In the “Budget” category, covering laptops up to $699, we found a large collection of largely indistinguishable systems, along with a few that stood out as particularly good or bad. Almost any of these will provide a decent low-end experience, as long as
One of the most recent additions to Sunpak’s tripod line is the 523PX Pistol Grip Tripod, an inexpensive, full-size carbon fiber tripod with a pistol grip ball head, available for $179.
Now you don’t have to fork out so much for a Red system. The company has just announced the availability of the Scarlet 2/3, an affordable 3k-resolution video camera.
It’s been over a month since we last heard anything about the rumored Comcast takeover of NBC, but things are slowly starting to move forward: Bloomberg says that NBC parent company GE has bought out Vivendi’s 20 percent stake in the broadcaster for $5.8b, with up to a $2b refund due back if the Comcast deal isn’t done by the end of 2010. That’s no small gamble — Comcast will have to clear a “gauntlet” of federal regulators from the FCC and FTC, who will scrutinize everything from the transfer of TV broadcast licenses in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles to the effects on competitors like Dish Network and Verizon, who will still want access to NBC’s huge stable of content and programming. Big challenges, to be sure, but we get the feeling this deal is going down one way or another — get ready for a rocky 2010.
Comcast inches closer to buying NBC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Recognizing that those crazy netbooks aren’t going away, French accessory maker Be.ez (it’s pronounced “be easy”) is expanding its line of LA robe netbook sleeves for 11.6-inch netbooks. That means that owners of ASUS EeePC 1101 HA and Acer 751H netbooks can now get the perfect fit. The 11.6-inch sleeves come in two color combinations: black-and-white and “red kiss.”
The LA robe sleeves are made with low-resilience polyurethane memory foam, so they offer protection from bumps and scratches. The new 11.6-inch sleeves retail for $22.99. You can see the whole Be.ez line at Amazon.
Mac cloner Psystar claims it has entered a partial settlement with Apple, which will prevent Psystar from selling PCs preinstalled with the Mac operating system. However, Psystar isn’t completely surrendering.
As part of the settlement, the Mac cloner said it will pay Apple an amount of damages that has yet to be specified. In the Monday filing, Psystar argued to exclude Rebel EFI, a $50 piece of software that the company started selling in October, from any potential injunction. Rebel EFI is a program that enables owners of some Intel PCs to install Mac OS X onto their systems.
An excerpt from the court document [pdf] filed Monday by Psystar follows:
Psystar and Apple today entered into a partial settlement that is embodied in a stipulation that will be filed with the Court tomorrow. Psystar has agreed on certain amounts to be awarded as statutory damages on Apple’s copyright claims in exchange for Apple’s agreement not to execute on these awards until all appeals in this matter have been concluded. Moreover, Apple has agreed to voluntarily dismiss all its trademark, trade-dress, and state-law claims. This partial settlement eliminates the need for a trial and reduces the issues before this Court to the scope of any permanent injunction on Apple’s copyright claims.
….
The summary judgment in this case turned on the manner in which Psystar assembled its Open Computers. It turned on such things as the use of the Psystar imaging station and what this Court found to be the creation of multiple copies and derivative works of Mac OS X along the way…. None of these same facts is involved in Rebel EFI. Rebel EFI is entirely a software product. It does not involve the assembly by Psystar of any computers…. Nor does Rebel EFI contain or include Mac OS X. A Mac OS X DVD does not even accompany sales of Rebel EFI. Rebel EFI consists solely of Psystar software available for sale and download through Psystar’s website. In particular, whether sales of Rebel EFI are lawful or not depends on whether Psystar’s end users have a defense under 17 U.S.C. § 117. This issue has not been litigated in this case at all. Psystar’s end users do not engage in commercial use of Mac OS X and their use would qualify as use for “internal purposes” even under the standards articulated by Apple in its summary-judgment briefing. If Psystar’s end users are protected by § 117, then Psystar cannot be violating the DMCA by selling Rebel EFI because Rebel EFI, as used by the end users, does not facilitate infringement.
In short, Psystar wishes to continue providing a DIY solution for owners to make their own Mac clones, thereby shifting the responsibility (i.e., breaking Apple’s End User License Agreement) onto the consumer.
However, it’s unlikely this workaround will pan out for Psytar. In 2008, Wired.com reported on a company called Open Tech, which said it would sell PCs bundled with instruction kits for consumers to install Mac OS X themselves. However, Carole Handler, an intellectual property lawyer with Wildman Harrold, told Wired.com that Open Tech would be subjecting itself to contributory infringement of Apple’s end-user agreement.
“Making the user instead of the company the perpetrator of any violation will not avoid the issue of a new company’s contributory infringement and/or vicarious liability for what it facilitates and enables the user to undertake,” Handler said in an e-mail interview. “This kind of workaround is not a bar to Apple bringing contributory infringement or vicarious liability claims.”
Though slightly different, Psystar’s solution could also be considering aiding the consumer to break Apple’s EULA, which reads, “You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so.”
Psystar, a company based in Florida, opened its Mac clone business in April 2008. Three months later, Apple filed a lawsuit alleging Psystar was committing copyright, trademark and shrink-wrap license infringement. Judge William Alsup in November ruled that by selling PCs hacked to run Mac OS X, Psystar had violated Apple’s copyrights.
Additional details regarding the settlement will be filed today, according to Psystar.
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Photo: Psystar
Barnes & Noble has quietly delayed shipments of the Nook a week further into January, to Jan. 11, according to its Web site.
This isn’t good news for the Nook, which has essentially ceded the holiday selling season to the Amazon Kindle, even though it’s feature set puts it on par or arguably ahead of Amazon’s own e-reader. Lance Ulanoff, our prolific editor-in-chief, puts forward seven great reasons why e-readers will make terrific holiday gifts.
Arguably, though, the three most popular e-readers are the Nook and the Sony Reader, as well as the Kindle. But a note on the Reader Web site notes that the latest $399 Reader Daily Edition will begin shipping on Dec. 18, dangerously close to Christmas and missing most of Hanukkah; Sony already warned in November that the devices would sell on a first-come, first-serve basis.The $299 Reader Touch Edition will ship on Dec. 8, however, indicating that there are many more in stock.
Can we jump to the conclusion that the Kindle has already “won” the holiday season? Based on Amazon’s own sales reports, the conventional wisdom is heading in that direction. The gift certificates that Barnes & Noble are providing in place of Nooks only offer a minute or two of reading by a warm fire. The Kindle offers far, far, more.
Parental Advisory: Explicit Content!
(Credit:
Jeff Bakalar/The 404)
If you’ve ever sat around with friends and mourned the death of the mixtape, you’ll certainly appreciate the first half of today’s episode of CNET’s The 404 Podcast. While Jeff was at home for the break, he stumbled upon a a collection of old cassette tapes including the Cool Side/Awesome Side mix you see up there. It’s got a solid collection of ’90s hits including “Mr. Jones” by Counting Crows, Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun,” and, of course, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
I spy “Crazy” and something that starts with “Livin…,” which I can only assume to be Britney Spears and Ricky Martin. Just kidding, Jeff, but seriously–we’ve all pulled some pretty embarrassing stunts in a pathetic attempt to win a girl’s heart, so stick around to witness the humiliation.
Speaking of death, we’re (kind of) sad to see the demise of the CrunchPad. The brainchild of TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington and Fusion Garage, the CrunchPad was supposed to be an aluminum tablet computer with a 12-inch LCD screen running Ubuntu Linux and Webkit browser. Unfortunately, Arrington reported today that the CrunchPad project is officially dead. We’re disappointed that we’ll never be able to test the product ourselves, but we’re sure that Arrington has something else up his sleeve.
We imagine that a lot of you guys will be traveling by plane for the holiday season, but what if you were forced to hand over your iPod to security agents to check it for pirated music at the airport? Sounds like a nightmare, but Wilson tells us that the Australian government is apparently proposing a plan to search iPods and other MP3 players for illegally downloaded songs, punishable by heavy fines or even jail time!
From a technological stand point, we’re not even sure how the government plans on checking for purchased vs. bootlegged music. At the end of the day, it’s always comforting to know that you’ll NEVER get busted for listening to The 404, and isn’t that the most important thing?
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Originally posted at The 404 Podcast
What kid wouldn’t love to get this under the tree? Hammacher Schlemmer, the company you only hear about once a year in funny expensive-Christmas-toy stories like this one, is selling a motorized skateboard that can travel at up to 19 miles per hour.
Get ready to move, because the skateboard is powered by a 36-volt battery, and its 600-watt motor reaches top speed in only four seconds. It even has enough horsepower to propel you uphill (although I suspect it would be chugging kind of slowly if I were on it). The rider controls acceleration and braking with a wireless trigger remote. Power it with a rechargeable battery with a 10 mile range.
The skateboard weighs 40 pounds and can handle riders up to 225 pounds. Get it at Hammacher Schlemmer for $599.95.
Continue reading Fring brings one-way video calling to the iPhone
Fring brings one-way video calling to the iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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