Gadget Access

Trying to compete in the arena of instant messaging, Facebook has announced that they’ll be launching their first instant messaging system. The Facebook team has been working hard, programming and testing the system. Rumors claim that the stable version will be launching next week for Facebook users to begin using and testing the new IM system. It is said that, unlike Windows Live Messenger and AOL or any other current IM system where you need to install software to enjoy all the IM service, Facebook users can web chat with friends on their Facebook pages as the Facebook IM is built into the user’s interface. Many also said that you will be able to log in into multiple IM platforms similar to web-based Meebo and other programs like Trillian and Adium.

This could be good news considering the vast numbers of Facebook users, this service could let Facebook step out of the crowd from other social web portals. If this project is a success, users will be able to chit chat with their friends or web mates by just using the web, without installing any external software. It is said that, other than chatting, there’s also a lot of features on the Facebook IM such as emoticons and more. So lets look forward for the success of this system.

Via [TechCrunch]

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Posted Mar 16th 2008 1:13PM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Household
The Japanese are hyping Vista SP1’s impending release, but a roll of toilet paper printed with highlighted features is kind of uncalled for. You kind of have to feel a little bad for Vista — it just keeps getting crapped on these days.

[Thanks, kaztm]

Can you imagine splitting up your computer into several small devices and manipulating them individually to suit your own taste? A clever new prototype for such a device has been demonstrated by the researchers over at MIT Media Lab. Dubbed as “Siftables”, this new prototype aims to “enable people to interact with information and media in physical, natural ways that approach interactions with physical objects in our everyday lives.” They call Siftables an “interaction platform” that gives a user entirely new ways to control data with the application of technology from wireless sensor networks to tangible user interfaces.

The technology behind Siftables is actually quite simple. It’s basically a mini computer with a 20 MHz AVR processor, full-color OLED screen, short-range infrared sensor, Bluetooth radio, tactile/haptic actuation driver circuits, a 3-axis accelerometer, built-in flash memory, rechargeable Li-Polymer batteries and expansion ports for additional sensors. So as you can see, it uses existing technology to do its new thing as if nobody ever thought of it before. It’s a new shot at organizing how you do your day-to-day computing. And personally, I think it’s a great idea so far.

As to whether or not this new technology actually becomes useful in our everyday life remains to be seen. Because judging from the video, Siftables look as though they’re only a mere novelty which would be best for kids or the occasional icebreaker. It almost makes one hope this doesn’t experience the same fate as digital photo frames, which as you might know, have become quite pointless in itself. I’m sure the creators, David Merrill and Jeevan Kalanithi will think something up.

Via [MIT Media Lab]

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Posted Mar 16th 2008 11:22AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: cellphones, Home Entertainment, Wireless
Yeah, all those sticky sweet stories about WiMAX actually happening this decade or possibly showing up in a device or two were really getting on our nerves. Now it seems the “little wireless standard that couldn’t” is back to form with a report from the Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group (SUIRG). Apparently those folks found “conclusive” results of “unacceptable” levels of interference from WiMAX of satellite signals in the C-band. Naturally, it sounds like this group’s primary purpose is to come up with data like this to protect that satellite spectrum turf, but it’s disconcerting nonetheless, and we’d love to hear from the WiMAX camp on the issue — if it comes down to a choice between mobile broadband and a new season of Meerkat Manor in HD, we don’t want to be the ones making the hard decisions.

[Via New Scientist]

Sony Ericsson’s newest patent comes afloat, and it shows us a new type of device allowing up to three input interfaces. The electronic device has a main body, a flip attached to the main body and multiple input interfaces (it says here), so basically this will be some kind of new device in which you can enter data via any of the available ways. From the illustration above, you can see that this will be some kind of cellphone/smartphone with a flap on its face that can go both ways. It’s reversible, and two different input interfaces will reside on that flap alone, aside from the input interface located on the main body of the phone itself. Now I have to say, it’s a fine concept and all, but the question is, will it work?

To save you from the boring stuff in the patent document itself, let me give you the rundown on Sony Ericsson’s latest patent here. What they’re aiming to do is answer the apparent need of consumers for an all-in-one device that will replace the currently bag-full of gadgets most of us carry around. This is not the first time someone is aiming for a solution to the said problem, and even Sony Ericsson itself has tried multiple times in the past to deliver this electronic device “jackpot” that will attract new customers by the hundreds like it was a killer app of some sort. Nokia’s tried to do it. Motorola has tried to do it. Everybody out there is trying to do it. And this is Sony Ericsson’s take. Their solution? One device with the input interfaces of three. To me, this is almost like saying, “Hey, you wanted an all-in-one device, right? You wanted something that can handle your phone calls, connect you to the Internet, and let you listen to music, right? So here it is, a cellphone with a keypad, a keyboard, and a click-wheel. It’s all you need.”

But really, although this is really a great concept as it gives a user choices when it comes to entering data into his device, this will mean having to deal with three different input styles altogether. Three different “languages”, if you may, that you have to master in order to get the most out of your multiple input interface endowed device. This is completely against the concept of the iphone, which has a very simple, unified input interface: the touch. Well, I doubt if a device like the one in this patent will come out any time soon, anyway, and besides, you never know for sure and Sony Ericsson just might be able to pull this one off. Or maybe I just talk too much.

Via [Just Another mobile phone Blog]

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Frankly I don’t get the idea behind Logitech’s diNovo Mini. If you have a TV and you want to easily control it, you’d normally use a remote control right? If you have a laptop or a desktop and you want to work on it, you’d not sit too far from it right? Then what’s the use of a wireless keyboard that you can connect to your PC and TV?

Well yeah, the diNovo Mini looks sleek, good and your friends would definitely say “wow, what a good looking small gadget you have there!” Other than that, the Logitech does some pretty standard functions that may either impress you or make you ignore it. The diNovo gives you convenience and style of a palm-size mini-keyboard with backlighting technology that makes text entry effortless even if you are in a low-light environment. This mini wireless keyboard has an integrated dual-purpose click pad that can be used as a touchpad to point and click for easy navigation.

And with the Bluetooth feature of the diNovo Mini, you can enjoy long-range wireless control even if you are located 30 feet away from everybody. This is one feature that I really don’t dig. Yes, it works best if you are using the diNovo Mini to control your LCD TV. But why would you use this to control or work on your PC 30 feet away from it? Unless of course you have a very large wide screen PC monitor. The Logitech diNovo Mini also works with the Playstation3. Probably when doing some uploading and downloading of game saves but definitely not for playing those PS3 fighting games.

The Logitech diNovo mini retails for around $149. No too much of a price to pay if you want to take it for a spin.

Product [Logitech] Via [jkOnTheRun]

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Google has announced its Google Gears for Mobile that allows users to access their mobile Gears-enabled web apps even when there is no Internet connection. Initially, Google Gears was only for Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices with Internet Explorer but more and more developers are already using the Gears into their online programs and services, thanks to the developer’s guide Google came up with for the developers.

Finance website Buxfer and web-based office-suite Zoho were the first to use the Google Gears. What is ironic is that Google’s own products don’t support the Gears yet but are currently in the works. Charles Wiles of Google Mobile explained that Gears is best used when you suddenly can’t connect. He wrote:

“Once installed, Gears sits happily on your phone helping you stay connected to your data—even when you lose your network connection.”

Even Android is waiting for Google Gears. But for now, people have to wait as Google works to roll out the Gears for other platforms.

Read [Inside Google] Via [Google Mobile Blog]

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Have you ever drank milk that’s not exactly fresh? I have one time, and you can bet that it was a long time before I’d even touch the stuff again. That was especially rough because I’m the kind of guy that can live off of cereal, which is no good without milk. Those expiration dates are helpful in telling you when the milk is bad, however, there are other factors that can contribute to making the milk go sour, which is why a cool little gadget was created that can tell you if the milk is good or bad.

The gadget has two parts, one that goes in the milk container, and another outside that can let you know the status of the milk. The bit inside the milk container is actually just a slim metal ribbon. The detector creates a magnetic field that causes the ribbon to vibrate. If it vibrates too slowly the milk is sour, too quickly and the milk has Staphylococcus aureus. Unfortunately these systems only work inside the store. When you take it home, just keep it in the fridge and check the expiration.

Source: CrunchGear

Posted Mar 15th 2008 9:41PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Digital Cameras, TransportationThere’s just one, fairly ironic, flaw to the otherwise totally lovable red light cameras that adorn Dallas: they work too well. Turns out the cams have curtailed red light infractions by 50 percent, which in turn has put a budget crunch on City Hall. The city is now considering stopping its planned rollout of more cameras, or shutting down the cameras on a rotating basis — upkeep when off is next to nothing, but the city pays $3,799 per month per online camera to its service provider. That sounds like quite a spendy broadband bill, but we’re not the experts here. Just remember kids, your government wants what’s best for you, and what’s best for you is a well-funded government, alright?

[Via Fark]

So you think you’re safe? You think you can just carry on doing what you do in your life without thinking you’re in danger? Don’t you have any idea what’s going on behind the scenes when your computer automatically reboots, crashes, keeps sending your contacts suspicious emails or links to kiddie porn? If you do, then you wouldn’t have been here reading this. No, instead you would’ve been in a state of shock, like the rest of us who are in the know. Instead, you would’ve been curled up in bed, wondering how you managed to last so long without seeing the “real picture”. If you don’t understand what I’m talking about, just take a look at the photo above. See that? Know what that is? That’s what’s been eating up all of your computer’s resources lately. That’s the thing that keeps on destroying network after network and connection after connection, all without you even noticing. That, my friend, is a picture of computer malware. And if you look closely, if you could only try to look straight into its eyes, then maybe you’ll understand why I’m so tense right now.

Keep on reading for a few more renderings care of a wicked visualization program called Malwarez…

Stormy

IRCBot

PWSLineage Trojan

Via [Geekologie]

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