Uh, oh, looks like Verizon has indeed distanced itself from Microsoft after the Kin debacle: the carrier confirmed to Bloomberg Businessweek today that it won’t offer any Windows Phone 7 devices at launch this year, instead waiting until 2011 to support the new OS. That certainly ties right in with AT&T’s claims that it’ll be the “premier carrier” for Windows Phone 7 and the flood of Blue-tinteddeviceleaks we’ve seen, but it also leaves Microsoft in a seemingly tough spot to start — we haven’t heard more than the slightest whisper about WP7 devices on Sprint or T-Mobile yet, and until we do it’s going to be the iPhone and WP7 head-to-head on Ma Bell while Android continues to dig in everywhere else. We’ll see — this launch can’t come quickly enough.
We just heard last month that Sony might already be showing off some prototype PSP2 hardware (said to be roughly similar in size to the PSP-3000), and it now looks like the next-gen handheld may have found its way into some developers’ hands as well. That’s according to Shaun Himmerick of Netherrealm Studios, at least, who responded to a question about a new Mortal Kombat possibly heading to the PSP or 3DS by saying that while they won’t be launching day one on those devices, they actually “have a PSP2 in house.” He further went on to say that the PSP2 looks “like it’s a pretty powerful machine,” and added that they don’t yet have a 3DS system but are looking to get one. No confirmation from Sony on this, as you might expect, but it certainly seems like the hardware is pretty far along — possibly even ahead or on the same track as the 3DS?
White’s band, the Dead Weather, releases a limited-edition three-in-one record tomorrow. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20016643-47.html” class=”origPostedBlog”The Audiophiliac/a/p
We’ve seen our share of downright silly controllers for the Wii (we’re looking at you, CTA), and we were expecting more of the same, but we’ll be darned if no less an authority than self-avowed Wii Sports Table Tennis addict Paul Govan (from Gamepeople.co.uk) hasn’t given the Wii Sports Table Tennis Bat high marks all around: it’s weighted like proper paddle, the build quality is decent, comes with a battery and a charger and, most importantly, it “replicates all the features of [the] Wiimote and MotionPlus perfectly.” Unfortunately, the reviewer states that this is a prototype from an as yet unnamed Chinese manufacturer. Way to harsh our buzz, man.
Hold onto your Peeks, people. A listing for a brand new Peek 9 has turned up on a few retailers’ websites, and we’ve just confirmed with Peek CEO Amol Sarva that the device is indeed the real deal — there had been a bit of confusion given it was listed under the two-way radio category on one site. Unfortunately, any details beyond the price you see above will have to wait until tomorrow, which means we can only speculate for the time being. Perhaps a FaceBook-only device to complement the TwitterPeek? A FacePeek, if you will.
German Pocket Watches, c. 1580; via PewterReplicas.Co.Uk. Note: These watches had a single hand for hours; they weren’t precise enough to count minutes.
I love traditional watchmaking: a perfect synthesis of hard-core mechanical engineering and delicate, precision jewelers’ work. Digital media players transformation information into action: mechanical watches transform action into information. It’s a joy to watch them work.
Pocket Watch Parts, from antique-pocket-watch.com
Here are two videos exploring the insides of a pocket watch. The first is by Charlie Visnic, who used macro lens photography to create sharp, penetrating close-ups of the interior of a vintage watch given to him for some PR work he’d done for DreamWorks. Visnic added his own music, created on a punchcard roll for a music box. The result is lovely:
Visnic’s inspiration was this 1949 film that also explored the interior of a watch, in this case using oversized models rather than magnifying film lenses. It’s terrific; less arty than educational, but still fun to see:
Nerd that I am, I can’t help but think of watchmaker-turned-nuclear-physicist Jon Osterman in the graphic novel Watchmen: after a horrible accident disintegrating his molecular structure, Osterman reassembles his body piece by piece, every delicate part in the right order, just like reassembling a watch. In the process, Osterman learns to manipulate reality itself at the atomic level and gains the power to see through time itself. In a discontinuous, meditative fugue in the middle of the book, he realizes that his own disintegration, the pieces of a pocket watch falling apart, the end of his marriage, and the end of the world are all the same event — every piece slipping out of his grasp, every gesture just one step, one fraction of a moment too late.
When Nokia partnered with Paramount for the 2009 Star Trek movie, they got a little product placement in the movie and in Europe released a Star Trek themed version of the Nokia 5800 with a couple of special wallpapers, screen savers, and some alert sounds. What’s just come to light however is that Nokia actually built a prototype Star Trek communicator flip-phone that looks a lot like the communicators from the movie and the original Star Trek television series.
The communicator phone was based on Nokia’s N76 flip phone, and featured a brass screen on top with lights underneath to make it look like the old television props, a black body with a large screen on the inside and soft black buttons, and a Starfleet logo on the back. Best of all, it’s a fully functional phone, not just a prop for a movie set or a toy. Unfortunately for Star Trek fans, only 14 of these prototypes were ever made, but at least it shows that while it’s often been said Star Trek communicators inspired flip-model cell phones, it’s easily possible to make cell phones inspired by Star Trek communicators.
There are more iPhone cases on the market than anyone really needs, but if you have an Android phone, and recent studies show that the likelihood you do is growing all the time, you’ll probably want a case to protect your investment too. Seidio has long been known for its wide variety of cases that support dozens of manufacturers, and now they’ve released the new Innocase Rugged for the Motorola Droid X, one of the first high-impact cases for Motorola’s new flagship Android phone.
The Innocase Rugged comes with a screen protector to keep your Droid X’s display safe from scratches and cracks. Once the screen protector is applied, you can attach the Rugged Skin and Rugged Skeleton, the two parts that make up the case. The Skin covers the ports completely, and covers buttons with soft molding that allows you to continue to use them even while covered. The Skin also has a flexible camera cover that keeps dirt and dust out of the lens when not in use but slides open when you want to take photos or video. The Skeleton fits snugly over the skin and serves as a rigid plastic outer shell that protects your Droid X from falls and jolts. The Innocase Rugged can be purchased as a combo with a holster now for $49.95 retail.
You can’t find Sony’s name anywhere on this bit of video; it’s a “viral” from Wolfbreeder, an LA ad firm that Sony can no-doubt distance itself from if it gets in trouble. But we won’t tattle: the video above, which has been described for you succinctly in the headline above, the video which you’ve no doubt already watched and forwarded to that one friend of yours who still plays Wii regularly, is frankly badass.
(Editor’s note: A link in this story that is not safe for work is marked NSFW.)
Tight-fitting T-shirts and hipster jeans would get even snugger if you could just spray them on.
That idea just got a little less far-fetched. A liquid mixture developed by Imperial College London and a company called Fabrican lets you spray clothes directly onto your body, using aerosol technology.
After the spray dries, it creates a thin layer of fabric that can be peeled off, washed and reworn.
“When I first began this project I really wanted to make a futuristic, seamless, quick and comfortable material,” says Manel Torres, a Spanish fashion designer and academic visitor at Imperial College in a statement. Torres worked with Paul Luckham, a professor of particle technology at the Imperial College to create the material.
“In my quest to produce this kind of fabric, I ended up returning to the principles of the earliest textiles such as felt, which were also produced by taking fibers and finding a way of binding them together without having to weave or stitch them,” says Torres.
Clothes designed using the spray-on fabric will be shown at the Science in Style fashion show next week at Imperial College.
Spray-painting the body has been around for a while, and you can even get spray-on latex body paint (NSFW). And who can forget the amazing spray-on hair, a staple of Ronco infomercials in the 1980s? But these are illusions, tricks to deceive the eye. The spray-on fabric, in contrast, is lightweight and can be stored in your closet with other clothes.
The spray-on fabric consists of short fibers that are combined with polymers to bind them together and a solvent that delivers the fabric in liquid form. The solvent evaporates when the spray touches the surface.
The fabric is formed by cross-linking fibers, which cling to one another to create the garment, says Fabrican.
The spray-on fabric is pretty versatile. It can be created in many colors and and use different types of fibers ranging from natural to the synthetic, says the company.
The spray can be applied using a high-pressure spray gun or an aerosol can. The texture of the fabric changes according to the type of material — such as wool, linen or acrylic — and how the spray is layered on the body.
Fabrican says the technology is not just for fashion but can have some innovative use in medicine to layer bandages on the skin without disturbing the wound.
The technology is still in prototype stage, and some kinks still need to be worked out, such as the strong smell of solvent around the fabric. The researchers estimate that it will be at least a few years before it can be ready for commercial use.
Another challenge is to find a way to use the spray to create clothes that aren’t very snug. After all, with all the obesity in America, the sprayed-on look for clothes might not work for everyone.
Check out the video below showing how to create a spray-on scarf.
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There are more iPhone cases on the market than anyone really needs, but if you have an Android phone, and recent studies show that the likelihood you do 
