Author: Serkadis

We have seen mannequin robots already, machines that may sometime replace real models in fashion shows and similar events. Needless to say that the company behind those robots is based in Japan. And it was clear that the first robot maker marketing a new line of robots as “recyclable” would come out of the same country, too. And Osaka-based Eager [JP] is combining both ideas by offering recyclable mannequin robots.

Eager says their models are ideal for recycling as they are partly made of cardboard. The robots detect the presence of humans through sensors and start posing. Small motors placed in the elbows and shoulders enable the robots to bend their necks and arms. They can pose in a total of 12 variations.

Each robot weighs just 6kg. At the moment Eager is only offering female models, but the company is thinking about building male and child models, too. Future versions may even be able to “speak” in one way or the other.

Eager is selling the robotic mannequins to department stores and museums. One machine costs around $5,000.

Via The Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

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Aaron Carter’s the new Gordon Ramsey!

The cash-poor crooner is such a big fan of Fort Lauderdale Italian eatery Slice, he recently decided to put what’s left of his money into the venture.

“Hey everyone! Important message! To all of you who enjoy food! The way I finally do now! I’m part owner in the greatest restaurant EVER!!! See you tomorrow!” Carter excitedly wrote in a series of posts on his personal Twitter.com page this week. “The first five fans to show up at Slice and find me, will get MY favortie (sic) combo The #1 haha I wonder what the first fan will get??”

Late last year, the Internal Revenue Service filed a lien against the singer for failure to pay over $1 million in back taxes.

3D was a big buzzword at last year’s CES, and it’s even bigger this year.

It’s hard to find a TV manufacturer who isn’t showing off sets that promise to let you replicate the “Avatar” experience at home. And programmers are promising to produce entertainment you’ll want to see in three dimensions. Sony (SNE) in particular is making a big bet here.

But even you believe there’s an audience for this stuff, the 3D advocates have one big problem in front of them: Lousy timing. American consumers are finishing the end of a major TV replacement cycle, which means it will be some time before they’re ready to plunk down big money again for a new screen.

If you want a reality check on 3D’s impact on consumer electronics and the entertainment industry, check out this brief interview I conducted with DreamWorks Animation head Jeffrey Katzenberg yesterday (apologies for crypt lighting and distracted camerawork — you can at least hear him, though).

Katzenberg is definitely a believer — his studio just announced that all of its future releases will be available in 3D — but even he thinks it will be “a ways down the line” before DreamWorks (DWA) sees a lift from the sale of 3D DVDs.

Katzenberg, along with Disney’s (DIS) Bob Iger, can afford to wait a bit for the 3D boom, because both of those studios cater primarily to families who are still buying DVDs, even if those numbers are dipping.

The rest of Hollywood will be more impatient. The industry depends on home video for a large part of its revenue and an even bigger slice of its profits, and those sales have been dropping off dramatically.

The high-def Blu-ray format was supposed to spur consumers to buy more discs, but it took years for the industry to settle a costly format war, and that format is only now starting to get a little bit of traction. The studios can’t wait that long for 3D to take off.

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BoomTown is in Vegas, shuttling up and down the Strip from one tech-related event after the next on the first night of the Consumer Electronics Show.

Held in Las Vegas for the next several days, the massive confab pretty much takes over the hotels, clubs and restaurants of the city, as well as its convention facilities.

A lot of top tech players are here, such as Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer, who delivered the opening keynote address last night.

I ran into Ballmer at a party later and he thought it went fine, but was definitely irked by power going out in the midst of his presentation, ruining one demo of some interactive features the software giant was keen to show off.

Power going off in the midst of this device-choked, electricial-hogging geekfest is pretty much of an apocalypse, as you might imagine, so I feel your pain, Steve!

In any case, here’s a video I did from last night, with a visit to see some innovative gadgets and also to interview Walt “Mr. CES” Mossberg, as well as some other shots.

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Filed under: Software, Developer, iPhone

It’s a new year, which means that in a few months, taxes will come due yet again. So why not get a head start on them with your iPhone — there is, it turns out, an app for that. TurboTax has an app coming out called SnapTax that promises to make taxes easy. All you do is take a picture of your W2 form with the camera, and then the software automatically reads the form, extracts the necessary information, and then uploads it into TurboTax’s software and processes your return. Pretty amazing.

There are, of course, a few drawbacks here. First is that you need to be in California. While the software will eventually work everywhere, they’re beta testing in the Golden State this year only. Second is that you should have a later generation iPhone — the optical text software works better with more processor power, so you’ll have to fix fewer errors on your 3GS than earlier versions of the hardware. And finally, you’ll need to have a pretty simple tax return. There are more options to handle more complicated tax issues, but basically the software is designed for a simple W2 plus maybe some extra income. Being a freelancer, I have all sorts of hoops to jump through, so I’ll have to head to the accountant yet again.

But hopefully this will help some of you. The app is coming later this month and will be available for $9.99. I’m not sure if that includes the actual return, but if it does, that’s a bargain. If you’re lucky enough to be in California and in the position to use this app, keep an eye out for it.

TUAWSnapTax allows you to do your taxes on your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Police in the U.K. are searching for a man who goes around sniffing the backsides of unsuspecting grocery store workers. The creep has been caught on closed circuit TV not once, but twice. Here’s the rogue butt sniffer in action. Yuck.

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A source close to Artie Lange’s management team has revealed that the Howard Stern funnyman was admitted to New Jersey hospitall last Saturday after he tried to take his own life.

Lange reportedly stabbed himself multiple times in his Hoboken apartment over the weekend and was bleeding profusely by the time he was found by his grief-stricken mother on Saturday afternoon. Lange has a history of drug addiction and was collared on DUI charges in the Garden State last summer.

The comic has been absent from his post as Stern’s sidekick since early December. Artie also cancelled a number of stand-up gigs in the weeks leading up to the alleged suicide attempt. Despite his mysterious disappearance from the public eye, on Monday, shock jock Stern praised Lange’s strength and ensured viewers that the star has not be fired from the Sirius XM show.

“We all have our demons,” Stern said on-air this week. “Artie has given this show tremendous moments of great comedy. He’s a tremendous contributor. He is a good man. Don’t forget how great he is.”

It’s no secret that Google is a big proponent of open source technology and the open web (to a degree), and it’s no secret that Chris Messina is too, either. It’s thus not terribly surprising that the man is joining the Mountain View Internet giant as its new Open Web Advocate.

Messina announced the news on his blog, and referred to his move as a very happy birthday present (he’s turning 29 today).

Although involved in a slew of projects (Diso, Citizen Agency, Activity Streams, and others) and his capacities as board member of the OpenID and Open Web Foundations (which he’ll continue to be), Messina previously worked part-time for Vidoop, but was laid off around May 2009.

In the past, he’s also worked for (other) browser software makers such as Mozilla and Flock.

In his blog post, Messina says he’s been mulling over such a move for some time, and that multiple options were on the table. He writes that he feels he’s just getting started with his work, and that by joining Google he feels he can make a bigger impact.

Google lost one of its social forces and open web evangelists last year when Kevin Marks decided to go work for British Telecom instead, but last month the company recruited former Plaxo CTO Joseph Smarr to ‘turbocharge the opening up of the social web’. Messina’s other good friend, Jaiku co-founder Jyri Engeström, did the exact opposite about two months ago by leaving Google after a two year run.

People come and go, but with Messina, Google has attracted one of the people that I know is the most passionate about the future of the social web, and there’s no doubt in my mind that what he’ll be doing at Google will ultimately prove useful for the Web as a whole.

Happy birthday, Chris.

(Original image via Flickr / Lithfin)

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

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The company said the Eeco represents the growing expertise of Maruti Suzuki engineers to develop vehicles in India, which is also in line with parent Suzuki Motor Corporation’s vision of turning India into a global hub for small car design.
The Eeco comes with a flexi design offering 7 seater and five seater options.
The company also said it will be unveiling a concept electric version of the Eeco, named Eco Charge, which has been developed by the Maruti Suzuki engineers.
The car would be showcased in the Commonwealth Games.
Eeco – power and fuel efficiency

The 1200 cc engine offers 73 bhp @ 6000 rpm, and a maximum torque of 10.4 kgm @ 3000 rpm. 73 bhp should be enough when the Eeco is used as a five-seater – but as a 7-seater, we have our doubts.

Fuel efficiency is a claimed 15.6 kmpl, very good for a petrol engined MPV.

Not a bad deal. We laughed when we heard the name for the first time, but at this price, Maruti might possibly have the last laugh.

The Eeco would be available in both 5-seater and 7-seater options. The price of the AC version will cost Rs 2.89 lakhs while the 7-seater Eeco will be priced Rs 2.75 lakhs.

There will also be an electric Eeco some time in the future – the company displayed one at the Auto Expo, but no time-frame is given for the same. An Eeco CNG would also be launched in due course.

As far as looks go, we don’t think it matters much to the segment the Eeco is targeting. The bumpers are now different and better looking, headlights have changed, and the high roof has vanished. But it is unmistakeably a Versa, still.

You also get one-piece seats like in the Nano or the Hyundai i10, dual tone interiors, flat loading bay, tubeless tyres and six colours.

At this price, it is possible that Maruti Suzuki can finally start phasing out the Omni, its most basic vehicle in India.

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We’re only a few hours away from the final verdict on Saab and people close to the matter have already started commenting on the subject. The first to express his opinion is GM’s CEO Ed Whitacre who recently said that he doesn’t believe that Saab will be rescued as no potential bidder submitted an advantageous proposal.

It’s real easy, he said, according to Autonews. Just show up with the money and you can have it, and nobody’s showing up with the money. I think we’ve done everyth… (read more)

Michael Scott points us to an article at CircleID that appears to be little more than a disguised press release for a company pitching “brand protection service,” suggesting that registrars and ISPs need to crack down on illegal online pharmacies and drug trafficking or face legal consequences. While the analysis is correct that trademark violations are a loophole not protected by CDA section 230 safe harbors, that doesn’t necessarily mean that a registrar or ISP is automatically liable for hosting such a site. The whole point of section 230 is to make sure that liability is properly placed on the user, rather than the service/tool provider. That should stand even without section 230 protections. You can’t just blame a third party because they’re easier to find. The article seems to imply that if anyone complains about a trademark in a domain name, registrars and ISPs should automatically shut down that site — but that would create serious problems. The real issue here is a serious loophole in safe harbor protections when it comes to trademarks. The answer shouldn’t be a moral panic for registrars and ISPs, but to close the loophole and harmonize the various safe harbor provisions.

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The Eeco is powered by a 1200cc petrol engine, which is compliant with Bharat Stage IV emission norms.

The company said the Eeco represents the growing expertise of Maruti Suzuki engineers to develop vehicles in India which is also in line with parent Suzuki Motor Corporation’s vision of turning India into a global hub for small car design.

The Eeco comes with a flexi design offering 7-seater and 5-seater options.

The company also said it will be unveiling a concept electric version of the Eeco, named Eco Charge, which has been developed by the Maruti Suzuki engineers.
Maruti Eeco will power 1200 cc petrol engine which is available in two types. It has three row and two row seating which will have the seating capacity of five and seven passengers. Bharat IV emission norms will be passed by the new car Eeco. The car will be under C segment according to industry sources. It will have 1196ccc engine which produce 73bhp of raw power at 6000rpm and a high torque of 101Nm@3000rpm.

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Researchers in Florida have discovered that cellphone radiation isn’t just about the bad things in life – visual damage, cancer, heart disease, Zac Efron – but may even be useful against Alzheimer’s. Just ask the laboratory mice.

The Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center experimented on 96 furries, most of which had been genetically altered to develop beta-amyloid plaques in their brains, a marker of Alzheimer’s, as they aged. For one hour a day, they were exposed to the electromagnetic fields generated by a mobile phone antenna, and the results noted.

The mice with dementia were found to have equal memory and thinking skills as their dementia-free peers. In some cases, their lack of memory disappeared after exposure to the electro-magnetic waves. It took just months for the results to come out with the mice, but the researchers expect the process to take years with humans.

Which probably explains why those paragons of virtue and forces for good, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and the rest, want to tie us into three year contracts. It’s to save our lives, stupid.

[BBC News]

The Real World Season 23 Episode 2 with title D.C will be aired on January 6th, 2010 10:00 PM on MTV Music Television. We think The Real World Cancun s23e02 will be an impressive. So, you should not to be missed it at your TV channel. Or you can watch it via stream online free. Happy watching!
The Real World Season 23 Episode 2 Synopsis

The Real World Season 23 Episode 2 is about Andrew tries to seduce Callie; Ashley and Mike kiss; there may be something special between Ty and Emily. TheReal World Season 23 Episode 2 is for you to watch.
Ashley meets Mike at the airport and there is an instant attraction, as usual with young good-looking adults. Mike is a 21-year-old bisexual from Colorado and has slept with five girls and five guys. He keeps his sexuality quiet until the dinner with the roommates, but we will get to that later.

We next meet Andrew, a goof ball also from Denver wants to accomplish three things while in DC: 1) Get laid, 2) Show off his artistic abilities, and I do not think he mentioned a third. Andrew meets Emily, and again there is an instant attraction between the two, and he uses his quick wit to win her over.

Emily is a 20 year old from Columbia, MO and she was sheltered for over half her life and says she is, “making up for lost time.” Translation: I wanna party and make out in public. JK, Emily seems like a nice girl and is a tomboy that likes to stay active and sadly, I do not expect much drama from her.

Callie is a curvy blonde from a small town in Texas and her city has two things, a prison and a college. She desperately wants to leave her small town and is skilled in photography and much to Ashley’s chagrin, she is independent with her political views.

Ty walks in after a few members of the cast were already home and is quickly known as the token black kid to the castmates (kinda funny). Ty is a good-looking kid from Baltimore who just broke up with his girlfriend right before he got on the train because she did not want him living with other girls. His presence in the house is immediately felt. A few of the girls are immediately attracted to him, especially Emily, which is cute.

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The Real World Season 23 Episode 2 with title D.C will be aired on January 6th, 2010 10:00 PM on MTV Music Television. We think The Real World Cancun s23e02 will be an impressive. So, you should not to be missed it at your TV channel. Or you can watch it via stream online free. Happy watching!
The Real World Season 23 Episode 2 Synopsis

The Real World Season 23 Episode 2 is about Andrew tries to seduce Callie; Ashley and Mike kiss; there may be something special between Ty and Emily. TheReal World Season 23 Episode 2 is for you to watch.
Ashley meets Mike at the airport and there is an instant attraction, as usual with young good-looking adults. Mike is a 21-year-old bisexual from Colorado and has slept with five girls and five guys. He keeps his sexuality quiet until the dinner with the roommates, but we will get to that later.

We next meet Andrew, a goof ball also from Denver wants to accomplish three things while in DC: 1) Get laid, 2) Show off his artistic abilities, and I do not think he mentioned a third. Andrew meets Emily, and again there is an instant attraction between the two, and he uses his quick wit to win her over.

Emily is a 20 year old from Columbia, MO and she was sheltered for over half her life and says she is, “making up for lost time.” Translation: I wanna party and make out in public. JK, Emily seems like a nice girl and is a tomboy that likes to stay active and sadly, I do not expect much drama from her.

Callie is a curvy blonde from a small town in Texas and her city has two things, a prison and a college. She desperately wants to leave her small town and is skilled in photography and much to Ashley’s chagrin, she is independent with her political views.

Ty walks in after a few members of the cast were already home and is quickly known as the token black kid to the castmates (kinda funny). Ty is a good-looking kid from Baltimore who just broke up with his girlfriend right before he got on the train because she did not want him living with other girls. His presence in the house is immediately felt. A few of the girls are immediately attracted to him, especially Emily, which is cute.

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After in 2009 Japanese carmaker Toyota went through one of its worst years in the US, the 2010 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) may prove to be the perfect ground for the manufacturer to redeem itself in the eyes of the American public.

Toyota will benefit from a 23,500-square-foot exhibit at the Cobo Center and plans on using every inch of it to showcase its "acuity in hybrid vehicle technology and innovation in all areas of advanced future technology."read more)

German carmaker Audi announced yesterday their Head of Design Stefan Sielaff will address students at the College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit on January 10, before the 2010 NAIAS event kicks-off on January 11. The event is part of the Toyota Lecture Series in Design, sponsored by the Japanese carmaker.

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Aye! Oh! Great news for fans of the season’s raunchiest reality trainwreck: We hear MTV’s smash series Jersey Shore will be back for second summer in Seaside Heights. According to castmate Vinny Guadagnino, MTV has decided to renewed the series for an additional run, ensuring that Snooki, Pauly D, and the entire original cast of the ratings winnner will be back for a second season of drama.

The civil rights activists of UNICO National are going to have a cow!

The Real World Season 23 Episode 2 with title D.C will be aired on January 6th, 2010 10:00 PM on MTV Music Television. We think The Real World Cancun s23e02 will be an impressive. So, you should not to be missed it at your TV channel. Or you can watch it via stream online free. Happy watching!
The Real World Season 23 Episode 2 Synopsis

The Real World Season 23 Episode 2 is about Andrew tries to seduce Callie; Ashley and Mike kiss; there may be something special between Ty and Emily. TheReal World Season 23 Episode 2 is for you to watch.
Ashley meets Mike at the airport and there is an instant attraction, as usual with young good-looking adults. Mike is a 21-year-old bisexual from Colorado and has slept with five girls and five guys. He keeps his sexuality quiet until the dinner with the roommates, but we will get to that later.

We next meet Andrew, a goof ball also from Denver wants to accomplish three things while in DC: 1) Get laid, 2) Show off his artistic abilities, and I do not think he mentioned a third. Andrew meets Emily, and again there is an instant attraction between the two, and he uses his quick wit to win her over.

Emily is a 20 year old from Columbia, MO and she was sheltered for over half her life and says she is, “making up for lost time.” Translation: I wanna party and make out in public. JK, Emily seems like a nice girl and is a tomboy that likes to stay active and sadly, I do not expect much drama from her.

Callie is a curvy blonde from a small town in Texas and her city has two things, a prison and a college. She desperately wants to leave her small town and is skilled in photography and much to Ashley’s chagrin, she is independent with her political views.

Ty walks in after a few members of the cast were already home and is quickly known as the token black kid to the castmates (kinda funny). Ty is a good-looking kid from Baltimore who just broke up with his girlfriend right before he got on the train because she did not want him living with other girls. His presence in the house is immediately felt. A few of the girls are immediately attracted to him, especially Emily, which is cute.

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Project Natal was first previewed at the E3 show last year. It’s a gaming control system that lets players use full-body gestures, like a kick or a punch, to interact with the action on screen. It employs a 3D camera to track body movements and then translates them into actions on the screen. Bach called it “the culmination of years of research.”
He talked about Xbox, Xbox Live, and Project Natal, and said that the company has now sold 39 million Xbox 360’s; and more than 500 million Xbox games have been sold for a total of over #20 billion in revenue.
He said the company made a lot of progress in search with Bing, which he said now has 11 million new users, with new features such as maps and PhotoSynth. He announced that Bing will become the default search engine and MSN the new default home page on HP PCs.

He said Ford will be announcing its support for the next version of Sync, and that Fiat has sold 1 million cars with the Eco:drive software. And he said Microsoft and Kia are doing Uvo, a car platform that will be launched later in the year. He said the Zune is getting great reviews

In Mobile, he said there are new and exciting Windows phones coming to market every month, but said the company would have more to talk about Windows Mobile next month at the Mobile World Congress show.

And of course, he talked about how Windows 7 has been very well accepted. He said Windows 7 was the work of 3,000 Microsoft engineers, 50,000 partners, and 8 million beta tests. He said Windows PC sales were up more than 50 percent year over year; and that Windows 7 was the fastest selling OS in history. He said there are more than 1400 Windows 7 models out, and more than 4 million Windows applications, including 800,000 specifically written for Windows 7.

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