Archive for February 17th, 2009

Anyone with a Mac surely appreciates the fluidity of the Front Row experience, but what about when you want to stream free/subscription content? Well, Understudy allows streaming of Netflix and Hulu right into Front Row.

Understudy is a free (publicly open) Front Row add-on that’s part of the Google Code library. Apparently you subscribe to Netflix and Hulu feeds within Front Row, then you can stream their content at will.

I’ll personally probably never have a use for the app, but some guy with the humongo-sized iMac in his dorm room is absolutely flipping the fuck out right now. [Understudy via 9to5Mac]

Aside from the need for a perfectly positioned wall outlet, there is a lot to like about designer Sung-Pil Hwang’s Plug-In table. It serves as a bookshelf, lamp and gadget charger all-in-one.

On second thought, using an outlet as a support for the table and the objects placed on it probably isn’t the greatest idea ever. At any rate, the Plug-In is only a concept at this point. [Nothing Design via CubeMe via The Design Blog]

Out of all the miniatures at Toy Fair, these famous chairs by Eames and many other bigtime designers are the ones I want most. [Toy Fair 2009]

Policy details regarding paid apps on the Android Market have come to light—the most notable of which being the fact that you have 24-hours to return an app if you are not satisfied.

Other policies include:

•The Market will allow unlimited reinstalls of purchased apps.
•Upgrades must come directly from the developer.
•Sexually explicit material is banned from the Android Market.
•Billing disputes must be held with the developer or your credit card company.

Much of that information was to be expected, but an app return policy is a really big deal. I can’t tell you how much I would love to shove Sim City on the iPhone back in EA’s face right now. It’s been out for months and they still haven’t fixed a bug that causes it to crash on launch for some users. I can only hope that Apple will eventually follow Google’s lead on this one. [Android via IntoMobile]

It’s a good thing Apple is around to protect us all from offensive content. Otherwise, we might be exposed to the sort of filth that’s available on basic cable. Horrors!

The creators of South Park put together a slick-looking app for the iPhone, allowing free streaming of clips as well as other fun stuff, like wallpapers and news. It looked to be a great little piece of mobile entertainment. Alas.

We first announced our iPhone App back in October, after we submitted the Application to Apple for approval. After a couple of attempts to get the application approved, we are sad to say that our app has been rejected. According to Apple, the content was “potentially offensive.” But Apple did admit that the standards would evolve, citing that when iTunes first launched it didn’t sell any music with explicit lyrics. At this point, we are sad to say, the app is dead in the water. Sorry, South Park fans.

Hey Apple: we’re big kids. You don’t need to protect us from South Park. [Boing Boing]

Today Sony put out Cyber-shot cameras—the thin DSC-T900 and DSC-T90, cheaper chunkier DSC-W290 and DSC-W230 and 10X optical zoom DSC-H20—that are cosmetically identical to their previous models, with a few new innovations which may help you if you’re cursed with crappy shots:
• Blink recognition - The cameras take two shots, scan the faces, and choose the one where more people’s eyes are mostly open. Not many other cameras have this feature, though it’s been seen before.
• iSCN scene detection mode - Like Panasonic and others, Sony developed software to evaluate multiple factors (“objects, faces and lighting conditions”) in a scene to quickly choose the right settings.
• Xtra Fine LCD - The T900 has a 3.5″ LCD with 921,600 pixels—which I’m pretty sure is the same count as 720p.
• HD recording - Speaking of 720p, everything but the W230 can shoot HD video of that resolution. [Sony]

USB heated slippers are less stupid than ever now that Thanko has gone cordless. That’s right, users no longer have to deal with a cord stretching between their feet and the computer.

Instead, the slippers are plugged into a USB port to charge the built-in lithium battery (an LED indicator alerts you to the amount of remaining battery power). When the cord is removed, a switch on the slipper allows the user to adjust between low and high heat. There is even a temperature dial to make fine adjustments. All-in-all, a full charge should net you around 2 hours of toasty feet. Available for $42. [Thanko via Coolest Gadgets]

It seems early considering how carefully they rolled out their 3G networks, but AT&T promised a commercial LTE network deployment in 2011. Electronista note that this is a year behind Verizon’s rollout. Seth Bloom from ATT says only trials will occur in 2011. I knew it was too soon. [electronista]

Have you noticed the G1 and G2 both share one common physical trait? Yeah, they both have chins. And there’s a reason for it *cue in Bernard Herrmann’s Vertigo music*

According to HTC: Personality. The Androids are like people, they have chins, they have personality. The other reason: They also have protruding nippleballs: Having a chin allows the HTC engineers to pull the trackballs out more than competing devices, making them easier to use while protecting them with the chin.

galleryPost(‘bigchinandroind’, 4, ”);

There you have it. Now you’ll be able to sleep tonight.

Nothing makes a Segway cooler than giving it motorcycle handlebars and sticking Prince on it. Perhaps you can get some of that coolness rubbed off by sticking this shirt on you. [Product Page via NerdApproved]