Computer Information - myOddPc
Wii Fit feet-on: feeling the burn, inadequate
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
So Nintendo showed up at our place today with a
Wii Fit -- and an accompanying personal trainer to crack the whip and make sure our half hour of intro exercises and fitness games burned a sufficient amount of calories. Things we learned: our BMI is on the upper end of the "normal" bracket (shocking, considering how sedentary we are blogging 12 hours a day), our balance is kind of crappy, our "body age" is 39 -- over a decade more than our real age -- and no, not even Nintendo can make a fitness game that doesn't feel at least vaguely like PE. And now the 64k question:
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UK researcher finds Bluetooth more of a privacy threat than RFID
Filed under: Wireless
Privacy advocates have long since pointed out that the sniff-ability of
Bluetooth signals were cause for concern, but now one University of Bath researcher has a little data to back that up. Vassilis Kostakos placed four Bluetooth receivers in the city's center for four months, during which he and his team tracked over 10,000 BT-enabled mobiles. According to Mr. Kostakos, they were able to "capture and analyze people's encounters in pubs, streets and shops." He continued on to mention that "Bluetooth is now more of a privacy threat than the more frequently publicized RFID chips," and he encouraged worried denizens to turn off the BT function on their phone to help curb the paranoia. Of course, that won't stop
Big Brother from
seeing your
every move whilst in the UK, but whatever helps you sleep better is alright with us.
[Image courtesy of
Symbian World]
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Microsoft increases focus on Fone+ cellphone project for the poor
Filed under: Cellphones
Microsoft has been touting its
Fone+ project for a little while now, but it looks like the company is starting to step up its efforts a bit further, with the new head of Microsoft's Unlimited Potential Group, Craig Mundie, reportedly leading the charge to increase the focus on the project aimed at bringing cellphones to the poor. This isn't a case of simply handing out as many barebones handsets as possible, however. Instead, Microsoft wants to use the cellphones (which are described as a "low-to-mid-end smartphone") as an alternative to computers like the OLPC, an idea the company has been
tossing around since before the Fone+ project even had a name. To make things a bit more practical, the cellphones would be paired with a dock that hooks up to TV, resulting in a system that Mundie says is "a lot cheaper than having to buy a whole separate computer." Unfortunately, while it is upping its efforts, Microsoft apparently still isn't ready to provide any sort of timeline about when we can expect to see an actual product, and Mundie adds that the company continues to "explore and look at both phone-up models and PC-down models" to make computing more accessible to the poor.
[Via
Phone Scoop]
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Ask Engadget: What's the best 40- to 50-inch HDTV with PC inputs?
Filed under: Displays, Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment
While we've already seen one particular Engadget HD reader reach out for assistance with
finding a niche HDTV, this particular question just screams mainstream. Today's gamer is likely looking for a set that's multifaceted, and Sir Matthew here is no different:
"I'm considering purchasing a 1080p HDTV in the 40- to 50-inch range for use with console gaming and possibly as a PC monitor. I've got about $2,500 to spend, but would prefer to keep it well under that if possible. I'm partial to LCD HDTVs, and whatever set I get must have a couple of HDMI ports
and VGA / PC audio inputs."
Picking a TV that plays nice with PC resolutions (or PowerStrip) is crucial, so we'll go ahead and assume this fellow thinks overscan is simply unacceptable. If this here question reminded you of your own quandary, send over an email to
ask at engadget dawt com with your inquiry enclosed -- if the robotic overlords manning our email systems deem it worthy, it'll show up in
this space in due time.
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Dell to replace all European Vostro 1310 and 1510 keyboards
Filed under: Laptops
We're not at all certain what led Dell to ship European Vostro 1310s and 1510s with, ah,
revised QWERTY keyboards, but it looks like the company is making good on its promise to remedy the situation. According to Dell, all affected customers will be contacted and offered a replacement keyboard beginning today. Apparently the switch isn't too hard to make, so you'll be able to either do it yourself, or Dell will send out a tech to do it for you at no cost. Sounds like Dell's doing its best to make this right -- but c'mon, how did this not raise all kinds of red flags during the design process?
P.S.- If you're a touch-typist who's having major issues, you can also jump to the front of the pack by emailing Dell -- check out the read link for directions.
[Via
Pocket-lint]
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Gear4 Duo iPod speaker system touts removable front panel
Filed under: Portable Audio
Gear4 has been known to unleash a few
unorthodox speaker
systems, but the forthcoming Duo is particularly impressive -- in finding a way to somehow differentiate itself in the expansive pool of
alternatives, that is. At first glance, it doesn't appear to differ much from every other one out there, but give that front panel a tug, and off comes a portable speaker system with its own rechargeable batteries, auxiliary port and power supply. When you arrive back, just reattach the magnetically-held panel and listen as the bass kicks in without missing a beat. Apparently the unit is set to go on sale on June 1st for £150 ($290), though we haven't heard if it'll ever arrive on US soil.
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Cablevision joins the wireless party, plans to cover NYC with WiFi
Filed under: Wireless
Comcast, Time Warner, and Bright House all threw down in the new
Sprint-led Clearwire venture yesterday, but it looks like Cablevision wants in on the fun as well: the company announced today that it's spending $350M on a new wireless broadband network in New York. Unlike the Clearwire partnership, Cablevision is apparently going to use straight-up WiFi for the service, but it's not revealing any details at the moment, saying only that it'll run at 1.5Mbps and eventually handle voice as well. The plan is to get up and running in NYC within two years, and existing customers will be able to log on for free -- and if this really is straight-up WiFi, we'd bet a lot of other people will be joining the fun as well.
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Sony's PSP Skype headset finally arrives Stateside
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
If you've got a
PSP-2000 and a hankering for some VoIP on the run, Sony has finally brought its
Skype-friendly PSP headset to US retail. Unfortunately, it won't work with those original fatty PSPs, and at $30 you've gotta ask yourself how much you'll really be using it for -- the original price was set at $20. That said, it's undoubtedly the easiest way to get up and running with Skype and in-game voice chat on the PSP, since it used to require two separate accessories to pull it off. Oh, and if you're Skype curious, be sure to check out the
how-to guide over at PSP Fanboy.
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Illusion PC hides hardware eloquently, still plays Doom
Filed under: Desktops
Given the absurdity of the
AlphaGrip Handheld Computer, we're pretty stoked to see something fairly snazzy emerge from entries in Microsoft's Next-Gen PC Design Competition. The Illusion PC is a 8.25-inch cube that hides a Mini-ITX motherboard, 200-watt power supply, slot-loading DVD burner and provides room for two internal hard drives. Theoretically, a 6-inch LCD and TV tuner card could also be thrown in, but we're digging the minimalist feel, personally. Hit the read link for a gallery of shots -- heck, the magician even reveals his secret to pulling the whole thing together. Like, that never happens.
[Via
SlashGear]
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Gigabyte's GK-K8000 gaming keyboard briefly spotted
Filed under: Peripherals
If you weren't enthused about the
SteelSeries 7G for whatever reason, Gigabyte looks to have another alternative headed down the pike. At the company's Spring Break event and Plug-Fest 2008, folks from
Tweaktown were able to spend a few hurried minutes with the GK-K8000 gaming keyboard. We're told that "design issues" were holding 'em up from being released right now, but we get the impression that it's certainly nearing completion. Initial thoughts were that typing felt great and the unit itself seemed mighty sturdy, but why take our word for it? Hop on down to the read link for a few more snaps.
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