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Wilson Rothman's Posts

Sprint

Sprint to Revive Nextel With Wi-Fi BlackBerry and CDMA Phones

Nextel_Blackberries.jpg According to a Gearlog report from CTIA, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse is promising an unnamed new iDEN BlackBerry with both push-to-talk and Wi-Fi, a full-featured smartphone to put some juice into the abysmal Nextel network. He also pledged new phones from Sanyo, Samsung, Motorola and LG that run on the CDMA network most Sprint customers use, but will have Nextel's push-to-talk and other "chirp" services. This sounds to me like waffling: if iDEN can't attract handset makers and has no high-bandwidth roadmap, why encourage the format? I'm all for moving in the CDMA direction and easing customers in with familiar services, but hasn't that been the plan all along? And hasn't it been failing? [Gearlog via Electronista]

6:15 PM on Fri Apr 4 2008
By Wilson Rothman
1,195 views, 18 comments

Latest by mcdonnr: @BenG9810: "Oh and the instinct is not a knock off of the iphone.. The Voyager is." Why can't they both be knock-offs? Sure Voyager was marketed more as a knock-off... but that's only because VZW's marketing > Sprint's. more »

ctia 2008

Meshcentric H_T: Waterproof Wi-Fi Cellular Anti-Stalker GPS Game Handheld With LED Lightshow... Say What?

H_T_Spyshot.jpg Our friend Stuart at PocketGamer UK just shared with us his encounter with Meshcentric CEO Scott Fry, who is in Vegas at CTIA telling everyone about the H_T, a cellular gaming 1-mile-range-Wi-Fi hot spot with over-clocked CPU, fluorescent LEDs and GPS. The suspiciously PSP-shaped new multifunction device is apparently the second product to come from Fry's brain trust after the Air Sniper weapons system, also currently in prototype form. H_T's killer app is the game VR Warrior, set to launch Christmas 2008 and, according to Fry, is supposed to "get the gamers off their a** and start moving as a team or as an Army of one": More »

2:50 PM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By Wilson Rothman
2,736 views, 11 comments

Latest by The illest wind: take the role of the MSX computer in La Mulana? more »

Apple

Ars: iTunes #1 Music Retailer in January (Debunkers Be Hanged)

Jobs_Number_1.jpg Citing NPD data and internal Apple sources, Ars Technica declared iTunes the #1 music retailer in January, besting Wal-Mart for the first time, along with Best Buy, Amazon and others. Debunkers have claimed that this is only because of gift-card redemption but Ars' Eric Bangeman updated his piece, calling BS on the BS callers: More »

10:25 AM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By Wilson Rothman
4,572 views, 36 comments

Cellphones

Verizon Promises In-Home Cell Boosters This Year, But For How Much?

Airvana_Femtocells.jpg Femtocell, femtocell, femtocell. Get used to it, because it's a word you'll be hearing a lot of from now on. Yesterday, Verizon Wireless promised to offer broadband-connected mini cell towers (yep, femtocells) to customers in 2008. We're told that products such as the EV-Do model just introduced by Motorola and Airvana are intended for home use, not just in offices. There will be a cost of some kind for the hardware, possibly along the same lines as your monthly cable-box fee. The question is, how much more will you pay to get guaranteed cell voice and data reception in your home? [AP]

9:23 AM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By Wilson Rothman
2,630 views, 26 comments

Latest by hnkelley: @rbf2000: According to the TMo website, calls, "transition smoothly," between WiFi and cell. However, having not tested this, take it with a grain of salt. more »

TiVo

Latest TiVo Firmware Brings Needed Speed Boost

TiVo_Speed_Boost.jpg TiVo HD is pretty awesome, but there's still a nagging issue of lag, particularly when doing more complicated things like changing Season Pass priorities. Our source at TiVo tells us that the latest firmware update, 9.3, has seriously juiced the system in terms of response time. Compared to the last significant upgrade, 9.1, here's a list of common features and how much they've been sped up: More »

8:43 AM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By Wilson Rothman
4,696 views, 33 comments

Peripherals

SpaceNavigator 3D Mouse Gives Full Range of Motion to Second Life Avatars

3Dconnexion's SpaceNavigator, a rubber-capped multi-axis metal dial meant mainly for 3D design, has been put to even better use as a pan-dimensional controller for Second Life. The video says it all: watch as Beast, one of the "Lindens" who works at Second Life's founder company, demos movement of his avatar on both land and in the air, and even use SpaceNavigator side by side with a mouse. It's perhaps even cooler in build mode, where you can twist, push, pull and tilt—basically have free range of motion—when doing heavy construction. The SpaceNavigator is already available for $60, and works with Google Earth, Adobe Photoshop and a bunch of CAD and GIS apps. It will be available in Second Life at release 1.20. More detailed info below. More »

4:00 AM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By Wilson Rothman
5,561 views, 10 comments

Latest by Bokusatsu_Tenshi: This is quite old already, but also quite unknown to the general public. I'd like to buy one of those, but can't find them anywhere here where I live... But hay! The few thousand Second Life users now have a even lazier more »

Apple

Apple WWDC08 Sessions Open

If you got nothing better to do June 9 through 13, Steve Jobs is hosting his "landmark" three-pronged developer conference in San Francisco, with choices for Mac, IT and iPhone concentrations. Have a look at the list of session topics, including iPhone Multi-Touch Gestures, Ruby on Rails Apps for Safari, even CoreBanana and Xcode for Chimps (wait, maybe not those last two). If you do plan on attending, start saving now for those expensive-ass tickets. [WWDC Sessions]

9:36 PM on Wed Apr 2 2008
By Wilson Rothman
2,496 views, 13 comments

Latest by BigViper: @frigg: what about 4) likes to debate over ANYTHING :) more »

Home Entertainment

Eight Reasons So Many HD Channels Suck Ass

Cable_HD_Upconvert.jpg Sound & Vision just ran a cool expose on HD cable channels. How can so many good channels be stuck in SD land—I'm looking at you F/X, Comedy Central and Sci-Fi Channel—while new lame HD channels like CNN and QVC cut to the front of the line? And what about those so-called HD channels, like TNT and TBS, that half the time (or more often than that) play stretched upconverted Law & Order reruns? Dubbing the situation "complicated," S&V; says there isn't one answer, but eight slimy, frustrating, unfair reasons: More »

5:00 PM on Wed Apr 2 2008
By Wilson Rothman
20,086 views, 41 comments

Latest by almighty: @mikecoscia: Get DirecTV more »

Nike

Official: $59 Nike+ SportBand Works Without iPod

As we teased just the other day, Nike will in fact be selling a Nike+ SportBand—complete with the familiar shoe pebble, not shown—for training without the iPod nano. "Heavens! Why would you ever want to train without an iPod nano?" you ask, aghast. According to my runner friend Rid, who shunned the original Nike+ iPod like it was some kind of performance-enhancing drug, there are good reasons. More »

12:27 PM on Wed Apr 2 2008
By Wilson Rothman
9,591 views, 25 comments

Latest by Dr_Blip: Is anybody able to open the Nike+ site on Mac? more »

Cellphones

Amazon "Simple" TextBuyIt Text-Message Shopping Sounds Complicated

AMZN_text_order_book.jpg Amazon.com says its TextBuyIt system for buying merch via text message is "incredibly simple and convenient" but it actually entails a few steps. Weirder still, Amazon says the process happens "using only text messages," which is just blatantly untrue. Here's the rundown of the process—which in its defense can be used on any mobile phone, but frankly seems harder than just waiting until you get home: More »

11:50 AM on Wed Apr 2 2008
By Wilson Rothman
3,449 views, 21 comments

Clothes

Defender Hoodie: Look Good, Avoid Bullets

Bladerunner_Defender_Hoodie.jpg Knife-proof, machine-washable T-shirt not enough protection for you out there on the mean streets? Bulletproof backpack insert just won't cover enough of your nice, lead-free body? Maybe you need a hoodie with 2mm of Type IIA bulletproofing, enough to stop a 9mm full-metal-jacket round at a velocity of 1,090 feet-per-second. The bad news, besides the $600 price tag, is that the protection is only in the body, not the hood itself. Bladerunner Ltd., UK-based retailer of the Defender Hoodie, says the pullover also protects you from unspecified "lesser ballistic threats." (Do the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune count?) The hoodie goes on sale sometime in the next month, so please, for your own sake, don't go pissing off any mailman/lunch lady/ex-girlfriend in the meantime. [Product Page]

9:30 AM on Wed Apr 2 2008
By Wilson Rothman
22,439 views, 25 comments

Latest by EricMerrill: The smallest it comes in is medium. I guess they expect skinny guys like me can get by on zig-zagging maneuvers and stealth. more »

Laptops

Toshiba Satellite Laptops: New Fusion Look, Charge-Anytime USB Ports, Cheaper Prices

T-oshiba_Satellite_A300.jpg Mr. T's favorite laptop maker rolled out slick, useful and budget-minded updates to its Satellite line today. First up, the 13.3" U400, 14.1" M300, 15.4" A300 and 17" P300 have a new look called "Fusion," a shiny finish with pinstripes and smoothed edges, not unlike that sucka HP's successful smooth-n-shiny-n-pinstripey look. The eight shots in the gallery make the design look a bit greenish, so we'll have to wait to pass final judgment. It's one thing to look nice on the outside, but like T, these have a lot going on on the inside, too... More »

4:20 PM on Tue Apr 1 2008
By Wilson Rothman
4,724 views, 15 comments

Latest by bsoft: Uh, my ThinkPad T61 can do "sleep and charge" - the USB ports are active when the device is off or sleeping if it's plugged in. You can turn on or off the setting using the BIOS. My old Compal EFL30 more »

Cellphones

ClarityLife Phone: Good For Me and My Momma

ClarityLife_with_T.jpg If you're like me, you worry about your momma, even if you're just runnin' out to the grocery store. I used to like the Jitterbug, but ClarityLife phone might be what I should get her. It's got a big screen cuz her eyes aren't so good anymore, and it's got an amplifier that brings incoming voices up by 20 dB, cuz her ears aren't like they used to be either. There's a one-touch button on the back that will call and send text messages to five pre-programmed names, so if she takes a spill she can call for help. Best of all, no contract. What is my momma gonna do with 800 minutes of talktime? She'll talk for 800 minutes, but she doesn't need a phone to do it. Even if you don't buy her some fancy new old-person's phone, remember, treat your mother right. [Clarity Products]

1:20 PM on Tue Apr 1 2008
By Wilson Rothman
1,845 views, 13 comments

Latest by strider_mt2k: @snubz: Mr. T worries about everybody's momma. Mr. T is a carin', lovin' affectionate man who wishes people well. Mr. T resents implications otherwise. more »

Cellphones

Van-Tastic: VZ Navigator Gets Traffic Avoidance, Gas Finder, 3D View

A-Team_Cellphone_Navigator.jpg Verizon's latest VZ Navigator update adds popular features already found in other mobile navi software like Telenav. The big one is traffic avoidance: in 75 cities, routes will be plotted using reliable historical traffic data along with realtime reports from Navteq Traffic. VZW doesn't say how frequently the realtime reports are updated. Also coming to the update are movie-and-event local search—no word on info provider—and a gas finder, with not just locations but up-to-date pricing at many stations as well. Normally, my instinct is to say, "Don't tell me how to drive, fool!" but traffic avoidance, that's some jibba jabbrin' T could actually put up with. Press release and list of cities after the jump. More »

10:45 AM on Tue Apr 1 2008
By Wilson Rothman
2,244 views, 20 comments

Latest by Git Em SteveDave: @ideaman2020: The word tittle contains four tittles. It's a fact. more »

Security

T Pities Fool Who Bids on Hacked Fujitsu U810 With Live Virus "Still Present"

Fujitsu_U810_Hacked.jpg Shane Macaulay, the hacker who beat a Vista-powered Fujitsu in last week's CanSec West PWN 2 OWN contest has listed the UMPC—with virus "still likely present"—on eBay. Some say this might be Macaulay's idea of a joke, but T doesn't think it's funny when hackers joke around with exploits, especially an Adobe Flash exploit that might "affect 90 percent of computers worldwide." Mac's alleged rationale:
This laptop is a good case study for any forensics group/company/individual that wants to prove how cool they are, and a live example, not canned of what a typical incident responce sitchiation [sic] would look like.
Note: We can't spot an April 1 listing of any Fujitsu U810 on eBay. [InfoWorld]

9:15 AM on Tue Apr 1 2008
By Wilson Rothman
1,944 views, 12 comments

Latest by firesign: who the hell buys a used computer and doesn't totally wipe and redo the drive? i pity the foo'! more »

Smartphones

Happy Palm Centro Day

black_att_centro_4.jpg I've just decided to mark today Palm Centro Day for three reasons:
• Fulfilling Brian Lam's prediction, Palm just announced that it only took six months to sell 1 million of the suckers, in 10 countries no less. (Helps when there's a GSM version, doesn't it?)
• AT&T; released the obsidian (that is, black) version to go along with its white one. Ruby Red and Pinky Pink are still Sprint only.
• In some Best Buy locations, the normally $100 AT&T; Centros have been spotted selling for $40 to new customers. Hopefully these deals will keep cropping up.
Here's what I want to know from you long-term Centro users: does the Centro deserve the honor, bound to sell 1 million more before year end? Or was it just a flash in the old smartphone pan? [Palm Centro]

8:45 PM on Mon Mar 31 2008
By Wilson Rothman
2,362 views, 35 comments

Latest by ImAManImForty: @tvmitch: MarkSpace was the missing piece for my iMac and my Treo 650 - highly recommended. I just lost my Blackjack, debating between Centro and iPhone now. Blazer browser is that bad, huh? more »

GPS

Send Google Maps and MapQuest Addresses to Your Garmin

In a move not unlike the "Send2Car" feature on the Dash Express GPS navigator, Garmin has worked it so that people using Google Maps and MapQuest will easily be able to send the address they're looking at to their navigator, to avoid typing it in all over again. More »

12:30 PM on Mon Mar 31 2008
By Wilson Rothman
3,805 views, 15 comments

Latest by quikboy: I wish I could do this with Live Maps :P more »

Star Wars

Irony: Boba Fett Cast In Carbonite (Well, Bronze) For the Wanton Pleasure of Others

Boba_Pez_Dispenser.jpg An artist named Scott recently cast a Boba Fett PEZ dispenser in bronze using the lost-wax process, and ended up (I think accidentally) giving it a "battle scar" that would make George Lucas proud. It's haunting, seeing that lifeless helmet stare out at the world, moving only when the cruel and greedy snap back its neck for a tasty treat. It may be a fate better than the Sarlacc pit, but it's an irony that I'm sure would tickle Han Solo. [Geekologie]

12:00 PM on Mon Mar 31 2008
By Wilson Rothman
5,705 views, 26 comments

Latest by maven2k: @strider_mt2k: DO you have a pic of that?!?!? I grew up watching L.I.S. and love the Robot. Anyway, that "battle scar" is sweet looking, looks like it was supposed to be like that. more »

 

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fufinache on Mar 25, 2008

Hi Wilson, I read your review on the olympus e420, and I was wondering what lens you used for testing. I'm thinking about getting the camera, but want to get an idea of how fast it is with a SWD lens and the pancake lens.



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