Nissan Skyline importer Motorex shuttered, owner jailed on felony charges with $1M bond
 The owner, Nanahoshi Hiroaki, of Motorex, America's only importer of the Nissan Skyline GT-R, is reportedly being held on $1 million dollars bail on a litany of charges ranging from financial malfeasance issues to assault with a deadly weapon and attempted kidnapping. The future of R32-R34 Skylines in the U.S. beyond those already imported remains to be seen, but according to the Nissan/Infiniti Car Owners Club (NICO), Motorex's facilities have been forcibly closed due to their failure to pay rent. Read more..!
IBM's Magic Block: voice recorder with speech recognition
 The IBM Magic Block is a concept for a digital voice recorder that includes a few handy features -- such as biometric security and an intriguing design that limits accidental recordings -- and one function that makes it unique: built-in voice recognition software that can recognize both spoken words and the actual speaker, allowing a user to search for text as well as for comments from specific speakers. Since IBM already makes speech recognition software, this may be "the next big thing." Read more..!
Sony does a 10,000:1 plasma
 The resolution on Sony's new WD-42PX2 and WD-42PX2S plamas aren't that wonderful (1024 x 768), and the screens are only 42-inches, but hey, at least they have an awesome contrast ratio of 10,000:1 and a $3,000 US pricetag! Kind of expected more from you, even if the application here is extremely limited and decidedly non-consumer. Read more..!
 Now that narf and blanka's solution for booting XP on MacsIntel is out and people are using it to actually run XP on their Macs, some bugs are showing up. One rumored bug should give you pause before you decide to use this as anything more than a proof-of-concept: according to a thread on MacRumors, the current XP install doesn't include a fan driver, which means your Mac's fan never goes on. That may not be a big issue if you're using an iMacIntel for limited periods in a well-ventilated space, but if you're planning on running XP on a MacBookPro, you may find things getting mighty hot. We're not dissing narf and blanka here; they won the contest and deserve their $13,000. But you may want to be a little careful before trying out their solution at home. Read more..!
iRex reveals deets on its iLiad eBook reader
 Philips spinoff iRex has released some details of its eBook reader that was announced late last year, giving it both a name- the "iLiad" (model number ER 0100), and a release date- next month. This monochrome e-ink touchscreen display will be going up against heavyweight Sony's similar Reader device, although the iLiad sounds like it should be able to hold its own, sporting a 400MHz XScale processor, 64MB RAM, 224MB user-accessible internal flash memory, WiFi, Ethernet, 3.5-millimeter audio jack, and slots for SD and CF cards as well as USB drives. iRex claims over a week of three-hour-a-day reading sessions are possible between charges, and also promises to expand upon the PDF, XHTML, TXT, and MP3 formats that will be supported at launch. No word on pricing so far, but it will have to be equivalent to the $300 to $400 Sony is expecting to charge for its model if the iLiad expects to remain competitive. (Caution PDF link]. Update: Ouch! Reader Axel writes that he corresponded with iRex a few days ago, who informed him that the iLiad will cost a steep 650 euros, or more than twice the anticipated price of the Sony. Read more..!
More details on the coming Buick LaCrosse Super Sport
 General Motors is expected to introduce a new vehicle dubbed the LaCrosse Super, but Edmunds Inside Line has the concept debuting significantly earlier-- at the end of this month in New York. The Chicago Tribune article referenced Saturday pegged the uber-LaCrosse as a 2007 show circuit concept, possibly debuting in Chicago. Further, Inside Line indicates that the LaCrosse Super is slated to receive a 300-plus horsepower V8 and have styling "heavily inspired" by 2004's Velite concept (shown above), so bet on a waterfall grille and portholes. The LaCrosse Super is expected to hit showrooms sometime in "the next few years." Read more..!
Xbox 360 DVD firmware hacked?
 Apparently due to Microsoft forgetting to "remove the debug routines from the [firmware]," (whatever that means) some hackers have managed to get a burned copy of PGR3 running on the 360. Turns out these are the same guys who turned out the DVD firmware hack for the original Xbox, so things look pretty legit, and the video of the burned disc up and running seems to verify their claims. The team of hackers, headed by TheSpecialist, isn't going to release the actual modified firmware since they're not quite into piracy, but the security details are available on the web so we're sure their results will be soon duplicated. Read more..!
Gabcast mixes VoIP and podcasting
 What happens when audio-blogging (or podcasting) meets Voice over IP meets, some Canadian Internet telephony geniuses? The result is an online voice blogging service called Gabcast, and it has carved out a niche in the podcasting arena: the service allows you to record your voice blogs through your telephone or through your VoIP software, including the popular Gizmo Project soft phone. Read more..!
Odeo embeddable recorder: voicemail for your blog
 Podcasting portal Odeo recently added a feature that lets people record messages on your Odeo page, kind of like a voicemail on the web. What's cooler is the message recorder can be embedded in any web page, so you can stick it in a blog post and anyone with a microphone can come along and leave a voice message for you. To embed it you'll need an Odeo account, but people don't need one to leave you a message. Read more..!
New Super Mario Bros. info emerges
 This strange looking watch is from Ventura, a Swiss company that focuses on digital watches. The v-tec Sigma is a digital watch that uses Ventura's EasySkroll® operating system which offers easy-to-use functions you don't need a manual to figure out. It has an easily readable screen that uses the "Ventura" font and has a backlight. The case is made of Durinox®, a scratch-resistant stainless steel, and the liquid-crystal display is behind a sapphire crystal. The watch uses a long-life lithium battery. Another version with a micro generator instead of a battery is in the works. The v-tec Sigma will be available on the market in June for $1,750. Read more..!
Miu Miu Buffalo Frame Bag
 Another great alternative to the stark white handbag trend is Miu Miu's Buffalo Frame Bag. The off white leather bag is simple in its design, but the eye catching features that make this bag is the wooden kiss-lock closure and tied handle detail. Bag dimensions: 3 1/2"H X 11"L X 5 1/2"W. Price: $695. Read more..!
 It's a more vertical version of the standard lazy susan spice rack. This chrome rack has glass jars with lids that flip up for pouring and shaking. The jars are filled and labeled with 20 of the most popular spices. It sells for $59.95. Read more..!
 These hand made luggage from Globe-Trotter are British classics that have been around since 1897 and have been the choice of royalty, political players, and even Sir Edmund Hilary. I call them the un-Vuitton, as you can get practically any color you want and still get the same great construction and style. Their basic design hasn't changed over the past century, but these cases stay up-to-date with new sizes and colors every season. Read more..!
 Launchy is a very slick application launcher. It sports a Vista-inspired theme complete with see-through glass edges, and is extremely small and fast. By default it only indexes your Start menu, however it can be manually configured to index any folder you like, and can even be told which file extensions to index. Read more..!
 Ever wanted to see the geographical route an email took to get to you, well a new Google Maps mash-up offers the ability to copy and paste email headers into a text field, and have it analyzed for the route that email took. It doesn't always work, and sometimes the results are somewhat strange, but this is definitely one of the more fun Google Maps mash-ups to come along. Read more..!
Track blog conversations with co.mments
 If you track and comment on a lot of blogs, you know the trouble with blog comments is that it's hard to remember which conversations to keep track of, especially when old posts pass below the fold. co.mments is a cool web service that makes doing so a whole lot easier. The meat of the thing is a bookmarklet that you click on when you're viewing a blog post. The post is added to your co.mments page and from then on you can track its new comments from the co.mments site, or subscribe to an RSS feed for comments on all the posts you're tracking. co.mments is also among a growing number of web services that you can use without registering a user account (a cookie identifies you instead), which makes it easy and to try out without giving up any privacy. If you decide you like it and want to use it from multiple computers, then you can fork over your e-mail address and get an account. Read more..!
DeskTask - Outlook desktop plugin
 DeskTask is a standalone desktop widget that doesn't require an engine like the Yahoo! product formerly known as Konfabulator or DesktopX. DeskTask is simply a utility that will take your Outlook tasks and calendar information and put it right on your desktop. If you're one of those people that keeps their system uncluttered with windows, then this could be a very valuable addition to your desktop. Read more..!
|
-Lytir1
