Student Tech News

RemoteDroid is a T-Mobile G1 app that enables “you take advantage of the G1’s keypad, and use either the trackball or the touchscreen as a mouse.” Video after the break.

It’s already been done on the iPhone, and it looks like G1 users can now use their handset of choice to control their computer.

[via Engadget]

That’s right, a supposed ultra rare pink iPhone 3G sold for $453.19 on eBay. The Apple lettering on the back casing “convinces us that this isn’t a simple ColorWare job.” Auction page. Click here for first picture in gallery.

Say wha’?! An iPhone in a hue other than black, white, or silver? While a red model has been rumored since before the 3G even launched, we’ve never thought about a pink one — let alone one hitting eBay.

[via Engadget - eBay]

Amazon has the Tokyo Flash “Jackpot” Watch on sale for only $60.48 shipped, originally priced at $125.00. Built into this watch, is a game that “works just like a slot machine — you select the amount to bet and then press the D button to spin the reels.” Product page.

The Jackpot features a polished silver finish, and measures 4.0 centimeters across, 4.0 centimeters long, and 1.1 centimeters thick, and features a black genuine leather strap (maximum wrist size 21.5 cm) with a traditional buckle clasp.

[via Amazon]

The updated 2009 SSC Ultimate Aero has a top speed of 257mph and can reach 60mph in just 2.78-seconds, made possibly by a twin-turbocharged 6.3L V8 that generates an impressive 1287hp. One other notable feature is its AeroBrake spoiler system that deploys under heavy braking. Click here for first picture in gallery.

The new center console incorporates a digital temperature control unit and tire pressure monitor along with an Azentek PC base Infotainment unit. The revolutionary Azentek unit offers all the capabilities of a PC and processes SSC’s onboard diagnostic software.

[via Seriouswheels]

First released in 2005, this particular Xbox 360 commercial was banned due to some viewers saying that it actually promotes violence. Continue reading to see both the auditions and original commercial.

It was promptly banned for encouraging violent behaviour. The ad’s auditions, however, aren’t anywhere near as troubling.

[via Kotaku]

Filed a day before the launch of the first generation iPhone, a recently unearthed patent application shows that Apple was thinking ahead, realizing that the capacitive touchscreens like those of the iPhone and iPod Touch would have problems for users in cold weather (meaning, wearing gloves).

In scenarios such as that, not only is a glove cumbersome to use (particularly when trying to use the onscreen iPhone keyboard), the capacitive touchscreen needs the electrical charge of the human body to work properly.

The Apple patent application states:

Input mechanisms on some electronic devices may require precise manipulation to perform electronic device operations. In some embodiments, some input mechanisms may only recognize inputs provided by a finger placed directly or near proximity on the input mechanisms. When users, in cold weather, wear thick or bulky gloves, some electronic devices may therefore be unable to recognize or identify user interactions with the input mechanism.

Their proposed solution? A glove with two layers. The inner liner will be of a material that is “thin, electrically conductive, has low thermal conductivity, and/or has an “anti-sticky” finish.”

There will be one or more openings in the glove to allow the user to expose the conductive inner liner, and thus use the device.

Personally, even if they are granted the patent, I’m not sure just how viable such a product would be. It’s a little too high-tech than is probably necessary. Why?

There are already similar types of gloves, but without such inner linings. For example, there are the Freehands glove (above) that has openings as Apple suggests, but simply exposes your bare thumb and index finger. There are also Etre Touchy gloves, which simply have the glove thumb and index finger permanently cut off.

Finally, and more sophisticated are the DOTS gloves which have metal dots, curved so as not to scratch the screen.

Alternatively, there are some styli that work with the iPhone, such as the Pogo (which I have tried and found to work just fine), which are actually easier to type with, honestly, than my finger.

So there are already plenty of alternatives out there. On the other hand, with the possible exception of styli, you’d be a lot warmer in freezing weather with something that had at least an inner liner covering your finger. Living in California, it’s not that much of a problem for me!

Put simply, iSteam is an iPhone app that lets users wipe away steam like they would a fogged up mirror, and quite realistically to say the least. Available now through iTunes, priced at $0.99. Video after the break.

After that you can use your fingers to clean it, causing squeaky sounds, condensation, and drops that get affected by the orientation of the phone, but without frying your iPhone.

[via Gizmodo]

In December of 2007, Internet Explorer’s market share was 76.04%. By December 2008, it had dropped to 68.15%, or 10.4%. Meanwhile, Firefox increased its market share from 16.8% to 21.34%, a rise of 27%.

These figures come from the latest browser share report from Net Applications.

Additionally, Safari rose from 5.59% in December 2007 to 7.93% in December 2008, which iis a 41.9% increase.

Google’s Chrome only recently exited beta, and despite that has managed to reach a 1.04% market share by December 2008.

If instead you drill down into platform usage, you see that in December 2007 Windows still held over 90% of the market (remember, this is based on browser usage per OS) while MacOS was holding 7.31%. By December 2008, MacOS had risen 31.7% to 9.63%, while Windows had dropped to 88.68%.

If, however, you add in the iPhone market share, .44% in December of 2008, up 267% from .12% in December of 2007, Apple had over 10% of browser market share on a platform basis.

Net Applications’ monthly surveys are conducted by sampling browser data from some 160 million visits to Web sites operated by the firm’s clients. It’s an atypical way of measuring market share, but it is a consistent form of measurement, at least.

In this recession and economy, a layoff isn’t a surprise. But a layoff of 15,000 people, and from Microsoft, no less? That’s nearly a recession unto itself.

That’s the latest rumor about potential Microsoft layoffs. Earlier reports stated that as many as 10% could get the axe, and that Wall Street would see that as “healthy,” according to Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Brad Reback.

But Fudzilla now says, not only is a layoff a done deal, it will occur on January 15th, and encompass 15,000 employees, which would be about 16.5% of Microsoft’s 91,000 employees. Fudzilla sees MSN getting hit the hardest, which makes sense if you think about the struggles Microsoft is having against Google.

The rumor that Microsoft was set to lay off people on January 15th, 2009 is no longer a rumor but a fact. Staff at Microsoft have been informed that the company is readying major layoffs to its worldwide operations and it’s not a small cut, either.

Currently Microsoft employs about 90,000 people across the world and from what we’re hearing, some 15,000 of those are expected to be giving marching orders come January 15th.

What’s also interesting is that Mini-Microsoft brought up the same date, Jan. 15th, earlier.

Turn around and you’ll likely see another company eliminating staff in the name of efficiency. So a layoff is not unlikely, but the sheer amount named here seems out of bounds. Silicon Alley Insider says the following:

Unless Microsoft’s business has been absolutely crushed in the past two months, there is no reason for the company to suddenly cut this much cost. Microsoft’s margins are still fine, and much of its revenue is generated from multi-year contracts (and is therefore unlikely to see a massive intra-quarter hit).

No comment from Microsoft, as would be the norm for such a rumor. If in fact there is a Jan. 15th layoff, we’ll lay even money that some of the people responsible for the recent Z2K debacle will be amongst them.

A study by the European Research Institute for Electronic Components in Bucharest found that cell phones may lead to heart disease and kidney stones, and was picked up by a number of sites this week. For me, however, after trying to do a little research into the matter I was amazed at the inconsistencies. More on that later.

According to the report, which appears to have first originated at Macedonia Online,

scientists exposed samples of blood to varying degrees of microwave radiation for periods between ten to 60 hours.

Even at lower levels than those emitted by mobile phones, the cells leaked haemoglobin. Professor Edward Tuddenham, a haemotologist at the Imperial College Medical School based in Hammersmith Hospital, West London, said the findings were worrying and he wanted to see the study followed up. ‘The accumulation of haemoglobin in the body could result in heart disease or kidney stones,’ he warned.

None of this should be surprising to those concerned over the potential risk of cell phone radiation. What surprised me, however, is when I tried to find the original study, I found a few anomolies:

• I found a reference to a different story, with the exact same text (but also, with more information, sort of a superset), from 1999. That story was supposedly from the Daily Mail, but I couldn’t find a story on the Daily Mail site that matched it (perhaps because it was so old).

• The Research Institute for Electronic Components, Bucharest no longer exists. It was merged into the National Institute for Research and Development in Micro and Nanotechnologies in — yep, 1999.

• Professor Edward Tuddenham is no longer with the Imperial College Medical School; he’s been with University College London since 2005.

• The story mentions 13 million mobile phone owners in the U.K. Yet this 2006 story mentions 40 million users in the U.K. This story from 2008 says there are 72 million mobile phones in the U.K. If there are only 13 million mobile phone owners in the U.K., then that would mean each one owns 5.5 cell phones.

As I said, there are many questions about the safety of cell phone radiation, so I’m not questioning the veracity of the study. But, as I said, a lot of sites picked up on this story, including major sites such as the New York Daily News, Gizmodo, and enGadget. It seems that no one did any homework on this issue, as no one else asked the seeming inconsistencies in the story I outlined above.

I am not necessarily accusing Macedonia Online of anything, but it would be great to get these questions answered. I have emailed Professor Edward Tuddenham to see if he can resolve the inconsistencies.