AP - The president of a New Mexico internet and telephone provider says he fears his company has lost its customers’ trust after Qwest Communications disconnected its service last week.

Source: AP >>

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BenHeck.com forum member goteking apparently built this camera-in-a-Famicom-cart a little while back, but this is one instance when we’re more than happy to catch up a little late, even if we may quite not be able to bring ourselves to gut a cart of our own. As you can likely imagine, this mod mostly depends simply on choosing the right cart-sized camera, and goteking found that a standard Sony Cybershot point-and-shoot fit the bill quite nicely, though there’s certainly plenty of other possiblities out there (bonus points for anyone able to make an Game Boy cart camera). Hit up the link below for a few more pics of the camera, plus a glimpse of some of goteking’s other projects, including a VAIO DS and a VAIO Eee PC.

[Via technabob]

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Gaming

Famicom cart camera provides its own smile-catching technology originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Donald Melanson >>

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More evidence that the new Mac minis are at least partly geared toward the cheap server market: SeeFile dropped their press release pimping support of the “new Apple Mac Mini hardware” just a little early.

They specifically mention a complete bundled system with a “Mac mini server with 1 terabyte of storage.” A SeeFile spokesperson confirmed to Ars that storage is internal, so the rumor that the mini will have a build-to-order option for dual hard drives—good for enterprise servers, because of more storage and RAID support—looks more plausible.

Check out our Macworld rumor round up to see what else is likely to happen tomorrow. [Ars]

Source: matt buchanan >>

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Watch out, MP3 — you’ve got a formidable opponent creeping up on you. All kidding aside (yes, we were kidding), Fraunhofer IIS is hoping that at least four people will turn from their MP3 / AAC addictions and embrace yet another one of its audio formats at CES, which is simply christened MPEG Surround. Harald Popp, head of the Multimedia Realtime Systems department at the company, has asserted that the firm believes that “MPEG Surround will become a major online distribution format when downloading music, movie and TV content,” noting that it offers “the music industry a way to sell iPod-compatible surround content through the existing stereo download infrastructure.” We suppose the multi-channel aspect is at least somewhat noteworthy, but we still see a hard road ahead for it to gain “global acceptance” in 2009.

Filed under: Portable Audio

Fraunhofer IIS to push MPEG Surround as next big downloadable audio format originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Darren Murph >>

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Macworld.com - Vuzix on Monday announced the Wrap 920AV, a new pair of sunglass-style video glasses that work with iPods and the iPhone. Pricing was not announced; Vuzix expects to ship the new video glasses in Spring, 2009.

Source: Macworld.com >>

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Sony already announced some pretty significant layoffs and other cost-cutting measures last month, but it looks like the company could be set to take things even further, with the Times of London now reporting that some major factory and division closings could also be in the offing as early as next month. Any details beyond that are a bit light, it seems, but Sony is denying that any such plan exists, with a spokesperson saying simply that the company does “not plan to announce additional restructuring measures at this time.” Not exactly a flat out denial, to be sure, and it certainly wouldn’t be the first time that a company revised their layoff estimates this season.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Rumors of drastic cost cutting at Sony abound, Sony says not so fast originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Donald Melanson >>

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Kotaku’s put their game of the year awards up, and it’s a pretty good start to building your gaming collection if you’ve just gotten an Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii over the holidays.

Although their categories, like best art, best sound and best innovation may not be a great template for finding a game in a genre that YOU like, it is a jumping board to checking out quality games—which all of these are. We’d definitely go with GTA4, Metal Gear Solid 4, plus Dead Space (if you like shooters). [Kotaku]

Source: Jason Chen >>

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If you thought that MSI would allow CES to pass it by without unleashing a veritable smorgasbord of new kit upon us, you’re dead wrong. For starters, the company will be showcasing its Wind U115 and U120 netbooks for the first time in the public eye at CES, and those oh-so-intriguing NetOn all-in-one machines we spotted overseas will also be making their US debut. Said rigs will arrive in 16-, 19- and 22-inch flavors, and it’s expected that Intel’s dual-core Atom will be powering the trio. Carrying on, we’ve got the EX625 and EX623 entertainment lappies joining the EX family with inbuilt subwoofers and Blu-ray drives, and the GT725, GT727, GT627 and GX420 will all be sliding into the gamer-centric GX line. Finally, MSI will be demonstrating its first “eco-friendly carbon fiber concept gaming notebook,” so we’ll definitely be sashaying over to wrap our paws around that. Head past the break for the full release.

Continue reading MSI at CES: Wind U115 / U120, NetOn all-in-one PC, gaming laptops galore

Filed under: CES, Laptops

MSI at CES: Wind U115 / U120, NetOn all-in-one PC, gaming laptops galore originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Darren Murph >>

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You think we’re kidding, but after spending around £800 ($1,164) on Denon’s absolutely stunning AH-D7000 over-ear headphones, are you really about to squeeze your sweaty noggin in there without feeling the slightest bit guilty? The cans, which vaguely remind us of Audio Technica’s ATH-ESW9, tout wooden ear cups made from natural mahogany, microfiber diaphragms, Acoustic Optimizer technology, a cloth-wrapped cable, gold-plated connector, magnesium frame / duralumin slider and leather ear pads. You’ll also get a fanciful box to house ‘em in when you’re not enjoying the sweet sounds of twin 2-inch drivers, but sadly, a set of handcuffs aren’t included for wearing them while waltzing through the occasionally dodgy streets of London. Two more looks are after the break.

[Via TechDigest]

Continue reading Denon’s luxurious AH-D7000 headphones are nearly too pretty to use

Filed under: Portable Audio

Denon’s luxurious AH-D7000 headphones are nearly too pretty to use originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Darren Murph >>

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Twitter is discovering that popularity brings attention from the sort of people you don’t want attention from: hackers.

That’s the clear message from the fact that 33 accounts were hacked, using the company’s own internal support tools.

Yes, that’s certainly Monday morning madness. Among those affected: Rick Sanchez of CNN and Barack Obama of, um, the President-Elect’s office - though the latter hasn’t used his account since winning the election in November.

These accounts were compromised by an individual who hacked into some of the tools our support team uses to help people do things like edit the email address associated with their Twitter account when they can’t remember or get stuck. We considered this a very serious breach of security and immediately took the support tools offline. We’ll put them back only when they’re safe and secure.

The effect is that Twitter has now realised that encouraging - or at least, not actively dissuading - people from using third-party services such as Twply that ask them just to hand over their usernames and passwords, which are the only authentication you have with Twitter at the moment. (Twply is pretty much the poster-child for taking advantage of Twitter users’ lack of care: it grabbed passwords and was rapidly put up for sale by auction. Quite a valuable database you have there..)

Which has driven Twitter towards something that I was going to predict they would do this year: implement something like OpenID (in this case, OAuth), to let people log in to such sites without actually handing over your details.

We plan to release a closed beta of the open authentication protocol, OAuth this month but it’s important to note that this would not have prevented a Phishing scam nor would it have prevented these accounts from being compromised. OAuth is something we can provide so that folks who use third party applications built on the Twitter API can access to their data while protecting their account credentials.

True, it wouldn’t have stopped either hack; but it will stop services like Twply etc from trying to spread themselves virally on the service.

However it’s not a good thing overall that Twitter seems to have had a “security last” approach. Maybe 2009 will see everyone actually reaching a proper Web 2.1, where authentication, and not just providing the facility, matters.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Source: Charles Arthur >>

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AFP - China announced Monday it was cracking down on major websites, including search engine giants Google and Baidu, over the spread of pornography and other material that could corrupt young people.

Source: AFP >>

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Product delays are the greasy, disgusting lubricant that keep the wheels of the consumer electronics world turning, so when we hear of something being pushed back a week, a month, or a quarter, we really don’t think much of it. Moving a launch up, though — well, that’s a totally different ball game, and it always brings a smile to our faces. Word on the street had been that T-Mobile USA would take delivery of the luscious new Curve 8900 come February 18, but now we’re hearing it’s actually coming a week earlier on February 11, just in time to stuff RIM’s latest hardware in your loved one’s box of chocolates, bouquet, or gift basket of sundry sausages, cheeses, and jams. ‘Course, WiFi and 3.2-megapixel cam might be enough to get you to dump your life partner flat on his / her / its ass, so don’t blame us if this thing wrecks your otherwise happy home.

[Via PhoneDog.com]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

T-Mobile’s BlackBerry Curve 8900 seemingly pegged for February 11 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Chris Ziegler >>

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Ever since Doc Brown added a Mr. Fusion to the Delorean, many of us have longed to fuel our car with banana peels and beer. Now you can, thanks to the magic of gasification.

Gasification is the use of heat to transform solid biomass, or other carbonaceous solids, into a synthetic “natural gas like” flammable fuel. Through gasification, we can convert nearly any solid dry organic matter into a clean burning, carbon neutral, gaseous fuel. Whether starting with wood chips or walnut shells, construction debris or agricultural waste, the end product is a flexible gaseous fuel you can burn in your internal combustion engine, cooking stove, furnace or flamethrower. Or in this case, your DeLorean. OK, how about a Honda Accord?

Gasifiers are nothing new, but this instructable teaches you how to build a small scale version powerful enough to run your car. Since we are talking about dry organic matter here, I suppose banana peels and beer are out—but fueling up on pinecones is still better than paying for gas. Hit the link for a complete set of instructions. [Instructables via DVICE]

Source: Sean Fallon >>

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Looks like Liquid Image — those wacky underwater digicam folks — are going to be hitting the ground running at CES with not one, but two HD underwater digital camera masks. Meant for serious professionals (and well-heeled Jacques Cousteau wannabes), the Pro HD350 shoots 720p video, sports 64 MB flash storage, supports microSD / SDHC cards (up to 32GB) and is rated to a depth of 330 feet. Taking things down a notch, the Scuba Series 320 (MSRP around $215) is the other 720p video cam. Featuring the same 64 MB internal memory and 32 GB microSD / SDHC support, this guy is rated at 115 feet. Bringing up the rear is the VideoMask 310, a 640 × 480 / 30 fps video camera, sporting 16 MB internal memory, 8GB microSDHC card support, and is rated to a depth of 33 feet. It is expected to list at $159, while the Scuba Series 320 will list for about $215. The Pro HD350 hasn’t been priced just yet; all three cameras take 5 megapixel photos and will get debuted at CES this week.

[Via Helmet Camera Central, thanks Chad]

Filed under: CES, Digital Cameras

Liquid Image’s new underwater digital camera masks debut at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Joseph L. Flatley >>

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In case you haven’t noticed, 3D is the topic of this year’s CES. And we’re not talking about 3D HDTVs exclusively — we’re talking about 3D figurines that double as webcams. To be quite honest, the USB 2.0 Minoru 3D Webcam is ripe for a Billy Mays plug, but considering that he’s charging like seven figures per promotion these days, Minoru is settling for the spotlight in Vegas. The device features two cameras spaced “roughly the same distance apart as human eyes” in order to create a stereoscopic effect, and buyers get five pairs of 3D glasses just in case you lose one (or four). For those interested in seeing even more depth in their video chats, you can snag one from Amazon on January 8th for $89.95. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Minoru 3D Webcam ships this week, still looks freaky

Filed under: CES, Digital Cameras

Minoru 3D Webcam ships this week, still looks freaky originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Darren Murph >>

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Reuters - Stocks fell on Monday as investors booked profits after last week’s run-up, while concerns about slowing cell phone sales hit shares of the biggest telecommunications companies.

Source: Reuters >>

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Comcast’s bandwidth throttling system that slows you down for using too much bandwidth is now fully armed and operational in all markets. Here’s how it works, and how to not get stuck on the short bus.

The golden rule—which we covered a bit here—to keep in mind is this: If you use more than 70 percent of your downstream or upstream bandwidth for more than 15 minutes, you’ll be slowed down for at least 15 minutes, or until you’re brought back down to using 50 percent of your bandwidth. The other, more esoteric way to bring on the sludge is actually a pair of conditions: If a certain CMTS port—cable modem termination system, the hub your cable modem, along with those of up to 15,000 (but probably fewer) runs to—is congested and if you’ve been targeted as the asshole why.

By slowed down, it means all of your packets are assigned “Best Effort” quality of service, a lower tier than Priority Best Effort. Which means this, according to Comcast:

If there is no congestion, packets from a user in a BE state should have little trouble getting on the bus when they arrive at the bus stop. If, on the other hand, there is congestion in a particular instance, the bus may become filled by packets in a PBE state before any BE packets can get on. In that situation, the BE packets would have to wait for the next bus that is not filled by PBE packets.

This all happens in a compressed time frame though—missing 50 buses would mean being delayed by about a tenth of a second, but it is possible to have your packets dropped in “extreme cases.” (See? The bus metaphor was theirs.)

Don’t forget your bandwidth counter either, guys. You wouldn’t wanna zoom past your 250GB cap and get slowed down, would you? Enjoy your internets, and don’t hog it all! [DSL Reports]

Source: matt buchanan >>

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Macworld.com - Canon U.S.A. on Monday announced a new line of five high-definition and six standard-definition camcorders. Pricing and availability were not announced — the announcement came from Las Vegas, Nevada, site of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Source: Macworld.com >>

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NewsFactor - Palm’s next-generation Nova operating system has been in the works for more than a year and is expected to be released this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Also rumored is one more surprise — a new smartphone using Nova.

Source: NewsFactor >>

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AP - Apple founder Steve Jobs, a survivor of pancreatic cancer whose gaunt appearance in the past year has alarmed the Mac and iPod lovers who look to him as an oracle, said Monday he has an easily treated hormone imbalance and will remain in charge of the company.

Source: AP >>

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