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No, but to put it in some perspective. It would take over 6 minutes for a japanese school girl to type it all out on her phone.

But less than 5 minutes for a 93-year-old using morse code

The Engadget put something up about this recently, the Optimus ZBoard is being held up with patent issues, according to their post, but the date on that one is Jul 14th 2005.

"Unfortunately, this doesn't look like actualware quite yet as they're still waiting on a patent."

I can't wait for that keyboard to come out, it's that fire!

They are however, coming out with this sweet display-thingy.

The Engadget put something up about this recently, the Optimus ZBoard is being held up with patent issues, according to their post, but the date on that one is Jul 14th 2005.

"Unfortunately, this doesn't look like actualware quite yet as they're still waiting on a patent."

I can't wait for that keyboard to come out, it's that fire!

They are however, coming out with this sweet display-thingy.

Perhaps this internet enabled thermostat is what you're looking for.

Try holding the door-close button while pressing your floor.

http://www.engadget.com/2005/08/02/elevator-hackin g/

A friend of mine got a job with the elevator repair union (you have to know someone to get in) and he's confirmed this is true for some models.

Lack of easy integration with her car stereo is a major hurdle in this area.

"And last, I want to give an update on Chrysler. For those of you that missed it at the Detroit Auto Show, Chrysler is the first American manufacture to offer iPod integration on their models. In 2006 over 40% of the cars sold in 2006 will offer iPod integration." -- Steve Jobs, during the 2006 Macworld keynote address (via Engadget)

If it's ads that contain these annoying sounds, just block the ads. Hit them where it hurts. I recommend Proxomitron because it runs as a proxy and hence covers all all your browsers simultaneously (but you can ad rules for individual browsers with header matching).

Alternatively, if you just use Firefox, you can try the Adblock extension but, personally, Proxo is alot more powerful. If you're comfortable with regex, willing to learn a few $commands()'s, it's the way to go.

Unfortunately it's Windows only, and no longer in development (sadly the author died and never released the source), but it's still widely used and has a quite a little community about it. If you need it, I'm sure someone else can point you to a Linux solution.

Here is a taster of what Engadget can look like after a few rules in Proxo.

P.S.
On the morality of blocking ads: nobody complains when you goto fetch a drink and take a jimmy riddle during the commercial break, now do they?

Alright smartass, here's your link

Although the article claims this is the only one, I have seen another one. Been searching and searching for that link with no luck and I can't recall for the life of me where I saw it. But it's out there. Nonetheless, this should be sufficient to show you that there WILL be HDTV capture cards with CableCard support built in. And if you don't think SOMEONE is going to make on "off-spec" that will work as we want it to, you are kidding yourself.

Yes, this is for Vista only - at this point. But it shows that it is "possible" to make one. And there are plenty of over seas makers that will be happy to create better working cards for us (ie: no Vista DRM). You can count on it.

I faithfully used MythTV for a year or so, trying releases, CVS versions, etc. Generally, my experience was good. The linux side was a little fiddly - until recently the kernel didnt have have built in drivers for my usb2 nova-t dvb tuner, but once working tended to be fine. MythTV itself however started to annoy me more and more. Most problems i fixed over time, but still a few i couldnt. I had real problems with the TV recently, granted it wasnt totally MythTV's fault (my signal is too strong, or too weak, or getting interferrence - i havent had time to properly look into it). But still, mythtv was having none of it, so i had no livetv or recording.

The most annoying is probably the feature i use most - MythVideo. As my video collection was stored on a samba share, updating was pretty slow, and i couldnt find a option to autoupdate so had to use a crude solution with scripts and directly updating the sql table. This just about worked, although still required exiting to the menu and back again to update the list.

Also, I could not get it to sort my files. As you browse down the directory list, there were a few blocks of ordered names, with a few randomly placed aswell. Near as i could tell it was not sorting the directories by their name, but by the files in them (or their subdirectories and so on). Their order in the sql table seemed to make no difference.
To make matters worse though, sometimes when a new file was added and the table was updated, a whole bunch of files would vanish from the browser. I never got around to finding out why, but it was very annoying. As far as i could tell, it wasnt a problem with my sql updating as the table would wind up exactly the same if i did it myself or asked the Video Manager to generate it.

Anyway, rant aside, i recently switched to Microsoft Windows MCE. So much easier its unbelievable. The TV signal is still a little flakey (recordings tend to work fine, but sometimes livetv struggles to get a signal), but its doing better than myth! The video browser works flawlessly, and even updates on the fly. I do have a few minor gripes with MCE too (if anyone can help with these, id be most grateful):
  - The Video Browser appears to only support the icon style view, not a list.
  - My hauppauge remote doesnt seem to work. Not a big deal, i plan to replace it with an MCE one anyway, but i thought this one should work. (This is the remote for the USB2 Nova-t, when you press any buttons the light does not flash off - it stays on red.)
  - Limited number of settings.
But i can live with those, so so far MCE is - for me - working out better than Myth.

One problem I would love help with though:
Not too long down the line, i would like to buy a couple of MCE extenders, and stick the MCE PC somewhere hidden. I dont yet have a HDTV (or a HDTV source) so can live without that, although it would be nice if i didnt need to replace these when i do make the move so HDTV support would be nice. I can even live without Divx/Xvid support as i could simply reencode to mpeg2, although the space difference would be annoying. But, so far the ones i have seen (basically just the linksys) dont support AC3 audio, which means no films! And lastly, it would be nice if it could support DVD Vobs in the Video browser like MCE does.

I dont really want to use a xbox for the job, and i dont think it solves those problems anyway. The xbox 360 would be an expensive solution and power hungry solution, even if it does solve them all. A possible solution is the Thunderbridge which apparantly supports HDTV upscaling, few other details though. I would consider small and quiet MCE boxes, but i dont think they will stream livetv from the main one.

Any ideas?

Well I have gone on for a bit asking more questions than i have replying to the parent, but I hope you can at least see that for me, MCE is working out better.

>The fact it's the best laptop available right now? subjective call. it's not the best laptop for me because the screen is too big for my needs/wants. >The fact it's the first Core Duo based portable in the world? It's not, actually. A number were revealed at CES, and covered on Engadget. (you'll want to scroll down) >The fact it's the first with a magnetically attached power cord? I'll give you this one; that's pretty damn cool. >The fact it's only an inch thick? Also cool, but other manufacturers are also doing it. Both Sony and IBM have thinner ones (with numerous compromises). Being an inch thick with all the features it brings is new. >And it's got a webcam built in to the screen? Acer, Sony and Asus have been doing this one before, too.

Yes, Apple has such an anti-Microsoft streak that they force a Microsoft employee to share the stage with Steve Jobs at his MacWorld keynotes so they experience the reality distortion field before demoing their latest version of Microsoft Office for Mac. To further show Apple's contempt for Microsoft, Jobs just released an iMac that will be able to boot Windows Vista.

I dont see that keyboard happening this year, maybe not at all.

They obviously dont even have a protype worth photographing because all their pictures are CG.

The whole thing makes me suspicious.

It says "It will cost less than a good mobile phone". I really cant see that happening. The displays will cost alot, but the microcontrollers to make this thing be "OS-independent" would put it over $200-$300 alone I think.

"It will most likely use the OLED technology (e-paper is sooo slow)."
Its just a keyboard...If E-Ink is good enough and cheap enough for everything from Wristwatches(http://compuquart.com/content/view/17 63/2/) to EBook readers(http://www.engadget.com/2005/12/29/sony-to -announce-us-e-book-reader/), I think it can do the job for a fairly static keyboard(less power usage too).

Above of all to me the silliness on their answers page("Moscow is the capital of Russia." etc..) shows they arent very serious.

You can, with AMS2HID.

At least it's better than this, aka this

1. Intel is losing against AMD in both performance and OEM, even Dell is considering AMD. Intel will need something to keep OEM with Intel. Being able to offer OEM the Mac OS X would be a possible way to maintain OEM royalty.
2. Microsoft is losing the ground of driving the demand of more computing power. On the lower end, Linux is eating into the Microsoft market. Vista has a tough requirement; however, when Vista is shipped in 2007, that would be a mid-level configuration and Microsoft Office can't eat up any more CPUs. Hey, Mac version runs just fine in Rosetta on Intel Mac. On the other hand, iLife (photo, video and music) are going to drive the demand of raw CPU power; thus keep the demand for CPU to be progress at the speed of Moore's Law.
3. Steve Jobs. In the CES, Intel is clearly targeting at home entertainment as its future market of growth. However, Intel can't rally Hollywood studio behind it's proposal. Intel needs a Hollywood insider and Steve Jobs is a heavy weight Hollywood executive!
4. Intel needs a charismatic leaders. Few in Silicon Valley can fill Andy Grove's shoe. Come on, Paul Otellini? Jobs is up for the, well, job!

I can convert txt, rtf, etc. in the rare cases I use them.

The older model (Librie) didn't do PDFs. The Reader does.

According to Sony's website, it will read PDFs and other files (presumably including plain text), but you need to convert them to the Reader's own file format "using supplied software".

But apparently Sony have not confirmed whether a Mac version of the conversion software will be available. And I'm guessing that Linux users certainly need not apply. *sigh*

The unit reads PDF files as well as Sony's proprietary (anyone surprised?) BBeB format (stands for Broadband Electronic Books). They will be releasing software for reading BBeB format on your computer so you can read books you've purchased on your PC as well as on the Reader, but apparently you can only "share" your copy of the book with up to six other devices. When pressed for details about how this "document DRM" actually works, the PR rep we spoke with had zero information -- we asked whether a Mac version of the BBeB-reading software would be released but no word on that either. - Engadget

Some things that aren't inluded in that list:

1. Convert large text files and into notes for use on iPod
2. Rip DVD Movies To Your iPod Using Free Software
3. Use your iPod Photo or Nano as a Yahoo! Maps directions viewer
4. How-To: Get TV shows off of your TiVo and onto your iPod

The DVIMAGIC, and this, and this do just that. The latter is just for one dvd player, so might just exploit a flaw in that player or something. Not exactly perfect solutions yet, but we are getting towards the dongle you ask for.

There was also a recent article (i forget the url) by someone who claimed to have cracked HDCP. As i recall it was along the lines of comparing the outputs from 10 dvd players/tvs to determine the master key. He never released the information for fear of DMCA, but if someone was to repeat it you could see black market type dongles.

I dont really have a problem with HDCP though, as when i do get a HDTV it will be compliant. The problem I see is we are being forced to fight better and better copy protections. I currently rip CDs and listen to them in iTunes instead of using a CD player. You basically cant do that with DVD Audio (without capturing analogue or using the WinDVD trick), and if you do you cant play them back on a normal player because the watermark will stop it. Similarly, when going around friends i prefer to rip DVDs to a hard disk so we can watch them off that instead of taking the discs. I would want to be able to do that with these high definition discs too, I dont want the only ripper to be Windows Media Center, and the copy to refuse to play on anything but my MCE machine and my authorized portable player.

Even if they do make rippers for BR/HD, what about the next generation?

All I'm waiting for is someone to produce a device that intercepts the HDMI signal and strips it of any copy protection bits.

You mean like this?

You can do it for a lot cheaper than that.

Just get two disposable cameras. Film is okay, if you count your frames, but now they've even got digital "disposables." Mount them horizontally on a flat piece of wood (I saw someone use what looked like a 1x2, but it's not like it matters) right next to each other. Depending on the kind of camera, they're small enough that placed next to each other the lenses are spaced almost the right distance apart. You can even space them wider apart if you want a more exaggerated 3-d effect.

Then just wind and shoot the cameras simultaneously. If you're taking pictures of anything moving, you have to be pretty lucky to catch the shutters at exactly the same time or else it'll look messed up. (But i've actually seen some pretty amazing stuff done this way of people on stage.) Also avoid using their flashes since they won't go off in sync and you may get strange shadows.

Then just get them developed and put on a CD, and make sure that the processor keeps them straight so you know afterwards which one is left and which one is right.

Then you can either print them and try to mount them in a stereoscope viewer, which is what I saw done with them (basically just two prints hung side by side with a divider in between that you put your nose up to), or you could probably produce a red/blue image in Photoshop. You need some tinkering to get the viewers right, but there are a lot of books on the subject.

There is also, if you want to blow a lot of money on such a project, there used to be a purpose-built Russian camera called the "FED" that used regular 35mm film and had two separate lenses. No idea if they're still making them or not.

I just did a little Googling and there is a Engadget tutorial available. It uses some assumedly PC-only software though, so I'm not too interested. Others might be, though.

Haven't seen an update since this story, but HD-DVD was leaning towards not including region codes.

So it's odd then that Microsoft would make such a big push to enforce older region codes, in a way that will break a lot of old hardware...

Unless possibly it's some kind of ploy to help push HD-DVD sales, which might be the case as Vista will be making a lot of people buy new drives right around the time HD-DVD players become more plentiful.

Game sessions are p2p, but that isn't the only thing live does.

Read through this:
* http://engadget.com/2005/12/12/touring-the-microso ft-xbox-facilities/

Note that you're looking at their TEST RIG in these pictures.

The alternative is to turn most computers into appliances, but so far every attempt has failed.

I wouldn't say every attempt has failed.

It seems to me that if Sony goes with Blu-Ray and all the PC's out in the wild won't have it, it will be harder to copy their games.

In other news, Pioneeer officially announced their BRD-101A Blu-ray burner today.

Engadget posted a link to a Reuters "story" back in September which indicated that Samsung would offer a combo unit. The link can be found here. I'd post the link to the reuters article, but that has expired.

First an alternate link: http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/03/new-standard-ke yboards-53-keyer/

How about a new survey question of "How many keys does your keyboard have that you have NEVER used?

I just glanced down at my keyboard and MY anwser to this is zero. Between my hatred of reaching for the mouse, my video games and my programming I use EVERY key on the keyboard. My least used key? That would be F8 (which is too bad because it is one of the easy ones to find). Yes, I really use my scroll lock that often (for the winamp plugin MilkDrop and I've modded that keyboard light into a LED snake light).

I'm sure this has been pointed out elsewhere (or at least I hope it has), but it seems to me that the A B C D ... keyboard layout shown would have users mostly using their left, and likely slower, hand.

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000813025740/ not that they had this story up almost a year ago Slashdot.org, your source for up to the date news!

http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/03/new-standard-ke yboards-53-keyer/

Yes, January 1, 2005. Over 11 months ago.

So Visto have managed to licence what appears to be a non-existant set of patents from a company no-one has heard of. They must be betting the barn that the US legal system continues to come down hard on RIM and they have to shut up shop. Visto aren't new though, they've been around providing push email services for a while.. so perhaps they just bottled out when the NTP lawyers turned up.

One final point.. do you think that RIM would be having these problems if it was a US company rather than a Canadian one? Microsoft gets away with infringing patents all the time, but it's yet to be proved that RIM actually *has* and yet they are punished far more harshly than Microsoft ever was.

I think this is part of sony's move to muzzle in on microsofts market. Only fair isn't it? Ah the two evil empire's battling it out. Joy! Remember the cold war, it gave us the intenet and free PORN!!! Eh I mean the internet and a way to communicate easily with our fellow man ABOUT FREE PORN!!!

Oh yeah I would buy one. The first non-handheld console I would own but a legit 300 dollar multi-core linux machine would be too sweet. No need to fear rootkits either, I don't remember any articles were sony was found not to be 100% compliant with the GPL so they could hardly rootkit the kernel. (Would a hacked kernel still be considered a rootkit?)

300 bucks for a genuine IBM grid machine.

And yet, every time I turn on the news these days, it's "Counterfeit Chinese" this and "Pirated Chinese" that. These western companies are expecting the Chinese government to respect 'Intellectual Property' rights of foreign corporations when the Chinese government doesn't even respect the REAL property rights of its own citizens. SuperShuffle anyone?

As you said, the treo 650 has built in bluetooth, and 320x320 resolution. I think I heard about somebody (probably shadowmite again) hacking in some sdio wifi drivers... *checks google* yes, here it is.

This is where key-revocation lists come into play. The third aspect of HDCP security is "device renewability." This is the ability for media, streaming content, or even other devices to invalidate keys known to be a problem.

One might question their timing ...

If you're the owner of one of the 80 million non-cable, non-digital TV sets in the U.S., you're running out of time: according to consumer advocates, when the government gives the OK to shut off all analog broadcasts -- possibly by January 1, 2009 ...

Source: http://hdtv.engadget.com/entry/1234000027048954/

They might have these widely deployed just in time for the analog broadcasts to go dark. Hey look at me, I'm watching static on my cell phone!

This was already reported on Engadget a couple days ago: http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000320071969/ complete with reference to Inspector Gadget.

Sadly enough, there are apparently now cellphones with this exact feature. It is marketed to parents who want to keep their eye (ear) on their kids at all times. The phone rings as normal, I believe, but if no-one answers, the caller can punch in a code to override the phone and make it answer anyways. Then the microphone is on, so if Johnny said he was going to study at Steve's house, but there's suspicious moaning/loud party music/sound of whatever going on, the parents know about it. Gross, huh?

Engadget has a blurb.

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000100066100/

Wait for a de facto standard or wait until somebody makes a player that can handle both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. It's what I did with the whole DVD+/- mess.

That's what I did with DVD writers too, but it might get more complicated with this generation. You'd pretty much need two read/write mechanisms in a drive. Pioneer once made a player that could read DVD and LaserDisc so it's certainly possible.

For backups I'll use Blu-Ray because it can hold more. HD-DVD seems better suited to being handled by the kids but I have no immediate need for HD content so I'm not going to buy a HD-DVD video player. But I might get a PS3.

Just on a pragmatic basis then I'll have two Blu-Ray units for several years before I get an HD-DVD player, probably when my TV dies, I have a projector, and Netflix starts carrying them. If my behavior pattern is common HD-DVD faces quite an uphill battle. The list of board members in the above link seems to indicate they're leaning the same way.

Besides, Phillips gets props for standing firm on the CD standard and not allowing Sony to use the CD logo for its DRM'ed CD-like audio discs, even though Sony is their Bluray partner. But then I'm supporting Sony for doing it... argh!

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000157071380/

"Please note an easier and more acceptable solution requires cooperation from Apple, who we have already reached out to in hopes of addressing this issue. To help speed this effort, we ask that you use the following link to contact Apple and ask them to provide a solution that would easily allow you to move content from protected CDs into iTunes or onto your iPod rather than having to go through the additional steps above."

        http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipod.html

That day is going to come in the second half of next year with the release of Windows Vista.

See here for details.

If all we had left were Vulcan Jedis... would they say: "Live long, prosper, and may the force be with you?

'...so why don't the Microsofts and Sonys of the world just implement it in future consoles, if only to shut up the cries of "won't someone think of the children?!"'

Good question, and the answer is that all of the big three have already announced that there will be parental controls for their systems. In the case of the X360 it is supposedly even backwards-compatible to X-Box games although I don't know if that's been thoroughly tested yet. For reference:

X360: http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000283051379/
PS3: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7001215012
Revolution: http://www.physorg.com/news8644.html

Unfortunately I doubt this will shut anyone up. Remember, we have an election next year and so far almost all of the biggest supporters of these bills (both the state bills and Clinton's FEPA) have announced that they are 'considering' a run for the democratic presidential nomination in '08.

So I should trust rebates to work, despite class action lawsuits against Sony, Best Buy, Comp USA, Dell, and others for failing to pay?

That said, I have had good experiences with small ($5-$20) manufacturer rebates in the past. Retailer rebates have earned their foul reputation, and now even the good ones are paying the price for the unscrupulous ones. If only there were some way of lowering prices ahead of time, taking the intent of the rebate into account... Nah, can't be done!

In their defense, the ignoramuses at Sony may not have been told that in so many words. Their level of understanding has been clearly shown by the much hyped and once again relevant quote:

Most people, I think, don't even know what a Rootkit is, so why should they care about it?

F-Secure may have assumed someone around Sony ought to have half a clue about security, and would not need the term "rootkit" defined or the nasty security implications spelled out. Of course, this doesn't excuse the ignoramuses at Sony for being ignoramuses.

Engadget. He has 12 satellite dishes for TV! Must be gene-related. :)

internet controlled Christmas lights on a a budget.

I still think its a hoax. Like some remote server across the world can have any possible influence on the ability of MY monitor to turn a given pixel on or off. Yeah, right. sheesh. you people will believe anything.

here are a few more good NES controller hacks i've seen.

Enjoy!