CrunchGear

M’kay. Apple is launching some sort of laptop next week. We know that, but we don’t know the details. Rumers are still swirling and the latest concerns the laptop lid shown in the Apple event invitation. You see, if you take the Apple logo at the standard dimension, a little math and photoshop’n will reveal that the laptop shown is more than likely a 13.3-inch model. 

According to 9to5mac though, that isn’t a MacBook. Nope, they are stating that the MacBooks are going to be two-toned, with the lid designed like the iMac’s black back and the rest of the laptop sporting MacBook Air digs. (kind of like the pic above)

True? Hell if we know, but what’s a day without an Apple rumor?

Just in case you didn’t figure it out by now, famed Halo developer* Bungie has reiterated that Halo 3: Recon will be the company’s last Halo game. Don’t worry, though: there’s a map pack scheduled for early next year and another one due for around the time of Halo Wars‘ release.

*Perhaps the company didn’t want to be forever pigeon-holed as “the Halo devs”?

Leaked photos have surfaced showing an absolutely, drop dead sexy HTC handset loaded with WiMax data capabilities. The HTC T8290 runs Windows Mobile and allegedly works on GSM + Wimax networks, with a large 800 x 480 3.8-inch screen and WiFi/Bluetooth enabled. Plus, there appears to be a front-facing camera in the top right to compliment the rear facing one. Yota’s, a Russian WiMax provider, logo is branded on the back, reveling a bit of the handsets destination but for the love of the wireless gods, can we please have this phone in the States? This phone will more than justify not launching the Touch HD here in the States. Gawd, it’s sexy.

nedge2k via slashphone

Either Verizon Wireless is hurting for money or there’s a guy there who’s job it is to aggravate the blogosphere. Get this: the company is set to charge a $0.03 (three cents) levy per text message sent to its customers. Now, this only affects companies and services—iPhone users won’t be asked to cough up the $0.03 when they text their VZW buddies, for example.

Think of it like this: every time ESPN sends you a sports score update VZW will charge it $0.03. How many of these text messages does ESPN send per day? Exactly. This little levy adds up real fast.

Politicians looking to use text messages to their advantage, like Obama did to announce his veep pick, would also be affected.

VZW says it needs to implement the extra charge in order to cover the costs of doing business. Keep in mind that companies are now being questioned about the sudden rise in the cost of sending text messages.

My word, actual innovation coming for a digital audio player. It’s certainly been a while.

It’s called the Twinned MP3 player, and its gimmick is that it’s actually two separate players joined at the hips, so to speak. Each half of the player is a fully functional player; both half contains the same playlist of music, a playlist that’s controlled by an online server. So when Person A adds a song to the online playlist it doesn’t become “official” until Person B syncs their player.

The idea here is that the two players will always have the same playlist, so, presumably, you and your friend will always be listening to the same music. Perhaps you and your special girl have a song that reminds you of some important event in your relationship—well now you’ll always have that song with you, together.

It’s designed by one Liberty Fearns, but the odds of it go into mass production? Eh.

I am sorry for the ladies that these Wii videos I took at the Tokyo Game Show are (probably) not as interesting as this one for us guys, but the guy you see is incredible: I saw him early in the morning and he was dancing. I saw him in the late afternoon and he was still dancing.

Read the rest of this entry »

Capcom released a new trailer for Resident Evil 5 (which will launch in the US and Japan on March 13, 2009) at this year’s Tokyo Game Show.

The company made a huge fuss about the game. I made a video at the TGS (see below) that shows the space Capcom dedicated to Resident Evil 5 alone at their (gigantic) booth.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hands on with the RoboDynamics TiLR telepresence robot
‘Aquaduct’ adult-sized tricycle produces clean drinking water, keeps you from tipping over
Gallery of public blue screens of death
Trap door pool table is a good weekend project
USB Mice Wheel: a live measure of your productivity

I’m no expert in these little home media boxes, but I suspect they are excellent investments for those of you with too much money. Certainly the abilities of a Vista Media Center type setup are enviable, but for $2000 you could have put another 10 inches on that screen and built a media box yourself. But I digress (and am probably wrong). This FUZEbox has up to 2TB of space, does DVR and basic media stuff, and networks itself into your home (360 support coming) — if you know how to do that or are willing to pay.

Interestingly, in the press release it promises “The capability to back up and distribute DVDs and Blu-Rays to various video zones,” but in the FAQ it helpfully states “There are a multitude of software options available for individuals to purchase that allow archiving of DVD content to their personal computers.” In other words, you’re on your own — but we won’t ask any questions. A safe position, I guess, but it would have been nice to have that capability on board. Watch the demo video here if you’re curious.

I would caution you all against buying accessories for your Apple laptop now, a week before a major Apple announcement, but this external battery does look pretty handy. It plugs right into the MBP as if it were an outlet and gives (they say) 6-10 hours of extra battery life. Of course, my MBP is so borked that that would mean 6-10 hours of total battery life (thanks Apple), but hey.

Two caveats: one, you have to buy a new magsafe power adapter (or have yours modded) and two, the thing costs $450. Man, I could buy another laptop and just use that one when the first runs out!

Look at what the cat dragged in. Freestyle Audio (you remember them, right?) has updated their product line with a more rugged MP3 player, the Soundwave. It’s waterproof up to 10 feet, which is perfect for most water sports like surfing except for diving and comes with 2GB built-in, which trumps the Sport’s 1GB of built-in memory. It boasts an 18-hour battery life, FM radio tuner, works with music subscriptions, supports MP3 and WMA (DRM too!) tracks and comes with a colored OLED screen.

The Soundwave is available now in Blue for $90 and Camo for $100.

The upcoming NXE update will feature the controversial avatar feature (you know, the one that makes me barf), but you’ve got to have either a HDD or 256MB card installed to take advantage of it. If you’ve got one of those pansy 64MB cards or (shudder) a naked Core system, you’ll be SOL, my friends.

Of course, if you’ve just got a Core, how likely is it that you’re the type of gamer that wants to spend hours creating a super-deformed, weird-ass version of yourself to show your friends? After all, you’ve already got a Mii — not that these two things are related!

Sorry, people. The dream is over. American Airlines has decided that it, along with Delta (and the flight attendants), does not want porn on its flights — despite receiving no complaints whatsoever. Say they:

Based on the feedback of our customers and employees, American Airlines is working with Aircell(R) to implement technology to filter pornographic content over the Gogo(R) inflight Internet service.

I guess you’ll have to “pack in” your own stuff and not rely on the bounty of the internet. You filthy animal.

A 16-zone Creston system will run you a lot of coin - or you can pick up this chump’s system on Craigslist. I wonder if he used to work for Lehmans Brothers and needs to his McMansion’s mortgage payment.

I have a Crestron system currently installed in my house that I would like to sell. All components are in excellent working condition, one Amplifier has two small cosmetic scratches as seen in the first image.

Craiglist via CEPro

Remember Skids from the original cartoon? TF2 is or was filming at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona and one intrepid fan took a few snaps and sent them along to Jalopnik. The rear license plate revealed Skids, but no one knows what the Chevy Trax plate says. Oh, Skids is the bright green one. Bumblebee is still a Camaro if you’re keeping track at home. Check him out after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

In case you have an extra USB slot and perhaps an excess of whimsy, this may be the nonsense desk accessory for you. The mouse in the wheel will run faster the faster you type — useful if you don’t want to use how quickly the words appear on the screen as a metric for how fast you’re typing.

Now, if I ran a blog, I would just have my office filled with these mice, attached to each of my employees’ computers by a USB extension cord. That way I can watch them all and tell when they’re slacking. I wonder if they make one where it’s a little slave ship and the guy whips the rowers faster as you type faster. [via Red Ferret]