If you hosted your own daily talk show and had to kill 43 minutes of air with no writers backing you up, you’d eventually pull out stuff you’ve lying around the office and try and make a sketch out of it. This is exactly what Conan does, making with the OS X Pic Booth Filters like each teenage kid who visits an Apple store. Except when Conan does it, it’s kinda creepy. [Late Night]
Panasonic is apparently testing the “effectiveness” of RSS in the press room. Turns out, it’s very effective, since they’ve scooped themselves on their PMA lineup! All of the links go to blank pages for now, but at least we know what’s coming: New FS-series, FX-35 (their first w/ a 25mm wide-angle lens), budget LZ line and a set of “superzoom” TZ cameras. Sounds exciting—can’t wait ’til we see what’s actually behind the links. [Panasonic via Engadget]
Scientists from the University of Adelaide, Australia, have designed a “sperm tap”. The silicone-polymer tap is in effect a reversible vasectomy. Instead of cutting the tubes that run from the testicles to the penis (called vas deferens), the valves are…
Scientists from the University of Adelaide, Australia, have designed a “sperm tap”. The silicone-polymer tap is in effect a reversible vasectomy. Instead of slicing the tubes that run from the testicles to the penis (called vas deferens), the valves are inserted. This is done with a hypodermic needle.
The valves can then be switched on or off using a radio pulse. Derek Abbott, the team’s founder, puts it best:
It will be like turning a Television on and off with a remote control, except that the remote will probably be locked away in your local doctor’s office to safeguard against accidental pregnancy or potential misuse of the device.
Not all the wrinkles have been ironed out, though. The designers advocate this device only for men already considering sterilization. Long term use could lead to clogging and permanent infertility.
From the bestselling cellphone in history to the most ignominious departure of a CEO not related to any criminal behavior, Motorola’s had a hell of a slide, but still, the latest speculation comes as a punch to the chin. Richard Windsor, an analyst with a firm called Nomura International, says that Moto may exit the handset business. On one hand, it could sell the division to Chinese investors, but on the other hand, not even the Chinese really know how to solve Moto’s problems. What happened, Motorola? Seriously, what in hell happened? [MarketWatch]
If you’re still griping about the price of the MacBook Air, it probably means you can’t afford one. Enter the MacBook Paper, a printable (and free) PDF which is even smaller than the real thing. This is the ad: Earlier,…
If you’re still griping about the price of the MacBook Air, it probably means you can’t afford one. Enter the MacBook Paper, a printable (and free) PDF which is even smaller than the real thing. This is the ad:
Earlier, Rob Beschizza posted another parody video, and asked “What is it about the thing that lends itself so well to mockery?” It could be that it’s so simple. All you need is a blank white background and an envelope.
Superdrive, three USB ports, wired ethernet and firewire. Sound good? How about five more firewire ports, DVI out, iPod controls, and, finally, a floppy drive to round it all out. How about a sexy video where it’s seen to be…
Superdrive, three USB ports, wired ethernet and firewire. Sound good? How about five more firewire ports, DVI out, iPod controls, and, finally, a floppy drive to round it all out. How about a sexy video where it’s seen to be slowly withdrawn from a sleeping bag?
Resuscitate an Ailing Format for Dummies. Step 1: Deny you’re sick. Step 2: Fire Sale! Step 3: Profit Purchase a 30-second Super Bowl spot for $2.7 million. Step 4: Profit.
Interestingly, the Blu-ray ballers won’t be posting their own spot since they weren’t able to cobble one together in time. Instead, they just offered this barb from BDA chair Andy Parsons: “Running a Super Bowl ad isn’t likely to convince consumers that HD DVD will win the format war.” Pointy! [TG Daily]
Sony Flogs Dead Format: Television Shows Coming to UMD Whatever we might say about Sony, we can’t state the company isn’t tenacious. It continues, unstinting, to push its crappy, proprietary formats up the steep hill known as “failure”. So it continues with the UMD, the Universal Media Disc for…
Whatever we might state about Sony, we can’t state the company isn’t tenacious. It continues, unstinting, to push its crappy, proprietary formats up the steep hill known as “failure”. So it continues with the UMD, the Universal Media Disc for the PlayStation Portable.
Sony has announced that it will be bringing MTV shows to the little DRM’ed disc, including Beavis and Butthead and Jackass. After approximately nobody purchased movies on UMD, we predict a roaring success for Sony with this new venture, however much the titles might cost (too much, undoubtedly). Alternatively, PSP owners could continue to rip DVDs and copy them to a Memory Stick.
An entertaining aside: As you can see from the link below, Reuters clearly thinks about the word “Butthead” a little too racy for inclusion in a headline.
It’s almost criminal how much hot, steamy gadget action you can get for less than a hundred clams. Take Samsung’s new YP-U3, a pack-of-gum sized audio player that has 2GB of flash memory, FM radio, data storage, LED display, EQ…
It’s nearly criminal how much hot, steamy gadget action you can get for less than a hundred clams. Take Samsung’s new YP-U3, a pack-of-gum sized audio player that has 2GB of flash memory, FM radio, data storage, LED display, EQ controls, and voice recording for all those brilliant Web 3.0 ideas you get while riding the bus.
The U3 is so small and light that you could damn near lose it in a shirt pocket. And you might want to keep it there, because its gaudy color choices — our review unit was a loud fluorescent green — and plastic-on-plastic build quality won’t win over fashion-conscious shoppers. Looks can be deceiving, though, because the U3 has some cool tricks up its sleeve: a retractable USB 2.0 connector slides out the bottom of the player and the flat-surface navigation buttons are super touch-sensitive. The menus and features are a breeze to figure out (thankfully I had no RTFM incidents along the way) and the LED has a groovy bright-blue display. The voice recorder activates with the flick of a button, and the mic is surprisingly sensitive — I was able to capture clear dialogue on a Television from about ten feet away. The earbuds are cheapo and produce a thin, tinny sound (I blame it on Apple, for setting the Crappy-White-Earbuds standard), but when I hooked in my trusty Grado SR 80 cans, the audio had plenty of depth and detail.
It might not be as elegant or stylish as the iPod Shuffle, but for about the same coin the U3 gives you double the memory, more features…and kitschy colors visible from 200 feet! —Christopher Jones
WIRED Lots of bang for the buck, and flash memory means snappy playback and good battery life. Little form factor is great for outdoorsy, Ironman types. Sliding USB connector is handy, and eliminates cables.
TIRED Simple to accidentally hit the touch-sensitive buttons, so the Hold button is a must – but then you can’t advance tracks. D’oh. Only time will tell if plastic case can hold up to the rigors of portable play. And why no FM recording?
Ultra Easy Homemade Keychain Carlos, of Carlitos’ Contraptions, has reduced the keychain to its smallest possible form. The end result is something that makes the minimalist Keyport look over-designed. The DIY project is as easy as it is elegant: The keys are riveted together…
Carlos, of Carlitos’ Contraptions, has reduced the keychain to its smallest possible form. The end result is something that makes the minimalist Keyport look over-designed. The DIY project is as simple as it is elegant: The keys are riveted together with washer in between. No more jangle, nor awkward angle-of-dangle. The instructions are so sparse that we’ll reprint them here:
Materials
3 washers (number of keys +1)
Some keys (I use only two keys)
A rivet
Construction
1. Fasten the keys together using the washer between them.
If you hosted your own daily talk show and had to kill 43 minutes of air with no writers backing you up, you’d eventually pull out stuff you’ve lying around the office and try and make a sketch out of it. This is exactly what Conan does, making with the OS X Pic Booth Filters like each teenage kid who visits an Apple store. Except when Conan does it, it’s kinda creepy. [
Panasonic is apparently testing the “effectiveness” of RSS in the press room. Turns out, it’s very effective, since they’ve scooped themselves on their PMA lineup! All of the links go to blank pages for now, but at least we know what’s coming: New FS-series, FX-35 (their first w/ a 25mm wide-angle lens), budget LZ line and a set of “superzoom” TZ cameras. Sounds exciting—can’t wait ’til we see what’s actually behind the links. [
From the bestselling cellphone in history to the most ignominious 
Resuscitate an Ailing Format for Dummies. Step 1: Deny 
Carlos, of 
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