Guess what, prospective Milestone owners, the Droid’s one major advantage over its Euro cousin has just been coded out of existence by those proactive, un-American XDA Developers. The free Google Maps Navigation service, whose US announcement was so shocking as to decimate the stock prices of satnav purveyors Garmin and TomTom, has now been ported to work outside the land of the free as well. Not only that, but you can use the app on other Android devices, meaning your old G1 can get a breath of fresh air for absolutely free. That is if you don’t count the time it takes you to learn how to insert all the code properly and the risk of bricking your device in the process. But we know our readers eat iron nails for breakfast and fashion elegantly optimized code before lunch, so we expect all of you to be using this by day’s end, you hear?
As expected, Verizon has chosen December 2 as the Samsung Omnia II’s date with destiny, bringing an interesting full-touch WinMo alternative to the HTC Imagio that launched back in October alongside Windows Mobile 6.5. Speaking of 6.5, there were some early concerns that Verizon’s version of the Omnia II would launch on stale 6.1 code, but fear not — it’s now confirmed that you’ll be looking at Microsoft’s latest and greatest stuff when you gaze upon that 3.7-inch AMOLED WVGA display. It’s also got a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, WiFi, and 8GB of internal storage along with microSD expansion — good news for anyone who plans on making much use of that cam, especially in video mode. Verizon’s site and retail locations both take delivery of the device on the same 12/2 date, pushing it for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate. Considering the pricing, we’ve gotta ask: Droid or Omnia II?
From now until Christmas, we’ll be giving away a prize a day on Crave (expect for weekends and holidays). To kick off the daily holiday giveaways, we’re offering up an Apple iPod Nano, courtesy of Target.com.
TomTom is set to sell a GPS Kit for the iPod Touch, further closing the gap between Apple’s top-end iPod and the iPhone. The unit will have a built-in GPS receiver which “turns your iPod touch into a mobile navigation device.”
Many people choose the iPod Touch over the iPhone because you don’t have to sell your life to a cellphone carrier for two years to get it. But there are omissions from the hardware which are much more painful than losing the ability to make phone calls. Along with the lack of GPS, you lose always-on internet access, the camera and the compass. TomTom goes partway to fixing this, although the fact that it is a cradle instead of a case (like the add-on from Dual Electronics) means that utility is severely limited outside of a car.
The $100 kit is otherwise the same as the iPhone kit, with a line out for audio, iPod charging and a spinning (landscape or portrait) windshield mount. Best of all, it will work with any iPod Touch, back to the first generation model. Like the iPhone kit, you’ll also have to spring for the $100 TomTom satnav application. As you can really only use this when driving, you might wonder why you don’t just spring for a standalone in-car GPS box for less money than the kit and software combined. Supposedly available now from Apple.
Data Robotics has been quietly raking in the dough (and trying to match up supply with demand) ever since it launched its 8-bay DroboPro back in April, and now the company is making yet another bold move: doubling its product line. Starting today, the traditional 4-bay Drobo will be joined by the quicker Drobo S, and the DroboElite will be added at the high end for those in the enterprise. The Model S ups the ante by adding a fifth drive bay in order to allow for two drives to fail without any data being lost — a feature that was previously reserved for the aforesaid Pro. It’s also boasting an ARM chip with a 50 percent faster clock (compared to the Drobo), enabling the FireWire 800 performance to see a 20 to 25 percent boost; moreover, an eSATA socket has been added alongside the tried-and-true USB 2.0 port. Users will also be able to switch between single- and dual-drive redundancy via the software control panel, though you should be warned that the DroboShare NAS adapter will not work on the Drobo S. We spoke with Mark Fuccio, the firm’s senior director of products and marketing, who told us that the functionality was left off due to the possibility of a “bad customer experience.” In essence, the network throughput would crawl compared to a direct connection, so the company simply opted to avoid the headaches rather than cater to those of you who demand NAS functionality on every external HDD to hit the market.
Moving on, the DroboElite is carving a new path for the company, one that caters to high-maintenance enterprise users looking to serve up to 16 hosts while providing up to 255 smart volumes. The Elite is basically a Pro on steroids, with room for 8 hard drives, single- or dual-drive redundancy and an all-new connection method. If you’ll recall, the Pro provided a single gigabit Ethernet port (iSCSI), FireWire 800 and USB 2.0; the Elite ships with two gigabit Ethernet sockets and nothing more (aside from a USB port used only for device management), so it’s pretty clear that this one isn’t looking to satisfy the home consumer market.
Both devices are shipping out today, with the Drobo S starting at $799 (with no HDDs) and being sold at the same outlets as the Drobo (which isn’t vanishing, by the way). The DroboElite gets going at $3,499, though it’ll only be sold through outlets such as CDW and the like who specialize in medium-to-large business sales. Oh, and just in case you’re curious, the existing Drobo will continue on at its $399 price point (MSRP), though we’re told that smart shoppers should find it for less near Black Friday and throughout the holiday season.
The Dutchess, from magnificently-named designer Wytze van Mansum, is the best concept bike we have seen in a long time. It is both practical, innovative and, even better, exists in the real world as a proper working machine.
Designed for Cannondale, the Dutchess is a woman’s bike based on the heavy old Dutch bikes popular in Europe (hence the punnish, creatively misspelled name). At fist glance you actually see nothing more than a streamlined, duck-egg blue version of the these omafiets (granny-bikes). But take another glance at the hubs, bottom-bracket, handlebars and even the rear fender and it starts to reveal itself as a rather futuristic machine.
First, the frame itself. The whole bike weighs in at just 14 Kg (31 pounds) and is based around the swooping bar that runs from the handlebar all the way to the back. On top of that is the tubular fender, which is structural and can support up to 50 Kg, or 110 pounds. Inside these hollow tubes are contained the brake lines (they are hydraulic) and cabling for the lights (they’re built-in and powered by the hubs).
Speaking of the hubs, these are innovative in themselves. The rims are laced to a generic hub into which can be slotted various cassettes. This means that both front and back wheels are identical, only the rear has the drive system and brake, and the front a generator and a brake. This would make repairs easier as you don’t have to rebuild the whole wheel just to change hubs. Wytze is realistic, though. Speaking to the excellent Bicycle Design blog, he says that “This is dreaming: [the hub] is a better standard then the current solution, but it will never happen.”
Another thing that may never happen is the crank, which as you can see does not use a chain. The actual drive train has not been revealed by Wytze, although it may have something in common with another design he came up with for a folding bike, which uses a cord and a cone-shaped freewheel to transfer power. In the accompanying video (below) it seems to work fine, and Wytze told Bicycle Design that the efficiency is a resectable 96%, compared to a chain’s 98%.
Up at the front, those handlebars can be left where they are or, with the flick of a locking lever, swept forwards or backwards for a more sporty or more comfortable position. A side-effect is that if the bars are pushed right back, the ends touch. As they can be locked in place, this forms a low-security lock that could be looped around a post.
When the handlebars are locked like this, the brakes are also secured (pressure is kept on the hydraulic fluid) for added security.
There is more. The gap between the rear fender and what would be the chain-stay on any other bike is covered with a skirt (or overcoat) guard, and everything is designed to be maintenance-free: the original sketches even put airless tires on there for puncture-free riding. The rear fender has a pull-out extension for really rainy days and the design (but not the prototype, which took five months to build) has a front basket and a kick-stand.
This is a very nice update to the Dutch bike. Even without all the smart extra features the weight advantage alone is worth it (and means you can carry it upstairs to your apartment to sleep). For more, check out the interview with Wytze over at Bicycle Design, and view some more (hot) product shots at his Flickr page.
When it comes to nerd obsessions, the only thing that can trump a fictional tablet developed by battling left-coast legends is the promise of a revolutionary OS from Google that relies upon nothing but a browser and the dreams of a young Larry Ellison. Don’t even start with your Korean product waifs as we’re trying to keep the discussion in the realm of possibilities. Now, with the weekend over, you’ve probably experienced the same sense of ennui we’ve all felt at having downloaded and tested a copy of Chrome OS. To be fair, that meh-ness is kind of what you’d expect from a browser-based OS that’s meant to get out of your way. Still, it’s hard not to wonder where Android and its growing application base fits into Google’s long-term OS strategy especially after seeing several ARM-based smartbook prototypes running Google’s smartphone OS. Fortunately, Google co-founder Sergey Brin shed some light on this topic in a candid statement following the Chrome OS event. According to CNET, Brin said that Android and the Chrome OS “will likely converge over time,” noting the common Webkit and Linux foundation of both operating systems. It’s unclear when this might occur however. In fact, listening to Google CEO Eric Schmidt attempt to explain the difference between Google’s operating systems in a recent CNET interview leaves us wondering if Google has a clear idea of its target markets as smartphone and laptop functionality continues to converge across devices. Schmidt concedes that it’s too early to tell how the OSes will be used and prefers not to “prejudge the success” of each. “The future will unfold as it does,” he says, and the open-source community will determine the natural fit. Check the interview after the break — the Android vs. Chrome OS waffling begins at the 16:30 remaining mark of the 19 minute and 11 second interview.
The streaming set-top box adds more to its arsenal of Netflix, Amazon, and MLB on demand. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-10402856-260.html” class=”origPostedBlog”Circuit Breaker/a/p
We’ve seen more eyesight restoration efforts than we could easily count, but rather than tooting their horn about some theoretical discovery, boffins at Kings College Hospital in London are actually putting their hard work to use on real, live human brings. The new process, which goes by the name brachytherapy, is a one-off treatment for macular degeneration. In essence, surgeons carefully light up a beam of radiation within the eye for just over three minutes, which kills harmful cells without damaging anything else. A trial is currently underway in order to restore eyesight in some 363 patients, and everything thus far leads us to believe that the process is both safe and effective. As for costs? The procedure currently runs £6,000 ($9,889), but that’s still not awful when you consider that existing treatments involving injections run £800 per month. Hop past the break for a video report.
The first two iPhones had terrible cameras, something Apple fixed with the 3GS. Those of us who like to complain can still find fault with the lack of an optical zoom lens. Those who don’t just whine go out and fix this for themselves.
Instructables member T-skware did just that, grabbing the lid of an old pickle jar, some lenses ripped from the eye-sockets of donor cameras, a suction cup and sundry old computer and Walkman parts. With these he made a suck-on carousel of macro lenses which will magnify close-up shots taken with the iPhone. He didn’t stop there: In the center of the spinning lens-disk is an LED lamp powered by a 3V battery. The results obtained by shooting through this lens setup won’t replace you DSLR macro setup, but then, it is also essentially free (apart from the iPhone of course).
If you want to make your own, head over to the step by step instructions. You don’t even need an iPhone: With a few tweaks this should work with any cellphone cam.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
Guess what, prospective Milestone owners, the Droid’s one major advantage over its Euro cousin has just been coded out of existence by those proactive, un-American XDA Developers. The free Google Maps Navigation service, whose US announcement was so shocking as to decimate the stock prices of satnav purveyors Garmin and TomTom, has now been ported to work outside the land of the free as well. Not only that, but you can use the app on other Android devices, meaning your old G1 can get a breath of fresh air for absolutely free. That is if you don’t count the time it takes you to learn how to insert all the code properly and the risk of bricking your device in the process. But we know our readers eat iron nails for breakfast and fashion elegantly optimized code before lunch, so we expect all of you to be using this by day’s end, you hear?
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