Author: Andy Merrett
Tech Trumpet: Global Ocarina Jam
Social networking meets live performance in this week's Tech Trumpet. Ocarina is a virtual musical instrument for the iPhone that has become incredibly popular. Simply by blowing into the iPhone's microphone and pressing combinations of four buttons on the…
FetchTV launches: subscription-free VOD with Freeview and DVR
IP Vision has announced a new hybrid set-top box which can be used to access the complete range of Freeview channels, acts as a digital video recorder (DVR), as well as being able to access a range of video on demand content over the Internet.
The company is keen to point out that this is a subscription-free, operator independent service, unlike those from the likes of BT, Virgin Media and Tiscali. It can be used with any broadband provider.
At launch, over 1,200 hours of content will be available in the VoD library including films and programmes from Paramount, ITV, Turner Broadcasting, Eagle Vision, Fremantle, Entertainment Rights and Aardman…
UPDATED: BlackBerry Javelin (Curve 8900) coming exclusively to Carphone Warehouse
Details surrounding the UK debut of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 (code name Javelin) are still a bit sketchy, but the latest news suggests that it’s coming exclusively to the Carphone Warehouse later this year.
Price, network, and contract terms are still to be announced, but in the meantime you can reflect on its specifications: EDGE but no 3G, Wi-Fi, standard BlackBerry email, TFT LCD screen, wide range of video and audio format playback, Bluetooth, GPS, and BlackBerry maps.
BBC bringing live One and Two to the Internet
The BBC has announced that it BBC One and BBC Two will be available to watch live online from next Thursday, 27th November.
BBC Three, BBC Four, CBBC, CBeebies, and BBC News are already available. According to the director of BBC Vision, Jana Bennett, this “completes our commitment to make our portfolio of channels available to watch on the internet”.
Officially, the entire portfolio of channels is only viewable in the UK, thanks to limiting which IP addresses can access content to those believed to be in the British Isles, but we all know that it’s possible to get around those kind of technical restrictions…
HP's new TouchSmart tx2 notebook PC twists into a tablet
HP has introduced its latest notebook, the TouchSmart tx2. As the name suggests, it has touchscreen technology built in, allowing users to interact with various software using finger or stylus rather than the keyboard.
Featuring capacitive touch, the display can distinguish between one or more finger presses, and can disregard accidental touches, making for more accurate and versatile input…
Bottle Cap Tripod: an almost DIY solution for camera owners
Such a simple idea for those times when you’re stuck somewhere with your digital camera but no regular tripod: the Bottle Cap Tripod.
With a standard screw connector at one end, the other end fits any normal water bottle, turning it into an impromptu camera stand.
I wouldn’t feel particularly confident attaching anything much bigger than a light, compact camera to it, even if the bottle was filled with liquid, but it could solve some problems when you just have to get that steady shot…
Novatech Ion: the ultra-cheap desktop PC with netbook innards
That headline doesn’t sound hugely appealing, if I’m honest, but the Novatech Ion is exactly that — a very cheap desktop PC that utilises processor technology more often found in ultra-portable notebook PCs.
Claiming the Ion to be the lowest cost 17-inch widescreen PC on the UK market, Novatech uses a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 160GB hard drive, 1GB of memory, a DVD burner, 5.1-channel audio, and DirectX 9 Intel graphics…
Project Kangaroo VoD service could begin alpha testing in December
Project Kangaroo, the joint online TV initiative from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, has been a long time in the making, but at last it seems as if a launch date — for alpha testing at least — is in sight.
Despite ongoing reservations from the Competition Commission that this hopping beast is going to be just too big and stifle competition (you know, a bit like Sky does — err… allegedly), a December launch is planned…
Handful of Warrington residents to get 50Mbps Virgin Media broadband
Virgin Media has been testing out 50Mbps broadband for some time now, and now a few residents of Warrington will get access to the same super-fast system.
Though the Register reports these lucky 200 residents as the “first”, a number of other Virgin Media customers in Ashford, Folkestone and Dover have already been using the souped-up system…
Another iPhone lawsuit: Apple knowingly selling cracked handsets?
Every so often someone decides to file a lawsuit against Apple because — well, because it’s Apple, it seems.
While normal people buying products from other manufacturers — heck, even normal people buying Apple gear — would simply check out a piece of kit before buying it, or at least return it for a replacement if damaged, it seems this isn’t good enough for one New York resident.
We’ll leave aside the “defective 3G” and “not twice as fast” parts of this lawsuit (yes, it comes in multiple parts, folks) because we’ve already been there and got the T-shirt. Instead, let’s look at the accusation that Apple knowingly and wantonly shipped defective iPhones with hairline cracks in the casing…
