Golden Shellback is a coating that lets you spill, pour, or submerge your gadget in a liquid and have it survive. Golden Shellback says it will protect against oils, water-based liquids, synthetic fluids, dust and dirt. Tekzilla\'s Patrick Norton shot a segment on Golden Shellback and has footage of cellphones and CB radios functioning normally under a foot of water (Golden Shellback claimed the CB sat underwater for 455 consecutive hours).
Apparently, the coating is applied in a vacuum and covers both the inner and outer components of a gadget, which doesn\'t conduct electricity. Golden Shellback hopes the protective coating will be available soon, and expect the service to cost between $50-$75 depending on the size of the gadget. But seeing is believing, so you should watch the video, which is borderline mindblowing. [Golden Shellback via Tekzilla via gCaptain]
Qik\'s video streaming service is now open to the public as a beta version to anyone with a 3G or wi-fi connection on their compatible Symbian or Windows Mobile Phone. Qik also told Venture Beat that they are still at work on an iPhone client, though they didn\'t address the possibility it would be rejected.
Qik video is streamed to a personalized Qik page, and can be pushed to other places, such as Facebook apps. Latency is as short as .5 seconds or as long a 3 seconds, and the service can now stream privately to select groups. Qik says they\'re intent is not to be a destination page, but be a conduit for content to appear places like personal blogs and Facebook. [Venture Beat via Electronista]
Michael Arrington wants a $200 touchscreen internet tablet. So do a lot of people. Unlike a lot of people, Arrington is loaded and runs TechCrunch. So he\'s taking it into his own hands and putting out a call for people to help him design a cheapo open source touchscreen tablet that would launch right into Firefox. Nothing fancy, just something to let you surf the web while you\'re sitting on the can.
Here\'s the basic idea:
Here’s the basic idea: The machine is as thin as possible, runs low end hardware and has a single button for powering it on and off, headphone jacks, a built in camera for video, low end speakers, and a microphone. It will have Wifi, maybe one USB port, a built in battery, half a Gigabyte of RAM, a 4-Gigabyte solid state hard drive. Data input is primarily through an iPhone-like touch screen keyboard. It runs on linux and Firefox. It would be great to have it be built entirely on open source hardware, but including Skype for VOIP and video calls may be a nice touch, too.
He\'s looking for people to help spec out the hardware and write the custom Firefox and Linux code for it. If you help, you\'ll be handsomely rewarded with a first-run edition of the to-be-named device if and when it ever becomes a reality.
Will it actually happen? I\'m not sure, but it sounds pretty good to me. We\'ll see. [CrunchGear]
Curious as to just how the Netflix functionality is going to work on the Xbox 360 when it\'s added this fall? Major Nelson just posted a video of him going through it, showing off just how it\'s going to work. Essentially, it looks exactly like the interface on the Roku Netflix box.
You can\'t search through the entire Netflix database, instead needing to add movies you want to watch to your instant queue. It\'s a bit annoying, but as you can add as many movies you want to the queue, not that big a deal. If you own an Xbox 360 and bought a Roku box, however, get that thing to eBay ASAP, as you won\'t be using it anymore come this fall. [Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Los Angeles mail order catalog Pack Central may have found the last untapped pocket of consumers willing to pay retail for their music on physical formats—the cellblocks of California\'s prisons. And not just any format—turns out, music on cassette is the only way to get tunes that isn\'t screened out as a potential deadly weapon. Wait, they still sell new music on cassettes?
Apparently so. Weezy\'s "Tha Carter III," Usher\'s "Here I Stand" and Mariah Carey\'s "E=MC2" are all among Pack Central\'s current best selling tapes. If you\'re man enough to rock the new Mariah Carey on cassette in a California prison, my hat\'s off to you—I only feel comfortable singling you out from the safe confines of the internet.
Anyway, CDs are apparently too easy to splinter into a shiv (for disciplining the dude who laughed at your Mariah tapes), and the company even has to remove the metal screws from their tapes before shipping them out to get by the screeners (you guys make a good point below, though—I guess the cassette shivs are not as worrisome). The guy who keeps all those 20-year-old Walkmen in operating condition must be swimming in bartered cigarettes. [NYTimes, image tapedeck.org]
After opening up more spots in the technical beta last week, the Live Mesh folks got a bit ahead of themselves and accidentally let leak a pre-release version of the Live Mesh Mac client, which brings file and data syncing, but no remote desktop control yet, to Intel OS X machines. The download link is gone now, but the folks at jkontherun were able to grab it and put it through its paces and grab some screens. [jkontherun via Liveside]
When astronauts finally get back to the moon sometime between now and 2020, they will have an advantage that their predecessors did not—GPS. Well, it\'s not technically GPS given the fact that there are no satellites orbiting the moon, but the astronauts may not know the difference. The new system being developed by Ohio State researcher Ron Li will "rely on signals from a set of sensors including lunar beacons, stereo cameras, and orbital imaging sensors" to simulate GPS.
Li explained how the system will work: images taken from orbit will combine with images from the surface to create maps of lunar terrain; motion sensors on lunar vehicles and on the astronauts themselves will allow computers to calculate their locations; signals from lunar beacons, the lunar lander, and base stations will give astronauts a picture of their surroundings similar to what drivers see when using a GPS device on Earth. The researchers have named the entire system the Lunar Astronaut Spatial Orientation and Information System (LASOIS)
NASA has awarded Li a $1.2 million grant to develop the LASOIS system over the next three years. He hopes that it will help the astronauts explore the lunar surface with a greater degree of confidence and avoid the stress that comes with getting lost. After all, losing your bearings on the moon is a far cry from taking the wrong exit on the highway. [Physorg]
Last quarter was the best June quarter in Apple\'s history in both earnings and profits, but the real news is that Steve actually promised new products later this year: “We set a new record for Mac sales, we think we have a real winner with our new iPhone 3G, and we’re busy finishing several more wonderful new products to launch in the coming months.” Apple never comments on future products in any way, shape or form. Ever ever. Whether he\'s alleviating investor worries or just feeling especially open, it\'s a rare, if not totally unheard of Apple move. Check out how much money Apple\'s bean counters are dealing with and speculate what new toys are on the way below.
Apple Reports Record Third Quarter Results
Revenue Up 38 Percent Year-Over-Year
Mac Sales Reach All-Time High
CUPERTINO, California—July 21, 2008—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2008 third quarter ended June 28, 2008. The Company posted revenue of $7.46 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.19 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $5.41 billion and net quarterly profit of $818 million, or $.92 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 34.8 percent, down from 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 42 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
Apple shipped 2,496,000 Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing 41 percent unit growth and 43 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 11,011,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 12 percent unit growth and seven percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone™ units sold were 717,000 compared to 270,000 in the year-ago-quarter.
“We’re proud to report the best June quarter for both revenue and earnings in Apple’s history,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We set a new record for Mac sales, we think we have a real winner with our new iPhone 3G, and we’re busy finishing several more wonderful new products to launch in the coming months.”
“We’re extremely pleased with the growth of our business and the generation of almost $5.4 billion in cash in the first three quarters of fiscal 2008,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, we expect revenue of about $7.8 billion and earnings per diluted share of about $1.00.”
Apple will provide live streaming of its Q3 2008 financial results conference call utilizing QuickTime®, Apple’s standards-based technology for live and on-demand audio and video streaming. The live webcast will begin at 2:00 p.m. PDT on Monday, July 21, 2008 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsQ308/ and will also be available for replay.
This press release contains forward-looking statements including without limitation those about the Company’s estimated revenue and earnings per share. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation potential litigation from the matters investigated by the special committee of the board of directors and the restatement of the Company’s consolidated financial statements; unfavorable results of other legal proceedings; the effect of competitive and economic factors, and the Company’s reaction to those factors, on consumer and business buying decisions with respect to the Company’s products; war, terrorism, public health issues, and other circumstances that could disrupt supply, delivery, or demand of products; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the Company’s reliance on sole service providers for iPhone in certain countries; the continued availability on acceptable terms of certain components and services essential to the Company’s business currently obtained by the Company from sole or limited sources; the ability of the Company to deliver to the marketplace and stimulate customer demand for new programs, products, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the effect that product transitions, changes in product pricing or mix, and/or increases in component costs could have on the Company’s gross margin; the effect that product quality problems could have on the Company’s sales and operating profits; the inventory risk associated with the Company’s need to order or commit to order product components in advance of customer orders; the effect that the Company’s dependency on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third parties may have on the quality, quantity or cost of products manufactured or services rendered; the Company’s dependency on the performance of distributors and other resellers of the Company’s products; the Company’s reliance on the availability of third-party digital content; and the potential impact of a finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company’s financial results is included from time to time in the Company’s public reports filed with the SEC, including the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 29, 2007; its Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended December 29, 2007 and March 29, 2008; and its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 28, 2008, to be filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
If researchers are successful, Kevlar-based armor will soon be able to protect the wearer from more dangers than bullets and fire. Yuyu Sun and Jie Luo of the University of South Dakota have discovered a way to coat Kevlar with a substance called acyclic N-Halamine. After testing it against "E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida tropicalis (a fungus), MS2 virus, and Bacillus subtilis spores (to mimic anthrax)," they discovered that the coating prevented these microorganisms from sticking to the Kevlar fabric.
The idea of making fabrics germ-resistant is nothing new, but it is obvious that applying this technology to Kevlar products has more practical applications than simply servicing the world\'s hypochondriacs. Further tests are needed, but so far Kevlar and acyclic N-Halamine seem to be getting along quite nicely. [LiveScience]
While Apple doesn\'t allow tethering with the iPhone 3G, if it\'s jailbroken, they can\'t tell you what to do, can they? After it\'s jailbroken, getting your tether on is surprisingly easy. All you need is a pair of programs, 3proxy and MobileTerminal. Create an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network with your notebook, join it with your iPhone, perform a bit of beginner\'s voodoo with MobileTerminal and your browser, and voila, you\'re cruising on AT&T\'s 3G network on your laptop via your iPhone. It really is easy, but be careful, if AT&T notices your data usage is wonky, they will probably rape you with massive fees. Good luck, and Godspeed. [Cre.ations.net]
Mark Bent, owner of SunNight Solar, is giving away 500 of his company\'s solar flashlights (no Polish jokes, please). This isn\'t a simple first-come first-served deal, however; you need to justify why you deserve one. People who work in emergency services or the media (ahem) get first dibs (as do Al Gore and Angelina Jolie for some reason), but I bet if you\'re creative you can talk your way into a free flashlight as well. Tell \'em Giz sent ya. Shoot them an email at info@sunnightsolar.com with your reasoning and they\'ll let you know whether or not you made the cut. Tip: don\'t just say you like free stuff, ya jackass. [SunLight Solar via Book of Joe]
The iPhone 2.0 software might be shakier than a true believer\'s legs in the presence of Steve himself, but there\'s at least one benefit (besides the app goodness): Mobile Safari 2.0 is much zoomier. John Gruber ran the benchmarks, comparing them against historical ones, and found that it runs at least 1.7 times faster than before, if not faster (depending on the test). Check out all the numbers over there, if you care about the details, and not just the zip zip away. [Daring Fireball via Ars]
Remember the fancy cellphone in The Dark Knight? It was that touchscreen Nokia that Morgan Freeman was carrying around all like, "Look at me, I\'m so cool, I\'m Batman\'s boss as well as the narrator behind many popular films." Some people (OK, CrunchGear) think that it might be the Nokia Tube (we were too busy making "pew pew" noises in the seats to notice). Nokia, however, is denying it.
In the summer blockbuster, The Dark Knight, a Nokia device is prominently featured. We worked closely with the producers of The Dark Knight to develop an appropriate device that would suit the technology-savvy character of Batman. The Nokia device used in the film is not a commercial product—at this point.
So paraphrased, that reads "Yeah, we made the world\'s most awesome phone for the world\'s most awesome movie, wouldn\'t you be lucky to buy it?" So even if it\'s not the Tube, the phone certainly has that "might go on sale" ring to it. [CrunchGear]
Vaka\'s concept for lightbulbs revolves around silicon orbs that you squeeze to turn the light on/off, or twist to make the light dimmer or brighter. But the bulbs are also chargeable, meaning you can remove them from the fixture and take them wherever light is needed...like those village raids against the local vampire. [Yanko]
For some people, just the sound of a dental drill is enough to cause panic—but the good news is that this barbaric procedure may be a thing of the past. UK researchers have developed a technology that is based on Raman spectroscopy (a method that is currently used to identify chemicals) to spot tooth decay before it begins. A new study has determined that harmful bacteria can be detected by analyzing how light is scattered when a laser is fired at the tooth.
This method would make it possible to detect damage much faster than X-rays, nipping the problem in the bud before drilling is necessary. The testing is ongoing, but the researchers hope that the lasers could be available commercially within the next five years. Of course, you would have to actually go to the dentist on a regular basis to benefit from the procedure, so my guess is that drilling won\'t disappear anytime soon. [eurekalert via ZDNet]
Toshiba and Matsushita\'s joint display group is about to become the first Japanese firm to jump into the OLED production game, and in a big way—their announced factory will begin producing as many as one million 2.5-inch OLED panels per month when it comes online in the fall of next year. What could they be up to? OLED iPods perhaps?
It\'s pretty far down the road for any serious speculation, but rumors of an OLED-equipped iPod which would use less power by eliminating the backlight and offer better color reproduction have been flying for a while. And the 2.5-inch size matches what\'s currently found on the iPod classic, as well as the Zune 80 (Zune 80 uses a 3.2 inch screen, thanks Marx). Autumn 2009 is a long way off, and these could just end up in one of many OLED-equipped phones or PMPs already out there, so don\'t hold your breath on this one. [Bloomberg via Electronista]
We love our jobs here at Taranfx. But every once in a while even we find something more interesting than the latest breakthroughs in USB-powered humping animals. Impossible, you say? Not when it comes to a gigantic homemade Slip \'N Slide. It\'s tough to scale the slides\' exact size, but it looks to drop a solid two stories before depositing its riders in the lake. And boy oh boy does this video make us jealous.
But...is it bad that we were waiting/hoping for someone to get hurt? Not like, never walk again hurt—just a solid Jackassian moment with some good old fashioned grass burns. [geekologie]
CamTim is a hack that\'ll let you use any digital camera with a remote control for time-lapse photography. It\'s not super-easy, but it won\'t make you cry (probably). It\'s basically a board you program to buzz the camera\'s remote button at whatever interval you want. Using a ZigBee module, you can also set it up to run wirelessly, which is pretty handy for long-term spying... on birds. [ZigGrid via MAKE]
Modders these days seem to be fascinated with putting the old school NES where it doesn\'t belong—like controllers and cartridges. At least those mods made sense in some way—I mean this version isn\'t even the official NES light gun. It\'s a Super Joy knockoff. Still, kudos to the modder for stuffing your big NES into a tiny cavity. We are all soooo impressed. [Ben Heck Forums via Technabob via DVICE]
If you are one of the very few people on this planet who are simultaneously shopping for a $3000 gaming laptop and an Xbox 360—today is your lucky day. Dell is throwing an Elite bundle into their top-of-the-line XPS M1730 system until July 24th. While it is not completely free, it is definitely going to save you some money vs. buying the two items separately. So, even if you are a die-hard PC gamer, you could probably turn the Elite bundle for a profit. [Dell]
Everyone saw Wall-E, right? And how the luxury cruisers of the future glide around in floating touch-screen-equipped easy chairs? Then the Zero-Gee gaming/blogging "workstation" should look mighty familiar. Its ergonomic, reclining frame is designed to ensure your ass is free from the forces of gravity as you type, type, type yourself into oblivion. There\'s even a caddy for your liquified cupcakes-in-a-cup, and you\'re also positioned nicely for a root canal or any other minor surgeries here as well, which you\'ll need soon enough. [Product Page via Born Rich]
This is a video of a dinosaur on the loose in the LA Museum of Natural History. No computer effects used here, folks: it\'s all real. Well, I mean, it\'s not a real dinosaur of course or those kids would be totally devoured, but you know what I mean. If you look closely at the dinosaur you can see what\'s going on here. One thing\'s for certain: I want one, and I want one bad. No trick or treaters will have anything on me this year, mark my words. [Random Good Stuff]
There\'s no dock in the iPhone 3G\'s box. And the iPhone 3G doesn\'t fit in the original iPhone\'s dock. You could pay $29 for a new one. Or you could just make the damn thing fit in the dock you already have. All you need is steady hands, a Dremel and a buffing cloth. Carve, buff, voila. Here are the happy, frugal results:
Of course, your original iPhone might not fit so harmoniously after this mod. [Hard Mac via Engadget]
This would be great: Intel reps paid a visit to the FCC to lobby for making ethernet ports a requirement in new set-top boxes, meaning every set-top box would be IP capable. So connectivity like the cable industry\'s tru2way dealio and home networking would go from bustable industry pact to government mandate. Odds of this happening? Well, there is a precedent like this, and FCC Chairmain Kevin Martin does enjoy stabbing the cable industry in the balls with burning pokers of openness, but nothing\'s certain. [Ars]
It\'s all still rumor for the time being, but word has it that the Samsung BlackJack III (formerly the Samsung i788) will be arriving this October. While slightly thicker than the BlackJack II, it will also run Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro and feature a 320x320 touchscreen, 528MHz processor, 3MP camera, A-GPS, Wi-Fi and HSDPA (AT&T\'s 3G tech). Sounds good, though we\'re not so sure about this new trend of ever so slightly thicker smartphones. [WMExperts via BGR and PhoneArena]
Buying a PC can come along with some unwanted preinstalls. And now with Microsoft mandating that third party hardware manufacturers bundle Vista (not XP), that unwanted preinstall can include an entire OS. Given that a portion of any commercial PC\'s purchase price includes funds allotted to software, XP users may find themselves forced into buying Vista even though they won\'t be using it.
That is, unless they do like one user and use a simple exploit. Just don\'t accept the software\'s end-user license agreement (EULA).
Most of us click that "I agree" box without ever thinking twice. But what if you don\'t agree with those terms and conditions? It gives you perfect fodder for going back to the computer manufacturer and demanding a refund on the software. After all, the EULA itself says to "contact the manufacturer or installer to determine their return policy for a refund or credit" if you don\'t agree with its policy.
One guy used this technique to score a fat $200 check from HP before installing Linux onto his system. For those of you interested in pursuing a refund on your next computer, hit the link for his whole detailed story to duplicate the system. [equiliberate via The Inquirer]
With the dinosaur Space Shuttle set to retire in 2010, and Orion due to be finished (optimistically) by 2015, NASA may purchase the $131 million unmanned HTV cargo vehicle from JAXA, Japan\'s space agency, to guarantee fresh shipments of space-Doritos flowing up to the brave souls on the International Space Sation. While they had initially planned to fill this gap by relying on commercial space cargo flights by companies like SpaceX, Reuters is reporting that delays in the private-sector space companies have caused NASA to look elsewhere to avoid being crippled by the Shuttle\'s retirement. UPDATE: NASA issued a statement this afternoon saying the Reuters\' report was full of baloney. They\'re still dedicated to finding commercial haulers—full release below.
Statement on Inaccurate Reports About Japanese Cargo Services
WASHINGTON — Contrary to news reports, NASA has not officially or unofficially been discussing the purchase of H-II Transfer Vehicles (HTV) — uninhabited resupply cargo ships for the space station — from the Japanese Space Agency, or JAXA.
NASA is committed to domestic commercial cargo resupply to the space station and does not plan to procure cargo delivery services from Japan. As part of our original agreements as compensation for common system operating costs NASA has limited cargo capability on the Japanese and European cargo vehicles. NASA has recently issued a request for proposal for the cargo needs of International Space Station beyond those supplied by our current international agreements. NASA has chosen to depend on commercial resupply of cargo delivery to the station.
As part of a unique promotional campaign, Right Guard has deployed "Pitvertisers"—a crew of people on the street armed with LCD televisions sewn into the deepest pits of their shirts. So the next you\'re on the train and wonder who is emanating that awful advertisement, you\'ll see that, oh, it\'s that douchebag playing commercials with his armpits. This is the world we live in. I\'m sorry if it\'s a disappointment. [Ananova via Ubergizmo]
The oceans already absorb megatons of atmospheric carbon, but scientists say that there\'s a way to boost this so that CO2 levels could drop to pre-industrial age levels. The answer sounds like a cocktail recipe: add lime. Limed seawater has boosted alkalinity, which lets it absorb more CO2 and stops it from releasing it back so readily. The idea\'s been around for a while, but the new proposition is that lime production should occur in areas rich in energy resources and limestone, but where commercial power generation is overly expensive. One suggested location is Nullarbor Plain in Australia which has limestone and abundant sunlight for solar power. Sounds like a whacky but not-infeasible scheme, though I suspect there\'re quite a few "polluting the oceans" concerns to get around before it could be tried out. [Physorg]
Microsoft just made available the Power Pack 1 update for Windows Home Server, which fixes the data corruption issues users have been reporting since Home Server went live. In addition, it adds 64-bit Vista support, shared folder backup features, and improved remote accessibility. You can download it here. [Windows Home Server Blog via All About Microsoft]
