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Piracy

PC Manufacturers See Piracy As A Hidden Benefit, Says id Software

Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software (think Doom and Quake), accuses PC hardware manufacturers of implicitly supporting piracy of all kinds because they see it as a "hidden benefit" when you buy a PC. This came up in an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, and was part of a larger point aimed at answer the question of why PC manufacturers aren't doing more to stop piracy with hardware measures. When asked if these companies are secretly happy about piracy, Todd says: More »

10:54 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Jason Chen
2,449 views, 25 comments

iPhone Apps

iPhone's Myst Remake Is Coming, Made By Three Dudes

The iPhone's button-free input scheme isn't so great for fast-action shooters or action-adventure or any type of game with the phrase "action" in it, but it is great for RPGs and point-and-clicks. What better point-and-click to port over to the iPhone than Myst, which is one of the ones that came out during the height of P&C games' popularity, and is also sorta the most famous. Its developer Cyan lets slip in its forums that only three of their developers are working on it, and the project funded by outside resources. This will definitely kill a few hours in line at the soup kitchen. [Myst Online via Wired via Kotaku]

10:30 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Jason Chen
1,087 views, 13 comments

Sony Xross Fade Dual iPod DJ Dock Is Wiggity Wack

The $500 Xross Fade DJ system is Sony's hard-to-pronounce dual iPod dock kit for mixing songs. It may have some rad-looking bass reflex speakers and dual subwoofers, but it's unfortunately gimped as far as DJ features go—you can cue and crossfade between songs, a technology straight outta 2005 and something you could do on a PC with moderate iTunes skills. There are also some presumably lame-ass drum beats you can lay top of your tracks to spice them up, but not much more. Seriously Sony, what gives? DJing is just no fun without some "wikki wikki". Press release down below. [Sony] More »

10:30 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Benny Goldman
278 views, 6 comments

Home Audio

Sony S-Airplay is a Wireless, Multi-room iPod Dock

Sony's S-Airplay Wireless iPod Dock is basically a cheaper, less functional version of the Sonos home audio system. You plug your iPod into the central base station, plug in up to 10 wireless speakers into power outlets through the house and just like that, you have multi-room audio. More »

10:30 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Adrian Covert
962 views, 1 comment

Iphone line

Actors Paid To Stand in iPhone Line by Orange in Poland

A spokesman for Orange in Poland unabashedly proclaimed that they "have these fake queues at front of 20 stores around the country to drum up interest in the iPhone." An interesting technique to be sure, we're just wondering if these actors will give up their places when it comes time to actually buy the phone, or if they're going to actually go through and get an iPhone (maybe give them out for free after?). It's not something we would have done, and it would have probably worked had the spokespeople not acknowledged it so openly. "Why yes, that is a sock in my pants. Why do you ask? "[Reuters]

8:40 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Jason Chen
1,608 views, 18 comments

Classified intel

Hands On With the UrbanMax, Intel's Concept Tablet Notebook... Thing

This year's Intel Developer Forum is all about different form-factors, with walls of nearly identical MIDs, way too many netbooks and this strange creature, the Intel UrbanMax concept. The prototype is running a Core 2 Duo (at least for now) crammed into a thin, quasi-tablet case, with an 11 inch N-trig DuoSense capacative multitouch screen and provisions for a WiMax connection built in. The UrbanMax form-factor is a novel take on the old tablet concept, and possibly a superior one.
More »

8:20 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By John Herrman
2,518 views, 16 comments

jealous

Kidtropolis' Magic Indoor Treehouse Bedroom

I'm not sure who is getting the Magic Treehouse Bedroom that is currently being constructed by the craftsman at Kidtropolis, but I'm jealous. When I was a kid, I didn't have any fancy indoor treehouse to sleep in—just a cot and some newspaper. Still, I am not too bitter to recognize the artistry that goes into making a custom bedroom of this caliber. Just don't let your kids see it—unless you have a lot of money to burn that is. [Kidtropolis via WIred GeekDad]

8:00 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Sean Fallon
3,214 views, 28 comments

Wii

Pretend You're Actually Venturing Outside With Wii Balance Board and Google Street View

Sort of like the hacked Wii Balance Board that'll surf Google Earth, but a little more down to earth, this mod will let you act like you're strolling through town with Google Street View. You walk to move forward or lean on one foot to turn—it actually seems to work pretty well. With a giant display, you could visit New York and walk around without suffering from the gross and smelly summer, or you know, just use it as another excuse to never leave the massive pillow fort you've converted your living room into. [blog.katsuma.tv via Balanceboarding - Thanks Mark!]

7:40 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By matt buchanan
1,048 views, 9 comments

iPod Dock

Fusion CA-1P500 Is the First Head Unit That Hides, Docks Your iPod

We can't believe it, but Fusion CA-1P500 is apparently the first head unit that allows you to dock and hide your iPod directly inside the face. The thing costs £149.99 ($278), which isn't too bad for a head unit that has an OLED menu, a knob that corresponds to the iPod's scroll wheel, and SRS Wow. It fits the classic, touch and nano, but supposedly not the iPhone. Weird, aren't the touch and iPhone about the same? In any case, what we'd love is for it to take in the iPhone and give us full handsfree calling capabilities through a mic in the head and output through the speakers. [Fusion via T3]

7:20 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Jason Chen
2,114 views, 18 comments

Blockbuster Online

Blockbuster Online Having Mailing Issues As Well?

We just received a tip from reader Michael that Blockbuster online has been having shipping issues with their movies as well. Netflix's recent outage was settled in about three days, but Michael's problem has been ongoing for the last four business days. When he called a customer service rep, they said Blockbuster's shipping center were having an "allocation issue", and many other customers have been complaining. More »

7:03 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Jason Chen
1,135 views, 16 comments

Wi-Fi

Get Free Airport Wi-Fi with a Simple URL Hack

FROM LIFEHACKER.COM: Blogger Felix Geisendorfer points out a clever URL hack that scored him free Wi-Fi at the Atlanta airport.I found that I could easily visit sites like slashdot, Google, or even this weblog, when adding a ?.jpg at the end of the url. The next logical step was to automate that. More »

7:00 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Adam Pash
18,254 views, 94 comments

Guitar hero: world tour

Guitar Hero: World Tour to Get Mystery Peripheral Just for Studio Mode

G4 says they've got a scoop on a Guitar Hero: World Tour peripheral that hasn't been announced yet, one that's just for the game's studio mode to help you make music. It's not for the game mode at all, apparently. We're kind of thinkin' accordion, but G4 guesses it'll be a keyboard. Another option is something like Beatmania's turntable/keyboard controller, or this fine musical instrument. [G4]

7:00 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By matt buchanan
867 views, 17 comments

Home phone overkill

Hands On With OpenPeak's Atom-Powered Home Media Phone

Slotting an Atom into a home phone just sounds plain ridiculous, but the Home Media Phone is more than just a VoIP handset and base station. The base station (which doubles as a speaker phone) has its own software platform, developed in flash and furnished with a full API, and serves many purposes of a PC in a picture frame-sized package. The current set of apps is adequate, but after using it for a few minutes it became very clear that the Home Media Phone could actually be a fantastic net appliance.
More »

6:40 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By John Herrman
2,524 views, 9 comments

Announcements

You Put Your Gizmodo All Over My Email!

There's an easy way to get Gizmodo top stories updates in your inbox without paying a 19-year-old college kid to manually do it. It's the Gizmodo email subscription, and will alert you to our top stories via Email (or if you like, Skype, AIM, Twitter, MSN, private Twitter or Yahoo Messenger). Pick your favorite and go nuts. [Sign up]

6:30 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Jason Chen
82 views, 1 comment

obamamama2.jpg Politics

Announce Fake Obama Running Mate with Text Messages

Barack Obama is set to notify his subscribed fans supporters via text message when he selects a vice-presidential candidate. Verizon's website lets you send a free text message to anyone on their network, so use Obama's short code (62262) and announce the running mate of your choice. The picture above, unfortunately for followers of His Steveness, is only real in our hearts. McCain, of course, is set to notify Republicans via carrier pigeon. [Wonkette]

6:20 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Dan Nosowitz
2,551 views, 25 comments

Coffee calligraphy

Writing Spoon Turns Your Coffee Into Ink

Admit it, you like those inexpensive restaurants where they use paper tablecloths and servers write their names upside down with crayons. Why? Because you love to doodle (and you love crayons). If only you could combine your passion for food and drink with your passion for doodling in one simple device. Enter the Writing Spoon by Spanish artist, Julie Mariscal. It incorporates a makeshift fountain pen into the spoon, making it possible to use things like coffee or soup as ink. You can pick one up on her website for around $31, which is a hell of a lot cheaper than it would be to get your own Gizuccino-making machine. [Julie Mariscal via Trend Hunter via Coolest Gadgets]

6:00 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Sean Fallon
1,125 views, 23 comments

Death Race

Death Race: Filmed by Running Cameras Over

In an era when most stunt-driven blockbusters are really half cartoon, Death Race's director Paul W.S. Anderson insisted on keeping the action real. The shooting philosophy was something along the lines of, "why blow up a fake car when you can blow up a real one?" So the movie features of ton of real cars packed with real armor plating and real machine guns really crashing. And during an interview with io9, Anderson revealed how he rammed these monster cars into cameras without smashing his film equipment into tiny bits. More »

5:40 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Mark Wilson
7,847 views, 31 comments

apple vs microsoft

Microsoft's Seinfeld Ads Considered Other Stars Like Colbert, Sarah Silverman, McConaughey and the Late Bernie Mac

Earlier today we learned that Microsoft is planning a $300 million advertising campaign starring Jerry Seinfeld in an attempt to counter the success that Apple has had with their PC vs Mac ads. However, according to FBLA, Microsoft may not stop with Seinfeld. Rumor has it that stars like Sarah Silverman, Willie Nelson, Travis Pastrana, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Nader, Rob Corddry, Stephen Colbert and even the late Bernie Mac were/are being considered for the ad. Again, it's just a rumor, but this approach worked for the Bill Gates retirement video didn't it? [Yeah, no Bernie Mac for obvious reasons. - BL] [FBLA via Gawker]

5:30 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By Sean Fallon
2,297 views, 39 comments

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