Digging around on the FCC site can uncover some truly weird things. Exhibit A this morning: WowWee's FlyTech Skyhopper (no, not that Skyhopper).
The remote-controlled 'hybrid insect' toy has the same flapping wing design as company's FlyTech Dragonfly, which we last saw waging war with cats and being snatched by Hawks. The manual claims you'll be able to "back out of corners, jump over obstacles, and make a running takeoff from the smallest spaces." No word yet when you'll get the chance to piss off complete strangers at your local park, but stay tuned. [FCC]—By Stephen Climpson
The Dev Team has cracked the iPhone 3GS (as if there was any doubt). Trouble is, if they released it now it would do far more harm than good.
You see, a firmware update, version 3.0.1, is inevitable, and will probably arrive from Apple sooner rather than later because Cupertino probably feels that it needs to plug a few major holes being exploited by ultrasn0w. So, the team has decided it's best to wait so that the few people who can benefit from the crack now don't become the only people who benefited from it.
Says the Dev Team:
Here's the critical point, the reason why we're delaying our version of the jailbreak: Once the jailbreak is out, Apple will fix the iBoot-family bug we use to accomplish it. They will simply stop signing the old iBoots and only sign the fixed ones. If you bought your phone after Apple has done this, there's nothing you can do…the jailbreak isn't going to work for you.
It is possible that Apple will find the bug we use without our handing it to them on a silver platter (via a public jailbreak). In that case, we will have delayed our jailbreak for "nothing". But we'd rather be safe than sorry!
Apple is surely coming out with a 3.0.1 firmware release shortly. They need to fix ultrasn0w. They need to fix some UI issues. 3.0 is buggy and 3.0.1 is coming. We're going to wait and see what 3.0.1 brings before figuring out the release date for our version of the jailbreak.
In the meantime, we have some remaining 3.0 jailbreak issues to investigate, including push notification. Thanks for being patient with us while we took a 3GS "timeout"!
Patience, people. The fun will arrive, just not tonight. The Star Trek: Wrath of Kahn analogy the Dev Team has decided to go with this evening is spot on, by the way. [Dev Team]
The Dev Team has cracked the iPhone 3GS (as if there was any doubt). Trouble is, if they released it now it would do far more harm than good.
You see, a firmware update, version 3.0.1, is inevitable, and will probably arrive from Apple sooner rather than later because Cupertino probably feels that it needs to plug a few major holes being exploited by ultrasn0w. So, the team has decided it's best to wait so that the few people who can benefit from the crack now don't become the only people who benefited from it.
Says the Dev Team:
Here's the critical point, the reason why we're delaying our version of the jailbreak: Once the jailbreak is out, Apple will fix the iBoot-family bug we use to accomplish it. They will simply stop signing the old iBoots and only sign the fixed ones. If you bought your phone after Apple has done this, there's nothing you can do…the jailbreak isn't going to work for you.
It is possible that Apple will find the bug we use without our handing it to them on a silver platter (via a public jailbreak). In that case, we will have delayed our jailbreak for "nothing". But we'd rather be safe than sorry!
Apple is surely coming out with a 3.0.1 firmware release shortly. They need to fix ultrasn0w. They need to fix some UI issues. 3.0 is buggy and 3.0.1 is coming. We're going to wait and see what 3.0.1 brings before figuring out the release date for our version of the jailbreak.
In the meantime, we have some remaining 3.0 jailbreak issues to investigate, including push notification. Thanks for being patient with us while we took a 3GS "timeout"!
Patience, people. The fun will arrive, just not tonight. The Star Trek: Wrath of Kahn analogy the Dev Team has decided to go with this evening is spot on, by the way. [Dev Team]
Stalk your friends, have brunch with them at a Zagat-rated spot nearby and stream the whole thing live from your Android phone. Saw VII? No, it's just this month in Android apps.
Zagat nru: You know that compass thing the iPhone 3GS does? Yeah, whatever. Imagine it repurposed to show you nearby restaurants or bars with Zagat power. Zagat nru is flashy, and neat, though a bit limited, since the places are plotted according to proximity on a radar-type interface rather than an actual map. When you click one, it takes you to Zagat's mobile site, so it's not a completely in-app experience. Also, to get to the full reviews, you've got be a paying Zagat customer. Still worth a download—a hunch on where to eat is better than starving while you figure out where the hell you are. Free.
Brightkite: Another semi-famous social thinger making its way to Android. After sitting in beta for a bit, Brightkite's finally released its Android app for everybody. For the uninitiated, Brightkite is another location-based social network dealio—you see friends and people around you, post notes and photos to wherever you're at, that kind of thing. Stalking will only get easier and prettier from here on out people, might as well get used to it. Free.
Qik alpha: It's the live video streaming app Qik! On Android! That pretty much sums it up, actually—but if you're not familiar with Qik, it's a live video streaming app/service that's basically on every major smartphone platform (with one major exception). You can share via Twitter, Facebook or GooTube. It does require Cupcake, as well as an SD card for storing video. Pretty awesome that it's finally here. Free.
Places: Not to be outdone, Google's got their Places directory app—guess what it does? It's rather standard directory-style fare, though it covers pretty much the whole gamut of stuff you'd wanna find close by—restaurants, bars, parking, shopping, hotels, theaters, "attractions," and more. Where it really loses to Yelp is the reviews of places—there are so pitifully few of them you won't have any idea where a place is worth a crap or not. Where is that Android Yelp app, anyway? Free.
Flickr Photos Nearsby Not technically an app, but mobile Flickr will now show Android users photos taken nearby with some new location hotness using the regular ol' browser.
This list is in no way definitive. If you've spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our past app coverage here. Also, why isn't it easier to take a screenshot in Android dammit? Have a good week everybody.
Stalk your friends, have brunch with them at a Zagat-rated spot nearby and stream the whole thing live from your Android phone. Saw VII? No, it's just this month in Android apps.
Zagat nru: You know that compass thing the iPhone 3GS does? Yeah, whatever. Imagine it repurposed to show you nearby restaurants or bars with Zagat power. Zagat nru is flashy, and neat, though a bit limited, since the places are plotted according to proximity on a radar-type interface rather than an actual map. When you click one, it takes you to Zagat's mobile site, so it's not a completely in-app experience. Also, to get to the full reviews, you've got be a paying Zagat customer. Still worth a download—a hunch on where to eat is better than starving while you figure out where the hell you are. Free.
Brightkite: Another semi-famous social thinger making its way to Android. After sitting in beta for a bit, Brightkite's finally released its Android app for everybody. For the uninitiated, Brightkite is another location-based social network dealio—you see friends and people around you, post notes and photos to wherever you're at, that kind of thing. Stalking will only get easier and prettier from here on out people, might as well get used to it. Free.
Qik alpha: It's the live video streaming app Qik! On Android! That pretty much sums it up, actually—but if you're not familiar with Qik, it's a live video streaming app/service that's basically on every major smartphone platform (with one major exception). You can share via Twitter, Facebook or GooTube. It does require Cupcake, as well as an SD card for storing video. Pretty awesome that it's finally here. Free.
Places: Not to be outdone, Google's got their Places directory app—guess what it does? It's rather standard directory-style fare, though it covers pretty much the whole gamut of stuff you'd wanna find close by—restaurants, bars, parking, shopping, hotels, theaters, "attractions," and more. Where it really loses to Yelp is the reviews of places—there are so pitifully few of them you won't have any idea where a place is worth a crap or not. Where is that Android Yelp app, anyway? Free.
Flickr Photos Nearby: Not technically an app, but mobile Flickr will now show Android users photos taken nearby with some new location hotness using the regular ol' browser.
This list is in no way definitive. If you've spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our past app coverage here. Also, why isn't it easier to take a screenshot in Android dammit? Have a good week everybody.
We have to hand it to that Twitter thing. From further boosting the egos of outspoken tech industry personalities to supporting Iranian revolutions, the service has demonstrated its strengths. Today, the service can let relatives know you are still alive.
Developed by Japanese geek forum Koress Project, the Akiduki Pulse box does this by autonomously posting your heartbeat to Twitter. Once there, friends, family and enemies can all watch as your natural rhythms play out on the world stage in real time.
"Now I can die and post this info to Twitter. That's what I call a revolution!" and "Use the Akiduki Pulse box when you do sports, are in love or don't even know yourself if you're still alive!".
The tweets themselves contain some basic info about your heartbeat, as well as an evaluation (Jack needs food—badly!). The device is open source (cool), but to use the system you need access to a heart monitor (not cool). [Asijin via CrunchGear]
We have to hand it to that Twitter thing. From further boosting the egos of outspoken tech industry personalities to supporting Iranian revolutions, the service has demonstrated its strengths. Today, the service can let relatives know you are still alive.
Developed by Japanese geek forum Koress Project, the Akiduki Pulse box does this by autonomously posting your heartbeat to Twitter. Once there, friends, family and enemies can all watch as your natural rhythms play out on the world stage in real time.
"Now I can die and post this info to Twitter. That's what I call a revolution!" and "Use the Akiduki Pulse box when you do sports, are in love or don't even know yourself if you're still alive!".
The tweets themselves contain some basic info about your heartbeat, as well as an evaluation (Jack needs food—badly!). The device is open source (cool), but to use the system you need access to a heart monitor (not cool). [Asijin via CrunchGear]
Lifehacker is at again with a killer list of five of the best system restore tools available today. It's a Windows, Mac and Linux show, folks, and the best part is they were submitted by users like you! [Lifehacker]
Lifehacker is at again with a killer list of five of the best system restore tools available today. It's a Windows, Mac and Linux show, folks, and the best part is they were submitted by users like you! [Lifehacker]
Don't look now, but Acer—yes, that Acer—is on the verge of unseating Dell as the second-largest PC maker.
Acer's rise to the number two spot behind Hewlett-Packard was fueled in part by netbooks and other low-cost PC models, as well as what people in the biz call "vision" as it pertains to introducing new PC features months before the competition even knew consumers wanted them. The souring economy has helped too, notes the New York Times, as consumers were naturally inclined to reward PC companies that could sell them cheaper hardware.
Perhaps the biggest piece of the explosive growth puzzle, however, is Acer's relatively recent acquisition spree. The short list read, to me, like a laundry list of PCs that friends and I had owned in the early 1990s:
Over the last two years, it has acquired brands like eMachines, Gateway and Packard Bell. It pitches eMachines as its most affordable brand, while Acer-branded products cater to the mainstream. The Gateway moniker covers more expensive, flashier computers in the United States, while the Packard Bell brand serves the same purpose in Europe.
The four-front branding assault adds a thick layer of complexity to the company's ultimate goal of establishing a consistent image around the globe. But Mr. Lanci says PC makers must follow the lead of automobile companies and the likes of Procter & Gamble with a brand for every occasion now that consumers make up such a large part of the computer business.
These factors have combined to give Acer a sure shot at dethroning the mighty Dell as the No. 2 PC maker. That fact sat strangely with us at Gizmodo today, if only because of the scant anecdotal evidence we've associated with the brand: Neither Blam or I could name one person we know who owns an Acer computer.
Obviously someone is buying all these computers (and that comment isn't meant as a sleight against Acer at all), but who? You? [NYT]
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Digging around on the FCC site can uncover some truly weird things. Exhibit A this morning: WowWee's FlyTech Skyhopper (no, not that 
The 
Stalk your friends, have brunch with them at a Zagat-rated spot nearby and stream the whole thing live from your Android phone. Saw VII? No, it's just this month in 
Zagat nru: You know that compass thing the iPhone 3GS does? Yeah, whatever. Imagine it repurposed to show you nearby restaurants or bars with Zagat power. 
Brightkite: Another semi-famous social thinger making its way to Android. After sitting in beta for a bit, Brightkite's 
Qik alpha: It's the 
Places: Not to be outdone, Google's got their 
We have to hand it to that Twitter thing. From further boosting the egos of outspoken tech industry personalities to supporting Iranian revolutions, the service has demonstrated its strengths. Today, the service can let relatives know you are still alive.
Don't look now, but Acer—yes, that Acer—is on the verge of unseating Dell as the second-largest PC maker.