Recent Comments:
Spring Design sues Barnes & Noble over the Nook {Engadget}
Nov 3rd 2009 12:49AM Is the nook's circuit board printable plastic? If so, wasn't it created by Plastic Logic two years ago?
The nook, the Alex, the Kindle and the Sony eBook series all look decent in various ways, but PL's QUE will be sold alongside the nook. Unless B&N severely compromised its functionality, the QUE looks to destroy every other reader on the market. Word docs, rtfs, Excel spreadsheets as well as the usual Acrobat files and eBooks, unrestricted wifi, ludicrous battery life -- all of it obliterates the restricted/crippled eReaders we've been getting.
The only question: why buy an exclusive eReader rather than a tablet-sized media player that reads eBook files? Don't let B&N and Amazon force you to buy their readers -- force them to make their stores available on every capable unrestricted device.
Apple pitching $30 a month TV service for iTunes to the networks? {Engadget}
Nov 2nd 2009 10:41PM Chris Dunning: Apple's *music* has been DRM-free for some time. Not so their movie rental service (which is how they and Sony differentiate between renting and buying).
Are DVRs actually going to save the network TV model? {Engadget}
Nov 2nd 2009 10:30PM Haven't you heard of contractions?
Verizon's Chocolate Touch is a dead ringer for the LG SB210 {Engadget}
Nov 2nd 2009 10:16PM "Chocolate Touch"? It's difficult for me to get excited about a phone named after a finger that's been where no man has gone before . . . her first year in college.
Uncharted 2's cinematic properties parodied in PS3 commercial {Joystiq}
Oct 4th 2009 4:33PM @MarkHawk: The reason they used the girlfriend was to hyp-no-taz Uncharted's primarily male audience with her pulchritude while ironically suggesting the game would somehow attract women.
Not a very PC approach, but one that will probably be effective considering the target. Just look at the comments here.
PSP Go scores its first mod job, a handful of white LEDs find a new purpose in life {Engadget}
Oct 4th 2009 3:55PM Actually, roro3030's mod is important because it constitutes a new step, not because the lights themselves matter. People in that community have been pessimistic about their ability to mod the Go because its design is far less welcoming than that of previous PSPs. If someone took the first step and added LEDs, that's a positive sign.
Distracting lights you'd prefer to hide in a darkened room while gaming or watching a movie? Of course. Other mods tend to come after LEDs: Dual analog nubs, dual SD slots, 32GB internal memory and better speakers, for example -- all of which have been done to the phat and/or slim already (and offered to the public, sometimes for the cost of the parts).
And get it right: Mods pertain to hardware. Hacks pertain to firmware, software, security systems and access to someone else's computer, database or server. The hack story's a little promising (unless you talk to Dark Alex), but it doesn't have much to do this.
BTW: It wouldn't hurt to be nice, or even to show some appreciation, for what PSP modders do. They don't comprise some massive company that experiments with new products on your dollar. They're a community of individuals, most of whom take significant financial hits trying out ideas that just might end up becoming useful to you.
PSP Go scores its first mod job, a handful of white LEDs find a new purpose in life {Engadget}
Oct 4th 2009 3:43PM Actually, roro3030's mod *is* important because it constitutes a new step. People in that community have been pessimistic about their ability to mod the Go because its design is far less welcoming than normal PSP iterations. That someone took the first step and added LEDs is a positive sign.
Distracting lights like the racked LEDs you'd try to hide in a darkened room with a monitor while watching a movie? Of course. But other mods always come later: Dual analog nubs, dual SD slots, 32GB internal memory and better speakers, for example -- all mods that have been done to the phat and/or slim already.
And get it right, pals: Mods pertain to hardware. Hacks pertain to firmware and software. The hack story's promising (unless you talk to Dark Alex), but it doesn't have much to do this hardware mod.
It wouldn't hurt to be nice, or even to show some appreciation. Modders aren't some massive company that experiments with new products on your dollar. They're a community of individuals, most of whom take significant financial hits trying out ideas that just might end up becoming useful to you.
Sony announces Reader Daily Edition, free library ebook checkouts {Engadget}
Aug 26th 2009 7:55AM "Interestingly, the library buys a fixed number of 'copies' of each title and 'checks out' the licenses, so you're on a time limit -- licenses will revert after 14-29 days depending on your local branch's rules."
Quick question: How is it justifiable for libraries to delete a book from your eReader if the text is in the public domain? A text-only library edition of Moby Dick has no production costs and no royalties attached -- the same novel is available as a free download from the Gutenberg Project. What business is it of my library if I wish to keep a copy on my eReader?
Perhaps beleaguered book vendors should begin offering package deals for texts -- something along the lines of _100 Classic Books for the DS_ (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/100-classic-book-collection-review).
Sony announces Reader Daily Edition, free library ebook checkouts {Engadget}
Aug 26th 2009 7:40AM A true liberarian advocates zero restrictions socially and economically. If that's what you are truly, then your libertarian status is irrelevant because that discussion would involve your presumably less conservative social views. Right now, we're talking about public institutions, and your shut-down-all-publicly-funded-institutions verdict is a typical example of far right economics and has been justly denounced as such.
And by the way: "Libertarian" is hardly ever used correctly even by its professed advocates. Newt Gingrich calls himself a libertarian even though he's never advocated a socially progressive platform in his life (such as Proposition 8). (Typical source: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view/2009_04_07_Gingrich:_Iowa_gay_marriage_ruling_shows__judicial_arrogance_/)
Dell goes pro with U2410 IPS monitor for Japan {Engadget}
Aug 14th 2009 4:57PM No, Dell has really expensive 30"+ monitors that use IPS panels. One of their 24" monitors used to ship randomly with IPS or PVA (past iterations of the 2408, I believe). The 22-inch IPS from months ago and this monitor are being marketed as IPS exclusively, which, along with the cheaper price, is the difference. Dell finally realized consumers and luxury-prone gamers prefer e-IPS to PVA.
