Month: April 2004

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One Of the Oldest Techs Gets First Update In 60 Years

According to the New York Times the system of Morse Code is about to get an update with the introduction of the dit-dah-dah-dit-dah-dit signal representing “@”. This will enable the four people in the United States who actually know Morse code to communicate email addresses to one another so they can share files and communicate on the Internet.

I kid because I love. Actually I was a huge Morse code fan when I was 6, and used my walkie-talkie to communicate dits and dahs to other friends in a very similar use of more sophisticated technology being used for more rudimentary purposes. Morse code is still useful in the case of national emergency, power outages and the like, since it can be broadcast over a variety of mediums. Everyone should learn it, if only for the purpose of being able to communicate in a binary language (instead of that much-easier-to-learn hex).

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Bad Chicken, Oh So Good!

Burger King has found an odd way to promote it’s new “Chicken Your Way” campaign: it set up a chicken porn site. Subserviant Chicken shows a mock web cam porn site, with a chicken dressed in a rather racy outfit. Under the “live” pic is a command line where you can enter in your sickest chicken fantasies — as in, have your chicken your way — by enterring in commands like “show me your juicy thigh” or “shake it like a poloroid picture.” It’s amusing and yet nauseating at the same time. I feel unclean, and I certainly don’t feel like eating a chicken sandwich…

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MP3 Recording Watch

I’m not a fan of watches that do more than tell time, but if you are one of those people who absolutely must have tunes and voice recording capability with you everywhere, the new Rare Mono Shop MP3 Recorder is just what you need. It sports 128 megs of onboard RAM (no expansion) and can record voice notes and any other audio source to MP3 right on your wrist. It also acts as a data storage device, eliminating the need to carry one of those ubiquitous USB memory sticks that never quite seem happy on a keychain. Price is around $150. Also note that the backlit display seems to change color, suggesting to others its internal geeky functionality.
via MobileMag

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Nokia’s N-Gage2 Photos!

It wasn’t that we didn’t like the idea of a cell phone with wireless gaming capabilities, but the design of the original N-Gage was just so horrible: the device had to be opened up just to switch games, the thing was as large as a cell phone from the 80’s, and the speaker and microphone were placed on the side of the unit making the user look like they were talking into some sort of shoe-phone.

N-Gage 2 looks like it’s an improvement, even though it’s still unlikely to be a market success because of the small screen, slow processor and lack of games. But if the idea of competing wirelessly over a cell connection is still appealing, check Gizmodo for the first photos.

Update: Officially released

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XM to offer traffic information

XM has announced that they have released a new satellite data information service that will provide traffic information to vehicle navigation systems.

Acura and GM have already announce that they plan to include systems which use the service in some of ttheir 2005 models.

via SpaceDaily

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Gaming on the Cell Phone Done Right: N-Gage Take Note

Motorola’s got a great looking new phone coming out that will be one of the most robust on the market. The E680 will sport a 240×320 color screen capable of both landscape and portrait modes. In landscape mode the d-pad on the left of the unit can be used for gaming and the buttons on the top simulate something like a Playstation controller. The E680 also plays back MPEGs and MP3s, and can support up to 2 gigs of memory on an SD card. The sound system is pretty unique too — it includes a subwoofer that lets you literally feel the music. Of course it’s a cell phone too, with GPRS and an integrated 640×480 camera. It’s Linux-based and supports Java/J2ME as well, so there’s lots of potential for expanded use of this happy little gadget.

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Free Audible: 9/11 Commission Hearings

In case you missed any of the testimony at the 9/11 hearings, the recordings are available for free from Audible. Multiple hours are available from each of the major players. Clark has edged out the lead in the reviews with a 4.4 rating, beating Rumsfeld’s 4.3 by a hair.

Video recordings of the hearings can also be found at C-Span, though they are available only in the Really Annoying and Relatively Mediocre formats.

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Linux Powered Portable PDA/PVR

Archos has got a great new device in the works: the AV500, which will combine the companies innovative PVR functions (playing and recording of video and MP3) with DivX playback and a new PDA functionality. The MP3/MPEG/DivX recording and playback will handled by the hardware converters and recorded on the 40-80 gig hard-drive. The PDA features will be powered by Qtopia, a full graphical interface/PIM suite that has been used on several Zaurus and iPaq modded units. No word yet on price. More details from Brighthand.