Author: Duncan Geere
CES 2009: Video – NJOY ecigarettes
While ecigarettes are ten-a-penny in the UK, there’s only one manufacturer of them in the USA. Zara, ever the detective, managed to track them down. Not just cigarettes, though – cigars, cigarette holders, everything!
For more CES tomfoolery click through to the Tech Digest CES motherpost
YouTube shoots self in foot – mutes all video with 'unauthorized copyrighted music'
In a strange, sudden and unannounced move, YouTube has suddenly muted a bunch of videos that it claims have ‘unauthorized copyrighted music’. Under the video, it says “This video contains an audio track that has not been authorised by all copyright holders. The audio has been disabled.”
Two things bother me about this. Firstly, the users are going to absolutely detest it. They’ll leave in their droves for YouTube’s competitors. I don’t understand why YouTube would agree to something as ridiculous as this – they’re not stupid, and I’m sure they realize what the effects will be.
Secondly, how does this square with the deals YouTube made two years ago, when labels made their content “available for inclusion in sanctioned consumer uploads”. This move seems to run 180 degrees in the reverse to what those deals aimed to facilitate. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one, and update the post when I hear more and/or YouTube releases some sort of official statement.
(via Media Futurist)
Related posts: Universal Music: We’re getting heaps of cash from YouTube | YouTube goes full HD at last?
CelebrityTweet – behind the velvet rope
If you’re an avid Twitterer, and you want to keep up with the comings-and-goings of various celebrities, then you can just follow them. If you’re not, however, and you still want to keep in touch with what famous people spend their time doing, then you might do well to bookmark CelebrityTweet.
It’s a site that aggregates the Twitter accounts of only famous people. Sadly, that doesn’t include me, yet. Present and correct, though, are Wil Wheaton, Barack Obama, Lance Armstrong and Robert Llewellyn. Recent updates include @bobbyllew getting excited about the Tesla, and @lancearmstrong saying how nice Adelaide is.
Useless if you’re already a Twitter user, though. If you are, console yourself by measuring your Twick size. Not kidding. Mine’s a respectable 7″, the same as @techdigest. Top of the table are @techmeme and @cnetnews with massive 20″ twicks. Childish? Yes. Fun? Yes.
Celebrity Tweet (via Mashable!) and Twick Size
Related posts: MySpace turns glossy mag with MySpace Celebrity | Mr Men and Little Miss Celebrity podcasts raise money for Variety Club
Recharge batteries with wee. Yes, wee.
The NoPoPo battery is a revolutionary new battery from a Japanese company called Aqua Power System which consists of magnesium and carbon, and can be recharged with a ‘variety of fluids’, including urine.
The batteries will also accept beer, apple juice, cola and saliva, via a pipette included in the pack. A typical AA battery carries 1700-3000 milliamp-hours of charge, whereas the NoPoPo – which stands for no pollution power- only holds 500 mAh, but when all you need to do to recharge it is squirt in some piss, you can’t argue too much.
The NoPoPo batteries are available in Japan, and you might be able to get it from the States here for $15. If you’re buying some, though, I demand you explain in the comments exactly why you need wee-powered batteries, you weirdo.
Himeyashop (via OhGizmo!)
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Google pilots artwork in minute detail in Google Earth
The Prado museum in Madrid contain’s some of the art world’s most treasured masterpieces, from El Greco, Rembrandt, Durer, Raphael, Van de Weyden, Tiepolo, Ribera, Fra Angelico and Titian. Google has just presented a collaboration with the museum, to bring the masterpieces to a wider audience.
Users will be able to explore the paintings of the artists above in minute detail – more than 1,400 times clearer than anything the average tourist’s 10-megapixel camera could render, claims the director of Google Spain, Javier Rodriguez Zapatero. The company stitched together over 8,200 “mega-high-resolution” photos digitally.
One of the museum’s most popular paintings, Hieronymous Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, is included, and you’ll be pleased to hear that it’s very easy indeed to zoom in on the naughty bits. To see the digital reproductions for yourself, download the Google Earth program, activate three-dimensional view and click on Prado Museum.
(via the Independent)
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Comes with Music hits the bargain bins
Well, if we needed further confirmation that Nokia’s all-you-can-eat digital music service wasn’t selling too well, then this is it. Despite a massive advertising campaign, Carphone Warehouse has discounted the service by £45, over a third of the price, so you can now get “Comes with Music” on a Nokia 5310 XpressMusic for just £82.18.
It might sound good – that works out at 23p a day for a year of unlimited music – but the catch is that you can only listen to the songs on that phone, and on one Windows PC. For most people, who transfer music between a multitude of devices, that’s useless.
If you need a new phone, you’re happy to listen to a mostly mainstream selection of music on bad earbuds (no 3.5mm jack, so you’re stuck with the included earbuds), and you don’t mind paying £80 for the privelege, then this is a good deal. Otherwise, steer clear.
Comes with Music (via ITProPortal)
Related posts: Nokia’s “Comes with Music” DRM cracked | The lowdown on Comes with Music – not unlimited, comes with DRM
CES 2009: Hands on with the Asus T91
Susi was lucky enough to get her her hands on the swivelly Asus T91 in Vegas that we originally covered here. It’s got a GPS unit, a touchscreen and a TV tuner – quite nifty for an 8.9″ netbook. Can’t wait to try Windows 7 on it.
For more CES goodness, click through to the motherlode of CES posts.
CES 2009 – Attendance down 22% on last year, down 15% on expectations
Last week’s International Consumer Electronics Show drew just 110,000 visitors – the lowest turnout in many years. Last year, the show admitted 141,000 people and CES had predicted that 130,000 people would attend, but both of those figures proved unattainable, likely due to the state of the world’s economy.
Even for those who showed up, the show proved disappointing. Although wireless power generation was showed off, and Palm unveiled its most exciting product in years, the show was underwhelming. All the companies started their press conferences with comments on the global economy and talked about how green they are. Then they just talked about networkng as much of their AV as possible.
Are big technology shows sustainable in the long term? With Apple pulling out of Macworld, perhaps they’re not. If large companies pull out, then attendance dwindles, and it’s no longer worth it for the smaller companies, which provide the bulk of the cash to run the show. Unless the economy takes a sharp upward turn this year, 2010 could be a very interesting time for the big expos.
(via VentureBeat)
For more CES shenanigans, see through our eyes at the CES index megapost.
HTC's lineup for 2009 leaks
HTC seems to be the anti-Apple. Its products tend to leak out months and months before their release, in direct contrast to Apple’s legendary product secrecy. Yesterday, HTC’s entire 2009 lineup made its way onto the internet somehow, which means we now know exactly what the handset manufacturer will be releasing this year.
Perusing the full list, there’s a few exciting models – most notably the Rhodium (pictured above) and Tungsten, which appear to be the HTC Touch HD Pro. We might see an announcement at Mobile World Congress later this month about that. Let’s hope so.
HTC 2009 Lineup (via WMPowerUser)
Related posts: Unseen Android-based HTC better than Palm Pre, mobile exec claims | HTC Dream G2 Android phone for China and maybe the rest of us too?
Japan launches 'smell map' website
You’ve got to love the Japanese. They’ve created a website which maps smells across the globe. 200 so-called ‘smellists’ have joined the “Nioi-bu”, or Smell Club, and registered scents on a Google map.
The scents listed range from “A toasty odour of cow dung” to “used socks in the summer”. It’s unclear whether any of the smells are actually pleasant. If you speak Japanese, then go check it out and let us know in the comments.
Nioi-bu (via AP)
Related posts: Pomi: the smelly, emotional robot penguin from Korea | Smell-o-vision: NTT Communications trial aroma-emitting digital sign technology
