Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re a kid stuck in a grown-up’s body, there’s a good chance you’re pining after a Sidekick — you know, just like the kind you had back in the day when you listened to Blink 182 and loitered on your skateboard around the plaza in front of the office building that has since enslaved you. Problem is, Sidekicks have never really been work-friendly devices — owing in part to their utter shunning of Exchange — which means you get stuck with a BlackBerry and an incessant desire to swivel the display. It’s kind of sad, really, and passers-by think you’ve gone mad as you sit on the park bench pressing your thumb desperately against a screen that will never, ever rotate, no matter how fricking hard you press. It’s cool, though, T-Mobile’s got your back: enter Sidekick Sync, an app that was promised when the Sidekick LX 2009 was launched and is finally available. It’ll be hitting the phone’s Download Catalog starting this afternoon, offering push email, attachment viewing, calendar and contact sync, and pretty much every other Exchange feature that strips you of your youthful innocence. For the pleasure of avoiding RIM’s powerful grasp, you’ll pay $4.99 a month — but can you really put a price on being able to wear DC apparel at the age of 30?

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Exchange support coming to Sidekick LX 2009 today for $4.99 a month originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comic Con International 2009 may be over (phew), but it will surely live on in our hearts–and record books. The Guinness Book of World Records made the rounds at San Diego to hand out a number of awards to “[t]op luminaries in the fields of television, film and comic books.”

Among those honored this year were Simpsons creators Matt Groening and Al Jean who received dual awards for Longest Running Sitcom and Longest Running Animated TV Series. Comic creators Stan Lee and Todd MacFarlane received the Best-selling Comic award for Spider-man.

Batman series Detective Comics got the award for Longest Continuously Published Comic Book, Doctor Who was awarded Most Successful Sci-fi TV Show, and Farscape received a nod for Most Digital Effects in a TV Series.

The awards will be listed in the 2010 edition of the book, out in September.

Meet Koufax

(Credit: Last.fm/R0BB23)

Even with Justin gone for over a week, the show must go on. Caroline McCarthy once again takes the reigns, all while helping to diversify the show. First, we’re treated to a mashup made in hell, Rick Astley vs. Nirvana in a little tune called “Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit Up”. You’ve been warned. To make things worse, we hear William Shatner’s beat-poetry version of Sarah Palin’s resignation speech.

Today’s Last.fm/Beck’s Beer semi-weekly Audio Draft band is Koufax, a tight rock outfit with a love of horns. Its latest record, “Strugglers,” is available now.

Also on today’s show: new details regarding the AT&T/4chan controversy and we’ll touch on Sprint’s acquisition of Virgin Mobile.

EPISODE 391

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Originally posted at The 404

HP employees at the company’s headquarters in Palo Alto were in for a shock Tuesday morning as they found the message “Hazardous Products” painted on the roof of their office and Greenpeace activists squatting on top. The activists were protesting HP’s alleged backtracking on its commitment to eliminate toxic chemicals from its products by the end of the year.

Greenpeace activists climbed to the top of HP’s building and inked the slogan using non-toxic children’s finger-paint, said the organization. The message covers about 11,500 square feet, or the size of two and half basketball courts.

Based on the photos provided by Greenpeace, at least ten Greenpeace activists were seen sitting on the roof of the HP building. Greenpeace has had similar demonstrations against HP at its offices in China and Holland, it says.

Graffitis wasn’t all that HP employees had to put up with. They were also greeted by automated phone calls from Star Trek star William Shatner. Shatner’s pre-recorded message reportedly called upon HP to phase out toxic chemicals.

“HP continues to put hazardous products on the market,” said Greenpeace International Toxics Campaigner Casey Harrell in a statement.  “Apple has led the sector in phasing out of these toxic chemicals. HP should be following Apple’s lead, instead of breaking its commitment and delaying action.”

According to Greenpeace, HP has postponed a commitment it made in 2007 to eliminate materials such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics from its computing products. Greenpeace regards the materials as toxic and has asked PC makers to offer products free of it. PVC and BFRs can release dioxin, a carcinogen, when burned, says Greenpeace.

HP has reportedly delayed its compliance by up to two years, from 2009 to 2011. The company ranks 14th in the quarterly Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics.

Greenpeace’s score card puts HP rivals such as Apple, Dell, Lenovo and Acer ahead in terms of compliance. Apple’s new computer products are virtually free of PVC and completely BFR free, said Greenpeace.

But how much will Greenpeace’s latest actions help HP move faster? Beyond bringing some attention to Greenpeace, we are not sure it helps much in getting HP to work on its manufacturing process.

“The unconstructive antics at HP’s headquarters today did nothing to advance the goals that all who care about the environment share,” said an HP spokesperson in a statement. “HP will continue its efforts to develop new products and programs around the globe that help the company, its business partners and customers conserve energy, reduce materials use and reduce waste through responsible reuse and recycling.”

See more photos from the Greenpeace protest.

Photo:  Greenpeace activists protest on the roof of HP’s building/ Greenpeace

Q: We’re meeting friends from Israel in Santorini, Greece for a holiday. Since they’ll be staying on another part of the island, we’re bringing an unlocked cell phone so we can keep in contact. How can we get an Israeli prepaid SIM card so it won’t cost us the $4.99 per minute that our carrier charges to call an Israeli number?
– Linda

A: Forget an Israeli SIM; I recommend that you and your friends each purchase a Greek SIM card. While you’ll be calling an Israeli number, you’ll be calling it from Greece. As such, you would pay roaming and possibly long distance fees just to place a call. Also, it’s very possible that a prepaid Israeli SIM card won’t even work outside of Israel.
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Originally posted at Dialed In Podcast