Dec 04
Hands-on with Vestax Spin
Posted in: Today's ChiliCNET’s Donald Bell gives the Vestax Spin DJ controller a test drive and shows off the results in a photo gallery.
Dec 04
Prison officers in Washington DC have been busted for smuggling gadgets into jail for inmates. According to the Washington Post, the officers have been “placed on administrative leave”.
The officers, Thomas Ford and Quincy Hayes, are accused of sneaking iPods, cellphones and chargers into the District’s Correction Treatment Facility, and taking bribes to do so. We’re not sure about cellphones, but surely there’s not a problem with having iPods on the inside? After all, it stops you getting bored, and as we all know, the Devil makes work for idle hands.
How were these officer’s caught? Some stool-pigeon inmate, presumably jealous that he had nobody to send him even a Zune, grassed them up. An FBI employee, acting on this information, pretended to be an inmate’s brother and arranged to smuggle “a phone, an iPod and a charger” into the facility in exchange for “several hundred dollars”. We hope that this lone charger was at least a universal one.
Cue the inevitable jokes about the tunes loaded onto these iPods. the Washington Post headlines with “Jailhouse Rock”, Nicole Martinelli at the Cult of Mac choses instead “I Fought the Law.” Right now, I am (coincidentally) listening to Eric Clapton’s “I Shot the Sheriff.” We can do better than that. Suggestions in the comments. If you come up with something especially good, I’ll change the headline of this post.
Cult of Mac “Jail Guards Charged With Smuggling iPods for Prisoners | Cult of Mac”)]
2 D.C. guards charged in smuggling scheme [Washington Post]
Photo illustration: Charlie Sorrel
Original photo: Decade Null
Dec 04
Olympus E-600 reviewed, lives up to its billing as a top-notch entry-level DSLR
Posted in: dslr, olympus, review, reviewed, Today's Chili
We were hoping for good things when the E-600 was announced back in August, and it looks like those expectations will be met. The camera is now shipping and has been put through its paces by Photography Blog, scoring very highly thanks to its great performance and a feature set only slightly cropped when compared to the already value-packing E-620, but at a price that makes it $100 more likely to fit in your budget. It’s a lot of camera for an MSRP of $599, but surely you’ll be finding it for a bit less than that soon enough.
Olympus E-600 reviewed, lives up to its billing as a top-notch entry-level DSLR originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Dec 04
DLO WallDock iPhone charger shoots for minimalist practicality
Posted in: accessories, charger, iPhone, ipod, ipod touch, IpodTouch, Today's Chili
Yesterday’s in-wall USB charger hackery might have inspired plenty of you to take up tools and start the USB power revolution, but if you own an iPod or iPhone and just a smidgen of common sense, you might wanna look at this first. The DLO WallDock is a teeny tiny charger that plugs into those familiar standard wall sockets, and its designed so that your iDevice leans back when connected, turning it into a neat (and wireless) substitute for your regular dock. We still wouldn’t sacrifice the $25 asking price at the altar of cable freedom, but the more important question is, would you?
DLO WallDock iPhone charger shoots for minimalist practicality originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Dec 04
Until robots rule, we’re still within our rights to do pretty much anything to our gadgets short of chucking them at the help. Still, some of you might want to look away as Nokia’s promising flagship handset — the Maemo powered N900 — is stripped of its components and Finnish dignity to reveal its ARM Cortex-A8 CPU and PowerVR SGX 3D accelerator soul. Check the unofficial how-to video after the break. If you look real close you just might spot the difference between this “mobile computer” and a smartphone.
Continue reading Nokia N900 teardown reveals smartphone semantics
Nokia N900 teardown reveals smartphone semantics originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Dec 04
When an iPhone and a dSLR lens meet
Posted in: Today's ChiliAn took apart his Apple handset and retrofitted it with a couple of optical drive lenses, then stuck a few PVC pipes to accommodate his 18-55mm Canon glass.
Dec 04
Hearst launching Skiff distribution system and Kindle competitor ‘by publishers, for publishers,’ thinks you’ll want it too
Posted in: amazon kindle, AmazonKindle, e reader, kindle, Sprint, Today's Chili
Despite all the problems with the Kindle — poor PDF support, low-contrast screen, Orwellian fears — it makes for a mighty-fine reading experience for users. From a publisher’s perspective it stinks, with Amazon reportedly sucking down 70% of a sale’s proceeds. Hearst Corp. (owner of the Houston Chronicle, Oprah Magazine, and many others) wants to set things right. For two years the company has been developing a digital content publishing and distribution service called Skiff, and it’s nearly ready for its christening. Publishers will be able to render and ship their content to a number of devices, including the iPhone, but Hearst is also working on its own Kindle competitor that will be the flagship of the Skiff system (we’ve created an artist’s mock-up above). Skiff promises better graphics and better layouts of digital content, which is encouraging, but it’ll also allow the easy injection of advertising into paid content — something we’re less happy to see making the transition over from print. As rumored many publishers are said to be signing on soon, with Sprint providing connectivity. That’s great, but will you be coming aboard?
Update: We have a few more details courtesy of the official press release, most interesting being news of a partnership with Marvell to develop a system on a chip for e-readers. Given that Spring Design’s Alex and the Entourage Edge are both using Marvell chips, we wouldn’t be surprised to find they’ve both been given a berth on this new venture. Also, Skiff is confirmed to be launching sometime in 2010.
Hearst launching Skiff distribution system and Kindle competitor ‘by publishers, for publishers,’ thinks you’ll want it too originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Dec 04
This week I have been laid low with a wet, spluttering cold and a rather amusing bike polo injury. This means that many of the day’s posts are coming direct from my huge, comfortable bed. It also means that I am very interested in this laptop bed desk from Ikea hacker Andrew.
Andrew, the poor poppet, was suffering greatly from using his computer in the sack. Speaking to the Ikea Hacker blog, he whined “when I was lying down the weight caused some discomfort for my stomach, and while sitting down the position strained my back.” Instead of simply sitting in his bed and crying as he waited for a nice big grown-up to “make it all better”, Andrew stopped feeling sorry for himself for long enough to take a trip to Ikea and buy a Magasin dish-rack. A bit of drilling and a few bolts later and he had a spidery-legged table to keep the heavy laptop off his delicate little belly.
I have no plans to actually make one of these. Instead, I will continue dictating these posts to the Lady, who is selflessly transcribing my cracked wheezings into the words you read here. Try getting you little lap-desk to do that, Andrew. [Cough]. And where’s my coffee, woman?!
Laptop stand for working in bed [Ikea Hacker]
Dec 04
HP lets iPAQ Glisten out of the box
Posted in: HP, qualcomm, smartphone, Today's Chili, unboxing, video, windows mobile 6.5, WindowsMobile6.5, winmo
The AT&T-bound iPAQ Glisten from HP has been unboxed for our viewing pleasure, video of which can be found immediately after the break. If you’re not in such a hurry though, you’ll want to know it’s an AMOLED-fronted, Qualcomm-powered (533MHz) WinMo 6.5 device, which brings the BlackBerry form factor sans the RIM user experience, but plus a touchscreen. Another thing to note is that AT&T’s online store will be the only place to get it, at the already announced $179.99 after rebates on a two-year deal. The video does a good job of comparing HP’s return to the mobile space with a pair of similar devices, and we’re left with the impression that it’s a pretty chunky machine, but as usual we recommend seeing it for yourself — and you already know where to find it.
Continue reading HP lets iPAQ Glisten out of the box
HP lets iPAQ Glisten out of the box originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Dec 04
We’re giving away one of T-Mobile’s hottest Android phones, the Motorola Cliq.
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