Kickstartnews - Daily News & Reviews

Rumours of Atom Based iPhone Unfounded

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:50:00 +0000

The race to find tech news is often with its perils. Yesterday several sites posted news about a possible new iphone which uses intels atom chip as its cpu. The story which has been refuted by intel themselves arose out of a purported statement reported by ZDNet in Germany, where German Intel General Manager Hannes Schwaderer said future iPhones would have the Intel Atom chip. Later posts indicate that Mr Schwaderer was only making general statements of future Atom powered MIDs. Sites like Engadget and ZDNet were quick to post corrections. Only Time will tell if this is true or not. Unfortunately this is one of the dangers of trying to be first at the post.

New Data Loss Laws Introduced In UK

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:18:00 +0000

As of last Wednesday (May 7th 2008), anyone who recklessly loses personal data will face a "substantial" fine after the government created a new civil offence. British MPs backed the amendment to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, making it an offence for anyone to "intentionally or recklessly disclose information" or "repeatedly and negligently" allow information to be disclosed. The Information Commissioner's Office welcomed the powers and said it would be a strong deterrent against companies losing personal data.

Microsoft Launch MSN Video

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:04:00 +0000

Microsoft has announced the launch of a new social video service which is tightly integrated with it Windows Live Messenger instant messaging service. "MessengerTV," is initially only available in 20 countries, including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Brazil, and Mexico. Funny enough it is not yet available in the US. The service offers content from MSN Video's collection, this includes TV shows, music videos, and a selection of the web's viral content from third party providers.

CHDK - Hacking Your Canon Point & Shoot

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Tue, 06 May 2008 21:55:00 +0000

lifehacker.com have posted an excellent article on the Canon Hacker's Development Kit. CHDK is a free, open source project with which you can add features like RAW shooting mode, live RGB histograms, additional photographic settings, motion-detection, time-lapse, longer video recording and even games onto your existing Canon camera. The beauty of CHDK is that it is non-permanent and non-destructive, you can use when you want to; CHDK makes no changes to your camera. Installing CHDK entails having a couple of files added to your camera's memory card. Removing it involves simply restarting your camera without the memory card present.

HTC Touch Diamond ... Worthy Adversary

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:57:00 +0000

HTC have announced the latest challenger to the iPhone: the HTC Touch Diamond. The touchscreen phone features a new interface called TouchFLO 3D, which provides animated access to people, messaging, email, photos, music, weather and more. It even has its own browser for surfing the web on its 3G wireless connection.

With some unique capabilities such as an automatic face down silent mode, and the gorgeous faceted back the phone will certainly attract a lot of users:

HTC Touch Diamond Key Specifications
Size: 102 x 51 x 11.33mm
Weight: 110 g
Connectivity: WCDMA / HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA
Operating system: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
Display: 2.8-inch VGA touch screen
Camera: 3.2MP, with video calling
Internal memory: 4 GB
Internal Storage, 256 MB flash, 192 MB RAM,
Bluetooth: 2.0 with EDR
Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g
GPS: GPS/AGPS
Interface: HTC ExtUSB™ - (mini-USB and audio jack in one; USB 2.0 High-Speed)
Battery: 900 mAh
Talk time: GSM: up to 4 hours
Standby time: GSM: up to 300 hours/100 hours with push email
Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM 7201A™ - 528MHz

Visit Gizmodo for more pictures and details.

Iron Man Phone

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:28:00 +0000

LG Electronics have unveiled the LG Iron Man phone, a limited-edition, 18-karat gold slider based on the LG Shine. The Phone is being given away as part of the promotional campaign with Paramount Pictures to promote the upcoming Marvel Studios film Iron Man. The Iron Man phone will however not be sold in stores. The only way to get one of these babies, is to win one on the Iron Man Website after the 15th April or from one of the other promotions being run by magazines and websites. If you can't win one then you can always console yourself with one of the great Iron Man Figures.

Zune XNA Games Preview In May?

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:11:00 +0000

Microsoft are aiming for the first community technology preview of their XNA games for the Zune to be released in May. Zune games are able to support ad-hoc wireless play, supporting up to eight players, however, the devices don't currently have hardware 3D acceleration. However Microsoft already have several proof of concept games up and running.

CD-Player For £4K

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:17:00 +0000

As a gadget freak I like the looks of this seriously cool looking CD Player and audio system. The Shanling CD-T3000PRO looks very much like something cooked up in an alien lab, or as a power device for Stargate or any other sciu-fi series. However it is simply a high powered CD player which is fitted with a Philips CD-PRO 2 disc mechanism, an aluminium alloy chassis and 8x Burr-Brown DAC. It also features some serious protection against mechanical and electromagnetic interference. So is it worth $7K, not to me, but then again, if you have the cash to spare, I guess it depends on whether you fancy it or not. I give it high marks on style though.

iLogic Sound Hat

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 04 May 2008 12:54:00 +0000

The iLogic Sound Hat is a simple concept that allows you to plug your iPod or other portable media device directly into integrated speakers inside of the hat’s surface. Devices can be plugged-in via a standard 3.5mm headphone plug on a 98cm wire. The hat itself has a fleecy feel on its interior and looks quite simple. You can get the iLogic Sound Hat from I Want One Of Those for £14.99.

Powerbook To Desktop Mod

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:41:00 +0000

Macmod.com are showcasing a cool mod, which takes a Powerbook and turns it into a Desktop Unit ... the Modder, Richard Hunt, was quite ingenious, as he figured out how to get the Powerbook to work without the neccessary hardware around it. Like reconnecting the trackpad and glueing a tiny magnet over the sensor which lets the machine know the lid is closed. Richard states "that a USB keyboard, mouse and monitor must be connected otherwise the machine closes itself down." The Mod has it’s own built-in UPS because it still retains the original laptop battery. The machine also runs cooler, due to the extra space.

RIAA Face Another Blow In Their Legal Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:30:00 +0000

The RIAA's legal campaign has been fought under the assertion that making a file available for download is the same as infringement of copyright under the copyright act. According to Ars Technica;

There have only been a couple of decisions addressing the question so far. One that came down today in Atlantic v. Howell is the biggest rejection yet to the RIAA's "making available equals infringement" argument, as a federal judge has denied the labels' motion for summary judgment, setting the stage for a trial later this year.

The latest judgement is a big blow to their ongoing battle against the little guys ... going against soft targets like Mr. Mrs. or Ms. Average, isn't winning them any wars or friends ... they need to go after the big infringers and rethink their approach to IP.

Microsoft Announces Xbox 360 Price Cuts For Some Eastern Markets

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:13:00 +0000

Microsoft announced that they will be discounting the Xbox 360 in four of its five Asian markets. They are hoping that this will continue expand their market share. There are currently over 19 million Xbox owners.

Apple Fall Foul Of DOD

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 21:43:00 +0000

Apples planned acquisition of chip-design firm P.A. Semi appear to have raised some concern with the Department of Defense. P.A. Semi's chips are used by all branches of the armed services. P.A. Semi informed several current customers that it was due to be acquired and that it could not guarantee future supplies of its chips. EETimes has stated that P.A. Semi's high-performance, low-cost PWRficient CPU is used in at least 10 Defense systems.

Yahoo Social Networking

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 21:17:00 +0000

Yahoo appear to be making noise about moving into social networking in a big way ... with properties like Flickr and del.icio.us they certainly have everything in place to do something interesting. Yahoo's CTO Ari Balogh unveiled the "Yahoo Open Strategy," at the Web 2.0 Expo conference in San Francisco. With over 500 million users of their various services they certainly have a good base for any launch they make ... hopefully they'll be smart about the privacy issues and the ease of use of their system. It begs to ask though ... do we really need another social network?

Wearable Keyboard - Jeans

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:10:00 +0000

Designed by Erik De Nijs, these jeans feature a built-in keyboard that's Bluetooth-enabled. The jeans also have sewn in speakers, a pocket made especially for your mouse and a "joystick controller" found, dangerously, behind the front zipper. Talk about playing with fire ... you'll probably get arrested wearing these if you play with the joystick. Back to the drawing board with this one boys... pretty ugly looking if you ask me.

Western Digital Release VelociRaptor VR150 Hard Drive

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:57:00 +0000

This new drive from western digital is a 10,000 RPM SATA Drive specifically targeted at enthusiasts. The VelociRaptor VR150 as it is known is a 2.5" drive mounted inside a heatsink that slides into a standard 3.5" drive bay. This baby is a powerhouse but don't look for it to appear in any laptops quite yet.

XP SP3 RTM - April 29th Availability

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:07:00 +0000

Microsoft have confirmed that they have released XP Service Pack 3 to manufacturing. It will also be in Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center on April 29th.

Goodmans Release iPod Dock with 7″ Display

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:51:00 +0000

Goodmans have released a new iPod Dock featuring a 7" LCD Display. The GIPDV701 will display your video, films and photos from both your iPod, supports JPG, MP3 and MPEG-4 playback and the integrated 3 in 1 card reader adds more flexibility. It also features a remote control and a 12V car adapter. The unit will have an SRP of £89.99.

Xara Release Version 4 of Xara Xtreme and Xara Xtreme Pro

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:40:00 +0000

Xara Xtreme and Xtreme Pro have been updated to Version 4. Xara is one of the fastest and easiest creative tools to use. The flexibility of Xara Xtreme with its raster and vector capabilities is something worth trying. It is capable of drawing faster than pretty much any other package out ther. You can create 3D text, edit photos non destructively, create wysiwyg websites and even export flash animations. It also supports Photoshop plug-ins. Pop on over to the Xara Website to find out more and download a demo.

PluggedIn Beta May Be A Waste Of Time For UK Users

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:54:00 +0000

Ars Technica have covered a new music video site called PluggedIn which offers HD and High Quality Music Videos. I was intrigued by this so I joined ... I found it a nice looking site, except for the fact that it is a complete waste of time for anyone in the UK as far as I can tell, because every video I click on tells me "oops, The content is not licensed for distribution outside the US and Canada." There might be content which works, but so far I haven't found it.

What kind of nonsense is that? Oh yeah, I forgot it probably has something to do territorial distribution rights or licensing agreements, I guess. I clicked on Amy Winehouse, (who is a British artist by the way), and was told the same thing.

The problem is that sites like this should be smart enough to filter out content by territory and only show that which is available in the territory from which the visitor comes. Not hard to do when they ask you to enter most of the relevant details in the membership page.

Companies like PluggedIn should be a lot smarter in their implementation of their concepts and also start thinking in a truly global fashion rather than territorially. Get with the times folks ... stop wasting my time with ill conceived and poorly implemented websites.

Phone Home Computers Thwart Thieves

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:52:00 +0000

Silicon.com are featuring a nice little story about how british police have recovered a number of stolen computers which feature security protection in the form of phone home software. One of the best forms of this software is the kind which resides in the systems bios and thus it can work independent of the OS. This means that the thieves can't easily wipe it from the computer because it doesn't reside on the hard drive.

Transformers USB Hub

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:05:00 +0000

Everything USB have posted a news article, featuring a USB Hub based on the All-Spark from Transformers. The four port hub is powered from the host machines USB port. The All-Spark Hub may be cool to look at but it's certainly not for the space conscious. The Hub will sell for about £17.99 when it becomes available in August from Forbidden Planet.

Shuttles New XPC Features Blu-ray/HD-DVD Drive

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:51:00 +0000

The XPC G5 6801M is the new HD based from Shuttle. It features an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ processor, 2GB of DDR2 800MHz RAM, a 320GB hard drive, LG's GGC-H20L Blu-ray / HD DVD combo drive, an ATI HD 3450 graphics card with 256MB, a DVB-T tuner, a 25-in-1 multicard reader and 7.1-channel audio output. The XPC is also equipped with 802.11a/b/g, gigabit Ethernet, FireWire, USB / eSATA ports, DVI / VGA out with a DVI-HDMI adapter included and even comes with a nice remote to control all this media goodness. The unit can be had for $1,727 (about £988 ), if you only want Blu-ray without HD-DVD then you can get the unit for $264 less (about £135). For more info visit Shuttle.

The Saitek PK17U Cyborg Gaming Keyboard

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:52:00 +0000

Talk about tech for the Terminator, but this keyborad from Saitek looks totally the part. A keyboard designed for hardcore gaming and it is definitely not for the weak of heart. The bezel above the keys is illuminated and provides feedback on audio and mode settings. The keyboard has 3 different backlight colors, which are adjustable and can even be mixed in different color combinations. Key features include:

Multi-colour backlighting with Tru Vu illumination through keys (mix shades from Red through Amber to Green) and adjustable brightness.
Touch-sensitive, backlit dashboard control panel
WASD, cursor, ‘Cyborg’ and NumPad keys can be lit independently from the rest of keyboard to highlight commonly used gaming keys
Cyborg Mode – instantly disable the Windows keys and configure the colour and brightness of your gaming keys at the touch of a button
Set and forget – persistent key illumination settings ensure colours remain even after a system reboot
12 programmable ‘Cyborg’ keys
Hard wearing, metal-plated key caps in key gaming areas
Pass-through USB, audio and microphone sockets
Enhanced multiple key presses in gaming areas for complex in-game commands
Adjustable wrist rest and keyboard rake angle (front and back)
Gold-plated connectors for USB and Audio

The keyboard is USB 2.0 compliants and is compatible with Windows XP, XP64 and Windows Vista. The PK17U can be preordered from amazon.com today... SRP of Approx $80.

Dell To Release Ultra Portable

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:44:00 +0000

Several Sites are reporting that Dell are rumoured to be producing an Ultra Portable in the same class as the new HP Mini-Note. This class of PC is not something for the power user but definitely has a place in lifestyle based computing products. The small form factor and decent computing power make the units ideal for the user who want to keep in touch without the compromise of using a mobile phone and its limited browser...