(Credit: Apple)The 2009 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is the hottest ticket in town for the second year in a row. Apple quietly posted notice that the conference had sold out on its WWDC site earlier this week. The conference, buoyed by the success of the iPhone, sold out …
Originally posted at iPhone Atlas
Purple ball, corner pocket.
(Credit: BornRich)
Two sources of entertainment are always better than one, which is why we love this futuristic pool table slash MP3 player by the folks at Newwave Design.
The white surfaces and orange cloth combined with the brushed silver legs add to the modern aesthetic, which to me looks more like an orange Creamsicle, but that might just be because it’s almost summertime. The universal media player underneath routes directly to two speakers on either side of the table and features controls for volume and light effects. That’s right, several hidden LEDs help illuminate your game in dimly lit rooms!
There’s a “sound effects” knob as well, but the Web site has no word on what it does. Wouldn’t it be cool/slightly irritating if an audience applause goes off every time you sink a ball? The Lunar pool table includes a full set of balls and two 48-inch cues for a very affordable $745. More images after the break.
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With proven success stories like Tesla struggling to keep those electric car dreams alive in today’s economy, it’s no shock to hear that at least one little guy (that’d be Phoenix Motorcars) has caved to the pressures. After reviving itself once already late last year by nailing down a partnership with the absolutely stunning state of Hawai’i, it seems the company hasn’t been able to progress as planned with its intentions to bring EVs and an electric vehicle infrastructure to the island of Maui. According to a filing on April 27th, the flagging automaker has pegged the soft economy (surprise!) as well as a $5.3 million arbitration apparently won by former drivetrain supplier UQM as the main contributors to its demise. In an update to the situation, however, its CEO has replied to AutoblogGreen in order to reaffirm that it “has not abandoned the alternative fuels transportation space.” Unfortunately, that could mean absolutely anything… or nothing at all.
Read – Original filing
Read – Update from Phoenix MC
Filed under: Transportation
Phoenix Motorcars undergoing restructuring, still committed to EV space originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Like most folks, I’m eagerly awaiting the Hulu app that’s rumored to be heading to the iPhone. (I need my daily “Daily Show” fix!)
Of course, if and when it lands, it’ll require a live Internet connection to stream content–and those are still pretty hard to come …
Originally posted at iPhone Atlas
Wired’s story on Gizmondo, the gadget company fronted by Swedish con artist Bo Stefan Eriksson, has been optioned to be made into a film.
I just want to know, is Eriksson getting paid for his life rights? Because I’d hate to think he’s making a dime after the shit he pulled.
The original article starts out with the famous crash which brought attention to Eriksson, eventually ending his ring of lies:
THE BUMP IN THE ROAD that ended Bo Stefan Eriksson’s fantastic ride is practically invisible. From 10 feet away, all you can see is the ragged edge of a tar-seamed crack in an otherwise smooth sheet of pavement. Only the location is impressive – a sweet stretch of straightaway on California’s Pacific Coast Highway near El Pescador state beach, just past the eucalyptus-shaded mansions of the Malibu hills. On that patch of broken asphalt, there’s barely enough lip to stub a toe. Of course, when you hit it at close to 200 miles per hour, as police say Eriksson did in the predawn light last February 21, while behind the wheel of a 660-horsepower Ferrari Enzo, consequences magnify.
The Enzo has less than 6 inches of ground clearance, and at that speed, it took only a slight scrape under the front bumper to launch the vehicle. The airborne Ferrari landed in a skid that in a blink became a sidelong drift. Tires shredding, the car bounced over the shoulder onto a grassy slope wet with dew. All Eriksson could do was hold on as the slithering, swiveling Enzo again achieved liftoff, then slammed broadside into a wooden power pole.
Gizmondo’s story, one of massive fraud, mob ties and wrecked Ferraris, would make a fine film, but being optioned is far from a guarantee that the movie will ever get made. I hope it does, if only so that some good can come of the whole debacle. And so that more people can confuse Gizmodo with Gizmondo. I love that!* [Hollywood Reporter via Robert Capps, editor of the story who looks like a supertrooper]
*Not really.
[Via Technabob]
Filed under: GPS, Portable Audio
iPod nano GPS hack ensures that you and your MP3s make it home safely originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple’s wants the iPhone to be the next major gaming platform, a fact the company isn’t making any bones about. This mission is reflected in the company’s latest hire–one Richard Teversham, the senior director of business, insights and strategy for Xbox’s European division.
Apple has never been known for gaming devices, a fact to which the mid-90s Pippin can sadly attest. With more than 9,000 games now available for download via the iTunes App store, however, such stigmas may become a thing of the past.
The real question here, I think is whether this hire also signals an improvement in the gaming capabilities of the company’s computers. The last couple of Macbook refreshes have seen a push toward increased graphic capabilities, but when it comes to titles, the Mac OS is still far behind the PC.
The base price for Falcon’s storied portable gaming system is just over $2,000 and in the past we’ve awarded it high ratings and even an Editors’ Choice for low-cost gaming systems. Which is why the price point of the latest model, the Falcon Northwest FragBox 2 (Core i7), is particularly baffling. What in the world would drive the price of a $2K system up to nearly $9,000? We did the math to tell you what you get for your (giant pile of) money.
FragBox: $2,068.27. Everyone’s favorite shoebox-size portable gaming system comes in an aluminum chassis with side windows to show off your premium parts and a carrying handle on top. There’s a Falcon Northwest logo cut out of the front with a 3-axis laser, with optional blue backlighting for a “very modern, but not flashy effect.”
Paint job: $797.06. That’s right. Nearly $800. But for your money, you get some pretty nifty racing stripes.
1,000 Watt power supply: $144.46. This is the the power supply Goldilocks would select, promising efficiency, little wire clutter, and a sizable 135mm fan for better cooling.
Core i7 Extreme 965 3.2 GHz: $1,031.12. Of course, we got the most souped-up processor. This quad-core CPU offers Hyper-Threading and “Turbo-Boost” on top of its 3.2GHz of Core i7 power.
More after the jump!
Good ol’ Nokla, with its punny branding and utter shameless, has taken upon itself to build the touchscreen N98, based on a sketchy Nokia concept that was making the rounds last year and never materialized. There’s a 3-inch QVGA screen and dual-sim support, but things lean into the realm of Nokia parody with the complete lack of 3G or EDGE data. The worst part is that this phone actually looks kind of nice. All this unintentional humor can be yours for a mere $78.
[Via SlashGear]
Filed under: Cellphones
Keepin’ it real fake, part CCIV: Nokla beats Nokia to the touchscreen N98 punch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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One day, we’ll all have armless, boxy, nagging robots in the home to remind us to take our meds and that it’s time to watch Jeopardy! This is the dream behind GeckoSystems Intl. Corp.’s CareBot personal robot.
Under development for over a decade, the CareBot prototype is a mobile automaton that can easily, if very slowly, navigate among people and objects. It’ll follow grandma around the house, let other families watch her from afar (via internet-based video teleconferencing) and contact someone on the outside if grandma falls down and can’t get up. According to GeckoSystem company execs, it can also operate for up to 14 hours on a single charge.
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