Computer Information - myOddPc
MusicStation Max offers unlimited free music downloads to your mobile
Filed under: Cellphones
After the
QTrax debacle, we were a little wary when we started hearing rumbles about a similar service from OmniFone called MusicStation Max that promised, flat-fee, unlimited downloads from all the major labels to your cellphone with no expiration dates -- but color us surprised, it's for real. OmniFone's
MusicStation is already a player in the European mobile music game, partnered with giants like
Vodafone, and the MusicStation Max launch seems like a natural evolution in the vein of Nokia's
Comes With Music program: consumers will buy a pre-licensed MSM phone -- the first will be available from LG in a few months -- and be able to download away for 12 to 18 months, with the ability to sideload back to a computer or to other licensed phones. The exciting part, of course, is that unlike almost every other subscription program on the market your music will still play when the license expires. Add to that the fact that everything from the tracks to playlists to friend recommendations will be backed up on the network in case you lose your device, and we're definitely intrigued -- but we'll wait to see how well all this DRM actually works before we call this thing a winner.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Full Story
Wii Twilight hack could enable homebrew booting from SD cards
Filed under: Gaming
Make no mistake, Nintendo's Wii
has been
hacked to
pieces, but there's nothing like an all
new method that keeps the soldering iron residing in the utility drawer to get us all hot and bothered. Unfortunately, what you can see in the video waiting after the jump is only a proof of concept at the moment, but it does show that
Twilight Princess can be exploited and homebrew code can be booted directly from an SD card. Also of note, certain versions of the game -- most notably, RVL-RZDE-0A-2 USA -- have reportedly been found to not play nice with the aforementioned hack, but hey, it's a start. Click on through!
[Via
Exophase, thanks zshadow]
Continue reading Wii Twilight hack could enable homebrew booting from SD cards
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Full Story
VAIO TZ with 64GB SDD + 250GB HDD gets a ship date
Filed under: Laptops
Somewhat lost in Sony's massive CES
VAIO spec bump was an update to the super hot (but generally overlooked) top-end VAIO TZ that features both an
SSD and HDD, which allows you to speed up booting and other system tasks that rely on quick random reads by running Windows off the SSD while still being able to lug all your data around on the traditional hard drive. The no-compromises model got bumped to 64GB of SSD and 250GB of HDD, up from 32 and 160, but we didn't know a ship date until now -- looks like Sony's taking preorders now on sonystyle.com for delivery in March. The new model also includes 2GB of RAM, a Sprint EV-DO card, fingerprint sensor, and external dual-layer burner, as well as the TZ's usual 11.1-inch XBRITE screen and 1.33GHz U7700 Core 2 Duo processor -- looks like the TZ isn't going to give up that "hottest ultralight" crown to the MacBook Air so easily, now is it?
[Thanks, Tim]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Full Story
Netflix coming to Xbox 360 and PS3?
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment
According to a blogged up blog post on the interblogs, a
Netflix survey that's supposedly been making the rounds suggests that the service may be coming to both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. If you believe what Seanbajuice has to say, the survey asked, "If as part of your Netflix membership you could instantly watch movies and TV episodes on your TV with your PS/3 or XBOX 360, how likely would you/anyone in your household be to do that?" The survey then goes on to state that both the PS3 and the 360 will be able to play streaming media by using a "special Netflix disc." Here's the kicker: there won't be any extra fees besides the $3 charge for the disc. Of course, nothing is mentioned about how the PS3 will handle the Microsoft-based DRM, and while the whole thing sounds too good to be true, there have been rumblings about this
recently, so let's just cross our fingers and make a wish, okay?
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Full Story
Vmedia's cellphone optical disk system is probably not the next big thing
Filed under: Cellphones, Storage
Seeing as cellphones are usually connected to mobile networks, we'd think the problem of content distribution would basically solve itself, but a company called Vmedia Research is at Mobile World Congress with a new type of optical disk designed just for phones. Using a
blue laser, a 1GB, 32mm MiniDisc-esque Vmedia cartridge can hold a full DVD-res movie using H.264 compression, as well as limited special features. Vmedia's demoing the tech on an upcoming Spice GSM handset, which has a 2.8-inch screen and a PSP UMD-like door for inserting the disks. The system is going to debut in India and southeast Asia with 40 Bollywood films available at launch for just $5 each, but Vmedia and Spice say they've got 1,000 more content deals in the works. No plans have been announced for the rest of the world as of yet, but we're not holding our breath.
Read - Vmedia press release
Read - Spice Movie Phone
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Full Story
Empty wine jugs make a fine 6.1 surround system -- who knew?
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Ever had the itch to
construct a surround sound system of your very own? Do you have an embarrassingly large stockpile of four- to five-liter wine jugs? If you answered yes to both of the aforementioned inquiries (and you're at least halfway sober), Carlo Rossi has just the thing for you. Apparently, it felt the need to dish out DIY instructions for converting a number of its Sangria containers into a 6.1-channel surround system, and as with most projects, we'd also recommend you not take this one on while under the influence -- ironic though that may be. Ready to get started? Put down (or pick up?) the brown bag and hit the links below.
[Via
UberReview]
Read - The Sangria Surround Sound System [PDF]
Read - Carlo Rossi's JugSimple
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Full Story
Terra Soft offering up 80GB PS3s with Yellow Dog Linux 6.0 pre-installed
Filed under: Gaming
Early last year, we
polled the grand audience and found out just what you liked (and disliked) about
Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 for PS3. Fast forward 13 months, and those still waiting on the sidelines have yet another option for jumping in. As of now, Terra Soft Solutions is offering up Sony's 80GB PlayStation 3 with YDL 6.0 pre-installed for $549.95, and yes, that includes the DVDs containing the OS. Interestingly, it seems as if you'll still have to pony up for a component or HDMI cable, but at least the option's there, right?
[Thanks, Fiddlesworth]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Full Story
Space Shuttle Secrets Stolen For China
Ponca City, We Love You writes "The Department of Justice has announced the indictment of former Boeing engineer Dongfan Chung on charges of economic espionage in the theft of company trade secrets relating to the Space Shuttle, the C-17 military transport aircraft, and the Delta IV rocket. Chung is a native of China and a naturalized US citizen. According to the indictment, Chinese aviation industry representatives began sending Chung 'tasking' letters as early as 1979. Over the years, the letters directed Chung to collect specific technological information, including data related to the Space Shuttle and various military and civilian aircraft. Chung allegedly responded in one letter indicating a desire to contribute to the 'motherland,' the DOJ said. It was not immediately clear how much, if any, damage the alleged espionage did to US national security but DOJ officials said the cases reflect the determination of the Chinese government to penetrate US intelligence and obtain vital national defense secrets. 'Today's prosecution demonstrates that foreign spying remains a serious threat in the post-Cold War world,' said Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Full Story
Next Year's Laws, Now Out In Beta!
Frequent Slashdot Contributor Bennett Haselton writes with his latest which starts "If I were writing laws such that I wanted everybody to agree on how to interpret them, I would use the software development life cycle: First, have lawmakers (analogous to "developers") write drafts of the laws. Then a second group (the "test case writers") would try to come up with situations that would be interpreted ambiguously under the law. Then a third group, the "testers", would read the proposed law, read the test case situations, and try to determine how the law should be applied to those cases, without communicating with the law writers, the test case writers, or each other. If there's too much disagreement in the third group on how the law should be applied, then it's too vague to be a proper law. The only laws which made it through this process would be ones such that when they were finally passed, most citizens (the "users") could agree on how to interpret them, in cases sufficiently similar to the ones the test case writers could come up with."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Full Story
Disclaimer
Please note that this website is for information only. Whilst every care has been taken to provide accurate information you should always seek the advice of a professional before attempting any repairs or making any purchase(s).
You need to take special care to ensure that the information given applies your system.
