29
Jan
XFPS has just released an adapter that allows one to plug in a USB or PS/2 mouse and keyboard, mapping it to the appropriate commands on your PS3 controller. I suppose this would definitely snag you an edge over those using the standard controller when engaged in an FPS title. Would you fork out $99 for this? I might be a bit reserved forking out that amount, considering there are only a small amount of games which allow you to use something more than the standard controller to play.
29
Jan
Beko might not be a brand that’s famous, but that doesn’t detract it from being a winner in the energy-efficient household appliance sector. Apparently, Beko claims that this washing machine is capable of doing your laundry in just 14 minutes. I’m sure housewives all over the world will appreciate having this in their homes, especially with Valentine’s Day just around the corner. Priced at £349, the 14-minute wash cycle translates to a whole lot less energy consumed which keeps the earth greener as a result.
29
Jan
Wearing a jacket comes in handy, especially during those cold winter months. Unfortunately, most of us probably sweat while wearing one considering the places we go to and errands we run, heading into alternating cold and hot environments. The Air Purifier Jacket ensures that there won’t be (that) much body odor left within whenever you take off the jacket thanks to an integrated air purifier within. Heck, it even has the fashion minded in…er, mind with detachable sleeves for the lumberjack look. Make a statement with the Air Purifier Jacket for 350 Euros.
28
Jan
Posted Jan 28th 2008 10:35AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Portable Audio
You know what your mother always used to say about things that seem too good to be true, but the deafening amount of hype and hyperbole being thrown about in reference to the “game changing” Qtrax with “25 million tracks” is quite distracting enough to take note of. According to the Qtrax website, the P2P client — Windows only, a Mac version is slated for March 18th — will be available at midnight EST, but while Qtrax is confident of its supposed deals with the majors, a few of those labels claim to be short of an actual deal with Qtrax. The business model is simple enough: DRM’d tracks count the number of times they’re played and then report back to the mother ship — which will divvy up revenue based on ad sales. It sounds like there’s PlaysForSure under the hood, and Qtrax claims it’ll have an iPod-friendly version ready before too long, but there’s a disturbing lack of detail on the official site. There is $30 million of VC funding behind the venture, so they clearly expect some results, but $30 million and high hopes certainly is no guarantee of label support of a crazy — and perhaps entirely overdue — scheme like this. We’ll be certainly watching for what happens at midnight.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Read - Qtrax
Read - Times Online (It’s a go)
Read - NEWS.com.au (Labels back away)
Read - ZDNet UK (Rupert Goodwins weighs in)
28
Jan
According to a dual report by the Smith School of Business (at the University of Maryland), and the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, eBay-ers ’save billions of dollars annually,’ including about $19 billion last year, and close to $4, or 30% in savings on auctions averaging $14 each. This report is important because it is the first time that the auction site’s economic effect has been directly measured, and possibly counteracts long-held beliefs of many would-be or long-departed auction participants: That any potential savings on gadgets are superseded by an auction’s time commitment, win-or-lose arrangement, or the trust factor regarding the product sellers.
The way the schools measured the savings was by using sniping software (which sets a user’s high bid and bids automatically at the last second for the win), and then using that number against the actual price at which an item went for. This is a key difference between eBay auctions and regular purchases, as noted by Smith Associate Professor Galit Shmueli:
You just can’t quantify this for traditional retailers — a store clerk would never get an accurate answer by asking a customer, ‘how much were you really willing to pay for this item?’ We just pay the prices the retailers demand. But on an auction site like eBay, consumers can dictate how much they’re willing to pay.
One of the ways in which eBay could use this information for its benefit is to market the specific savings in its advertising. Yet, this actually might go against eBay’s recently announced plans that they might start focusing more on selling fixed-price goods.
28
Jan
Philips 9″ Digital Photo Frame
Philips Digital Photo Frame 9″ (9FF2M4/00) Every picture tells your story How many digital pictures are hidden on your PC? See, share and relive your memories with Philips Photo Frame, the easiest way to display your digital photos in stunning quality - without a PC. Top quality display for print-like pictures High pixel density for sharp and detailed photo displayThe very best high density screen in the industry displays 88 percent more pixels per square inch than even a high end 17-inch LCD monitor — showing off your treasured photos with the same ‘real life’ rich detail and vibrant colours as high quality prints. Display all the crisp colours of professional printed photosFull colour display brings out the best in your photos with vibrant, real life colours by displaying the same full range of colours found in professionally printed photos. Luxurious design to complement your photos Exquisite materials and finishing add value to your photosTop quality design and exquisite materials include a solid metal stand, stylish frame and detailed finishing which convey an impression of value and refined taste, adding lustre to the photos displayed on the Photo Frame. International award winning design to enrich your home decorPrestigious international organisations select outstanding products for design awards; Philips display devices regularly win such awards including the iF, Good Design Award and Reddot Design Award. 4 Interchangeable frames to fit your room and personal tasteA selection of interchangeable frames that snap onto your Photo Frame fits your personal taste and compliments your home or office decor. Easily display your digital photos View photos directly from memory cards - no PC requiredTwo memory card readers are built-in for easy viewing and sharing of photos stored in memory cards. One memory card slot accepts Compact Flash I (CF) cards while the second accommodates Memory Stick (MS), SD Card and Multi-Media Cards (MMC). USB connector for easy photo downloading from your PCA USB connector is built into the device for easy and quick downloading photos from a PC. Create a slideshow for all stored photosA slideshow is a collection of images arranged in sequence for presenting to an audience. Pressing the button and selecting the slideshow function automatically displays all photos stored on your Photo Frame, page-by-page. Play slideshows or browse single photo and thumbnailsFlexible display modes give you the freedom to display your photos one image at one time, in thumbnail mode for quick, easy searches, or to create a slideshow of your most treasured photos. Great convenience Operate on AC power or cordlessly with rechargeable batteryAC or on-board battery power gives you the choice of operating your Photo Frame on standard AC power or cordlessly with the on-board rechargeable battery. Automatically turn display on and off at preset times daily This Item is only available for Uk Mainland
Technorati Tags: Gadgets
28
Jan
Amazon seems to be primed to give Apple some true competition, they have announced plans to roll-out their MP3 service to an international market during 2008.
Amazon, who is currently the only retailer able to make the claim of offering DRM-free music from all four of the major labels and with that alone iTunes will have some competition. The Amazon MP3 service was originally launched in September 2007 and currently has more than 3.3 million tracks available. Sadly Amazon did not mention any specific date or time for the launch, leaving it simply as 2008. While I cannot imagine this being an iTunes killer, it does give users a very appealing alternative.
Read [Amazon] Via [Reuters]
28
Jan
Sony announced last week that, yes, it’s still releasing UMDs, baby! Partnering with MTV, PSP owners will soon be able to purchase”Beavis and Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection,” volumes 2 and 3; “Jackass,” volumes 2 and 3; “Wildboyz,” volumes 1 and 2; “Viva La Bam,” volumes 2-4; and “Aeon Flux: The Complete Animated Collection.” While Sony has to know that UMD has become a game-only format, small, thematic releases like these aren’t really going to hurt/help the format or the bottom line. It’s like gambling on the penny slots after losing for a few hours of $20 blackjack. [reuters]
28
Jan
1. Make its MP3 store global.
2. Make a WWAN-equipped MP3 player hooked into the music store, a la Kindle.
3. Profit. Profit like God-damned crazy.
It’s an obvious plan, when you make it look this simple. Eliot van Buskirk pointed out to me what a damned good idea a WWAN-equipped music player would be. Given slick integration with Amazon’s music store, this is the real category killer everyone thinks the iPod already is. An Amazon device might well as be as "functional"-looking as the mockup above, but that’s just how the winners usually are.
The labels will love it because Amazon lets them name the price. The listeners will love it because they have permanent access to every song most of them ever cared about, from their MP3 player, accessible on-demand as a subscription, or as one-click purchases if they want to own actual files. The nature of the beast means that storage isn’t a big deal: a few gigs of flash will be enough.
And then onto TV, movies, the lot. Boom. And it burns a $10 a month hole in millions of Americans’ pockets the way iTunes never, ever will.
They could call it the Spindle.
