Author: TechDigest writer
Spotify provide the soundtrack for 2009's Earth Hour
Want to go greener than the Spotify logo, but missing some symbolism to give your choice meaning? Well, join Spotify and the WWF (the panda people, not the wrestlers) for Earth Hour.
And what is Earth Hour exactly? Well, it’s the WWF’s message to world leaders that people are serious about climate change by encouraging millions of people to turn off their lights at the same time for 60 minutes – on Saturday 28th March at 8:30pm. Spotify’s involvement? An hour long playlist of darkness themed songs to keep spirits up while you keep tripping over bits of cabling.
Exploring London's highlights with Google Street View
As Dan reported yesterday, Google has quietly rolled out Street View for a select number of cities in the UK.
Of course, London is one of those included allowing us to explore our immediate surroundings without even leaving the office. Judging from a photo of outside my house, the photography is around eight months old, as I remember moving a table visible in my window shortly after moving into my flat.
iPhone to be free on two year tariffs
Is your phone contract coming to an end? Do you fancy an iPhone 3G? Well, if you can wait until 3rd April, you will be able to get this apparently-quite-popular handset free on o2’s two year contracts.
Robo-fish would be the coolest bath toy ever
To the casual eye, this may be a fish caught somewhere off the uncanny valley, but most fishes’ limited eyesight will mean that it slips by completely unnoticed as it goes about its business. And its business is detecting hazardous pollutants in the water off the coast of Spain.
They’ve been designed by a group of UK scientists with the intention of not scaring the local water life. They look like carp, and move around realistically with a top speed of around 2.25mph. They cost £20,000 a-piece, but fortunately the designers from the University of Essex have found the European Commission happy to foot the bill.
Trumpet Hero controller looks wonderfully inpractical
If you’re the type of person who wished that The Onion’s piece on Sousaphone Hero was genuine, then you’re probably the type of person that this wonderful Guitar Hero mod is squarely aimed at.
RUMOUR: Apple working on OLED iPhone and netbook
You may have seen this image before. That’s because it’s the one we used just over two months ago when we reported on Apple denying that they had plans for a netbook. Well, if you believe the latest rumours from CrunchGear, that may not be true after all. Not just any netbook either – a touch screen one with OLED technology. Oh and new iPhones and iPod Touch models too.
Serpent Speakers offer flexible audio without that hissing noise
Snakes don’t have ears – they rely on vibrations to go about their snaky business, but if they did they’d surely appreciate these aesthetically pleasing “Serpent Speakers” by designer Ben Wahrich.
Resident Evil 5 is this week's best selling UK entertainment product
Did you buy Resident Evil 5 this week? So did lots of people, putting it at the top of the UK gaming charts. But it’s more than just that – Capcom has released a press release stating that video games are now the most popular entertainment medium in the UK. Why’s that? Well I’ll let Capcom’s statistics do the talking:
– Resident Evil 5 outsold EVERY ITEM in the UK Singles Chart (Based on physical and digital sales of UK Top 200)
– Resident Evil 5 outsold U2’s chart-topping new album’s total sales since release in ONE WEEKEND (in the UK)
– Resident Evil 5 grossed more than the top 5 movies in the UK this weekend – COMBINED (Source: IMDB.com)
Those are some impressive statistics right there, but I feel pretty safe in saying that it’s a leap too far to suggest that games are now the biggest entertainment product in the UK. I know, I know – a press release exaggerating the facts to create media buzz is practically unheard of, but it’s just not a sensible assumption to make.
Internet Explorer 8 out today
Although we happily use a combination of Chrome and Firefox in the office, a new version of Internet Explorer is still big news. Of course, it’s been in open beta for the last year so none of its new improvements and features are big breaking news – especially as most of these changes will be old news to anyone who has been used Chrome, Firefox, Opera or Safari in the last few months. That said, if you’re in an office where Internet Explorer is the only authorised browser, then there’s quite a lot to be excited about. Well, maybe not “excited about”, but it should make your day slightly more enjoyable at least.
So, what kind of features are in Internet Explorer 8? Well there’s a lot under the bonnet to begin with – better security and malware protection mainly. External sources have estimated that IE8 catches two to four times as many malware attacks as other browsers, which is a really impressive step forward for a browser that has always been seen as vulnerable. Another, more tangibly testable, feature is Microsoft’s claim that the new Internet Explorer is the fastest browser on the market. Of course there are two caveats to that – firstly that we’re talking the difference of a fraction of a second, and secondly that with all the major players working on new versions of their browser this lead may well be short lived.
Wheels? Too convenient! Try tiny motorised legs instead
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably wanted a Segway ever since enjoying the performances of Will Arnett as Gob in Arrested Development. What you probably hadn’t considered for a second was replacing the tried and tested wheel element with a load of tiny motorised legs. If you had, then I’m sorry: you’ve been beaten to the punch. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the Cajun Crawler:
