Maybe sleep deprivation finally got to me or maybe these are really the cutest Android pillows I’ve ever seen. I just wanna grab a pair and snuggle up for a quick nap.
The pillows measure twelve by twelve inches, are handcrafted, and can be purchased for twenty bucks a piece. [Etsy via Technabob]
Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM PST Cisco Systems will be making an announcement which will “forever change the Internet.” This means we’ve got a nearly all night to speculate, make bets, and daydream of life changing technologies. [ZDNet]
What, you’ve got a broken, old computer, but what you really want is a shiny, new hookah? Well, with a little bit of effort you can turn that old gadget into some peculiar-looking smoking paraphernalia. [Instructables via Nerd Approved]
There have been allegations that someone’s been supplying online retailer Newegg with fake Intel Core i7 processors and then proceeding to threaten anyone who reports on the issue. Here’s what Newegg has to say:
Newegg is currently conducting a thorough investigation surrounding recent shipments of questionable Intel Core i7-920 CPUs purchased from Newegg.com.
Initial information we received from our supplier, IPEX, stated that they had mistakenly shipped us “demo units.” We have since come to discover the CPUs were counterfeit and are terminating our relationship with this supplier. Contrary to any speculation, D&H Distributing is not the vendor that supplied us with the Intel Core i7-920 CPUs in question.
Newegg’s top priority is to proactively reach out to all customers who may have been affected to ensure their absolute satisfaction. We have already sent out a number of replacement units and are doing everything in our power to resolve the matter promptly and with the least amount of inconvenience to our customers.
We have always taken pride in providing an exceptional experience for each customer, and we apologize for any inconvenience to our valued customers. We take matters like this extremely seriously, and are working in close cooperation with Intel and the appropriate law enforcement authorities to thoroughly investigate this incident.
Kudos to Newegg for handling the entire matter so well and apparently taking good care of the customers affected.
We’ve remarked in the past that TiVo is slowly dying and the latest numbers from the company aren’t making us any more optimistic:
For the quarter ended Jan. 31, TiVo posted a loss of $10.2 million, or 9 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $3.6 million, or 4 cents a share.
Youch. Doesn’t help that the company is struggling more and more to even find any new subscribers. [WSJ]
Recently we saw the first iPad ad, but in it we didn’t see some of the default apps found on the iPhone. Why aren’t the Stocks, Calculator, Clock, Weather and Voice Memos apps on the iPad? Here’s a possible explanation.
According to Daring Fireball, it boils down to design and Steve Jobs’ perfectionism:
Ends up that just blowing up iPhone apps to fill the iPad screen looks and feels weird, even if you use higher-resolution graphics so that nothing looks pixelated. So they were scrapped by you-know-who. Perhaps they’ll appear on the iPad in some re-imagined form this summer with OS 4.0, but when the iPad ships next month, there won’t be versions of these apps. At least that’s the story I’ve heard from a few well-informed little birdies.
Part of me hopes those little birdies are wrong. I’m far too attached to the Clock and Calculator apps and would dread having to find alternatives in the App Store. [Daring Fireball]
Some think of “The New Dork” as the “ultimate geek/dork/tech-junkie’s anthem.” I think of it as one of the more amusing parodies of Jay-Z & Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind” and love the geeky shout outs crammed into it.
Not only does it have references to TechCrunch, Mashable, Valleywag, Geekologie—and yes, Gizmodo—but this video also appears to have scenes that were filmed in the Wired building. Yeah, that’s pretty dorky.
If you want to sing or rap along, here are the lyrics:
Now I’m in the blogosphere,
Now I’m in the twitterverse
Fans get so immersed, But I’m a nerd forever
I’m the new Zuckerberg, And since my website
I been cookin dough like a chef servin killa-bytes
Used to be the basement, Back at my mom’s place
Buildin web traffic so that we could sell an ad space
Make way for the, One man businesses
Bail outs finished with, White collar criminals
New sega genesis, Entrepreneur time
Makin big plans, To dominate the online
Yeah, I’m on YouTube, this is one man
Sharin’ google revenue, With songs on my webcam
Science is the new art, Databases day to day
Geeks spreadin’ sheet smarts, Hustle, make the data pay
I could be in Valleywag plus Geekologie
Tell from my avatar, That I’m most definitelyThe New Dork,
Social networks – what dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do
Now you’re the New Dork
This V.C. money is brand new, The geek is now damn cool
Let’s hear it for new dorks, new dorks, new dorksCatch me up in Techcrunch, Right on the homepage
Hell, I’m on Gizmodo, In a photo bout a phone craze
And Im up in Mashable, weekend trip to New York
Bar pitty, 1oak, parties full of New Dorks
Now I’m pitchin business plans, From the backs of napkans
Micro-lend to Africans, Monetize Kazakastan
Catch me up on linked-in, Dog, C.E.O.
You can see where I be, With the I.P.O.
Now I’m up in skinny jeans, Now a hipster’s lurkin’
Used to be a reject, But now I’m steady jerkin’
Now my glasses mainstream, Now the girlies eyein me
Popular kids copy me, The new swag is irony
Comin’ from the small time, Girls couldn’t find me
Now I scale models, Like I climb on top of Heidi
Start big trends, with tweets that I pass on
You should follow me, cuz I’m friends with AshtonCHORUS
Oh, and if you like this video, then you might want to keep in mind that the folks behind it are who brought us the somewhat awkward “I’m on a Mac” parody and the somewhat awesome Mac or PC rap. Have a listen.
The newest release of the Android Native Development Kit offers developers OpenGL ES 2.0 support. This means that they’ll have an easier time incorporating 3D elements in games and apps for Android 2.0 or higher. [Android Developers Blog via Engadget]
Google meddles in just about everything on your phone and computer—think Google Voice, searches, Chrome, and all that jazz. Now the search engine company might hop over to your TV with a programming search service it’s been testing.
According to the WSJ, Google’s been testing their “television programming search service” for about a year. The project is a partnership with Dish Networks and the testing of it “could be discontinued at any time.” This doesn’t sound too optimistic, but a discontinuation of testing could mean many things. In the meantime, information about the project itself is also pretty scarce:
Viewers can search by typing on a keyboard, instead of using a remote control. Google hopes to link the service up with its nascent TV ad-brokering business, allowing it to target ads to individual households based on viewing and TV search data.
Google and Dish Network spokespeople did not comment on the matter so it’s hard to tell what is going on and whether Google is going to pursue this particular search service further. I hope they do though, ’cause I want an “I’m feeling lucky” button for TV programming. [WSJ]
If I ever have a daughter, I’m letting her wear any costume she wants. But—in the name of all that is sweet, sugary, and adorable—I hope she wants a Voltron one like this. Update: Now with how-it-was-made pictures!
I wonder what this little girl is thinking in that picture—aside from “Thanks, dad!” [Albotas via Kotaku]
Update: Thanks to Twitter user Nelson, we’ve found pictures of how this costume was put together by “Grim Hammer,” this cutie’s dad:
More photos and comments on how the costume was made can be found here.
How can Microsoft keep Windows relevant? Technologizer decided to approach journalists, bloggers, and industry insiders to discuss just what they think needs to happen in future versions of the operating system.
Hit up the link to see what Kara Swisher of All Things D, Microsoft Employee #77, tech columnist Ed Baig, our own Matt Buchanan, and others had to say. [Technologizer]
Apparently AT&T is struggling a bit with the whole idea of Android, a somewhat open mobile OS. Instead of embracing it and giving users a full experience, they’ve decided to cripple it and not allow the installation of non-market apps.
From the sounds of it, the Android OS allows for the installation of apps “purchased on alternative markets and beta apps like Swype” by default. It’s a bit of a mystery why AT&T would choose to take this option away from users, but it certainly makes AT&T’s first Android-based phone even more of a letdown. [XDA Developers via Android and Me via Engadget]
This man is tightening a mold in a Samsung factory in Kaluga, Russia. Inside that mold is a portion of what will soon be a television. Let’s take a tour of the rest of the factory.
Samsung opened this particular factory in 2008 and its been putting out products ever since. Aside from quality inspections, it appears that from the moment components arrive in gigantic sacks from Korea nearly everything is automated in this factory—from hot plastic being piped into molds to microcircuits being produced to the little logos being stamped onto panels. Humans mostly oversee the production and yes, occasionally tighten molds. Guess we’re still needed for something. [English Russia]
While he was talking about cloud computing yesterday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made a casual remark about the future of the Xbox. Apparently there might be new form factors, options, and price points coming:
In the case of the TV we’ve got both strategies. We actually have a TV implementation in some senses built into Windows,” Ballmer said. “It works really well for small screen TVs that you might call a PC, but for that big screen device here’s a piece of hardware that we build, there’s no diversity. You get exactly the Xboxes that we build for you. We may have more form factors in the future that are designed for various price points and options, but we think it’s going to [be] important.
This doesn’t give us a timeline or even any actual details, but at least it fuels speculation about all the things we desire and may get at some point. [GearLog via CrunchGear]
The Maldives, a small nation consisting of 1,200 islands is gradually disappearing as sea levels rise. In an attempt to save the place, their government has signed off on the development of several “floating facilities” like this one.
Dutch Docklands/Dutch Watervalley, makers of many floating homes, are the starry-eyed folks working with the Maldives government on this project and they intend on creating tiered—and yes, star-shaped—mini-cities which won’t be bothered by rising sea levels.
There doesn’t appear to be a timeline for the project yet, but I’m assuming they’ll get around to completing it before the entire nation disappears. [Inhabitat]
The funeral for Internet Explorer 6, one of the older members of the Microsoft family, was a pleasant affair with only a few protestors. Unfortunately representatives of the family were unable to attend and sent flowers and a note instead:
Thanks for the good times, IE6. See you all @ MIX, where we’ll show a little piece of IE heaven.
-The Internet Explorer Team @ Microsoft
IE6’s funeral arrangements—right down to the photographer— were made by design company Aten Design Group. They actually made it into a rather decent looking event:
Rest in peace, IE6. Even if we were enemies half the time. [Flickr via TechCrunch]
There are lamps that excite me and there are lamps that I couldn’t care less about. Then there’s this chandelier designed by Robert Kaindl, glass artisan extraordinary, which looks like it would stab me if given the opportunity.
For once, I’m scared to turn on the lights. [Design Milk]
Rockets made of bacon, a song about bacon, broken windows, and beeping smoke detectors. I could not think of a more wonderful experiment. Here’s how it was done.
Please don’t try this at home. I refuse to be responsible for any damage. [Thanks, Jess!]
It’s time for movie night and you have several cellphones but no decent-sized TV or monitor. No worries! With Motorola’s “Reconfigurable Multiple-Screen Display” technology you’ll be able to turn that pile of tiny phone screens into one big display.
Motorola’s patent filing describes this technology as something that allows the displays of several phones to be “configured to act like one to run applications” or stream videos while “maintaining the same aspect ratio.” Basically, you stick them next to each other and pretend that there are no bezels in the middle of someone’s face.
Anyway, any guesses on how many cellphones I need to construct my own movie theater? [USPTO via Go Rumors via Engadget]
