Author: Stuart Dredge
Halo 3 Kubrick toys provide a new way to play with Master Chief
Xbox 360 owners are getting sweaty-palmed at the thought of getting their hands on Halo 3 next week (well, apart from the ones who bagged early copies through Argos, of course). But how to fill your time until its released? My suggestion: 2.5-inch Japanese art toys. Obviously.
Apple iPod Touch under fire for dodgy screens, battery life
If you’ve been scanning the reports online, you might’ve heard the reports that the iPod Touch’s screen isn’t as good as the iPhone, contrary to expectations. Users have been complaining that it’s particularly noticeable when viewing dark photos or videos.
Well, it seems they weren’t making it up. Apple (via influential Wall Street Journal hack Walt Mossberg) has confirmed that some of the initial batch of iPod Touch devices DID have dodgy screens, and are working to sort the problem out.
HumanCar: the concept car powered by… your arms?
Hey, y’know those railway cart things you see in old movies, where two people power them along the track by hauling on levers? Well, imagine how great it’d be if someone used that concept for a car? You know you’d drop your VW Polo like a stone for one of those. Maybe.
Well, take a look at HumanCar, which uses what’s apparently called the FM-4 human-powered propulsion system, although there are electric motors on board too, if your arms get tired.
Stephen Fry launches his own blog with 6,465-word iPhone / smartphone post
Everyone and their mother is blogging nowadays, and now one of the greatest living englishmen is getting into the act. Stephen Fry has launched his own blog with a post about smartphones. Well, it’s more of an essay really. A 6,465-word essay, according to my word-count.
Fry’s well-known for being a gadget-lover, so it’s good stuff if you have the time to scroll through it
Furutech DFV-1 LP flattener: squash your old vinyl records back into shape
I’ve been trying to think of the quickest way to explain Furutech’s new DFV-1 device, so here goes. It’s like a trouser press for your vinyl records, flattening warped LPs back into shape using a controlled heating and cooling cycle.
It even looks like a trouser press, see? You unlock it, put your record on the spindle, close the device and press a button to start the flattening process. Sadly, it doesn’t actually play the record while steaming it (although that’s not exactly a shock, given the process.
Lexon Roswell: the most purdy calculator yet?
Wow, people still use calculators? I thought that sort of thing was handled by mobile phones or PC apps now. I use an abacus, obviously. Anyway, the Lexon Roswell calculator is almost enough to tempt me back, being a space-age device modelled on a flying saucer. Well, the base is.
Designers Yves Malka and Pierre de Poucques came up with the gadget, which is made from a single piece of aluminium, with keys cut out using some kind of high-tech laser. All gadgets should be made that way.
How P2P influenced Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger's release schedule
If you’re a music industry bigwig, chances are you think P2P file-sharing is The Devil’s Work. Well, at least, that’s what you’ve got to say in public, even if you do go home and spend the night trousering as much free music as you can. Anyway, the point is, major labels don’t like P2P.
However, following the leak of a bundle of emails from anti-piracy company MediaDefender, it seems some labels are using P2P as a guide to which songs they should release. Specifically, Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger’s label Interscope asked MediaDefender to monitor how popular one of her album tracks was on file-sharing services.
TurntablistPC: computer and DJ deck in arty harmony
Some people are so wrapped up in the digital future that they’re chucking out their CDs in favour of an entirely digital music collection. Yet there’s a parallel trend going on, which involves Young Trendy People buying turntables and getting back into vinyl. Good for them.
When I first saw the Turntablist PC, I thought it was the ultimate hybrid product to cater to both those groups. Sadly, it’s an art installation from Danish bloke Mogens Jacobsen. It’s a turntable mounted on an old PC, which acts as a server which can be contacted by people’s websites.
Less Brits gambling despite rise of online casinos
A question for you: are more or less people in the UK gambling now than in 1999? Bear in mind that since then, the entire industry of online gambling has sprung up, mushroomed, and lured millions of us into its clammy embrace (so we’re told, anyway).
It’s more, right? Wrong. According to a new study by the Gambling Commission, 72% of Brits gambled in 1999, compared to 68% now. Bear in mind this includes stuff like scratch cards and the national lottery, as well as sports betting, slot machines and casinos.
Sennheiser unveils new in-ear phones: CX 400, CXL 400, CX 500, CX55 Street, and CX 95 and
Good news if your lugs are in need of new earphones. Sennheiser has just announced five new sets of in-ear phones, pitching them at music fans keen to block out the outside world in favour of intimate tuneage.
The CX 400 and CXL 400 slot into Sennheiser’s Classic line, and come with short cables for use with mobile phones and MP3 players, although the CXL 400 also has a neck lanyard. They cost £54.99 and £59.99 respectively. Meanwhile, the CX 500 is the high-end version, with a wider frequency response and in-line volume control. It costs £69.99.
