suits

Feature: Quickly see who’s talking on a call and who wants to speak

Translation: Avoid the boss

Feature: “Hand Raising” to indicate a desire to speak

Translation: Let’s the meek guy from accounting actually speak. Time for a snooze

Feature: “Poking” to nudge other callers

Translation: Pretend you’re on Facebook

Feature: Recording and marking of calls

Translation: Blackmail the boss and take his job

Feature: Multi-line dialing
Translation: What? This is a conference phone. right?

Feature: Adjusting individual lines for the best overall conference call quality

Translation: Mute dull co-workers, or make them sound like they breathed helium

Feature: Available in four colors

Translation: Available in four colors. Y’know, like the iPod.

We don’t know. This does look nice, but really, will anyone choose it over free, software based video calling? It’s not like every single employee doesn’t have a computer already, right?

Product page [Kicker Studio]

Art. Lebedev Studio’s quirky, clever computer, home, and office accessories always make me smile. (Perhaps you’re familiar with the shaped-like-a-speaker-icon Sonicum Speakers, which we’ve featured here on Gearlog in the past?)

If you’re into tech and design, the Moscow-based company’s selection of home and office accessories are definitely worth a look. A sampling:

Deletus, a jumbo eraser that looks like an extra-large delete key.

Folderix, a 4GB flash drive shaped like the classic desktop folder icon. Bonus: Folderix recently become available stateside; pick one up for $60 at charlesandmarie.com.

Computer icon fridge magnets, available in Arrow Cursor, Hourglass, and Hand Cursor, to name a few. 

Back in late March and early April, when we first heard the terrifying tale of two shifty, hapless carrier pigeons intercepted while attempting to smuggle cellphone parts to inmates in a high-security Brazilian prison, we thought it was merely an isolated incident. Well, now that another pigeon has been caught — this time outside a Colombian prison with a tiny suitcase full of cellphone components strapped to its back — we have to face the truth: carrier pigeons are probably evil by nature. The Colombian authorities say that the pigeons are likely being raised inside the prison, then sent to the outside to collect the contraband handsets before doing what pigeons do best — returning home. The officials also admit they are relatively powerless to combat the problem, though the intercepted bird is now imprisoned at a local animal shelter. So… how long until a different carrier pigeon is intercepted trying to sneak a teensy KRZR into the incarcerated, winged criminal?

Filed under: Cellphones

Devious carrier pigeon caught trying to smuggle cellphone parts into prison originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments